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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The International Monthly, Volume 2, No. 4,
+March, 1851, by Various
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The International Monthly, Volume 2, No. 4, March, 1851
+
+Author: Various
+
+Release Date: March 23, 2008 [EBook #24902]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE INTERNATIONAL MONTHLY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Joshua Hutchinson, Josephine Paolucci and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net.
+(This file was produced from images generously made
+available by Cornell University Digital Collections).
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE
+
+Of Literature, Art, and Science.
+
+Vol. II.
+
+NEW-YORK, MARCH 1, 1851.
+
+No. IV.
+
+Transcriber's Note: Minor typos have been corrected and footnotes moved
+to the end of the article.
+
+
+
+
+AUSTEN HENRY LAYARD, LL. D.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+In an early number of the _International_ we had the satisfaction of
+printing an original and very interesting letter from Dr. Layard, in
+which, with more fulness and explicitness than in his great work on
+Nineveh, he discusses the subject of Ancient Art. We have carefully
+noted from time to time his proceedings in the East, and our readers
+will remember that we recently gave engravings of the most remarkable of
+the antiquities he sent home last year to the British Museum. Since that
+time he has proceeded to Bagdad, and he is now pursuing in that
+vicinity, with his wonted sagacity and earnestness, researches for the
+remains of Babylon, which in turn will furnish material for another
+extensive publication from his pen.
+
+The first public announcement of the discoveries at Nimroud was made in
+the _Knickerbocker Magazine_ of this city, in a letter from our
+countryman, Minor K. Kellogg, the painter, who was a long time the
+intimate friend and travelling companion of Layard in Asia Minor.
+Introducing the letters in which the antiquary disclosed the successful
+result of his investigations, Mr. Kellogg says:
+
+     "I can scarcely call to mind a person so admirably qualified in
+     all respects for prosecuting such laborious researches. He is
+     young, of a hardy and enduring constitution, is acquainted with
+     the Oriental languages, and speaks the Persian and Turkish
+     fluently. He is enthusiastic and indefatigable in every thing
+     he undertakes, and plentifully endowed with courage, prudence,
+     and good-nature."
+
+This was more than two years before Layard himself, in his "Nineveh and
+its Remains," exhibited those triumphs of his intelligence and devotion
+which have secured for him a place among the most famous travellers and
+antiquaries in the world.
+
+We take the occasion of copying the above portrait from the last number
+of _Bentley's Miscellany_ to present, from various authentic sources, a
+brief sketch of Dr. Layard's history. He is descended from the noble
+French Protestant family of Raymond de Layarde, who accompanied the
+Prince of Orange into England. He was born at Paris, during a temporary
+visit of his parents to that metropolis, on the 5th of March, 1817. His
+father, who was the son of the Rev. Dr. Henry Peter John Layard, Dean of
+Bristol, filled a high civil office in Ceylon, between the years 1820
+and 1830, and took great interest in the circulation of the Scriptures
+among heathen nations. He was a man of considerable classical learning,
+and of refined tastes. During the youth of his son, he lived at
+Florence, where our young antiquary had free access to the stores of the
+Pitti Palace, and of the Tribune. He thus became familiar from his
+infancy with the language of Tuscany, and formed his taste for the fine
+arts and literature upon the models of painting and sculpture amid which
+he lived, and in the rich libraries which he frequented. In this manner
+he added a thorough knowledge of modern languages to a competent
+acquaintance with those of Greece and Rome. Here, also, he acquired,
+almost involuntarily, a power over his pencil, which, long dormant, was
+called forth by the sight of slabs with the noblest sculptures and the
+finest inscriptions, crumbling into dust. No draughtsman had been
+provided for his assistance, and had he not instantly determined to
+arrest by the quickness of his eye, and the skill thus acquired,
+improved subsequently by Mr. Kellogg's companionship, those fleeting
+forms which were about to disappear for ever, many of the finest remains
+of ancient art would have been irrecoverably lost.
+
+On his return from Italy to England, he was urged to choose the
+profession of the law; but his thirst for knowledge, his love of
+adventure, and his foreign tastes and habits, led him, after a brief
+apprenticeship, to travel. He left England, with no very definite
+object, in the summer of 1839, and, accompanied by a friend, visited
+Russia and other northern countries, and afterward, living some time in
+Germany and the states on the Danube, made himself master of the German
+language, and of several of the dialects of Transylvania. From Dalmatia
+he passed into Montenegro, where he remained a considerable time,
+assisting an able and active young chief in ameliorating the condition
+of his semi-barbarous subjects. Travelling through Albania and Romelia,
+where he met with numerous adventures, he arrived at Constantinople,
+about the end of 1839. Here he made arrangements for visiting Asia
+Minor, and other countries in the East, where he spent some years,
+adopting the costume and leading the life of an Arab of the Desert, and
+acquiring a thorough knowledge of the manners and languages of Turkey
+and Arabia. In 1840 or 1841, he transmitted to the Royal Geographical
+Society, an Itinerary from Constantinople to Aleppo, which does not seem
+to have been published; but in the eleventh volume of the Journal of
+that Society, we have an account of the tour which he performed with Mr.
+Ainsworth, in April, 1840. He travelled in Persia in the same year, and
+projected a journey for the purpose of examining Susa, and some other
+places of interest in the Baktyari mountains, to which Major Rawlinson
+had drawn the attention of the Geographical Society. With this view, he
+left Ispahan in the middle of September, in company with Schiffeer Khan,
+a Baktyari chief; and having crossed the highest part of the great chain
+of Mungasht, he visited the ruins of Manjanik, which are of considerable
+extent, and resemble those of the Susannian cities. He visited also the
+ruins in the plain of Mel Amir, and copied some of their cuneiform
+inscriptions. In crossing the hills to Susan, he was attacked by a tribe
+of Dinarunis, and robbed of his watch, compass, &c.; but having
+complained to the chief, and insisted on the return of every missing
+article, he received back the whole of his property. It had been his
+practice to traverse these mountains quite alone, and he was never
+attacked or insulted, except on this occasion, when the country was in a
+state of war. He found scarcely any remains at Susan to indicate the
+site of a large city. In 1842 and 1843, he spent a considerable time in
+the province of Khuistan, an elaborate description of which he
+communicated through Lord Aberdeen to the Royal Geographical Society. It
+was during these various journeys that he prepared himself for the great
+task to which his best and ripest powers were to be devoted. In his
+wanderings through Asia Minor and Syria he had scarcely left a spot
+untrodden which tradition hallowed, or a ruin unexamined which was
+consecrated by history. His companion shared his feelings and his zeal.
+Unmindful of danger, they rode along with no other protection than their
+arms. They tended their own horses, and, mixing with the people, they
+acquired their manners and their language. He himself says: "I had
+traversed Asia Minor and Syria, visiting the ancient seats of
+civilization, and the spots which religion had made holy. I now felt an
+irresistible desire to penetrate to the regions beyond the Euphrates, to
+which history and tradition point as the birthplace of the Wisdom of the
+West."
+
+With these feelings, he looked to the banks of the Tigris, and longed to
+dispel the mysterious darkness which hung over Assyria and Babylonia.
+He, accordingly, made preliminary visits to Mosul, inspected the ruins
+of Nimroud and Kuyunjik, and, fortunately, obtained an interview with
+Sir Stratford Canning at Constantinople, then on his way to England.
+This distinguished man, who was formerly minister to the United States,
+and is remembered with well-deserved gratitude by nearly every recent
+traveller in the East, immediately discovered and appreciated the
+character and talents of Mr. Layard. His knowledge of the East, and of
+its manners and languages, recommended him in a peculiar manner to the
+notice of the ambassador, who persuaded him to remain, and employed him
+on many important public services. Sir Stratford Canning himself took a
+deep interest in the researches which had been made by the French, and
+he promptly aided his young countryman in carrying out the designs of
+which we now have the histories in his books. In the summer of 1845 Mr.
+Layard, Count Perpontier of the Prussian Embassy, and Mr. Kellogg,
+quitted Constantinople together, and visited Brusa (where Layard was
+some time dangerously ill from a _coup de soleil_), Mount Olympus, the
+country of the Ourouks or Wandering Tartars, the valley of the
+Rhyndacus, the Plain of Toushanloo, Kiutayah, the ruins of Azani, &c.
+Shortly after he proceeded to Nimroud, and in December, 1847, he
+returned to England with the fruits of his labors. He wrote to Mr.
+Kellogg, who was now in New-York, under date of
+
+    "CHELTENHAM, Jan. 16, 1848.
+
+     "MY DEAR KELLOGG:--I was quite delighted to see your
+     handwriting again, when a few days ago I received your letter
+     of the 15th November, with the diploma of the New-York
+     Ethnological Society. I reached home on Christmas day, after
+     having been detained three months at Constantinople. As you may
+     well conceive, since my return I have not had a moment to
+     myself--for what with domestic rejoicings and general honors, I
+     have been in one continual movement and excitement. I was
+     gratified to find that the results of my labors had created
+     much more interest in England than I could possibly have
+     expected, and that those connected with art, and interested in
+     early history, were really enthusiastic on the subject; so much
+     so, indeed, that the Trustees of the British Museum are
+     desirous of doing every thing that I think right; and it is
+     probable that ere long a very fine work will be published at
+     the public expense, containing all the drawings (about 130) and
+     inscriptions. I am to write and publish a small descriptive and
+     popular work, for my own advantage, just sufficient to satisfy
+     the public curiosity about Nineveh and the excavations. It will
+     contain an account of the works carried on, a slight sketch of
+     the history of Nineveh, a short inquiry into the manners,
+     customs and religion of the Assyrians, my own adventures in
+     Assyria, and a little information on the language and
+     character, with an account of the progress made in deciphering.
+     There will be two volumes I presume, and I have already
+     advantageous offers from publishers. My reason for entering
+     into these details, is to ask you what the law is in America,
+     and whether any influential bookseller would be willing to give
+     me any thing for the copyright, and if so, how it could be
+     managed? If you could do any thing for me in this matter, I
+     should really be much obliged to you, and I am willing to abide
+     by any arrangement you might think advantageous. I think the
+     work will be attractive--particularly in America, where there
+     are so many Scripture readers.
+
+     "I took Florence on my way, expressly to see you and Powers.
+     Although I was disappointed (and very greatly too) in the
+     first, I was greatly gratified in seeing Powers, and can assure
+     you I left Florence with as high an admiration for his genius
+     and character, as you can have, although unfortunately I was
+     only able to pass an hour or two with him, my stay being so
+     short. I showed him all my drawings, and, as you may suppose,
+     passed a very pleasant morning with him, Kirkup, and
+     Migliarini--all enthusiastic in seeing my drawings, and persons
+     worth showing such things to. Two hours, spent in this way, go
+     far towards recompensing one for any labor and sacrifice. I got
+     your address from Powers, intending to write to you as soon as
+     I reached England. It gave me the sincerest pleasure to hear
+     every one uniting in your praise; I regretted the more that you
+     were absent, and that I was unable to see your works. I was
+     delighted to find that such brilliant prospects were opening to
+     Powers, and I learnt from him, what you hint at in your letter,
+     that you also were prospering, and that substantial advantages
+     were pretty sure. I have only now to get a little money in my
+     pocket, and then inshallah (as the Turks say), I'll have my
+     picture out of you. To return to business for a moment (pardon
+     me for doing so), I think the drawings will be published in
+     first rate style and at a very moderate price: about �10--not a
+     shilling a drawing. Pray mention this to any of your bookseller
+     friends, and perhaps they may be induced to take a few copies.
+     It will be a work which no library ought to be without; it
+     will, I hope, quite surpass the French publication both in
+     execution and subject, and will be sold at one-tenth of the
+     price--theirs coming to nearly �100. I inclose a letter of
+     thanks for the Secretary of the Ethnological Society, which
+     pray send, and also add on my part, many thanks for this honor,
+     which I can assure you I particularly appreciate. My names are
+     Austen Henry Layard, and my designation simply "attached to Her
+     Britannic Majesty's Embassy, at the Sublime Porte." Lady
+     Canning and her family are still in England, Sir Stratford at
+     Berne. It is doubtful when they will return to Constantinople,
+     but I presume ere long. I am ordered out in May, and am named
+     commissioner for the settlement of the boundaries between
+     Turkey and Persia. I wish I had you with me during my
+     commission, for I shall visit a most interesting country,
+     totally unknown, and with magnificent subjects for such a
+     pencil as yours. I am sorry I did not know of your visit to
+     England. I have many influential friends, who would have been
+     glad to welcome you, and who might have been useful. I am now
+     passing a month or two at Cheltenham, for the benefit of my
+     health, which has suffered a little. I will write to you again
+     soon with something more interesting. Believe me, my dear
+     Kellogg, yours ever sincerely,
+
+     A. H. LAYARD."
+
+Upon the publication of his great work on Nineveh and its Remains, thus
+modestly announced, and his One Hundred Plates, he went back to the
+East, to renew his researches. Of the results of his recent labors we
+have already written, in the _International_ for December.
+
+Dr. Layard is a person of the most amiable and pleasing character, with
+all the social virtues which command affection and respect, and such
+capacities in literature as make him one of the most attractive
+travel-writers in our language. The world may yet look for several
+volumes from his hand, upon the East, and we are sure they will deserve
+the large and permanent popularity to which his first work has attained
+in every country where it has been printed.
+
+
+
+
+THE ASTOR LIBRARY.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+We present above an accurate view of the exterior of the ASTOR LIBRARY,
+in Lafayette Place, from a drawing made for the _International_ under
+the direction of the architect, Mr. Alexander Saeltzer. It is destined
+to be one of the chief attractions of the city, and information
+respecting it will be read with interest by the literary and learned
+throughout the country.
+
+It is now three years since John Jacob Astor died, leaving by his will
+four hundred thousand dollars for the establishment of a Public Library
+in New-York, and naming as the first trustees, the Mayor of the city of
+New-York and the Chancellor of the state for the time being. Washington
+Irving, William B. Astor, Daniel Lord, Jr., James G. King, Joseph G.
+Cogswell, Fitz-Greene Halleck, Henry Brevoort, Jr., Samuel B. Ruggles,
+Samuel Ward, and Charles Bristed. On the twentieth of May the trustees
+held their first meeting, accepted the trust conferred on them, and
+appointed Dr. Cogswell, one of their number, superintendent of the
+Library. Of the bequest, $75,000 was authorized to be applied to the
+erection of a building, $120,000 to the purchase of books and other
+objects in the establishment of the Library, and the residue, after
+paying for the site, was to be invested as a fund for its maintenance
+and increase. In September, 1848, the trustees selected the site for the
+edifice. It is convenient for all public purposes, and affords the
+comparative quietude and retirement which are desirable for an
+institution of constant resort for study and for the consultation of
+authorities. In October, Dr. Cogswell was authorized to go to Europe and
+purchase at his discretion books to the value of twenty thousand
+dollars. The object of the trustees in sending him abroad at that
+particular time was to avail themselves of the opportunity, afforded by
+the distracted political condition of Europe and the reduction of prices
+consequent upon it, to purchase books at very low rates; and the
+purchases were made at prices greatly below the ordinary standard, and
+the execution of his trust in all respects amply vindicated the high
+opinion entertained of Dr. Cogswell's fitness for his position.
+
+The plans for the edifice submitted by Mr. Saeltzer having been adopted,
+the work was commenced and has been vigorously prosecuted until the
+present time, when the front and nearly all the exterior are completed.
+The Library is of brown stone, and in the Byzantine style, or rather in
+that of the palaces of Florence, and is one hundred and twenty feet
+long, sixty-five feet wide, and sixty-seven feet high. Scarcely a
+particle of wood enters into its composition. No building in the United
+States, of this character, is formed to so large an extent of iron. Its
+uses, too, are altogether novel, at least in this country, and
+ingenious. For instance, the truss beams, supporting the principal
+weight of the roof, are constructed of cast iron pipes, in a parabolic
+form, on the same plan as the iron bridges in France and other parts of
+Europe, with a view to secure lightness and strength. The Library Hall,
+which occupies the second floor, is one hundred feet high, and sixty
+wide, in the clear. The ascent from the front is by a single line of
+thirty-eight Italian marble steps, decorated on either side, at the
+entrance, by a stone sphinx. Upon nearing the summit of these steps, the
+visitor finds himself near the centre of this immense alcove, surrounded
+by fourteen brick piers, plastered and finished in imitation of marble,
+and supporting iron galleries, midway between the floor and the ceiling.
+The side walls form one continuous shelving, of a capacity sufficient
+for 100,000 volumes. This is reached by means of the main gallery, in
+connection with which are four iron spiral stairways and an intervening
+gallery, of a lighter and smaller description, connected by its eight
+staircases with the main gallery. The whole are very ingeniously
+arranged and appropriately ornamented, in a style corresponding with the
+general architecture of the building. At an elevation of fifty-one feet
+above the floor of the main hall, is the principal skylight, fifty-four
+feet long and fourteen broad, formed of thick glass set in iron. Besides
+this there are circular side skylights of much smaller dimensions. All
+needful light is furnished, by these and by the windows in the front and
+rear walls. Free ventilation is also secured by iron fretwork, in
+suitable portions of the ceiling. In the extreme rear are the two rooms
+for the librarian, to which access is had by means of the main
+galleries.
+
+The first floor contains lecture and reading-rooms, with accommodations
+for five hundred persons. The latter are on each side of the building,
+and separated from the library-hall stairway at the front entrance by
+two corridors leading to the rear vestibule, and thence to the
+lecture-room, still further in the rear. The basement contains the
+keeper's rooms, cellars, coal-vaults, air-furnaces, &c. The floors are
+of richly-wrought mosaic work, on iron beams. The building will not be
+completed, probably, for nearly a year from this time, and the books
+collected, about 27,000, are meanwhile accessible at 32 Bond-street.
+
+Dr. Cogswell has had printed, in an octavo volume of 446 pages, an
+alphabetical index to the books now collected, and of the proposed
+accessions. This catalogue is not published, and there are but few
+copies of it. The learned librarian, who sailed a few days ago on a new
+mission for the library, to Europe, printed it at his own cost,
+convinced that without some such manual it would be extremely difficult,
+if not impossible, in making the necessary purchases, to avoid buying
+duplicates, and equally difficult to select judiciously so many thousand
+volumes as are required. He remarks that the Astor Library is in his
+opinion the first of so considerable an extent that has ever been called
+at once into existence. "That of Gottingen, the nearest parallel, was
+founded more than a century ago, when the whole number of printed books
+was less than half the present number. Should the Astor Library ever
+become a parallel to that in excellence and completeness, it will be as
+great an honor to the new world as that to the old."
+
+
+
+
+THE TEMPER OF WOMEN.
+
+
+In the _Lexington Papers_, just published in London, we have some good
+anecdotes of society two hundred and fifty years ago. Here is one:
+
+"A few days ago two ladies met in a narrow street at ten o'clock in the
+morning. Neither chose to permit her carriage to be drawn back, and they
+remained without moving for six hours. A little after twelve o'clock
+they sent for some refreshment for themselves and food for their horses.
+Each was firmly resolved to stay the night there rather than go back;
+and they would have done so, but a tavern-keeper in the street, who was
+prevented by their obstinacy from bringing to his door a cart laden with
+wine, went in search of the commissary of the district, who at length,
+but with much trouble, succeeded in effecting an arrangement upon these
+terms--that each should retire at the same moment, and that neither
+should pass through the street."
+
+And here another, which would versify into a fine horrible ballad--as
+grand and ghastly as Alfred Tennyson's "Sisters:"
+
+"The Parliament has lately confirmed the sentence of death passed on two
+daughters of a gentleman of Anjou, named Madaillon, for the murder of
+the lover of their younger sister. It appears that he was engaged to be
+married to the eldest sister, but deserting her, and passing over the
+second, he transferred his addresses to the youngest. The two eldest
+sisters, in revenge, invited him to play at blind man's buff, and while
+one bound his eyes, the other cut his throat."
+
+And this is similar:
+
+"In Piedmont a gentleman addressed at the same time one lady who was
+rich and plain, and one who was poor and very beautiful; and they, by
+chance becoming acquainted, exhibited to each other their correspondence
+with the vacillating lover, and one of them invited him to a meeting, in
+which after joining in reproaches, they dexterously each deprived him of
+an ear."
+
+
+
+
+ANDREW MARVEL.
+
+
+Of this Aristides of the poets, and his homes and haunts. Mrs. S. C.
+HALL gives us the following interesting sketches in her "Pilgrimages to
+English Shrines." The illustrations are from drawings by F. W. Fairholt,
+F.S.A.
+
+But a few months ago we had been strolling about Palace-yard, and
+instinctively paused at No. 19 York-street, Westminster. It was evening;
+the lamplighters were running from post to post, but we could still see
+that the house was a plain house to look at, differing little from its
+associate dwellings; a common house, a house you would pass without a
+thought, unless the remembrance of thoughts that had been given to you
+from within the shelter of those plain, ordinary walls, caused you to
+reflect; aye, and to thank God, who has left with you the memories and
+sympathies which elevate human nature. Here, while Latin secretary to
+the Protector, was JOHN MILTON to be found when "at home;" and in his
+society, at times, were met all the men who with their great originator,
+Cromwell, astonished Europe. Just think of those who entered that
+portal; think of them all if you can--statesmen and warriors; or, if you
+are really of a gentle spirit, think of two--but two; either of whom has
+left enough to engross your thoughts and fill your hearts. Think of JOHN
+MILTON and ANDREW MARVEL! think of the Protector of England, with two
+such secretaries!
+
+Evening had deepened into night; busy hands were closing shutters, and
+drawing curtains, to exclude the dense fog, that crept slowly and
+silently, like an assassin, through the streets; the pavement was
+clammy, and the carriages rushing through the mist, like huge-eyed,
+misshapen spectres, proved how eager even the poor horses were to find
+shelter; yet for a long while we stood on the steps of this building,
+and at length retraced our steps homeward. Our train of thought,
+although checked, was not changed, when seated by a comfortable fire. We
+took down a volume of Milton; but "Paradise Lost" was too sublime for
+the mood of the moment, and we "got to thinking" of Andrew Marvel, and
+displaced a volume of Captain Edward Thompson's edition of his works;
+and then it occurred to us to walk to Highgate, and once again enjoy the
+sight of his quaint old cottage on the side of the hill just facing
+"Cromwell House," and next to that which once owned for its master the
+great Earl of Lauderdale.
+
+We know nothing more invigorating than to breast the breeze up a hill,
+with a bright clear sky above, and the crisp ground under foot. The wind
+of March is as pure champagne to a healthy constitution; and let
+mountain-men laugh as they will at Highgate-hill, it is no ordinary
+labor to go and look down upon London from its height.
+
+Here then we are, once more, opposite the house where lived the
+satirist, the poet, the incorruptible patriot.
+
+It is, as you will see presently, a peculiar-looking dwelling, just such
+a one as you might well suppose the chosen of Andrew Marvel--exquisitely
+situated, enjoying abundant natural advantages; and yet altogether
+devoid of pretension; sufficiently beautiful for a poet, sufficiently
+humble for a patriot.
+
+[Illustration: MARVEL'S HOUSE, FRONT VIEW.]
+
+It is an unostentatious home, with simple gables and plain windows, and
+is but a story high. In front are some old trees, and a convenient porch
+to the door, in which to sit and look forth upon the road, a few paces
+in advance of it. The front is of plaster, but the windows are
+modernized, and there are other alterations which the exigencies of
+tenancy have made necessary since Marvel's days.
+
+The dwelling was evidently inhabited;--the curtains in the deep windows
+as white as they were when we visited it some years previous to the
+visit concerning which we now write, and the garden as neat as when in
+those days we asked permission to see the house, and were answered by an
+elderly servant, who took in our message; and an old gentleman came into
+the hall, invited us in, and presented us to his wife, a lady of more
+than middle age, and of that species of beauty depending upon
+expression, which it is not in the power of time to wither, because it
+is of the spirit rather than the flesh; and we also remembered a green
+parrot, in a fine cage, that talked a great deal, and was the only thing
+which seemed out of place in the house. We had been treated with much
+courtesy; and, emboldened by the memory of that kindness, we now
+ascended the stone steps, unlatched the little gate, and knocked.
+
+[Illustration: MARVEL'S HOUSE, BACK VIEW.]
+
+Again we were received courteously and kindly by the lady we had
+formerly seen; and again she blandly offered to show us the house. We
+went up a little winding stair, and into several neat, clean bedrooms,
+where every thing was so old-fashioned, that you could fancy Andrew
+Marvel himself was still its master.
+
+"Look out here," said the old lady; "here's a view! They say this was
+Andrew Marvel's writing closet when he wrote _sense_; but when he wrote
+_poetry_, he used to sit below in his garden. I have heard there is a
+private way under the road to Cromwell House, opposite; but surely that
+could not be necessary. So good a man would not want to work in the
+dark; for he was a true lover of his country, and a brave man. My
+husband used to say, the patriots of those times were not like the
+patriots now;--that then, they acted for their country,--now, they talk
+about it! Alas! the days are passed when you could tell an Englishman
+from every other man, even by his gait, keeping the middle of the road,
+and straight on, as one who knew himself, and made others know him. I am
+sure a party of roundheads, in their sober coats, high hats, and heavy
+boots, would have walked up Highgate Hill to visit Master Andrew Marvel,
+with a different air from the young men of our own time,--or of their
+own time, I should say,--for _my_ time is past, and _yours_ is passing."
+
+That was quite true; but there is no reason, we thought, why we should
+not look cheerfully towards the future, and pray that it may be a bright
+world for others, if not for ourselves;--the greater our enjoyment in
+the contemplation of the happiness of our fellow-creatures, the nearer
+we approach God.
+
+It was too damp for the old lady to venture into the garden; and sweet
+and gentle as she was, both in mind and manner, we were glad to be
+alone. How pretty and peaceful the house looks from this spot! The
+snowdrops were quite up, and the yellow and purple tips of the crocuses
+bursting through the ground in all directions. This, then, was the
+garden the poet loved so well, and to which he alludes so charmingly in
+his poem, where the nymph complains of the death of her fawn--
+
+    "I have a garden of my own,
+    But so with roses overgrown,
+    And lilies, that you would it guess
+    To be a little wilderness."
+
+The garden seems in nothing changed; in fact, the entire appearance of
+the place is what it was in those glorious days when inhabited by the
+truest genius and the most unflinching patriot that ever sprang from the
+sterling stuff that Englishmen were made of in those wonder-working
+times. The genius of Andrew Marvel was as varied as it was
+remarkable;--not only was he a tender and exquisite poet, but entitled
+to stand _facile princeps_ as an incorruptible patriot, the best of
+controversialists, and the leading prose wit of England. We have always
+considered his as the first of the "sprightly runnings" of that
+brilliant stream of wit, which will carry with it to the latent
+posterity the names of Swift, Steele, and Addison. Before Marvel's time,
+to be witty was to be strained, forced, and conceited; from him--whose
+memory consecrates that cottage--wit came sparkling forth, untouched by
+baser matter. It was worthy of him; its main feature was an open
+clearness. Detraction or jealousy cast no stain upon it; he turned
+aside, in the midst of an exalted panegyric to Oliver Cromwell, to say
+the finest things that ever were said of Charles I.
+
+The Patriot was the son of Mr. Andrew Marvel, minister and schoolmaster
+of Kingston-upon-Hull, where he was born in 1620; his father was also
+the lecturer of Trinity Church in that town, and was celebrated as a
+learned and pious man. The son's abilities at an early age were
+remarkable, and his progress so great, that at the age of thirteen, he
+was entered as a student of Trinity College, Cambridge; and it is said
+that the corporation of his natal town furnished him with the means of
+entering the college and prosecuting his studies there. His shrewd and
+inquiring mind attracted the attention of some of the Jesuit emissaries
+who were at this time lurking about the universities, and sparing no
+pains to make proselytes. Marvel entered into disputations with them,
+and ultimately fell so far into their power, that he consented to
+abandon the University and follow one of them to London. Like many other
+clever youths, he was inattentive to the mere drudgery of university
+attendance, and had been reprimanded in consequence; this, and the news
+of his escape from college, reached his father's ears at Hull. That good
+and anxious parent followed him to London; and, after a considerable
+search, at last met with him in a bookseller's shop; he argued with his
+son as a prudent and sensible man should do, and prevailed on him to
+retrace his steps and return with him to college, where he applied to
+his studies with such good-will and continued assiduity, that he
+obtained the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1638. His father lived to see
+the fruits of his wise advice, but was only spared thus long; for he was
+unfortunately drowned in crossing the Humber, as he was attending the
+daughter of an intimate female friend, who, by this event becoming
+childless, sent for young Marvel, and by way of making all the return in
+her power, added considerably to his fortune.
+
+This accession of wealth gave him an opportunity of travelling, and he
+journeyed through Holland, France, and Italy. While at Rome he wrote the
+first of those satirical poems which obtained him so much celebrity. It
+was a satire on an English priest there, a wretched poetaster named
+Flecknoe. From an early period of life Marvel appears to have despised
+conceit, or impertinence, and he found another chance to exhibit his
+powers of satire in the person of an ecclesiastic of Paris, one Joseph
+de Maniban, an abbot who pretended to understand the characters of those
+he had never seen, and to prognosticate their good or bad fortune, from
+an inspection of their handwriting. Marvel addressed a poem to him,
+which, if it did not effectually silence his pretensions, at all events
+exposed them fully to the thinking portions of the community.
+
+[Illustration: CROMWELL HOUSE.]
+
+Beneath Italian skies his immortal friendship with Milton seems to have
+commenced; it was of rapid growth, but was soon firmly established. They
+were, in many ways, kindred spirits, and their hopes for the after
+destinies of England were alike. In 1653 Marvel returned to England, and
+during the eventful years that followed, we can find no record of his
+strong and earnest thoughts, as they worked upwards into the arena of
+public life. One glorious fact we know, and all who honor virtue must
+feel its force,--that in an age when wealth was never wanting to the
+unscrupulous, Marvel, a member of the popular and successful party,
+continued Poor. Many of those years he is certain to have passed--
+
+    "Under the destiny severe
+    Of Fairfax, and the starry Vere--"
+
+in the humble capacity of tutor of languages to their daughters. It was
+most likely, during this period, that he inhabited the cottage at
+Highgate, opposite to the house in which lived part of the family of
+Cromwell, a house upon which we shall remark presently. In 1657 he was
+introduced by Milton to Bradshaw. The precise words of the introduction
+ran thus: 'I present to you Mr. Marvel, laying aside those jealousies
+and that emulation which mine own condition might suggest to me, by
+bringing in such a coadjutor.' His connection with the State took place
+in 1657, when he became assistant secretary with Milton in the service
+of the Protector. 'I never had,' says Marvel, 'any, not the remotest
+relation to public matters, nor correspondence with the persons then
+predominant, until the year 1657.'
+
+After he had been some time fellow-secretary with Milton, even the
+thick-sighted burgesses of Hull perceived the merits of their townsman,
+and sent him as their representative into the House of Commons. We can
+imagine the delight he felt at escaping from the crowded and stormy
+Commons to breathe the invigorating air of his favorite hill, to enjoy
+the society of his former pupils, now his friends; and to gather, in
+
+    '----a garden of his own,'
+
+the flowers that had solaced his leisure hours when he was comparatively
+unknown. But Cromwell died, Charles returned, and Marvel's energies
+sprung into arms at acts which, in accordance with his principles, he
+considered base, and derogatory to his country. His whole efforts were
+directed to the preservation of civil and religious liberty.
+
+It was but a short time previous to the Restoration that Marvel had been
+chosen by his native town to sit as its representative in Parliament.
+The Session began at Westminster in April, 1660, and he acquitted
+himself so honorably, that he was again chosen for the one which began
+in May, 1661. Whether under Cromwell or Charles, he acted with such
+thorough honesty of purpose, and gave such satisfaction to his
+constituents, that they allowed him a handsome pension all the time he
+continued to represent them, which was till the day of his death. This
+was probably the last borough in England that paid a representative.[A]
+He seldom spoke in Parliament, but had much influence with the members
+of both Houses; the spirited Earl of Devonshire called him friend, and
+Prince Rupert particularly paid the greatest regard to his councils; and
+whenever he voted according to the sentiments of Marvel, which he often
+did, it used to be said, by the opposite party, that 'he had been with
+his tutor.' Such certainly was the intimacy between the Prince and
+Marvel, that when he was obliged to abscond, to avoid falling a
+sacrifice to the indignation of those enemies among the governing party
+whom his satirical pen had irritated, the Prince frequently went to see
+him, disguised as a private person.
+
+The noted Doctor Samuel Parker published Bishop Bramhall's work, setting
+forth the rights of kings over the consciences of their subjects, and
+then came forth Marvel's witty and sarcastic poem, 'The Rehearsal
+Transposed.'[B] And yet how brightly did the generosity of his noble
+nature shine forth at this very time, when he forsook his own wit in
+that very poem, to praise the wit of Butler, his rival and political
+enemy. Fortune seems about this period to have dealt hardly with him.
+Even while his political satires rang through the very halls of the
+pampered and impure Charles, when they were roared forth in every
+tavern, shouted in the public streets, and attracted the most envied
+attention throughout England, their author was obliged to exchange the
+free air, apt type of the freedom which he loved, for a lodging in a
+court off the Strand, where, enduring unutterable temptations, flattered
+and threatened, he more than realized the stories of Roman virtue.
+
+The poet Mason has made Marvel the hero of his 'Ode to Independence,'
+and thus alludes to his incorruptible integrity:--
+
+    'In awful Poverty his honest Muse
+      Walks forth Vindictive through a venal land;
+    In vain Corruption sheds her golden dews,
+      In vain Oppression lifts her iron hand;
+    He scorns them both, and arm'd with Truth alone,
+    Bids Lust and Folly tremble on the throne.'
+
+Marvel, by opposing the ministry and its measures, created himself many
+enemies,[C] and made himself very obnoxious to the government, yet
+Charles II. took great delight in his conversation, and tried all means
+to win him over to his side, but in vain; nothing being ever able to
+shake his resolution. There were many instances of his firmness in
+resisting the offers of the Court, in which he showed himself proof
+against all temptations.
+
+We close our eyes upon this peaceful dwelling of the heroic senator, and
+imagine ourselves in the reign of the second Charles, threading our way
+into that 'court off the Strand,' where Marvel ended his days. We enter
+the house, and climbing the stairs even to the second floor, perceive
+the object of our warmest admiration. He is not alone, though there is
+no possibility of confounding the poet with the courtier. Andrew Marvel
+is plainly dressed, his figure is strong, and about the middle size, his
+countenance open, and his complexion of a ruddy cast; his eyes are of a
+soft hazel color, mild and steady; his eyebrows straight, and so
+flexible as to mould without an effort into a satirical curve, if such
+be the mind's desire; his mouth is close, and indicative of firmness;
+and his brown hair falls gracefully back from a full and noble forehead.
+He sits in an upright and determined manner upon an uneasy-looking
+high-backed chair. A somewhat long table intervenes between him and his
+visitor; one end of it is covered with a white cloth, and a dish of cold
+meat is flanked by a loaf of bread and a dark earthenware jug. On the
+opposite end is placed a bag of gold, beside which lies the
+richly-embroidered glove which the cavalier with whom he is conversing
+has flung off. There is strange contrast in the attitude of the two men.
+Lord Danby lounges with the ease of a courtier and the grace of a
+gentleman upon a chair of as stiff and uncomfortable an appearance as
+that which is occupied after so upright a fashion by Andrew Marvel.
+
+"I have answered you, my lord," said the patriot, "already. Methinks
+there need be no further parley on the subject; it is not my first
+temptation, though I most fervently desire it may be the last."
+
+[Illustration: STAIRCASE.]
+
+The nobleman took up his glove and drew it on. "I again pray you to
+consider," he said, "whether, if with us, the very usefulness you so
+much prize would not have a more extensive sphere. You would have larger
+means of being useful."
+
+"My lord, I should certainly have the means of tempting usefulness to
+forsake duty."
+
+The cavalier rose, but the displeasure that flushed his countenance soon
+faded before the serene and holy expression of Milton's friend.
+
+"And are you so determined?" said his lordship, sorrowfully. "Are you
+really so determined? A thousand English pounds are there, and thrice
+the sum--nay, any thing you ask----"
+
+"My lord! my lord!" interrupted Marvel, indignantly, "this perseverance
+borders upon insult. Nay, my good lord, you do not so intend it, but
+your master does not understand me. Pray you, note this: two days ago
+that meat was hot; it has remained cold since, and there is enough still
+for to-morrow; and I am well content. A man so easily satisfied is not
+likely to exchange an approving conscience for dross like that!"
+
+We pray God that the sin of Marvel's death did not rest with the great
+ones of those times; but it was strange and sudden.[D] He did not leave
+wherewith to bury the sheath of such a noble spirit, but his
+constituents furnished forth a decent funeral, and would have erected a
+monument to his memory in the church of St. Giles-in-the-Fields, where
+he was interred; but the rector, blinded by the dust of royalty to the
+merits of the man, refused the necessary permission. Marvel's name is
+remembered, though the rector's has been long forgotten.[E]
+
+Wood tells us, that Marvel was in his conversation very modest, and of
+few words; and Cooke, the writer of his life, observes that he was very
+reserved among those whom he did not know, but a most delightful and
+improving companion among his friends. John Aubrey, who knew him
+personally, thus describes him: 'He was of a middling stature, pretty
+strong set, roundish cherry-checked, hazle-eyed, brown-haired.' He was
+(as Wood also says) in conversation very modest, and of a very few
+words. He was wont to say, that he would not drink high or freely with
+any one with whom he would not trust his life.
+
+Marvel lived among friends at Highgate; exactly opposite to his door was
+the residence of General Ireton and his wife Bridget, the eldest
+daughter of Oliver Cromwell; and which house still bears his name, and
+is described in 'Prickett's History of Highgate,' one of those local
+topographical works which deserve encouragement:--'Cromwell House is
+supposed to have been built by the Protector, whose name it bears, about
+the year 1630, as a residence for General Ireton, who married his
+daughter and was one of the commanders of his army; it is, however, said
+to have been the residence of Oliver Cromwell himself, but no mention is
+made, either in history or in his biography, of his having ever lived at
+Highgate. Tradition states, there was a subterraneous passage from this
+house to the mansion house which stood where the New Church now stands,
+but of its reality no proof has hitherto been adduced. Cromwell House
+was evidently built and internally ornamented in accordance with the
+taste of its military occupant. The staircase, which is of handsome
+proportions, is richly decorated with oaken carved figures, supposed to
+have been of persons in the general's army, in their costume; and the
+balustrades filled in with devices emblematical of warfare. On the
+ceilings of the drawing-room are the arms of General Ireton; this and
+the ceilings of the other principal apartments are enriched in
+conformity with the fashion of those days. The proportion of the noble
+rooms, as well as the brick-work in front, well deserves the notice and
+study of the antiquarian and the architect. From the platform on the top
+of the mansion may be seen a perfect panorama of the surrounding
+country.'
+
+The staircase above described is here engraved. It is a remarkably
+striking and elegant specimen of internal decoration, of broad and noble
+proportion, and of a solid and grand construction suitable to the time
+of its erection; the wood-work of the house is every where equally bold
+and massive; the door-cases of simple but good design. There are some
+ceilings in the first story which are in rich plaster work, ornamented
+with the arms of Ireton; and mouldings of fruit and flowers, of a
+sumptuous and bold enrichment.
+
+The series of figures which stand upon the newels of the staircase are
+all engraved below. There are ten remaining out of twelve, the original
+number; the missing two are said to have been figures of Cromwell and
+Ireton, destroyed at the Restoration. They stand about a foot in height,
+and represent the different soldiers of the army, from the fifer and
+drummer to the captain, and originally, to the commanders. They are
+curious for more reasons than one; their locality, their truthfulness,
+their history, and the picture they help us to realise of the army of
+Cromwell are all so many claims on our attention.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[A] The custom of paying members of the House of Commons for the loss of
+time and travelling expenses, was common in the seventeenth century;
+constituencies believed such equivalents necessary for the attention to
+their interests and wishes which a Parliamentary agent was expected to
+give. In the old Corporation books of provincial towns are many entries
+for payments to members of Parliament, and in some instances we find
+them petitioning to Government for disfranchisement, because they could
+not afford to pay the expenses of a Member.
+
+[B] Marvel's first _expos�_ of Parker's false logic was in 1672, in the
+poem named above, which was immediately answered by Parker, and
+re-answered by Marvel, who appears to have had some private threat sent
+him, as he says his pamphlet is occasioned by two letters; one the
+published 'Reproof' of him by Parker in answer to his first attack; 'the
+second, left for me at a friend's house, dated November 3d, 1673,
+subscribed J. G., and concluding with these words:--If thou darest to
+print any lie or libel against Dr. Parker, by the Eternal--I will cut
+thy throat.' This last reply of Marvel's, however, effectually silenced
+Parker: 'It not only humbled Parker, but the whole party,' says Burnet,
+for, 'from the king down to the tradesman, the book was read with
+pleasure.'
+
+[C] 'No stronger satire could be penned than that descriptive of the
+Court of Charles, in the poem called 'Britannia and Raleigh:'--
+
+    'A colony of French possess the Court,
+  Pimps, priests, buffoons, in privy chambers sport;
+  Such slimy monsters ne'er approach'd a throne
+  Since Pharaoh's days, nor so defil'd a crown;
+  In sacred ears tyrannic arts they croak,
+  Pervert his mind, and good intentions choak.'
+
+But not only do the courtiers feel the lash, for when Raleigh implores
+Britannia to urge his duty on the king, and save him from the bad who
+surround him, she interrupts him with--
+
+  'Raleigh, no more! for long in vain I've try'd
+  The Stuart from the tyrant to divide.'
+
+
+[D] 'Marvel died in 1678, in his fifty-eighth year, not without the
+strongest suspicions of having been poisoned; for he was always very
+temperate, and of an healthful and strong constitution to the last.'
+
+[E] On the death of this rector, however, the monument and inscription
+was placed on the north wall of the church, near the spot where he is
+supposed to lie.
+
+
+
+
+A NOVELIST'S APPEAL FOR THE CANADAS.
+
+
+Among the new English novels is one entitled _Ellen Clayton, or the
+Nomades of the West_, by Douglass Huyghue. The author seems to feel for
+the red men the same regard which the adventurous artist and traveller
+Catlin has expressed in England, and his work comes in aid of those
+appeals which Catlin has so often made on their behalf. Such a motive
+entitles the author to respect, and gives an additional value to the
+book; while the talent with which it is written, renders it a narrative
+of unusual interest. In nothing but its _theme_ is it like to any of
+Cooper's novels. Its incidents and its characters are not similar, and
+they lack truthfulness quite as much as they lack similarity. We know
+something of Indian life; in our youth we saw much of it; and we regard
+Cooper as its faithfulest delineator in literary art. The time at which
+this romance opens is in the year 1600, when the wars between France and
+England led to hostilities in Canada, and when an abortive attack was
+made upon Quebec by the British and colonial army. The hero and heroine
+are victims to the disasters of that war, and in describing their
+adventures, Canada, and the condition of its civilized as well as of its
+wild inhabitants, are vividly presented. The incidents justify the
+author in making this appeal to his English readers when he reminds them
+of the associations that should ever be connected with the fortress of
+Quebec:--
+
+     "Men of England, look not coldly upon the interests of that
+     land for the possession of which your fathers fought and bled.
+     Quench not irretrievably the flame of loyalty which burns in
+     many an earnest heart, loath to contract these new ties which
+     the progress of an irresistible destiny would seem to favor, at
+     the sacrifice of affection for the fatherland. The blood of the
+     greatest and wisest nation since the days of the Romans, flows
+     in the veins of the Anglo-Americans, unadulterated by the air
+     of another hemisphere, and stimulated into vigorous action by a
+     necessity for continual exertion, combined with an entire
+     liberty of thought which calls into play every resource of the
+     physical and intellectual man. The sturdy and intelligent race
+     that treads the virgin soil of Canada, can surely claim
+     equality, at the very least, with the denizens of older Europe;
+     cramped as they are for want of room, and enervated by an
+     ultra-civilization that wrongs nature, and has almost taken the
+     sceptre from her hand to put it into that of art. The British
+     colonist enjoys a peculiar exemption from those prejudices,
+     which, for so many ages, have retarded progress, and are
+     successively being overcome by the convictions of a more
+     enlightened era. There is a voice in the woods and mountains of
+     a great solitude that elevates the soul and fortifies it with
+     courage in the time of need. The great torrents and inland seas
+     of that noble country have schooled the generation, nurtured by
+     their side, into a strong conception of freedom, and the right
+     to be justly dealt with, at the hands of those with whom it is
+     connected by the double alliance of kindred predilection. A
+     pernicious, temporizing policy has of late caused such wounds
+     as may not be healed up very easily, we fear. The upright
+     colonist has seen an unprincipled faction permitted to ride
+     triumphant over those whose intentions are honest, and whose
+     loyalty is proven. Let us hope, that ere long something of the
+     chivalrous generosity of other days will pervade the councils
+     of the state, and rouse the stalwart spirit of the Briton to
+     scourge this ignominy from the land; if encouragement be due at
+     all, it surely is to those true-hearted provincials who are
+     avowedly proud of the great people from whence they derive
+     their character, their language, and their laws--and who are as
+     able, as they are willing, to preserve unto their beloved
+     Sovereign the colony their sires won."
+
+This is tolerably good rhetoric, but it is not likely to have much
+effect when the strong argument and imposing eloquence of statesmen have
+failed to arrest attention. We see notices of another political novel
+referring to Canada, which deals more directly, if with less talent,
+with the disabilities and wishes of the people. It is entitled, _The
+Footsteps of Montcalm_, and its hero, descended from a follower of the
+brave Frenchman, contrasts with his ideal of freedom and happiness, the
+laws, institutions, habits, and miseries, which he regards as
+inseparable from the colonial relation. As in the rebellion of 1838,
+whatever disaffection now prevails in British America, is probably
+shared much less largely by the English than by the French population.
+Political, religious, or sectarian novels, however, executed never so
+cleverly, are but sugared pills at which the appetite revolts as soon as
+the quality is discovered.
+
+
+
+
+DR. WEBSTER, PRESIDENT OF THE NEW-YORK FREE ACADEMY.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Throughout the world an extraordinary degree of attention has recently
+been directed to systems and means of Education, and the truth has at
+length been generally recognized that the stability and glory of nations
+must depend upon the intelligence and virtue of their inhabitants. In
+our own country, which is most of all interested in the diffusion of
+knowledge, unexampled efforts are being made not only for the general
+improvement of the culture offered in the seminaries, but for that
+elevation of the laboring classes which, whatever may be said by
+ambitious feeble-minds, seeking for reputation as reformers of the
+social system, is really to be found only in a wise development of
+individual capacities for the strife that has been and must be waged for
+individual well-being.
+
+There have been many improvements suggested or realized lately in
+collegiate education. We have been gratified with Professor Sedgwick's
+admirable treatise on the subject, which, at this time, is receiving in
+England that consideration to which any thing from the mind of one so
+distinguished is entitled. In this country we think no one, upon the
+whole, has written more wisely than Dr. Wayland, whose views are to be
+illustrated in the future government of the university over which he has
+so long presided. But we shall not be satisfied until we have a great
+institution, as much above the existing colleges as they are above the
+common schools in the wards of the city, to which bachelors of arts only
+shall be admitted, and to which they, whether coming from Harvard,
+Oberlin, or Virginia, shall be admitted without charge.
+
+The establishment of the NEW-YORK FREE ACADEMY is suggestive of many
+things, and of this among them. We suppose a discussion whether our
+colleges supply the _degree_ of education suitable to our general
+condition, could be entertained only by dunces; the point whether they
+furnish the kind and quality of culture to fit men for efficient and
+just action, in such public affairs and private occupations as the
+humblest may be called to in a free state, has been amply discussed, and
+it is decided against the colleges.
+
+Our schools, called colleges, have for the most part been fashioned
+after the universities of Europe, but they have in all cases been
+inadequately endowed, and without the internal police which is necessary
+to their vigorous administration. Nine-tenths of the professors are
+incompetent, and quite one half of them, in any thing worthy the name of
+university could claim admission only to the class of freshmen; while
+those who are capable of a reputable performance of their duties--so
+uncertain are the revenues of the institutions to which they are
+attached--are very frequently compelled to modify regulations and relax
+discipline to such a degree that the colleges become only schools of
+vice or nurseries of indolence.
+
+The deficiency is of _authority_. It is useless to talk about courses of
+study, or any thing else, until the discipline of the schools is as
+absolute as that of the camp, the factory, or the counting-room. We are
+inclined to believe that the usefulness of the Military Academy at West
+Point,--which has furnished so large a proportion of the best civil
+engineers, lawyers, physicians, and divines, as well as the soldiers who
+and who _alone_ have conducted our armies to real glory,--we are
+inclined to believe that this justly celebrated school owes all its
+triumphs to its rigid laws and independence of popular clamor.
+
+Discipline is every thing. Without it a man is but a fair model in wood,
+which by it is turned to an engine of iron, and by opportunity furnished
+with water and fire to impel it on a resistless course through the
+world. And a man must be governed by others before he will govern
+himself. The silliness about _liberty_ which is sometimes obtruded into
+discussions of this subject, is fit for very young children and very old
+women. There is no desirable liberty but in obedience. The cant about it
+sometimes illustrates only a pitiable feebleness of intellect, but it
+more frequently discloses some kind or degree of wilful licentiousness.
+The "voluntary system" does very well in the churches. It will not do at
+all in the colleges. St. Paul is always found even with the wisdom of
+the age in which he is quoted, and he tells us that a youth "differeth
+nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all, but is under tutors
+and governors." This is the true philosophy. The "sovereign" people who
+disregard law, and exult when it is outraged at the cost of an unpopular
+party, have not learned what is necessary to freedom; they are not fit
+for it; they will destroy its fairest fabrics, if the state does not
+prepare its children by a thorough discipline for their inheritance. The
+_way_ is by free schools and free colleges, supported by public taxes.
+Sects and parties may have as many seminaries as they choose, and with
+rules of study and conduct so easily to be complied with, and
+administrations so lax, that the most contemptible idler or the most
+independent and self-willed simpleton shall see in them nothing to
+conflict with his habit or temper; but the graduates of these seminaries
+will not ascend the pinnacles of fame nor direct the affairs of nations:
+such affairs will be left for those who have learned, with their
+arithmetic, the self-denial, reverence and obedience, which are the
+conditions of the application of addition and division in the high
+mathematics.
+
+In a free college (and the New-York Free Academy is, in all respects,
+more justly to be considered a college than are most of the schools
+which confer academical "honors"), in a free college, of which the
+professors are responsible only to a judicious board of directors,
+examinations for admissions and for advancements will be rigid and
+impartial, the administration will be vigilant and firm, the reckless
+who will not and the imbecile who cannot acquire a good education, will
+be dismissed for more congenial pursuits, the rich and the poor will be
+upon an equality, and only desert will be honorably distinguished.
+
+The New-York Free Academy is eminently fortunate in its officers. HORACE
+WEBSTER, LL. D., is, in all respects, admirably fitted for his position
+as its President. He perfectly understands the indispensableness of
+thorough organization, and absolute and watchful discipline. Dr. Webster
+is a native of Vermont, and is of that family which, in various
+departments, has furnished the country some of its most illustrious
+names. At an early age, he became a student of the Military Academy, and
+so has himself experience of the advantages of that system which he
+advocates, and illustrates in his own administration. He graduated with
+distinction, and it is properly mentioned as an indication of his
+standing at West Point that, while he was a cadet of the first class, he
+was selected by the government of the Academy to be temporarily himself
+an instructor. In 1818 he joined the army, as a lieutenant, and after
+passing one year with his regiment, of which the late General Taylor was
+at that time the Major, he was elected Assistant Professor of
+Mathematics in the Military Academy, and returned to fulfil for six
+years, with constantly increasing reputation, both for scientific
+abilities and for personal character, the duties of that office, which
+it scarcely need be said are more difficult at West Point than in any
+other school in America. Among the distinguished gentlemen who were
+associated with him in teaching or as students during this period, were
+General Worth, Colonel Bliss, Colonel Thayer, Colonel Mansfield, and
+Professors Alexander D. Bache, LL. D., Charles Davies, LL. D., E. C.
+Ross, LL. D., and John Torrey, LL. D. Resigning his commission, he was
+in 1825 made Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in Geneva
+College, and he filled this place twenty-three years, leaving it in
+1848, to accept the Presidency of the New York Free Academy. We conceive
+that nothing could have invested this school with a higher claim to
+respect, or challenged for it a larger degree of confidence, than the
+selection of a man of such experience, capacities, and reputation, to be
+its chief officer; and for the class of persons likely to come under his
+instruction, no course of study could be more judicious, no training
+more admirably adapted, than may be expected from one who has been so
+long and so successfully engaged in preparing men for the most difficult
+and important offices. His attainments needed no illustration, and his
+administrative abilities have been amply vindicated by his government of
+the Free Academy.
+
+Candidates for admission to the Free Academy must have passed at least
+one year in the public schools, and they are examined in the common
+English studies. The standards for admission are not so high as the
+colleges demand, because the period of instruction is longer. We cannot
+enter into any particular statement of the courses of study, but it
+will be interesting if we indicate their character very briefly, and
+describe the chief teachers. Edward C. Ross, LL. D., the Professor of
+Mathematics, is, like Dr. Webster, a graduate of the Military Academy,
+and was many years a successful teacher in that institution and in
+Kenyon College. He is assisted by G. B. Docherty, A. M., who was
+formerly the Principal of the Flushing Institute. The course embraces
+all the studies necessary for the best accomplishment in engineering,
+and indeed is as thorough and complete as that pursued at West Point,
+with the modifications appropriate to the prospective pursuits of the
+pupils. Theodore Irving, A. M., is Professor of History and
+Belles-Lettres, assisted by Edward C. Marshall, A. M., and G. W.
+Huntsman, A. M. These gentlemen have experience, and we believe their
+system of instruction is in some respects original and in every way very
+excellent. Mr. Irving is a kinsman of "Geoffrey Crayon," and himself
+master of a pleasing and classical style. Oliver Wolcott Gibbs, A. M.,
+M. D., Professor of Chemistry, Natural Philosophy, Mineralogy, and
+Geology, is one of the best practical chemists in this country, having
+completed his own education under the celebrated Liebig, in Germany, and
+since in many ways evinced such capacities in this department, as made
+his selection for the place he occupies almost a matter of course. John
+J. Owen, D. D., whose scholarship is exhibited in his ably edited series
+of the classical authors of these languages, is Professor of Greek and
+Latin, and we neither agree with nor have much respect for those who
+deprecate the attention demanded in the Academy for such studies. The
+French, Spanish and German languages are taught by Professors Roemer,
+Morales, and Glaubensklee, all of whom are known to the public for such
+talents as are necessary in their positions. Mr. Paul P. Duggan, a
+painter whose works adorn many of our best collections in art, is
+Professor of Drawing.
+
+The Free Academy will fulfil the reasonable expectations of its
+founders. It is admirably designed, and its appointments and
+administration have thus far been judicious. We lack yet a University:
+there is no school in America deserving this title; all our colleges
+should be regarded as _gymnasia_, sifting the classes of the common
+schools and preparing their more advanced and ingenious pupils for such
+an institution; and the Free Academy may be accepted as a model by which
+they can be reshaped for their less ambitious but more appropriate
+duties. This is a subject ably and properly treated in Professor
+Tappan's recent volume on Education, (published by Mr. Putnam,) to which
+we beg attention.
+
+The whole number of students now attending the Free Academy is three
+hundred and twenty-nine, of whom one hundred and five were admitted at
+the last examination, in February. The number for whom the building is
+designed is about six hundred.
+
+
+
+
+Authors and Books.
+
+
+A book which we cannot too highly recommend is the _Briefe �ber
+Humboldt's Kosmos_ (Letters on Humboldt's Cosmos), published at Leipzic,
+in two octavo volumes, from the pens of Professor COTTA and Professor
+SCHALLER. It is intended to serve as a commentary upon that work, which
+it is well worthy to accompany. Without attempting an exhaustive
+treatise on the details of the various topics touched on by Humboldt,
+the writers have expanded some of the leading points of his work into
+scientific essays, whose practical utility is none the smaller for an
+elegant and attractive style, and a genial enthusiasm, of which Humboldt
+need not be ashamed. The first volume, by Professor Cotta, contains
+forty letters on the following themes: The enjoyment of nature; matter
+and forces, growth and existence; natural philosophy; the fixed stars,
+their parallaxes, groups, movements, nebul�; double stars, structure of
+the universe, resisting medium; the solar system; the laws of motion,
+Kepler and Newton; density of the heavenly bodies; our moon, its orbit,
+no atmosphere, no water; comets; meteors, and meteoric stones; form of
+the earth; magnetism; volcanic activity; gas-springs; geysers; internal
+structure of the earth; history of organisms, their first origin, and
+developments; the surface, its forms, and their influence on animated
+life; the gradual rising and sinking of the surface in Sweden; the
+tides; circulation of water on the earth--springs, cold, warm, mineral,
+artesian--rivers, seas, ocean currents, evaporation and condensation;
+glaciers; the atmosphere, climate, weather, winds, storm-clouds; organic
+life on the earth, its nature, differences, origin of the differences,
+original production, creation, first appearance; man, his origin, races,
+forms, phrenology, &c. These letters offer, as we have already said, in
+a pleasing and attractive form, a condensed and comprehensive view of
+what is now known with reference to the sciences treated. The letter
+upon Man is especially interesting. Professor Cotta belongs to those who
+think the human race to be "the gradual perfection, through thousands of
+generations," of a lower order of creatures. "The human individual," he
+says, "even now, in the embryonic state, passes through the condition of
+various sorts of animals. The most eminent anatomists have shown that
+before birth we for a time resemble a polypal animal, then for a time a
+fish, next a reptile, till at last appear the characteristics of a
+mammalia. This is a fact which bears strongly in favor of our view. The
+genesis and development of the entire species seem to be here condensed
+in the growth of the individual." But while setting forth this peculiar
+view, Professor Cotta, with true German comprehensiveness, takes care to
+give a fair statement of opposing doctrines, and evinces nothing like a
+narrow dogmatism. The second volume, like the second volume of the
+Cosmos, is that which will most interest and delight the general reader.
+It contains thirty-two letters, mainly on the following subjects: the
+view of nature in general; the religious view; the various forms of the
+religious view; the �sthetic view; the inward connection of the �sthetic
+enjoyment of nature with its artistic representation; the scientific
+view as empirical science and natural philosophy; the relations of the
+various views of nature to each other; the poetic comprehension of
+nature among the Indians; the poetic comprehension of nature among the
+Jews, the Greeks, and the Romans; the Christian contemplation of nature;
+German poetry in the middle ages; Italian poetry; the poetic
+comprehension of nature in modern times; the representation of nature by
+painting, and its gradual appearance in the history of art; the
+physiognomy of plants in connection with the physiognomy of nature in
+general; description of several plant formations; general outlines of
+the animal world; history of the physical view of the universe; natural
+science among the Phenicians, the Greeks, at the time of the Ptolemies,
+at the time of the Roman Empire, and in the middle ages; natural history
+of modern times, Bacon, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Newton; the
+mechanical doctrine of modern physics; the dynamic view of nature;
+Fichte's doctrine, and the natural philosophy of Schelling and Hegel.
+This volume, as will be easily understood, gives at once a history of
+religion, philosophy, art, literature, and science, in their relations
+to the outward universe. For instance, under the head of natural science
+among the Greeks, we have among other things an account of the doctrine
+of the Pythagoreans, Plato, and Aristotle; in treating the middle ages,
+Professor Schaller speaks of the Scholastics, Thomas Aquinas, Roger
+Bacon, Giordano Bruno, and Paracelsus. One of the most interesting parts
+of the whole is that on the poetic view of nature among the Hindoos,
+Jews, Greeks, Romans, Germans, and Italians, the historical statement
+being every where illustrated by copious quotations of admirable
+passages from the poets of those nations. The strictly scientific
+portions are illustrated by excellent engravings, and are free from mere
+technicalities. Sold in New-York by R. Garrigue.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The _Vestiges of Creation_ has been translated into German by Charles
+Vogt, a savan who in late years has become noted as a radical
+politician. The translation is highly praised. Published at Brunswick.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The translation of HEGEL'S _Aesthetik_ into French is now nearly
+completed at Paris, the fourth volume, which is devoted to the
+consideration of music and poetry, having just been published. One
+volume more will complete the work. The translator is M. Charles B�nard.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+THE HUMAN RACE AND ITS ORIGIN.--Under the title of _Histoire G�n�rale
+des Races Humaines_, M. Eusebe-Fran�ois de Salles has just published at
+Paris an elaborate work on Ethnography, for which he had prepared
+himself by long and careful personal observation of most of the races on
+the globe, his travels having extended into nearly all climes and
+regions. He takes the ground of the descent of the entire human family
+from a single pair, created adult and perfect in mind and body, not by
+any simple evolution of nature, but by a direct act of the Divine Being.
+The paradise or home of this pair he places to the north of India and
+the east of Persia. All the varieties of men now existing he attributes
+to the influence of climate and circumstances. "The first light of
+history," he says, "shows us the human family in possession of a
+language, and of a certain degree of science, the inheritance of the
+past. Its aptitudes, its passions, and outward circumstances, may
+increase this inheritance, keep it the same, or diminish it. In peoples
+enervated by luxury and by doubt, in tribes softened by too favorable a
+climate, or separated too long from the stronger and better educated
+masses,--in a family or a couple exiled by a catastrophe, a
+shipwreck,--we are to seek the origin of the decline into the various
+degrees of _corruption, barbarism_, the _savage state_, and _brutality_.
+Imagine a boat from the coast of America, or from the South Sea Islands,
+cast by a tempest on some unknown shore or some desert island. A few
+young persons, a few children, alone escape from the shipwreck, knowing
+imperfectly the language, the arts, and the family traditions of their
+parents. Such is the origin of the unfortunates sometimes met with, who
+are ignorant even of the use of fire." Against the spontaneous
+generation of the human race in several localities he argues at length
+as an utter absurdity, the point of his argument being, that isolated
+couples so produced would be unable to resist the inhospitality of
+nature without miraculous aid, and one miracle, he contends, is more
+admissable than ten or a dozen. But the chief grounds upon which he
+labors to establish his doctrine are the similitude of the most ancient
+traditions among all branches of the human species, the affiliation and
+analogy of languages, and the identity of organization and equality of
+aptitudes. He finds similar traditions among the Hebrews, the Chaldeans,
+the Phoenicians, the Egyptians, the Ethiopians, the Hindoos, the
+Persians, the Chinese, the Thibetans, the Scythians, and the Americans.
+In the theogonies and cosmogonies of the Aztecs of America, he says that
+the traditions of ancient Asia are plainly to be found, while some vague
+traces of these primitive narratives are to be found even among the
+savages of Oceanica, and the most barbarous and miserable negroes of
+western Africa. To the negroes he devotes perhaps the most careful and
+learned portion of the work. Starting from the discovery of M. Flaurens
+as to the _pigmentum_ or coloring matter of the skin, he contends with
+great force that nothing but the gradual influence of climate, giving a
+greater and greater intensity to the action of this coloring matter,
+which exists in every race and every individual, has caused the
+essential difference between whites and blacks. For, he argues, there is
+no other difference between them than that of color, all the other
+features, such as the prominent mouth, the woolly hair, the facial
+angle, being in no wise exclusively peculiar to the Africans. And so,
+after having gone over the entire race in detail, proving the identity
+of organization in every division, M. de Salles concludes that the
+primitive complexion was olive, somewhat like the color of unburnt
+coffee, and the original men had red hair. On the affiliation of
+languages he reasons at great length, with a striking affluence of
+curious and learned detail. Languages, he remarks, become more and more
+complicated and perfect as we ascend toward their origin. Next he
+considers the modifications by which the present races of men have
+departed from the first family, and in so doing he takes up every people
+that has ever been known. America, he thinks, was first settled by
+Mongol emigration, with religious traditions, between the eighteenth and
+the fifteenth century before our era: then, six or eight hundred years
+later, there was a second emigration of Hindoo races, with traditions of
+architecture. With the Bible and the facts of geology as his starting
+point, he demonstrates the falsity of the Egyptian, Hindoo, Chinese, and
+Mexican chronologies. The six days of creation he takes as so many great
+epochs; the deluge he places at five thousand years before Christ.
+
+In our account of this book we have not strictly followed the order of
+the author. Thus he makes the direct miraculous creation of man the
+concluding topic of his book, and treats it not without a certain poetic
+elevation as comports with such an event. We have aimed only to give the
+outlines of his doctrine, and for the rest recommend those of our
+readers who are interested in such studies to procure and read the work.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+JOACHIM LELEWEL (a name honored by all lovers of liberty,) has just
+published at Breslau a work on the geography of the middle ages, which
+is worthy of the warmest admiration. It consists of an atlas of fifty
+plates, engraved by the hand of the venerable author, containing one
+hundred and forty-five figures and maps, from eighty-eight different
+Arabic and Latin geographers of different epochs, with eleven
+explicative or comparative maps and two geographical essays. The whole
+work exhibits the most thorough acquaintance and conscientious use of
+the labors of previous explorers in the same direction. The cost of
+importing a copy into this country would be about eight dollars.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+MORE NEW GERMAN NOVELS.--_The Siege of Rheinfels_, by Gustave von See,
+is a historical romance, founded on an episode from the wars of Louis
+XIV., against the German empire. While the Palatinate and the left bank
+of the Rhine were ravaged by the French armies, the fortress of
+Rheinfels held out obstinately against a siege which was prosecuted with
+fury by a much superior force. Amid the scenes of this siege, passes the
+love-story that forms the kernel of the novel, which is written with
+originality and talent. The historical part is equally attractive and
+_vraisemblant_. A collection of romances under the title of _Germania_,
+has appeared at Bremen. It is intended to serve as the beginning of an
+annual publication. The first number contains seven tales, some of them
+by well known romance writers. The first is _Eine Leidenschaft_ (A
+Passion), by Louise von G., and is highly praised by the most reliable
+critics; it abounds in arch and graceful humor. Spiller von Hauenschildt
+is the least successful of the contributors in respect to the artistic
+treatment of his subject. His novel is socialistic. Adolph Hahr and
+Alfred Meissner are also among the contributors. On the whole the book
+is a good one.
+
+Leopold Schefer has published lately in Berlin _The Bishop's Wife, a
+Tale of the Papacy_, in which the great Napoleon of the church,
+Hildebrand, figures as the hero. The Germans have never succeeded in the
+historical novel. With vast resources in materiel, they have always a
+vagueness, a want of definite interest, of picturesque arrangement, and
+of sustained and disciplined power. Schefer is a scholar, and his
+didactic purpose is plain enough, and well enough managed. The Teutonic
+character has always instinctively revolted against the practice of
+celibacy, a form of ascetism quite natural, and sometimes perhaps
+inevitable, as a reaction against the unbridled sensualism of the
+Africans and Asiatics, but quite out of place in climes so temperate and
+races so moderate, conscientious, and self-respecting as those of
+Northern Europe. It needed all the genius and determination of
+Hildebrand himself to enforce the celibacy of the German clergy, and
+certainly they have never ceased more or less covertly to revolt against
+it. It is well understood that, at the present time, there is a very
+general wish among the Catholics of Germany--more especially of South
+Germany, where they are not jealous of Protestant encroachments--to have
+marriage allowed to the parochial clergy; and the clergy themselves are
+foremost in this tendency, though it may not accord with their interest
+unreservedly to display it. It has, however, betrayed its existence in
+various ways, especially in anonymous literary productions, in prose and
+verse. So general is this feeling, and so profound the conviction that
+something must be done, that in 1848 it was very generally credited that
+the Pope was prepared to sanction a relaxation of the laws of the church
+in this respect. For this belief, however, there could have been no
+just foundation, since Pius IX. is the reputed author of the official
+reply, made while he was but a priest, to the Brazilian Archbishop
+Feijo, upon this very subject, in which it was alleged that such a
+relaxation of discipline would be an abandonment of the "integrity of
+the church." Yet without something of the kind, it is thought that a
+very extensive schism in catholic Germany will be inevitable.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Der Mensch im Spiegel der Natur_ (Man in the Mirror of Nature), is an
+excellent little work for popular use, by Mr. E. A. Rossm�ssler,
+published at Leipzic, in two neat volumes, with wood-cuts. It sets
+forth, in the most attractive form, the elementary facts of science,
+they being ingeniously interwoven into a narrative of the journeys,
+friendships, and adventures of the author. The work well deserves a
+translation into English.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A work of extreme interest to geologists is the _Gaea Norwegica_, edited
+by Professor KEILHAU of the Christiana University, and published at that
+place. The first volume is just completed. No country of Europe is more
+important in respect of geological science than Norway, and the labors
+of Professor Keilhau and his associates are of the most thorough and
+solid kind. The volume contains 516 pages folio. Cost in America $4.50.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A GERMAN nobleman lately wrote to the French Academy, offering to give
+that body a yearly income of 10,000 francs to be spent in two prizes,
+one of 5,000 francs for the best essay in defence of Catholicism, and
+another of the same sum for the best essay in defence of Absolutism. The
+Academy declined the offer.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A SYSTEM of _Christian Ethics_ has lately been published at Regensburg,
+by Dr. WERNER, Professor in the Catholic Theological Seminary of St.
+Polten. The writer holds that all virtue flows from the mystic fountain
+of regeneration, and is confirmed and supported solely by the sacraments
+of the church.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+WILHELM MEINHOLD, author of the _Amber Witch_, lately the pastor of a
+parish in Pomerania, is now in Berlin, preparing for admission into the
+Roman Catholic Church. It is not long since he forfeited his place in
+the Protestant Church by a street fight, for which, we believe, he was
+imprisoned.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The College of Rabbis, at Padua, offers 1000 florins ($400) as a prize
+for the best descriptive and critical work on the political and
+religious history of the Israelites from the first siege of Jerusalem to
+the time of the latest writers of the Talmud.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+MRS. ROBINSON'S (_Talvi's_) History of the Colonization of America,
+originally published in the German language, has been translated by Mr.
+William Hazlitt, and printed in London.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+GEDICHTE VON JEANNE MARIE (Poems by Jeanne Marie) is the title of one of
+the latest products of the German muse. The authoress is well known and
+well liked by those readers of German novels who take delight in the
+genius of authoresses, and think ladies can write as well as men. Jeanne
+Marie has seen much, felt much, and thought almost if not quite as much
+as she has seen and felt. Her poetic culture is however still defective,
+and her stories are better than her lyrics. The latter lack finish and
+correctness, and abound in mere conceits rather than in genuine poetic
+images. Where she attempts simply to narrate an event in the ballad
+style she is more successful.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A BOOK of curious historical interest is now in course of publication in
+Germany, the first volume of which has already made its appearance. It
+is the Diary of General Patrick Gorton, who served in Russia during a
+large part of the seventeenth century, where he attained the highest
+military rank. He was in the habit of noting every thing that passed
+around him, or with which he was connected, whether of a political,
+military, or personal nature. His field of service extended throughout
+the entire empire, and embraced the most important events in the reign
+of Peter the Great. He participated in the suppression of the corps of
+Strelitzes, made two campaigns against the Turks, was active in Peter's
+reorganization of the army, &c., &c. The first volume comes down to
+1678; the remainder will soon follow. As the whole was written without
+any design of being communicated to the world, it is especially valuable
+for its glimpses at the domestic habits of the country at that peculiar
+period.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+GEORGE SAND'S NEW DRAMA.--George Sand's _Claudie_ has had a brilliant
+fortune at Paris, where it was first performed the second week in
+January. It is a drama of peasant life, in three acts, in prose. Jules
+Janin says of it: "The success of Claudie is a true, sincere, and
+energetic success. It has impassioned the calmest souls; it has calmed
+the most agitated. This poem is a veritable festival, full of the rustic
+delights of the country, of the most honorable passions of the human
+heart, of the noblest sentiments. Add to this, a charm altogether new, a
+charm both inspired and inspiring, in the style, which is reason and
+good sense in the most delicious costume. Neither effort nor study is
+there, but only that simplicity so much sought for in the most precious
+passages of _Daphnis and Chloe_ translated to the Marivaux by Amyot
+himself. The piece was listened to with ravishment. There was universal
+praise among the audience, an inexpressible abundance of tears, of
+laughter, of gayety, of sighs, of words fitly spoken, of eloquent
+silence." Of the plot we take the following account from an article by
+Paul de Musset: From the beginning we feel the air of the country, the
+harvest, and the sun of August. Farmer Fauveau is preparing to pay the
+harvesters. His employer, Dame Rose, a young and pretty widow, has just
+returned from the city, where she had been for a lawsuit. Fauveau, a
+shrewd but good-natured man, skilfully calls her attention to the sad
+and agitated air of his son, who is no doubt in love with some one, and
+with whom can it be except his charming mistress? Dame Rose admits that
+Sylvain Fauveau is a handsome fellow, and a good and intelligent
+workman, who would manage affairs with discretion, but he would be
+jealous of his wife. Jealousy, replies the old man, is a proof of love,
+and so Dame Rose begins to cherish the idea that Sylvain is in love with
+her. This is not true, but the old man has said it purposely. He
+suspects Sylvain of being in love with Claudie, a simple laborer in the
+harvest field, without a penny, and gaining her living, with no other
+relative than a grandfather of eighty, who may any day become a charge
+upon her little earnings. Claudie comes in from work with her
+grandfather, and they ask for their pay, the harvest being finished, and
+it being six leagues to their home. They are paid, and Sylvain takes
+care that they shall receive more than his father intends, and that they
+shall be invited to the harvest festival. Claudie aids in the
+preparations, and Sylvain, reproaching her tenderly for working after a
+day so fatiguing, takes from her the severer part of the duties she has
+undertaken. But she only replies in monosyllables, and does not turn her
+eyes from the plates and other utensils she is engaged with. Sylvain,
+troubled by this, withdraws, murmuring at her coldness and indifference.
+We soon see the cause of this. A young peasant appears. It is the
+handsome Denis Ronciat, the beau and cajoler of the village girls, who
+utters an exclamation of surprise. A brief explanation informs us that
+Denis was betrothed to Claudie when she was fifteen, that he had
+deceived and abandoned her like a villain, leaving her a child, which
+had since died. This explains the gloomy air of Claudie, her
+indifference to the advances of Sylvain, and her almost fierce
+determination never to marry. To complete his outrages, Denis boldly
+avows his intention to marry Dame Rose, and offers money to her he has
+betrayed, in order to bribe her to silence. The band of harvesters
+appears, bearing in triumph the last sheaf, adorned with flowers and
+ribbons. The grandfather, Remy, full of joy, pronounces a discourse of
+rude and simple eloquence on the beneficence of Providence, and of the
+sun He causes to shine, after which a collection is proposed in favor of
+the orator and his granddaughter. Every one gives his offering. Dame
+Rose puts in a new five-franc piece, the father Fauveau a penny, Sylvain
+his watch, wishing that it were his heart, a child brings an apple, and
+finally the last contributor approaches. This is Denis Ronciat: seeing
+the seducer of his child, the indignation of the old man breaks out, he
+rejects the offering, and falls as if struck with apoplexy, pronouncing
+a sort of mysterious malediction, which freezes with horror all who hear
+it. In the second act Claudie is still at the farm, her grandfather
+having been sick there for two months. She has been engaged as a servant
+to the farmer Fauveau, but has not given the least hope to Sylvain, who
+has been constant in his attentions. Dame Rose, in the mean time, has
+fallen in love with him, and is astonished that he has not declared
+himself. Denis Ronciat, seeing his rival preferred, explains to the rich
+widow why the lover she desires will not present himself, and from
+vengeance and vanity divulges the secret of poor Claudie. Here we expect
+a storm of insults and reproaches to fall on the head of the dishonored
+girl. But, as in the rest of the work, the author has laid aside the
+ordinary traditions, customs, and conventionalities, to draw from the
+resources of her own genius. While all are preparing to expel the
+domestic who has deceived every body by her air of candor and innocence,
+the old man, whose reason has been wandering, listens. He recalls his
+recollections, and his presence of mind returns at the critical moment.
+He rises, throws his arms around his granddaughter, and naively recounts
+the story of the seduction and abandonment of Claudie: how she believed
+in Denis, and gave him her heart without distrust; how Denis shamefully
+abused her confidence, and abandoned her, when duty obliged him more
+than ever to be faithful. The old man adds that he himself had neither
+reproached nor cursed her, but that he consoled her, that he took her
+child upon his knees, and loved it, and despaired when it died. Finally
+he demands who would presume to be severer toward his child, and feel
+her wrong more keenly than he. His simplicity, magnanimity, and
+goodness, overpower all who hear him. A more gentle sentiment than even
+respect and pity takes possession of every heart. The devotion of the
+old man raises the fallen girl, and in the admiration he inspires the
+fault of Claudie is almost forgotten. But it is too late. The old man
+takes the arm of his daughter, and leads her away with him. When the
+curtain rises for the last scene, Dame Rose has retained Claudie and her
+grandfather at the house, a riot in the village having prevented their
+departure. Denis has come near being stoned to death. Finally he
+consents to repair his crime by marrying her he has betrayed. He is
+refused. Then Sylvain offers himself to Claudie, but she says she is
+unworthy of him, and refuses obstinately. Dame Rose, Fauveau, and even
+Sylvain's mother, try vainly to change her resolution. The old man at
+last decides, by saying that he reads her soul, and knows that she loves
+Sylvain. His authority makes her give a silent consent, and here the
+curtain falls. _Claudie_ has been brought out in elegant form by a
+Parisian publisher. Why should not some poet attempt a version into
+English?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Several new Plays and Operas have lately attracted attention in Paris.
+_Paillasse_, in five acts, by MM. Dennery and Marc Fournier, produced at
+the _Gaiet�_ in November, was one of the greatest hits during the latter
+part of 1850. The character of the conventional French mountebank,
+Paillasse, the vagabond juggler of fairs and streets, was regarded as
+one of the finest creations of Frederic Lemaitre, and in one of the
+Christmas _revues_ a symbol of the piece passed before the eyes of the
+audience as one of the types of the past year. It has since been brought
+out in London with quite as much success, Madame Celeste (the quondam
+star of our _Bowery_?) in the character of the wife of the mountebank.
+The musical season at Paris has been signalized by the production of two
+successful operas. _L'Enfante Prodigue_ of Auber is running a prosperous
+career at the _Acad�mie de Musique_. General opinion speaks highly of
+the music, and the piece appears to be one of the most ingenious of M.
+Scribe. At the _Opera Comique_ another opera by Scribe and Halevy, _La
+Dame de Pique_, has been brought out with success. The _libretto_, taken
+from a Russian tale, translated by M. Merim�e, is one of the most
+fantastic Scribe has constructed. It is founded on an old story about
+the Russian Empress Elizabeth, who had found out the secret of
+invariably winning at play by means of three cards, of which the Queen
+of Spades (_la Dame de Pique_) was one.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+M. COMBET, a Protestant clergyman of Cevennes, has just published at
+Paris in three volumes a work of great interest and value, under the
+title of _Histoire de France sous le regne de Henry III. par Mazerai_.
+It comprises a full, conscientious and philosophic account of the French
+religious civil wars, from the beginning of the Reformation down to the
+establishment of religious liberty under the Consulate. To the original
+work of Mazerai, M. Combet has prefixed an elaborate introduction, while
+he has added in the form of an appendix whatever relates to more recent
+matters, with copious notes and commentaries. The whole constitutes an
+invaluable contribution to the history of the modern religious movement.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Some new contributions to the history of labor have just appeared at
+Paris. The most important is the _Histoire de la Classe ouvriere depuis
+l'esclave jusqu'au Proletaire de nos Jours_, by M. Robert (du Var), four
+volumes. Less general and comprehensive in its aim is _Le Livre d'Or des
+Metiers, Histoire des Corporations ouvrieres_, by Paul Lacroix and Ferd.
+Serre, six volumes. Both these books are written without an intention to
+establish any special theory or system.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+THE REV. G. R. GLEIG, author of _The Subaltern's Furlough, Saratoga_,
+&c., is now Inspector-General of Military Schools, and lives in London.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+LEOPOLD RANKE, whose "Lives of the Popes of Rome" is familiar to
+American readers, has lately discovered in the National Library at Paris
+an important long lost MS., by the Cardinal Richelieu. In the MS.
+memoirs of the Cardinal, deposited at the Office for Foreign Affairs, an
+imperfection has existed, in the total absence of a series of leaves
+from the most interesting part of the collection. These appear to have
+been found accidentally, by M. Ranke, in a bundle of papers, gathered
+from some of the old mansions in Saint Germains. It has been a disputed
+question whether Richelieu was the real author of the works under his
+name; whether he availed himself of the literary abilities of others,
+contributing no more from his own resources than here and there an
+observation or a fact. These disputes have had reference to the Memoirs,
+the Testament, and the _Histoire de la M�re et du Fils_; for there seems
+to be good reason for believing that the books published previous to his
+political elevation, such as the _De la Perfection du Chr�tien_, the
+theological tracts, and his political treatise of 1614, were written by
+him with no more than the ordinary aids of authorship. It is possible
+that the fragment, discovered by M. Ranke, may afford additional
+evidence on this curious subject, which was lately debated in the
+Academy.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Of _bad spelling_ George Sand writes, _apropos_ of some newspaper
+controversy in Paris, that so far from bad spelling being a proof of
+want of capacity, she has a letter of Jean Jacques Rousseau, in which
+there are ten faults of spelling in three lines. Moreover, she assures
+us, that she herself frequently makes a _lapsus penn�_ for which a
+school-boy would be chastised.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+LOLA MONTES has made her _debut_ in the literary arena, by the
+publication in the _feuilleton_ of a daily newspaper of the first
+portion of what she calls her "Memoirs:" a _quasi_-impertinent epistle
+to the ex-king of Bavaria. Since, the publication has been suspended. It
+promised merely scandal, without wit.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+THE COUNT DE MONTALEMBERT has been elected a member of the French
+Academy, in place of M. Droz. The election gives little satisfaction
+outside the Institute; but the Count is not without eminence as a man of
+letters. Some of his religious tracts are written with great eloquence
+and pungency.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The seventh and last volume of the _Glossarium Mediae et Infimae
+Latinitatis_ has just been published by the Didots at Paris. It is a
+perfect repertory of information as to the middle ages, and cannot be
+dispensed with by any one who aims to study the institutions, history,
+and monuments of that period.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A complete grammar of the Coptic language has been brought out at
+Berlin, by Professor SCHWARTZE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+THE ITALIAN REVOLUTION.--Books relating to the late revolution in Italy
+and the events which preceded it are now published in that country in
+considerable numbers. One by Farini, _Lo Stato Romano dall' anno 1815
+all' anno 1850_, not yet completed, only two volumes having been
+published, will be found valuable to the future historian. Its author is
+a constitutionalist, and treats the reign of Pius IX. strictly from that
+stand-point. His book must therefore be read with discretion. With the
+third volume, which will soon appear, will be issued a second edition of
+the first two volumes. Marquis F. A. Gualtiero of Orvieto has just
+brought out at Florence the first volume of a large work, _Gli Ultimenti
+Rivolgimenti Italiani, Memorie Storiche con Documenti Inediti_. This is
+excellent in respect to the pre-revolutionary events, giving a great
+variety of information as to persons as well as circumstances, in
+considerable detail. It is to be followed by an account of the
+revolution itself, treated of course in the same manner. It hardly need
+be said that the Marquis must fail to do justice to Mazzini and the
+republicans. An elaborate and able article reviewing the whole question
+has lately appeared in the _Rivista Italiana_, from the pen of Signor
+Berti. One of the best books yet produced on the revolutionary side is
+General Pepe's _Guerres d'Italie_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+We noticed last month the anniversary meeting of the Arch�ological
+Institute at Rome. The same society has just published its Annals, or
+Annual Memoirs, for 1850, a volume of great value and interest. It
+contains Lanza's report on the excavations at Salona, continued down to
+the year 1848. An essay is contributed by Canina upon the three temples
+of Pietas, Spes, and Juno Sospita, on whose ruins is built the church of
+San Nicola _in carcere_, new remains of the temples having been
+discovered in 1848. The statue of Apoxyomenos, found a year since at
+Trastavere, as well as the series of Amazons _in relievo_ now in the
+British Museum, which Emil Braun takes to be relics of the famous
+Mausoleum, are treated at length. A little triangular candelabra, found
+in the Baths of Titus, is made interesting from the relation of the
+figures upon it to the worship of Apollo. The series of Etruscan
+frescoes has been greatly enriched by the pictures in two tombs, one of
+which was discovered in 1846 by A. Francois, while the other was then
+for the first time copied and rescued from entire oblivion. These
+pictures, which, like most monumental works, represent funeral feasts
+and games, according to Braun, are valuable for a mass of details
+relating to antique athletic art, which were before unknown. A Pompeiian
+fresco, representing the twelve gods, hitherto little esteemed, is made
+the subject of a profound investigation by E. Gerhard. Among the essays
+on vases, a long one by Welcker deserves especial mention. It discusses
+all the known representations of the Death of Troilus. The sphere of
+numismatics is filled by a long essay by Cavedoni on the Roman coins of
+the time of Augustus. There are also many other articles of no less
+interest to scholars, antiquaries, and artists.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+M. ANTOINE D'ABBADIE received not long ago from President Bonaparte, the
+decoration of the Legion of Honor, for alleged geographical discoveries
+in Africa. An "Inquiry" into M. Abbadie's journey has just appeared in
+London, from the hand of Dr. Charles T. Beke, and it is not impossible
+that the traveller will turn out a Damburger or a Hunter. Dr. Beke is an
+Englishman; D'Abbadie, an Irishman by birth, but a Frenchman by name,
+education and allegiance. The latter professes to have been the first
+European who ever put foot in the African Kingdom of Kaffa; the former
+gives reasons for doubting his statements entirely, and does not believe
+the Frenchman has even been in the country he describes at all.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The great oriental scholar Monsignore MOLSA has been appointed to the
+office of Chief Guardian of the Vatican Library, in the room of M.
+Laureani, whose melancholy death occurred a few months ago; and the
+Abate Martinucci has been nominated to fill the office of sub-chief,
+which is one of very considerable importance, and has hitherto been
+filled by some of the most eminent of Italian scholars.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+We are to have from Paris a hitherto unpublished ode of PIRON, the
+well-known author of _La Metromanie_. It is entitled _Les Confessions de
+mon Oreiller_, (Confessions of my Pillow,) and is considered by
+connoisseurs to be decidedly authentic. It is signed and headed thus:
+"To be given to the public a hundred years after my death."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The vacancy occasioned by the death of M. ALBAN DE VILLENEUVE-BARGEMONT,
+in the list of members of the French Academy of Moral and Political
+Sciences, has been filled by the election of M. LOUIS REYBAUD, the
+author of _Jerome Paturot_, and husband of Madame Reybaud, who wrote the
+charming novels of _Le Cadet de Calabriere_, _Helena_, &c.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The sons of Rossi, the distinguished economist, and less distinguished
+minister of Pius IX., in which capacity he was assassinated, have
+published the third volume of his _Cours d'Economie Politique_. It
+treats of the distribution of wealth, and is marked by the same ability
+and tendencies as the volumes which preceded it, which were upon the
+production of riches.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+H. BAILLIERE, the eminent publisher, of Paris, has established a branch
+of his house at 169 Fulton street, New-York, where American scholars may
+obtain all the best scientific literature of the time in suitable
+editions and at reasonable prices.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Of MR. JAMES BAILEY, and the blasphemous rant and fustian and crude
+speculation which make up his poem of "Festus," which has had such
+extraordinary popularity among our transcendentalists, and which
+Shakspeare Hudson so excellently well reviewed in the _Whig Review_ a
+year or two ago, we think a correspondent of _The Tribune_ speaks justly
+in the following extract from a letter dated at Nottingham, in England:
+
+"Apropos of Nottingham, I have seen Bailey, the author of 'Festus.' His
+father is proprietor of the _Nottingham Mercury_, and the editorial
+department rests with him. He is a heavy, thick set sort of man; of a
+stature below the middle size; complexion dark; and, in years about
+eight and thirty. His physiognomy would be clownish in expression, if
+his eyes did not redeem his other features. He spoke of 'Festus,' and of
+its fame in America, of which he seemed very proud. In England, it has
+only reached the third edition, while eight or nine have been published
+in the States. You know my opinion of the work. It is as far from being
+a great poem as the Thames, compared with the Mississippi or the Ohio,
+is from being a great river. Anxiously, anxiously have I sought one
+striking original idea in the whole poem (appalling in its length), but
+to no purpose. The transcendental literature of Germany absorbs all
+that, at first glance, arrests the attention. Without learning,
+imagination, or the attraction of a beautiful metre (like that of
+Tennyson's 'Princess'), I am at a loss to know what has given this poem
+its notoriety. Not its daring speculation, surely, for it is but a timid
+compromise between Orthodoxy and Universalism."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+H. F. CLINTON has published in London the concluding volume of his
+_Fasti Romani_: the civil and literary chronology of Rome and
+Constantinople from the death of Augustus to the death of Heraclius. The
+first volume, containing the chronological tables, was published in
+1845, and formed a continuation of the _Fasti Hellenici_, by the same
+author. It came down to the death of Justin II., A. D. 578. The present
+volume continues the tables from the latter date to the death of
+Heraclius, A. D. 641; but the greater part of it consists of a series of
+learned dissertations on various points connected with the civil and
+literary history of the Roman and Byzantine empires.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+CAPTAIN J. D. CUNNINGHAM, author of the "History of the Sikhs," who was
+dismissed from his political situation at Bhopal, by orders of the Court
+of Directors, for having published an official correspondence, without
+the permission of his immediate superiors, has been recalled to public
+employment by the Governor-General of India, Lord Dalhousie having just
+appointed him general superintending engineer in the north-western
+provinces.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+MR. HEPWORTH DIXON, author of "Howard and the Prison-World of Europe,"
+has published in London a Life of William Penn, which will be
+republished immediately by Lea & Blanchard of Philadelphia.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+THE LITERARY WOMEN of England were never so active as now. Mrs. Crowe
+has commenced in _The Palladium_ magazine a new novel entitled _Estelle
+Silvestre_. Miss Anne G. Greene has published the third volume of her
+_Lives of the Princesses of England_; Mrs. David Ogilvy, _Traditions of
+Tuscany_; Mrs. Gordon, _Musgrave, a Story of Gilsland Spa_; Maria de la
+Vaye, _Eugenie, the Young Laundress of the Bastille_; Mrs. Norton, a new
+poem; the author of "Olivia," _Sir Philip Hetherington_; Mrs. Ward,
+_Helen Charteris, or Sayings and Doings in a Cathedral Town_; Mrs.
+Hubbach, niece of the celebrated Miss Austen, _The Wife's Sister, or the
+Forbidden Marriage_; Mrs. Jameson, _Legends of the Madonna_, forming the
+conclusion of her series illustrating Sacred and Legendary Art; the
+authoress of "Mary Powell" has commenced in _Sharpe's Magazine_ a new
+work of the same description, under the title of _The Household of Sir
+Thomas More_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+MISS MARTINEAU began on the first of February, a serial work under the
+title of "Half a Century of the British Empire; a History of the Kingdom
+and the People, from 1800 to 1850." It will be in six volumes, and it is
+intended to present, in handsome octavos at a rate of extraordinary
+cheapness, a connected narrative of the most important era in the
+history of the modern world. The work of Macaulay professes to be "the
+history of England from the accession of King James the Second down to
+the time which is within the memory of men still living." "Half a
+Century of the British Empire," will chiefly deal with events and states
+of society during a period in which many of our contemporaries have
+lived and acted.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The correspondence of ROBERT SUTTON, Lord LEXINGTON, British Minister at
+Vienna in 1694, has just been published by Murray in London, having
+recently been discovered in the library of the Suttons, at Kilham. There
+is not much absolute value in their contents, historically speaking; but
+the letters supply several striking and some amusing illustrations of
+characters already known in history, and are a contribution really
+important to the history of manners and society at the seventeenth
+century. The non-official letters are in this respect most curious and
+entertaining.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Pensions of �100 a year each have been granted in England to Mrs.
+Belzoni, the aged widow of the celebrated traveller; and to Mr. Poole,
+the author of _Paul Pry_, and of many contributions to periodical
+literature, who is a great sufferer from bodily infirmities.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+CAPTAIN MEDWIN, whose book about Byron was once read by every body, and
+who for some time resided in this country, turns up in Holland, after an
+oblivion of several years. He contributes to the last number of the New
+Monthly an article entitled, _Hawking at Loo_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+JOHN CLARE, the peasant poet, sometimes called the "rural Burns," is now
+in the Lunatic Asylum at Northampton. There is much sweetness in some of
+poor Clare's verses, of which four volumes appeared many years ago. We
+believe he was among the proteges of Southey. His complaints to visitors
+of the madhouse are commonly of the injustice done to him by the public
+in not recognizing him, instead of Scott and Byron, as the author of
+"Marmion" and "Don Juan," and in refusing him the honor of having gained
+the battle of Waterloo. Clare was the writer, though not generally known
+as such, of the lines, "Here we meet too soon to part"--which, set to
+one of Rossini's most beautiful airs, were some time exceedingly
+popular.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A new volume of the writings of De Quincey has just been published by
+Ticknor, Reed & Fields, of Boston. It contains, with other admirable
+papers, those "On the Knocking at the Gate, in Macbeth," "Murder
+considered as one of the Fine Arts," "Joan of Arc," and "Dinners, Real
+and Reputed." These works of one of the greatest of living authors, have
+never before been collected, and the publishers confer a most acceptable
+benefit by their edition of them. We have from the same house a copy of
+the best English version of "Faust," that of Hayward.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+SIR EDWARD BULWER LYTTON is publishing a complete collection of his
+Poems and Dramas. This edition will include several pieces not hitherto
+published, and those that have appeared before will receive the author's
+last corrections and revision. Each volume will be illustrated with an
+appropriate vignette title; and the first will contain, in addition, a
+portrait, from a painting by Maclise.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+One of the most delightful books in natural history that we have ever
+seen is "Episodes of Insect Life," recently published in England, and
+now in the press of Mr. Redfield, in this city. It is divided into three
+"scenes," representing spring, summer, and autumn, and is profusely and
+skilfully illustrated. It is even more entertaining than Lord Brougham's
+Dialogues on Instinct, which we had regarded as the pleasantest work in
+such studies.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+DR. ACHILLI, whose imprisonment in the Roman Inquisition is a familiar
+story, has published "Dealings with the Inquisition, or Papal Rome, her
+Priests and her Jesuits; with Important Disclosures." It is an
+autobiography.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+SAMUEL BAILEY, whose "Essays on the Pursuit of Truth and on the Progress
+of Knowledge," "Essays on the Formation and Publication of Opinions,"
+&c., have been largely read in this country, has just published a volume
+entitled, "The Theory of Reasoning, with Comments on the Principal
+Points of Scholastic Logic."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+MAJOR POUSSIN'S "United States, their Power and Progress," a translation
+of _La Puissance Americaine_, by Edmund L. Du Barry, U. S. N., has been
+published in a large octavo of about five hundred pages, by Lippencott,
+Grambo, & Co., of Philadelphia. We take the opportunity to give some
+account of the author.
+
+Guillaume Tell Poussin was born in the autumn of the year 1796 in the
+department of the Seine and Oise, in France. His father was a painter of
+some celebrity, who has left many fine works in the galleries of
+Versailles and Rouen. Introduced, while a child, to the favor of
+Napoleon, it was ordered by a special decree that, as a descendant of
+the great Nicholas Poussin, whose works are among the chief glories of
+French art, William Tell Poussin should be educated at the imperial
+school of Rouen. There he spent seven years, and passed his examination
+for admission to the Polytechnic school. He entered this national
+academy of engineering, and in 1814, while yet a youth, distinguished
+himself by his patriotic spirit, which prompted him to join his comrades
+in the defence of the walls of Paris against an invading enemy. He was
+wounded at the village of Aubervilliers, in an attack against the
+combined force of British and Russian troops who occupied that position;
+and after the surrender of Paris his feelings were so excited that he
+could not bring himself to acts of submission to the Bourbon family, but
+was arrested on account of his opinions, and released only on the
+intervention of powerful friends. He soon embarked for America, and
+arrived at New-York in November, 1815, having for recommendation his
+ardent desire to be useful and a decided love of liberty. After a short
+residence in New-York he proceeded to Philadelphia, where he expected to
+meet with some encouragement in his profession as an engineer. Here he
+became acquainted with Mr. Fairman, the engraver, and worked for him a
+few months with advantage, boarding meanwhile at a French house, into
+which the landlady received him in consideration of the devotion of his
+leisure to the instruction of her children. The next spring he removed
+to Washington, where he had heard that he could be profitably employed
+in the rebuilding of the capitol, which the British army had destroyed
+in the late war. He now worked as an architect for about a year, when,
+several leading senators and representatives having become acquainted
+with him, and, taking a particular interest in him for his earnest and
+manly character and the remarkable abilities he had evinced as an
+engineer, in the incidental opportunities presented by his employment as
+an architect, they signed a petition to President Madison for his
+admission to the corps of Topographical Engineers, which was then to be
+organized, and he was at once transferred to the United States Army. A
+short time after, General Bernard, whom Mr. Crawford, the American
+Minister at Paris, had engaged to be the chief of the Topographical
+Engineers, arrived in Washington, and assuming his office proceeded to
+the necessary preparations for that survey of the physical resources of
+our territory for national defence, and for tracing the lines required
+to form a complete base of operations in time of war, on the assailable
+portions of our frontier, for which the service had been instituted.
+Before leaving France, General Bernard had received especial
+recommendations from the friends of young Poussin to look after his
+interests, and when they met, therefore, their acquaintance was made on
+the most intimate and agreeable terms on both sides. Upon the
+application of General Bernard to the Secretary of War, Poussin was
+attached to his person as an aid-de-camp, and left Washington with him
+for a military reconnaissance of the coast on the Gulf of Mexico, and of
+the delta of the Mississippi. They spent a year and a half upon their
+important duties, in New Orleans and its vicinity, regardless of the
+dangers of that climate, and in 1817 returned to the seat of government
+and submitted to the President a particular and elaborate memoir of
+their operations. It was upon this first report, presented by the
+Executive, on the Military Defences of the United States,--a report
+drawn up in a very large degree by the hand of M. Poussin, and
+illustrated throughout with his discovery and suggestion,--that
+Congress, by an almost unanimous vote, authorized the erection of the
+great line of our military defences, adopting the recommendations of the
+commissioner without even the slightest alteration. The Board of
+Military Engineers entered subsequently on the yearly execution of their
+important duty of examining the coast previous to determining the actual
+sites and descriptions of the works of defence which they afterwards
+delineated. The young topographical engineer continued in his arduous
+scientific labors, and thus contributed largely in the perfecting of
+that great national scheme. It was in these military operations, and
+afterwards in the surveys for roads and canals, which, under the
+supervision of a Board of Internal Improvements, where confided to a
+portion of the same officers, assisted by civil engineers, that Poussin
+rendered himself so efficient as a practical and scientific surveyor,
+and became so perfectly familiar with all the internal resources of our
+extensive country, which he had thus most remarkable opportunities to
+study and appreciate, by crossing it in all directions, and, in fact, by
+visiting every state, and by following up and down every valley and
+river of the eastern half of the continent. Few men have had such
+occasion of studying _de visu_ the extent and resources of the republic;
+and the intelligent readers of the volume before us will acknowledge,
+that few persons have shown themselves more conversant with its
+astonishing advancement. His first publication was a description of the
+works to which he had contributed, under the title of "A History of the
+Internal Improvements of the United States;" his second, an account of
+all the railroads in this country, which had considerable influence in
+developing in Europe a disposition toward our policy in this respect,
+and entitles Major Poussin to the gratitude of all lovers of rapid and
+safe communication. It was reproduced in Belgium and Germany, and has
+long been a textbook upon its subject in those countries, as well as in
+France. His third work was the one now translated, _La Puissance
+Americaine_, in which he has displayed, most emphatically, his
+admiration of our institutions, and offered them as examples to
+communities aspiring after rational liberty. It may be said of it, that
+it is the American system rendered popular by practical and convincing
+illustrations.
+
+Major Poussin returned to France early in 1832, in the hope to co�perate
+in rendering popular in his own country some of the political
+institutions of the United States, to which he always attributed our
+great prosperity; but he was not fortunate enough to be admitted to
+active official life. He employed himself in his profession of surveyor,
+and superintended several important public works, and frequently in
+pamphlets and in contributions to the journals, labored for the
+dissemination of American ideas. At last, when the Revolution of
+February, 1848, broke out, he was chosen, with the greatest unanimity by
+the Provisional Government, to be the Representative of Republican
+France near the Government of the United States. It was deemed the
+highest compliment of which France was capable, that she sent as her
+minister the citizen most conversant with our affairs, and most eminent
+for admiration of our institutions. His arrival in this country, and the
+misunderstanding with the cabinet at Washington, which resulted in his
+recall by President Bonaparte, cannot have been forgotten by the
+observant reader. We believe that few who have carefully studied the
+conduct of Major Poussin in that affair, will be disposed, in the
+slightest degree, to censure him, while the entire history will readily
+be consigned to oblivion by the American who is in any degree sensitive
+upon the subject of our national honor.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+GUILLAUMIN ET CIE, the well known Parisian publishers, are about to add
+to their _Collection des Principaux Economistes_ several American works
+in this department. One volume, at least, will be devoted to Henry C.
+Carey's masterly compositions, with a preface and commentaries; another
+volume will be given to the Free Trade party, and will embrace the best
+things of Mr. Walker, Mr. Raguet, Mr. Cardozo, Henry Middleton, Dr.
+Wayland, &c.; and essays by Mr. Phillips, Horace Greeley, and other
+Protectionists, will probably constitute another. The _Collection_ now
+embraces Quesnay, Turgot, Dupont Nemours, Le Tronne, the Says, Galliani,
+de Montyon, Condillac, Lavoisier, Adam Smith, Hume, Ricardo, Malthus,
+Bentham, and a dozen more. The only American name in the list is that of
+Franklin quoted in the first volume of the _Melanges_, edited by Daire
+and Molinari.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+JOSEPH GALES, of the _National Intelligencer_, has lately published
+several leading articles of such compactness and completeness, such
+weight and dignity, as distinguish only the greatest compositions in
+philosophy and upon affairs. The intellectual force acting through the
+press of this country is habitually underrated. There are a dozen
+journals here which may be advantageously compared with any in Europe,
+with the single exception of the _Times_. It would perhaps seem
+invidious to point them out, from the greater number that are conducted
+with ability and energy; but it will not be objected by any one who has
+the right to express an opinion in the case, if we say that Mr. Gales is
+of the first rank of public men who have ever influenced or illustrated
+the course of events by written eloquence or argument. The leading
+articles from his hand which in the last twenty-five years have appeared
+in the National Intelligencer, would fill many volumes; and if collected
+and so submitted to one view, they would astonish by their variety, by
+the extraordinary resources of information which they evince, by their
+soundness of logic, elevation of sentiment, and uniform adaptation to
+their several purposes. If they lack the pungent wit, and fiery energy
+of phrase, and adroitly venomous spirit of "Junius," they have, with
+their nobler calmness and uniform candor, a far wider sweep, a subtler
+apprehension of consequences, and a more statesmanlike aim and capacity.
+The diction of "Junius" was calculated to arrest attention, by its
+glitter and strength, and by its freshness; for it was in style, after
+all, that he was most creative, and since his style has by imitation
+become familiar, it is for the mystery of their authorship only that his
+works have continued eminence. As materials for history, and as
+suggestive guides of policy, we have in American literature very few
+works so important as the leading articles of Joseph Gales would
+constitute, fitly arranged, and illustrated by such notes as he could
+readily furnish, necessary now on account of the time since some of them
+were originally printed.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The REV. HENRY T. CHEEVER'S "Whale and his Captors," (published last
+year by the Harpers,) has been reprinted in London under the title of
+"The Whaleman's Adventures in the Northern Ocean," with a highly and
+justly commendatory introduction by the Rev. W. Scoresby, D.D. F.R.S. We
+have great pleasure in recording evidences of the popularity of such
+works as Mr. Cheever's. They have a manly as well as a Christian spirit,
+and are needed to counteract the influences of the many infidel books in
+which the effects of the Christian civilization in the Island World are
+systematically misrepresented. We learn that Mr. Cheever is now engaged
+upon "The Autobiography of Captain Obadiah Conger," who was fifty years
+a mariner from the port of New-York. He is editing the MS. of the
+deceased sailor for the Harpers.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+MR. JOB R. TYSON, whose careful researches respecting the colonial
+history of Pennsylvania have illustrated his abilities and his
+predilections in this line, is about to proceed to Europe, for the
+consultation of certain documents connected with the subject,
+preparatory to the publication of his "History of the American
+Colonies," a work in which, doubtless, he will not be liable to the
+reproach of histories written by New-Englanders, that they exaggerate
+the virtues and the influence of the Puritans. Mr. Tyson is of the best
+stock of the Philadelphia Quakers, and the traditional fame of his party
+will not suffer in his hands.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+MR. HENRY JAMES, the author of "Moralism and Christianity," must
+certainly be regarded by all who come into his fit audience as one of
+the greatest living masters of metaphysics. Mr. James has never been
+mentioned in the _North American Review_; but then, that peculiarly
+national work has not in all its seventy volumes an article upon
+Jonathan Edwards, whom Robert Hall, Dr. Chalmers, Dugald Stuart, Sir
+James Mackintosh, Kant, Cousin, and a hundred others scarcely less
+famous, have regarded as the chief glory in our intellectual firmament;
+it has never let its light shine upon the pages of Legar�; it has
+preserved the most profound silence respecting Henry Carey, William R.
+Williams, and Addison Alexander; so that it must not be considered
+altogether conclusive as to Mr. James's merits that he has not had the
+seal of the _North American's_ approval. We regard him as one of the
+great metaphysicians of the time, not because, like Comte, he has
+evolved with irresistible power and majestic order any grand and
+complete system, but because he has brought to the discussion of the few
+questions he has attempted, so independent a spirit, so pure a method,
+such expansive humanity, and such ample resources of learning, as
+separately claim admiration, and combined, constitute a teacher of the
+most dignified rank, who can and will influence the world. We do not
+altogether agree with Mr. James; on the contrary, we have been regarded
+as particularly grim in our conservatism; but we are none the less
+sensible of Mr. James's surpassing merits as a writer upon the
+philosophy of society. We dedicate this paragraph to him on account of
+the series of lectures he has just delivered in New-York, upon "The
+Symbolism of Property," "Democracy and its Issues," "The Harmony of
+Nature and Revelation," "The Past and Future Churches," &c. We
+understand that these splendid dissertations will be given to the public
+in the more acceptable form of a volume. The popular lecture is not a
+suitable medium for such discussions, or certainly not for such
+thinking: one of Mr. James's sentences, diluted to the lecture standard,
+would serve for an entire discourse, which by those who should
+understand it, would be deemed of a singularly compact body, as compared
+with the average of such performances.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+PROFESSOR TORREY, of the University of Vermont, is one of the few
+contemporary scholars, whose names are likely to survive with those of
+the great teachers of past ages. He has translated Schilling's Discourse
+on Fine Arts, and other shorter compositions from the German; but his
+chief labor in this way is, a most laborious and admirably executed
+version of Neander's History of the Christian Religion and Church,
+published in Boston, and now being republished in London, by Bonn, with
+Notes, &c., by the Rev. A. T. W. Morison, of Trinity College, Cambridge.
+
+Neander has sometimes been called, but with scarcely sufficient reason,
+the Niebuhr of ecclesiastical history. The only point in which he
+resembles the historian of Rome, is in that vast range of complete
+erudition which makes the Past in its minutest details as familiar as
+the Present, which is never content with derivative information, but
+traces back every tributary of the great stream of History to its
+remotest accessible source. In this respect the two eminent historians
+were alike, but with this point of resemblance the similarity ends.
+Neander is entirely free from that necessity under which Niebuhr
+labored, of regarding every recorded aggregate of facts as a mass of
+error which the modern philosophy of history was either to decompose
+into a myth, or reconstruct into a new form more consistent with
+preconceived theory.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Works of JOHN C. CALHOUN will soon, through the wise munificence of
+the state of South Carolina, be accessible by the students of political
+philosophy and history in a complete and suitable edition, with such
+memoirs as are necessary for their illustration, and for the
+satisfaction of the natural curiosity respecting their illustrious
+author. The first volume will comprise Mr. Calhoun's elaborate
+_Disquisition on Government, and a Discourse on the Constitution and
+Government of the United States_, in which are displayed in a systematic
+manner the author's opinions upon the whole subject of the philosophy of
+government. These treatises were begun many years ago, and though they
+had not received the ultimate revision which was intended, they are very
+complete, and by the careful and judicious editing of Mr. Crall�, his
+intimate friend and confidential secretary, will perhaps appear as
+perfect in all their parts as if re-written by Mr. Calhoun himself.
+These are now nearly stereotyped; and to correct some misapprehensions
+which seem to prevail in South Carolina, we state that only the
+stereotype plates are made in New-York, there being no foundries for
+stereotyping in Charleston, where the book will be printed and
+published. For this purpose the Legislature has appropriated $10,000,
+which will meet the expenses for fifteen thousand copies of the first
+volume, all but five hundred of which, printed on large paper, for
+public libraries, will be sold for the benefit of Mr. Calhoun's family.
+Another volume will contain Mr. Calhoun's official papers, and another
+his Letters upon Public Affairs. This, we think, will be the most
+interesting of the series. Mr. Calhoun wrote always with sincerity and
+frankness, and his communications to his friends contain, much more than
+his speeches and state papers, the exhibitions of his feeling, his
+regrets, fears, expectations, and ambitions. His speeches will probably
+make three volumes; the collection formerly printed by the Harpers did
+not embrace half of them; many of them have never been printed at all,
+but (particularly some of his most elaborate performances previous to
+1817) exist in carefully prepared manuscript reports. All these speeches
+will be revised and illustrated by Mr. Crall�: and the series will be
+completed with the memoirs of the great senator, for which that
+gentleman has the most ample and interesting materials.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+ARCHBISHOP WHATELEY'S very ingenious _Historical Doubts Respecting
+Napoleon Bonaparte_, is the cleverest book of the kind yet written, not
+excepting the high church pamphlet treating of the Archbishop's own
+existence in the same way. But the idea was not original with Whateley:
+Mr. William Biglow of Boston wrote half a century ago, _The Age of
+Freedom, being an Investigation of Good and Bad Government, in Imitation
+of Mr. Paine's Age of Reason_, and intended, by a similar style of
+argument respecting the Discovery of America, &c., to expose that
+infidel's sophistries. We perceive that the _Life of Jesus_, by Dr.
+Strauss, has been met by another such performance in England, under the
+title of _Historical Certainties respecting the Early History of
+America, developed in a Critical Examination of the Book of the
+Chronicles of the Land of Ecnarf; By the Rev. Aristarchus Newlight,
+Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Giessen, Corresponding Member
+of the Theophilanthropic and Pantisocratical Societies of Leipsig, late
+Professor of all Religions in several distinguished Academies at Home
+and Abroad, &c_. The author very satisfactorily disposes of the events
+between the first French Revolution and the Battle of Waterloo, by
+putting them through the "mythic" circle invented by Dr. Strauss. The
+joke is carried out with remarkable ingenuity, and with the most
+whimsical resources of learning. The good doctor finds, _a la Strauss, a
+nucleus_, for here and there a great tradition, but remorselessly wipes
+out as altogether incredible many of the most striking and familiar
+facts in modern history.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Of Mr. SCHOOLCRAFT'S great work, which we have heretofore announced, the
+first part has just appeared from the press of Lippencott, Grambo & Co.,
+in the most splendid quarto volume that has yet been printed in America.
+We shall take an early opportunity to do justice to this truly national
+performance and to its author.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+DR. ROBERT KNOX--whose book of infidel rigmarole, _The Races of Men_,
+was lately reprinted by an American house which was never before and we
+trust will never again be guilty of such an indiscretion,--we understand
+is coming to New-York to lecture upon Ethnology. He has the "gift" of
+talking, and is said to have been popular as a demonstrator in anatomy;
+but we think it will be best for him to remain a while longer in
+England; the sham science of which his last book is a specimen is no
+longer, we believe, _profitable_ in this country. The last _Princeton
+Review_ says of _The Races of Men_:
+
+     "This book is fairly beneath argument or criticism. It is a
+     curious medley of vanity, ignorance, malice, and fanaticism. At
+     first it provoked our indignation, by the boldness and
+     effrontery of its pretensions; but their very extravagance soon
+     began to render them comical. It claims to originate views
+     which are to overturn 'long received doctrines, national
+     prejudices, stereotyped delusions,' &c., while any tolerable
+     scholar in this department is perfectly familiar with them all
+     in the works of Virey, Courtet, Bory de St. Vincent, Edwards,
+     La Marck, Quetelet, &c. It has not the slightest claim to
+     originality, except for the ridiculous ingenuity, with which it
+     carries out the more cautious follies of these infidel
+     philosophers, into the most glaring absurdities; and sets their
+     ingenious physiological speculations, in broad contradiction to
+     the most authentic and unquestioned truths of history. We
+     certainly should not have noticed this thing at all, but for
+     two reasons. In the first place, this subject is now rendered
+     so interesting by the important bearings of modern ethnological
+     researches, that some of our readers might be cheated by the
+     mere title, and by newspaper puffs, out of the market price for
+     the book; and in the second place, we wish to express our
+     surprise and lift up our remonstrance against such issues from
+     a quarter so respectable as that which has given this reprint
+     to the American public. Whatever may be the social or
+     scientific standing of any influential publishing house, we
+     must say, that in our judgment they merit a deliberate rebuke
+     from the true science of the country, for reprinting so crude
+     and wretched a performance, to say nothing of the low malignity
+     which it vents against the Christian sentiment and enterprise
+     of an age like the present,--and even against men, who stand in
+     the front ranks of science, because they happen to believe that
+     the scriptures are entitled to some respect, as authentic
+     records; or that other races of men are capable of being
+     Christianized, beside the Teutonic. Cuvier was an ignorant and
+     stubborn dogmatist, whose era is now past for ever. Buckland
+     was an ingenious priest and Jesuit; and even Newton's brain was
+     turned by chronology."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+MR. BOKER'S tragedy of Colaynos, has just been produced at the
+Walnut-st. Theatre in Philadelphia, and extremely well received. It had
+indeed a successful run. The Betrothal, which in our last we omitted to
+notice, is, we understand, to be brought out under the auspices of
+Charles Kean, in London. Mr. B. has yet another comedy quite finished,
+which will soon be performed in New-York.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A LETTER purporting to be by General WASHINGTON, and bearing date
+Cambridge, June 24, 1776, was read before the New-Jersey Historical
+Society a few weeks ago; the thanks of the Society were voted to Mr.
+Chetwood for it; and the _Literary World_ characterizes it as
+"interesting," "admirable," &c. The _Literary World_ does not, we
+believe, pretend to be an authority in such matters, but that a
+"historical society" should receive such a gross imposition is somewhat
+surprising. The letter is as much a forgery and imposture as the
+"exceedingly interesting letter from General Washington to his wife,"
+published a few months ago in the _Day Book_. Without going into any
+further statement or argument on this subject, it may be sufficient to
+remark, that Washington was not within two hundred miles of Cambridge on
+the 24th of June, 1776.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+THE REV. HENRY W. DUCACHET, D.D., the learned rector of St. Stephen's,
+in Philadelphia, has been several years engaged upon a Dictionary of the
+Church, which is now nearly ready for publication. Such a work is
+properly but a system and history of doctrine and ritual, in a form
+suited for the readiest consultation, and it demands, therefore, for its
+successful accomplishment, the highest and rarest faculties and
+acquisitions. Dr. Ducachet possesses in a very eminent degree, not only
+the requisite knowledge and judgment, but he has a certain temperament
+and felicity, with a love of and skill in dialectics, which promise even
+to the articles for a dictionary, from his hand, the utmost raciness and
+attractive interest. We understand this work will be very complete and
+voluminous.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Poems of "Edith May," the finest artist among the literary women of
+this country, are to be published in a very beautiful edition next
+summer by E. H. Butler of Philadelphia.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, which on account of some unfortunate
+investments of its capital, has for several years been compelled to
+suspend its publications, is now, we are gratified to be informed, again
+in a good financial condition, and new volumes of its important
+Transactions are in the press.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+PROFESSOR HOWS, during the last month, has given a very interesting
+series of readings from Shakspeare, in which he has displayed not only
+the finest capacity for histrionic effect, but a critical sagacity, and
+a thorough knowledge of the greatest of the poets, which justify his own
+reputation.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+MR. REDFIELD has in press "The Celestial Telegraph, or Secrets of the
+Life to Come, revealed through Magnetism, by M. Cahagnet," a book of the
+class of Mrs. Crowe's "Night Side of Nature;" and "The Volcano Diggings,
+a Tale of California Law, by a member of the Bar."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+We believe it is about six years since the Rev. WILLIAM W. LORD, then a
+resident graduate at Princeton College, published the volume of poems by
+which he was introduced to the literary world. That book had various and
+striking merits, and though it had many defects in an artistic point of
+view, upon the whole it illustrated a just apprehension of the poetic
+principle, and such capacities for execution as justified the sanguine
+hopes it occasioned among his friends of his future eminence in the
+highest and finest of the arts. From that time until the present, Mr.
+Lord has not appeared as an author; but the leisure that could be
+withdrawn from professional study has been devoted to the composition of
+"_Christ in Hades_," (Appleton & Co.) a poem displaying his best
+abilities in art, while it is a suitable offering to religion.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"It was my purpose," he says, "in undertaking this work, to give poetic
+form, design, and history to the descent of Christ into hell; a fact
+that has for so many ages attracted the curiosity of the human mind, as
+to furnish occasion for surprise that the attempt has not hitherto been
+made. As regards the end for which He descended, I have adhered to the
+Christian tradition that it was to free the souls of the ancient saints
+confined in the temporal paradise of the Under-world, embracing also in
+my design the less general opinion, that it was to demonstrate His
+universal supremacy by appearing among the damned.
+
+"A source of additional human interest was suggested by the relation
+which men, as a distinct order of beings, might be supposed to sustain
+to demons in the place of their common doom, and under new conditions of
+existence; such, I conceived, as would make it possible in some degree
+to realize even the divine fictions of the Greek mythology, under the
+forms and with the attributes accorded them by ancient religions, and by
+the poetry of all time. This could not fail to suggest the further
+conception of introducing the divinities of our forefathers, and of
+other great families of mankind, thus bringing together in action and
+contrast the deified men, or various representatives of an heroic
+humanity, among different races: nor did it seem too great a stretch of
+imaginative probability to conceive that their general characteristics
+might be adopted and imitated by beings already invested by the human
+mind with an indefinite power, and inhabiting a world in which the
+wonderful becomes the probable.
+
+"But it is, after all, the general purpose of exhibiting the triumph of
+moral power over all physical and inferior spiritual force, in the
+descent of Christ into hell, which gives my design the complex character
+of a mythic, heroic, and Christian poem, and, at the same time,
+constitutes the unity of its parts. The ancients, whose representative
+types I introduce, knew and appreciated but two kinds of power, brute or
+physical, and spiritual, including all occult and supernatural efficacy,
+and strength of intellect and will. Virtue, triumphant by the aid of
+adventitious force, or relying upon unconquerable pride and disdain to
+resist it, was the highest reach of their dynamic conceptions. Moral
+power is properly a Christian idea. It is not, therefore, without what I
+conceive to be a true as well as a poetic apprehension of the design of
+the Descent into Hell, that the heroes of profane, and the not fabulous
+Titans of sacred antiquity, by their rivalries and contentions, brought
+together in arms for a trial of their comparative strength, are suddenly
+confronted with a common and dissimilar antagonist, and 'all strength,
+all terror, single or in bands, that ever was put forth' opposed to that
+novel, and, save in the Temptation, hitherto untested power, represented
+by Christ, the author of the theory and master of the example.
+
+"He is not supposed to appear among them 'grasping in his hand ten
+thousand thunders,' but endued with an equal power, the result and
+expression of perfect virtue and rightful authority. His triumph is
+attributed neither to natural, nor to supernatural power; but to moral
+superiority, evincing itself in His aspect, and exercising its
+omnipotence upon the soul and conscience. That in the conception of a
+great Christian poet, His appearance among the rebel angels in Heaven
+was distinguished by the former attributes, is due, perhaps, to the
+heroic prejudice of a mind thoroughly imbued with the spirit of pagan
+writers, and of the Hebrew Scriptures."
+
+The volume opens with this noble invocation, in which there is fit
+recognition of Dante and Milton, whose lips aforetime for such song had
+been touched by the divinest fire:
+
+      Thou of the darkness and the fire, and fame
+    Avenged by misery and the Orphic doom,
+    Bard of the tyrant-lay! whom dreadless wrongs,
+    Impatient, and pale thirst for justice drove,
+    A visionary exile, from the earth,
+    To seek it in its iron reign--O stern!
+    And not accepting sympathy, accept
+    A not presumptious offering, that joins
+    That region with a greater name: And thou,
+    Of my own native language, O dread bard!
+    Who, amid heaven's unshadowed light, by thee
+    Supremely sung, abidest--shouldst thou know
+    Who on earth with thoughts of thee erects
+    And purifies his mind, and, but by thee,
+    Awed by no fame, boldened by thee, and awed--
+    Not with thy breadth of wing, yet with the power
+    To breathe the region air--attempts the height
+    Where never Scio's singing eagle towered,
+    Nor that high-soaring Theban moulted plume,
+    Hear thou my song! hear, or be deaf, who may.
+
+      And if not rashly, or too soon, I heed
+    The impulse, but have waited on my heart
+    With patience, and its utterance stilled with awe
+    Oh what inspired it, till I felt it beat
+    True cadence to unconquerable strains;
+    Oh, then may she first wooed from heaven by prayer
+    From thy pure lips, and sympathy austere
+    With suffering, and the sight of solemn age,
+    And thy gray Homer's head, with darkness bound,
+    To me descend, more near, as I am far
+    Beneath thee, and more need her aiding wing.
+
+      Oh, not again invoked in vain, descend,
+    Urania! and eyes with common light
+    More blinded than were his by Heaven's hand
+    Imposed to intercept distracting rays,
+    Bathe in the vision of transcendent day;
+    And of the human senses (the dark veil
+    Before the world of spirit drawn) remove
+    The dim material hindrance, and illume;
+    That human thought again may dare behold
+    The shape and port of spirits, and once more
+    Hear voices in that distant, shadowy world,
+    To which ourselves, and this, are shadows, they
+    The substance, immaterial essence pure--
+    Souls that have freed their slave, and given back
+    Its force unto the elements, the dread
+    Manes, or the more dread Archetypes of men:
+    Like whom in featured reason's shape--like whom
+    Created in the mould of God--they fell,
+    And mixed with them in common ruin, made
+    One vast and many-realmed world, and shared
+    Their deep abodes--their endless exile, some,--
+    Some to return to the ethereous light
+    When one of human form, a Savior-Man
+    Almighty, not in deity alone,
+    But mightier than all angels in the might
+    And guard of human innocence preserved,
+    Should freely enter their dark empire--these
+    To loose, o'er those to triumph; this the theme,
+    The adventure, and the triumph of my song.
+
+
+
+
+The Fine Arts.
+
+
+LEUTZE'S WASHINGTON CROSSING THE DELAWARE.--Our readers are aware of the
+accident by fire which happened some months since to Leutze's
+nearly-finished picture of Washington Crossing the Delaware, in
+consequence of which he abandoned it to the underwriters, intending to
+commence the work anew for the party from which he had received the
+order to paint it. The underwriters have accordingly paid the insurance,
+and are now exhibiting the picture in its incomplete state to the public
+of Cologne, where it meets with high approval. The _K�lnische Zeitung_
+says of it: "In this picture the artist has depicted the events of the
+hour in which the destiny of the Free States of North America was
+decided for centuries through the boldness of their courageous and
+prudent leader. The means of continuing the war were almost exhausted;
+the army threatened in a few days to dissolve itself; the cause of
+freedom for that continent, with its inestimable consequences for
+ancient Europe, would have been postponed, no one can tell how long,
+perhaps for ever. Then the great mind of Washington conceived what the
+morally debased, reposing enemy thought impossible. He crossed the
+Delaware with his army in the night, amid masses of floating ice, and,
+in the twilight of morning, assailed the inactive camp on the other
+side. The picture reproduces the moment when the great general,--ahead
+of the mass of the army, which had also just embarked, and part of which
+are passing off from the shore, and part already struggling with the
+driving ice,--is steering to the opposite shore in a small boat,
+surrounded by eleven heroic figures, officers, farmers, soldiers, and
+boatmen. The tall and majestic form of the man in whose hands at that
+hour lay the fate of millions, rises from the group, standing slightly
+bent, forward, with one foot on the bottom of the boat, the other on the
+forward bench. His mild yet serious and commanding glance seems seeking
+to pierce the mist of the farther shore and discover the enemy, while
+intimations of the future grandeur of his country rise upon his mind.
+Nothing of youthful rashness appears in the expression of this figure,
+but the thoughtful artist has depicted the 'heart for any fate' of the
+general and statesman in noble, vigorous, and faithful traits. And what
+an impulse moves through the group of his companions! Their thought is,
+'Forward, invincibly forward, for our country!' This is expressed in
+their whole bearing, in every movement, in the eyes and features of all.
+Under the influence of this thought they command the raging elements, so
+that the masses of ice seem to dissolve before the will and energy of
+these men. This is a picture by the sight of which, in this weary and
+exhausted time, one can recover health and strength. Let none miss a
+draught from such a goblet of nectar. And while we are writing this, it
+occurs to us that it was at this very hour seventy-four years ago, in
+the ice-cold night, Washington crossed the Delaware. And amid the
+ominous concatenation of events which the weak mind calls accident, but
+which the clear spirit, whose eye rests on the whole world, regards as
+the movement of nature according to eternal laws, there rises from our
+soul the ardent prayer that Germany may soon find her Washington! Honor
+and fame to the artist whose production has power to work upon the
+hearts and inflame the spirits of all that behold it!"
+
+Messrs. Goupil & Co. have purchased the duplicate of this work, to be
+completed on the first of July, for seven thousand dollars. The picture
+described was unfinished, and has been exhibited by the underwriters, to
+whom it was given up after the fire.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+An Italian picture dealer in London named Campanari, lately bought for a
+trifle a portrait which has proved to be a genuine Michel Angelo. It
+represents the famous Vittoria Colonna, wife of the Marchese Pescara,
+the General of Charles V. She was herself distinguished as a poetess as
+well as by the impassioned love and adoration of the great painter, who
+not only took her portrait, but left behind him several sonnets in her
+honor. Campanari, though himself confident of the genuineness of the
+picture, could not procure it to be recognized in England. Accordingly
+he sent it to Rome, where the Academy of San Luca, with Minardi at its
+head, unanimously decided in its favor. In fact, it contains a grandeur
+and sublimity which could be ascribed to nobody but the author of the
+prophets and sibyls of the Sistine Chapel. An antique repose is
+displayed in the whole work, perfectly agreeing with the character of
+the lady as described by Michel Angelo, and which suits the advanced age
+at which she is painted. The execution is like that of the picture in
+the Florentine Tribune, in the wonderful facility of its execution. In
+the coloring a carnation hue is remarkable, like that in Michel Angelo's
+Roman works. The hands of the figure are thought to be by some other
+artist. Only the head and part of the person seem to be by the author.
+The picture has suffered little from time, some parts having apparently
+been repaired by a later pencil. It is valued at $30,000.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+THE MUNICH ART-UNION gives to its subscribers for the next year a
+_galvanograph_ of Rubens' Columbus. This is the first time that
+galvanography has been applied to such a purpose. The plate from which
+the print is taken has been copied by the galvanoplastic process, so
+that it can serve for other art-unions also. For 1851 the Munich Union
+has decided on engraving four Greek landscapes by C. Rottman. These
+plates will also be copied by the same process, and may be had at much
+less than the cost of original plates.
+
+
+
+
+GOETHE'S OPINION OF BYRON, SCOTT, AND CARLYLE.
+
+
+Mr. John Oxenford, who has shown remarkable capacities for
+appropriation, in the use he has made of the labors of William Peter,
+Parke Godwin, and others, in his various "translations" from the German,
+has recently fallen in with Margaret Fuller d'Ossoli's version of the
+_Conversations of Goethe with Eckermann_, published many years ago by
+Mr. Ripley in his "Specimens of Foreign Literature;" and the result is
+two volumes, embracing, with what Margaret Fuller translated, the great
+poet's conversations with Soret. Among the chief notable men who existed
+at the time of the conversations, and to whom reference is made, are
+Scott and Byron. The first, whose _Fair Maid of Perth_ is read as a new
+book, is praised for his "objective" qualities. The second is pronounced
+the greatest modern poet of England, but censured for his polemic
+tendency. Goethe's rapture is kindled when he speaks of him:
+
+     "'Lord Byron,' said Goethe, 'is to be regarded as a man, as an
+     Englishman, and as a great talent. His good qualities belong
+     chiefly to the man, his bad to the Englishman and the peer, his
+     talent is incommensurable. All Englishmen are, as such, without
+     reflection, properly so called; distractions and party spirit
+     will not permit them to unfold themselves in quiet. But they
+     are great as practical men. Thus, Lord Byron could never attain
+     reflection on himself, and on this account the maxims in
+     general are not successful, as is shown by his creed, 'much
+     money, no authority,' for much money always paralyzes
+     authority. But where he will create, he always succeeds; and we
+     may truly say that with him inspiration supplies the place of
+     reflection. He was always obliged to go on poetizing, and then
+     every thing that came from the man, especially from his heart,
+     was excellent. He produced his best things, as women do pretty
+     children, without thinking about it or knowing how it was done.
+     He is a great talent, a born talent, and I never saw the true
+     poetical power greater in any man than in him. In the
+     apprehension of external objects, and a clear penetration into
+     past situations, he is quite as great as Shakspeare. But as a
+     pure individuality, Shakspeare is his superior. This was felt
+     by Byron, and on this account he does not say much of
+     Shakspeare, although he knows whole passages by heart. He would
+     willingly have denied him altogether, for Shakspeare's
+     cheerfulness is in his way, and he feels that he is no match
+     for it. Pope he does not deny, for he had no cause to fear him.
+     On the contrary, he mentions him, and shows him respect when he
+     can, for he knows well enough that Pope is a mere foil to
+     himself.'...
+
+     "Goethe seemed inexhaustible on the subject of Byron, and I
+     felt that I could not listen enough. After a few digressions,
+     he proceeded thus: 'His high rank as an English peer was very
+     injurious to Byron; for every talent is oppressed by the outer
+     world,--how much more, then, when there are such high birth and
+     so great a fortune. A certain middle rank is much more
+     favorable to talent, on which account we find all great artists
+     and poets in the middle classes. Byron's predilection for the
+     unbounded could not have been nearly so dangerous with more
+     humble birth and smaller means. But as it was, he was able to
+     put every fancy into practice, and this involved him in
+     innumerable scrapes. Besides, how could one of such high rank
+     be inspired with awe and respect by any rank whatever? He spoke
+     out whatever he felt, and this brought him into ceaseless
+     conflict with the world. It is surprising to remark,' continued
+     Goethe, 'how large a portion of the life of a rich Englishman
+     of rank is passed in duels and elopements. Lord Byron himself
+     says, that his father carried off three ladies. And let any man
+     be a steady son after that. Properly speaking, he lived
+     perpetually in a state of nature, and with his mode of
+     existence the necessity for self-defence floated daily before
+     his eyes. Hence his constant pistol-shooting. Every moment he
+     expected to be called out. He could not live alone. Hence, with
+     all his oddities, he was very indulgent to his associates. He
+     one evening read his fine poem on the Death of Sir John Moore,
+     and his noble friends did not know what to make of it. This did
+     not move him, but he put it away again. As a poet, he really
+     showed himself a lamb. Another would have commended them to the
+     devil.'"
+
+Yet Goethe had a curious theory in respect to criticism, and believed it
+possible for a foreigner to understand the achievements of a language
+not his own better than those to whom it is native--in which we think he
+was partially correct. In the following he criticises CARLYLE.
+
+     "'Sit down,' said he, 'and let us talk awhile. A new
+     translation of Sophocles has just arrived. It reads well, and
+     seems to be excellent; I will compare it with Solgar. Now, what
+     say you to Carlyle?' I told him what I had been reading upon
+     Fonqu�. 'Is not that very good?' said Goethe. 'Aye, there are
+     clever people over the sea, who know us and can appreciate
+     us?... We are weakest in the �sthetic department, and may wait
+     long before we meet such a man as Carlyle. It is pleasant to
+     see that intercourse is now so close between the French,
+     English, and Germans, that we shall be able to correct one
+     another. This is the greatest use of a world-literature, which
+     will show itself more and more. Carlyle has written a life of
+     Schiller, and judged him as it would be difficult for a German
+     to judge him. On the other hand, we are clear about Shakspeare
+     and Byron, and can, perhaps, appreciate their merits better
+     than the English themselves."
+
+Carlyle is frequently referred to, and always thus. The clear-sighted,
+great old man, already perceives how much his fame will owe to such an
+apostle and preacher of his faith--for he sees also what Carlyle himself
+will become. The mention of Lockhart is also very interesting.
+
+     "I asked about Lockhart, and whether he still recollected him.
+     'Perfectly well!' returned Goethe. 'His personal appearance
+     makes so decided an impression that one cannot easily forget
+     him. From all I hear from Englishmen, and from my
+     daughter-in-law, he must be a young man from whom great things
+     in literature are to be expected. I almost wonder that Walter
+     Scott does not say a word about Carlyle, who has so decided a
+     German tendency that he must certainly be known to him. It is
+     admirable in Carlyle that, in his judgment of our German
+     authors, he has especially in view the mental and moral core
+     as that which is really influential. Carlyle is a moral force
+     of great importance. There is in him much for the future, and
+     we cannot foresee what he will produce and effect.'"
+
+Again:
+
+     "'It is pleasant to see,' said Goethe, 'how the earlier
+     pedantry of the Scotch has changed into earnestness and
+     profundity. When I recollect how the 'Edinburgh Reviewers'
+     treated my works not many years since, and when I now consider
+     Carlyle's merits with respect to German literature, I am
+     astonished at the important step for the better. In Carlyle,'
+     said he, 'I venerate most of all the mind and the character
+     which lie at the foundation of his tendencies. The chief point
+     with him is the culture of his own nation; and, in the literary
+     productions of other countries, which he wishes to make known
+     to his contemporaries, he pays less attention to the arts of
+     talent, than to the moral elevation which can be attained
+     through such works. Yes,' said Goethe, 'the temper in which he
+     works is always admirable. What an earnest man he is! and how
+     he has studied us Germans! He is always more at home in our
+     literature than ourselves. At any rate we cannot vie with him
+     in our researches in English literature.'"
+
+
+
+
+MR. KELLOGG'S EXPLORATION OF MT. SINAI.
+
+
+The last volume of _Bohn's Illustrated Library_ (published in New-York
+by Bangs & Brother), is "Scripture Lands, Described in a Series of
+Historical, Geographical, and Topographical Sketches," by JOHN KITTO,
+D.D., F.S.A., the well-known author of the Dictionary of the Bible, &c.
+It embraces, in a convenient and condensed form, results of the most
+important recent investigations by travellers and scholars in the
+countries sacred for their connection with the history of true religion.
+With other things by Americans, Dr. Kitto gives a prominent place to Mr.
+MINER K. KELLOGG'S account of Mt. Sinai, which we reprint below; and we
+cannot let the opportunity pass unimproved, of expressing a hope that
+Mr. Kellogg will prepare for the press the voluminous notes which we
+know him to possess of his various and interesting travels in the
+ancient world, which he saw with the eye of an artist, the head of a
+scholar, and the heart of a Christian. If he would, he might give us a
+most delightful and instructive book upon the East, and one that would
+be eminently popular, though Asia has been of all the continents the
+most frequently described. Dr. Kitto says:
+
+"At the foot of the pass which leads up to the sacred shrine beneath the
+awful mount, from whose summit Jehovah proclaimed his law to the
+trembling hosts of Israel, Dr. Robinson says,--'We commenced the slow
+and toilsome ascent along the narrow defile, about south by east,
+between blackened, shattered cliffs of granite, some eight hundred feet
+high, and not more than two hundred and fifty yards apart, which every
+moment threatened to send down their ruins on our heads. Nor is this at
+all times an empty threat; for the whole pass is filled with large
+stones and rocks, the _d�bris_ of these cliffs. The bottom is a deep and
+narrow water-course, where the wintry torrent sweeps down with fearful
+violence. A path has been made for camels, along the shelving rocks,
+partly by removing the topmost blocks, sometimes in the manner of a
+Swiss mountain-road. But though I had crossed the most rugged passes of
+the Alps, and made from Chamouni the whole circuit of Mont Blanc, I had
+never found a path so rude and difficult as that we were now ascending.'
+
+"After toiling along for nearly two hours, our travellers continue their
+narrative:
+
+"'Here the interior and lofty peaks of the great circle of Sinai began
+to open upon us--black, rugged, desolate summits; and, as we advanced,
+the dark and frowning front of Sinai itself (the present Horeb of the
+monks) began to appear. We were gradually ascending, and the valley
+gradually opening; but as yet all was a naked desert. Afterwards, a few
+shrubs were sprinkled round about, and a small encampment of black tents
+was seen on our right, with camels and goats browsing, and a few donkeys
+belonging to the convent. The scenery through which we had now passed
+reminded me strongly of the mountains around the Mer de Glace in
+Switzerland. I had never seen a spot more wild and desolate.
+
+"'As we advanced, the valley still opened wider and wider with a gentle
+ascent, and became full of shrubs and tufts of herbs, shut in on each
+side by lofty granite ridges, and rugged, shattered peaks, a thousand
+feet high, while the face of Horeb rose directly before us. Both my
+companion and myself involuntarily exclaimed, "here is room enough for a
+large encampment!"
+
+"'Reaching the top of the ascent or watershed, a fine broad plain lay
+before us, sloping down gently towards the south-south-east, inclosed by
+rugged and venerable mountains of dark granite, stern, naked, splintered
+peaks, and ridges of indescribable grandeur; and terminated, at a
+distance of more than a mile, by the bold and awful front of Horeb,
+rising perpendicularly in frowning majesty, from twelve to fifteen
+hundred feet in height. It was a scene of solemn grandeur, wholly
+unexpected, and such as we had never seen; and the associations which at
+the moment rushed upon our minds were almost overwhelming.'
+
+"They subsequently ascended the frowning summit of Horeb, and sketched
+the scene from that point:--'The whole plain, er-Rahah, lay spread out
+beneath our feet, with the adjacent wadys and mountains; while Wady
+esh-Sheikh on the right, and the recess on the left, both connected with
+and opening broadly from er-Rahah, presented an area which serves nearly
+to double that of the plain.
+
+"'Our conviction was strengthened that here, or on some of the adjacent
+cliffs, was the spot where the Lord "descended in fire," and proclaimed
+the law. Here lay the plain where the whole congregation might be
+assembled; here was the mount that could be approached, if not
+forbidden; and here the mountain brow, where alone the lightning and the
+thick cloud would be visible, and the thunders and the voice of the
+trump be heard, when the Lord "came down in the sight of all the people
+upon Mount Sinai."
+
+"'We gave ourselves up to the impressions of the awful scene; and read,
+with a feeling that will never be forgotten, the sublime account of the
+transactions, and the commandments there promulgated, in the original
+words as recorded by the great Hebrew legislator.'"
+
+"Other travellers have explored a valley on the southern base of Sinai,
+which was shut out from the view of Dr. Robinson in his ascent by a long
+ridge of rocks, and which has been found, by measurement of Krafft and
+Strauss, and others, to be even greater than the valley of er-Rahah on
+the north. This, it is supposed by Ritter and others, may have been
+occupied by the Israelites at the giving of the Law. The locality of
+this tremendous scene may perhaps be determined by future researches.
+
+"An American artist and scholar, Mr. M. K. Kellogg, has lately given an
+interesting account of this valley, which appears to be much more
+extensive than er-Rahah, and better suited for the accommodation of the
+immense camp of Israel. To reach this station, the Israelites must have
+continued their march much further down the coast than on the other
+supposition, and turned at a bolder angle up into the mountains near the
+modern town of Tur or Tor. Dophkah, Alush, and Rephidim, must also, on
+this supposition, be transferred to other localities corresponding with
+this supposed line of march.
+
+"If there be such a valley at the southern base of Sinai, it seems very
+extraordinary that it should have escaped the notice of travellers. It
+must be visible from the summit of Sinai (Jebel Musa); but, seen only
+from that lofty summit, and running in an irregular line at the very
+base of the mountain, they must have overlooked it in their brief survey
+of the scenery, so grand, so gloomy and peculiar, which there engaged
+their contemplation. The subject, however, is so curious and
+interesting, that we insert in some detail the narrative of the American
+traveller to which these remarks refer.
+
+"'Having read a letter which appeared in the _Literary World_[F] of the
+20th November, from Dr. Ritter to Dr. Robinson, in which it is said that
+Laborde, in his _Commentary_ "has now for the first time established the
+plain of Wady Sebaiyeh at the southern base of Sinai;" and that this
+"furnishes an important point for the elucidation of the giving of the
+Law," I have been induced to submit to the consideration of the public,
+some of the notes from a journal which I kept during my travels in that
+region in the spring of 1844.[G]
+
+"'Although I have not yet seen the Commentaries of Laborde, and
+therefore cannot judge of their correctness in regard to this plain, yet
+I am happy in being able to furnish some testimony as to its existence
+and extent. Within the last few years a question has arisen as to the
+existence of a plain in front of Mount Sinai, capable of containing the
+multitude of Israelites who were to receive the commandments.
+
+"'Dr. Robinson is the first, I believe, who has attempted to prove that
+no such plain exists. In his _Researches_ he finds a plain at the
+north-east extremity of the mountain called er-Rahah, which he says was
+"the plain where the congregation of Israel were assembled," and that
+the mountain impending over it, the present Horeb, was "the scene of the
+awful phenomena in which the Law was proclaimed."
+
+"'He says he was satisfied, after much inquiry, "that in no other
+quarter of the peninsula, and certainly not around any of the higher
+peaks, is there a spot corresponding in any degree, so fully as this, to
+the historical account, and to the circumstances of the case." Starting
+upon the hypothesis that there is no other plain than the one he
+describes, he has been obliged to give the name of Sinai to one of the
+peaks which overlook this plain, in order that the Israelites might
+witness the awful ceremonies attending the promulgation of the Law which
+took place upon the holy mountain. If this hypothesis is founded on
+truth, then tradition is at fault, which has given to another part of
+this region the name of Sinai, and a capacious plain beneath it; we must
+throw aside all our faith in such tradition, and commence investigations
+which shall elicit the whole truth upon the subject.
+
+"'As many late travellers have been led into error respecting the
+topography of this district, by adopting, without investigation, the
+conclusions of Dr. Robinson, I feel it to be a duty to lay before you
+such facts as may be of service to those who shall hereafter journey
+into the wilderness of Sinai.
+
+"'On the 6th day of March, 1844, my two companions set out from the
+convent at Mount Sinai, for the purpose of ascending the mountain St.
+Catharine. I declined going with them, partly through indisposition, and
+partly because I thought I could spend the day more usefully in making
+sketches in the neighboring convent. After my friend's departure with
+the guides, I took a little Arab boy with me to carry my sketch-book and
+water-bottle, and walked up Wady Shueib, until I came to the little
+Mountain of the Cross (Neja), which almost shuts up the passage into
+Wady Sebaiyeh, and where I had, for the first time, a view of the
+southern face of Mount Sinai. Here opened an extended picture of the
+mountains lying to the south of the Sinaite range, for I was now some
+three hundred feet above the adjacent valleys.
+
+"'After much difficulty, I succeeded in climbing over immense masses of
+granite, to the side of the Mountain of the Cross, which I ascended
+about five hundred feet on its south-western face, in order to obtain a
+good view of the peak of Sinai, which I was anxious to sketch. Here,
+close at my right, arose, almost perpendicularly, the Holy Mountain; its
+shattered pyramidal peak towering above me some 1400 feet, of a brownish
+tint, presenting vertical strata of granite, which threw off the
+glittering rays of the morning sun. Clinging around its base was a range
+of sharp, upheaving crags, from one hundred to two hundred feet in
+height, which formed an almost impassable barrier to the mountain itself
+from the valley adjoining. These crags were separated from the mountain
+by a deep and narrow gorge, yet they must be considered as forming the
+projecting base of Sinai.
+
+"'Directly in front of me was a level valley, stretching onward to the
+south for two or three miles, and inclosed on the east, west, and south
+by low mountains of various altitudes, all much less, however, than that
+of Sinai. This valley passed behind the Mountain of the Cross to my
+left, and out of view, so that I could not calculate its northern extent
+from where I stood. The whole scene was one of inexpressible grandeur
+and solemnity, and I seated myself to transfer some of its remarkable
+features to the pages of my portfolio.
+
+"'I remained at work until nearly sunset, when I discovered people
+coming towards me through the dark ravine between the mountain of Sinai
+and the craggy spurs which shoot up around its base. I feared they might
+prove to be unfriendly Arabs; but, as they came nearer I discovered them
+to be my companions and their guides, who were returning from Mount St.
+Catharine. As the shades of evening were approaching, I shut up my
+portfolio, and descending the hillside, I joined my friends, and we
+returned together to the convent. After dinner, they desired to see what
+I had done during the day, and my sketch-book was opened to them. They
+remarked, on seeing the drawing I had made, that as there was no plain
+on the southern border of the mountain, I might as well have left out
+the one seen in the drawing. After my assurance that I had copied what
+was before me, they laughed, and remarked that none but a painter's
+imagination could have seen the plain in question, for they had passed
+entirely around the mountain that day, and could assert _positively_
+that there was no such plain. Here was a difference of opinion
+certainly, and one that I did not relish much, as it might at some
+future time be the means of creating a doubt as to the faithfulness of
+my eastern drawings. I begged them, therefore, to accompany me the next
+day to that side of the mountain, and be convinced of what I told them.
+They remarked that all authority was against me, and time was too
+precious to go over the same ground twice.'"
+
+"It seems that one of them, however, accompanied the writer in his
+further exploration of the ensuing day, for he uses the plural number,
+and speaks of his 'friend.' We thus condense his statements: One day
+(7th March) is described as having been spent in Wady es-Sabaiyeh, or
+the plain before Mount Sinai. After having penetrated into this wady, he
+says: 'We took our course along the base of Jebel Deir, until we came to
+a point whence the peak of Sinai was no longer visible, because of the
+intervening point of Jebel Deir; then striking across Sebaiyeh to the
+right, keeping Sinai in view, we stopped to contemplate the scene. Here
+the plain is very wide, and forms one with Wady Sedout, which enters it
+from the south-east at a very acute angle, and in the whole of which
+Sinai is plainly visible. These two wadys make a width of at least the
+third of a mile. The hills rising from the east and south of Sebaiyeh,
+in front of Sinai, are of gentle ascent, upon which flocks might feed,
+and the people stand in full view of Sinai. For many miles, perhaps six
+or more, on the eastern border of this plain, are seen many small plains
+high up among the hills, from all of which Sinai is plainly visible.
+Near where we stood, a high, rocky platform of granite arose from the
+plain, upon which I seated myself, and took a sketch of the valley to
+its junction with Wady esh-Sheikh on the north, where stands _Jebel
+Fureia_, a very conspicuous and singular mountain. At this point, Wady
+Sheikh turns from its eastern course, after leaving Wady Rahah, and runs
+north around Jebel Fureia, where it receives Sebaiyeh from the south,
+and with it forms one unbroken plain for about twelve miles to the north
+of the place where I was seated. Turning back now to the south, we
+traversed the plain towards the base of Sinai. The wady grew gently
+narrower as we approached Neja, whose base projected far into the plain,
+and whose head shuts off the view of Sinai for a distance of about
+one-half the width of the plain at its base.
+
+"'As we passed its foot, Sinai again appeared, and we measured the plain
+near the pathway which leads up towards Sinai on the southern border of
+Neja, and which appears to be the only entrance to the Holy Mountain.
+The measured width here was four hundred and thirty feet. Passing on
+three hundred and forty-five paces, we arrived at the narrowest part of
+the plain, some few yards narrower than where we had measured it. This
+may be considered as an entrance-door to the plain, which lies directly
+in front of Sinai, which now spreads out level, clear, and broad, going
+on to the south with varied widths for about three miles on gently
+ascending ground, where it passes between two sloping hills and enters
+another wady which descends beyond, from which it is most probable Sinai
+may yet be clearly seen.
+
+"'On the east, this plain of Sebaiyeh is bounded by mountains having
+long, sloping bases, and covered with wild thyme and other herbs,
+affording a good tenting-ground immediately fronting Sinai, which forms,
+as it were, a grand pyramidal pulpit to the magnificent amphitheatre
+below. The width of the plain immediately in front of Sinai is about
+1600 feet, but further south the width is much increased, so that on an
+average the plain may be considered as being nearly one-third of a mile
+wide, and its length, in view of Mount Sinai, between five and six
+miles. The good tenting-ground on the mountain sides mentioned above,
+would give much more space for the multitude on the great occasion for
+which they were assembled. This estimate does not include that part of
+the plain to the north, and Wady esh-Sheikh, from which the peak of
+Sinai is not visible; for this space would contain three or four times
+the number of people which Sebaiyeh would hold.
+
+"'From Wady Sebaiyeh we crossed over the granite spurs, in order to pass
+around the southern border of Sinai into Wady Lejah. These spurs are of
+sufficient size to have separate names among the Arabs. Around them were
+generally deep and rugged gorges and ravines, or water-courses, whose
+sides were formed of ledges of granite nearly perpendicular, of a pink
+color, and fine texture. There are no _gravel_ hills, as mentioned by
+Dr. Robinson, but a series of low granite hills, much broken up, and of
+different colors, principally of a greenish-gray and brown. The plain is
+covered with a fine _d�bris_ of granite. Whilst crossing over these low
+hills, my friend pointed out the path between them and Sinai, in the
+ravine, through which he had passed yesterday on his return from St.
+Catharine; and it was seen that no plain would be visible from any part
+of it, owing to the height of the spurs which separated the ravine from
+Sebaiyeh, and we concluded that most travellers had been led into false
+views concerning this part of the mountain from having taken the same
+path, and hence it was that no account has been given respecting the
+plain of Sebaiyeh. This ravine around Sinai becomes a deep impassable
+gorge, with perpendicular walls, as it enters Wady Lejah, passing
+through the high neck connecting with the mountain on the south.
+
+"'Descending into Lejah, under the rocky precipice of Sinai, we found
+the wady narrow and choked up with huge blocks of granite which had
+tumbled from the sides of the adjacent mountains. We could now see the
+olive-ground of the deserted convent of _el-Arbain_, situated in the
+bottom of the narrow valley. Passing through this garden, we found a
+fine running stream of crystal water, of which we partook freely, for
+our thirst was great. The garden was walled, and well irrigated by many
+small canals, but nothing seemed to flourish but the olive.
+
+"'Continuing down the valley, amidst loose rocks of granite, upon some
+of which were inscriptions in the Sinaite, Greek, and Arabic characters,
+and enjoying the wildness of the scene, and the gloomy grandeur of the
+lofty mountains of naked rocks which almost overhung our path, we saw
+Horeb on our right, and soon entered upon the plain before it called
+_Wady Rahah_. After taking a view of Horeb as the sun was setting, we
+made our way to the convent, to pass the night within its hospitable
+walls. Thus was completed a walk around the whole mountain of Sinai.
+
+"'The results of these investigations, together with the information
+afforded by Burckhardt and other travellers, have served to convince my
+own mind that this district is every way adapted to the circumstances
+attending the encampment of the Israelites during the promulgation of
+the law upon Mount Sinai Though other mountains in this vicinity may
+answer as well as that of Jebel Musa for this great purpose, still I
+cannot see any good reason for taking from this mountain that holy
+character with which tradition has invested it for the last fifteen
+centuries.'
+
+"Thus," says Dr. Kitto, "it seems that the question as to the
+camping-ground of the Israelites, which seemed to have been settled by
+the researches of Dr. Robinson and others, must now be regarded as
+re-opened for further investigations. The fact is, that a complete and
+careful survey of the whole of this central mountain region yet remains
+to be taken."
+
+The friend of Mr. Kellogg alluded to in the preceding pages was an
+English gentleman, Mr. Ackanth, (of the East India Service,) whose notes
+will amply vindicate Mr. Kellogg's conclusions.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[F] The _Literary World_ at that period was edited by the able, candid,
+and universally beloved C.F. Hoffman.--(Ed. Int.)
+
+[G] "The writer seems not to have been aware that this still leaves the
+priority to Laborde--whose journey was undertaken even earlier than that
+of Robinson, and whose really valuable work, _Commentaire Geographique
+sur l'Exode et les Nombres_, which now lies before us, was _published_
+in the very year of Mr. Kellogg's journey, 1844. This work certainly
+forms the best _literary_ result of Laborde's celebrated journey."
+
+
+
+
+LAFAYETTE, TALLEYRAND, METTERNICH, AND NAPOLEON.
+
+Sketched By Lord Holland.[H]
+
+
+Lord Holland, says the _Examiner_, has been induced by "the recent
+events on the Continent" to publish what his father had written on
+foreign politics. "If not wholly impartial," the present Lord Holland
+remarks of his father, "he is acknowledged by all who knew him to have
+been as candid as he was benevolent." He might have said more than
+this--indeed far more than it might have been quite becoming in a son to
+say. The late Lord Holland was a noble example of the highest and best
+traits of the English character. Throughout his public life he was the
+champion of all just causes; the friend of all who fairly sought
+redress; the fearless advocate of liberty, religious and civil, in days
+disastrous to both; a statesman of singular courage and consistency, a
+most accomplished gentleman and scholar. He had learning without
+pedantry, and wit without ill-nature. His sweetness of temper and
+fascinating grace of manner had been commemorated by many distinguished
+men who had felt their winning potency and charm. But above all he had a
+store of observation and anecdote of the richest kind, and a power of
+applying it with surprising felicity to whatever subject might be under
+discussion. This book is a delightful surviving proof of that quality in
+his character. Its anecdotes are told with a charming ease and fulness
+of knowledge. No one so quickly as Lord Holland detected the notable
+points, whether of a book or a man, or turned them to such happy
+account. We do not read a page of this volume without feeling that a
+supreme master of that exquisite art is speaking to us. It comprises
+recollections of the scenes and actors in the stirring drama which was
+played out on the Continent between 1791 and 1815. It opens with the
+death of Mirabeau and closes with the death of Napoleon. France,
+Denmark, Prussia, and Spain are the countries principally treated of.
+Lord Holland's first visit to France was in 1791, just after the death
+of Mirabeau and the disastrous flight to Varennes. LAFAYETTE seems to
+have been more disposed than any other public actor in the revolution to
+put faith in the king even after that incident, and his confidence won
+over the young English traveller. But the weakness as well as strength
+of Lafayette is well hit off.
+
+"Lafayette was, however, then as always, a pure disinterested man, full
+of private affection and public virtue, and not devoid of such talents
+as firmness of purpose, sense of honor, and earnestness of zeal will, on
+great occasions, supply. He was indeed accessible to flattery, somewhat
+too credulous, and apt to mistake the forms, or, if I may so phrase it,
+the pedantry of liberty for the substance, as if men could not enjoy any
+freedom without subscribing to certain abstract principles and arbitrary
+tests, or as if the profession and subscription, nay, the technical
+observance of such tests and principles, were not, on the other hand,
+often compatible with practical oppression and tyranny."
+
+MARIE ANTOINETTE is treated almost as badly as by Mr. Geffeson, who
+thought her a devil, far less tenderly than we should have expected. Her
+"amours" are spoken of, though with the limitation that "they were not
+numerous, scandalous, or degrading." We gather that Talleyrand believed
+her to have been guilty in a special instance named, and that Madame
+Champan had confessed it to him. At the same time her person is not very
+flatteringly described.
+
+"As I was not presented at Court, I never saw the Queen but at the
+play-house. She was then in affliction, and her countenance was, no
+doubt, disfigured by long suffering and resentment. I should not,
+however, suppose that the habitual expression of it, even in happier
+seasons, had ever been very agreeable. Her beauty, however extolled,
+consisted, I suspect, exclusively in a fair skin, a straight person, and
+a stately air, which her admirers termed dignity, and her enemies pride
+and disdain. Her total want of judgment and temper no doubt contributed
+to the disasters of the Royal Family, but there was no member of it to
+whom the public was uniformly so harsh and unjust, and her trial and
+death were among the most revolting parts of the whole catastrophe. She
+was indeed insensible when led to the scaffold; but the previous
+persecution which she underwent was base, unmanly, cruel, and ungenerous
+to the last degree."
+
+On the other hand, a better case is made out for Egalit� than any writer
+has yet been bold enough, or informed enough, to attempt. His false
+position with the Court is shown not to have been of his own seeking,
+and to have ultimately driven him reluctantly into the ranks of the
+extreme party. His courage is vindicated successfully, his sincerity and
+truthfulness less so. Lord Holland retained his regard for the Orleans
+family to the close of his life. He was one of the warmest defenders of
+the late King of the French. There are some capital notices of
+TALLYRAND.
+
+"It was in this visit to Paris in 1791, that I first formed acquaintance
+with M. Talleyrand. I have seen him in most of his vicissitudes of
+fortune; from his conversation I have derived much of the little
+knowledge I possess of the leading characters in France before and
+during the Revolution. He was then still a bishop. He had, I believe,
+been originally forced into holy orders, in consequence of his lameness,
+by his family, who, on that account, treated him with an indifference
+and unkindness shameful and shocking. He was for some time _aumonier_ to
+his uncle, the Archbishop of Rheims; and when Mr. Pitt went to that town
+to learn French, after the peace of 1782, he lodged him in an apartment
+in the abbey of St. Thierry, where he was then residing with his uncle,
+and constantly accompanied him for six weeks, a circumstance to which,
+as I have heard M. Talleyrand remark with some asperity, Mr. Pitt never
+had the grace to allude either during his embassy, or his emigration, or
+in 1794, when he refused to recall the cruel order by which he was sent
+away from England under the alien bill. Talleyrand was initiated into
+public affairs under M. de Calonne, and learnt from that lively minister
+the happy facility of transacting business without effort and without
+ceremony in the corner of a drawing-room, or in the recess of a window."
+
+Again--of Talleyrand's bon-mots. The bit at Chateaubriand is one of the
+happiest we can remember.
+
+"'Il faut avoir aim� Mme. de Sta�l pour connaitre tout le bonheur
+d'aimer une b�te,' was a saying of his much quoted at Paris at that
+time, in explanation of his passion for Mme. Grand, who certainly did
+not win him or any one else by the fascination of her wit or
+conversation. For thirty or forty years, the bon-mots of M. de
+Talleyrand were more frequently repeated and more generally admired
+than those of any living man. The reason was obvious. Few men uttered so
+many, and yet fewer any equally good. By a happy combination of neatness
+in language and ease and suavity of manner, with archness and sagacity
+of thought, his sarcasms assumed a garb at once so courtly and so
+careless, that they often diverted almost as much as they could mortify
+even their immediate objects. His humorous reproof to a gentleman
+vaunting with self-complacency the extreme beauty of his mother, and
+apparently implying that it might account for advantages in person in
+her descendants, is well known: 'C�tait donc,' said he, 'Monsieur votre
+p�re qui n'�tait pas si bien.' The following is more recent, but the
+humor of it hardly less arch or less refined. The celebrity of M. de
+Chateaubriand, the vainest of mortals, was on the wane. About the same
+time, it happened to be casually mentioned in conversation that
+Chateaubriand was affected with deafness, and complained bitterly of
+that infirmity. 'Je compends,' said Talleyrand; 'dequis qu'on a cess� de
+parler de lui, il se croit sourd.'"
+
+We find a long portrait gallery of ministers, and princes, and
+princesses, one more imbecile, ignorant, and corrupt than another. One
+minister did not know the difference between Russia and Prussia; another
+always wrote Asiatic for Henseatic, and thought his correction
+necessary. Much light is thrown on the first quarrel between Ferdinand
+and his father; and the narrow escape of the Duke of Infantado is well
+told. Godoy, like all who had the honor of Lord Holland's acquaintance,
+was in some degree a favorite of his, his good qualities being brought
+out to neutralize his many bad ones. Jovellanos and Arguelles appear the
+only honest characters in the midst of such a mass of vice, and even
+they were pedantic, impracticable, and prejudiced. No history,
+narrative, or memoir can be so disgusting as those of Spain and its
+court under the dominion of the House of Bourbon. The imagination of no
+novelist has ever attained that _acm�_ of duplicity, cruelty, villany,
+and cowardice, which made up the character of Ferdinand. The general
+opinion of PRINCE METTERNICH, since he has become familiar to London
+circles, has been rather to diminish former opinion of his superior
+wisdom. Lord Holland's early opinion of the prince is thus recorded:
+
+"He seems hardly qualified by any superior genius to assume the
+ascendency in the councils of his own and neighboring nations, which
+common rumor has for some years attributed to him. He appeared to me, in
+the short intercourse I had with him, little superior to the common run
+of continental politicians and courtiers, and clearly inferior to the
+Emperor of Russia in those qualities which secure an influence in great
+affairs. Some who admit the degrading but too prevalent opinion that a
+disregard to truth is useful and necessary in the government of mankind,
+have on that score maintained the contrary proposition. His manners are
+reckoned insinuating. In my slight acquaintance with him in London I was
+not struck with them; they seemed such as might have been expected from
+a German who had studied French vivacity in the fashionable novels of
+the day. I saw little of a sagacious and observant statesman, or of a
+courtier accustomed to very refined and enlightened society."
+
+But the statesman who sustained Austria and procured for it the alliance
+of France was not Metternich. Napoleon is known to have long wavered as
+to whether he would build his European system on a close alliance with
+Prussia or with Austria. Bignon we believe it is that gives the reasons
+in the imperial mind for and against. Prussia was the preferable ally,
+being a new country, untrammelled by aristocratic ideas, ambitious,
+military, and eager for domination. But Napoleon had humiliated Prussia
+too deeply to be forgiven. And then Napoleon had in those around him
+politicians who revered Austria for its antiquity and prestige, and who,
+like Lord Aberdeen, made the C�sar of Vienna the pivot on which their
+ideas of policy turned. Talleyrand was one of them. He worshipped
+Austria, opposed all his master's plans for crushing her, and even dared
+to thwart those plans by revealing them to Alexander, and prompting him
+secretly to oppose them. Such treachery fully warrants all the suspicion
+and harshness with which Napoleon treated Talleyrand. The latter's
+conduct is fully revealed in this volume by Lord Holland. In fact, the
+way in which Napoleon found his policy most seriously counteracted, and
+his projects foiled, was his weakness in employing the men of the
+_ancien regime_, the nobles, whom he preferred for their pleasing and
+good manners, but who invariably betrayed the _parvenu_ master, who
+employed and courted them. By an instance of this grievously misplaced
+confidence Napoleon lost his throne. In the last events and negotiations
+of 1814 Napoleon employed Caulaincourt, who, had he had full power,
+might have made an arrangement. Talleyrand and his party at the same
+time employed M. de Vitrolles, and sent him to the Emperor of Austria to
+learn on what terms he would be induced either to support Napoleon or
+abandon him. The Emperor of Austria was naturally most unwilling to
+proceed to the latter extreme. But M. Vitrolles, a secret agent of the
+Bourbons, so falsified and misrepresented everything to the Emperor that
+the sacrifice of Napoleon was assented to.
+
+Our last extract relates some traits of the great NAPOLEON which seem
+more than ordinarily worth his nephew's attention just now. They are
+taken from a somewhat elaborate character of the Emperor which occupies
+nearly a third of the volume.
+
+"Nothing could exceed the order and regularity with which his household
+both as Consul and Emperor was conducted. The great things he
+accomplished, and the savings he made, without even the imputation of
+avarice or meanness, with the sum comparatively inconsiderable of
+fifteen millions of francs a year, are marvellous, and expose his
+successors, and indeed all European Princes, to the reproach of
+negligence or incapacity. In this branch of his government he owed much
+to Duroc. It is said that they often visited the markets of Paris (les
+halles) dressed in plain clothes and early in the morning. When any
+great accounts were to be submitted to the Emperor, Duroc would apprize
+him in secret of some of the minutest details. By an adroit allusion to
+them or a careless remark on the points upon which he had received such
+recent and accurate information, Napoleon contrived to impress his
+audience with a notion that the master's eye was every where. For
+instance, when the Tuileries were furnished, the upholsterer's charges
+though not very exorbitant, were suspected by the Emperor to be higher
+than the usual profit of that trade would have warranted. He suddenly
+asked some minister who was with him how much the egg at the end of the
+bell-rope should cost? 'J'ignore,' was the answer.--'Eh bien! nous
+verrons,' said he, and then cut off the ivory handle, called for a
+valet, and bidding him dress himself in plain and ordinary clothes, and
+neither divulge his immediate commission or general employment to any
+living soul, directed him to inquire the price of such articles at
+several shops in Paris, and to order a dozen as for himself. They were
+one-third less dear than those furnished to the palace. The Emperor,
+inferring that the same advantage had been taken in the other articles,
+struck a third off the whole charge, and directed the tradesman to be
+informed that it was done at his express command, because on
+_inspection_ he had himself discovered the charges to be by one-third
+too exorbitant. When afterwards in the height of his glory he visited
+Caen with the Empress Maria Louisa, and a train of crowned heads and
+princes, his old friend, M. Mechin, the Prefect, aware of his taste for
+detail, waited upon him with five statistical tables of the expenditure,
+revenue, prices, produce, and commerce of the departments. 'C'est bon,'
+said he, when he received them the evening of his arrival, 'vous et moi
+nous ferous bien de l'esprit sur tout cela demain au Conseil.'
+Accordingly, he astonished all the leading proprietors of the department
+at the meeting next day, by his minute knowledge of the prices of good
+and bad cyder, and of the produce and other circumstances of the various
+districts of the department. Even the Royalist gentry were impressed
+with a respect for his person, which gratitude for the restitution of
+their lands had failed to inspire, and which, it must be acknowledged,
+the first faint hope of vengeance against their enemies entirely
+obliterated in almost every member of that intolerant faction. Other
+princes have shown an equal fondness for minute details with Napoleon,
+but here is the difference. The use they made of their knowledge was to
+torment their inferiors and weary their company: the purpose to which
+Napoleon applied it was to confine the expanses of the State to the
+objects and interests of the community."
+
+Lord Holland dwells at some length on the treatment to which Napoleon
+was subjected by the English Government, and on the generous attempts of
+Lady Holland to alleviate his captivity. This part of the volume has
+much present interest, and will be read with great eagerness by all. Of
+the Emperor's temper, he says:
+
+"Napoleon, even in the plenitude of his power, seldom gratified his
+revenge by resorting to any act either illegal or unjust, though he
+frequently indulged his ill-humor by speaking both of and to those who
+had displeased him in a manner mortifying to their feelings and their
+pride. The instances of his love of vengeance are very few: they are
+generally of an insolent rather than a sanguinary character, more
+discreditable to his head than his heart, and a proof of his want of
+manners, taste, and possibly feeling, but not of a dye to affect his
+humanity. Of what man, possessed of such extended yet such disputed
+authority, can so much be said? Of Washington? Of Cromwell? But
+Washington, if he had ever equal provocation and motives for revenge,
+certainly never possessed such power to gratify it. His glory, greater
+in truth than that of C�sar, Cromwell, and Bonaparte, was that he never
+aspired: but he disdained such power; he never had it, and cannot
+therefore deserve immoderate praise for not exerting what he did not
+possess. In the affair of General Lee, he did not, if I recollect, show
+much inclination to forgive. Even Cromwell did not possess the power of
+revenge to the same extent as Napoleon. There is reason, however, to
+infer from his moderation and forbearance that he would have used it as
+sparingly. But Cromwell is less irreproachable, on the score of another
+vice, viz., ingratitude. Napoleon not only never forgot a favor, but,
+unlike most ambitious characters, never allowed subsequent injuries to
+cancel his recollection of services. He was uniformly indulgent to the
+faults of those whom he had once distinguished. He saw them, he
+sometimes exposed and rectified, but he never punished or revenged them.
+Many have blamed him for this on the score of policy; but if it was not
+sense and calculation, it should be ascribed to good-nature. None, I
+presume, will impute it to weakness or want of discernment."
+
+This account of Napoleon's ideas on religion is curious, and we think
+new.
+
+"Whatever were the religious sentiments of this extraordinary man, such
+companions were likely neither to fix nor to shake, to sway nor to alter
+them. I have been at some pains to ascertain the little that can be
+known of his thoughts on such subjects, and, though it is not very
+satisfactory, it appears to me worth recording.
+
+"In the early periods of the Revolution, he, in common with many of his
+countrymen, conformed to the fashion of treating all such matters, both
+in conversation and action, with levity and even derision. In his
+subsequent career, like most men exposed to wonderful vicissitudes, he
+professed, half in jest and half in earnest, a sort of confidence in
+fatalism and predestination. But on some solemn public occasions, and
+yet more in private and sober discussion, he not only gravely disclaimed
+and reproved infidelity, but both by actions and words implied his
+conviction that a conversion to religious enthusiasm might befal
+himself, or any other man. He had more than tolerance--he had indulgence
+and respect for extravagant and ascetic notions of religious duty. He
+grounded that feeling not on their soundness or their truth, but on the
+uncertainty of what our minds may be reserved for, on the possibility of
+our being prevailed upon to admit and even to devote ourselves to tenets
+which at first excite our derision. It has been observed that there was
+a tincture of Italian superstition in his character; a sort of
+conviction from reason that the doctrines of revelation were not true,
+and yet a persuasion, or at least an apprehension, that he might live to
+think them so. He was satisfied that the seeds of belief were deeply
+sown in the human heart. It was on that principle that he permitted and
+justified, though he did not dare to authorize, the revival of La Trappe
+and other austere orders. He contended that they might operate as a
+safety-valve for the fanatical and visionary ferment which would
+otherwise burst forth and disturb society. In his remarks on the death
+of Duroc, and in the reasons he alleged against suicide, both in calm
+and speculative discussion and in moments of strong emotion, (such as
+occurred at Fontainbleau in 1814,) he implied a belief both in fatality
+and Providence.
+
+"In the programme of his coronation, a part of the ceremony was to
+consist in his taking the communion. But when the plan was submitted to
+him, he, to the surprise of those who had drawn it, was absolutely
+indignant at the suggestion. 'No man,' he said, 'had the means of
+knowing, or had the right to say, when or where he would take the
+sacrament, or whether he would or not.' On this occasion, he added, that
+he would not; nor did he.
+
+"There is some mystery about his conduct in similar respects at St.
+Helena, and during the last days of his life. He certainly had mass
+celebrated in his chapel while he was well, and in his bedroom when ill.
+But though I have reason to believe that the last sacraments were
+actually administered to him privately a few days before his death, and
+probably after confession, yet Count Montholon, from whom I derive
+indirectly my information, also stated that he received Napoleon's
+earnest and distinct directions to conceal all the preliminary
+preparations for that melancholy ceremony from all his other companions,
+and even to enjoin the priest, if questioned, to say he acted by Count
+Montholon's orders, but had no knowledge of the Emperor's wishes.
+
+"It seems as if he had some desire for such assurance as the Church
+could give, but yet was ashamed to own it. He knew that some at St.
+Helena, and more in France, would deem his recourse to such consolation
+infirmity; perhaps he deemed it so himself. Religion may sing her
+triumph, philosophy exclaim 'pauvre humanite,' more impartial scepticism
+despair of discovering the motive, but truth and history must, I
+believe, acknowledge the fact."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[H] _Foreign Reminiscences._ By Henry Richard Lord Holland. Edited by
+his Son, Henry Edward Lord Holland. Longman and Co., London. New-York:
+Harpers.
+
+
+
+
+JOHN JAMES AUDUBON.
+
+By Rufus W. Griswold.
+
+
+"Formerly," said Baron Cuvier, in a report to the Royal Academy of
+Sciences in Paris, "European naturalists had to make known her own
+treasures to America; but now her Mitchells, Harlans, and Charles
+Bonapartes, have repaid with interest the debt which she owed to Europe.
+The history of the American birds by Wilson, already equals in elegance
+our most beautiful works in ornithology, and if ever that of Audubon be
+completed, it will have to be confessed that in magnificence of
+execution the Old World is surpassed by the New." The work of the
+"American backwoodsman" thus alluded to, has long been completed; the
+great Cuvier subsequently acknowledged it to be "the most splendid
+monument which art has erected in honor of ornithology;" and the
+judgment of mankind has placed the name of our countryman first in the
+list of authors and artists who have illustrated the beautiful branch of
+natural history to which he has devoted so large a portion of his long
+and heroic life.
+
+JOHN JAMES AUDUBON was born in Louisiana about the year 1782. He was of
+French descent, and his parents perceiving early the bent of his genius
+sent him to Paris to pursue his education. While there he attended
+schools of natural history and the arts, and in drawing took lessons
+from the celebrated David. He returned in his eighteenth year, and his
+father soon after gave him a farm near Philadelphia, where the
+Perkioming creek falls into the Schuylkill. Its fine woods offered him
+numerous subjects for his pencil, and he here commenced that series of
+drawings which ultimately swelled into the magnificent collection of The
+Birds of America. Here too he was married, and here was born his eldest
+son. He engaged in commercial speculations, but was not successful. His
+love for the fields and flowers, the forests and their winged
+inhabitants, we readily suppose unfitted him for trade. At the end of
+ten years he removed to the west. There were then no steamboats on the
+Ohio, and few villages and no cities on its shores. Reaching that noble
+river in the warm days of autumn, he purchased a small boat in which,
+with his wife and child and two rowers, he leisurely pursued his way
+down to Henderson, in Kentucky, where his family resided several years.
+He appears at first to have engaged in commerce, for he mentions his
+meeting with Wilson, of whom till then he had never heard, as having
+occurred in his counting-room in Louisville in the spring of 1810. His
+great predecessor was procuring subscriptions for his work. He called on
+Audubon, explained the nature of his occupations, and requested his
+patronage. The merchant was surprised and gratified at the sight of his
+volumes, and had taken a pen to add his name to the list of subscribers,
+when his partner abruptly said to him in French, "My dear Audubon, what
+induces you to do so? your own drawings are certainly far better, and
+you must know as much of the habits of American birds as this gentleman.
+"Wilson probably understood the remark, for he appeared not to be
+pleased, and inquired whether Audubon had any drawings of birds. A large
+portfolio was placed upon the table, and all its contents exhibited by
+the amateur ornithologist. Wilson was surprised; he had supposed he was
+himself the only person engaged in forming such a collection; and asked
+if it was intended to publish them. Audubon replied in the negative: he
+had never thought of presenting the fruits of his labors to the world.
+Wilson was still more surprised; he lost his cheerfulness; and though
+before he left Louisville Audubon explored with him the neighboring
+woods, loaned him his drawings, and in other ways essayed to promote his
+interests and happiness, he shook the dust from his feet when he
+departed, and wrote in his diary that "literature or art had not a
+friend in the place." Far be it from me to write a word in dispraise of
+Alexander Wilson. He was a man of genius, enthusiasm, and patient
+endurance; an honor to the country of his birth, and a glory to that of
+his adoption; but he evidently could not bear the thought of being
+excelled. With all his merits he was even then greatly inferior to
+Audubon, and his heart failed him when he contrasted the performances
+which had won fame for him with those of the unknown lover of the same
+mistress, Nature, whom he thus encountered.
+
+Audubon must soon have abandoned or neglected his day-books and ledgers,
+for in 1811 we find him with his rifle and drawing paper among the
+bayous of Florida, and in the following years making long and tedious
+journeys, searching the forests and prairies, the shores of rivers,
+lakes, gulfs, and seas, for the subjects of his immortal work, of the
+publication of which, however, he had never yet had a thought.
+
+On the fifth of April, 1824, he visited Philadelphia, where the late Dr.
+Mease, whom he had known on his first arrival in Pennsylvania, presented
+him to Charles Lucien Bonaparte, who in his turn introduced him to the
+Lyceum of Natural History. He perceived that he could look for no
+patronage in this city, and so proceeded to New-York, where he was
+received with a kindness well suited to elevate his depressed spirits,
+and afterwards ascending the Hudson, went westward to the great lakes,
+and in the wildest solitudes of the pathless forests renewed his labors.
+He now began to think of visiting Europe; the number of his drawings had
+greatly increased notwithstanding a misfortune by which two hundred of
+them, representing nearly a thousand birds, had been destroyed; and he
+fancied his work under the hands of the engraver. "Happy days and nights
+of pleasing dreams" followed, as he retired farther from the haunts of
+men, determined to leave nothing undone which could be accomplished by
+time or toil. Another year and a half passed by; he returned to his
+family, then in Louisiana; and having explored the woods of that state,
+at last sailed for England, where he arrived in 1826. In Liverpool and
+Manchester his works procured him a generous reception from the most
+distinguished men of science and letters; and when he proceeded to
+Edinburgh and exhibited there his four hundred paintings, "the hearts of
+all warmed toward Audubon," says Professor Wilson, "who were capable of
+conceiving the difficulties, dangers, and sacrifices that must have been
+encountered, endured, and overcome before genius could have embodied
+these, the glory of its innumerable triumphs."[I] "The man himself," at
+this period writes the same eloquent author in another work, "is just
+what you would expect from his productions; full of fine enthusiasm and
+intelligence, most interesting in his looks and manners, a perfect
+gentleman, and esteemed by all who know him for the simplicity and
+frankness of his nature."[J]
+
+His reception encouraged him to proceed immediately with his plans of
+publication. It was a vast undertaking which it would take probably
+sixteen years to accomplish, and when his first drawings were delivered
+to the engraver he had not a single subscriber. His friends pointed out
+the rashness of the project and urged him to abandon it. "But my heart
+was nerved," he exclaims, "and my reliance on that Power on whom all
+must depend brought bright anticipations of success." Leaving his work
+in the care of his engravers and agents, in the summer of 1828 he
+visited Paris, and received the homage of the most distinguished men of
+science in that capital. Humboldt too, whose gigantic intelligence arose
+above all others in central Europe, became his warm friend, and remained
+until his death a sympathizing correspondent.
+
+The ensuing winter was passed in London, and in April, 1829, he returned
+to America to explore anew the woods of the middle and southern states.
+Accompanied by his wife he left New Orleans on the eighth of January,
+1830, for New-York, and on the twenty-fifth of April, just a year from
+the time of his departure, he was again in the Great Metropolis. Before
+the close of 1830, he had issued his first volume, containing one
+hundred plates, representing ninety-nine species of birds, every figure
+of the size and colors of life. The applause with which it was received
+was enthusiastic and universal. The kings of England and France had
+placed their names at the head of his subscription list; he was made a
+fellow of the Royal Societies of London and Edinburgh; a member of the
+Natural History Society of Paris, and other celebrated institutions; and
+Cuvier, Swainson, and indeed the great ornithologists of every country,
+exhausted the words of panegyric in his praise.
+
+On the first of August, 1831, Audubon arrived once more in New-York, and
+having passed a few days with his friends there and in Philadelphia,
+proceeded to Washington, where the President and other principal
+officers of the government gave him letters of assistance and protection
+to be used all along the coasts and inland frontiers where there were
+collectors of revenue or military or naval forces. He had previously
+received similar letters from the king's ministers to the authorities of
+the British colonies.
+
+The next winter and spring were passed in the Floridas and in
+Charleston; and early in the summer, bending his course northward to
+keep pace with the birds in their migrations, he arrived in
+Philadelphia, where he was joined by his family. The cholera was then
+spreading death and terror through the country, and on reaching Boston
+he was himself arrested by sickness and detained until the middle of
+August. "Although I have been happy in forming many valuable friendships
+in various parts of the world, all dearly cherished by me," he says,
+"the outpouring of kindness which I experienced in Boston far exceeded
+all that I have ever met with;"[K] and he tells us, with characteristic
+enthusiasm, of his gratitude to the Appletons, Everetts, Quincys,
+Pickerings, Parkmans, and other eminent gentlemen and scholars of that
+beautiful and hospitable city.
+
+Proceeding at length upon his mission, he explored the forests of Maine
+and New Brunswick, and the shores of the Bay of Fundy, and chartering a
+vessel at Eastport, sailed for the gulf of St. Lawrence, the Magdalen
+Islands, and the coast of Labrador. Returning as the cold season
+approached, he visited Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, and rejoining his
+family proceeded to Charleston, where he spent the winter, and in the
+spring, after nearly three years' travel and research, sailed a third
+time for England.
+
+Among the warmest of his British friends, was always the congenial
+Wilson, great as a poet, greater as critic, and greatest of all as the
+author of the _Noctes Ambrosian�_, which contain more wit and humor,
+more sound theology, philosophy, and politics, and better and more
+various literature, than any other man now living has furnished in a
+single work. This almost universal genius, whose relish for the rod and
+gun and wild wood was scarcely less than that he felt for the best
+suppers of Ambrose, or the sharpest onslaught on the Whigs in
+Parliament, thoroughly appreciated and heartily loved our illustrious
+countryman, and in Blackwood's Magazine for January, 1835, he gives us
+the following admirable sketch of the visit he now made to Edinburgh:
+
+     "We were sitting one night, lately, all alone by ourselves,
+     almost unconsciously eyeing the members, fire without flame, in
+     the many-visioned grate, but at times aware of the symbols and
+     emblems there beautifully built up, of the ongoings of human
+     life, when a knocking, not loud but resolute, came to the front
+     door, followed by the rustling thrill of the bell-wire, and
+     then by a tinkling far below, too gentle to waken the house
+     that continued to enjoy the undisturbed dream of its repose. At
+     first we supposed it might be but some late-home-going
+     knight-errant from a feast of shells, in a mood, 'between
+     malice and true-love,' seeking to disquiet the slumbers of Old
+     Christopher, in expectation of seeing his night-cap (which he
+     never wears) popped out of the window, and of hearing his voice
+     (of which he is charry in the open air) simulating a scold upon
+     the audacious sleep-breaker. So we benevolently laid back our
+     head on our easy-chair, and pursued our speculations on the
+     state of affairs in general--and more particularly on the
+     floundering fall of that inexplicable people--the Whigs. We had
+     been wondering, and of our wondering found no end, what could
+     have been their chief reasons for committing suicide. It
+     appeared a case of very singular _felo-de-se_--for they had so
+     timed the 'rash act,' as to excite strong suspicions in the
+     public mind that his Majesty had committed murder.
+     Circumstances, however, had soon come to light, that proved to
+     demonstration, that the wretched Ministry had laid violent
+     hands on itself, and effected its purpose by strangulation.
+     There--was the fatal black ring visible round the neck--through
+     a mere thread; there--were the blood-shot eyes protruding from
+     the sockets; there--the lip-biting teeth clenched in the last
+     convulsions; and there--sorriest sight of all--was the ghastly
+     suicidical smile, last relic of the laughter of despair. But
+     the knocking would not leave the door--and listening to its
+     character, we were assured that it came from the fist of a
+     friend, who saw light through the chinks of the shutter, and
+     knew, moreover, that we never put on the shroud of death's
+     pleasant brother sleep, till 'ae wee short hour ayont the
+     twal,' and often not till earliest cock-crow, which chanticleer
+     utters somewhat drowsily, and then replaces his head beneath
+     his wing, supported on one side by a partlet, on the other by a
+     hen. So we gathered up our slippered feet from the rug, lamp in
+     hand stalked along the lobbies, unchained and unlocked the oak
+     which our faithful night porter Somnus had sported--and lo! a
+     figure muffled up in a cloak, and furred like a Russ, who
+     advanced familiarly into the hall, extended both hands and then
+     embracing us, bade God bless us, and pronounced, with somewhat
+     of a foreign accent, the name in which we and the world
+     rejoice--Christopher North!' We were not slow in returning the
+     hug fraternal--for who was it but the 'American
+     Woodsman?'--even Audubon himself--fresh from the Floridas--and
+     breathing of the pure air of far-off Labrador!
+
+     "Three years and upwards had fled since we had taken farewell
+     of the illustrious Ornithologist--on the same spot--at the same
+     hour; and there was something ghostlike in such return of a
+     dear friend from a distant region--almost as if from the land
+     of spirits. It seemed as if the same moon again looked at
+     us--but then she was wan and somewhat sad--now clear as a
+     diamond, and all the starry heavens wore a smile. "Our words
+     they were na mony feck'--but in less time than we have taken to
+     write it--we two were sitting cheek by jowl, and hand in hand,
+     by that essential fire--while we showed by our looks that we
+     both felt, now they were over, that three years were but as one
+     day! The cane coal-scuttle, instinct with spirit, beeted the
+     fire of its own accord, without word or beck of ours, as if
+     placed there by the hands of one of our wakeful Lares; in globe
+     of purest crystal the Glenlivet shone; unasked the bright brass
+     kettle began to whisper its sweet 'under song;' and a centenary
+     of the fairest oysters native to our isle turned towards us
+     their languishing eyes, unseen the Nereid that had on the
+     instant wafted them from the procreant cradle beds of
+     Prestonpans. Grace said, we drew in to supper, and hobnobbing,
+     from elegant long-shank, down each naturalist's gullet
+     graciously descended, with a gurgle, the mildest, the meekest,
+     the very Moses of Ales.
+
+     "Audubon, ere half an hour had elapsed, found an opportunity of
+     telling us that he had never seen us in a higher state of
+     preservation--and in a low voice whispered something about the
+     eagle renewing his youth. We acknowledged the kindness by a
+     remark on bold bright birds of passage that find the seasons
+     obedient to their will, and wing their way through worlds still
+     rejoicing in the perfect year. But too true friends were we not
+     to be sincere in all we seriously said; and while Audubon
+     confessed that he saw rather more plainly than when we parted
+     the crowfeet in the corners of our eyes, we did not deny that
+     we saw in him an image of the Falco Lencocephalus, for that,
+     looking on his 'carum caput,' it answered his own description
+     of that handsome and powerful bird, viz. 'the general color of
+     the plumage above is dull hair-brown, the lower parts being
+     deeply brown, broadly margined with greyish white.' But here he
+     corrected us: for 'surely, my dear friend,' quoth he, 'you must
+     admit I am a living specimen of the Adult Bird, and you
+     remember my description of him in my First Volume.' And thus
+     blending our gravities and our gayeties, we sat facing one
+     another, each with his last oyster on the prong of his trident,
+     which disappeared, like all mortal joys, between a smile and a
+     sigh.
+
+     "How similar--in much--our dispositions--yet in almost all how
+     dissimilar our lives! Since last we parted, 'we scarcely heard
+     of half a mile from home'--he tanned by the suns and beaten by
+     the storms of many latitudes--we like a ship laid up in
+     ordinary, or anchored close in shore within the same sheltering
+     bay--with sails unfurled and flags flying but for sake of show
+     on some holyday--he like a ship that every morning had been
+     dashing through a new world of waves--often close-reefed or
+     under bare poles--but oftener affronting the heavens with a
+     whiter and swifter cloud than any hoisted by the combined
+     fleets in the sky. And now, with canvas unrent, and masts
+     unsprung, returned to the very buoy she left. Somewhat faded,
+     indeed, in her apparelling--but her hull sound as ever--not a
+     speck of dry rot in her timbers--her keel unscathed by
+     rock--her cut-water yet sharp as new-whetted scythe ere the
+     mower renews his toil--her figure-head, that had so often
+     looked out for squalls, now 'patient as the brooding dove'--and
+     her bowsprit--but let us man the main-brace; nor is there purer
+     spirit--my trusty frere--in the Old World or the New.
+
+     "It was quite a Noctes. Audubon told us--by snatches--all his
+     travels, history, with many an anecdote interspersed of the
+     dwellers among the woods--bird, beast, and man.
+
+     "All this and more he told us, with a cheerful voice and
+     animated eyes, while the dusky hours were noiselessly wheeling
+     the chariot of Night along the star-losing sky; and we too had
+     something to tell him of our own home-loving obscurity, not
+     ungladdened by studies sweet in the Forest--till Dawn yoked her
+     dappled coursers for one single slow stage--and then jocund
+     Morn leaping up on the box, took the ribbons in her rosy
+     fingers, and, after a dram of dew, blew her bugle, and drove
+     like blazes right on towards the gates of Day."
+
+     "His great work," says Wilson, elsewhere, "was indeed a
+     perilous undertaking for a stranger in Britain, without the
+     patronage of powerful friends, and with no very great means of
+     his own--all of which he embarked in the enterprise dearest to
+     is heart. Had it failed, Audubon would have been a ruined
+     man--and that fear must have sometimes dismally disturbed him,
+     for he is not alone in life, and is a man of strong family
+     affections. But happily those nearest his breast are as
+     enthusiastic in the love of natural science as himself--and
+     were all willing to sink or swim with the beloved husband and
+     venerated father. America may well be proud of him--and he
+     gratefully records the kindness he has experienced from so many
+     of her most distinguished sons. In his own fame he is just and
+     generous to all who excel in the same studies; not a particle
+     of jealousy is in his composition; a sin, that, alas! seems too
+     easily to beset too many of the most gifted spirits in
+     literature and in science; nor is the happiest
+     genius--imaginative or intellectual--such is the frailty of
+     poor human nature at the best--safe from the access of that
+     dishonouring passion."
+
+The second volume of The Birds of America was finished in 1834, and in
+December of that year he published in Edinburgh the second volume of the
+Ornithological Biography. Soon after, while he was in London, a nobleman
+called upon him, with his family, and on examining some of his original
+drawings, and being told that it would still require eight years to
+complete the work, subscribed for it, saying, "I may not see it
+finished, but my children will." The words made a deep impression on
+Audubon. "The solemnity of his manner I could not forget for several
+days," he writes in the introduction to his third volume; "I often
+thought that neither might I see the work completed, but at length
+exclaimed, 'My sons may;' and now that another volume, both of my
+illustrations and of my biographies, is finished, my trust in Providence
+is augmented, and I cannot but hope that myself and my family together
+may be permitted to see the completion of my labors." When this was
+written, ten years had elapsed since the publication of his first plate.
+In the next three years, among other excursions he made one to the
+western coast of the Floridas and to Texas, in a vessel placed at his
+disposal by our government; and at the end of this time appeared the
+fourth and concluding volume of his engravings, and the fifth of his
+descriptions. The whole comprised four hundred and thirty-five plates,
+containing one thousand and sixty-five figures, from the Bird of
+Washington to the Humming Bird, of the size of life, and a great variety
+of land and marine views, and coral and other productions, of different
+climates and seasons, all carefully drawn and colored after nature. Well
+might the great naturalist felicitate himself upon the completion of his
+gigantic task. He had spent nearly half a century "amid the tall grass
+of the far-extended prairies of the west, in the solemn forests of the
+north, on the heights of the midland mountains, by the shores of the
+boundless ocean, and on the bosoms of our vast bays, lakes and rivers,
+searching for things hidden since the creation of this wondrous world
+from all but the Indian who has roamed in the gorgeous but melancholy
+wilderness." And speaking from the depth of his heart he says, "Once
+more surrounded by all the members of my dear family, enjoying the
+countenance of numerous friends who have never deserted me, and
+possessing a competent share of all that can render life agreeable, I
+look up with gratitude to the Supreme Being, and feel that I am happy."
+
+In 1839, having returned for the last time to his native country and
+established himself with his family near the city of New-York, Audubon
+commenced the publication of The Birds of America in imperial octavo
+volumes, of which the seventh and last was issued in the summer of 1844.
+The plates in this edition, reduced from his larger illustrations, were
+engraved and colored in the most admirable manner by Mr. Bowen of
+Philadelphia, under the direction of the author, and excepting The Birds
+of America in folio, there has never been published so magnificent a
+work on ornithology.
+
+Audubon was too sincere a worshipper of nature to be content with
+inglorious repose, even after having accomplished in action more than
+was ever dreamed of by any other naturalist; and while the "edition for
+the people" of his Birds of America was in course of publication, he was
+busy amid the forests and prairies, the reedy swamps of our southern
+shores, the cliffs that protect our eastern coasts, by the currents of
+the Mexican gulf and the tide streams of the Bay of Fundy, with his
+sons, Victor Gifford and John Woodhouse, making the drawings and writing
+the biographies of the _Quadrupeds of America_, a work in no respect
+inferior to that on our birds, which he began to publish about five
+years ago. The plates, on double imperial folio paper, engraved and
+colored by Mr. Bowen after the original drawings made from nature by
+Audubon and his sons, are even more magnificent than those of the Birds
+of America, which twenty years ago delighted and astonished the
+naturalists of Europe.
+
+The Biography of American Quadrupeds, accompanying these plates, and of
+which the first volume appeared in New-York in 1846, was written
+principally by the Rev. John Bachman, D.D., of Charleston, a long-tried
+and enthusiastic friend, of whose introduction to him Audubon thus
+speaks in the preface of the second volume of his Ornithological
+Biography:
+
+     "It was late in the afternoon when we took our lodgings in
+     Charleston. Being fatigued, and having written the substance of
+     my journey to my family, and delivered a letter to the Rev. Mr.
+     Gilman, I retired to rest. At the first glimpse of day the
+     following morning, my assistants and myself were already
+     several miles from the city, commencing our search in the
+     fields and woods, and having procured abundance of subjects
+     both for the pencil and the scalpel, we returned home, covered
+     with mud, and so accoutred as to draw towards us the attention
+     of every person in the streets. As we approached the
+     boarding-house, I observed a gentleman on horseback close to
+     our door. He looked at me, came up, inquired if my name was
+     Audubon, and on being answered in the affirmative, instantly
+     leaped from his saddle, shook me most cordially by the
+     hand--there is much to be expressed and understood by a shake
+     of the hand--and questioned me in so kind a manner, that I for
+     a while felt doubtful how to reply. At his urgent desire, I
+     removed to his house, as did my assistants. Suitable apartments
+     were assigned to us; and once introduced to the lovely and
+     interesting group that composed his family, I seldom passed a
+     day without enjoying their society. Servants, carriages,
+     horses, and dogs were all at our command, and friends
+     accompanied us to the woods and plantations, and formed parties
+     for water excursions. Before I left Charleston, I was truly
+     sensible of the noble and generous spirit of the hospitable
+     Carolinians."
+
+Audubon and Bachman (the same Bachman who recently refuted the heresies
+of Agassiz respecting the unity of the human race) were from this time
+devoted friends and co-workers. For several years the health of the hero
+naturalist had declined, and he was rarely if ever seen beyond the
+limits of his beautiful estate on the banks of the Hudson, near this
+city, where, on the twenty-seventh of January, 1851, he died, full of
+years, and illustrious with the most desirable glory.
+
+Audubon's highest claim to admiration is founded upon his drawings in
+natural history, in which he has exhibited a perfection never before
+attempted. In all our climates--in the clear atmosphere, by the dashing
+waters, amid the grand old forests with their peculiar and many-tinted
+foliage, by him first made known to art--he has represented our
+feathered tribes, building their nests and fostering their young, poised
+on the tip of the spray and hovering over the sedgy margin of the lake,
+flying in the clouds in quest of prey or from pursuit, in love, enraged,
+indeed in all the varieties of their motion and repose and modes of
+life, so perfectly that all other works of the kind are to his as
+stuffed skins to the living birds.
+
+But he has also indisputable claims to a high rank as a man of letters.
+Some of his written pictures of birds, so graceful, clearly defined,
+and brilliantly colored, are scarcely inferior to the productions of his
+pencil. His powers of general description are not less remarkable. The
+waters seem to dance to his words as to music, and the lights and shades
+of his landscapes show the practised hand of a master. The evanescent
+shades of manners, also, upon the extreme frontiers, where the
+footprints of civilization have hardly crushed the green leaves, have
+been sketched with graphic fidelity in his journals.
+
+No author has more individuality. The enthusiastic, trustful and loving
+spirit which breathes through his works distinguished the man. From the
+beginning he surrendered himself entirely to his favorite pursuit, and
+was intent to learn every thing from the prime teacher, Nature. His
+style as well as his knowledge was a fruit of his experiences. He had
+never written for the press until after the age at which most authors
+have established their reputation; and when he did write, his page
+glowed like the rich wild landscape in the spring, when Nature, then
+most beautiful, "bathes herself in her own dewy waters." We seem to hear
+his expressions of wondering admiration, as unknown mountains, valleys
+and lakes burst upon his view, as the deer at his approach leaped from
+his ambush into the deeper solitudes, as the startled bird with rushing
+wings darted from his feet into the sky; or his pious thanksgiving, as
+at the end of a weary day the song of the sparrow or the robin relieved
+his mind from the heavy melancholy that bore it down.
+
+When the celebrated Buffon had completed the ornithological portion of
+his great work on natural history, he announced with unhesitating
+assurance that he had "finished the history of the birds of the world."
+Twenty centuries had served for the discovery of only eight hundred
+species, but this number seemed immense, and the short-sighted
+naturalist declared that the list would admit of "no material
+augmentation" which embraced hardly a sixteenth of those now known to
+exist. To this astonishing advance of the science of ornithology, no one
+has contributed more than Audubon, by his magnificent painting and
+fascinating history.
+
+Mr. Audubon left unpublished a voluminous autobiography, which we hope
+will be published with as little delay as possible.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[I] Wilson's Miscellanies, vol. ii. p. 118.
+
+[J] Noctes Ambrosian�, vol. ii. p. 103.
+
+[K] Introduction to the second volume of Ornithological Biography, p.
+xvii.
+
+
+
+
+Original Poetry.
+
+
+OLD AGE.
+
+By Alfred B. Street.
+
+      All day the chill bleak wind had shrieked and wailed
+      Through leafless forests, and o'er meadows sear;
+      Through the fierce sky great sable clouds had sailed;
+        Outlines were hard--all nature's looks were drear.
+      Gone, Indian Summer's bland, delicious haze,
+      Thickening soft nights and filming mellow days.
+      Then rose gray clouds; thin fluttered first the snow,
+        Then like loose shaken fleeces, then in dense streams
+      That muffled gradually all below
+        In pearly smoothness. Then outburst the gleams
+      At sunset; nature shone in flashing white,
+      And the last rays tinged all with rosy light.
+      So Life's bland Autumn o'er, may old age come
+    In muffling peace, and death display hope's radiant bloom.
+
+
+THE CASTLE IN THE AIR.[L]
+
+By R. H. Stoddard.
+
+
+    I.
+
+          We have two lives about us,
+          Within us, and without us;
+          Two worlds in which we dwell,
+          Alternate Heaven and Hell:
+          Without, the sombre Real,
+    Within our heart of hearts, the beautiful Ideal!
+      I stand between the thresholds of the two,
+      Fettered and bound with many a heavy chain;
+      I strive to rend their links, but all in vain;
+      The False is strong, and holds me from the True.
+      Only in dreams my spirit wanders o'er
+      The starry portal of the world of bliss,
+      And lives the life which Fate denies in this,
+    Which may have once been mind, but will be, nevermore.
+
+    II.
+
+          My Castle stands alone,
+          Away from Earth and Time,
+          In some diviner clime,
+          In Fancy's tropic zone,
+          Beneath its summer skies,
+    Where all the live-long year the summer never dies!
+      A stately marble pile whose pillars rise,
+      From sculptured bases, fluted to the dome,
+      With wreath�d friezes crowned, all carven nice
+      With pendant leaves, like ragged rims of foam;
+      A thousand windows front the rising sun,
+      Deep-set between the columns, many paned,
+      Tri-arched, emblazoned, gorgeously stained,
+      Crimson and purple, green and blue, and dun,
+      And all their wedded colors fall below,
+      Like rainbows shattered on a field of snow;
+      A bordering gallery runs along the roof,
+      Topt by a cupola, whose glittering spire
+      Pierces the brooding clouds, a glowing woof,
+    With golden spindles wove in Morning's loom of fire!
+
+    III.
+
+          What fine and rare domains
+          Untold for leagues around;
+          Green parks, and meads, and plains,
+          And bosky woods profound,--
+    A realm of leafiness, and sweet enchanted ground!
+      Before the palace lies a shaven lawn,
+      Sloping and shining in the dews of dawn,
+      With turfy terraces, and garden bowers,
+      Where rows of slender urns are full of flowers;
+      Broad oaks o'erarch the winding avenues,
+      Edged round with evergreens of fadeless bloom,
+      And pour a thousand intermingling hues,
+      A many tinted flood of golden gloom;
+      Far-seen through twinkling leaves,
+      The fountains gush aloft like silver sheaves,
+      Drooping with shining ears, and crests of spray,
+      And foamy tassels blowing every way,
+      Shaking in marble basins white and cold,
+      A bright and drainless shower of beaded grain,
+      Which winnows off, in sun-illumined rain
+      The dusty chaff, a cloud of misty gold;
+      Around their volumes, down the plashy tide,
+      The swans are sailing mixed in lilies white,
+      Like virgin queens in soft disdain and pride,
+      Sweeping amid their maids with trains of light;
+      A little herd of deer with startled looks,
+      In shady parks where all the year they browse,
+      Head-down are drinking at the lucid brooks,
+      Their antlers mirrored with the tangled boughs;
+      My rivers flow beyond, with guardant ranks
+      Of silver-liveried poplars, on their banks;
+      Barges are fretting at the castle piers,
+      Rocking with every ripple in the tide;
+      And bridges span the stream with arches wide,
+      Their stony 'butments mossed and gray with years;
+      An undulating range of vales, and bowers,
+      And columned palaces, and distant towers,
+      And on the welkin mountains bar the view,
+    Shooting their jagged peaks sublimely up the blue!
+
+    IV.
+
+          I saunter up the walks;
+          My sandals wetted through
+          With dripping flowers and stalks,
+          That line the avenue;
+    My broidered mantle all bedabbled with the dew!
+      I climb a flight of steps with regal pride,
+      And stroll along an echoing colonnade,
+      Sweeping against its pillared balustrade,
+      Adown a porch, and through a portal wide,
+      And I am in my Castle, Lord of all;
+      My faithful groom is standing in the hall
+      To doff my shining robe, while servitors,
+      And cringing chamberlains beside the doors
+      Waving their gilded wands, obsequious wait,
+    And bow me on my way in royal pomp and state!
+
+    V.
+
+          My chamber lies apart,
+          The Castle's very heart,
+          And all things rich and rare,
+          From land, and sea, and air,
+    Are lavished with a wild and waste profusion there!
+      The carpeting was woven in Turkish looms,
+      From softest wool of fine Circassian sheep;
+      Tufted like springy moss in forests deep,
+      Illuminate with all its autumn blooms;
+      The antique chairs are made of cedar trees,
+      Veined with the rings of vanished cennturies
+      And touched with winter's frost, and summer's sun;
+      Sofas and couches, stuffed with cygnet's fleece,
+      Loll round inviting dreaminess and ease;
+      The gorgeous window curtains, damask red,
+      Suspended, silver-ringed, on bars of gold,
+      Droop heavily, in many a fluted fold,
+      And, rounding outward, intercept, and shed
+      The prisoned daylight o'er the slumbrous room,
+      In streams of rosy dimness, purple gloom;
+      Hard by are cabinets of curious shells,
+      Twisted and jointed, horn�d, wreathed, and curled,
+      And some like moons in rosy mist impearled,
+      With coral boughs from ocean's deepest cells;
+      Cases of rare medallions, coins antique,
+      Found in the dust of cities, Roman, Greek;
+      Etruscan urns, transparent, soft, and bright,
+      With fawns and dancing shepherds on their sides;
+      And costly marble vases dug from night
+      In Pompeii, beneath its lava tides:
+      Clusters of arms, the spoil of ancient wars;
+      Old scimitars of true Damascus brand,
+      Short swords with basket hilts to guard the hand,
+      And iron casques with rusty visor bars;
+      Lances, and spears, and battle axes keen,
+      With crescent edges, shields with studded thorns,
+      Yew bows, and shafts, and curv�d bugle horns,
+      With tasseled baldricks of the Lincoln green:
+      And on the walls with lifted curtains, see!
+      The portraits of my noble ancestry;
+      Thin featured, stately dames with powdered locks,
+      And courtly shepherdesses tending flocks;
+      Stiff lords in wigs, and ruffles white as snow,
+      Haught peers, and princes centuries ago,
+      And dark Sir Hugh, the bravest of the line,
+    With all the knightly scars he won in Palestine!
+
+    VI.
+
+          My gallery sleeps aloof,
+          Soft-lighted through the roof,
+          Enshrining pictures old,
+          And groups of statues cold,
+    The gems of Art, when Art was in her Age of Gold!
+      Not picked from any single age or clime,
+      Nor one peculiar master, school, or tone;
+      Select of all, the best of all alone,
+      The spoil and largesse of the Earth and Time;
+      Food for all thoughts and fancies, grave or gay;
+      Suggestive of old lore, and poets' themes;
+      These filled with shapes of waking life, and day,
+      And those with spirits and the world of dreams;
+      Let me draw back the curtains, one by one,
+      And give their muffled brightness to the sun:
+
+    THE PICTURES.
+
+      Helen and Paris on their bridal night,
+      Under the swinging cressets' starry light,
+      With Priam and his fifty sons around,
+      Feasting in all their majesty and bloom,
+
+      Filling their golden cups with eager hands,
+      To drink a health, while pale Cassandra stands
+      With all her raven tresses unbound,
+      Her soul o'ershadowed by the coming doom.
+
+      Andromache, with all her tearful charms,
+      Folded upon the mighty Hector's breast,
+      And the babe shrinking in its Nurse's arms,
+      Affrightened by the nodding of his crest.
+
+      The giant Cyclops, sitting in his cave,
+      Helped by the diving Ulysses, old and wise,
+      Spilling the wine in rivers down his beard,
+      Shaggy and grim,--his shoulder overleered
+      By swart Silenus, sly and cunning knave,
+      Who steals a puffy skin with twinkling eyes.
+
+      Anacreon, lolling in the myrtle shades,
+      Bibbing his Teian draughts with rich delight,
+      Pledging the dancing girls and Cyprian maids,
+      Pinching their little ears, and shoulders white.
+
+      A cloudless sunrise on the glittering Nile,
+      A bronz�d Sphinx, and temple on the shore,
+      And rob�d priests that toss their censers while
+      Abased in dust, the populace adore;
+
+      A beak�d galley fretting at its curb,
+      With reedy oars, and masts, and silken sails,
+      And Cleopatra walks the deck superb,
+      Slow-followed by her court in spangled veils.
+
+      The Virgin Mother, and the Holy Child,
+      Holding a globe and sceptre, sweet and mild;
+      The Magi bring their gifts with reverent looks,
+      And the rapt Shepherds lean upon their crooks.
+
+      A summer f�te, a party on a lawn;
+      Bowing gallants, with plum�d caps in hand,
+      And ladies with guitars, and, far withdrawn,
+      The rustic people dancing in a band.
+
+      A bleak defile, a pass in mountains deep,
+      Whose whitened summits wear their morning glow,
+      And dark banditti winding down the steep
+      Of shelvy rocks, pointing their guns below.
+
+      A harvest scene, a vineyard on the Rhine;
+      Arbors, and wreath�d pales, and laughing swains
+      Pouring their crowded baskets into wains,
+      And vats, and trodden presses gushing wine.
+
+      A Flemish Tavern: boors and burghers hale
+      Drawn round a table, o'er a board of chess,
+      Smoking their heavy pipes, and drinking ale,
+      Blowing from tankard brims the frothiness.
+
+      A picture of Cathay, a justice scene;
+      Pagodas, statues, and a group around;
+      And, in his sedan chair, the Mandarin,
+      Reading the scroll of laws to prisoners bound,
+      Bambooed with canes, and writhing on the ground;
+      And many more whose veils I will undraw
+      Some other day, exceeding fresh and fine;
+      And statues of the Grecian gods divine,
+      In all their various moods of love and awe:
+      The Phidean Jove, with calm creative face,
+      Like Heaven brooding o'er the deeps of Space;
+      Imperial Juno, Mercury, wing�d-heeled,
+      Lit with a message. Mars with helm and shield,
+      Apollo with the discus, bent to throw,
+      The piping Pan, and Dian with her bow,
+      And Cytherca just risen from the swell
+      Of crudded foam, half-stooping on her knee,
+      Wringing her dripping tresses in the sea
+      Whose loving billows climb the curv�d shell
+      Tumultuously, and o'er its edges flow,
+    And kiss with pallid lips her nakedness of snow!
+
+    VII.
+
+          My boots may lie and mould,
+          However rare and old;
+          I cannot read to-day,
+          Away! with books, away!
+          Full-fed with sweets of sense,
+    I sink upon my couch in honied indolence!
+      Here are rich salvers full of nectarines,
+      Dead-ripe pomegranates, sweet Arabian dates,
+      Peaches and plums, and clusters fresh from vines,
+      And all imaginable sweets, and cakes,
+      And here are drinking-cups, and long-necked flasks
+      In wicker mail, and bottles broached from casks,
+      In cellars delv�d deep, and winter cold,
+      Select, superlative, and centuries old.
+      What more can I desire? what book can be
+      As rich as Idleness and Luxury?
+      What lore can fill my heart with joy divine,
+      Like luscious fruitage, and enchanted wine?
+      Brimming with Helicon I dash the cup;
+      Why should I waste my years in hoarding up
+      The thoughts of eld? Let dust to dust return:
+      No more for me,--my heart is not an urn!
+      I will no longer sip from little flasks,
+      Covered with damp and mould, when Nature yields,
+      And Earth is full of purple vintage fields;
+      Nor peer at Beauty dimmed with mortal masks,
+      When I at will may have them all withdrawn,
+      And freely gaze in her transfigured face;
+      Nor limp in fetters in a weary race,
+      When I may fly unbound, like Mercury's fawn;
+      No more contented with the sweets of old,
+      Albeit embalmed in nectar, since the trees,
+      The Eden bowers, the rich Hesperides,
+    Droop all around my path, with living fruits of gold!
+
+    VIII.
+
+          Oh what a life is mine,
+          A life of joy and mirth,
+          The sensuous life of Earth,
+          Forever fresh and fine.
+    A heavenly worldliness, mortality divine!
+      When eastern skies, the sea, and misty plain,
+      Illumined slowly, doff their nightly shrouds,
+      And Heaven's bright archer Morn begins to rain
+      His golden arrows through the banded clouds,
+      I rise and tramp away the jocund hours,
+      Knee-deep in dewy grass, and beds of flowers;
+      I race my eager greyhound on the hills,
+      And climb with bounding feet the craggy steeps,
+      Peak-lifted, gazing down the cloven deeps,
+      Where mighty rivers shrink to threaded rills;
+      The ramparts of the mountains loom around,
+      Like splintery fragments of a ruined world;
+      The cliff-bound dashing cataracts, downward hurled
+      In thunderous volumes, shake the chasms profound:
+      The imperial eagle, with a dauntless eye
+      Wheels round the sun, the monarch of the sky;
+      I pluck his eyrie in the blasted wood
+      Of ragged pines, and when the vulture screams,
+      I track his flight along the solitude,
+      Like some dark spirit in the world of dreams!
+      When Noon in golden armor, travel spent,
+      Climbing the azure plains of Heaven, alone,
+      Pitches upon its topmost steep his tent,
+      And looks o'er Nature from his burning throne,
+      I loose my little shallop from its quay,
+      And down the winding rivers slowly float,
+      And steer in many a shady cove and bay,
+      Where birds are warbling with melodious note;
+      I listen to the humming of the bees,
+      The water's flow, the winds, the wavy trees,
+      And take my lute and touch its silver chords,
+      And set the Summer's melody to words;
+      Sometimes I rove beside the lonely shore,
+      Margined and flanked by slanting shelvy ledges,
+      And caverns echoing Ocean's sullen roar;
+      Threading the bladdery weeds, and paven shells,
+      Beyond the line of foam, the jewelled chain,
+      The largesse of the ever giving main.
+      Tossed at the feet of Earth with surgy swells,
+      I plunge into the waves, and strike away,
+      Breasting with vigorous strokes the snowy spray;
+      Sometimes I lounge in arbors hung with vines,
+      The which I sip, and sip, with pleasure mute,
+      O'er mouthful bites of golden-rinded fruit;
+      When evening comes, I lie in dreamy rest,
+      Where lifted casements front the glowing west,
+      And watch the clouds, like banners wide unfurled,
+      Hung o'er the flaming threshold of the world:
+      Its mission done, the holy Day recedes,
+      Borne Heavenward in its car, with fiery steeds,
+      Leaving behind a lingering flush of light,
+      Its mantle fallen at the feet of Night;
+      The flocks are penned, the earth is growing dim;
+      The moon comes rounding up the welkin's rim,
+      Glowing through thinnest mist, an argent shell,
+      Washed up the sky from Night's profoundest cell;
+      One after one the stars begin to shine
+      In drifted beds, like pearls through shallow brine;
+      And lo! through clouds that part before the chase
+      Of silent winds--a belt of milky white,
+      The Galaxy, a crested surge of light,
+      A reef of worlds along the sea of Space:
+      I hear my sweet musicians far withdrawn,
+      Below my wreath�d lattice, on the lawn,
+      With harp, and lute, and lyre,
+      And passionate voices full of tears and fire;
+      And envious nightingales with rich disdain
+      Filling the pauses of the languid strain;
+      My soul is tranced and bound,
+      Drifting along the magic sea of sound,
+      Driving in a barque of bliss from deep to deep,
+    And piloted at last into the ports of Sleep!
+
+    IX.
+
+       Nor only this, though this
+          Might seal a life of bliss,
+          But something more divine,
+          For which I once did pine,
+          The crown of worlds above,
+    The heart of every heart, the Soul of Being--Love!
+      I bow obedient to my Lady's sway,
+      The sovereignty that won my soul of yore,
+      And linger in her presence night and day,
+      And feel a heaven around her evermore;
+      I sit beside her couch in chambers lone,
+      And soft unbraid, and lay her locks apart,
+      And take her taper fingers in my own,
+      And press them to my lips with leaps of heart;
+      Sometimes I kneel to her with cups of wine,
+      With pleading eyes, beseeching her to taste,
+      With long-delaying lips, the draught divine;
+      And when she sips thereof, I clasp her waist,
+      And kiss her mouth, and shake her hanging curls,
+      And in her coy despite unloose her zone of pearls!
+      I live for Love, for Love alone, and who
+      Dare chide me for it? who dare call it folly?
+      It is a holy thing, if aught is holy,
+      And true indeed, if Truth herself is true:
+      Earth cleaves to earth, its sensuous life is dear,
+      Mortals should love mortality while here,
+      And seize the glowing hours before they fly:
+      Bright eyes should answer eyes, warm lips should meet,
+      And hearts enlocked to kindred hearts should beat,
+    And every soul that lives, in love should live and die!
+
+    X.
+
+          My dear and gentle wife,
+          The Angel of my life,
+          Oppressed with sweetest things,
+          Has folded up her wings,
+          And lies in slumber deep,
+    Like some divinest Dream upon the couch of Sleep!
+
+      Nor sound, nor stir profanes the stilly room,
+      Haunted by Sleep and Silence, link�d pair;
+      The very light itself muffled in gloom,
+      Steals in, and melts the enamored air
+      Where Love doth brood and dream, while Passion dies,
+      Breathing his soul out in a mist of sighs!
+      Lo! where she lies behind the curtains white,
+      Pillowed on clouds of down,--her golden hair
+      Braided around her forehead smooth and fair,
+      Like a celestial diadem of light:--
+      Her soft voluptuous lips are drawn apart,
+      Curving in fine repose, and maiden pride;
+      Her creamy breast,--its mantle brushed aside
+      Swells with the long pulsation of her heart:
+      One languid arm rests on the coverlid,
+      And one beneath the crumpled sheet is hid,
+      (Ah happy sheets! to hide an arm so sweet!)
+      Nor all concealed amid their folds of snow,
+      The soft perfection of her shape below,
+      Rounded and tapering to her little feet!
+      Oh Love! if Beauty ever left her sphere,
+      And sovereign sisters, Art and Poesy,
+      Moulded in loveliness she slumbers here,
+      Slumbers, dear love, in thee!
+      It is thy smile that makes the chamber still;
+      It is thy breath that fills the scented air;
+      The light around is borrowed from thy hair,
+      And all things else are subject to thy will,
+      And I am so bewildered in this deep
+      Ambrosial calm, and passionate atmosphere,
+      I know not whether I am dreaming here,
+          Or in the world of Sleep!
+
+    XI.
+
+          My eyes are full of tears,
+          My heart is full of pain,
+          To wake, as now, again,
+    And walk, as in my youth, the wilderness of Years!
+      No more! no more! the autumn winds are loud
+      In stormy passes, howling to the Night:
+      Behind a cloud the moon doth veil her light,
+      And the rain pours from out the horn�d cloud.
+      And hark! the solemn and mysterious bell,
+      Swinging its brazen echoes o'er the wave:
+      Not mortal hands, but spirits ring the knell,
+    And toll the parting ghost of Midnight to its grave.
+
+
+TO A BEREAVED MOTHER.
+
+BY HERMANN.
+
+    Its smile and happy laugh are lost to thee,
+    Earth must his mother and his pillow be.
+
+    W. G. CLARK.
+
+
+    Mother, now thy task is done,
+      Now thy vigil ended;
+    With the coming of the sun,
+      Grief and joy are blended.
+
+    Grief that thus thy flower of love
+      From its stem is riven;
+    Joy that will bloom above,
+      Midst the bowers of Heaven.
+
+    Gone, as oft expires the light
+      Of thy nightly taper:
+    Gone, as 'fore the sunshine bright,
+      Early morning's vapor.
+
+    Kiss its lips so mute and cold,
+      Cold as chiselled marble,
+    They will now to harp of gold
+      Glad Hosannas warble.
+
+    At the last they sweetly smiled,
+      Told it not for gladness;
+    Would'st thou now recall thy child
+      To a world of sadness?
+
+    It is hard to gather up,
+      Ties so rudely riven;
+    But thou'lt find this bitter cup
+      For thy weal was given.
+
+    Kiss again its hands so white,
+      Kiss its marble forehead;
+    Soon the grave will hide from sight,
+      That thou only borrowed.
+
+    Thou will meet thy child again,
+      Where no death or sorrow
+    Bring their sad to-day of pain,
+      And their dread to-morrow.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[L] This poem, in an unfinished form, was published some months ago in
+_Sartain's Magazine_. It has since been re-written for the
+_International_, and is now much more than before deserving of the
+applause with which it was received.
+
+
+
+
+THE AMBITIOUS BROOKLET.
+
+BY A. OAKEY HALL.
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+     _How the Brooklet was born; and lodged; and wandered off one
+     rainy day._
+
+There was once a Brooklet born of a modest spring that circled through a
+smiling meadow. All the hours of the Spring, and the Summer, and the
+Autumn, kept she her musical round; greeting the sun at his rising,
+together with the meadow-larks which came to dip their beaks in the
+sparkling water-drops; and singing to the moon and stars all night, as
+she bore their features within her bosom, in grateful remembrance of
+their beauty. The laborer in the field hard by often came to visit her,
+and wet his honest, toil-browned brow with her cooling drops; and often,
+too, the laborer's daughter came at sunset time to sit by a mossy stone,
+with so lovely a face that the Brooklet, as she mirrored the features of
+the beautiful visitor, leaped about the pebbles with ripplings of
+admiration.
+
+And so this Brooklet lived on, only ceasing her merry flow and circling
+journey when the bushes by her side became white with snow, and when the
+rabbits from the brushwood fence at her head came out to stand upon the
+slippery casing that the Brooklet often saw spreading over her, and
+shutting out the warm sunshine by day, and at nightfall blurring the
+radiance of moon and stars.
+
+One stormy spring day the Brooklet seemed to rise higher among the twigs
+of the alder-bushes than ever before; the rain came down faster and
+heavier, and beat into her bosom, until her tiny waves were rough and
+sore with pain, and she was fain to nestle closer to the sedgy grass
+that now bent lowly to the pebbles at the roots. Growing higher every
+minute was the Brooklet; and frightened somewhat, and longing for the
+sunlight, or the laborer, and for the lovely daughter's face to cheer
+her up, she looked off over a track of country wider and greener than
+she had ever seen before. And so the Brooklet, all frightened as she
+was, said to herself, "I'll run along a bit into this country spot, so
+wide and green, and maybe I shall find the sunlight and the lovely
+face."
+
+Faster came the rain; and so the Brooklet, leaping wildly over a rock
+whose top until then her eyes had never seen, went flowing on upon this
+country spot, so wide and green. The new sights coming in view at every
+bound quite made the Brooklet forget her terrors from the beating rain;
+she was pained no longer by the heavy drops, but soothed herself among
+the velvet grass; and turned between little flowers scarcely above the
+ground, and which, as she passed them, seemed to be as frightened by the
+wind and rain as herself had been before the meadow was left behind.
+
+The Brooklet had thus run on until she saw the country spot so wide and
+green was well passed over, and trees and bushes, darker and thicker
+than she had ever known before, were close at hand. And while she
+thought of stopping in her way and going back, she heard not far before
+an echo of a sound most like unto her own; and so kept on to find it
+out. Clearer and louder increased the sound, as now through mouldy
+leaves and dark thickets, and under decayed logs and insect-burrowed
+moss, she kept a course, until presently, over a fallen tree, she saw a
+Brooklet, larger, wider, and evidently much older than herself, which,
+on her near approach, ran by the fallen tree's side, and said, "Good
+morning, sister: what is so delicate a being, as you seem to be, doing
+in this dark forest?"
+
+The wanderer Brooklet became silent with wonder. She had never been
+addressed before, though often trying to talk with the laborer, and to
+the lovely face of her meadow acquaintance, without the slightest notice
+upon their part of the overtures.
+
+"Good morning, sister, I say," was repeated over the fallen tree. "Where
+are you going at so slow a pace? Come over, and let us talk a bit."
+
+"I cannot, for I am terribly frightened, and I've lost my way. I want to
+quit this dark place, and go where I can hear the lark again, and see
+the pretty face which used to look at mine when I was circling in yonder
+meadow, now, I fear, far, far behind."
+
+"Larks and pretty faces, indeed! Why what a spooney sister, you are, to
+be sure. I'll show you more birds than ever you heard sing before, and
+prettier faces than ever you saw before."
+
+"No, no, I must go back," replied the wanderer; "I have come too far
+already, and see, the rain has almost ceased."
+
+"More's the pity for that," returned the other; "the faster it rains the
+faster I go, and that is what I want. I have left my family brooks a
+long time since, and I'm going on my travels to be somebody. I'm tired
+of my lonesome life among the meadows. I'm the _ambitious Brooklet_.
+Come over, then, and go along; we'll travel the faster in company."
+
+"I'm not ambitious; and as you may see, I cannot come."
+
+"You're almost to the log top now. I'll kiss you soon," triumphed the
+ambitious Brooklet, circling gayly round a tuft of green.
+
+It must have been the terrible rain, or the fright of her dark
+journeying place, that had taken her strength away:--the wandering
+Brooklet felt that it must be: for now her strength of will was almost
+gone. Nearer the log top came in view, until with a bound she swept its
+polished surface, and with a dash came over upon the ambitious Brooklet.
+
+"Good! that's the way to do it; now we shall journey gayly on," said the
+latter, "I have lost much time in stopping here, and there are such rare
+sights ahead!"
+
+The wanderer felt the oddest sensations she had ever known, and said,
+"Sister--ambitious sister--how much warmer than I are you!"
+
+"Oh, you are young, I suppose--fresh from the icy spring. But journey
+on more southward yet, away from these dark trees, and you'll be warmer
+yet; come, I say."
+
+"I like your feel; but then I shall be lost, I know I shall; and so I'll
+stay behind."
+
+"You cannot; for, ambitious as I am, I want your help. See how much
+faster we travel together when your strength is joined to mine; and I'm
+the strongest, and you can't go back."
+
+The wandering Brooklet looked fearfully around, and saw indeed that the
+log she had leaped was now fast fading away, and felt that her strength
+became less and less as the ambitious Brooklet clung closer to her side.
+
+Presently they came in sight of a ledge of rocks. "Oh, this is rare
+indeed!" said the stronger sister Brooklet, "Let us pause a bit for
+breath, and then for a merry leap adown the valley of pines you see
+before."
+
+The Brooklets stopped, and became stronger, and leaped over the rocks;
+the one with an exulting bound--the other carried tremblingly along.
+
+The leap was a long one, and a hard one; for there were craggy rocks
+beneath, which they had not seen. And the ambitious Brooklet cried
+sharply and loudly--foaming in her rage as she went between the stony
+points, and quite forgetting her weaker sister in her pain. The latter
+was sorely injured too, and cut into little foam-bits; but she kept her
+wits about her, looking around everywhere for a place to rest. Soon she
+espied one--a little bowl of marshy ground, hemmed in by rocks, into
+which a straggling dropping from the chasm above slowly came.
+
+"Here will I go and rest," she said. So waiting for the ambitious
+Brooklet to get far out of sight, she collected all her strength for a
+jump into the bowl, where the drops came sparkling in. There was no need
+for fear of the sister on before; her she heard going over rock after
+rock, crying and wailing in her craggy journey. Then the tired wanderer,
+with a violent effort of her exhausted strength, jumped a rock and fell
+panting into the marshy bowl.
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+     _How the Brooklet lived on in her new quarters; and how
+     misfortune made her discontented._
+
+The dropping of the water from the rocks above her new abode, was cold
+and grateful to the Brooklet in her fevered state. It made her think of
+the spring she came from; and so of the meadow; and the alder-bushes;
+and the lovely face a weary way off now she knew, and fenced away from
+her return by cruel jagged rocks.
+
+Days passed by; and the sun came out all brightly. And the moon and
+stars were seen again; and larger and sweeter birds than she had heard
+before, now perched upon the trees about, warbling and chirruping from
+day-break to twilight. So the time passed on. The wanderer began to feel
+unsettled in her solitude. But there was no return by the path she came;
+still were the sharp rocks seen above; and still she felt a twinge of
+pain when thinking of her weary journey on that rainy day. Often too she
+thought of her ambitious sister, wondering where she was now and what
+she was about; and sometimes she almost fancied she would have been
+happier had she gone along. It was quite evident to herself that she was
+getting discontented.
+
+There was one pleasure she prized much. Following in the train of the
+ambitious Brooklet had been a score of fishes, which, frightened by the
+leap upon the jagged rocks, had staid behind with the timid wanderer,
+until they became part of her family in the new retreat. Overlooking,
+and enjoying the gambols of these fish, the discontented Brooklet often
+amused herself. Observing how when the sun came slanting through the
+sides of the foliage about, they would dart out from their hiding-places
+in the old dead leaves at the feet of the Brooklet, and so jump up to
+greet the warming rays: or how, when a fly fell down from the
+overhanging boughs, and tried to swim away, they would jump to nab a bit
+of lunch, scrabbling and tugging as they went; or how, when the largest
+fish of all threw off his dignity, and played with them at hide and seek
+under the foot-deep bottom of mud, they would all shoot about her
+life-blood drops without regard to the angles of pain their fins would
+leave behind!
+
+Thus the summer-time came on, and was passing by, when one day the
+Brooklet felt a shadow upon her, and looked up to see the cause--when
+high upon the rocks above, there stood a bright-eyed boy, with curling
+locks that blew about in golden beauty with the breeze. In his hand he
+held a little stick, which he turned over from time to time, and would
+take up and then lay it down, as if preparing for something wonderful.
+The curiosity of the Brooklet was aroused to know what he could mean,
+when presently she saw him sit upon the rock, and from the stick drop
+down upon her face a worm, which when the fishes saw they darted out to
+eat.
+
+"It is a beautiful boy; and a kind boy," said the artless Brook unto
+herself; "and he has come to feed the little fishes with a worm. I have
+not seen one since I left my little meadow on that rainy day. How like
+the lovely face I used to see, is his which now looks down."
+
+While thus the Brook was soliloquizing, a fish more cunning than the
+rest, had seized the worm within his mouth, and was swimming away to his
+favorite hole by an old willow stump to there complete a meal. He was
+just entering it, when the Brook saw him suddenly flash from her
+embrace, floundering and pulling as he went up, up through the air, unto
+the mossy bank above the rock from which fell the shadow of the boy. And
+now the Brook, more curious than ever, saw the face so like the
+laborer's daughter overspread with smiles as the tiny hands grasped the
+fish, and with a wrench tore out the worm from his gills, a piece of
+which fell on the Brook athwart the shadow of the laugher.
+
+"What a fine one!" said the boy, and started up;--started up to slip
+against a smooth worn stone, and fall over the rock into the Brook,
+close by the willow stump; the captive fish held tightly as he went, but
+slipping from the falling grasp into its welcome element once more.
+
+The Brook had never felt so hard a blow before. The rain and hail were
+nothing to this. It made her splash and leap and swell against the rocky
+bank, until she could have called with pain.
+
+How still the boy laid on her breast! his head against the willow stump,
+over which there trickled a tiny purple stream smaller than the
+spring-drops from the rock! How richly his golden locks floated upon the
+Brook! but how widely strained his bright blue eyes glaring at the sky
+and tree-tops above, and how he gasped from his mouth; a mouth so like
+the one the laborer had often prest in harvest-time to the Brook, when
+it was yet circling in the meadow! The Brook said to herself, "I will
+put some of my ripples into this mouth, as I have seen the laborer do;
+perhaps, like him, it will make his eye sparkle, and send him away
+again; for he lies heavy on my breast." And so the ripples went into the
+opened mouth by dozens; but the blue sky and tree-tops faded from his
+eyes, and the lips lost their bright color, and the purple trickling on
+the willow stump grew thick and settled into a dark pool.
+
+All night the dead boy lay upon the breast of the Brook; and the fishes
+played around him, wondering what it was; and the little insects hopped
+over him at early sunlight; until the purple pool dried up, and only
+left a stain behind.
+
+And soon the Brook heard the hum of voices sounding over the rocks, as
+she listened from her solitude; and soon more shadows fell upon her
+face. Then looking up she saw the laborer once again; and the Brook
+rejoiced to think perhaps she was going back again into her pleasant
+meadow. He had taken up the stick the boy had used; and was looking down
+below upon the Brook, as the face--the lovely face, with more of the old
+sorrow in it--of the laborer's daughter, raised itself above his
+shoulder.
+
+"My brother!--drowned and dead!--and no more to come home alive to share
+his sister's home."
+
+This the Brook heard, and the fishes swam away into their holes, as
+piercing, sorrowful human tones mingled with the passing breeze; and
+they struck deeper into the willow roots as a pair of brawny arms
+readied out and caught the dead boy, and carried him away.
+
+The boy was gone, but the stain was there; and still a weight remained
+upon the Brook. For still day after day a shadow fell upon her, and the
+Brook looking up beheld the lovely but mournful face of the sorrowing
+sister, who would sit upon the mossy bank and sigh a sob; kissing a lock
+of golden hair the while. And heavier grew the weight on the breast of
+the Brook, as scalding tears fell from the rock above upon her face.
+
+And now the Brook again became discontented: and thought of her
+ambitious sister; and what might have happened had she followed after on
+a weary round of travels. The old meadow and the alders were out of the
+question now: for the winter was coming on, and the laborer and the
+lovely face would no more come to her side; and if they did they would
+sing no more, but sigh and sob, and look so sad, as now, upon the mossy
+rock above.
+
+The summer weather was long over; and the leaves were showering down,
+and had quite hidden the clouds and blue sky, and moon and stars from
+the sight of the Brook. The birds had ceased to sit and warble on the
+trees above. The breezes ceased their music, and instead were heard the
+hoarse notes of the Autumn wind.
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+     _How the Brooklet and the Mountain-Torrent met._
+
+One day the leaves thickened more than ever over the Brook, and, as she
+peeped between, she saw the clouds were heavier and darker than usual.
+The wind roared louder, and the trees which grew so high above her bent
+down their branches until they brushed her face with their trailing. And
+soon the rain began to fall in torrents; and it fell and fell all day;
+all night too. Then the Brook rejoiced to think the leaves which she had
+been angry with before for choking her, protected from the pattering
+strokes. And soon the Brook heard a sound, like that made by her
+ambitious sister in the spring-time;--nearer and nearer it came; through
+the trees; over the rocks; tearing, splashing, dashing, and foaming at a
+direful rate.
+
+"It is my ambitious sister come for me. I'm glad," said the discontented
+Brook.
+
+"Glad of what?" exclaimed a roaring voice, coming over the rock, and
+sweeping away the leaves as if they had been a mere handful; and
+covering up the ugly purple stain upon the willow stump. "Ain't I a
+famous fellow, though? When once my blood is up, can't I go on and
+frighten people? Can't I mine out the earth, and sweep along big trees
+like boats? Can't I tumble down the rocks that dare to stop my path?
+Can't I drown men and boys, and all the cattle in the land? I've
+swallowed a dozen haystacks for my breakfast, and killed the finest
+mill-dam over the world this morning. I said I would as soon as winter
+came, when they dammed me up last spring, so many miles away! Oh, such a
+mass of stone and timber which they put up to fret me in my path; and
+what a joke to think this solid mass is scattered through the land since
+yesternight, and I am free once more."
+
+"This is not my ambitious sister! no indeed," murmured the Brook.
+
+"Why here is a little Brook," continued the voice, "a dainty, prudish,
+modest Brook, collected in a hole to die! Come out, my fair one! I will
+wed thee, as I have wedded fifty thousand of your sex in my short day!
+Come out; no fear; if I am the Mountain-Torrent, I'm not so great a
+monster as they say, especially to hurt a modest Brook."
+
+So saying the Mountain-Torrent caught up the shrinking Brook in his
+powerful embrace, and away they hurried through the very heart of the
+forest, miles and miles below.
+
+"This, this is life indeed," said the wedded Brook, once more a wanderer
+over the land, as with a thousand other Brooks they travelled on for
+many hours with impetuous speed, making dreadful havoc everywhere they
+touched. Havoc among the farmers and the villagers, who fought them inch
+by inch, with sticks and trees, and mounds of stone and clay, all which
+they licked up and swallowed, as if they had been pebbles and clumps of
+leaves. Havoc with the Creeks upon the route, who dared to scorn their
+overtures, and wed the Torrent, willingly; for spurning the placid,
+humble Creeks one side, they tore along their paths, and vented their
+fury on the bridges overhead, bringing down in general destruction,
+turnpikes and railroads with their pressing weight of travel.
+
+Havoc to themselves!
+
+For, tearing on so madly, the Mountain-Torrent, after a while, perceived
+his strength to fail, and his endurance to give out. But still he
+hurried on, though feebly, in hopes to meet more Brooks, perhaps a Lake,
+and so recruit himself the while. The wedded Brook was wearied too--a
+little; not much; at first the Mountain-Torrent had held her tightly in
+embrace, and carried her along with scarcely an effort; but as he
+wearied himself, much of the toil was thrown upon the Brook, and she was
+compelled to help herself. On went the Torrent, weaker every step, until
+at last he stopped and said:
+
+"Oh wedded Brook! my strength is gone; here must I pause; but you go on.
+Perhaps before long I shall meet you again. Go slowly; over the meadows
+and through the villages make me a path; I'll know which way you went."
+
+And so they parted; and so the lonely Brook meandered on, and finding
+out a bubbling spring, was well recruited for the journey. As she went
+she heard, across a little knoll, a remembered voice, and stopped. "I
+know you, sister Brook," cried out the voice, "go on a bit and turn
+towards your left, and there I'll meet you."
+
+And towards the left the lonely Brook met her ambitious sister. She was
+violent no more; but sober and sedate; calm as the evening sky reflected
+from her face.
+
+"I'm the 'ambitious one,'" said she, "ambitious yet, though all my
+strength has departed. Here on this spot was I caught and fastened up.
+They darkened my daylight with that smoking monster yonder, and killed
+my peace of mind with such a horrid din and clang, I've not a morsel of
+energy left. I'm a factory slave; and so are you, too, for that matter,
+now! Don't start; it's not my fault--the way that you were going on, you
+would have brought up in the Pond below, where there is yet another
+smoking monster; only worse than this of mine. The Pond there is a
+horrid fellow; poisoning with some horrid purple dye: I've seen him
+often when I venture near the dam and look below."
+
+"Sister, take courage," cried the other Brook. "I'm glad I met you. I'm
+ambitious too, for I was lately wedded to a glorious fellow, and have
+been on such a glorious tour: scampering over all the land. He calls
+himself the 'Mountain-Torrent.' He is now behind a mile or so, and may
+be down upon us before long, to free us from this distressing
+imprisonment you speak of."
+
+The monster smoked on; and the clanging din about maddened all the air.
+Huge wheels went racking and rumbling under huge brick walls. And day by
+day, a minute at a time, some youthful faces, pale and shadowy, looked
+wistfully upon the landscape below. But little knew the monster, and the
+clanging din, and racking wheels; and little hoped the shadowy faces of
+what the Brooklets plotted at the very factory door.
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+     _How the Mountain-Torrent freed the Brooks; and their fate._
+
+The frost dropped on the Brooks, and once more blurred the moon and
+stars, and shut the sunlight out; and starred a thousand jewels on the
+mill-dam's brow; and sparkled a myriad icicles from the rumbling wheels.
+Far away into the country it spread a white mantle, and froze into the
+very heart of all the Ponds and Creeks above. And then the sun came out
+and shone so brightly; and then the clouds over-covered it, and the rain
+came pattering down as of the olden time, when first its peltings stung
+the meadow Brook and tempted her to roam. And higher swelled the Brooks
+behind their mill-dam prison, and sent more of their life-blood to
+refresh the poisoned Pond below.
+
+"I am getting stronger; I am very strong to-day, sister Brook," said the
+ambitious one. "I think that with our efforts now united, we can push
+this mill-dam over and escape."
+
+"Wait for my darling Mountain-Torrent. I hear him on his way; he follows
+after us. And see down yonder hill-side how he tears along; and hark!
+how gladly, as he sees us from his rocky bed, he roars a song of
+courage."
+
+And the sister Brooks triumphed together as they saw the keepers of the
+smoking monster cease their clanging din, and rush for timbers to uphold
+the dam; and fly about with tools that were but baby toys for what was
+coming now.
+
+"Bring trees; bring stones; bring every thing," cried out the Brooks,
+as they saw the Mountain-Torrent come rushing nearer on, sweeping away
+the fences, and ploughing out a path more fitting for his travels than
+the brookside one he kept in view.
+
+"Welcome, my fair ones," roared he, as with heavy timbers in his maw he
+caught the Brooks again in strong embrace, and dashing at the smoking
+monster, knocked him down at once. Down came the mill-dam with an
+earthquake noise; the din upon the air was not of clanging tools and
+hammer stroke; the wheels were racking and rumbling, not beneath brick
+walls, but over the rocks and ruined factories below; while the pale and
+shadowy faces looked no longer wistfully on the landscape, but madly
+rushed about to spread the tale of ruin through the land.
+
+The same old thing! The same old journey over the country. The same old
+havoc as they went. But the strength of a thousand Brooks seemed given
+to the Mountain-Torrent as, looking miles away, he saw a wide expanse of
+water fringed with brown and bluish lines. "It is the Ocean, fair ones,"
+cried he; "when your feeble sights shall see it, bless my power, for at
+length we reach a home no art of man can invade to fetter us or bind us
+down. Ten millions of our species mingle there; in small harmony it is
+true, but better fight among ourselves than ever thus to wage a war with
+man. Now too approaches the time of our revenge: we'll take his life;
+we'll sink his ships; we'll break his boasted wealth into uncounted
+atoms, and scatter it."
+
+The Brooks trembled in the strong grasp of the Mountain-Torrent to hear
+the vehemence with which he spoke these threatening words; but lost
+their fears in greater astonishment, as now they neared the ocean waste,
+fringed with the lines of brown and blue of which he spoke.
+
+"Why, sister, what a noise!" cried one of the Brooks, "our own is not to
+be heard."
+
+"See what a dreadful wall appears to rise and fall as we approach,"
+answered the other. And they both clung closer to the embrace of the
+Torrent as he crossed the beach they reached at last, and plunged, with
+sticks and stones and all, upon the wall of foam and sand, which parted
+as the Mountain-Torrent and the Brooks joined forces with old _Ocean's_
+solemn waste.
+
+In an instant the meadow-born Brook writhed in pain, pressed on by
+thousands of Mountain-Torrents every way at once. She foamed and fought,
+and fought and foamed; under and over, up and below she plunged, but no
+escape; one weary work for ages yet to come!
+
+"Revenge once more! Gather and rage! Dash to ruin ships and sailors!"
+growled a tone which made the writhing Brook tremble into a million
+foam-beads, as simultaneously a roaring Tempest clattered by with
+thunder and lightning in its train, while a clashing hiss, as of
+something rushing madly through the water, bade the Brook--the sea-slave
+Brook--look up.
+
+No time for thought; for still the tone was heard, "Revenge once more!
+gather and rage! dash to ruin ship and sailors!" And still the tempest
+clattered, and still the hissing of the gallant ship's prow was heard
+cleaving the maddened waves. On, on! a dash; a crash; a march of
+maddening waves; a stunning tempest howl, and then the hiss was heard no
+more. But far and wide were hurried and mashed in one chaotic mass the
+fragments of the gallant ship.
+
+"How wise he is; how true my Mountain-Torrent spoke," thought the
+frightened sea-slave Brook, as the clattering tempest, with thunder and
+lightning in its train, passed out of sight and hearing leagues beyond.
+"And now I'll rest me on this sandy beach, for this ambitious life is
+wearisome indeed."
+
+And she nestled closely to a rock, and so crept into grateful rest. But
+as she lay, she looked beyond her sandy bed to see the lovely face of
+her early meadow life, when she was but a humble Brook. Pale and ghastly
+it lay upon a rounded stone; the hair floating out like fairy circles
+from the marked brow, and on the temple such a purple thickened stain as
+once had been upon the willow stump.
+
+The Brook came by her side and watched her gently as she lay. Then going
+farther out, the Brook brought strings of sea-weed, and strung them
+gayly and softly round her form, and watched her thus again. "Here will
+I stay," thought the Brook, "and fancy I am still in the sunlight meadow
+before I wandered forth into ambitious company. There's nought but
+trouble and pain crossed my path since the rainy days of the latest
+spring-time. Here will I stay, and ever mourn that I listened to
+ambitious counselling."
+
+
+
+
+LAST CASE OF THE SUPERNATURAL.
+
+
+A writer in the January number of _Fraser's Magazine_, at the conclusion
+of a tale crammed with the intensest horrors, presents us with one
+instance in which the architect of such machinery was foiled.
+
+When the recital was finished, and the company were well-nigh breathless
+with its skilfully cumulative terror, cried Tremenheere--
+
+"Humph! that is rather an uncomfortable story to go to bed upon."
+
+And presently--
+
+"You have been lately in Spain, Melton; what news from Seville?"
+
+"Oh," replied Melton, "you must have heard of Don Juan de Mura�a, of
+terrible memory?"
+
+"Not we," said they.
+
+"One gloomy evening Don Juan de Mura�a was returning along the quay
+where the Golden Tower looks down upon the Guadalquivir, so lost in
+thought that it was some time before he perceived that his cigar had
+gone out, though he was one of the most determined smokers in Spain. He
+looked about him, and beheld on the other side of the broad river an
+individual whose brilliant cigar sparkled like a star of the first
+magnitude at every aspiration.
+
+"Don Juan, who, thanks to the terror which he had inspired, was
+accustomed to see all the world obedient to his caprices, shouted to the
+smoker to come across the river and give him a light.
+
+"The smoker, without taking that trouble, stretched out his arm towards
+the Don, and so effectually that it traversed the river like a bridge,
+and presented to Don Juan a glowing cigar, which smelt most abominably
+of sulphur.
+
+"If Don Juan felt something like a rising shudder, he suppressed it,
+coolly lighted his own cigar at that of the smoker, and went on his way,
+singing, _Los Toros a la puerta_."
+
+"But who was the smoker?"
+
+"Who could he be, but the Prince of Darkness in person, who had laid a
+wager with Pluto that he would frighten Don Juan De Mura�a, and went
+back to his place furious at having lost?
+
+"If you would learn more of Don Juan de Mura�a, how he went to his own
+funeral, and died at last in the odor of sanctity, read that most
+spirited series of letters, _De Paris � Cadix_, wherein Alexander Dumas
+has surpassed himself. And now, Good night!"
+
+
+
+
+A STORY WITHOUT A NAME[M]
+
+Written For The International Monthly Magazine
+
+BY G. P. R. JAMES, ESQ.
+
+_Continued from Page 348._
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+Occasionally in the life of man, as in the life of the
+world--History--or in the course of a stream towards the sea, come quiet
+lapses, sunny and calm, reflecting nothing but the still motionless
+objects around, or the blue sky and moving clouds above. Often too we
+find that this tranquil expanse of silent water follows quickly after
+some more rapid movement, comes close upon some spot where a dashing
+rapid has diversified the scene, or a cataract, in roar and confusion
+and sparkling terror, has broken the course of the stream.
+
+Such a still pause, silent of action--if I may use the term--followed
+the events which I have related in the last chapter, extending over a
+period of nearly six months. Nothing happened worthy of any minute
+detail. Peace and tranquillity dwelt in the various households which I
+have noticed in the course of this story, enlivened in that of Sir
+Philip Hastings by the gay spirit of Emily Hastings, although somewhat
+shadowed by the sterner character of her father; and in the household of
+Mrs. Hazleton brightened by the light of hope, and the fair prospect of
+success in all her schemes which for a certain time continued to open
+before her.
+
+Mr. Marlow only spent two days at her house, and then went away to
+London, but whatever effect her beauty might have produced upon him, his
+society, brief as it was, served but to confirm her feelings towards
+him, and before he left her, she had made up her mind fully and
+entirely, with her characteristic vigor and strength of resolution, that
+her marriage with Mr. Marlow was an event which must and should be.
+There was under this conviction, but not the less strong, not the less
+energetic, not the less vehement, for being concealed even from
+herself--a resolution that no sacrifice, no fear, no hesitation at any
+course, should stand in the way of her purpose. She did not anticipate
+many difficulties certainly; for Mr. Marlow clearly admired her; but the
+resolution was, that if difficulties should arise, she would overcome
+them at all cost. Hers was one of those characters of which the world
+makes its tragedies, having within itself passions too strong and deep
+to be frequently excited--as the more profound waters which rise into
+mountains when once in motion require a hurricane to still
+them--together with that energetic will, that fixed unbending
+determination, which like the outburst of a torrent from the hills,
+sweeps away all before it. But let it be ever remembered that her
+energies were exerted upon herself as well as upon others, not in
+checking passion, not in limiting desire, but in guarding scrupulously
+every external appearance, guiding every thought and act with careful
+art towards its destined object. Mrs. Hazleton suffered Mr. Marlow to be
+in London more than a month before she followed to conclude the mere
+matters of business between them. It cost her a great struggle with
+herself, but in that struggle she was successful, and when at length she
+went, she had several interviews with him. Circumstances--that great
+enemy of schemes, was against her. Sometimes lawyers were present at
+their interviews, sometimes impertinent friends; but Mrs. Hazleton did
+not much care: she trusted to the time he was speedily about to pass in
+the country, for the full effect, and in the meantime took care that
+nothing but the golden side of the shield should be presented to her
+knight.
+
+The continent was at that time open to Englishmen for a short period,
+and Mr. Marlow expressed his determination of going to the Court of
+Versailles for a month or six weeks before he came down to take
+possession of Hartwell place, everything now having been settled between
+them in regard to business.
+
+Mrs. Hazleton did not like his determination, yet she did not much fear
+the result; for Mr. Marlow was pre�minently English, and never likely to
+weal a French woman. Still she resolved that he should see her under
+another aspect before he went. She was a great favorite of the Court of
+those days; her station, her wealth, her beauty, and her grace rendered
+her a brightness and an ornament wherever she came. She was invited to
+one of the more private though not less splendid assemblies at the
+Palace, and she contrived that Mr. Marlow should be invited also, though
+neither by nature or habit a courtier. She obtained the invitation for
+him skilfully, saying to the Royal Personage of whom she asked it, that
+as he won a lawsuit against her, she wished to show him that she bore no
+malice. He went, and found her the brightest in the brilliant scene; the
+great and the proud, the handsome and the gay, all bending down and
+worshipping, all striving for a smile, and obtaining it but scantily.
+She smiled upon _him_, however, not sufficiently to attract remark from
+others, but quite sufficiently to mark a strong distinction for his own
+eyes, if he had chosen to use them. He went away to France, and Mrs.
+Hazleton returned to the country; the winter passed with her in
+arranging his house for him; and, in so doing, she often had to write to
+him. His replies were always prompt, kind, and grateful; and at length
+came the spring, and the pleasant tidings that he was on his way back to
+his beloved England.
+
+Alas for human expectation! Alas for the gay day-dream of
+youth--maturity--middle age--old age--for they have all their daydreams!
+Every passion which besets man from the cradle to the grave has its own
+visionary expectations. Each creature, each animal, from the tiger to
+the beetle, has its besetting insect, which preys upon it, gnaws it,
+irritates it, and so have all the ages of the soul and of the heart.
+Alas for human speculation of all kinds! Alas for every hope and
+aspiration! for those that are pure and high, but, growing out of earth,
+bear within themselves the bitter seeds of disappointment; and those
+that are dark or low produce the germ of the most poisonous hybrid,
+where disappointment is united with remorse.
+
+Happy is the man that expecteth nothing, for verily he shall not be
+disappointed! It is a quaint old saying; and could philosophy ever stem
+the course of God's will, it would be one which, well followed, might
+secure to man some greater portion of mortal peace than he possesses.
+But to aspire was the ordinance of God; and, viewed rightly, the
+withering of the flowers upon each footstep we have taken upwards, is no
+discouragement; for if we shape our path aright, there is a wreath of
+bright blossoms crowning each craggy peak before us, as we ascend to
+snatch the garland of immortal glory, placed just beyond the last awful
+leap of death.
+
+Mrs. Hazleton's aspirations, however, were all earthly. She thought of
+little beyond this life. She had never been taught so to think. There
+are some who are led astray from the path of noble daring, to others as
+difficult and more intricate, by some loud shout of passion on the right
+or on the left--and seek in vain to return; some who, misled by an
+apparent similarity in the course of two paths, although the finger post
+says, "Thus shalt thou go!" think that the way so plainly beaten, and so
+seemingly easy, must surely lead them to the same point. Others again
+never learn to read the right path from the wrong (and she was one),
+while others shut their eyes to all direction, fix their gaze upon the
+summit, and strain up, now amidst flowers and now amidst thorns, till
+they are cast back from the face of some steep precipice, to perish in
+the descent or at the foot.
+
+Mrs. Hazleton's aspirations were all earthly; and that was the secret of
+her only want in beauty. That divine form, that resplendent face, beamed
+with every earthly grace: sparkled forth mind and intellect in every
+glance, but they were wanting in soul, in spirit, and in heart. Life was
+there, but the life of life, the intense flame of immortal, over-earthly
+intelligence, was wanting. She might be the grandest animal that ever
+was seen, the most bright and capable intellect that ever dealt with
+mortal things; but the fine golden chain which leads on the electric
+fire from intellectual eminence to spiritual pre�minence, from mind to
+soul, from earth to heaven, was wanting, or had been broken. Her
+loveliness none could doubt, her charm of manner none could deny, her
+intellectual superiority all admitted, her womanly softness added a
+grace beyond them all; but there was one grace wanting--the grace of a
+high, holy soul, which, in those who have it, be they fair, be they
+ugly, pours forth as an emanation from every look and every action, and
+surrounds them with a cloud of radiance, faintly imaged by the artist's
+glory round a saint.
+
+Alas for human aspirations! Alas for the expectations of this fair frail
+creature! How eagerly she thought of Mr. Marlow's return! how she had
+anticipated their meeting again! How she had calculated upon all that
+would be said and done during the next few weeks! The first news she
+received was that he had arrived, and with a few servants had taken
+possession of his new dwelling. She remained all day in her own house;
+she ordered no carriage; she took no walk: she tried to read; she played
+upon various instruments of music; she thought each instant he would
+come, at least for a few minutes, to thank her for all the care she had
+bestowed to make his habitation comfortable. The sun gilded the west;
+the melancholy moon rose up in solemn splendor; the hours passed by, and
+he came not.
+
+The next morning, she heard that he had ridden over to the house of Sir
+Philip Hastings, and indignation warred with love in her bosom. She
+thought he must certainly come that day, and she resolved angrily to
+upbraid him for his want of courtesy. Luckily, however, for her, he did
+not come that day; and a sort of melancholy took possession of her.
+Luckily, I say; for when passion takes hold of a scheme it is generally
+sure to shake it to pieces, and that melancholy loosens the grasp of
+passion for a time. The next day he did come, and with an air so easy
+and unconscious of offence as almost to provoke her into vehemence
+again. He knew not what she felt--he had no idea of how he had been
+looked for. He was as ignorant that she had ever thought of him as a
+husband, as she was that he had ever compared her in his mind to his
+own mother.
+
+He talked quietly, indifferently, of his having been over to the house
+of Sir Philip Hastings, adding merely--not as an excuse, but as a simple
+fact--that he had been unable to call there as he had promised before
+leaving the country. He dilated upon the kind reception he had met with
+from Lady Hastings, for Sir Philip was absent upon business; and he went
+on to dwell rather largely upon the exceeding beauty and great grace of
+Emily Hastings.
+
+Oh how Mrs. Hazleton hated her! It requires but a few drops of poison to
+envenom a whole well.
+
+He did worse: he proceeded to descant upon her character--upon the
+blended brightness and deep thought--upon the high-souled emotions and
+child-like sparkle of her disposition--upon the simplicity and
+complexity, upon the many-sided splendor of her character, which, like
+the cut diamond, reflected each ray of light in a thousand varied and
+dazzling hues. Oh how Mrs. Hazleton hated her--hated, because for the
+first time she began to fear. He had spoken to her in praise of another
+woman--with loud encomiums too, with a brightened eye, and a look which
+told her more than his words. These were signs not to be mistaken. They
+did not show in the least that he loved Emily Hastings, and that she
+knew right well; but they showed that he did not love her; and there was
+the poison in the cup.
+
+So painful, so terrible was the sensation, that, with all her mastery
+over herself, she could not conceal the agony under which she writhed.
+She became silent, grave, fell into fits of thought, which clouded the
+broad brow, and made the fine-cut lip quiver. Mr. Marlow was surprised
+and grieved. He asked himself what could be the matter. Something had
+evidently made her sorrowful, and he could not trace the sorrow to its
+source; for she carefully avoided uttering one word in depreciation of
+Emily Hastings. In this she showed no woman's spirit. She could have
+stabbed her, had the girl been there in her presence; but she would not
+scratch her. Petty spite was too low for her, too small for the
+character of her mind. Hers was a heart capable of revenge, and would be
+satisfied with nothing less.
+
+Mr. Marlow soothed her, spoke to her kindly, tenderly, tried to lead her
+mind away, to amuse, to entertain her. Oh, it was all gall and
+bitterness to her. He might have cursed, abused, insulted her, without,
+perhaps--diminishing her love--certainly without inflicting half the
+anguish that was caused by his gentle words. It is impossible to tell
+all the varied emotions that went on in her heart--at least for me.
+Shakspeare could have done it, but none less than Shakspeare. For a
+moment she knew not whether she loved or hated him; but she soon felt
+and knew it was love; and the hate, like lightning striking a rock, and
+glancing from the solid stone to rend a sapling, all turned away from
+him, to fall upon the head of poor unconscious Emily Hastings.
+
+Though she could not recover from the blow she had received, yet she
+soon regained command over herself, conversed, smiled, banished
+absorbing thoughts, answered calmly, pertinently, even spoke in her own
+bright, brilliant way, with a few more figures and ornaments of speech
+than usual; for figures are things rather of the head than of the heart,
+and it was from the head that she was now speaking.
+
+At length Mr. Marlow took his leave, and for the first time in life she
+was glad he was gone.
+
+Mrs. Hazleton gave way to no burst of passion: she shed not a tear; she
+uttered no exclamation. That which was within her heart, was too intense
+for any such ordinary expression. She seated herself at a table, leaned
+her head upon her hand, and fixed her eyes upon one bright spot in the
+marquetry. There she sat for more than an entire hour, without a motion,
+and in the meantime what were the thoughts that passed through her
+brain? We have shown the feelings of her heart enough.
+
+She formed plans; she determined her course; she looked around for
+means. Various persons suggested themselves to her mind as instruments.
+The three women, I have mentioned in a preceding chapter--the good sort
+of friends. But it was an agent she wanted, not a confidant. No, no,
+Mrs. Hazleton knew better than to have a confidant. She was her own best
+council-keeper, and she knew it. Nevertheless, these good ladies might
+serve to act in subordinate parts, and she assigned to each of them
+their position in her scheme with wonderful accuracy and skill. As she
+did so, however, she remembered that it was by the advice of Mrs.
+Warmington that she had brought Mr. Marlow to Hartwell Place; and in her
+heart's secret chamber she gave her fair friend a goodly benediction.
+She resolved to use her nevertheless--to use her as far as she could be
+serviceable; and she forgot not that she herself had been art and part
+in the scheme that had failed. She was not one to shelter herself from
+blame by casting the whole storm of disappointment upon another. She
+took her own full share. "If she was a fool so to advise," said Mrs.
+Hazleton, "'twas a greater fool to follow her advice."
+
+She then turned to seek for the agent. No name presented itself but that
+of Shanks, the attorney; and she smiled bitterly when she thought of
+him. She recollected that Sir Philip Hastings had thrown him
+head-foremost down the steps of the terrace, and that was very
+satisfactory to her; for, although Mr. Shanks was a man who sometimes
+bore injuries very meekly, he never forgot them.
+
+Nevertheless, she had somewhat a difficult part to play, for most agents
+have a desire of becoming confidants also, and that Mrs. Hazleton
+determined her attorney should not be. The task was to insinuate her
+purposes rather than to speak them--to act, without betraying the
+motive of action--to make another act, without committing herself by
+giving directions.
+
+Nevertheless, Mrs. Hazleton arranged it all to her own satisfaction; and
+as she did so, amongst the apparently extinct ashes of former schemes,
+one small spark of hope began to glow, giving promise for the time to
+come. What did she propose? At first, nothing more than to drive Sir
+Philip Hastings and his family from the country, mingling the
+gratification of personal hatred with efforts for the accomplishment of
+her own purposes. It was a bold attempt, but Mrs. Hazleton had her plan;
+and she sat down and wrote for Mr. Shanks, the attorney.
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+Decorum came in with the house of Hanover. I know not whether men and
+women in England were more virtuous before--I think not--but they
+certainly were more frank in both their virtues and their vices. There
+were fewer of those vices of conventionality thrown around the human
+heart--fewer I mean to say of those cold restraints, those gilded chains
+of society, which, like the ornaments that ladies wear upon their necks
+and arms, seem like fetters; but, I fear me, restrain but little human
+action, curb not passion, and are to the strong will but as the green
+rushes round the limbs of the Hebrew giant. Decorum came into England
+with the house of Hanover; but I am speaking of a period before that,
+when ladies were less fearful of the tongue of scandal, when scandal
+itself was fearful of assailing virtue, when honesty of purpose and
+purity of heart could walk free in the broad day, and men did not
+venture to suppose evil acts perpetrated whenever, by a possibility,
+they could be committed.
+
+Emily Hastings walked quietly along by the side of Mr. Marlow, through
+her father's park. There was no one with him, no keen matron's ear to
+listen to and weigh their words, no brother to pretend to accompany
+them, and either feel himself weary with the task or lighten it by
+seeking his own amusement apart. They were alone together, and they
+talked without restraint. Ye gods, how they did talk! The dear girl was
+in one of her brightest, gayest moods. There was nothing that did not
+move her fancy or become a servant to it. The clouds as they shot across
+the sky, the blue fixed hills in the distance, the red and yellow and
+green coloring of the young budding oaks, the dancing of The stream, the
+song of the bird, the whisper of the wind, the misty spring light which
+spread over the morning distance, all had illustrations for her
+thoughts. It seemed that day as if she could not speak without a
+figure--as if she revelled in the flowers of imagination, like a child
+tossing about the new mown grass in a hay-field. And he, with joyous
+sport, took pleasure in furnishing her at every moment with new material
+for the bounding play of fancy.
+
+They had not known each other long; but there was something in the young
+man's manner--nay, let me go farther--in his character, which invited
+confidence, which besought the hearts around to throw off all strange
+disguise, and promised that he would take no base advantage of their
+openness. That something was perhaps his earnestness: one felt that he
+was true in all he said or did or looked: that his words were but his
+spoken feelings: his countenance a paper on which the heart at once
+recorded its sensations. But let me not be mistaken. Do not let it be
+supposed that when I say he was earnest, I mean that he was even grave.
+Oh no! Earnestness can exist as well in the merriest as in the soberest
+heart. One can be as earnest, as truthful, even as eager in joy or
+sport, as in sorrow or sternness. But he was earnest in all things, and
+it was this earnestness which probably found a way for him to so many
+dissimilar hearts.
+
+Emily knew not at all what it was doing with hers; but she felt that he
+was one before whom she had no need to hide a thought: that if she were
+gay, she might be gay in safety: that if she were inclined to muse, she
+might muse on in peace.
+
+Onward they walked, talking of every thing on earth but love. It was in
+the thoughts of neither. Emily knew nothing about it: the tranquil
+expanse of life had never for her been even rippled by the wing of
+passion. Marlow might know more; but for the time he was lost in the
+enjoyment of the moment. The little enemy might be carrying on the war
+against the fortress of each unconscious bosom; but if so, it was by the
+silent sap and mine, more potent far than the fierce assault or
+thundering cannonade--at least in this sort of warfare.
+
+They were wending their way towards a gate, at the very extreme limit of
+the park, which opened upon a path leading by a much shorter way to Mr.
+Marlow's own dwelling than the road he usually pursued. He had that
+morning come to spend but an hour at the house of Sir Philip Hastings,
+and he had an engagement at his own house at noon. He had spent two
+hours instead of one with Emily and her mother, and therefore short
+paths were preferable to long ones for his purpose, Emily had offered to
+show him the way to the gate, and her company was sure to shorten the
+road, though it might lengthen the time it took to travel.
+
+Now in describing the park of Sir Philip Hastings, I have said that
+there was a wide open space around the mansion; but I have also said,
+that at some distance the trees gathered thick and sombre. Those nearest
+the house gathered together in clumps, confusing the eye in a wilderness
+of hawthorns, and bushes, and evergreen oaks, while beyond appeared a
+dense mass of wood; and, through the scattered tufts of trees and thick
+woodland at the extreme of the park ran several paths traced by deer,
+and park-keepers, and country folk. Thus for various reasons some
+guidance was needful to Marlow on his way, and for more reasons still he
+was well pleased that the guide should be Emily Hastings. In the course
+of their walk, amongst many other subjects they spoke of Mrs. Hazleton,
+and Marlow expatiated warmly on her beauty, and grace, and kindness of
+heart. How different was the effect of all this upon Emily Hastings from
+that which his words in her praise had produced upon her of whom he
+spoke! Emily's heart was free. Emily had no schemes, no plans, no
+purposes. She knew not that there was one feeling in her bosom with
+which praise of Mrs. Hazleton could ever jar. She loved her well. Such
+eyes as hers are not practised in seeing into darkness. She had divined
+the Italian singer--perhaps by instinct, perhaps by some distinct trait,
+which occasionally will betray the most wily. But Mrs. Hazleton was a
+fellow-woman--a woman of great brightness and many fine qualities.
+Neither had she any superficial defects to indicate a baser metal or a
+harder within. If she was not all gold, she was doubly gilt.
+
+Emily praised her too, warmed with the theme; and eagerly exclaimed,
+"She always seems to me like one of those dames of fairy tales, upon
+whom some enchanter has bestowed a charm that no one can resist. It is
+not her beauty; for I feel the same when I hear her voice and shut my
+eyes. It is not her conversation; for I feel the same when I look at her
+and she is silent. It seems to breathe from her presence like the odor
+of a flower. It is the same when she is grave as when she is gay."
+
+"Aye, and when she is melancholy," replied Marlow. "I never felt it more
+powerfully than a few days ago when I spent an hour with her, and she
+was not only grave but sad."
+
+"Melancholy!" exclaimed Emily. "I never saw her so. Grave I have seen
+her--thoughtful, silent--but never sad; and I do not know that she has
+not seemed more charming to me in those grave, stiller moods, than in
+more cheerful ones. Do you know that in looking at the beautiful statues
+which I have seen in London, I have often thought they might lose half
+their charm if they would move and speak? Thus, too, with Mrs. Hazleton;
+she seems to me even more lovely, more full of grace, in perfect
+stillness than at any other time. My father," she added, after a
+moment's pause, "is the only one who in her presence seems spell-proof."
+
+Her words threw Marlow into a momentary fit of thought. "Why," he asked
+himself, "was Sir Philip Hastings spell-proof when all others were
+charmed?"
+
+Men have a habit of depending much upon men's judgment, whether justly
+or unjustly I will not stop to inquire. They rely less upon woman's
+judgment in such matters; and yet women are amongst the keenest
+discerners--when they are unbiassed by passion. But are they often so?
+Perhaps it is from a conviction that men judge less frequently from
+impulse, decide more generally from cause, that this presumption of
+their accuracy exists. Woman--perhaps from seclusion, perhaps from
+nature--is more a creature of instincts than man. They are given her for
+defence where reason would act too slowly; and where they do act
+strongly, they are almost invariably right. Man goes through the slower
+process, and naturally relies more firmly on the result; for reason
+demonstrates where instinct leads blindfold. Marlow judged Sir Philip
+Hastings by himself, and fancied that he must have some cause for being
+spell-proof against the fascinations of Mrs. Hazleton. This roused the
+first doubt in his mind as to her being all that she seemed. He repelled
+the doubt as injurious, but it returned from time to time in after days,
+and at length gave him a clue to an intricate labyrinth.
+
+The walk came to an end, too soon he thought. Emily pointed out the gate
+as soon as it appeared in sight, shook hands with him and returned
+homeward. He thought more of her after they had parted, than when she
+was with him. There are times when the most thoughtful do not
+think--when they enjoy. But now, every word, every look of her who had
+just left him, came back to memory. Not that he would admit to himself
+that there was the least touch of love in his feelings. Oh no! He had
+known her too short a time for such a serious passion as love to have
+any thing to do with his sensations. He only thought of
+her--mused--pondered--recalled all she had said and done, because she
+was so unlike any thing he had seen or heard of before--a something
+new--a something to be studied.
+
+She was but a girl--a mere child, he said; and yet there was something
+more than childish grace in that light, but rounded form, where beauty
+was more than budding, but not quite blossomed, like a moss-rose in its
+loveliest state of loveliness. And her mind too; there was nothing
+childish in her thoughts except their playfulness. The morning dew-drops
+had not yet exhaled; but the day-star of the mind was well up in the
+sky.
+
+She was one of those, on whom it is dangerous for a man afraid of love
+to meditate too long. She was one the effect of whose looks and words is
+not evanescent. That of mere beauty passes away. How many a face do we
+see and think it the loveliest in the world; yet shut the eyes an hour
+after, and try to recall the features--to paint them to the mind's eye.
+You cannot. But there are others that link themselves with every feeling
+of the heart, that twine themselves with constantly recurring thoughts,
+that never can be effaced--never forgotten--on which age or time,
+disease or death, may do its work without effecting one change in the
+reality embalmed in memory. Destroy the die, break the mould, you may;
+but the medal and the cast remain. Had Marlow lived a hundred years--had
+he never seen Emily Hastings again, not one line of her bright face, not
+one speaking look, would have passed from his memory. He could have
+painted a portrait of her had he been an artist. Did you ever gaze long
+at the sun, trying your eyes against the eagle's? If so, you have had
+the bright orb floating before your eyes the whole day after. And so it
+was with Marlow: throughout the long hours that followed, he had Emily
+Hastings ever before him. But yet he did not love her. Oh dear no, not
+in the least. Love he thought was very different from mere admiration.
+It was a plant of slower growth. He was no believer in love at first
+sight. He was an infidel as to Romeo and Juliet, and he had firmly
+resolved if ever he did fall in love, it should be done cautiously.
+
+Poor man! he little knew how deep he was in already.
+
+In the meanwhile, Emily walked onward. She was heart-whole at least. She
+had never dreamed of love. It had not been one of her studies. Her
+father had never presented the idea to her. Her mother had often talked
+of marriage, and marriages good and bad; but always put them in the
+light of alliances--compacts--negotiated treaties. Although Lady
+Hastings knew what love is as well as any one, and had felt it as
+deeply, yet she did not wish her daughter to be as romantic as she had
+been, and therefore the subject was avoided. Emily thought a good deal
+of Mr. Marlow, it is true. She thought him handsome, graceful,
+winning--one of the pleasantest companions she had ever known. She liked
+him better than any one she had ever seen; and his words rang in her
+ears long after they were spoken. But even imagination, wicked spinner
+of golden threads as she is, never drew one link between his fate and
+hers. The time had not yet come, if it was to come.
+
+She walked on, however, through the wood; and just when she was emerging
+from the thicker part into the clumps and scattered trees, she saw a
+stranger before her, leaning against the stump of an old hawthorn, and
+seeming to suffer pain. He was young, handsome, well-dressed, and there
+was a gun lying at his feet. But as Emily drew nearer, she saw blood
+slowly trickling from his arm, and falling on the gray sand of the path.
+
+She was not one to suffer shyness to curb humanity; and she exclaimed at
+once, with a look of alarm, "I am afraid you are hurt, sir. Had you not
+better come up to the house?"
+
+The young man looked at her, fainted, and answered in a low tone, "The
+gun has gone off, caught by a branch, and has shattered my arm. I
+thought I could reach the cottage by the park gates, but I feel faint."
+
+"Stay, stay a moment," cried Emily, "I will run to the hall and bring
+assistance--people to assist you upon a carriage."
+
+"No, no!" answered the stranger quickly, "I cannot go there--I will not
+go there! The cottage is nearer," he continued more calmly; "I think
+with a little help I could reach it, if I could staunch the blood."
+
+"Let me try," exclaimed Emily; and with ready zeal, she tied her
+handkerchief round his arm, not without a shaking hand indeed, but with
+firmness and some skill.
+
+"Now lean upon me," she said, when she had done; "the cottage is indeed
+nearer, but you would have better tendance if you could reach the hall."
+
+"No, no, the cottage," replied the stranger, "I shall do well there."
+
+The cottage was perhaps two hundred yards nearer to the spot on which
+they stood than the hall; but there was an eagerness about the young
+man's refusal to go to the latter, which Emily remarked. Suspicion
+indeed was alive to her mind; but those were days when laws concerning
+game, which have every year been becoming less and less strict, were
+hardly less severe than in the time of William Rufus. Every day, in the
+country life which she led, she heard some tale of poaching or its
+punishment. The stranger had a gun with him; she had found him in her
+father's park; he was unwilling even in suffering and need of help to go
+up to the hall for succor; and she could not but fancy that for some
+frolic, perhaps some jest, or some wild whim, he had been trespassing
+upon the manor in pursuit of game. That he was an ordinary poacher she
+could not suppose; his dress, his appearance forbade such a supposition.
+
+But there was something more.
+
+In the young man's face--more in its expression than its features
+perhaps--more in certain marking lines and sudden glances than in the
+general whole--there was something familiar to her--something that
+seemed akin to her. He was handsomer than her father; of a more perfect
+though less lofty character of beauty; and yet there was a strange
+likeness, not constant, but flashing occasionally upon her brow, in
+what, when, she could hardly determine.
+
+It roused another sort of sympathy from any she had felt before; and
+once more she asked him to go up to the hall.
+
+"If you have been taking your sport," she said, "where perhaps you ought
+not, I am sure my father will look over it without a word, when he sees
+how you are hurt. Although people sometimes think he is stern and
+severe, that is all a mistake. He is kind and gentle, I assure you, when
+he does not feel that duty requires him to be rigid."
+
+The stranger gave a quick start, and replied in a tone which would have
+been haughty and fierce, had not weakness subdued it, "I have been
+shooting only where I have a right to shoot. But I will not go up to the
+hall, till--but I dare say I can get down to the cottage without help,
+Mistress Emily. I have been accustomed to do without help in the world;"
+and he withdrew his arm from that which supported him. The next moment,
+however, he tottered, and seemed ready to fall, and Emily again hurried
+to help him. There were no more words spoken. She thought his manner
+somewhat uncivil; she would not leave him, and the necessity for her
+kindness was soon apparent. Ere they were within a hundred yards of the
+cottage, he sunk slowly down. His face grew pale and death-like, and his
+eyes closed faintly as he lay upon the turf. Emily ran on like lightning
+to the cottage, and called out the old man who lived there. The old man
+called his son from the little garden, and with his and other help,
+carried the fainting man in.
+
+"Ay, master John, master John," exclaimed the old cottager, as he laid
+him in his own bed; "one of your wild pranks, I warrant!"
+
+His wife, his son, and he himself tended the young man with care; and a
+young boy was sent off for a surgeon.
+
+Emily did not know what to do; but compassion kept her in the cottage
+till the stranger recovered his consciousness, and then after inquiring
+how he felt, she was about to withdraw, intending to send down further
+aid from the hall. But the stranger beckoned her faintly to come nearer,
+and said in tones of real gratitude, "Thank you a thousand times,
+Mistress Emily; I never thought to need such kindness at your hands. But
+now do me another, and say not a word to any one at the mansion of what
+has happened. It will be better for me, for you, for your father, that
+you should not speak of this business."
+
+"Do not! do not! Mistress Emily!" cried the old man, who was standing
+near. "It will only make mischief and bring about evil."
+
+He spoke evidently under strong apprehension, and Emily was much
+surprised, both to find that one quite a stranger to her knew her at
+once, and to find the old cottager, a long dependant upon her family,
+second so eagerly his strange injunction.
+
+"I will say nothing unless questions are asked me," she replied; "then
+of course I must tell the truth."
+
+"Better not," replied the young man gloomily.
+
+"I cannot speak falsely," replied the beautiful girl, "I cannot deal
+doubly with my parents or any one," and she was turning away.
+
+But the stranger besought her to stop one moment, and said, "I have not
+strength to explain all now; but I shall see you again, and then I will
+tell you why I have spoken as you think strangely. I shall see you
+again. In common charity you will come to ask if I am alive or dead. If
+you knew how near we are to each other, I am sure you would promise!"
+
+"I can make no such promise," replied Emily; but the old cottager seemed
+eager to end the interview; and speaking for her, he exclaimed, "Oh, she
+will come, I am sure, Mistress Emily will come;" and hurried her away,
+seeing her back to the little gate in the park wall.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+Mrs. Hazleton found Mr. Shanks, the attorney, the most difficult person
+to deal with whom she had ever met in her life. She had remarked that he
+was keen, active, intelligent, unscrupulous, confident in his own
+powers, bold as a lion in the wars of quill, parchment, and red tape;
+without fear, without hesitation, without remorse. There was nothing
+that he scrupled to do, nothing that he ever repented having done. She
+had fancied that the only difficulty which she could have to encounter
+was that of concealing from him, at least in a degree, the ultimate
+objects and designs which she herself had in view.
+
+So shrewd people often deceive themselves as to the character of other
+shrewd people. The difficulty was quite different. It was a peculiar
+sort of stolidity on the part of Mr. Shanks, for which she was utterly
+unprepared.
+
+Now the attorney was ready to do any thing on earth which his fair
+patroness wished. He would have perilled his name on the roll in her
+service; and was only eager to understand what were her desires, even
+without giving her the trouble of explaining them. Moreover, there was
+no point of law or equity, no manner of roguery or chicanery, no object
+of avarice, covetousness, or ambition, which he could not have
+comprehended at once. They were things within his own ken and scope, to
+which the intellect and resources of his mind were always open. But to
+other passions, to deeper, more remote motives and emotions, Mr. Shanks
+was as stolid as a door-post. It required to hew a way as it were to his
+perceptions, to tunnel his mind for the passage of a new conception.
+
+The only passion which afforded the slightest cranny of an opening was
+revenge; and after having tried a dozen other ways of making him
+comprehend what she wished without committing herself, Mrs. Hazleton got
+him to understand that she thought Sir Philip Hastings had injured--at
+all events, that he had offended--her, and that she sought vengeance.
+From that moment all was easy. Mr. Shanks could understand the feeling,
+though not its extent. He would himself have given ten pounds out of his
+own pocket--the largest sum he had ever given in life for any thing but
+an advantage--to be revenged upon the same man for the insult he had
+received; and he could perceive that Mrs. Hazleton would go much
+further, without, indeed, being able to conceive, or even dream of, the
+extent to which she was prepared to go.
+
+However, when he had once got the clue, he was prepared to run along the
+road with all celerity; and now she found him every thing she had
+expected. He was a man copious in resources, prolific of schemes. His
+imagination had exercised itself through life in devising crooked paths;
+but in this instance the road was straight-forward before him. He would
+rather it had been tortuous, it is true; but for the sake of his dear
+lady he was ready to follow even a plain path, and he explained to her
+that Sir Philip Hastings stood in a somewhat dangerous position.
+
+He was proceeding to enter into the details, but Mrs. Hazleton
+interrupted him, and, to his surprise, not only told him, but showed
+him, that she knew all the particulars.
+
+"The only question is, Mr. Shanks," she said, "can you prove the
+marriage of his elder brother to this woman before the birth of the
+child?"
+
+"We think we can, madam," replied the attorney, "we think we can. There
+is a very strong letter, and there has been evidently----"
+
+He paused and hesitated, and Mrs. Hazleton demanded, "There has been
+what, Mr. Shanks?"
+
+"There has been evidently a leaf torn out of the register," replied the
+lawyer.
+
+There was something in his manner which made the lady gaze keenly in his
+face; but she would ask no questions on that subject, and she merely
+said, "Then why has not the case gone on, as it was put in your hands
+six months ago?"
+
+"Why, you see, my dear madam," replied Shanks, "law is at best
+uncertain. One wants two or three great lawyers to make a case. Money
+was short; John and his mother had spent all last year's annuity.
+Barristers won't plead without fees, and besides----"
+
+He paused again, but an impatient gesture from the lady urged him on.
+"Besides," he said, "I had devised a little scheme, which, of course, I
+shall abandon now, for marrying him to Mistress Emily Hastings. He is a
+very handsome young fellow, and----"
+
+"I have seen him," said Mrs. Hazleton thoughtfully, "but why should you
+abandon this scheme, Mr. Shanks? It seems to me by no means a bad one."
+
+The poor lawyer was now all at sea again and fancied himself as wide of
+the lady's aim as ever.
+
+Mrs. Hazleton suffered him to remain in this dull suspense for some
+time. Wrapped up in her own thoughts, and busy with her own
+calculations, she suffered several minutes to elapse without adding a
+word to that which had so much surprised the attorney. Then, however,
+she said, in a meditative tone, "There is only one way by which it can
+be accomplished. If you allow it to be conducted in a formal manner, you
+will fail utterly. Sir Philip will never consent. She will never even
+yield."
+
+"But if Sir Philip is made to see that it will save him a tremendous
+lawsuit, and perhaps his whole estate," suggested Mr. Shanks.
+
+"He will resist the more firmly," answered the lady; "if it saved his
+life, he would reject it with scorn--no! But there is a way. If you can
+persuade her--if you can show her that her father's safety, his position
+in life, depends upon her conduct, perhaps you may bring her by degrees
+to consent to a private marriage. She is young, inexperienced,
+enthusiastic, romantic. She loves her father devotedly, and would make
+any sacrifice for him."
+
+"No great sacrifice, I should think, madam," replied Mr. Shanks, "to
+marry a handsome young man who has a just claim to a large fortune."
+
+"That is as people may judge," replied the lady; "but at all events this
+claim gives us a hold upon her which we must not fail to use, and that
+directly. I will contrive means of bringing them together. I will make
+opportunity for the lad, but you must instruct him how to use it
+properly. All I can do is to co-operate without appearing."
+
+"But, my dear madam, I really do not fully understand," said Mr. Shanks.
+"I had a fancy--a sort of imagination like, that you wished--that you
+desired----"
+
+He hesitated; but Mrs. Hazleton would not help him by a single word, and
+at last he added, "I had a fancy that you wished this suit to go on
+against Sir Philip Hastings, and now--but that does not matter--only do
+you really wish to bring it all to an end, to settle it by a marriage
+between John and Mistress Emily?'
+
+"That will be the pleasantest, the easiest way of settling it, sir,"
+replied Mrs. Hazleton, coolly; "and I do not at all desire to injure,
+but rather to serve Sir Philip and his family."
+
+That was false, for though to marry Emily Hastings to any one but Mr.
+Marlow was what the lady did very sincerely desire; yet there was a long
+account to be settled with Sir Philip Hastings which could not well be
+discharged without a certain amount of injury to him and his. The lady
+was well aware, too, that she had told a lie, and moreover that it was
+one which Mr. Shanks was not at all likely to believe. Perhaps even she
+did not quite wish him to believe it, and at all events she knew that
+her actions must soon give it contradiction. But men make strange
+distinctions between speech and action, not to be accounted for without
+long investigation and disquisition. There are cases where people shrink
+from defining in words their purposes, or giving voice to their
+feelings, even when they are prepared by acts to stamp them for
+eternity. There are cases where men do acts which they dare not cover by
+a lie.
+
+Mrs. Hazleton sought for no less than the ruin of Sir Philip Hastings;
+she had determined it in her own heart, and yet she would not own it to
+her agent--perhaps she would not own it to herself. There is a dark
+secret chamber in the breast of every one, at the door of which the eyes
+of the spirit are blindfolded, that it may not see the things to which
+it is consenting. Conscience records them silently, and sooner or later
+her book is to be opened; it may be in this world: it may be in the
+next: but for the time that book is in the keeping of passion, who
+rarely suffers the pages to be seen till purpose has been ratified by
+act, and remorse stands ready to pronounce the doom.
+
+There was a pause after Mrs. Hazleton had spoken, for the attorney was
+busy also with thoughts he wished to utter, yet dared not speak. The
+first prospect of a lawsuit--the only sort of the picturesque in which
+he could find pleasure--a long, intricate, expensive lawsuit, was fading
+before his eyes as if a mist were coming over the scene. Where were his
+consultations, his letters, his briefs, his pleas, his rejoinders, his
+demurrers, his appeals? Where were the fees, the bright golden fees?
+True, in the hopelessness of his young client's fortunes, he had urged
+the marriage with a proviso, that if it took place by his skilful
+management, a handsome bonus was to be his share of the spoil. But then
+Mrs. Hazleton's first communication had raised brighter hopes, had put
+him more in his own element, had opened to him a scene of achievements
+as glorious to his notions as those of the listed field to knights of
+old; and now all was vanishing away. Yet he did not venture to tell her
+how much he was disappointed, still less to show her why and how.
+
+It was the lady who spoke first; and she did so in as calm, deliberate,
+passionless a tone as if she had been devising the fashion of a new
+Mantua.
+
+"It may be as well, Mr. Shanks," she said, "in order to produce the
+effect we wish upon dear Emily's mind"--dear Emily!--"to commence the
+suit against Sir Philip--I mean to take those first steps which may
+create some alarm. I cannot of course judge what they ought to be, but
+you must know; and if not, you must seek advice from counsel learned in
+the law. You understand what I mean, doubtless."
+
+"Oh, certainly, madam, certainly," replied Mr. Shanks, with a profound
+sigh of relief. "First steps commit us to nothing: but they must be
+devised cautiously, and I am very much afraid that--that----"
+
+"Afraid of what, sir?" asked Mrs. Hazleton, in a tone somewhat stern.
+
+"Only that the expense will be greater than my young client can afford,"
+answered the lawyer, seeing that he must come to the point.
+
+"Let not that stand in the way," said Mrs. Hazleton at once; "I will
+supply the means. What will be the expense?"
+
+"Would you object to say five hundred pounds?" asked the lawyer,
+cautiously.
+
+"A thousand," replied the lady, with a slight inclination of the head;
+and then, weary of circumlocution, she added in a bolder tone than she
+had yet used, "only remember, sir, that what is done must be done
+effectually; no mistakes, no errors, no flaws! See that you use all your
+eyes--see that you bend every nerve to the task. I will have no
+procrastination for the sake of fresh fees--nothing omitted one day to
+be remembered the next--no blunders to be corrected after long delays
+and longer correspondence. I know you lawyers and your ways right well;
+and if I find that for the sake of swelling a bill to the bursting, you
+attempt to procrastinate, the cause will be taken at once from your
+hands and placed in those who will do their work more speedily. You can
+practise those tricks upon those who are more or less in your power; but
+you shall not play them upon me."
+
+"I declare, my dear madam, I can assure you," said Mr. Shanks; but Mrs.
+Hazleton cut him short. "There, there," she said, waving her fair hand,
+"do not declare--do not assure me of any thing. Let your actions speak,
+Mr. Shanks. I am too much accustomed to declarations and assurances to
+set much value upon them. Now tell me, but in as few words and with as
+few cant terms as possible, what are the chances of success in this
+suit? How does the young man's case really stand?"
+
+Mr. Shanks would gladly have been excused such explanations. He never
+liked to speak clearly upon such delicate questions, but he would not
+venture to refuse any demand of Mrs. Hazleton's, and therefore he began
+with a circumlocution in regard to the uncertainty of law, and to the
+impossibility of giving any exact assurances of success.
+
+The lady would not be driven from her point, however. "That is not what
+I sought to know," she said. "I am as well aware of the law's
+uncertainty--of its iniquity, as you. But I ask you what grounds you
+have to go upon? Were they ever really married? Is this son legitimate?"
+
+"The lady says they were married," replied Mr. Shanks cautiously, "and I
+have good hope we can prove the legitimacy. There is a letter in which
+the late Mr. John Hastings calls her 'my dear little wife;' and then
+there is clearly a leaf torn out of the marriage register about that
+very time."
+
+Mr. Shanks spoke the last words slowly and with some hesitation; but
+after a pause he went on more boldly and rapidly. "Then we have a
+deposition of the old woman Danby that they were married. This is clear
+and precise," he continued with a grin: "she wanted to put in something
+about 'in the eyes of God,' but I left that out as beside the question;
+and she did the swearing very well. She might have broken down under
+cross-examination, it is true; and therefore it was well to put off the
+trial till she was gone. We can prove, moreover, that the late Sir John
+always paid an annuity to both mother and child, in order to make them
+keep secret--nay more, that he bribed the old woman Danby. This is our
+strong point; but it is beyond doubt--I can prove it, madam--I can prove
+it. All I fear is the mother; she is weak--very weak; I wish to heaven
+she were out of the way till the trial is over."
+
+"Send her out of the way," cried Mrs. Hazleton, decidedly; "send her to
+France;" and then she added, with a bitter smile, "she may still figure
+amongst the beauties of Versailles."
+
+"But she will not go," replied Mr. Shanks. "Madam, she will not go. I
+hinted at such a step--mentioned Cornwall or Ireland--any where she
+could be concealed."
+
+"Cornwall or Ireland!" exclaimed Mrs. Hazleton, "of course she would not
+go. Why did not you propose Africa or the plantations? She shall go, Mr.
+Shanks. Leave her to me. She shall go. And now, set to work at
+once--immediately, I say--this very day. Send the youth to-morrow, and
+let him bring me word that some step is taken. I will instruct him how
+to act, while you deal with the law."
+
+Mr. Shanks promised to obey, and retired overawed by all he had seen and
+heard. There had, it is true, been no vehement demonstration of passion;
+no fierce blaze; no violent flash; but there had been indications enough
+to show the man of law all that was raging within. It had been for him
+like gazing at a fine building on fire at that period of the
+conflagration where dense smoke and heavy darkness brood over the
+fearful scene, while dull, suddenly-smothered flashes break across the
+gloom, and tell how terrible will be the flame when it does burst freely
+forth.
+
+He had never known Mrs. Hazleton before--he had never comprehended her
+fully. But now he knew her--now, though perhaps the depths were still
+unfathomable to his eyes, he felt that there was a strong commanding
+will within that beautiful form which would bear no trifling. He had
+often treated her with easy lightness--with no want of apparent respect
+indeed--but with the persuasions and arguments such as men of business
+often address to women as beings inferior to themselves either in
+intellect or experience. Now Mr. Shanks wondered how he had escaped so
+long and so well, and he resolved that for the future his conduct should
+be very different.
+
+Mrs. Hazleton, when he left her, sat down to rest--yes, to rest; for she
+was very weary. There had been the fatiguing strife of strong passions
+in the heart--hopes--expectations--schemes-contrivances; and, above all,
+there had been a wrestling with herself to deal calmly and softly where
+she felt fiercely. It had exhausted her; and for some minutes she sat
+listlessly, with her eyes half shut, like one utterly tired out. Ere a
+quarter of an hour had passed, wheels rolled up to the door; a
+carriage-step was let down, and there was a foot-fall in the hall.
+
+"Dear Mrs. Warmington, delighted to see you!" said Mrs. Hazleton, with a
+smile sweet and gentle as the dawn of a summer morning.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+Circumstance will always have its finger in the pie with the best-laid
+schemes; but it does not always happen that thereby the pie is spoiled.
+On the contrary, circumstance is sometimes a very powerful auxiliary,
+and it happened so in the present instance with the arrangements of Mrs.
+Hazleton. Before that lady could bring any part of her scheme for
+introducing Emily to the man whom she intended to drive her into taking
+as a husband, to bear, the introduction had already taken place, as we
+have seen, by an accident.
+
+It was likely, indeed, to go no further; for Emily thought over what had
+occurred, before she gave way to her native kindness of heart. She
+remembered how tenacious all country gentlemen of that day were of their
+sporting rights, and especially of what she had often heard her father
+declare, that he looked upon any body who took his game off his
+property, according to every principle of equity and justice, as no
+better than a common robber.
+
+"If the only excuse be that it is more exposed to depredation than other
+property," said Sir Philip, "it only shows that the plunderer of it is a
+coward as well as a villain, and should be punished the more severely."
+Such, and many such speeches she had heard from her father at various
+times, and it became a case of conscience, which puzzled the poor girl
+much, whether she ought or ought not to have promised not to mention
+what had occurred in the park. She loved no concealment, and nothing
+would have induced her to tell a falsehood; but she knew that if she
+mentioned the facts, especially while the young man whom she had seen
+crossing the park with a gun lay wounded at the cottage, great evil
+might have resulted; and though she somewhat reproached herself for
+rashly giving her word, she would not break it when given.
+
+As to seeing him again, however--as to visiting him at the cottage, even
+to inquire after his health, when he had refused all aid from her
+father's house, that was an act she never dreamed of. His last words,
+indeed, had puzzled her; and there was something in his face, too, which
+set her fancy wandering. It was not exactly what she liked; but yet
+there was a resemblance, she thought, to some one she knew and was
+attached to. It could not be to her father, she said to herself, and yet
+her father's face recurred to her mind more frequently than any other
+when she thought of that of the young man she had seen; and from that
+fact a sort of prepossession in the youth's favor took possession of
+her, making her long to know who he really was.
+
+For some days Emily did not go near the cottage, but at length she
+ventured on the road which passed it--not without a hope, indeed, that
+she might meet one of the old people who tenanted it, and have an
+opportunity of inquiring after his health--but certainly not, as some
+good-natured reader may suppose, with any expectation of seeing him
+herself. As she approached, however, she perceived him sitting on a
+bench at the cottage-door, and, by a natural impulse, she turned at once
+into another path, which led back by a way nearly as short to the hall.
+The young man instantly rose, and followed her, addressing her by name,
+in a voice still weak, in truth, but too loud for her not to hear, or to
+affect not to hear.
+
+She paused, rather provoked than otherwise, and slightly inclined her
+head, while the young man approached, with every appearance of respect,
+and thanked her for the assistance she had rendered him.
+
+He had had his lesson in the mean time, and he played his part not
+amiss. All coarse swagger, all vulgar assumption was gone from his
+manner; and referring himself to some words he had spoken when last they
+had met, he said: "Pardon me, Miss Hastings, for what I said some days
+ago, which might seem both strange and mysterious, and for pressing to
+see you again; but at that time I was faint with loss of blood, and knew
+not how this might end. I wished to tell you something I thought you
+ought to hear; but now I am better; and I will find a more fitting
+opportunity ere long."
+
+"It will be better to say any thing you think fit to my father," replied
+Emily. "I am not accustomed to deal with any matters of importance; and
+any thing of so much moment as you seem to think this is, would, of
+course, be told by me to him."
+
+"I think not," replied the other, with a mysterious smile; "but of that
+you will judge when you have heard all I have to say. Your father is the
+last person to whom I would mention it myself, because I believe,
+notwithstanding all his ability, he is the last person who would judge
+sanely of it, as he would of most other matters; but, of course, you
+will speak of it or not, as you think proper. At present," he added, "I
+am too weak to attempt the detail, even if I could venture to detain you
+here. I only wished to return you my best thanks, and assure you of my
+gratitude," and bowing low, he left her to pursue her way homeward.
+
+Emily went on musing. No woman's breast is without curiosity--nor any
+man's, either--and she asked herself what could be the meaning of the
+stranger's words, at least a dozen times. What could he have to tell
+her, and why was there so much mystery? She did not like mystery,
+however; and though she felt interested in the young man--felt _pity_,
+in fact--yet it was by no means the interest that leads to, nor the pity
+which is akin to love. On the contrary, she liked him less than the
+first time she saw him. There was a certain degree of cunning in his
+mysterious smile, a look of self-confidence, almost of triumph in his
+face, which, in spite of his respectful demeanor, did not please her.
+
+Emily's father was absent from home at this time; but he returned two or
+three days after this last interview, and remarked that his daughter was
+unusually grave. To her, and to all that affected her in any way, his
+eyes were always open, though he often failed to comprehend that which
+he observed. Lady Hastings, too, had noticed Emily's unusual gravity,
+and as she had no clue to that which made her thoughtful, she concluded
+that the solitude of the country had a depressing influence upon her
+spirits, as it frequently had upon her own; and she determined to speak
+to her husband upon the matter. To him she represented that the place
+was very dull; that they had but few visitors; that even Mr. Marlow had
+not called for a week; and that Emily really required some variety of
+scene and amusement.
+
+She reasoned well according to her notions, and though Sir Philip could
+not quite comprehend them, though he abhorred great cities, and loved
+the country, she had made some impression at least by reiteration, when
+suddenly a letter arrived from Mrs. Hazleton, petitioning that Emily
+might be permitted to spend a few days with her.
+
+"I am quite alone," she said, "and not very well (she never was better
+in her life), and I propose next week to make some excursions to all the
+beautiful and interesting spots in the neighborhood. But you know, dear
+Lady Hastings, there is but small pleasure in such expeditions when they
+must be solitary; but with such a mind as that of your dear Emily for my
+companion, every object will possess a double interest."
+
+The reader has perceived that the letter was addressed to Lady Hastings;
+but it was written for the eye of Sir Philip, and to him it was shown.
+Lady Hastings observed, as she put the note into her husband's hand,
+that it would be much better to go to London. The change from their own
+house to Mrs. Hazleton's was not enough to do Emily any good; and that,
+as to these expeditions to neighboring places, she had always found them
+the dullest things imaginable.
+
+Sir Philip thought differently, however. He had been brought to the
+point of believing that Emily did want change, but not to the conviction
+that London would afford the best change for her. He inquired of Emily,
+however, which she would like best, a visit of a week to Mrs.
+Hazleton's, or a short visit to the metropolis. Much to his
+satisfaction, Emily decided at once in favor of the former, and Mrs.
+Hazleton's letter was answered, accepting her invitation.
+
+The day before Emily went, Mr. Marlow spent nearly two hours with her
+and her father in the sort of musy, wandering conversation which is so
+delightful to imaginative minds. He paid Emily herself no marked or
+particular attention; but he never suffered her to doubt that even while
+talking with her father, he was fully conscious of her presence, and
+pleased with it. Sometimes his conversation was addressed to her
+directly, and when it was not, by a word or look he would invite her to
+join in, and listened to her words as if they were very sweet to his
+ear.
+
+She loved to listen to him, however, better than to speak herself, and
+he contrived to please and interest her in all he said, gently moving
+all sorts of various feelings, sometimes making her smile gayly,
+sometimes muse thoughtfully, and sometimes rendering her almost sad. If
+he had been the most practiced love-maker in the world, he could not
+have done better with a mind like that of Emily Hastings.
+
+He heard of her proposed visit to Mrs. Hazleton with pleasure, and
+expressed it. "I am very glad to hear you are to be with her," he said,
+"for I do not think Mrs. Hazleton is well. She has lost her usual
+spirits, and has been very grave and thoughtful when I have seen her
+lately."
+
+"Oh, if I can cheer and soothe her," cried Emily eagerly, "how
+delightful my visit will be to me. Mrs. Hazleton says in her letter that
+she is unwell; and that decided me to go to her, rather than to London."
+
+"To London!" exclaimed Mr. Marlow, "I had no idea that you proposed such
+a journey. Oh, Sir Philip, do not take your daughter to London. Friends
+of mine there are often in the habit of bringing in fresh and beautiful
+flowers from the country; but I always see that first they become dull
+and dingy with the smoke and heavy air, and then wither away and perish;
+and often in gay parties, I have thought that I saw in the young and
+beautiful around me the same dulling influence, the same withering, both
+of the body and the heart."
+
+Sir Philip Hastings smiled pleasantly, and assured his young friend that
+he had no desire or intention of going to the capital except for one
+month in the winter, and Emily looked up brightly, saying, "For my part,
+I only wish that even then I could be left behind. When last I was
+there, I was so tired of the blue velvet lining of the gilt _vis-a-vis_,
+that I used to try and paint fancy pictures of the country upon it as I
+drove through the streets with mamma."
+
+At length Emily set out in the heavy family coach, with her maid and Sir
+Philip for her escort. Progression was slow in those days compared with
+our own, when a man can get as much event into fifty years as Methuselah
+did into a thousand. The journey took three hours at the least; but it
+seemed short to Emily, for at the end of the first hour they were
+overtaken by Mr. Marlow on horseback, and he rode along with them to the
+gate of Mrs. Hazleton's house. He was an admirable horseman, for he had
+not only a good but a graceful seat, and his handsome figure and fine
+gentlemanly carriage never appeared to greater advantage than when he
+did his best to be a centaur. The slow progress of the lumbering vehicle
+might have been of some inconvenience, but his horse was trained to
+canter to a walk when he pleased, and, leaning to the window of the
+carriage, and sometimes resting his hand upon it, he contrived to carry
+on the conversation with those within almost as easily as in a
+drawing-room.
+
+Just as the carriage was approaching the gate, Marlow said: "I think I
+shall not go in with you, Sir Philip; for I have a little business
+farther on, and I have ridden more slowly than I thought;" but before
+the sentence was well concluded, the gates of the park were opened by
+the porter, and Mrs. Hazleton herself appeared within, leaning on the
+arm of her maid. She had calculated well the period of Emily's arrival,
+and had gone out to the gate for the purpose of giving her an extremely
+hospitable welcome. Probably, had she not hated her as warmly and
+sincerely as she did, she would have stayed at home; our attention is
+ever doubtful.
+
+But what were Mrs. Hazleton's feelings when she saw Mr. Marlow riding by
+the side of the carriage? I will not attempt to describe them; but for
+one instant a strange dark cloud passed over her beautiful face. It was
+banished in an instant; but not before Marlow had remarked both the
+expression itself and the sudden glance of the lady's eyes from him to
+Emily. For the first time a doubt, a suspicion, a something he did not
+like to fathom, came over his mind; and he resolved to watch. Neither
+Emily nor her father perceived that look, and as the next moment the
+beautiful face was once more as bright as ever, they felt pleased with
+her kind eagerness to meet them; and alighting from the carriage, walked
+on with her to the house, while Marlow, dismounted, accompanied them,
+leading his horse.
+
+"I am glad to see you, Mr. Marlow," said Mrs. Hazleton, in a tone from
+which she could not do what she would--banish all bitterness. "I suppose
+I owe the pleasure of your visit to that which you yourself feel in
+escorting a fair lady."
+
+"I must not, I fear, pretend to such gallantry," replied Marlow. "I
+overtook the carriage accidentally as I was riding to Mr. Cornelius
+Brown's; and to say the truth, I did not intend to come in, for I am
+somewhat late."
+
+"Cold comfort for my vanity," replied the lady, "that you would not have
+paid me a visit unless you had met me at the gate."
+
+She spoke in a tone rather of sadness than of anger; but Marlow did not
+choose to perceive any thing serious in her words, and he replied,
+laughing: "Nay, dear Mrs. Hazleton, you do not read the riddle aright.
+It shows, when rightly interpreted, that your society is so charming
+that I cannot resist its influence when once within the spell, even for
+the sake of the Englishman's god--Business."
+
+"A man always succeeds in drawing some flattery for woman's ear out of
+the least flattering conduct," answered Mrs. Hazleton.
+
+The conversation then took another turn; and after walking with the rest
+of the party up to the house, Marlow again mounted and rode away. As
+soon as the horses had obtained some food and repose, Sir Philip also
+returned, and Emily was left, with a woman who felt at her heart that
+she could have poniarded her not an hour before.
+
+But Mrs. Hazleton was all gentle sweetness, and calm, thoughtful,
+dignified ease. She did not suffer her attention to be diverted for one
+moment from her fair guest: there were no reveries, no absence of mind;
+and Emily--poor Emily--thought her more charming than ever.
+Nevertheless, while speaking upon many subjects, and brightly and
+intelligently upon all, there was an under-current of thought going on
+unceasingly in Mrs. Hazleton's mind, different from that upon the
+surface. She was trying to read Marlow's conduct towards Emily--to judge
+whether he loved her or not. She asked herself whether his having
+escorted her to that house was in reality purely accidental, and she
+wished that she could have seen them together but for a few moments
+longer, though every moment had been a dagger to her heart. Nay, she did
+more: she strove by many a dexterous turn of the conversation, to lure
+out her fair unconscious guest's inmost thoughts--to induce her, not to
+tell all, for that she knew was hopeless, but to betray all. Emily,
+however, happily for herself, was unconscious; she knew not that there
+was any thing to betray. Fortunately, most fortunately, she knew not
+what was in her own breast; or perhaps I should say, knew not what it
+meant. Her answers were all simple, natural and true; and plain candor,
+as often happens, disappointed art.
+
+Mrs. Hazleton retired for the night with the conviction that whatever
+might be Marlow's feelings towards Emily, Emily was not in love with
+Marlow; and that was something gained.
+
+"No, no," she said, with a pride in her own discernment, "a woman who
+knows something of the world can never be long deceived in regard to
+another woman's heart." She should have added, "except by its
+simplicity."
+
+"Now," she continued, mentally, "to-morrow for the first great stop. If
+this youth can but demean himself wisely, and will follow the advice I
+have given him, he has a fair field to act in. He seems prompt and ready
+enough: he is assuredly handsome, and what between his good looks, kind
+persuasion by others, and her father's dangerous position, this girl
+methinks may be easily driven--or led into his arms; and that
+stumbling-block removed. He will punish her enough hereafter, or I am
+mistaken."
+
+Punish her for what, Mrs. Hazleton?
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[M] Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1850, by G. P. R.
+James, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States
+for the Southern District of New-York.
+
+
+
+
+THE FRIENDSHIP OF JOSEPHUS AND ST. PAUL.
+
+
+In the _Princeton Review_, the _Church of England Quarterly_, and other
+periodicals, there have appeared recently several very interesting
+articles upon the Voyage of St. Paul to Rome; and in a work entitled
+"Gleanings on the Overland Route," by the author of "Forty Days in the
+Desert," just published in London, we find a dissertation "On the
+Shipwreck of the Apostle Paul, and the historian Josephus," which goes
+far to prove that Josephus accompanied the apostle to Rome, and that he
+was in some measure the means of procuring the introduction of the
+Christians into "Caesar's household." After a summary account of the
+shipwreck as narrated by St. Luke, aided by such elucidatory particulars
+as have been supplied by Mr. James Smith in his "Voyage and Shipwreck of
+St. Paul," the author says:--
+
+"The only real difference between the two accounts of St. Luke and of
+Josephus is, that Josephus does not mention the stay of three months on
+the island of Malta. He writes as if the ship were wrecked in the open
+sea, and he was saved by being at once taken up into the second ship.
+This very great disagreement in the two narratives we must set to the
+account of Josephus's inaccuracy. The second ship he rightly calls a
+ship of Cyrene, for the Alexandrian vessel, in a favorable voyage, may
+have touched at that port. He adds to the apostolic history the
+interesting information, that it was through the Jewish actor,
+Alituries, that he, and, we may add, the Apostle and Christianity,
+gained an introduction into 'Caesar's household.' That Josephus sailed
+in the same ship with Paul, we may hold for certain. No Jews born in
+Judea had the privilege of Roman citizenship; of Jews who had that
+privilege, the number was so small, that it is not probable that two
+such appeals to Rome, by Jews from the province of Judea, should have
+been allowed in the reign of Nero. That two ships, carrying such Hebrew
+applicants from Judea, should have been wrecked in the Adriatic, from
+both of which the passengers should have been saved, and landed at
+Puteoli, and that within the space of three years, we may pronounce
+impossible. So then the Jewish historian Josephus, when a young man,
+made the voyage from C�sarea to Italy with the Apostle Paul, the
+Evangelist Luke, and their friend Aristarchus, and, for part of the way,
+with the young Titus. He calls the Apostle his friend, though worldly
+prudence forbade his naming him. From these fellow-travellers he must
+have heard the opinions of the Christians. He was able to contradict or
+confirm all that they said of the founder of our religion, for he was
+born only eight years after the crucifixion. But Josephus, when he wrote
+his history and life, was a courtier, and even a traitor to his
+country--he wanted moral courage, he did not mean to be a martyr, and
+any testimony in favor of a despised sect is not to be expected from
+him. The passage in his Antiquities in which Jesus is praised we may
+give up as a forgery of the third century: it is enough for us to
+remark, that after having lived for five months with Paul on the voyage
+from Judea to Italy, he does not write against this earnest teacher of
+Christianity, as either a weak enthusiast or a crafty impostor. But he
+praises his piety and virtues, and boasts that he was of use in
+obtaining his release from prison."
+
+Mr. Smith, to whom allusion is made above, is said to be a gentleman of
+liberal fortune, and to have carefully studied navigation, and in
+numerous voyages in his yacht through these seas to have practised it,
+for the especial purpose of investigating and illustrating the points
+embraced in this interesting portion of the sacred history. He has
+pretty satisfactorily established the precise route of the Apostle on
+this famous journey, which is the most universally familiar of all in
+ancient or modern life. The curious suggestion of such personal
+relations between Paul and Josephus is not new; it was made some time in
+the seventh century in the Reflections of Bernardin Pastouret, and
+perhaps at an earlier time by others. The author whose words are here
+quoted, is Mr. John Sharpe, and he has very clearly presented the case.
+
+
+
+
+THE COUNT MONTE-LEONE: OR, THE SPY IN SOCIETY.[N]
+
+Translated For The International Monthly Magazine From the French of H.
+De St. Georges.
+
+_Continued from page 359._
+
+
+BOOK IV.
+
+
+I. EXPLANATION OF THE ENIGMA.
+
+While the events we have described are taking place at Sorrento, we will
+retrace our steps to the Etruscan House, where we left Monte-Leone and
+Taddeo when the latter placed in the hands of the former the letter of
+La Felina. The Count opened the letter, and read:
+
+"Taddeo--You told me in the prison of the palace of the Dukes of Palma,
+whither I went to find you, '_Love which speculates is not love. Mine
+will obey you for obedience' sake. Try, however, to ask something grand
+and difficult, that you may judge it by its fruits._'"
+
+"Then you love her?" said Monte-Leone, interrupting himself.
+
+"Read on," said Taddeo.
+
+"'Your heart, Taddeo, is noble,' replied I. 'I have faith in it. May God
+grant that your strength do not betray your courage. In four days you
+will learn what I expect from you.' I write down what I expect, for I
+have not courage to tell you. I cannot crush your hopes, though I know
+that they cannot be realized. The feelings you have avowed to me,
+Taddeo, demand entire confidence: for it would be a crime to deceive a
+heart like yours. I will therefore tell you the truth, painful as it may
+be. It is a year since I came to Naples, having been attracted thither
+by a brilliant engagement at San Carlo. My success was as great as it
+had been in the other capitals of Italy. After the applause and ovations
+of the public--the truest and most discriminating of all--came
+privileged admirers; those, who, from their rank, birth, and fortune,
+have a right to pass the curtain of the sanctuary, and cast incense at
+the very foot of the idol; who can compliment the artiste on the stage,
+and follow her with their commonplaces to her very box. There was no
+scarcity of sacrificers. The noblest of Naples overwhelmed me with
+adulations; from compliments they came to declaration, and there, as at
+Rome, Venice, and elsewhere, I was persecuted by the insipid gallantries
+of suitors, to which every successful artiste possessed of any personal
+attraction must submit. To all these advances my heart remained cold,
+and my insensibility cost me nothing; for I neither loved nor wished to.
+A strange event, however, changed my plans. It was an evening of last
+autumn, and the air was as sultry as possible. Exhausted by the heat of
+the theatre, after the performance was over I sent my carriage home, and
+resolved, in company with my _confidante_, to return on foot. I avoided
+my many suitors, and escaped from the theatre by a back-door. The air
+was so pure, and the night so beautiful, that I walked for some time on
+the _chiaja_. It was late when I returned homeward. Crossing an isolated
+street, which I had taken to shorten the walk, my _confidante_ and
+myself were unexpectedly attacked by a party of men who stood beneath
+the portico of a palace. They had well-nigh stifled our cries with
+scarfs, which had been thrown over our heads, and we should possibly
+have been murdered, when a man, rushing sword in hand, I know not
+whence, attacked our aggressors, disarmed three of them, whom he put to
+flight, and killed the fourth by a dagger-thrust. Rapidly as possible,
+he then took off the bandages from our faces, and gave me, half dead
+with terror, his arm.
+
+"A carriage passed, the stranger called to it, placed us in it, and
+said: 'A lady, signora, of your appearance, met in the streets of Naples
+at such an hour, doubtless is under the influence of some secret motive
+she would be unwilling to expose. My services to you have been too
+slight to warrant my questioning you. Now you have nothing to fear, and
+this carriage will take you any where you please. I will inquire into no
+orders which you may give.' 'But your name, signore?' said I. 'Count
+Monte-Leone,' said he, as he disappeared."
+
+"That is true," said the Count. "I never knew, though, whom I had
+rescued from the hands of bandits."
+
+He then began again to read:
+
+"From that time the Count was, in spite of myself, the object of my
+constant thoughts and secret meditations. I was very anxious, at least,
+to know the features of the man, whom I had only seen in the dark; for
+the services he had rendered me, the courage he had displayed, even the
+sound of his voice, spoke both to my head and heart. One day, as I was
+crossing the street of Toledo, some young persons pointed out to me a
+cavalier, mounted on a noble horse. 'No one but Monte-Leone can ride
+such an animal as that. No one else rides so well.' 'He is the
+handsomest and most brilliant of our young nobles,' said another. 'What
+a pity he gives himself so completely to the people,' said a third. The
+Count, whom I saw then for the first time, was the realization of all my
+youthful dreams and illusions. I loved the Count, though I did not know
+it. From the moment I saw him, my heart and soul were consecrated to
+him."
+
+A painful sigh, uttered near Monte-Leone, made the Count look at young
+Rovero, the pallor of whom indicated intense suffering.
+
+"My friend," said the Count, taking his hand, "what matters it if Felina
+love me, provided I do not love her?"
+
+"Some day you may love her," said Taddeo.
+
+"No," said the Count.
+
+"And why?"
+
+"Because I have but one heart, and that is another's."
+
+A happy smile lighted up the face of Rovero, and Monte-Leone continued
+to read, with as much _sang-froid_ as if another were the subject of the
+letter:
+
+"You wished to know which of the four I loved; excuse me, Taddeo, but
+now I have told you all. From that time I conceived an ardent devotion
+to Monte-Leone. My passion was, however, of that kind which only demands
+the gratification of the soul. All I had heard of the Count's character,
+of his errors, follies, and numerous passions, far from alienating,
+rendered him still dearer to me. It seemed that his lofty, generous
+disposition, full of courage and honor, had wanted nothing but a guide,
+or rather an angel, to wrest him from the torment of the life he had
+prepared for himself."
+
+The Count paused, and reflected for a few moments, which seemed
+centuries to Rovero. He then began again to read:
+
+"Ah, had I met Monte-Leone in the days of my innocence, in the days when
+I also looked for some one to guide my early steps, with my hand in his,
+with my heart beating against his, I should, perhaps, have avoided the
+rocks on which I have been wrecked? To the Count, however, I could be
+now but an ordinary woman, whose attractions might, perhaps, for the
+moment fascinate him, but whom he would soon cast aside, as he has his
+other conquests: then I feel _I should have killed him!_"
+
+The Count quietly read on:
+
+"I loved him too fondly to become his mistress; yet his image pursued me
+by night and day. At last my heart, in its immense and pure love,
+inspired me with the noblest and purest idea: 'Be more than a woman, be
+more than a mistress to him,' said I to myself, 'be a providence, a
+secret and protecting providence which preserves him in all dangers, and
+provides all his happiness.' Alas! I fancied that I had to defend
+Monte-Leone only against the ordinary perils of life, against the
+rivalry excited by his triumphs, and not against the serious dangers to
+which his opinions subjected him. I soon heard the rumors which were
+being circulated about the Count, learned of his danger, and the
+perilous part he had to play in relation to the secret societies. I
+learned all this from public rumor, but I needed other aid and
+information to guide me in the defence of him I loved. Among those most
+carried away by my talent, and if I must say so, most captivated by my
+beauty, was the Duke of Palma, minister of police. I received the
+minister kindly, and without yielding to his persuasions, conferred
+trifling favors on him. His confidence in me was immense. When I was
+stern to him he became desperate, but he professed there was such a
+charm in my company that he sought constantly to see me. Minister as he
+was, he became not my _sicisbeo_, for that I would consent to at no
+price, but my _cavaliero sirviente_, thus occupying the second grand
+hierarchy of love. I learned from the minister himself the snares
+prepared for Monte-Leone, twenty times I informed your friend of them,
+and enabled him to avoid them. In the same manner I heard of your
+imprudent folly at the ball of San-Carlo, and you know what I did to
+avert its consequences. A certain Lippiani, a skilful officer placed by
+means of my influence in the Neapolitan police, while paying a visit of
+inspection to the jailor of the Castle _Del Uovo_, contrived to
+introduce into the prisoner's loaf the mysterious information he
+received. The imagination, or rather the genius of the Count, inspired
+him with a design to secure his liberty. To assure the success of this
+ruse, the Count escaped for some hours from his prison, and amid that
+season of trouble, energy, and anguish, Monte-Leone lost the famous ring
+he always wears. This loss again placed his life and liberty in danger.
+Then I conceived a hardy and bold plan, which cannot succeed without
+your aid and devotion. On that, however, for you so promised me, I rely.
+I learned that you were a prisoner, but were about to be released. You
+can then aid me, but it is necessary to awake no suspicion. Aware of
+every outlet to the palace, which had often been shown to me by the Duke
+of Palma, I remembered a certain secret passage and door hidden in a
+pillar, whither the Duke often comes, to hear, unseen, the examinations
+of prisoners. Thither I sought to come. The porter admitted me at night;
+doubtless, fancying I was come to keep an appointment with his master.
+Of what value, however, were honor and reputation to me compared with
+his danger. Now, Taddeo, read with attention the lines I am about to
+write; follow my advice exactly, or Monte-Leone is lost.
+
+"I obtained possession for a few days of the emerald lost by the Count,
+and which had been sent by his enemies to the Duke of Palma. At a great
+cost I caused a similar one to be made by one of the most skilful
+workmen of Naples. The copy will be easily recognized: _that is what I
+wish_. I have substituted it for the original, and placed it myself in
+the minister's jewel case, the key of which he had given to me to take
+an antique _cameo_, the design of which I wished. The false ring will be
+given to the Count, instead of the true one, which is in the _coffret_ I
+have placed by you. Go to Monte-Leone's house, during the night after
+your release. I am too closely watched now, to dare go thither myself.
+Give this ring to the old servant, tell him to deliver it to the judges,
+but not till the trial. The enemies of whom I spoke will be overcome by
+this pretended proof of their imposition, and the safety of the Count
+will be sure. I have told you all. Now, Taddeo, excuse me for having
+pained you by my disclosure. Excuse me for having unfolded all my heart
+to you, excuse me for having permitted you to read my most secret
+sentiments. Your love deserves something better than mine; but if it
+inspire you with any pity for me, rescue the Count from the executioner,
+and know that to save Monte-Leone is to save La Felina."
+
+"What a woman!" said the Count, as he let fall the letter; "what passion
+and devotion!"
+
+"Ah!" said Taddeo, who looked anxiously into the eyes of the Count, to
+divine the effect produced by the singer's letter, "you see her devotion
+pleases and touches you:--that you love her----"
+
+"Taddeo," said the Count, with great emotion, "that woman was my
+providence, and defended me against my accusers.... She saved my
+life.... It is a noble heart that thus hopelessly devotes itself. Let me
+give her all my gratitude.... A poor and sterile recompense for such
+devotion. The other sentiments of my heart you shall also know!"
+
+Rising up with the dignified and lofty air of a noble, he said:
+
+"Taddeo Rovero, Count Monte-Leone asks of you the hand of Aminta Rovero,
+your sister."
+
+Just then a painful exclamation was heard in the next room. Monte-Leone
+seized his dagger and rushed to the door. He threw it open, and a
+strange spectacle presented itself to him. A woman, pale and trembling,
+leaned on the arm of an old man. Her eyes, fixed and tearful, seemed to
+look without seeing, and her ears appeared to catch no sound. It was La
+Felina. She was sustained by old Giacomo.
+
+"Excuse me, Monsignore, she was permitted to come in; for Signor Rovero,
+when he brought your ring, said you owed your safety to her."
+
+"Felina!" said Taddeo. He fell at the singer's feet.
+
+She remained motionless as a statue whose lips only were living.
+
+"Signore Monte-Leone," said she, "I leave Naples to-night, and for ever.
+Before I did so, however, I wished to see and give you a piece of
+advice. Death menaces you from all sides, and your most insignificant
+actions are observed. Escape from the country, for here you will no
+longer find the faithful friends who have watched over you."
+
+"Say, Signora, the _faithful friend_, the generous providence who saved
+me from the axe of the executioner."
+
+"You know all, Signor," said La Felina; and she looked at Taddeo--"my
+secret has been revealed to you--for blushing, however, I now
+acknowledge with pride that it is true, for it has won for me the
+expressions you uttered just now. Alas!" said she bitterly, "I should
+have fled and have heard no more."
+
+Tears filled her eyes; overcoming her emotion, however, she said:
+
+"My mission is fulfilled, Count Monte-Leone, for you will live and be
+happy. If misfortune, though, befall you, do not forget that one heart
+in the world will taste of all your sorrow.--Taddeo," said she, giving
+the young man her hand, "time and reason will exert their influence on
+so noble a heart, and ere long you will find one worthy of you. Forget
+me," she added, when she saw him about to reply, "do not speak to me of
+sentiments the intensity of which I know--and I will assist you to
+triumph. To-morrow you will love me less. I know so. To-morrow."
+
+"To-morrow!" said Taddeo.
+
+"Yes," said Felina, "and in a little time I shall be but the shadow of a
+dream, which some reality will expel from your heart."
+
+She went towards the door.
+
+"Signori," said she, when she saw Monte-Leone and Taddeo preparing to
+follow her, "I came hither with confidence in the honor of two
+gentlemen, who, I am sure, will not leave the room until I shall have
+left. Do not be afraid," she continued, with a faint smile on her lips,
+"a carriage awaits, but not to convey me to the Castle _Del Uovo_."
+
+Then casting on the Count a glance instinct with sadness and regret, she
+offered her hand to Taddeo, who covered it with kisses, and preceded by
+Giacomo left the room. For some moments the two friends looked at each
+other in silence. Taddeo then went towards the door, saying:
+
+"But I am a fool to let her escape thus."
+
+He crossed the court and went to the door of the room. The carriage,
+however, was gone, and far in the distance he heard the sound of the
+wheels.
+
+
+II.--A LAST APPEARANCE.
+
+The hearts of Monte-Leone and of Taddeo Rovero were, after the departure
+of the singer, in very different conditions. Monte-Leone, delighted with
+the present, and with the prospect of future success, to be attained as
+the husband of Aminta, forgot all else--even the terrible responsibility
+which weighed on him as the chief of a faction of forbidden societies,
+and the perpetual dangers with which it menaced him. Monte-Leone had an
+energetic heart but a volatile mind, over which the accidents of life
+glide like the runner of a sleigh over polished ice, almost without
+leaving traces.
+
+A circumstance of which we will speak of by and by, aroused the Count
+from his peace of soul to cast him in the waves of that sea of politics
+where shipwrecks are so common and tempests so usual. The only idea
+which occupied Taddeo was to see La Felina again. He said rightly enough
+that the rays of such a star could not long be concealed; that its glory
+and success would always betray it, and that the farewell token of
+Monte-Leone in the Etruscan house would not be for ever.
+
+Under the influence, then, of very different sentiments, the two friends
+returned to the Count's hotel at Naples. Less beautiful than the
+magnificent palace of Monte-Leone, it did not, like the latter, render
+indispensable the numerous and imposing array of servants, of which his
+somewhat restricted fortune deprived Monte-Leone. Descried by its master
+during the whole time of his seclusion, this hotel had been the scene of
+the ruinous pleasures of the Count. Splendid festivals had been given
+there; joyous suppers had been proposed, and the shadow of more than
+one graceful dame, wrapped in silken folds, had been traced at midnight
+on the great white marble wall of the portico.
+
+Giacomo, who had left the Etruscan house at an early hour, had
+superintended the preparation of the hotel for its master, and the
+unfolding of the tall wide windows made the house seem to stare on the
+sunlight, like blind persons who but recently have recovered their
+sight. The resuscitation of the hotel of Monte-Leone, as people in the
+Toledo-street said, created a great sensation in that quarter. The Count
+and Taddeo had been there but a short time, when Giacomo, evidently in a
+very bad humor, announced Signor Pignana. Many of the Count's friends
+who had heard of his return came to see him and crowded around him. They
+arose to leave when the new-comer was announced; but they paused when
+they saw the strange person introduced.
+
+"_Buon giorno caro mio Pignana_,"[O] said the Count, advancing to meet
+him. "You are not the last to visit me, and I am deeply touched by your
+visit. He is my landlord, Signori, an excellent man. Something of an
+Arab, it is true, in money matters; but as he is an old tradesman, you
+see it is impossible for him to change his habits. For twenty years he
+furnished the family liveries, and the result is that now he is richer
+than me."
+
+"Ah, my Lord," said Pignana, "you flatter me."
+
+"Not at all, Signor," said Monte-Leone. "Now you can yourself have
+liveries with the Pignana arms, '_Two winged shears on a field argent_,'
+a regular tailor's escutcheon."
+
+"How then," asked one of the young men, "is Signor Pignana your
+landlord--is it of this hotel or of your beautiful palace?"
+
+"Ah," said the Count, "he is not exactly my landlord yet, but he will be
+if my friend and creditor, Signor Pignana, continues to lend me money at
+cent. per cent. At present, however, the excellent man only owns my
+Etruscan house, a very gem of a thing, which he rents to me, and for
+which I am much obliged."
+
+"It is I who am obliged," muttered Pignana.
+
+"Ah!" said the Count, with a smile, "I believe you. That house had
+nearly become historical. If the executioner of Naples, the father of a
+family, and passionately fond of flowers," continued the Count to his
+friends, "with whom I passed a fortnight at the Castle _Del Uovo_, had
+been forced to arrange matters for me, the house in which Monte-Leone
+was arrested would have become historical. Pignana could have let it out
+to tourists, and could have retailed the stores for the London museums.
+Instead of this piece of good fortune, which I am very glad was not
+Pignana's, he possesses a good tenant, who will some day pay him
+punctually, when he has himself been paid all that is due him; for you
+can fancy how the arrest of one man discourages the business of others.
+All his debtors, all the friends of his purse, leap with joy; he seems
+at once outlawed, especially to those who are indebted to him. The most
+honest merely pray that his imprisonment may be prolonged; the least
+delicate pray that the executioner may send them a receipt."
+
+"But the Count also has some true friends who would be distressed at his
+death," said Pignana. "Monsignore counts me among them."
+
+Pignana probably uttered these words under the influence of great
+emotion, for a tear hung on the lid of his eye above an aquiline nose of
+immense size.
+
+"My dear Pignana," said the Count, "I know how far I can depend on you,
+for _I know you_."
+
+Monte-Leone accented this word, the significance of which to Pignana was
+very expressive, for he looked proudly around, as if the Count had given
+him a certificate of valor and courage.
+
+"I am about to give you the list of our men--that is to say of our
+transactions,"[P] said the old man, eagerly correcting himself.
+
+"Yes," said Monte-Leone, who had glanced sternly at him, "the list of
+our transactions. Go on, Pignana, go on, prove your account and diminish
+the total, contrary to your wont; above all, exhibit your vouchers; that
+is especially important."
+
+"Do not trouble yourself, Monsignore: I have all regular, and now you
+must pay in person."
+
+"In person," replied the Count. "Yes, Pignana, I will thus discharge my
+obligations without having recourse to a third party. Go thither,
+however, at once," said he, and he pushed the tailor into the next room.
+"You will find writing materials," he added, aside, "and no one to
+listen to you."
+
+"Excuse me, Signori," said he, speaking to his friends; "you have seen
+one of the greatest misfortunes of our rank, the necessity of civility
+to a fool who is a creditor."
+
+Just then Taddeo Rovero, who had gone out when Pignana entered, came in,
+introducing a handsome lad of about eighteen.
+
+"Count," said he, to Monte-Leone, "let me introduce you to Signor
+Gaetano Brignoli, a friend of my family."
+
+"Then, Signor," said the Count, "you are a friend of mine; for all whom
+they love are dear to me."
+
+"Ah! Count," said Gaetano, "how much uneasiness your trial has caused
+all at Sorrento! Especially to myself, who was particularly charged by
+the charming Aminta to inform her of all the details of the trial. I set
+out on the night before your trial to be one of the first in the hall."
+
+"I scarcely dare," said the Count, with an expression of great pleasure,
+"to think the Signorina entertains such interest in my behalf."
+
+"It was not precisely of yourself that she spoke," replied Gaetano,
+"but of my friend Taddeo, her brother, who was known to be compromised
+with you, and about whom she, naturally enough, was interested."
+
+The Count grew slightly pale as he saw this gratification wrested from
+him.
+
+"By-the-by, Signori," said Gaetano, "you have heard the news with which
+all the city and suburbs echo, and which makes almost as much noise as
+the trial of the Count Monte-Leone."
+
+"I trust," said the Count, bitterly, "that the news is more pleasant."
+
+"Infinitely more so," continued Gaetano. "Every one is talking of it,
+and crazed with it--especially myself, who am a _pazzo per la musica_,
+like the here of Fioravanti. You know, Signori, nothing is more pleasant
+than to win again a pleasure we fancy to have been lost to us."
+
+"Go on," said Taddeo, who had a presentiment that something pleasant was
+about to be related. The very mention of music made him quiver.
+
+"Well, Signori," said Gaetano, "the Sicilian siren, the fairy _La
+Felina_, sings to-night at San Carlo."
+
+"La Felina?" said all the listeners at once.
+
+"La Felina! impossible!" said Rovero. "She left Naples last night."
+
+"Certainly she did," said Gaetano; "and that makes the matter more
+charming and pleasant. _La Felina_ has her caprices as all pretty women,
+and singers especially. That is the condition and very qualification of
+talent. A _prima donna_ who did not keep the public uneasy about her
+health, her business, or her amours, one who did not outrage the
+manager, would not be a complete woman. How could she? One does not earn
+a hundred thousand francs a year for acting as if the salary was only a
+thousand crowns. It would be vulgar and common and altogether unbecoming
+a fine lady. La Felina, therefore, annoyed by the effect produced on the
+public mind by the drama of the Trial of Count Monte-Leone, which
+occupied the attention she thought should be engrossed by her own
+performances, would not appear while the trial was going on. She was
+about to throw up her engagement, and actually did so, when she was at
+the Porta-Capuana. The patrons of the opera, with the empresario at
+their head, accompanied by the orchestra and troupe, not wanting an
+enormous crowd of other admirers of _la Diva_, and they are many,
+prevented the carriage from passing. She was surrounded, pressed, and
+besought to such a degree that she was dragged back to her hotel, and
+promised to sing once more in the Griselda of the _Maestro Pa�r_, the
+best of all her characters. You can fancy the enthusiasm thus excited,
+and how all struggle to secure seats. I paid for mine thrice the usual
+price, and think I am very fortunate."
+
+For a moment Taddeo said nothing, he saw nothing, and scarcely breathed.
+He was half stifled with joy and surprise. To see one again, from whom
+he had expected to be separated for so long a time, and perhaps for
+ever, seemed to him a dream from which he seemed afraid to awake. The
+friends of the Count left: all hurried to the theatre to secure an
+opportunity of being present at the solemnity.
+
+"Come, come," said Taddeo, hurrying young Brignoli away. "I must go to
+San Carlo to-night at any price, even at that of my life!"
+
+"Indeed!" said Gaetano, "I did not think you so passionate a dilettante.
+You exceed me--to pay for music with gold is well enough, but with
+life--ah, that is altogether a different thing; mine is valuable, and I
+keep it for greater occasions."
+
+The Count stopped Rovero just as he was about to leave.
+
+"What," said he, with an air of deep concern, "will you not go with me
+to-morrow to Sorrento?"
+
+"To-morrow, to-morrow, for pity's sake," said Taddeo in a low tone. "Let
+me be happy to-day, and I will devote all my life to you."
+
+He left with Gaetano.
+
+"No, no," said Monte-Leone, "I will not wait a day, not an hour, before
+I see Aminta,--even if I go to Sorrento alone. I will go thither at
+once."
+
+"Impossible," said a grave voice behind the Count.
+
+The latter turned around and saw Pignana, who had glided unseen from the
+room as soon as he heard the young people leave.
+
+"Why so?" said the Count.
+
+"Why, Monsignore?" replied Pignana, who, casting aside the air and
+manner of a retired tradesman, became a dry and cold old man with a
+dignified bearing. "Because our brothers, terrified at your arrest, were
+on the point of dissolving the _vente_.--Because, it has been reported
+that your excellency was on the point of abandoning the cause, and
+laying aside the functions of supreme chief:--Because, the principal
+_Carbonari_, the agent of whom I am, wish to be informed of your
+intentions, and to be assured by you personally that you will not
+abandon them."
+
+"Then," said the Count, with a gesture of ill-restrained temper, for
+these political embarrassments came in conflict with ideas which were
+far dearer to him, "that is the meaning of what you said just now. How
+can I restore confidence to our associates? The Neapolitan police
+watches over me; the least imprudence, the slightest exhibition of the
+existence of our association, would revive all, and endanger the fate
+and future success of the society, and also my life. You have few men of
+energy among you; you, who are one of the most devoted, trembled _in the
+presence of my friends_. You deserve to be hissed like a bad actor in a
+good part! Listen to me, Pignana: I wish to be your chief; I wish to
+risk a heavy stake in your cause; but now, especially when heavy matters
+weigh on me, I do not purpose to appear in _political comedy_. I wish
+to play a serious part, the theories of which are actions, with many
+deeds and few words. I will do all that is necessary to serve our cause,
+but nothing more. Remember this. The Castle _Del Uovo_, dungeons beneath
+the sea, the executioner and conversations with the Grand-Judge, warn me
+to be careful and prudent. Ask me, then, nothing more. In eight days our
+great general _venta_ will be held at the monastery of San Paola, fifty
+leagues from Naples. I will be there, and will tell you what our
+brethren in France and Germany have informed me of. Until then, however,
+question me about nothing."
+
+"We do not, Monsignore," replied Pignana, who was aware of the firmness
+of the Count, and saw at once that he had mistaken his course. "The
+association, which admires your excellency, especially since the trial,
+which looks on your excellency as a martyr, asks nothing except one
+favor, which will overwhelm it with gratitude and joy."
+
+"And what is that favor?" rejoined the Count.
+
+"That Monsignore will appear to-night at San Carlo in a box, the key of
+which I have with me. This box may be seen from every part of the house.
+All of our principal men will be present, and if Monsignore will
+advance, during the interlude, to the front of the box, _placing his
+hand on his heart_, all our friends will know that they may rely on
+him."
+
+"By my faith, shrewd as the Duke of Palma is, suspicious as the police
+may be, I do not think this can be construed into an act of treason. It
+pledges me to nothing. The ladies to whom we make the gesture understand
+it. I will then make this exhibition of my person, as the English say,
+and I will increase the interest of the performance by my presence. In a
+word, I will appear for the benefit of La Felina. The brave girl and
+myself will not even then be quits."
+
+"Thank you, Count," said Pignana, as he left--"and now, adieu, until we
+meet at San Carlo."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A few hours after the scene we have described, an immense crowd thronged
+every entry to the theatre of San Carlo. It was not, however, the joyous
+crowd intoxicated with folly which we have seen hurry into its precincts
+at the commencement of this story. On this occasion the public seemed
+rather busy than in search of pleasure. It was a matter of importance,
+indeed, to be present at the last appearance of La Felina. The keys of
+the boxes, therefore, according to the Italian custom, were sold at the
+door of the theatre, and at double the usual price. I speak only of the
+small number of boxes, the proprietors of which were absent from Naples.
+We may also as well add, that in Naples a box is often _property_. All
+the other boxes were occupied by illustrious personages, or by the
+wealthiest inhabitants of the great city. San Carlo on that night was
+brilliant as possible. The Count had just come. The women glittered with
+flowers and diamonds. As on the occasion of the masked ball, the theatre
+was illuminated _a giorno_. No detail of the festival, no beauty present
+could escape observation. Count Monte-Leone appeared in the box which
+had been reserved for him, which soon became the object of every
+lorgnette and the theme of every conversation. He bore this annoying
+attention with icy _sang-froid_, seeming even not to observe it. His
+vanity, however, was secretly gratified, and we have said that this was
+his weak point. The overture began, and the curtain was finally raised.
+During this time, and the first scenes of the opera, the private
+conversation was so loud and animated that the singers and orchestra
+were almost overpowered. Suddenly silence was restored--admiration as
+respectful as that which precedes a sovereign's arrival pervaded all.
+
+The true Queen of Naples, at this moment, was La Felina. This complete
+calmness was soon succeeded by a thunder of applause. A thousand voices
+uttered a long shout of commingled bravos and hurras. La Felina was on
+the stage. This delirium produced by a single person, this passionate
+worship expressed by an almost furious admiration, those thousand hearts
+hung to the lips of a single person, is found only on the stage, and was
+one of the triumphs which Naples decreed to the greatest artist in
+Italy. A report was in circulation, also, which added to this almost
+furious admiration. It was said, that she was about to retire for ever,
+and that this was her last appearance. The eyes of love have a secret
+and admirable instinct, enabling them to see what persons who are
+indifferent cannot discover. Among this eager and compact crowd, the
+glances of La Felina were immediately attracted to a point of the hall,
+to a single box in which Monte-Leone sat. To him Felina acted and sang,
+and she was sublime. At the moment when Pa�r's heroine appeared, a
+single voice was heard above all others, and the person who had uttered
+it, having exhausted all the powers of his soul, during the whole time
+Felina was on the stage, stood with his eyes fixed on her, as if he had
+been fascinated by some charm he could not shake off.
+
+"Poor Taddeo," said the Count, when he saw him, "why does she not love
+him?"
+
+The first act was concluded by a torrent of bouquets, which the audience
+threw at the feet of their favorite actress. The curtain fell. This was
+the moment expected by the associate of Monte-Leone. Faithful to his
+promise, the Count leaned forward in his box, naturally as possible, and
+looked around the brilliant assembly. He then placed his hand on his
+heart, and disappeared in the recess of his box. Before, however, he
+left, he heard a confused and joyous murmur, which rose from the parquet
+to the boxes, and became lost in the arch of the gilded ceiling.
+
+"_They were there_," said Monte-Leone, "and Pignana must be satisfied. I
+have done all he asked literally."
+
+A few friends joined the Count in his box.
+
+"Indeed, dear Monte-Leone," said one of these, with whom he was most
+intimate, a friend of his childhood, "You have resumed your old habits."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"That, scarcely out of prison, I saw you from my box beginning a new
+intrigue by exchanging signs with some fair unknown. This, too, at San
+Carlo. This is bold, indeed, unless the hand on your heart is the
+resumption of an old intrigue, interrupted, perhaps, by your
+imprisonment."
+
+"I do not understand you, Barberini," said the Count, not a little
+annoyed. "I made no sign to any one."
+
+"Perhaps so: if you please, I was mistaken. But if I am, it is all the
+better; for it proves to me that you no longer adhere to the plans you
+once confided to me. I was delighted, too, at what I heard yesterday
+evening."
+
+"Of what plans do you speak?" replied the Count, moved, in spite of
+himself, by this half-confidence.
+
+"Mon Dieu! of your own. Did you not tell me that you were passionately
+fond of the sister of Taddeo de Sorrento, of the beautiful Aminta
+Rovero, daughter of the old minister of finances of Murat?"
+
+"True," said the Count.
+
+"Well," continued Barberini, "I hope you are cured of that love, for you
+have a rival."
+
+"A rival!" said the Count.
+
+"Yes, and perhaps a happy one."
+
+"Signor," said Monte-Leone, restraining himself with difficulty, "let me
+tell you I purpose to make that lady my wife. All that touches her
+honor, touches mine also."
+
+"I say nothing derogatory to it, but merely repeat what I have heard."
+
+"What have you heard?" said Monte-Leone, and the blood rushed to his
+head.
+
+"One of my young relations," continued Count Barberini, "was at an
+entertainment given on the recurrence of her daughter's birthday by
+Signora Rovero. He spoke to me of a Frenchman who is with them, and who
+seems passionately fond of the young Aminta."
+
+"And then?" said Monte-Leone, with the same tone in which he would have
+asked the executioner to strike him with certainty.
+
+"And then! why that is all," said Barberini, who had become terrified at
+Monte-Leone's manner. "I heard nothing more.... If I did, I would take
+care to be silent when you look so furiously. All this interests me very
+slightly. One's own love affairs are too troublesome to enable us to
+occupy ourselves with those of others.... There, too, is the Countess
+d'Oliviero, waving her bouquet so impatiently to and fro that I see she
+will break it to pieces unless I go. I must leave you, to save her
+flowers." The young man left.
+
+"I was right," said he, "not to tell the story of the night affair of
+which my kinsman was a witness. I think he would have killed me at
+once."
+
+
+III. A PATERNAL LETTER
+
+On the day after the terrible night during which Aminta had strayed in
+her sleep to the room of Maulear, two ladies met at about nine in the
+morning in the saloon of the villa of Sorrento, and were locked in each
+other's arms.
+
+"Yes, my child," said one of them, "your sleep has given an
+interpretation to all that has passed, and I understand all. Your honor
+cannot suffer, for you are chaste and pure."
+
+"In your eyes, dear mother, I am; but in those of the world, which they
+tell me is so envious and malicious! Even last night, when every eye was
+fixed on me, I fancied that I read suspicion and contempt in the
+expression of more than one."
+
+"No, my child," replied Signora Rovero, clasping her to her heart, "I
+saw almost all our guests this morning, immediately before they left.
+They had already heard of your somnambulism, and our servants had told
+how you suffered with it from your childhood. All are convinced of your
+innocence."
+
+"Dear mother, do not think so. They spoke to you only with their lips,
+but believe me guilty."
+
+"Mother," added she, with that strange emotion to which she was
+sometimes a victim, "I think that this unfortunate affair is but the
+beginning of the realization of the unfortunate fate which I know is
+reserved for me. It seems to me that on yesterday our evil days began."
+
+She hid her head in her mother's bosom to conceal her tears, and to find
+a refuge against the misfortunes she feared.
+
+A servant came in, and said, "The Marquis de Maulear wishes to wait on
+the ladies."
+
+"Mother, mother," said Aminta, "how can I refrain from blushing before
+him?"
+
+Signora Rovero bade the servant show the Marquis in. Then arranging
+Aminta's beautiful hair, she kissed her forehead, and said:
+
+"Daughter, one never blushes in the presence of a husband."
+
+Aminta, with great surprise, looked at her mother.
+
+"Ah, ah!" said Madame Rovero, with a smile, "a parent's eyes see much."
+
+Before Aminta had time to speak, the Marquis entered. He was pale and
+excited.
+
+"Signora," said he to Aminta's mother, "I come to beg you to pardon me
+for a great fault."
+
+"To what, Signor, do you refer?"
+
+"Of the greatest of all faults, after the manner in which I have been
+received, and your kindness towards me--for not having confided in you,
+and said yesterday what I wish to say to-day. Yet only from you have I
+kept my secret. Yesterday, nothing obliged you to grant me the favor I
+am about to solicit: yesterday, you might have refused it. To-day,
+perhaps, it will be less difficult. A circumstance favorable only to
+myself," added he, with a timid glance at Aminta, "marks out my
+conduct, which assumes now the aspect of an obligation. It fulfils all
+my wishes, and makes me the happiest of men. In one word, signora, I
+come to beg that you will suffer me to become allied to your family."
+
+"Marquis," said Signora Rovero, "I expected to hear you speak thus, for
+I was sure of your honor. But far from wishing that now for the first
+time you had informed my daughter of the sentiments with which she has
+inspired you, I rejoice that your course has been different. Without
+this motive, signor, neither my daughter nor I would accept the alliance
+you wish to offer us. _No reparation can be exacted, where no fault has
+been committed._ I wish to strengthen your conscience, by assuring you,
+that in my opinion nothing obliges you to the course you have adopted,
+if it interferes with your prospects and success."
+
+The last expressions of Signora Rovero produced a deep sensation on
+Maulear, and a shadow of uneasiness passed over his brow. She had
+ignorantly touched a sensitive chord of the heart of the young lover.
+Led astray by his heart, seduced invincibly by charms which were so new
+to him, Maulear, under the influence of passion, had entered on the
+flowery route, at the end of which he caught a glimpse of happiness. In
+the delirium of passion, he had forgotten that a severe judge, that the
+imperious master of his destiny, that a father, with principles
+eminently aristocratic, like all fathers in 1768, awaited to absolve or
+acquit him, to receive or repel him, to unite or to sever--in one word,
+to make him happy or miserable. All these important ideas were at once
+evoked in the mind of Maulear by the last sentence Signora Rovero had
+uttered. It was this hidden and sombre apparition which arose between
+Maulear and her he loved, the sinister aspect of which was reflected in
+a manner by the expression of Aminta's lover.
+
+Signorina Rovero perceived it, and with the acute discrimination she
+possessed to so high a degree, said, in the melodious tones which
+touched all who heard them:
+
+"Marquis, my mother has spoken for her family, I will speak for myself.
+You have informed us of the noble family to which you belong. I know
+that your wife one day will be a princess, and I wish you to remember,
+that she, to whom you offer this title, is the daughter of 'a noble of
+yesterday;' the glory of whom is derived from her daughter's virtues.
+This, Marquis, I say not for you, but for others. Excuse me, too, for
+what you are about to hear. If I have need of courage to own it to you,
+perhaps you will require all your generosity to hearken to it." With a
+trembling voice she added: "As yet, I do not reciprocate the sentiments
+you have expressed. To the hope, though, which I permitted you to
+entertain yesterday, let me add, that I am additionally gratified by the
+offer of your hand; for in the eyes of many persons, signor, in the eyes
+of those who were witnesses of our presence together last night, you
+would not now marry her you were anxious to espouse yesterday.
+
+"I shall marry an angel!" said Maulear, falling on his knees before
+Aminta, "an angel of candor and virtue. If your heart does not yet
+reciprocate the love you inspire, my care and tenderness will so delight
+you, that some day you will love me."
+
+"Well, then," said she to Maulear, "grant me one favor. Suffer me to
+await that day. Take pity on a poor girl full of terror and
+apprehension, at a tie she has always feared. Grant her heart time to
+make itself worthy of you, Marquis, and remember that until then you are
+free. As my mother has told you, nothing binds you to me. Now you owe me
+nothing, nor will you, until I shall confide my destiny to your hands,
+when you will owe me the happiness you promise me."
+
+"You do not consent? Then, Signorina, I will wait. Henceforth, however,
+I am pledged _to you_; and my hand and heart are yours."
+
+Just then a servant told Maulear that a courier from Naples had brought
+him important letters. The Marquis bade adieu to the two ladies, and
+left.
+
+"My child," said Signora Rovero, in a tone of affectionate reproach,
+"what must a man do to win your love?"
+
+"I do not know; I am certainly foolish, but I am afraid!"
+
+Maulear found the courier of the French embassy in his room. "An urgent
+letter from France," said he, to Maulear.
+
+Henri read the direction and shuddered. It was from the Prince de
+Maulear. The Prince wrote rarely. What did he ask? The son who felt that
+he had acted incorrectly in disposing of his hand, without consulting
+the head of his family, trembled before he broke the seal. The character
+of Maulear was weak, as we have said, and, like people of this kind, the
+prospect of danger and misfortune annoyed him more than the reality
+itself. At last he resolved to know all, and with a trembling hand
+opened the letter. He read as follows:
+
+    "Paris, April 10, 1816.
+
+"MY SON:--I often hear of you, not through your own letters, for you
+write rarely, but through other friends, whom I have requested to keep
+me _au fait_. I know what kind of life you lead at Naples, and am
+dissatisfied with you. The son of a shop-keeper and a banker would act
+more like a gentleman than you. People talk of you here no better than
+they do of the deputy of the hangman. I had hoped the Marquis de Maulear
+would behave more correctly in a foreign country. I was no older than
+you are, when I went as secretary of legation to Madrid. Three months
+afterwards I was recalled. I had run away with three women, fought four
+duels, and lost at cards fifty thousand crowns. That was something to be
+recalled for. It was an assurance that in future I would be reasonable.
+When our youth reasons, and does not laugh, things go wrong. The King
+spoke to me yesterday about you. He asked me, if you found any thing to
+amuse you at Naples. I replied that you found too much to amuse you. 'I
+am glad of it,' said the King, 'so our family honor at least is saved.'
+Since, however, you are most ignobly virtuous, I have tried to turn the
+affair to the best advantage. I have brought about a magnificent match
+for you, to supersede one I have heard you were making for yourself. The
+lady is rich, noble, and beautiful. She is the daughter of the Duke
+d'Harcourt, one of the gentlemen in waiting of his majesty. You may,
+perhaps, at Naples have seen Ren� d'Harcourt, the brother of the lady.
+The marriage will take place three months hence. I trust I have
+surprised you not unpleasantly. Adieu, my son. Your aunt, the Countess,
+sends her love to you, and amuses herself with the preparation of your
+_corbeille_.
+
+    "LE PRINCE DE MAULEAR.
+
+"P.S. You have three months' more folly before you, and for the rest of
+your life you must be prudent. I have opened a credit of one hundred
+thousand livres in your favor, with the banker Antonio Lamberti."
+
+The letter fell from the hands of the Marquis, and he sank on his chair
+completely overwhelmed. Like a thunder-bolt, it aroused him from a happy
+dream. There are, in fact, in all love matters, certain moments of
+intoxication, when men, ordinarily sensible, become blunderers. For a
+month the Marquis had been in this condition, half reasonable, half mad.
+Living with one thought prominent, all others were indistinct to him. To
+him love was every thing. His father, with his antiquated obstinacy,
+imbued with retrograde principles, disappeared like a ghost before the
+brilliant reality of passion. Besides, fear of a rival, dread of the
+brilliant Count Monte-Leone, who, full of love, as Henri had heard,
+aspired to nothing more than to become the husband of Aminta left him no
+other alternative, than to do what another was about to--make an
+offering of his hand and faith. Lovers, too, see nothing but the object
+of their passion; and Henri sometimes thought his father would agree
+with him. The strange epistle of the Prince had however reversed all his
+dreams. The anger of the Prince when he should learn that a marriage had
+been contracted, contrary to his wishes, and in spite of his orders,
+might possibly exert a terrible influence on the fortune and future fate
+of the young couple; without regarding the chagrin and humiliation to
+which he would subject Aminta by bringing her into a family without the
+consent of its head.
+
+Maulear passed three days in this cruel perplexity, sometimes hoping and
+then fearing that Aminta would yield to his prayer. His heart wished.
+His mind feared. If Signorina Rovero should accept his hand, it would be
+necessary for him to decide, to act; and then, from the weakness of his
+character, Maulear would be subjected to cruel uncertainty.
+
+A few days after the scene which had occurred in his room, Maulear and
+the ladies sat together in a boudoir near the _salon_, which opened on
+the park, a view of which Aminta was taking. The Marquis had been
+reading to the ladies the trial of Count Monte-Leone from the _Diario di
+Napoli_. This curious story, full of surprises, the noble energy, the
+wonderful _sang-froid_ of the Count, the remarks of the journalist on
+the character of the prisoner, and the unjust accusation to which he had
+been subjected, and which he had so completely refuted, and to which he
+had submitted with such nobleness and heroism, all was listened to with
+the greatest interest. Maulear had read all this much to his own
+dissatisfaction, because Signora Rovero had requested it. The praises of
+Monte-Leone were most unpleasant to him.
+
+Aminta heard every word. Every detail of the Count's daring, every
+change of character in this judicial drama, awakened an inexplicable
+emotion in her. It seemed that Count Monte-Leone, to whose singular
+story she had listened, was a far different man from the one she had
+imagined him to be. His powerful mind, his exalted soul, all the powers
+of which had been developed by the trial, conferred on Monte-Leone new
+proportions hitherto not realized by her. Count Monte-Leone, whom she
+had seen at home, almost timid in the presence of her he adored, annoyed
+by his false position as a refugee, suffering from a passion he dared
+not own, was not the person of whom she had heard for the past month.
+Looking down on her drawing, which her increasing absence of mind made
+almost invisible to her, Aminta sought to recall the features of the
+Count which had been nearly effaced from her memory. Gradually, however,
+they arose before her. Had her mother then spoken, had her glances been
+diverted from the album on which they were fixed, a strange trouble and
+confusion would have been visible, when aroused from this meditation.
+The sound of wheels entering the court yard of the villa broke the charm
+which entranced Aminta, and made Signora Rovero utter a cry of joy.
+
+"It is he," cried she. "It is he who returns, my son Taddeo. Daughter,
+let us hurry to meet him. Let us be the first to embrace him."
+
+Accompanied by Maulear, the two ladies hurried into the vestibule, which
+they crossed, standing at the villa-door just as the carriage stopped. A
+man left it and bowed respectfully to Signora Rovero and her daughter.
+This man was MONTE-LEONE.
+
+
+IV.--TWO RIVALS.
+
+Much had passed since Count Barberini had told Monte-Leone of the love
+of Maulear for Aminta Rovero. Monte-Leone felt all the furies of hell
+glide into his heart at this revelation. The idea that Aminta could love
+any one had never entered his mind. Whether from confidence in her, or
+from that error so common to lovers that they are entitled to love
+because they love themselves, Monte-Leone flattered himself that he had
+left a pleasant recollection in Aminta's mind. We may therefore imagine
+how painfully the Count was disturbed by the half-confidence of
+Barberini. Yet Taddeo, his friend, whom, he loved as a brother, could
+not have deceived him, and have concealed what had taken place at
+Sorrento, when he had received so cordially the hand of his sister.
+Taddeo, then, was ignorant of it. Monte-Leone, a prey to a thousand
+thoughts, left his box, forgetful of the opera, his friends and
+companions, with but one object and wish. He was determined to see
+Taddeo, to question him and find out who was the rival that menaced his
+happiness, and whom Aminta probably loved. The Count went to that part
+of the theatre in which he had seen Aminta. The second act, however, was
+about to begin; and the efforts of Monte-Leone to get near his friend
+created such murmurs, complaints, and anger, that he was obliged to wait
+for a more favorable opportunity. La Griselda was singing the _andante_
+of her cavatina, and the artist's magnificent, powerful, and tender
+voice, echoing through the vastness of the hall, fell in pearly notes
+like a shower of diamonds on the ears of the spectators. After the
+_andante_ came the _caballeta_, and then the _coda-finale_. For a while
+one might have thought the four thousand spectators had but one breath,
+and were animated by a single heart, that they restrained the first to
+prevent the pulsations of the other from being disturbed. This gem of
+the opera was at last concluded, and mad applause rose from every part
+of the room. We are constrained, however, to say, that from this time
+the accents of La Felina were less passionate and brilliant, and that a
+veil, as it were, was extended over all the rest of the representation,
+so that a person who had heard only the second act of La Griselda would
+have asked with surprise, if it was really the wonderful prima donna,
+the songs of whom were purchased with gold, and the wonderful talent of
+whom, had enslaved the audiences of the great Italian theatres. The
+reason was, that, after the second act, the star which shone on La
+Felina had become eclipsed. Monte-Leone had left his box--the box which
+had been the source of Griselda's inspiration from the commencement of
+the first act. Hope had sustained the singer during the cavatina, at the
+beginning of the second act. She fancied that he whom she loved possibly
+heard her from the recess of some other box. When, however, she was
+satisfied that he was gone, despair took possession of her. "Nothing
+touches his heart," said she, with pain. "Neither my love nor my talent
+are able to captivate him--to attach him to me for a time." Thenceforth,
+as she sang for him alone, she sang for no one. The holy fire was
+extinguished. Genius unfurled its wings and flew to the unknown regions
+of art, whence passion had won it. La Felina finished the opera, as a
+prima donna should, rendering the music precisely and distinctly, note
+for note, and as her score required. She neither added a single
+_fioritura_ nor a single ornament which had not been noted by the
+composer. In one word, the audience at San Carlo on that day heard the
+opera of the _Maestro_ Pa�r and not La Felina. During this, Monte-Leone,
+who had given up all hopes of reaching Taddeo, and whom Taddeo, paying
+attention only to the _artiste_, had neither heard nor seen, Monte-Leone
+walked in front of the opera-house, a prey to the greatest agitation,
+impatiently waiting for the conclusion of the representation, to see his
+friend and hear from him what he had to hope or fear at Sorrento.
+
+The opera ended. The crowd slowly dispersed, and Monte-Leone, wrapped up
+in his cloak, watched with anxiety every spectator who left the theatre.
+Taddeo did not come. The doors of the theatre were closed, and the Count
+still waited. Surprised and impatient he went to his hotel, where Taddeo
+also lived, but he was not there. Night passed away, and he did not
+come. About three in the morning a stranger was shown in, and gave
+Monte-Leone three letters. One of them was addressed to the Count: he
+opened it anxiously.
+
+"Excuse me, my dear friend, at quitting you thus. Excuse me, especially
+the uneasiness I have created in your mind"--wrote Taddeo--"I have
+learned that she left Naples to-night, and if I leave her I shall die. I
+will follow her by post and on horseback, without stopping, until I
+shall learn whither she has gone. What will I do then! I do not
+know,--but at least I will know where she is, and I will not fancy that
+she is lost to me for ever. 'To-morrow,' said she, when she left us,
+'you will love me less.' She was mistaken, my friend, or she has
+deceived me; for to-day I love her better than I did yesterday. My heart
+suffers too much for me not to sympathize with yours, and I understand
+how impatient you are to go to Sorrento. I send a letter to my good
+mother--give it yourself to her. I beg her to receive you as a friend,
+and as she would receive a brother of mine. Stay with her until I come
+back. Say that in three days I will come back to ask her to give you
+Aminta's hand."
+
+"Has the person who gave you these letters gone?" asked Monte-Leone of
+the messenger.
+
+"He went an hour since from the post-house, on one of our best horses,"
+said the messenger.
+
+Monte-Leone gave him a piece of gold and dismissed him.
+
+"Poor Taddeo!" said he, "to suffer as well as I do--no no, not so much
+as I do; for earthly love cannot be compared with heavenly passion.
+Jealousy such as I suffer can be compared to nothing; and all is derived
+from the serpent's stings, with which Barberini pricked my heart."
+
+The time until day seemed interminable to Monte-Leone. It came at last.
+The Count rang for Giacomo and dressed himself elegantly. The old man
+on this occasion assisted him cheerfully and zealously, as he had
+previously shown repugnance on the night of the terrible expedition at
+Torre-del-Greco. Monte-Leone ordered his handsomest equipage. A few
+minutes afterwards the horses pawed impatiently in the court-yard, so
+that the driver could with difficulty restrain them. When the Count came
+down, he found Giacomo standing in the door of the saloon so as to bar
+his egress. Pale and agitated, the old man restrained the Count, and in
+a stern, quarrelsome voice said:
+
+"What is the matter now? what new folly are you about to commit?"
+
+"What the devil do you mean?" asked the Count, taking hold of the
+intendant's hand.
+
+"No, Monsignore, you shall not go," said Giacomo, extending his arms so
+as completely to shut the door, "unless you serve me as you did Stenio
+Salvatori. Is it not a shame that the noblest of the gentlemen of
+Naples, that the son of my master, should walk abroad armed like the
+bravo of Venice--with a sword, poniard and pistol in his bosom? What, if
+you please, was that box of pistols, placed by little Jack, your groom,
+as those animals are called in England, in your carriage?"
+
+"What is it to you?" said the Count, impatiently.
+
+"What is it to me?" asked the old man with tears in his eyes. "Are you
+not again about to risk your life against I know not whom nor why? What
+is it to me? That you may live, that my last days may not be passed in
+uneasiness and despair, like those which have gone by--for I love you.
+Count," said the old man, kneeling before his master, "I love you as a
+father loves his son. I held you in my arms when you were a child. For
+heaven's sake renounce your dangerous plans, renounce the acquaintance
+of those rascally mysterious looking men who come so often to see you.
+Have nothing to say to that rascally Signor Pignana, whom I would so
+gladly see hung. Be again happy, gay, and joyous, as you used to he.
+True, we were ruining ourselves, but we were not conspirators."
+
+The Count gave his hand to Giacomo.
+
+"Giacomo, my good fellow," said he, "I am about to engage in no
+conspiracy."
+
+"What then?"
+
+"I am about to marry," said Monte-Leone, with a smile.
+
+"Marry! with a case of pistols as a wedding present?"
+
+"Why!" said the Count, moodily, "I may perhaps meet enemies on the road.
+Now I have more than life to protect: I have my honor."
+
+Monte-Leone, making an affectionate gesture to the old man, descended
+gayly and sprang into the coach, which bore him rapidly towards
+Sorrento, and stopped at the door of Signora Rovero's house, as we have
+previously said.
+
+When she saw Monte-Leone, instead of Taddeo, Signora Rovero trembled.
+
+"Signor," said she to the Count, "for heaven's sake tell me what evil
+tidings you bear. What misfortune has befallen Taddeo?"
+
+"In two days, Signora, Taddeo will be here, and I have the difficult
+duty to excuse his absence. He has, however, asked me to deliver you his
+letter, which explains all."
+
+Signora Rovero took the letter and opened it with eagerness.
+
+"Excuse me, Signor," said she to the Count, "but you must make allowance
+for a mother's anxiety."
+
+"So be it," she observed, after having read it. "Taddeo is in no danger
+if we except that his fortune may be bad. A hunting party in the
+mountains will detain him for two days from us."
+
+"Count," said Signora Rovero, "my son speaks so affectionately of you
+that I am led to offer you my own love."
+
+"I have the advantage in that respect, Signora, for the kindness with
+which you treated me while here, and the memories I bore away, have ever
+since inspired the deepest affection for you."
+
+They entered the saloon, and Signora Rovero introduced Maulear to
+Monte-Leone. They saluted each other with the most exquisite politeness,
+but without exchanging a glance.
+
+Between love and hate there is this in common: it sees without the eye;
+it hears without the ear. Love has a presentiment of love, and hatred of
+hatred.
+
+Monte-Leone approached Aminta. All his power and energy were
+insufficient to triumph over the violent agitation which took possession
+of him when he spoke to the young girl. His loving heart offered but
+faint opposition to the torrent of passion, which had been so long
+repressed that it was ready to bear away every obstacle. Aminta blushed
+and became troubled when she recognized in the vibration of his voice
+all the emotion Monte-Leone experienced. The conversation became
+general. Signora Rovero spoke to the Count of his trial, the incidents
+of which the Marquis had been kind enough to read. The Count bowed to
+the Marquis as if to acknowledge a favor. Maulear looked away to avoid
+the necessity of acknowledging it. The Count seemed not to perceive it.
+Aminta became aware that if he kept silent longer the circumstance would
+be remarked.
+
+"During your imprisonment, Count, in the Castle _Del Uovo_, I have heard
+that a terrible episode occurred, the details of which the _Diaro_ does
+not give."
+
+"The reason was the _Diario_ did not know them. True, like other
+journalists he might have invented them, but he did not do so; and,
+perhaps, acted well, for his fancies could not have equalled the truth."
+
+The Count then simply, without exaggeration, and especially without that
+petition for pity which is so frequently met with, told the story of the
+terrible scene in the prison.
+
+Aminta listened to every word. She suffered with the prisoner, hoped
+with him, and followed all the details of the story, exhibiting the most
+profound pity for the occurrence. Signora Rovero sympathized with her
+daughter, and, for the time, Monte-Leone was the hero of the villa. All
+the prejudices of Aminta disappeared in a moment in the presence of
+Monte-Leone, as the morning vapors are dispersed by the first rays of
+the sun.
+
+Maulear, in icy silence, listened to the Count and looked at Aminta. As
+he did so, his brow became covered with clouds precisely as that of
+Aminta began to grow bright. The latter, perceiving the painful
+impressions of the Marquis, extended every attention to him, so that
+Monte-Leone began to grow moody. The two rivals passed the whole day in
+alternations of hope and fear, happiness and suffering. The state of
+things, however, was too tense to be of long duration. These few hours
+seemed centuries to the adorers of Aminta, and if any one had been able
+to look into the depths of their ulcerated hearts, he would have seen
+that a spark would have produced an explosion. Many of the neighbors of
+Signora Rovero, who had not visited her since the ball, ventured to
+return. Among others present was Gaetano Brignoli. All loved him for his
+frank and pleasant off-hand speeches, and all received him with good
+humor and confidence. Maulear, who had laid aside his dislike, received
+him kindly, as he had previously done distantly. The _Rose of Sorrento_
+reproached Gaetano with having forgotten his promise.
+
+"You should yourself on the next day," said she, "have given me news of
+Taddeo and of Monte-Leone's trial. You, however, only wrote. Friends
+like you, and brothers like mine, are unworthy of the affection bestowed
+on them." Then, like a child _making friends_ with a playmate, she took
+Gaetano into the embrasure of a meadow, and began to talk with him in a
+low tone. The night promised to be brilliant and serene, and the air to
+be soft and pleasant. The evening breeze penetrated into the saloon,
+refreshing the atmosphere with the respiration of the sea. "What a
+magnificent evening, Marquis," said Monte-Leone to Maulear, as he
+approached him, and looked at the stars which had begun to dot the sky.
+
+It was the first time the Count had spoken to the Marquis directly. The
+latter trembled as a soldier who hears the sound of the first battle
+signal. His emotion was short, and saluting the Count affably as
+possible, he replied:
+
+"It, is a winter evening in Italy, Count, but in France it would be one
+of summer."
+
+"Do you not think," said Monte-Leone, "that this is the proper hour for
+exercise, in this country? The complete repose of nature, the eloquent
+silence of night, all invite us to confidence, and make us wish for
+isolation and solitude--"
+
+"Count," said Maulear, "do you wish for a half solitude; a desert
+inhabited by two persons?"
+
+"Certainly, that is what I mean."
+
+"So do I, and would participate in yours."
+
+"Come, then, I never saw a more beautiful night, and I shall be charmed
+to enjoy it with you."
+
+These two men, with rage in their hearts, each being an impregnable
+barrier to the happiness of the other, loving the same woman in the same
+way, resolved to contend for her, to their last breath;--these two men
+left the saloon, with smiles on their lips, like friends about to listen
+to the secret thoughts of each other beneath the shadow of some
+beautiful landscape, in happiness and pleasure.
+
+Aminta saw them go out. She grew pale, and suffered so that she leaned
+against the window-case.
+
+
+V. THREE RIVALS.
+
+Count Monte-Leone and the Marquis de Maulear entered together a vast and
+beautiful avenue, silvered over by a brilliant moon.
+
+"Signor," said the Count to Maulear, "do you ever have waking dreams?
+Can you, by the power of your imagination, transport yourself into the
+future, and, as it were, read your destiny, with all its prosperous and
+unfortunate incidents, its pleasures and chagrins? This often happens to
+me, especially by day and when I am unhappy. For a long time, too, I
+have been unhappy. For instance, not long ago, when shut up in a dark
+prison, with no prospect before me but that of an unjust death, and the
+headsman's axe bringing to a close my sad and eventful career, my good
+angel certainly, for I believe in such beings, sent, two hundred feet
+below the surface of the earth, a vision of dazzling light and beauty. I
+was transported beneath the green shadows of myrtles and orange-trees; I
+breathed an atmosphere impregnated with intoxicating and balsamic
+perfumes, while near me, with her hand in mine, and her heart beating on
+my bosom, was a young girl, destined to be my guide through this life of
+misery; the angel, in fact, of whom I spoke just now. Sorrows,
+suffering, injustice, the dungeon, and the executioner, all disappeared,
+and I enjoyed all the luxury of this heavenly revelation; and I said,
+for the realization of this heavenly revelation, the heart's blood would
+not be too dear a price. Do you not think so, Marquis?"
+
+"I do, Count," said Maulear, "and especially so, because what your rich
+imagination has created for you, chance, or my good genius--for I too
+have faith in them--has displayed before me, not in the delirium of a
+dream, but in reality. I have seen the myrtle groves of which you
+dreamed: I have breathed the perfumes you describe so well: I have found
+the woman your imagination has shadowed to me. I found her one day when
+I did not expect to do so. I found one more beautiful than I had fancied
+woman could be, gifted with such charms, grace, and virtue, that I ask
+myself frequently whether such a being can belong to earth."
+
+"Marquis," said Monte-Leone, and as he spoke he led the Count towards a
+darker alley, lighted up only by a few rays of the moon, which
+penetrated the interstices of the branches, "would it not be best to
+conclude this conversation rather in the dark than in the light? Our
+words need not any light, and neither you nor I pay any attention to the
+expression of our faces."
+
+"So be it," said Maulear, and they entered the dark alley.
+
+"Marquis," said Monte-Leone, "the divinity of my dream and the object of
+your passion are so alike, that I am sure we worship the same idol, and
+kneel before the same altar. Fortune has led two men of soul and honor
+into the same route. We both struggle for an object which one only can
+reach. One of us must tread on a carcass, which must be either yours or
+mine."
+
+"Count," said Maulear, "we understand each other. We adore the same
+idol, but you are not ignorant that our rights to offer it homage are
+different; that I have rights which you have not."
+
+The Count trembled. A word might crush all his hopes. For a few moments
+he hesitated, and then in a calm voice said,
+
+"Does she love you?"
+
+Without replying to the question, the Marquis said,
+
+"Signora Rovero, for her name is too deeply engraven on our hearts for
+it not to spring to our lips, is aware of my sentiments, of which I have
+already told her."
+
+"And has accepted them?" said Monte-Leone, in yet greater trouble.
+
+"No," said the Marquis, honorably; "but bade me hope that some day she
+would."
+
+"Then," said the Count, with joy, "nothing is lost. Marquis, the past is
+yours, but the future is mine. Had I the mind and grace of a French
+nobleman, I would, perhaps, propose to you a contest of courtesy, and
+might rely on my hope, my love, my attention, to triumph. But the
+contest must be of a different kind; for I will expose myself to no
+risks." Lowering his voice, he continued: "Not one and the other can
+present his love to the Signorina Rovero, but _one without the other_.
+You or I alone; and, as I told you just now, there is a life too many."
+
+"Very well, signor,--you wage your life against mine. I consent,--but
+must observe that this duel should, at least, accrue to the interest of
+one or the other of us; and yet I do not think that Signorina Rovero
+would touch a blood-stained hand."
+
+"Signor," said Monte-Leone, "from the moment you accept my challenge,
+the mystery and secrecy with which it must be shrouded shall be my
+affair; and, if you please, I will tell you of my plans."
+
+"Do so, signor," said Maulear, coldly.
+
+"Let us leave this alley, and go towards that group of trees in that
+direction."
+
+He led Maulear towards the sea. When they stood on the shore, he said,
+"Below there is a kind of cove, and in it a gondola like those of
+Venice--a pleasure-skiff--built formerly by the minister Rovero for his
+family. At this hour to-morrow, we will meet in this wood and go to the
+boat-house. We will then put to sea, and with no witness but the sea and
+sky, we will settle our affair. Two men will steer the bark to sea, and
+one wilt guide it back----"
+
+In spite of his courage, Maulear could not but shudder at one who
+detailed with such coolness so horrible a plan. The manner of death
+frequently enhances our terror, and he who in a forest would bare his
+bosom to his adversary's ball, would shrink from it on the immensity of
+the ocean.
+
+"But," said Maulear, "is all this romantic preparation, is this naval
+drama in which you insist on appearing, necessary to our purpose? Any
+other secret encounter would have the same effect, and would eventuate
+equally satisfactorily. At the distance of a few days' travel, would we
+not be able to fight more safely than here?"
+
+"No, Marquis, I must remain in this villa until Taddeo de Sorrento shall
+have returned. Neither I nor you can leave it without arousing
+suspicions, and in two days hence, we would no longer be equals; for
+honor compels me to say that Taddeo has promised me his sister's hand,
+and that the influence he exerts over his mother will without doubt
+induce her to decide in my favor. If, however, you prefer to run that
+risk, I will not oppose you."
+
+"No no," said Maulear, who remembered what Taddeo had said to him in
+relation to his sister, "I will fight for her I love at the very foot of
+the altar--"
+
+"Signor," said Monte-Leone, "let us avoid all scandal. The death of him
+who falls may be easily accounted for; and as you said, we must never
+suffer her we love to think that the happiness of one of us has cost the
+other his life."
+
+"So be it," said Maulear, "I accept your offer."
+
+"To-morrow we will meet," said the Count.
+
+The two enemies returned to the villa calm, and apparently undisturbed,
+as if they had been the best friends possible. When they came into the
+room again, Aminta sat by her mother. The eyes of the young girl,
+however, turning constantly towards the door, seemed to expect the
+return of the two young men with anxiety. Her cheeks became slightly
+flushed when they entered. The Count approached her and besought her to
+sing as he had often heard her. Aminta sat at the piano. Scarcely,
+however, had she sung the first bar, than the door of the saloon opened
+and Scorpione glided in and sat at the feet of the young girl, where he
+laid down as he used to do; not, however, daring to look at her. Since
+the scandal he had caused, he had been in disgrace with all the family,
+and his mistress did not speak to him. The Count, who had become
+acquainted with Tonio during his first visit to Sorrento, could not
+repress a movement of horror at the appearance of the wretch. Far,
+however, from being angry, Tonio seemed glad to see him, and testified
+his pleasure by various affectionate signs. Gaetano, who was absent from
+the room, just then returned, and at the request of Signora Rovero sang
+several duets with Aminta. An extraordinary feeling seemed to influence
+the young man, and only with the greatest difficulty could he get
+through his part. When the evening was over, all retired. The next day
+rolled by in embarrassing constraint to all the inhabitants of the
+villa. An atmosphere of sadness surrounded them, like the dark clouds
+which seem at the approach of a storm to overhang the earth. Count
+Monte-Leone alone seemed master of himself, and sought to cure the
+general _atony_ in which even Maulear was involved. A sensible
+difference was remarked between the two men, each of whom loved the same
+woman, while one of them must lose her forever. The Count did not take
+his eyes from her, and seemed thus to lay in a provision of pleasure for
+eternity, which seemed ready to open before him. Maulear, on the other
+hand, was sad and pensive, and scarcely dared to lift his eyes to
+Aminta, fearing, beyond doubt, that he would thus increase his sorrow
+and distress, and diminish his courage when the crisis came. As the day
+wore on. Aminta, feeling unwell, retired to her room. Signora Rovero,
+accustomed to see her daughter have similar attacks, sat to play
+_reversis_ with Count Brignoli and two other persons. Monte-Leone and
+Maulear exchanged a mysterious sign and left the room nearly at the same
+time. The night was not so beautiful as the preceding one had been. The
+disk of the moon sometimes was clouded, and the wind whistled among the
+trees of the park; all nature, deeply agitated, seemed to sympathize
+with the thoughts which agitated the minds of the two enemies. The dark
+and cloudy sky was a meet back-ground for such a picture.
+
+Nine o'clock was struck by the bell of the Church at Sorrento, when two
+men met at the cove we have described. One of them wrapped in a cloak
+had a case under his arm. They went towards the bank and found the
+gondola there. This boat was long, like those of Venice, in imitation of
+which it had been made--had a little cabin in its stern, which now was
+closed. In it the ladies used to take refuge when bad weather interfered
+with their pleasure. The two men used all their strength to detach the
+gondola from the shore. At last they succeeded. The most robust then
+took one of the oars and pushed the boat from the bank. Just as they
+were about to put off, a burst of demoniac laughter rung in their ears.
+A very demon, a breathing spirit of evil, had witnessed all their
+preparations, and had learned, from its shape, the contents of the box;
+the idea of what they meditated caused him to utter this shout of
+laughter. This demon was Scorpione. This deformity was the rival of
+Monte-Leone and Maulear.
+
+The blue and azure waves of the sea of Naples on that night seemed dark
+as ink. The wind agitated them. Calm as they usually are, and like a
+vast cemetery, the tombs of which open to receive the dead, they opened
+before the prow of the boat like a grave, as they were intended to be.
+At a distance of about three hundred fathoms the two adversaries ceased
+to row and replaced the oars in the gondola. Without speaking, they took
+out the pistols, examined their locks, and opened them.
+
+"Signor," said Monte-Leone, "I thank you for the honor you have done me
+in deigning to use my arms."
+
+"The arms of Count Monte-Leone are not to be refused."
+
+"A true hand gives them."
+
+"A true hand receives them."
+
+Nothing more was said. They then proceeded to place themselves at the
+several ends of the boat. The Count uncovered himself. Maulear did also.
+They let fall their cloaks and opened the linen which covered their
+bosoms. They raised their pistols, took aim, and were about to fire.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The door of the cabin was thrown open, and Aminta rushed to the centre
+of the gondola. Gaetano followed her. The weapons fell from the hands of
+the rivals; and in terror and surprise they looked on this apparition.
+Not a cry escaped from their lips. Pale and motionless, they looked at
+each other without, at first, recognizing Aminta. Not a word passed
+their lips. Terror-stricken, they fancied themselves in the presence of
+some heavenly being, sent, like the angel of peace, to rescue them from
+death. The voice of Aminta, full of trouble and terror, echoed over the
+waves, like that of an angel, and alone aroused them from the ecstatic
+state in which they were plunged.
+
+"Signori," said she, "I might sooner have put a stop to this atrocious
+duel, the very idea of which terrifies me; had it not have been so near
+its completion, you would, perhaps, have denied the intention to fight
+after all, within a few days. Thanks to the assistance of Gaetano, my
+childhood's friend, who yesterday evening became acquainted with your
+intention, I have by God's aid been able to prevent it. I wished my
+presence to be grave and solemn, that you might never renew the attempt;
+in order that, as it were, in the presence of God and of death, you
+might know my fixed determination. I would not be burdened with an
+existence which had cost the life of a fellow-being: you, Signor
+Monte-Leone, by the revered manes of your father; and you, Marquis de
+Maulear, by all you love, I conjure to swear that you will respect the
+life of him I shall accept as my husband."
+
+"Impose no such oath on me," said Monte-Leone.
+
+"Let me die first," said Maulear.
+
+"Not you only, but I will die also. If I do not hear you swear, I will
+throw myself into the sea."
+
+She placed her foot on the gunwale of the boat.
+
+"We swear," said the rivals, rushing towards her.
+
+"Thanks, Signori, I will trust your oath. Count Monte-Leone," said she,
+"the Marquis de Maulear saved my life; you will also learn, hereafter,
+how generously he resolved to save my honor when it was compromised. My
+heart is de Maulear's, and I give him my hand."
+
+The Marquis fell at Aminta's feet.
+
+"To you," she continued, "Count Monte-Leone, I can offer only my respect
+and esteem."
+
+"Signorina," said Monte-Leone, with a voice full of dignity and despair,
+"I accept even the boon you offer me; and henceforth he whom you love is
+sacred to me."
+
+By a violent effort over himself he extended his hand to Maulear. The
+waves had borne the bark towards the shore, and all who had participated
+in this scene returned safely to the villa. Signora Rovero, who did not
+know what had passed, on the next day received a letter from
+Monte-Leone, who, during the night, had left the villa.
+
+
+VI.--MARRIAGE.
+
+Nothing can describe the intensity of Count Monte-Leone's grief when he
+was again in the carriage, which, on the evening before, had borne him
+to happiness, and now took him back to Naples, sad and despairing. The
+Count had overcome his own nature, and this was a great victory to one
+who usually yielded to every prompting of passion. On this occasion he
+had restrained himself and overcome his rage at his rival's triumph. He
+overcame his agony at the wreck of his hopes. When he left Sorrento, and
+awoke, so to say, from the stupefaction into which he had plunged, the
+excitable brain and fiery heart again re-opened.
+
+"I was a fool," said he, "I was a fool when I yielded my happiness to
+another. I was yet more mad when I swore to respect his life, when
+something far more violent than mine is wrested from me. Has he not
+crushed and tortured my heart? I regret even my place of imprisonment,"
+continued he. "There I had dreams of love; and had death reached me in
+that abyss, I should have borne away hopes of the future which now are
+crushed for ever."
+
+Two torrents of tears rolled down the cheeks of this iron-hearted man,
+over which they had rarely flown before.
+
+On the morning after Monte-Leone's return to his hotel, he might have
+been observed sitting before the portrait of the victim of Carlo III.,
+the holy martyr of conscience, as he called his father, looking on his
+noble brow with the most tender respect. We have spoken of the almost
+superstitious faith of the Count in the fact that his father protected
+him in all the events of his life. We have heard him call on his father
+when about to be buried in the waves of the sea, and then become
+resigned to death in the pious faith that his father waited for him.
+Whenever danger menaced Monte-Leone; whenever he was unexpectedly
+prosperous, or was involved in misfortune; whenever his life was lighted
+up with prosperity, or misfortune overwhelmed him, he always looked to
+this parent. He thought his pure spirit hovered above him; and
+encouraged by this celestial aid, he trusted to the mutations of fortune
+without fear or apprehension. When he looked at this adored image,
+consolation seemed always to descend on his soul. Overcome by the
+boundless love Aminta had inspired, he had forgotten the political
+duties to which he was devoted. It seemed to him that this cause, to
+which he had consecrated his life, had wonderfully diminished in
+importance since his trial.
+
+"Can it be, oh my father, that you were unwilling for my love to
+interfere with the prospects of the duties imposed on me by your death?
+Or, is it that in your pity you have feared that, in my dangers, the
+angel to whom I have devoted my existence would be overwhelmed. If, oh
+my father, it be thy will that I suffer these cruel torments; if I am to
+reserve my energy for the cause I defend, be rejoiced at my sufferings,
+for I am able to bear them. Ere long I will again see those who have
+trusted me with their fate, and the suspicions of whom offend and wound
+me. They will know my resolutions, and I shall know whether I shall
+remain their leader or tread my weary way alone."
+
+Just then the door of his cabinet opened, and a man appeared, or rather
+a spectre, so much had his appearance been changed by fatigue and
+suffering. He rushed into the arms of Monte-Leone.
+
+"Taddeo," said he, "my God! what has happened? How pale you are! Why are
+these tears in your eyes."
+
+"My friend, La Felina has deceived me only by a day. She was, however,
+mistaken herself. To-morrow, said she, you will _love me less_. To-day I
+love her no more. You see I have done better than she even hoped."
+
+He fell, with his heart crushed, on a chair, and sobbed.
+
+"Speak, speak to me," said Monte-Leone, forgetful of his friend's
+suffering in his own.
+
+"As I wrote to you," said Taddeo, "I determined to follow her, and find
+out her retreat at all events. Had it been necessary, I would have
+followed her to the end of the world. Leaving the horse I had in a
+street near the theatre, I went to the door whence I supposed La Felina
+would come. I had been there an hour when I saw a post-carriage
+approach. A few moments had elapsed when a woman, accompanied by a
+servant, left the theatre, and after looking anxiously around, to be
+sure that she was unobserved, entered the carriage. The valet got up
+behind, and the postillion, who had not left the saddle, whipped up his
+horses and left in a gallop. I mounted my horse and followed the
+carriage, keeping just two hundred yards behind it. The carriage was
+driven towards Rome, and at every post-house the horses were changed, on
+which occasions I kept out of sight, and then resumed my pursuit. Thus
+we travelled about fifteen leagues; when, however, we reached the eighth
+post-house, the carriage spring became broken and the body was thrown
+into a ditch. I rushed towards it, opened the door, and, in a fainting
+condition, received the person it contained. I bore her to the road,
+and, to give her air, threw aside her veil. I uttered a cry of rage and
+agony. The woman in my arms was not La Felina. The sound of my voice
+aroused the stranger's attention, and she looked at me as if she were
+afraid. 'Who are you?' said she, trembling. 'What do you wish?' 'To save
+La Felina, whom I thought was here.' 'La Felina! You were in search of
+La Felina!' 'Certainly.' 'And you are the horseman whom Giuseppe, the
+courier, told me at the last relay, followed us, are you?' 'Certainly I
+am.' The woman examined her arms, etc., to see that she was not hurt,
+looked at me most ironically, and then bursting into laughter, said:
+'Well, after all, the trick was well played.' 'What trick?' 'The one La
+Felina has played on all her lovers, the most ardent of whom you are.' I
+looked at the woman so earnestly, and sorrow seemed so deeply marked on
+my countenance, that I saw an expression of pity steal over her face.
+'Poor young man!' said she, 'then you really loved her?' 'I did, and if
+I lose her I shall die.' 'Come,' said she, 'you will not die. If all who
+have told me the same thing died, Naples would be like the catacombs of
+Rome. Come with me,' she continued, 'to the post-house, for now I feel
+by the pain I suffer that my arm is out of place. There I will tell you
+all.' I went with the woman to the post-house, when a few drops of
+cordial soon invigorated her. 'This is the explanation of what is a
+matter of so much surprise to you. Perhaps I should be silent; but you
+seem to love La Felina so truly, and a young man who really loves is so
+interesting that I will tell you all.' The circumlocution of this woman
+almost ran me mad! She finally said: 'My mistress was afraid some of her
+lovers would follow her, and wishing to conceal the route she had gone,
+took the idea of substituting me for herself, and sent me to Rome, where
+she is to write me her destination. You followed me instead of her. She
+was right, and had good reason to act as she did.' 'Then she has not yet
+left,' asked I, thinking of a means to rejoin her. 'She was to leave
+Naples,' said the woman, 'an hour after me, and is, no doubt, now far
+from the city.' 'And does she travel alone on these dangerous roads?'
+said I. 'Oh, no, she travels with him.' 'With him! of whom, for heaven's
+sake, do you speak?' 'Ah,' said the woman, 'La Felina would never
+forgive me if I told you. He, too, might make me pay dearly for my
+indiscretion.' I begged, I besought the woman to conceal nothing from
+me, and gave her all the money I had, promising to increase the sum
+tenfold. She yielded at last, and told me that _La Felina_ had left
+Naples with her lover. Her lover! do you hear?" continued Taddeo, in a
+delirium of rage, "and her lover is the minister of police, the Duke of
+Palma."
+
+"More perfidious than the water!" said Monte-Leone, contemptuously.
+"Poor Taddeo!"
+
+"Do not pity me," said the latter, in a paroxysm of terrible rage. "I
+was to be pitied when I loved her, when a divinity dwelt in my soul,
+when my love was ecstatic and endowed her with an innocence, which my
+reason told me she did not possess. I was fool enough to deceive myself.
+Now this woman to be sure is but a woman; she is less than feminine, as
+the mistress of a rich and powerful noble, the Duke of Palmo. Love might
+have killed me, but contempt has stifled love."
+
+His head fell on his chest, and he wept. He wept as man weeps for a
+departed passion, which has vivified his heart, but which yields to
+death, or worse still, another passion.
+
+"My friend," said Monte-Leone, "your grief is cruel, but I suffer more
+intensely!" Monte-Leone told Taddeo what had taken place at Sorrento.
+
+The friends were again locked in the arms of each other, and mingled
+their tears--the one for the loss of an _earthly passion_, and the other
+for a _celestial affection_, as Monte-Leone characterized the two
+sentiments when he read a letter of Rovero's. Taddeo had appointed the
+following day for his return to Sorrento, and faithful to his promise he
+left Naples for the villa of his mother. The farewell of the two men was
+sad and touching, for a long time must elapse before they met again.
+Monte-Leone had resolved to leave Naples for some time. The proximity of
+Sorrento lacerated his heart, and to see her he loved the wife of
+another would to him be insupportable. Taddeo was aware of the reasons
+why the Count had determined to travel, and had he no mother he would
+also have been anxious to leave the country.
+
+"Taddeo," said Monte-Leone to his friend, when the former was about to
+set out, "I have a favor to ask of you on which I place an immense
+estimate, and for which I must be indebted to your love. Here," said he,
+presenting the magnificent emerald wrought by Benvenuto Cellini, "take
+this ring, and beg your sister to accept it. Tell her, as she offered me
+her friendship, I have a right to send a testimonial to her of my
+devotion." Then with a voice trembling with emotion, he added, "Say this
+ring preserved my life. This will not add to its value in her eyes; but
+tell her in confidence the history of this ring, and some day," said he,
+with a bitter smile, "it may be looked on as a curious relic."
+
+"Not so, not so," said Taddeo, kissing the ring. "To us it cannot but be
+a precious treasure."
+
+Perhaps while he acted thus, Taddeo thought not only of his friend, but
+of the woman who had preserved him from death.
+
+Taddeo left.
+
+Fifteen days after his reaching home, all Sorrento put on its holiday
+attire. The church of the town, splendidly decorated, the lighted
+torches, the people in their gala dresses, all announced that some
+remarkable event was about to take place in the village. The bells rung
+loud peals, and young girls dressed in white, with flowers in their
+hands, stood on the church portico. Certainly a great event was about to
+take place. The _White Rose of Sorrento_ was about to be married to a
+French nobleman of high rank, _Henri Marquis de Maulear_.
+
+About noon there was a rumor among the crowd in front of the church that
+the bridal party were near. All hurried to meet them, and Aminta was
+seen leaning on her brother's arm, while the Marquis escorted Signora
+Rovero.
+
+The appearance of the beautiful young girl, whiter than her veil, paler
+than the flowers which adorned her brow, produced a general sensation of
+admiration. Mingled with this, however, was a kind of sadness, when the
+melancholy on her brow was observed. The Marquis seemed also to be ill
+at ease, and to suffer under the influence of feelings which on such a
+day were strange indeed. All care, all anxiety should be lost in the
+intoxication of love. Maulear had purchased his happiness by an error,
+and this oppressed him. After the noble decision of Aminta, and the
+preference she had so heroically expressed at the time of his purposed
+duel with Monte-Leone, Maulear had not dared to mention the letter of
+his father. He had simply told Signora Rovero, that he was master of his
+own actions, and sure of his father's consent and approbation to the
+marriage he was about to contract. The Signora, who was credulous, was
+confident that a brilliant match was secured for Aminta, and suffered
+herself to be easily persuaded. Maulear, too, became daily more
+infatuated; and, listening to passion alone, had informed his father,
+not that he was about to marry, but that when the letter reached him he
+would be married. Yet when he had sent the letter, and the time was
+come, all his fears were aroused, and he shuddered at the apprehension
+of the consequences of what he was about to do. In this state of mind he
+went to the altar, and nothing but the beauty of his bride and the
+solemnity of the ceremony could efface the sombre clouds which obscured
+his brow. The priest blessed the pair, and a few minutes after the young
+Marquis of Maulear, with his beautiful _Marquise_, left the village.
+
+Just when the venerable village priest, in God's name, placed Aminta's
+hand in Henri's, the terrible cry we have already heard twice echoed
+through the arches of the church, and a man was seen to rush towards the
+sea. The shout, though it filled the church, was uttered in the portico,
+and had not interrupted the service. Thenceforth _Scorpione_ was never
+seen at Sorrento.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[N] Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1850, by Stringer
+& Townsend, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United
+States for the Southern District of New York.
+
+[O] _Anglice._ Good day, my dear Pignana.
+
+[P] The original of this sentence is _Je vais vous donner la liste ...
+c'est a dire le compte de_ NOS HOMMES ... _non de_ NOS SOMMES, _etc.,
+etc._ It is scarcely probably that MONTE-LEONE and Pignana, speaking
+Italian, indulged in French _jeux des m�ts_.
+
+
+
+
+THE ABB� DE VOISENON AND HIS TIMES.
+
+From Frazer's Magazine
+
+
+The province of Brie, in France, divided and subdivided since the
+Revolution of 1789, into departments, arondissements, and cantons, is
+filled with ch�teaux, which, in the reign of Louis XV., were inhabited
+by those gold-be-spangled marquises, those idle, godless abb�s, and
+those obese financiers, whom the secret memoirs of Grimm and Bachaumont,
+and the letters of the Marquis de Lauraguais, have held up to such
+unsparing ridicule and contempt. This milky and cheese-producing Brie,
+this inexhaustible Io, was, at the epoch of the regent Orleans and his
+deplorable successor, a literal cavern of pleasures, in the most impure
+acceptation of the term; every ch�teau which the Black Band has not
+demolished is, as it were, a half-volume of memoirs in which may be read
+the entire history of the times. Here is the spot where formerly stood
+the ch�teau of Samuel Bernard, the prodigal, it is true, of an anterior
+age, but worthy of the succeeding one; there is the pavilion of Bourei,
+another financier, another Jupiter of all the Dana�s of the Th��tre
+Italien: on this side we see Vaux, the residence of that most princely
+of finance ministers, whose suddenly acquired power and wealth, and as
+sudden downfall, may surely point a moral for all ministers present and
+to come; on that side we have the ch�teau of Law, the trigonometrical
+thief; and Brunoy, the residence of the greatest eccentric perhaps in
+the annals of French history: in a word, wherever the foot is placed,
+there arises a sort of lamentation of the eighteenth century--that
+celebrated century, whose limits we do not pretend to circumscribe as
+the astronomers would, but whose beginning may be dated from the decline
+of the reign of Louis XIV., its career closing with Barras, whose
+immodest ch�teau still displays at the present day its restored
+foundations on the soil upon which Vaux, Brunoy, and Voisenon, shone so
+fatally.
+
+It was in this last named little ch�teau that was born and educated the
+celebrated abb�, the friend of Voltaire, of Madame Favart, and of the
+Duc de la Valli�re; and here it was, also, that in manhood its possessor
+would occasionally resort, though not the least in the world a man who
+could appreciate rural enjoyments, for the purpose of reposing from the
+fatigues of some of his epicurean pilgrimages to his friends at Paris or
+Montrouge, and which was his final sojourn when age and infirmities
+rendered it imperatively necessary for him to breathe the pure air of
+his native place, far away from the heating _petits soupers_ of the
+capital, and the various other dearly cherished scenes of his earlier
+years.
+
+Claude Henri Fus�e de Voisenon, Abb� of Jard, and Minister
+Plenipotentiary of the Prince-Bishop of Spire, was born at Voisenon on
+the 8th of June, 1708. Biographers have, perhaps, laid too much stress
+on the debility of constitution which he brought with him into the
+world, inherited, they say, from his mother, an exceedingly delicate
+woman. Since the examples of longevity given by Fontenelle and Voltaire,
+of whom the first lived to the use of a hundred, and the second to
+upwards of four-score years, and yet both of whom came into the world
+with very doubtful chances of existence, it is become a very hazardous
+task to determine, or even to foretell, length of days by the state of
+health at birth. They add, that an unhealthy nurse, aggravating the
+hereditary weakness of the child, infused with her milk into his blood
+the germs of that asthma from which he suffered all his life, and of
+which he eventually died. These facts accepted--a delicate mother, an
+unhealthy nurse, an asthma, and constant spittings of blood--it follows
+that, even with these serious disadvantages to contend with, a man may
+live and even enjoy life up to the age of sixty-eight. How many healthy
+men there are who would be content to attain this age! And if the Abb�
+de Voisenon did not exceed the bounds of an age of very fair
+proportions, we must bear in mind that, though even an invalid, he
+constantly trifled with his health with the imprudence of a man of
+vigorous constitution; eating beyond measure, drinking freely, presiding
+at all the _petits soupers_--_petit_ only in name--of the capital,
+passing the nights in running from _salon_ to _salon_, and seldom
+retiring to rest before morning: a worthy pupil of that Hercules of
+debauchery, Richelieu, his master and his executioner. Terrified at the
+delicate appearance of his child, his father dared not send him to
+school, but had him brought up under his own eye, with all the patience
+of an indulgent parent and the solicitude of a physician. Five years'
+cares were sufficient to develop the intellectual capacities of a mind
+at once lively and clear, and marvellously fitted by nature to receive
+and retain the lessons of preceptors. At eleven years of age he
+addressed a rhyming epistle to Voltaire, who replied,--
+
+"You love verses, and I predict that you will make charming ones. Come
+and see me, and be my pupil."
+
+If Voisenon justified the prediction, he scarcely surpassed the
+favorable sense which it incloses. Verbose, incorrect, poor in form,
+pale and washy as diluted Indian ink, his verses occasionally display
+witty touches, because every one was witty in the eighteenth century;
+but to class them with the works of the poets of his day as _poetry_ is
+impossible--they merit only being considered in the light of lemonade
+made from Voltaire's well-squeezed lemons.
+
+In many respects the prose of the eighteenth century, not being an art,
+but rather the resource of unsuccessful poets, lent itself better than
+did the muse to the idle fantasies of the Abb� de Voisenon. His faceti�,
+his historiettes, his Oriental tales, reunited later (at least in part)
+with the works of the Comte de Caylus, and with the libertine tales of
+Duclos and the younger Cr�billon, prove the facility with which he could
+imitate Voltaire, while his lucubrations must be considered as far
+inferior to the short tales of the latter author. For the most part too
+free, too indecent, in short, to show their faces beside some
+elaborately serious fragments which form what are called his works, they
+figure in the work we have just named under the title of _Recueil de ces
+Messieurs; Aventures des Bals des Bois; Etrennes de la St. Jean; Les
+Ecosseuses; les Oeufs de P�ques_, &c. We know, by the memoirs of the
+time, that a society of men of letters, formed by Mademoiselle Quinaut
+du Fr�ne, and composed of fourteen members chosen by her, had proposed
+to itself the high and difficult mission of supping well at stated
+intervals, and of being immensely witty and extravagantly gay. At the
+end of the half-year these effusions of wit and gayety were printed by
+the society at the mutual expense of its members, and given to the world
+under the title of _Recueil de ces Messieurs_.[Q] Deprived of the
+illusive accompaniments of the lights, the sparkling eyes, the tinkling
+glasses, and the indulgent good-nature engendered by an excellent
+dinner, good wines, and an ample dessert, these table libertinages, when
+read nearly a century afterwards, lose all their piquancy of flavor and
+become simply nauseous. The readings, and consequently the dinners, took
+place sometimes at the house of Mademoiselle Quinaut, sometimes at that
+of the Comte de Caylus.
+
+Having conceived a disgust for the profession of arms--for which he had
+been originally intended--in consequence of having fought with and
+wounded a young officer in a duel, he determined upon embracing the
+ecclesiastical state; and shortly after taking orders was inducted by
+Cardinal Fleury to the royal abbey of Jard--an easy government, the seat
+of which was his own ch�teau of Voisenon.
+
+As soon as he was actually a dignitary of the Church, he turned his
+thoughts entirely to the stage! In compliance with the request of
+Mademoiselle Quinaut, the new Abb� of Jard wrote a series of dramatic
+pieces, among which may be cited, _La Coquette fix�e_, _Le Reveil de
+Thalie_, _Les Mariages assortis_, and _Le Jeune Grecque_, little
+drawing-room comedies, which have not kept possession of the stage, and
+to which French literature knows not where to give a place at the
+present day, so far are they from offering a single recommendable
+quality. The only style of composition in which the Abb� de Voisenon
+might have, perhaps, distinguished himself, had he been seconded by an
+intelligent musician, was the operatic. In this _baladin_ talent of his
+there was something of the freedom and sparkle of the Italian abb�s; and
+yet the Abb� de Voisenon enjoyed during his life-time a high degree of
+celebrity. Seeing the utter impossibility of justifying this celebrity
+by his works, we must presume that it proceeded chiefly from his amiable
+character, his pointed epigrammatical conversation, and in a great
+measure, also, from his brilliant position in the world. And, after all,
+did celebrity require other causes at a time when a man's success was
+established, not by the publicity of the press, but from the words
+dropped from his lips in the "world," and from the occasional
+enunciation of a sparkling _bon mot_ quickly caught up and for a length
+of time repeated? Were we to protest against this species of
+_illustration_, as the French call it, we should be in the wrong: each
+epoch has its own; since then times are altered: now-a-days, in France,
+a man obtains celebrity through the medium of the press, formerly it was
+by the _salons_. In general, the French _litt�rateurs_, especially the
+journalists, may be said to write better now than they did then; but
+where, we should like to know, is there now to be found a young writer
+of thirty capable of creating and sustaining a conversation in a society
+consisting of upwards of a hundred distinguished persons? The lackeys of
+M. de Boufflers were, in all probability, more in their place in a
+_salon_ than would be the most learned or witty writers of the present
+day.
+
+If the Abb� de Voisenon was not exactly an eagle as regards common sense
+and intellectual attainments, what are we to think of M. de Choiseul,
+who wished to appoint him minister of France at some foreign court? The
+Abb� de Voisenon a minister! that man whom M. de Lauraguais called _a
+handful of fleas_! But if he became not minister of France, it was
+decreed by fate that he should be minister of somebody or other; he was
+too incapable to escape this honor. Some years after the failure of this
+ridiculous project of M. de Choiseul, the Prince-bishop of Spire
+appointed him his minister plenipotentiary at the Court of France. His
+admission into the bosom of the French Academy was all that was now
+required to complete his happiness, and this honor was shortly
+afterwards conferred upon him, for he was duly elected to the chair
+vacated by the death of Cr�billon.
+
+At the age of fifty-two, with the intention of getting rid of his
+asthma, his constant companion through life, he determined to try the
+effect of mineral waters upon his enfeebled constitution. His journey
+from Paris to Cautarets, and his sojourn in this head-quarters of
+bitumen and sulphur, as related by himself in his letters to his
+friends, may be considered as an historical portraiture of the method of
+travelling, as pursued by the grandees of the time, as well as being the
+truest pages of the idle, epicurean, pleasure-loving, yet infirm,
+existence of the narrator.
+
+     "We passed through Tours yesterday (writes he to his friend
+     Favart, in his first letter, dated from Chatelherault the 8th
+     day of June, 1761), where Madame la Duchess de Choiseul
+     received all the honors due to the _gouvernante_ of the
+     province: we entered by the Mall, which is planted with trees
+     as beautiful as those of the Parisian Boulevards. Here we found
+     a mayor, who came to harangue the duchess. It happened that M.
+     Sainfrais, during the harangue, had posted himself directly
+     behind the speaker, so that every now and then his horse, which
+     kept constantly tossing its head, as horses will do, would give
+     him a little tap on the back--a circumstance which cut his
+     phrases in half in the most ludicrous manner possible; because
+     at every blow the orator would turn round to see what was the
+     matter, after which he would gravely resume his discourse,
+     while I was ready to burst with laughter the whole time. Two
+     leagues further on we had another rich scene; an ecclesiastic
+     stopped the carriage, and commenced a pompous harangue
+     addressed to M. Poisonnier, whom he kept calling _mon Prince_.
+     M. Poisonnier replied, that he was more than a prince, and that
+     in fact the lives of all princes depended upon him, for he was
+     a physician. 'What!' exclaimed the priest, 'you are not M. le
+     Prince de Talmont?' 'He has been dead these two years,' replied
+     the Duchesse de Choiseul. 'But who, then, is in this carriage?'
+     'It is Madame la Duchesse de Choiseul,' replied some one.
+     Forthwith, not a whit disconcerted, he commenced another
+     harangue, in which he lauded to the skies the excellent
+     education she had bestowed on her son. 'But I have no son,
+     monsieur,' replied the duchess quietly. 'Ah! you have no son; I
+     am very sorry for that;' and so saying his reverence put his
+     harangue in his pocket, and walked off.
+
+     "Adieu, my worthy friend. We shall reach Bordeaux on Thursday.
+     I intend to feed well when I get there."
+
+What an edifying picture of the state of the high and low clergy of
+France at this epoch is presented to us! The Abb� de Voisenon rolling
+along in his carriage, indulging in the anticipatory delights of some
+good 'feeds' when he shall get to Bordeaux; and a hungry priest
+haranguing right and left the first comers who may present themselves,
+in order to obtain the wherewithal to procure a dinner.
+
+It is to Madame Favart that Voisenon writes from Bordeaux:--
+
+     "We arrived here at ten o'clock yesterday evening, and found
+     Marshal de Richelieu, who had crossed the Garonne to meet the
+     Duchesse de Choiseul. This city is beautiful viewed at a
+     distance--all that appertains to the exterior is of the best;
+     but what afflicts me most of all, is the sad fact that there
+     are no sardines to be had on account of the war. I was not
+     aware that the sardines had taken part against; however, I
+     revenged myself upon two ortolans, which I devoured for supper,
+     along with a _pat�_ of red partridges _aux truffes_, which,
+     though made as long back as November last--as Marshal de
+     Richelieu assured me--was as fresh and as _parfum�_ as if it
+     had been made but the night before."
+
+If the reader should feel astonished that an asthmatical patient could
+eat partridges and truffles without being horribly ill, his astonishment
+will not be of long continuance. The following day Voisenon wrote to
+Favart:--
+
+     "Oh, my dear friend, I have passed a frightful night. I was
+     obliged to smoke and take my _kerm�s_. I shall not be able to
+     see any of the 'lions' of the place. If I am three days
+     following in this state after I get to Cauterets, you will have
+     me back again with you by the end of the month."
+
+One would suppose that after this gentle hint our abb� would be more
+prudent; not a bit of it. In the same letter he adds:--
+
+     "The dinner-table yesterday was covered with sardines. At the
+     very first start I eat six in as many mouthfuls--a truly
+     delicious _morceau_; despite my _kerm�s_, I reckon upon eating
+     as many to-day, along with my two ortolans. We leave to-morrow,
+     and on Wednesday we shall reach Cauterets."
+
+Thus, ill on the 11th in consequence of a monstrous supper taken on the
+10th, we find him, for all that, on the following day devouring sardines
+by the half-dozen, and ortolans again! On the 18th he writes from
+Cauterets to his friend Favart:--
+
+     "I arrived yesterday in good health, but have slept badly,
+     because the house in which I lodge is situated over a torrent,
+     which makes a frightful noise. This country I can only compare
+     to an icy horror, like the tragedy of _Ter�e_."
+
+Twelve days afterwards, Voisenon writes to Madame Favart:--
+
+     "Madame de Choiseul's uncle, who paid you so many compliments
+     in the green-room, arrived yesterday: he lodges in the same
+     house with me.... I introduced him this morning into one of the
+     best houses in Cauterets--indeed the very best house--where, I
+     must confess, I myself spend three parts of the entire day; in
+     a word, it is the pastry-cook's. This learned individual
+     compounds admirable tartlets, as well as some little cakes of
+     singular lightness; but above all, certain delicious little
+     puffs composed of cream and millet-flour, which he calls
+     _millassons_. I stuff them all day long. This makes the waters
+     turn sour on my stomach, and myself turn very yellow; but I am
+     tolerably well notwithstanding."
+
+This gormandizing Abb� de Voisenon, ever hanging, as it were, between
+_p�t�s_ and his grave, becomes now a rather interesting subject of
+study. We begin to speculate upon what it is that will finally carry him
+off: his asthma, or the confectionary he daily swallows.
+
+He writes to Favart:--
+
+     "I bathe every morning, and during this operation I bear a
+     striking resemblance to a match dipped in sulphur. I keep my
+     health, however, tolerably well, though still suffering from my
+     asthma, of which I fear I shall never be cured."
+
+It would be a wonder if he should be cured, with his unfortunate table
+excesses, which would have killed half-a-dozen healthy men. In vain do
+we seek in his correspondence with Favart and his wife, a single thought
+unconnected with the pleasures of the stomach. We have read with what
+delight he sings the praises of a pastry-cook established at Cauterets,
+famous for his millet-cakes and cream-puffs. His happiness did not stop
+here:--
+
+"A second pastry-cook (he cries), upon my reputation, has set up here.
+There is a daily trial of skill between the two artists; I eat and
+judge, and it is my stomach that pays the cost. I go to the bath, and
+return to the oven. I shall come here again in the thrush season. We
+have red partridges, which are brought here from all parts; they are
+delicious."
+
+In short, he remained so long stuffing confectionary at Cauterets, where
+he had gone solely to take care of himself, and to live with the
+strictest regularity, that on the eve of his departure he wrote sadly to
+Madame Favart:--'I am just the same as when you saw me last: sometimes
+asthmatical, and always gormandizing.' The sufferings which he
+experienced during his sojourn at, Bar�ges, previous to his final return
+to Paris, are proofs of the deplorable effects of the mineral waters
+upon his health:--
+
+     "I am suffering dreadfully; and am now, while I write, laboring
+     under so violent an attack of asthma, that I cannot doubt but
+     that the air of this country is as bad for me as that of
+     Montrouge. If I am as bad to-morrow, I shall return to pass the
+     week at Cauterets, and on Saturday go on to Pau, where I shall
+     wait for the ladies who are to pass through on Monday, on their
+     way to Bayonne. I know I shall be in a miserable state during
+     the journey."
+
+Such were the benefits derived by the Abb� de Voisenon from his four
+months' sojourn at the baths of Cauterets and Bar�ges. He returned to
+Voisenon infinitely worse than when he left it. On the eve of his
+departure for home, where, as he said some time afterwards, he wished
+_to be on the same floor with the tombs of his ancestors_, he devoured a
+monstrous dinner on the Bar�ges mountains.
+
+Finding that the mineral waters of the Pyrenees had failed in
+re�stablishing his health--that is, if he ever had health--the Abb� de
+Voisenon abandoned physicians and their fruitless prescriptions, to seek
+elsewhere remedies for the cure of his asthma, which became more and
+more troublesome as he began to get into years. As he was constantly
+speaking of his disease to everybody, and as everybody--at least all
+those who wished to get into his good graces--spoke of it to him, he
+learned one day that there existed in some garret of Paris a certain
+abb� deeply learned in all the mysteries of occult chemistry, an adept
+of the great Albert, the master of masters in empirical art. Like all
+sorcerers, and all _savants_ of the eighteenth century, this abb� was
+represented as being in a state of frightful misery and destitution. He
+who possessed the secrets of plants and minerals, of fire and light, of
+the generation of beings, had not the wherewithal to procure himself a
+decent _soutane_, nor even a morsel of bread. Though, by the efforts of
+his magic, he had reached a dizzy height on the paths of knowledge, it
+was, alas! a fact but too true, that he was unable to maintain himself
+more than a month in the same apartment--perhaps on account of his
+indifference to the interests of his landlords. For all that he was a
+marvellous being, inventing specifics for the cure of all diseases, and
+consequently of asthma among the rest. It was even whispered, but
+secretly and mysteriously, and with a sort of awe--for they were very
+superstitious, though very atheistical, in the eighteenth century--that
+all these specifics were comprised in one remedy, namely, the
+celebrated AURUM POTABILE, or fluid gold. Now every one knows, or at
+least ought to know, that potable gold, that is, gold in a cold and
+fluid state, like wine, triumphs over every malady to which the human
+frame is subject: it is health itself, perpetual youth, and would be no
+less than immortality had not Paracelsus, who, they say, also possessed
+the secret of potable gold, unfortunately died at the age of
+thirty-three, or thirty-five: thus establishing a fatal argument against
+its virtues in this respect. But one thought now possessed
+Voisenon--that of getting hold, somehow or other, of this magic abb�,
+and of enticing him to his ch�teau; but an insensate and monstrous
+desire was this--a desire almost impossible to be satisfied, for it was
+stated that this Prometheus repelled all advances. Persecuted by the
+faculty, censured by the ecclesiastical tribunal, maltreated by the
+police, who would not suffer anything in the shape of gold-making, he
+had, in his savage misanthropy, renounced all further thoughts of
+alleviating the pains of humanity at the cost of his repose and safety.
+Here was a terrible state of perplexity for our asthmatical abb�, who,
+for all that, did not lose courage, but set to work with all his might
+to discover the great physician.
+
+But where, or how, was he to discover a sorcerer in Paris? To whom could
+he decently address himself? To what professional class? There are so
+many people in the world ready to ridicule even the most respectable
+things. Every time that Voisenon elbowed at the Tuileries, or in the
+Palais Royal, an individual in a seedy cassock, he fancied that he had
+discovered his man. Forthwith he would enter into conversation with him,
+his heart fluttering with hope, until the moment came which would
+convince him that he had been deceived. Though for the moment cast into
+despair, he did not lose hope, but would the next day recommence his
+voyages of discovery in search of potable gold. One morning he had a
+sudden illumination:--"Since the archbishop," thought he, "has censured
+the conduct of the abb� I have been so long in search of, the archbishop
+must know where he lodges." Just as if sorcerers had lodgings! That very
+day he repaired to the archbishop's court. If the reader wonders why our
+abb� did not give the clerks whom he interrogated the name of his
+mysterious priest, the answer is easy: it is simply because he did not
+know his name; magicians seldom make themselves known but by their
+works. This name, however, to his great and inexpressible joy, he was
+soon to learn. After some researches made in the register of the
+episcopal court, the clerk informed him that this abb� (a deplorable
+subject by all accounts) was called Boiviel, and, at the period when the
+acts of censure were passed upon him, lodged in the Rue de Versailles,
+Faubourg Saint Marceau. Voisenon was there almost as soon as the words
+were out of the clerk's mouth.
+
+Voisenon knocked at every kennel of this deplorable street; not even a
+bark replied to the name of the Abb� Boiviel. At length, at a seventh
+floor above the mud, an old woman, who resided in a loft, to which
+access was obtained by means of a rope-ladder, informed him that the
+Abb� Boiviel had quitted the apartment about six months before, with the
+avowed intention of going to lodge at Menilmontant; she added, that this
+delay gave fair grounds for supposing that he must necessarily have
+changed his quarters at least five or six times in the course of these
+six months. Disappointed, but not discouraged, Voisenon descended from
+the dizzy height, reflecting upon the sad distress to which a man might
+be reduced, although possessing the secret of potable gold.
+
+An almost incredible chance had so willed it, that the Abb� Boiviel had
+changed his abode but three times since his descent from the garret of
+the Rue de Versailles. From Menilmontant he had removed to Passy, and
+from Passy to La Chapelle, where he now resided.
+
+At length the two abb�s met; but to what delicate manoeuvres the
+seigneur of Voisenon was obliged to have recourse in accosting his
+rugged _comfr�re_, who was at that moment engaged in eating his
+breakfast off a chair. He had sense enough to put off as long as
+possible the true subject of his visit; besides, what cared he for
+delays? He had found him at last, he was face to face with the
+mysterious, infallible physician, the successor of the great Albert.
+Boiviel was even more savage and morose than the Abb� de Voisenon had
+anticipated. He spoke of offering his services to the Missionary Society
+in order to get appointed to preach the Gospel in Japan, although, to
+tell the truth, he did not believe over-much in Christianity. "And I do
+not believe in Japan," might have perhaps replied the Abb� de Voisenon,
+had he been in a joking humor: but the fact is, he was thunderstruck at
+the enunciation of such a project. It was too provoking, when he, had at
+length found the Abb� Boiviel, to hear that the Abb� Boiviel was going
+to immolate himself in Japan.
+
+Inspired by circumstance, that tenth muse which is worth all the nine
+put together, Voisenon said to Boiviel, that he was aware of all the
+persecutions which the clergy of Paris had made him endure for causes
+which he did not desire to know; he refrained also from entering on the
+subject of fluid gold. Touched by the exhibition of so much constancy in
+misfortune, he had come, he said, to propose to the Abb� Boiviel to
+inhabit his ch�teau of Voisenon, where, in the calm and repose of a
+peaceful existence, and with a mind freed from the harassing cares of
+the world, he would have leisure to meditate and write; that this
+proceeding of his, though strange in appearance, was excusable, and to
+be judged with an indulgent eye; he, the Abb� de Voisenon, was happy,
+rich, powerful even. The Abb� Boiviel would be quite at home at the
+ch�teau de Voisenon; his feelings of independence would not be
+outraged; when he should be tired of sojourning there, he might quit the
+ch�teau, remain absent as long as it pleased him, and return when it
+suited his fancy. It is hardly necessary to say that the wild boar
+allowed itself to be muzzled; that very evening a hired carriage
+conducted the chemist, the sorcerer, the magician Boiviel, to the
+Ch�teau de Voisenon. "I shall have my potable gold at last," thought the
+triumphant Abb�, radiant with hope and exultation.
+
+Installed at the ch�teau, the Abb� Boiviel conformed himself with a very
+good grace to the monachal existence led by its inmates. The good
+regimen of the house tended also to considerably soften the former
+asperities of his demeanor; he spoke no more of Japan, but neither did
+he speak of the potable gold, although Voisenon on several occasions
+endeavored to obtain from him an explanation on this essential point.
+Whenever our asthmatical abb� would lead the conversation towards
+subjects relating to chemistry or alchemy, Boiviel would either avoid a
+direct reply or else fall into a state of profound taciturnity: and yet
+all his debts had been paid, including the various outstanding accounts
+due to his numerous landlords, and his dinners at the Croix de
+Lorraine--that memorable tavern, where all the abb�s who received
+fifteen sous for every mass said at St. Sulpice were accustomed to feed
+daily. Several cassocks had also been purchased for him, several pairs
+of stockings, and many shirts.
+
+After a three months' residence at the ch�teau he had become fat, fresh,
+and rosy, such as he had never before been at any previous epoch of his
+life. Emboldened by the friendship he had shown to his guest, Voisenon
+ventured one day to say to the Abb� Boiviel, that, skeptical and
+atheistical as they falsely imagined him to be in the world, he
+possessed, nevertheless, an absolute faith in alchemy; he denied neither
+the philosopher's stone, nor the universal panacea, nor even the potable
+gold. Now did he, or did he not, believe in potable gold? This was a
+home-thrust Boiviel could no longer recoil; he _did_ believe in it; but
+according to his idea the audacious chemist committed a great sin in
+composing it: it was, so to speak, as though attacking the decrees of
+creation to change into liquid what had been ordained a metal. A
+sorcerer troubled with religious scruples appeared a strange spectacle
+to the Abb� de Voisenon and one, too, that rather embarrassed him. He
+did not, however, entirely renounce his conquest of the potable gold; he
+waited three months longer, and during these three months fresh favors
+were lavished on Boiviel, who habituated himself to these proceedings
+with praiseworthy resignation.
+
+Treated as a friend, called also by that title, Boiviel justified the
+Abb� de Voisenon in saying to him one day, that he had no longer a hope
+in any remedy whatsoever, save the potable gold, for the cure of his
+asthma. Without the specific, as much above other remedies as the sun is
+above fire, the only course left him was to die. Boiviel was moved, his
+iron resolves were shaken, and his qualms of conscience ceded to the
+voice of friendship. He warned his friend, however, that in order to
+compose a little fluid gold much solid gold would be required. The first
+essay would cost ten thousand livres at the very least. Voisenon, who
+would have given twenty thousand to be cured, consented to the
+sacrifice, thanking heartily his future liberator, who, on the following
+day, commenced the great work. What sage deliberation did he bring to
+the task! and how slowly did the work proceed! Day followed day, month
+followed month, but as yet no gold, except that which the Abb� de
+Voisenon himself contributed in pieces of twenty-four livres each. The
+day at length arrived in which, the ten thousand livres being exhausted,
+Boiviel informed his patient that the fluid gold was in flasks, and
+would be ready for use in a month.
+
+It was during this month that the alchemist Boiviel took leave of the
+Abb� de Voisenon, on the pretext of going to see his old father, who
+resided in Flanders. Before two months were out he would return to the
+ch�teau, in order to observe the beneficial effects of the liquified
+metal. Warmly embraced by his friend, overwhelmed with presents,
+solicited to return as speedily as possible, Boiviel quitted the Ch�teau
+de Voisenon, where he had lived for nearly a year, and in what manner we
+have seen.
+
+After the time allowed by Boiviel for the fluid gold to be fit for use
+had elapsed, the Abb� de Voisenon began his course of the medicine. He
+emptied the first, the second, and the third flask, awaiting the result
+with exemplary patience; but an asthma is not to be cured in a week,
+especially an asthma of forty years' standing.
+
+Boiviel had not yet returned; he had now been four months in Flanders;
+to these four months succeeded another four, but no Boiviel; the year
+revolved, the flasks diminished, but still no Boiviel.
+
+It is scarcely necessary to say that the Abb� Boiviel never reappeared,
+and that he was nothing better than a charlatan and a thief. But the
+singular part of the matter is, that the Abb� de Voisenon found his
+asthma considerably relieved after a course of the fluid gold composed
+by Boiviel; and his sole regret at the end of his days was, not having
+foreseen the death, or disappearance--a matter quite as disastrous--of
+his alchemist, who could have furnished him with the means of
+compounding the elixir for himself as it might be wanted.
+
+In order to show himself superior to the assaults of his enemy, our Abb�
+would often endeavor to persuade himself that he was every whit as
+active as he had formerly been; more active even than he had been in
+his youth. On these occasions he would jump up from his easy-chair,
+where he had been sitting groaning under an attack of the asthma; he
+would cast his pillows on one side, his night-cap on the other, would
+pitch his slippers to the other end of the room, and call loudly for his
+domestics. In one of these deceitful triumphs of his will over his
+feeble constitution, he rang one cold winter's morning for his _valet de
+chambre_.
+
+"My thick cloth trousers!" cried he, "my thick cloth trousers!"
+
+"Why, Monsieur l'Abb�," timidly objected his faithful servitor, "what
+can you be thinking of? you were very bad yesterday evening."
+
+"That's very probable; I have nothing to do with what I was yesterday
+evening. My thick cloth trousers, I tell you--now, my furred waistcoat!
+Come, look sharp!"
+
+"But, Monsieur l'Abb�, why quit your warm room, your snug arm-chair? You
+are so pale."
+
+"Pale, am I! that's better than ever, for I have been as yellow as a
+quince all my life! Good, I have my trousers and waistcoat; fetch me my
+redingote!"
+
+"Your redingote! that you only put on when you are going out?"
+
+"And it is precisely because I am going out that I ask for it. You argue
+to-day like a true stage valet. Why should I not put on my redingote?
+Are you afraid of it becoming shabby? Do you wish to steal it from me
+while it is new?"
+
+"I am afraid that you will increase your cough if you don't keep the
+house to-day. It is very cold this morning."
+
+"Very cold, is it, eh? so much the better. I like cold weather."
+
+"It snows even very much, Monsieur l'Abb�."
+
+"In that case, my large Polish boots."
+
+"Your large Polish boots! And for what purpose?"
+
+"Not to write a poem in, probably; for if Boileau very sensibly
+remarked, that in order to write a good poem time and taste were
+necessary, he did not add that boots were indispensable. Once for all, I
+want my Polish boots to go out shooting in. Is not that plain enough,
+Monsieur Mascarille?"
+
+"Cough shooting, Monsieur l'Abb�?"
+
+"_Maraud!_ wolf-shooting--in the wood. Come, quick, my boots, and no
+chattering."
+
+"Here are your boots, Monsieur l'Abb�. Truly you have no thought for
+your health."
+
+"Have you a design upon my boots, also? Be so good, most discursive
+valet, as to fetch me my deer-skin gloves, my hat, and gun."
+
+The Abb� de Voisenon was soon equipped with the aid of his valet, who,
+during the operation of dressing, never ceased repeating to him:
+
+"It is fearfully cold this morning. Dogs have been found frozen to death
+in their kennels, fish dead in the fish-ponds, cattle dead in the
+stables, birds dead on the trees, and even wolves dead in the forest."
+
+"My good friend," replied the Abb� de Voisenon, "you have said too much;
+your story of the wolves prevents me believing the rest: upon this I
+start. Now listen to me. On my return from shooting I expect to find my
+poultices ready, my asses-milk properly warmed, and my _tisanes_ mixed;
+give directions about all this in the kitchen."
+
+"Yes, Monsieur l'Abb�. He'll never return, that's certain," murmured the
+valet, as he packed up his master in his great-coat, and drew his fur
+cap well down over his ears.
+
+Followed by three of his dogs, our abb� started on his shooting
+excursion. At the very first step he took on leaving the court-yard, he
+fell; but he was up in an instant, and brushed speedily along. It must
+have been a strange spectacle to see this old man, as black as a mute at
+a funeral, with his black gloves, black boots, black coat, all black in
+short, tripping gayly along over the snow with three dogs at his heels,
+sometimes whistling and shouting aloud, sometimes cracking his
+pocket-whip, and occasionally pointing his fowling-piece in the
+direction of a flight of crows.
+
+He had passed through the village of Voisenon, and had just gained the
+open country, when he was stopped at the entrance of a lane of small
+cottages by a young girl, who, the instant she perceived him, cried out,
+
+"Ah, monseigneur" (for many people styled him monseigneur), "it is
+surely Providence that has sent you to us!"
+
+"What is the matter?" inquired the abb�.
+
+"Our grandfather is dying, and he is unwilling to die without
+confession."
+
+"But I have nothing to do with that, my child; that is the priest's
+business."
+
+"But are you not a priest, monseigneur?"
+
+"Almost," replied our abb�, rather taken aback by this home-thrust, and
+in a very bad humor besides at the interruption, "almost; but address
+yourself in preference to the prior of the convent. Run to the ch�teau,
+ring at the convent-gate; ring loudly, and reserve me for a better
+occasion."
+
+"Monseigneur," repeated the girl, "our grandfather has not time to wait;
+he is dying--you must come."
+
+"I tell you," replied the abb�, confused within himself at his refusal,
+"I cannot go. I am, as you see, out shooting: the thing is utterly
+impossible."
+
+With these words he sought to pursue his way; but the young girl, who
+could not comprehend the bad arguments made use of by the abb�, clung
+obstinately to his coat skirts, and compelled him to turn round. Aroused
+by the noise of this altercation, a few of the male population appeared
+on the thresholds of their doors, others at their windows; and as a
+village resembles a bundle of dry hay, which a spark will set in a
+blaze, the wives joined their husbands, the children their mothers, and
+soon the entire population flocked into the street to see what was the
+matter.
+
+The Abb� du Jard, seigneur of Voisenon, king of the country, felt deeply
+humiliated amid the crowd which surrounded him, and which had already
+begun to murmur at this refusal, as irreligious as it was inhuman.
+
+But our poor abb� was not inhuman. The fact was, he had completely
+forgotten the formula used on such occasions; and if the truth must be
+told, as he was careless and indifferent in religious matters, rather
+than hypocritical, his conscience reproached him for going to absolve or
+condemn a fellow-creature when he inwardly felt how utterly unworthy he
+was himself of judging others at the tribunal of the confessional.
+
+Necessity, however, prevailed over his just scruples; which scruples,
+however, be it said, could not be made use of as excuses to his vassals:
+so, with downcast eyes and his reversed fowling-piece under his arm, he
+permitted himself to be led to the cottage where lay the old man, who
+was unwilling to render his last sigh without having made the official
+avowal of his sins.
+
+The villagers knelt in a circle before the door, whilst the abb� seated
+himself by the side of the dying man, in order the better to receive his
+confession.
+
+Since the unlucky moment in which the Abb� de Voisenon had been balked
+of his morning's sport, he had lost--for he had at times his intervals
+of superstitious terror--the proud determination he had formed of not
+believing himself ill on that day. But then, what signs of evil augury
+had greeted him! He had tripped and fallen on leaving home; he had seen
+flocks of crows; a weeping girl had dragged him to the bedside of a
+terrified sinner--even now they were repeating the prayers for the dying
+around him. The Abb� de Voisenon was overcome; his former temerity oozed
+palpably away, he felt sick at heart, his ears tingled, his asthma
+groaned within his chest.
+
+"I am ill," thought he. "I was in the wrong to come out; why did I not
+take my old servant's advice, and remain at home?"
+
+Finally he lent an ear to the old man's confession.
+
+"You were born the same day as myself!" exclaimed the abb�, at the
+patient's first confidential communication; "you were born the same day
+as myself!"
+
+The old man continued, and here a new terror arose for our abb�.
+
+"You have never heard mass to the end! And I," thought he, "have never
+heard even the beginning for these last thirty years!"
+
+The penitent continued:--
+
+"I have committed, monseigneur, the great sin that you know."
+
+"The great sin that I know! I know so many," thought the abb�. "What
+sin, my friend?"
+
+"Yea, the great sin--although married--"
+
+"Ah! I understand!" Then, _sotto voce_, "My great sin, although a
+priest."
+
+A deplorable fatality, if it was a fatality, had so willed it that the
+vassal should have fallen into the same snares as had his lord, who was
+now called to judge him at his last hour.
+
+When the confession was ended, the Abb� de Voisenon consulted his own
+heart with inward terror, and after some hesitation he remitted his
+penitent's sins, inwardly avowing to himself that the dying man ought,
+at least, out of gratitude, to render him the same service.
+
+The ceremony over, the abb� rose to depart: but his limbs failed him,
+and they were actually obliged to carry him home, where he arrived in a
+state of prostration that seriously alarmed his household. During the
+remainder of that day he spoke to no one; wrapped up in the silence of
+his own melancholy thoughts, he opened his lips only to cough. The night
+was bad; icy shiverings passed over his frame: the image of this man, of
+the same age, and burdened with the same sins as he himself had
+committed, would not leave his memory. By daylight his trouble of mind
+and body was at its height; he desired his valet to summon his physician
+and the prior of the convent. "And immediately," added he,
+"immediately."
+
+Comprehending better this time the wishes of his master, the domestic
+hastened to arouse the prior, whose convent almost adjoined the ch�teau,
+and the physician, who had apartments in the ch�teau itself. This
+physician was a young man, chosen by the celebrated Tronchin from among
+his cleverest pupils at the express desire of the Abb� de Voisenon.
+
+Seriously alarmed at the danger of the abb�, both prior and physician
+hastened to obey the summons. M. de Voisenon was so ill last night.
+Should they arrive in time? So equal and so prompt was their zeal that
+both reached the abb�'s bedroom door together. But when they opened it,
+what was their astonishment to find that the bird had flown; our abb�
+had got over his little fright, and had gone out shooting again.
+
+The end of that fatal eighteenth century was now approaching; undermined
+by years and debauchery, it was now like a ruined spend-thrift moving
+away from the calendar of the world in rags; it was hideously old, but
+its years inspired not respect. Old king, old ministers, old
+generals--if indeed there were generals,--old courtiers, old mistresses,
+old poets, old musicians, old opera dancers, broken down with _ennui_,
+pleasure, and idleness--toothless, faded, rouged, and wrinkled--were
+descending slowly to the tomb. Louis XV. formed one of the funeral
+procession; he was taken to St. Denis between two lines of _cabarets_
+filled with drunken revellers, madly rejoicing at being rid of this
+plague, which another plague had carried off to the grave. Cr�billon was
+dead; the son of the great Racine, honored by the famous title of Member
+of the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles Lettres, was taken off by a
+malignant fever, and obtained from the grateful publicity of the day
+the following necrological eulogium, as brief as it was eloquent: "M.
+Racine, last of the name, died yesterday of a malignant fever; as a man
+of letters he was long dead, having become stupefied by wine and
+devotion." Twelve days afterwards Marivaux followed Racine to the grave.
+The Abb� Prevost died of a tenth attack of apoplexy in the forest of
+Chantilly. In the following spring the celebrated Madame de Pompadour
+descended, at the age of forty-four, into the grave, after having
+exhaled a _bon mot_ in guise of confession. Desirous, as it would
+appear, of leaving this world like the rest of his worthy _comp�res_,
+the composer Rameau cried furiously to his confessor, whose lugubrious
+note while intoning the service at his bedside offended the delicacy of
+his ear, 'What the devil are you muttering there, Monsieur le Cur�? you
+are horribly out of tune!' And thereupon Master Rameau expired of a
+putrid fever. And what think you, worthy reader, occupied the public the
+day following the death of the most celebrated musician in Europe, the
+king of the French school? Why, nothing less than this wonderful piece
+of news: "Mademoiselle Mir�, of the Opera, more celebrated as a
+courtesan than as a _danseuse_, has interred her lover; on his tomb are
+engraven these words:
+
+    MI RE LA MI LA."
+
+A touching funeral oration, truly, for poor Rameau! Panard, the father
+of the French vaudeville, died some days after Rameau; and the Parisian
+public, with its national tenderness of heart, merely remarked, that
+"the words could not be separated from the accompaniment."
+
+You see, reader, how the ranks were thinning, how all these old candles
+were expiring in their sockets, how the ball was approaching its end.
+
+"Piron died yesterday," writes a journalist; and he adds, "They say he
+received the cur� of St. Roche very badly." What an admirable piece of
+buffoonery! these cur�s going in turn to shrive the writers of the
+eighteenth century, and having flung at their heads epigrams composed
+for the occasion, perhaps, ten years before.
+
+Louis XV. died soon after Piron. A few hours before his death he said to
+Cardinal de la Roche-Aymon: "Although the king is answerable to God
+alone for his conduct, you can say that he is sorry for having caused
+any scandal to his subjects, and that from henceforth he desires to live
+but for the support of faith and religion, and for the happiness of his
+people!"
+
+Like Rameau, Piron, Helvetius, and Pompadour, this good little king
+Louis XV. must have his _bon mot_; he was sorry for having caused any
+scandal to his subjects, and at his last moment of existence would live
+from henceforth for the sole happiness of his people! "Can any thing be
+finer than this?"
+
+Finally came the Abb� de Voisenon's turn. Witty to his last hour, when
+they brought home the leaden coffin, the exact form and dimensions of
+which he had himself arranged and ordered beforehand, he said to one of
+his domestics,--
+
+"There is a great-coat, any how, that you will not be tempted to steal
+from me."
+
+He died on the 22d of November, 1775, aged sixty-eight.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Q] This was the celebrated society called the _Acad�mie de ces
+Messieurs_: it numbered among its members all the more celebrated wits
+of the day.
+
+
+
+
+IRELAND IN THE LAST AGE.
+
+Recollections of Curran.
+
+From the London Times
+
+
+If the work of Mr. Charles Phillips were a description of the Roman bar
+in the time of Hadrian, it would scarcely be more completely than at
+present the picture of a time and system entirely passed away; yet he
+professes to give us--and performs his promise--a somewhat gossipping
+and very amusing description of the Irish bar, and the great men
+belonging to it, very little more than half a century since. But we
+travel and change quickly in these days of steam and railroads; even
+Time himself appears now to have attached his travelling carriage to a
+locomotive, and in the space of one man's life performs a journey that
+in staid and ancient days would have occupied the years of many
+generations, and, as if in illustration of the fleeting nature of men
+and things and systems at this time, here we find a contemporary (at
+this moment hardly past the prime of life) giving us portraits, and
+relating anecdotes of men with whom he, in his youth, lived in intimate
+and professional relations, but who seem now as absolutely to belong to
+a bygone order of things, as if they had wrangled before the Dikasts of
+Athens, or pleaded before the Pr�tor at Rome. Mr. Phillips seems to feel
+this, and, as the gay days of his sanguine youth flit by his memory, the
+retrospect brings, as it will ever bring, melancholy, and even sadness,
+with it. Yielding himself up to the dominion of feeling, in place of
+keeping his reason predominant, he mourns over the past, as if, in
+comparison with the present, it were greatly more worthy. Forgetting
+that there is a change also in himself; that the capacity for enjoyment
+is largely diminished; that hope has been fulfilled, or is for ever
+frustrate; he tests the present by his own emotions, instead of weighing
+with philosophic _indifference_ the relative merits of the system that
+he describes, and of that in which he lives. We are told--
+
+    "'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view;"
+
+but, when age comes upon us, we must turn and look back, if we desire to
+enjoy this pleasing hallucination.
+
+But in what is the present of Ireland so different from the past, in
+which our fathers lived? And what do these repinings mean? What is the
+charm that has for ever faded? The answer to this question, if complete,
+would occupy a volume, for the composition of which that of Mr. Phillips
+might well serve in the character of _une pi�ce historique_, abounding,
+as it does, in apt and instructive illustration, and giving, by its
+aggregation of anecdotes and descriptions, a somewhat confused but
+still interesting and lively picture of a very curious and stirring
+period. There lies, indeed, at the bottom of this inquiry a question
+with which the practical statesman has now little reason to trouble
+himself, but which, nevertheless, to the speculative philosopher, cannot
+fail to be a subject of never-failing interest.
+
+The great physical discoveries of modern times, by which the powers of
+nature are made to act in subservience to the use and comfort of
+mankind, steadily tend to one great political result, viz., the
+permanently uniting and knitting together of much larger numbers of men
+into one and the same community, and subjecting them to one and the same
+Government, and that Government one of law and not of force, than was
+ever known or possible during the early days of man's history. This
+result, as regards the peace of the world and all the material comforts
+of life, is highly favorable. Whether the same can be said, of the
+mental vigor and moral excellence of the human race is a question upon
+which men may speculate, but which time alone can satisfactorily answer.
+
+The small, contentious, and active communities of Greece; the little,
+ill-governed, yet vigorous Republics of modern Italy, stand out in the
+history of mankind bright and illustrious beyond all hope of comparison;
+and, from the wondrous intellects that appeared among them, they have
+proved to all succeeding times a never-failing subject of admiration,
+envy, and despair. Just in proportion to our own advancement in art,
+literature, and science, is the intensity of our astonishment, of our
+envy, and of our despondency. We endeavor to compete with, but can never
+equal them; we imitate, but, like all imitators, we are condemned to
+mediocrity; it is only when we attempt to explore some new and untrod
+region of art or science that we can pretend to the dignity even of
+comparison. And these regions are rare indeed.
+
+But, if we compare our own social condition with that of the Greeks or
+the Italians--if we look into their houses, their cities, and their
+fields,--if we acquire an accurate and vivid conception of the
+insecurity of life, of property, and of peace among them,--and if we
+measure the happiness of life by the comforts of every day existence,
+then, indeed, the superiority belongs to ourselves; and we may be led to
+ask, whether the advantages of both conditions of political and social
+existence may not be united; and to that end seek to learn what it was
+that brought out into such vigorous relief the wonderful mental activity
+of the two periods, which form such peculiar and hitherto unequalled
+epocha in the history of mankind. We shall find, if we pursue this
+inquiry into other times and among other people, that there was one
+circumstance, among many others indeed, of peculiar weight and
+importance, which then exercised and has never failed to exercise,
+wheresoever it has existed, a vast influence upon the mental and moral
+character of the people--we mean a feeling of intense _nationality_.
+This feeling is not all that is required; without it no great
+originality or vigor in a people is probable, and where it has been
+strongly manifest, it has generally led to great deeds, and much mental
+activity. The character of this manifestation will, indeed, greatly
+depend upon the natural character of the people--upon the peculiar state
+of their civilization, and upon their political condition. If these be
+all favorable, the spirit of nationality is divine, and manifest in
+great and ennobling deeds and thoughts; but, if adverse, then the spirit
+will be destructive, and vice will be quickened into fatal activity.
+
+In Ireland, at the end of the eighteenth century, a remarkable series of
+events cherished, if it did not indeed produce, this sentiment of a
+separate nationality and independence. Conquerors and conquered, in
+spite of social and religious distinctions, had long since coalesced
+into one people; and the successful revolt of our American colonies,
+induced the people of Ireland to demand for themselves freedom and
+independence also. With arms in their hands the Volunteers wrung from
+England an independent Parliament in 1782; and in the eighteen years
+which followed, all that is really great in the history of Ireland, is
+comprised. The Volunteers, indeed, obtained independence, but that was
+all. The constitution of the Irish was, as before, narrow and
+mischievous, oppressive and corrupt; but it was Irish, and independent
+of the Parliament of England. And the struggles of an independent
+people, endeavoring, by their own efforts, to reform their own
+institutions, led to the rising of that brilliant galaxy of statesmen,
+orators, wits, and lawyers, to which Irishmen of the present day, almost
+without exception, refer with grief and despondency, not unmixed with
+indignation, when wishing to make the world appreciate the evils their
+country has suffered in consequence of its union with England. But,
+unhappily, the great spirit of freedom was awakened in evil times.
+Great, vigorous, and almost glorious was this wonderful manifestation of
+its power; but eventually the horrible corruption and vice of the period
+bore all before it, and extinguished every chance of benefit from the
+acquisition of independence. Great men appeared, but they were
+powerless. Of the remarkable period in which they lived, however, every
+memorial is of interest. With the society of which they formed a part,
+so different from our own--with the character and manners of the men
+themselves, their history, their good sayings and wild deeds, every
+student of history wishes to become acquainted, and seizes with avidity
+upon every piece of evidence from which authentic information respecting
+them may be gathered--and, as a portion of this evidence, the work of
+Mr. Phillips deserves consideration.
+
+Among the most remarkable of the many distinguished characters of this
+stirring period was John Philpot Curran,--among Irish advocates, as was
+Erskine among those of England, _facile princeps_. With him, when on
+the bench as Master of the Rolls in Ireland, Mr. Phillips, himself then
+a junior at the Irish bar, became acquainted. Acquaintance became
+intimacy, and intimacy led to friendship, which lasted without
+interruption to the day of Curran's death. Admiration and affection
+induced Mr. Phillips to gather together memorials of his deceased
+friend, round whose portrait he has grouped sketches of many of his
+celebrated cotemporaries. He says in his preface--
+
+"My object has been, touching as lightly as possible on the politics of
+the time, to give merely personal sketches of the characters as they
+appeared upon the scene to me. Many of them were my acquaintances--some
+of them my intimates; and the aim throughout has been a verisimilitude
+in the portraiture;--in short, to make the reader as familiar with the
+originals as I was myself."
+
+And a more curious collection of likenesses was never crowded into one
+canvas. They all, indeed, have a strong family resemblance, but
+certainly they are like nothing else in nature; and to us, living in
+grave, and possibly dull and prosaic England--and in this our matter of
+fact and decorous age--the doings of the society which they have made
+illustrious, appear more like a mad _saturnalia_ than the sober and
+commonplace procedure of rational men. The whole people--every class,
+profession, and degree--seemed to consider life but a species of
+delirious dance, and a wild and frantic excitement the one sole
+pleasure. Repose, thoughtfulness, and calm, they must have considered a
+premature death. Every emotion was sought for in its extreme, and a
+rapid variation from merriment to misery, from impassioned love to
+violent hate, was the ordinary (if in such an existence any thing could
+be deemed ordinary)--the common and ordinary condition of life.
+Laughter, that was ever on the brink of tears--a wild joy, that might in
+an instant be followed by hopeless despondency--alternations from
+sanguine and eager hope to blank and apparently crushing despair,--such
+was Irish life, in which every one appeared to be acting a part, and
+striving to appear original by means of a strained and laborious
+affectation. Steady, continued, and rational industry, was either
+unknown or despised; economy was looked upon as meanness--thrift was
+called avarice--and the paying a just debt, except upon compulsion, was
+deemed conduct wholly unworthy of a gentleman. Take the account Mr.
+Phillips himself gives. He speaks of the Irish squire; but the Irish
+squire was the raw material out of which so-called Irish gentlemen were
+made. "The Irish squire of half a century ago _scorned_ not to be in
+debt; it would be beneath his dignity to live within his income; and
+next to not incurring a debt, the greatest degradation would have been
+voluntarily to _pay one_." And yet was there great pretension to
+_honor_, but a man of honor of those days would in our time be
+considered a ruffian certainly, and probably a blackleg or a swindler.
+"It was a favorite boast of his (the first Lord Norbury) that he began
+life with fifty pounds, and a pair of hair-trigger pistols." "They
+served his purpose well.... The luck of the hair-triggers triumphed, and
+Toler not only became Chief Justice, but the founder of two peerages,
+and the testator of an enormous fortune. After his promotion, the code
+of honor became, as it were, engrafted on that of the Common Pleas; the
+noble chief not unfrequently announcing that he considered himself a
+judge only while he wore his robes." The sort of law dispensed by this
+fire-eating judge might be easily conceived even without the aid of such
+an anecdote as the following: "A nonsuit was never heard of in his time.
+Ill-natured people said it was to draw suitors to his court." Toler's
+reason for it was that he was too _constitutional_ to interfere with a
+jury, Be that as it may, a nonsuit was a nonentity, 'I hope, my Lord,'
+said counsel in a case actually commanding one, 'your Lordship will, for
+once, have the courage to nonsuit? In a moment the hair-triggers were
+uppermost. 'Courage! I tell you what, Mr. Wallace, there are two sorts
+of courage--courage to shoot, and courage to nonshoot--and I have both;
+but nonshoot now I certainly will not; and argument is only a waste of
+time.' "I remember well," says Mr. Phillips, when speaking of another
+judge, Mr. Justice Fletcher, "at the Sligo summer assizes for 1812,
+being counsel in the case of 'The King _v._ Fenton,' for the murder of
+Major Hillas in a duel, when old Judge Fletcher thus capped his summing
+up to the jury: 'Gentlemen, it's my business to lay down the law to you,
+and I will. The law says, the killing a man in a duel is murder, and I
+am bound to tell you it is murder; therefore, in the discharge of my
+duty, I tell you so; but I tell you at the same time, a _fairer duel_
+than this I never heard of in the whole _coorse_ of my life.' It is
+scarcely necessary to add that there was an immediate acquittal." By way
+of giving some idea of the character of society then, the following
+enumeration is supplied by the memory of Mr. Phillips:--
+
+     "Lord Clare, afterwards Lord Chancellor, fought Curran,
+     afterwards Master of the Rolls. So much for equity; but common
+     law also sustained its reputation. Clonmel, afterwards Chief
+     Justice, fought two Lords and two Commoners,--to show his
+     impartiality, no doubt. Medge, afterwards Baron, fought his own
+     brother-in-law, and two others. Toler, afterwards Chief Justice
+     of the Common Pleas, fought three persons, one of whom was
+     Fitzgerald, even in Ireland the 'fire-eater,' _par excellence_.
+     Patterson, also afterwards Chief Justice of the same court,
+     fought three country gentlemen, one of them with guns, another
+     with swords, and wounded them all! Corry, Chancellor of the
+     Exchequer, fought Mr. Grattan. The Provost of Dublin
+     University, a Privy Councillor, fought Mr. Doyle, a Master in
+     Chancery, and several others. His brother, collector of
+     Customs, fought Lord Mountmorris. Harry Deane Grady, counsel to
+     the Revenue, fought several duels; and 'all hits,' adds
+     Barrington, with unction. Curran fought four persons, one of
+     whom was Egan, Chairman of Kilmainham; afterwards his friend,
+     with Lord Buckinghamshire. A duel in these days was often a
+     prelude to intimacy."
+
+In spite, nevertheless, of this rude, nay, almost wild condition of
+society,--in spite of a most fantastic affectation attending nearly
+every act and thought and word,--yet were Curran and his cotemporaries
+men of great and vigorous ability. Grattan, Curran, and Flood, deserve
+indeed to take rank among the foremost class of their own age,--among
+the men of genius of every age and country. If we speak of them as
+orators, and wish to judge of their excellence with relation to the
+great orators of our own country, we must bear in mind the character of
+the society in which they lived, and of the assemblies they addressed.
+It would be unjust to try them by the rules of our fastidious taste and
+undemonstrative manners. They addressed Irishmen, and Irishmen just when
+most excited, and indulging in all the wild sallies of a dearly-prized
+and lately acquired independence. What to us would appear offensive rant
+and disgusting affectation, would, in the Irish House of Commons, have
+been but the usual manifestation of strong feeling, and was absolutely
+required, if the speaker desired to move as well as convince his
+auditory.
+
+If, however, we seek to know what was the virtue of these men, more
+especially that of Curran, we must probe to the bottom the corruptions
+and baseness of that society, which deserves to be branded as among the
+most base and the most corrupt that history has hitherto described. The
+temptations which England employed, the horrible corruption and
+profligacy she fostered, must be fully known, if we desire to do justice
+to the men who came out undefiled from that filthy ordeal.
+
+
+
+
+THE LOST LETTER.
+
+From Chambers' Papers for the People.
+
+
+I.
+
+One night, between twenty and thirty years ago, a party were assembled
+in the drawing-rooms of a house situated in one of the most spacious
+squares of the great metropolis. The brightly lighted lamps lent an
+additional lustre to yet brighter eyes, and the sprightly tones of
+various instruments accompanied the graceful evolutions of the dancers,
+as they threaded the mazes of the country-dance, cotillon, or quadrille;
+for waltz, polka, and schottish, were then unknown in our ball-rooms.
+Here and there sat a couple in a quiet corner, evidently enjoying the
+pleasures of a flirtation, while one pair, more romantic or more serious
+than the others, had strayed out upon the balcony, to indulge more
+unrestrainedly in the conversation, which, to judge by their low and
+earnest tones, and abstracted air, seemed deeply interesting to both.
+
+It was now long past the hour 'of night's black arch, the keystone,' and
+the early dawn of a midsummer morning was already bestowing its first
+calm sweet smile on the smoke-begrimed streets and world-worn
+thoroughfares of mighty London, as well as on the dewy hay-fields, shady
+lanes, green hedgerows, and quiet country homes of rural England. The
+morning star, large, mild, and lustrous, was declining in the clear sky;
+and on the left of the lovely planet lay a soft purple cloud, tinged on
+the edge with the lucid amber of the dawning day. A light breeze just
+stirred the leaves of the trees in the square garden, and fanned the
+warm cheeks of the two spectators, as, suddenly silent, they stood
+feasting their eyes and hearts on the surpassingly beautiful scene
+before them, and marvelling at the remarkable purity of the atmosphere,
+which, in the foggy metropolis of Britain, seemed almost to realize the
+Venetian transparency of the pictures of Canaletti. Perhaps it may be as
+well to take advantage of the pause to describe the two lovers, for that
+they were lovers you have of course already guessed.
+
+A handsomer pair, I am sure, you would never wish to see! The well-knit,
+well-proportioned figure of the gentleman bespoke at once activity and
+ease, while the spirited, intelligent expression of his
+countenance--dark-complexioned as that of an Andalusian--would have
+given interest to far plainer features. The glance of his dark eye, as
+it rested fondly on his fair companion, or was turned abroad on the
+world, told alternately of a loving heart and a proud spirit. Philip
+Hayforth was one who would have scorned to commit an ignoble action, or
+to stain his soul with the shadow of a falsehood for all the treasures
+and the blessings the earth has to bestow; but he was quick to resent an
+injury, and slow to forget it, and not for all the world would he have
+been the first to sue for a reconciliation. Like many other proud
+people, however, he was open-hearted and generous, and ready to forgive
+when forgiveness was asked; the reason of which might be, that a
+petition for pardon is, to the spirit of a proud man, a sort of homage
+far more gratifying than the most skilful flattery, since it establishes
+at once his own superiority. But to his Emily, Philip was all
+consideration and tenderness, and she, poor girl, with the simple faith
+of youth and love, believed him to be perfection, and admired even his
+pride. A very lovely girl was Emily Sherwood--gifted with a beauty of a
+rare and intellectual cast. As she now stood leaning on the arm of her
+companion, her tall yet pliant and graceful figure enveloped in the airy
+drapery of her white dress, with her eyes turned in mute admiration
+towards the dawning day, it would have required but a slight stretch of
+the imagination to have beheld in her a priestess of the sun, awaiting
+in reverent adoration the appearance of her fire-god. Her complexion and
+features, too, would have helped to strengthen the fantasy, for the one
+was singularly fair, pale, and transparent, and the other characterized
+by delicacy, refinement, and a sort of earnest yet still enthusiasm. Her
+hair, of the softest and palest brown, was arranged in simple yet
+massive plaits around her finely-shaped head, and crowned with a wreath
+of 'starry jessamine.' From the absence of color, one might have
+imagined that her beauty would have been cold and statue-like; but you
+had only to glance at her soft, intellectual mouth, or to look into her
+large, clear, hazel eyes, which seemed to have borrowed their sweet,
+thoughtful, chastened radiance from the star whose beams were now fast
+paling in the brightening sky, to learn that Emily Sherwood could both
+think and love.
+
+"Dear Philip," she said at last, in that low tone which is the natural
+expression of all the finer and deeper emotions, "is it not beautiful? I
+feel at this moment as if I were almost oppressed with happiness--as if
+this were but an intense dream of love and beauty, that must, as
+sentimental people say, 'be too bright to last.' I never felt as I do
+now in all my life before."
+
+"Nor I neither, my Emily, my sweet little poetess; but I suppose it is
+because we love, for love intensifies all the feelings."
+
+"All the best feelings."
+
+"The whole nature, I think. It is, for instance, more difficult to bear
+a slight from those we love than from a comparatively indifferent
+person."
+
+"A slight! but there can be no such thing as a slight between those who
+love perfectly--as we do. Are we not all in all to each other? Is not
+our happiness indivisible?"
+
+"It is my pride and joy to believe so, my sweet Emily. I know in my own
+heart that the needle is not more true to the magnet than my thoughts
+and feelings are to you. It shall be the chief care of my life to save
+you from all uneasiness; but, Emily, I expect the same devotion I give:
+unkindness from you, of all the world, I could not and would not
+endure."
+
+"Oh, Philip, Philip!" she said, half tenderly, half reproachfully, "why
+should you say this? I do not doubt _you_, dear Philip, for I judge your
+love by my own."
+
+He looked into the truthful and affectionate eyes which were raised so
+trustingly to his face, and replied, in a voice tremulous with emotion,
+"Forgive me, Emily. I trust you entirely; but I had started an idea, the
+barest contemplation of which was insupportable--maddening, because of
+the very excess of my affection. In short, Emily, I know--that is, I
+suspect--your father looked for a higher match for you than I am. Report
+says that his prejudices are strong in favor of birth, and that he is
+very proud of his ancient blood; and the idea did cross me for a moment,
+that when you were with him he might influence you to despise me."
+
+"My father _is_ proud; but, dear Philip, is nobody proud but he? And
+notwithstanding his prejudices, as you call them, I can assure you, you
+are not more honorable yourself in every act and thought than he is. He
+has consented to our marriage, and therefore you need not fear him, even
+if you cannot trust me alone."
+
+"Oh, Emily, pardon me! And so you think me proud. Well, perhaps I am;
+and it is better that you should know it, as you will bear with it, I
+know, for my sake, my best, my truest Emily; and I shall repay your
+goodness with the most fervent gratitude. Yes, I feel with you that no
+cloud can ever come between us two."
+
+Emily Sherwood was the eldest daughter of Colonel Sherwood, a cadet of
+one of the proudest families in England; and which, though it had never
+been adorned with a title, looked down with something like contempt on
+the abundant growth of mushroom nobility which had sprung up around it,
+long after it had already obtained the dignity which, in the opinion of
+the Sherwoods, generations alone could bestow. Colonel Sherwood
+inherited all the pride of his race--nay, in him it had been increased
+by poverty; for poverty, except in minds of the highest class--that rare
+class who estimate justly the true value of human life, and the true
+nature of human dignity--is generally allied either with pride or
+meanness. Of course when I speak of poverty I mean comparative
+poverty--I allude to those who are poorer than their station. In a
+retired part of one of the eastern counties, Colonel Sherwood struggled
+upon his half-pay to support a wife and seven children, and as far as
+possible to keep up the appearance he considered due to his birth and
+rank in society. Emily had been for two seasons the belle of the country
+balls; and the admiration her beauty and manners had everywhere excited,
+had created in the hearts of her parents a hope that she was destined to
+form an alliance calculated to shed a lustre on the fading glory of the
+Sherwoods. But, alas! as Burns sings--
+
+    "The best laid schemes of mice and men
+       Gang aft ajee."
+
+During a visit to some relatives in London, Emily became acquainted with
+Philip Hayforth; and his agreeable manners and person, his intelligent
+conversation and devotion to herself, had quickly made an impression
+upon feelings which, though susceptible, were fastidious, and therefore
+still untouched. Then, too, the romantic ardor with which his attachment
+was expressed, the enthusiasm he manifested for whatever was great,
+good, or beautiful, aroused in Emily all the latent poetry of her
+nature. Naturally imaginative, and full even of passionate tenderness,
+but diffident and sensitive, she had hitherto, from an instinctive
+consciousness that they would be misunderstood or disapproved,
+studiously concealed her deeper feelings. Hence had been generated in
+her character a degree of thoughtfulness and reserve unusual in one of
+her years. Now, however, that she beheld the ideas and aspirations she
+had so long deemed singular, perhaps reprehensible, shadowed forth more
+powerfully and definitely by a mind more mature and a spirit more
+daring than her own, her heart responded to its more vigorous
+counterpart; and at the magic touch of sympathy, the long pent-up waters
+flowed freely. She loved, was beloved, and asked no more of destiny. It
+was not, it may be supposed, without some reluctance that Colonel
+Sherwood consented to the demolition of the aerial castles of which his
+beautiful Emily had so long been the subject and the tenant, and made up
+his mind to see her the wife of a man who, though of respectable
+parentage, could boast neither title nor pedigree, and was only the
+junior partner in a mercantile firm. But then young Hayforth bore the
+most honorable character; his prospects were said to be good, and his
+manners unexceptionable; and, above all, Emily was evidently much
+attached to him; and remembering the days of his own early love, the
+father's heart of the aristocratic old colonel was fairly melted, and he
+consented to receive the young merchant as his son-in-law. The marriage,
+however, was not to take place till the spring of the following year.
+Meanwhile the lovers agreed to solace the period of their separation by
+long and frequent letters. Philip's last words to Emily, as he handed
+her into the postchaise in which she was to commence her homeward
+journey, were, "Now write to me very often, my own dearest Emily, for I
+shall never be happy but when hearing from you or writing to you; and if
+you are long answering my letters, I shall be miserable, and perhaps
+jealous." She could only answer by a mute sign, and the carriage drove
+away. Poor, agitated Emily, half happy, half sad, leaned back in it, and
+indulged in that feminine luxury--a hearty fit of tears. As for Philip,
+he took a few turns in the park, walking as if for a wager, and feeling
+sensible of a sort of coldness and dreariness about every object which
+he had never remarked before. Then he suddenly recollected that he must
+go to the counting-house, as he was "very busy." He did not, however,
+make much progress with his business that day, as somehow or other he
+fell into a reverie over every thing he attempted.
+
+Nothing could exceed the regularity of the lovers' correspondence for
+the first two or three months, while their letters were written on the
+largest orthodox sheets to be had from the stationer's--post-office
+regulations in those days not admitting of the volumes of little notes
+now so much in vogue. At last Emily bethought herself of working a purse
+for Philip, in acknowledgment of a locket he had lately sent her from
+London. Generally speaking, Emily was not very fond of work; but somehow
+or other no occupation, not even the perusal of a favorite poem or
+novel, had ever afforded her half the pleasure that she derived from the
+manufacture of this purse. Each stitch she netted, each bead she strung,
+was a new source of delight--for she was working for Philip. Love is the
+true magic of life, effecting more strange metamorphoses than ever did
+the spells of Archimago, or the arts of Armida--the moral alchemy which
+can transmute the basest things into the most precious. It is true of
+all circumstances, as well as of personal qualities, that
+
+    "Things base and vile, holding no quantity,
+    Love can transpose to form and dignity."
+
+The purse was quickly finished, and dispatched to Philip, together with
+a letter. Emily was in high spirits at the prospect of the answer. She
+danced about the house, singing snatches of songs and ballads, and
+displaying an unusual amount of gayety; for, though generally cheerful,
+she was of too thoughtful a disposition to be often merry. Philip, she
+was sure, would write by return of post. How she wished the time were
+come! She knew pretty well, to be sure, what he would say; but what did
+that signify? She longed to feast her eyes on the words his hand had
+traced, and to fancy the tones and the looks which would have
+accompanied them had they been spoken instead of written. The expected
+day came at last, but the post-bag contained no letter for Emily. At
+first she could hardly believe it; her countenance fell, and for a few
+minutes she seemed much disappointed; but never mind, the letter would
+come to-morrow, and she soon began to trip about and to sing almost as
+gayly as before. But another day passed, and another and another, and
+still no letter! Poor Emily's blithe voice was mute now, and her light
+step rarely heard. Sometimes she tried to read, or to play on the piano,
+but without much success; while her anxious looks, and the tear which
+occasionally might be seen to glisten in her eye, betrayed the trouble
+within. A whole week elapsed, a longer period than had ever passed
+before without a letter from Philip Hayforth--a fortnight--a month--and
+the poor girl's appetite failed, her nights were sleepless, and her
+drooping figure and pining looks told of that anxious suffering, that
+weary life-gnawing suspense, which is ten times more hard to bear than
+any evil, however great, of which we can ascertain the nature and
+discern the limits. Could Philip be ill? Could he--No, he could not be
+inconstant. Ought she to write to him again? But to this question her
+parents answered "No. It would be unfeminine, unladylike, undignified.
+If Mr. Hayforth were ill, he would doubtless write as soon as he was
+able; and if he were well, his conduct was inexcusable, and on Emily's
+part rendered any advance impossible." Poor Emily shrank from
+transgressing what her parents represented as the limits due to delicacy
+and decorum, and she would have died rather than have been guilty of a
+real impropriety, or have appeared unfeminine in the eyes of Philip
+Hayforth; and yet it did often suggest itself to her mind--rather,
+however, in the shape of an undefined feeling than of a conscious
+thought--that the shortest, best, most straight-forward way of
+proceeding, was to write at once to Mr. Hayforth, and ask an
+explanation. She could not herself see clearly how this could be wrong;
+but she supposed it must be so, and she acknowledged her own ignorance
+and inexperience. Emily was scarcely twenty; just at the age when an
+inquiring and thoughtful mind can no longer rely with the unquestioning
+faith of childhood on assertions sanctioned merely by authority, and
+when a diffident one is too timid to venture to trust to its own
+suggestions. It is only after much experience, or one of those bitter
+mistakes, which are the great lessons of life, that such a character
+learns that self-reliance, exercised with deliberation and humility, is
+the only safeguard for individual rectitude. Emily, therefore, did not
+write, but lived on in the silent, wasting agony of constant expectation
+and perpetual disappointment. Her mother, in the hope of affording her
+some relief, inquired in a letter she was writing to her relative in
+London, if the latter had lately seen Mr. Hayforth. The answer was like
+a death-blow to poor Emily. Her mother's correspondent had "met Mr.
+Hayforth walking with a lady. He had passed her with a very stiff bow,
+and seemed inclined to avoid her. He had not called for a long time. She
+could not at all understand it." Colonel Sherwood could now no longer
+contain his indignation. He forbade the mention of Philip Hayforth's
+name, declaring that "his Emily was far too good and beautiful for the
+wife of a low-born tradesman, and that he deserved the indignity now
+thrown upon his family for ever having thought of degrading it by the
+permission of such a union. And his darling child would, he knew, bear
+up with the spirit of the Sherwoods." Poor Emily had, it is to be
+feared, little of the spirit of the Sherwoods, but she tried to bear up
+from perhaps as good a motive. But it was a difficult task, for she was
+well-nigh broken-hearted. She now never mentioned Philip Hayforth, and
+to all appearance her connection with him was as if it had never been;
+but, waking or sleeping, he was ever present to her thoughts. Oh! was it
+indeed possible that she should never, _never_ see him again? No, it
+could not be; he would seek her, claim her yet, her heart said; but
+reason whispered that it was madness to think so, and bade her at once
+make up her mind to her inevitable fate. But this she could not do--not
+yet at all events. Month after month of the long dreary winter dragged
+slowly on; her kind parents tried to dissipate her melancholy by taking
+her to every amusement within reach, and she went, partly from
+indifference as to what became of her, partly out of gratitude for their
+kindness. At last the days began to lengthen, and the weather to
+brighten; but spring flowers and sunny skies brought no corresponding
+bloom to the faded hopes and the joyless life of Emily Sherwood. The
+only hope she felt was "the hope which keeps alive despair."
+
+One May morning, as she was listlessly looking over in a newspaper the
+list of marriages, her eye fell upon a well-known name--the name of one
+who at that very time ought to have knelt at the altar with her. She
+uttered neither scream nor cry, but clasping her hands with one upward
+look of mute despair, fell down in a dead faint. For many days she was
+very ill, and sometimes quite delirious; but her mother tended her with
+the most assiduous affection, while her comfort and recreation seemed
+her father's sole care. They were repaid at last by her recovery, and
+from that time forth she was less miserable. In such a case as Emily's,
+there is not only the shock to the affections, but the terrible wrench
+of all the faculties to be overcome, which ensues on the divorce of the
+thoughts from those objects and that future to which they have so long
+been wedded. There is not only the breaking heart to be healed, but the
+whole mental current to be forcibly turned into a different channel from
+that which alone habit has made easy or pleasant. "The worst," as it is
+called, is, however, easier to be endured than suspense; and if Emily's
+spirits did not regain their former elasticity, she ere long became
+quite resigned, and comparatively cheerful.
+
+More than a year had elapsed since that bright spring morning on which
+she had beheld the irrefragable proof of her lover's perfidy, when she
+received an offer of marriage from a gentleman, of good family and large
+property. He had been struck by her beauty at a party where he had seen
+her; and after a few meetings, made formal proposals to her father
+almost ere she was aware that he admired her. Much averse to form a new
+engagement, she would at once have declined receiving his addresses, had
+her parents not earnestly pressed the match as one in every respect
+highly eligible. Overcome at last by their importunities, and having, as
+she thought, no object in existence save to give pleasure to them, she
+yielded so far to their wishes as to consent to receive Mr. Beauchamp as
+her future husband, on condition that he should be made acquainted with
+the history of her previous engagement, and the present state of her
+feelings. She secretly hoped that when he learned that she had no heart
+to give with her hand, he would withdraw his suit. But she was mistaken.
+Mr. Beauchamp, it is true, knew that there was such a word as _heart_,
+had a notion that it was a term much in vogue with novel-writers, and
+was sometimes mentioned by parsons in their sermons; but that _the
+heart_ could have any thing to do with the serious affairs of life never
+once entered into his head to suppose. He therefore testified as much
+satisfaction at Emily's answer, as if she had avowed for him the deepest
+affection. They were shortly afterwards married, and the pensive bride
+accompanied her husband to her new home--Woodthorpe Hall; an ancient,
+castellated edifice, situated in an extensive and finely-wooded park on
+an estate in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
+
+But I have too long neglected Philip Hayforth--too long permitted a
+cloud to rest upon his honor and constancy. He was not, in truth, the
+heartless, light-minded wretch that I fear you may think him. Pride,
+not falsehood or levity, was the blemish in his otherwise fine
+character; but it was a very plague-spot, tainting his whole moral
+nature, and frequently neutralizing the effect of his best qualities. He
+had been quite as much charmed with Emily's present and Emily's letter,
+as she had ever ventured to hope, and had lost not a moment in writing
+to her in return a long epistle full of the fervent love and gratitude
+with which his heart was overflowing. He had also mentioned several
+affairs of mutual interest and of a pressing nature, but about which he
+was unwilling to take any steps without the concurrence of "his own
+dearest and kindest Emily." He therefore entreated her to write
+immediately; "to write by return of post, if she loved him." But this
+letter never reached its destination: it was lost--a rare occurrence
+certainly, but, as most of us are aware from our own experience, not
+unknown. And now began with Philip Hayforth the same agony which Emily
+was enduring--nay, a greater agony; for there was not only the same
+disappointed affection, the same heart-sickness, the same weary
+expectation, but there was the stronger suffering of a more passionate
+and less disciplined temper; and, above all, there was the incessant
+struggle between pride and love--the same fearful strife which, we are
+told, once made war in Heaven.
+
+Sometimes he thought that Emily might be ill; but then that did not seem
+likely, as her health was generally good; and she was, when she had last
+written, perfectly well, and apparently in excellent spirits. Should he
+write to her again? No, she owed him a letter, and if she loved him,
+would doubtless answer it as soon as circumstances would permit; and he
+'would let that haughty old aristocrat, her father, see that Philip
+Hayforth, the merchant, had more of the spirit of a man in him than to
+cringe to the proudest blood in England. And as for Emily, she was his
+betrothed bride--the same as his wife; and if he was not more to her
+than any father on earth, she was unworthy of the love he had given her.
+Let her only be true to him, and he was ready to devote his life to
+her--to die for her.' As the time wore slowly away, he became more and
+more exasperated, fevered, wretched. Sometimes it seemed to him that he
+could no longer endure such torment; that life itself was a burthen too
+intolerable to be borne. But here pride came to the aid of a better
+principle. His cheek tinged at the thought of being spoken of as the
+slighted lover, and his blood boiled at the bare idea of Colonel
+Sherwood's contemptuous pity for the vain plebeian who had dared to
+raise his thoughts to an alliance with his beautiful, high-born
+daughter. He 'would show the world that he was no love-sick, despairing
+swain; and Miss Sherwood's vanity should never be gratified by the
+display of the wounds her falsehood had inflicted. He would very soon,
+he knew, forget the fair coquette who had trampled thus upon his most
+sacred feelings.' So he tried to persuade himself, but his heart misgave
+him. No: he could not forget her--it was in vain to attempt it; but the
+more his feelings acknowledged her power, even the more the pride she
+had wounded in its tenderest point rose up in wrath against her; and he
+chafed at his own powerlessness to testify towards her his scorn and
+contempt. At such times as these he seemed even to himself on the verge
+of madness. But he had saner moments--moments when his better nature
+triumphed, and pride resigned for a brief space her stormy empire to the
+benigner sway of the contending passion.
+
+In the midst of those terrific tornados, which in the West Indies and
+elsewhere carry in their path, over immense districts, ruin and
+desolation, there is a pause, often of considerable duration, caused,
+the scientific inform us, by the calm in the centre of the atmospheric
+vortex of which they are composed. Such a calm would occasionally rest
+upon the mind of Philip Hayforth, over the length and breadth of which
+the whirlwind of passion had lately been tearing. One night, after one
+of those hidden transports, which the proud man would have died rather
+than any mortal eye should have scanned, he threw himself upon his bed
+(for he rarely _went to bed_ now, in the accepted sense of the phrase)
+in a state approaching exhaustion, mental and bodily. By degrees a sort
+of dream-like peace fell upon his spirit; the present vanished away, and
+the past became, as it were, once more a living reality. He thought of
+Emily Sherwood as he had first seen her--a vision of loveliness and
+grace. He thought of her as he had beheld her almost the last time on
+that clear summer morning, and like refreshing dew on his scorched and
+desolated heart fell the remembrance of her gentle words and loving
+looks. Could they have deceived? Ah no! and his whole nature seemed
+suddenly softened. He seemed to see her before him now, with her angel
+face and her floating white robes; he seemed even yet to be looking into
+those soft, bright eyes, and to read there again, as he had read before,
+love unspeakable, truth unchangeable. His heart was filled with a
+yearning tenderness, an intense and longing fondness, and he extended
+his arms, as if to embrace that white-robed image of truth and
+gentleness: but she was not there; it was but her spirit which had come
+to still his angry passions with the calm of trust and love. And in the
+fond superstition that so it was, he sprang from his couch, seized a
+pen, and wrote to her a passionate, incoherent epistle, telling her that
+she had tried him almost beyond his strength, but that he loved and
+believed in her still, and if she answered immediately, that he was
+ready to forgive her for all the pain she had caused him. This letter
+finished, he threw himself upon his bed once again, and after a space,
+slept more soundly than he had done for many a long night before. When
+he rose in the morning he read over his letter, and felt, as he read,
+some faint misgivings; but these were put to flight by the recollection
+of Emily, as she had appeared to him in the vision of the previous
+night. As the post, however, did not go out till evening, he would keep
+the letter till then. Alas for the delay! It changed for ever his own
+fate and that of Emily Sherwood. It chanced that very afternoon that,
+taking up a provincial newspaper in a coffee-room into which he had
+strolled, on his way to the post-office, the following paragraph met his
+eye:--'We understand that there is a matrimonial alliance in
+contemplation between J---- R----, Esq., eldest son of Sir J---- R----,
+Bart., and the lovely and accomplished Miss Sherwood, daughter of
+Colonel Sherwood, late of the --th dragoons, and granddaughter of the
+late R. Sherwood, Esq., of ---- Park.' On reading this most unfounded
+rumor, Philip Hayforth waited not another moment, but rushed home as if
+driven by the furies; and tearing his letter in a thousand pieces, threw
+it and the purse, Emily's gift, into the fire, and vowed to bestow not
+another thought on the heartless woman who had perjured her own faith
+and sold his true and fervent love for riches and title. Oh how he
+scorned her! how he felt in his own true heart that all the wealth and
+grandeur of the earth would have been powerless to tempt one thought of
+his from her!
+
+To conceal all suspicion of his sufferings from the world, and, if
+possible, banish their remembrance from his own mind, he now went even
+more than formerly into society; and when there, simulated a gayety of
+manner that had hitherto distinguished his most vivacious moments. He
+had always been a general favorite, and now his company was more sought
+after than ever. Among the young persons of the opposite sex with whom
+his engagements most frequently brought him in contact, was a young girl
+of the name of Fanny Hartley, pretty, gentle, excessively amiable, but
+without much mind, and with no literary taste whatever. She had nothing
+to say, but she listened to him, and he felt in her society a sort of
+repose, which was at present peculiarly grateful to his angry, troubled
+spirit. Her very silence soothed him, while the absorbing nature of his
+own feelings prevented him at first from thinking of hers. Philip
+Hayforth had certainly not more than an average share of human vanity,
+but he did at last suspect, partly from an accidental circumstance which
+had first drawn his attention to the subject, that he had created in the
+heart of the innocent Fanny a deeper interest than he had ever intended.
+He was touched, grateful, but at first grieved, for _he_ "could never
+love again." But the charm of being loved soon began to work: his heart
+was less desolate, his feelings were less bitter, when he thought of
+Fanny Hartley, and began to ask himself if he were wise to reject the
+consolation which Providence seemed to offer him in the affection of
+this amiable and artless young creature. And when he thought of the pain
+she might perchance be suffering on his account, all hesitation upon the
+subject was removed at once. If she loved him, as he believed, his
+conduct, it seemed to his really kind heart, had already been barbarous.
+He ought not to delay another day. And accordingly that very evening he
+offered his hand to Fanny Hartley, and was accepted with trembling joy.
+
+Their marriage proved a happy one. Fanny was as amiable as she had
+appeared, and in the conduct of the commoner affairs of life,
+good-feeling with her supplied in a great measure any deficiency of
+strong sense. Philip did perhaps occasionally heave a gentle sigh, and
+think for a moment of Emily Sherwood, when he found how incapable his
+wife was of responding to a lofty or poetic thought, or of appreciating
+the points of an argument, unless it were upon some such subject as the
+merits of a new dress or the seasoning of a pudding. But he quickly
+checked the rising discontent, for Fanny was so pure in heart, and so
+unselfish in disposition, that it was impossible not to respect as well
+as to love her. In short, Philip Hayforth was a fortunate man, and what
+is more surprising, knew himself to be so. And when, after twenty years
+of married life, he saw his faithful, gentle Fanny laid in her grave, he
+felt bereaved indeed. It seemed to him then, as perhaps, at such a time,
+it always does to a tender heart, that he had never done her justice,
+never loved her as her surpassing goodness deserved. And yet a kinder
+husband never lived than he had been; and Fanny had died blessing him,
+and thanking him, as she said, "for twenty years of happiness." "How
+infinitely superior," he now daily and hourly thought, "was her sweet
+temper and loving disposition to all the intellect and all the poetry
+that ever were enshrined in the most beautiful form." And yet Philip
+Hayforth certainly was not sorry that his eldest daughter--his pretty,
+lively Fanny--should have turned out not only amiable and affectionate,
+but clever and witty. He was, in truth, very proud of Fanny. He loved
+all his children most dearly; but Fanny was the apple of his eye--the
+very delight of his existence. He had now almost forgotten Emily
+Sherwood; but when he did think of her, it was with indifference rather
+than forgiveness. He had not heard of her since his marriage, having,
+some time previous to that event, completely broken off the slight
+acquaintance he had formed with her relations; while a short absence
+abroad, at the time of her union with Mr. Beauchamp, had prevented him
+from seeing its announcement in the papers.
+
+Meanwhile poor Emily's married life had not been so happy as that of her
+former lover. Mr. Beauchamp was of a pompous, tyrannical disposition,
+and had a small, mean mind. He was constantly worrying about trifles,
+perpetually taking offence with nothing, and would spend whole days in
+discussing some trivial point of etiquette, in the breach of which, he
+conceived himself aggrieved. A very miserable woman was his wife amid
+all the cold magnificence of her stately home. Often, very often, in
+her hours of loneliness and depression, her thoughts would revert to the
+brief, bright days of her early love, and her spirit would be rapt away
+by the recollection of that scene on the balcony, when Philip Hayforth
+and she had stood with locked hands and full hearts gazing at the
+sinking star and the sweetly breaking day, and loving, feeling,
+thinking, as if they had but one mind between them, till the present
+seemed all a fevered dream, and the past alone reality. She could not
+have been deceived then: then, at least, he had loved her. Oh, had she
+not wronged him? had there not been a mistake--some incident
+unexplained? He had warned her that his temper was proud and jealous,
+and she felt now that she ought to have written and asked an
+explanation. She had thrown away her happiness, and deserved her fate.
+Then she recollected that such thoughts in her, the wife of Mr.
+Beauchamp, were worse than foolish--they were sinful; and the
+upbraidings of her conscience added to her misery.
+
+But Emily had a strong mind, and a lofty sense of right; and in those
+solitary struggles was first developed the depth and strength of her
+character. Partly to divert her thoughts from subjects dangerous to her
+peace, and partly from the natural bent of her inclinations, she sought
+assiduously to cultivate the powers of her mind, while her affections
+found ample scope for their exercise in the love of her infant son, and
+in considerate care for her many dependants, by all of whom she was
+loved and reverenced in no common degree. She learned thus the grand
+lessons--'to suffer and be strong,' and to make the best of destiny; and
+she felt that if she were a sadder woman, she was also a wiser one, and
+at any price wisdom, she knew, is a purchase not to be despised.
+
+Mrs. Beauchamp had been married little more than five years when her
+husband died. His will showed, that however unhappy he had made her
+during his life, he had not been insensible to her merit, for he left
+her the sole guardian of their only son, and, while she should remain
+unmarried, the mistress of Woodthorpe Hall. In the childish affection
+and opening mind of her little boy poor Emily at last found
+happiness--unspeakable happiness, although it was of course qualified by
+the anxiety inseparable from parental love. She doted upon him; but her
+love was of too wise and unselfish a nature to permit her to spoil him,
+while her maternal affection furnished her with another motive for the
+cultivation of her own mind and the improvement of her own character.
+She was fired with the noble ambition of being the mother of her child's
+mind, as well as of that mind's mere perishable shrine.
+
+
+II.
+
+Twenty-five years have passed away, with all their changes--their many
+changes; and now,
+
+    'Gone are the heads of silvery hair,
+    And the young that were have a brow of care:'
+
+And the babe of twenty-five years ago is now a man, ready to rush into
+the thickest and the hottest of the great battle of life.
+
+It was Christmas time; the trees were bare on Woodthorpe Chase; the
+lawns were whitened by a recent shower of snow, and crisped by a sharp
+frost; the stars were coming out in the cold cloudless sky; and two
+enormous fires, high piled with Christmas logs, blazed, crackled, and
+roared in the huge oaken chimneys of the great oak hall. Mrs. Beauchamp
+and her son sat together in the drawing-room, in momentary expectation
+of the arrival of their Christmas guests--a party of cousins, who lived
+at about ten miles' distance from Woodthorpe Hall. Edmund Beauchamp was
+now a very promising young man, having hitherto fulfilled the hopes and
+answered the cares of his fond and anxious mother. He had already reaped
+laurels at school and college, and his enlightened and liberal views,
+and generous, enthusiastic mind, gave earnest of a career alike
+honourable and useful. In person and features, though both were
+agreeable, he did not much resemble his mother; but he had the same
+large, soft, thoughtful eyes, the same outward tranquillity of demeanour
+hiding the same earnest spirit. At present he was silent, and seemed
+meditative. Mrs. Beauchamp gazed at him long and fondly, and as she
+gazed, her mother's heart swelled with love and pride, and her eyes
+glistened with heartfelt joy. At last she remarked, "I hope the
+Sharpes's new governess is as nice a person as the old one."
+
+"Oh, much nicer!" cried Edmund suddenly, and as if awakening from a
+reverie.
+
+"Indeed! I used to think Miss Smith a very nice person."
+
+"Oh, so she was--very good-natured and obliging; but Miss Dalton is
+altogether a different sort of person."
+
+"I wonder you never told me you found her so agreeable."
+
+"I--Oh, I did not----That is, you never asked me."
+
+"Is she young?"
+
+"Yes--not much above twenty I should think."
+
+"Is she pretty?"
+
+"I--I don't exactly know," he said, hesitating and colouring; "I
+suppose--most persons----I should think she is." "How foolish I am!"
+thought Edmund. "What will my mother think of all this?" He then
+continued in a more composed manner--"She is a very excellent girl at
+least. She is the daughter of a London merchant--a remarkably honourable
+man--who has been ruined by these bad times; and though brought up in
+luxury, and with the expectation of large fortune, she has conformed to
+her circumstances in the most cheerful manner, and supports, it seems,
+with the fruits of her talents and industry, two little sisters at
+school. The Sharpes are all so fond of her, and she is the greatest
+favorite imaginable with the children." Edmund spoke with unwonted
+warmth. His mother looked at him half-sympathisingly, half-anxiously.
+She seemed about to speak, when the sound of carriage wheels, and the
+loud knock of a footman at the hall-door, announced the arrival of the
+Sharpes, and Mrs. Beauchamp and her son hastened into the hall to
+welcome their guests. Mrs. Beauchamp's eye sought for the stranger,
+partly because she was a stranger, and partly from the interest in her
+her son's conversation had created. But Miss Dalton was the last to
+enter.
+
+Edmund had not erred in saying she was a pretty girl. Even beneath the
+cumbrous load of cloaks and furs in which she was now enveloped, you
+could detect the exquisite proportions of her _petite_ figure, and the
+sprightly grace of her carriage; while a pretty winter bonnet set off to
+advantage a face remarkable for the intelligence and vivacity of its
+expression. Her features, though not regular, were small, while the
+brilliancy of her colour, though her complexion was that of a brunette,
+lent a yet brighter glow to her sparkling dark eyes, and contrasted well
+with the glossy black ringlets which shaded her animated countenance. At
+this moment, however, her little head was carried somewhat haughtily,
+and there was a sort of something not unlike bashfulness or awkwardness
+in her manner which seemed hardly natural to it. The truth was, Miss
+Dalton had come very unwillingly to share in the festivities of
+Woodthorpe Hall. She was not acquainted with Mrs. Beauchamp, and report
+said she was a very dignified lady, which Fanny Dalton interpreted to
+mean a very proud one; and from her change of circumstances, rendered
+unduly sensitive, she dreaded in her hostess the haughty neglect or
+still haughtier condescension by which vulgar and shallow minds mark out
+their sense of another's social inferiority. And therefore it was that
+she held her head so high, and exhibited the constraint of manner to
+which I have alluded. But all her pride and shyness quickly melted
+before the benign presence and true heart-politeness of Mrs. Beauchamp.
+Dignified the latter certainly was; but her dignity was tempered with
+the utmost benevolence of expression, and the most winning sweetness of
+manner; and when she took the hand of her little stranger-guest between
+both of hers, and holding it kindly, said, "You are the only stranger
+here, Miss Dalton; but for my sake you must try to feel at home," an
+affection for Mrs. Beauchamp entered into the heart of the young girl,
+which has continued ever since steadily to increase. That she should
+conceive such an affection was not unnatural, for there was something in
+the appearance and manners of Mrs. Beauchamp, combined with her position
+in life, calculated to strike the imagination and touch the feelings of
+a warm-hearted and romantic girl such as Fanny Dalton, more especially
+one circumstanced as she was. Even her previous prejudice, with the
+reaction natural to a generous mind, was likely to heighten her
+subsequent admiration. But it is not so easy to account for the sudden
+interest the pretty governess created at first sight in the heart of her
+hostess. Many girls as pretty and as intelligent looking as Miss Dalton
+she had seen before, without their having inspired a spark of the
+tenderness she felt towards this unknown stranger. She could not
+comprehend it herself. She was not prone "to take fancies," as the
+phrase is; and yet, whatever might be the case, certain it was that
+there was a nameless something about this girl, which seemed to touch
+one of the deepest chords of her nature, and to cause her heart to yearn
+towards her with something like a mother's love. She felt that if Miss
+Dalton were all that she had heard, and that if she should really prove
+her son's choice, he should not be gainsaid by her.
+
+The Christmas party at Woodthorpe Hall was generally a merry one; and
+this year it was even merrier than usual. Fanny Dalton was the life of
+the party; her disposition was naturally a lively one, and this hour of
+sunshine in her clouded day called forth all its vivacity. But Fanny was
+not only clever, lively, and amiable; her conduct and manners
+occasionally displayed traits of spirit--nay, of pride; the latter,
+however, of a generous rather than an egotistical description. Nothing
+was so certain to call it forth as any tale of meanness or oppression.
+One morning Miss Sharpe had been relating an anecdote of a gentleman in
+the neighborhood who had jilted (odious word!) an amiable and highly
+estimable young lady, to whom he had long been engaged, in order to
+marry a wealthy and titled widow. There were many aggravating
+circumstances attending the whole affair, which had contributed to
+excite still more against the offender the indignation of all
+right-thinking persons. The unfortunate young lady was reported to be
+dying of a broken heart.
+
+Fanny, who had been all along listening to the narration with an eager
+and interested countenance, now exclaimed--"Dying of a broken heart!
+Poor thing! But if I were she, _I_ would not break my heart--I would
+scorn him as something far beneath me, poor and unimportant as I am. No,
+I might break my heart for the loss of a true lover, but never for the
+loss of a false one!" As Fanny's eyes shone, and her lip curled with a
+lofty contempt, as her naturally clear, merry tones grew deeper and
+stronger with the indignation she expressed, a mist seemed suddenly to
+be cleared away from the eyes of Mrs. Beauchamp, and in that slight
+young girl she beheld the breathing image of one whom she had once
+intimately known and dearly loved--in those indignant accents she seemed
+to recognize the tones of a voice long since heard, but the echoes of
+which yet lingered in her heart. Why she had so loved Fanny Dalton was
+no mystery now--she saw in her but the gentler type of him whom she had
+once believed the master of her destiny--even of Philip Hayforth, long
+unheard of, but never forgotten. But what connection could there be
+between Philip Hayforth and Fanny Dalton? and whence this strange
+resemblance, which lay not so much in form or in feature, as in that
+nameless, intangible similarity of expression, gesture, manner, and
+voice, so frequently exhibited by members of the same family.
+
+As soon as Mrs. Beauchamp could quit the table, she withdrew to her own
+room, where she remained for some time in deep meditation, the result of
+which was a determination to fathom the mystery, if mystery there was.
+It was just possible, too, that the attempt might assist her to find a
+key to the riddle of her own destiny.
+
+Accordingly, on the afternoon of the same day, she took an opportunity
+of being alone with Miss Dalton and her son, to say to the former--"I
+think you told me, my dear, that your father was alive?"
+
+"Oh yes, thank God, _he_ is alive! How I wish you knew him, Mrs.
+Beauchamp! I think you would like him, and I am _sure_ he would like and
+admire you."
+
+"Does your father at all resemble you in appearance?"
+
+"I am not sure. I have been told that I was like him, and I always
+consider it a great compliment; for papa is still a very handsome man,
+and was of course even handsomer when he was young, and before his hair
+became grey. I have a miniature likeness of him, taken before his
+marriage, which I have with me, and will show you, if you will so far
+indulge my vanity."
+
+Mrs. Beauchamp having replied that she should like exceedingly to see
+it, Fanny tripped away, and returned in a few minutes, carrying in her
+hand a handsome, but old-fashioned, morocco case. Mrs. Beauchamp had
+never seen it before, but she well remembered having given directions
+for the making of a case of that very size, shape, and color, for a
+miniature which was to have been painted for her. Her heart began to
+beat. She seemed upon the brink of a discovery. Fanny now opened the
+case, and placing it before Mrs. Beauchamp, exclaimed, "Now, isn't he a
+handsome man?" But Mrs. Beauchamp could not answer. One glance had been
+sufficient. A cold mist gathered before her eyes, and she was obliged to
+lean for support, upon the back of a chair.
+
+"Dear Mrs. Beauchamp, are you ill?"
+
+"My dear mother!" cried Edmund.
+
+"It is nothing," she answered, quickly recovering herself; "only a
+little faintness." And then with the self-command which long habit had
+made easy, she sat down and continued with her usual calm sweetness--"I
+could almost fancy I had seen your father; but I do not remember ever
+knowing any one of the name of Dalton but yourself."
+
+"Oh, but perhaps you might have seen him before he changed his name; and
+yet it seems hardly likely. His name used to be Hayforth; but by the
+will of his former partner, who, dying without near relations, left papa
+all his money, he took the name of Dalton. The money is all gone now, to
+be sure," she continued with the faintest possible sigh; "but we all
+loved the dear old man, and so we still keep his name."
+
+Fanny had seated herself beside Mrs. Beauchamp, and as she finished
+speaking, the latter, obeying the impulse of her heart, drew her towards
+her and kissed her. Fanny, whose feelings were not only easily touched,
+and very strong, but even unusually demonstrative, threw her arms round
+Mrs. Beauchamp, and cried, with tears in her eyes, "How kind you are to
+me, Mrs. Beauchamp! You could hardly be kinder, if you were my mother."
+
+"Dear Fanny," she answered in a low and affectionate tone, "I wish,
+indeed, I were your mother!"
+
+As she spoke, Edmund, who had been standing in a window apart, made a
+sudden movement towards the two ladies, but as suddenly checked himself.
+At this moment his eyes encountered those of his mother, and colouring
+violently, he abruptly quitted the room. This little scene passed quite
+unnoticed by Fanny, who at the instant was thinking only of Mrs.
+Beauchamp, and of her own gentle mother, now beneath the sod.
+
+The daughter of Philip Hayforth became a frequent guest at Woodthorpe
+Hall, spending most of her Sundays with Mrs. Beauchamp, who would
+frequently drive over to the Sharpes's for her of a Saturday afternoon,
+and send her back on the Monday morning. She was invited to spend the
+Easter holidays at the Hall--a most welcome invitation, as she was not
+to return home till the midsummer vacation. A most agreeable time were
+these Easter holidays! Never had Fanny seemed more bright and joyous.
+Her presence operated as perpetual sunshine on the more pensive natures
+of the mother and son. It was therefore a great surprise to Mrs.
+Beauchamp when, one day at luncheon, about a week before the time fixed
+for the termination of her visit, Fanny announced her intention of
+leaving Woodthorpe that afternoon, if her friend could spare her the
+carriage.
+
+"I can certainly spare it, Fanny; but I should like to know the reason
+of this sudden determination?"
+
+"You must excuse my telling you, Mrs. Beauchamp; but I hope you will
+believe me when I say that it is from a sense of duty." As she spoke,
+she raised her head with a proud look, her eyes flashed, and she spoke
+in the haughty tone which always brought before Mrs. Beauchamp the image
+of her early lover; for it was in her proud moments that Fanny most
+resembled her father.
+
+"Far be it from me, Fanny," she replied, with her wonted sweetness and
+benignity, "to ask any one to tamper with duty; but, my child, our
+faults, our _pride_ frequently mislead us. You shall go to-night, if you
+please; but I wish, for my sake, you could stay at least till to-morrow
+morning. I have not offended you, Fanny?"
+
+"Oh, dearest Mrs. Beauchamp!" and the poor girl burst into tears. "I
+wish--I _wish_ I could only show you how I love you--how grateful I am
+for all your goodness; but you will never, never know."
+
+Mrs. Beauchamp looked anxiously at her, and began, "Fanny"----But
+suddenly stopped, as if she knew not how to proceed. Immediately
+afterwards the young girl left the room, silently and passionately
+kissing Mrs. Beauchamp's hand as she passed her on her way to the door.
+
+A few hours later in the day, as Mrs. Beauchamp sat reading in her
+boudoir, according to her custom at that particular hour, Edmund
+abruptly entered the little room in a state of agitation quite foreign
+to his ordinary disposition and habits.
+
+"Mother!" he cried.
+
+"My love! what is the matter?"
+
+"Mother! I love Fanny Dalton--I love her with all my soul. I think her
+not only the loveliest and most charming of women, but the best and
+truest! I feel that she might make my life not only happier, but better.
+Oh, mother! is not love as real a thing as either wealth or station? Is
+it not as sufficient for all noble works? Is it not in some shape the
+only motive for all real improvement? It seems to me that such is the
+lesson I have been learning from you all my life long."
+
+"And in that you have learned it I am deeply grateful, and far more than
+repaid for all my care and anxiety on your account; and now thank you
+for your confidence, my dear Edmund, though I think you might have
+bestowed it after a calmer fashion. It would have been better, I think,
+to have said all those violent things to Fanny than to me."
+
+"I _have_ said more than all these to Fanny, and--she has rejected me!"
+
+"Rejected you! my dearest Edmund! I am grieved indeed; but I do not see
+how I can help you."
+
+"And yet I should not be quite hopeless if you would plead my cause.
+Miss Dalton says that you have loaded her with kindness which she can
+never repay; that she values your affection beyond all expression; and
+that she is determined not to prove herself unworthy of it by being the
+means of disappointing the expectations you may have formed for your
+son, for whom, she says, she is no match either in wealth or station.
+She would not listen to me when I attempted to speak to her but this
+instant in the Laurel Walk, but actually _ran_ away, positively
+commanding me not to follow; and yet, I do think, if she had decidedly
+disliked me, she would have given me to understand so at once, without
+mentioning you. Mother! what do _you_--what _do_ you think?"
+
+"You shall hear presently, Edmund; but in the first place let us find
+Miss Dalton."
+
+They went out together, and had not sought her long, when they
+discovered her pacing perturbedly up and down a broad walk of
+closely-shaven grass, inclosed on both sides by a tall impenetrable
+fence of evergreens. As soon as she saw them, she advanced quickly to
+meet them, her face covered with blushes, but her bearing open and
+proud. Ere Mrs. Beauchamp had time to speak, she exclaimed, "Mrs.
+Beauchamp, I do not deserve your reproaches. Never till this morning was
+I aware of Mr. Beauchamp's sentiments towards me. Dear, kind friend, I
+would have suffered any tortures rather than that this should have
+happened."
+
+Fanny was violently agitated; while Mrs. Beauchamp, on the contrary,
+preserved a calm exterior. She took one of the young girl's hands
+between both of hers, and answered soothingly, "Compose yourself, my
+dear Fanny, I entreat you. Believe me, I do not blame you for the
+affection my son has conceived for you."
+
+"Oh thank you! Indeed you only do me justice."
+
+"But, Fanny, I blame you very much for another reason."
+
+"For what reason, then, madam?"
+
+"For the same reason which now causes your eye to flash, and makes you
+call your friend by a ceremonious title. I blame you for your _pride_,
+which has made you think of me harshly and unjustly. Unkind Fanny! What
+reason have I ever given you to think me heartless or worldly? Do you
+not know that those who love are equals? and that if it be a more
+blessed thing to give, yet to a generous heart, for that very reason, it
+ought to be a pleasure to receive? Are you too proud, Fanny, to take any
+thing from us, or is it because my son's affection is displeasing to you
+that you have rejected him?"
+
+Fanny was now in tears, and even sobbing aloud. "Oh, forgive me," she
+cried, "forgive me! I acknowledge my fault. I see that what I believed
+to be a sense of duty was at least partly pride. Oh, Mrs. Beauchamp, you
+would forgive me if you only knew how miserable I was making myself
+too!"
+
+"Were you--were you indeed making _yourself_ miserable?" cried Edmund.
+"Oh say so again, dearest Fanny; and say you are happy now!"
+
+Mrs. Beauchamp smiled fondly as she answered, "I will do more than
+forgive you, my poor Fanny, if you will only love my son. Will you make
+us both so happy?"
+
+Fanny only replied by a rapid glance at Edmund, and by throwing herself
+into the arms of Mrs. Beauchamp, which were extended to receive her. And
+as she was pressed to that fond, maternal heart, she whispered audibly,
+"My mother!--our mother!"
+
+Mrs. Beauchamp then taking her hand, and placing it in that of her son,
+said with evident emotion, "Only make Edmund happy, Fanny, and all the
+gratitude between us will be due on my side; and oh, my children, as you
+value your future peace, believe in each other through light and
+darkness. And may Heaven bless you both!" She had turned towards the
+house, when she looked back to ask, "Shall I countermand the carriage,
+Fanny?" And Edmund added, half-tenderly, half-slyly, "Shall you go
+to-morrow?"
+
+Fanny's tears were scarcely dry, and her blushes were deeper than ever,
+but she answered immediately, with her usual lively promptitude, "That
+depends upon the sort of entertainment you may provide as an inducement
+to prolong my visit."
+
+And Edmund, finding that he had no chance with Fanny where repartee or
+badinage was in question, had recourse again to the serious vein, and
+rejoined, "If my power to induce you to prolong your visit were at all
+equal to my will, you would remain for ever, my own dearest Fanny."
+
+We must now pass over a few months. The early freshness and verdure of
+spring had passed away, and the bloom and the glory of summer had
+departed. The apple-trees were now laden with their rosy treasures, the
+peach was ripe on the sunny wall, and the summer darkness of the woods
+had but just begun to be varied by the appearance of a few yellow
+leaves. It was on a September afternoon, when the soft light of the
+autumn sunset was bathing in its pale golden rays the grey turrets of
+Woodthorpe Hall, and resting like a parting smile on the summits of the
+ancestral oaks and elms, while it cast deep shadows, crossed with bright
+gleams, on the spreading lawns, or glanced back from the antlers of the
+deer, as they ever and anon appeared in the hollows of the park or
+between the trees, that a travelling carriage passed under the old
+Gothic archway which formed the entrance to Woodthorpe Park, and drove
+rapidly towards the Hall. It contained Edmund and Fanny, the
+newly-married pair, who had just returned from a wedding trip to Paris.
+They were not, however, the only occupants of the carriage. With them
+was Mr. Dalton, whom we knew in former days as Philip Hayforth, and who
+had been specially invited by Mrs. Beauchamp to accompany the bride and
+bridegroom on their return to Woodthorpe Hall.
+
+And now the carriage stops beneath the porch, and in the arched doorway
+stands a noble and graceful figure--the lady of the mansion. The
+slanting sunbeams, streaming through the stained windows at the upper
+end of the oak hall, played upon her dress of dark and shining silk,
+which was partly covered by a shawl or mantle of black lace, while her
+sweet pale face was lighted up with affection, and her eyes were full of
+a grave gladness. Her fair hair, just beginning to be streaked with
+silver, was parted over her serene forehead, and above it rested a
+simple matronly cap of finest lace. Emily Beauchamp was still a
+beautiful woman--beautiful even as when in the early prime of youth and
+love she had stood in the light of the new-born day, clad in her robes
+of vestal whiteness. The change in her was but the change from morning
+to evening--from spring to autumn; and to some hearts the waning light
+and the fading leaves have a charm which sunshine and spring-time cannot
+boast. Having fondly but hastily embraced her son and daughter, she
+turned to Mr. Dalton, and with cordial warmth bade him welcome to
+Woodthorpe Hall. He started at the sound of the gentle, earnest tones
+which, as if by magic, brought palpably before him scenes and images
+which lay far remote, down the dim vista of years, obscured, almost
+hidden, by later interest and more pressing cares. He looked in Mrs.
+Beauchamp's face, and a new wonder met him in the glance of her large
+brown eyes, so full of seriousness and benignity, while the smooth white
+hand which yet held his in its calm friendly clasp seemed strangely like
+one he had often pressed, but which had always trembled as he held it.
+What could all this mean? Was he dreaming? He was aroused from the
+reverie into which he had fallen by the same voice which had at first
+arrested his attention.
+
+"We must try to become acquainted as quickly as possible, Mr. Dalton,"
+said Mrs. Beauchamp, "and learn to be friends for our children's sake."
+
+Bowing low, he replied, "I have already learned from my daughter to know
+and to esteem Mrs. Beauchamp."
+
+The more Mr. Dalton saw of Mrs. Beauchamp, the more bewildered he
+became. He fancied what appeared to him the strangest impossibilities,
+and yet he found it impossible to believe that there was no ground for
+his vague conjectures. His life had been one of incessant toil, lately
+one of heavy distress and anxious cares, which had frequently sent him
+to a sleepless pillow; but never had he spent a more wakeful night than
+this, his first under the stately roof which his daughter--his darling
+Fanny--called that of her home. He felt that he could not endure another
+day of this uncertainty. He must be satisfied at all hazards, and he
+resolved to make an opportunity, should such not spontaneously present
+itself. But he was spared the necessity; for after breakfast the
+following morning his hostess offered to show him the grounds--an offer
+which, with his desired end in view, he eagerly accepted. They commenced
+their walk in silence, and seemed as if both were suddenly under the
+influence of some secret spell. At last, in a hoarse voice and a
+constrained manner, Mr. Dalton abruptly inquired, "Pray, madam, may I
+ask--though I fear the question may seem an unceremonious, perhaps a
+strange one--if you have any relations of the name of Sherwood?"
+
+He saw her start, as she answered with forced composure, "Yes, Mr.
+Dalton, I have. It was indeed my own name before I married."
+
+As she made this avowal, both stood still, it would seem by a sort of
+tacit, mutual consent, and earnestly looked at each other.
+
+Philip Hayforth Dalton was now a man past the meridian of life; his once
+handsome and still striking countenance was deeply marked with lines of
+sorrow and care, and his dark luxuriant locks were thinned and grizzled,
+while his features, which had long been schooled to betray no sign of
+emotion of a transient or superficial nature, were now, as his eyes met
+those of Mrs. Beauchamp's, convulsed as by the working of a strong
+passion. A slight blush tinged Emily's usually pale cheek; she drew a
+rapid breath, and her voice faltered perceptibly as she said at last,
+"Yes, Philip Hayforth, I am Emily Sherwood!"
+
+Not immediately did he reply either by word or look--not till she had
+asked somewhat eagerly, "We are friends, Mr. Dalton--are we not?"
+
+Pride wrestled for a minute with the better nature of Philip Hayforth;
+but whether it were that his self-command was now greater than in the
+fiery and impassioned season of youth, or that it was difficult to
+maintain anger and resentment in the gentle, soothing, and dignified
+presence in which he now found himself, I undertake not to tell; but
+certain it is that this time at least he crushed the old demon down, and
+forced himself to answer, though with a formal manner and somewhat harsh
+tone, "Friends, Mrs. Beauchamp! Certainly, we are friends, if _you_ wish
+it. Your goodness to my poor motherless Fanny has completely cancelled
+all wrongs ever done to Fanny's father. Let the past be forgotten!"
+
+"Not so, if you please," she answered gently, "rather let it be
+explained. Mr. Dalton, we are neither of us young now, and have both, I
+trust, outlived the rashness of youth. Never till our mutual truth is
+made mutually clear, can we be the friends we ought to be--the friends I
+wish we were for Edmund's and Fanny's sake. Let us both speak plainly
+and boldly, and without fear of offence on either side. I promise, on
+mine, to take none at the truth, whatever it may be."
+
+Mr. Dalton, as she spoke, regarded her earnestly and wonderingly,
+saying, as she finished, half in reverie, half addressing her, it would
+seem, "The same clear good sense, the same sweet good temper, which I
+had persuaded myself was but the effect of a delusive imagination! But I
+entreat your pardon, madam, and I promise as you have done."
+
+"Tell me then, truly, Mr. Dalton, why you never answered the last letter
+I wrote to you, or acknowledged the receipt of the purse I sent?"
+
+He started, as if he had received a pistol-shot; the formal, distant Mr.
+Dalton had disappeared, and the eager, vehement Philip Hayforth stood
+before her once more. "I did answer it, Emily. Out of the fulness of my
+heart--and how full it was I cannot tell you now--I answered your
+letter; but you, Emily, you never answered mine."
+
+"Indeed I never received it."
+
+It was some minutes after this announcement ere either was able to
+speak, but at last Mr. Dalton exclaimed, "Oh how I have wronged you?
+Emily, at this instant I catch, as it were, at the bottom of a dark gulf
+a glimpse of the evil of my nature. I begin to believe that I have
+cherished a devil in my bosom, and called it by the name of a good
+angel. Emily, if I am not too old to improve, you will have been the
+instrument of my improvement. I do not ask you to forgive me, generous
+woman, because I feel that you have already done so."
+
+Mrs. Beauchamp felt what it must have cost the proud man to make this
+acknowledgment, and she honored him for the effort. "We have both been
+to blame," she said, "and therefore stand in need of mutual forgiveness.
+But it would be idle now to lament the past; rather let us rejoice that
+our friendship, re-established on the firm basis of perfect confidence,
+is cemented by the union of our dear children."
+
+Mr. Dalton only answered by offering her his arm, with the kind and
+familiar politeness of an old friend, as she looked a little fatigued,
+and they walked together some distance in silence. At last Mrs.
+Beauchamp inquired, "Was Fanny's mother like herself?"
+
+"No, Emily. My poor dead Fanny," and his voice trembled slightly, "was
+very sweet and amiable, but not at all like my living one."
+
+"Your marriage was happy then? I am glad of that."
+
+"I should have been the most ungrateful of men had it not been so; and
+yours too, Emily I hope"----
+
+He stopt, he hardly knew why, while, with her eyes fixed on the ground,
+she answered slowly, "I am happy, very happy now!"
+
+A feeling of profound respect and admiration held Mr. Dalton silent for
+a few seconds, and then he said, in the tone of one who expresses an
+earnest conviction, "You are the most noble minded woman I ever knew."
+
+Mrs. Beauchamp made no answer, and it was not till they stood together
+in the hall, that she said in her natural tone of kind and calm
+cheerfulness, "And now, Mr. Dalton, let us look for Edmund and Fanny;
+and if you please, in order that they may learn of our mistakes that
+trust is the nobler part of love, we shall tell them this story of THE
+LOST LETTER."
+
+
+
+
+LIFE AT A WATERING-PLACE.
+
+THE LIONNE.
+
+By Charles Astor Bristed.
+
+From Frazer's Magazine.
+
+
+One day at Oldport Springs went off pretty much like another. There was
+the same continual whirl, and flurry, and toiling after pleasure--never
+an hour of repose--scarcely enough cessation for the two or three
+indispensable meals. When they had walked, and flirted, and played
+ten-pins, and driven, and danced all day, and all night till two in the
+morning, the women retired to their rooms, and the men retired to the
+gambling-house (which being an illegal establishment had, on that
+account, a greater charm in their eyes), and kept it up there till broad
+daylight; notwithstanding which, they always contrived to appear at
+breakfast a few hours after as fresh as ever, and ready to begin the
+same round of dissipation. Indeed it was said that Tom Edwards and his
+most ardent followers among the boys never went to bed at all, but on
+their return from "fighting the tiger," bathed, changed their linen, and
+came down to the breakfast-room, taking the night's sleep for granted.
+It was a perpetual scene of excitement, relieved only by the heavy and
+calm figure of Sumner, who, silent and unimpassioned, largely capacious
+of meat and drink, a recipient of every diversion, without being excited
+by any, went through all the bowling, and riding, and polking, and
+gambling, with the gravity of a _commis_ performing the national French
+dance at the Mabille. There was much rivalry in equipages, especially
+between Ludlow, Benson, and L�wenberg, who drove the three four-in-hands
+of the place, and emulated one another in horses, harness, and
+vehicles--even setting up attempts at liveries, in which they found some
+imitators (for you can't do any thing in America, however unpopular,
+without being imitated): and every horse, wagon, man-servant, and
+livery, belonging to every one, was duly chronicled in the Oldport
+correspondence of the _Sewer_ and the _Jacobin_, which journals were
+wont one day to Billingsgate the "mushroom aristocracy of wealth," and
+the next to play Jenkins for their glorification. Le Roi, who owned no
+horses, and had given up dancing as soon as he found that there were
+many of the natives who could out-dance him, and that the late hours
+were bad for his complexion, attached himself to any or every married
+lady who was at all distinguished for beauty or fortune; and then went
+about asking, with an ostentatious air of mystery,--_"Est-ce qu' on
+parle beaucoup de moi et Madame Chose?"_ Sometimes he deigned to turn
+aside for an heiress; and as he was a very amusing and rather ornamental
+man, the girls were always glad to have his company; but the good
+speculations took care not to fall in love with him, or to give him
+sufficient encouragement (although a Frenchman does not require a great
+deal) to justify a declaration on his part. Perhaps the legend about the
+mutual-benefit subscription club hurt his prospects, or it may have been
+his limited success in dancing. The same reason--as much, at least, as
+the assumed one of their vulgarity--kept Mr. Simpson, and other "birds"
+of his set, out of the exclusive society. For dancing was the one great
+article in the code of the fashionables to which all other amusements or
+occupations were subordinate. There was a grand dress-ball once a week
+at one or other of the hotels, and two undress-balls--_hops_ they were
+called: but most of the exclusives went to these also in full dress, and
+both balls and hops usually lasted till three or four in the morning.
+Then on the off-nights "our set" got up their own little extempore balls
+in the large public parlor, to the music of some volunteer pianist, and
+when the weather was bad they danced in the same place all day; when it
+was good these informal _matin�es_ did not generally last more than two
+or three hours. Then there were serenades given about day-break, by
+young men who were tired of "the tiger"--nominally to some particular
+ladies, but virtually, of course, to the whole hotel, or nearly so--and
+the only music they could devise for these occasions were waltzes or
+polkas. Ashburner made a calculation that, counting in the serenades,
+the inhabitants of Oldport were edified by waltz, polka, and redowa
+music (in those days the _Schottisch_ was not), eleven hours out of the
+twenty-four, daily. And at last, when Mr. Monson, the Cellarius of
+New-York, came down with various dancing-girls, native and imported, to
+give lessons to such aspiring young men as might desire it, first Mrs.
+Harrison and other women, who, though wealthy and well-known, were not
+exactly "of us," used to drop in to look at the fun; and, finally, all
+the exclusives, irresistibly attracted by the sound of fiddles and
+revolving feet, thronged the little room up-stairs, where the dancing
+class was assembled, and from looking on, proceeded to join in the
+exercises. Ladies, beaux, and dancing-girls, were all mingled together,
+whirling and capering about in an apartment fifteen feet square, which
+hardly gave them room to pass one another. Benson was the only person
+who entered his protest against the proceeding. He declared it was a
+shame that his countrywomen should degrade themselves so before
+foreigners; but his expostulations were only laughed at: nor could he
+even persuade his wife and sister-in-law to quit the place, though he
+stalked off himself in high dudgeon, and wrote a letter to the
+_Episcopal Banner_, inveighing against the shameless dissipation of the
+watering-places. For Harry was on very good terms with the religious
+people in New-York, and was professedly a religious man, and had some
+sort of idea that he mixed with the fashionables to do them good; which
+was much like what we sometimes hear of a parson who follows the hounds
+to keep the sportsmen from swearing, and about as successful. Trying
+with all his might to serve God, and to live with the exclusives, he was
+in a fair way to get a terrible fall between two stools.
+
+Talking of religion brings us naturally to Sunday, which at Oldport was
+really required as a day of rest. But whether it would have been so or
+not is doubtful, only that the Puritan habits of the country made
+dancing on that day impossible. It was a violation of public opinion,
+and of the actual law of the land, which no one cared to attempt. The
+fashionables were thus left almost without resource. The young men went
+off to dine somewhere in the vicinity, not unfrequently taking with them
+some of Mr. Monson's dancing-girls; the wearied men, and the women
+generally, were in a sad state of listlessness. Some of them literally
+went to bed and slept for the rest of the week; others, in very despair
+of something to do, went to church and fell asleep there. Ashburner took
+advantage of the lull to fill up his journal, and put down his
+observations on the society about him, in which he had remarked some
+striking peculiarities, apart from the dancing mania and other outward
+and open characteristics.
+
+The first thing that surprised him was the great number of
+misunderstandings and quarrels existing among the not very large number
+of people who composed the fashionable set. They seemed to quarrel with
+their relatives in preference, as a matter of course; and to admit
+strangers very readily to the privilege of relatives. The Robinsons were
+at feud with all their cousins: Benson with most of his, except Ludlow.
+Ludlow, White, Sumner, every man he knew, had his set of private
+enemies, with whom he was not on speaking or bowing terms. Mrs.
+Harrison, who was very friendly to most of the men, scarcely spoke to a
+single woman in the place; but this was, perhaps, only carrying the war
+into Africa, as the ladies of "our set" generally had intended not to
+recognize her as one of them. These numberless feuds made it very
+difficult to arrange an excursion, or to get up a dinner at the
+_restaurant_ of a "colored gentleman," whose timely settlement in
+Oldport had enabled Mr. Grabster's guests to escape in some measure the
+pangs of hunger. On studying the cause of these disagreeable
+hostilities, he found that, among relatives, they were often caused by
+disputes upon money matters; that between persons not related they
+frequently sprung from the most trivial sources--frivolous points of
+etiquette, petty squabbles at cards, imaginary jealousies--but that in
+both cases the majority of them could be traced to the all-pervading
+spirit of scandal. His purely intellectual education, if it had not made
+him somewhat of a misogynist, had at least prevented him from gaining
+any accurate knowledge or appreciation of women: he set them down _en
+masse_ as addicted to gossip, and was not surprised to find in the
+American ladies what he assumed as a characteristic of the whole sex.
+But he was surprised to find the same quality so prevalent among the
+men. Not that they were in the habit of killing reputations to give
+themselves _bonnes fortunes_, as Frenchmen might have done under similar
+circumstances; their defamatory gossip was more about men than about
+women, and seemed to arise partly from a general disbelief in virtue,
+and partly from inability to maintain an interesting conversation on
+other than personal topics. And though much of this evil speaking was
+evidently prompted by personal enmities, much also of it seemed to
+originate in no hostile feeling at all; and it was this that
+particularly astonished Ashburner, to find men speaking disparagingly of
+their friends--those who were so in the real sense of that much-abused
+term. Thus there could be no reasonable doubt that the cousins, Benson
+and Ludlow, were much attached to each other, and fond of each other's
+society; that either would have been ready to take up the other's
+quarrel, or endorse his notes, had circumstances required it. Yet Harry
+could never refrain from laughing before third parties at Gerard's
+ignorance of books, and making him the hero of all the Mrs.
+Malaprop-isms he could pick up or invent; or, as we have seen, speaking
+very disrespectfully of the motives which had led him to commit
+matrimony; and Gerard was not slow to make corresponding comments on
+various foibles of Harry. But the spirit of detraction was most fully
+developed in men who were not professionally idle, but had, or professed
+to have, some little business on hand. Of this class was Arthur Sedley,
+an old acquaintance and groomsman of Benson, and a barrister--(they are
+beginning to talk about barristers now in New-York, though it is a
+division of labor not generally recognized in the country)--of some
+small practice. Really well educated, well read, and naturally clever,
+his cleverness and knowledge were vastly more disagreeable than almost
+any amount of ignorance or stupidity could have been. When he cut up
+right and left every man or woman who came on the _tapis_, his sarcasms
+were so neatly pointed that it was impossible to help laughing with him;
+but it was equally impossible to escape feeling that, as soon as your
+back was turned, he would be laughing at you. Riches and rich people
+were the commonest subject of his sneers, yet he lost no opportunity of
+toadying a profitable connection, and was always supposed to be on the
+look-out for some heiress.
+
+The next thing which made Ashburner marvel was the extreme youth of the
+fashionable set, particularly the male portion of it; or, to speak more
+critically, the way in which the younger members of the set had
+suppressed their elders, and constituted themselves _the_ society. A
+middle-aged man, particularly if, like L�wenberg, he happened to be
+rich, might be admitted to terms of equality, but the papas and mammas
+were absolutely set aside, and became mere formulas and appendages. The
+old people were nowhere; no one looked after their comfort in a crowd,
+or consulted them about any arrangement till after the arrangement was
+made. They had no influence and no authority. When Miss Friskin rode a
+wild colt bareheaded through the streets of Oldport, or danced the
+Redowa with little Robinson in so very _ch�teau-rouge_ a style that even
+Mrs. Harrison turned away, poor Mrs. Friskin could interpose no
+impediment to the young lady's amusement; and even her father, the
+respected senior of the wealthy firm, Friskin & Co., who must have heard
+from afar of his daughter's vagaries (for all these things were written
+in the note-book of the _Sewer_), seemed never to have dreamed of the
+propriety or possibility of coming up to Oldport to put a stop to them.
+When Tom Edwards was squandering his fortune night after night at the
+faro-table, and his health day after day in ceaseless dissipation, there
+was no old friend of his family who dared to give him advice or warning,
+for there was none to whose advice or warning he would have listened.
+Once when Ashburner was conversing with Benson on some subject which
+brought on a reference to this inverse order of things, the latter gave
+his explanation of it, which was to this effect:--
+
+"The number of foreigners among us, either travelling for pleasure or
+settled for purposes of business, is so great that they become an
+appreciable element in our society. It is, therefore, requisite that a
+fashionable should be able to associate easily with foreigners; and for
+this it is necessary that he or she should have some knowledge of
+foreign customs and languages, and, in the first place, of the French
+language. Now, if we go back a generation, we shall find that the men of
+that day were not educated to speak French. Go into the Senate Chamber
+at Washington, for instance, and you will not meet with many of the
+honorable senators who can converse in the recognized language of
+courts. Many of our most distinguished statesmen and _diplomats_ can
+speak no tongue but their own. And to descend to private life, with
+which we have more particularly to do, when a foreigner presents himself
+with his letters at the dwelling of an old city merchant or professional
+man, it is generally the younger branches of the family who are called
+on to amuse him and play interpreters for the rest. This gives the young
+people a very decided advantage over their elders, and it is not
+surprising that they have become a little vain of it. And similarly with
+regard to foreign dresses, dances, cookery, and habits generally. The
+young men, having been the latest abroad, are the freshest and best
+informed in these things. It does not require any great experience or
+wisdom to master them, only some personal grace and aptitude for
+imitation to start with, and an _� plomb_ to which ignorance is more
+conducive than knowledge. Hence the standard of excellence has become
+one of superficial accomplishment, and the man of matured mind who
+enters into competition with these handsome, showy, and illiterate boys,
+puts himself at a discount. Look at L�wenberg. All his literary
+acquirements and artistic tastes (and he really has a great deal of
+both) go for nothing. The little beaux can speak nearly as many
+languages as he can, and dance and dress better. The only thing they can
+appreciate about him is his money, and the horses and dinners consequent
+thereon. If little Robinson, there, with his _ne plus ultra_ tie and
+varnished shoes, were to have the same fortune left him to-morrow, he
+would be the better man of the two, because he can polk better, and
+because, being neither a married man nor the agent of a respectable
+house, he can gamble and do other things which L�wenberg's position does
+not allow him to do."
+
+This was a great confession for Benson to make against the country;
+nevertheless, it was not perfectly satisfactory to Ashburner, who
+thought that it did not explain all the phenomena of the case. It seemed
+to him that there was at work a radical spirit of insubordination, and a
+principle of overturning the formerly recognized order of domestic rule.
+The little children ate and drank what they liked, went to bed when they
+liked, and altogether were very independent of their natural rulers.
+Benson's boy rode rough-shod over his nurse, bullied his mother, and
+only deigned to mind his father occasionally. The wives ruled their
+husbands despotically, and acted as if they had taken out a patent for
+avenging the inferiority of their sex in other parts of the world.
+Benson did not like dancing: he only danced at all because he thought it
+his business to know a little of every thing, and because society
+thought it the duty of every young man who was not lame to understand
+the polka. But his wife kept him going at every ball for six hours,
+during five of which he was bored to death. Ludlow, whose luxurious
+living made violent exercise necessary for his health, and who,
+therefore, delighted in fencing, boxing, and "constitutionals" that
+would have tired a Cantab, was made to drive about Mrs. Ludlow all day
+till he hated the sight of his own horses. As to Mrs. Harrison, she
+treated her husband, when he made his appearance at Oldport (which was
+not very often) as unceremoniously as one would an old trunk, or any
+other piece of baggage which is never alluded to or taken notice of
+except when wanted for immediate use.
+
+Ashburner first met this lady a very few days after his arrival at
+Oldport; indeed, she was so conspicuous a figure in the place that one
+could not be there long without taking notice of her. About mid-day
+there was usually a brief interval between the ten-pin bowling and the
+informal dance; and during one of these pauses he perceived on the
+smoking-piazza where ladies seldom ventured, a well-dressed and rather
+handsome woman smoking a cigarette, and surrounded by a group of beaux
+of all sizes, from men like White and Sumner to the little huge-cravated
+boys in their teens. She numbered in her train at least half-a-dozen of
+these cavaliers, and was playing them off against one another and
+managing them all at once, as a circus-rider does his four horses, or a
+juggler his four balls. In a country where beauty is the rule rather
+than the exception, she was not a remarkable beauty--at least, she did
+not appear such to Ashburner, from that distance; nor was her dress,
+though sufficiently elegant and becoming, quite so artistically put on
+as that of Mrs. Benson and the other belles of the set; still there was
+clearly something very attractive and striking about her, and he was
+immediately induced to inquire her name, and, on learning that she was a
+real lady (though not of "our set" of ladies), to request an
+introduction to her. But Benson, to whom he first applied, instead of
+jumping at the opportunity with his usual readiness to execute or
+anticipate his friend's wishes, boggled exceedingly, and put off the
+introduction under frivolous and evidently feigned pretences. It was so
+uncommon for Benson to show any diffidence in such matters, and his
+whole air said so plainly, "I will do this out of friendship for you if
+you wish it, but for my own part I would rather not," that Ashburner
+saw there was something in the wind, and let the subject drop. Ludlow,
+to whom he next had recourse, told him, with the utmost politeness but
+in very decided terms, that "his family" (he was careful not to insist
+on his own personality in the affair) "had not the honor of Mrs.
+Harrison's acquaintance." The next man who happened to come along was
+Mr. Simpson, and to him Ashburner made application, thinking that,
+perhaps, the fair smoker might more properly belong to the "second set,"
+though so surrounded by the beaux of the first. But even Simpson, though
+the last man in the world to be guilty of any superfluous delicacy,
+hesitated very much, and made some allusion to Mrs. Simpson; and then
+Ashburner began to comprehend the real state of the case,--that most of
+the married women had declared war against Mrs. Harrison, that she had
+retaliated upon them all, and that the husbands were drawn into their
+wives' quarrels, and obliged to fight shy of her before strangers. It
+was clear, then, that he must apply to a bachelor; and accordingly he
+waylaid Sumner, who "was too happy" to introduce him at once in due
+form.
+
+As Ashburner came up to Mrs. Harrison she began to play off her eyes at
+him, and he then perceived that they constituted her chief beauty. They
+were of that deep blue which, in certain lights, passes for
+black,--large, expressive, and pleasing; the sort of eyes that go right
+through a man and look him down to nothing. Indeed, they had such effect
+on him that he lost all distinctive idea of her other features. Her
+manner, too, had something very attractive, though he could not have
+defined wherein it consisted. She did not exhibit the _empressement_
+with which most of her countrywomen seek to put a stranger at his ease
+at once; or the _exigence_ of a spoiled lady waiting to be amused; or
+the haughtiness of a great lady, who does not care if she is amused
+herself and deigns no effort to amuse others. Neither did she attack him
+with raillery and irony, as Mrs. Benson had done on their first meeting.
+But she behaved as if she were used to seeing men like Ashburner every
+day of her life, and was willing to meet them half-way and be agreeable
+to them, if they were so to her, without taking any particular trouble,
+for there was no appearance of effort to please, or even of any strong
+desire to please, in her words and gestures; yet she _did_ please and
+attract very decidedly.
+
+"So I saw you in Mrs. Harrison's train!" said Benson, when they next
+met.
+
+"Yes, and I fancy I know why you hesitated to introduce me."
+
+As Ashburner spoke he glanced towards the parlor, where "our set"--Mrs.
+Benson, of course, conspicuous among them--were engaged in their
+ordinary occupation of dancing.
+
+"Oh, I assure you, _madame_ is not disposed to be jealous, nor am I a
+man to take part in women's quarrels. I don't like the lady myself, to
+begin with; and were I a bachelor, should have as little to say to her
+as I have now. In the first place she is too old----"
+
+"Too old! she cannot be thirty."
+
+"Of course a lady never _is_ thirty, until she is fifty, at least; but
+at any rate I may say, without sacrilege, that Mrs. H. is pretty high up
+in the twenties. Now, at that age a woman ought--not to give up society,
+that would be an absurdity in the other extreme, but--to leave the
+romping dances and the young men to the girls, who want them more and
+whom they become better. Then I don't like her face. You must have taken
+notice that all the upper part of it is fine and intellectual, and she
+has glorious eyes----"
+
+"Yes," said Ashburner.
+
+"But all the lower part is heavy and over-sensuous. Now, not only does
+this, in my opinion, entirely disfigure a woman's looks, but it suggests
+unpleasant ideas of her character. A man may have that ponderous chin
+and voluptuous mouth, without their disturbing the harmony of an
+otherwise handsome face. I do not think a woman can; and as in the
+physical so in the moral. A man can stand a much greater amount of
+sensuousness in his composition than a woman. I do not mean to allude to
+the different standards of morality for the two sexes admitted by
+society; for I don't admit it, and think it very unjust; and I am proud
+to say that our people generally entertain more virtuous as well as more
+equitable views on this point than the Europeans. I mean literally that
+a man having so many opportunities for leading an active life, and being
+able to reason himself into or out of a great many things to or from
+which a woman's only guide is her feelings, may be very sensuous without
+its doing any positive harm to himself or others; but with a woman, who
+is compelled to lead a comparatively idle life, such an element
+predominating in her character is sure to bring her into mischief."
+
+"Do you mean to say, then, that----" and Ashburner stopped short, but
+his look implied the remainder of his interrupted question.
+
+"Do you ask me from a personal motive?"
+
+Ashburner colored, and was proceeding to disclaim any such motive with
+an air of injured innocence.
+
+"No, I don't mean any thing of the sort," said Benson, who felt that he
+had gone rather too far, and might unintentionally have slandered his
+countrywoman. "I believe the lady is as pure as--as my wife, or any one
+else. The number of her beaux, and the equality with which she treats
+them, prove conclusively to my mind that her flirting never runs into
+any thing worse. I don't think a woman runs any danger of that kind when
+she has such a lot of cavaliers; they keep watch on her and on one
+another. I remember when my brother lived in town, he once was away from
+home for two or three weeks, and when he came back an old maid who lived
+in his street, and used to keep religious watch over the goings-out and
+comings-in of every one in the vicinity, said to him, "How very gay
+your wife is, Mr. Benson! she has been walking with a different
+gentleman every day since you were gone.' 'Dear me!' says Carl; 'a
+different man every day! How glad I am! If you had told me she was
+walking with the _same_ man every day I might have been a little
+scared.' But a woman may be perfectly chaste herself, and yet cause a
+great deal of unchasteness in other people. Here is this Mrs. Harrison,
+smoking cigarettes--and cigars, too, sometimes, in the open air;
+drinking grog at night, and sometimes in the morning; letting Tom
+Edwards and the foolish boys who imitate him talk slang to her without
+putting them down; always ready for a walk or drive with the last
+handsome young man who has arrived; and utterly ignoring her husband,
+except when she makes some slighting mention of him for not sending her
+money enough: what is the effect of all this upon the men? The
+foreigners; there are plenty of them here every season; I wonder there
+are so few this time: instead of one decent Frenchman like Le Roi, you
+usually find half-a-dozen disreputable ones; Englishmen many, not always
+of the best sort; Germans, Russians, and Spaniards, occasionally: they
+all are inclined to look upon her--especially considering her
+belligerent attitude towards the rest of the female population--as
+something _tr�s l�g�re_, and to attempt to go a little too far with her.
+Then she puts them down fast enough, and they in spite say things about
+her, the discredit of which extends to our ladies generally--in short,
+she exposes the country before foreigners. Then for the natives, she
+catches some poor boy just loose upon the world, dances with, flatters
+him--for she has a knack of flattering people without seeming to do so,
+especially by always appearing to take an interest in what is said to
+her,--keeps him dangling about her for a while; then some day he says or
+does something to make a fool of himself, and she extinguishes him. The
+man gets a check of this sort at his entry into society that is enough
+to make him a misogynist for life. And the little scenes that she used
+to get up last summer with married men, just to make their wives
+jealous!"
+
+"Which, I suppose, is the reason none of your wives will let you speak
+to her?" said Ashburner, who began to feel, he hardly knew why, a
+sentiment of partisanship for Mrs. Harrison. "But granting that her
+face, as you describe it, is an index of her character, I should draw
+from that exactly the opposite inference. I believe that the women who
+make mischief in the way you mention are your unsensuous and passionless
+ones--that the perfect flirt, single or married, must be a perfectly
+cold woman, because it is only one of such a temperament who can thus
+trifle with others without danger to herself. I speak hesitatingly, for
+all women are a mystery, and my experience is as yet very limited; but
+such opportunities of observation as have fallen to my lot confirm me in
+the theory."
+
+Somewhat to Ashburner's surprise his friend made no attempt to
+controvert his argument. He only turned it aside, saying,----
+
+"Well, I don't like her, at any rate. If I had no other reason, the way
+she talks of her husband would be enough to make me."
+
+"Oh, there _is_ a Mr. Harrison, then? One hears so little of him----"
+
+"And sees so nothing of him, you may say."
+
+"Exactly--that I took him for a mythological personage--a cousin of our
+Mrs. Harris."
+
+"Nevertheless I assure you Mr. Harrison exists very decidedly--a
+Wall-street speculator, and well known as such by business people, a
+capital man behind a trotter, an excellent judge of wine. Probably he
+will come here from the city once or twice before we leave, and I shall
+find an opportunity to introduce you to him, for he is really worth
+knowing and considerable of a man, as we say--no fool at all, except in
+the way he lets his wife bully him."
+
+"If he made an unsuitable match that does not show his wisdom
+conspicuously."
+
+"It was an unsuitable match enough, Heaven knows! But when he proposed
+he was in the state of mind in which sensible people do the most foolish
+things. He was a great man in stocks--controlled the market at one
+time--had been buying largely just before the election of '44, when we
+all expected Henry Clay would get in with plenty to spare. When Polk was
+elected, great was the terror of all respectable citizens. My brother
+caught such a fright then that I don't think he has fairly recovered
+from it to this day. How the stocks did tumble down! Harrison had about
+nine millions on his hands; he couldn't keep such a fund, and was forced
+to sell at any price, and lost just one third. Just as he was beginning
+to pick himself up after the shock and wonder, like the sailor whom the
+conjurer blew up, what was to come next? Mr. Whitey of the _Jacobin_,
+now the honorable Pompey Whitey--and one doesn't see why he shouldn't
+be, for after all an editor is not, generally speaking, a greater
+blackguard than most of our Congressmen--Whitey, I say, who for our sins
+is nominally attached to the Conservative party, conceived the bright
+idea of overbidding the enemy for popular favor, and proposed--no, he
+didn't actually propose in so many words, but only strongly hinted at
+the desirableness of the measure--that there should be no more paying
+rent, and a general division of property. I am not sure but there were
+some additional suggestions on the expediency of abolishing the
+Christian religion and the institution of matrimony, but that has
+nothing to do with politics. This last drop in the bucket quite
+overflowed poor Harrison; so, as if he had said to himself, "Let us eat
+and drink and get married, for to-morrow we shall have a proscription
+and _nov� tabul�_," he rushed off and proposed to Miss Macintyre."
+
+"Then, if she accepted him after he lost his fortune, it shows she did
+not marry for money, at any rate."
+
+"There you have missed it. He lost the whole of _a_ fortune, but not the
+whole of _his_. He must have a million of dollars left, and a man with
+that is not poor in any country--certainly it was a great catch for Miss
+Macintyre, without a red cent of her own. She jilted a Frenchman for
+him: the unfortunate, or fortunate cast-off had ordered much jewelry and
+other wedding presents, and when left in the lurch he quietly proposed
+that, as he had no longer any use for the articles, Harrison, who had,
+should take them off his hands; and this offer was accepted. Very French
+in him to make it--don't you think so?--and rather American in the other
+to take it. Well, I hope Harrison will come this way soon; I should
+really like you to know him."
+
+One or two days after this conversation Ashburner met his friend walking
+up and down the interminable piazza of the Bath Hotel, arm-in-arm with a
+middle-aged man, who presented as great a contrast to Benson's usual
+associates, and to Benson himself, as could well be imagined. The
+new-comer was short of stature and square-built, rather ugly, and any
+thing but graceful; he wore very good clothes, but they were badly put
+on, and looked as if they had never undergone the brush since leaving
+the tailor's hands; he wore no gloves, and in short had altogether an
+unfashionable appearance. But though indubitably an unfashionable man,
+he did not give you the impression of a vulgar one; there was nothing
+snobbish or pretentious in his ugliness, and his cavernous black eye
+could have belonged only to an intelligent and able man. Benson was
+joking or pressing upon him some matter which he seemed unwilling to
+explain.
+
+"But do tell me," said Harry, as they passed Ashburner, "what _have_ you
+been doing to yourself? Sprained your finger by working too hard the
+night before last packet day? or tumbled down from running too fast in
+Wall-street, and not thinking which way you were going?" And he took in
+his own delicate white hand the rough paw of the stranger, which was
+partly bound up as if suffering from some recent injury.
+
+"If you must know," said the other, stopping short his walk, "I broke my
+knuckles on an Irish hackman's teeth. Last week the fellow drove me from
+the North River boat to my house in Union Square, and I offered him
+seventy-five cents. He was very insolent and demanded a dollar. If I had
+had a dollar-note about me I might have given it to him, but it happened
+that I had only the six shillings in change; and so, knowing that was
+two shillings more than his legal fare, I became as positive as he. At
+last he seized my trunk, and then I could not resist the temptation of
+giving him a left-hander that sent him clean down the steps into the
+gutter."
+
+"And then?
+
+"He made a great bawling, and was beginning to draw a crowd about the
+house, when I walked off to the nearest police-station; and as it turned
+out that my gentleman was known as a troublesome character, they
+threatened to take away his license and have him sent to Blackwell's
+Island if he didn't keep quiet; so he was too glad to make himself
+scarce."
+
+"By Jove, you deserve a testimonial from the city! I once got twenty
+dollars damages from an omnibus-driver for running into my brougham,
+knocking off a wheel, and dumping my wife and child into the street; and
+I thought it was a great exploit, but this performance of yours throws
+me into the shade."
+
+Just then Benson caught sight of Ashburner, and excusing himself to the
+other, rushed up to him.
+
+"Let me tell you now, before I forget it. We are going over to the glen
+to-morrow to dine, and in fact spend the day there. You'll come, of
+course?"
+
+"With great pleasure," said Ashburner; "but pray don't let me take you
+away from your friend."
+
+"Oh, that's only Harrison."
+
+We meant, of course, our set, with such foreign lions as the place
+afforded, foremost among whom stood Ashburner and Le Roi. Benson,
+Ludlow, and some of the other married men undertook to arrange it,
+always under the auspices of the Robinsons.
+
+These Robinsons were evidently the leaders in every movement of the
+fashionables, but why they were so was not so clear--at least, to
+Ashburner, though he had abundant opportunities of studying the whole
+family. There was a father in some kind of business, who occupied the
+usual position of New-York fathers; that is to say, he made the money
+for the rest of the family to spend, and showed himself at Oldport once
+a fortnight or so--possibly to pay the bills. There was a mother, stout
+and good-humored, rather vulgar, very fussy, and no end of a talker: she
+always reminded Ashburner of an ex-lady-mayoress. There were three or
+four young men, sons and cousins, with the usual amount of white tie and
+the ordinary dexterity in the polka; and two daughters, both well out of
+their teens. The knowing ones said that one of these young ladies was to
+have six thousand a year by her grandfather's will, and the other little
+or nothing; but it was not generally understood which was the heiress,
+and the old lady manoeuvred with them as if _both_ were. This fact,
+however, was not sufficient to account for their rank as _belles_, since
+there were several other girls in their circle quite as well, or better
+off. Nor had their wit or talent any share in giving them their
+position; on the contrary, people used to laugh at the _b�tises_ of the
+Robinsons, and make them the butt of real or imaginary good stories.
+And, in point of birth, they were not related to the Van Hornes, the
+Bensons, the Vanderlyns, or any of the old Dutch settlers; nor like
+White Ludlow, and others of their set, sprung from the British families
+of long standing in the city. On the very morning of the proposed
+excursion Sedley was sneering at them for _parvenus_, and trying to
+amuse Ashburner at their expense with some ridiculous stories about
+them.
+
+"And yet," said the Englishman, "these people are your leaders of
+fashion. You can't do any thing without them. They are the head of this
+excursion that we are just going upon." Benson tells me "the Robinsons
+are to be there," as if that settled the propriety and desirability of
+my being there also."
+
+"As to that," replied Sedley, "fashionable society is a vast absurdity
+anywhere, and it is only natural that absurd people should be at the
+head of it. The Robinsons want to be fashionable--it is their only
+ambition--they try hard for it; and it is generally the case that those
+who devote themselves to any pursuit have some success in it, and only
+right that it should be so. Then they are hopelessly good-natured folks,
+that you can't insult or quarrel with." Sedley had so little of this
+quality himself that he looked on the possession of it as a weakness
+rather than a virtue. "Then they are very fond of good living."
+
+"Yes, I remember hearing Benson say that he always liked to feed Mrs.
+Robinson at a ball,--it was a perfect pleasure to see her eat; and that
+when L�wenberg, in the pride of his heart, gave a three-days'
+_d�je�ner_, or lunch, or whatever it was, after his marriage, she was
+seen there three times each day."
+
+"And he might have told you that they are as liberal of their own good
+things as fond of those of others. Old Robinson has some first-rate
+Madeira, better by a long chalk than that Vanderlyn Sercial that Harry
+Benson is always cramming down your throat--metaphorically, I mean, not
+literally. The young men like to drop in there of an evening, for they
+are sure to find a good supper and plenty of materials ready for punch
+and polka. Then they always manage to catch the newest lions. When I
+first saw you in their carriage along-side of Miss Julia, I said to
+myself, "That Englishman must be somebody, or the Robinsons would not
+have laid hold of him so soon." But their two seasons in Paris were the
+making of them,--and the unmaking, too, in another sense; for they ate
+such a hole in their fortune--or, rather, their French guests did for
+them--that it has never recovered its original dimensions to this day.
+They took a grand hotel, and gave magnificent balls, and filled their
+rooms with the Parisian aristocracy. My uncle, who is an _habitu�_ of
+Paris, was at the Jockey Club one day, and heard two exquisites talking
+about them. "_Connaissez-vous ce Monsieur Robinson?_" asked one.
+"_Est-ce que je le connais!_" replied the other, shrugging his
+shoulders. "_Je mange ses d�ners, je danse � ses bals; v'la tout." Voil�
+tout_, indeed! That is just all our people get by keeping open house for
+foreigners."
+
+Just then Benson and Ludlow came up, the former under much excitement,
+and the latter in a sad state of profanity. As they both insisted on
+talking at once, it was some time before either was intelligible; at
+length Ashburner made out that the excursion had met with a double
+check. In the first place, all the bachelors had demanded that Mrs.
+Harrison should be of the party, in which they were sustained by
+L�wenberg, who, though partly naturalized by his marriage, still
+considered himself sufficiently a stranger to be above all spirit of
+clique. All the other married men had objected, but the Harrisonites
+ultimately carried their point. Of the two principal opponents, Ludlow
+was fairly talked off his feet by the voluble _patois_ of L�wenberg, and
+Benson completely put down by the laconic and inflexible Sumner. So far
+so bad, but worse was to follow; for after the horses had been ordered,
+and most of the ladies, including the Robinsons, bonneted and shawled
+for the start, the _lionne_, who had, doubtless, heard of the
+unsuccessful attempt to blackball her, and wished to make a further
+trial of her power, suddenly professed a headache, whereupon her
+partisans almost unanimously declared that, as she couldn't go, they
+didn't want to go; and thus the whole affair had fallen through. Such
+was the substance of their melancholy intelligence, which they had
+hardly finished communicating when a _dea ex machina_ appeared in the
+person of Mrs. Benson. She declared that it was "a shame," and "too
+bad," and she "had never," &c.; and brought her remarks to a practical
+conclusion by vowing that _she_ would go, at any rate, whoever chose to
+stay with that woman; "and if no one else goes with us I'm sure Mr.
+Ashburner will:" at which Ashburner was fain to express his readiness to
+follow her to the end of the world, if necessary. Then she followed up
+her advantage by sending a message to Sumner, which took him captive
+immediately; and as she was well seconded by the Robinsons, who on their
+part had brought over Le Roi, the party was soon reorganized pretty much
+on its original footing. When the cause of all the trouble found herself
+likely to be left in a minority her headache vanished immediately, in
+time for her to secure beaux enough to fill her barouche, and Mr.
+Harrison was put into a carriage with the musicians. Mrs. Benson's
+vehicle was equally well filled; and Harry, who, by his wife's orders,
+and much against his own will, had lent his wagon and ponies to a young
+Southerner that was doing the amiable to Miss Vanderlyn, had nothing
+left for it but to go on horseback; in which Ashburner undertook to join
+him, having heard that there was a good bit of turf on the road to the
+glen.
+
+"If you go that way," said Mrs. Robinson, when he announced his
+intention, "you will have another companion. Mr. Edwards means to ride."
+
+Ashburner had seen Edwards driving a magnificent trotter about Oldport,
+but could not exactly fancy him outside of a horse, and conjectured that
+he would not make quite so good a figure as when leading the redowa down
+a long ball-room. But the hero of the dance was not forthcoming for
+some time, so they mounted, Benson his pet Charlie, and the Englishman
+the best horse the stables of Oldport could furnish, which it is hardly
+necessary to say was not too good a one, and were leaving the village
+leisurely to give the carriages a good start of them, when they heard
+close behind the patter of a light-stepping horse, and the next moment
+Tom Edwards ranged up along side. The little man rode a bright bay mare,
+rising above fifteen hands, nearly full-blooded, but stepping steadily
+and evenly, without any of that fidget and constant change of gait which
+renders so many blood-horses any thing but agreeable to ride, and
+carrying her head and tail to perfection. He wore white cord trousers, a
+buff waistcoat, and a very natty white hair-cloth cap. His coat was
+something between a summer sack and a cutaway,--the color, a rich green
+of some peculiar and indescribable shade. His spurs were very small, but
+highly polished; and, instead of a whip, he carried a little red cane
+with a carved ivory head. In his marvellously fitting white buckskin
+glove he managed a rein of some mysterious substance that looked like a
+compound of india-rubber and sea-weed. He sat his mare beautifully--with
+a little too much aim at effect, perhaps; but gracefully and firmly at
+the same time. Ashburner glanced at his own poor beast and wished for
+Daredevil, whose antics he had frequently controlled with great success
+at Devilshoof; and Benson could not help looking a little mortified, for
+Charlie was not very well off for tail, and had recollections of his
+harness days, which made him drop his head at times and pull like a
+steam engine; besides which, Harry--partly, perhaps, from motives of
+economy, partly, as he said, because he thought it snobbish to ride in
+handsome toggery--always mounted in the oldest clothes he had, and with
+a well-used bridle and saddle. But there was no help for it now, so off
+the three went together at a fair trot, and soon overtook most of the
+party, Edwards putting his spurs into the bay mare and showing off her
+points and his horsemanship at every successive vehicle they passed.
+
+The piece of turf which Benson had promised his friend was not quite so
+smooth as Newmarket heath, but it was more than three-quarters of a mile
+long, and sufficiently level to be a great improvement on the heavy and
+sandy road. So unaccustomed, however, are Americans to "riding on
+grass," that Edwards could not be persuaded to quit the main path until
+Benson had repeatedly challenged him to a trot on the green. As soon as
+the two horses were fairly along-side they went off, without waiting the
+signal from their riders, at a pace which kept Ashburner at a
+hand-gallop. For awhile they were neck-and-neck, Benson and Charlie
+hauling against each other, the rider with his weight thrown back in the
+stirrups and laboring to keep his "fast crab" from breaking, while the
+mare struck out beautifully with a moderate pull of the rein. Then as
+Benson, who carried no whip, began to get his horse more in hand, he
+raised a series of yells in true jockey fashion, to encourage his own
+animal and to break up Edwards's. The mare skipped--Tom caught her in an
+instant, but she fell off in her stroke from being held up, and Charlie
+headed her a length; then he gave her her head, and she broke--once,
+twice, three times; and every time Benson drew in his horse, who was now
+well settled down to his work, and waited for Edwards to come on. At
+last, his mare and he both lost their tempers at once. She started for a
+run, and he dropped the reins on her back and let her go. At the same
+instant Benson stuck both spurs into Charlie, who was a rare combination
+of trotter and runner, and away went the two at full gallop. Ashburner's
+hack was left behind at once, but he could see them going on close
+together, tooling their horses capitally; Edwards's riding, being the
+more graceful, and Benson's the more workmanlike; the mare leading a
+trifle, as he thought, and Charlie pressing her close. Suddenly Edwards
+waved his cane as in triumph, but the next moment he and his mare
+disappeared, as if the earth had swallowed them up, while Benson's horse
+sheered off ten feet to the left.
+
+
+
+
+TO ONE IN AFFLICTION.
+
+By John R. Thompson.
+
+From the Southern Literary Messenger.
+
+
+    Dear friend! if word of mine could seal
+      The bitter fount of all thy tears,
+      And, through the future's cloudy years,
+    Some glimpse of sunshine yet reveal--
+
+    That word I might not dare to speak:
+      A father's sorrow o'er his child
+      So sacred seems and undefiled,
+    To bid it cease we may not seek.
+
+    Thy little boy has passed away
+      From mortal sight and mortal love,
+      To join the shining choir above
+    And dwell amid the perfect day;
+
+    All robed in spotless innocence,
+      And fittest for celestial things,
+      O'ershadowed by her rustling wings
+    The angel softly led him hence:
+
+    As pure as if the gentle rain
+      Of his baptismal morn had sought
+      His bosom's depths, and e'ery thought
+    Had sweetly cleansed from earthly stain:
+
+    Such blest assurance brings, I know,
+      To bleeding hearts but sad relief--
+      The dark and troubled tide of grief
+    _Must_ have its ebb and flow--
+
+    And most of all when thou dost plod,
+      _Alone_, upon these wintry days,
+      Along the old familiar ways
+    Wherein _his_ little feet have trod.
+
+    And thou dost treasure up his words,
+      The fragments of his earnest talk,
+      On some remembered morning walk,
+    When, at the song of earliest birds,
+
+    He'd ask of thee, with charm�d look,
+      And smile upon his features spread,
+      Whose careful hand the birds had fed,
+    And filled the ever-running brook?
+
+    Or viewing, from the distant glade,
+      The dim horizon round his home,
+      With simplest speech and air would come
+    And ask why were the mountains made?
+
+    Be strong, my friend, these days of doom
+      Are but the threads of darkest hue,
+      That daily enter to renew
+    The warp of the Eternal Loom.
+
+    And when to us it shall be given
+      In joy _to see the other side_
+      These threads the brightest shall abide
+    In the fair tapestries of Heaven!
+
+
+
+
+MY NOVEL:
+
+OR, VARIETIES IN ENGLISH LIFE.
+
+By Pisistratus Caxton.
+
+_Continued from page 421._
+
+From Blackwood's Magazine
+
+
+PART VI.--CHAPTER XIII.
+
+Whatever may be the ultimate success of Miss Jemima Hazeldean's designs
+upon Dr. Riccabocca, the Machiavellian sagacity with which the Italian
+had counted upon securing the services of Lenny Fairfield was speedily
+and triumphantly established by the result. No voice of the Parson's,
+charmed he ever so wisely, could persuade the peasant boy to go and ask
+pardon of the young gentleman, to whom, because he had done as he was
+bid, he owed an agonizing defeat and a shameful incarceration. And, to
+Mrs. Dale's vexation, the widow took the boy's part. She was deeply
+offended at the unjust disgrace Lenny had undergone in being put in the
+stocks; she shared his pride, and openly approved his spirit. Nor was it
+without great difficulty that Lenny could be induced to resume his
+lessons at school; nay, even to set foot beyond the precincts of his
+mother's holding. The point of the school at last he yielded, though
+sullenly; and the Parson thought it better to temporize as to the more
+unpalatable demand. Unluckily Lenny's apprehensions of the mockery that
+awaited him in the merciless world of his village were realized. Though
+Stirn at first kept his own counsel, the Tinker blabbed the whole
+affair. And after the search instituted for Lenny on the fatal night,
+all attempt to hush up what had passed would have been impossible. So
+then Stirn told his story, as the Tinker had told his own; both tales
+were very unfavorable to Leonard Fairfield. The pattern boy had broken
+the Sabbath, fought with his betters, and been well mauled into the
+bargain; the village lad had sided with Stirn and the authorities in
+spying out the misdemeanors of his equals; therefore Leonard Fairfield,
+in both capacities of degraded pattern boy and baffled spy, could expect
+no mercy;--he was ridiculed in the one, and hated in the other.
+
+It is true that, in the presence of the schoolmaster, and under the eye
+of Mr. Dale, no one openly gave vent to malignant feelings; but the
+moment those checks were removed, popular persecution began.
+
+Some pointed and mowed at him; some cursed him for a sneak, and all
+shunned his society; voices were heard in the hedgerows, as he passed
+through the village at dusk, "Who was put in the stocks?--baa!" "Who got
+a bloody nob for playing spy to Nick Stirn?--baa!" To resist this
+species of aggression would have been a vain attempt for a wiser head
+and a colder temper than our poor pattern boy's. He took his resolution
+at once, and his mother approved it; and the second or third day after
+Dr. Riccabocca's return to the Casino, Lenny Fairfield presented himself
+on the terrace with a little bundle in his hand. "Please, sir," said he
+to the Doctor, who was sitting cross-legged on the balustrade, with his
+red silk umbrella over his head.
+
+"Please, sir, if you'll be good enough to take me now, and give me any
+hole to sleep in, I'll work for your honor night and day; and as for the
+wages, mother says 'just suit yourself, sir.'"
+
+"My child," said the Doctor, taking Lenny by the hand, and looking at
+him with the sagacious eye of a wizard, "I knew you would come! and
+Giacomo is already prepared for you! As to wages, we'll talk of them
+by-and-by."
+
+Lenny being thus settled, his mother looked for some evenings on the
+vacant chair, where he had so long sate in the place of her beloved
+Mark; and the chair seemed so comfortless and desolate, thus left all to
+itself, that she could bear it no longer.
+
+Indeed the village had grown as distasteful to her as to Lenny--perhaps
+more so; and one morning she hailed the Steward as he was trotting his
+hog-maned cob beside the door, and bade him tell the Squire that "she
+would take it very kind if he would let her off the six months' notice
+for the land and premises she held--there were plenty to step into the
+place at a much better rent."
+
+"You're a fool," said the good-natured Steward; "and I'm very glad you
+did not speak to that fellow Stirn instead of to me. You've been doing
+extremely well here, and have the place, I may say, for nothing."
+
+"Nothin' as to rent, sir, but a great deal as to feeling," said the
+widow. "And now Lenny has gone to work with the foreign gentleman, I
+should like to go and live near him."
+
+"Ah, yes--I heard Lenny had taken himself off to the Casino--more fool
+he; but, bless your heart, 'tis no distance--two miles or so. Can't he
+come home every night after work?"
+
+"No, sir," exclaimed the widow almost fiercely; "he shan't come home
+here, to be called bad names and jeered at!--he whom my dead good man
+was so fond and proud of. No, sir; we poor folks have our feelings, as I
+said to Mrs. Dale, and as I will say to the Squire hisself. Not that I
+don't thank him for all favors--he be a good gentleman if let alone; but
+he says he won't come near us till Lenny goes and axes pardin. Pardin
+for what, I should like to know? Poor lamb! I wish you could ha' seen
+his nose, sir--as big as your two fists. Ax pardin! If the Squire had
+had such a nose as that, I don't think it's pardin he'd been ha' axing.
+But I let's the passion get the better of me--I humbly beg you'll excuse
+it, sir. I'm no scollard, as poor Mark was, and Lenny would have been,
+if the Lord had not visited us otherways. Therefore just get the Squire
+to let me go as soon as may be; and as for the bit o' hay and what's on
+the grounds and orchard, the new-comer will no doubt settle that."
+
+The Steward, finding no eloquence of his could induce the widow to
+relinquish her resolution, took her message to the Squire. Mr.
+Hazeldean, who was indeed really offended at the boy's obstinate refusal
+to make the _amende honorable_ to Randal Leslie, at first only bestowed
+a hearty curse or two on the pride and ingratitude both of mother and
+son. It may be supposed, however, that his second thoughts were more
+gentle, since that evening, though he did not go himself to the widow,
+he sent his "Harry." Now, though Harry was sometimes austere and
+_brusque_ enough on her own account, and in such business as might
+especially be transacted between herself and the cottagers, yet she
+never appeared as the delegate of her lord except in the capacity of a
+herald-of-peace and mediating angel. It was with good heart, too, that
+she undertook this mission, since, as we have seen, both mother and son
+were great favorites of hers. She entered the cottage with the
+friendliest beam in her bright blue eye, and it was with the softest
+tone of her frank cordial voice that she accosted the widow. But she was
+no more successful than the Steward had been. The truth is, that I don't
+believe the haughtiest duke in the three kingdoms is really so proud as
+your plain English rural peasant, nor half so hard to propitiate and
+deal with when his sense of dignity is ruffled. Nor are there many of my
+own literary brethren (thin-skinned creatures though we are) so
+sensitively alive to the Public Opinion, wisely despised by Dr.
+Riccabocca, as the same peasant. He can endure a good deal of contumely
+sometimes, it is true, from his superiors, (though, thank Heaven! _that_
+he rarely meets with unjustly;) but to be looked down upon, and mocked,
+and pointed at by his own equals--his own little world--cuts him to the
+soul. And if you can succeed in breaking his pride, and destroying this
+sensitiveness, then he is a lost being. He can never recover his
+self-esteem, and you have chucked him half way--a stolid, inert, sullen
+victim--to the perdition of the prison or the convict-ship.
+
+Of this stuff was the nature both of the widow and her son. Had the
+honey of Plato flowed from the tongue of Mrs. Hazeldean, it could not
+have turned into sweetness the bitter spirit upon which it descended.
+But Mrs. Hazeldean, though an excellent woman, was rather a bluff,
+plain-spoken one--and, after all, she had some little feeling for the
+son of a gentleman, and a decayed fallen gentleman, who, even by Lenny's
+account, had been assailed without any intelligible provocation; nor
+could she, with her strong common sense, attach all the importance which
+Mrs. Fairfield did to the unmannerly impertinence of a few young cubs,
+which she said truly, "would soon die away if no notice was taken of
+it." The widow's mind was made up, and Mrs. Hazeldean departed--with
+much chagrin and some displeasure.
+
+Mrs. Fairfield, however, tacitly understood that the request she had
+made was granted, and early one morning her door was found locked--the
+key left at a neighbor's to be given to the Steward; and, on farther
+inquiry, it was ascertained that her furniture and effects had been
+removed by the errand-cart in the dead of the night. Lenny had succeeded
+in finding a cottage, on the road-side, not far from the Casino; and
+there, with a joyous face, he waited to welcome his mother to breakfast,
+and show how he had spent the night in arranging her furniture.
+
+"Parson!" cried the Squire, when all this news came upon him, as he was
+walking arm-in-arm with Mr. Dale to inspect some proposed improvement in
+the Alms-house, "this is all your fault. Why did not you go and talk to
+that brute of a boy, and that dolt of a woman? You've got 'soft sawder
+enough,' as Frank calls it in his new-fashioned slang."
+
+"As if I had not talked myself hoarse to both!" said the Parson in a
+tone of reproachful surprise at the accusation. "But it was in vain! O
+Squire, if you had taken my advice about the stocks--_quieta non
+movere_!"
+
+"Bother!" said the Squire. "I suppose I am to be held up as a tyrant, a
+Nero, a Richard the Third, or a Grand Inquisitor, merely for having
+things smart and tidy! Stocks indeed!--your friend Rickeybockey said he
+was never more comfortable in his life--quite enjoyed sitting there. And
+what did not hurt Rickeybockey's dignity (a very gentlemanlike man he
+is, when he pleases) ought to be no such great matter to Master Leonard
+Fairfield. But 'tis no use talking! What's to be done now? The woman
+must not starve; and I'm sure she can't live out of Rickeybockey's wages
+to Lenny--(by the way, I hope he don't board him upon his and Jackeymo's
+leavings: I hear they dine upon newts and sticklebacks--faugh!) I'll
+tell you what, Parson, now I think of it--at the back of the cottage
+which she has taken there are some fields of capital land just vacant.
+Rickeybockey wants to have 'em, and sounded me as to the rent when he
+was at the Hall. I only half promised him the refusal. And he must give
+up four or five acres of the best land round the cottage to the
+widow--just enough for her to manage--and she can keep a dairy. If she
+want capital, I'll lend her some in your name--only don't tell Stirn;
+and as for the rent--we'll talk of that when we see how she gets on,
+thankless obstinate jade that she is! You see," added the Squire, as if
+he felt there was some apology due for this generosity to an object whom
+he professed to consider so ungrateful, "her husband was a faithful
+servant, and so--I wish you would not stand there staring me out of
+countenance, but go down to the woman at once, or Stirn will have let
+the land to Rickeybockey, as sure as a gun. And hark ye, Dale, perhaps
+you can contrive, if the woman is so cursedly stiff-backed, not to say
+the land is mine, or that it is any favor I want to do her--or, in
+short, manage it as you can for the best." Still even this charitable
+message failed. The widow knew that the land was the Squire's, and worth
+a good �3 an acre. "She thanked him humbly for that and all favors; but
+she could not afford to buy cows, and she did not wish to be beholden
+to any one for her living. And Lenny was well off at Mr.
+Rickeybockey's, and coming on wonderfully in the garden way--and she did
+not doubt she could get some washing; at all events, her haystack would
+bring in a good bit of money, and she should do nicely, thank their
+honors."
+
+Nothing farther could be done in the direct way, but the remark about
+the washing suggested some mode of indirectly benefiting the widow. And
+a little time afterwards, the sole laundress in that immediate
+neighborhood happening to die, a hint from the Squire obtained from the
+landlady of the inn opposite the Casino such custom as she had to
+bestow, which at times was not inconsiderable. And what with Lenny's
+wages, (whatever that mysterious item might be,) the mother and son
+contrived to live without exhibiting any of those physical signs of fast
+and abstinence which Riccabocca and his valet gratuitously afforded to
+the student in animal anatomy.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+Of all the wares and commodities in exchange and barter, wherein so
+mainly consists the civilization of our modern world, there is not one
+which is so carefully weighed--so accurately measured--so plumbed and
+gauged--so doled and scraped--so poured out in _minima_ and balanced
+with scruples--as that necessary of social commerce called "an apology!"
+If the chemists were half so careful in vending their poisons, there
+would be a notable diminution in the yearly average of victims to
+arsenic and oxalic acid. But, alas, in the matter of apology, it is not
+from the excess of the dose, but the timid, niggardly, miserly manner in
+which it is dispensed, that poor humanity is hurried off to the Styx!
+How many times does a life depend on the exact proportions of an
+apology! Is it a hairbreadth too short to cover the scratch for which
+you want it? Make your will--you are a dead man! A life do I say?--a
+hecatomb of lives! How many wars would have been prevented, how many
+thrones would be standing, dynasties flourishing--commonwealths brawling
+round a _bema_, or fitting out galleys for corn and cotton--if an inch
+or two more of apology had been added to the proffered ell! But then
+that plagy, jealous, suspicious, old vinegar-faced Honor, and her
+partner Pride--as penny-wise and pound-foolish a she-skinflint as
+herself--have the monopoly of the article. And what with the time they
+lose in adjusting their spectacles, hunting in the precise shelf for the
+precise quality demanded, then (quality found) the haggling as to
+quantum--considering whether it should be Apothecary's weight or
+Avoirdupois, or English measure or Flemish--and, finally, the hullaboloo
+they make if the customer is not perfectly satisfied with the monstrous
+little he gets for his money,--I don't wonder, for my part, how one
+loses temper and patience, and sends Pride, Honor, and Apology, all to
+the devil. Aristophanes, in his "Comedy of _Peace_" insinuates a
+beautiful allegory by only suffering that goddess, though in fact she is
+his heroine, to appear as a mute. She takes care never to open her lips.
+The shrewd Greek knew very well that she would cease to be Peace, if she
+once began to chatter. Wherefore, O reader, if ever you find your pump
+under the iron heel of another man's boot, heaven grant that you may
+hold your tongue, and not make things past all endurance and forgiveness
+by bawling out for an apology!
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+But the Squire and his son, Frank, were large-hearted generous creatures
+in the article of apology, as in all things less skimpingly dealt out.
+And seeing that Leonard Fairfield would offer no plaister to Randal
+Leslie, they made amends for his stinginess by their own prodigality.
+The Squire accompanied his son to Rood Hall, and none of the family
+choosing to be at home, the Squire in his own hand, and from his own
+head, indited and composed an epistle which might have satisfied all the
+wounds which the dignity of the Leslies had ever received.
+
+This letter of apology ended with a hearty request that Randall would
+come and spend a few days with his son. Frank's epistle was to the same
+purport, only more Etonian and less legible.
+
+It was some days before Randall's replies to these epistles were
+received. The replies bore the address of a village near London, and
+stated that the writer was now reading with a tutor preparatory to
+entrance at Oxford, and could not, therefore, accept the invitation
+extended to him.
+
+For the rest, Randall expressed himself with good sense, though not with
+much generosity, he excused his participation in the vulgarity of such a
+conflict by a bitter but short allusion to the obstinacy and ignorance
+of the village boor; and did not do what you, my kind reader, certainly
+would have done under similar circumstances--viz. intercede in behalf of
+a brave and unfortunate antagonist. Most of us like a foe better after
+we have fought him--that is, if we are the conquering party; this was
+not the case with Randal Leslie. There, so far as the Etonian was
+concerned, the matter rested. And the Squire, irritated that he could
+not repair whatever wrong that young gentleman had sustained, no longer
+felt a pang of regret as he passed by Mrs. Fairfield's deserted cottage.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+Lenny Fairfield continued to give great satisfaction to his new
+employers, and to profit in many respects by the familiar kindness with
+which he was treated. Riccabocca, who valued himself on penetrating into
+character, had from the first seen that much stuff of no common quality
+and texture was to be found in the disposition and mind of the English
+village boy. On farther acquaintance, he perceived that, under a
+child's innocent simplicity, there were the workings of an acuteness
+that required but development and direction. He ascertained that the
+pattern boy's progress at the village school proceeded from something
+more than mechanical docility and readiness of comprehension. Lenny had
+a keen thirst for knowledge, and through all the disadvantages of and
+circumstance, there were the indications of that natural genius which
+converts disadvantages themselves into stimulants. Still, with the germs
+of good qualities lay the embryos of those which, difficult to separate,
+and hard to destroy, often mar the produce of the soil. With a
+remarkable and generous pride in self-repute, there was some
+stubbornness; with great sensibility to kindness, there was also strong
+reluctance to forgive affront.
+
+This mixed nature in an uncultivated peasant's breast interested
+Riccabocca, who, though long secluded from the commerce of mankind,
+still looked upon man as the most various and entertaining volume which
+philosophical research can explore. He soon accustomed the boy to the
+tone of a conversation generally subtle and suggestive; and Lenny's
+language and ideas became insensibly less rustic and more refined. Then
+Riccabocca selected from his library, small as it was, books that,
+though elementary, were of a higher cast than Lenny could have found
+within his reach at Hazeldean. Riccabocca knew the English language
+well, better in grammar, construction, and genius than many a not
+ill-educated Englishman; for he had studied it with the minuteness with
+which a scholar studies a dead language, and amidst his collection he
+had many of the books which had formerly served him for that purpose.
+These were the first works he had lent to Lenny. Meanwhile Jackeymo
+imparted to the boy many secrets in practical gardening and minute
+husbandry, for at that day farming in England (some favored counties and
+estates excepted) was far below the nicety to which the art has been
+immemorially carried in the north of Italy--where, indeed, you may
+travel for miles and miles as through a series of market-gardens--so
+that, all these things considered, Leonard Fairfield might be said to
+have made a change for the better. Yet in truth, and looking below the
+surface, that might be fair matter of doubt. For the same reason which
+had induced the boy to fly his native village, he no longer repaired to
+the church of Hazeldean. The old intimate intercourse between him and
+the Parson became necessarily suspended, or bounded to an occasional
+kindly visit from the father--visits which grew more rare, and less
+familiar, as he found his former pupil in no want of his services, and
+wholly deaf to his mild entreaties to forget and forgive the past, and
+come at least to his old seat in the parish church. Lenny still went to
+church--a church a long way off in another parish--but the sermons did
+not do him the same good as Parson Dale's had done; and the clergyman,
+who had his own flock to attend to, did not condescend, as Parson Dale
+would have done, to explain what seemed obscure, and enforce what was
+profitable, in private talk, with that stray lamb from another's fold.
+
+Now I question much if all Dr. Riccabocca's sage maxims, though they
+were often very moral, and generally very wise, served to expand the
+peasant boy's native good qualities, and correct his bad, half so well
+as the few simple words, not at all indebted to Machiavelli, which
+Leonard had once reverently listened to when he stood by his father's
+chair, yielded up for the moment to the good Parson, worthy to sit in
+it; for Mr. Dale had a heart in which all the fatherless of the parish
+found their place. Nor was this loss of tender, intimate, spiritual love
+so counterbalanced by the greater facilities for purely intellectual
+instruction, as modern enlightenment might presume. For, without
+disputing the advantage of knowledge in a general way, knowledge, in
+itself, is not friendly to content. Its tendency, of course, is to
+increase the desires, to dissatisfy us with what is, in order to urge
+progress to what may be; and, in that progress, what unnoticed martyrs
+among the many must fall, baffled and crushed by the way! To how large a
+number will be given desires they will never realize, dissatisfaction of
+the lot from which they will never rise! _Allons!_ one is viewing the
+dark side of the question. It is all the fault of that confounded
+Riccabocca, who has already caused Lenny Fairfield to lean gloomily on
+his spade, and, after looking round and seeing no one near him, groan
+out querulously--
+
+"And am I born to dig a potato ground?"
+
+_Pardieu_, my friend Lenny, if you live to be seventy, and ride in your
+carriage;--and by the help of a dinner-pill digest a spoonful of curry,
+you may sigh to think what a relish there was in potatoes, roasted in
+ashes after you had digged them out of that ground with your own stout
+young hands. Dig on, Lenny Fairfield, dig on! Dr. Riccabocca will tell
+you that there was once an illustrious personage[R] who made experience
+of two very different occupations--one was ruling men, the other was
+planting cabbages; he thought planting cabbages much the pleasanter of
+the two!
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+Dr. Riccabocca had secured Lenny Fairfield, and might therefore be
+considered to have ridden his hobby in the great whirligig with
+adroitness and success. But Miss Jemima was still driving round in her
+car, bundling the reins, and flourishing the whip, without apparently
+having got an inch nearer to the flying form of Dr. Riccabocca.
+
+Indeed, that excellent and only too susceptible spinster, with all her
+experience of the villany of man, had never conceived the wretch to be
+so thoroughly beyond the reach of redemption as when Dr. Riccabocca took
+his leave, and once more interred himself amidst the solitudes of the
+Casino, without having made any formal renunciation of his criminal
+celibacy. For some days she shut herself up in her own chamber, and
+brooded with more than her usual gloomy satisfaction on the certainty of
+the approaching crash. Indeed, many signs of that universal calamity
+which, while the visit of Riccabocca lasted, she had permitted herself
+to consider ambiguous, now became luminously apparent. Even the
+newspaper, which during that credulous and happy period had given half a
+column to births and marriages, now bore an ominously long catalogue of
+deaths; so that it seemed as if the whole population had lost heart, and
+had no chance of repairing its daily losses. The leading articles spoke,
+with the obscurity of a Pythian, of an impending CRISIS. Monstrous
+turnips sprouted out from the paragraphs devoted to general news. Cows
+bore calves with two heads, whales were stranded in the Humber, showers
+of frogs descended in the High-street of Cheltenham.
+
+All these symptoms of the world's decrepitude and consummation, which by
+the side of the fascinating Riccabocca might admit of some doubt is to
+their origin and cause, now, conjoined with the worst of all, viz.--the
+frightfully progressive wickedness of man--left to Miss Jemima no ray of
+hope save that afforded by the reflection that she could contemplate the
+wreck of matter without a single sentiment of regret.
+
+Mrs. Dale, however, by no means shared the despondency of her fair
+friend, and, having gained access to Miss Jemima's chamber, succeeded,
+though not without difficulty, in her kindly attempts to cheer the
+drooping spirits of that female philanthropist. Nor, in her benevolent
+desire to speed the car of Miss Jemima to its hymenial goal, was Mrs.
+Dale so cruel towards her male friend, Dr. Riccabocca, as she seemed to
+her husband. For Mrs. Dale was a woman of shrewdness and penetration, as
+most quick-tempered women are; and she knew that Miss Jemima was one of
+those excellent young ladies who are likely to value a husband in
+proportion to the difficulty of obtaining him. In fact, my readers of
+both sexes must often have met, in the course of their experience, with
+that peculiar sort of feminine disposition, which requires the warmth of
+the conjugal hearth to develop all its native good qualities; nor is it
+to be blamed over-much if, innocently aware of this tendency in its
+nature, it turns towards what is best fitted for its growth and
+improvement, by laws akin to those which make the sun-flower turn to the
+sun or the willow to the stream. Ladies of this disposition, permanently
+thwarted in their affectionate bias, gradually languish away into
+intellectual inanition, or sprout out into those abnormal eccentricities
+which are classed under the general name of "oddity" or "character."
+But, once admitted to their proper soil, it is astonishing what
+healthful improvement takes place--how the poor heart, before starved
+and stinted of nourishment, throws out its suckers, and bursts into
+bloom and fruit. And thus many a belle from whom the beaux have stood
+aloof, only because the puppies think she could be had for the asking,
+they see afterwards settled down into true wife and fond mother, with
+amaze at their former disparagement, and a sigh at their blind hardness
+of heart.
+
+In all probability, Mrs. Dale took this view of the subject; and
+certainly, in addition to all the hitherto dormant virtues which would
+be awakened in Miss Jemima when fairly Mrs. Riccabocca, she counted
+somewhat upon the mere worldly advantage which such a match would bestow
+upon the exile. So respectable a connection with one of the oldest,
+wealthiest and most popular families in the shire, would in itself give
+him a position not to be despised by a poor stranger in the land; and
+though the interest of Miss Jemima's dowry might not be much, regarded
+in the light of English pounds, (not Milanese _lire_,) still it would
+suffice to prevent that gradual process of dematerialization which the
+lengthened diet upon minnows and sticklebacks had already made apparent
+in the fine and slow-evanishing form of the philosopher.
+
+Like all persons convinced of the expediency of a thing, Mrs. Dale saw
+nothing wanting but opportunities to insure success. And that these
+might be forthcoming, she not only renewed with greater frequency, and
+more urgent instance than ever, her friendly invitations to Riccabocca
+to drink tea and spend the evening, but she artfully so chafed the
+Squire on his sore point of hospitality, that the doctor received weekly
+a pressing solicitation to dine and sleep at the Hall.
+
+At first the Italian pished and grunted, and said _Cospetto_, and _Per
+Bacco_, and _Diavola_, and tried to creep out of so much proffered
+courtesy. But, like all single gentlemen, he was a little under the
+tyrannical influence of his faithful servant; and Jackeymo, though he
+could bear starving as well as his master when necessary, still, when he
+had the option, preferred roast beef and plum-pudding. Moreover, that
+vain and incautious confidence of Riccabocca, touching the vast sum at
+his command, and with no heavier drawback than that of so amiable a lady
+as Miss Jemima--who had already shown him (Jackeymo) many little
+delicate attentions--had greatly whetted the cupidity which was in the
+servant's Italian nature? a cupidity the more keen because, long
+debarred its legitimate exercise on his own mercenary interests, he
+carried it all to the account of his master's!
+
+Thus tempted by his enemy, and betrayed by his servant, the unfortunate
+Riccabocca fell, though with eyes not unblinded, into the hospitable
+snares extended for the destruction of his--celibacy! He went often to
+the parsonage, often to the Hall, and by degrees the sweets of the
+social domestic life, long denied him, began to exercise their
+enervating charm upon the stoicism of our poor exile. Frank had now
+returned to Eton. An unexpected invitation had carried off Captain
+Higginbotham to pass a few weeks at Bath, with a distant relation, who
+had lately returned from India, and who, as rich as Croesus, felt so
+estranged and solitary in his native isle, that, when the Captain
+"claimed kindred there," to his own amaze "he had his claims allowed;"
+while a very protracted sitting of Parliament still delayed in London
+the Squire's habitual visitors in the later summer; so that--a chasm
+thus made in his society--Mr. Hazeldean welcomed with no hollow
+cordiality the diversion or distraction he found in the foreigner's
+companionship. Thus, with pleasure to all parties, and strong hopes to
+the two female conspirators, the intimacy between the Casino and Hall
+rapidly thickened; but still not a word resembling a distinct proposal
+did Dr. Riccabocca breathe. And still, if such an idea obtruded itself
+on his mind, it was chased therefrom with so determined a _Diavolo_,
+that perhaps, if not the end of the world, at least the end of Miss
+Jemima's tenure in it, might have approached, and seen her still Miss
+Jemima, but for a certain letter with a foreign postmark that reached
+the doctor one Tuesday morning.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+The servant saw that something had gone wrong, and, under pretence of
+syringing the orange trees, he lingered near his master, and peered
+through the sunny leaves upon Riccabocca's melancholy brows.
+
+The doctor sighed heavily. Nor did he, as was his wont, after some such
+sigh, mechanically take up that dear comforter, the pipe. But though the
+tobacco pouch lay by his side on the balustrade, and the pipe stood
+against the wall between his knees, child-like lifting up its lips to
+the customary caress--he heeded neither the one nor the other, but laid
+the letter silently on his lap, and fixed his eyes upon the ground.
+
+"It must be bad news indeed!" thought Jackeymo, and desisted from his
+work. Approaching his master, he took up the pipe and the tobacco pouch,
+and filled the bowl slowly, glancing all the while to that dark musing
+face on which, when abandoned by the expression of intellectual
+vivacity, or the exquisite smile of Italian courtesy, the deep downward
+lines revealed the characters of sorrow. Jackeymo did not venture to
+speak; but the continued silence of his master disturbed him much. He
+laid that peculiar tinder which your smokers use upon the steel, and
+struck the spark--still not a word, nor did Riccabocca stretch forth his
+hand.
+
+"I never knew him in this taking before," thought Jackeymo; and
+delicately he insinuated the neck of the pipe into the nerveless fingers
+of the hand that lay supine on those quiet knees--the pipe fell to the
+ground.
+
+Jackeymo crossed himself, and began praying to his sainted namesake with
+great fervor.
+
+The doctor rose slowly, and, as if with effort, he walked once or twice
+to and fro the terrace; and then he halted abruptly, and said--
+
+"Friend!"
+
+"Blessed Monsignore San Giacomo, I knew thou wouldst hear me!" cried the
+servant; and he raised his master's hand to his pipe, then abruptly
+turned away and wiped his eyes. "Friend," repeated Riccabocca, and this
+time with a tremulous emphasis, and in the softest tone of a voice never
+wholly without the music of the sweet South, "I would talk to thee of my
+child."----
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+"The letter, then, relates to the Signorina. She is well?"
+
+"Yes, she is well now. She is in our native Italy."
+
+Jackeymo raised his eyes involuntarily towards the orange-trees, and the
+morning breeze swept by and bore to him the odor of their blossoms.
+
+"Those are sweet even here, with care," said he, pointing to the trees.
+"I think I have said that before to the Padrone."
+
+But Riccabocca was now looking again at the letter, and did not notice
+either the gesture or the remark of his servant.
+
+"My aunt is no more!" said he, after a pause.
+
+"We will pray for her soul!" answered Jackeymo, solemnly. "But she was
+very old, and had been a long time ailing. Let it not grieve the Padrone
+too keenly, at that age, and with those infirmities, death comes as a
+friend."
+
+"Peace be to her dust!" returned the Italian. "If she had her faults, be
+they now forgotten for ever; and in the hour of my danger and distress,
+she sheltered my infant! That shelter is destroyed. This letter is from
+the priest, her confessor. You know that she had nothing at her own
+disposal to bequeath my child, and her property passes to the male
+heir--mine enemy."
+
+"Traitor!" muttered Jackeymo; and his right hand seemed to feel for the
+weapon which the Italians of lower rank often openly wear in their
+girdles.
+
+"The priest," resumed Riccabocca, calmly, "has rightly judged in
+removing my child as a guest from the house in which my enemy enters as
+lord."
+
+"And where is the Signorina?"
+
+"With that poor priest. See, Giacomo--here, here--this is her
+handwriting at the end of the letter--the first lines she ever yet
+traced to me."
+
+Jackeymo took off his hat, and looked reverently on the large characters
+of a child's writing. But large as they were, they seemed indistinct,
+for the paper was blistered with the child's tears, and on the place
+where they had _not_ fallen, there was a round fresh moist stain of the
+tear that had dropped from the lids of the father. Riccabocca
+renewed,--"The priest recommends a convent."
+
+"To the devil with the priest!" cried the servant; then crossing himself
+rapidly, he added, "I did not mean that, Monsignore San
+Giacomo--forgive me! But your excellency[S] does not think of making a
+nun of his only child!"
+
+"And yet why not?" said Riccabocca, mournfully; "what can I give her in
+the world? Is the land of the stranger a better refuge than the home of
+peace in her native clime?"
+
+"In the land of the stranger beats her father's heart!"
+
+"And if that beat were stilled, what then? Ill fares the life that a
+single death can bereave of all. In a convent at least (and the priest's
+influence can obtain her that asylum amongst her equals and amidst her
+sex) she is safe from trial and penury--to her grave."
+
+"Penury! Just see how rich we shall be when we take those fields at
+Michaelmas."
+
+"_Pazzie!_" (follies) said Riccabocca, listlessly. "Are these suns more
+serene than ours, or the soil more fertile? Yet in our own Italy, saith
+the proverb, 'he who sows land, reaps more care than corn.' It were
+different," continued the father after a pause, and in a more irresolute
+tone, "if I had some independence, however small, to count on--nay, if
+among all my tribe of dainty relatives there were but one female who
+would accompany Violante to the exile's hearth--Ishmael had his Hagar.
+But how can we two rough-bearded men provide for all the nameless, wants
+and cares of a frail female child? And she has been so delicately
+reared--the woman-child needs the fostering hand and tender eye of a
+woman."
+
+"And with a word," said Jackeymo, resolutely, "the Padrone might secure
+to his child all that he needs, to save her from the sepulchre of a
+convent; and ere the autumn leaves fall, she might be sitting on his
+knee. Padrone, do not think that you can conceal from me the truth, that
+you love your child better than all things in the world--now the Patria
+is as dead to you as the dust of your fathers--and your heart-strings
+would crack with the effort to tear her from them, and consign her to a
+convent. Padrone, never again to hear her voice--never again to see her
+face! Those little arms that twined round your neck that dark night,
+when we fled fast for life and freedom, and you said, as you felt their
+clasp, 'Friend, all is not yet lost!'"
+
+"Giacomo!" exclaimed the father, reproachfully, and his voice seemed to
+choke him. Riccabocca turned away, and walked restlessly to and fro the
+terrace; then, lifting his arms with a wild gesture as he still
+continued his long irregular strides, he muttered, "Yes, heaven is my
+witness that I could have borne reverse and banishment without a murmur,
+had I permitted myself that young partner in exile and privation. Heaven
+is my witness that, if I hesitate now, it is because I would not listen
+to my own selfish heart. Yet never, never to see her again--my child!
+And it was but as the infant that I beheld her! O friend, friend----"
+(and, stopping short with a burst of uncontrollable emotion, he bowed
+his head upon his servant's shoulder;) "thou knowest what I have endured
+and suffered at my hearth, as in my country; the wrong, the perfidy,
+the--the--" His voice again failed him; he clung to his servant's
+breast, and his whole frame shook.
+
+"But your child, the innocent one--I think now only of her!" faltered
+Giacomo, struggling with his own sobs.
+
+"True, only of her," replied the exile, raising his face--"only of her.
+Put aside thy thoughts for thyself, friend--counsel me. If I were to
+send for Violante, and if, transplanted to these keen airs, she drooped
+and died--look, look--the priest says that she needs such tender care;
+or if I myself were summoned from the world, to leave her in it alone,
+friendless, homeless, breadless perhaps at the age of woman's sharpest
+trial against temptation, would she not live to mourn the cruel egotism
+that closed on her infant innocence the gates of the House of God?"
+
+Giacomo was appalled by this appeal; and indeed Riccabocca had never
+before thus reverently spoken of the cloister. In his hours of
+philosophy, he was wont to sneer at monks and nuns, priesthood and
+superstition. But now, in that hour of emotion, the Old Religion
+reclaimed her empire; and the skeptical world-wise man, thinking only of
+his child, spoke and felt with a child's simple faith.
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+"But again I say," murmured Jackeymo, scarce audibly, and after a long
+silence, "if the Padrone would make up his mind--to marry!"
+
+He expected that his master would start up in his customary indignation
+at such a suggestion--nay, he might not have been sorry so to have
+changed the current of feeling; but the poor Italian only winced
+slightly, and mildly withdrawing himself from his servant's supporting
+arm, again paced the terrace, but this time quietly and in silence. A
+quarter of an hour thus passed. "Give me the pipe," said Dr. Riccabocca,
+passing into the Belvidere.
+
+Jackeymo again struck the spark, and, wonderfully relieved at the
+Padrone's return to his usual adviser, mentally besought his sainted
+namesake to bestow a double portion of soothing wisdom on the benignant
+influences of the weed.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+Dr. Riccabocca had been some little time in the solitude of the
+Belvidere, when Lenny Fairfield, not knowing that his employer was
+therein, entered to lay down a book which the Doctor had lent him, with
+injunctions to leave on a certain table when done with. Riccabocca
+looked up at the sound of the young peasant's step.
+
+"I beg your honor's pardon--I did not know----"
+
+"Never mind; lay the book there. I wish to speak with you. You look
+well, my child; this air agrees with you as well as that of Hazeldean?"
+
+"Oh yes, sir."
+
+"Yet it is higher ground, more exposed?"
+
+"That can hardly be, sir," said Lenny; "there are many plants grow here
+which don't flourish at the Squire's. The hill yonder keeps off the east
+wind, and the place lays to the south."
+
+"Lies, not _lays_, Lenny. What are the principal complaints in these
+parts?"
+
+"Eh, sir?"
+
+"I mean what maladies, what diseases?"
+
+"I never heard tell of any, sir, except the rheumatism."
+
+"No low fevers?--no consumption?"
+
+"Never heard of them, sir."
+
+Riccabocca drew a long breath, as if relieved.
+
+"That seems a very kind family at the Hall."
+
+"I have nothing to say against it," answered Lenny, bluntly. "I have not
+been treated justly. But as that book says, sir, 'It is not every one
+who comes into the world with a silver spoon in his mouth.'"
+
+Little thought the Doctor that those wise maxims may leave sore thoughts
+behind them. He was too occupied with the subject most at his own heart
+to think then of what was in Lenny Fairfield's.
+
+"Yes; a kind, English, domestic family. Did you see much of Miss
+Hazeldean?"
+
+"Not so much as of the Lady."
+
+"Is she liked in the village, think you?"
+
+"Miss Jemima? Yes. She never did harm. Her little dog bit me once--she
+did not ask me to beg its pardon, she asked mine! She's a very nice
+young lady; the girls say she's very affable; and," added Lenny with a
+smile, "there are always more weddings going on when she's down at the
+Hall."
+
+"Oh!" said Riccabocca. Then, after a long whiff, "Did you ever see her
+play with the little children? Is she fond of children, do you think?"
+
+"Lord, sir, you guess every thing! She's never so pleased as when she's
+playing with the babies."
+
+"Humph!" grunted Riccabocca. "Babies--well, that's womanlike. I don't
+mean exactly babies, but when they're older--little girls."
+
+"Indeed, sir, I dare say; but," said Lenny, primly, "I never as yet kept
+company with the little girls."
+
+"Quite right, Lenny; be equally discreet all your life. Mrs. Dale is
+very intimate with Miss Hazeldean--more than with the Squire's lady. Why
+is that, think you?"
+
+"Well, sir," said Leonard, shrewdly, "Mrs. Dale has her little tempers,
+though she's a very good lady; and Madam Hazeldean is rather high, and
+has a spirit. But Miss Jemima is so soft: any one could live with Miss
+Jemima, as Joe and the servants say at the Hall."
+
+"Indeed! Get my hat out of the parlor, and--just bring a clothesbrush,
+Lenny. A fine sunny day for a walk."
+
+After this most mean and dishonorable inquisition into the character and
+popular repute of Miss Hazeldean, Signore Riccabocca seemed as much
+cheered up and elated as if he had committed some very noble action; and
+he walked forth in the direction of the Hall with a far lighter and
+livelier step than that with which he had paced the terrace.
+
+"Monsignore San Giacomo, by thy help and the pipe's, the Padrone shall
+have his child!" muttered the servant, looking up from the garden.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+Yet Dr. Riccabocca was not rash. The man who wants his wedding-garment
+to fit him must allow plenty of time for the measure. But, from that
+day, the Italian notably changed his manner towards Miss Hazeldean. He
+ceased that profusion of compliment in which he had hitherto carried off
+in safety all serious meaning. For indeed the Doctor considered that
+compliments, to a single gentleman, were what the inky liquid it
+dispenses is to the cuttle-fish, that by obscuring the water sails away
+from its enemy. Neither did he, as before, avoid prolonged conversations
+with that young lady, and contrive to escape from all solitary rambles
+by her side. On the contrary, he now sought every occasion to be in her
+society; and, entirely dropping the language of gallantry, he assumed
+something of the earnest tone of friendship. He bent down his intellect
+to examine and plumb her own. To use a very homely simile, he blew away
+that froth which there is on the surface of mere acquaintanceships,
+especially with the opposite sex; and which, while it lasts, scarce
+allows you to distinguish between small beer and double X. Apparently
+Dr. Riccabocca was satisfied with his scrutiny--at all events, under
+that froth there was no taste of bitter. The Italian might not find any
+great strength of intellect in Miss Jemima, but he found that,
+disentangled from many little whims and foibles--which he had himself
+the sense to perceive were harmless enough if they lasted, and not so
+absolutely constitutional but what they might be removed by a tender
+hand--Miss Hazeldean had quite enough sense to comprehend the plain
+duties of married life; and if the sense could fail, it found a
+substitute in good old homely English principles and the instincts of
+amiable kindly feelings.
+
+I know not how it is, but your very clever man never seems to care so
+much as your less gifted mortals for cleverness in his helpmate. Your
+scholars, and poets, and ministers of state, are more often than not
+found assorted with exceedingly humdrum good sort of women, and
+apparently like them all the better for their deficiencies. Just see how
+happily Racine lived with his wife, and what an angel he thought her,
+and yet she had never read his plays. Certainly Goethe never troubled
+the lady who called him "Mr. Privy Councillor" with whims about
+'monads,' and speculations on 'color,' nor those stiff metaphysical
+problems on which one breaks one's shins in the Second Part of the
+Faust. Probably it may be that such great geniuses--knowing that, as
+compared with themselves, there is little difference between your clever
+woman and your humdrum woman--merge at once all minor distinctions,
+relinquish all attempts that could not but prove unsatisfactory, at
+sympathy in hard intellectual pursuits, and are quite satisfied to
+establish that tie which, after all, best resists wear and tear--viz.
+the tough household bond between one human heart and another.
+
+At all events, this, I suspect, was the reasoning of Dr. Riccabocca,
+when one morning, after a long walk with Miss Hazeldean, he muttered to
+himself--
+
+         "Duro con duro
+    Non fece mai buon muro."
+
+Which may bear the paraphrase, "Bricks without mortar would make a very
+bad wall." There was quite enough in Miss Jemima's disposition to make
+excellent mortar: the Doctor took the bricks to himself.
+
+When his examination was concluded, our philosopher symbolically evinced
+the result he had arrived at by a very simple proceeding on his
+part--which would have puzzled you greatly if you had not paused, and
+meditated thereon, till you saw all that it implied. _Dr. Riccabocca
+took off his spectacles!_ He wiped them carefully, put them into their
+shagreen case, and locked them in his bureau:--that is to say, he left
+off wearing his spectacles.
+
+You will observe that there was a wonderful depth of meaning in that
+critical symptom, whether it be regarded as a sign outward, positive,
+and explicit, or a sign metaphysical, mystical, and esoteric. For, as to
+the last--it denoted that the task of the spectacles was over; that,
+when a philosopher has made up his mind to marry, it is better
+henceforth to be short-sighted--nay, even somewhat purblind--than to be
+always scrutinizing the domestic felicity to which he is about to resign
+himself, through a pair of cold, unillusory barnacles. And for the
+things beyond the hearth, if he cannot see without spectacles, is he not
+about to ally to his own defective vision a good sharp pair of eyes,
+never at fault where his interests are concerned? On the other hand,
+regarded positively, categorically, and explicitly, Dr. Riccabocca, by
+laying aside those spectacles, signified that he was about to commence
+that happy initiation of courtship, when every man, be he ever so much a
+philosopher, wishes to look as young and as handsome as time and nature
+will allow. Vain task to speed the soft language of the eyes through the
+medium of those glassy interpreters! I remember, for my own part, that
+once, on a visit to Adelaide, I was in great danger of falling in
+love--with a young lady, too, who would have brought me a very good
+fortune--when she suddenly produced from her reticule a very neat pair
+of No. 4, set in tortoise-shell, and, fixing upon me their Gorgon gaze,
+froze the astonished Cupid into stone! And I hold it a great proof of
+the wisdom of Riccabocca, and of his vast experience in mankind, that he
+was not above the consideration of what your pseudo sages would have
+regarded as foppish and ridiculous trifles. It argued all the better for
+that happiness which is our being's end and aim, that, in condescending
+to play the lover, he put those unbecoming petrifiers under lock and
+key.
+
+And certainly, now the spectacles were abandoned, it was impossible to
+deny that the Italian had remarkably handsome eyes. Even through the
+spectacles, or lifted a little above them, they were always bright and
+expressive; but without those adjuncts, the blaze was softer and more
+tempered: they had that look which the French call _velout�_, or
+velvety; and he appeared altogether ten years younger. If our Ulysses,
+thus rejuvinated by his Minerva, has not fully made up his mind to make
+a Penelope of Miss Jemima, all I can say is, that he is worse than
+Polyphemus, who was only an Anthropophagos;----
+
+He preys upon the weaker sex, and is a Gynopophagite!
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+"And you commission me, then, to speak to our dear Jemima?" said Mrs.
+Dale, joyfully, and without any bitterness whatever in that "dear."
+
+_Dr. Riccabocca._--"Nay, before speaking to Miss Hazeldean, it would
+surely be proper to know how far my addresses would be acceptable to the
+family."
+
+_Mrs. Dale._--"Ah!"
+
+_Dr. Riccabocca._--"The Squire is of course the head of the family."
+
+_Mrs. Dale_ (absent and _distrait_.)--"The Squire--yes, very true--quite
+proper." (Then looking up, and with _na�vet�_)--"Can you believe me, I
+never thought of the Squire. And he is such an odd man, and has so many
+English prejudices, that really--dear me, how vexatious that it should
+never once have occurred to me that Mr. Hazeldean had a voice in the
+matter! Indeed, the relationship is so distant--it is not like being her
+father; and Jemima is of age, and can do as she pleases; and--but, as
+you say, it is quite proper that he should be consulted as the head of
+the family."
+
+_Dr. Riccabocca._--"And do you think that the Squire of Hazeldean might
+reject my alliance! Pshaw! that's a grand word, indeed;--I mean, that he
+might object very reasonably to his cousin's marriage with a foreigner,
+of whom he can know nothing, except that which in all countries is
+disreputable, and is said in this to be criminal--poverty."
+
+_Mrs. Dale_ (kindly.)--"You misjudge us poor English people, and you
+wrong the Squire, Heaven bless him! for we were poor enough when he
+singled out my husband from a hundred for the minister of his parish,
+for his neighbor and his friend. I will speak to him fearlessly----"
+
+_Dr. Riccabocca._--"And frankly. And now I have used that word, let me
+go on with the confession which your kindly readiness, my fair friend,
+somewhat interrupted. I said that if I might presume to think my
+addresses would be acceptable to Miss Hazeldean and her family, I was
+too sensible of her amiable qualities not to--not to--"
+
+_Mrs. Dale_ (with demure archness.)--"Not to be the happiest of
+men--that's the customary English phrase, Doctor."
+
+_Riccabocca_ (gallantly.)--"There cannot be a better. But," continued
+he, seriously, "I wish it first to be understood that I have--been
+married before."
+
+_Mrs. Dale_ (astonished.)--"Married before!"
+
+_Riccabocca._--"And that I have an only child, dear to me--inexpressibly
+dear. That child, a daughter, has hitherto lived abroad; circumstances
+now render it desirable that she should make her home with me. And I own
+fairly that nothing has so attached me to Miss Hazeldean, nor so induced
+my desire for our matrimonial connection, as my belief that she has the
+heart and the temper to become a kind mother to my little one."
+
+_Mrs. Dale_ (with feeling and warmth.)--"You judge her rightly there."
+
+_Riccabocca._--"Now, in pecuniary matters, as you may conjecture from my
+mode of life, I have nothing to offer to Miss Hazeldean correspondent
+with her own fortune, whatever that may be!"
+
+_Mrs. Dale._--"That difficulty is obviated by settling Miss Hazeldean's
+fortune on herself, which is customary in such cases."
+
+Dr. Riccabocca's face lengthened. "And my child, then?" said he,
+feelingly. There was something in that appeal so alien from all sordid
+and merely personal mercenary motives, that Mrs. Dale could not have had
+the heart to make the very rational suggestion--"But that child is not
+Jemima's, and you may have children by her."
+
+She was touched, and replied, hesitatingly--"But, from what you and
+Jemima may jointly possess, you can save something annually--you can
+insure your life for your child. We did so when our poor child whom we
+lost was born," (the tears rushed into Mrs. Dale's eyes;) "and I fear
+that Charles still insures his life for my sake, though Heaven knows
+that--that.----"
+
+The tears burst out. That little heart, quick and petulant though it
+was, had not a fibre of the elastic muscular tissues which are
+mercifully bestowed on the hearts of predestined widows. Dr. Riccabocca
+could not pursue the subject of life insurances further. But the
+idea--which had never occurred to the foreigner before, though so
+familiar to us English people when only possessed of a life
+income--pleased him greatly. I will do him the justice to say, that he
+preferred it to the thought of actually appropriating to himself and to
+his child a portion of Miss Hazeldean's dower.
+
+Shortly afterwards he took his leave, and Mrs. Dale hastened to seek her
+husband in his study, inform him of the success of her matrimonial
+scheme, and consult him as to the chance of the Squire's acquiescence
+therein. "You see," said she, hesitatingly, "though the Squire might be
+glad to see Jemima married to some Englishman, yet, if he asks who and
+what is this Dr. Riccabocca, how am I to answer him?"
+
+"You should have thought of that before," said Mr. Dale, with unwonted
+asperity; "and, indeed, if I had ever believed any thing serious could
+come out of what seemed to me so absurd, I should long since have
+requested you not to interfere in such matters. Good heavens!" continued
+the Parson, changing color, "if we should have assisted, underhand as it
+were, to introduce into the family of a man to whom we owe so much, a
+connection that he would dislike! how base we should be!--how
+ungrateful!"
+
+Poor Mrs. Dale was frightened by this speech, and still more by her
+husband's consternation and displeasure. To do Mrs. Dale justice,
+whenever her mild partner was really either grieved or offended, her
+little temper vanished--she became as meek as a lamb. As soon as she
+recovered the first shock she experienced, she hastened to dissipate the
+Parson's apprehensions. She assured him that she was convinced that, if
+the Squire disapproved of Riccabocca's pretensions, the Italian would
+withdraw them at once, and Mrs. Hazeldean would never know of his
+proposals. Therefore, in that case, no harm would be done.
+
+This assurance coincided with Mr. Dale's convictions as to Riccabocca's
+scruples on the point of honor, tended much to compose the good man; and
+if he did not, as my reader of the gentler sex would expect from him,
+feel alarm lest Miss Jemima's affections should have been irretrievably
+engaged, and her happiness thus put in jeopardy by the Squire's refusal,
+it was not that the Parson wanted tenderness of heart, but experience in
+woman-kind; and he believed, very erroneously, that Miss Jemima
+Hazeldean was not one upon whom a disappointment of that kind would
+produce a lasting impression. Therefore Mr. Dale, after a pause of
+consideration, said kindly----
+
+"Well, don't vex yourself--and I was to blame quite as much as you. But,
+indeed, I should have thought it easier for the Squire to have
+transplanted one of his tall cedars into his kitchen-garden, than for
+you to inveigle Dr. Riccabocca into matrimonial intentions. But a man
+who could voluntarily put himself into the parish stocks for the sake of
+experiment, must be capable of any thing! However, I think it better
+that I, rather than yourself, should speak to the Squire, and I will go
+at once."
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+The Parson put on the shovel hat, which--conjoined with other details in
+his dress peculiarly clerical, and already, even then, beginning to be
+out of fashion with churchmen--had served to fix upon him, emphatically,
+the dignified but antiquated style and cognomen of "Parson;" and took
+his way towards the Home Farm, at which he expected to find the Squire.
+But he had scarcely entered upon the village green when he beheld Mr.
+Hazeldean, leaning both hands on his stick, and gazing intently upon the
+parish stocks. Now, sorry am I to say that, ever since the Hegira of
+Lenny and his mother, the anti-stockian and revolutionary spirit in
+Hazeldean, which the memorable homily of our Parson had awhile averted
+or suspended, had broken forth afresh. For though, while Lenny was
+present to be moved and jeered at, there had been no pity for him, yet
+no sooner was he removed from the scene of trial, than a universal
+compassion for the barbarous usage he had received produced what is
+called "the reaction of public opinion." Not that those who had mowed
+and jeered repented them of their mockery, or considered themselves in
+the slightest degree the cause of his expatriation. No; they, with the
+rest of the villagers, laid all the blame upon the stocks. It was not to
+be expected that a lad of such exemplary character could be thrust into
+that place of ignominy, and not be sensible of the affront. And who, in
+the whole village, was safe, if such goings-on and puttings-in were to
+be tolerated in silence, and at the expense of the very best and
+quietest lad the village had ever known? Thus, a few days after the
+widow's departure, the stocks was again the object of midnight
+desecration: it was bedaubed and bescratched--it was hacked and
+hewed--it was scrawled all over with pithy lamentations for Lenny, and
+laconic execrations for tyrants. Night after night new inscriptions
+appeared, testifying the sarcastic wit and the vindictive sentiment of
+the parish. And perhaps the stocks themselves were only spared from axe
+and bonfire by the convenience they afforded to the malice of the
+disaffected: they became the Pasquin of Hazeldean.
+
+As disaffection naturally produces a correspondent vigor in authority,
+so affairs had been lately administered with greater severity than had
+been hitherto wont in the easy rule of the Squire and his predecessors.
+Suspected persons were naturally marked out by Mr. Stirn, and reported
+to his employer, who, too proud or too pained to charge them openly with
+ingratitude, at first only passed them by in his walks with a silent and
+stiff inclination of his head; and afterwards gradually yielding to the
+baleful influence of Stirn, the Squire grumbled forth that "he did not
+see why he should be always putting himself out of his way to show
+kindness to those who made such a return. There ought to be a difference
+between the good and the bad." Encouraged by this admission, Stirn had
+conducted himself towards the suspected parties, and their whole kith
+and kin, with the iron-handed justice that belonged to his character.
+For some, habitual donations of milk from the dairy, and vegetables from
+the gardens, were surlily suspended: others were informed that their
+pigs were always trespassing on the woods in search of acorns; or that
+they were violating the Game Laws in keeping lurchers. A beer-house,
+popular in the neighborhood, but of late resorted to over-much by the
+grievance-mongers, (and no wonder, since they had become the popular
+party,) was threatened with an application to the magistrates for the
+withdrawal of its license. Sundry old women, whose grandsons were
+notoriously ill-disposed towards the stocks, were interdicted from
+gathering dead sticks under the avenues, on pretence that they broke
+down the live boughs; and, what was more obnoxious to the younger
+members of the parish than most other retaliatory measures, three
+chestnut trees, one walnut, and two cherry trees, standing at the bottom
+of the park, and which had, from time immemorial, been given up to the
+youth of Hazeldean, were now solemnly placed under the general defence
+of "private property." And the crier had announced that, henceforth, all
+depredators on the fruit trees in Copse Hollow would be punished with
+the utmost rigor of the law. Stirn, indeed, recommended much more
+stringent proceedings than all these indications of a change of policy,
+which, he averred, would soon bring the parish to its senses--such as
+discontinuing many little jobs of unprofitable work that employed the
+surplus labor of the village. But there the Squire, falling into the
+department, and under the benigner influence of his Harry, was as yet
+not properly hardened. When it came to a question that affected the
+absolute quantity of loaves to be consumed by the graceless mouths that
+fed upon him, the milk of human kindness--with which Providence has so
+bountifully supplied that class of the mammalia called the "Bucolic,"
+and of which our Squire had an extra "yield"--burst forth, and washed
+away all the indignation of the harsher Adam.
+
+Still your policy of half measures, which irritates without crushing its
+victims, which flaps an exasperated wasp-nest with a silk pocket
+handkerchief, instead of blowing it up with a match and train, is rarely
+successful; and, after three or four other and much guiltier victims
+than Lenny had been incarcerated in the stocks, the parish of Hazeldean
+was ripe for any enormity. Pestilent jacobinical tracts, conceived and
+composed in the sinks of manufacturing towns--found their way into the
+popular beer-house--heaven knows how, though the Tinker was suspected of
+being the disseminator by all but Stirn, who still, in a whisper,
+accused the Papishers. And, finally, there appeared amongst the other
+graphic embellishments which the poor stocks had received, the rude
+_gravure_ of a gentleman in a broad-brimmed hat and top-boots, suspended
+from a gibbet, with the inscription beneath--"A warnin to hall
+tirans--mind your hi!--sighnde Captins Traw."
+
+It was upon this significant and emblematic portraiture that the Squire
+was gazing when the parson joined him.
+
+"Well, Parson," said Mr. Hazeldean, with a smile which he meant to be
+pleasant and easy, but which was exceedingly bitter and grim, "I wish
+you joy of your flock--you see they have just hanged me in effigy!"
+
+The Parson stared, and, though greatly shocked, smothered his emotions;
+and attempted, with the wisdom of the serpent and the mildness of the
+dove, to find another original for the effigy.
+
+"It is very bad," quoth he, "but not so bad as all that, Squire; that's
+not the shape of your hat. It is evidently meant for Mr. Stirn."
+
+"Do you think so?" said the Squire softened. "Yet the top-boots--Stirn
+never wears top-boots."
+
+"No more do you--except in hunting. If you look again, those are not
+tops--they are leggings--Stirn wears leggings. Besides, that flourish,
+which is meant for a nose, is a kind of a hook like Stirn's; whereas
+your nose--though by no means a snub--rather turns up than not, as the
+Apollo's does, according to the plaster cast in Riccabocca's parlor."
+
+"Poor Stirn!" said the Squire, in a tone that evinced complacency, not
+unmingled with compassion, "that's what a man gets in this world by
+being a faithful servant, and doing his duty with zeal for his employer.
+But you see that things have come to a strange pass, and the question
+now is, what course to pursue. The miscreants hitherto have defied all
+vigilance, and Stirn recommends the employment of a regular nightwatch
+with a lanthorn and bludgeon."
+
+"That may protect the stocks certainly; but will it keep those
+detestable tracts out of the beer-house?"
+
+"We shall shut the beer-house up at the next sessions."
+
+"The tracts will break out elsewhere--the humor's in the blood!"
+
+"I've half a mind to run off to Brighton or Leamington--good hunting at
+Leamington--for a year, just to let the rogues see how they can get on
+without me!"
+
+The Squire's lip trembled.
+
+"My dear Mr. Hazeldean," said the Parson, taking his friend's hand, "I
+don't want to parade my superior wisdom; but if you had taken my advice,
+_quieta non movere_. Was there ever a parish so peaceable as this, or a
+country-gentleman so beloved as you were before you undertook the task
+which has dethroned kings and ruined states--that of wantonly meddling
+with antiquity, whether for the purpose of uncalled-for repairs or the
+revival of obsolete uses."
+
+At this rebuke, the Squire did not manifest his constitutional
+tendencies to choler; but he replied almost meekly, "If it were to do
+again, faith, I would leave the parish to the enjoyment of the shabbiest
+pair of stocks that ever disgraced a village. Certainly I meant it for
+the best--an ornament to the green; however, now they are rebuilt, the
+stocks must be supported. Will Hazeldean is not the man to give way to a
+set of thankless rapscallions."
+
+"I think," said the Parson, "that you will allow that the House of
+Tudor, whatever its faults, was a determined resolute dynasty
+enough--high-hearted and strong-headed. A Tudor would never have fallen
+into the same calamities as the poor Stuart did!"
+
+"What the plague has the House of Tudor got to do with my stocks?"
+
+"A great deal. Henry the VIII. found a subsidy so unpopular that he gave
+it up; and the people, in return, allowed him to cut off as many heads
+as he pleased, besides those in his own family. Good Queen Bess, who, I
+know, is your idol in history----"
+
+"To be sure! she knighted my ancestor at Tilbury Fort."
+
+"Good Queen Bess struggled hard to maintain a certain monopoly; she saw
+it would not do, and she surrendered it with that frank heartiness which
+becomes a sovereign, and makes surrender a grace."
+
+"Ha! and you would have me give up the stocks?"
+
+"I would much rather they had stayed as they were, before you touched
+them; but, as it is, if you could find a good plausible pretext--and
+there is an excellent one at hand;--the sternest kings open prisons, and
+grant favors, upon joyful occasions. Now a marriage in the royal family
+is of course a joyful occasion!--and so it should be in that of the King
+of Hazeldean." Admire that artful turn in the Parson's eloquence!--it
+was worthy of Riccabocca himself. Indeed, Mr. Dale had profited much by
+his companionship with that Machiavellian intellect.
+
+"A marriage--yes; but Frank has only just got into long tails!"
+
+"I did not allude to Frank, but to your cousin Jemima!"
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+The Squire staggered as if the breath had been knocked out of him, and,
+for want of a better seat, sat down on the stocks.
+
+All the female heads in the neighboring cottages peered, themselves
+unseen, through the casements. What could the Squire be about?--what new
+mischief did he meditate? Did he mean to fortify the stocks? Old Gaffer
+Solomons, who had an indefinite idea of the lawful power of squires, and
+who had been for the last ten minutes at watch on his threshold, shook
+his head and said--"Them as a cut out the mon, a-hanging, as a put it in
+the Squire's head!"
+
+"Put what?" asked his granddaughter.
+
+"The gallus!" answered Solomons--"he be a-goin' to have it hung from the
+great elm-tree. And the Parson, good mon, is a-quoting Scripter agin
+it--you see, he's a taking off his gloves, and a putting his two han's
+togither, as he do when he pray for the sick, Jeany."
+
+That description of the Parson's mien and manner, which, with his usual
+niceness of observation, Gaffer Solomons thus sketched off, will convey
+to you some idea of the earnestness with which the Parson pleaded the
+cause he had undertaken to advocate. He dwelt much upon the sense of
+propriety which the foreigner had evinced in requesting that the Squire
+might be consulted before any formal communication to his cousin; and he
+repeated Mrs. Dale's assurance, that such were Riccabocca's high
+standard of honor and belief in the sacred rights of hospitality, that,
+if the Squire withheld his consent to his proposals, the Parson was
+convinced that the Italian would instantly retract them. Now,
+considering that Miss Hazeldean was, to say the least, come to years of
+discretion, and the Squire had long since placed her property entirely
+at her own disposal, Mr. Hazeldean was forced to acquiesce in the
+Parson's corollary remark, "That this was a delicacy which could not be
+expected from every English pretender to the lady's hand." Seeing that
+he had so far cleared ground, the Parson went on to intimate, though
+with great tact, that, since Miss Jemima would probably marry sooner or
+later, (and, indeed, that the Squire could not wish to prevent her,) it
+might be better for all parties concerned that it should be with some
+one who, though a foreigner, was settled in the neighborhood, and of
+whose character what was known was certainly favorable, than run the
+hazard of her being married for her money by some adventurer or Irish
+fortune-hunter at the watering-places she yearly visited. Then he
+touched lightly on Riccabocca's agreeable and companionable qualities;
+and, concluded with a skilful peroration upon the excellent occasion the
+wedding would afford to reconcile Hall and parish, by making a voluntary
+holocaust of the stocks.
+
+As he concluded, the Squire's brow, before thoughtful, though not
+sullen, cleared up benignly. To say truth, the Squire was dying to get
+rid of the stocks, if he could but do so handsomely and with dignity;
+and if all the stars in the astrological horoscope had conjoined
+together to give Miss Jemima "assurance of a husband," they could not so
+have served her with the Squire, as that conjunction between the altar
+and the stocks which the Parson had effected!
+
+Accordingly, when Mr. Dale had come to an end, the Squire replied with
+great placidity and good sense, "That Mr. Rickeybockey had behaved very
+much like a gentleman, and that he was very much obliged to him; that he
+(the Squire) had no right to interfere in the matter, farther than with
+his advice; that Jemima was old enough to choose for herself, and that,
+as the Parson had implied, after all, she might go farther and fare
+worse--indeed, the farther she went, (that is, the longer she waited,)
+the worse she was likely to fare. I own, for my part," continued the
+Squire, "that, though I like Rickeybockey very much, I never suspected
+that Jemima was caught with his long face; but there's no accounting for
+tastes. My Harry, indeed, was more shrewd, and gave me many a hint, for
+which I only laughed at her. Still I ought to have thought it looked
+queer when Mounseer took to disguising himself by leaving off his
+glasses, ha--ha! I wonder what Harry will say; let's go and talk to
+her."
+
+The Parson, rejoiced at this easy way of taking the matter, hooked his
+arm into the Squire's, and they walked amicably towards the Hall. But on
+coming first into the gardens, they found Mrs. Hazeldean herself,
+clipping dead leaves or fading flowers from her rose-trees. The Squire
+stole slily behind her, and startled her in her turn by putting his arm
+round her waist, and saluting her smooth cheek with one of his hearty
+kisses; which, by the way, from some association of ideas, was a
+conjugal freedom that he usually indulged whenever a wedding was going
+on in the village.
+
+"Fie, William!" said Mrs. Hazeldean coyly, and blushing as she saw the
+Parson, "Well, who's going to be married now?"
+
+"Lord, was there ever such a woman?--she's guessed it!" cried the Squire
+in great admiration. "Tell her all about it, Parson."
+
+The Parson obeyed.
+
+Mrs. Hazeldean, as the reader may suppose, showed much less surprise
+than her husband had done; but she took the news graciously, and made
+much the same answer as that which had occurred to the Squire, only with
+somewhat more qualification and reserve. "Signor Riccabocca had behaved
+very handsomely; and though a daughter of the Hazeldeans of Hazeldean
+might expect a much better marriage in a worldly point of view, yet as
+the lady in question had deferred finding one so long, it would be
+equally idle and impertinent now to quarrel with her choice--if indeed
+she should decide on accepting Signor Riccabocca. As for fortune, that
+was a consideration for the two contracting parties. Still, it ought to
+be pointed out to Miss Jemima that the interest of her fortune would
+afford but a very small income. That Dr. Riccabocca was a widower was
+another matter for deliberation; and it seemed rather suspicious that he
+should have been hitherto so close upon all matters connected with his
+former life. Certainly his manners were in his favor, and as long as he
+was merely an acquaintance, and at most a tenant, no one had a right to
+institute inquiries of a strictly private nature; but that, when he was
+about to marry a Hazeldean of Hazeldean, it became the Squire at least
+to know a little more about him--who and what he was. Why did he leave
+his own country? English people went abroad to save; no foreigner would
+choose England as a country in which to save money! She supposed that a
+foreign doctor was no very great things; probably he had been a
+professor in some Italian university. At all events, if the Squire
+interfered at all, it was on such points that he should request
+information.
+
+"My dear madam," said the Parson, "what you say is extremely just. As to
+the causes which have induced our friend to expatriate himself, I think
+we need not look far for them. He is evidently one of the many Italian
+refugees whom political disturbances have driven to our shore, whose
+boast is to receive all exiles of whatever party. For his respectability
+of birth and family he certainly ought to obtain some vouchers. And if
+that be the only objection, I trust we may soon congratulate Miss
+Hazeldean on a marriage with a man who, though certainly very poor, has
+borne privations without a murmur; has preferred all hardships to debt;
+has scorned to attempt betraying her into any clandestine connection;
+who, in short, has shown himself so upright and honest, that I hope my
+dear Mr. Hazeldean will forgive him if he is only a Doctor--probably of
+Laws--and not, as most foreigners pretend to be, a marquis, or a baron
+at least."
+
+"As to that," cried the Squire, "'tis the best think I know about
+Rickeybockey, that he don't attempts to humbug us by any such foreign
+trumpery. Thank heaven, the Hazeldeans of Hazeldean were never
+turf-hunters and title-mongers; and if I never ran after an English
+lord, I should certainly be devilishly ashamed of a brother-in-law whom
+I was forced to call markee or count! I should feel sure he was a
+courier, or runaway valley-de-sham. Turn up your nose at a doctor,
+indeed, Harry!--pshaw, good English style that! Doctor! my aunt married
+a Doctor of Divinity--excellent man--wore a wig, and was made a dean! So
+long as Rickeybockey is not a doctor of physic, I don't care a button.
+If he's _that_, indeed, it would be suspicious; because, you see, those
+foreign doctors of physic are quacks, and tell fortunes, and go about on
+a stage with a Merry-Andrew."
+
+"Lord, Hazeldean! where on earth did you pick up that idea?" said Harry,
+laughing.
+
+"Pick it up!--why, I saw a fellow myself at the cattle fair last
+year--when I was buying short-horns--with a red waistcoat and a cocked
+hat, a little like the Parson's shovel. He called himself Doctor
+Phoscophornio--wore a white wig and sold pills! The Merry-Andrew was the
+funniest creature--in salmon-colored tights--turned head over heels, and
+said he came from Timbuctoo. No, no; if Rickeybockey's a physic Doctor,
+we shall have Jemima in a pink tinsel dress, tramping about the country
+in a caravan!"
+
+At this notion, both the Squire and his wife laughed so heartily that
+the Parson felt the thing was settled, and slipped away, with the
+intention of making his report to Riccabocca.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+It was with a slight disturbance of his ordinary suave and well-bred
+equanimity that the Italian received the information, that he need
+apprehend no obstacle to his suit from the insular prejudices or the
+worldly views of the lady's family. Not that he was mean and cowardly
+enough to recoil from the near and unclouded prospect of that felicity
+which he had left off his glasses to behold with unblinking naked
+eyes:--no, there his mind was made up; but he had met with very little
+kindness in life, and he was touched not only by the interest in his
+welfare testified by a heretical priest, but by the generosity with
+which he was admitted into a well-born and wealthy family, despite his
+notorious poverty and his foreign descent. He conceded the propriety of
+the only stipulation, which was conveyed to him by the Parson with all
+the delicacy that became a man professionally habituated to deal with
+the subtler susceptibilities of mankind--viz., that, amongst
+Riccabocca's friends or kindred, some one should be found whose report
+would confirm the persuasion of his respectability entertained by his
+neighbors;--he assented, I say, to the propriety of this condition; but
+it was not with alacrity and eagerness. His brow became clouded. The
+Parson hastened to assure him that the Squire was not a man _qui stupet
+in titulis_, (who was besotted with titles,) that he neither expected
+nor desired to find an origin and rank for his brother-in-law above that
+decent mediocrity of condition to which it was evident, from
+Riccabocca's breeding and accomplishments, he could easily establish his
+claim. "And though," said he, smiling, "the Squire is a warm politician
+in his own country, and would never see his sister again, I fear, if she
+married some convicted enemy of our happy constitution, yet for foreign
+politics he does not care a straw; so that if, as I suspect, your exile
+arises from some quarrel with your government--which, being foreign, he
+takes for granted must be insupportable--he would but consider you as he
+would a Saxon who fled from the iron hand of William the Conqueror, or a
+Lancastrian expelled by the Yorkists in our Wars of the Roses."
+
+The Italian smiled. "Mr. Hazeldean shall be satisfied," said he simply.
+"I see, by the Squire's newspaper, that an English gentleman who knew me
+in my own country has just arrived in London. I will write to him for a
+testimonial, at least to my probity and character. Probably he may be
+known to you by name--nay, he must be, for he was a distinguished
+officer in the late war. I allude to Lord L'Estrange."
+
+The parson started.
+
+"You know Lord L'Estrange?--a profligate bad man, I fear."
+
+"Profligate!--bad!" exclaimed Riccabocca. "Well, calumnious as the world
+is, I should never have thought that such expressions would be applied
+to one who, though I knew him but little--knew him chiefly by the
+service he once rendered to me--first taught me to love and revere the
+English name!"
+
+"He may be changed since----" The parson paused.
+
+"Since when?" asked Riccabocca, with evident curiosity.
+
+Mr. Dale seemed embarrassed. "Excuse me," said he, "it is many years
+ago; and, in short, the opinion I then formed of the gentleman in
+question was based upon circumstances which I cannot communicate."
+
+The punctilious Italian bowed in silence but he still looked as if he
+should have liked to prosecute inquiry.
+
+After a pause, he said, "Whatever your impressions respecting Lord
+L'Estrange, there is nothing, I suppose, which would lead you to doubt
+his honor, or reject his testimonial in my favor?"
+
+"According to fashionable morality," said Mr. Dale, rather precisely, "I
+know of nothing that could induce me to suppose that Lord L'Estrange
+would not, in this instance, speak the truth. And he has unquestionably
+a high reputation as a soldier, and a considerable position in the
+world." Therewith the Parson took his leave. A few days afterwards Dr.
+Riccabocca inclosed to the Squire, in a blank envelope, a letter he had
+received from Harley L'Estrange. It was evidently intended for the
+Squire's eye, and to serve as a voucher for the Italian's
+respectability; but this object was fulfilled, not in the coarse form of
+a direct testimonial, but with a tact and delicacy which seemed to show
+more than the fine breeding to be expected from one in Lord L'Estrange's
+station. It argued that most exquisite of all politeness which comes
+from the heart: a certain tone of affectionate respect (which even the
+homely sense of the Squire felt, intuitively, proved far more in favor
+of Riccabocca than the most elaborate certificate of his qualities and
+antecedents) pervaded the whole, and would have sufficed in itself to
+remove all scruples from a mind much more suspicious and exacting than
+that of the Squire of Hazeldean. But, lo and behold! an obstacle now
+occurred to the Parson, of which he ought to have thought long
+before--viz., the Papistical religion of the Italian. Dr. Riccabocca was
+professedly a Roman Catholic. He so little obtruded that fact--and,
+indeed, had assented so readily to any animadversions upon the
+superstition and priestcraft which, according to Protestants, are the
+essential characteristics of Papistical communities--that it was not
+till the hymeneal torch, which brings all faults to light, was fairly
+illumined for the altar, that the remembrance of a faith so cast into
+the shade burst upon the conscience of the Parson. The first idea that
+then occurred to him was the proper and professional one--viz., the
+conversion of Dr. Riccabocca. He hastened to his study, took down from
+his shelves long neglected volumes of controversial divinity, armed
+himself with an arsenal of authorities, arguments, and texts; then,
+seizing the shovel-hat, posted off to the Casino.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+The Parson burst upon the philosopher like an avalanche! He was so full
+of his subject that he could not let it out in prudent driblets. No, he
+went souse upon the astounded Riccabocca--
+
+              "Tremendo,
+    Jupiter ipse ruens tumultu."
+
+The sage--shrinking deeper into his arm-chair, and drawing his
+dressing-robe more closely round him--suffered the Parson to talk for
+three quarters of an hour, till indeed he had thoroughly proved his
+case; and, like Brutus, "paused for a reply."
+
+Then said Riccabocca mildly, "In much of what you have urged so ably,
+and so suddenly, I am inclined to agree. But base is the man who
+formally forswears the creed he has inherited from his fathers, and
+professed since the cradle up to years of maturity, when the change
+presents itself in the guise of a bribe;--when, for such is human
+nature, he can hardly distinguish or disentangle the appeal to his
+reason from the lure to his interests--here a text, and there a
+dowry!--here Protestantism, there Jemima!--Own, my friend, that the
+soberest casuist would see double under the inebriating effects produced
+by so mixing his polemical liquors. Appeal, my good Mr. Dale, from
+Philip drunken to Philip sober!--from Riccabocca intoxicated with the
+assurance of your excellent lady, that he is about to be "the happiest
+of men," to Riccabocca accustomed to his happiness, and carrying it off
+with the seasoned equability of one grown familiar with stimulants--in a
+word, appeal from Riccabocca the wooer to Riccabocca the spouse. I may
+be convertible, but conversion is a slow process; courtship should be a
+quick one--ask Miss Jemima. _Finalmente_, marry me first, and convert me
+afterwards!"
+
+"You take this too jestingly," began the Parson; "and I don't see why,
+with your excellent understanding, truths so plain and obvious should
+not strike you at once."
+
+"Truths," interrupted Riccabocca profoundly, "are the slowest growing
+things in the world! It took 1500 years from the date of the Christian
+era to produce your own Luther, and then he flung his Bible at Satan, (I
+have seen the mark made by the book on the wall of his prison in
+Germany,) besides running off with a nun, which no Protestant clergyman
+would think it proper and right to do now-a-days." Then he added, with
+seriousness, "Look you, my dear sir,--I should lose my own esteem if I
+were even to listen to you now with becoming attention,--now, I say,
+when you hint that the creed I have professed may be in the way of my
+advantage. If so, I must keep the creed and resign the advantage. But
+if, as I trust--not only as a Christian, but a man of honor--you will
+defer this discussion, I will promise to listen to you hereafter; and
+though, to say truth, I believe that you will not convert me, I will
+promise you faithfully never to interfere with my wife's religion."
+
+"And any children you may have?"
+
+"Children!" said Dr. Riccabocca, recoiling--"you are not contented with
+firing your pocket-pistol right in my face; you must also pepper me all
+over with small-shot. Children! well, if they are girls, let them follow
+the faith of their mother; and if boys, while in childhood, let them be
+contented with learning to be Christians; and when they grow into men,
+let them choose for themselves which is the best form for the practice
+of the great principles which all sects have in common."
+
+"But," began Mr. Dale again, pulling a large book from his pocket.
+
+Dr. Riccabocca flung open the window, and jumped out of it.
+
+It was the rapidest and most dastardly flight you could possibly
+conceive; but it was a great compliment to the argumentative powers of
+the Parson, and he felt it as such. Nevertheless, Mr. Dale thought it
+right to have a long conversation, both with the Squire and Miss Jemima
+herself, upon the subject which his intended convert had so
+ignominiously escaped.
+
+The Squire, though a great foe to Popery, politically considered, had
+also quite as great a hatred to turn-coats and apostates. And in his
+heart he would have despised Riccabocca if he could have thrown off his
+religion as easily as he had done his spectacles. Therefore he said
+simply--"Well, it is certainly a great pity that Rickeybockey is not of
+the Church of England, though, I take it, that would be unreasonable to
+expect in a man born and bred under the nose of the Inquisition," (the
+Squire firmly believed that the Inquisition was in full force in all the
+Italian states, with whips, racks, and thumbscrews; and, indeed, his
+chief information of Italy was gathered from a perusal he had given in
+early youth to _The One-Handed Monk_;) "but I think he speaks very
+fairly, on the whole, as to his wife and children. And the thing's gone
+too far now to retract. It is all your fault for not thinking of it
+before; and I've now just made up my mind as to the course to pursue
+respecting those--d----d stocks!"
+
+As for Miss Jemima, the Parson left her with a pious thanksgiving that
+Riccabocca at least was a Christian, and not a Pagan, Mahometan, or Jew!
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+There is that in a wedding which appeals to a universal sympathy. No
+other event in the lives of their superiors in rank creates an equal
+sensation amongst the humbler classes.
+
+From the moment the news had spread throughout the village that Miss
+Jemima was to be married, all the old affection for the Squire and his
+house burst forth the stronger for its temporary suspension. Who could
+think of the stocks in such a season? They were swept out of
+fashion--hunted from remembrance as completely as the question of Repeal
+or the thought of Rebellion from the warm Irish heart, when the fair
+young face of the Royal Wife beamed on the sister isle.
+
+Again cordial courtesies were dropped at the thresholds by which the
+Squire passed to his home farm; again the sunburnt brows uncovered--no
+more with sullen ceremony--were smoothed into cheerful gladness at his
+nod. Nay, the little ones began again to assemble at their ancient
+rendezvous by the stocks, as if either familiarized with the phenomenon,
+or convinced that, in the general sentiment of good-will, its powers of
+evil were annulled.
+
+The Squire tasted once more the sweets of the only popularity which is
+much worth having, and the loss of which a wise man would reasonably
+deplore; viz., the popularity which arises from a persuasion of our
+goodness, and a reluctance to recall our faults. Like all blessings, the
+more sensibly felt from previous interruption, the Squire enjoyed this
+restored popularity with an exhilarated sense of existence; his stout
+heart beat more vigorously, his stalwart step trod more lightly; his
+comely English face looked comelier and more English than ever;--you
+would have been a merrier man for a week to have come within hearing of
+his jovial laugh.
+
+He felt grateful to Jemima and to Riccabocca as the special agents of
+Providence in this general _integratio amoris_. To have looked at him,
+you would suppose that it was the Squire who was going to be married a
+second time to his Harry!
+
+One may well conceive that such would have been an inauspicious moment
+for Parson Dale's theological scruples. To have stopped that
+marriage--chilled all the sunshine it diffused over the village--seen
+himself surrounded again by long, sulky visages,--I verily believe,
+though a better friend of Church and State never stood on a hustings,
+that, rather than court such a revulsion, the Squire would have found
+jesuitical excuses for the marriage if Riccabocca had been discovered to
+be the Pope in disguise! As for the stocks, their fate was now
+irrevocably sealed. In short, the marriage was concluded--first
+privately, according to the bridegroom's creed, by a Roman Catholic
+clergyman, who lived in a town some miles off, and next publicly in the
+village church of Hazeldean.
+
+It was the heartiest rural wedding! Village girls strewed flowers on the
+way;--a booth was placed amidst the prettiest scenery of the park, on
+the margin of the lake--for there was to be a dance later in the day; an
+ox was roasted whole. Even Mr. Stirn--no, Mr. Stirn was _not_ present,
+so much happiness would have been the death of him! And the Papisher
+too, who had conjured Lenny out of the stocks; nay, who had himself sat
+in the stocks for the very purpose of bringing them into contempt--the
+Papisher! he had as lief Miss Jemima had married the devil! Indeed, he
+was persuaded that, in point of fact, it was all one and the same.
+Therefore Mr. Stirn had asked leave to go and attend his uncle the
+pawnbroker, about to undergo a torturing operation for the stone! Frank
+was there, summoned from Eton for the occasion--having grown two inches
+taller since he left--for the one inch of which nature was to be
+thanked, for the other a new pair of resplendent Wellingtons. But the
+boy's joy was less apparent than that of others. For Jemima was a
+special favorite with him, as she would have been with all boys--for she
+was always kind and gentle, and made many pretty presents whenever she
+came from the watering-places. And Frank knew that he should miss her
+sadly, and thought she had made a very queer choice.
+
+Captain Higginbotham had been invited; but, to the astonishment of
+Jemima, he had replied to the invitation by a letter to herself, marked
+"_private and confidential_." "She must have long known," said the
+letter, "of his devoted attachment to her; motives of delicacy, arising
+from the narrowness of his income and the magnanimity of his sentiments,
+had alone prevented his formal proposals; but now that he was informed
+(he could scarcely believe his senses, or command his passions) that her
+relations wished to force her into a BARBAROUS marriage with a foreigner
+of MOST FORBIDDING APPEARANCE, and most _abject circumstances_, he lost
+not a moment in laying at her feet his own hand and fortune. And he did
+this the more confidently, inasmuch as he could not but be aware of Miss
+Jemima's SECRET feelings towards him, while he was _proud_ and _happy_
+to say, that his dear and distinguished cousin, Mr. Sharpe Currie, had
+honored him with a warmth of regard, which justified the most
+_brilliant_ EXPECTATIONS--likely to be _soon_ realized--as his eminent
+relative had contracted a _very bad liver complaint_ in the service of
+his country, and could not last long!"
+
+In all the years they had known each other, Miss Jemima, strange as it
+may appear, had never once suspected the Captain of any other feelings
+to her than those of a brother. To say that she was not gratified by
+learning her mistake, would be to say that she was more than woman.
+Indeed, it must have been a source of no ignoble triumph to think that
+she could prove her disinterested affection to her dear Riccabocca, by a
+prompt rejection of this more brilliant offer. She couched the
+rejection, it is true, in the most soothing terms. But the Captain
+evidently considered himself ill used; he did not reply to the letter,
+and did not come to the wedding.
+
+To let the reader into a secret, never known to Miss Jemima, Captain
+Higginbotham was much less influenced by Cupid than by Plutus in the
+offer he had made. The Captain was one of that class of gentlemen who
+read their accounts by those corpse-lights, or will-o'-the-wisps, called
+_expectations_. Ever since the Squire's grandfather had left him--then
+in short clothes--a legacy of �500, the Captain had peopled the future
+with expectations! He talked of his expectations as a man talks of
+shares in a Tontine; they might fluctuate a little--be now up and now
+down--but it was morally impossible, if he lived on, but that he should
+be a _millionaire_ one of these days. Now, though Miss Jemima was a good
+fifteen years younger than himself, yet she always stood for a good
+round sum in the ghostly books of the Captain. She was an _expectation_
+to the full amount of her �4000, seeing that Frank was an only child,
+and it would be carrying coals to Newmarket to leave _him_ any thing.
+
+Rather than see so considerable a cipher suddenly spunged out of his
+visionary ledger--rather than so much money should vanish clean out of
+the family, Captain Higginbotham had taken what he conceived, if a
+desperate, at least a certain, step for the preservation of his
+property. If the golden horn could not be had without the heifer, why,
+he must take the heifer into the bargain. He had never formed to himself
+an idea that a heifer so gentle would toss and fling him over. The blow
+was stunning. But no one compassionates the misfortunes of the covetous,
+though few perhaps are in greater need of compassion. And leaving poor
+Captain Higginbotham to retrieve his illusory fortunes as he best may
+among "the expectations" which gathered round the form of Mr. Sharpe
+Currie, who was the crossest old tyrant imaginable, and never allowed at
+his table any dishes not compounded with rice, which played Old Nick
+with the Captain's constitutional functions,--I return to the wedding at
+Hazeldean, just in time to see the bridegroom--who looked singularly
+well on the occasion--hand the bride (who, between sunshiny tears and
+affectionate smiles, was really a very interesting and even a pretty
+bride, as brides go) into a carriage which the Squire had presented to
+them, and depart on the orthodox nuptial excursion amidst the blessings
+of the assembled crowd.
+
+It may be thought strange by the unreflective that these rural
+spectators should so have approved and blessed the marriage of a
+Hazeldean of Hazeldean with a poor, outlandish, long-haired foreigner;
+but, besides that Riccabocca, after all, had become one of the
+neighborhood, and was proverbially 'a civil-spoken gentleman,' it is
+generally noticeable that on wedding occasions the bride so monopolizes
+interest, curiosity, and admiration, that the bridegroom himself goes
+for little or nothing. He is merely the passive agent in the affair--the
+unregarded cause of the general satisfaction. It was not Riccabocca
+himself that they approved and blessed--it was the gentleman in the
+white waistcoat who had made Miss Jemima--Madam Rickeybocky!
+
+Leaning on his wife's arm, (for it was a habit of the Squire to lean on
+his wife's arm rather than she on his, when he was specially pleased;
+and there was something touching in the sight of that strong sturdy
+frame thus insensibly, in hours of happiness, seeking dependence on the
+frail arm of woman),--leaning, I say, on his wife's arm, the Squire,
+about the hour of sunset, walked down to the booth by the lake.
+
+All the parish--young and old, man, woman, and child--were assembled
+there, and their faces seemed to bear one family likeness, in the common
+emotion which animated all, as they turned to his frank fatherly smile.
+Squire Hazeldean stood at the head of the long table: he filled a horn
+with ale from the brimming tankard beside him. Then he looked round, and
+lifted his hand to request silence; and, ascending the chair, rose in
+full view of all. Every one felt that the Squire was about to make a
+speech, and the earnestness of the attention was proportioned to the
+rarity of the event; for (though he was not unpractised in the oratory
+of the hustings), only thrice before had the Squire made what could
+fairly be called 'a speech' to the villagers of Hazeldean--once on a
+kindred festive occasion, when he had presented to them his bride--once
+in a contested election for the shire, in which he took more than
+ordinary interest, and was not quite so sober as he ought to have
+been--once in a time of great agricultural distress, when, in spite of
+reduction of rents, the farmers had been compelled to discard a large
+number of their customary laborers; and when the Squire had said,--"I
+have given up keeping the hounds, because I want to make a fine piece of
+water (that was the origin of the lake), and to drain all the low lands
+round the park. Let every man who wants work come to me!" And that sad
+year the parish rates of Hazeldean were not a penny the more.
+
+Now, for the fourth time, the Squire rose, and thus he spoke. At his
+right hand, Harry; at his left, Frank. At the bottom of the table, as
+vice-president, Parson Dale, his little wife behind him, only obscurely
+seen. She cried readily, and her handkerchief was already before her
+eyes.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.--THE SQUIRE'S SPEECH.
+
+"Friends and neighbors:--I thank you kindly for coming round me this
+day, and for showing so much interest in me and mine. My cousin was not
+born amongst you as I was, but you have known her from a child. It is a
+familiar face, and one that never frowned, which you will miss at your
+cottage doors, as I and mine will miss it long in the old hall----"
+
+Here there was a sob from some of the women, and nothing was seen of
+Mrs. Dale but the white handkerchief. The Squire himself paused, and
+brushed away a tear with the back of his hand. Then he resumed, with a
+sudden change of voice that was electrical--"For we none of us prize a
+blessing till we have lost it! Now, friends and neighbors,--a little
+time ago, it seemed as if some ill-will had crept into the
+village--ill-will between you and me, neighbors!--why, that is not like
+Hazeldean!"
+
+The audience hung their heads! You never saw people look so thoroughly
+ashamed of themselves. The Squire proceeded--"I don't say it was all
+your fault; perhaps it was mine."
+
+"Noa-noa-noa," burst forth in a general chorus.
+
+"Nay, friends," continued the Squire humbly, and in one of those
+illustrative aphorisms which, if less subtle than Riccabocca's, were
+more within reach of the popular comprehension; "nay--we are all human;
+and every man has his hobby; sometimes he breaks in the hobby, and
+sometimes the hobby, if it is very hard in the mouth, breaks in him. One
+man's hobby has an ill habit of always stopping at the public house!
+(Laughter.) Another man's hobby refuses to stir a peg beyond the door
+where some buxom lass patted its neck the week before--a hobby I rode
+pretty often when I went courting my good wife here! (Much laughter and
+applause.) Others, have a lazy hobby, that there's no getting
+on;--others, a runaway hobby that there's no stopping: but to cut the
+matter short, my favorite hobby, as you well know, is always trotted out
+to any place on my property which seems to want the eye and hand of the
+master. I hate (cried the Squire warming), to see things neglected and
+decayed, and going to the dogs! This land we live in is a good mother to
+us, and we can't do too much for her. It is very true, neighbors, that I
+owe her a good many acres, and ought to speak well of her; but what
+then? I live amongst you, and what I take from the rent with one hand, I
+divide amongst you with the other, (low, but assenting murmurs.) Now the
+more I improve my property, the more mouths it feeds. My
+great-grandfather kept a Field-Book, in which were entered not only the
+names of all the farmers and the quantity of land they held, but the
+average number of the laborers each employed. My grandfather and father
+followed his example: I have done the same. I find, neighbors, that our
+rents have doubled since my great-grandfather began to make the book.
+Ay--but there are more than four times the number of laborers employed
+on the estate, and at much better wages too! Well, my men, that says a
+great deal in favor of improving property, and not letting it go to the
+dogs. (Applause.) And therefore, neighbors, you will kindly excuse my
+hobby: it carries grist to your mill. (Reiterated applause.) Well--but
+you will say, 'What's the Squire driving at?' Why this, my friends:
+There was only one worn-out, dilapidated, tumble-down thing in the
+Parish of Hazeldean, and it became an eyesore to me; so I saddled my
+hobby, and rode at it. O ho! you know what I mean now! Yes, but
+neighbors, you need not have taken it so to heart. That was a scurvy
+trick of some of you to hang me in effigy, as they call it."
+
+"It warn't you," cried a voice in the crowd, "it war Nick Stirn."
+
+The Squire recognized the voice of the tinker; but though he now guessed
+at the ringleader,--on that day of general amnesty, he had the prudence
+and magnanimity not to say, "Stand forth, Sprott: thou art the man." Yet
+his gallant English spirit would not suffer him to come off at the
+expense of his servant.
+
+"If it was Nick Stirn you meant," said he gravely, "more shame for you.
+It showed some pluck to hang the master; but to hang the poor servant,
+who only thought to do his duty, careless of what ill-will it brought
+upon him, was a shabby trick--so little like the lads of Hazeldean, that
+I suspect the man who taught it to them was never born in the parish.
+But let bygones be bygones. One thing is clear, you don't take kindly to
+my new pair of stocks! They have been a stumbling-block and a grievance,
+and there's no denying that we went on very pleasantly without them. I
+may also say that in spite of them we have been coming together again
+lately. And I can't tell you what good it did me to see your children
+playing again on the green, and your honest faces, in spite of the
+stocks, and those diabolical tracts you've been reading lately, lighted
+up at the thought that something pleasant was going on at the Hall. Do
+you know, neighbors, you put me in mind of an old story which, besides
+applying to the Parish, all who are married, and all who intend to
+marry, will do well to recollect. A worthy couple, named John and Joan,
+had lived happily together many a long year, till one unlucky day they
+bought a new bolster. Joan said the bolster was too hard, and John that
+it was too soft. So, of course, they quarrelled. After sulking all day,
+they agreed to put the bolster between them at night." (Roars of
+laughter amongst the men; the women did not know which way to look,
+except, indeed, Mrs. Hazeldean, who, though she was more than usually
+rosy, maintained her innocent genial smile, as much as to say, "There is
+no harm in the Squire's jests.") The orator resumed--"After they had
+thus lain apart for a little time, very silent and sullen, John sneezed.
+'God bless you!' says Joan over the bolster. 'Did you say God bless me?'
+cries John;--'then here goes the bolster!'"
+
+Prolonged laughter and tumultuous applause.
+
+"Friends and neighbors," said the Squire when silence was restored, and
+lifting the horn of ale, "I have the pleasure to inform you that I have
+ordered the stocks to be taken down, and made into a bench for the
+chimney nook of our old friend Gaffer Solomons yonder. But mind me,
+lads, if ever you make the Parish regret the loss of the stocks, and the
+overseers come to me with long faces and say, 'the stocks must be
+rebuilded,' why--" Here from all the youth of the village rose so
+deprecating a clamor, that the Squire would have been the most bungling
+orator in the world if he had said a word further on the subject. He
+elevated the horn over his head--"Why, that's my old Hazeldean again!
+Health and long life to you all!"
+
+The Tinker had sneaked out of the assembly, and did not show his face in
+the village for the next six months. And as to those poisonous tracts,
+in spite of their salubrious labels, "the Poor Man's Friend," or "the
+Rights of Labor," you could no more have found one of them lurking in
+the drawers of the kitchen-dressers in Hazeldean, than you would have
+found the deadly nightshade on the flower-stands in the drawing-room of
+the Hall. As for the revolutionary beer-house, there was no need to
+apply to the magistrates to shut it up; it shut itself up before the
+week was out.
+
+O young head of the great House of Hapsburg, what a Hazeldean you might
+have made of Hungary! What a "_Moriamur pro rege nostro_" would have
+rang in your infant reign,--if you had made such a speech as the
+Squire's!
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[R] The Emperor Diocletian.
+
+[S] The title of Excellency does not, in Italian, necessarily express
+any exalted rank: but it is often given by servants to their masters.
+
+
+
+
+Historical Review of the Month.
+
+
+In this number of the _International_, copying the example of the oldest
+magazine in the world, _The Gentleman's_, which for a hundred years has
+found its account in such a department, we present a carefully prepared
+and succinct summary of the history of the world, as it has come to our
+knowledge during the past month. It is intended hereafter to continue
+this feature in the _International_, devoting to it such attention that
+our pages shall always be deserving of consultation as an authority in
+regard to contemporary events. In the general characteristics of this
+department we shall offer nothing very original; the examples of our
+English contemporaries will be generally adhered to; but the utmost care
+and candor will be evinced in every _resum�_ of affairs or opinions
+admitted to our pages.
+
+
+THE UNITED STATES.
+
+As the session of Congress draws near to its close, its proceedings
+become more animated and interesting. It is already evident, however,
+that but few of the questions recommended for its consideration can be
+disposed of before its adjournment. One of its most important acts was
+the passage of the Cheap Postage Bill, in the House, on the seventeenth
+of January, by a vote of 130 to 75. This bill provides for a uniform
+rate of three cents per half-ounce, on letters, and a material reduction
+in the rates charged for newspapers and periodicals. The Senate
+Committee to whom the bill was referred, have reported amendments
+raising the postage to five cents on unpaid letters, striking out the
+provision allowing newspapers to go free within thirty miles of their
+place of publication, and reducing postage on magazines fifty per cent
+when prepaid. The French Spoliation Bill, after considerable discussion,
+passed the Senate on Friday, January 24th. The bill provides for the
+payment of claims based on the detention of vessels in the port of
+Bordeaux, the forcible capture and detention of American citizens, and
+depredations on American commerce in the West Indies, to the amount of
+$5,000,000.
+
+The bill to ascertain and settle Private Land Claims in California,
+introduced by Mr. Fremont towards the close of last session, was called
+up by Mr. Gwin, his colleague, on the twenty-seventh of January. Mr.
+Gwin offered a substitute, which was agreed to in Committee of the
+Whole, when the bill was reported to the Senate. After a most animated
+debate, in which the bill was strongly opposed by Mr. Benton, it finally
+passed the Senate on the sixth of February.
+
+The bill introduced in the House for the establishment of Branch Mints
+in New-York and San Francisco gave rise to an exciting debate. The bill
+was discussed for several days, the Pennsylvania members opposing it in
+a body. Its defeat was finally accomplished on Wednesday, February 5th.
+Since then Mr. Gwin has introduced in the Senate a separate bill for the
+establishment of a Branch Mint in San Francisco. A joint resolution,
+reported to the Senate by Mr. Rusk, providing that dead letters
+remaining in the post-offices of California and Oregon shall be opened
+at the post-office in San Francisco, under care of a special agent, was
+adopted.
+
+In the Senate, February 5th, the Committee on Foreign Relations, of
+which Mr. Foote is chairman, reported a resolution that in all future
+treaties by the United States, provisions should be made for settling
+difficulties by arbitration, before resorting to war. The Judiciary
+Committee also reported in favor of Messrs. Winthrop and Ewing (senators
+appointed by the governors of Massachusetts and Ohio to fill vacancies)
+holding their seats till their regularly-elected successors appear to
+claim their places. Mr. Winthrop, however, on Friday, February 7th,
+presented the credentials of his successor, Mr. Rantoul, (who had not
+yet arrived,) and vacated his seat. The credentials of Mr. Bright, as
+senator from Indiana for the ensuing term, were presented on the
+twenty-eighth of January.
+
+A bill for the relief of Mrs. Charlotte Lynch, mother of Miss Anne C.
+Lynch, the poetess, passed the House by a majority of 11. It had
+previously passed the Senate. Mrs. Lynch is the only surviving child of
+Colonel Ebenezer Gray, of the Connecticut line, who served in the army
+of the Revolution. The bill provides five years' full pay, as an
+equivalent for the losses sustained by him through the substitution of
+the commutation certificates issued in 1783.
+
+The American Minister at Rio Janeiro has transmitted some important
+information to the Government in regard to the Brazilian traffic in
+slaves under the American flag. A considerable portion of the infamous
+trade, by which from forty to fifty thousand negroes are annually
+imported into Brazil, is carried on in American-built vessels, under the
+protection of our flag. It has been found impossible to enforce the
+Brazilian statutes on the subject, the authorities charged with their
+execution, almost without exception, conniving at the traffic. In spite
+of the exertions of the American Minister, our flag is still used as a
+protection, and its influence is given to the support of the
+slave-dealer. The communications of the American Minister have been
+referred by the Senate to the Committee on Commerce. Mr. Clay spoke at
+some length in favor of adopting more efficient measures to prevent
+American vessels and seamen from engaging in the slave-trade.
+
+The project of establishing a line of steamers between several American
+ports and the coast of Africa, Gibraltar, and England,--familiarly known
+as the "Ebony Line,"--has been strongly recommended to Congress by
+petitions from all quarters. The Legislature of Virginia, and the
+Constitutional Convention of the same State, now in session, have both
+passed resolutions in its favor. Several other States have done, or are
+about to do the same thing. The session is already so far advanced,
+however, that the subject will probably be left without action for the
+next Congress.
+
+The Senate Committee on the Post-office has reported in favor of
+granting to a company the right of way and subscription to the stock of
+an Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company.
+
+Mr. Kaufman, a member of the House, from Texas, died very suddenly on
+the thirty-first of January. His funeral took place on the Monday
+following, February 3d. Mr. Kaufman was born in Pennsylvania in 1813,
+graduated in Princeton College in 1833, practiced law in Louisiana, and
+removed to Texas in 1835.
+
+The subject of most general interest in the political world is the
+election of United States Senator, in a number of the States, for the
+term commencing on the 4th of March. Several elections have taken place,
+and others have not been accomplished in spite of repeated ballots. In
+New-York, the Constitution provides for an election on the first
+Wednesday of February. On that day the Whig candidate, ex-Governor
+Hamilton Fish, received a majority of 37 in the House: the Senate, after
+two ineffectual ballots, adjourned. A special law will therefore be
+required to elect a senator. In Massachusetts, the Democratic candidate,
+Robert Rantoul, Jr., was elected to fill the vacancy occasioned by Mr.
+Webster's acceptance of a place in the Cabinet. All attempts to elect a
+senator for the ensuing term have failed up to this period. Mr. Sumner,
+the Free Soil candidate, lacked but two votes of an election on the
+twelfth ballot, but afterwards lost. It was finally postponed to the
+twenty-seventh of February. In the Ohio Legislature, ten successive
+ballots were cast without arriving at an election, after which the
+subject was indefinitely postponed. In Rhode Island, General Charles T.
+James, the Democratic candidate, was elected; in Florida, Stephen R.
+Mallory, in place of Hon. D. L. Yulee, both Democrats; and in Delaware,
+James A. Bayard, Democrat, in the place of Mr. Wales, the present Whig
+senator. Hon. Henry Dodge was reelected by the Legislature of Wisconsin,
+by a majority of one, on the fifth vote. In Pennsylvania, Hon. Richard
+Brodhead was elected in place of Mr. Sturgeon, both members of the
+Democratic party. Henry S. Geyer, Whig, has been elected by the State of
+Missouri, as United States Senator, in place of Col. Thomas H. Benton,
+who is superseded after an uninterrupted service of thirty years.
+
+William H. Ross, the new Governor of Delaware, was inaugurated at Dover,
+on the twenty-first of January. The most important feature of his
+address was the recommendation of a revision of the State Constitution.
+George F. Fort, the new Governor of New Jersey, has been inaugurated.
+His address takes ground in favor of the compromise measures passed by
+Congress. He also advocates the Free School System, and the election of
+Judges by the people. Governor French, of Illinois, in his annual
+message, represents the State as being in a prosperous condition, the
+revenue being sufficient to meet the demands upon the treasury. He
+recommends a geological survey of the State, and the passage of a
+Homestead Exemption Law. The schools of the State are in a flourishing
+condition. The message of Governor Dewey, of Wisconsin, also shows an
+improved condition of State affairs. The finances are represented as
+being sound, and the credit of the State relieved from all fear of
+bankruptcy. Apprehensions of danger to the citizens residing north of
+Wisconsin river, from the return of the Winnebagoes, have been quieted
+by the appointment of an agent to confer with that tribe. The message of
+Governor Ramsey to the second Legislative Assembly of Minnesota
+Territory is an interesting document. Among other subjects recommended
+to the attention of the Assembly are the agricultural interests of the
+Territory, and the improvement of the Mississippi river, both above and
+below the Falls of St. Anthony. The extinction of the Indian title at
+Pembina will admit of the laws of the Territory being extended over the
+half-breeds at that place. It is said that there are hundreds of
+half-breed hunters on the British side of the line, who are only waiting
+the extinction of the Indian title to change their homes and allegiance.
+The assessed value of property in the five principal counties of
+Minnesota is $805,417.48.
+
+The returns of the Seventh Census will shortly be completed. A number of
+States have recently sent in their full reports, among which are the
+following: New-York 3,099,000, being an increase of 670,029 since 1840;
+Virginia 1,428,863, an increase of 189,066; Maryland 580,633, an
+increase of 111,401; New Hampshire 317,999, an increase of 33,425;
+Missouri 681,547, an increase of 297,845; Ohio 1,981,940, an increase of
+462,473; Kentucky 993,344, an increase of 213,516; Indiana, 990,000; New
+Jersey 490,763, an increase of 117,874; and Wisconsin, 305,556. The
+entire population of the United States in 1850 is estimated at
+23,500,000.
+
+A warrant for the arrest of Governor Quitman of Mississippi, for
+participation in the Cuban Expedition, was issued by Judge Gholson in
+New Orleans, early in January. Governor Quitman at first resisted the
+authority, but afterwards resigned his office as Governor, and on the
+seventh of February reached New Orleans, under arrest. He appeared in
+court, and gave bail for future appearance, asking a speedy trial.
+
+Several diplomatic appointments have recently been made. Hon. Richard H.
+Bayard, who was appointed Charg� d'Affaires to Belgium, has departed for
+his mission. Hon. Robert C. Schenck, of Ohio, has been appointed
+Minister to Brazil, and Hon. J. S. Pendleton, of Virginia, Charg�
+d'Affaires to New Grenada. The Chevalier Gomez, Special Envoy to Rome
+from the states of Guatemala and San Salvador, has arrived at
+Washington, and assumed, provisionally, the office of Charg� from those
+states. He has addressed a letter to the Secretary of State in relation
+to the present condition of the Central American States.
+
+General Mosquera, ex-President of New Grenada, is now travelling in this
+country, and was lately in Washington, where he received distinguished
+attentions. General Paez, the distinguished exile from Venezuela, is
+also in Washington. Dr. Frank Taylor, of Pennsylvania, who has recently
+returned from Constantinople and Asia Minor, has received letters from
+the illustrious Kossuth, addressed to the Secretary of State, and
+soliciting the intervention of the United States with the Turkish
+Government, to procure the release of himself and his compatriots, and
+their transportation to the United States. Mr. Webster immediately
+complied with the request, and has dispatched instructions to Mr. Marsh,
+the American Minister at Constantinople, to procure from the Turkish
+Government the release of the Hungarians.
+
+The frigate St. Lawrence has sailed from New-York for Southampton, with
+articles for the World's Fair. She carries out between four and five
+hundred articles, embracing nearly all branches of manufacture, and the
+principal mineral and agricultural productions of the country. The
+contributions are in charge of Charles F. Stansbury, Esq., agent of the
+Central Committee of Washington. The tender of the authorities of
+Southampton, offering the use of that port, with free transportation of
+the goods to Vauxhall, London, has been accepted by the Secretary of
+State.
+
+There have been several serious wrecks, with loss of life, on the
+Atlantic coast and the Mississippi river. The steamboat America, which
+left Wilmington, N.C., on the fourteenth of January, for Mobile,
+foundered on the 29th. The schooner Champion, of Boston, picked up one
+boat's crew, containing six men. A second boat, containing ten men, was
+picked up by the schooner Star, and taken to Washington. A third boat,
+containing six men, has not been heard from. The steamer John Adams, on
+her way from New Orleans to Cincinnati, struck on a snag in the
+Mississippi river, on the morning of January 27th. The cabin parted from
+the hull, which went down in sixty feet water. Out of 230 cabin and deck
+passengers, firemen, and crew, 123 were lost, of whom 82 were German and
+Irish emigrants, and returning Californians. On the ninth of February,
+the steamer Autocrat, from New Orleans to Memphis, came in contact with
+the steamer Magnolia, coming down the river, and sank instantly. Thirty
+lives were lost.
+
+A calamitous fire took place at New Orleans, on the eighteenth of
+January, destroying the magnificent St. Charles Hotel, together with two
+churches and several other buildings. The total loss is about $500,000,
+less than half of which was covered by insurance. Jenny Lind arrived at
+New Orleans from Havana on the 8th of February. Her reception was in the
+highest degree enthusiastic. Her first concert took place on the 10th,
+the receipts therefrom amounting to $20,000. The first ticket was
+purchased for $240 by a New Orleans hatter, the fortunate drawer of
+Powers' Greek Slave in the Cincinnati Art Union.
+
+Two more of the unfortunate Hungarian refugees have reached this city:
+Captain Eduard Becsey, who served during the war as adjutant to General
+Bern, and Lieutenant Aurel Kiring. Captain Becsey was taken prisoner by
+the Russians, and carried to Kiev, on the Dneiper, where he was detained
+a year. After being released, he made his way to the Mediterranean, and
+obtained a passage to New-York.
+
+Our latest news from Eagle Harbor, the port of the mining region on Lake
+Superior, state that the propeller Independence, which had just taken
+on board her last cargo of copper for the season, was blown on shore by
+a heavy gale, and imbedded in the sand, where she must remain till
+Spring. The Napoleon had arrived from Saut St. Mary, with provisions and
+stores for the winter.
+
+Texas papers of the thirty-first of January state that Judge Rollins,
+the United States Agent, had effected a treaty with the Indians,
+providing for a cessation of hostilities, and the restoration of all
+stolen property and prisoners. Lieuts. Smith and Mechler had completed a
+survey of the Rio Grande from its mouth to a point about four hundred
+and fifty miles above Camargo. They report that the river can be made
+navigable for boats of light draught to a short distance above Loredo
+for several months in the year. Col. Anderson, of the corps of
+Topographical Engineers has received orders to make a survey of the
+Brazos and Guadalupe rivers. A fight had occurred between Lieutenant
+King, with seven men, of the Texan volunteers, and a body of Indians,
+who were driving off a number of stolen horses. They were pursued for
+fifteen or twenty miles, when they abandoned the horses, and escaped
+with the loss of three or four of their number. The total vote on the
+Pierce Boundary Bill, as officially reported, is 9,250 ayes, 3,366 noes.
+
+On the eighteenth of December the whole of the American Boundary
+Commission had arrived at Paso del Norte, with the exception of an
+ox-train carrying supplies. The military escort, under the command of
+Col. Craig, was encamped on the American side of the Rio del Norte, but
+was soon to start for the copper-mines near the headwaters of the Gila.
+The Mexican Commissioner, General Conde, with his escort, was quartered
+in the town of El Paso. Several conferences took place between the
+Commissioners before they could agree on the starting-point for the
+boundary, the existing maps being as inconsistent with the terms of the
+treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo as with the topography of the country
+itself. The winter, throughout the valley of the Del Norte has been very
+severe. The thermometer fell to six degrees at El Paso on the sixth of
+December, and the Rio Grande was frozen over for the first time in the
+memory of the inhabitants.
+
+The settlements of New Mexico are threatened with scarcity. On the tenth
+of January corn was selling at three dollars the bushel, and vegetables
+not to be had at any price. The appearance of the agents for taking the
+census of New-Mexico had occasioned great alarm among the pueblos or
+villages. They feared that the account of their property was taken by
+the Government for the purpose of extortion and seizure. The Apaches
+have committed no depredations of late, but the Navajoes have broken
+their treaty by stealing several thousand sheep from the settlements on
+the Rio del Norte.
+
+In the Utah Territory the Mormons have temporarily settled the question
+of slavery, by leaving it to the choice of the slaves themselves. If the
+slave chooses to leave his master, there is no power to retain him; if
+he chooses to stay, no one is allowed to interfere.
+
+Our news from California is to the first of January. The steamers
+Carolina and Columbus sailed from San Francisco on that day, with 330
+passengers and about $1,500,000 in gold dust. Business was very dull,
+both in the ports and inland towns of California, and the trading
+communities among the mines. The immense shipments of goods which had
+arrived from the Atlantic States had produced a complete stagnation in
+the market, bringing many kinds of merchandise below cost prices. After
+the first showers of the rainy season, early in December, the miners
+withdrew to the dry diggings, when the rains ceased, and three or four
+weeks of clear and delightful weather left them without employment. The
+richest localities are very thickly populated, the miners having built
+themselves log-cabins and organized communities for the winter. On parts
+of Feather river, the American Fork, and the Mokelumne, Tuolumne, and
+Mariposa rivers, the diggings were still yielding a good return. New
+discoveries of rich veins of quartz-bearing gold continue to be made. A
+mine of silver ore, of a very rich quality, is reported to have been
+discovered in the neighborhood of Monterey. A company is being formed at
+that place for the purpose of working the mine upon an extensive scale.
+The Sacramento papers state that a large mine of lead, in an almost pure
+state, exists near Johnson's Ranche, about thirty miles from that city.
+The ore is represented to lie on the surface of the earth, in heavy
+masses, so that vast quantities could be obtained without sinking a
+shaft.
+
+On the evening of December 14th another fire broke out in San Francisco,
+in a large zinc building owned by Cooke, Baker & Co. By the exertions of
+the firemen and the citizens the conflagration was subdued, after
+consuming this building and three or four others of less value. The
+large building belonging to the Pacific Mail Steamship Company was in
+the utmost danger, having been greatly scorched by the flames. The total
+loss by this fire was $75,000. The city, on the first of January, was
+fully prepared for the rainy season. By the enterprise of the
+inhabitants, upward of seven and a half miles of street had been graded
+and four miles planked, while capacious piers and wharves were built far
+out into the bay, so that vessels were enabled to load and unload
+without the use of lighters. The cholera had entirely disappeared, not
+only from San Francisco, but from all parts of California. Its ravages
+have been much lighter than was anticipated, a fact which speaks well
+for the health of the country.
+
+The _Pacific News_ contains some interesting statistics of the condition
+of San Francisco at the close of the year 1850. The population of the
+city is estimated at 35,000. One hundred and seven miles of street are
+already laid out, one quarter of which is built upon and occupied. The
+business streets are substantially built of brick or iron. In addition
+to seventeen large auction firms and eight express companies, the city
+boasts of ten first class hotels and seven daily papers. The amount of
+gold-dust regularly shipped and entered for exportation during the year
+1850 was $30,000,000; the estimated amount taken away by passengers,
+$12,000,000. The amount of bullion received was $1,722,600. The number
+of vessels which arrived during the year was 1,743 bringing 35,333 male
+and 1,248 female passengers; the number of clearances amounts to 1,461
+vessels, carrying away 26,593 male and eight female passengers. The
+total value of the merchandise received by foreign and domestic vessels
+during the year was between four and five millions of dollars. In
+addition to 14 steamers running regularly between San Francisco and
+Panama, and three on the Oregon route, there are 45 steamers and 270
+other craft of various kinds on the bay and inland streams.
+
+We have news from Oregon to the middle of December, at which time the
+Legislature was in session. The message of Governor Gaines recommends
+the establishment of a liberal system of education, and asks for the
+passage of a law for protection against the Indian tribes. It also
+maintains the importance of a liberal policy on the part of the General
+Government in the donation of lands to actual settlers. The country
+appears to be in a highly prosperous condition; all the towns on the
+Columbia and its tributaries are growing rapidly. The news from the gold
+placers on the Klamath and Umpqua rivers, near the borders of
+California, is encouraging as to the yield of dust, but the Oregonians
+place their main reliance on their agricultural interests. The yield of
+wheat is said to be not only double per acre that of the Atlantic
+States, but it is a never-failing crop. The people in Oregon City are
+agitating the subject of a railroad to connect the Willamette Valley
+with the Columbia river, at some point accessible to large vessels. It
+is estimated that the whole cost will only be about $500,000, which it
+is proposed to raise in one thousand shares of $500 each. Twelve months,
+it is believed, will complete the work.
+
+
+EUROPE.
+
+On the first of February, England was in a tranquil condition, the
+anti-Papal agitation having almost entirely subsided. The journals were
+engaged in discussing law reform, the New-York Revised Code being
+commended as a model in many quarters. In the Queen's speech at the
+opening of Parliament--an advance copy having been forwarded to this
+country--a thorough reform of the Equity courts is recommended, as well
+as the introduction of an act for the registration of deeds, equally
+applicable to each of the three kingdoms. Her Majesty alludes in terms
+of comparative mildness to the Wiseman affair, commending the question
+to the attention of Parliament. Public opinion is strongly in favor of a
+large reduction in taxation, and it is anticipated that the window tax
+will be abolished. The quarterly returns of the revenue have been highly
+satisfactory, since, notwithstanding the abolition of the tax on bricks
+and the reduction of the stamp duty, the income exceeds that of the
+previous year by about �165,000.
+
+The great crystal palace in Hyde Park is rapidly advancing towards its
+completion. The immense structure is exciting the wonder and admiration
+of the metropolis, and the opening of the fair is anticipated with great
+interest. The strength of the building has been amply tested by a severe
+storm of hail and wind, which passed over without breaking a pane of
+glass. All quarters of the world are sending specimens of their
+manufactures and natural productions. South Africa, Australia, and the
+islands of the sea will be represented, while Cashmere shawls, robes of
+pearl, and Runjeet Singh's golden saddle, will be sent from India.
+
+The U.S. Mail steamer Atlantic, which sailed from Liverpool on the
+twenty-eighth of December, arrived in the harbor of Cork on the
+twenty-second of January, having been at sea twenty-five days. When in
+lat. 46� 12', lon. 41� 30', about midway between Cape Clear and
+New-York, her main shaft broke, rendering the engines useless. After
+running westward two days under sail, a heavy gale arose, when Captain
+West put her head about, and made for Cork, a distance of 1400 miles,
+which she made in eleven days. The steamer Cambria was instantly
+chartered to take her place, but most of her passengers left Liverpool
+in the Africa, on February 1st. It is stated on the authority of Earl
+Monteagle, that the British Government have resolved to make Holyhead
+the port of arrival and departure for the transatlantic mail steamers.
+
+In France, a ministerial revolution has taken place, resulting in
+widening the breach between President Napoleon and the National
+Assembly. Several general orders of General Changarnier to the army of
+Paris having been published in one of the journals, in which he commands
+the troops to pay no attention to any orders but those of the
+Lieutenant-General. Changarnier was called upon in the Assembly for
+explanation. He denied that these instructions were meant to be
+permanent, but only to be put in force when an emeute was apprehended.
+His conduct was approved by the Assembly, but Louis Napoleon, who had
+long regarded Changarnier with fear and jealousy, withdrew from him the
+command of the army at Paris, which he divided between two or three
+generals of lower rank. This gave rise to a most excited debate in the
+National Assembly, in which Lamartine made a speech in the President's
+defence. Baroche, Minister of the Interior, General Changarnier, M.
+Thiers, and General Cavaignac followed, the three latter speakers taking
+strong ground against the ministry. After several days of stormy
+discussion, the resolution of M. de St. Beuve, that the Assembly
+"declares that it has no confidence in the ministry," was carried by a
+majority of 139. The ministers tendered their resignation to the
+President the same evening. A ministerial interregnum followed, which
+was terminated on the twenty-fourth of January by a message of the
+President, appointing a "transition ministry," composed of employ�es
+from the different departments, not one of them having a seat in the
+Assembly. The following is the list, as given in the _Moniteur_:
+
+    Public Instruction            M. Giraud, (de l'Institute.)
+    Interior                      M. Vaisse.
+    Foreign Affairs               M. Brennier.
+    War                           General Randon.
+    Marine                        Admiral Levaillant.
+    Commerce                      M. Schneider.
+    Finances                      M. de Germiny.
+    Public Works                  M. Magne.
+    Justice                       M. de Royer.
+
+Lamartine, it is stated, was urged by Louis Napoleon to accept an
+appointment in the ministry, but declined on account of his being bound
+to furnish his publishers with two volumes a month, under heavy
+penalties.
+
+The Conference of the German States at Dresden was opened with much
+ceremony early in January. All the states were represented, but the
+negotiations were kept profoundly secret. It has transpired, however,
+that the formation of the new Diet agreed upon gives two votes to
+Prussia, two to Austria, one each to Bavaria, Saxony, Hanover, and
+Wurtemberg, and three more portioned among the smaller principalities,
+making eleven in all. It is also understood that a Provisional Central
+Power will be proclaimed, Prussia and Austria retaining to themselves
+exclusively the right of deciding for the Confederation all questions
+of peace and war.
+
+Austria still labors under financial embarrassments of an almost
+hopeless character. As a measure of temporary relief, the Government has
+contracted two loans, one from Russia, of fifty millions of florins, and
+the other, of one hundred millions, on state obligations, at six per
+cent. The manufacturers of Austria strongly oppose the proposed
+compromise of the Zollverein, and advocate a tariff of a decidedly
+protective character. Great dissatisfaction has been manifested in
+Hungary, on account of the newly imposed tax on tobacco, which is one of
+the principal productions of the country. In consequence of this
+opposition the excise corps has been greatly enlarged, and serious
+difficulties are apprehended.
+
+The smaller German states are now completely overruled by the Austrian
+and Prussian troops. The Elector of Hesse Cassel has returned to his
+Capital, with his Prime Minister, Hassenpflug, under their protection.
+The Constitution is virtually abolished by their presence, and those who
+supported it are subjected to the most shameful persecutions. Many of
+the best citizens are obliged to leave the country. Schleswig Holstein
+has been 'pacified' in a similar manner. Through the instrumentality of
+the Austrian and Prussian Commissioners, backed by a military force, the
+army of Schleswig Holstein has been disbanded, and the country occupied
+by the troops of Denmark. On the sixteenth of January, the proclamation
+of the King of Denmark, administering the oath of fidelity to the
+military, was read in the marketplace of Rendsburg. Hamburgh has been
+occupied by 4000 Austrian troops.
+
+A treaty of amity and commerce has been concluded with the Swiss Diet,
+by Mr. Dudley Mann, Diplomatic Agent of the United States. Its
+provisions are of the most liberal and friendly character. The entire
+reciprocity and equality of the citizens of both countries, is
+guaranteed, so far as the right of establishment is concerned; a citizen
+of the United States being allowed to settle in one of the Swiss Cantons
+upon the same conditions as a citizen born in another Canton. Entire and
+unconditional liberty in disposing of property is mutually stipulated,
+as well as equal taxation of the individuals established, their
+exemption from military duties, and the grant of indemnity for damages
+in case of war. The commercial intercourse of the two countries is also
+arranged upon the most liberal and advantageous basis. Switzerland has
+remained tranquil, with the exception of a riot in the Canton of Berne,
+occasioned by the attempted extradition, on the part of the Government,
+of a Prussian Jew, a noted socialist, residing at St. Imier. This person
+was very popular among the poor, who resisted the authorities, whereupon
+the troops were ordered to be in readiness to support them. The Swiss
+Government has determined to forward a beautiful stone from the Alps, to
+be placed in the National Monument to Washington.
+
+ITALY is still in an unquiet state. There seems to be a growing
+apprehension and uneasiness among all classes in the Papal States, and
+it is rumored that Pope Pius, wearied with the anxieties of his
+situation, wishes to resign the Pontificate, and retire to a Convent.
+
+In NAPLES, the Government, alarmed by rumors of Mazzini's revolutionary
+designs, has made many arrests, and instituted a more vigorous police
+system. All cafes and places of public amusement are strictly watched.
+The army is to be increased by 18,000 men, and as English opinions are
+assigned to be dangerous, those Neapolitans who intended to visit the
+Great Exhibition in London, have been refused their passports.
+
+AUSTRIAN ITALY is even in a worse condition. Several conspiracies have
+been discovered, and a large number of arrests made in consequence. A
+large number of persons have been executed, in the Lombardo-Venetian
+provinces.
+
+The most interesting news from SPAIN is that of another resignation of
+the Ministry. The resignation of General Narvaez was not accepted by the
+Queen, whereupon that gentleman assembled his colleagues, and
+commissioned them to inform the Queen that unless she released him at
+once from his office, he should blow his brains out! This threat had the
+desired effect, and the following Cabinet was then appointed:
+
+    President of the Council and Minister of Finance   Bravo Murillo.
+    Foreign Office                                     Bertran de Lys.
+    Grace and Justice                                  Gonzales Romero.
+    Home Department                                    Arteta.
+    War                                                Count Mirasol.
+    Marine                                             Bustillos.
+    Commerce, &c.                                      Fernandez Negrete.
+
+The project of a revision of the Constitution, which has been so warmly
+agitated in Sweden, has entirely failed. The proposition of the King has
+been rejected by two of the four chambers constituting the Legislative
+Assembly, three being required in its favor, to form a constitutional
+majority. Sweden will therefore preserve her present system of a
+separate representation of the nobility, clergy, citizens, and peasants.
+
+In TURKEY, the subjection of the rebellious Bosnians was consummated on
+the seventeenth of December, when Omar Pasha made his triumphal entry
+into Bosna Serai. The captive Pashas and Cadis marched on foot in the
+procession. It is rumored that the Porte has at length agreed to accept
+the offer of the British and American Governments to transport the
+Hungarian refugees to America, and will order their immediate release.
+Three hundred Polish refugees, who arrived at Constantinople from Varna,
+on the thirty-first of December, were to be sent to Liverpool at the
+expense of the Turkish Government. Two Commissioners, Ismet Pasha and
+Sami Pasha, have been appointed to travel through Asiatic and European
+Turkey, for the purpose of noting whether the new reforms in favor of
+the Christians have been carried out.
+
+There is nothing from GREECE, but accounts of the depredations of the
+robbers which now infest all parts of the country. In the provinces of
+Acarnania, Levadia and Attica, several villages have been sacked, and
+the inhabitants put to the torture.
+
+
+MEXICO
+
+The Mexican Congress assembled in the Capital on the first of January,
+when General Herrera, the President, made his annual address. He dwelt
+with satisfaction on the relations existing between the United States
+and Mexico, considering them much more harmonious and mutually
+advantageous than was anticipated at the close of the war. The financial
+condition of the country has been somewhat improved by the retrenchment
+of the Government expenses and the consolidation of the Interior Debt: a
+revision of the Revenue Laws is strongly advocated as a still further
+reform in this direction. President Herrera favors the colonization of
+the public lands by immigrants from Europe; he also alludes with
+satisfaction to the increase of manufactures and the improved prospects
+of the silver mines, which last year yielded upwards of $30,000,000.
+
+The two branches of Congress met on the eighth, to count the votes for
+the election of the President of the Republic. The votes of twelve
+States were found to be in favor of General Arista. He was consequently
+declared to be duly elected. On the fifteenth, in the Chamber of
+Deputies, in the presence of the Mexican Congress, he took the oath of
+office and made a short inaugural address, in which he alluded to the
+maintenance of the federal system as necessary to the prosperity of the
+country, and pledged himself to preserve peace and order at all hazards.
+The President of Congress, Don Mariano Ya�ez, replied in a short address
+of congratulation. Te Deum was chanted in the Cathedral in the presence
+of the new President, and in the evening the German residents honored
+him with a serenade and torch light procession. Arista's Cabinet is
+composed as follows: Minister of Foreign Affairs, Don Mariano Ya�ez;
+Minister of Justice, Don Jose Maria Aguirre; Minister of Finance, Don
+Manuel Payno; Minister of War and Marine, Don Manuel Robles.
+
+Early in January a rebellion broke out in the State of Guanajuato. The
+insurgents, headed by two brothers named Liceagas, obtained possession
+of the city of Guanajuato, with the Government arms and ammunition, but
+were defeated on the night of the 13th by the Government troops under
+Generals Bustamente and Uraga. Several of the chiefs were executed, and
+the movement, which was in favor of Santa Anna, was entirely crushed.
+
+The Tehuantepec treaty was ratified on the 25th of January. On the
+following day, Mr. Letcher, the American Minister, left the capital for
+the United States, on leave of absence. Se�or Lacunza, the Ex-Minister
+of Foreign Affairs, has been appointed Minister to England, and Se�or
+Valdiviesco Minister to France. The Mexican Government has ceded in
+perpetuity to Don Gayetano Rubio, Don Eustace Barron, Se�or Garay, and
+the firm of Yecker, Torre & Co., the whole of the public lands in the
+State of Sonora, including the mines, between lat. 30� N. and the Gila
+River. This grant embraces several millions of acres, and the richest
+mineral land of the Republic. It is said to have been intended to smooth
+the passage of a bill abolishing all tariff prohibitions, which have
+hitherto operated greatly to the advantage of the parties named.
+
+Maj. Barnard's Company for surveying the Isthmus of Tehuantepec reached
+the town of Minatitlan, on the Coatzocoalcos River, in the steamer
+Alabama, on the 25th of December. At the last accounts, one party had
+penetrated a distance of sixty miles into the country, a second was
+engaged in an examination of the river, and a third had set out for
+Tehuantepec, on the Pacific Coast.
+
+
+BRITISH AMERICA.
+
+The lawyers in Lower Canada have been making strikes and holding
+meetings to protest against the imposition of the new tariff regulating
+their fees. The Bar of Quebec and of Trois Rivi�res have struck,
+declining to serve their clients until the legality of the tariff shall
+be decided by the Court of Appeals. It has been decided to admit
+American reprints of English copyright works into Canada, on paying 20
+per cent. duty, which is to be paid over by the Custom House to the
+English authors or proprietors of copyright, who are required to furnish
+a list of their works. Under this law, American reprints will still be
+much cheaper than English editions, and popular English authors may
+therefore look forward to some increase of their revenue. The Imperial
+Cabinet has also assented to the Post-Office Law, enacted at the last
+Session of the Canadian Legislature, and establishing a uniform rate of
+three pence for single letters throughout the British Provinces.
+
+Meetings have been held in Toronto, protesting against the intended
+removal of the Seat of Government from that city, while, on the other
+hand, the French members have resolved not to vote the supplies unless
+it is removed to Quebec in the spring. Lord Elgin, however, has stated
+that the Seat of Government will be transferred to Quebec at the
+completion of its two years in Toronto.
+
+
+THE WEST INDIES.
+
+We have news from Havana to the 3d of February. The administration of
+Gen. Concha appears to be more liberal and energetic than that of his
+predecessor, and gives very general satisfaction.
+
+Jenny Lind gave but four concerts in Havana, only the first and last of
+which were well attended. Her Italian songs produced much more effect
+than her Swedish ballads. The proceeds of the last concert, amounting to
+$5000, was devoted to objects of charity. A grand ball was given in her
+honor by the Count de Pe�alver, after which she visited Matanzas and the
+extensive sugar plantations in its neighborhood. Se�or Salvi, the great
+tenor, was engaged by Mr. Barnum to sing at her concerts in New-York, in
+April. On the 1st February, Frederika Bremer reached Havana, and the two
+renowned Swedes met, for the first time in the new world.
+
+News from Jamaica to the 1st of February state that the cholera was
+still prevailing in many localities, although it had decreased in some
+and entirely disappeared in others.
+
+
+CENTRAL AMERICA--THE ISTHMUS.
+
+In the State of Nicaragua, the elections have taken place and Don Jos�
+Sacasa has been chosen Director, from the 1st of May, on which the term
+of Director Raminez expires. The National Convention of Delegates from
+the States of Nicaragua, Honduras and San Salvador, met at Chinandega on
+the 21st of December, and organized by choosing as President Don Jos�
+Barrundia, the author of the Central-American Constitution of 1820. The
+little steamer Director, belonging to the Nicaraguan Company, passed the
+rapids of Machuca, on San Juan River, and entered Lake Nicaragua on the
+1st of January. She is now running between Granada and San Carlos, a
+distance of 95 miles, at $20 a passenger. The engineers employed to
+survey the route of the proposed ship canal, were at work between
+Granada and San Juan del Sur, on the Pacific. By the 1st of January,
+upwards of four thousand returning Californians had passed through
+Nicaragua, on their way to the United States.
+
+Disturbances have broken out in some of the mountain provinces of
+Guatemala, growing out of the refusal of the inhabitants to concur in
+the policy adopted by the Government at the instance of the English
+consul, Mr. Chatfield. The insurgents declared in favor of a Federal
+Union of all the Central-American States. The Government troops, under
+Gen. Carrera, in attempting to put down this opposition, were defeated
+at Chiquimula. A blockade of the ports of San Salvador has been ordered
+by Mr. Chatfield, who threatens Honduras and Nicaragua with a similar
+blow, unless they accede to certain demands. In a letter to the
+Nicaraguan Minister of Foreign Affairs, he arbitrarily lays down the
+boundary line between Honduras, Nicaragua and Musquitia--an assumed
+kingdom, under cover of which the British authorities have taken
+possession of the port of San Juan. Mr. Chatfield states that unless
+these boundaries are accepted, no canal or other improved method of
+transit across the Isthmus can be established. There is much excitement
+in Central America, on account of his arbitrary course.
+
+The winter rains are at an end on the Isthmus of Panama, and the roads
+are in good condition. Upwards of 800 workmen are employed on the Panama
+Railroad, and the track is already prepared for the rails from Navy Bay,
+the Atlantic terminus, to Gatun, on the Chagres River, a distance of
+three and a half miles.
+
+
+SOUTH AMERICA.
+
+The Congress of VENEZUELA met on 20th of January, all the members being
+present. It had previously been feared that the Executive Power would be
+violently seized by Guzman, Vice-President of the Republic, who was one
+of the unsuccessful candidates in the electoral colleges, in case there
+should not be a quorum in Congress. Gen. Monagas, brother of the present
+Executive, lacked only two or three votes of the two-thirds required by
+the Constitution in the electoral colleges, and having received
+sixty-five out of the eighty votes of Congress, was declared elected
+President of Venezuela. Guzman, who had used all his power to defeat
+Monagas, notwithstanding he was indebted to the latter for his life, met
+him upon the steps of the Government House after the election, and
+begged pardon, in tears, for the injuries he had done him. Monagas
+forgave him, and the happiest results for Venezuela are anticipated from
+an administration commenced under such circumstances.
+
+The Presidential Election in PERU took place on the 20th of December.
+The prominent candidates were Generals Echinique and San Ramon, and at
+the last accounts it was believed the former was elected.
+
+BOLIVIA is entirely tranquil, the health of Gen. Belzu having been
+completely restored since his attempted assassination, and the
+conspirators against him, Ballivian and Linares, having fled from the
+country. The partisans of Ballivian were totally routed in the southern
+provinces, where they attempted to make a stand, and their leader fled
+in disguise to Copiape, in Chili. Linares escaped into the Argentine
+Republic, and a requisition for his delivery was about to be issued.
+
+In CHILI, the extra session of Congress convened on the 16th of
+December. In his message calling the session, the President recommended
+to legislative attention, the subjects of reform in the customs and the
+coinage system, appropriations for the current year, the regulation of
+the standing army, and a revision of the taxes.
+
+Early in December a destructive fire broke out in Valparaiso, which was
+finally quelled through the labors of the sailors from the English and
+French vessels of war lying in the harbor, after destroying $250,000
+worth of property. On the 5th of the month, the volcano of Portillo,
+near Santiago, which had been quiet since 1845, suddenly broke out into
+violent eruption. The following day a very severe shock of an earthquake
+was felt, lasting twenty seconds, but fortunately doing little damage.
+Since then, however, a more violent earthquake has entirely destroyed
+the city of Conception, in the southern part of Chili.
+
+Hon. Bailey Peyton, the American Minister, left Valparaiso on the 27th
+of December, in the U.S. Ship _Vincennes_, on a visit to Talcuhuana, the
+province of Conception and the island of Juan Fernandez. Henri Herz, the
+distinguished pianist, has been giving concerts in Santiago.
+
+At the latest dates from BRAZIL, nothing of political importance had
+transpired. Accounts from Buenos Ayres to Dec. 12th, state that there
+was a prospect of an amicable settlement of the difficulties between
+that country and Brazil. There had been a conflict between the forces of
+Paraguay and those of Buenos Ayres, relative to the occupancy of some
+neutral lands, by the forces of the latter. The finances of the State
+were said to be in an encouraging condition.
+
+
+AFRICA.
+
+The Monitor, a paper published at Cape Town, South Africa, gives an
+account of a dreadful massacre committed by the noted Namagua chief,
+Yonker Afrikaner, on the neophytes of the German Missionary station at
+New-Barmen, in Damaraland, between South Africa and the Kingdom of
+Loango.
+
+A curious piece of history has made its way to us from the island of
+Madagascar. Rainharo, the Prime Minister of the reigning Queen of the
+island, determined, in June last, to exterminate all the Christians in
+the province of Imirena. Accordingly, when they were all assembled one
+evening at their religious exercises, the various communities were
+suddenly arrested, to the number of eight thousand, and condemned to
+death. Eighteen of them had already been executed, when the rest
+escaped, and surrounding the palace of the young Prince, the heir to the
+throne of Madagascar, implored his protection. The Queen sent orders
+through the Prime Minister that they should be given up. The Prince
+refused, and in the dispute which followed, drew his sword and aimed a
+blow at the Minister's head, cutting off one of his ears. When the Queen
+heard of this, fearing a revolt in the province of Imirena, to sustain
+the Prince, she suffered the Christians to return to their homes and
+worship as usual. They have since been visited by the Prince, who
+declares his intention to protect them.
+
+The Republic of LIBERIA was in a flourishing condition at the
+commencement of the year. Several explorations of the interior have been
+made, to the distance of two or three hundred miles from the coast. The
+parties brought back enthusiastic accounts of the richness and beauty of
+the country and the salubrity of the climate. President Roberts had sent
+his message to the Liberian Congress, giving a very favorable account of
+the condition and prospects of the country. The agricultural operations
+at Bassa Cove and Bexley have produced very satisfactory results. The
+slave trade is said to be almost destroyed in the neighborhood of
+Gallinas and Ambrize.
+
+
+
+
+Recent Deaths.
+
+
+THE REV. WALTER COLTON was born in Rutland, Vermont, about the year
+1797. When sixteen years of age he determined to acquire a liberal
+education, and commenced with industrious energy his preparatory
+studies. In 1818 he entered Yale College, where he received the
+Berkleyan Prize in Latin and Greek, and delivered the valedictory poem,
+when he graduated, in 1822. He soon afterwards entered the Theological
+Seminary at Andover, where he remained three years, giving much of his
+tune to literature, and writing, besides various moral and critical
+dissertations, a _Sacred Drama_, which was acted by the students at one
+of their rhetorical exhibitions, and an elaborate poem pronounced when
+his class received their diplomas. On being ordained an evangelist,
+according to the usage of the Congregational Church, he became Professor
+of Moral Philosophy and Belles-Lettres in the Scientific and Military
+Academy at Middletown, then under the presidency of Captain Alden
+Partridge. Besides attending to the more immediate duties of his
+position, he wrote while here a prize _Essay on Duelling_; a _Discussion
+of the Genius of Coleridge_; _The Moral Power of the Poet, Painter, and
+Sculptor, contrasted_, and many contributions in verse and prose to the
+public journals, under the signature of "Bertram." In 1828 he resigned
+his professorship, and settled in Washington, as editor of the _American
+Spectator_, a weekly gazette which he conducted with industry, and such
+tact and temper, that he preserved the most intimate relations with the
+leaders of the political party to which it was most decidedly opposed.
+He was especially a favorite with President Jackson, who was accustomed
+to send for him two or three times in a week to sit with him in his
+private chamber, and when Mr. Colton's health declined, so that a sea
+voyage was recommended by his physicians, the President offered him
+without solicitation a consulship or a chaplaincy in the Navy. The
+latter was accepted, and from 1830 till the end of his life, he
+continued as a chaplain in the naval service.
+
+His first appointment was to the West India squadron, where his
+reputation was increased by several incidents illustrative of his
+personal character. On one occasion a murderous affray had taken place
+between a boat's crew of American sailors and a party of Spaniards
+belonging to Pensacola, in which several sailors were killed. Mr. Colton
+drew up the official report of the outrage, in which he handled the
+police with just severity. The mayor, himself a Spaniard, and a man of
+desperate character, was greatly enraged, and swore he would take ample
+vengeance. He watched his opportunity, and attempted to rush on the
+chaplain with his long knife before he could protect himself. But the
+latter, drawing his pistols at the instant, levelled one of them at his
+breast, and told the mayor if he stirred his hand except to return his
+knife to its belt, he would put a ball through his heart. The Spaniard
+hesitated for a few minutes, and reluctantly complied.
+
+Returning from the West Indies Mr. Colton was appointed to the
+Constellation frigate, and sailed for the Mediterranean, and in the
+three years during which he was connected with this station, he
+travelled through Spain, Italy, Greece, and Asia Minor; visited
+Constantinople, and made his way to Paris and London. The results of his
+observations he partially gave to the public in volumes entitled _Ship
+and Shore_, and _A Visit to Constantinople and Athens_. Soon after the
+publication of these works, he was appointed Historiographer to the
+South Sea Surveying and Exploring Expedition; but the ultimate reduction
+of the force designed for the Pacific squadron, and the resignation of
+his associates, induced him to forego the advantages of this office, for
+which he had made very careful preparations in ethnographical studies.
+
+He was now stationed at Philadelphia, where he was chaplain successively
+of the Navy Yard and of the Naval Asylum. In this city we became
+acquainted with him, and for several years enjoyed his frequent society
+and intimate friendship, so that few have had more ample opportunities
+of judging of his character. In 1841 and 1842, with the consent of the
+Government, he added to his official duties the editorship of the
+Philadelphia _North American_, and in these and the following years he
+wrote much upon religious and literary subjects for other journals. We
+believe it was in 1844 that he delivered before the literary societies
+of the University of Vermont, a poem entitled _The Sailor_, which has
+not yet been published. In the summer of 1846 he was married, and we
+were selected by him for that occasion to fill the office commonly
+falling to the nearest friend. A few months afterward he was ordered to
+the Congress, the flag-ship of the Pacific squadron, in which he arrived
+off the western coast of America soon after the commencement of the late
+war with Mexico. The incidents of the voyage round Cape Horn are
+detailed with more than his usual felicity in his book, _Deck and Port_,
+published last summer in this city by Barnes & Co.
+
+Soon after the arrival of the squadron at Monterey, he was appointed
+alcalde, or chief magistrate of that city, an office of difficult duties
+and large responsibilities, demanding the most untiring industry, zeal,
+and fortitude. These were discharged with eminent faithfulness and
+ability, so that he won as much the regard of the conquered inhabitants
+of the country, as the respect of his more immediate associates. In
+addition to the ordinary duties of his place, Mr. Colton established the
+first newspaper printed in California, _The Californian_, now published
+in San Francisco, under the title of the "Alta California;" he built the
+first _school-house_ in California; and also a large hall for public
+meetings--said to be the finest building in the state, which the
+citizens called "Colton Hall," in honor of his public spirit and
+enterprise. It was during his administration of affairs at Monterey that
+the discovery of gold in the Sacramento Valley was first made; and,
+considering the vast importance which this discovery has since assumed,
+it may not be uninteresting to state that the honor of first making it
+publicly known in the Atlantic States, whether by accident or otherwise,
+belongs properly to him. It was first announced in a letter bearing his
+initials, which appeared in the Philadelphia _North American_, and the
+next day in a letter also written by him, in the New-York _Journal of
+Commerce_.
+
+Mr. Colton returned to his home early last summer, with anticipations of
+years of undisturbed happiness. With a family deeply attached to him, a
+large circle of friends, good reputation, and a fortune equal to his
+desires, he applied himself leisurely to the preparation of his MS.
+journals for the press, and the revision of his earlier publications.
+He had published, besides _Deck and Port_, already mentioned, _Three
+Years in California_, and had nearly ready for the printer a much
+enlarged and improved edition of _Ship and Shore_, which was to be
+followed by _A Visit to Constantinople, Athens, and the �gean_, a
+collection of his _Poems_, and a volume of _Miscellanies of Literature
+and Religion_. His health however began to decline, and a cold, induced
+by exposure during a late visit to Washington, ended in granular dropsy,
+which his physician soon discovered to be incurable. Being in
+Philadelphia on the 22d of January, we left our hotel to pay him an
+early visit, and found the death signs upon his door; he had died at two
+o'clock that morning, surrounded by his relations, and in the presence
+of his friends the Rev. Albert Barnes and the Rev. Dr. Herman
+Hooker--died very calmly, without mortal enemies and at peace with God.
+
+Mr. Colton was of an eminently genial nature, fond of society, and with
+such qualities as made him always a welcome associate. His extensive and
+various travel had left upon his memory a thousand delightful pictures,
+which were reflected in his conversation so distinctly and with such
+skilful preparation of the mind, that his companions lived over his life
+with him as often as he chose to summon its scenes before them. We
+believe him to have been very sincere in all the professions of honor
+and religion, and fully deserving of the respectful regrets with which
+he will be remembered during the lives of his contemporaries.
+
+
+AUGUSTE D'AVEZAC, descended from an illustrious French family, was born
+in the island of St. Domingo, about the year 1787. He was educated at
+the celebrated college of La Fl�che, in France; emigrated to the United
+States; studied medicine at Edenton, North Carolina; and on the
+acquisition of Louisiana removed to New Orleans. Here his sister was
+married to Chancellor Livingston, and he himself became a successful
+lawyer. When General Jackson arrived in New Orleans, d'Avezac became one
+of his aid-de-camps, and he served with him to the end of the war, and
+remained all his life among his most devoted friends. When General
+Jackson became President he appointed Major d'Avezac _Charg� d'Affaires
+to Naples_, and afterwards to the Netherlands, whence he was recalled by
+Mr. Van Buren, but under circumstances which did not prevent his hearty
+support of the President's administration. He then took up his residence
+in New-York, and in 1841 and 1843 was elected from this city to the
+Legislature. In 1845, he was appointed _Charg� d'Affaires_ to the Hague,
+and he remained there until superseded last year by Mr. Folsom, when he
+again returned to New-York, where he died on the 16th ultimo. He was an
+eminently agreeable man in society, and wrote in French and English with
+ease and vivacity, upon literature, art, politics, and history.
+
+
+At the Hague, a _cort�ge_ of upwards of three thousand persons have just
+accompanied to the grave, at the premature age of forty-two, M. ASSER, a
+judge of high reputation in that city, and author of various works on
+comparative legislation.
+
+
+France has lost one of her geographical celebrities, M. PIERRE LAPIE,
+from whose hand have issued a multitude of valuable maps.
+
+
+DR. HEINRICH FREDERICK LINK, Professor of Botany in the University of
+Berlin, and Director of the Royal Botanic Garden of that city, died on
+the first of January, in the eighty-second year of his age. His literary
+career extends back for more than half a century, his first botanical
+essay, consisting of some observations on the plants of the Botanic
+Garden at Rostock, having been published in 1795. He was contemporary
+with Linn�us, having been eighteen years old when the great author of
+the "Systema Natur�" died, and, from his botanical tastes, was probably
+acquainted with that naturalist's writings long before his decease.
+
+He graduated at Gottingen in 1789, having read on that occasion an
+inaugural thesis on the Flora of Gottingen, referring more particularly
+to those found in calcareous districts. Shortly afterwards he was
+appointed Professor of Botany at Rostock; subsequently he held the same
+chair at Breslau; but the latter and larger portion of his scientific
+life was spent at Berlin. He practised at Berlin as a physician among an
+extensive circle of friends, who had a high opinion of his medical
+skill. Although the name of Link fills a large space in the literature
+of botany, his mind was not of the highest order, and his contributions
+to science are not likely to make a very permanent impression. Still, he
+was an energetic, active man, with an observant mind, a retentive
+memory, and with considerable power of systematic arrangement. Hence his
+works, like those of Linn�us, have been among the most valuable of the
+contributions to the botany of the century in which he lived. Of these,
+his "Elementa Philosophi� Botanic�" may be quoted as the most useful.
+This work, which was published in 1824, has served as the basis of most
+of our manuals and introductions to botany since that period. He devoted
+considerable time and attention to the description of new species of
+plants, most of which he published in a continuation of Willdenow's
+"Species Plantarum." With Count Hoffmansegg, he commenced a Flora of
+Portugal, and he also published a memoir on the plants of Greece. He
+contributed several valuable papers on physiological botany to the
+Transactions of the Natural History Society of Berlin; but he has done
+more service for vegetable physiology in his annual reports than in any
+other of his writings. They comprise a summary of all that had been
+published in botany during the year, accompanied with many valuable
+remarks and sound criticisms of his own. In these reports he had to
+defend himself and others from the heavy artillery directed against them
+by Schleiden, who, whilst claiming for himself a large margin for
+liberty of opinion, is most unscrupulous and pertinaciously offensive
+towards those who differ from him. In these literary contests, however,
+Link showed that the experience of above fifty years had not been lost
+upon him, and he was not unfrequently more than a match for the vigor
+and logic of his youthful and more precipitate adversary. According to
+custom, a funeral oration was pronounced over his grave; but
+unfortunately the clergyman selected being a strictly orthodox person,
+and not being able to approve of the spirit of the whole of the writings
+of the deceased, censured them, it is said, in most unbecoming language,
+to the indignation of the numerous friends present.
+
+
+The Italian poet LUIGI CARRER, died at Venice on the twenty-third of
+December.
+
+
+GENERAL DON JOSE DE SAN MARTIN, formerly the "Protector of Peru," and
+one of the most deservedly eminent of the public men of the Spanish
+American States, died in August, 1850, at Bologna, in the seventy-second
+year of his age. His death has but recently been announced, and we
+receive the information now, not from Europe or from South America, but
+by way of the Sandwich Islands. The Honolulu _Polynesian_ of December
+fourteenth, translating from the _Panameno_, gives us the following
+particulars of his life. General San Martin was a native of one of the
+Provinces of Buenos Ayres, but previous to the war of independence,
+passed over to Spain, where he entered into the army, and distinguished
+himself at the battle of Baylen. In the Spanish army, he rose to the
+rank of Lieutenant Colonel. After his native country, Buenos Ayres, had
+declared itself independent of the mother country, he returned from
+Spain, and fought with great bravery, against Artigas, and in other
+military contests. He thereby gained so much reputation with his
+countrymen, that when an expedition to liberate Chile was determined
+upon, he was the chief chosen to organize and command it. He fulfilled
+that trust, in an admirable manner, at Mendoza--carried his small army
+successfully across the Andes, through an able piece of strategy,
+confided to a brave young Chilian, Don Manuel Rodriguez, at a point
+where the Spanish forces did not expect the invading army, and signally
+defeated them, on the plains of _Chacabuco_, near the Capital of Chile.
+The defeated Spaniards had to retire and concentrate themselves in the
+South. San Martin occupied the whole country and shut them up in
+_Talcachuano_. Expecting that the Spaniards would be soon reinforced
+from Peru, San Martin, with the aid of several foreign officers, French
+and English, recruited his forces in Chile, and raised his army to about
+9000 men. A strong reinforcement having arrived from Peru, at
+Talcahuano, under the command of General Ossioro, the Spaniards regained
+possession of the Province of Concepcion, took the offensive, and
+advanced towards the Capital. San Martin, with forces numerically
+superior, advanced to drive them back. The two armies met at _"Cancha
+Rayada,"_ where, on San Martin's birth day, in 1819, the Spaniards
+attacked his army at night, signally defeated and dispersed them. The
+only division that retired unbroken, was that commanded by General Don
+Gregorio de las Heras, and the army of the Andes left on the field its
+whole artillery, excepting only one piece which was saved by the
+personal exertions and cool intrepidity of Captain Miller, of that army,
+now H. B. M. Consul General for these Islands. After that unexpected
+defeat, the greatest consternation prevailed in the Capital of Chile,
+the cause of the Republic was considered desperate, but the Supreme
+Director, General Don Bernardo Ohiggins, made immense exertions to
+reunite the scattered army and to strengthen it, by new levies; the
+patriotism of the Chilians roused itself with an energy equal to the
+emergency; resident foreign merchants, wishing well to the country and
+alarmed by a report that it was the intention of the Spanish Commander
+in Chief to shoot them all and confiscate their property (it being then
+contrary to the laws of Spain that foreigners should reside in or trade
+with her Colonies without special license), supplied money, arms and
+accoutrements. An army was thus reformed with extraordinary expedition;
+its confidence was restored by a troop of cavalry sent to reconnoitre,
+headed by Major Vial, a brave French officer, who gallantly charged and
+routed a superior force of the enemy, and, under the command of General
+San Martin, on the 5th of April, 1850, on the plain of _Maypu_, it
+defeated the Spanish army so completely, that only a few of the
+fugitives reached Talcahuano.
+
+But experience having shown that the independence of Chile could never
+be considered secure so long as the Spaniards retained their hold on
+Peru, it was resolved to make an attempt to liberate that Vice-Royalty.
+Colonel Miller, whose promotion after the affair of _Cancha Rayadu_ had
+been rapid, was sent with a small but active force to land at _Arica_
+and operate in the Southern Provinces, where by astute strategy and
+several brilliant successes he confirmed his high reputation. San Martin
+soon after followed with the main army, escorted by the Chilian squadron
+under command of Lord Cochran; in running down the coast, he took in
+Colonel Miller with his troops, and knowing the powerful diversion that
+the latter had made in the South, he proceeded northward to Pisco, where
+a force was landed under the command of Colonel Charles and Colonel
+Miller, that made itself master of the place, after a bloody combat, in
+which the former gallantly fell while cheering on his troops, and the
+latter received several musket balls, one of which passed through his
+liver.
+
+According to the plan of General San Martin, the force landed to the
+South of Lima, advanced into the interior to the silver mines of Pasco
+under the command of General Arenales, where it defeated the Spanish
+forces under General Oreilly, while San Martin himself, with the main
+body, effected his landing near Huacho to the North of Lima. By this
+plan, ably conceived and no less ably executed, the Spaniards were
+reduced to the Capital and Callao, which port at the same time was
+strictly blockaded by Lord Cochran's squadron. The fall of both Lima and
+Callao was only a question of time; it was retarded for some months
+owing to the great sickness that weakened San Martin's ranks; but these
+were filled up by desertions from the enemy; the whole regiment of
+_Numancia_ passed over to the Patriot side, and at last San Martin
+entered the Capital at the head of his troops, amidst the acclamations
+of the inhabitants. He was soon after declared Protector of Peru, and
+General-in-Chief of the Army. Having now a Peruvian character, and
+having come to liberate--not to conquer the country, he considered it
+right to create a Peruvian Army. As a _nucleus_ for its formation, the
+_Peruvian Legion_ (intended to consist of several Batallions), was
+raised, and placed under the command of Colonel Miller. But Lima and its
+luxuries proved the _Capua_ of San Martin's army--national jealousies
+arose between the Buenos Ayrean and the Chilian chiefs--San Martin's
+confidence in foreign officers and his endeavors to create a national
+army in Peru gave great umbrage to both; a secret political Lodge was
+formed among the leading chiefs of corps, and he was openly charged with
+latent designs to make himself the King or Perpetual Dictator of Peru.
+
+The Spanish army, which had evacuated the Capital unbroken, profiting by
+these dissensions and the delay of the Patriot army in the Capital, had
+largely recruited itself in the valley of Jauja; they were every day
+gaining more strength, while the Patriot army was becoming daily weaker
+both physically and morally; under these circumstances General San
+Martin sought an interview with _Bolivar_, at Guayaquil, and shortly
+after his return to Lima, in 1822, he resigned his high post of
+Protector and General-in-chief, and embarked for Europe. On his arrival
+in Europe, after a short visit to the East of Fife, San Martin passed
+his time chiefly in Brussels and Paris, so much respected by all who
+knew him, and so esteemed for his probity, that _Sor Aguado_, the rich
+Spanish Banker, on his death-bed, named San Martin his Executor.
+
+It is believed that he retired from Peru, disgusted with the false
+charges that were brought against him, and after having obtained a
+promise from his great rival, Bolivar, that he would finish the war,
+which it would have been much for San Martin's own glory to have
+concluded himself. If so, he had the _magnanimity_ to prefer the good of
+Peru to his own glory, a virtue never found except amongst men of great
+nobleness of soul. San Martin may have even thought that under the
+circumstances, his great rival was fitter to conclude the war than he
+was himself; and if he did so, the result proved at once his modesty and
+the soundness of his judgment, for when the Peruvian Government had
+fairly intrusted their destinies to Bolivar, in rapid succession, he
+fought the bloody battles of Junin and Ayacucho, the result of which was
+the final and total liberation of Peru.
+
+Nor was Bolivar less just to foreign officers of merit than San Martin.
+Amongst his Generals and Aid-de-camps ranked General Brawn, General
+Oleary, Colonel Wilson, and many others; and Colonel Miller (who had
+been raised to the rank of General), as the reward of his gallant
+conduct in the last hard-fought fields of Junin and Ayacucho, received
+the further honor of being declared a _Marescal de Agacucho_. To other
+officers of Peru, of Chile and of Buenos Ayres, Bolivar was equally
+just, thus showing that he was superior to any petty jealousy of those
+chiefs with whose aid San Martin, his illustrious predecessor, had made
+those great achievements which a weaker mind might have looked upon with
+envy as, in some respects, overwhelming his own.
+
+
+FREDERICK BASTIAT, the political economist, whose health had been very
+feeble for nearly a year, and of whose death last summer in Italy a
+report was copied into the _International_, died in Rome on the 24th of
+December. He was born at Bayonne in 1801, and after completing his
+education, he retired to a quiet village in the department of Landes, to
+pursue his favorite studies of trade and society. He was successively
+called to various offices of the department, and to the present National
+Assembly he was chosen by a vote of 56,000, being the second in the list
+of seven representing the Landes. His first book, we believe, was
+_Cobden et la Ligue_, published in 1844, from which period he was an
+industrious writer. Without being a discoverer of new truths, he
+possessed in an eminent degree the faculty of expanding, with clearness
+and vigor, the grounds and the effects of complex natural laws already
+developed by the technical processes of philosophy. His writings have
+been exceedingly popular. The whole or nearly the whole, of the tracts
+written by him under the generic title of 'Sophismes Economiques,'
+originally appeared in the _Journal des Economistes_--a periodical of
+which for the last six years he had been a principal supporter. The
+disease of which he died was a very painful and peculiar affection of
+the throat. He had suffered from it more or less, for some years; and
+the hard work of the last session of the Assembly brought the disorder
+to a crisis which the strength of the patient did not enable him to
+overcome. He may be regarded as the virtual leader of the Free Trade
+party in France. He aided with all his energies the Association
+Fran�aise pour la Libert� des �changes, and he did his utmost to spread
+among his countrymen that new philosophy of trade. His last and most
+important work, _Les Harmonies Economiques_, we lately noticed in these
+pages. His _Sophismes Economiques_ were translated a few years ago by a
+daughter of Langdon Cheves, of South Carolina, and published in this
+city by Mr. Putnam. The extent to which M. Bastiat was indebted to our
+countryman, Henry C. Carey, may be inferred from a note in the February
+number of the _International_, page 402.
+
+
+BENJAMIN W. CROWNINSHIELD, died in Boston, on Monday the 3d of February.
+He had left his carriage and entered a store, when he suddenly fell and
+expired, having previously suffered from a disease of the heart, which
+is supposed to have been the cause of his death, although he was about
+77 years of age. He had been a resident of Boston nearly twenty years,
+during the greater part of which period he had been retired from public
+life. He had previously resided in Salem, where the Crowninshields were
+long distinguished for wealth and commercial enterprise. He was many
+years a prominent leader of the old democratic republican party. In
+December, 1814, he received, from President Madison, the appointment of
+Secretary of the Navy, which office he held (being continued by
+President Monroe) until he resigned, in November, 1818, when he was
+succeeded by Smith Thompson, afterwards judge of the Supreme Court. In
+1823 he was chosen a member of Congress from Essex South District, and
+was continued by his constituents in that station until 1831--eight
+years. He was in Congress when John Quincy Adams was elected President
+of the United States, by that body; he participated in that election by
+giving his vote for Mr. A., and was a zealous supporter of his
+administration, acting subsequently with the whig party. He was
+repeatedly, at different periods of his life, a member of the state
+legislature, and although not distinguished for eminent talents, in all
+the stations which he filled he enjoyed, in a high degree, the public
+confidence.
+
+
+PROFESSOR ANSTEY, lately connected with St. Mary's College, at
+Wilmington, died in the early part of February. He was dismissed from
+his station on account of intemperate habits, but continued his
+dissipation until reduced to the utmost destitution, wandering about
+homeless and friendless. He was discovered at length in an almost frozen
+state, in an old hovel, with a bottle of whiskey by his side, and soon
+died from the effects of his suffering. Professor Anstey was a young man
+of fine classical attainments, and was the author of a work published a
+year or two since in Philadelphia, entitled, "Elements of Literature, or
+an introduction to the Study of Rhetoric and Belle Lettres."
+
+
+DONALD MCKENZIE, born in Scotland, June 15, 1783, died on the 20th of
+January, at Mayville, in New-York. At the age of seventeen he came over
+to Canada and joined the North West Company, and continued eight years
+with them. In 1809 he became one of the partners with the late John
+Jacob Astor, in establishing the fur trade west of the Rocky Mountains,
+and with Mr. Hunt, of St. Louis, made the overland route to the mouth of
+the Columbia River, a feat then rarely attempted, and full of perils,
+and remained at Astoria until it was surrendered by McDougal to the
+British. He converted every thing he could into available funds, which
+he carried safely through the wilderness to Mr. Astor. Washington
+Irving, in "Astoria," narrates a few of Mr. McKenzie's adventures on the
+frontiers, although the friends of McKenzie claim that injustice has
+been done him by Mr. Irving, relative to the betrayal of Astoria. They
+contend that to him alone was Mr. Astor indebted for all that was saved.
+After the restoration of peace, McKenzie exerted himself to secure for
+the United States the exclusive trade of Oregon, but after a long
+negotiation with Mr. Astor, and through him with Messrs. Madison,
+Gallatin, and other leading individuals in and out of office, the matter
+was abandoned, and McKenzie, in March, 1821, joined the Hudson Bay
+Company, and was immediately appointed one of the Council, and Chief
+Factor. In August, 1825, he was married to Adelegonde Humburt (who
+survives him), and was shortly after appointed Governor. At this time he
+resided at Fort Garry, Red River settlement, where he continued to
+reside until 1832, in active and prosperous business, in which he
+amassed a large fortune. In August of the following year he went to
+reside in Mayville, where he spent the rest of his life.
+
+
+HORACE EVERETT, LL.D., formerly a distinguished representative in
+Congress from Vermont, died at Windsor in that State on the 30th of
+January, in the seventy-second year of his age. Elected to Congress by
+the opponents of General Jackson, he entered the House of
+Representatives in 1829, and was continued by his constituents,
+inhabiting one of the strongest and most enlightened whig districts in
+the Union, for fourteen consecutive years--his last term expiring in
+March, 1843. During his career in Congress, he was one of the most
+prominent whigs of the House, occupying the front rank, as one of the
+most able of parliamentary debaters, distinguished also as much his good
+sense and acquirements, as for his eloquence. Among his best speeches,
+were several on the Indian Bill, so called, growing out of the
+difficulties between Georgia and the Cherokees.
+
+
+The London _Morning Chronicle_ has a brief notice of JAMES HARFIELD, who
+was connected with that journal more than twenty years. His reading, in
+every department of literature, was prodigious, and his memory almost a
+phenomenon. On all matters connected with Parliamentary history,
+precedent, and etiquette in particular, Mr. Harfield was an encyclop�dia
+of information, while the stores of his learning, in every department,
+were always freely at the command of his friends and colleagues. In
+early life, Mr. Harfield was a _prot�g�_ of, and afterwards acted as
+secretary to, Jeremy Bentham, who acknowledged his sense of his young
+friend's services by bequeathing to him a magnificent library.
+
+
+WILLIAM WILSON, a painter of considerable reputation, died in
+Charleston, S. C, on the 28th of January. The Charleston _Evening News_
+says:--"He was a native of Yorkshire, England, but for the last twenty
+years has resided in this country, and during the last eleven, in
+Georgia and South Carolina. In all the relations of life, as husband,
+father, son, and brother, he was irreproachable, while his gentle and
+winning manners conciliated general esteem and regard. At his death Mr.
+Wilson had attained a distinguished reputation as a portrait painter, in
+which department he first attracted attention in 1836, by the exhibition
+of a portrait of an intimate friend at the first exhibition of the
+"American Art-Union," at the Apollo Gallery. In 1837 he exhibited
+several heads of the Academy of Design, which attracted much attention.
+In 1844 he exhibited a head of a brother artist, which was more
+generally admired than any similar production for years. In 1846 Mr. W.
+received a commission from the State of Georgia to execute two
+portraits--one of William H. Crawford, former Secretary of the Treasury,
+and the other of Gen. Jackson. After a tedious and troublesome journey
+to the North, in search of Jarvis's portrait of Crawford, which could
+not be traced, he returned to Charleston, and while copying from
+Vanderlyn's portrait of Gen. Jackson in the City Hall, he was presented
+by Charles Fraser, Esq., with a proof engraving of Jarvis's Crawford,
+from which, on his return to Augusta, he produced a most striking
+portrait of Georgia's greatest statesman. These pictures of Jackson and
+Crawford, which adorn the State House at Milledgeville, will be lasting
+memorials of his excellence as an artist."
+
+
+JAMES WALLACE, D.D., the distinguished Mathematician, several years
+Professor of Mathematics in Columbia College, New-York, died in
+Lexington District, South Carolina, on the 15th of January. After
+completing his course of Theology, he was ordained a clergyman of the
+Roman Catholic Church, and was then appointed to the chair of
+Mathematics in Georgetown College, D.C. A few years later he removed to
+Columbia, S. C., and was appointed Professor of Mathematics in South
+Carolina College. While in New-York he published his justly celebrated
+"Treatise on Globes and Practical Astronomy," and had prepared materials
+for an entire course of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy, but was
+compelled to relinquish his design on account of ill-health and advanced
+age. He was also the author of numerous scientific articles in the
+Southern Quarterly Review. He possessed one of the choicest and most
+extensive scientific libraries in the United States, which was almost
+entirely destroyed by the great conflagration of 1837: the remnant of
+it, with his scientific apparatus, was bequeathed to the Catholic
+Theological Seminary of Charleston. He was a resident of South Carolina
+during the last thirty-eight years.
+
+
+JOSHUA MILNE, the author of the celebrated treatise on "Annuities and
+Assurances," we see by the English papers died recently near London at
+the advanced age of seventy-eight. He is said to have left behind him
+the most complete collection extant on subjects connected with the
+statistics of vitality, of which a portion at least will probably be
+given to the public.
+
+
+The Hungarian General BEM, expired with the half-century. Born at
+Tarnon, a Pole, he died at Aleppo, a Turk. In early youth he served in
+the Russian army against Napoleon in his disastrous campaign. He was the
+friend, companion, and favorite of the Grand Duke Constantine, until
+certain indignities to himself and cruelties to his countrymen made him
+the implacable foe of Russia. He joined the Polish insurrection of 1831,
+and performed prodigies of valor at the battle of Ostrolenka. Like many
+others, he became a fugitive and a wanderer. Unsuccessful patriotism
+reduced the companion of royalty to be a pensioner on the charity of the
+friends of Poland in London. 1848 gave Bern once more a career. He went
+to Vienna, and when the people were in the ascendant, in October, he
+held a command. But the Viennese could not trust the Pole. Incompetent
+men were placed over him. Vienna fell before the artillery of
+Windischgratz and Jellachich in November. Slaughter, terror, violation
+reigned. Never will the Viennese forget the red cloaks of the Croats.
+The educated youth of Vienna were shot in clusters. Robert Blum was led
+out to perish. The Odeon, although used as an hospital, was laid in
+ashes, with the wounded in it. Great rewards were offered for the
+apprehension of the popular leaders and generals still alive. The search
+for Bem was vigilant. He doffed the costume of a hackney coachman,
+filled his vehicle with a Hungarian family of nurses and children,
+mounted the box under the eyes of spies and soldiers, laughed at
+inspection, and drove off to Hungary. For ten mouths he was victorious
+there over the Austrians. "Bem beat the Ban." Splinters from an old
+wound escaping from his leg all the time, and able only to sit on
+horseback.
+
+
+T. S. DAVIES, F.R.S., F.A.S., and a Professor of Mathematics in the
+Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, died on the 6th of January at
+Shooter's Hill, Kent, in the fifty-seventh year of his age. Mr. Davies
+was a very distinguished mathematician, and the author of several works
+on mathematics. He possessed, also, extensive and varied acquirements in
+different branches of science and literature. Nor was he unmindful of
+the claims of the more humble aspirant to mathematical honors; his
+encouragement and advice were liberally bestowed, as many deserving
+young men could testify.
+
+
+HENRY CHRISTIAN SCHUMACHER, the celebrated Danish Astronomer, died at
+Altona on the 28th of December, aged about seventy years. He commenced
+his professional career at the age of twenty-five, as professor of
+astronomy in the University of Copenhagen. In 1822, his royal master,
+Frederic VI., caused to be built, expressly that Schumacher might be
+placed at the head of it, the Observatory of Altona. From 1820 to 1829
+he published his "_Auxiliary Tables of Astronomy_", in ten volumes,
+_quarto_. His _Astronomical Annals_, continued from 1830 to the date of
+his death, have, with his _Tables_, given him a high and wide
+reputation. In 1832 the King of Denmark established the reward of a
+golden medal for the discovery of new microscopic comets; and it was
+upon his favorite Schumacher exclusively that he devolved the duty of
+verifying the title of claimants and assigning the medal. Since 1847
+Schumacher has been the correspondent of the Academy of Sciences of
+Paris.
+
+
+MAXWELL, the Irish novelist, and author of innumerable humorous sketches
+in the periodical literature of the day, expired on the 29th of
+December, at Musselberge, near Edinburgh. His generally vigorous health
+had of late broken down, and he crept into the retirement of this
+sequestered village to die. He had been in early life a captain in the
+British army, and was of course the delight of the mess-room, and a
+general favorite in social circles. He subsequently entered the church,
+and was some years prebendary of Balla, a wild Connaught church living,
+without any congregation or cure of souls attached to it; though it
+afforded what he was admirably capable of dealing with, plenty of game.
+Of a warm-hearted, kind, and manly temperament, he made friends of all
+who came within the range of his wit or the circle of his acquaintance.
+He was the founder of that school which counts the "Harry Lorrequers"
+and others among its humble disciples; but the "Story of my Life," and
+"Wild Sports of the West," will not be easily surpassed in the peculiar
+qualities of that gay and off-hand style of which he was the originator.
+Among his other more successful works are "Stories of Waterloo," "Hector
+O'Halloran," and "Rambling Recollections of a Soldier of Fortune."
+Besides his novels, he wrote "Notes and Reflections during a Ramble in
+Germany," "Victories of the British Armies," and a "Life of Field
+Marshal the Duke of Wellington".
+
+
+ALEXANDER MACDONALD, well known to the public as an antiquary, died
+early in January at Edinburgh. He was one of Mr. Thompson's earliest
+assistants in the publication of the "Acts of the Parliaments of
+Scotland," and other works, undertaken by the Record Commissioners. He
+was long a most active member of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland;
+and the library and museum of that body owe much to his industry and
+intelligence. He edited several volumes of the Maitland Club, to which
+he contributed "The Register of Ministers in the year 1567"--the
+earliest extant record of the ecclesiastical appointments of the
+Reformed Church in Scotland. Mr. Macdonald also largely supplied the
+materials of Sir Walter Scott's notes and illustrations of the "Waverley
+Novels." He held many years the office of Keeper of the Register of
+Deeds and Protests in Scotland.
+
+
+
+
+Scientific Miscellanies
+
+
+MR. WALSH writes from Paris to the _Journal of Commerce_, in the last
+month, as follows:
+
+The _Annuaire_, or Annual for the present year, has been issued by the
+Board of Longitude. M. Arago has appended to it nearly 200 pages on the
+Calendar in which he treats of all the divisions of time among the
+ancients and the moderns. This celebrated astronomer does not belie, in
+this notice, his reputation for handling scientific subjects so as to
+make them clear to common apprehension. He announces, in his second
+page, that he has completed and will soon publish a _Treatise of Popular
+Astronomy_; a desideratum for France. Sir John Herschel has supplied it
+for English readers, in his Outlines. The present history and
+explanations of the Calendar may be recommended, as material, to your
+Professor Loomis. In the section concerning the period at which the
+Paris clocks were first regulated on the mean or true time, Arago
+observes: "It will not happen again that an astronomer shall hear for a
+half hour, the same hour struck by different clocks, as Delambre told me
+he had often experienced. M. Chabrol, the Prefect of the Department of
+the Seine, before he would introduce this useful change, required, as a
+guaranty for himself, a report from the Board of Longitude: he was
+fearful that the change might provoke the working population to
+insurrection; that they might refuse to accept a mid-day or noon which,
+by a contradiction in terms, would not correspond to the middle of the
+day; which would divide in two unequal portions the time comprised
+between the rising and the setting of the sun. But this sinister
+anticipation was not realized; the operation passed without being
+perceived." It is all important, on the railroads, that the clocks at
+the different stations should be so regulated. Arago remarks that among
+the ancients it would have been dangerous to announce the existence of
+more than seven planets, owing to the "mysterious virtues" ascribed to
+that number; to complete it the sun was counted among the planets. He
+discusses the point--which is the first day of the week, and decides for
+Sunday. He devotes a section to the question--"Will the period come when
+the days will be equal between themselves, and have the same temperature
+throughout the year?" He concludes, of course, in the negative. He
+decides, also, that the nineteenth century began only on the 1st of
+January, 1801. Particular interest may be attributed to the section on
+the long series of ages which the ancients invested with the title "The
+Great Year." The high names of Plato, Cicero, Seneca, Plutarch, should
+not prevent us from regarding the opinions of antiquity on the relations
+of the great year, with the events of every kind observable on the
+earth, as among the crudest conceptions that have descended to the
+moderns.
+
+At the sitting of the _Academy of Sciences_ on the 24th ult., M.
+AUGUSTIN CAUCHY read a memoir on the transversal vibrations of ether,
+and of the dispersion of colors. He furnished a simple, and easily
+intelligible mathematical theory of the various phenomena of light, and
+particularly, the theory of the dispersion of colors. Lord Brougham read
+a paper of his _Researches, Experimental and Analytical, on Light_. His
+Lordship's ambition is to shine in optics, as in every thing else; but
+you will see by a London paragraph that his researches have nearly cost
+him his eyesight. Dr. Aran submitted a Memoir, which seems to be quite
+important, on local anesthetic medication. "In the medical point of
+view," he remarks, "the number of cases in which local anesthetic
+applications may be employed, is truly immense. My experiments and
+researches, during many months, have conducted me to this practical
+result, which is worthy of all attention. Whenever an acute pain exists
+in any part of the animal economy, whether the pain constitute the
+malady in itself or be only an integral and principal part of it, the
+physician can relieve the patient of it for a longer or shorter time, by
+one or various local anesthetic applications. Great service, too, may be
+rendered by the precedent use of them in various surgical cases. The
+medication is wonderfully useful in articular acute rheumatism."
+
+"Local anesthetic properties belong to all the agents in which the
+general have been found. They depend on the degree of fixity of the
+substance. A number of the anesthetics are irritating for the skin;
+chloroform in particular. According to Dr. Aran, the best agent for
+topical use is _�ther chlorhydique chlor�_. This is efficacious in a few
+minutes. Monsieur Recamier has submitted to the Academy of Medicine a
+_galvanic cataplasm_, by which, when it is applied to the skin, the
+benefit of electricity is fully conveyed, without the least pain. The
+reporter exclaims, 'Yes, who would have thought it? Electricity is
+transformed into cataplasm. This mysterious power, which, perhaps, is
+life itself, is reduced to an humble and common part in pharmaceutical
+science.'
+
+"At the sitting of the _Academy of Sciences_ on the 30th ult., a very
+interesting memoir (the 4th) was read by M.A. Masson, with the title,
+Studies of Electrical Photometry. He thinks that he has ascertained the
+cause of electrical light. He ascribes the Aurora Borealis to currents
+of great intensity situate in the higher regions of our atmosphere." The
+Report of Lieut. J.C. Walsh on his soundings, was referred for
+examination to Duperroy, the member most eminent in hydrography.
+
+
+MONSIEUR POUILLET, the great Professor of Physics, has published in
+Paris a work entitled _General Notions of Natural Philosophy and
+Meteorology, for the use of young persons_; and Mr. Boussingault,
+eminent as a scientific agriculturist, the second edition of his _Rural
+Economy considered in its Relations with Chemistry, Physics, and
+Mineralogy_. The _Treatise of Mineralogy_ by Dufresnoy, the celebrated
+Professor, who is of the Academy of Sciences, is complete, and at least
+equal to any other extant. There are four volumes octavo. The 22d volume
+of the memoirs of the Academy was ready in September last; the 23d is in
+the press; the 11th volume of Foreign Communications will appear this
+month. Twelve vacancies from death of foreign correspondents, are soon
+to be filled by election. All merit is ascribed to the work of Dr.
+Fairet, entitled _Clinical Instructions respecting Mental Maladies_. The
+author, pupil and successor of P�nel and Esquirol, is the physician of
+the Salpetriere. Along with the able Doctor Voison, he has a noble
+Lunatic Asylum of his own, not far from the capital.
+
+
+SIR DAVID BREWSTER, it seems, has become a convert to that part of
+Animal Magnetism called Electro Biology, and which consists in willing a
+person to be somebody else. After describing some wonderful experiments,
+made in the presence of several scientific gentlemen, by a Mr. DARLING,
+he says, "they were all as convinced as I was, that the phenomena which
+we witnessed were real phenomena, and as well established as any other
+facts in physical science. The process by which the operator produces
+them--the mode by which that process acts upon the mind of the
+patient--and the reference of the phenomena to some general law in the
+constitution of man--may long remain unknown; but it is not difficult to
+see in the recent discoveries of M. DUBOIS REYMOND and MATTEUCIA, and in
+the laws which regulate the relative intensity of the external and
+internal impressions on the nerves of sensation, some not very
+indistinct indications of that remarkable process by which minds of
+peculiar sensibility are temporarily placed under the dominion of
+physical influences developed and directed by some living agent."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+Ladies' Fashions for Early Spring.
+
+
+More attention than previously for many seasons appears to have been
+given this winter to ladies' fashions, and some that have come out are
+remarkably tasteful, while generally in fabric and manufacture they
+appear to be unusually expensive. We compile this month mainly from the
+London _World of Fashion_.
+
+_Bonnets_ are remarkable for a novel form, the front of the rims
+continuing large and open, the crowns round, low, and small. Of an
+elegant style are those made of Orient gray pearl, half satin, half
+_velours �pingl�_, having a very rich effect, and decorated with
+_touffes Marquises_, composed of _marabouts_. Then, we see bonnets of
+green satin, ornamented at the edge, over the front, and upon the crown,
+with a stamped velvet imitating lace, and decorated upon the left side
+with a small _plumet_ in a weeping feather, the ends of which are tied
+or knotted with green, of two different shades; this is a very favorite
+and _recherch�_ style. Also a bonnet of grayish green velvet, ornamented
+with a bunch of feathers composed of the _gr�be_ and the ostrich.
+Drooping low feathers of every description are in request for decorating
+bonnets.
+
+_Ball Dresses_ of light materials are most in vogue, and are generally
+made of two and three skirts; as white _tulle_, with three skirts,
+trimmed all round with a broad, open-worked satin ribbon; the third
+skirt being raised on one side, and attached with a large bouquet of
+flowers, whilst the ribbon is twisted, and ascends to the side of the
+waist, where it finishes; the same kind of flowers serves to ornament
+the sleeves and centre of the corsage, which is also trimmed with a deep
+drapery of _tulle_. Feather trimmings are in vogue, disposed as fringes
+of _marabout_, and placed at the edges of the double skirts of _tulle_.
+Another pretty style, composed also of white _tulle_, and _� double
+jupes_, the under one having a border of white _marabout_ fringe
+sprinkled with small golden grains falling over them in a perfect
+shower; the second _jupe_ having attached to the edge of the hem a
+narrower fringe; the two sides of the upper skirt being open to the
+waist, is ornamented upon each side with an embroidery of gold and white
+silk, caught at regular distances with _noeuds_ of white and gold
+gauze ribbon, the floating ends of which are edged with fringe; body _�
+la Grecque_.
+
+_Capotes_ of velvet are considerably lightened in appearance, by a
+novelty consisting of a kind of open stamped velvet, which is placed
+over satin; either a pretty contrast in color, or of the same hue;
+whilst those of plain velvet are relieved with trimmings of black lace,
+with _mancinis_ formed of the convolvulus, made in green velvet. The
+form of the present style of _capotes_ is very open in front, flat upon
+the top of the head, and shallow and sloping at the back. Some are of
+green satin, trimmed with ribbons of an open pattern in black and green.
+Others are decorated with rows of fancy ribbon-velvet, the interior
+having loops of narrow ribbon-velvet of two colors, charmingly blended.
+
+I. A high dress of green silk, the body opening in front _� la demi
+coeur_; the waist is long and rounded in front; the sleeves, reaching
+a little below the elbow, are moderately wide, and finished either by a
+_r�che_ or rich _guimpe_ trimming; the skirt is plain, long, and full.
+_Pardessus manteau_ of claret velvet, fastening to the throat; it is
+ornamented with a narrow silk trimming: this _manteau_ is lined with
+white silk, quilted in large squares. Bonnet of green velvet, with
+feathers of the same color placed low at the left side.
+
+II. _Robe_ of blue _brocade_; the high body opens in the front nearly to
+the waist; the fronts of the skirt are lined with amber satin, and a
+fulling of the same is placed on the edge of the fronts, graduating in
+width towards the top; it is carried round the neck of the dress; the
+sleeves are very wide from the elbow, and lined with amber satin; the
+edge of the sleeve is left plain, but there is a _r�che_ of satin round
+the middle of the sleeve, just above the elbow. Under dress of jaconet
+muslin, trimmed with lace or embroidery. Cap of _tulle_, with blue
+trimmings.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+III. A dress of pink _tulle_, spotted and _brod�_ in silver; the _jupe_
+composed of three skirts, each waved round the lower part; plain
+close-fitting body, made very low, and pointed at the waist; the upper
+part decorated with a narrow cape, descending in a point upon the front
+of the corsage, and decorated with a splendid bouquet of roses; a second
+row of frilling forms the loose short sleeve; the whole worn over a
+dress of pale pink satin; a narrow row of white blonde encircling the
+neck. The hair is arranged in a similar form to figure I; the only
+difference being that the _noeud_ of ribbon is replaced by a beautiful
+drooping branch of pink shaded roses and light foliage; a spray of the
+three green leaves being placed upon the centre of the front, just over
+the parting of the hair.
+
+IV. A dress of green satin; the skirt, long and full, has four rows of
+braid up the front; the body is high, open a little in the front, the
+braid being carried round it; it is plaited from the shoulder to the
+waist; wide sleeves, with broad cuffs turned back; they have three rows
+of braid on them. _Mantelot_ of grey cachmere, the sleeves _� la
+Maintenon_; the edges are all scalloped and trimmed with braid. Bonnet
+of ultra marine velvet; a broad black lace is turned back over the edge;
+it has a deep curtain.
+
+_For a Young Lady's Dress_, _Capote_ formed of rows of narrow pink fancy
+ribbon. Frock of dark blue cachmere; the skirt trimmed with two rows of
+ribbon-velvet; the cape formed of narrow folds, open in the front,
+continued across with bands of velvet. Pantaloons of embroidered
+cambric.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The International Monthly, Volume 2,
+No. 4, March, 1851, by Various
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE INTERNATIONAL MONTHLY ***
+
+***** This file should be named 24902-8.txt or 24902-8.zip *****
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The International Monthly, Volume 2, No. 4,
+March, 1851, by Various
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The International Monthly, Volume 2, No. 4, March, 1851
+
+Author: Various
+
+Release Date: March 23, 2008 [EBook #24902]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE INTERNATIONAL MONTHLY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Joshua Hutchinson, Josephine Paolucci and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net.
+(This file was produced from images generously made
+available by Cornell University Digital Collections).
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+
+<h1>THE INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE</h1>
+
+<h3>Of Literature, Art, and Science.</h3>
+
+<h2>Vol. II.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;NEW-YORK, MARCH 1, 1851.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;No. IV.</h2>
+
+<p class="notes">Transcriber's note: Minor typos have been corrected and footnotes
+moved to the end of the article. Table of Contents generated for the HTML version.</p>
+
+<h2>Contents</h2>
+<!-- Autogenerated TOC. Modify or delete as required. -->
+<p>
+<a href="#AUSTEN_HENRY_LAYARD_LL_D"><b>AUSTEN HENRY LAYARD, LL. D.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#THE_ASTOR_LIBRARY"><b>THE ASTOR LIBRARY.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#THE_TEMPER_OF_WOMEN"><b>THE TEMPER OF WOMEN.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ANDREW_MARVEL"><b>ANDREW MARVEL.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#A_NOVELISTS_APPEAL_FOR_THE_CANADAS"><b>A NOVELIST'S APPEAL FOR THE CANADAS.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#DR_WEBSTER_PRESIDENT_OF_THE_NEW-YORK_FREE_ACADEMY"><b>DR. WEBSTER, PRESIDENT OF THE NEW-YORK FREE ACADEMY.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#Authors_and_Books"><b>Authors and Books.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#The_Fine_Arts"><b>The Fine Arts.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#GOETHES_OPINION_OF_BYRON_SCOTT_AND_CARLYLE"><b>GOETHE'S OPINION OF BYRON, SCOTT, AND CARLYLE.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#MR_KELLOGGS_EXPLORATION_OF_MT_SINAI"><b>MR. KELLOGG'S EXPLORATION OF MT. SINAI.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#LAFAYETTE_TALLEYRAND_METTERNICH_AND_NAPOLEON"><b>LAFAYETTE, TALLEYRAND, METTERNICH, AND NAPOLEON.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#JOHN_JAMES_AUDUBON"><b>JOHN JAMES AUDUBON.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#Original_Poetry"><b>Original Poetry.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#THE_AMBITIOUS_BROOKLET"><b>THE AMBITIOUS BROOKLET.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#LAST_CASE_OF_THE_SUPERNATURAL"><b>LAST CASE OF THE SUPERNATURAL.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#A_STORY_WITHOUT_A_NAMEM"><b>A STORY WITHOUT A NAME[M]</b></a><br />
+<a href="#THE_FRIENDSHIP_OF_JOSEPHUS_AND_ST_PAUL"><b>THE FRIENDSHIP OF JOSEPHUS AND ST. PAUL.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#THE_COUNT_MONTE-LEONE_OR_THE_SPY_IN_SOCIETYN"><b>THE COUNT MONTE-LEONE: OR, THE SPY IN SOCIETY.[N]</b></a><br />
+<a href="#THE_ABBE_DE_VOISENON_AND_HIS_TIMES"><b>THE ABB&Eacute; DE VOISENON AND HIS TIMES.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#IRELAND_IN_THE_LAST_AGE"><b>IRELAND IN THE LAST AGE.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#THE_LOST_LETTER"><b>THE LOST LETTER.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#LIFE_AT_A_WATERING-PLACE"><b>LIFE AT A WATERING-PLACE.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#TO_ONE_IN_AFFLICTION"><b>TO ONE IN AFFLICTION.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#MY_NOVEL"><b>MY NOVEL</b></a><br />
+<a href="#Historical_Review_of_the_Month"><b>Historical Review of the Month.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#Recent_Deaths"><b>Recent Deaths.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#Scientific_Miscellanies"><b>Scientific Miscellanies</b></a><br />
+<a href="#Ladies_Fashions_for_Early_Spring"><b>Ladies' Fashions for Early Spring.</b></a><br />
+</p>
+<!-- End Autogenerated TOC. -->
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_433" id="Page_433">[Pg 433]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 326px;">
+<img src="images/image445.jpg" width="326" height="427" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="AUSTEN_HENRY_LAYARD_LL_D" id="AUSTEN_HENRY_LAYARD_LL_D"></a>AUSTEN HENRY LAYARD, LL. D.</h2>
+
+<p>In an early number of the <i>International</i> we had the satisfaction of
+printing an original and very interesting letter from Dr. Layard, in
+which, with more fulness and explicitness than in his great work on
+Nineveh, he discusses the subject of Ancient Art. We have carefully
+noted from time to time his proceedings in the East, and our readers
+will remember that we recently gave engravings of the most remarkable of
+the antiquities he sent home last year to the British Museum. Since that
+time he has proceeded to Bagdad, and he is now pursuing in that
+vicinity, with his wonted sagacity and earnestness, researches for the
+remains of Babylon, which in turn will furnish material for another
+extensive publication from his pen.</p>
+
+<p>The first public announcement of the discoveries at Nimroud was made in
+the <i>Knickerbocker Magazine</i> of this city, in a letter from our
+countryman, Minor K. Kellogg, the painter, who was a long time the
+intimate friend and travelling companion of Layard in Asia Minor.
+Introducing the letters in which the antiquary disclosed the successful
+result of his investigations, Mr. Kellogg says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"I can scarcely call to mind a person so admirably qualified in
+all respects for prosecuting such laborious researches. He is
+young, of a hardy and enduring constitution, is acquainted with
+the Oriental languages, and speaks the Persian and Turkish
+fluently. He is enthusiastic and indefatigable in every thing
+he undertakes, and plentifully endowed with courage, prudence,
+and good-nature."</p></div>
+
+<p>This was more than two years before Layard himself, in his "Nineveh and
+its Remains," exhibited those triumphs of his intelligence and devotion
+which have secured for him a place among the most famous travellers and
+antiquaries in the world.</p>
+
+<p>We take the occasion of copying the above portrait from the last number
+of <i>Bentley's Miscellany</i> to present, from various authentic sources, a
+brief sketch of Dr. Layard's history. He is descended from the noble
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_434" id="Page_434">[Pg 434]</a></span>French Protestant family of Raymond de Layarde, who accompanied the
+Prince of Orange into England. He was born at Paris, during a temporary
+visit of his parents to that metropolis, on the 5th of March, 1817. His
+father, who was the son of the Rev. Dr. Henry Peter John Layard, Dean of
+Bristol, filled a high civil office in Ceylon, between the years 1820
+and 1830, and took great interest in the circulation of the Scriptures
+among heathen nations. He was a man of considerable classical learning,
+and of refined tastes. During the youth of his son, he lived at
+Florence, where our young antiquary had free access to the stores of the
+Pitti Palace, and of the Tribune. He thus became familiar from his
+infancy with the language of Tuscany, and formed his taste for the fine
+arts and literature upon the models of painting and sculpture amid which
+he lived, and in the rich libraries which he frequented. In this manner
+he added a thorough knowledge of modern languages to a competent
+acquaintance with those of Greece and Rome. Here, also, he acquired,
+almost involuntarily, a power over his pencil, which, long dormant, was
+called forth by the sight of slabs with the noblest sculptures and the
+finest inscriptions, crumbling into dust. No draughtsman had been
+provided for his assistance, and had he not instantly determined to
+arrest by the quickness of his eye, and the skill thus acquired,
+improved subsequently by Mr. Kellogg's companionship, those fleeting
+forms which were about to disappear for ever, many of the finest remains
+of ancient art would have been irrecoverably lost.</p>
+
+<p>On his return from Italy to England, he was urged to choose the
+profession of the law; but his thirst for knowledge, his love of
+adventure, and his foreign tastes and habits, led him, after a brief
+apprenticeship, to travel. He left England, with no very definite
+object, in the summer of 1839, and, accompanied by a friend, visited
+Russia and other northern countries, and afterward, living some time in
+Germany and the states on the Danube, made himself master of the German
+language, and of several of the dialects of Transylvania. From Dalmatia
+he passed into Montenegro, where he remained a considerable time,
+assisting an able and active young chief in ameliorating the condition
+of his semi-barbarous subjects. Travelling through Albania and Romelia,
+where he met with numerous adventures, he arrived at Constantinople,
+about the end of 1839. Here he made arrangements for visiting Asia
+Minor, and other countries in the East, where he spent some years,
+adopting the costume and leading the life of an Arab of the Desert, and
+acquiring a thorough knowledge of the manners and languages of Turkey
+and Arabia. In 1840 or 1841, he transmitted to the Royal Geographical
+Society, an Itinerary from Constantinople to Aleppo, which does not seem
+to have been published; but in the eleventh volume of the Journal of
+that Society, we have an account of the tour which he performed with Mr.
+Ainsworth, in April, 1840. He travelled in Persia in the same year, and
+projected a journey for the purpose of examining Susa, and some other
+places of interest in the Baktyari mountains, to which Major Rawlinson
+had drawn the attention of the Geographical Society. With this view, he
+left Ispahan in the middle of September, in company with Schiffeer Khan,
+a Baktyari chief; and having crossed the highest part of the great chain
+of Mungasht, he visited the ruins of Manjanik, which are of considerable
+extent, and resemble those of the Susannian cities. He visited also the
+ruins in the plain of Mel Amir, and copied some of their cuneiform
+inscriptions. In crossing the hills to Susan, he was attacked by a tribe
+of Dinarunis, and robbed of his watch, compass, &amp;c.; but having
+complained to the chief, and insisted on the return of every missing
+article, he received back the whole of his property. It had been his
+practice to traverse these mountains quite alone, and he was never
+attacked or insulted, except on this occasion, when the country was in a
+state of war. He found scarcely any remains at Susan to indicate the
+site of a large city. In 1842 and 1843, he spent a considerable time in
+the province of Khuistan, an elaborate description of which he
+communicated through Lord Aberdeen to the Royal Geographical Society. It
+was during these various journeys that he prepared himself for the great
+task to which his best and ripest powers were to be devoted. In his
+wanderings through Asia Minor and Syria he had scarcely left a spot
+untrodden which tradition hallowed, or a ruin unexamined which was
+consecrated by history. His companion shared his feelings and his zeal.
+Unmindful of danger, they rode along with no other protection than their
+arms. They tended their own horses, and, mixing with the people, they
+acquired their manners and their language. He himself says: "I had
+traversed Asia Minor and Syria, visiting the ancient seats of
+civilization, and the spots which religion had made holy. I now felt an
+irresistible desire to penetrate to the regions beyond the Euphrates, to
+which history and tradition point as the birthplace of the Wisdom of the
+West."</p>
+
+<p>With these feelings, he looked to the banks of the Tigris, and longed to
+dispel the mysterious darkness which hung over Assyria and Babylonia.
+He, accordingly, made preliminary visits to Mosul, inspected the ruins
+of Nimroud and Kuyunjik, and, fortunately, obtained an interview with
+Sir Stratford Canning at Constantinople, then on his way to England.
+This distinguished man, who was formerly minister to the United States,
+and is remembered with well-deserved gratitude by nearly every recent
+traveller in the East, immediately discovered and appreciated the
+character and talents of Mr. Layard. His knowledge of the East, and of
+its manners and languages, recommended him in a peculiar manner to the
+notice of the ambassador, who persuaded him to remain, and employed him
+on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_435" id="Page_435">[Pg 435]</a></span> many important public services. Sir Stratford Canning himself took a
+deep interest in the researches which had been made by the French, and
+he promptly aided his young countryman in carrying out the designs of
+which we now have the histories in his books. In the summer of 1845 Mr.
+Layard, Count Perpontier of the Prussian Embassy, and Mr. Kellogg,
+quitted Constantinople together, and visited Brusa (where Layard was
+some time dangerously ill from a <i>coup de soleil</i>), Mount Olympus, the
+country of the Ourouks or Wandering Tartars, the valley of the
+Rhyndacus, the Plain of Toushanloo, Kiutayah, the ruins of Azani, &amp;c.
+Shortly after he proceeded to Nimroud, and in December, 1847, he
+returned to England with the fruits of his labors. He wrote to Mr.
+Kellogg, who was now in New-York, under date of</p>
+
+<p class="right">"<span class="smcap">Cheltenham</span>, Jan. 16, 1848.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"<span class="smcap">My Dear Kellogg</span>:&mdash;I was quite delighted to see your
+handwriting again, when a few days ago I received your letter
+of the 15th November, with the diploma of the New-York
+Ethnological Society. I reached home on Christmas day, after
+having been detained three months at Constantinople. As you may
+well conceive, since my return I have not had a moment to
+myself&mdash;for what with domestic rejoicings and general honors, I
+have been in one continual movement and excitement. I was
+gratified to find that the results of my labors had created
+much more interest in England than I could possibly have
+expected, and that those connected with art, and interested in
+early history, were really enthusiastic on the subject; so much
+so, indeed, that the Trustees of the British Museum are
+desirous of doing every thing that I think right; and it is
+probable that ere long a very fine work will be published at
+the public expense, containing all the drawings (about 130) and
+inscriptions. I am to write and publish a small descriptive and
+popular work, for my own advantage, just sufficient to satisfy
+the public curiosity about Nineveh and the excavations. It will
+contain an account of the works carried on, a slight sketch of
+the history of Nineveh, a short inquiry into the manners,
+customs and religion of the Assyrians, my own adventures in
+Assyria, and a little information on the language and
+character, with an account of the progress made in deciphering.
+There will be two volumes I presume, and I have already
+advantageous offers from publishers. My reason for entering
+into these details, is to ask you what the law is in America,
+and whether any influential bookseller would be willing to give
+me any thing for the copyright, and if so, how it could be
+managed? If you could do any thing for me in this matter, I
+should really be much obliged to you, and I am willing to abide
+by any arrangement you might think advantageous. I think the
+work will be attractive&mdash;particularly in America, where there
+are so many Scripture readers.</p>
+
+<p>"I took Florence on my way, expressly to see you and Powers.
+Although I was disappointed (and very greatly too) in the
+first, I was greatly gratified in seeing Powers, and can assure
+you I left Florence with as high an admiration for his genius
+and character, as you can have, although unfortunately I was
+only able to pass an hour or two with him, my stay being so
+short. I showed him all my drawings, and, as you may suppose,
+passed a very pleasant morning with him, Kirkup, and
+Migliarini&mdash;all enthusiastic in seeing my drawings, and persons
+worth showing such things to. Two hours, spent in this way, go
+far towards recompensing one for any labor and sacrifice. I got
+your address from Powers, intending to write to you as soon as
+I reached England. It gave me the sincerest pleasure to hear
+every one uniting in your praise; I regretted the more that you
+were absent, and that I was unable to see your works. I was
+delighted to find that such brilliant prospects were opening to
+Powers, and I learnt from him, what you hint at in your letter,
+that you also were prospering, and that substantial advantages
+were pretty sure. I have only now to get a little money in my
+pocket, and then inshallah (as the Turks say), I'll have my
+picture out of you. To return to business for a moment (pardon
+me for doing so), I think the drawings will be published in
+first rate style and at a very moderate price: about &pound;10&mdash;not a
+shilling a drawing. Pray mention this to any of your bookseller
+friends, and perhaps they may be induced to take a few copies.
+It will be a work which no library ought to be without; it
+will, I hope, quite surpass the French publication both in
+execution and subject, and will be sold at one-tenth of the
+price&mdash;theirs coming to nearly &pound;100. I inclose a letter of
+thanks for the Secretary of the Ethnological Society, which
+pray send, and also add on my part, many thanks for this honor,
+which I can assure you I particularly appreciate. My names are
+Austen Henry Layard, and my designation simply "attached to Her
+Britannic Majesty's Embassy, at the Sublime Porte." Lady
+Canning and her family are still in England, Sir Stratford at
+Berne. It is doubtful when they will return to Constantinople,
+but I presume ere long. I am ordered out in May, and am named
+commissioner for the settlement of the boundaries between
+Turkey and Persia. I wish I had you with me during my
+commission, for I shall visit a most interesting country,
+totally unknown, and with magnificent subjects for such a
+pencil as yours. I am sorry I did not know of your visit to
+England. I have many influential friends, who would have been
+glad to welcome you, and who might have been useful. I am now
+passing a month or two at Cheltenham, for the benefit of my
+health, which has suffered a little. I will write to you again
+soon with something more interesting. Believe me, my dear
+Kellogg, yours ever sincerely,</p></div>
+
+<p class="right"><span class="smcap">A. H. Layard.</span>"</p>
+
+<p>Upon the publication of his great work on Nineveh and its Remains, thus
+modestly announced, and his One Hundred Plates, he went back to the
+East, to renew his researches. Of the results of his recent labors we
+have already written, in the <i>International</i> for December.</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Layard is a person of the most amiable and pleasing character, with
+all the social virtues which command affection and respect, and such
+capacities in literature as make him one of the most attractive
+travel-writers in our language. The world may yet look for several
+volumes from his hand, upon the East, and we are sure they will deserve
+the large and permanent popularity to which his first work has attained
+in every country where it has been printed.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_436" id="Page_436">[Pg 436]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 336px;">
+<img src="images/image448.jpg" width="336" height="370" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<h2><a name="THE_ASTOR_LIBRARY" id="THE_ASTOR_LIBRARY"></a>THE ASTOR LIBRARY.</h2>
+
+<p>We present above an accurate view of the exterior of the <span class="smcap">Astor Library</span>,
+in Lafayette Place, from a drawing made for the <i>International</i> under
+the direction of the architect, Mr. Alexander Saeltzer. It is destined
+to be one of the chief attractions of the city, and information
+respecting it will be read with interest by the literary and learned
+throughout the country.</p>
+
+<p>It is now three years since John Jacob Astor died, leaving by his will
+four hundred thousand dollars for the establishment of a Public Library
+in New-York, and naming as the first trustees, the Mayor of the city of
+New-York and the Chancellor of the state for the time being. Washington
+Irving, William B. Astor, Daniel Lord, Jr., James G. King, Joseph G.
+Cogswell, Fitz-Greene Halleck, Henry Brevoort, Jr., Samuel B. Ruggles,
+Samuel Ward, and Charles Bristed. On the twentieth of May the trustees
+held their first meeting, accepted the trust conferred on them, and
+appointed Dr. Cogswell, one of their number, superintendent of the
+Library. Of the bequest, $75,000 was authorized to be applied to the
+erection of a building, $120,000 to the purchase of books and other
+objects in the establishment of the Library, and the residue, after
+paying for the site, was to be invested as a fund for its maintenance
+and increase. In September, 1848, the trustees selected the site for the
+edifice. It is convenient for all public purposes, and affords the
+comparative quietude and retirement which are desirable for an
+institution of constant resort for study and for the consultation of
+authorities. In October, Dr. Cogswell was authorized to go to Europe and
+purchase at his discretion books to the value of twenty thousand
+dollars. The object of the trustees in sending him abroad at that
+particular time was to avail themselves of the opportunity, afforded by
+the distracted political condition of Europe and the reduction of prices
+consequent upon it, to purchase books at very low rates; and the
+purchases were made at prices greatly below the ordinary standard, and
+the execution of his trust in all respects amply vindicated the high
+opinion entertained of Dr. Cogswell's fitness for his position.</p>
+
+<p>The plans for the edifice submitted by Mr. Saeltzer having been adopted,
+the work was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_437" id="Page_437">[Pg 437]</a></span> commenced and has been vigorously prosecuted until the
+present time, when the front and nearly all the exterior are completed.
+The Library is of brown stone, and in the Byzantine style, or rather in
+that of the palaces of Florence, and is one hundred and twenty feet
+long, sixty-five feet wide, and sixty-seven feet high. Scarcely a
+particle of wood enters into its composition. No building in the United
+States, of this character, is formed to so large an extent of iron. Its
+uses, too, are altogether novel, at least in this country, and
+ingenious. For instance, the truss beams, supporting the principal
+weight of the roof, are constructed of cast iron pipes, in a parabolic
+form, on the same plan as the iron bridges in France and other parts of
+Europe, with a view to secure lightness and strength. The Library Hall,
+which occupies the second floor, is one hundred feet high, and sixty
+wide, in the clear. The ascent from the front is by a single line of
+thirty-eight Italian marble steps, decorated on either side, at the
+entrance, by a stone sphinx. Upon nearing the summit of these steps, the
+visitor finds himself near the centre of this immense alcove, surrounded
+by fourteen brick piers, plastered and finished in imitation of marble,
+and supporting iron galleries, midway between the floor and the ceiling.
+The side walls form one continuous shelving, of a capacity sufficient
+for 100,000 volumes. This is reached by means of the main gallery, in
+connection with which are four iron spiral stairways and an intervening
+gallery, of a lighter and smaller description, connected by its eight
+staircases with the main gallery. The whole are very ingeniously
+arranged and appropriately ornamented, in a style corresponding with the
+general architecture of the building. At an elevation of fifty-one feet
+above the floor of the main hall, is the principal skylight, fifty-four
+feet long and fourteen broad, formed of thick glass set in iron. Besides
+this there are circular side skylights of much smaller dimensions. All
+needful light is furnished, by these and by the windows in the front and
+rear walls. Free ventilation is also secured by iron fretwork, in
+suitable portions of the ceiling. In the extreme rear are the two rooms
+for the librarian, to which access is had by means of the main
+galleries.</p>
+
+<p>The first floor contains lecture and reading-rooms, with accommodations
+for five hundred persons. The latter are on each side of the building,
+and separated from the library-hall stairway at the front entrance by
+two corridors leading to the rear vestibule, and thence to the
+lecture-room, still further in the rear. The basement contains the
+keeper's rooms, cellars, coal-vaults, air-furnaces, &amp;c. The floors are
+of richly-wrought mosaic work, on iron beams. The building will not be
+completed, probably, for nearly a year from this time, and the books
+collected, about 27,000, are meanwhile accessible at 32 Bond-street.</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Cogswell has had printed, in an octavo volume of 446 pages, an
+alphabetical index to the books now collected, and of the proposed
+accessions. This catalogue is not published, and there are but few
+copies of it. The learned librarian, who sailed a few days ago on a new
+mission for the library, to Europe, printed it at his own cost,
+convinced that without some such manual it would be extremely difficult,
+if not impossible, in making the necessary purchases, to avoid buying
+duplicates, and equally difficult to select judiciously so many thousand
+volumes as are required. He remarks that the Astor Library is in his
+opinion the first of so considerable an extent that has ever been called
+at once into existence. "That of Gottingen, the nearest parallel, was
+founded more than a century ago, when the whole number of printed books
+was less than half the present number. Should the Astor Library ever
+become a parallel to that in excellence and completeness, it will be as
+great an honor to the new world as that to the old."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="THE_TEMPER_OF_WOMEN" id="THE_TEMPER_OF_WOMEN"></a>THE TEMPER OF WOMEN.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In the <i>Lexington Papers</i>, just published in London, we have some good
+anecdotes of society two hundred and fifty years ago. Here is one:</p>
+
+<p>"A few days ago two ladies met in a narrow street at ten o'clock in the
+morning. Neither chose to permit her carriage to be drawn back, and they
+remained without moving for six hours. A little after twelve o'clock
+they sent for some refreshment for themselves and food for their horses.
+Each was firmly resolved to stay the night there rather than go back;
+and they would have done so, but a tavern-keeper in the street, who was
+prevented by their obstinacy from bringing to his door a cart laden with
+wine, went in search of the commissary of the district, who at length,
+but with much trouble, succeeded in effecting an arrangement upon these
+terms&mdash;that each should retire at the same moment, and that neither
+should pass through the street."</p>
+
+<p>And here another, which would versify into a fine horrible ballad&mdash;as
+grand and ghastly as Alfred Tennyson's "Sisters:"</p>
+
+<p>"The Parliament has lately confirmed the sentence of death passed on two
+daughters of a gentleman of Anjou, named Madaillon, for the murder of
+the lover of their younger sister. It appears that he was engaged to be
+married to the eldest sister, but deserting her, and passing over the
+second, he transferred his addresses to the youngest. The two eldest
+sisters, in revenge, invited him to play at blind man's buff, and while
+one bound his eyes, the other cut his throat."</p>
+
+<p>And this is similar:</p>
+
+<p>"In Piedmont a gentleman addressed at the same time one lady who was
+rich and plain, and one who was poor and very beautiful; and they, by
+chance becoming acquainted, exhibited to each other their correspondence
+with the vacillating lover, and one of them invited him to a meeting, in
+which after joining in reproaches, they dexterously each deprived him of
+an ear."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_438" id="Page_438">[Pg 438]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="ANDREW_MARVEL" id="ANDREW_MARVEL"></a>ANDREW MARVEL.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Of this Aristides of the poets, and his homes and haunts. Mrs. <span class="smcap">S. C.
+Hall</span> gives us the following interesting sketches in her "Pilgrimages to
+English Shrines." The illustrations are from drawings by F. W. Fairholt,
+F.S.A.</p>
+
+<p>But a few months ago we had been strolling about Palace-yard, and
+instinctively paused at No. 19 York-street, Westminster. It was evening;
+the lamplighters were running from post to post, but we could still see
+that the house was a plain house to look at, differing little from its
+associate dwellings; a common house, a house you would pass without a
+thought, unless the remembrance of thoughts that had been given to you
+from within the shelter of those plain, ordinary walls, caused you to
+reflect; aye, and to thank God, who has left with you the memories and
+sympathies which elevate human nature. Here, while Latin secretary to
+the Protector, was <span class="smcap">John Milton</span> to be found when "at home;" and in his
+society, at times, were met all the men who with their great originator,
+Cromwell, astonished Europe. Just think of those who entered that
+portal; think of them all if you can&mdash;statesmen and warriors; or, if you
+are really of a gentle spirit, think of two&mdash;but two; either of whom has
+left enough to engross your thoughts and fill your hearts. Think of <span class="smcap">John
+Milton</span> and <span class="smcap">Andrew Marvel</span>! think of the Protector of England, with two
+such secretaries!</p>
+
+<p>Evening had deepened into night; busy hands were closing shutters, and
+drawing curtains, to exclude the dense fog, that crept slowly and
+silently, like an assassin, through the streets; the pavement was
+clammy, and the carriages rushing through the mist, like huge-eyed,
+misshapen spectres, proved how eager even the poor horses were to find
+shelter; yet for a long while we stood on the steps of this building,
+and at length retraced our steps homeward. Our train of thought,
+although checked, was not changed, when seated by a comfortable fire. We
+took down a volume of Milton; but "Paradise Lost" was too sublime for
+the mood of the moment, and we "got to thinking" of Andrew Marvel, and
+displaced a volume of Captain Edward Thompson's edition of his works;
+and then it occurred to us to walk to Highgate, and once again enjoy the
+sight of his quaint old cottage on the side of the hill just facing
+"Cromwell House," and next to that which once owned for its master the
+great Earl of Lauderdale.</p>
+
+<p>We know nothing more invigorating than to breast the breeze up a hill,
+with a bright clear sky above, and the crisp ground under foot. The wind
+of March is as pure champagne to a healthy constitution; and let
+mountain-men laugh as they will at Highgate-hill, it is no ordinary
+labor to go and look down upon London from its height.</p>
+
+<p>Here then we are, once more, opposite the house where lived the
+satirist, the poet, the incorruptible patriot.</p>
+
+<p>It is, as you will see presently, a peculiar-looking dwelling, just such
+a one as you might well suppose the chosen of Andrew Marvel&mdash;exquisitely
+situated, enjoying abundant natural advantages; and yet altogether
+devoid of pretension; sufficiently beautiful for a poet, sufficiently
+humble for a patriot.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 441px;">
+<img src="images/image450.jpg" width="441" height="309" alt="MARVEL&#39;S HOUSE, FRONT VIEW." title="" />
+<span class="caption">MARVEL&#39;S HOUSE, FRONT VIEW.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>It is an unostentatious home, with simple gables and plain windows, and
+is but a story high. In front are some old trees, and a convenient porch
+to the door, in which to sit and look forth upon the road, a few paces
+in advance of it. The front is of plaster, but the windows are
+modernized, and there are other alterations which the exigencies of
+tenancy have made necessary since Marvel's days.</p>
+
+<p>The dwelling was evidently inhabited;&mdash;the curtains in the deep windows
+as white as they were when we visited it some years previous to the
+visit concerning which we now write, and the garden as neat as when in
+those days we asked permission to see the house, and were answered by an
+elderly servant, who took in our message; and an old gentleman came into
+the hall, invited us in, and presented us to his wife, a lady of more
+than middle age, and of that species of beauty depending upon
+expression, which it is not in the power of time to wither, because it
+is of the spirit<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_439" id="Page_439">[Pg 439]</a></span> rather than the flesh; and we also remembered a green
+parrot, in a fine cage, that talked a great deal, and was the only thing
+which seemed out of place in the house. We had been treated with much
+courtesy; and, emboldened by the memory of that kindness, we now
+ascended the stone steps, unlatched the little gate, and knocked.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/image451.jpg" width="448" height="283" alt="MARVEL&#39;S HOUSE, BACK VIEW." title="" />
+<span class="caption">MARVEL&#39;S HOUSE, BACK VIEW.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Again we were received courteously and kindly by the lady we had
+formerly seen; and again she blandly offered to show us the house. We
+went up a little winding stair, and into several neat, clean bedrooms,
+where every thing was so old-fashioned, that you could fancy Andrew
+Marvel himself was still its master.</p>
+
+<p>"Look out here," said the old lady; "here's a view! They say this was
+Andrew Marvel's writing closet when he wrote <i>sense</i>; but when he wrote
+<i>poetry</i>, he used to sit below in his garden. I have heard there is a
+private way under the road to Cromwell House, opposite; but surely that
+could not be necessary. So good a man would not want to work in the
+dark; for he was a true lover of his country, and a brave man. My
+husband used to say, the patriots of those times were not like the
+patriots now;&mdash;that then, they acted for their country,&mdash;now, they talk
+about it! Alas! the days are passed when you could tell an Englishman
+from every other man, even by his gait, keeping the middle of the road,
+and straight on, as one who knew himself, and made others know him. I am
+sure a party of roundheads, in their sober coats, high hats, and heavy
+boots, would have walked up Highgate Hill to visit Master Andrew Marvel,
+with a different air from the young men of our own time,&mdash;or of their
+own time, I should say,&mdash;for <i>my</i> time is past, and <i>yours</i> is passing."</p>
+
+<p>That was quite true; but there is no reason, we thought, why we should
+not look cheerfully towards the future, and pray that it may be a bright
+world for others, if not for ourselves;&mdash;the greater our enjoyment in
+the contemplation of the happiness of our fellow-creatures, the nearer
+we approach God.</p>
+
+<p>It was too damp for the old lady to venture into the garden; and sweet
+and gentle as she was, both in mind and manner, we were glad to be
+alone. How pretty and peaceful the house looks from this spot! The
+snowdrops were quite up, and the yellow and purple tips of the crocuses
+bursting through the ground in all directions. This, then, was the
+garden the poet loved so well, and to which he alludes so charmingly in
+his poem, where the nymph complains of the death of her fawn&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"I have a garden of my own,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But so with roses overgrown,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And lilies, that you would it guess<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To be a little wilderness."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The garden seems in nothing changed; in fact, the entire appearance of
+the place is what it was in those glorious days when inhabited by the
+truest genius and the most unflinching patriot that ever sprang from the
+sterling stuff that Englishmen were made of in those wonder-working
+times. The genius of Andrew Marvel was as varied as it was
+remarkable;&mdash;not only was he a tender and exquisite poet, but entitled
+to stand <i>facile princeps</i> as an incorruptible patriot, the best of
+controversialists, and the leading prose wit of England. We have always
+considered his as the first of the "sprightly runnings" of that
+brilliant stream of wit, which will carry with it to the latent
+posterity the names of Swift, Steele, and Addison. Before Marvel's time,
+to be witty was to be strained, forced, and conceited; from him&mdash;whose
+memory consecrates that cottage&mdash;wit came sparkling forth, untouched by
+baser matter. It was worthy of him; its main feature was an open
+clearness. Detraction or jealousy cast no stain upon it; he turned
+aside, in the midst of an exalted panegyric to Oliver Cromwell, to say
+the finest things that ever were said of Charles I.</p>
+
+<p>The Patriot was the son of Mr. Andrew Marvel, minister and schoolmaster
+of Kingston-upon-Hull, where he was born in 1620; his father was also
+the lecturer of Trinity Church in that town, and was celebrated as a
+learned and pious man. The son's abilities at an early age were
+remarkable, and his progress so great, that at the age of thirteen, he
+was entered as a student of Trinity College, Cambridge; and it is said
+that the corporation of his natal town furnished him with the means of
+entering the college and prosecuting his studies there. His shrewd and
+inquiring mind attracted the attention of some of the Jesuit emissaries
+who were at this time lurking about the universities,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_440" id="Page_440">[Pg 440]</a></span> and sparing no
+pains to make proselytes. Marvel entered into disputations with them,
+and ultimately fell so far into their power, that he consented to
+abandon the University and follow one of them to London. Like many other
+clever youths, he was inattentive to the mere drudgery of university
+attendance, and had been reprimanded in consequence; this, and the news
+of his escape from college, reached his father's ears at Hull. That good
+and anxious parent followed him to London; and, after a considerable
+search, at last met with him in a bookseller's shop; he argued with his
+son as a prudent and sensible man should do, and prevailed on him to
+retrace his steps and return with him to college, where he applied to
+his studies with such good-will and continued assiduity, that he
+obtained the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1638. His father lived to see
+the fruits of his wise advice, but was only spared thus long; for he was
+unfortunately drowned in crossing the Humber, as he was attending the
+daughter of an intimate female friend, who, by this event becoming
+childless, sent for young Marvel, and by way of making all the return in
+her power, added considerably to his fortune.</p>
+
+<p>This accession of wealth gave him an opportunity of travelling, and he
+journeyed through Holland, France, and Italy. While at Rome he wrote the
+first of those satirical poems which obtained him so much celebrity. It
+was a satire on an English priest there, a wretched poetaster named
+Flecknoe. From an early period of life Marvel appears to have despised
+conceit, or impertinence, and he found another chance to exhibit his
+powers of satire in the person of an ecclesiastic of Paris, one Joseph
+de Maniban, an abbot who pretended to understand the characters of those
+he had never seen, and to prognosticate their good or bad fortune, from
+an inspection of their handwriting. Marvel addressed a poem to him,
+which, if it did not effectually silence his pretensions, at all events
+exposed them fully to the thinking portions of the community.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 378px;">
+<img src="images/image452.jpg" width="378" height="336" alt="CROMWELL HOUSE." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CROMWELL HOUSE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Beneath Italian skies his immortal friendship with Milton seems to have
+commenced; it was of rapid growth, but was soon firmly established. They
+were, in many ways, kindred spirits, and their hopes for the after
+destinies of England were alike. In 1653 Marvel returned to England, and
+during the eventful years that followed, we can find no record of his
+strong and earnest thoughts, as they worked upwards into the arena of
+public life. One glorious fact we know, and all who honor virtue must
+feel its force,&mdash;that in an age when wealth was never wanting to the
+unscrupulous, Marvel, a member of the popular and successful party,
+continued Poor. Many of those years he is certain to have passed&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Under the destiny severe<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of Fairfax, and the starry Vere&mdash;"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>in the humble capacity of tutor of languages to their daughters. It was
+most likely, during this period, that he inhabited the cottage at
+Highgate, opposite to the house in which lived part of the family of
+Cromwell, a house upon which we shall remark presently. In 1657 he was
+introduced by Milton to Bradshaw. The precise words of the introduction
+ran thus: 'I present to you Mr. Marvel, laying aside those jealousies
+and that emulation which mine own condition might suggest to me, by
+bringing in such a coadjutor.' His connection with the State took place
+in 1657, when he became assistant secretary with Milton in the service
+of the Protector. 'I never had,' says Marvel, 'any, not the remotest
+relation to public matters, nor correspondence with the persons then
+predominant, until the year 1657.'</p>
+
+<p>After he had been some time fellow-secretary with Milton, even the
+thick-sighted burgesses of Hull perceived the merits of their townsman,
+and sent him as their representative into the House of Commons. We can
+imagine the delight he felt at escaping from the crowded and stormy
+Commons<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_441" id="Page_441">[Pg 441]</a></span> to breathe the invigorating air of his favorite hill, to enjoy
+the society of his former pupils, now his friends; and to gather, in</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">'&mdash;&mdash;a garden of his own,'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>the flowers that had solaced his leisure hours when he was comparatively
+unknown. But Cromwell died, Charles returned, and Marvel's energies
+sprung into arms at acts which, in accordance with his principles, he
+considered base, and derogatory to his country. His whole efforts were
+directed to the preservation of civil and religious liberty.</p>
+
+<p>It was but a short time previous to the Restoration that Marvel had been
+chosen by his native town to sit as its representative in Parliament.
+The Session began at Westminster in April, 1660, and he acquitted
+himself so honorably, that he was again chosen for the one which began
+in May, 1661. Whether under Cromwell or Charles, he acted with such
+thorough honesty of purpose, and gave such satisfaction to his
+constituents, that they allowed him a handsome pension all the time he
+continued to represent them, which was till the day of his death. This
+was probably the last borough in England that paid a representative.<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a>
+He seldom spoke in Parliament, but had much influence with the members
+of both Houses; the spirited Earl of Devonshire called him friend, and
+Prince Rupert particularly paid the greatest regard to his councils; and
+whenever he voted according to the sentiments of Marvel, which he often
+did, it used to be said, by the opposite party, that 'he had been with
+his tutor.' Such certainly was the intimacy between the Prince and
+Marvel, that when he was obliged to abscond, to avoid falling a
+sacrifice to the indignation of those enemies among the governing party
+whom his satirical pen had irritated, the Prince frequently went to see
+him, disguised as a private person.</p>
+
+<p>The noted Doctor Samuel Parker published Bishop Bramhall's work, setting
+forth the rights of kings over the consciences of their subjects, and
+then came forth Marvel's witty and sarcastic poem, 'The Rehearsal
+Transposed.'<a name="FNanchor_B_2" id="FNanchor_B_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_2" class="fnanchor">[B]</a> And yet how brightly did the generosity of his noble
+nature shine forth at this very time, when he forsook his own wit in
+that very poem, to praise the wit of Butler, his rival and political
+enemy. Fortune seems about this period to have dealt hardly with him.
+Even while his political satires rang through the very halls of the
+pampered and impure Charles, when they were roared forth in every
+tavern, shouted in the public streets, and attracted the most envied
+attention throughout England, their author was obliged to exchange the
+free air, apt type of the freedom which he loved, for a lodging in a
+court off the Strand, where, enduring unutterable temptations, flattered
+and threatened, he more than realized the stories of Roman virtue.</p>
+
+<p>The poet Mason has made Marvel the hero of his 'Ode to Independence,'
+and thus alludes to his incorruptible integrity:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">'In awful Poverty his honest Muse<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Walks forth Vindictive through a venal land;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In vain Corruption sheds her golden dews,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">In vain Oppression lifts her iron hand;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He scorns them both, and arm'd with Truth alone,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Bids Lust and Folly tremble on the throne.'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Marvel, by opposing the ministry and its measures, created himself many
+enemies,<a name="FNanchor_C_3" id="FNanchor_C_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_3" class="fnanchor">[C]</a> and made himself very obnoxious to the government, yet
+Charles II. took great delight in his conversation, and tried all means
+to win him over to his side, but in vain; nothing being ever able to
+shake his resolution. There were many instances of his firmness in
+resisting the offers of the Court, in which he showed himself proof
+against all temptations.</p>
+
+<p>We close our eyes upon this peaceful dwelling of the heroic senator, and
+imagine ourselves in the reign of the second Charles, threading our way
+into that 'court off the Strand,' where Marvel ended his days. We enter
+the house, and climbing the stairs even to the second floor, perceive
+the object of our warmest admiration. He is not alone, though there is
+no possibility of confounding the poet with the courtier. Andrew Marvel
+is plainly dressed, his figure is strong, and about the middle size, his
+countenance open, and his complexion of a ruddy cast; his eyes are of a
+soft hazel color, mild and steady; his eyebrows straight, and so
+flexible as to mould without an effort into a satirical curve, if such
+be the mind's desire; his mouth is close, and indicative of firmness;
+and his brown hair falls gracefully back from a full and noble forehead.
+He sits in an upright and determined manner upon an uneasy-looking
+high-backed chair. A somewhat long table intervenes between him and his
+visitor; one end of it is covered with a white cloth, and a dish of cold
+meat is flanked by a loaf of bread and a dark earthenware jug. On the
+opposite end is placed a bag of gold, beside which lies the
+richly-embroidered glove which the cavalier with whom he is conversing
+has flung off. There is strange contrast in the attitude of the two men.
+Lord Danby lounges with the ease of a courtier and the grace of a
+gentleman upon a chair of as stiff and uncomfortable an appearance as
+that which is occupied after so upright a fashion by Andrew Marvel.</p>
+
+<p>"I have answered you, my lord," said the patriot, "already. Methinks
+there need be no further parley on the subject; it is not my first
+temptation, though I most fervently desire it may be the last."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_442" id="Page_442">[Pg 442]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 336px;">
+<img src="images/image454.jpg" width="336" height="406" alt="STAIRCASE." title="" />
+<span class="caption">STAIRCASE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The nobleman took up his glove and drew it on. "I again pray you to
+consider," he said, "whether, if with us, the very usefulness you so
+much prize would not have a more extensive sphere. You would have larger
+means of being useful."</p>
+
+<p>"My lord, I should certainly have the means of tempting usefulness to
+forsake duty."</p>
+
+<p>The cavalier rose, but the displeasure that flushed his countenance soon
+faded before the serene and holy expression of Milton's friend.</p>
+
+<p>"And are you so determined?" said his lordship, sorrowfully. "Are you
+really so determined? A thousand English pounds are there, and thrice
+the sum&mdash;nay, any thing you ask&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"My lord! my lord!" interrupted Marvel, indignantly, "this perseverance
+borders upon insult. Nay, my good lord, you do not so intend it, but
+your master does not understand me. Pray you, note this: two days ago
+that meat was hot; it has remained cold since, and there is enough still
+for to-morrow; and I am well content. A man so easily satisfied is not
+likely to exchange an approving conscience for dross like that!"</p>
+
+<p>We pray God that the sin of Marvel's death did not rest with the great
+ones of those times; but it was strange and sudden.<a name="FNanchor_D_4" id="FNanchor_D_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_D_4" class="fnanchor">[D]</a> He did not leave
+wherewith to bury the sheath of such a noble spirit, but his
+constituents furnished forth a decent funeral, and would have erected a
+monument to his memory in the church of St. Giles-in-the-Fields, where
+he was interred; but the rector, blinded by the dust of royalty to the
+merits of the man, refused the necessary permission. Marvel's name is
+remembered, though the rector's has been long forgotten.<a name="FNanchor_E_5" id="FNanchor_E_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_E_5" class="fnanchor">[E]</a></p>
+
+<p>Wood tells us, that Marvel was in his conversation very modest, and of
+few words; and Cooke, the writer of his life, observes that he was very
+reserved among those whom he did not know, but a most delightful and
+improving companion among his friends. John Aubrey, who knew him
+personally, thus describes him: 'He was of a middling stature, pretty
+strong set, roundish cherry-checked, hazle-eyed, brown-haired.' He was
+(as Wood also says) in conversation very modest, and of a very few
+words. He was wont to say, that he would not drink high or freely with
+any one with whom he would not trust his life.</p>
+
+<p>Marvel lived among friends at Highgate; exactly opposite to his door was
+the residence of General Ireton and his wife Bridget, the eldest
+daughter of Oliver Cromwell; and which house still bears his name, and
+is described in 'Prickett's History of Highgate,' one of those local
+topographical works which deserve encouragement:&mdash;'Cromwell House is
+supposed to have been built by the Protector, whose name it bears, about
+the year 1630, as a residence for General Ireton, who married his
+daughter and was one of the commanders of his army; it is, however, said
+to have been the residence of Oliver Cromwell himself, but no mention is
+made, either in history or in his biography, of his having ever lived at
+Highgate. Tradition states, there was a subterraneous passage from this
+house to the mansion house which stood where the New Church now stands,
+but of its reality no proof has hitherto been adduced. Cromwell House
+was evidently built and internally ornamented in accordance with the
+taste of its military occupant. The staircase, which is of handsome
+proportions, is richly decorated with oaken carved figures, supposed to
+have been of persons in the general's army, in their costume; and the
+balustrades filled<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_443" id="Page_443">[Pg 443]</a></span> in with devices emblematical of warfare. On the
+ceilings of the drawing-room are the arms of General Ireton; this and
+the ceilings of the other principal apartments are enriched in
+conformity with the fashion of those days. The proportion of the noble
+rooms, as well as the brick-work in front, well deserves the notice and
+study of the antiquarian and the architect. From the platform on the top
+of the mansion may be seen a perfect panorama of the surrounding
+country.'</p>
+
+<p>The staircase above described is here engraved. It is a remarkably
+striking and elegant specimen of internal decoration, of broad and noble
+proportion, and of a solid and grand construction suitable to the time
+of its erection; the wood-work of the house is every where equally bold
+and massive; the door-cases of simple but good design. There are some
+ceilings in the first story which are in rich plaster work, ornamented
+with the arms of Ireton; and mouldings of fruit and flowers, of a
+sumptuous and bold enrichment.</p>
+
+<p>The series of figures which stand upon the newels of the staircase are
+all engraved below. There are ten remaining out of twelve, the original
+number; the missing two are said to have been figures of Cromwell and
+Ireton, destroyed at the Restoration. They stand about a foot in height,
+and represent the different soldiers of the army, from the fifer and
+drummer to the captain, and originally, to the commanders. They are
+curious for more reasons than one; their locality, their truthfulness,
+their history, and the picture they help us to realise of the army of
+Cromwell are all so many claims on our attention.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> The custom of paying members of the House of Commons for
+the loss of time and travelling expenses, was common in the seventeenth
+century; constituencies believed such equivalents necessary for the
+attention to their interests and wishes which a Parliamentary agent was
+expected to give. In the old Corporation books of provincial towns are
+many entries for payments to members of Parliament, and in some
+instances we find them petitioning to Government for disfranchisement,
+because they could not afford to pay the expenses of a Member.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_B_2" id="Footnote_B_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_2"><span class="label">[B]</span></a> Marvel's first <i>expos&eacute;</i> of Parker's false logic was in
+1672, in the poem named above, which was immediately answered by Parker,
+and re-answered by Marvel, who appears to have had some private threat
+sent him, as he says his pamphlet is occasioned by two letters; one the
+published 'Reproof' of him by Parker in answer to his first attack; 'the
+second, left for me at a friend's house, dated November 3d, 1673,
+subscribed J. G., and concluding with these words:&mdash;If thou darest to
+print any lie or libel against Dr. Parker, by the Eternal&mdash;I will cut
+thy throat.' This last reply of Marvel's, however, effectually silenced
+Parker: 'It not only humbled Parker, but the whole party,' says Burnet,
+for, 'from the king down to the tradesman, the book was read with
+pleasure.'</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_C_3" id="Footnote_C_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_3"><span class="label">[C]</span></a> 'No stronger satire could be penned than that descriptive
+of the Court of Charles, in the poem called 'Britannia and Raleigh:'&mdash;
+</p>
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">'A colony of French possess the Court,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Pimps, priests, buffoons, in privy chambers sport;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Such slimy monsters ne'er approach'd a throne<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Since Pharaoh's days, nor so defil'd a crown;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In sacred ears tyrannic arts they croak,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Pervert his mind, and good intentions choak.'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+<p>
+But not only do the courtiers feel the lash, for when Raleigh implores
+Britannia to urge his duty on the king, and save him from the bad who
+surround him, she interrupts him with&mdash;
+</p>
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">'Raleigh, no more! for long in vain I've try'd<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The Stuart from the tyrant to divide.'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_D_4" id="Footnote_D_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_D_4"><span class="label">[D]</span></a> 'Marvel died in 1678, in his fifty-eighth year, not without
+the strongest suspicions of having been poisoned; for he was always very
+temperate, and of an healthful and strong constitution to the last.'</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E_5" id="Footnote_E_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_E_5"><span class="label">[E]</span></a> On the death of this rector, however, the monument and
+inscription was placed on the north wall of the church, near the spot
+where he is supposed to lie.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="A_NOVELISTS_APPEAL_FOR_THE_CANADAS" id="A_NOVELISTS_APPEAL_FOR_THE_CANADAS"></a>A NOVELIST'S APPEAL FOR THE CANADAS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Among the new English novels is one entitled <i>Ellen Clayton, or the
+Nomades of the West</i>, by Douglass Huyghue. The author seems to feel for
+the red men the same regard which the adventurous artist and traveller
+Catlin has expressed in England, and his work comes in aid of those
+appeals which Catlin has so often made on their behalf. Such a motive
+entitles the author to respect, and gives an additional value to the
+book; while the talent with which it is written, renders it a narrative
+of unusual interest. In nothing but its <i>theme</i> is it like to any of
+Cooper's novels. Its incidents and its characters are not similar, and
+they lack truthfulness quite as much as they lack similarity. We know
+something of Indian life; in our youth we saw much of it; and we regard
+Cooper as its faithfulest delineator in literary art. The time at which
+this romance opens is in the year 1600, when the wars between France and
+England led to hostilities in Canada, and when an abortive attack was
+made upon Quebec by the British and colonial army. The hero and heroine
+are victims to the disasters of that war, and in describing their
+adventures, Canada, and the condition of its civilized as well as of its
+wild inhabitants, are vividly presented. The incidents justify the
+author in making this appeal to his English readers when he reminds them
+of the associations that should ever be connected with the fortress of
+Quebec:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Men of England, look not coldly upon the interests of that
+land for the possession of which your fathers fought and bled.
+Quench not irretrievably the flame of loyalty which burns in
+many an earnest heart, loath to contract these new ties which
+the progress of an irresistible destiny would seem to favor, at
+the sacrifice of affection for the fatherland. The blood of the
+greatest and wisest nation since the days of the Romans, flows
+in the veins of the Anglo-Americans, unadulterated by the air
+of another hemisphere, and stimulated into vigorous action by a
+necessity for continual exertion, combined with an entire
+liberty of thought which calls into play every resource of the
+physical and intellectual man. The sturdy and intelligent race
+that treads the virgin soil of Canada, can surely claim
+equality, at the very least, with the denizens of older Europe;
+cramped as they are for want of room, and enervated by an
+ultra-civilization that wrongs nature, and has almost taken the
+sceptre from her hand to put it into that of art. The British
+colonist enjoys a peculiar exemption from those prejudices,
+which, for so many ages, have retarded progress, and are
+successively being overcome by the convictions of a more
+enlightened era. There is a voice in the woods and mountains of
+a great solitude that elevates the soul and fortifies it with
+courage in the time of need. The great torrents and inland seas
+of that noble country have schooled the generation, nurtured by
+their side, into a strong conception of freedom, and the right
+to be justly dealt with, at the hands of those with whom it is
+connected by the double alliance of kindred predilection. A
+pernicious, temporizing policy has of late caused such wounds
+as may not be healed up very easily, we fear. The upright
+colonist has seen an unprincipled faction permitted to ride
+triumphant over those whose intentions are honest, and whose
+loyalty is proven. Let us hope, that ere long something of the
+chivalrous generosity of other days will pervade the councils
+of the state, and rouse the stalwart spirit of the Briton to
+scourge this ignominy from the land; if encouragement be due at
+all, it surely is to those true-hearted provincials who are
+avowedly proud of the great people from whence they derive
+their character, their language, and their laws&mdash;and who are as
+able, as they are willing, to preserve unto their beloved
+Sovereign the colony their sires won."</p></div>
+
+<p>This is tolerably good rhetoric, but it is not likely to have much
+effect when the strong argument and imposing eloquence of statesmen have
+failed to arrest attention. We see notices of another political novel
+referring to Canada, which deals more directly, if with less talent,
+with the disabilities and wishes of the people. It is entitled, <i>The
+Footsteps of Montcalm</i>, and its hero, descended from a follower of the
+brave Frenchman, contrasts with his ideal of freedom and happiness, the
+laws, institutions, habits, and miseries, which he regards as
+inseparable from the colonial relation. As in the rebellion of 1838,
+whatever disaffection now prevails in British America, is probably
+shared much less largely by the English than by the French population.
+Political, religious, or sectarian novels, however, executed never so
+cleverly, are but sugared pills at which the appetite revolts as soon as
+the quality is discovered.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_444" id="Page_444">[Pg 444]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 336px;">
+<img src="images/image456.jpg" width="336" height="367" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="DR_WEBSTER_PRESIDENT_OF_THE_NEW-YORK_FREE_ACADEMY" id="DR_WEBSTER_PRESIDENT_OF_THE_NEW-YORK_FREE_ACADEMY"></a>DR. WEBSTER, PRESIDENT OF THE NEW-YORK FREE ACADEMY.</h2>
+
+<p>Throughout the world an extraordinary degree of attention has recently
+been directed to systems and means of Education, and the truth has at
+length been generally recognized that the stability and glory of nations
+must depend upon the intelligence and virtue of their inhabitants. In
+our own country, which is most of all interested in the diffusion of
+knowledge, unexampled efforts are being made not only for the general
+improvement of the culture offered in the seminaries, but for that
+elevation of the laboring classes which, whatever may be said by
+ambitious feeble-minds, seeking for reputation as reformers of the
+social system, is really to be found only in a wise development of
+individual capacities for the strife that has been and must be waged for
+individual well-being.</p>
+
+<p>There have been many improvements suggested or realized lately in
+collegiate education. We have been gratified with Professor Sedgwick's
+admirable treatise on the subject, which, at this time, is receiving in
+England that consideration to which any thing from the mind of one so
+distinguished is entitled. In this country we think no one, upon the
+whole, has written more wisely than Dr. Wayland, whose views are to be
+illustrated in the future government of the university over which he has
+so long presided. But we shall not be satisfied until we have a great
+institution, as much above the existing colleges as they are above the
+common schools in the wards of the city, to which bachelors of arts only
+shall be admitted, and to which they, whether coming from Harvard,
+Oberlin, or Virginia, shall be admitted without charge.</p>
+
+<p>The establishment of the <span class="smcap">New-York Free Academy</span> is suggestive of many
+things, and of this among them. We suppose a discussion whether our
+colleges supply the <i>degree</i> of education suitable to our general
+condition, could be entertained only by dunces; the point whether they
+furnish the kind and quality of culture to fit men for efficient and
+just action, in such public affairs and private occupations as the
+humblest may be called to in a free state, has been amply discussed, and
+it is decided against the colleges.</p>
+
+<p>Our schools, called colleges, have for the most part been fashioned
+after the universities of Europe, but they have in all cases been
+inadequately endowed, and without the internal police which is necessary
+to their vigorous administration. Nine-tenths of the professors are
+incompetent, and quite one half of them, in any thing worthy the name of
+university could claim admission only to the class of freshmen; while
+those who are capable of a reputable performance of their duties&mdash;so
+uncertain are the revenues of the institutions to which they are
+attached&mdash;are very frequently compelled to modify regulations and relax
+discipline to such a degree that the colleges become only schools of
+vice or nurseries of indolence.</p>
+
+<p>The deficiency is of <i>authority</i>. It is useless to talk about courses of
+study, or any thing else, until the discipline of the schools is as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_445" id="Page_445">[Pg 445]</a></span>
+absolute as that of the camp, the factory, or the counting-room. We are
+inclined to believe that the usefulness of the Military Academy at West
+Point,&mdash;which has furnished so large a proportion of the best civil
+engineers, lawyers, physicians, and divines, as well as the soldiers who
+and who <i>alone</i> have conducted our armies to real glory,&mdash;we are
+inclined to believe that this justly celebrated school owes all its
+triumphs to its rigid laws and independence of popular clamor.</p>
+
+<p>Discipline is every thing. Without it a man is but a fair model in wood,
+which by it is turned to an engine of iron, and by opportunity furnished
+with water and fire to impel it on a resistless course through the
+world. And a man must be governed by others before he will govern
+himself. The silliness about <i>liberty</i> which is sometimes obtruded into
+discussions of this subject, is fit for very young children and very old
+women. There is no desirable liberty but in obedience. The cant about it
+sometimes illustrates only a pitiable feebleness of intellect, but it
+more frequently discloses some kind or degree of wilful licentiousness.
+The "voluntary system" does very well in the churches. It will not do at
+all in the colleges. St. Paul is always found even with the wisdom of
+the age in which he is quoted, and he tells us that a youth "differeth
+nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all, but is under tutors
+and governors." This is the true philosophy. The "sovereign" people who
+disregard law, and exult when it is outraged at the cost of an unpopular
+party, have not learned what is necessary to freedom; they are not fit
+for it; they will destroy its fairest fabrics, if the state does not
+prepare its children by a thorough discipline for their inheritance. The
+<i>way</i> is by free schools and free colleges, supported by public taxes.
+Sects and parties may have as many seminaries as they choose, and with
+rules of study and conduct so easily to be complied with, and
+administrations so lax, that the most contemptible idler or the most
+independent and self-willed simpleton shall see in them nothing to
+conflict with his habit or temper; but the graduates of these seminaries
+will not ascend the pinnacles of fame nor direct the affairs of nations:
+such affairs will be left for those who have learned, with their
+arithmetic, the self-denial, reverence and obedience, which are the
+conditions of the application of addition and division in the high
+mathematics.</p>
+
+<p>In a free college (and the New-York Free Academy is, in all respects,
+more justly to be considered a college than are most of the schools
+which confer academical "honors"), in a free college, of which the
+professors are responsible only to a judicious board of directors,
+examinations for admissions and for advancements will be rigid and
+impartial, the administration will be vigilant and firm, the reckless
+who will not and the imbecile who cannot acquire a good education, will
+be dismissed for more congenial pursuits, the rich and the poor will be
+upon an equality, and only desert will be honorably distinguished.</p>
+
+<p>The New-York Free Academy is eminently fortunate in its officers. <span class="smcap">Horace
+Webster</span>, LL. D., is, in all respects, admirably fitted for his position
+as its President. He perfectly understands the indispensableness of
+thorough organization, and absolute and watchful discipline. Dr. Webster
+is a native of Vermont, and is of that family which, in various
+departments, has furnished the country some of its most illustrious
+names. At an early age, he became a student of the Military Academy, and
+so has himself experience of the advantages of that system which he
+advocates, and illustrates in his own administration. He graduated with
+distinction, and it is properly mentioned as an indication of his
+standing at West Point that, while he was a cadet of the first class, he
+was selected by the government of the Academy to be temporarily himself
+an instructor. In 1818 he joined the army, as a lieutenant, and after
+passing one year with his regiment, of which the late General Taylor was
+at that time the Major, he was elected Assistant Professor of
+Mathematics in the Military Academy, and returned to fulfil for six
+years, with constantly increasing reputation, both for scientific
+abilities and for personal character, the duties of that office, which
+it scarcely need be said are more difficult at West Point than in any
+other school in America. Among the distinguished gentlemen who were
+associated with him in teaching or as students during this period, were
+General Worth, Colonel Bliss, Colonel Thayer, Colonel Mansfield, and
+Professors Alexander D. Bache, LL. D., Charles Davies, LL. D., E. C.
+Ross, LL. D., and John Torrey, LL. D. Resigning his commission, he was
+in 1825 made Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in Geneva
+College, and he filled this place twenty-three years, leaving it in
+1848, to accept the Presidency of the New York Free Academy. We conceive
+that nothing could have invested this school with a higher claim to
+respect, or challenged for it a larger degree of confidence, than the
+selection of a man of such experience, capacities, and reputation, to be
+its chief officer; and for the class of persons likely to come under his
+instruction, no course of study could be more judicious, no training
+more admirably adapted, than may be expected from one who has been so
+long and so successfully engaged in preparing men for the most difficult
+and important offices. His attainments needed no illustration, and his
+administrative abilities have been amply vindicated by his government of
+the Free Academy.</p>
+
+<p>Candidates for admission to the Free Academy must have passed at least
+one year in the public schools, and they are examined in the common
+English studies. The standards for admission are not so high as the
+colleges demand, because the period of instruction is longer. We cannot
+enter into any particular statement of the courses of study, but it
+will<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_446" id="Page_446">[Pg 446]</a></span> be interesting if we indicate their character very briefly, and
+describe the chief teachers. Edward C. Ross, LL. D., the Professor of
+Mathematics, is, like Dr. Webster, a graduate of the Military Academy,
+and was many years a successful teacher in that institution and in
+Kenyon College. He is assisted by G. B. Docherty, A. M., who was
+formerly the Principal of the Flushing Institute. The course embraces
+all the studies necessary for the best accomplishment in engineering,
+and indeed is as thorough and complete as that pursued at West Point,
+with the modifications appropriate to the prospective pursuits of the
+pupils. Theodore Irving, A. M., is Professor of History and
+Belles-Lettres, assisted by Edward C. Marshall, A. M., and G. W.
+Huntsman, A. M. These gentlemen have experience, and we believe their
+system of instruction is in some respects original and in every way very
+excellent. Mr. Irving is a kinsman of "Geoffrey Crayon," and himself
+master of a pleasing and classical style. Oliver Wolcott Gibbs, A. M.,
+M. D., Professor of Chemistry, Natural Philosophy, Mineralogy, and
+Geology, is one of the best practical chemists in this country, having
+completed his own education under the celebrated Liebig, in Germany, and
+since in many ways evinced such capacities in this department, as made
+his selection for the place he occupies almost a matter of course. John
+J. Owen, D. D., whose scholarship is exhibited in his ably edited series
+of the classical authors of these languages, is Professor of Greek and
+Latin, and we neither agree with nor have much respect for those who
+deprecate the attention demanded in the Academy for such studies. The
+French, Spanish and German languages are taught by Professors Roemer,
+Morales, and Glaubensklee, all of whom are known to the public for such
+talents as are necessary in their positions. Mr. Paul P. Duggan, a
+painter whose works adorn many of our best collections in art, is
+Professor of Drawing.</p>
+
+<p>The Free Academy will fulfil the reasonable expectations of its
+founders. It is admirably designed, and its appointments and
+administration have thus far been judicious. We lack yet a University:
+there is no school in America deserving this title; all our colleges
+should be regarded as <i>gymnasia</i>, sifting the classes of the common
+schools and preparing their more advanced and ingenious pupils for such
+an institution; and the Free Academy may be accepted as a model by which
+they can be reshaped for their less ambitious but more appropriate
+duties. This is a subject ably and properly treated in Professor
+Tappan's recent volume on Education, (published by Mr. Putnam,) to which
+we beg attention.</p>
+
+<p>The whole number of students now attending the Free Academy is three
+hundred and twenty-nine, of whom one hundred and five were admitted at
+the last examination, in February. The number for whom the building is
+designed is about six hundred.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="Authors_and_Books" id="Authors_and_Books"></a><i>Authors and Books.</i></h2>
+
+
+<p>A book which we cannot too highly recommend is the <i>Briefe &uuml;ber
+Humboldt's Kosmos</i> (Letters on Humboldt's Cosmos), published at Leipzic,
+in two octavo volumes, from the pens of Professor <span class="smcap">Cotta</span> and Professor
+<span class="smcap">Schaller</span>. It is intended to serve as a commentary upon that work, which
+it is well worthy to accompany. Without attempting an exhaustive
+treatise on the details of the various topics touched on by Humboldt,
+the writers have expanded some of the leading points of his work into
+scientific essays, whose practical utility is none the smaller for an
+elegant and attractive style, and a genial enthusiasm, of which Humboldt
+need not be ashamed. The first volume, by Professor Cotta, contains
+forty letters on the following themes: The enjoyment of nature; matter
+and forces, growth and existence; natural philosophy; the fixed stars,
+their parallaxes, groups, movements, nebul&aelig;; double stars, structure of
+the universe, resisting medium; the solar system; the laws of motion,
+Kepler and Newton; density of the heavenly bodies; our moon, its orbit,
+no atmosphere, no water; comets; meteors, and meteoric stones; form of
+the earth; magnetism; volcanic activity; gas-springs; geysers; internal
+structure of the earth; history of organisms, their first origin, and
+developments; the surface, its forms, and their influence on animated
+life; the gradual rising and sinking of the surface in Sweden; the
+tides; circulation of water on the earth&mdash;springs, cold, warm, mineral,
+artesian&mdash;rivers, seas, ocean currents, evaporation and condensation;
+glaciers; the atmosphere, climate, weather, winds, storm-clouds; organic
+life on the earth, its nature, differences, origin of the differences,
+original production, creation, first appearance; man, his origin, races,
+forms, phrenology, &amp;c. These letters offer, as we have already said, in
+a pleasing and attractive form, a condensed and comprehensive view of
+what is now known with reference to the sciences treated. The letter
+upon Man is especially interesting. Professor Cotta belongs to those who
+think the human race to be "the gradual perfection, through thousands of
+generations," of a lower order of creatures. "The human individual," he
+says, "even now, in the embryonic state, passes through the condition of
+various sorts of animals. The most eminent anatomists have shown that
+before birth we for a time resemble a polypal animal, then for a time a
+fish, next a reptile, till at last appear the characteristics of a
+mammalia. This is a fact which bears strongly in favor of our view. The
+genesis and development of the entire species seem to be here condensed
+in the growth of the individual." But while setting forth this peculiar
+view, Professor Cotta, with true German comprehensiveness, takes care to
+give a fair statement of opposing doctrines, and evinces nothing like a
+narrow dogmatism.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_447" id="Page_447">[Pg 447]</a></span> The second volume, like the second volume of the
+Cosmos, is that which will most interest and delight the general reader.
+It contains thirty-two letters, mainly on the following subjects: the
+view of nature in general; the religious view; the various forms of the
+religious view; the &aelig;sthetic view; the inward connection of the &aelig;sthetic
+enjoyment of nature with its artistic representation; the scientific
+view as empirical science and natural philosophy; the relations of the
+various views of nature to each other; the poetic comprehension of
+nature among the Indians; the poetic comprehension of nature among the
+Jews, the Greeks, and the Romans; the Christian contemplation of nature;
+German poetry in the middle ages; Italian poetry; the poetic
+comprehension of nature in modern times; the representation of nature by
+painting, and its gradual appearance in the history of art; the
+physiognomy of plants in connection with the physiognomy of nature in
+general; description of several plant formations; general outlines of
+the animal world; history of the physical view of the universe; natural
+science among the Phenicians, the Greeks, at the time of the Ptolemies,
+at the time of the Roman Empire, and in the middle ages; natural history
+of modern times, Bacon, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Newton; the
+mechanical doctrine of modern physics; the dynamic view of nature;
+Fichte's doctrine, and the natural philosophy of Schelling and Hegel.
+This volume, as will be easily understood, gives at once a history of
+religion, philosophy, art, literature, and science, in their relations
+to the outward universe. For instance, under the head of natural science
+among the Greeks, we have among other things an account of the doctrine
+of the Pythagoreans, Plato, and Aristotle; in treating the middle ages,
+Professor Schaller speaks of the Scholastics, Thomas Aquinas, Roger
+Bacon, Giordano Bruno, and Paracelsus. One of the most interesting parts
+of the whole is that on the poetic view of nature among the Hindoos,
+Jews, Greeks, Romans, Germans, and Italians, the historical statement
+being every where illustrated by copious quotations of admirable
+passages from the poets of those nations. The strictly scientific
+portions are illustrated by excellent engravings, and are free from mere
+technicalities. Sold in New-York by R. Garrigue.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>The <i>Vestiges of Creation</i> has been translated into German by Charles
+Vogt, a savan who in late years has become noted as a radical
+politician. The translation is highly praised. Published at Brunswick.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>The translation of <span class="smcap">Hegel's</span> <i>Aesthetik</i> into French is now nearly
+completed at Paris, the fourth volume, which is devoted to the
+consideration of music and poetry, having just been published. One
+volume more will complete the work. The translator is M. Charles B&eacute;nard.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">The Human Race and its Origin</span>.&mdash;Under the title of <i>Histoire G&eacute;n&eacute;rale
+des Races Humaines</i>, M. Eusebe-Fran&ccedil;ois de Salles has just published at
+Paris an elaborate work on Ethnography, for which he had prepared
+himself by long and careful personal observation of most of the races on
+the globe, his travels having extended into nearly all climes and
+regions. He takes the ground of the descent of the entire human family
+from a single pair, created adult and perfect in mind and body, not by
+any simple evolution of nature, but by a direct act of the Divine Being.
+The paradise or home of this pair he places to the north of India and
+the east of Persia. All the varieties of men now existing he attributes
+to the influence of climate and circumstances. "The first light of
+history," he says, "shows us the human family in possession of a
+language, and of a certain degree of science, the inheritance of the
+past. Its aptitudes, its passions, and outward circumstances, may
+increase this inheritance, keep it the same, or diminish it. In peoples
+enervated by luxury and by doubt, in tribes softened by too favorable a
+climate, or separated too long from the stronger and better educated
+masses,&mdash;in a family or a couple exiled by a catastrophe, a
+shipwreck,&mdash;we are to seek the origin of the decline into the various
+degrees of <i>corruption, barbarism</i>, the <i>savage state</i>, and <i>brutality</i>.
+Imagine a boat from the coast of America, or from the South Sea Islands,
+cast by a tempest on some unknown shore or some desert island. A few
+young persons, a few children, alone escape from the shipwreck, knowing
+imperfectly the language, the arts, and the family traditions of their
+parents. Such is the origin of the unfortunates sometimes met with, who
+are ignorant even of the use of fire." Against the spontaneous
+generation of the human race in several localities he argues at length
+as an utter absurdity, the point of his argument being, that isolated
+couples so produced would be unable to resist the inhospitality of
+nature without miraculous aid, and one miracle, he contends, is more
+admissable than ten or a dozen. But the chief grounds upon which he
+labors to establish his doctrine are the similitude of the most ancient
+traditions among all branches of the human species, the affiliation and
+analogy of languages, and the identity of organization and equality of
+aptitudes. He finds similar traditions among the Hebrews, the Chaldeans,
+the Ph&oelig;nicians, the Egyptians, the Ethiopians, the Hindoos, the
+Persians, the Chinese, the Thibetans, the Scythians, and the Americans.
+In the theogonies and cosmogonies of the Aztecs of America, he says that
+the traditions of ancient Asia are plainly to be found, while some vague
+traces of these primitive narratives are to be found even among the
+savages of Oceanica, and the most barbarous and miserable negroes of
+western Africa. To the negroes he devotes perhaps the most careful and
+learned portion of the work. Starting from the discovery of M.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_448" id="Page_448">[Pg 448]</a></span> Flaurens
+as to the <i>pigmentum</i> or coloring matter of the skin, he contends with
+great force that nothing but the gradual influence of climate, giving a
+greater and greater intensity to the action of this coloring matter,
+which exists in every race and every individual, has caused the
+essential difference between whites and blacks. For, he argues, there is
+no other difference between them than that of color, all the other
+features, such as the prominent mouth, the woolly hair, the facial
+angle, being in no wise exclusively peculiar to the Africans. And so,
+after having gone over the entire race in detail, proving the identity
+of organization in every division, M. de Salles concludes that the
+primitive complexion was olive, somewhat like the color of unburnt
+coffee, and the original men had red hair. On the affiliation of
+languages he reasons at great length, with a striking affluence of
+curious and learned detail. Languages, he remarks, become more and more
+complicated and perfect as we ascend toward their origin. Next he
+considers the modifications by which the present races of men have
+departed from the first family, and in so doing he takes up every people
+that has ever been known. America, he thinks, was first settled by
+Mongol emigration, with religious traditions, between the eighteenth and
+the fifteenth century before our era: then, six or eight hundred years
+later, there was a second emigration of Hindoo races, with traditions of
+architecture. With the Bible and the facts of geology as his starting
+point, he demonstrates the falsity of the Egyptian, Hindoo, Chinese, and
+Mexican chronologies. The six days of creation he takes as so many great
+epochs; the deluge he places at five thousand years before Christ.</p>
+
+<p>In our account of this book we have not strictly followed the order of
+the author. Thus he makes the direct miraculous creation of man the
+concluding topic of his book, and treats it not without a certain poetic
+elevation as comports with such an event. We have aimed only to give the
+outlines of his doctrine, and for the rest recommend those of our
+readers who are interested in such studies to procure and read the work.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Joachim Lelewel</span> (a name honored by all lovers of liberty,) has just
+published at Breslau a work on the geography of the middle ages, which
+is worthy of the warmest admiration. It consists of an atlas of fifty
+plates, engraved by the hand of the venerable author, containing one
+hundred and forty-five figures and maps, from eighty-eight different
+Arabic and Latin geographers of different epochs, with eleven
+explicative or comparative maps and two geographical essays. The whole
+work exhibits the most thorough acquaintance and conscientious use of
+the labors of previous explorers in the same direction. The cost of
+importing a copy into this country would be about eight dollars.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">More new German Novels</span>.&mdash;<i>The Siege of Rheinfels</i>, by Gustave von See,
+is a historical romance, founded on an episode from the wars of Louis
+XIV., against the German empire. While the Palatinate and the left bank
+of the Rhine were ravaged by the French armies, the fortress of
+Rheinfels held out obstinately against a siege which was prosecuted with
+fury by a much superior force. Amid the scenes of this siege, passes the
+love-story that forms the kernel of the novel, which is written with
+originality and talent. The historical part is equally attractive and
+<i>vraisemblant</i>. A collection of romances under the title of <i>Germania</i>,
+has appeared at Bremen. It is intended to serve as the beginning of an
+annual publication. The first number contains seven tales, some of them
+by well known romance writers. The first is <i>Eine Leidenschaft</i> (A
+Passion), by Louise von G., and is highly praised by the most reliable
+critics; it abounds in arch and graceful humor. Spiller von Hauenschildt
+is the least successful of the contributors in respect to the artistic
+treatment of his subject. His novel is socialistic. Adolph Hahr and
+Alfred Meissner are also among the contributors. On the whole the book
+is a good one.</p>
+
+<p>Leopold Schefer has published lately in Berlin <i>The Bishop's Wife, a
+Tale of the Papacy</i>, in which the great Napoleon of the church,
+Hildebrand, figures as the hero. The Germans have never succeeded in the
+historical novel. With vast resources in materiel, they have always a
+vagueness, a want of definite interest, of picturesque arrangement, and
+of sustained and disciplined power. Schefer is a scholar, and his
+didactic purpose is plain enough, and well enough managed. The Teutonic
+character has always instinctively revolted against the practice of
+celibacy, a form of ascetism quite natural, and sometimes perhaps
+inevitable, as a reaction against the unbridled sensualism of the
+Africans and Asiatics, but quite out of place in climes so temperate and
+races so moderate, conscientious, and self-respecting as those of
+Northern Europe. It needed all the genius and determination of
+Hildebrand himself to enforce the celibacy of the German clergy, and
+certainly they have never ceased more or less covertly to revolt against
+it. It is well understood that, at the present time, there is a very
+general wish among the Catholics of Germany&mdash;more especially of South
+Germany, where they are not jealous of Protestant encroachments&mdash;to have
+marriage allowed to the parochial clergy; and the clergy themselves are
+foremost in this tendency, though it may not accord with their interest
+unreservedly to display it. It has, however, betrayed its existence in
+various ways, especially in anonymous literary productions, in prose and
+verse. So general is this feeling, and so profound the conviction that
+something must be done, that in 1848 it was very generally credited that
+the Pope was prepared to sanction a relaxation of the laws of the church
+in this respect. For this belief, however, there could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_449" id="Page_449">[Pg 449]</a></span> have been no
+just foundation, since Pius IX. is the reputed author of the official
+reply, made while he was but a priest, to the Brazilian Archbishop
+Feijo, upon this very subject, in which it was alleged that such a
+relaxation of discipline would be an abandonment of the "integrity of
+the church." Yet without something of the kind, it is thought that a
+very extensive schism in catholic Germany will be inevitable.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><i>Der Mensch im Spiegel der Natur</i> (Man in the Mirror of Nature), is an
+excellent little work for popular use, by Mr. E. A. Rossm&auml;ssler,
+published at Leipzic, in two neat volumes, with wood-cuts. It sets
+forth, in the most attractive form, the elementary facts of science,
+they being ingeniously interwoven into a narrative of the journeys,
+friendships, and adventures of the author. The work well deserves a
+translation into English.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>A work of extreme interest to geologists is the <i>Gaea Norwegica</i>, edited
+by Professor <span class="smcap">Keilhau</span> of the Christiana University, and published at that
+place. The first volume is just completed. No country of Europe is more
+important in respect of geological science than Norway, and the labors
+of Professor Keilhau and his associates are of the most thorough and
+solid kind. The volume contains 516 pages folio. Cost in America $4.50.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>A <span class="smcap">German</span> nobleman lately wrote to the French Academy, offering to give
+that body a yearly income of 10,000 francs to be spent in two prizes,
+one of 5,000 francs for the best essay in defence of Catholicism, and
+another of the same sum for the best essay in defence of Absolutism. The
+Academy declined the offer.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>A <span class="smcap">System</span> of <i>Christian Ethics</i> has lately been published at Regensburg,
+by Dr. <span class="smcap">Werner</span>, Professor in the Catholic Theological Seminary of St.
+Polten. The writer holds that all virtue flows from the mystic fountain
+of regeneration, and is confirmed and supported solely by the sacraments
+of the church.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Wilhelm Meinhold</span>, author of the <i>Amber Witch</i>, lately the pastor of a
+parish in Pomerania, is now in Berlin, preparing for admission into the
+Roman Catholic Church. It is not long since he forfeited his place in
+the Protestant Church by a street fight, for which, we believe, he was
+imprisoned.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>The College of Rabbis, at Padua, offers 1000 florins ($400) as a prize
+for the best descriptive and critical work on the political and
+religious history of the Israelites from the first siege of Jerusalem to
+the time of the latest writers of the Talmud.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Robinson's</span> (<i>Talvi's</i>) History of the Colonization of America,
+originally published in the German language, has been translated by Mr.
+William Hazlitt, and printed in London.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Gedichte von Jeanne Marie</span> (Poems by Jeanne Marie) is the title of one of
+the latest products of the German muse. The authoress is well known and
+well liked by those readers of German novels who take delight in the
+genius of authoresses, and think ladies can write as well as men. Jeanne
+Marie has seen much, felt much, and thought almost if not quite as much
+as she has seen and felt. Her poetic culture is however still defective,
+and her stories are better than her lyrics. The latter lack finish and
+correctness, and abound in mere conceits rather than in genuine poetic
+images. Where she attempts simply to narrate an event in the ballad
+style she is more successful.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>A <span class="smcap">book</span> of curious historical interest is now in course of publication in
+Germany, the first volume of which has already made its appearance. It
+is the Diary of General Patrick Gorton, who served in Russia during a
+large part of the seventeenth century, where he attained the highest
+military rank. He was in the habit of noting every thing that passed
+around him, or with which he was connected, whether of a political,
+military, or personal nature. His field of service extended throughout
+the entire empire, and embraced the most important events in the reign
+of Peter the Great. He participated in the suppression of the corps of
+Strelitzes, made two campaigns against the Turks, was active in Peter's
+reorganization of the army, &amp;c., &amp;c. The first volume comes down to
+1678; the remainder will soon follow. As the whole was written without
+any design of being communicated to the world, it is especially valuable
+for its glimpses at the domestic habits of the country at that peculiar
+period.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">George Sand's New Drama</span>.&mdash;George Sand's <i>Claudie</i> has had a brilliant
+fortune at Paris, where it was first performed the second week in
+January. It is a drama of peasant life, in three acts, in prose. Jules
+Janin says of it: "The success of Claudie is a true, sincere, and
+energetic success. It has impassioned the calmest souls; it has calmed
+the most agitated. This poem is a veritable festival, full of the rustic
+delights of the country, of the most honorable passions of the human
+heart, of the noblest sentiments. Add to this, a charm altogether new, a
+charm both inspired and inspiring, in the style, which is reason and
+good sense in the most delicious costume. Neither effort nor study is
+there, but only that simplicity so much sought for in the most precious
+passages of <i>Daphnis and Chloe</i> translated to the Marivaux by Amyot
+himself. The piece was listened to with ravishment. There was universal
+praise among the audience, an inexpressible abundance of tears, of
+laughter, of gayety, of sighs, of words fitly spoken, of eloquent
+silence." Of the plot we take the following account from an article by
+Paul de Musset: From the beginning we feel the air of the country, the
+harvest, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_450" id="Page_450">[Pg 450]</a></span> the sun of August. Farmer Fauveau is preparing to pay the
+harvesters. His employer, Dame Rose, a young and pretty widow, has just
+returned from the city, where she had been for a lawsuit. Fauveau, a
+shrewd but good-natured man, skilfully calls her attention to the sad
+and agitated air of his son, who is no doubt in love with some one, and
+with whom can it be except his charming mistress? Dame Rose admits that
+Sylvain Fauveau is a handsome fellow, and a good and intelligent
+workman, who would manage affairs with discretion, but he would be
+jealous of his wife. Jealousy, replies the old man, is a proof of love,
+and so Dame Rose begins to cherish the idea that Sylvain is in love with
+her. This is not true, but the old man has said it purposely. He
+suspects Sylvain of being in love with Claudie, a simple laborer in the
+harvest field, without a penny, and gaining her living, with no other
+relative than a grandfather of eighty, who may any day become a charge
+upon her little earnings. Claudie comes in from work with her
+grandfather, and they ask for their pay, the harvest being finished, and
+it being six leagues to their home. They are paid, and Sylvain takes
+care that they shall receive more than his father intends, and that they
+shall be invited to the harvest festival. Claudie aids in the
+preparations, and Sylvain, reproaching her tenderly for working after a
+day so fatiguing, takes from her the severer part of the duties she has
+undertaken. But she only replies in monosyllables, and does not turn her
+eyes from the plates and other utensils she is engaged with. Sylvain,
+troubled by this, withdraws, murmuring at her coldness and indifference.
+We soon see the cause of this. A young peasant appears. It is the
+handsome Denis Ronciat, the beau and cajoler of the village girls, who
+utters an exclamation of surprise. A brief explanation informs us that
+Denis was betrothed to Claudie when she was fifteen, that he had
+deceived and abandoned her like a villain, leaving her a child, which
+had since died. This explains the gloomy air of Claudie, her
+indifference to the advances of Sylvain, and her almost fierce
+determination never to marry. To complete his outrages, Denis boldly
+avows his intention to marry Dame Rose, and offers money to her he has
+betrayed, in order to bribe her to silence. The band of harvesters
+appears, bearing in triumph the last sheaf, adorned with flowers and
+ribbons. The grandfather, Remy, full of joy, pronounces a discourse of
+rude and simple eloquence on the beneficence of Providence, and of the
+sun He causes to shine, after which a collection is proposed in favor of
+the orator and his granddaughter. Every one gives his offering. Dame
+Rose puts in a new five-franc piece, the father Fauveau a penny, Sylvain
+his watch, wishing that it were his heart, a child brings an apple, and
+finally the last contributor approaches. This is Denis Ronciat: seeing
+the seducer of his child, the indignation of the old man breaks out, he
+rejects the offering, and falls as if struck with apoplexy, pronouncing
+a sort of mysterious malediction, which freezes with horror all who hear
+it. In the second act Claudie is still at the farm, her grandfather
+having been sick there for two months. She has been engaged as a servant
+to the farmer Fauveau, but has not given the least hope to Sylvain, who
+has been constant in his attentions. Dame Rose, in the mean time, has
+fallen in love with him, and is astonished that he has not declared
+himself. Denis Ronciat, seeing his rival preferred, explains to the rich
+widow why the lover she desires will not present himself, and from
+vengeance and vanity divulges the secret of poor Claudie. Here we expect
+a storm of insults and reproaches to fall on the head of the dishonored
+girl. But, as in the rest of the work, the author has laid aside the
+ordinary traditions, customs, and conventionalities, to draw from the
+resources of her own genius. While all are preparing to expel the
+domestic who has deceived every body by her air of candor and innocence,
+the old man, whose reason has been wandering, listens. He recalls his
+recollections, and his presence of mind returns at the critical moment.
+He rises, throws his arms around his granddaughter, and naively recounts
+the story of the seduction and abandonment of Claudie: how she believed
+in Denis, and gave him her heart without distrust; how Denis shamefully
+abused her confidence, and abandoned her, when duty obliged him more
+than ever to be faithful. The old man adds that he himself had neither
+reproached nor cursed her, but that he consoled her, that he took her
+child upon his knees, and loved it, and despaired when it died. Finally
+he demands who would presume to be severer toward his child, and feel
+her wrong more keenly than he. His simplicity, magnanimity, and
+goodness, overpower all who hear him. A more gentle sentiment than even
+respect and pity takes possession of every heart. The devotion of the
+old man raises the fallen girl, and in the admiration he inspires the
+fault of Claudie is almost forgotten. But it is too late. The old man
+takes the arm of his daughter, and leads her away with him. When the
+curtain rises for the last scene, Dame Rose has retained Claudie and her
+grandfather at the house, a riot in the village having prevented their
+departure. Denis has come near being stoned to death. Finally he
+consents to repair his crime by marrying her he has betrayed. He is
+refused. Then Sylvain offers himself to Claudie, but she says she is
+unworthy of him, and refuses obstinately. Dame Rose, Fauveau, and even
+Sylvain's mother, try vainly to change her resolution. The old man at
+last decides, by saying that he reads her soul, and knows that she loves
+Sylvain. His authority makes her give a silent consent, and here the
+curtain falls. <i>Claudie</i> has been brought out in elegant form by a
+Parisian publisher. Why should not some poet attempt a version into
+English?<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_451" id="Page_451">[Pg 451]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>Several new Plays and Operas have lately attracted attention in Paris.
+<i>Paillasse</i>, in five acts, by MM. Dennery and Marc Fournier, produced at
+the <i>Gaiet&eacute;</i> in November, was one of the greatest hits during the latter
+part of 1850. The character of the conventional French mountebank,
+Paillasse, the vagabond juggler of fairs and streets, was regarded as
+one of the finest creations of Frederic Lemaitre, and in one of the
+Christmas <i>revues</i> a symbol of the piece passed before the eyes of the
+audience as one of the types of the past year. It has since been brought
+out in London with quite as much success, Madame Celeste (the quondam
+star of our <i>Bowery</i>?) in the character of the wife of the mountebank.
+The musical season at Paris has been signalized by the production of two
+successful operas. <i>L'Enfante Prodigue</i> of Auber is running a prosperous
+career at the <i>Acad&eacute;mie de Musique</i>. General opinion speaks highly of
+the music, and the piece appears to be one of the most ingenious of M.
+Scribe. At the <i>Opera Comique</i> another opera by Scribe and Halevy, <i>La
+Dame de Pique</i>, has been brought out with success. The <i>libretto</i>, taken
+from a Russian tale, translated by M. Merim&eacute;e, is one of the most
+fantastic Scribe has constructed. It is founded on an old story about
+the Russian Empress Elizabeth, who had found out the secret of
+invariably winning at play by means of three cards, of which the Queen
+of Spades (<i>la Dame de Pique</i>) was one.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">M. Combet</span>, a Protestant clergyman of Cevennes, has just published at
+Paris in three volumes a work of great interest and value, under the
+title of <i>Histoire de France sous le regne de Henry III. par Mazerai</i>.
+It comprises a full, conscientious and philosophic account of the French
+religious civil wars, from the beginning of the Reformation down to the
+establishment of religious liberty under the Consulate. To the original
+work of Mazerai, M. Combet has prefixed an elaborate introduction, while
+he has added in the form of an appendix whatever relates to more recent
+matters, with copious notes and commentaries. The whole constitutes an
+invaluable contribution to the history of the modern religious movement.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>Some new contributions to the history of labor have just appeared at
+Paris. The most important is the <i>Histoire de la Classe ouvriere depuis
+l'esclave jusqu'au Proletaire de nos Jours</i>, by M. Robert (du Var), four
+volumes. Less general and comprehensive in its aim is <i>Le Livre d'Or des
+Metiers, Histoire des Corporations ouvrieres</i>, by Paul Lacroix and Ferd.
+Serre, six volumes. Both these books are written without an intention to
+establish any special theory or system.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">The Rev. G. R. Gleig</span>, author of <i>The Subaltern's Furlough, Saratoga</i>,
+&amp;c., is now Inspector-General of Military Schools, and lives in London.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Leopold Ranke</span>, whose "Lives of the Popes of Rome" is familiar to
+American readers, has lately discovered in the National Library at Paris
+an important long lost MS., by the Cardinal Richelieu. In the MS.
+memoirs of the Cardinal, deposited at the Office for Foreign Affairs, an
+imperfection has existed, in the total absence of a series of leaves
+from the most interesting part of the collection. These appear to have
+been found accidentally, by M. Ranke, in a bundle of papers, gathered
+from some of the old mansions in Saint Germains. It has been a disputed
+question whether Richelieu was the real author of the works under his
+name; whether he availed himself of the literary abilities of others,
+contributing no more from his own resources than here and there an
+observation or a fact. These disputes have had reference to the Memoirs,
+the Testament, and the <i>Histoire de la M&egrave;re et du Fils</i>; for there seems
+to be good reason for believing that the books published previous to his
+political elevation, such as the <i>De la Perfection du Chr&eacute;tien</i>, the
+theological tracts, and his political treatise of 1614, were written by
+him with no more than the ordinary aids of authorship. It is possible
+that the fragment, discovered by M. Ranke, may afford additional
+evidence on this curious subject, which was lately debated in the
+Academy.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>Of <i>bad spelling</i> George Sand writes, <i>apropos</i> of some newspaper
+controversy in Paris, that so far from bad spelling being a proof of
+want of capacity, she has a letter of Jean Jacques Rousseau, in which
+there are ten faults of spelling in three lines. Moreover, she assures
+us, that she herself frequently makes a <i>lapsus penn&aelig;</i> for which a
+school-boy would be chastised.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Lola Montes</span> has made her <i>debut</i> in the literary arena, by the
+publication in the <i>feuilleton</i> of a daily newspaper of the first
+portion of what she calls her "Memoirs:" a <i>quasi</i>-impertinent epistle
+to the ex-king of Bavaria. Since, the publication has been suspended. It
+promised merely scandal, without wit.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">The Count de Montalembert</span> has been elected a member of the French
+Academy, in place of M. Droz. The election gives little satisfaction
+outside the Institute; but the Count is not without eminence as a man of
+letters. Some of his religious tracts are written with great eloquence
+and pungency.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>The seventh and last volume of the <i>Glossarium Mediae et Infimae
+Latinitatis</i> has just been published by the Didots at Paris. It is a
+perfect repertory of information as to the middle ages, and cannot be
+dispensed with by any one who aims to study the institutions, history,
+and monuments of that period.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>A complete grammar of the Coptic language has been brought out at
+Berlin, by Professor <span class="smcap">Schwartze</span>.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_452" id="Page_452">[Pg 452]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">The Italian Revolution</span>.&mdash;Books relating to the late revolution in Italy
+and the events which preceded it are now published in that country in
+considerable numbers. One by Farini, <i>Lo Stato Romano dall' anno 1815
+all' anno 1850</i>, not yet completed, only two volumes having been
+published, will be found valuable to the future historian. Its author is
+a constitutionalist, and treats the reign of Pius IX. strictly from that
+stand-point. His book must therefore be read with discretion. With the
+third volume, which will soon appear, will be issued a second edition of
+the first two volumes. Marquis F. A. Gualtiero of Orvieto has just
+brought out at Florence the first volume of a large work, <i>Gli Ultimenti
+Rivolgimenti Italiani, Memorie Storiche con Documenti Inediti</i>. This is
+excellent in respect to the pre-revolutionary events, giving a great
+variety of information as to persons as well as circumstances, in
+considerable detail. It is to be followed by an account of the
+revolution itself, treated of course in the same manner. It hardly need
+be said that the Marquis must fail to do justice to Mazzini and the
+republicans. An elaborate and able article reviewing the whole question
+has lately appeared in the <i>Rivista Italiana</i>, from the pen of Signor
+Berti. One of the best books yet produced on the revolutionary side is
+General Pepe's <i>Guerres d'Italie</i>.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>We noticed last month the anniversary meeting of the Arch&aelig;ological
+Institute at Rome. The same society has just published its Annals, or
+Annual Memoirs, for 1850, a volume of great value and interest. It
+contains Lanza's report on the excavations at Salona, continued down to
+the year 1848. An essay is contributed by Canina upon the three temples
+of Pietas, Spes, and Juno Sospita, on whose ruins is built the church of
+San Nicola <i>in carcere</i>, new remains of the temples having been
+discovered in 1848. The statue of Apoxyomenos, found a year since at
+Trastavere, as well as the series of Amazons <i>in relievo</i> now in the
+British Museum, which Emil Braun takes to be relics of the famous
+Mausoleum, are treated at length. A little triangular candelabra, found
+in the Baths of Titus, is made interesting from the relation of the
+figures upon it to the worship of Apollo. The series of Etruscan
+frescoes has been greatly enriched by the pictures in two tombs, one of
+which was discovered in 1846 by A. Francois, while the other was then
+for the first time copied and rescued from entire oblivion. These
+pictures, which, like most monumental works, represent funeral feasts
+and games, according to Braun, are valuable for a mass of details
+relating to antique athletic art, which were before unknown. A Pompeiian
+fresco, representing the twelve gods, hitherto little esteemed, is made
+the subject of a profound investigation by E. Gerhard. Among the essays
+on vases, a long one by Welcker deserves especial mention. It discusses
+all the known representations of the Death of Troilus. The sphere of
+numismatics is filled by a long essay by Cavedoni on the Roman coins of
+the time of Augustus. There are also many other articles of no less
+interest to scholars, antiquaries, and artists.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">M. Antoine D'Abbadie</span> received not long ago from President Bonaparte, the
+decoration of the Legion of Honor, for alleged geographical discoveries
+in Africa. An "Inquiry" into M. Abbadie's journey has just appeared in
+London, from the hand of Dr. Charles T. Beke, and it is not impossible
+that the traveller will turn out a Damburger or a Hunter. Dr. Beke is an
+Englishman; D'Abbadie, an Irishman by birth, but a Frenchman by name,
+education and allegiance. The latter professes to have been the first
+European who ever put foot in the African Kingdom of Kaffa; the former
+gives reasons for doubting his statements entirely, and does not believe
+the Frenchman has even been in the country he describes at all.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>The great oriental scholar Monsignore <span class="smcap">Molsa</span> has been appointed to the
+office of Chief Guardian of the Vatican Library, in the room of M.
+Laureani, whose melancholy death occurred a few months ago; and the
+Abate Martinucci has been nominated to fill the office of sub-chief,
+which is one of very considerable importance, and has hitherto been
+filled by some of the most eminent of Italian scholars.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>We are to have from Paris a hitherto unpublished ode of <span class="smcap">Piron</span>, the
+well-known author of <i>La Metromanie</i>. It is entitled <i>Les Confessions de
+mon Oreiller</i>, (Confessions of my Pillow,) and is considered by
+connoisseurs to be decidedly authentic. It is signed and headed thus:
+"To be given to the public a hundred years after my death."</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>The vacancy occasioned by the death of M. <span class="smcap">Alban de Villeneuve-Bargemont</span>,
+in the list of members of the French Academy of Moral and Political
+Sciences, has been filled by the election of M. <span class="smcap">Louis Reybaud</span>, the
+author of <i>Jerome Paturot</i>, and husband of Madame Reybaud, who wrote the
+charming novels of <i>Le Cadet de Calabriere</i>, <i>Helena</i>, &amp;c.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>The sons of Rossi, the distinguished economist, and less distinguished
+minister of Pius IX., in which capacity he was assassinated, have
+published the third volume of his <i>Cours d'Economie Politique</i>. It
+treats of the distribution of wealth, and is marked by the same ability
+and tendencies as the volumes which preceded it, which were upon the
+production of riches.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>H. <span class="smcap">Bailliere</span>, the eminent publisher, of Paris, has established a branch
+of his house at 169 Fulton street, New-York, where American scholars may
+obtain all the best scientific literature of the time in suitable
+editions and at reasonable prices.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_453" id="Page_453">[Pg 453]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>Of <span class="smcap">Mr. James Bailey</span>, and the blasphemous rant and fustian and crude
+speculation which make up his poem of "Festus," which has had such
+extraordinary popularity among our transcendentalists, and which
+Shakspeare Hudson so excellently well reviewed in the <i>Whig Review</i> a
+year or two ago, we think a correspondent of <i>The Tribune</i> speaks justly
+in the following extract from a letter dated at Nottingham, in England:</p>
+
+<p>"Apropos of Nottingham, I have seen Bailey, the author of 'Festus.' His
+father is proprietor of the <i>Nottingham Mercury</i>, and the editorial
+department rests with him. He is a heavy, thick set sort of man; of a
+stature below the middle size; complexion dark; and, in years about
+eight and thirty. His physiognomy would be clownish in expression, if
+his eyes did not redeem his other features. He spoke of 'Festus,' and of
+its fame in America, of which he seemed very proud. In England, it has
+only reached the third edition, while eight or nine have been published
+in the States. You know my opinion of the work. It is as far from being
+a great poem as the Thames, compared with the Mississippi or the Ohio,
+is from being a great river. Anxiously, anxiously have I sought one
+striking original idea in the whole poem (appalling in its length), but
+to no purpose. The transcendental literature of Germany absorbs all
+that, at first glance, arrests the attention. Without learning,
+imagination, or the attraction of a beautiful metre (like that of
+Tennyson's 'Princess'), I am at a loss to know what has given this poem
+its notoriety. Not its daring speculation, surely, for it is but a timid
+compromise between Orthodoxy and Universalism."</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">H. F. Clinton</span> has published in London the concluding volume of his
+<i>Fasti Romani</i>: the civil and literary chronology of Rome and
+Constantinople from the death of Augustus to the death of Heraclius. The
+first volume, containing the chronological tables, was published in
+1845, and formed a continuation of the <i>Fasti Hellenici</i>, by the same
+author. It came down to the death of Justin II., <span class="smcap">a. d.</span> 578. The present
+volume continues the tables from the latter date to the death of
+Heraclius, <span class="smcap">a. d.</span> 641; but the greater part of it consists of a series of
+learned dissertations on various points connected with the civil and
+literary history of the Roman and Byzantine empires.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Captain J. D. Cunningham</span>, author of the "History of the Sikhs," who was
+dismissed from his political situation at Bhopal, by orders of the Court
+of Directors, for having published an official correspondence, without
+the permission of his immediate superiors, has been recalled to public
+employment by the Governor-General of India, Lord Dalhousie having just
+appointed him general superintending engineer in the north-western
+provinces.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Hepworth Dixon</span>, author of "Howard and the Prison-World of Europe,"
+has published in London a Life of William Penn, which will be
+republished immediately by Lea &amp; Blanchard of Philadelphia.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">The Literary Women</span> of England were never so active as now. Mrs. Crowe
+has commenced in <i>The Palladium</i> magazine a new novel entitled <i>Estelle
+Silvestre</i>. Miss Anne G. Greene has published the third volume of her
+<i>Lives of the Princesses of England</i>; Mrs. David Ogilvy, <i>Traditions of
+Tuscany</i>; Mrs. Gordon, <i>Musgrave, a Story of Gilsland Spa</i>; Maria de la
+Vaye, <i>Eugenie, the Young Laundress of the Bastille</i>; Mrs. Norton, a new
+poem; the author of "Olivia," <i>Sir Philip Hetherington</i>; Mrs. Ward,
+<i>Helen Charteris, or Sayings and Doings in a Cathedral Town</i>; Mrs.
+Hubbach, niece of the celebrated Miss Austen, <i>The Wife's Sister, or the
+Forbidden Marriage</i>; Mrs. Jameson, <i>Legends of the Madonna</i>, forming the
+conclusion of her series illustrating Sacred and Legendary Art; the
+authoress of "Mary Powell" has commenced in <i>Sharpe's Magazine</i> a new
+work of the same description, under the title of <i>The Household of Sir
+Thomas More</i>.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Miss Martineau</span> began on the first of February, a serial work under the
+title of "Half a Century of the British Empire; a History of the Kingdom
+and the People, from 1800 to 1850." It will be in six volumes, and it is
+intended to present, in handsome octavos at a rate of extraordinary
+cheapness, a connected narrative of the most important era in the
+history of the modern world. The work of Macaulay professes to be "the
+history of England from the accession of King James the Second down to
+the time which is within the memory of men still living." "Half a
+Century of the British Empire," will chiefly deal with events and states
+of society during a period in which many of our contemporaries have
+lived and acted.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>The correspondence of <span class="smcap">Robert Sutton</span>, Lord <span class="smcap">Lexington</span>, British Minister at
+Vienna in 1694, has just been published by Murray in London, having
+recently been discovered in the library of the Suttons, at Kilham. There
+is not much absolute value in their contents, historically speaking; but
+the letters supply several striking and some amusing illustrations of
+characters already known in history, and are a contribution really
+important to the history of manners and society at the seventeenth
+century. The non-official letters are in this respect most curious and
+entertaining.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>Pensions of &pound;100 a year each have been granted in England to Mrs.
+Belzoni, the aged widow of the celebrated traveller; and to Mr. Poole,
+the author of <i>Paul Pry</i>, and of many contributions to periodical
+literature, who is a great sufferer from bodily infirmities.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Captain Medwin</span>, whose book about Byron was once read by every body, and
+who for some time resided in this country, turns up in Holland, after an
+oblivion of several years. He contributes to the last number of the New
+Monthly an article entitled, <i>Hawking at Loo</i>.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_454" id="Page_454">[Pg 454]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">John Clare</span>, the peasant poet, sometimes called the "rural Burns," is now
+in the Lunatic Asylum at Northampton. There is much sweetness in some of
+poor Clare's verses, of which four volumes appeared many years ago. We
+believe he was among the proteges of Southey. His complaints to visitors
+of the madhouse are commonly of the injustice done to him by the public
+in not recognizing him, instead of Scott and Byron, as the author of
+"Marmion" and "Don Juan," and in refusing him the honor of having gained
+the battle of Waterloo. Clare was the writer, though not generally known
+as such, of the lines, "Here we meet too soon to part"&mdash;which, set to
+one of Rossini's most beautiful airs, were some time exceedingly
+popular.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>A new volume of the writings of De Quincey has just been published by
+Ticknor, Reed &amp; Fields, of Boston. It contains, with other admirable
+papers, those "On the Knocking at the Gate, in Macbeth," "Murder
+considered as one of the Fine Arts," "Joan of Arc," and "Dinners, Real
+and Reputed." These works of one of the greatest of living authors, have
+never before been collected, and the publishers confer a most acceptable
+benefit by their edition of them. We have from the same house a copy of
+the best English version of "Faust," that of Hayward.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton</span> is publishing a complete collection of his
+Poems and Dramas. This edition will include several pieces not hitherto
+published, and those that have appeared before will receive the author's
+last corrections and revision. Each volume will be illustrated with an
+appropriate vignette title; and the first will contain, in addition, a
+portrait, from a painting by Maclise.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>One of the most delightful books in natural history that we have ever
+seen is "Episodes of Insect Life," recently published in England, and
+now in the press of Mr. Redfield, in this city. It is divided into three
+"scenes," representing spring, summer, and autumn, and is profusely and
+skilfully illustrated. It is even more entertaining than Lord Brougham's
+Dialogues on Instinct, which we had regarded as the pleasantest work in
+such studies.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dr. Achilli</span>, whose imprisonment in the Roman Inquisition is a familiar
+story, has published "Dealings with the Inquisition, or Papal Rome, her
+Priests and her Jesuits; with Important Disclosures." It is an
+autobiography.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Samuel Bailey</span>, whose "Essays on the Pursuit of Truth and on the Progress
+of Knowledge," "Essays on the Formation and Publication of Opinions,"
+&amp;c., have been largely read in this country, has just published a volume
+entitled, "The Theory of Reasoning, with Comments on the Principal
+Points of Scholastic Logic."</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Major Poussin's</span> "United States, their Power and Progress," a translation
+of <i>La Puissance Americaine</i>, by Edmund L. Du Barry, U. S. N., has been
+published in a large octavo of about five hundred pages, by Lippencott,
+Grambo, &amp; Co., of Philadelphia. We take the opportunity to give some
+account of the author.</p>
+
+<p>Guillaume Tell Poussin was born in the autumn of the year 1796 in the
+department of the Seine and Oise, in France. His father was a painter of
+some celebrity, who has left many fine works in the galleries of
+Versailles and Rouen. Introduced, while a child, to the favor of
+Napoleon, it was ordered by a special decree that, as a descendant of
+the great Nicholas Poussin, whose works are among the chief glories of
+French art, William Tell Poussin should be educated at the imperial
+school of Rouen. There he spent seven years, and passed his examination
+for admission to the Polytechnic school. He entered this national
+academy of engineering, and in 1814, while yet a youth, distinguished
+himself by his patriotic spirit, which prompted him to join his comrades
+in the defence of the walls of Paris against an invading enemy. He was
+wounded at the village of Aubervilliers, in an attack against the
+combined force of British and Russian troops who occupied that position;
+and after the surrender of Paris his feelings were so excited that he
+could not bring himself to acts of submission to the Bourbon family, but
+was arrested on account of his opinions, and released only on the
+intervention of powerful friends. He soon embarked for America, and
+arrived at New-York in November, 1815, having for recommendation his
+ardent desire to be useful and a decided love of liberty. After a short
+residence in New-York he proceeded to Philadelphia, where he expected to
+meet with some encouragement in his profession as an engineer. Here he
+became acquainted with Mr. Fairman, the engraver, and worked for him a
+few months with advantage, boarding meanwhile at a French house, into
+which the landlady received him in consideration of the devotion of his
+leisure to the instruction of her children. The next spring he removed
+to Washington, where he had heard that he could be profitably employed
+in the rebuilding of the capitol, which the British army had destroyed
+in the late war. He now worked as an architect for about a year, when,
+several leading senators and representatives having become acquainted
+with him, and, taking a particular interest in him for his earnest and
+manly character and the remarkable abilities he had evinced as an
+engineer, in the incidental opportunities presented by his employment as
+an architect, they signed a petition to President Madison for his
+admission to the corps of Topographical Engineers, which was then to be
+organized, and he was at once transferred to the United States Army. A
+short time after, General Bernard, whom Mr. Crawford, the American
+Minister at Paris, had engaged to be the chief of the Topographical
+Engineers, arrived in Washington, and assuming his office<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_455" id="Page_455">[Pg 455]</a></span> proceeded to
+the necessary preparations for that survey of the physical resources of
+our territory for national defence, and for tracing the lines required
+to form a complete base of operations in time of war, on the assailable
+portions of our frontier, for which the service had been instituted.
+Before leaving France, General Bernard had received especial
+recommendations from the friends of young Poussin to look after his
+interests, and when they met, therefore, their acquaintance was made on
+the most intimate and agreeable terms on both sides. Upon the
+application of General Bernard to the Secretary of War, Poussin was
+attached to his person as an aid-de-camp, and left Washington with him
+for a military reconnaissance of the coast on the Gulf of Mexico, and of
+the delta of the Mississippi. They spent a year and a half upon their
+important duties, in New Orleans and its vicinity, regardless of the
+dangers of that climate, and in 1817 returned to the seat of government
+and submitted to the President a particular and elaborate memoir of
+their operations. It was upon this first report, presented by the
+Executive, on the Military Defences of the United States,&mdash;a report
+drawn up in a very large degree by the hand of M. Poussin, and
+illustrated throughout with his discovery and suggestion,&mdash;that
+Congress, by an almost unanimous vote, authorized the erection of the
+great line of our military defences, adopting the recommendations of the
+commissioner without even the slightest alteration. The Board of
+Military Engineers entered subsequently on the yearly execution of their
+important duty of examining the coast previous to determining the actual
+sites and descriptions of the works of defence which they afterwards
+delineated. The young topographical engineer continued in his arduous
+scientific labors, and thus contributed largely in the perfecting of
+that great national scheme. It was in these military operations, and
+afterwards in the surveys for roads and canals, which, under the
+supervision of a Board of Internal Improvements, where confided to a
+portion of the same officers, assisted by civil engineers, that Poussin
+rendered himself so efficient as a practical and scientific surveyor,
+and became so perfectly familiar with all the internal resources of our
+extensive country, which he had thus most remarkable opportunities to
+study and appreciate, by crossing it in all directions, and, in fact, by
+visiting every state, and by following up and down every valley and
+river of the eastern half of the continent. Few men have had such
+occasion of studying <i>de visu</i> the extent and resources of the republic;
+and the intelligent readers of the volume before us will acknowledge,
+that few persons have shown themselves more conversant with its
+astonishing advancement. His first publication was a description of the
+works to which he had contributed, under the title of "A History of the
+Internal Improvements of the United States;" his second, an account of
+all the railroads in this country, which had considerable influence in
+developing in Europe a disposition toward our policy in this respect,
+and entitles Major Poussin to the gratitude of all lovers of rapid and
+safe communication. It was reproduced in Belgium and Germany, and has
+long been a textbook upon its subject in those countries, as well as in
+France. His third work was the one now translated, <i>La Puissance
+Americaine</i>, in which he has displayed, most emphatically, his
+admiration of our institutions, and offered them as examples to
+communities aspiring after rational liberty. It may be said of it, that
+it is the American system rendered popular by practical and convincing
+illustrations.</p>
+
+<p>Major Poussin returned to France early in 1832, in the hope to co&ouml;perate
+in rendering popular in his own country some of the political
+institutions of the United States, to which he always attributed our
+great prosperity; but he was not fortunate enough to be admitted to
+active official life. He employed himself in his profession of surveyor,
+and superintended several important public works, and frequently in
+pamphlets and in contributions to the journals, labored for the
+dissemination of American ideas. At last, when the Revolution of
+February, 1848, broke out, he was chosen, with the greatest unanimity by
+the Provisional Government, to be the Representative of Republican
+France near the Government of the United States. It was deemed the
+highest compliment of which France was capable, that she sent as her
+minister the citizen most conversant with our affairs, and most eminent
+for admiration of our institutions. His arrival in this country, and the
+misunderstanding with the cabinet at Washington, which resulted in his
+recall by President Bonaparte, cannot have been forgotten by the
+observant reader. We believe that few who have carefully studied the
+conduct of Major Poussin in that affair, will be disposed, in the
+slightest degree, to censure him, while the entire history will readily
+be consigned to oblivion by the American who is in any degree sensitive
+upon the subject of our national honor.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Guillaumin et Cie</span>, the well known Parisian publishers, are about to add
+to their <i>Collection des Principaux Economistes</i> several American works
+in this department. One volume, at least, will be devoted to Henry C.
+Carey's masterly compositions, with a preface and commentaries; another
+volume will be given to the Free Trade party, and will embrace the best
+things of Mr. Walker, Mr. Raguet, Mr. Cardozo, Henry Middleton, Dr.
+Wayland, &amp;c.; and essays by Mr. Phillips, Horace Greeley, and other
+Protectionists, will probably constitute another. The <i>Collection</i> now
+embraces Quesnay, Turgot, Dupont Nemours, Le Tronne, the Says, Galliani,
+de Montyon, Condillac, Lavoisier, Adam Smith, Hume, Ricardo, Malthus,
+Bentham, and a dozen more. The only American name in the list is that of
+Franklin quoted in the first volume of the <i>Melanges</i>, edited by Daire
+and Molinari.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_456" id="Page_456">[Pg 456]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Joseph Gales</span>, of the <i>National Intelligencer</i>, has lately published
+several leading articles of such compactness and completeness, such
+weight and dignity, as distinguish only the greatest compositions in
+philosophy and upon affairs. The intellectual force acting through the
+press of this country is habitually underrated. There are a dozen
+journals here which may be advantageously compared with any in Europe,
+with the single exception of the <i>Times</i>. It would perhaps seem
+invidious to point them out, from the greater number that are conducted
+with ability and energy; but it will not be objected by any one who has
+the right to express an opinion in the case, if we say that Mr. Gales is
+of the first rank of public men who have ever influenced or illustrated
+the course of events by written eloquence or argument. The leading
+articles from his hand which in the last twenty-five years have appeared
+in the National Intelligencer, would fill many volumes; and if collected
+and so submitted to one view, they would astonish by their variety, by
+the extraordinary resources of information which they evince, by their
+soundness of logic, elevation of sentiment, and uniform adaptation to
+their several purposes. If they lack the pungent wit, and fiery energy
+of phrase, and adroitly venomous spirit of "Junius," they have, with
+their nobler calmness and uniform candor, a far wider sweep, a subtler
+apprehension of consequences, and a more statesmanlike aim and capacity.
+The diction of "Junius" was calculated to arrest attention, by its
+glitter and strength, and by its freshness; for it was in style, after
+all, that he was most creative, and since his style has by imitation
+become familiar, it is for the mystery of their authorship only that his
+works have continued eminence. As materials for history, and as
+suggestive guides of policy, we have in American literature very few
+works so important as the leading articles of Joseph Gales would
+constitute, fitly arranged, and illustrated by such notes as he could
+readily furnish, necessary now on account of the time since some of them
+were originally printed.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>The <span class="smcap">Rev. Henry T. Cheever's</span> "Whale and his Captors," (published last
+year by the Harpers,) has been reprinted in London under the title of
+"The Whaleman's Adventures in the Northern Ocean," with a highly and
+justly commendatory introduction by the Rev. W. Scoresby, D.D. F.R.S. We
+have great pleasure in recording evidences of the popularity of such
+works as Mr. Cheever's. They have a manly as well as a Christian spirit,
+and are needed to counteract the influences of the many infidel books in
+which the effects of the Christian civilization in the Island World are
+systematically misrepresented. We learn that Mr. Cheever is now engaged
+upon "The Autobiography of Captain Obadiah Conger," who was fifty years
+a mariner from the port of New-York. He is editing the MS. of the
+deceased sailor for the Harpers.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Job R. Tyson</span>, whose careful researches respecting the colonial
+history of Pennsylvania have illustrated his abilities and his
+predilections in this line, is about to proceed to Europe, for the
+consultation of certain documents connected with the subject,
+preparatory to the publication of his "History of the American
+Colonies," a work in which, doubtless, he will not be liable to the
+reproach of histories written by New-Englanders, that they exaggerate
+the virtues and the influence of the Puritans. Mr. Tyson is of the best
+stock of the Philadelphia Quakers, and the traditional fame of his party
+will not suffer in his hands.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Henry James</span>, the author of "Moralism and Christianity," must
+certainly be regarded by all who come into his fit audience as one of
+the greatest living masters of metaphysics. Mr. James has never been
+mentioned in the <i>North American Review</i>; but then, that peculiarly
+national work has not in all its seventy volumes an article upon
+Jonathan Edwards, whom Robert Hall, Dr. Chalmers, Dugald Stuart, Sir
+James Mackintosh, Kant, Cousin, and a hundred others scarcely less
+famous, have regarded as the chief glory in our intellectual firmament;
+it has never let its light shine upon the pages of Legar&eacute;; it has
+preserved the most profound silence respecting Henry Carey, William R.
+Williams, and Addison Alexander; so that it must not be considered
+altogether conclusive as to Mr. James's merits that he has not had the
+seal of the <i>North American's</i> approval. We regard him as one of the
+great metaphysicians of the time, not because, like Comte, he has
+evolved with irresistible power and majestic order any grand and
+complete system, but because he has brought to the discussion of the few
+questions he has attempted, so independent a spirit, so pure a method,
+such expansive humanity, and such ample resources of learning, as
+separately claim admiration, and combined, constitute a teacher of the
+most dignified rank, who can and will influence the world. We do not
+altogether agree with Mr. James; on the contrary, we have been regarded
+as particularly grim in our conservatism; but we are none the less
+sensible of Mr. James's surpassing merits as a writer upon the
+philosophy of society. We dedicate this paragraph to him on account of
+the series of lectures he has just delivered in New-York, upon "The
+Symbolism of Property," "Democracy and its Issues," "The Harmony of
+Nature and Revelation," "The Past and Future Churches," &amp;c. We
+understand that these splendid dissertations will be given to the public
+in the more acceptable form of a volume. The popular lecture is not a
+suitable medium for such discussions, or certainly not for such
+thinking: one of Mr. James's sentences, diluted to the lecture standard,
+would serve for an entire discourse, which by those who should
+understand it, would be deemed of a singularly compact body, as compared
+with the average of such performances.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_457" id="Page_457">[Pg 457]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Professor Torrey</span>, of the University of Vermont, is one of the few
+contemporary scholars, whose names are likely to survive with those of
+the great teachers of past ages. He has translated Schilling's Discourse
+on Fine Arts, and other shorter compositions from the German; but his
+chief labor in this way is, a most laborious and admirably executed
+version of Neander's History of the Christian Religion and Church,
+published in Boston, and now being republished in London, by Bonn, with
+Notes, &amp;c., by the Rev. A. T. W. Morison, of Trinity College, Cambridge.</p>
+
+<p>Neander has sometimes been called, but with scarcely sufficient reason,
+the Niebuhr of ecclesiastical history. The only point in which he
+resembles the historian of Rome, is in that vast range of complete
+erudition which makes the Past in its minutest details as familiar as
+the Present, which is never content with derivative information, but
+traces back every tributary of the great stream of History to its
+remotest accessible source. In this respect the two eminent historians
+were alike, but with this point of resemblance the similarity ends.
+Neander is entirely free from that necessity under which Niebuhr
+labored, of regarding every recorded aggregate of facts as a mass of
+error which the modern philosophy of history was either to decompose
+into a myth, or reconstruct into a new form more consistent with
+preconceived theory.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>The Works of <span class="smcap">John C. Calhoun</span> will soon, through the wise munificence of
+the state of South Carolina, be accessible by the students of political
+philosophy and history in a complete and suitable edition, with such
+memoirs as are necessary for their illustration, and for the
+satisfaction of the natural curiosity respecting their illustrious
+author. The first volume will comprise Mr. Calhoun's elaborate
+<i>Disquisition on Government, and a Discourse on the Constitution and
+Government of the United States</i>, in which are displayed in a systematic
+manner the author's opinions upon the whole subject of the philosophy of
+government. These treatises were begun many years ago, and though they
+had not received the ultimate revision which was intended, they are very
+complete, and by the careful and judicious editing of Mr. Crall&eacute;, his
+intimate friend and confidential secretary, will perhaps appear as
+perfect in all their parts as if re-written by Mr. Calhoun himself.
+These are now nearly stereotyped; and to correct some misapprehensions
+which seem to prevail in South Carolina, we state that only the
+stereotype plates are made in New-York, there being no foundries for
+stereotyping in Charleston, where the book will be printed and
+published. For this purpose the Legislature has appropriated $10,000,
+which will meet the expenses for fifteen thousand copies of the first
+volume, all but five hundred of which, printed on large paper, for
+public libraries, will be sold for the benefit of Mr. Calhoun's family.
+Another volume will contain Mr. Calhoun's official papers, and another
+his Letters upon Public Affairs. This, we think, will be the most
+interesting of the series. Mr. Calhoun wrote always with sincerity and
+frankness, and his communications to his friends contain, much more than
+his speeches and state papers, the exhibitions of his feeling, his
+regrets, fears, expectations, and ambitions. His speeches will probably
+make three volumes; the collection formerly printed by the Harpers did
+not embrace half of them; many of them have never been printed at all,
+but (particularly some of his most elaborate performances previous to
+1817) exist in carefully prepared manuscript reports. All these speeches
+will be revised and illustrated by Mr. Crall&eacute;: and the series will be
+completed with the memoirs of the great senator, for which that
+gentleman has the most ample and interesting materials.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Archbishop Whateley's</span> very ingenious <i>Historical Doubts Respecting
+Napoleon Bonaparte</i>, is the cleverest book of the kind yet written, not
+excepting the high church pamphlet treating of the Archbishop's own
+existence in the same way. But the idea was not original with Whateley:
+Mr. William Biglow of Boston wrote half a century ago, <i>The Age of
+Freedom, being an Investigation of Good and Bad Government, in Imitation
+of Mr. Paine's Age of Reason</i>, and intended, by a similar style of
+argument respecting the Discovery of America, &amp;c., to expose that
+infidel's sophistries. We perceive that the <i>Life of Jesus</i>, by Dr.
+Strauss, has been met by another such performance in England, under the
+title of <i>Historical Certainties respecting the Early History of
+America, developed in a Critical Examination of the Book of the
+Chronicles of the Land of Ecnarf; By the Rev. Aristarchus Newlight,
+Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Giessen, Corresponding Member
+of the Theophilanthropic and Pantisocratical Societies of Leipsig, late
+Professor of all Religions in several distinguished Academies at Home
+and Abroad, &amp;c.</i> The author very satisfactorily disposes of the events
+between the first French Revolution and the Battle of Waterloo, by
+putting them through the "mythic" circle invented by Dr. Strauss. The
+joke is carried out with remarkable ingenuity, and with the most
+whimsical resources of learning. The good doctor finds, <i>a la Strauss, a
+nucleus</i>, for here and there a great tradition, but remorselessly wipes
+out as altogether incredible many of the most striking and familiar
+facts in modern history.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>Of Mr. <span class="smcap">Schoolcraft's</span> great work, which we have heretofore announced, the
+first part has just appeared from the press of Lippencott, Grambo &amp; Co.,
+in the most splendid quarto volume that has yet been printed in America.
+We shall take an early opportunity to do justice to this truly national
+performance and to its author.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_458" id="Page_458">[Pg 458]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dr. Robert Knox</span>&mdash;whose book of infidel rigmarole, <i>The Races of Men</i>,
+was lately reprinted by an American house which was never before and we
+trust will never again be guilty of such an indiscretion,&mdash;we understand
+is coming to New-York to lecture upon Ethnology. He has the "gift" of
+talking, and is said to have been popular as a demonstrator in anatomy;
+but we think it will be best for him to remain a while longer in
+England; the sham science of which his last book is a specimen is no
+longer, we believe, <i>profitable</i> in this country. The last <i>Princeton
+Review</i> says of <i>The Races of Men</i>:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"This book is fairly beneath argument or criticism. It is a
+curious medley of vanity, ignorance, malice, and fanaticism. At
+first it provoked our indignation, by the boldness and
+effrontery of its pretensions; but their very extravagance soon
+began to render them comical. It claims to originate views
+which are to overturn 'long received doctrines, national
+prejudices, stereotyped delusions,' &amp;c., while any tolerable
+scholar in this department is perfectly familiar with them all
+in the works of Virey, Courtet, Bory de St. Vincent, Edwards,
+La Marck, Quetelet, &amp;c. It has not the slightest claim to
+originality, except for the ridiculous ingenuity, with which it
+carries out the more cautious follies of these infidel
+philosophers, into the most glaring absurdities; and sets their
+ingenious physiological speculations, in broad contradiction to
+the most authentic and unquestioned truths of history. We
+certainly should not have noticed this thing at all, but for
+two reasons. In the first place, this subject is now rendered
+so interesting by the important bearings of modern ethnological
+researches, that some of our readers might be cheated by the
+mere title, and by newspaper puffs, out of the market price for
+the book; and in the second place, we wish to express our
+surprise and lift up our remonstrance against such issues from
+a quarter so respectable as that which has given this reprint
+to the American public. Whatever may be the social or
+scientific standing of any influential publishing house, we
+must say, that in our judgment they merit a deliberate rebuke
+from the true science of the country, for reprinting so crude
+and wretched a performance, to say nothing of the low malignity
+which it vents against the Christian sentiment and enterprise
+of an age like the present,&mdash;and even against men, who stand in
+the front ranks of science, because they happen to believe that
+the scriptures are entitled to some respect, as authentic
+records; or that other races of men are capable of being
+Christianized, beside the Teutonic. Cuvier was an ignorant and
+stubborn dogmatist, whose era is now past for ever. Buckland
+was an ingenious priest and Jesuit; and even Newton's brain was
+turned by chronology."</p></div>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Boker's</span> tragedy of Colaynos, has just been produced at the
+Walnut-st. Theatre in Philadelphia, and extremely well received. It had
+indeed a successful run. The Betrothal, which in our last we omitted to
+notice, is, we understand, to be brought out under the auspices of
+Charles Kean, in London. Mr. B. has yet another comedy quite finished,
+which will soon be performed in New-York.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">A letter</span> purporting to be by General <span class="smcap">Washington</span>, and bearing date
+Cambridge, June 24, 1776, was read before the New-Jersey Historical
+Society a few weeks ago; the thanks of the Society were voted to Mr.
+Chetwood for it; and the <i>Literary World</i> characterizes it as
+"interesting," "admirable," &amp;c. The <i>Literary World</i> does not, we
+believe, pretend to be an authority in such matters, but that a
+"historical society" should receive such a gross imposition is somewhat
+surprising. The letter is as much a forgery and imposture as the
+"exceedingly interesting letter from General Washington to his wife,"
+published a few months ago in the <i>Day Book</i>. Without going into any
+further statement or argument on this subject, it may be sufficient to
+remark, that Washington was not within two hundred miles of Cambridge on
+the 24th of June, 1776.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">The Rev. Henry W. Ducachet</span>, D.D., the learned rector of St. Stephen's,
+in Philadelphia, has been several years engaged upon a Dictionary of the
+Church, which is now nearly ready for publication. Such a work is
+properly but a system and history of doctrine and ritual, in a form
+suited for the readiest consultation, and it demands, therefore, for its
+successful accomplishment, the highest and rarest faculties and
+acquisitions. Dr. Ducachet possesses in a very eminent degree, not only
+the requisite knowledge and judgment, but he has a certain temperament
+and felicity, with a love of and skill in dialectics, which promise even
+to the articles for a dictionary, from his hand, the utmost raciness and
+attractive interest. We understand this work will be very complete and
+voluminous.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>The Poems of "Edith May," the finest artist among the literary women of
+this country, are to be published in a very beautiful edition next
+summer by E. H. Butler of Philadelphia.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">The American Philosophical Society</span>, which on account of some unfortunate
+investments of its capital, has for several years been compelled to
+suspend its publications, is now, we are gratified to be informed, again
+in a good financial condition, and new volumes of its important
+Transactions are in the press.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Professor Hows</span>, during the last month, has given a very interesting
+series of readings from Shakspeare, in which he has displayed not only
+the finest capacity for histrionic effect, but a critical sagacity, and
+a thorough knowledge of the greatest of the poets, which justify his own
+reputation.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Redfield</span> has in press "The Celestial Telegraph, or Secrets of the
+Life to Come, revealed through Magnetism, by M. Cahagnet," a book of the
+class of Mrs. Crowe's "Night Side of Nature;" and "The Volcano Diggings,
+a Tale of California Law, by a member of the Bar."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_459" id="Page_459">[Pg 459]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>We believe it is about six years since the Rev. <span class="smcap">William W. Lord</span>, then a
+resident graduate at Princeton College, published the volume of poems by
+which he was introduced to the literary world. That book had various and
+striking merits, and though it had many defects in an artistic point of
+view, upon the whole it illustrated a just apprehension of the poetic
+principle, and such capacities for execution as justified the sanguine
+hopes it occasioned among his friends of his future eminence in the
+highest and finest of the arts. From that time until the present, Mr.
+Lord has not appeared as an author; but the leisure that could be
+withdrawn from professional study has been devoted to the composition of
+"<i>Christ in Hades</i>," (Appleton &amp; Co.) a poem displaying his best
+abilities in art, while it is a suitable offering to religion.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>"It was my purpose," he says, "in undertaking this work, to give poetic
+form, design, and history to the descent of Christ into hell; a fact
+that has for so many ages attracted the curiosity of the human mind, as
+to furnish occasion for surprise that the attempt has not hitherto been
+made. As regards the end for which He descended, I have adhered to the
+Christian tradition that it was to free the souls of the ancient saints
+confined in the temporal paradise of the Under-world, embracing also in
+my design the less general opinion, that it was to demonstrate His
+universal supremacy by appearing among the damned.</p>
+
+<p>"A source of additional human interest was suggested by the relation
+which men, as a distinct order of beings, might be supposed to sustain
+to demons in the place of their common doom, and under new conditions of
+existence; such, I conceived, as would make it possible in some degree
+to realize even the divine fictions of the Greek mythology, under the
+forms and with the attributes accorded them by ancient religions, and by
+the poetry of all time. This could not fail to suggest the further
+conception of introducing the divinities of our forefathers, and of
+other great families of mankind, thus bringing together in action and
+contrast the deified men, or various representatives of an heroic
+humanity, among different races: nor did it seem too great a stretch of
+imaginative probability to conceive that their general characteristics
+might be adopted and imitated by beings already invested by the human
+mind with an indefinite power, and inhabiting a world in which the
+wonderful becomes the probable.</p>
+
+<p>"But it is, after all, the general purpose of exhibiting the triumph of
+moral power over all physical and inferior spiritual force, in the
+descent of Christ into hell, which gives my design the complex character
+of a mythic, heroic, and Christian poem, and, at the same time,
+constitutes the unity of its parts. The ancients, whose representative
+types I introduce, knew and appreciated but two kinds of power, brute or
+physical, and spiritual, including all occult and supernatural efficacy,
+and strength of intellect and will. Virtue, triumphant by the aid of
+adventitious force, or relying upon unconquerable pride and disdain to
+resist it, was the highest reach of their dynamic conceptions. Moral
+power is properly a Christian idea. It is not, therefore, without what I
+conceive to be a true as well as a poetic apprehension of the design of
+the Descent into Hell, that the heroes of profane, and the not fabulous
+Titans of sacred antiquity, by their rivalries and contentions, brought
+together in arms for a trial of their comparative strength, are suddenly
+confronted with a common and dissimilar antagonist, and 'all strength,
+all terror, single or in bands, that ever was put forth' opposed to that
+novel, and, save in the Temptation, hitherto untested power, represented
+by Christ, the author of the theory and master of the example.</p>
+
+<p>"He is not supposed to appear among them 'grasping in his hand ten
+thousand thunders,' but endued with an equal power, the result and
+expression of perfect virtue and rightful authority. His triumph is
+attributed neither to natural, nor to supernatural power; but to moral
+superiority, evincing itself in His aspect, and exercising its
+omnipotence upon the soul and conscience. That in the conception of a
+great Christian poet, His appearance among the rebel angels in Heaven
+was distinguished by the former attributes, is due, perhaps, to the
+heroic prejudice of a mind thoroughly imbued with the spirit of pagan
+writers, and of the Hebrew Scriptures."</p>
+
+<p>The volume opens with this noble invocation, in which there is fit
+recognition of Dante and Milton, whose lips aforetime for such song had
+been touched by the divinest fire:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">Thou of the darkness and the fire, and fame<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Avenged by misery and the Orphic doom,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Bard of the tyrant-lay! whom dreadless wrongs,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Impatient, and pale thirst for justice drove,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A visionary exile, from the earth,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To seek it in its iron reign&mdash;O stern!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And not accepting sympathy, accept<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A not presumptious offering, that joins<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That region with a greater name: And thou,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of my own native language, O dread bard!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Who, amid heaven's unshadowed light, by thee<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Supremely sung, abidest&mdash;shouldst thou know<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Who on earth with thoughts of thee erects<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And purifies his mind, and, but by thee,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Awed by no fame, boldened by thee, and awed&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Not with thy breadth of wing, yet with the power<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To breathe the region air&mdash;attempts the height<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where never Scio's singing eagle towered,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Nor that high-soaring Theban moulted plume,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Hear thou my song! hear, or be deaf, who may.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">And if not rashly, or too soon, I heed<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The impulse, but have waited on my heart<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">With patience, and its utterance stilled with awe<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Oh what inspired it, till I felt it beat<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">True cadence to unconquerable strains;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Oh, then may she first wooed from heaven by prayer<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">From thy pure lips, and sympathy austere<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">With suffering, and the sight of solemn age,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And thy gray Homer's head, with darkness bound,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To me descend, more near, as I am far<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Beneath thee, and more need her aiding wing.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">Oh, not again invoked in vain, descend,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Urania! and eyes with common light<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">More blinded than were his by Heaven's hand<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Imposed to intercept distracting rays,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Bathe in the vision of transcendent day;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And of the human senses (the dark veil<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Before the world of spirit drawn) remove<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The dim material hindrance, and illume;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That human thought again may dare behold<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The shape and port of spirits, and once more<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Hear voices in that distant, shadowy world,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To which ourselves, and this, are shadows, they<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The substance, immaterial essence pure&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Souls that have freed their slave, and given back<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Its force unto the elements, the dread<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Manes, or the more dread Archetypes of men:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Like whom in featured reason's shape&mdash;like whom<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Created in the mould of God&mdash;they fell,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And mixed with them in common ruin, made<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">One vast and many-realmed world, and shared<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Their deep abodes&mdash;their endless exile, some,&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Some to return to the ethereous light<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When one of human form, a Savior-Man<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Almighty, not in deity alone,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But mightier than all angels in the might<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And guard of human innocence preserved,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Should freely enter their dark empire&mdash;these<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To loose, o'er those to triumph; this the theme,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The adventure, and the triumph of my song.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_460" id="Page_460">[Pg 460]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="The_Fine_Arts" id="The_Fine_Arts"></a><i>The Fine Arts.</i></h2>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Leutze's Washington Crossing the Delaware</span>.&mdash;Our readers are aware of the
+accident by fire which happened some months since to Leutze's
+nearly-finished picture of Washington Crossing the Delaware, in
+consequence of which he abandoned it to the underwriters, intending to
+commence the work anew for the party from which he had received the
+order to paint it. The underwriters have accordingly paid the insurance,
+and are now exhibiting the picture in its incomplete state to the public
+of Cologne, where it meets with high approval. The <i>K&ouml;lnische Zeitung</i>
+says of it: "In this picture the artist has depicted the events of the
+hour in which the destiny of the Free States of North America was
+decided for centuries through the boldness of their courageous and
+prudent leader. The means of continuing the war were almost exhausted;
+the army threatened in a few days to dissolve itself; the cause of
+freedom for that continent, with its inestimable consequences for
+ancient Europe, would have been postponed, no one can tell how long,
+perhaps for ever. Then the great mind of Washington conceived what the
+morally debased, reposing enemy thought impossible. He crossed the
+Delaware with his army in the night, amid masses of floating ice, and,
+in the twilight of morning, assailed the inactive camp on the other
+side. The picture reproduces the moment when the great general,&mdash;ahead
+of the mass of the army, which had also just embarked, and part of which
+are passing off from the shore, and part already struggling with the
+driving ice,&mdash;is steering to the opposite shore in a small boat,
+surrounded by eleven heroic figures, officers, farmers, soldiers, and
+boatmen. The tall and majestic form of the man in whose hands at that
+hour lay the fate of millions, rises from the group, standing slightly
+bent, forward, with one foot on the bottom of the boat, the other on the
+forward bench. His mild yet serious and commanding glance seems seeking
+to pierce the mist of the farther shore and discover the enemy, while
+intimations of the future grandeur of his country rise upon his mind.
+Nothing of youthful rashness appears in the expression of this figure,
+but the thoughtful artist has depicted the 'heart for any fate' of the
+general and statesman in noble, vigorous, and faithful traits. And what
+an impulse moves through the group of his companions! Their thought is,
+'Forward, invincibly forward, for our country!' This is expressed in
+their whole bearing, in every movement, in the eyes and features of all.
+Under the influence of this thought they command the raging elements, so
+that the masses of ice seem to dissolve before the will and energy of
+these men. This is a picture by the sight of which, in this weary and
+exhausted time, one can recover health and strength. Let none miss a
+draught from such a goblet of nectar. And while we are writing this, it
+occurs to us that it was at this very hour seventy-four years ago, in
+the ice-cold night, Washington crossed the Delaware. And amid the
+ominous concatenation of events which the weak mind calls accident, but
+which the clear spirit, whose eye rests on the whole world, regards as
+the movement of nature according to eternal laws, there rises from our
+soul the ardent prayer that Germany may soon find her Washington! Honor
+and fame to the artist whose production has power to work upon the
+hearts and inflame the spirits of all that behold it!"</p>
+
+<p>Messrs. Goupil &amp; Co. have purchased the duplicate of this work, to be
+completed on the first of July, for seven thousand dollars. The picture
+described was unfinished, and has been exhibited by the underwriters, to
+whom it was given up after the fire.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>An Italian picture dealer in London named Campanari, lately bought for a
+trifle a portrait which has proved to be a genuine Michel Angelo. It
+represents the famous Vittoria Colonna, wife of the Marchese Pescara,
+the General of Charles V. She was herself distinguished as a poetess as
+well as by the impassioned love and adoration of the great painter, who
+not only took her portrait, but left behind him several sonnets in her
+honor. Campanari, though himself confident of the genuineness of the
+picture, could not procure it to be recognized in England. Accordingly
+he sent it to Rome, where the Academy of San Luca, with Minardi at its
+head, unanimously decided in its favor. In fact, it contains a grandeur
+and sublimity which could be ascribed to nobody but the author of the
+prophets and sibyls of the Sistine Chapel. An antique repose is
+displayed in the whole work, perfectly agreeing with the character of
+the lady as described by Michel Angelo, and which suits the advanced age
+at which she is painted. The execution is like that of the picture in
+the Florentine Tribune, in the wonderful facility of its execution. In
+the coloring a carnation hue is remarkable, like that in Michel Angelo's
+Roman works. The hands of the figure are thought to be by some other
+artist. Only the head and part of the person seem to be by the author.
+The picture has suffered little from time, some parts having apparently
+been repaired by a later pencil. It is valued at $30,000.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">The Munich Art-Union</span> gives to its subscribers for the next year a
+<i>galvanograph</i> of Rubens' Columbus. This is the first time that
+galvanography has been applied to such a purpose. The plate from which
+the print is taken has been copied by the galvanoplastic process, so
+that it can serve for other art-unions also. For 1851 the Munich Union
+has decided on engraving four Greek landscapes by C. Rottman. These
+plates will also be copied by the same process, and may be had at much
+less than the cost of original plates.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_461" id="Page_461">[Pg 461]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="GOETHES_OPINION_OF_BYRON_SCOTT_AND_CARLYLE" id="GOETHES_OPINION_OF_BYRON_SCOTT_AND_CARLYLE"></a>GOETHE'S OPINION OF BYRON, SCOTT, AND CARLYLE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Mr. John Oxenford, who has shown remarkable capacities for
+appropriation, in the use he has made of the labors of William Peter,
+Parke Godwin, and others, in his various "translations" from the German,
+has recently fallen in with Margaret Fuller d'Ossoli's version of the
+<i>Conversations of Goethe with Eckermann</i>, published many years ago by
+Mr. Ripley in his "Specimens of Foreign Literature;" and the result is
+two volumes, embracing, with what Margaret Fuller translated, the great
+poet's conversations with Soret. Among the chief notable men who existed
+at the time of the conversations, and to whom reference is made, are
+Scott and Byron. The first, whose <i>Fair Maid of Perth</i> is read as a new
+book, is praised for his "objective" qualities. The second is pronounced
+the greatest modern poet of England, but censured for his polemic
+tendency. Goethe's rapture is kindled when he speaks of him:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"'Lord Byron,' said Goethe, 'is to be regarded as a man, as an
+Englishman, and as a great talent. His good qualities belong
+chiefly to the man, his bad to the Englishman and the peer, his
+talent is incommensurable. All Englishmen are, as such, without
+reflection, properly so called; distractions and party spirit
+will not permit them to unfold themselves in quiet. But they
+are great as practical men. Thus, Lord Byron could never attain
+reflection on himself, and on this account the maxims in
+general are not successful, as is shown by his creed, 'much
+money, no authority,' for much money always paralyzes
+authority. But where he will create, he always succeeds; and we
+may truly say that with him inspiration supplies the place of
+reflection. He was always obliged to go on poetizing, and then
+every thing that came from the man, especially from his heart,
+was excellent. He produced his best things, as women do pretty
+children, without thinking about it or knowing how it was done.
+He is a great talent, a born talent, and I never saw the true
+poetical power greater in any man than in him. In the
+apprehension of external objects, and a clear penetration into
+past situations, he is quite as great as Shakspeare. But as a
+pure individuality, Shakspeare is his superior. This was felt
+by Byron, and on this account he does not say much of
+Shakspeare, although he knows whole passages by heart. He would
+willingly have denied him altogether, for Shakspeare's
+cheerfulness is in his way, and he feels that he is no match
+for it. Pope he does not deny, for he had no cause to fear him.
+On the contrary, he mentions him, and shows him respect when he
+can, for he knows well enough that Pope is a mere foil to
+himself.'...</p>
+
+<p>"Goethe seemed inexhaustible on the subject of Byron, and I
+felt that I could not listen enough. After a few digressions,
+he proceeded thus: 'His high rank as an English peer was very
+injurious to Byron; for every talent is oppressed by the outer
+world,&mdash;how much more, then, when there are such high birth and
+so great a fortune. A certain middle rank is much more
+favorable to talent, on which account we find all great artists
+and poets in the middle classes. Byron's predilection for the
+unbounded could not have been nearly so dangerous with more
+humble birth and smaller means. But as it was, he was able to
+put every fancy into practice, and this involved him in
+innumerable scrapes. Besides, how could one of such high rank
+be inspired with awe and respect by any rank whatever? He spoke
+out whatever he felt, and this brought him into ceaseless
+conflict with the world. It is surprising to remark,' continued
+Goethe, 'how large a portion of the life of a rich Englishman
+of rank is passed in duels and elopements. Lord Byron himself
+says, that his father carried off three ladies. And let any man
+be a steady son after that. Properly speaking, he lived
+perpetually in a state of nature, and with his mode of
+existence the necessity for self-defence floated daily before
+his eyes. Hence his constant pistol-shooting. Every moment he
+expected to be called out. He could not live alone. Hence, with
+all his oddities, he was very indulgent to his associates. He
+one evening read his fine poem on the Death of Sir John Moore,
+and his noble friends did not know what to make of it. This did
+not move him, but he put it away again. As a poet, he really
+showed himself a lamb. Another would have commended them to the
+devil.'"</p></div>
+
+<p>Yet Goethe had a curious theory in respect to criticism, and believed it
+possible for a foreigner to understand the achievements of a language
+not his own better than those to whom it is native&mdash;in which we think he
+was partially correct. In the following he criticises <span class="smcap">Carlyle</span>.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"'Sit down,' said he, 'and let us talk awhile. A new
+translation of Sophocles has just arrived. It reads well, and
+seems to be excellent; I will compare it with Solgar. Now, what
+say you to Carlyle?' I told him what I had been reading upon
+Fonqu&eacute;. 'Is not that very good?' said Goethe. 'Aye, there are
+clever people over the sea, who know us and can appreciate
+us?... We are weakest in the &aelig;sthetic department, and may wait
+long before we meet such a man as Carlyle. It is pleasant to
+see that intercourse is now so close between the French,
+English, and Germans, that we shall be able to correct one
+another. This is the greatest use of a world-literature, which
+will show itself more and more. Carlyle has written a life of
+Schiller, and judged him as it would be difficult for a German
+to judge him. On the other hand, we are clear about Shakspeare
+and Byron, and can, perhaps, appreciate their merits better
+than the English themselves."</p></div>
+
+<p>Carlyle is frequently referred to, and always thus. The clear-sighted,
+great old man, already perceives how much his fame will owe to such an
+apostle and preacher of his faith&mdash;for he sees also what Carlyle himself
+will become. The mention of Lockhart is also very interesting.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"I asked about Lockhart, and whether he still recollected him.
+'Perfectly well!' returned Goethe. 'His personal appearance
+makes so decided an impression that one cannot easily forget
+him. From all I hear from Englishmen, and from my
+daughter-in-law, he must be a young man from whom great things
+in literature are to be expected. I almost wonder that Walter
+Scott does not say a word about Carlyle, who has so decided a
+German tendency that he must certainly be known to him. It is
+admirable in Carlyle that, in his judgment of our German
+authors, he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_462" id="Page_462">[Pg 462]</a></span> has especially in view the mental and moral core
+as that which is really influential. Carlyle is a moral force
+of great importance. There is in him much for the future, and
+we cannot foresee what he will produce and effect.'"</p></div>
+
+<p>Again:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"'It is pleasant to see,' said Goethe, 'how the earlier
+pedantry of the Scotch has changed into earnestness and
+profundity. When I recollect how the 'Edinburgh Reviewers'
+treated my works not many years since, and when I now consider
+Carlyle's merits with respect to German literature, I am
+astonished at the important step for the better. In Carlyle,'
+said he, 'I venerate most of all the mind and the character
+which lie at the foundation of his tendencies. The chief point
+with him is the culture of his own nation; and, in the literary
+productions of other countries, which he wishes to make known
+to his contemporaries, he pays less attention to the arts of
+talent, than to the moral elevation which can be attained
+through such works. Yes,' said Goethe, 'the temper in which he
+works is always admirable. What an earnest man he is! and how
+he has studied us Germans! He is always more at home in our
+literature than ourselves. At any rate we cannot vie with him
+in our researches in English literature.'"</p></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="MR_KELLOGGS_EXPLORATION_OF_MT_SINAI" id="MR_KELLOGGS_EXPLORATION_OF_MT_SINAI"></a>MR. KELLOGG'S EXPLORATION OF MT. SINAI.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The last volume of <i>Bohn's Illustrated Library</i> (published in New-York
+by Bangs &amp; Brother), is "Scripture Lands, Described in a Series of
+Historical, Geographical, and Topographical Sketches," by <span class="smcap">John Kitto</span>,
+D.D., F.S.A., the well-known author of the Dictionary of the Bible, &amp;c.
+It embraces, in a convenient and condensed form, results of the most
+important recent investigations by travellers and scholars in the
+countries sacred for their connection with the history of true religion.
+With other things by Americans, Dr. Kitto gives a prominent place to Mr.
+<span class="smcap">Miner K. Kellogg's</span> account of Mt. Sinai, which we reprint below; and we
+cannot let the opportunity pass unimproved, of expressing a hope that
+Mr. Kellogg will prepare for the press the voluminous notes which we
+know him to possess of his various and interesting travels in the
+ancient world, which he saw with the eye of an artist, the head of a
+scholar, and the heart of a Christian. If he would, he might give us a
+most delightful and instructive book upon the East, and one that would
+be eminently popular, though Asia has been of all the continents the
+most frequently described. Dr. Kitto says:</p>
+
+<p>"At the foot of the pass which leads up to the sacred shrine beneath the
+awful mount, from whose summit Jehovah proclaimed his law to the
+trembling hosts of Israel, Dr. Robinson says,&mdash;'We commenced the slow
+and toilsome ascent along the narrow defile, about south by east,
+between blackened, shattered cliffs of granite, some eight hundred feet
+high, and not more than two hundred and fifty yards apart, which every
+moment threatened to send down their ruins on our heads. Nor is this at
+all times an empty threat; for the whole pass is filled with large
+stones and rocks, the <i>d&eacute;bris</i> of these cliffs. The bottom is a deep and
+narrow water-course, where the wintry torrent sweeps down with fearful
+violence. A path has been made for camels, along the shelving rocks,
+partly by removing the topmost blocks, sometimes in the manner of a
+Swiss mountain-road. But though I had crossed the most rugged passes of
+the Alps, and made from Chamouni the whole circuit of Mont Blanc, I had
+never found a path so rude and difficult as that we were now ascending.'</p>
+
+<p>"After toiling along for nearly two hours, our travellers continue their
+narrative:</p>
+
+<p>"'Here the interior and lofty peaks of the great circle of Sinai began
+to open upon us&mdash;black, rugged, desolate summits; and, as we advanced,
+the dark and frowning front of Sinai itself (the present Horeb of the
+monks) began to appear. We were gradually ascending, and the valley
+gradually opening; but as yet all was a naked desert. Afterwards, a few
+shrubs were sprinkled round about, and a small encampment of black tents
+was seen on our right, with camels and goats browsing, and a few donkeys
+belonging to the convent. The scenery through which we had now passed
+reminded me strongly of the mountains around the Mer de Glace in
+Switzerland. I had never seen a spot more wild and desolate.</p>
+
+<p>"'As we advanced, the valley still opened wider and wider with a gentle
+ascent, and became full of shrubs and tufts of herbs, shut in on each
+side by lofty granite ridges, and rugged, shattered peaks, a thousand
+feet high, while the face of Horeb rose directly before us. Both my
+companion and myself involuntarily exclaimed, "here is room enough for a
+large encampment!"</p>
+
+<p>"'Reaching the top of the ascent or watershed, a fine broad plain lay
+before us, sloping down gently towards the south-south-east, inclosed by
+rugged and venerable mountains of dark granite, stern, naked, splintered
+peaks, and ridges of indescribable grandeur; and terminated, at a
+distance of more than a mile, by the bold and awful front of Horeb,
+rising perpendicularly in frowning majesty, from twelve to fifteen
+hundred feet in height. It was a scene of solemn grandeur, wholly
+unexpected, and such as we had never seen; and the associations which at
+the moment rushed upon our minds were almost overwhelming.'</p>
+
+<p>"They subsequently ascended the frowning summit of Horeb, and sketched
+the scene from that point:&mdash;'The whole plain, er-Rahah, lay spread out
+beneath our feet, with the adjacent wadys and mountains; while Wady
+esh-Sheikh on the right, and the recess on the left, both connected with
+and opening broadly from er-Rahah, presented an area which serves nearly
+to double that of the plain.</p>
+
+<p>"'Our conviction was strengthened that here, or on some of the adjacent
+cliffs, was the spot where the Lord "descended in fire," and proclaimed
+the law. Here lay the plain where<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_463" id="Page_463">[Pg 463]</a></span> the whole congregation might be
+assembled; here was the mount that could be approached, if not
+forbidden; and here the mountain brow, where alone the lightning and the
+thick cloud would be visible, and the thunders and the voice of the
+trump be heard, when the Lord "came down in the sight of all the people
+upon Mount Sinai."</p>
+
+<p>"'We gave ourselves up to the impressions of the awful scene; and read,
+with a feeling that will never be forgotten, the sublime account of the
+transactions, and the commandments there promulgated, in the original
+words as recorded by the great Hebrew legislator.'"</p>
+
+<p>"Other travellers have explored a valley on the southern base of Sinai,
+which was shut out from the view of Dr. Robinson in his ascent by a long
+ridge of rocks, and which has been found, by measurement of Krafft and
+Strauss, and others, to be even greater than the valley of er-Rahah on
+the north. This, it is supposed by Ritter and others, may have been
+occupied by the Israelites at the giving of the Law. The locality of
+this tremendous scene may perhaps be determined by future researches.</p>
+
+<p>"An American artist and scholar, Mr. M. K. Kellogg, has lately given an
+interesting account of this valley, which appears to be much more
+extensive than er-Rahah, and better suited for the accommodation of the
+immense camp of Israel. To reach this station, the Israelites must have
+continued their march much further down the coast than on the other
+supposition, and turned at a bolder angle up into the mountains near the
+modern town of Tur or Tor. Dophkah, Alush, and Rephidim, must also, on
+this supposition, be transferred to other localities corresponding with
+this supposed line of march.</p>
+
+<p>"If there be such a valley at the southern base of Sinai, it seems very
+extraordinary that it should have escaped the notice of travellers. It
+must be visible from the summit of Sinai (Jebel Musa); but, seen only
+from that lofty summit, and running in an irregular line at the very
+base of the mountain, they must have overlooked it in their brief survey
+of the scenery, so grand, so gloomy and peculiar, which there engaged
+their contemplation. The subject, however, is so curious and
+interesting, that we insert in some detail the narrative of the American
+traveller to which these remarks refer.</p>
+
+<p>"'Having read a letter which appeared in the <i>Literary World</i><a name="FNanchor_F_6" id="FNanchor_F_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_F_6" class="fnanchor">[F]</a> of the
+20th November, from Dr. Ritter to Dr. Robinson, in which it is said that
+Laborde, in his <i>Commentary</i> "has now for the first time established the
+plain of Wady Sebaiyeh at the southern base of Sinai;" and that this
+"furnishes an important point for the elucidation of the giving of the
+Law," I have been induced to submit to the consideration of the public,
+some of the notes from a journal which I kept during my travels in that
+region in the spring of 1844.<a name="FNanchor_G_7" id="FNanchor_G_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_G_7" class="fnanchor">[G]</a></p>
+
+<p>"'Although I have not yet seen the Commentaries of Laborde, and
+therefore cannot judge of their correctness in regard to this plain, yet
+I am happy in being able to furnish some testimony as to its existence
+and extent. Within the last few years a question has arisen as to the
+existence of a plain in front of Mount Sinai, capable of containing the
+multitude of Israelites who were to receive the commandments.</p>
+
+<p>"'Dr. Robinson is the first, I believe, who has attempted to prove that
+no such plain exists. In his <i>Researches</i> he finds a plain at the
+north-east extremity of the mountain called er-Rahah, which he says was
+"the plain where the congregation of Israel were assembled," and that
+the mountain impending over it, the present Horeb, was "the scene of the
+awful phenomena in which the Law was proclaimed."</p>
+
+<p>"'He says he was satisfied, after much inquiry, "that in no other
+quarter of the peninsula, and certainly not around any of the higher
+peaks, is there a spot corresponding in any degree, so fully as this, to
+the historical account, and to the circumstances of the case." Starting
+upon the hypothesis that there is no other plain than the one he
+describes, he has been obliged to give the name of Sinai to one of the
+peaks which overlook this plain, in order that the Israelites might
+witness the awful ceremonies attending the promulgation of the Law which
+took place upon the holy mountain. If this hypothesis is founded on
+truth, then tradition is at fault, which has given to another part of
+this region the name of Sinai, and a capacious plain beneath it; we must
+throw aside all our faith in such tradition, and commence investigations
+which shall elicit the whole truth upon the subject.</p>
+
+<p>"'As many late travellers have been led into error respecting the
+topography of this district, by adopting, without investigation, the
+conclusions of Dr. Robinson, I feel it to be a duty to lay before you
+such facts as may be of service to those who shall hereafter journey
+into the wilderness of Sinai.</p>
+
+<p>"'On the 6th day of March, 1844, my two companions set out from the
+convent at Mount Sinai, for the purpose of ascending the mountain St.
+Catharine. I declined going with them, partly through indisposition, and
+partly because I thought I could spend the day more usefully in making
+sketches in the neighboring convent. After my friend's departure with
+the guides, I took a little Arab boy with me to carry my sketch-book and
+water-bottle, and walked up Wady Shueib, until I came to the little
+Mountain of the Cross (Neja), which almost shuts up the passage<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_464" id="Page_464">[Pg 464]</a></span> into
+Wady Sebaiyeh, and where I had, for the first time, a view of the
+southern face of Mount Sinai. Here opened an extended picture of the
+mountains lying to the south of the Sinaite range, for I was now some
+three hundred feet above the adjacent valleys.</p>
+
+<p>"'After much difficulty, I succeeded in climbing over immense masses of
+granite, to the side of the Mountain of the Cross, which I ascended
+about five hundred feet on its south-western face, in order to obtain a
+good view of the peak of Sinai, which I was anxious to sketch. Here,
+close at my right, arose, almost perpendicularly, the Holy Mountain; its
+shattered pyramidal peak towering above me some 1400 feet, of a brownish
+tint, presenting vertical strata of granite, which threw off the
+glittering rays of the morning sun. Clinging around its base was a range
+of sharp, upheaving crags, from one hundred to two hundred feet in
+height, which formed an almost impassable barrier to the mountain itself
+from the valley adjoining. These crags were separated from the mountain
+by a deep and narrow gorge, yet they must be considered as forming the
+projecting base of Sinai.</p>
+
+<p>"'Directly in front of me was a level valley, stretching onward to the
+south for two or three miles, and inclosed on the east, west, and south
+by low mountains of various altitudes, all much less, however, than that
+of Sinai. This valley passed behind the Mountain of the Cross to my
+left, and out of view, so that I could not calculate its northern extent
+from where I stood. The whole scene was one of inexpressible grandeur
+and solemnity, and I seated myself to transfer some of its remarkable
+features to the pages of my portfolio.</p>
+
+<p>"'I remained at work until nearly sunset, when I discovered people
+coming towards me through the dark ravine between the mountain of Sinai
+and the craggy spurs which shoot up around its base. I feared they might
+prove to be unfriendly Arabs; but, as they came nearer I discovered them
+to be my companions and their guides, who were returning from Mount St.
+Catharine. As the shades of evening were approaching, I shut up my
+portfolio, and descending the hillside, I joined my friends, and we
+returned together to the convent. After dinner, they desired to see what
+I had done during the day, and my sketch-book was opened to them. They
+remarked, on seeing the drawing I had made, that as there was no plain
+on the southern border of the mountain, I might as well have left out
+the one seen in the drawing. After my assurance that I had copied what
+was before me, they laughed, and remarked that none but a painter's
+imagination could have seen the plain in question, for they had passed
+entirely around the mountain that day, and could assert <i>positively</i>
+that there was no such plain. Here was a difference of opinion
+certainly, and one that I did not relish much, as it might at some
+future time be the means of creating a doubt as to the faithfulness of
+my eastern drawings. I begged them, therefore, to accompany me the next
+day to that side of the mountain, and be convinced of what I told them.
+They remarked that all authority was against me, and time was too
+precious to go over the same ground twice.'"</p>
+
+<p>"It seems that one of them, however, accompanied the writer in his
+further exploration of the ensuing day, for he uses the plural number,
+and speaks of his 'friend.' We thus condense his statements: One day
+(7th March) is described as having been spent in Wady es-Sabaiyeh, or
+the plain before Mount Sinai. After having penetrated into this wady, he
+says: 'We took our course along the base of Jebel Deir, until we came to
+a point whence the peak of Sinai was no longer visible, because of the
+intervening point of Jebel Deir; then striking across Sebaiyeh to the
+right, keeping Sinai in view, we stopped to contemplate the scene. Here
+the plain is very wide, and forms one with Wady Sedout, which enters it
+from the south-east at a very acute angle, and in the whole of which
+Sinai is plainly visible. These two wadys make a width of at least the
+third of a mile. The hills rising from the east and south of Sebaiyeh,
+in front of Sinai, are of gentle ascent, upon which flocks might feed,
+and the people stand in full view of Sinai. For many miles, perhaps six
+or more, on the eastern border of this plain, are seen many small plains
+high up among the hills, from all of which Sinai is plainly visible.
+Near where we stood, a high, rocky platform of granite arose from the
+plain, upon which I seated myself, and took a sketch of the valley to
+its junction with Wady esh-Sheikh on the north, where stands <i>Jebel
+Fureia</i>, a very conspicuous and singular mountain. At this point, Wady
+Sheikh turns from its eastern course, after leaving Wady Rahah, and runs
+north around Jebel Fureia, where it receives Sebaiyeh from the south,
+and with it forms one unbroken plain for about twelve miles to the north
+of the place where I was seated. Turning back now to the south, we
+traversed the plain towards the base of Sinai. The wady grew gently
+narrower as we approached Neja, whose base projected far into the plain,
+and whose head shuts off the view of Sinai for a distance of about
+one-half the width of the plain at its base.</p>
+
+<p>"'As we passed its foot, Sinai again appeared, and we measured the plain
+near the pathway which leads up towards Sinai on the southern border of
+Neja, and which appears to be the only entrance to the Holy Mountain.
+The measured width here was four hundred and thirty feet. Passing on
+three hundred and forty-five paces, we arrived at the narrowest part of
+the plain, some few yards narrower than where we had measured it. This
+may be considered as an entrance-door to the plain, which lies directly
+in front of Sinai, which now spreads out level, clear, and broad, going
+on to the south with varied widths for about three miles on gently
+ascending ground, where<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_465" id="Page_465">[Pg 465]</a></span> it passes between two sloping hills and enters
+another wady which descends beyond, from which it is most probable Sinai
+may yet be clearly seen.</p>
+
+<p>"'On the east, this plain of Sebaiyeh is bounded by mountains having
+long, sloping bases, and covered with wild thyme and other herbs,
+affording a good tenting-ground immediately fronting Sinai, which forms,
+as it were, a grand pyramidal pulpit to the magnificent amphitheatre
+below. The width of the plain immediately in front of Sinai is about
+1600 feet, but further south the width is much increased, so that on an
+average the plain may be considered as being nearly one-third of a mile
+wide, and its length, in view of Mount Sinai, between five and six
+miles. The good tenting-ground on the mountain sides mentioned above,
+would give much more space for the multitude on the great occasion for
+which they were assembled. This estimate does not include that part of
+the plain to the north, and Wady esh-Sheikh, from which the peak of
+Sinai is not visible; for this space would contain three or four times
+the number of people which Sebaiyeh would hold.</p>
+
+<p>"'From Wady Sebaiyeh we crossed over the granite spurs, in order to pass
+around the southern border of Sinai into Wady Lejah. These spurs are of
+sufficient size to have separate names among the Arabs. Around them were
+generally deep and rugged gorges and ravines, or water-courses, whose
+sides were formed of ledges of granite nearly perpendicular, of a pink
+color, and fine texture. There are no <i>gravel</i> hills, as mentioned by
+Dr. Robinson, but a series of low granite hills, much broken up, and of
+different colors, principally of a greenish-gray and brown. The plain is
+covered with a fine <i>d&eacute;bris</i> of granite. Whilst crossing over these low
+hills, my friend pointed out the path between them and Sinai, in the
+ravine, through which he had passed yesterday on his return from St.
+Catharine; and it was seen that no plain would be visible from any part
+of it, owing to the height of the spurs which separated the ravine from
+Sebaiyeh, and we concluded that most travellers had been led into false
+views concerning this part of the mountain from having taken the same
+path, and hence it was that no account has been given respecting the
+plain of Sebaiyeh. This ravine around Sinai becomes a deep impassable
+gorge, with perpendicular walls, as it enters Wady Lejah, passing
+through the high neck connecting with the mountain on the south.</p>
+
+<p>"'Descending into Lejah, under the rocky precipice of Sinai, we found
+the wady narrow and choked up with huge blocks of granite which had
+tumbled from the sides of the adjacent mountains. We could now see the
+olive-ground of the deserted convent of <i>el-Arbain</i>, situated in the
+bottom of the narrow valley. Passing through this garden, we found a
+fine running stream of crystal water, of which we partook freely, for
+our thirst was great. The garden was walled, and well irrigated by many
+small canals, but nothing seemed to flourish but the olive.</p>
+
+<p>"'Continuing down the valley, amidst loose rocks of granite, upon some
+of which were inscriptions in the Sinaite, Greek, and Arabic characters,
+and enjoying the wildness of the scene, and the gloomy grandeur of the
+lofty mountains of naked rocks which almost overhung our path, we saw
+Horeb on our right, and soon entered upon the plain before it called
+<i>Wady Rahah</i>. After taking a view of Horeb as the sun was setting, we
+made our way to the convent, to pass the night within its hospitable
+walls. Thus was completed a walk around the whole mountain of Sinai.</p>
+
+<p>"'The results of these investigations, together with the information
+afforded by Burckhardt and other travellers, have served to convince my
+own mind that this district is every way adapted to the circumstances
+attending the encampment of the Israelites during the promulgation of
+the law upon Mount Sinai Though other mountains in this vicinity may
+answer as well as that of Jebel Musa for this great purpose, still I
+cannot see any good reason for taking from this mountain that holy
+character with which tradition has invested it for the last fifteen
+centuries.'</p>
+
+<p>"Thus," says Dr. Kitto, "it seems that the question as to the
+camping-ground of the Israelites, which seemed to have been settled by
+the researches of Dr. Robinson and others, must now be regarded as
+re-opened for further investigations. The fact is, that a complete and
+careful survey of the whole of this central mountain region yet remains
+to be taken."</p>
+
+<p>The friend of Mr. Kellogg alluded to in the preceding pages was an
+English gentleman, Mr. Ackanth, (of the East India Service,) whose notes
+will amply vindicate Mr. Kellogg's conclusions.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_F_6" id="Footnote_F_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_F_6"><span class="label">[F]</span></a> The <i>Literary World</i> at that period was edited by the able,
+candid, and universally beloved C.F. Hoffman.&mdash;(Ed. Int.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_G_7" id="Footnote_G_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_G_7"><span class="label">[G]</span></a> "The writer seems not to have been aware that this still
+leaves the priority to Laborde&mdash;whose journey was undertaken even
+earlier than that of Robinson, and whose really valuable work,
+<i>Commentaire Geographique sur l'Exode et les Nombres</i>, which now lies
+before us, was <i>published</i> in the very year of Mr. Kellogg's journey,
+1844. This work certainly forms the best <i>literary</i> result of Laborde's
+celebrated journey."</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="LAFAYETTE_TALLEYRAND_METTERNICH_AND_NAPOLEON" id="LAFAYETTE_TALLEYRAND_METTERNICH_AND_NAPOLEON"></a>LAFAYETTE, TALLEYRAND, METTERNICH, AND NAPOLEON.</h2>
+
+<h3>Sketched By Lord Holland.<a name="FNanchor_H_8" id="FNanchor_H_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_H_8" class="fnanchor">[H]</a></h3>
+
+
+<p>Lord Holland, says the <i>Examiner</i>, has been induced by "the recent
+events on the Continent" to publish what his father had written on
+foreign politics. "If not wholly impartial," the present Lord Holland
+remarks of his father, "he is acknowledged by all who knew him to have
+been as candid as he was benevolent." He might have said more than
+this&mdash;indeed far more than it might have been quite becoming in a son to
+say. The late Lord Holland was a noble example of the highest and best
+traits of the English character. Throughout his public life he was the
+champion of all just causes; the friend of all who fairly sought
+redress; the fearless advocate of liberty, religious and civil, in days
+disastrous to both; a statesman of singular courage and consistency,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_466" id="Page_466">[Pg 466]</a></span> a
+most accomplished gentleman and scholar. He had learning without
+pedantry, and wit without ill-nature. His sweetness of temper and
+fascinating grace of manner had been commemorated by many distinguished
+men who had felt their winning potency and charm. But above all he had a
+store of observation and anecdote of the richest kind, and a power of
+applying it with surprising felicity to whatever subject might be under
+discussion. This book is a delightful surviving proof of that quality in
+his character. Its anecdotes are told with a charming ease and fulness
+of knowledge. No one so quickly as Lord Holland detected the notable
+points, whether of a book or a man, or turned them to such happy
+account. We do not read a page of this volume without feeling that a
+supreme master of that exquisite art is speaking to us. It comprises
+recollections of the scenes and actors in the stirring drama which was
+played out on the Continent between 1791 and 1815. It opens with the
+death of Mirabeau and closes with the death of Napoleon. France,
+Denmark, Prussia, and Spain are the countries principally treated of.
+Lord Holland's first visit to France was in 1791, just after the death
+of Mirabeau and the disastrous flight to Varennes. <span class="smcap">Lafayette</span> seems to
+have been more disposed than any other public actor in the revolution to
+put faith in the king even after that incident, and his confidence won
+over the young English traveller. But the weakness as well as strength
+of Lafayette is well hit off.</p>
+
+<p>"Lafayette was, however, then as always, a pure disinterested man, full
+of private affection and public virtue, and not devoid of such talents
+as firmness of purpose, sense of honor, and earnestness of zeal will, on
+great occasions, supply. He was indeed accessible to flattery, somewhat
+too credulous, and apt to mistake the forms, or, if I may so phrase it,
+the pedantry of liberty for the substance, as if men could not enjoy any
+freedom without subscribing to certain abstract principles and arbitrary
+tests, or as if the profession and subscription, nay, the technical
+observance of such tests and principles, were not, on the other hand,
+often compatible with practical oppression and tyranny."</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Marie Antoinette</span> is treated almost as badly as by Mr. Geffeson, who
+thought her a devil, far less tenderly than we should have expected. Her
+"amours" are spoken of, though with the limitation that "they were not
+numerous, scandalous, or degrading." We gather that Talleyrand believed
+her to have been guilty in a special instance named, and that Madame
+Champan had confessed it to him. At the same time her person is not very
+flatteringly described.</p>
+
+<p>"As I was not presented at Court, I never saw the Queen but at the
+play-house. She was then in affliction, and her countenance was, no
+doubt, disfigured by long suffering and resentment. I should not,
+however, suppose that the habitual expression of it, even in happier
+seasons, had ever been very agreeable. Her beauty, however extolled,
+consisted, I suspect, exclusively in a fair skin, a straight person, and
+a stately air, which her admirers termed dignity, and her enemies pride
+and disdain. Her total want of judgment and temper no doubt contributed
+to the disasters of the Royal Family, but there was no member of it to
+whom the public was uniformly so harsh and unjust, and her trial and
+death were among the most revolting parts of the whole catastrophe. She
+was indeed insensible when led to the scaffold; but the previous
+persecution which she underwent was base, unmanly, cruel, and ungenerous
+to the last degree."</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand, a better case is made out for Egalit&eacute; than any writer
+has yet been bold enough, or informed enough, to attempt. His false
+position with the Court is shown not to have been of his own seeking,
+and to have ultimately driven him reluctantly into the ranks of the
+extreme party. His courage is vindicated successfully, his sincerity and
+truthfulness less so. Lord Holland retained his regard for the Orleans
+family to the close of his life. He was one of the warmest defenders of
+the late King of the French. There are some capital notices of
+<span class="smcap">Tallyrand</span>.</p>
+
+<p>"It was in this visit to Paris in 1791, that I first formed acquaintance
+with M. Talleyrand. I have seen him in most of his vicissitudes of
+fortune; from his conversation I have derived much of the little
+knowledge I possess of the leading characters in France before and
+during the Revolution. He was then still a bishop. He had, I believe,
+been originally forced into holy orders, in consequence of his lameness,
+by his family, who, on that account, treated him with an indifference
+and unkindness shameful and shocking. He was for some time <i>aumonier</i> to
+his uncle, the Archbishop of Rheims; and when Mr. Pitt went to that town
+to learn French, after the peace of 1782, he lodged him in an apartment
+in the abbey of St. Thierry, where he was then residing with his uncle,
+and constantly accompanied him for six weeks, a circumstance to which,
+as I have heard M. Talleyrand remark with some asperity, Mr. Pitt never
+had the grace to allude either during his embassy, or his emigration, or
+in 1794, when he refused to recall the cruel order by which he was sent
+away from England under the alien bill. Talleyrand was initiated into
+public affairs under M. de Calonne, and learnt from that lively minister
+the happy facility of transacting business without effort and without
+ceremony in the corner of a drawing-room, or in the recess of a window."</p>
+
+<p>Again&mdash;of Talleyrand's bon-mots. The bit at Chateaubriand is one of the
+happiest we can remember.</p>
+
+<p>"'Il faut avoir aim&eacute; Mme. de Sta&euml;l pour connaitre tout le bonheur
+d'aimer une b&ecirc;te,' was a saying of his much quoted at Paris at that
+time, in explanation of his passion for Mme. Grand, who certainly did
+not win him or any one else by the fascination of her wit or
+conversation. For thirty or forty years, the bon-mots of M. de
+Talleyrand were more frequently<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_467" id="Page_467">[Pg 467]</a></span> repeated and more generally admired
+than those of any living man. The reason was obvious. Few men uttered so
+many, and yet fewer any equally good. By a happy combination of neatness
+in language and ease and suavity of manner, with archness and sagacity
+of thought, his sarcasms assumed a garb at once so courtly and so
+careless, that they often diverted almost as much as they could mortify
+even their immediate objects. His humorous reproof to a gentleman
+vaunting with self-complacency the extreme beauty of his mother, and
+apparently implying that it might account for advantages in person in
+her descendants, is well known: 'C&eacute;tait donc,' said he, 'Monsieur votre
+p&egrave;re qui n'&eacute;tait pas si bien.' The following is more recent, but the
+humor of it hardly less arch or less refined. The celebrity of M. de
+Chateaubriand, the vainest of mortals, was on the wane. About the same
+time, it happened to be casually mentioned in conversation that
+Chateaubriand was affected with deafness, and complained bitterly of
+that infirmity. 'Je compends,' said Talleyrand; 'dequis qu'on a cess&eacute; de
+parler de lui, il se croit sourd.'"</p>
+
+<p>We find a long portrait gallery of ministers, and princes, and
+princesses, one more imbecile, ignorant, and corrupt than another. One
+minister did not know the difference between Russia and Prussia; another
+always wrote Asiatic for Henseatic, and thought his correction
+necessary. Much light is thrown on the first quarrel between Ferdinand
+and his father; and the narrow escape of the Duke of Infantado is well
+told. Godoy, like all who had the honor of Lord Holland's acquaintance,
+was in some degree a favorite of his, his good qualities being brought
+out to neutralize his many bad ones. Jovellanos and Arguelles appear the
+only honest characters in the midst of such a mass of vice, and even
+they were pedantic, impracticable, and prejudiced. No history,
+narrative, or memoir can be so disgusting as those of Spain and its
+court under the dominion of the House of Bourbon. The imagination of no
+novelist has ever attained that <i>acm&egrave;</i> of duplicity, cruelty, villany,
+and cowardice, which made up the character of Ferdinand. The general
+opinion of <span class="smcap">Prince Metternich</span>, since he has become familiar to London
+circles, has been rather to diminish former opinion of his superior
+wisdom. Lord Holland's early opinion of the prince is thus recorded:</p>
+
+<p>"He seems hardly qualified by any superior genius to assume the
+ascendency in the councils of his own and neighboring nations, which
+common rumor has for some years attributed to him. He appeared to me, in
+the short intercourse I had with him, little superior to the common run
+of continental politicians and courtiers, and clearly inferior to the
+Emperor of Russia in those qualities which secure an influence in great
+affairs. Some who admit the degrading but too prevalent opinion that a
+disregard to truth is useful and necessary in the government of mankind,
+have on that score maintained the contrary proposition. His manners are
+reckoned insinuating. In my slight acquaintance with him in London I was
+not struck with them; they seemed such as might have been expected from
+a German who had studied French vivacity in the fashionable novels of
+the day. I saw little of a sagacious and observant statesman, or of a
+courtier accustomed to very refined and enlightened society."</p>
+
+<p>But the statesman who sustained Austria and procured for it the alliance
+of France was not Metternich. Napoleon is known to have long wavered as
+to whether he would build his European system on a close alliance with
+Prussia or with Austria. Bignon we believe it is that gives the reasons
+in the imperial mind for and against. Prussia was the preferable ally,
+being a new country, untrammelled by aristocratic ideas, ambitious,
+military, and eager for domination. But Napoleon had humiliated Prussia
+too deeply to be forgiven. And then Napoleon had in those around him
+politicians who revered Austria for its antiquity and prestige, and who,
+like Lord Aberdeen, made the C&aelig;sar of Vienna the pivot on which their
+ideas of policy turned. Talleyrand was one of them. He worshipped
+Austria, opposed all his master's plans for crushing her, and even dared
+to thwart those plans by revealing them to Alexander, and prompting him
+secretly to oppose them. Such treachery fully warrants all the suspicion
+and harshness with which Napoleon treated Talleyrand. The latter's
+conduct is fully revealed in this volume by Lord Holland. In fact, the
+way in which Napoleon found his policy most seriously counteracted, and
+his projects foiled, was his weakness in employing the men of the
+<i>ancien regime</i>, the nobles, whom he preferred for their pleasing and
+good manners, but who invariably betrayed the <i>parvenu</i> master, who
+employed and courted them. By an instance of this grievously misplaced
+confidence Napoleon lost his throne. In the last events and negotiations
+of 1814 Napoleon employed Caulaincourt, who, had he had full power,
+might have made an arrangement. Talleyrand and his party at the same
+time employed M. de Vitrolles, and sent him to the Emperor of Austria to
+learn on what terms he would be induced either to support Napoleon or
+abandon him. The Emperor of Austria was naturally most unwilling to
+proceed to the latter extreme. But M. Vitrolles, a secret agent of the
+Bourbons, so falsified and misrepresented everything to the Emperor that
+the sacrifice of Napoleon was assented to.</p>
+
+<p>Our last extract relates some traits of the great <span class="smcap">Napoleon</span> which seem
+more than ordinarily worth his nephew's attention just now. They are
+taken from a somewhat elaborate character of the Emperor which occupies
+nearly a third of the volume.</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing could exceed the order and regularity with which his household
+both as Consul and Emperor was conducted. The great things he
+accomplished, and the savings he made, without even the imputation of
+avarice or meanness,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_468" id="Page_468">[Pg 468]</a></span> with the sum comparatively inconsiderable of
+fifteen millions of francs a year, are marvellous, and expose his
+successors, and indeed all European Princes, to the reproach of
+negligence or incapacity. In this branch of his government he owed much
+to Duroc. It is said that they often visited the markets of Paris (les
+halles) dressed in plain clothes and early in the morning. When any
+great accounts were to be submitted to the Emperor, Duroc would apprize
+him in secret of some of the minutest details. By an adroit allusion to
+them or a careless remark on the points upon which he had received such
+recent and accurate information, Napoleon contrived to impress his
+audience with a notion that the master's eye was every where. For
+instance, when the Tuileries were furnished, the upholsterer's charges
+though not very exorbitant, were suspected by the Emperor to be higher
+than the usual profit of that trade would have warranted. He suddenly
+asked some minister who was with him how much the egg at the end of the
+bell-rope should cost? 'J'ignore,' was the answer.&mdash;'Eh bien! nous
+verrons,' said he, and then cut off the ivory handle, called for a
+valet, and bidding him dress himself in plain and ordinary clothes, and
+neither divulge his immediate commission or general employment to any
+living soul, directed him to inquire the price of such articles at
+several shops in Paris, and to order a dozen as for himself. They were
+one-third less dear than those furnished to the palace. The Emperor,
+inferring that the same advantage had been taken in the other articles,
+struck a third off the whole charge, and directed the tradesman to be
+informed that it was done at his express command, because on
+<i>inspection</i> he had himself discovered the charges to be by one-third
+too exorbitant. When afterwards in the height of his glory he visited
+Caen with the Empress Maria Louisa, and a train of crowned heads and
+princes, his old friend, M. Mechin, the Prefect, aware of his taste for
+detail, waited upon him with five statistical tables of the expenditure,
+revenue, prices, produce, and commerce of the departments. 'C'est bon,'
+said he, when he received them the evening of his arrival, 'vous et moi
+nous ferous bien de l'esprit sur tout cela demain au Conseil.'
+Accordingly, he astonished all the leading proprietors of the department
+at the meeting next day, by his minute knowledge of the prices of good
+and bad cyder, and of the produce and other circumstances of the various
+districts of the department. Even the Royalist gentry were impressed
+with a respect for his person, which gratitude for the restitution of
+their lands had failed to inspire, and which, it must be acknowledged,
+the first faint hope of vengeance against their enemies entirely
+obliterated in almost every member of that intolerant faction. Other
+princes have shown an equal fondness for minute details with Napoleon,
+but here is the difference. The use they made of their knowledge was to
+torment their inferiors and weary their company: the purpose to which
+Napoleon applied it was to confine the expanses of the State to the
+objects and interests of the community."</p>
+
+<p>Lord Holland dwells at some length on the treatment to which Napoleon
+was subjected by the English Government, and on the generous attempts of
+Lady Holland to alleviate his captivity. This part of the volume has
+much present interest, and will be read with great eagerness by all. Of
+the Emperor's temper, he says:</p>
+
+<p>"Napoleon, even in the plenitude of his power, seldom gratified his
+revenge by resorting to any act either illegal or unjust, though he
+frequently indulged his ill-humor by speaking both of and to those who
+had displeased him in a manner mortifying to their feelings and their
+pride. The instances of his love of vengeance are very few: they are
+generally of an insolent rather than a sanguinary character, more
+discreditable to his head than his heart, and a proof of his want of
+manners, taste, and possibly feeling, but not of a dye to affect his
+humanity. Of what man, possessed of such extended yet such disputed
+authority, can so much be said? Of Washington? Of Cromwell? But
+Washington, if he had ever equal provocation and motives for revenge,
+certainly never possessed such power to gratify it. His glory, greater
+in truth than that of C&aelig;sar, Cromwell, and Bonaparte, was that he never
+aspired: but he disdained such power; he never had it, and cannot
+therefore deserve immoderate praise for not exerting what he did not
+possess. In the affair of General Lee, he did not, if I recollect, show
+much inclination to forgive. Even Cromwell did not possess the power of
+revenge to the same extent as Napoleon. There is reason, however, to
+infer from his moderation and forbearance that he would have used it as
+sparingly. But Cromwell is less irreproachable, on the score of another
+vice, viz., ingratitude. Napoleon not only never forgot a favor, but,
+unlike most ambitious characters, never allowed subsequent injuries to
+cancel his recollection of services. He was uniformly indulgent to the
+faults of those whom he had once distinguished. He saw them, he
+sometimes exposed and rectified, but he never punished or revenged them.
+Many have blamed him for this on the score of policy; but if it was not
+sense and calculation, it should be ascribed to good-nature. None, I
+presume, will impute it to weakness or want of discernment."</p>
+
+<p>This account of Napoleon's ideas on religion is curious, and we think
+new.</p>
+
+<p>"Whatever were the religious sentiments of this extraordinary man, such
+companions were likely neither to fix nor to shake, to sway nor to alter
+them. I have been at some pains to ascertain the little that can be
+known of his thoughts on such subjects, and, though it is not very
+satisfactory, it appears to me worth recording.</p>
+
+<p>"In the early periods of the Revolution, he, in common with many of his
+countrymen, conformed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_469" id="Page_469">[Pg 469]</a></span> to the fashion of treating all such matters, both
+in conversation and action, with levity and even derision. In his
+subsequent career, like most men exposed to wonderful vicissitudes, he
+professed, half in jest and half in earnest, a sort of confidence in
+fatalism and predestination. But on some solemn public occasions, and
+yet more in private and sober discussion, he not only gravely disclaimed
+and reproved infidelity, but both by actions and words implied his
+conviction that a conversion to religious enthusiasm might befal
+himself, or any other man. He had more than tolerance&mdash;he had indulgence
+and respect for extravagant and ascetic notions of religious duty. He
+grounded that feeling not on their soundness or their truth, but on the
+uncertainty of what our minds may be reserved for, on the possibility of
+our being prevailed upon to admit and even to devote ourselves to tenets
+which at first excite our derision. It has been observed that there was
+a tincture of Italian superstition in his character; a sort of
+conviction from reason that the doctrines of revelation were not true,
+and yet a persuasion, or at least an apprehension, that he might live to
+think them so. He was satisfied that the seeds of belief were deeply
+sown in the human heart. It was on that principle that he permitted and
+justified, though he did not dare to authorize, the revival of La Trappe
+and other austere orders. He contended that they might operate as a
+safety-valve for the fanatical and visionary ferment which would
+otherwise burst forth and disturb society. In his remarks on the death
+of Duroc, and in the reasons he alleged against suicide, both in calm
+and speculative discussion and in moments of strong emotion, (such as
+occurred at Fontainbleau in 1814,) he implied a belief both in fatality
+and Providence.</p>
+
+<p>"In the programme of his coronation, a part of the ceremony was to
+consist in his taking the communion. But when the plan was submitted to
+him, he, to the surprise of those who had drawn it, was absolutely
+indignant at the suggestion. 'No man,' he said, 'had the means of
+knowing, or had the right to say, when or where he would take the
+sacrament, or whether he would or not.' On this occasion, he added, that
+he would not; nor did he.</p>
+
+<p>"There is some mystery about his conduct in similar respects at St.
+Helena, and during the last days of his life. He certainly had mass
+celebrated in his chapel while he was well, and in his bedroom when ill.
+But though I have reason to believe that the last sacraments were
+actually administered to him privately a few days before his death, and
+probably after confession, yet Count Montholon, from whom I derive
+indirectly my information, also stated that he received Napoleon's
+earnest and distinct directions to conceal all the preliminary
+preparations for that melancholy ceremony from all his other companions,
+and even to enjoin the priest, if questioned, to say he acted by Count
+Montholon's orders, but had no knowledge of the Emperor's wishes.</p>
+
+<p>"It seems as if he had some desire for such assurance as the Church
+could give, but yet was ashamed to own it. He knew that some at St.
+Helena, and more in France, would deem his recourse to such consolation
+infirmity; perhaps he deemed it so himself. Religion may sing her
+triumph, philosophy exclaim 'pauvre humanite,' more impartial scepticism
+despair of discovering the motive, but truth and history must, I
+believe, acknowledge the fact."</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_H_8" id="Footnote_H_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_H_8"><span class="label">[H]</span></a> <i>Foreign Reminiscences.</i> By Henry Richard Lord Holland.
+Edited by his Son, Henry Edward Lord Holland. Longman and Co., London.
+New-York: Harpers.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="JOHN_JAMES_AUDUBON" id="JOHN_JAMES_AUDUBON"></a>JOHN JAMES AUDUBON.</h2>
+
+<h3>By Rufus W. Griswold.</h3>
+
+
+<p>"Formerly," said Baron Cuvier, in a report to the Royal Academy of
+Sciences in Paris, "European naturalists had to make known her own
+treasures to America; but now her Mitchells, Harlans, and Charles
+Bonapartes, have repaid with interest the debt which she owed to Europe.
+The history of the American birds by Wilson, already equals in elegance
+our most beautiful works in ornithology, and if ever that of Audubon be
+completed, it will have to be confessed that in magnificence of
+execution the Old World is surpassed by the New." The work of the
+"American backwoodsman" thus alluded to, has long been completed; the
+great Cuvier subsequently acknowledged it to be "the most splendid
+monument which art has erected in honor of ornithology;" and the
+judgment of mankind has placed the name of our countryman first in the
+list of authors and artists who have illustrated the beautiful branch of
+natural history to which he has devoted so large a portion of his long
+and heroic life.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">John James Audubon</span> was born in Louisiana about the year 1782. He was of
+French descent, and his parents perceiving early the bent of his genius
+sent him to Paris to pursue his education. While there he attended
+schools of natural history and the arts, and in drawing took lessons
+from the celebrated David. He returned in his eighteenth year, and his
+father soon after gave him a farm near Philadelphia, where the
+Perkioming creek falls into the Schuylkill. Its fine woods offered him
+numerous subjects for his pencil, and he here commenced that series of
+drawings which ultimately swelled into the magnificent collection of The
+Birds of America. Here too he was married, and here was born his eldest
+son. He engaged in commercial speculations, but was not successful. His
+love for the fields and flowers, the forests and their winged
+inhabitants, we readily suppose unfitted him for trade. At the end of
+ten years he removed to the west. There were then no steamboats on the
+Ohio, and few villages and no cities on its shores. Reaching that noble
+river in the warm days of autumn, he purchased a small boat in which,
+with his wife and child and two rowers, he leisurely pursued his way
+down to Henderson, in Kentucky, where his family resided several years.
+He appears at first to have engaged in commerce, for he mentions his
+meeting with Wilson, of whom till then he had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_470" id="Page_470">[Pg 470]</a></span> never heard, as having
+occurred in his counting-room in Louisville in the spring of 1810. His
+great predecessor was procuring subscriptions for his work. He called on
+Audubon, explained the nature of his occupations, and requested his
+patronage. The merchant was surprised and gratified at the sight of his
+volumes, and had taken a pen to add his name to the list of subscribers,
+when his partner abruptly said to him in French, "My dear Audubon, what
+induces you to do so? your own drawings are certainly far better, and
+you must know as much of the habits of American birds as this gentleman.
+"Wilson probably understood the remark, for he appeared not to be
+pleased, and inquired whether Audubon had any drawings of birds. A large
+portfolio was placed upon the table, and all its contents exhibited by
+the amateur ornithologist. Wilson was surprised; he had supposed he was
+himself the only person engaged in forming such a collection; and asked
+if it was intended to publish them. Audubon replied in the negative: he
+had never thought of presenting the fruits of his labors to the world.
+Wilson was still more surprised; he lost his cheerfulness; and though
+before he left Louisville Audubon explored with him the neighboring
+woods, loaned him his drawings, and in other ways essayed to promote his
+interests and happiness, he shook the dust from his feet when he
+departed, and wrote in his diary that "literature or art had not a
+friend in the place." Far be it from me to write a word in dispraise of
+Alexander Wilson. He was a man of genius, enthusiasm, and patient
+endurance; an honor to the country of his birth, and a glory to that of
+his adoption; but he evidently could not bear the thought of being
+excelled. With all his merits he was even then greatly inferior to
+Audubon, and his heart failed him when he contrasted the performances
+which had won fame for him with those of the unknown lover of the same
+mistress, Nature, whom he thus encountered.</p>
+
+<p>Audubon must soon have abandoned or neglected his day-books and ledgers,
+for in 1811 we find him with his rifle and drawing paper among the
+bayous of Florida, and in the following years making long and tedious
+journeys, searching the forests and prairies, the shores of rivers,
+lakes, gulfs, and seas, for the subjects of his immortal work, of the
+publication of which, however, he had never yet had a thought.</p>
+
+<p>On the fifth of April, 1824, he visited Philadelphia, where the late Dr.
+Mease, whom he had known on his first arrival in Pennsylvania, presented
+him to Charles Lucien Bonaparte, who in his turn introduced him to the
+Lyceum of Natural History. He perceived that he could look for no
+patronage in this city, and so proceeded to New-York, where he was
+received with a kindness well suited to elevate his depressed spirits,
+and afterwards ascending the Hudson, went westward to the great lakes,
+and in the wildest solitudes of the pathless forests renewed his labors.
+He now began to think of visiting Europe; the number of his drawings had
+greatly increased notwithstanding a misfortune by which two hundred of
+them, representing nearly a thousand birds, had been destroyed; and he
+fancied his work under the hands of the engraver. "Happy days and nights
+of pleasing dreams" followed, as he retired farther from the haunts of
+men, determined to leave nothing undone which could be accomplished by
+time or toil. Another year and a half passed by; he returned to his
+family, then in Louisiana; and having explored the woods of that state,
+at last sailed for England, where he arrived in 1826. In Liverpool and
+Manchester his works procured him a generous reception from the most
+distinguished men of science and letters; and when he proceeded to
+Edinburgh and exhibited there his four hundred paintings, "the hearts of
+all warmed toward Audubon," says Professor Wilson, "who were capable of
+conceiving the difficulties, dangers, and sacrifices that must have been
+encountered, endured, and overcome before genius could have embodied
+these, the glory of its innumerable triumphs."<a name="FNanchor_I_9" id="FNanchor_I_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_I_9" class="fnanchor">[I]</a> "The man himself," at
+this period writes the same eloquent author in another work, "is just
+what you would expect from his productions; full of fine enthusiasm and
+intelligence, most interesting in his looks and manners, a perfect
+gentleman, and esteemed by all who know him for the simplicity and
+frankness of his nature."<a name="FNanchor_J_10" id="FNanchor_J_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_J_10" class="fnanchor">[J]</a></p>
+
+<p>His reception encouraged him to proceed immediately with his plans of
+publication. It was a vast undertaking which it would take probably
+sixteen years to accomplish, and when his first drawings were delivered
+to the engraver he had not a single subscriber. His friends pointed out
+the rashness of the project and urged him to abandon it. "But my heart
+was nerved," he exclaims, "and my reliance on that Power on whom all
+must depend brought bright anticipations of success." Leaving his work
+in the care of his engravers and agents, in the summer of 1828 he
+visited Paris, and received the homage of the most distinguished men of
+science in that capital. Humboldt too, whose gigantic intelligence arose
+above all others in central Europe, became his warm friend, and remained
+until his death a sympathizing correspondent.</p>
+
+<p>The ensuing winter was passed in London, and in April, 1829, he returned
+to America to explore anew the woods of the middle and southern states.
+Accompanied by his wife he left New Orleans on the eighth of January,
+1830, for New-York, and on the twenty-fifth of April, just a year from
+the time of his departure, he was again in the Great Metropolis. Before
+the close of 1830, he had issued his first volume, containing one
+hundred plates, representing ninety-nine species of birds, every figure
+of the size and colors of life. The applause with which it was received
+was enthusiastic<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_471" id="Page_471">[Pg 471]</a></span> and universal. The kings of England and France had
+placed their names at the head of his subscription list; he was made a
+fellow of the Royal Societies of London and Edinburgh; a member of the
+Natural History Society of Paris, and other celebrated institutions; and
+Cuvier, Swainson, and indeed the great ornithologists of every country,
+exhausted the words of panegyric in his praise.</p>
+
+<p>On the first of August, 1831, Audubon arrived once more in New-York, and
+having passed a few days with his friends there and in Philadelphia,
+proceeded to Washington, where the President and other principal
+officers of the government gave him letters of assistance and protection
+to be used all along the coasts and inland frontiers where there were
+collectors of revenue or military or naval forces. He had previously
+received similar letters from the king's ministers to the authorities of
+the British colonies.</p>
+
+<p>The next winter and spring were passed in the Floridas and in
+Charleston; and early in the summer, bending his course northward to
+keep pace with the birds in their migrations, he arrived in
+Philadelphia, where he was joined by his family. The cholera was then
+spreading death and terror through the country, and on reaching Boston
+he was himself arrested by sickness and detained until the middle of
+August. "Although I have been happy in forming many valuable friendships
+in various parts of the world, all dearly cherished by me," he says,
+"the outpouring of kindness which I experienced in Boston far exceeded
+all that I have ever met with;"<a name="FNanchor_K_11" id="FNanchor_K_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_K_11" class="fnanchor">[K]</a> and he tells us, with characteristic
+enthusiasm, of his gratitude to the Appletons, Everetts, Quincys,
+Pickerings, Parkmans, and other eminent gentlemen and scholars of that
+beautiful and hospitable city.</p>
+
+<p>Proceeding at length upon his mission, he explored the forests of Maine
+and New Brunswick, and the shores of the Bay of Fundy, and chartering a
+vessel at Eastport, sailed for the gulf of St. Lawrence, the Magdalen
+Islands, and the coast of Labrador. Returning as the cold season
+approached, he visited Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, and rejoining his
+family proceeded to Charleston, where he spent the winter, and in the
+spring, after nearly three years' travel and research, sailed a third
+time for England.</p>
+
+<p>Among the warmest of his British friends, was always the congenial
+Wilson, great as a poet, greater as critic, and greatest of all as the
+author of the <i>Noctes Ambrosian&aelig;</i>, which contain more wit and humor,
+more sound theology, philosophy, and politics, and better and more
+various literature, than any other man now living has furnished in a
+single work. This almost universal genius, whose relish for the rod and
+gun and wild wood was scarcely less than that he felt for the best
+suppers of Ambrose, or the sharpest onslaught on the Whigs in
+Parliament, thoroughly appreciated and heartily loved our illustrious
+countryman, and in Blackwood's Magazine for January, 1835, he gives us
+the following admirable sketch of the visit he now made to Edinburgh:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"We were sitting one night, lately, all alone by ourselves,
+almost unconsciously eyeing the members, fire without flame, in
+the many-visioned grate, but at times aware of the symbols and
+emblems there beautifully built up, of the ongoings of human
+life, when a knocking, not loud but resolute, came to the front
+door, followed by the rustling thrill of the bell-wire, and
+then by a tinkling far below, too gentle to waken the house
+that continued to enjoy the undisturbed dream of its repose. At
+first we supposed it might be but some late-home-going
+knight-errant from a feast of shells, in a mood, 'between
+malice and true-love,' seeking to disquiet the slumbers of Old
+Christopher, in expectation of seeing his night-cap (which he
+never wears) popped out of the window, and of hearing his voice
+(of which he is charry in the open air) simulating a scold upon
+the audacious sleep-breaker. So we benevolently laid back our
+head on our easy-chair, and pursued our speculations on the
+state of affairs in general&mdash;and more particularly on the
+floundering fall of that inexplicable people&mdash;the Whigs. We had
+been wondering, and of our wondering found no end, what could
+have been their chief reasons for committing suicide. It
+appeared a case of very singular <i>felo-de-se</i>&mdash;for they had so
+timed the 'rash act,' as to excite strong suspicions in the
+public mind that his Majesty had committed murder.
+Circumstances, however, had soon come to light, that proved to
+demonstration, that the wretched Ministry had laid violent
+hands on itself, and effected its purpose by strangulation.
+There&mdash;was the fatal black ring visible round the neck&mdash;through
+a mere thread; there&mdash;were the blood-shot eyes protruding from
+the sockets; there&mdash;the lip-biting teeth clenched in the last
+convulsions; and there&mdash;sorriest sight of all&mdash;was the ghastly
+suicidical smile, last relic of the laughter of despair. But
+the knocking would not leave the door&mdash;and listening to its
+character, we were assured that it came from the fist of a
+friend, who saw light through the chinks of the shutter, and
+knew, moreover, that we never put on the shroud of death's
+pleasant brother sleep, till 'ae wee short hour ayont the
+twal,' and often not till earliest cock-crow, which chanticleer
+utters somewhat drowsily, and then replaces his head beneath
+his wing, supported on one side by a partlet, on the other by a
+hen. So we gathered up our slippered feet from the rug, lamp in
+hand stalked along the lobbies, unchained and unlocked the oak
+which our faithful night porter Somnus had sported&mdash;and lo! a
+figure muffled up in a cloak, and furred like a Russ, who
+advanced familiarly into the hall, extended both hands and then
+embracing us, bade God bless us, and pronounced, with somewhat
+of a foreign accent, the name in which we and the world
+rejoice&mdash;Christopher North!' We were not slow in returning the
+hug fraternal&mdash;for who was it but the 'American
+Woodsman?'&mdash;even Audubon himself&mdash;fresh from the Floridas&mdash;and
+breathing of the pure air of far-off Labrador!</p>
+
+<p>"Three years and upwards had fled since we had taken farewell
+of the illustrious Ornithologist&mdash;on the same spot&mdash;at the same
+hour; and there was something ghostlike in such return of a
+dear<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_472" id="Page_472">[Pg 472]</a></span> friend from a distant region&mdash;almost as if from the land
+of spirits. It seemed as if the same moon again looked at
+us&mdash;but then she was wan and somewhat sad&mdash;now clear as a
+diamond, and all the starry heavens wore a smile. "Our words
+they were na mony feck'&mdash;but in less time than we have taken to
+write it&mdash;we two were sitting cheek by jowl, and hand in hand,
+by that essential fire&mdash;while we showed by our looks that we
+both felt, now they were over, that three years were but as one
+day! The cane coal-scuttle, instinct with spirit, beeted the
+fire of its own accord, without word or beck of ours, as if
+placed there by the hands of one of our wakeful Lares; in globe
+of purest crystal the Glenlivet shone; unasked the bright brass
+kettle began to whisper its sweet 'under song;' and a centenary
+of the fairest oysters native to our isle turned towards us
+their languishing eyes, unseen the Nereid that had on the
+instant wafted them from the procreant cradle beds of
+Prestonpans. Grace said, we drew in to supper, and hobnobbing,
+from elegant long-shank, down each naturalist's gullet
+graciously descended, with a gurgle, the mildest, the meekest,
+the very Moses of Ales.</p>
+
+<p>"Audubon, ere half an hour had elapsed, found an opportunity of
+telling us that he had never seen us in a higher state of
+preservation&mdash;and in a low voice whispered something about the
+eagle renewing his youth. We acknowledged the kindness by a
+remark on bold bright birds of passage that find the seasons
+obedient to their will, and wing their way through worlds still
+rejoicing in the perfect year. But too true friends were we not
+to be sincere in all we seriously said; and while Audubon
+confessed that he saw rather more plainly than when we parted
+the crowfeet in the corners of our eyes, we did not deny that
+we saw in him an image of the Falco Lencocephalus, for that,
+looking on his 'carum caput,' it answered his own description
+of that handsome and powerful bird, viz. 'the general color of
+the plumage above is dull hair-brown, the lower parts being
+deeply brown, broadly margined with greyish white.' But here he
+corrected us: for 'surely, my dear friend,' quoth he, 'you must
+admit I am a living specimen of the Adult Bird, and you
+remember my description of him in my First Volume.' And thus
+blending our gravities and our gayeties, we sat facing one
+another, each with his last oyster on the prong of his trident,
+which disappeared, like all mortal joys, between a smile and a
+sigh.</p>
+
+<p>"How similar&mdash;in much&mdash;our dispositions&mdash;yet in almost all how
+dissimilar our lives! Since last we parted, 'we scarcely heard
+of half a mile from home'&mdash;he tanned by the suns and beaten by
+the storms of many latitudes&mdash;we like a ship laid up in
+ordinary, or anchored close in shore within the same sheltering
+bay&mdash;with sails unfurled and flags flying but for sake of show
+on some holyday&mdash;he like a ship that every morning had been
+dashing through a new world of waves&mdash;often close-reefed or
+under bare poles&mdash;but oftener affronting the heavens with a
+whiter and swifter cloud than any hoisted by the combined
+fleets in the sky. And now, with canvas unrent, and masts
+unsprung, returned to the very buoy she left. Somewhat faded,
+indeed, in her apparelling&mdash;but her hull sound as ever&mdash;not a
+speck of dry rot in her timbers&mdash;her keel unscathed by
+rock&mdash;her cut-water yet sharp as new-whetted scythe ere the
+mower renews his toil&mdash;her figure-head, that had so often
+looked out for squalls, now 'patient as the brooding dove'&mdash;and
+her bowsprit&mdash;but let us man the main-brace; nor is there purer
+spirit&mdash;my trusty frere&mdash;in the Old World or the New.</p>
+
+<p>"It was quite a Noctes. Audubon told us&mdash;by snatches&mdash;all his
+travels, history, with many an anecdote interspersed of the
+dwellers among the woods&mdash;bird, beast, and man.</p>
+
+<p>"All this and more he told us, with a cheerful voice and
+animated eyes, while the dusky hours were noiselessly wheeling
+the chariot of Night along the star-losing sky; and we too had
+something to tell him of our own home-loving obscurity, not
+ungladdened by studies sweet in the Forest&mdash;till Dawn yoked her
+dappled coursers for one single slow stage&mdash;and then jocund
+Morn leaping up on the box, took the ribbons in her rosy
+fingers, and, after a dram of dew, blew her bugle, and drove
+like blazes right on towards the gates of Day."</p>
+
+<p>"His great work," says Wilson, elsewhere, "was indeed a
+perilous undertaking for a stranger in Britain, without the
+patronage of powerful friends, and with no very great means of
+his own&mdash;all of which he embarked in the enterprise dearest to
+is heart. Had it failed, Audubon would have been a ruined
+man&mdash;and that fear must have sometimes dismally disturbed him,
+for he is not alone in life, and is a man of strong family
+affections. But happily those nearest his breast are as
+enthusiastic in the love of natural science as himself&mdash;and
+were all willing to sink or swim with the beloved husband and
+venerated father. America may well be proud of him&mdash;and he
+gratefully records the kindness he has experienced from so many
+of her most distinguished sons. In his own fame he is just and
+generous to all who excel in the same studies; not a particle
+of jealousy is in his composition; a sin, that, alas! seems too
+easily to beset too many of the most gifted spirits in
+literature and in science; nor is the happiest
+genius&mdash;imaginative or intellectual&mdash;such is the frailty of
+poor human nature at the best&mdash;safe from the access of that
+dishonouring passion."</p></div>
+
+<p>The second volume of The Birds of America was finished in 1834, and in
+December of that year he published in Edinburgh the second volume of the
+Ornithological Biography. Soon after, while he was in London, a nobleman
+called upon him, with his family, and on examining some of his original
+drawings, and being told that it would still require eight years to
+complete the work, subscribed for it, saying, "I may not see it
+finished, but my children will." The words made a deep impression on
+Audubon. "The solemnity of his manner I could not forget for several
+days," he writes in the introduction to his third volume; "I often
+thought that neither might I see the work completed, but at length
+exclaimed, 'My sons may;' and now that another volume, both of my
+illustrations and of my biographies, is finished, my trust in Providence
+is augmented, and I cannot but hope that myself and my family together
+may be permitted to see the completion of my labors." When this was
+written, ten years had elapsed since the publication of his first plate.
+In the next three years, among other excursions he made one to the
+western coast of the Floridas and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_473" id="Page_473">[Pg 473]</a></span> to Texas, in a vessel placed at his
+disposal by our government; and at the end of this time appeared the
+fourth and concluding volume of his engravings, and the fifth of his
+descriptions. The whole comprised four hundred and thirty-five plates,
+containing one thousand and sixty-five figures, from the Bird of
+Washington to the Humming Bird, of the size of life, and a great variety
+of land and marine views, and coral and other productions, of different
+climates and seasons, all carefully drawn and colored after nature. Well
+might the great naturalist felicitate himself upon the completion of his
+gigantic task. He had spent nearly half a century "amid the tall grass
+of the far-extended prairies of the west, in the solemn forests of the
+north, on the heights of the midland mountains, by the shores of the
+boundless ocean, and on the bosoms of our vast bays, lakes and rivers,
+searching for things hidden since the creation of this wondrous world
+from all but the Indian who has roamed in the gorgeous but melancholy
+wilderness." And speaking from the depth of his heart he says, "Once
+more surrounded by all the members of my dear family, enjoying the
+countenance of numerous friends who have never deserted me, and
+possessing a competent share of all that can render life agreeable, I
+look up with gratitude to the Supreme Being, and feel that I am happy."</p>
+
+<p>In 1839, having returned for the last time to his native country and
+established himself with his family near the city of New-York, Audubon
+commenced the publication of The Birds of America in imperial octavo
+volumes, of which the seventh and last was issued in the summer of 1844.
+The plates in this edition, reduced from his larger illustrations, were
+engraved and colored in the most admirable manner by Mr. Bowen of
+Philadelphia, under the direction of the author, and excepting The Birds
+of America in folio, there has never been published so magnificent a
+work on ornithology.</p>
+
+<p>Audubon was too sincere a worshipper of nature to be content with
+inglorious repose, even after having accomplished in action more than
+was ever dreamed of by any other naturalist; and while the "edition for
+the people" of his Birds of America was in course of publication, he was
+busy amid the forests and prairies, the reedy swamps of our southern
+shores, the cliffs that protect our eastern coasts, by the currents of
+the Mexican gulf and the tide streams of the Bay of Fundy, with his
+sons, Victor Gifford and John Woodhouse, making the drawings and writing
+the biographies of the <i>Quadrupeds of America</i>, a work in no respect
+inferior to that on our birds, which he began to publish about five
+years ago. The plates, on double imperial folio paper, engraved and
+colored by Mr. Bowen after the original drawings made from nature by
+Audubon and his sons, are even more magnificent than those of the Birds
+of America, which twenty years ago delighted and astonished the
+naturalists of Europe.</p>
+
+<p>The Biography of American Quadrupeds, accompanying these plates, and of
+which the first volume appeared in New-York in 1846, was written
+principally by the Rev. John Bachman, D.D., of Charleston, a long-tried
+and enthusiastic friend, of whose introduction to him Audubon thus
+speaks in the preface of the second volume of his Ornithological
+Biography:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"It was late in the afternoon when we took our lodgings in
+Charleston. Being fatigued, and having written the substance of
+my journey to my family, and delivered a letter to the Rev. Mr.
+Gilman, I retired to rest. At the first glimpse of day the
+following morning, my assistants and myself were already
+several miles from the city, commencing our search in the
+fields and woods, and having procured abundance of subjects
+both for the pencil and the scalpel, we returned home, covered
+with mud, and so accoutred as to draw towards us the attention
+of every person in the streets. As we approached the
+boarding-house, I observed a gentleman on horseback close to
+our door. He looked at me, came up, inquired if my name was
+Audubon, and on being answered in the affirmative, instantly
+leaped from his saddle, shook me most cordially by the
+hand&mdash;there is much to be expressed and understood by a shake
+of the hand&mdash;and questioned me in so kind a manner, that I for
+a while felt doubtful how to reply. At his urgent desire, I
+removed to his house, as did my assistants. Suitable apartments
+were assigned to us; and once introduced to the lovely and
+interesting group that composed his family, I seldom passed a
+day without enjoying their society. Servants, carriages,
+horses, and dogs were all at our command, and friends
+accompanied us to the woods and plantations, and formed parties
+for water excursions. Before I left Charleston, I was truly
+sensible of the noble and generous spirit of the hospitable
+Carolinians."</p></div>
+
+<p>Audubon and Bachman (the same Bachman who recently refuted the heresies
+of Agassiz respecting the unity of the human race) were from this time
+devoted friends and co-workers. For several years the health of the hero
+naturalist had declined, and he was rarely if ever seen beyond the
+limits of his beautiful estate on the banks of the Hudson, near this
+city, where, on the twenty-seventh of January, 1851, he died, full of
+years, and illustrious with the most desirable glory.</p>
+
+<p>Audubon's highest claim to admiration is founded upon his drawings in
+natural history, in which he has exhibited a perfection never before
+attempted. In all our climates&mdash;in the clear atmosphere, by the dashing
+waters, amid the grand old forests with their peculiar and many-tinted
+foliage, by him first made known to art&mdash;he has represented our
+feathered tribes, building their nests and fostering their young, poised
+on the tip of the spray and hovering over the sedgy margin of the lake,
+flying in the clouds in quest of prey or from pursuit, in love, enraged,
+indeed in all the varieties of their motion and repose and modes of
+life, so perfectly that all other works of the kind are to his as
+stuffed skins to the living birds.</p>
+
+<p>But he has also indisputable claims to a high rank as a man of letters.
+Some of his written<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_474" id="Page_474">[Pg 474]</a></span> pictures of birds, so graceful, clearly defined,
+and brilliantly colored, are scarcely inferior to the productions of his
+pencil. His powers of general description are not less remarkable. The
+waters seem to dance to his words as to music, and the lights and shades
+of his landscapes show the practised hand of a master. The evanescent
+shades of manners, also, upon the extreme frontiers, where the
+footprints of civilization have hardly crushed the green leaves, have
+been sketched with graphic fidelity in his journals.</p>
+
+<p>No author has more individuality. The enthusiastic, trustful and loving
+spirit which breathes through his works distinguished the man. From the
+beginning he surrendered himself entirely to his favorite pursuit, and
+was intent to learn every thing from the prime teacher, Nature. His
+style as well as his knowledge was a fruit of his experiences. He had
+never written for the press until after the age at which most authors
+have established their reputation; and when he did write, his page
+glowed like the rich wild landscape in the spring, when Nature, then
+most beautiful, "bathes herself in her own dewy waters." We seem to hear
+his expressions of wondering admiration, as unknown mountains, valleys
+and lakes burst upon his view, as the deer at his approach leaped from
+his ambush into the deeper solitudes, as the startled bird with rushing
+wings darted from his feet into the sky; or his pious thanksgiving, as
+at the end of a weary day the song of the sparrow or the robin relieved
+his mind from the heavy melancholy that bore it down.</p>
+
+<p>When the celebrated Buffon had completed the ornithological portion of
+his great work on natural history, he announced with unhesitating
+assurance that he had "finished the history of the birds of the world."
+Twenty centuries had served for the discovery of only eight hundred
+species, but this number seemed immense, and the short-sighted
+naturalist declared that the list would admit of "no material
+augmentation" which embraced hardly a sixteenth of those now known to
+exist. To this astonishing advance of the science of ornithology, no one
+has contributed more than Audubon, by his magnificent painting and
+fascinating history.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Audubon left unpublished a voluminous autobiography, which we hope
+will be published with as little delay as possible.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_I_9" id="Footnote_I_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_I_9"><span class="label">[I]</span></a> Wilson's Miscellanies, vol. ii. p. 118.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_J_10" id="Footnote_J_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_J_10"><span class="label">[J]</span></a> Noctes Ambrosian&aelig;, vol. ii. p. 103.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_K_11" id="Footnote_K_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_K_11"><span class="label">[K]</span></a> Introduction to the second volume of Ornithological
+Biography, p. xvii.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="Original_Poetry" id="Original_Poetry"></a><i>Original Poetry.</i></h2>
+
+
+<h3>OLD AGE.</h3>
+
+<h4>By Alfred B. Street.</h4>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">All day the chill bleak wind had shrieked and wailed<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Through leafless forests, and o'er meadows sear;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Through the fierce sky great sable clouds had sailed;<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Outlines were hard&mdash;all nature's looks were drear.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Gone, Indian Summer's bland, delicious haze,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Thickening soft nights and filming mellow days.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Then rose gray clouds; thin fluttered first the snow,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Then like loose shaken fleeces, then in dense streams<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">That muffled gradually all below<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">In pearly smoothness. Then outburst the gleams<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">At sunset; nature shone in flashing white,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And the last rays tinged all with rosy light.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">So Life's bland Autumn o'er, may old age come<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In muffling peace, and death display hope's radiant bloom.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<h3>THE CASTLE IN THE AIR.<a name="FNanchor_L_12" id="FNanchor_L_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_L_12" class="fnanchor">[L]</a></h3>
+
+<h4>By R. H. Stoddard.</h4>
+
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i10">I.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">We have two lives about us,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Within us, and without us;<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Two worlds in which we dwell,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Alternate Heaven and Hell:<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Without, the sombre Real,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Within our heart of hearts, the beautiful Ideal!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">I stand between the thresholds of the two,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Fettered and bound with many a heavy chain;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">I strive to rend their links, but all in vain;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The False is strong, and holds me from the True.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Only in dreams my spirit wanders o'er<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The starry portal of the world of bliss,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And lives the life which Fate denies in this,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Which may have once been mind, but will be, nevermore.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i10">II.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">My Castle stands alone,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Away from Earth and Time,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">In some diviner clime,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">In Fancy's tropic zone,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Beneath its summer skies,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where all the live-long year the summer never dies!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">A stately marble pile whose pillars rise,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">From sculptured bases, fluted to the dome,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">With wreath&eacute;d friezes crowned, all carven nice<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">With pendant leaves, like ragged rims of foam;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">A thousand windows front the rising sun,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Deep-set between the columns, many paned,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Tri-arched, emblazoned, gorgeously stained,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Crimson and purple, green and blue, and dun,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And all their wedded colors fall below,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Like rainbows shattered on a field of snow;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">A bordering gallery runs along the roof,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Topt by a cupola, whose glittering spire<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Pierces the brooding clouds, a glowing woof,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">With golden spindles wove in Morning's loom of fire!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i10">III.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">What fine and rare domains<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Untold for leagues around;<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Green parks, and meads, and plains,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">And bosky woods profound,&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A realm of leafiness, and sweet enchanted ground!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Before the palace lies a shaven lawn,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Sloping and shining in the dews of dawn,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">With turfy terraces, and garden bowers,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Where rows of slender urns are full of flowers;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Broad oaks o'erarch the winding avenues,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Edged round with evergreens of fadeless bloom,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And pour a thousand intermingling hues,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">A many tinted flood of golden gloom;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Far-seen through twinkling leaves,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The fountains gush aloft like silver sheaves,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Drooping with shining ears, and crests of spray,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And foamy tassels blowing every way,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Shaking in marble basins white and cold,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">A bright and drainless shower of beaded grain,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Which winnows off, in sun-illumined rain<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The dusty chaff, a cloud of misty gold;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Around their volumes, down the plashy tide,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The swans are sailing mixed in lilies white,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Like virgin queens in soft disdain and pride,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Sweeping amid their maids with trains of light;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">A little herd of deer with startled looks,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">In shady parks where all the year they browse,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Head-down are drinking at the lucid brooks,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Their antlers mirrored with the tangled boughs;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">My rivers flow beyond, with guardant ranks<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Of silver-liveried poplars, on their banks;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Barges are fretting at the castle piers,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Rocking with every ripple in the tide;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And bridges span the stream with arches wide,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Their stony 'butments mossed and gray with years;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">An undulating range of vales, and bowers,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And columned palaces, and distant towers,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And on the welkin mountains bar the view,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Shooting their jagged peaks sublimely up the blue!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i10">IV.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">I saunter up the walks;<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">My sandals wetted through<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">With dripping flowers and stalks,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">That line the avenue;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">My broidered mantle all bedabbled with the dew!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">I climb a flight of steps with regal pride,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And stroll along an echoing colonnade,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Sweeping against its pillared balustrade,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Adown a porch, and through a portal wide,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And I am in my Castle, Lord of all;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">My faithful groom is standing in the hall<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">To doff my shining robe, while servitors,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And cringing chamberlains beside the doors<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_475" id="Page_475">[Pg 475]</a></span>
+<span class="i2">Waving their gilded wands, obsequious wait,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And bow me on my way in royal pomp and state!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i10">V.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">My chamber lies apart,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">The Castle's very heart,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">And all things rich and rare,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">From land, and sea, and air,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Are lavished with a wild and waste profusion there!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The carpeting was woven in Turkish looms,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">From softest wool of fine Circassian sheep;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Tufted like springy moss in forests deep,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Illuminate with all its autumn blooms;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The antique chairs are made of cedar trees,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Veined with the rings of vanished cennturies<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And touched with winter's frost, and summer's sun;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Sofas and couches, stuffed with cygnet's fleece,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Loll round inviting dreaminess and ease;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The gorgeous window curtains, damask red,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Suspended, silver-ringed, on bars of gold,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Droop heavily, in many a fluted fold,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And, rounding outward, intercept, and shed<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The prisoned daylight o'er the slumbrous room,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">In streams of rosy dimness, purple gloom;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Hard by are cabinets of curious shells,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Twisted and jointed, horn&eacute;d, wreathed, and curled,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And some like moons in rosy mist impearled,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">With coral boughs from ocean's deepest cells;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Cases of rare medallions, coins antique,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Found in the dust of cities, Roman, Greek;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Etruscan urns, transparent, soft, and bright,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">With fawns and dancing shepherds on their sides;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And costly marble vases dug from night<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">In Pompeii, beneath its lava tides:<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Clusters of arms, the spoil of ancient wars;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Old scimitars of true Damascus brand,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Short swords with basket hilts to guard the hand,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And iron casques with rusty visor bars;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Lances, and spears, and battle axes keen,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">With crescent edges, shields with studded thorns,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Yew bows, and shafts, and curv&eacute;d bugle horns,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">With tasseled baldricks of the Lincoln green:<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And on the walls with lifted curtains, see!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The portraits of my noble ancestry;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Thin featured, stately dames with powdered locks,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And courtly shepherdesses tending flocks;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Stiff lords in wigs, and ruffles white as snow,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Haught peers, and princes centuries ago,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And dark Sir Hugh, the bravest of the line,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">With all the knightly scars he won in Palestine!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i10">VI.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">My gallery sleeps aloof,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Soft-lighted through the roof,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Enshrining pictures old,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">And groups of statues cold,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The gems of Art, when Art was in her Age of Gold!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Not picked from any single age or clime,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Nor one peculiar master, school, or tone;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Select of all, the best of all alone,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The spoil and largesse of the Earth and Time;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Food for all thoughts and fancies, grave or gay;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Suggestive of old lore, and poets' themes;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">These filled with shapes of waking life, and day,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And those with spirits and the world of dreams;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Let me draw back the curtains, one by one,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And give their muffled brightness to the sun:<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i10">THE PICTURES.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">Helen and Paris on their bridal night,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Under the swinging cressets' starry light,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">With Priam and his fifty sons around,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Feasting in all their majesty and bloom,<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">Filling their golden cups with eager hands,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">To drink a health, while pale Cassandra stands<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">With all her raven tresses unbound,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Her soul o'ershadowed by the coming doom.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">Andromache, with all her tearful charms,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Folded upon the mighty Hector's breast,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And the babe shrinking in its Nurse's arms,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Affrightened by the nodding of his crest.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">The giant Cyclops, sitting in his cave,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Helped by the diving Ulysses, old and wise,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Spilling the wine in rivers down his beard,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Shaggy and grim,&mdash;his shoulder overleered<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">By swart Silenus, sly and cunning knave,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Who steals a puffy skin with twinkling eyes.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">Anacreon, lolling in the myrtle shades,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Bibbing his Teian draughts with rich delight,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Pledging the dancing girls and Cyprian maids,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Pinching their little ears, and shoulders white.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">A cloudless sunrise on the glittering Nile,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">A bronz&eacute;d Sphinx, and temple on the shore,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And rob&eacute;d priests that toss their censers while<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Abased in dust, the populace adore;<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">A beak&eacute;d galley fretting at its curb,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">With reedy oars, and masts, and silken sails,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And Cleopatra walks the deck superb,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Slow-followed by her court in spangled veils.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">The Virgin Mother, and the Holy Child,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Holding a globe and sceptre, sweet and mild;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The Magi bring their gifts with reverent looks,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And the rapt Shepherds lean upon their crooks.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">A summer f&ecirc;te, a party on a lawn;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Bowing gallants, with plum&eacute;d caps in hand,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And ladies with guitars, and, far withdrawn,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The rustic people dancing in a band.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">A bleak defile, a pass in mountains deep,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Whose whitened summits wear their morning glow,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And dark banditti winding down the steep<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Of shelvy rocks, pointing their guns below.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">A harvest scene, a vineyard on the Rhine;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Arbors, and wreath&eacute;d pales, and laughing swains<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Pouring their crowded baskets into wains,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And vats, and trodden presses gushing wine.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">A Flemish Tavern: boors and burghers hale<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Drawn round a table, o'er a board of chess,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Smoking their heavy pipes, and drinking ale,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Blowing from tankard brims the frothiness.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">A picture of Cathay, a justice scene;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Pagodas, statues, and a group around;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And, in his sedan chair, the Mandarin,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Reading the scroll of laws to prisoners bound,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Bambooed with canes, and writhing on the ground;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And many more whose veils I will undraw<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Some other day, exceeding fresh and fine;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And statues of the Grecian gods divine,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">In all their various moods of love and awe:<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The Phidean Jove, with calm creative face,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Like Heaven brooding o'er the deeps of Space;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Imperial Juno, Mercury, wing&eacute;d-heeled,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Lit with a message. Mars with helm and shield,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Apollo with the discus, bent to throw,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The piping Pan, and Dian with her bow,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And Cytherca just risen from the swell<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Of crudded foam, half-stooping on her knee,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Wringing her dripping tresses in the sea<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Whose loving billows climb the curv&eacute;d shell<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Tumultuously, and o'er its edges flow,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And kiss with pallid lips her nakedness of snow!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i10">VII.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">My boots may lie and mould,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">However rare and old;<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">I cannot read to-day,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Away! with books, away!<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Full-fed with sweets of sense,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I sink upon my couch in honied indolence!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Here are rich salvers full of nectarines,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Dead-ripe pomegranates, sweet Arabian dates,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Peaches and plums, and clusters fresh from vines,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And all imaginable sweets, and cakes,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And here are drinking-cups, and long-necked flasks<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">In wicker mail, and bottles broached from casks,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">In cellars delv&eacute;d deep, and winter cold,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Select, superlative, and centuries old.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">What more can I desire? what book can be<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">As rich as Idleness and Luxury?<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">What lore can fill my heart with joy divine,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Like luscious fruitage, and enchanted wine?<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Brimming with Helicon I dash the cup;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Why should I waste my years in hoarding up<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The thoughts of eld? Let dust to dust return:<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">No more for me,&mdash;my heart is not an urn!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">I will no longer sip from little flasks,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Covered with damp and mould, when Nature yields,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And Earth is full of purple vintage fields;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Nor peer at Beauty dimmed with mortal masks,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">When I at will may have them all withdrawn,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And freely gaze in her transfigured face;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Nor limp in fetters in a weary race,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">When I may fly unbound, like Mercury's fawn;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">No more contented with the sweets of old,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Albeit embalmed in nectar, since the trees,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The Eden bowers, the rich Hesperides,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Droop all around my path, with living fruits of gold!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i10">VIII.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">Oh what a life is mine,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">A life of joy and mirth,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">The sensuous life of Earth,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Forever fresh and fine.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A heavenly worldliness, mortality divine!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">When eastern skies, the sea, and misty plain,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Illumined slowly, doff their nightly shrouds,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And Heaven's bright archer Morn begins to rain<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">His golden arrows through the banded clouds,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">I rise and tramp away the jocund hours,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Knee-deep in dewy grass, and beds of flowers;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">I race my eager greyhound on the hills,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And climb with bounding feet the craggy steeps,<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_476" id="Page_476">[Pg 476]</a></span>
+<span class="i2">Peak-lifted, gazing down the cloven deeps,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Where mighty rivers shrink to threaded rills;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The ramparts of the mountains loom around,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Like splintery fragments of a ruined world;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The cliff-bound dashing cataracts, downward hurled<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">In thunderous volumes, shake the chasms profound:<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The imperial eagle, with a dauntless eye<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Wheels round the sun, the monarch of the sky;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">I pluck his eyrie in the blasted wood<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Of ragged pines, and when the vulture screams,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">I track his flight along the solitude,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Like some dark spirit in the world of dreams!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">When Noon in golden armor, travel spent,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Climbing the azure plains of Heaven, alone,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Pitches upon its topmost steep his tent,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And looks o'er Nature from his burning throne,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">I loose my little shallop from its quay,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And down the winding rivers slowly float,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And steer in many a shady cove and bay,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Where birds are warbling with melodious note;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">I listen to the humming of the bees,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The water's flow, the winds, the wavy trees,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And take my lute and touch its silver chords,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And set the Summer's melody to words;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Sometimes I rove beside the lonely shore,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Margined and flanked by slanting shelvy ledges,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And caverns echoing Ocean's sullen roar;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Threading the bladdery weeds, and paven shells,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Beyond the line of foam, the jewelled chain,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The largesse of the ever giving main.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Tossed at the feet of Earth with surgy swells,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">I plunge into the waves, and strike away,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Breasting with vigorous strokes the snowy spray;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Sometimes I lounge in arbors hung with vines,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The which I sip, and sip, with pleasure mute,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">O'er mouthful bites of golden-rinded fruit;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">When evening comes, I lie in dreamy rest,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Where lifted casements front the glowing west,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And watch the clouds, like banners wide unfurled,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Hung o'er the flaming threshold of the world:<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Its mission done, the holy Day recedes,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Borne Heavenward in its car, with fiery steeds,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Leaving behind a lingering flush of light,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Its mantle fallen at the feet of Night;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The flocks are penned, the earth is growing dim;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The moon comes rounding up the welkin's rim,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Glowing through thinnest mist, an argent shell,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Washed up the sky from Night's profoundest cell;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">One after one the stars begin to shine<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">In drifted beds, like pearls through shallow brine;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And lo! through clouds that part before the chase<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Of silent winds&mdash;a belt of milky white,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The Galaxy, a crested surge of light,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">A reef of worlds along the sea of Space:<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">I hear my sweet musicians far withdrawn,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Below my wreath&eacute;d lattice, on the lawn,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">With harp, and lute, and lyre,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And passionate voices full of tears and fire;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And envious nightingales with rich disdain<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Filling the pauses of the languid strain;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">My soul is tranced and bound,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Drifting along the magic sea of sound,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Driving in a barque of bliss from deep to deep,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And piloted at last into the ports of Sleep!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i10">IX.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i3">Nor only this, though this<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Might seal a life of bliss,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">But something more divine,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">For which I once did pine,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">The crown of worlds above,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The heart of every heart, the Soul of Being&mdash;Love!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">I bow obedient to my Lady's sway,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The sovereignty that won my soul of yore,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And linger in her presence night and day,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And feel a heaven around her evermore;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">I sit beside her couch in chambers lone,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And soft unbraid, and lay her locks apart,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And take her taper fingers in my own,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And press them to my lips with leaps of heart;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Sometimes I kneel to her with cups of wine,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">With pleading eyes, beseeching her to taste,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">With long-delaying lips, the draught divine;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And when she sips thereof, I clasp her waist,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And kiss her mouth, and shake her hanging curls,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And in her coy despite unloose her zone of pearls!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">I live for Love, for Love alone, and who<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Dare chide me for it? who dare call it folly?<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">It is a holy thing, if aught is holy,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And true indeed, if Truth herself is true:<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Earth cleaves to earth, its sensuous life is dear,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Mortals should love mortality while here,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And seize the glowing hours before they fly:<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Bright eyes should answer eyes, warm lips should meet,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And hearts enlocked to kindred hearts should beat,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And every soul that lives, in love should live and die!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i10">X.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">My dear and gentle wife,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">The Angel of my life,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Oppressed with sweetest things,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Has folded up her wings,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">And lies in slumber deep,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Like some divinest Dream upon the couch of Sleep!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">Nor sound, nor stir profanes the stilly room,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Haunted by Sleep and Silence, link&eacute;d pair;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The very light itself muffled in gloom,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Steals in, and melts the enamored air<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Where Love doth brood and dream, while Passion dies,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Breathing his soul out in a mist of sighs!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Lo! where she lies behind the curtains white,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Pillowed on clouds of down,&mdash;her golden hair<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Braided around her forehead smooth and fair,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Like a celestial diadem of light:&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Her soft voluptuous lips are drawn apart,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Curving in fine repose, and maiden pride;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Her creamy breast,&mdash;its mantle brushed aside<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Swells with the long pulsation of her heart:<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">One languid arm rests on the coverlid,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And one beneath the crumpled sheet is hid,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">(Ah happy sheets! to hide an arm so sweet!)<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Nor all concealed amid their folds of snow,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The soft perfection of her shape below,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Rounded and tapering to her little feet!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Oh Love! if Beauty ever left her sphere,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And sovereign sisters, Art and Poesy,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Moulded in loveliness she slumbers here,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Slumbers, dear love, in thee!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">It is thy smile that makes the chamber still;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">It is thy breath that fills the scented air;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The light around is borrowed from thy hair,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And all things else are subject to thy will,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And I am so bewildered in this deep<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Ambrosial calm, and passionate atmosphere,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">I know not whether I am dreaming here,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Or in the world of Sleep!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i10">XI.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">My eyes are full of tears,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">My heart is full of pain,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">To wake, as now, again,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And walk, as in my youth, the wilderness of Years!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">No more! no more! the autumn winds are loud<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">In stormy passes, howling to the Night:<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Behind a cloud the moon doth veil her light,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And the rain pours from out the horn&eacute;d cloud.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And hark! the solemn and mysterious bell,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Swinging its brazen echoes o'er the wave:<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Not mortal hands, but spirits ring the knell,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And toll the parting ghost of Midnight to its grave.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<h3>TO A BEREAVED MOTHER.</h3>
+
+<h4>BY HERMANN.</h4>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Its smile and happy laugh are lost to thee,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Earth must his mother and his pillow be.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i10">W. G. <span class="smcap">Clark</span>.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Mother, now thy task is done,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Now thy vigil ended;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">With the coming of the sun,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Grief and joy are blended.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Grief that thus thy flower of love<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">From its stem is riven;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Joy that will bloom above,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Midst the bowers of Heaven.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Gone, as oft expires the light<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Of thy nightly taper:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Gone, as 'fore the sunshine bright,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Early morning's vapor.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Kiss its lips so mute and cold,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Cold as chiselled marble,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">They will now to harp of gold<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Glad Hosannas warble.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">At the last they sweetly smiled,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Told it not for gladness;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Would'st thou now recall thy child<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">To a world of sadness?<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">It is hard to gather up,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Ties so rudely riven;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But thou'lt find this bitter cup<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">For thy weal was given.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Kiss again its hands so white,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Kiss its marble forehead;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Soon the grave will hide from sight,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">That thou only borrowed.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Thou will meet thy child again,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Where no death or sorrow<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Bring their sad to-day of pain,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And their dread to-morrow.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_L_12" id="Footnote_L_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_L_12"><span class="label">[L]</span></a> This poem, in an unfinished form, was published some months
+ago in <i>Sartain's Magazine</i>. It has since been re-written for the
+<i>International</i>, and is now much more than before deserving of the
+applause with which it was received.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_477" id="Page_477">[Pg 477]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="THE_AMBITIOUS_BROOKLET" id="THE_AMBITIOUS_BROOKLET"></a>THE AMBITIOUS BROOKLET.</h2>
+
+<h3>BY A. OAKEY HALL.</h3>
+
+
+<h4>CHAPTER I.</h4>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p><i>How the Brooklet was born; and lodged; and wandered off one
+rainy day.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>There was once a Brooklet born of a modest spring that circled through a
+smiling meadow. All the hours of the Spring, and the Summer, and the
+Autumn, kept she her musical round; greeting the sun at his rising,
+together with the meadow-larks which came to dip their beaks in the
+sparkling water-drops; and singing to the moon and stars all night, as
+she bore their features within her bosom, in grateful remembrance of
+their beauty. The laborer in the field hard by often came to visit her,
+and wet his honest, toil-browned brow with her cooling drops; and often,
+too, the laborer's daughter came at sunset time to sit by a mossy stone,
+with so lovely a face that the Brooklet, as she mirrored the features of
+the beautiful visitor, leaped about the pebbles with ripplings of
+admiration.</p>
+
+<p>And so this Brooklet lived on, only ceasing her merry flow and circling
+journey when the bushes by her side became white with snow, and when the
+rabbits from the brushwood fence at her head came out to stand upon the
+slippery casing that the Brooklet often saw spreading over her, and
+shutting out the warm sunshine by day, and at nightfall blurring the
+radiance of moon and stars.</p>
+
+<p>One stormy spring day the Brooklet seemed to rise higher among the twigs
+of the alder-bushes than ever before; the rain came down faster and
+heavier, and beat into her bosom, until her tiny waves were rough and
+sore with pain, and she was fain to nestle closer to the sedgy grass
+that now bent lowly to the pebbles at the roots. Growing higher every
+minute was the Brooklet; and frightened somewhat, and longing for the
+sunlight, or the laborer, and for the lovely daughter's face to cheer
+her up, she looked off over a track of country wider and greener than
+she had ever seen before. And so the Brooklet, all frightened as she
+was, said to herself, "I'll run along a bit into this country spot, so
+wide and green, and maybe I shall find the sunlight and the lovely
+face."</p>
+
+<p>Faster came the rain; and so the Brooklet, leaping wildly over a rock
+whose top until then her eyes had never seen, went flowing on upon this
+country spot, so wide and green. The new sights coming in view at every
+bound quite made the Brooklet forget her terrors from the beating rain;
+she was pained no longer by the heavy drops, but soothed herself among
+the velvet grass; and turned between little flowers scarcely above the
+ground, and which, as she passed them, seemed to be as frightened by the
+wind and rain as herself had been before the meadow was left behind.</p>
+
+<p>The Brooklet had thus run on until she saw the country spot so wide and
+green was well passed over, and trees and bushes, darker and thicker
+than she had ever known before, were close at hand. And while she
+thought of stopping in her way and going back, she heard not far before
+an echo of a sound most like unto her own; and so kept on to find it
+out. Clearer and louder increased the sound, as now through mouldy
+leaves and dark thickets, and under decayed logs and insect-burrowed
+moss, she kept a course, until presently, over a fallen tree, she saw a
+Brooklet, larger, wider, and evidently much older than herself, which,
+on her near approach, ran by the fallen tree's side, and said, "Good
+morning, sister: what is so delicate a being, as you seem to be, doing
+in this dark forest?"</p>
+
+<p>The wanderer Brooklet became silent with wonder. She had never been
+addressed before, though often trying to talk with the laborer, and to
+the lovely face of her meadow acquaintance, without the slightest notice
+upon their part of the overtures.</p>
+
+<p>"Good morning, sister, I say," was repeated over the fallen tree. "Where
+are you going at so slow a pace? Come over, and let us talk a bit."</p>
+
+<p>"I cannot, for I am terribly frightened, and I've lost my way. I want to
+quit this dark place, and go where I can hear the lark again, and see
+the pretty face which used to look at mine when I was circling in yonder
+meadow, now, I fear, far, far behind."</p>
+
+<p>"Larks and pretty faces, indeed! Why what a spooney sister, you are, to
+be sure. I'll show you more birds than ever you heard sing before, and
+prettier faces than ever you saw before."</p>
+
+<p>"No, no, I must go back," replied the wanderer; "I have come too far
+already, and see, the rain has almost ceased."</p>
+
+<p>"More's the pity for that," returned the other; "the faster it rains the
+faster I go, and that is what I want. I have left my family brooks a
+long time since, and I'm going on my travels to be somebody. I'm tired
+of my lonesome life among the meadows. I'm the <i>ambitious Brooklet</i>.
+Come over, then, and go along; we'll travel the faster in company."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm not ambitious; and as you may see, I cannot come."</p>
+
+<p>"You're almost to the log top now. I'll kiss you soon," triumphed the
+ambitious Brooklet, circling gayly round a tuft of green.</p>
+
+<p>It must have been the terrible rain, or the fright of her dark
+journeying place, that had taken her strength away:&mdash;the wandering
+Brooklet felt that it must be: for now her strength of will was almost
+gone. Nearer the log top came in view, until with a bound she swept its
+polished surface, and with a dash came over upon the ambitious Brooklet.</p>
+
+<p>"Good! that's the way to do it; now we shall journey gayly on," said the
+latter, "I have lost much time in stopping here, and there are such rare
+sights ahead!"</p>
+
+<p>The wanderer felt the oddest sensations she had ever known, and said,
+"Sister&mdash;ambitious sister&mdash;how much warmer than I are you!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, you are young, I suppose&mdash;fresh from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_478" id="Page_478">[Pg 478]</a></span> the icy spring. But journey
+on more southward yet, away from these dark trees, and you'll be warmer
+yet; come, I say."</p>
+
+<p>"I like your feel; but then I shall be lost, I know I shall; and so I'll
+stay behind."</p>
+
+<p>"You cannot; for, ambitious as I am, I want your help. See how much
+faster we travel together when your strength is joined to mine; and I'm
+the strongest, and you can't go back."</p>
+
+<p>The wandering Brooklet looked fearfully around, and saw indeed that the
+log she had leaped was now fast fading away, and felt that her strength
+became less and less as the ambitious Brooklet clung closer to her side.</p>
+
+<p>Presently they came in sight of a ledge of rocks. "Oh, this is rare
+indeed!" said the stronger sister Brooklet, "Let us pause a bit for
+breath, and then for a merry leap adown the valley of pines you see
+before."</p>
+
+<p>The Brooklets stopped, and became stronger, and leaped over the rocks;
+the one with an exulting bound&mdash;the other carried tremblingly along.</p>
+
+<p>The leap was a long one, and a hard one; for there were craggy rocks
+beneath, which they had not seen. And the ambitious Brooklet cried
+sharply and loudly&mdash;foaming in her rage as she went between the stony
+points, and quite forgetting her weaker sister in her pain. The latter
+was sorely injured too, and cut into little foam-bits; but she kept her
+wits about her, looking around everywhere for a place to rest. Soon she
+espied one&mdash;a little bowl of marshy ground, hemmed in by rocks, into
+which a straggling dropping from the chasm above slowly came.</p>
+
+<p>"Here will I go and rest," she said. So waiting for the ambitious
+Brooklet to get far out of sight, she collected all her strength for a
+jump into the bowl, where the drops came sparkling in. There was no need
+for fear of the sister on before; her she heard going over rock after
+rock, crying and wailing in her craggy journey. Then the tired wanderer,
+with a violent effort of her exhausted strength, jumped a rock and fell
+panting into the marshy bowl.</p>
+
+
+<h4>CHAPTER II.</h4>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p><i>How the Brooklet lived on in her new quarters; and how
+misfortune made her discontented.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>The dropping of the water from the rocks above her new abode, was cold
+and grateful to the Brooklet in her fevered state. It made her think of
+the spring she came from; and so of the meadow; and the alder-bushes;
+and the lovely face a weary way off now she knew, and fenced away from
+her return by cruel jagged rocks.</p>
+
+<p>Days passed by; and the sun came out all brightly. And the moon and
+stars were seen again; and larger and sweeter birds than she had heard
+before, now perched upon the trees about, warbling and chirruping from
+day-break to twilight. So the time passed on. The wanderer began to feel
+unsettled in her solitude. But there was no return by the path she came;
+still were the sharp rocks seen above; and still she felt a twinge of
+pain when thinking of her weary journey on that rainy day. Often too she
+thought of her ambitious sister, wondering where she was now and what
+she was about; and sometimes she almost fancied she would have been
+happier had she gone along. It was quite evident to herself that she was
+getting discontented.</p>
+
+<p>There was one pleasure she prized much. Following in the train of the
+ambitious Brooklet had been a score of fishes, which, frightened by the
+leap upon the jagged rocks, had staid behind with the timid wanderer,
+until they became part of her family in the new retreat. Overlooking,
+and enjoying the gambols of these fish, the discontented Brooklet often
+amused herself. Observing how when the sun came slanting through the
+sides of the foliage about, they would dart out from their hiding-places
+in the old dead leaves at the feet of the Brooklet, and so jump up to
+greet the warming rays: or how, when a fly fell down from the
+overhanging boughs, and tried to swim away, they would jump to nab a bit
+of lunch, scrabbling and tugging as they went; or how, when the largest
+fish of all threw off his dignity, and played with them at hide and seek
+under the foot-deep bottom of mud, they would all shoot about her
+life-blood drops without regard to the angles of pain their fins would
+leave behind!</p>
+
+<p>Thus the summer-time came on, and was passing by, when one day the
+Brooklet felt a shadow upon her, and looked up to see the cause&mdash;when
+high upon the rocks above, there stood a bright-eyed boy, with curling
+locks that blew about in golden beauty with the breeze. In his hand he
+held a little stick, which he turned over from time to time, and would
+take up and then lay it down, as if preparing for something wonderful.
+The curiosity of the Brooklet was aroused to know what he could mean,
+when presently she saw him sit upon the rock, and from the stick drop
+down upon her face a worm, which when the fishes saw they darted out to
+eat.</p>
+
+<p>"It is a beautiful boy; and a kind boy," said the artless Brook unto
+herself; "and he has come to feed the little fishes with a worm. I have
+not seen one since I left my little meadow on that rainy day. How like
+the lovely face I used to see, is his which now looks down."</p>
+
+<p>While thus the Brook was soliloquizing, a fish more cunning than the
+rest, had seized the worm within his mouth, and was swimming away to his
+favorite hole by an old willow stump to there complete a meal. He was
+just entering it, when the Brook saw him suddenly flash from her
+embrace, floundering and pulling as he went up, up through the air, unto
+the mossy bank above the rock from which fell the shadow of the boy. And
+now the Brook, more curious than ever, saw the face so like the
+laborer's daughter overspread with smiles as the tiny hands grasped the
+fish, and with a wrench tore out the worm from his gills, a piece of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_479" id="Page_479">[Pg 479]</a></span>
+which fell on the Brook athwart the shadow of the laugher.</p>
+
+<p>"What a fine one!" said the boy, and started up;&mdash;started up to slip
+against a smooth worn stone, and fall over the rock into the Brook,
+close by the willow stump; the captive fish held tightly as he went, but
+slipping from the falling grasp into its welcome element once more.</p>
+
+<p>The Brook had never felt so hard a blow before. The rain and hail were
+nothing to this. It made her splash and leap and swell against the rocky
+bank, until she could have called with pain.</p>
+
+<p>How still the boy laid on her breast! his head against the willow stump,
+over which there trickled a tiny purple stream smaller than the
+spring-drops from the rock! How richly his golden locks floated upon the
+Brook! but how widely strained his bright blue eyes glaring at the sky
+and tree-tops above, and how he gasped from his mouth; a mouth so like
+the one the laborer had often prest in harvest-time to the Brook, when
+it was yet circling in the meadow! The Brook said to herself, "I will
+put some of my ripples into this mouth, as I have seen the laborer do;
+perhaps, like him, it will make his eye sparkle, and send him away
+again; for he lies heavy on my breast." And so the ripples went into the
+opened mouth by dozens; but the blue sky and tree-tops faded from his
+eyes, and the lips lost their bright color, and the purple trickling on
+the willow stump grew thick and settled into a dark pool.</p>
+
+<p>All night the dead boy lay upon the breast of the Brook; and the fishes
+played around him, wondering what it was; and the little insects hopped
+over him at early sunlight; until the purple pool dried up, and only
+left a stain behind.</p>
+
+<p>And soon the Brook heard the hum of voices sounding over the rocks, as
+she listened from her solitude; and soon more shadows fell upon her
+face. Then looking up she saw the laborer once again; and the Brook
+rejoiced to think perhaps she was going back again into her pleasant
+meadow. He had taken up the stick the boy had used; and was looking down
+below upon the Brook, as the face&mdash;the lovely face, with more of the old
+sorrow in it&mdash;of the laborer's daughter, raised itself above his
+shoulder.</p>
+
+<p>"My brother!&mdash;drowned and dead!&mdash;and no more to come home alive to share
+his sister's home."</p>
+
+<p>This the Brook heard, and the fishes swam away into their holes, as
+piercing, sorrowful human tones mingled with the passing breeze; and
+they struck deeper into the willow roots as a pair of brawny arms
+readied out and caught the dead boy, and carried him away.</p>
+
+<p>The boy was gone, but the stain was there; and still a weight remained
+upon the Brook. For still day after day a shadow fell upon her, and the
+Brook looking up beheld the lovely but mournful face of the sorrowing
+sister, who would sit upon the mossy bank and sigh a sob; kissing a lock
+of golden hair the while. And heavier grew the weight on the breast of
+the Brook, as scalding tears fell from the rock above upon her face.</p>
+
+<p>And now the Brook again became discontented: and thought of her
+ambitious sister; and what might have happened had she followed after on
+a weary round of travels. The old meadow and the alders were out of the
+question now: for the winter was coming on, and the laborer and the
+lovely face would no more come to her side; and if they did they would
+sing no more, but sigh and sob, and look so sad, as now, upon the mossy
+rock above.</p>
+
+<p>The summer weather was long over; and the leaves were showering down,
+and had quite hidden the clouds and blue sky, and moon and stars from
+the sight of the Brook. The birds had ceased to sit and warble on the
+trees above. The breezes ceased their music, and instead were heard the
+hoarse notes of the Autumn wind.</p>
+
+
+<h4>CHAPTER III.</h4>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p><i>How the Brooklet and the Mountain-Torrent met.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>One day the leaves thickened more than ever over the Brook, and, as she
+peeped between, she saw the clouds were heavier and darker than usual.
+The wind roared louder, and the trees which grew so high above her bent
+down their branches until they brushed her face with their trailing. And
+soon the rain began to fall in torrents; and it fell and fell all day;
+all night too. Then the Brook rejoiced to think the leaves which she had
+been angry with before for choking her, protected from the pattering
+strokes. And soon the Brook heard a sound, like that made by her
+ambitious sister in the spring-time;&mdash;nearer and nearer it came; through
+the trees; over the rocks; tearing, splashing, dashing, and foaming at a
+direful rate.</p>
+
+<p>"It is my ambitious sister come for me. I'm glad," said the discontented
+Brook.</p>
+
+<p>"Glad of what?" exclaimed a roaring voice, coming over the rock, and
+sweeping away the leaves as if they had been a mere handful; and
+covering up the ugly purple stain upon the willow stump. "Ain't I a
+famous fellow, though? When once my blood is up, can't I go on and
+frighten people? Can't I mine out the earth, and sweep along big trees
+like boats? Can't I tumble down the rocks that dare to stop my path?
+Can't I drown men and boys, and all the cattle in the land? I've
+swallowed a dozen haystacks for my breakfast, and killed the finest
+mill-dam over the world this morning. I said I would as soon as winter
+came, when they dammed me up last spring, so many miles away! Oh, such a
+mass of stone and timber which they put up to fret me in my path; and
+what a joke to think this solid mass is scattered through the land since
+yesternight, and I am free once more."</p>
+
+<p>"This is not my ambitious sister! no indeed," murmured the Brook.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_480" id="Page_480">[Pg 480]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Why here is a little Brook," continued the voice, "a dainty, prudish,
+modest Brook, collected in a hole to die! Come out, my fair one! I will
+wed thee, as I have wedded fifty thousand of your sex in my short day!
+Come out; no fear; if I am the Mountain-Torrent, I'm not so great a
+monster as they say, especially to hurt a modest Brook."</p>
+
+<p>So saying the Mountain-Torrent caught up the shrinking Brook in his
+powerful embrace, and away they hurried through the very heart of the
+forest, miles and miles below.</p>
+
+<p>"This, this is life indeed," said the wedded Brook, once more a wanderer
+over the land, as with a thousand other Brooks they travelled on for
+many hours with impetuous speed, making dreadful havoc everywhere they
+touched. Havoc among the farmers and the villagers, who fought them inch
+by inch, with sticks and trees, and mounds of stone and clay, all which
+they licked up and swallowed, as if they had been pebbles and clumps of
+leaves. Havoc with the Creeks upon the route, who dared to scorn their
+overtures, and wed the Torrent, willingly; for spurning the placid,
+humble Creeks one side, they tore along their paths, and vented their
+fury on the bridges overhead, bringing down in general destruction,
+turnpikes and railroads with their pressing weight of travel.</p>
+
+<p>Havoc to themselves!</p>
+
+<p>For, tearing on so madly, the Mountain-Torrent, after a while, perceived
+his strength to fail, and his endurance to give out. But still he
+hurried on, though feebly, in hopes to meet more Brooks, perhaps a Lake,
+and so recruit himself the while. The wedded Brook was wearied too&mdash;a
+little; not much; at first the Mountain-Torrent had held her tightly in
+embrace, and carried her along with scarcely an effort; but as he
+wearied himself, much of the toil was thrown upon the Brook, and she was
+compelled to help herself. On went the Torrent, weaker every step, until
+at last he stopped and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Oh wedded Brook! my strength is gone; here must I pause; but you go on.
+Perhaps before long I shall meet you again. Go slowly; over the meadows
+and through the villages make me a path; I'll know which way you went."</p>
+
+<p>And so they parted; and so the lonely Brook meandered on, and finding
+out a bubbling spring, was well recruited for the journey. As she went
+she heard, across a little knoll, a remembered voice, and stopped. "I
+know you, sister Brook," cried out the voice, "go on a bit and turn
+towards your left, and there I'll meet you."</p>
+
+<p>And towards the left the lonely Brook met her ambitious sister. She was
+violent no more; but sober and sedate; calm as the evening sky reflected
+from her face.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm the 'ambitious one,'" said she, "ambitious yet, though all my
+strength has departed. Here on this spot was I caught and fastened up.
+They darkened my daylight with that smoking monster yonder, and killed
+my peace of mind with such a horrid din and clang, I've not a morsel of
+energy left. I'm a factory slave; and so are you, too, for that matter,
+now! Don't start; it's not my fault&mdash;the way that you were going on, you
+would have brought up in the Pond below, where there is yet another
+smoking monster; only worse than this of mine. The Pond there is a
+horrid fellow; poisoning with some horrid purple dye: I've seen him
+often when I venture near the dam and look below."</p>
+
+<p>"Sister, take courage," cried the other Brook. "I'm glad I met you. I'm
+ambitious too, for I was lately wedded to a glorious fellow, and have
+been on such a glorious tour: scampering over all the land. He calls
+himself the 'Mountain-Torrent.' He is now behind a mile or so, and may
+be down upon us before long, to free us from this distressing
+imprisonment you speak of."</p>
+
+<p>The monster smoked on; and the clanging din about maddened all the air.
+Huge wheels went racking and rumbling under huge brick walls. And day by
+day, a minute at a time, some youthful faces, pale and shadowy, looked
+wistfully upon the landscape below. But little knew the monster, and the
+clanging din, and racking wheels; and little hoped the shadowy faces of
+what the Brooklets plotted at the very factory door.</p>
+
+
+<h4>CHAPTER IV.</h4>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p><i>How the Mountain-Torrent freed the Brooks; and their fate.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>The frost dropped on the Brooks, and once more blurred the moon and
+stars, and shut the sunlight out; and starred a thousand jewels on the
+mill-dam's brow; and sparkled a myriad icicles from the rumbling wheels.
+Far away into the country it spread a white mantle, and froze into the
+very heart of all the Ponds and Creeks above. And then the sun came out
+and shone so brightly; and then the clouds over-covered it, and the rain
+came pattering down as of the olden time, when first its peltings stung
+the meadow Brook and tempted her to roam. And higher swelled the Brooks
+behind their mill-dam prison, and sent more of their life-blood to
+refresh the poisoned Pond below.</p>
+
+<p>"I am getting stronger; I am very strong to-day, sister Brook," said the
+ambitious one. "I think that with our efforts now united, we can push
+this mill-dam over and escape."</p>
+
+<p>"Wait for my darling Mountain-Torrent. I hear him on his way; he follows
+after us. And see down yonder hill-side how he tears along; and hark!
+how gladly, as he sees us from his rocky bed, he roars a song of
+courage."</p>
+
+<p>And the sister Brooks triumphed together as they saw the keepers of the
+smoking monster cease their clanging din, and rush for timbers to uphold
+the dam; and fly about with tools that were but baby toys for what was
+coming now.</p>
+
+<p>"Bring trees; bring stones; bring every<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_481" id="Page_481">[Pg 481]</a></span> thing," cried out the Brooks,
+as they saw the Mountain-Torrent come rushing nearer on, sweeping away
+the fences, and ploughing out a path more fitting for his travels than
+the brookside one he kept in view.</p>
+
+<p>"Welcome, my fair ones," roared he, as with heavy timbers in his maw he
+caught the Brooks again in strong embrace, and dashing at the smoking
+monster, knocked him down at once. Down came the mill-dam with an
+earthquake noise; the din upon the air was not of clanging tools and
+hammer stroke; the wheels were racking and rumbling, not beneath brick
+walls, but over the rocks and ruined factories below; while the pale and
+shadowy faces looked no longer wistfully on the landscape, but madly
+rushed about to spread the tale of ruin through the land.</p>
+
+<p>The same old thing! The same old journey over the country. The same old
+havoc as they went. But the strength of a thousand Brooks seemed given
+to the Mountain-Torrent as, looking miles away, he saw a wide expanse of
+water fringed with brown and bluish lines. "It is the Ocean, fair ones,"
+cried he; "when your feeble sights shall see it, bless my power, for at
+length we reach a home no art of man can invade to fetter us or bind us
+down. Ten millions of our species mingle there; in small harmony it is
+true, but better fight among ourselves than ever thus to wage a war with
+man. Now too approaches the time of our revenge: we'll take his life;
+we'll sink his ships; we'll break his boasted wealth into uncounted
+atoms, and scatter it."</p>
+
+<p>The Brooks trembled in the strong grasp of the Mountain-Torrent to hear
+the vehemence with which he spoke these threatening words; but lost
+their fears in greater astonishment, as now they neared the ocean waste,
+fringed with the lines of brown and blue of which he spoke.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, sister, what a noise!" cried one of the Brooks, "our own is not to
+be heard."</p>
+
+<p>"See what a dreadful wall appears to rise and fall as we approach,"
+answered the other. And they both clung closer to the embrace of the
+Torrent as he crossed the beach they reached at last, and plunged, with
+sticks and stones and all, upon the wall of foam and sand, which parted
+as the Mountain-Torrent and the Brooks joined forces with old <i>Ocean's</i>
+solemn waste.</p>
+
+<p>In an instant the meadow-born Brook writhed in pain, pressed on by
+thousands of Mountain-Torrents every way at once. She foamed and fought,
+and fought and foamed; under and over, up and below she plunged, but no
+escape; one weary work for ages yet to come!</p>
+
+<p>"Revenge once more! Gather and rage! Dash to ruin ships and sailors!"
+growled a tone which made the writhing Brook tremble into a million
+foam-beads, as simultaneously a roaring Tempest clattered by with
+thunder and lightning in its train, while a clashing hiss, as of
+something rushing madly through the water, bade the Brook&mdash;the sea-slave
+Brook&mdash;look up.</p>
+
+<p>No time for thought; for still the tone was heard, "Revenge once more!
+gather and rage! dash to ruin ship and sailors!" And still the tempest
+clattered, and still the hissing of the gallant ship's prow was heard
+cleaving the maddened waves. On, on! a dash; a crash; a march of
+maddening waves; a stunning tempest howl, and then the hiss was heard no
+more. But far and wide were hurried and mashed in one chaotic mass the
+fragments of the gallant ship.</p>
+
+<p>"How wise he is; how true my Mountain-Torrent spoke," thought the
+frightened sea-slave Brook, as the clattering tempest, with thunder and
+lightning in its train, passed out of sight and hearing leagues beyond.
+"And now I'll rest me on this sandy beach, for this ambitious life is
+wearisome indeed."</p>
+
+<p>And she nestled closely to a rock, and so crept into grateful rest. But
+as she lay, she looked beyond her sandy bed to see the lovely face of
+her early meadow life, when she was but a humble Brook. Pale and ghastly
+it lay upon a rounded stone; the hair floating out like fairy circles
+from the marked brow, and on the temple such a purple thickened stain as
+once had been upon the willow stump.</p>
+
+<p>The Brook came by her side and watched her gently as she lay. Then going
+farther out, the Brook brought strings of sea-weed, and strung them
+gayly and softly round her form, and watched her thus again. "Here will
+I stay," thought the Brook, "and fancy I am still in the sunlight meadow
+before I wandered forth into ambitious company. There's nought but
+trouble and pain crossed my path since the rainy days of the latest
+spring-time. Here will I stay, and ever mourn that I listened to
+ambitious counselling."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="LAST_CASE_OF_THE_SUPERNATURAL" id="LAST_CASE_OF_THE_SUPERNATURAL"></a>LAST CASE OF THE SUPERNATURAL.</h2>
+
+
+<p>A writer in the January number of <i>Fraser's Magazine</i>, at the conclusion
+of a tale crammed with the intensest horrors, presents us with one
+instance in which the architect of such machinery was foiled.</p>
+
+<p>When the recital was finished, and the company were well-nigh breathless
+with its skilfully cumulative terror, cried Tremenheere&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Humph! that is rather an uncomfortable story to go to bed upon."</p>
+
+<p>And presently&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"You have been lately in Spain, Melton; what news from Seville?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh," replied Melton, "you must have heard of Don Juan de Mura&ntilde;a, of
+terrible memory?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not we," said they.</p>
+
+<p>"One gloomy evening Don Juan de Mura&ntilde;a was returning along the quay
+where the Golden Tower looks down upon the Guadalquivir, so lost in
+thought that it was some time before he perceived that his cigar had
+gone out, though he was one of the most determined smokers in Spain. He
+looked about him, and beheld on the other side of the broad river an
+individual whose brilliant cigar sparkled like a star of the first
+magnitude at every aspiration.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_482" id="Page_482">[Pg 482]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Don Juan, who, thanks to the terror which he had inspired, was
+accustomed to see all the world obedient to his caprices, shouted to the
+smoker to come across the river and give him a light.</p>
+
+<p>"The smoker, without taking that trouble, stretched out his arm towards
+the Don, and so effectually that it traversed the river like a bridge,
+and presented to Don Juan a glowing cigar, which smelt most abominably
+of sulphur.</p>
+
+<p>"If Don Juan felt something like a rising shudder, he suppressed it,
+coolly lighted his own cigar at that of the smoker, and went on his way,
+singing, <i>Los Toros a la puerta</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"But who was the smoker?"</p>
+
+<p>"Who could he be, but the Prince of Darkness in person, who had laid a
+wager with Pluto that he would frighten Don Juan De Mura&ntilde;a, and went
+back to his place furious at having lost?</p>
+
+<p>"If you would learn more of Don Juan de Mura&ntilde;a, how he went to his own
+funeral, and died at last in the odor of sanctity, read that most
+spirited series of letters, <i>De Paris &agrave; Cadix</i>, wherein Alexander Dumas
+has surpassed himself. And now, Good night!"</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="A_STORY_WITHOUT_A_NAMEM" id="A_STORY_WITHOUT_A_NAMEM"></a>A STORY WITHOUT A NAME<a name="FNanchor_M_13" id="FNanchor_M_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_M_13" class="fnanchor">[M]</a></h2>
+
+<h3>Written For The International Monthly Magazine</h3>
+
+<h3>BY G. P. R. JAMES, ESQ.</h3>
+
+<h4><i>Continued from Page 348.</i></h4>
+
+
+<h4>CHAPTER XIV.</h4>
+
+<p>Occasionally in the life of man, as in the life of the
+world&mdash;History&mdash;or in the course of a stream towards the sea, come quiet
+lapses, sunny and calm, reflecting nothing but the still motionless
+objects around, or the blue sky and moving clouds above. Often too we
+find that this tranquil expanse of silent water follows quickly after
+some more rapid movement, comes close upon some spot where a dashing
+rapid has diversified the scene, or a cataract, in roar and confusion
+and sparkling terror, has broken the course of the stream.</p>
+
+<p>Such a still pause, silent of action&mdash;if I may use the term&mdash;followed
+the events which I have related in the last chapter, extending over a
+period of nearly six months. Nothing happened worthy of any minute
+detail. Peace and tranquillity dwelt in the various households which I
+have noticed in the course of this story, enlivened in that of Sir
+Philip Hastings by the gay spirit of Emily Hastings, although somewhat
+shadowed by the sterner character of her father; and in the household of
+Mrs. Hazleton brightened by the light of hope, and the fair prospect of
+success in all her schemes which for a certain time continued to open
+before her.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Marlow only spent two days at her house, and then went away to
+London, but whatever effect her beauty might have produced upon him, his
+society, brief as it was, served but to confirm her feelings towards
+him, and before he left her, she had made up her mind fully and
+entirely, with her characteristic vigor and strength of resolution, that
+her marriage with Mr. Marlow was an event which must and should be.
+There was under this conviction, but not the less strong, not the less
+energetic, not the less vehement, for being concealed even from
+herself&mdash;a resolution that no sacrifice, no fear, no hesitation at any
+course, should stand in the way of her purpose. She did not anticipate
+many difficulties certainly; for Mr. Marlow clearly admired her; but the
+resolution was, that if difficulties should arise, she would overcome
+them at all cost. Hers was one of those characters of which the world
+makes its tragedies, having within itself passions too strong and deep
+to be frequently excited&mdash;as the more profound waters which rise into
+mountains when once in motion require a hurricane to still
+them&mdash;together with that energetic will, that fixed unbending
+determination, which like the outburst of a torrent from the hills,
+sweeps away all before it. But let it be ever remembered that her
+energies were exerted upon herself as well as upon others, not in
+checking passion, not in limiting desire, but in guarding scrupulously
+every external appearance, guiding every thought and act with careful
+art towards its destined object. Mrs. Hazleton suffered Mr. Marlow to be
+in London more than a month before she followed to conclude the mere
+matters of business between them. It cost her a great struggle with
+herself, but in that struggle she was successful, and when at length she
+went, she had several interviews with him. Circumstances&mdash;that great
+enemy of schemes, was against her. Sometimes lawyers were present at
+their interviews, sometimes impertinent friends; but Mrs. Hazleton did
+not much care: she trusted to the time he was speedily about to pass in
+the country, for the full effect, and in the meantime took care that
+nothing but the golden side of the shield should be presented to her
+knight.</p>
+
+<p>The continent was at that time open to Englishmen for a short period,
+and Mr. Marlow expressed his determination of going to the Court of
+Versailles for a month or six weeks before he came down to take
+possession of Hartwell place, everything now having been settled between
+them in regard to business.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Hazleton did not like his determination, yet she did not much fear
+the result; for Mr. Marlow was pre&euml;minently English, and never likely to
+weal a French woman. Still she resolved that he should see her under
+another aspect before he went. She was a great favorite of the Court of
+those days; her station, her wealth, her beauty, and her grace rendered
+her a brightness and an ornament wherever she came. She was invited to
+one of the more private though not less splendid assemblies at the
+Palace, and she contrived that Mr. Marlow should be invited also, though
+neither by nature or habit a courtier. She obtained the invitation<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_483" id="Page_483">[Pg 483]</a></span> for
+him skilfully, saying to the Royal Personage of whom she asked it, that
+as he won a lawsuit against her, she wished to show him that she bore no
+malice. He went, and found her the brightest in the brilliant scene; the
+great and the proud, the handsome and the gay, all bending down and
+worshipping, all striving for a smile, and obtaining it but scantily.
+She smiled upon <i>him</i>, however, not sufficiently to attract remark from
+others, but quite sufficiently to mark a strong distinction for his own
+eyes, if he had chosen to use them. He went away to France, and Mrs.
+Hazleton returned to the country; the winter passed with her in
+arranging his house for him; and, in so doing, she often had to write to
+him. His replies were always prompt, kind, and grateful; and at length
+came the spring, and the pleasant tidings that he was on his way back to
+his beloved England.</p>
+
+<p>Alas for human expectation! Alas for the gay day-dream of
+youth&mdash;maturity&mdash;middle age&mdash;old age&mdash;for they have all their daydreams!
+Every passion which besets man from the cradle to the grave has its own
+visionary expectations. Each creature, each animal, from the tiger to
+the beetle, has its besetting insect, which preys upon it, gnaws it,
+irritates it, and so have all the ages of the soul and of the heart.
+Alas for human speculation of all kinds! Alas for every hope and
+aspiration! for those that are pure and high, but, growing out of earth,
+bear within themselves the bitter seeds of disappointment; and those
+that are dark or low produce the germ of the most poisonous hybrid,
+where disappointment is united with remorse.</p>
+
+<p>Happy is the man that expecteth nothing, for verily he shall not be
+disappointed! It is a quaint old saying; and could philosophy ever stem
+the course of God's will, it would be one which, well followed, might
+secure to man some greater portion of mortal peace than he possesses.
+But to aspire was the ordinance of God; and, viewed rightly, the
+withering of the flowers upon each footstep we have taken upwards, is no
+discouragement; for if we shape our path aright, there is a wreath of
+bright blossoms crowning each craggy peak before us, as we ascend to
+snatch the garland of immortal glory, placed just beyond the last awful
+leap of death.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Hazleton's aspirations, however, were all earthly. She thought of
+little beyond this life. She had never been taught so to think. There
+are some who are led astray from the path of noble daring, to others as
+difficult and more intricate, by some loud shout of passion on the right
+or on the left&mdash;and seek in vain to return; some who, misled by an
+apparent similarity in the course of two paths, although the finger post
+says, "Thus shalt thou go!" think that the way so plainly beaten, and so
+seemingly easy, must surely lead them to the same point. Others again
+never learn to read the right path from the wrong (and she was one),
+while others shut their eyes to all direction, fix their gaze upon the
+summit, and strain up, now amidst flowers and now amidst thorns, till
+they are cast back from the face of some steep precipice, to perish in
+the descent or at the foot.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Hazleton's aspirations were all earthly; and that was the secret of
+her only want in beauty. That divine form, that resplendent face, beamed
+with every earthly grace: sparkled forth mind and intellect in every
+glance, but they were wanting in soul, in spirit, and in heart. Life was
+there, but the life of life, the intense flame of immortal, over-earthly
+intelligence, was wanting. She might be the grandest animal that ever
+was seen, the most bright and capable intellect that ever dealt with
+mortal things; but the fine golden chain which leads on the electric
+fire from intellectual eminence to spiritual pre&euml;minence, from mind to
+soul, from earth to heaven, was wanting, or had been broken. Her
+loveliness none could doubt, her charm of manner none could deny, her
+intellectual superiority all admitted, her womanly softness added a
+grace beyond them all; but there was one grace wanting&mdash;the grace of a
+high, holy soul, which, in those who have it, be they fair, be they
+ugly, pours forth as an emanation from every look and every action, and
+surrounds them with a cloud of radiance, faintly imaged by the artist's
+glory round a saint.</p>
+
+<p>Alas for human aspirations! Alas for the expectations of this fair frail
+creature! How eagerly she thought of Mr. Marlow's return! how she had
+anticipated their meeting again! How she had calculated upon all that
+would be said and done during the next few weeks! The first news she
+received was that he had arrived, and with a few servants had taken
+possession of his new dwelling. She remained all day in her own house;
+she ordered no carriage; she took no walk: she tried to read; she played
+upon various instruments of music; she thought each instant he would
+come, at least for a few minutes, to thank her for all the care she had
+bestowed to make his habitation comfortable. The sun gilded the west;
+the melancholy moon rose up in solemn splendor; the hours passed by, and
+he came not.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning, she heard that he had ridden over to the house of Sir
+Philip Hastings, and indignation warred with love in her bosom. She
+thought he must certainly come that day, and she resolved angrily to
+upbraid him for his want of courtesy. Luckily, however, for her, he did
+not come that day; and a sort of melancholy took possession of her.
+Luckily, I say; for when passion takes hold of a scheme it is generally
+sure to shake it to pieces, and that melancholy loosens the grasp of
+passion for a time. The next day he did come, and with an air so easy
+and unconscious of offence as almost to provoke her into vehemence
+again. He knew not what she felt&mdash;he had no idea of how he had been
+looked for. He was as ignorant that she had ever thought of him as a
+husband, as she was that he had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_484" id="Page_484">[Pg 484]</a></span> ever compared her in his mind to his
+own mother.</p>
+
+<p>He talked quietly, indifferently, of his having been over to the house
+of Sir Philip Hastings, adding merely&mdash;not as an excuse, but as a simple
+fact&mdash;that he had been unable to call there as he had promised before
+leaving the country. He dilated upon the kind reception he had met with
+from Lady Hastings, for Sir Philip was absent upon business; and he went
+on to dwell rather largely upon the exceeding beauty and great grace of
+Emily Hastings.</p>
+
+<p>Oh how Mrs. Hazleton hated her! It requires but a few drops of poison to
+envenom a whole well.</p>
+
+<p>He did worse: he proceeded to descant upon her character&mdash;upon the
+blended brightness and deep thought&mdash;upon the high-souled emotions and
+child-like sparkle of her disposition&mdash;upon the simplicity and
+complexity, upon the many-sided splendor of her character, which, like
+the cut diamond, reflected each ray of light in a thousand varied and
+dazzling hues. Oh how Mrs. Hazleton hated her&mdash;hated, because for the
+first time she began to fear. He had spoken to her in praise of another
+woman&mdash;with loud encomiums too, with a brightened eye, and a look which
+told her more than his words. These were signs not to be mistaken. They
+did not show in the least that he loved Emily Hastings, and that she
+knew right well; but they showed that he did not love her; and there was
+the poison in the cup.</p>
+
+<p>So painful, so terrible was the sensation, that, with all her mastery
+over herself, she could not conceal the agony under which she writhed.
+She became silent, grave, fell into fits of thought, which clouded the
+broad brow, and made the fine-cut lip quiver. Mr. Marlow was surprised
+and grieved. He asked himself what could be the matter. Something had
+evidently made her sorrowful, and he could not trace the sorrow to its
+source; for she carefully avoided uttering one word in depreciation of
+Emily Hastings. In this she showed no woman's spirit. She could have
+stabbed her, had the girl been there in her presence; but she would not
+scratch her. Petty spite was too low for her, too small for the
+character of her mind. Hers was a heart capable of revenge, and would be
+satisfied with nothing less.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Marlow soothed her, spoke to her kindly, tenderly, tried to lead her
+mind away, to amuse, to entertain her. Oh, it was all gall and
+bitterness to her. He might have cursed, abused, insulted her, without,
+perhaps&mdash;diminishing her love&mdash;certainly without inflicting half the
+anguish that was caused by his gentle words. It is impossible to tell
+all the varied emotions that went on in her heart&mdash;at least for me.
+Shakspeare could have done it, but none less than Shakspeare. For a
+moment she knew not whether she loved or hated him; but she soon felt
+and knew it was love; and the hate, like lightning striking a rock, and
+glancing from the solid stone to rend a sapling, all turned away from
+him, to fall upon the head of poor unconscious Emily Hastings.</p>
+
+<p>Though she could not recover from the blow she had received, yet she
+soon regained command over herself, conversed, smiled, banished
+absorbing thoughts, answered calmly, pertinently, even spoke in her own
+bright, brilliant way, with a few more figures and ornaments of speech
+than usual; for figures are things rather of the head than of the heart,
+and it was from the head that she was now speaking.</p>
+
+<p>At length Mr. Marlow took his leave, and for the first time in life she
+was glad he was gone.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Hazleton gave way to no burst of passion: she shed not a tear; she
+uttered no exclamation. That which was within her heart, was too intense
+for any such ordinary expression. She seated herself at a table, leaned
+her head upon her hand, and fixed her eyes upon one bright spot in the
+marquetry. There she sat for more than an entire hour, without a motion,
+and in the meantime what were the thoughts that passed through her
+brain? We have shown the feelings of her heart enough.</p>
+
+<p>She formed plans; she determined her course; she looked around for
+means. Various persons suggested themselves to her mind as instruments.
+The three women, I have mentioned in a preceding chapter&mdash;the good sort
+of friends. But it was an agent she wanted, not a confidant. No, no,
+Mrs. Hazleton knew better than to have a confidant. She was her own best
+council-keeper, and she knew it. Nevertheless, these good ladies might
+serve to act in subordinate parts, and she assigned to each of them
+their position in her scheme with wonderful accuracy and skill. As she
+did so, however, she remembered that it was by the advice of Mrs.
+Warmington that she had brought Mr. Marlow to Hartwell Place; and in her
+heart's secret chamber she gave her fair friend a goodly benediction.
+She resolved to use her nevertheless&mdash;to use her as far as she could be
+serviceable; and she forgot not that she herself had been art and part
+in the scheme that had failed. She was not one to shelter herself from
+blame by casting the whole storm of disappointment upon another. She
+took her own full share. "If she was a fool so to advise," said Mrs.
+Hazleton, "'twas a greater fool to follow her advice."</p>
+
+<p>She then turned to seek for the agent. No name presented itself but that
+of Shanks, the attorney; and she smiled bitterly when she thought of
+him. She recollected that Sir Philip Hastings had thrown him
+head-foremost down the steps of the terrace, and that was very
+satisfactory to her; for, although Mr. Shanks was a man who sometimes
+bore injuries very meekly, he never forgot them.</p>
+
+<p>Nevertheless, she had somewhat a difficult part to play, for most agents
+have a desire of becoming confidants also, and that Mrs. Hazleton
+determined her attorney should not be. The task was to insinuate her
+purposes rather<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_485" id="Page_485">[Pg 485]</a></span> than to speak them&mdash;to act, without betraying the
+motive of action&mdash;to make another act, without committing herself by
+giving directions.</p>
+
+<p>Nevertheless, Mrs. Hazleton arranged it all to her own satisfaction; and
+as she did so, amongst the apparently extinct ashes of former schemes,
+one small spark of hope began to glow, giving promise for the time to
+come. What did she propose? At first, nothing more than to drive Sir
+Philip Hastings and his family from the country, mingling the
+gratification of personal hatred with efforts for the accomplishment of
+her own purposes. It was a bold attempt, but Mrs. Hazleton had her plan;
+and she sat down and wrote for Mr. Shanks, the attorney.</p>
+
+
+<h4>CHAPTER XV.</h4>
+
+<p>Decorum came in with the house of Hanover. I know not whether men and
+women in England were more virtuous before&mdash;I think not&mdash;but they
+certainly were more frank in both their virtues and their vices. There
+were fewer of those vices of conventionality thrown around the human
+heart&mdash;fewer I mean to say of those cold restraints, those gilded chains
+of society, which, like the ornaments that ladies wear upon their necks
+and arms, seem like fetters; but, I fear me, restrain but little human
+action, curb not passion, and are to the strong will but as the green
+rushes round the limbs of the Hebrew giant. Decorum came into England
+with the house of Hanover; but I am speaking of a period before that,
+when ladies were less fearful of the tongue of scandal, when scandal
+itself was fearful of assailing virtue, when honesty of purpose and
+purity of heart could walk free in the broad day, and men did not
+venture to suppose evil acts perpetrated whenever, by a possibility,
+they could be committed.</p>
+
+<p>Emily Hastings walked quietly along by the side of Mr. Marlow, through
+her father's park. There was no one with him, no keen matron's ear to
+listen to and weigh their words, no brother to pretend to accompany
+them, and either feel himself weary with the task or lighten it by
+seeking his own amusement apart. They were alone together, and they
+talked without restraint. Ye gods, how they did talk! The dear girl was
+in one of her brightest, gayest moods. There was nothing that did not
+move her fancy or become a servant to it. The clouds as they shot across
+the sky, the blue fixed hills in the distance, the red and yellow and
+green coloring of the young budding oaks, the dancing of The stream, the
+song of the bird, the whisper of the wind, the misty spring light which
+spread over the morning distance, all had illustrations for her
+thoughts. It seemed that day as if she could not speak without a
+figure&mdash;as if she revelled in the flowers of imagination, like a child
+tossing about the new mown grass in a hay-field. And he, with joyous
+sport, took pleasure in furnishing her at every moment with new material
+for the bounding play of fancy.</p>
+
+<p>They had not known each other long; but there was something in the young
+man's manner&mdash;nay, let me go farther&mdash;in his character, which invited
+confidence, which besought the hearts around to throw off all strange
+disguise, and promised that he would take no base advantage of their
+openness. That something was perhaps his earnestness: one felt that he
+was true in all he said or did or looked: that his words were but his
+spoken feelings: his countenance a paper on which the heart at once
+recorded its sensations. But let me not be mistaken. Do not let it be
+supposed that when I say he was earnest, I mean that he was even grave.
+Oh no! Earnestness can exist as well in the merriest as in the soberest
+heart. One can be as earnest, as truthful, even as eager in joy or
+sport, as in sorrow or sternness. But he was earnest in all things, and
+it was this earnestness which probably found a way for him to so many
+dissimilar hearts.</p>
+
+<p>Emily knew not at all what it was doing with hers; but she felt that he
+was one before whom she had no need to hide a thought: that if she were
+gay, she might be gay in safety: that if she were inclined to muse, she
+might muse on in peace.</p>
+
+<p>Onward they walked, talking of every thing on earth but love. It was in
+the thoughts of neither. Emily knew nothing about it: the tranquil
+expanse of life had never for her been even rippled by the wing of
+passion. Marlow might know more; but for the time he was lost in the
+enjoyment of the moment. The little enemy might be carrying on the war
+against the fortress of each unconscious bosom; but if so, it was by the
+silent sap and mine, more potent far than the fierce assault or
+thundering cannonade&mdash;at least in this sort of warfare.</p>
+
+<p>They were wending their way towards a gate, at the very extreme limit of
+the park, which opened upon a path leading by a much shorter way to Mr.
+Marlow's own dwelling than the road he usually pursued. He had that
+morning come to spend but an hour at the house of Sir Philip Hastings,
+and he had an engagement at his own house at noon. He had spent two
+hours instead of one with Emily and her mother, and therefore short
+paths were preferable to long ones for his purpose, Emily had offered to
+show him the way to the gate, and her company was sure to shorten the
+road, though it might lengthen the time it took to travel.</p>
+
+<p>Now in describing the park of Sir Philip Hastings, I have said that
+there was a wide open space around the mansion; but I have also said,
+that at some distance the trees gathered thick and sombre. Those nearest
+the house gathered together in clumps, confusing the eye in a wilderness
+of hawthorns, and bushes, and evergreen oaks, while beyond appeared a
+dense mass of wood; and, through the scattered tufts of trees and thick
+woodland at the extreme of the park ran several paths traced by deer,
+and park-keepers, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_486" id="Page_486">[Pg 486]</a></span> country folk. Thus for various reasons some
+guidance was needful to Marlow on his way, and for more reasons still he
+was well pleased that the guide should be Emily Hastings. In the course
+of their walk, amongst many other subjects they spoke of Mrs. Hazleton,
+and Marlow expatiated warmly on her beauty, and grace, and kindness of
+heart. How different was the effect of all this upon Emily Hastings from
+that which his words in her praise had produced upon her of whom he
+spoke! Emily's heart was free. Emily had no schemes, no plans, no
+purposes. She knew not that there was one feeling in her bosom with
+which praise of Mrs. Hazleton could ever jar. She loved her well. Such
+eyes as hers are not practised in seeing into darkness. She had divined
+the Italian singer&mdash;perhaps by instinct, perhaps by some distinct trait,
+which occasionally will betray the most wily. But Mrs. Hazleton was a
+fellow-woman&mdash;a woman of great brightness and many fine qualities.
+Neither had she any superficial defects to indicate a baser metal or a
+harder within. If she was not all gold, she was doubly gilt.</p>
+
+<p>Emily praised her too, warmed with the theme; and eagerly exclaimed,
+"She always seems to me like one of those dames of fairy tales, upon
+whom some enchanter has bestowed a charm that no one can resist. It is
+not her beauty; for I feel the same when I hear her voice and shut my
+eyes. It is not her conversation; for I feel the same when I look at her
+and she is silent. It seems to breathe from her presence like the odor
+of a flower. It is the same when she is grave as when she is gay."</p>
+
+<p>"Aye, and when she is melancholy," replied Marlow. "I never felt it more
+powerfully than a few days ago when I spent an hour with her, and she
+was not only grave but sad."</p>
+
+<p>"Melancholy!" exclaimed Emily. "I never saw her so. Grave I have seen
+her&mdash;thoughtful, silent&mdash;but never sad; and I do not know that she has
+not seemed more charming to me in those grave, stiller moods, than in
+more cheerful ones. Do you know that in looking at the beautiful statues
+which I have seen in London, I have often thought they might lose half
+their charm if they would move and speak? Thus, too, with Mrs. Hazleton;
+she seems to me even more lovely, more full of grace, in perfect
+stillness than at any other time. My father," she added, after a
+moment's pause, "is the only one who in her presence seems spell-proof."</p>
+
+<p>Her words threw Marlow into a momentary fit of thought. "Why," he asked
+himself, "was Sir Philip Hastings spell-proof when all others were
+charmed?"</p>
+
+<p>Men have a habit of depending much upon men's judgment, whether justly
+or unjustly I will not stop to inquire. They rely less upon woman's
+judgment in such matters; and yet women are amongst the keenest
+discerners&mdash;when they are unbiassed by passion. But are they often so?
+Perhaps it is from a conviction that men judge less frequently from
+impulse, decide more generally from cause, that this presumption of
+their accuracy exists. Woman&mdash;perhaps from seclusion, perhaps from
+nature&mdash;is more a creature of instincts than man. They are given her for
+defence where reason would act too slowly; and where they do act
+strongly, they are almost invariably right. Man goes through the slower
+process, and naturally relies more firmly on the result; for reason
+demonstrates where instinct leads blindfold. Marlow judged Sir Philip
+Hastings by himself, and fancied that he must have some cause for being
+spell-proof against the fascinations of Mrs. Hazleton. This roused the
+first doubt in his mind as to her being all that she seemed. He repelled
+the doubt as injurious, but it returned from time to time in after days,
+and at length gave him a clue to an intricate labyrinth.</p>
+
+<p>The walk came to an end, too soon he thought. Emily pointed out the gate
+as soon as it appeared in sight, shook hands with him and returned
+homeward. He thought more of her after they had parted, than when she
+was with him. There are times when the most thoughtful do not
+think&mdash;when they enjoy. But now, every word, every look of her who had
+just left him, came back to memory. Not that he would admit to himself
+that there was the least touch of love in his feelings. Oh no! He had
+known her too short a time for such a serious passion as love to have
+any thing to do with his sensations. He only thought of
+her&mdash;mused&mdash;pondered&mdash;recalled all she had said and done, because she
+was so unlike any thing he had seen or heard of before&mdash;a something
+new&mdash;a something to be studied.</p>
+
+<p>She was but a girl&mdash;a mere child, he said; and yet there was something
+more than childish grace in that light, but rounded form, where beauty
+was more than budding, but not quite blossomed, like a moss-rose in its
+loveliest state of loveliness. And her mind too; there was nothing
+childish in her thoughts except their playfulness. The morning dew-drops
+had not yet exhaled; but the day-star of the mind was well up in the
+sky.</p>
+
+<p>She was one of those, on whom it is dangerous for a man afraid of love
+to meditate too long. She was one the effect of whose looks and words is
+not evanescent. That of mere beauty passes away. How many a face do we
+see and think it the loveliest in the world; yet shut the eyes an hour
+after, and try to recall the features&mdash;to paint them to the mind's eye.
+You cannot. But there are others that link themselves with every feeling
+of the heart, that twine themselves with constantly recurring thoughts,
+that never can be effaced&mdash;never forgotten&mdash;on which age or time,
+disease or death, may do its work without effecting one change in the
+reality embalmed in memory. Destroy the die, break the mould, you may;
+but the medal and the cast remain. Had Marlow lived a hundred years&mdash;had
+he never seen Emily Hastings again, not one line of her bright face, not
+one speaking look,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_487" id="Page_487">[Pg 487]</a></span> would have passed from his memory. He could have
+painted a portrait of her had he been an artist. Did you ever gaze long
+at the sun, trying your eyes against the eagle's? If so, you have had
+the bright orb floating before your eyes the whole day after. And so it
+was with Marlow: throughout the long hours that followed, he had Emily
+Hastings ever before him. But yet he did not love her. Oh dear no, not
+in the least. Love he thought was very different from mere admiration.
+It was a plant of slower growth. He was no believer in love at first
+sight. He was an infidel as to Romeo and Juliet, and he had firmly
+resolved if ever he did fall in love, it should be done cautiously.</p>
+
+<p>Poor man! he little knew how deep he was in already.</p>
+
+<p>In the meanwhile, Emily walked onward. She was heart-whole at least. She
+had never dreamed of love. It had not been one of her studies. Her
+father had never presented the idea to her. Her mother had often talked
+of marriage, and marriages good and bad; but always put them in the
+light of alliances&mdash;compacts&mdash;negotiated treaties. Although Lady
+Hastings knew what love is as well as any one, and had felt it as
+deeply, yet she did not wish her daughter to be as romantic as she had
+been, and therefore the subject was avoided. Emily thought a good deal
+of Mr. Marlow, it is true. She thought him handsome, graceful,
+winning&mdash;one of the pleasantest companions she had ever known. She liked
+him better than any one she had ever seen; and his words rang in her
+ears long after they were spoken. But even imagination, wicked spinner
+of golden threads as she is, never drew one link between his fate and
+hers. The time had not yet come, if it was to come.</p>
+
+<p>She walked on, however, through the wood; and just when she was emerging
+from the thicker part into the clumps and scattered trees, she saw a
+stranger before her, leaning against the stump of an old hawthorn, and
+seeming to suffer pain. He was young, handsome, well-dressed, and there
+was a gun lying at his feet. But as Emily drew nearer, she saw blood
+slowly trickling from his arm, and falling on the gray sand of the path.</p>
+
+<p>She was not one to suffer shyness to curb humanity; and she exclaimed at
+once, with a look of alarm, "I am afraid you are hurt, sir. Had you not
+better come up to the house?"</p>
+
+<p>The young man looked at her, fainted, and answered in a low tone, "The
+gun has gone off, caught by a branch, and has shattered my arm. I
+thought I could reach the cottage by the park gates, but I feel faint."</p>
+
+<p>"Stay, stay a moment," cried Emily, "I will run to the hall and bring
+assistance&mdash;people to assist you upon a carriage."</p>
+
+<p>"No, no!" answered the stranger quickly, "I cannot go there&mdash;I will not
+go there! The cottage is nearer," he continued more calmly; "I think
+with a little help I could reach it, if I could staunch the blood."</p>
+
+<p>"Let me try," exclaimed Emily; and with ready zeal, she tied her
+handkerchief round his arm, not without a shaking hand indeed, but with
+firmness and some skill.</p>
+
+<p>"Now lean upon me," she said, when she had done; "the cottage is indeed
+nearer, but you would have better tendance if you could reach the hall."</p>
+
+<p>"No, no, the cottage," replied the stranger, "I shall do well there."</p>
+
+<p>The cottage was perhaps two hundred yards nearer to the spot on which
+they stood than the hall; but there was an eagerness about the young
+man's refusal to go to the latter, which Emily remarked. Suspicion
+indeed was alive to her mind; but those were days when laws concerning
+game, which have every year been becoming less and less strict, were
+hardly less severe than in the time of William Rufus. Every day, in the
+country life which she led, she heard some tale of poaching or its
+punishment. The stranger had a gun with him; she had found him in her
+father's park; he was unwilling even in suffering and need of help to go
+up to the hall for succor; and she could not but fancy that for some
+frolic, perhaps some jest, or some wild whim, he had been trespassing
+upon the manor in pursuit of game. That he was an ordinary poacher she
+could not suppose; his dress, his appearance forbade such a supposition.</p>
+
+<p>But there was something more.</p>
+
+<p>In the young man's face&mdash;more in its expression than its features
+perhaps&mdash;more in certain marking lines and sudden glances than in the
+general whole&mdash;there was something familiar to her&mdash;something that
+seemed akin to her. He was handsomer than her father; of a more perfect
+though less lofty character of beauty; and yet there was a strange
+likeness, not constant, but flashing occasionally upon her brow, in
+what, when, she could hardly determine.</p>
+
+<p>It roused another sort of sympathy from any she had felt before; and
+once more she asked him to go up to the hall.</p>
+
+<p>"If you have been taking your sport," she said, "where perhaps you ought
+not, I am sure my father will look over it without a word, when he sees
+how you are hurt. Although people sometimes think he is stern and
+severe, that is all a mistake. He is kind and gentle, I assure you, when
+he does not feel that duty requires him to be rigid."</p>
+
+<p>The stranger gave a quick start, and replied in a tone which would have
+been haughty and fierce, had not weakness subdued it, "I have been
+shooting only where I have a right to shoot. But I will not go up to the
+hall, till&mdash;but I dare say I can get down to the cottage without help,
+Mistress Emily. I have been accustomed to do without help in the world;"
+and he withdrew his arm from that which supported him. The next moment,
+however, he tottered, and seemed ready to fall, and Emily again hurried
+to help him. There were no more words spoken. She thought his manner<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_488" id="Page_488">[Pg 488]</a></span>
+somewhat uncivil; she would not leave him, and the necessity for her
+kindness was soon apparent. Ere they were within a hundred yards of the
+cottage, he sunk slowly down. His face grew pale and death-like, and his
+eyes closed faintly as he lay upon the turf. Emily ran on like lightning
+to the cottage, and called out the old man who lived there. The old man
+called his son from the little garden, and with his and other help,
+carried the fainting man in.</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, master John, master John," exclaimed the old cottager, as he laid
+him in his own bed; "one of your wild pranks, I warrant!"</p>
+
+<p>His wife, his son, and he himself tended the young man with care; and a
+young boy was sent off for a surgeon.</p>
+
+<p>Emily did not know what to do; but compassion kept her in the cottage
+till the stranger recovered his consciousness, and then after inquiring
+how he felt, she was about to withdraw, intending to send down further
+aid from the hall. But the stranger beckoned her faintly to come nearer,
+and said in tones of real gratitude, "Thank you a thousand times,
+Mistress Emily; I never thought to need such kindness at your hands. But
+now do me another, and say not a word to any one at the mansion of what
+has happened. It will be better for me, for you, for your father, that
+you should not speak of this business."</p>
+
+<p>"Do not! do not! Mistress Emily!" cried the old man, who was standing
+near. "It will only make mischief and bring about evil."</p>
+
+<p>He spoke evidently under strong apprehension, and Emily was much
+surprised, both to find that one quite a stranger to her knew her at
+once, and to find the old cottager, a long dependant upon her family,
+second so eagerly his strange injunction.</p>
+
+<p>"I will say nothing unless questions are asked me," she replied; "then
+of course I must tell the truth."</p>
+
+<p>"Better not," replied the young man gloomily.</p>
+
+<p>"I cannot speak falsely," replied the beautiful girl, "I cannot deal
+doubly with my parents or any one," and she was turning away.</p>
+
+<p>But the stranger besought her to stop one moment, and said, "I have not
+strength to explain all now; but I shall see you again, and then I will
+tell you why I have spoken as you think strangely. I shall see you
+again. In common charity you will come to ask if I am alive or dead. If
+you knew how near we are to each other, I am sure you would promise!"</p>
+
+<p>"I can make no such promise," replied Emily; but the old cottager seemed
+eager to end the interview; and speaking for her, he exclaimed, "Oh, she
+will come, I am sure, Mistress Emily will come;" and hurried her away,
+seeing her back to the little gate in the park wall.</p>
+
+
+<h4>CHAPTER XVI.</h4>
+
+<p>Mrs. Hazleton found Mr. Shanks, the attorney, the most difficult person
+to deal with whom she had ever met in her life. She had remarked that he
+was keen, active, intelligent, unscrupulous, confident in his own
+powers, bold as a lion in the wars of quill, parchment, and red tape;
+without fear, without hesitation, without remorse. There was nothing
+that he scrupled to do, nothing that he ever repented having done. She
+had fancied that the only difficulty which she could have to encounter
+was that of concealing from him, at least in a degree, the ultimate
+objects and designs which she herself had in view.</p>
+
+<p>So shrewd people often deceive themselves as to the character of other
+shrewd people. The difficulty was quite different. It was a peculiar
+sort of stolidity on the part of Mr. Shanks, for which she was utterly
+unprepared.</p>
+
+<p>Now the attorney was ready to do any thing on earth which his fair
+patroness wished. He would have perilled his name on the roll in her
+service; and was only eager to understand what were her desires, even
+without giving her the trouble of explaining them. Moreover, there was
+no point of law or equity, no manner of roguery or chicanery, no object
+of avarice, covetousness, or ambition, which he could not have
+comprehended at once. They were things within his own ken and scope, to
+which the intellect and resources of his mind were always open. But to
+other passions, to deeper, more remote motives and emotions, Mr. Shanks
+was as stolid as a door-post. It required to hew a way as it were to his
+perceptions, to tunnel his mind for the passage of a new conception.</p>
+
+<p>The only passion which afforded the slightest cranny of an opening was
+revenge; and after having tried a dozen other ways of making him
+comprehend what she wished without committing herself, Mrs. Hazleton got
+him to understand that she thought Sir Philip Hastings had injured&mdash;at
+all events, that he had offended&mdash;her, and that she sought vengeance.
+From that moment all was easy. Mr. Shanks could understand the feeling,
+though not its extent. He would himself have given ten pounds out of his
+own pocket&mdash;the largest sum he had ever given in life for any thing but
+an advantage&mdash;to be revenged upon the same man for the insult he had
+received; and he could perceive that Mrs. Hazleton would go much
+further, without, indeed, being able to conceive, or even dream of, the
+extent to which she was prepared to go.</p>
+
+<p>However, when he had once got the clue, he was prepared to run along the
+road with all celerity; and now she found him every thing she had
+expected. He was a man copious in resources, prolific of schemes. His
+imagination had exercised itself through life in devising crooked paths;
+but in this instance the road was straight-forward before him. He would
+rather it had been tortuous, it is true; but for the sake of his dear
+lady he was ready to follow even a plain path, and he explained to her
+that Sir Philip Hastings stood in a somewhat dangerous position.</p>
+
+<p>He was proceeding to enter into the details, but Mrs. Hazleton
+interrupted him, and, to his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_489" id="Page_489">[Pg 489]</a></span> surprise, not only told him, but showed
+him, that she knew all the particulars.</p>
+
+<p>"The only question is, Mr. Shanks," she said, "can you prove the
+marriage of his elder brother to this woman before the birth of the
+child?"</p>
+
+<p>"We think we can, madam," replied the attorney, "we think we can. There
+is a very strong letter, and there has been evidently&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>He paused and hesitated, and Mrs. Hazleton demanded, "There has been
+what, Mr. Shanks?"</p>
+
+<p>"There has been evidently a leaf torn out of the register," replied the
+lawyer.</p>
+
+<p>There was something in his manner which made the lady gaze keenly in his
+face; but she would ask no questions on that subject, and she merely
+said, "Then why has not the case gone on, as it was put in your hands
+six months ago?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, you see, my dear madam," replied Shanks, "law is at best
+uncertain. One wants two or three great lawyers to make a case. Money
+was short; John and his mother had spent all last year's annuity.
+Barristers won't plead without fees, and besides&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>He paused again, but an impatient gesture from the lady urged him on.
+"Besides," he said, "I had devised a little scheme, which, of course, I
+shall abandon now, for marrying him to Mistress Emily Hastings. He is a
+very handsome young fellow, and&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I have seen him," said Mrs. Hazleton thoughtfully, "but why should you
+abandon this scheme, Mr. Shanks? It seems to me by no means a bad one."</p>
+
+<p>The poor lawyer was now all at sea again and fancied himself as wide of
+the lady's aim as ever.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Hazleton suffered him to remain in this dull suspense for some
+time. Wrapped up in her own thoughts, and busy with her own
+calculations, she suffered several minutes to elapse without adding a
+word to that which had so much surprised the attorney. Then, however,
+she said, in a meditative tone, "There is only one way by which it can
+be accomplished. If you allow it to be conducted in a formal manner, you
+will fail utterly. Sir Philip will never consent. She will never even
+yield."</p>
+
+<p>"But if Sir Philip is made to see that it will save him a tremendous
+lawsuit, and perhaps his whole estate," suggested Mr. Shanks.</p>
+
+<p>"He will resist the more firmly," answered the lady; "if it saved his
+life, he would reject it with scorn&mdash;no! But there is a way. If you can
+persuade her&mdash;if you can show her that her father's safety, his position
+in life, depends upon her conduct, perhaps you may bring her by degrees
+to consent to a private marriage. She is young, inexperienced,
+enthusiastic, romantic. She loves her father devotedly, and would make
+any sacrifice for him."</p>
+
+<p>"No great sacrifice, I should think, madam," replied Mr. Shanks, "to
+marry a handsome young man who has a just claim to a large fortune."</p>
+
+<p>"That is as people may judge," replied the lady; "but at all events this
+claim gives us a hold upon her which we must not fail to use, and that
+directly. I will contrive means of bringing them together. I will make
+opportunity for the lad, but you must instruct him how to use it
+properly. All I can do is to co-operate without appearing."</p>
+
+<p>"But, my dear madam, I really do not fully understand," said Mr. Shanks.
+"I had a fancy&mdash;a sort of imagination like, that you wished&mdash;that you
+desired&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>He hesitated; but Mrs. Hazleton would not help him by a single word, and
+at last he added, "I had a fancy that you wished this suit to go on
+against Sir Philip Hastings, and now&mdash;but that does not matter&mdash;only do
+you really wish to bring it all to an end, to settle it by a marriage
+between John and Mistress Emily?'</p>
+
+<p>"That will be the pleasantest, the easiest way of settling it, sir,"
+replied Mrs. Hazleton, coolly; "and I do not at all desire to injure,
+but rather to serve Sir Philip and his family."</p>
+
+<p>That was false, for though to marry Emily Hastings to any one but Mr.
+Marlow was what the lady did very sincerely desire; yet there was a long
+account to be settled with Sir Philip Hastings which could not well be
+discharged without a certain amount of injury to him and his. The lady
+was well aware, too, that she had told a lie, and moreover that it was
+one which Mr. Shanks was not at all likely to believe. Perhaps even she
+did not quite wish him to believe it, and at all events she knew that
+her actions must soon give it contradiction. But men make strange
+distinctions between speech and action, not to be accounted for without
+long investigation and disquisition. There are cases where people shrink
+from defining in words their purposes, or giving voice to their
+feelings, even when they are prepared by acts to stamp them for
+eternity. There are cases where men do acts which they dare not cover by
+a lie.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Hazleton sought for no less than the ruin of Sir Philip Hastings;
+she had determined it in her own heart, and yet she would not own it to
+her agent&mdash;perhaps she would not own it to herself. There is a dark
+secret chamber in the breast of every one, at the door of which the eyes
+of the spirit are blindfolded, that it may not see the things to which
+it is consenting. Conscience records them silently, and sooner or later
+her book is to be opened; it may be in this world: it may be in the
+next: but for the time that book is in the keeping of passion, who
+rarely suffers the pages to be seen till purpose has been ratified by
+act, and remorse stands ready to pronounce the doom.</p>
+
+<p>There was a pause after Mrs. Hazleton had spoken, for the attorney was
+busy also with thoughts he wished to utter, yet dared not speak. The
+first prospect of a lawsuit&mdash;the only sort of the picturesque in which
+he could find pleasure&mdash;a long, intricate, expensive lawsuit, was fading
+before his eyes as if a mist were coming over the scene. Where were his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_490" id="Page_490">[Pg 490]</a></span>
+consultations, his letters, his briefs, his pleas, his rejoinders, his
+demurrers, his appeals? Where were the fees, the bright golden fees?
+True, in the hopelessness of his young client's fortunes, he had urged
+the marriage with a proviso, that if it took place by his skilful
+management, a handsome bonus was to be his share of the spoil. But then
+Mrs. Hazleton's first communication had raised brighter hopes, had put
+him more in his own element, had opened to him a scene of achievements
+as glorious to his notions as those of the listed field to knights of
+old; and now all was vanishing away. Yet he did not venture to tell her
+how much he was disappointed, still less to show her why and how.</p>
+
+<p>It was the lady who spoke first; and she did so in as calm, deliberate,
+passionless a tone as if she had been devising the fashion of a new
+Mantua.</p>
+
+<p>"It may be as well, Mr. Shanks," she said, "in order to produce the
+effect we wish upon dear Emily's mind"&mdash;dear Emily!&mdash;"to commence the
+suit against Sir Philip&mdash;I mean to take those first steps which may
+create some alarm. I cannot of course judge what they ought to be, but
+you must know; and if not, you must seek advice from counsel learned in
+the law. You understand what I mean, doubtless."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, certainly, madam, certainly," replied Mr. Shanks, with a profound
+sigh of relief. "First steps commit us to nothing: but they must be
+devised cautiously, and I am very much afraid that&mdash;that&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Afraid of what, sir?" asked Mrs. Hazleton, in a tone somewhat stern.</p>
+
+<p>"Only that the expense will be greater than my young client can afford,"
+answered the lawyer, seeing that he must come to the point.</p>
+
+<p>"Let not that stand in the way," said Mrs. Hazleton at once; "I will
+supply the means. What will be the expense?"</p>
+
+<p>"Would you object to say five hundred pounds?" asked the lawyer,
+cautiously.</p>
+
+<p>"A thousand," replied the lady, with a slight inclination of the head;
+and then, weary of circumlocution, she added in a bolder tone than she
+had yet used, "only remember, sir, that what is done must be done
+effectually; no mistakes, no errors, no flaws! See that you use all your
+eyes&mdash;see that you bend every nerve to the task. I will have no
+procrastination for the sake of fresh fees&mdash;nothing omitted one day to
+be remembered the next&mdash;no blunders to be corrected after long delays
+and longer correspondence. I know you lawyers and your ways right well;
+and if I find that for the sake of swelling a bill to the bursting, you
+attempt to procrastinate, the cause will be taken at once from your
+hands and placed in those who will do their work more speedily. You can
+practise those tricks upon those who are more or less in your power; but
+you shall not play them upon me."</p>
+
+<p>"I declare, my dear madam, I can assure you," said Mr. Shanks; but Mrs.
+Hazleton cut him short. "There, there," she said, waving her fair hand,
+"do not declare&mdash;do not assure me of any thing. Let your actions speak,
+Mr. Shanks. I am too much accustomed to declarations and assurances to
+set much value upon them. Now tell me, but in as few words and with as
+few cant terms as possible, what are the chances of success in this
+suit? How does the young man's case really stand?"</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Shanks would gladly have been excused such explanations. He never
+liked to speak clearly upon such delicate questions, but he would not
+venture to refuse any demand of Mrs. Hazleton's, and therefore he began
+with a circumlocution in regard to the uncertainty of law, and to the
+impossibility of giving any exact assurances of success.</p>
+
+<p>The lady would not be driven from her point, however. "That is not what
+I sought to know," she said. "I am as well aware of the law's
+uncertainty&mdash;of its iniquity, as you. But I ask you what grounds you
+have to go upon? Were they ever really married? Is this son legitimate?"</p>
+
+<p>"The lady says they were married," replied Mr. Shanks cautiously, "and I
+have good hope we can prove the legitimacy. There is a letter in which
+the late Mr. John Hastings calls her 'my dear little wife;' and then
+there is clearly a leaf torn out of the marriage register about that
+very time."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Shanks spoke the last words slowly and with some hesitation; but
+after a pause he went on more boldly and rapidly. "Then we have a
+deposition of the old woman Danby that they were married. This is clear
+and precise," he continued with a grin: "she wanted to put in something
+about 'in the eyes of God,' but I left that out as beside the question;
+and she did the swearing very well. She might have broken down under
+cross-examination, it is true; and therefore it was well to put off the
+trial till she was gone. We can prove, moreover, that the late Sir John
+always paid an annuity to both mother and child, in order to make them
+keep secret&mdash;nay more, that he bribed the old woman Danby. This is our
+strong point; but it is beyond doubt&mdash;I can prove it, madam&mdash;I can prove
+it. All I fear is the mother; she is weak&mdash;very weak; I wish to heaven
+she were out of the way till the trial is over."</p>
+
+<p>"Send her out of the way," cried Mrs. Hazleton, decidedly; "send her to
+France;" and then she added, with a bitter smile, "she may still figure
+amongst the beauties of Versailles."</p>
+
+<p>"But she will not go," replied Mr. Shanks. "Madam, she will not go. I
+hinted at such a step&mdash;mentioned Cornwall or Ireland&mdash;any where she
+could be concealed."</p>
+
+<p>"Cornwall or Ireland!" exclaimed Mrs. Hazleton, "of course she would not
+go. Why did not you propose Africa or the plantations? She shall go, Mr.
+Shanks. Leave her to me. She shall go. And now, set to work at
+once&mdash;immediately, I say&mdash;this very day. Send the youth to-morrow, and
+let him bring me word<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_491" id="Page_491">[Pg 491]</a></span> that some step is taken. I will instruct him how
+to act, while you deal with the law."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Shanks promised to obey, and retired overawed by all he had seen and
+heard. There had, it is true, been no vehement demonstration of passion;
+no fierce blaze; no violent flash; but there had been indications enough
+to show the man of law all that was raging within. It had been for him
+like gazing at a fine building on fire at that period of the
+conflagration where dense smoke and heavy darkness brood over the
+fearful scene, while dull, suddenly-smothered flashes break across the
+gloom, and tell how terrible will be the flame when it does burst freely
+forth.</p>
+
+<p>He had never known Mrs. Hazleton before&mdash;he had never comprehended her
+fully. But now he knew her&mdash;now, though perhaps the depths were still
+unfathomable to his eyes, he felt that there was a strong commanding
+will within that beautiful form which would bear no trifling. He had
+often treated her with easy lightness&mdash;with no want of apparent respect
+indeed&mdash;but with the persuasions and arguments such as men of business
+often address to women as beings inferior to themselves either in
+intellect or experience. Now Mr. Shanks wondered how he had escaped so
+long and so well, and he resolved that for the future his conduct should
+be very different.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Hazleton, when he left her, sat down to rest&mdash;yes, to rest; for she
+was very weary. There had been the fatiguing strife of strong passions
+in the heart&mdash;hopes&mdash;expectations&mdash;schemes-contrivances; and, above all,
+there had been a wrestling with herself to deal calmly and softly where
+she felt fiercely. It had exhausted her; and for some minutes she sat
+listlessly, with her eyes half shut, like one utterly tired out. Ere a
+quarter of an hour had passed, wheels rolled up to the door; a
+carriage-step was let down, and there was a foot-fall in the hall.</p>
+
+<p>"Dear Mrs. Warmington, delighted to see you!" said Mrs. Hazleton, with a
+smile sweet and gentle as the dawn of a summer morning.</p>
+
+
+<h4>CHAPTER XVII.</h4>
+
+<p>Circumstance will always have its finger in the pie with the best-laid
+schemes; but it does not always happen that thereby the pie is spoiled.
+On the contrary, circumstance is sometimes a very powerful auxiliary,
+and it happened so in the present instance with the arrangements of Mrs.
+Hazleton. Before that lady could bring any part of her scheme for
+introducing Emily to the man whom she intended to drive her into taking
+as a husband, to bear, the introduction had already taken place, as we
+have seen, by an accident.</p>
+
+<p>It was likely, indeed, to go no further; for Emily thought over what had
+occurred, before she gave way to her native kindness of heart. She
+remembered how tenacious all country gentlemen of that day were of their
+sporting rights, and especially of what she had often heard her father
+declare, that he looked upon any body who took his game off his
+property, according to every principle of equity and justice, as no
+better than a common robber.</p>
+
+<p>"If the only excuse be that it is more exposed to depredation than other
+property," said Sir Philip, "it only shows that the plunderer of it is a
+coward as well as a villain, and should be punished the more severely."
+Such, and many such speeches she had heard from her father at various
+times, and it became a case of conscience, which puzzled the poor girl
+much, whether she ought or ought not to have promised not to mention
+what had occurred in the park. She loved no concealment, and nothing
+would have induced her to tell a falsehood; but she knew that if she
+mentioned the facts, especially while the young man whom she had seen
+crossing the park with a gun lay wounded at the cottage, great evil
+might have resulted; and though she somewhat reproached herself for
+rashly giving her word, she would not break it when given.</p>
+
+<p>As to seeing him again, however&mdash;as to visiting him at the cottage, even
+to inquire after his health, when he had refused all aid from her
+father's house, that was an act she never dreamed of. His last words,
+indeed, had puzzled her; and there was something in his face, too, which
+set her fancy wandering. It was not exactly what she liked; but yet
+there was a resemblance, she thought, to some one she knew and was
+attached to. It could not be to her father, she said to herself, and yet
+her father's face recurred to her mind more frequently than any other
+when she thought of that of the young man she had seen; and from that
+fact a sort of prepossession in the youth's favor took possession of
+her, making her long to know who he really was.</p>
+
+<p>For some days Emily did not go near the cottage, but at length she
+ventured on the road which passed it&mdash;not without a hope, indeed, that
+she might meet one of the old people who tenanted it, and have an
+opportunity of inquiring after his health&mdash;but certainly not, as some
+good-natured reader may suppose, with any expectation of seeing him
+herself. As she approached, however, she perceived him sitting on a
+bench at the cottage-door, and, by a natural impulse, she turned at once
+into another path, which led back by a way nearly as short to the hall.
+The young man instantly rose, and followed her, addressing her by name,
+in a voice still weak, in truth, but too loud for her not to hear, or to
+affect not to hear.</p>
+
+<p>She paused, rather provoked than otherwise, and slightly inclined her
+head, while the young man approached, with every appearance of respect,
+and thanked her for the assistance she had rendered him.</p>
+
+<p>He had had his lesson in the mean time, and he played his part not
+amiss. All coarse swagger, all vulgar assumption was gone from his
+manner; and referring himself to some words he had spoken when last they
+had met,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_492" id="Page_492">[Pg 492]</a></span> he said: "Pardon me, Miss Hastings, for what I said some days
+ago, which might seem both strange and mysterious, and for pressing to
+see you again; but at that time I was faint with loss of blood, and knew
+not how this might end. I wished to tell you something I thought you
+ought to hear; but now I am better; and I will find a more fitting
+opportunity ere long."</p>
+
+<p>"It will be better to say any thing you think fit to my father," replied
+Emily. "I am not accustomed to deal with any matters of importance; and
+any thing of so much moment as you seem to think this is, would, of
+course, be told by me to him."</p>
+
+<p>"I think not," replied the other, with a mysterious smile; "but of that
+you will judge when you have heard all I have to say. Your father is the
+last person to whom I would mention it myself, because I believe,
+notwithstanding all his ability, he is the last person who would judge
+sanely of it, as he would of most other matters; but, of course, you
+will speak of it or not, as you think proper. At present," he added, "I
+am too weak to attempt the detail, even if I could venture to detain you
+here. I only wished to return you my best thanks, and assure you of my
+gratitude," and bowing low, he left her to pursue her way homeward.</p>
+
+<p>Emily went on musing. No woman's breast is without curiosity&mdash;nor any
+man's, either&mdash;and she asked herself what could be the meaning of the
+stranger's words, at least a dozen times. What could he have to tell
+her, and why was there so much mystery? She did not like mystery,
+however; and though she felt interested in the young man&mdash;felt <i>pity</i>,
+in fact&mdash;yet it was by no means the interest that leads to, nor the pity
+which is akin to love. On the contrary, she liked him less than the
+first time she saw him. There was a certain degree of cunning in his
+mysterious smile, a look of self-confidence, almost of triumph in his
+face, which, in spite of his respectful demeanor, did not please her.</p>
+
+<p>Emily's father was absent from home at this time; but he returned two or
+three days after this last interview, and remarked that his daughter was
+unusually grave. To her, and to all that affected her in any way, his
+eyes were always open, though he often failed to comprehend that which
+he observed. Lady Hastings, too, had noticed Emily's unusual gravity,
+and as she had no clue to that which made her thoughtful, she concluded
+that the solitude of the country had a depressing influence upon her
+spirits, as it frequently had upon her own; and she determined to speak
+to her husband upon the matter. To him she represented that the place
+was very dull; that they had but few visitors; that even Mr. Marlow had
+not called for a week; and that Emily really required some variety of
+scene and amusement.</p>
+
+<p>She reasoned well according to her notions, and though Sir Philip could
+not quite comprehend them, though he abhorred great cities, and loved
+the country, she had made some impression at least by reiteration, when
+suddenly a letter arrived from Mrs. Hazleton, petitioning that Emily
+might be permitted to spend a few days with her.</p>
+
+<p>"I am quite alone," she said, "and not very well (she never was better
+in her life), and I propose next week to make some excursions to all the
+beautiful and interesting spots in the neighborhood. But you know, dear
+Lady Hastings, there is but small pleasure in such expeditions when they
+must be solitary; but with such a mind as that of your dear Emily for my
+companion, every object will possess a double interest."</p>
+
+<p>The reader has perceived that the letter was addressed to Lady Hastings;
+but it was written for the eye of Sir Philip, and to him it was shown.
+Lady Hastings observed, as she put the note into her husband's hand,
+that it would be much better to go to London. The change from their own
+house to Mrs. Hazleton's was not enough to do Emily any good; and that,
+as to these expeditions to neighboring places, she had always found them
+the dullest things imaginable.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Philip thought differently, however. He had been brought to the
+point of believing that Emily did want change, but not to the conviction
+that London would afford the best change for her. He inquired of Emily,
+however, which she would like best, a visit of a week to Mrs.
+Hazleton's, or a short visit to the metropolis. Much to his
+satisfaction, Emily decided at once in favor of the former, and Mrs.
+Hazleton's letter was answered, accepting her invitation.</p>
+
+<p>The day before Emily went, Mr. Marlow spent nearly two hours with her
+and her father in the sort of musy, wandering conversation which is so
+delightful to imaginative minds. He paid Emily herself no marked or
+particular attention; but he never suffered her to doubt that even while
+talking with her father, he was fully conscious of her presence, and
+pleased with it. Sometimes his conversation was addressed to her
+directly, and when it was not, by a word or look he would invite her to
+join in, and listened to her words as if they were very sweet to his
+ear.</p>
+
+<p>She loved to listen to him, however, better than to speak herself, and
+he contrived to please and interest her in all he said, gently moving
+all sorts of various feelings, sometimes making her smile gayly,
+sometimes muse thoughtfully, and sometimes rendering her almost sad. If
+he had been the most practiced love-maker in the world, he could not
+have done better with a mind like that of Emily Hastings.</p>
+
+<p>He heard of her proposed visit to Mrs. Hazleton with pleasure, and
+expressed it. "I am very glad to hear you are to be with her," he said,
+"for I do not think Mrs. Hazleton is well. She has lost her usual
+spirits, and has been very grave and thoughtful when I have seen her
+lately."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_493" id="Page_493">[Pg 493]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Oh, if I can cheer and soothe her," cried Emily eagerly, "how
+delightful my visit will be to me. Mrs. Hazleton says in her letter that
+she is unwell; and that decided me to go to her, rather than to London."</p>
+
+<p>"To London!" exclaimed Mr. Marlow, "I had no idea that you proposed such
+a journey. Oh, Sir Philip, do not take your daughter to London. Friends
+of mine there are often in the habit of bringing in fresh and beautiful
+flowers from the country; but I always see that first they become dull
+and dingy with the smoke and heavy air, and then wither away and perish;
+and often in gay parties, I have thought that I saw in the young and
+beautiful around me the same dulling influence, the same withering, both
+of the body and the heart."</p>
+
+<p>Sir Philip Hastings smiled pleasantly, and assured his young friend that
+he had no desire or intention of going to the capital except for one
+month in the winter, and Emily looked up brightly, saying, "For my part,
+I only wish that even then I could be left behind. When last I was
+there, I was so tired of the blue velvet lining of the gilt <i>vis-a-vis</i>,
+that I used to try and paint fancy pictures of the country upon it as I
+drove through the streets with mamma."</p>
+
+<p>At length Emily set out in the heavy family coach, with her maid and Sir
+Philip for her escort. Progression was slow in those days compared with
+our own, when a man can get as much event into fifty years as Methuselah
+did into a thousand. The journey took three hours at the least; but it
+seemed short to Emily, for at the end of the first hour they were
+overtaken by Mr. Marlow on horseback, and he rode along with them to the
+gate of Mrs. Hazleton's house. He was an admirable horseman, for he had
+not only a good but a graceful seat, and his handsome figure and fine
+gentlemanly carriage never appeared to greater advantage than when he
+did his best to be a centaur. The slow progress of the lumbering vehicle
+might have been of some inconvenience, but his horse was trained to
+canter to a walk when he pleased, and, leaning to the window of the
+carriage, and sometimes resting his hand upon it, he contrived to carry
+on the conversation with those within almost as easily as in a
+drawing-room.</p>
+
+<p>Just as the carriage was approaching the gate, Marlow said: "I think I
+shall not go in with you, Sir Philip; for I have a little business
+farther on, and I have ridden more slowly than I thought;" but before
+the sentence was well concluded, the gates of the park were opened by
+the porter, and Mrs. Hazleton herself appeared within, leaning on the
+arm of her maid. She had calculated well the period of Emily's arrival,
+and had gone out to the gate for the purpose of giving her an extremely
+hospitable welcome. Probably, had she not hated her as warmly and
+sincerely as she did, she would have stayed at home; our attention is
+ever doubtful.</p>
+
+<p>But what were Mrs. Hazleton's feelings when she saw Mr. Marlow riding by
+the side of the carriage? I will not attempt to describe them; but for
+one instant a strange dark cloud passed over her beautiful face. It was
+banished in an instant; but not before Marlow had remarked both the
+expression itself and the sudden glance of the lady's eyes from him to
+Emily. For the first time a doubt, a suspicion, a something he did not
+like to fathom, came over his mind; and he resolved to watch. Neither
+Emily nor her father perceived that look, and as the next moment the
+beautiful face was once more as bright as ever, they felt pleased with
+her kind eagerness to meet them; and alighting from the carriage, walked
+on with her to the house, while Marlow, dismounted, accompanied them,
+leading his horse.</p>
+
+<p>"I am glad to see you, Mr. Marlow," said Mrs. Hazleton, in a tone from
+which she could not do what she would&mdash;banish all bitterness. "I suppose
+I owe the pleasure of your visit to that which you yourself feel in
+escorting a fair lady."</p>
+
+<p>"I must not, I fear, pretend to such gallantry," replied Marlow. "I
+overtook the carriage accidentally as I was riding to Mr. Cornelius
+Brown's; and to say the truth, I did not intend to come in, for I am
+somewhat late."</p>
+
+<p>"Cold comfort for my vanity," replied the lady, "that you would not have
+paid me a visit unless you had met me at the gate."</p>
+
+<p>She spoke in a tone rather of sadness than of anger; but Marlow did not
+choose to perceive any thing serious in her words, and he replied,
+laughing: "Nay, dear Mrs. Hazleton, you do not read the riddle aright.
+It shows, when rightly interpreted, that your society is so charming
+that I cannot resist its influence when once within the spell, even for
+the sake of the Englishman's god&mdash;Business."</p>
+
+<p>"A man always succeeds in drawing some flattery for woman's ear out of
+the least flattering conduct," answered Mrs. Hazleton.</p>
+
+<p>The conversation then took another turn; and after walking with the rest
+of the party up to the house, Marlow again mounted and rode away. As
+soon as the horses had obtained some food and repose, Sir Philip also
+returned, and Emily was left, with a woman who felt at her heart that
+she could have poniarded her not an hour before.</p>
+
+<p>But Mrs. Hazleton was all gentle sweetness, and calm, thoughtful,
+dignified ease. She did not suffer her attention to be diverted for one
+moment from her fair guest: there were no reveries, no absence of mind;
+and Emily&mdash;poor Emily&mdash;thought her more charming than ever.
+Nevertheless, while speaking upon many subjects, and brightly and
+intelligently upon all, there was an under-current of thought going on
+unceasingly in Mrs. Hazleton's mind, different from that upon the
+surface. She was trying to read Marlow's conduct towards Emily&mdash;to judge
+whether he loved her or not. She asked herself whether his having
+escorted her to that house was in reality purely accidental, and she
+wished that she could have seen<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_494" id="Page_494">[Pg 494]</a></span> them together but for a few moments
+longer, though every moment had been a dagger to her heart. Nay, she did
+more: she strove by many a dexterous turn of the conversation, to lure
+out her fair unconscious guest's inmost thoughts&mdash;to induce her, not to
+tell all, for that she knew was hopeless, but to betray all. Emily,
+however, happily for herself, was unconscious; she knew not that there
+was any thing to betray. Fortunately, most fortunately, she knew not
+what was in her own breast; or perhaps I should say, knew not what it
+meant. Her answers were all simple, natural and true; and plain candor,
+as often happens, disappointed art.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Hazleton retired for the night with the conviction that whatever
+might be Marlow's feelings towards Emily, Emily was not in love with
+Marlow; and that was something gained.</p>
+
+<p>"No, no," she said, with a pride in her own discernment, "a woman who
+knows something of the world can never be long deceived in regard to
+another woman's heart." She should have added, "except by its
+simplicity."</p>
+
+<p>"Now," she continued, mentally, "to-morrow for the first great stop. If
+this youth can but demean himself wisely, and will follow the advice I
+have given him, he has a fair field to act in. He seems prompt and ready
+enough: he is assuredly handsome, and what between his good looks, kind
+persuasion by others, and her father's dangerous position, this girl
+methinks may be easily driven&mdash;or led into his arms; and that
+stumbling-block removed. He will punish her enough hereafter, or I am
+mistaken."</p>
+
+<p>Punish her for what, Mrs. Hazleton?</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_M_13" id="Footnote_M_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_M_13"><span class="label">[M]</span></a> Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1850, by
+G. P. R. James, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the
+United States for the Southern District of New-York.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="THE_FRIENDSHIP_OF_JOSEPHUS_AND_ST_PAUL" id="THE_FRIENDSHIP_OF_JOSEPHUS_AND_ST_PAUL"></a>THE FRIENDSHIP OF JOSEPHUS AND ST. PAUL.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In the <i>Princeton Review</i>, the <i>Church of England Quarterly</i>, and other
+periodicals, there have appeared recently several very interesting
+articles upon the Voyage of St. Paul to Rome; and in a work entitled
+"Gleanings on the Overland Route," by the author of "Forty Days in the
+Desert," just published in London, we find a dissertation "On the
+Shipwreck of the Apostle Paul, and the historian Josephus," which goes
+far to prove that Josephus accompanied the apostle to Rome, and that he
+was in some measure the means of procuring the introduction of the
+Christians into "Caesar's household." After a summary account of the
+shipwreck as narrated by St. Luke, aided by such elucidatory particulars
+as have been supplied by Mr. James Smith in his "Voyage and Shipwreck of
+St. Paul," the author says:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The only real difference between the two accounts of St. Luke and of
+Josephus is, that Josephus does not mention the stay of three months on
+the island of Malta. He writes as if the ship were wrecked in the open
+sea, and he was saved by being at once taken up into the second ship.
+This very great disagreement in the two narratives we must set to the
+account of Josephus's inaccuracy. The second ship he rightly calls a
+ship of Cyrene, for the Alexandrian vessel, in a favorable voyage, may
+have touched at that port. He adds to the apostolic history the
+interesting information, that it was through the Jewish actor,
+Alituries, that he, and, we may add, the Apostle and Christianity,
+gained an introduction into 'Caesar's household.' That Josephus sailed
+in the same ship with Paul, we may hold for certain. No Jews born in
+Judea had the privilege of Roman citizenship; of Jews who had that
+privilege, the number was so small, that it is not probable that two
+such appeals to Rome, by Jews from the province of Judea, should have
+been allowed in the reign of Nero. That two ships, carrying such Hebrew
+applicants from Judea, should have been wrecked in the Adriatic, from
+both of which the passengers should have been saved, and landed at
+Puteoli, and that within the space of three years, we may pronounce
+impossible. So then the Jewish historian Josephus, when a young man,
+made the voyage from C&aelig;sarea to Italy with the Apostle Paul, the
+Evangelist Luke, and their friend Aristarchus, and, for part of the way,
+with the young Titus. He calls the Apostle his friend, though worldly
+prudence forbade his naming him. From these fellow-travellers he must
+have heard the opinions of the Christians. He was able to contradict or
+confirm all that they said of the founder of our religion, for he was
+born only eight years after the crucifixion. But Josephus, when he wrote
+his history and life, was a courtier, and even a traitor to his
+country&mdash;he wanted moral courage, he did not mean to be a martyr, and
+any testimony in favor of a despised sect is not to be expected from
+him. The passage in his Antiquities in which Jesus is praised we may
+give up as a forgery of the third century: it is enough for us to
+remark, that after having lived for five months with Paul on the voyage
+from Judea to Italy, he does not write against this earnest teacher of
+Christianity, as either a weak enthusiast or a crafty impostor. But he
+praises his piety and virtues, and boasts that he was of use in
+obtaining his release from prison."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Smith, to whom allusion is made above, is said to be a gentleman of
+liberal fortune, and to have carefully studied navigation, and in
+numerous voyages in his yacht through these seas to have practised it,
+for the especial purpose of investigating and illustrating the points
+embraced in this interesting portion of the sacred history. He has
+pretty satisfactorily established the precise route of the Apostle on
+this famous journey, which is the most universally familiar of all in
+ancient or modern life. The curious suggestion of such personal
+relations between Paul and Josephus is not new; it was made some time in
+the seventh century in the Reflections of Bernardin Pastouret, and
+perhaps at an earlier time by others. The author whose words are here
+quoted, is Mr. John Sharpe, and he has very clearly presented the case.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_495" id="Page_495">[Pg 495]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="THE_COUNT_MONTE-LEONE_OR_THE_SPY_IN_SOCIETYN" id="THE_COUNT_MONTE-LEONE_OR_THE_SPY_IN_SOCIETYN"></a>THE COUNT MONTE-LEONE: OR, THE SPY IN SOCIETY.<a name="FNanchor_N_14" id="FNanchor_N_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_N_14" class="fnanchor">[N]</a></h2>
+
+<h4>Translated For The International Monthly Magazine From the French of H.
+De St. Georges.</h4>
+
+<h3><i>Continued from page 359.</i></h3>
+
+
+<h4>BOOK IV.</h4>
+
+
+<h4>I. EXPLANATION OF THE ENIGMA.</h4>
+
+<p>While the events we have described are taking place at Sorrento, we will
+retrace our steps to the Etruscan House, where we left Monte-Leone and
+Taddeo when the latter placed in the hands of the former the letter of
+La Felina. The Count opened the letter, and read:</p>
+
+<p>"Taddeo&mdash;You told me in the prison of the palace of the Dukes of Palma,
+whither I went to find you, '<i>Love which speculates is not love. Mine
+will obey you for obedience' sake. Try, however, to ask something grand
+and difficult, that you may judge it by its fruits.</i>'"</p>
+
+<p>"Then you love her?" said Monte-Leone, interrupting himself.</p>
+
+<p>"Read on," said Taddeo.</p>
+
+<p>"'Your heart, Taddeo, is noble,' replied I. 'I have faith in it. May God
+grant that your strength do not betray your courage. In four days you
+will learn what I expect from you.' I write down what I expect, for I
+have not courage to tell you. I cannot crush your hopes, though I know
+that they cannot be realized. The feelings you have avowed to me,
+Taddeo, demand entire confidence: for it would be a crime to deceive a
+heart like yours. I will therefore tell you the truth, painful as it may
+be. It is a year since I came to Naples, having been attracted thither
+by a brilliant engagement at San Carlo. My success was as great as it
+had been in the other capitals of Italy. After the applause and ovations
+of the public&mdash;the truest and most discriminating of all&mdash;came
+privileged admirers; those, who, from their rank, birth, and fortune,
+have a right to pass the curtain of the sanctuary, and cast incense at
+the very foot of the idol; who can compliment the artiste on the stage,
+and follow her with their commonplaces to her very box. There was no
+scarcity of sacrificers. The noblest of Naples overwhelmed me with
+adulations; from compliments they came to declaration, and there, as at
+Rome, Venice, and elsewhere, I was persecuted by the insipid gallantries
+of suitors, to which every successful artiste possessed of any personal
+attraction must submit. To all these advances my heart remained cold,
+and my insensibility cost me nothing; for I neither loved nor wished to.
+A strange event, however, changed my plans. It was an evening of last
+autumn, and the air was as sultry as possible. Exhausted by the heat of
+the theatre, after the performance was over I sent my carriage home, and
+resolved, in company with my <i>confidante</i>, to return on foot. I avoided
+my many suitors, and escaped from the theatre by a back-door. The air
+was so pure, and the night so beautiful, that I walked for some time on
+the <i>chiaja</i>. It was late when I returned homeward. Crossing an isolated
+street, which I had taken to shorten the walk, my <i>confidante</i> and
+myself were unexpectedly attacked by a party of men who stood beneath
+the portico of a palace. They had well-nigh stifled our cries with
+scarfs, which had been thrown over our heads, and we should possibly
+have been murdered, when a man, rushing sword in hand, I know not
+whence, attacked our aggressors, disarmed three of them, whom he put to
+flight, and killed the fourth by a dagger-thrust. Rapidly as possible,
+he then took off the bandages from our faces, and gave me, half dead
+with terror, his arm.</p>
+
+<p>"A carriage passed, the stranger called to it, placed us in it, and
+said: 'A lady, signora, of your appearance, met in the streets of Naples
+at such an hour, doubtless is under the influence of some secret motive
+she would be unwilling to expose. My services to you have been too
+slight to warrant my questioning you. Now you have nothing to fear, and
+this carriage will take you any where you please. I will inquire into no
+orders which you may give.' 'But your name, signore?' said I. 'Count
+Monte-Leone,' said he, as he disappeared."</p>
+
+<p>"That is true," said the Count. "I never knew, though, whom I had
+rescued from the hands of bandits."</p>
+
+<p>He then began again to read:</p>
+
+<p>"From that time the Count was, in spite of myself, the object of my
+constant thoughts and secret meditations. I was very anxious, at least,
+to know the features of the man, whom I had only seen in the dark; for
+the services he had rendered me, the courage he had displayed, even the
+sound of his voice, spoke both to my head and heart. One day, as I was
+crossing the street of Toledo, some young persons pointed out to me a
+cavalier, mounted on a noble horse. 'No one but Monte-Leone can ride
+such an animal as that. No one else rides so well.' 'He is the
+handsomest and most brilliant of our young nobles,' said another. 'What
+a pity he gives himself so completely to the people,' said a third. The
+Count, whom I saw then for the first time, was the realization of all my
+youthful dreams and illusions. I loved the Count, though I did not know
+it. From the moment I saw him, my heart and soul were consecrated to
+him."</p>
+
+<p>A painful sigh, uttered near Monte-Leone, made the Count look at young
+Rovero, the pallor of whom indicated intense suffering.</p>
+
+<p>"My friend," said the Count, taking his hand, "what matters it if Felina
+love me, provided I do not love her?"</p>
+
+<p>"Some day you may love her," said Taddeo.</p>
+
+<p>"No," said the Count.</p>
+
+<p>"And why?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because I have but one heart, and that is another's."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_496" id="Page_496">[Pg 496]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>A happy smile lighted up the face of Rovero, and Monte-Leone continued
+to read, with as much <i>sang-froid</i> as if another were the subject of the
+letter:</p>
+
+<p>"You wished to know which of the four I loved; excuse me, Taddeo, but
+now I have told you all. From that time I conceived an ardent devotion
+to Monte-Leone. My passion was, however, of that kind which only demands
+the gratification of the soul. All I had heard of the Count's character,
+of his errors, follies, and numerous passions, far from alienating,
+rendered him still dearer to me. It seemed that his lofty, generous
+disposition, full of courage and honor, had wanted nothing but a guide,
+or rather an angel, to wrest him from the torment of the life he had
+prepared for himself."</p>
+
+<p>The Count paused, and reflected for a few moments, which seemed
+centuries to Rovero. He then began again to read:</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, had I met Monte-Leone in the days of my innocence, in the days when
+I also looked for some one to guide my early steps, with my hand in his,
+with my heart beating against his, I should, perhaps, have avoided the
+rocks on which I have been wrecked? To the Count, however, I could be
+now but an ordinary woman, whose attractions might, perhaps, for the
+moment fascinate him, but whom he would soon cast aside, as he has his
+other conquests: then I feel <i>I should have killed him!</i>"</p>
+
+<p>The Count quietly read on:</p>
+
+<p>"I loved him too fondly to become his mistress; yet his image pursued me
+by night and day. At last my heart, in its immense and pure love,
+inspired me with the noblest and purest idea: 'Be more than a woman, be
+more than a mistress to him,' said I to myself, 'be a providence, a
+secret and protecting providence which preserves him in all dangers, and
+provides all his happiness.' Alas! I fancied that I had to defend
+Monte-Leone only against the ordinary perils of life, against the
+rivalry excited by his triumphs, and not against the serious dangers to
+which his opinions subjected him. I soon heard the rumors which were
+being circulated about the Count, learned of his danger, and the
+perilous part he had to play in relation to the secret societies. I
+learned all this from public rumor, but I needed other aid and
+information to guide me in the defence of him I loved. Among those most
+carried away by my talent, and if I must say so, most captivated by my
+beauty, was the Duke of Palma, minister of police. I received the
+minister kindly, and without yielding to his persuasions, conferred
+trifling favors on him. His confidence in me was immense. When I was
+stern to him he became desperate, but he professed there was such a
+charm in my company that he sought constantly to see me. Minister as he
+was, he became not my <i>sicisbeo</i>, for that I would consent to at no
+price, but my <i>cavaliero sirviente</i>, thus occupying the second grand
+hierarchy of love. I learned from the minister himself the snares
+prepared for Monte-Leone, twenty times I informed your friend of them,
+and enabled him to avoid them. In the same manner I heard of your
+imprudent folly at the ball of San-Carlo, and you know what I did to
+avert its consequences. A certain Lippiani, a skilful officer placed by
+means of my influence in the Neapolitan police, while paying a visit of
+inspection to the jailor of the Castle <i>Del Uovo</i>, contrived to
+introduce into the prisoner's loaf the mysterious information he
+received. The imagination, or rather the genius of the Count, inspired
+him with a design to secure his liberty. To assure the success of this
+ruse, the Count escaped for some hours from his prison, and amid that
+season of trouble, energy, and anguish, Monte-Leone lost the famous ring
+he always wears. This loss again placed his life and liberty in danger.
+Then I conceived a hardy and bold plan, which cannot succeed without
+your aid and devotion. On that, however, for you so promised me, I rely.
+I learned that you were a prisoner, but were about to be released. You
+can then aid me, but it is necessary to awake no suspicion. Aware of
+every outlet to the palace, which had often been shown to me by the Duke
+of Palma, I remembered a certain secret passage and door hidden in a
+pillar, whither the Duke often comes, to hear, unseen, the examinations
+of prisoners. Thither I sought to come. The porter admitted me at night;
+doubtless, fancying I was come to keep an appointment with his master.
+Of what value, however, were honor and reputation to me compared with
+his danger. Now, Taddeo, read with attention the lines I am about to
+write; follow my advice exactly, or Monte-Leone is lost.</p>
+
+<p>"I obtained possession for a few days of the emerald lost by the Count,
+and which had been sent by his enemies to the Duke of Palma. At a great
+cost I caused a similar one to be made by one of the most skilful
+workmen of Naples. The copy will be easily recognized: <i>that is what I
+wish</i>. I have substituted it for the original, and placed it myself in
+the minister's jewel case, the key of which he had given to me to take
+an antique <i>cameo</i>, the design of which I wished. The false ring will be
+given to the Count, instead of the true one, which is in the <i>coffret</i> I
+have placed by you. Go to Monte-Leone's house, during the night after
+your release. I am too closely watched now, to dare go thither myself.
+Give this ring to the old servant, tell him to deliver it to the judges,
+but not till the trial. The enemies of whom I spoke will be overcome by
+this pretended proof of their imposition, and the safety of the Count
+will be sure. I have told you all. Now, Taddeo, excuse me for having
+pained you by my disclosure. Excuse me for having unfolded all my heart
+to you, excuse me for having permitted you to read my most secret
+sentiments. Your love deserves something better than mine; but if it
+inspire you with any pity for me, rescue the Count from the executioner,
+and know that to save Monte-Leone is to save La Felina."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_497" id="Page_497">[Pg 497]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"What a woman!" said the Count, as he let fall the letter; "what passion
+and devotion!"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah!" said Taddeo, who looked anxiously into the eyes of the Count, to
+divine the effect produced by the singer's letter, "you see her devotion
+pleases and touches you:&mdash;that you love her&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Taddeo," said the Count, with great emotion, "that woman was my
+providence, and defended me against my accusers.... She saved my
+life.... It is a noble heart that thus hopelessly devotes itself. Let me
+give her all my gratitude.... A poor and sterile recompense for such
+devotion. The other sentiments of my heart you shall also know!"</p>
+
+<p>Rising up with the dignified and lofty air of a noble, he said:</p>
+
+<p>"Taddeo Rovero, Count Monte-Leone asks of you the hand of Aminta Rovero,
+your sister."</p>
+
+<p>Just then a painful exclamation was heard in the next room. Monte-Leone
+seized his dagger and rushed to the door. He threw it open, and a
+strange spectacle presented itself to him. A woman, pale and trembling,
+leaned on the arm of an old man. Her eyes, fixed and tearful, seemed to
+look without seeing, and her ears appeared to catch no sound. It was La
+Felina. She was sustained by old Giacomo.</p>
+
+<p>"Excuse me, Monsignore, she was permitted to come in; for Signor Rovero,
+when he brought your ring, said you owed your safety to her."</p>
+
+<p>"Felina!" said Taddeo. He fell at the singer's feet.</p>
+
+<p>She remained motionless as a statue whose lips only were living.</p>
+
+<p>"Signore Monte-Leone," said she, "I leave Naples to-night, and for ever.
+Before I did so, however, I wished to see and give you a piece of
+advice. Death menaces you from all sides, and your most insignificant
+actions are observed. Escape from the country, for here you will no
+longer find the faithful friends who have watched over you."</p>
+
+<p>"Say, Signora, the <i>faithful friend</i>, the generous providence who saved
+me from the axe of the executioner."</p>
+
+<p>"You know all, Signor," said La Felina; and she looked at Taddeo&mdash;"my
+secret has been revealed to you&mdash;for blushing, however, I now
+acknowledge with pride that it is true, for it has won for me the
+expressions you uttered just now. Alas!" said she bitterly, "I should
+have fled and have heard no more."</p>
+
+<p>Tears filled her eyes; overcoming her emotion, however, she said:</p>
+
+<p>"My mission is fulfilled, Count Monte-Leone, for you will live and be
+happy. If misfortune, though, befall you, do not forget that one heart
+in the world will taste of all your sorrow.&mdash;Taddeo," said she, giving
+the young man her hand, "time and reason will exert their influence on
+so noble a heart, and ere long you will find one worthy of you. Forget
+me," she added, when she saw him about to reply, "do not speak to me of
+sentiments the intensity of which I know&mdash;and I will assist you to
+triumph. To-morrow you will love me less. I know so. To-morrow."</p>
+
+<p>"To-morrow!" said Taddeo.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Felina, "and in a little time I shall be but the shadow of a
+dream, which some reality will expel from your heart."</p>
+
+<p>She went towards the door.</p>
+
+<p>"Signori," said she, when she saw Monte-Leone and Taddeo preparing to
+follow her, "I came hither with confidence in the honor of two
+gentlemen, who, I am sure, will not leave the room until I shall have
+left. Do not be afraid," she continued, with a faint smile on her lips,
+"a carriage awaits, but not to convey me to the Castle <i>Del Uovo</i>."</p>
+
+<p>Then casting on the Count a glance instinct with sadness and regret, she
+offered her hand to Taddeo, who covered it with kisses, and preceded by
+Giacomo left the room. For some moments the two friends looked at each
+other in silence. Taddeo then went towards the door, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"But I am a fool to let her escape thus."</p>
+
+<p>He crossed the court and went to the door of the room. The carriage,
+however, was gone, and far in the distance he heard the sound of the
+wheels.</p>
+
+
+<h4>II.&mdash;A LAST APPEARANCE.</h4>
+
+<p>The hearts of Monte-Leone and of Taddeo Rovero were, after the departure
+of the singer, in very different conditions. Monte-Leone, delighted with
+the present, and with the prospect of future success, to be attained as
+the husband of Aminta, forgot all else&mdash;even the terrible responsibility
+which weighed on him as the chief of a faction of forbidden societies,
+and the perpetual dangers with which it menaced him. Monte-Leone had an
+energetic heart but a volatile mind, over which the accidents of life
+glide like the runner of a sleigh over polished ice, almost without
+leaving traces.</p>
+
+<p>A circumstance of which we will speak of by and by, aroused the Count
+from his peace of soul to cast him in the waves of that sea of politics
+where shipwrecks are so common and tempests so usual. The only idea
+which occupied Taddeo was to see La Felina again. He said rightly enough
+that the rays of such a star could not long be concealed; that its glory
+and success would always betray it, and that the farewell token of
+Monte-Leone in the Etruscan house would not be for ever.</p>
+
+<p>Under the influence, then, of very different sentiments, the two friends
+returned to the Count's hotel at Naples. Less beautiful than the
+magnificent palace of Monte-Leone, it did not, like the latter, render
+indispensable the numerous and imposing array of servants, of which his
+somewhat restricted fortune deprived Monte-Leone. Descried by its master
+during the whole time of his seclusion, this hotel had been the scene of
+the ruinous pleasures of the Count. Splendid festivals had been given
+there; joyous suppers had been proposed, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_498" id="Page_498">[Pg 498]</a></span> the shadow of more than
+one graceful dame, wrapped in silken folds, had been traced at midnight
+on the great white marble wall of the portico.</p>
+
+<p>Giacomo, who had left the Etruscan house at an early hour, had
+superintended the preparation of the hotel for its master, and the
+unfolding of the tall wide windows made the house seem to stare on the
+sunlight, like blind persons who but recently have recovered their
+sight. The resuscitation of the hotel of Monte-Leone, as people in the
+Toledo-street said, created a great sensation in that quarter. The Count
+and Taddeo had been there but a short time, when Giacomo, evidently in a
+very bad humor, announced Signor Pignana. Many of the Count's friends
+who had heard of his return came to see him and crowded around him. They
+arose to leave when the new-comer was announced; but they paused when
+they saw the strange person introduced.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Buon giorno caro mio Pignana</i>,"<a name="FNanchor_O_15" id="FNanchor_O_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_O_15" class="fnanchor">[O]</a> said the Count, advancing to meet
+him. "You are not the last to visit me, and I am deeply touched by your
+visit. He is my landlord, Signori, an excellent man. Something of an
+Arab, it is true, in money matters; but as he is an old tradesman, you
+see it is impossible for him to change his habits. For twenty years he
+furnished the family liveries, and the result is that now he is richer
+than me."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, my Lord," said Pignana, "you flatter me."</p>
+
+<p>"Not at all, Signor," said Monte-Leone. "Now you can yourself have
+liveries with the Pignana arms, '<i>Two winged shears on a field argent</i>,'
+a regular tailor's escutcheon."</p>
+
+<p>"How then," asked one of the young men, "is Signor Pignana your
+landlord&mdash;is it of this hotel or of your beautiful palace?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah," said the Count, "he is not exactly my landlord yet, but he will be
+if my friend and creditor, Signor Pignana, continues to lend me money at
+cent. per cent. At present, however, the excellent man only owns my
+Etruscan house, a very gem of a thing, which he rents to me, and for
+which I am much obliged."</p>
+
+<p>"It is I who am obliged," muttered Pignana.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah!" said the Count, with a smile, "I believe you. That house had
+nearly become historical. If the executioner of Naples, the father of a
+family, and passionately fond of flowers," continued the Count to his
+friends, "with whom I passed a fortnight at the Castle <i>Del Uovo</i>, had
+been forced to arrange matters for me, the house in which Monte-Leone
+was arrested would have become historical. Pignana could have let it out
+to tourists, and could have retailed the stores for the London museums.
+Instead of this piece of good fortune, which I am very glad was not
+Pignana's, he possesses a good tenant, who will some day pay him
+punctually, when he has himself been paid all that is due him; for you
+can fancy how the arrest of one man discourages the business of others.
+All his debtors, all the friends of his purse, leap with joy; he seems
+at once outlawed, especially to those who are indebted to him. The most
+honest merely pray that his imprisonment may be prolonged; the least
+delicate pray that the executioner may send them a receipt."</p>
+
+<p>"But the Count also has some true friends who would be distressed at his
+death," said Pignana. "Monsignore counts me among them."</p>
+
+<p>Pignana probably uttered these words under the influence of great
+emotion, for a tear hung on the lid of his eye above an aquiline nose of
+immense size.</p>
+
+<p>"My dear Pignana," said the Count, "I know how far I can depend on you,
+for <i>I know you</i>."</p>
+
+<p>Monte-Leone accented this word, the significance of which to Pignana was
+very expressive, for he looked proudly around, as if the Count had given
+him a certificate of valor and courage.</p>
+
+<p>"I am about to give you the list of our men&mdash;that is to say of our
+transactions,"<a name="FNanchor_P_16" id="FNanchor_P_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_P_16" class="fnanchor">[P]</a> said the old man, eagerly correcting himself.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Monte-Leone, who had glanced sternly at him, "the list of
+our transactions. Go on, Pignana, go on, prove your account and diminish
+the total, contrary to your wont; above all, exhibit your vouchers; that
+is especially important."</p>
+
+<p>"Do not trouble yourself, Monsignore: I have all regular, and now you
+must pay in person."</p>
+
+<p>"In person," replied the Count. "Yes, Pignana, I will thus discharge my
+obligations without having recourse to a third party. Go thither,
+however, at once," said he, and he pushed the tailor into the next room.
+"You will find writing materials," he added, aside, "and no one to
+listen to you."</p>
+
+<p>"Excuse me, Signori," said he, speaking to his friends; "you have seen
+one of the greatest misfortunes of our rank, the necessity of civility
+to a fool who is a creditor."</p>
+
+<p>Just then Taddeo Rovero, who had gone out when Pignana entered, came in,
+introducing a handsome lad of about eighteen.</p>
+
+<p>"Count," said he, to Monte-Leone, "let me introduce you to Signor
+Gaetano Brignoli, a friend of my family."</p>
+
+<p>"Then, Signor," said the Count, "you are a friend of mine; for all whom
+they love are dear to me."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! Count," said Gaetano, "how much uneasiness your trial has caused
+all at Sorrento! Especially to myself, who was particularly charged by
+the charming Aminta to inform her of all the details of the trial. I set
+out on the night before your trial to be one of the first in the hall."</p>
+
+<p>"I scarcely dare," said the Count, with an expression of great pleasure,
+"to think the Signorina entertains such interest in my behalf."</p>
+
+<p>"It was not precisely of yourself that she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_499" id="Page_499">[Pg 499]</a></span> spoke," replied Gaetano,
+"but of my friend Taddeo, her brother, who was known to be compromised
+with you, and about whom she, naturally enough, was interested."</p>
+
+<p>The Count grew slightly pale as he saw this gratification wrested from
+him.</p>
+
+<p>"By-the-by, Signori," said Gaetano, "you have heard the news with which
+all the city and suburbs echo, and which makes almost as much noise as
+the trial of the Count Monte-Leone."</p>
+
+<p>"I trust," said the Count, bitterly, "that the news is more pleasant."</p>
+
+<p>"Infinitely more so," continued Gaetano. "Every one is talking of it,
+and crazed with it&mdash;especially myself, who am a <i>pazzo per la musica</i>,
+like the here of Fioravanti. You know, Signori, nothing is more pleasant
+than to win again a pleasure we fancy to have been lost to us."</p>
+
+<p>"Go on," said Taddeo, who had a presentiment that something pleasant was
+about to be related. The very mention of music made him quiver.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Signori," said Gaetano, "the Sicilian siren, the fairy <i>La
+Felina</i>, sings to-night at San Carlo."</p>
+
+<p>"La Felina?" said all the listeners at once.</p>
+
+<p>"La Felina! impossible!" said Rovero. "She left Naples last night."</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly she did," said Gaetano; "and that makes the matter more
+charming and pleasant. <i>La Felina</i> has her caprices as all pretty women,
+and singers especially. That is the condition and very qualification of
+talent. A <i>prima donna</i> who did not keep the public uneasy about her
+health, her business, or her amours, one who did not outrage the
+manager, would not be a complete woman. How could she? One does not earn
+a hundred thousand francs a year for acting as if the salary was only a
+thousand crowns. It would be vulgar and common and altogether unbecoming
+a fine lady. La Felina, therefore, annoyed by the effect produced on the
+public mind by the drama of the Trial of Count Monte-Leone, which
+occupied the attention she thought should be engrossed by her own
+performances, would not appear while the trial was going on. She was
+about to throw up her engagement, and actually did so, when she was at
+the Porta-Capuana. The patrons of the opera, with the empresario at
+their head, accompanied by the orchestra and troupe, not wanting an
+enormous crowd of other admirers of <i>la Diva</i>, and they are many,
+prevented the carriage from passing. She was surrounded, pressed, and
+besought to such a degree that she was dragged back to her hotel, and
+promised to sing once more in the Griselda of the <i>Maestro Pa&euml;r</i>, the
+best of all her characters. You can fancy the enthusiasm thus excited,
+and how all struggle to secure seats. I paid for mine thrice the usual
+price, and think I am very fortunate."</p>
+
+<p>For a moment Taddeo said nothing, he saw nothing, and scarcely breathed.
+He was half stifled with joy and surprise. To see one again, from whom
+he had expected to be separated for so long a time, and perhaps for
+ever, seemed to him a dream from which he seemed afraid to awake. The
+friends of the Count left: all hurried to the theatre to secure an
+opportunity of being present at the solemnity.</p>
+
+<p>"Come, come," said Taddeo, hurrying young Brignoli away. "I must go to
+San Carlo to-night at any price, even at that of my life!"</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed!" said Gaetano, "I did not think you so passionate a dilettante.
+You exceed me&mdash;to pay for music with gold is well enough, but with
+life&mdash;ah, that is altogether a different thing; mine is valuable, and I
+keep it for greater occasions."</p>
+
+<p>The Count stopped Rovero just as he was about to leave.</p>
+
+<p>"What," said he, with an air of deep concern, "will you not go with me
+to-morrow to Sorrento?"</p>
+
+<p>"To-morrow, to-morrow, for pity's sake," said Taddeo in a low tone. "Let
+me be happy to-day, and I will devote all my life to you."</p>
+
+<p>He left with Gaetano.</p>
+
+<p>"No, no," said Monte-Leone, "I will not wait a day, not an hour, before
+I see Aminta,&mdash;even if I go to Sorrento alone. I will go thither at
+once."</p>
+
+<p>"Impossible," said a grave voice behind the Count.</p>
+
+<p>The latter turned around and saw Pignana, who had glided unseen from the
+room as soon as he heard the young people leave.</p>
+
+<p>"Why so?" said the Count.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Monsignore?" replied Pignana, who, casting aside the air and
+manner of a retired tradesman, became a dry and cold old man with a
+dignified bearing. "Because our brothers, terrified at your arrest, were
+on the point of dissolving the <i>vente</i>.&mdash;Because, it has been reported
+that your excellency was on the point of abandoning the cause, and
+laying aside the functions of supreme chief:&mdash;Because, the principal
+<i>Carbonari</i>, the agent of whom I am, wish to be informed of your
+intentions, and to be assured by you personally that you will not
+abandon them."</p>
+
+<p>"Then," said the Count, with a gesture of ill-restrained temper, for
+these political embarrassments came in conflict with ideas which were
+far dearer to him, "that is the meaning of what you said just now. How
+can I restore confidence to our associates? The Neapolitan police
+watches over me; the least imprudence, the slightest exhibition of the
+existence of our association, would revive all, and endanger the fate
+and future success of the society, and also my life. You have few men of
+energy among you; you, who are one of the most devoted, trembled <i>in the
+presence of my friends</i>. You deserve to be hissed like a bad actor in a
+good part! Listen to me, Pignana: I wish to be your chief; I wish to
+risk a heavy stake in your cause; but now, especially when heavy matters
+weigh on me, I do not purpose to appear in <i>political comedy</i>.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_500" id="Page_500">[Pg 500]</a></span> I wish
+to play a serious part, the theories of which are actions, with many
+deeds and few words. I will do all that is necessary to serve our cause,
+but nothing more. Remember this. The Castle <i>Del Uovo</i>, dungeons beneath
+the sea, the executioner and conversations with the Grand-Judge, warn me
+to be careful and prudent. Ask me, then, nothing more. In eight days our
+great general <i>venta</i> will be held at the monastery of San Paola, fifty
+leagues from Naples. I will be there, and will tell you what our
+brethren in France and Germany have informed me of. Until then, however,
+question me about nothing."</p>
+
+<p>"We do not, Monsignore," replied Pignana, who was aware of the firmness
+of the Count, and saw at once that he had mistaken his course. "The
+association, which admires your excellency, especially since the trial,
+which looks on your excellency as a martyr, asks nothing except one
+favor, which will overwhelm it with gratitude and joy."</p>
+
+<p>"And what is that favor?" rejoined the Count.</p>
+
+<p>"That Monsignore will appear to-night at San Carlo in a box, the key of
+which I have with me. This box may be seen from every part of the house.
+All of our principal men will be present, and if Monsignore will
+advance, during the interlude, to the front of the box, <i>placing his
+hand on his heart</i>, all our friends will know that they may rely on
+him."</p>
+
+<p>"By my faith, shrewd as the Duke of Palma is, suspicious as the police
+may be, I do not think this can be construed into an act of treason. It
+pledges me to nothing. The ladies to whom we make the gesture understand
+it. I will then make this exhibition of my person, as the English say,
+and I will increase the interest of the performance by my presence. In a
+word, I will appear for the benefit of La Felina. The brave girl and
+myself will not even then be quits."</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you, Count," said Pignana, as he left&mdash;"and now, adieu, until we
+meet at San Carlo."</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>A few hours after the scene we have described, an immense crowd thronged
+every entry to the theatre of San Carlo. It was not, however, the joyous
+crowd intoxicated with folly which we have seen hurry into its precincts
+at the commencement of this story. On this occasion the public seemed
+rather busy than in search of pleasure. It was a matter of importance,
+indeed, to be present at the last appearance of La Felina. The keys of
+the boxes, therefore, according to the Italian custom, were sold at the
+door of the theatre, and at double the usual price. I speak only of the
+small number of boxes, the proprietors of which were absent from Naples.
+We may also as well add, that in Naples a box is often <i>property</i>. All
+the other boxes were occupied by illustrious personages, or by the
+wealthiest inhabitants of the great city. San Carlo on that night was
+brilliant as possible. The Count had just come. The women glittered with
+flowers and diamonds. As on the occasion of the masked ball, the theatre
+was illuminated <i>a giorno</i>. No detail of the festival, no beauty present
+could escape observation. Count Monte-Leone appeared in the box which
+had been reserved for him, which soon became the object of every
+lorgnette and the theme of every conversation. He bore this annoying
+attention with icy <i>sang-froid</i>, seeming even not to observe it. His
+vanity, however, was secretly gratified, and we have said that this was
+his weak point. The overture began, and the curtain was finally raised.
+During this time, and the first scenes of the opera, the private
+conversation was so loud and animated that the singers and orchestra
+were almost overpowered. Suddenly silence was restored&mdash;admiration as
+respectful as that which precedes a sovereign's arrival pervaded all.</p>
+
+<p>The true Queen of Naples, at this moment, was La Felina. This complete
+calmness was soon succeeded by a thunder of applause. A thousand voices
+uttered a long shout of commingled bravos and hurras. La Felina was on
+the stage. This delirium produced by a single person, this passionate
+worship expressed by an almost furious admiration, those thousand hearts
+hung to the lips of a single person, is found only on the stage, and was
+one of the triumphs which Naples decreed to the greatest artist in
+Italy. A report was in circulation, also, which added to this almost
+furious admiration. It was said, that she was about to retire for ever,
+and that this was her last appearance. The eyes of love have a secret
+and admirable instinct, enabling them to see what persons who are
+indifferent cannot discover. Among this eager and compact crowd, the
+glances of La Felina were immediately attracted to a point of the hall,
+to a single box in which Monte-Leone sat. To him Felina acted and sang,
+and she was sublime. At the moment when Pa&euml;r's heroine appeared, a
+single voice was heard above all others, and the person who had uttered
+it, having exhausted all the powers of his soul, during the whole time
+Felina was on the stage, stood with his eyes fixed on her, as if he had
+been fascinated by some charm he could not shake off.</p>
+
+<p>"Poor Taddeo," said the Count, when he saw him, "why does she not love
+him?"</p>
+
+<p>The first act was concluded by a torrent of bouquets, which the audience
+threw at the feet of their favorite actress. The curtain fell. This was
+the moment expected by the associate of Monte-Leone. Faithful to his
+promise, the Count leaned forward in his box, naturally as possible, and
+looked around the brilliant assembly. He then placed his hand on his
+heart, and disappeared in the recess of his box. Before, however, he
+left, he heard a confused and joyous murmur, which rose from the parquet
+to the boxes, and became lost in the arch of the gilded ceiling.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>They were there</i>," said Monte-Leone, "and Pignana must be satisfied. I
+have done all he asked literally."</p>
+
+<p>A few friends joined the Count in his box.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_501" id="Page_501">[Pg 501]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Indeed, dear Monte-Leone," said one of these, with whom he was most
+intimate, a friend of his childhood, "You have resumed your old habits."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"That, scarcely out of prison, I saw you from my box beginning a new
+intrigue by exchanging signs with some fair unknown. This, too, at San
+Carlo. This is bold, indeed, unless the hand on your heart is the
+resumption of an old intrigue, interrupted, perhaps, by your
+imprisonment."</p>
+
+<p>"I do not understand you, Barberini," said the Count, not a little
+annoyed. "I made no sign to any one."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps so: if you please, I was mistaken. But if I am, it is all the
+better; for it proves to me that you no longer adhere to the plans you
+once confided to me. I was delighted, too, at what I heard yesterday
+evening."</p>
+
+<p>"Of what plans do you speak?" replied the Count, moved, in spite of
+himself, by this half-confidence.</p>
+
+<p>"Mon Dieu! of your own. Did you not tell me that you were passionately
+fond of the sister of Taddeo de Sorrento, of the beautiful Aminta
+Rovero, daughter of the old minister of finances of Murat?"</p>
+
+<p>"True," said the Count.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," continued Barberini, "I hope you are cured of that love, for you
+have a rival."</p>
+
+<p>"A rival!" said the Count.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and perhaps a happy one."</p>
+
+<p>"Signor," said Monte-Leone, restraining himself with difficulty, "let me
+tell you I purpose to make that lady my wife. All that touches her
+honor, touches mine also."</p>
+
+<p>"I say nothing derogatory to it, but merely repeat what I have heard."</p>
+
+<p>"What have you heard?" said Monte-Leone, and the blood rushed to his
+head.</p>
+
+<p>"One of my young relations," continued Count Barberini, "was at an
+entertainment given on the recurrence of her daughter's birthday by
+Signora Rovero. He spoke to me of a Frenchman who is with them, and who
+seems passionately fond of the young Aminta."</p>
+
+<p>"And then?" said Monte-Leone, with the same tone in which he would have
+asked the executioner to strike him with certainty.</p>
+
+<p>"And then! why that is all," said Barberini, who had become terrified at
+Monte-Leone's manner. "I heard nothing more.... If I did, I would take
+care to be silent when you look so furiously. All this interests me very
+slightly. One's own love affairs are too troublesome to enable us to
+occupy ourselves with those of others.... There, too, is the Countess
+d'Oliviero, waving her bouquet so impatiently to and fro that I see she
+will break it to pieces unless I go. I must leave you, to save her
+flowers." The young man left.</p>
+
+<p>"I was right," said he, "not to tell the story of the night affair of
+which my kinsman was a witness. I think he would have killed me at
+once."</p>
+
+
+<h4>III. A PATERNAL LETTER</h4>
+
+<p>On the day after the terrible night during which Aminta had strayed in
+her sleep to the room of Maulear, two ladies met at about nine in the
+morning in the saloon of the villa of Sorrento, and were locked in each
+other's arms.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, my child," said one of them, "your sleep has given an
+interpretation to all that has passed, and I understand all. Your honor
+cannot suffer, for you are chaste and pure."</p>
+
+<p>"In your eyes, dear mother, I am; but in those of the world, which they
+tell me is so envious and malicious! Even last night, when every eye was
+fixed on me, I fancied that I read suspicion and contempt in the
+expression of more than one."</p>
+
+<p>"No, my child," replied Signora Rovero, clasping her to her heart, "I
+saw almost all our guests this morning, immediately before they left.
+They had already heard of your somnambulism, and our servants had told
+how you suffered with it from your childhood. All are convinced of your
+innocence."</p>
+
+<p>"Dear mother, do not think so. They spoke to you only with their lips,
+but believe me guilty."</p>
+
+<p>"Mother," added she, with that strange emotion to which she was
+sometimes a victim, "I think that this unfortunate affair is but the
+beginning of the realization of the unfortunate fate which I know is
+reserved for me. It seems to me that on yesterday our evil days began."</p>
+
+<p>She hid her head in her mother's bosom to conceal her tears, and to find
+a refuge against the misfortunes she feared.</p>
+
+<p>A servant came in, and said, "The Marquis de Maulear wishes to wait on
+the ladies."</p>
+
+<p>"Mother, mother," said Aminta, "how can I refrain from blushing before
+him?"</p>
+
+<p>Signora Rovero bade the servant show the Marquis in. Then arranging
+Aminta's beautiful hair, she kissed her forehead, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Daughter, one never blushes in the presence of a husband."</p>
+
+<p>Aminta, with great surprise, looked at her mother.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, ah!" said Madame Rovero, with a smile, "a parent's eyes see much."</p>
+
+<p>Before Aminta had time to speak, the Marquis entered. He was pale and
+excited.</p>
+
+<p>"Signora," said he to Aminta's mother, "I come to beg you to pardon me
+for a great fault."</p>
+
+<p>"To what, Signor, do you refer?"</p>
+
+<p>"Of the greatest of all faults, after the manner in which I have been
+received, and your kindness towards me&mdash;for not having confided in you,
+and said yesterday what I wish to say to-day. Yet only from you have I
+kept my secret. Yesterday, nothing obliged you to grant me the favor I
+am about to solicit: yesterday, you might have refused it. To-day,
+perhaps, it will be less difficult. A circumstance favorable only to
+myself," added he, with a timid glance at Aminta, "marks out<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_502" id="Page_502">[Pg 502]</a></span> my
+conduct, which assumes now the aspect of an obligation. It fulfils all
+my wishes, and makes me the happiest of men. In one word, signora, I
+come to beg that you will suffer me to become allied to your family."</p>
+
+<p>"Marquis," said Signora Rovero, "I expected to hear you speak thus, for
+I was sure of your honor. But far from wishing that now for the first
+time you had informed my daughter of the sentiments with which she has
+inspired you, I rejoice that your course has been different. Without
+this motive, signor, neither my daughter nor I would accept the alliance
+you wish to offer us. <i>No reparation can be exacted, where no fault has
+been committed.</i> I wish to strengthen your conscience, by assuring you,
+that in my opinion nothing obliges you to the course you have adopted,
+if it interferes with your prospects and success."</p>
+
+<p>The last expressions of Signora Rovero produced a deep sensation on
+Maulear, and a shadow of uneasiness passed over his brow. She had
+ignorantly touched a sensitive chord of the heart of the young lover.
+Led astray by his heart, seduced invincibly by charms which were so new
+to him, Maulear, under the influence of passion, had entered on the
+flowery route, at the end of which he caught a glimpse of happiness. In
+the delirium of passion, he had forgotten that a severe judge, that the
+imperious master of his destiny, that a father, with principles
+eminently aristocratic, like all fathers in 1768, awaited to absolve or
+acquit him, to receive or repel him, to unite or to sever&mdash;in one word,
+to make him happy or miserable. All these important ideas were at once
+evoked in the mind of Maulear by the last sentence Signora Rovero had
+uttered. It was this hidden and sombre apparition which arose between
+Maulear and her he loved, the sinister aspect of which was reflected in
+a manner by the expression of Aminta's lover.</p>
+
+<p>Signorina Rovero perceived it, and with the acute discrimination she
+possessed to so high a degree, said, in the melodious tones which
+touched all who heard them:</p>
+
+<p>"Marquis, my mother has spoken for her family, I will speak for myself.
+You have informed us of the noble family to which you belong. I know
+that your wife one day will be a princess, and I wish you to remember,
+that she, to whom you offer this title, is the daughter of 'a noble of
+yesterday;' the glory of whom is derived from her daughter's virtues.
+This, Marquis, I say not for you, but for others. Excuse me, too, for
+what you are about to hear. If I have need of courage to own it to you,
+perhaps you will require all your generosity to hearken to it." With a
+trembling voice she added: "As yet, I do not reciprocate the sentiments
+you have expressed. To the hope, though, which I permitted you to
+entertain yesterday, let me add, that I am additionally gratified by the
+offer of your hand; for in the eyes of many persons, signor, in the eyes
+of those who were witnesses of our presence together last night, you
+would not now marry her you were anxious to espouse yesterday.</p>
+
+<p>"I shall marry an angel!" said Maulear, falling on his knees before
+Aminta, "an angel of candor and virtue. If your heart does not yet
+reciprocate the love you inspire, my care and tenderness will so delight
+you, that some day you will love me."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then," said she to Maulear, "grant me one favor. Suffer me to
+await that day. Take pity on a poor girl full of terror and
+apprehension, at a tie she has always feared. Grant her heart time to
+make itself worthy of you, Marquis, and remember that until then you are
+free. As my mother has told you, nothing binds you to me. Now you owe me
+nothing, nor will you, until I shall confide my destiny to your hands,
+when you will owe me the happiness you promise me."</p>
+
+<p>"You do not consent? Then, Signorina, I will wait. Henceforth, however,
+I am pledged <i>to you</i>; and my hand and heart are yours."</p>
+
+<p>Just then a servant told Maulear that a courier from Naples had brought
+him important letters. The Marquis bade adieu to the two ladies, and
+left.</p>
+
+<p>"My child," said Signora Rovero, in a tone of affectionate reproach,
+"what must a man do to win your love?"</p>
+
+<p>"I do not know; I am certainly foolish, but I am afraid!"</p>
+
+<p>Maulear found the courier of the French embassy in his room. "An urgent
+letter from France," said he, to Maulear.</p>
+
+<p>Henri read the direction and shuddered. It was from the Prince de
+Maulear. The Prince wrote rarely. What did he ask? The son who felt that
+he had acted incorrectly in disposing of his hand, without consulting
+the head of his family, trembled before he broke the seal. The character
+of Maulear was weak, as we have said, and, like people of this kind, the
+prospect of danger and misfortune annoyed him more than the reality
+itself. At last he resolved to know all, and with a trembling hand
+opened the letter. He read as follows:</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+"Paris, April 10, 1816.
+</p>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">My Son</span>:&mdash;I often hear of you, not through your own letters, for you
+write rarely, but through other friends, whom I have requested to keep
+me <i>au fait</i>. I know what kind of life you lead at Naples, and am
+dissatisfied with you. The son of a shop-keeper and a banker would act
+more like a gentleman than you. People talk of you here no better than
+they do of the deputy of the hangman. I had hoped the Marquis de Maulear
+would behave more correctly in a foreign country. I was no older than
+you are, when I went as secretary of legation to Madrid. Three months
+afterwards I was recalled. I had run away with three women, fought four
+duels, and lost at cards fifty thousand crowns. That was something to be
+recalled for. It was an assurance that in future I would be reasonable.
+When our youth reasons, and does not laugh, things go<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_503" id="Page_503">[Pg 503]</a></span> wrong. The King
+spoke to me yesterday about you. He asked me, if you found any thing to
+amuse you at Naples. I replied that you found too much to amuse you. 'I
+am glad of it,' said the King, 'so our family honor at least is saved.'
+Since, however, you are most ignobly virtuous, I have tried to turn the
+affair to the best advantage. I have brought about a magnificent match
+for you, to supersede one I have heard you were making for yourself. The
+lady is rich, noble, and beautiful. She is the daughter of the Duke
+d'Harcourt, one of the gentlemen in waiting of his majesty. You may,
+perhaps, at Naples have seen Ren&eacute; d'Harcourt, the brother of the lady.
+The marriage will take place three months hence. I trust I have
+surprised you not unpleasantly. Adieu, my son. Your aunt, the Countess,
+sends her love to you, and amuses herself with the preparation of your
+<i>corbeille</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="right">"<span class="smcap">Le Prince De Maulear</span>.</p>
+
+
+<p>"P.S. You have three months' more folly before you, and for the rest of
+your life you must be prudent. I have opened a credit of one hundred
+thousand livres in your favor, with the banker Antonio Lamberti."</p>
+
+<p>The letter fell from the hands of the Marquis, and he sank on his chair
+completely overwhelmed. Like a thunder-bolt, it aroused him from a happy
+dream. There are, in fact, in all love matters, certain moments of
+intoxication, when men, ordinarily sensible, become blunderers. For a
+month the Marquis had been in this condition, half reasonable, half mad.
+Living with one thought prominent, all others were indistinct to him. To
+him love was every thing. His father, with his antiquated obstinacy,
+imbued with retrograde principles, disappeared like a ghost before the
+brilliant reality of passion. Besides, fear of a rival, dread of the
+brilliant Count Monte-Leone, who, full of love, as Henri had heard,
+aspired to nothing more than to become the husband of Aminta left him no
+other alternative, than to do what another was about to&mdash;make an
+offering of his hand and faith. Lovers, too, see nothing but the object
+of their passion; and Henri sometimes thought his father would agree
+with him. The strange epistle of the Prince had however reversed all his
+dreams. The anger of the Prince when he should learn that a marriage had
+been contracted, contrary to his wishes, and in spite of his orders,
+might possibly exert a terrible influence on the fortune and future fate
+of the young couple; without regarding the chagrin and humiliation to
+which he would subject Aminta by bringing her into a family without the
+consent of its head.</p>
+
+<p>Maulear passed three days in this cruel perplexity, sometimes hoping and
+then fearing that Aminta would yield to his prayer. His heart wished.
+His mind feared. If Signorina Rovero should accept his hand, it would be
+necessary for him to decide, to act; and then, from the weakness of his
+character, Maulear would be subjected to cruel uncertainty.</p>
+
+<p>A few days after the scene which had occurred in his room, Maulear and
+the ladies sat together in a boudoir near the <i>salon</i>, which opened on
+the park, a view of which Aminta was taking. The Marquis had been
+reading to the ladies the trial of Count Monte-Leone from the <i>Diario di
+Napoli</i>. This curious story, full of surprises, the noble energy, the
+wonderful <i>sang-froid</i> of the Count, the remarks of the journalist on
+the character of the prisoner, and the unjust accusation to which he had
+been subjected, and which he had so completely refuted, and to which he
+had submitted with such nobleness and heroism, all was listened to with
+the greatest interest. Maulear had read all this much to his own
+dissatisfaction, because Signora Rovero had requested it. The praises of
+Monte-Leone were most unpleasant to him.</p>
+
+<p>Aminta heard every word. Every detail of the Count's daring, every
+change of character in this judicial drama, awakened an inexplicable
+emotion in her. It seemed that Count Monte-Leone, to whose singular
+story she had listened, was a far different man from the one she had
+imagined him to be. His powerful mind, his exalted soul, all the powers
+of which had been developed by the trial, conferred on Monte-Leone new
+proportions hitherto not realized by her. Count Monte-Leone, whom she
+had seen at home, almost timid in the presence of her he adored, annoyed
+by his false position as a refugee, suffering from a passion he dared
+not own, was not the person of whom she had heard for the past month.
+Looking down on her drawing, which her increasing absence of mind made
+almost invisible to her, Aminta sought to recall the features of the
+Count which had been nearly effaced from her memory. Gradually, however,
+they arose before her. Had her mother then spoken, had her glances been
+diverted from the album on which they were fixed, a strange trouble and
+confusion would have been visible, when aroused from this meditation.
+The sound of wheels entering the court yard of the villa broke the charm
+which entranced Aminta, and made Signora Rovero utter a cry of joy.</p>
+
+<p>"It is he," cried she. "It is he who returns, my son Taddeo. Daughter,
+let us hurry to meet him. Let us be the first to embrace him."</p>
+
+<p>Accompanied by Maulear, the two ladies hurried into the vestibule, which
+they crossed, standing at the villa-door just as the carriage stopped. A
+man left it and bowed respectfully to Signora Rovero and her daughter.
+This man was <span class="smcap">Monte-Leone</span>.</p>
+
+
+<h4>IV.&mdash;TWO RIVALS.</h4>
+
+<p>Much had passed since Count Barberini had told Monte-Leone of the love
+of Maulear for Aminta Rovero. Monte-Leone felt all the furies of hell
+glide into his heart at this revelation. The idea that Aminta could love
+any one had never entered his mind. Whether from confidence in her, or
+from that error so common to lovers that they are entitled to love<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_504" id="Page_504">[Pg 504]</a></span>
+because they love themselves, Monte-Leone flattered himself that he had
+left a pleasant recollection in Aminta's mind. We may therefore imagine
+how painfully the Count was disturbed by the half-confidence of
+Barberini. Yet Taddeo, his friend, whom, he loved as a brother, could
+not have deceived him, and have concealed what had taken place at
+Sorrento, when he had received so cordially the hand of his sister.
+Taddeo, then, was ignorant of it. Monte-Leone, a prey to a thousand
+thoughts, left his box, forgetful of the opera, his friends and
+companions, with but one object and wish. He was determined to see
+Taddeo, to question him and find out who was the rival that menaced his
+happiness, and whom Aminta probably loved. The Count went to that part
+of the theatre in which he had seen Aminta. The second act, however, was
+about to begin; and the efforts of Monte-Leone to get near his friend
+created such murmurs, complaints, and anger, that he was obliged to wait
+for a more favorable opportunity. La Griselda was singing the <i>andante</i>
+of her cavatina, and the artist's magnificent, powerful, and tender
+voice, echoing through the vastness of the hall, fell in pearly notes
+like a shower of diamonds on the ears of the spectators. After the
+<i>andante</i> came the <i>caballeta</i>, and then the <i>coda-finale</i>. For a while
+one might have thought the four thousand spectators had but one breath,
+and were animated by a single heart, that they restrained the first to
+prevent the pulsations of the other from being disturbed. This gem of
+the opera was at last concluded, and mad applause rose from every part
+of the room. We are constrained, however, to say, that from this time
+the accents of La Felina were less passionate and brilliant, and that a
+veil, as it were, was extended over all the rest of the representation,
+so that a person who had heard only the second act of La Griselda would
+have asked with surprise, if it was really the wonderful prima donna,
+the songs of whom were purchased with gold, and the wonderful talent of
+whom, had enslaved the audiences of the great Italian theatres. The
+reason was, that, after the second act, the star which shone on La
+Felina had become eclipsed. Monte-Leone had left his box&mdash;the box which
+had been the source of Griselda's inspiration from the commencement of
+the first act. Hope had sustained the singer during the cavatina, at the
+beginning of the second act. She fancied that he whom she loved possibly
+heard her from the recess of some other box. When, however, she was
+satisfied that he was gone, despair took possession of her. "Nothing
+touches his heart," said she, with pain. "Neither my love nor my talent
+are able to captivate him&mdash;to attach him to me for a time." Thenceforth,
+as she sang for him alone, she sang for no one. The holy fire was
+extinguished. Genius unfurled its wings and flew to the unknown regions
+of art, whence passion had won it. La Felina finished the opera, as a
+prima donna should, rendering the music precisely and distinctly, note
+for note, and as her score required. She neither added a single
+<i>fioritura</i> nor a single ornament which had not been noted by the
+composer. In one word, the audience at San Carlo on that day heard the
+opera of the <i>Maestro</i> Pa&euml;r and not La Felina. During this, Monte-Leone,
+who had given up all hopes of reaching Taddeo, and whom Taddeo, paying
+attention only to the <i>artiste</i>, had neither heard nor seen, Monte-Leone
+walked in front of the opera-house, a prey to the greatest agitation,
+impatiently waiting for the conclusion of the representation, to see his
+friend and hear from him what he had to hope or fear at Sorrento.</p>
+
+<p>The opera ended. The crowd slowly dispersed, and Monte-Leone, wrapped up
+in his cloak, watched with anxiety every spectator who left the theatre.
+Taddeo did not come. The doors of the theatre were closed, and the Count
+still waited. Surprised and impatient he went to his hotel, where Taddeo
+also lived, but he was not there. Night passed away, and he did not
+come. About three in the morning a stranger was shown in, and gave
+Monte-Leone three letters. One of them was addressed to the Count: he
+opened it anxiously.</p>
+
+<p>"Excuse me, my dear friend, at quitting you thus. Excuse me, especially
+the uneasiness I have created in your mind"&mdash;wrote Taddeo&mdash;"I have
+learned that she left Naples to-night, and if I leave her I shall die. I
+will follow her by post and on horseback, without stopping, until I
+shall learn whither she has gone. What will I do then! I do not
+know,&mdash;but at least I will know where she is, and I will not fancy that
+she is lost to me for ever. 'To-morrow,' said she, when she left us,
+'you will love me less.' She was mistaken, my friend, or she has
+deceived me; for to-day I love her better than I did yesterday. My heart
+suffers too much for me not to sympathize with yours, and I understand
+how impatient you are to go to Sorrento. I send a letter to my good
+mother&mdash;give it yourself to her. I beg her to receive you as a friend,
+and as she would receive a brother of mine. Stay with her until I come
+back. Say that in three days I will come back to ask her to give you
+Aminta's hand."</p>
+
+<p>"Has the person who gave you these letters gone?" asked Monte-Leone of
+the messenger.</p>
+
+<p>"He went an hour since from the post-house, on one of our best horses,"
+said the messenger.</p>
+
+<p>Monte-Leone gave him a piece of gold and dismissed him.</p>
+
+<p>"Poor Taddeo!" said he, "to suffer as well as I do&mdash;no no, not so much
+as I do; for earthly love cannot be compared with heavenly passion.
+Jealousy such as I suffer can be compared to nothing; and all is derived
+from the serpent's stings, with which Barberini pricked my heart."</p>
+
+<p>The time until day seemed interminable to Monte-Leone. It came at last.
+The Count rang for Giacomo and dressed himself elegantly.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_505" id="Page_505">[Pg 505]</a></span> The old man
+on this occasion assisted him cheerfully and zealously, as he had
+previously shown repugnance on the night of the terrible expedition at
+Torre-del-Greco. Monte-Leone ordered his handsomest equipage. A few
+minutes afterwards the horses pawed impatiently in the court-yard, so
+that the driver could with difficulty restrain them. When the Count came
+down, he found Giacomo standing in the door of the saloon so as to bar
+his egress. Pale and agitated, the old man restrained the Count, and in
+a stern, quarrelsome voice said:</p>
+
+<p>"What is the matter now? what new folly are you about to commit?"</p>
+
+<p>"What the devil do you mean?" asked the Count, taking hold of the
+intendant's hand.</p>
+
+<p>"No, Monsignore, you shall not go," said Giacomo, extending his arms so
+as completely to shut the door, "unless you serve me as you did Stenio
+Salvatori. Is it not a shame that the noblest of the gentlemen of
+Naples, that the son of my master, should walk abroad armed like the
+bravo of Venice&mdash;with a sword, poniard and pistol in his bosom? What, if
+you please, was that box of pistols, placed by little Jack, your groom,
+as those animals are called in England, in your carriage?"</p>
+
+<p>"What is it to you?" said the Count, impatiently.</p>
+
+<p>"What is it to me?" asked the old man with tears in his eyes. "Are you
+not again about to risk your life against I know not whom nor why? What
+is it to me? That you may live, that my last days may not be passed in
+uneasiness and despair, like those which have gone by&mdash;for I love you.
+Count," said the old man, kneeling before his master, "I love you as a
+father loves his son. I held you in my arms when you were a child. For
+heaven's sake renounce your dangerous plans, renounce the acquaintance
+of those rascally mysterious looking men who come so often to see you.
+Have nothing to say to that rascally Signor Pignana, whom I would so
+gladly see hung. Be again happy, gay, and joyous, as you used to he.
+True, we were ruining ourselves, but we were not conspirators."</p>
+
+<p>The Count gave his hand to Giacomo.</p>
+
+<p>"Giacomo, my good fellow," said he, "I am about to engage in no
+conspiracy."</p>
+
+<p>"What then?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am about to marry," said Monte-Leone, with a smile.</p>
+
+<p>"Marry! with a case of pistols as a wedding present?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why!" said the Count, moodily, "I may perhaps meet enemies on the road.
+Now I have more than life to protect: I have my honor."</p>
+
+<p>Monte-Leone, making an affectionate gesture to the old man, descended
+gayly and sprang into the coach, which bore him rapidly towards
+Sorrento, and stopped at the door of Signora Rovero's house, as we have
+previously said.</p>
+
+<p>When she saw Monte-Leone, instead of Taddeo, Signora Rovero trembled.</p>
+
+<p>"Signor," said she to the Count, "for heaven's sake tell me what evil
+tidings you bear. What misfortune has befallen Taddeo?"</p>
+
+<p>"In two days, Signora, Taddeo will be here, and I have the difficult
+duty to excuse his absence. He has, however, asked me to deliver you his
+letter, which explains all."</p>
+
+<p>Signora Rovero took the letter and opened it with eagerness.</p>
+
+<p>"Excuse me, Signor," said she to the Count, "but you must make allowance
+for a mother's anxiety."</p>
+
+<p>"So be it," she observed, after having read it. "Taddeo is in no danger
+if we except that his fortune may be bad. A hunting party in the
+mountains will detain him for two days from us."</p>
+
+<p>"Count," said Signora Rovero, "my son speaks so affectionately of you
+that I am led to offer you my own love."</p>
+
+<p>"I have the advantage in that respect, Signora, for the kindness with
+which you treated me while here, and the memories I bore away, have ever
+since inspired the deepest affection for you."</p>
+
+<p>They entered the saloon, and Signora Rovero introduced Maulear to
+Monte-Leone. They saluted each other with the most exquisite politeness,
+but without exchanging a glance.</p>
+
+<p>Between love and hate there is this in common: it sees without the eye;
+it hears without the ear. Love has a presentiment of love, and hatred of
+hatred.</p>
+
+<p>Monte-Leone approached Aminta. All his power and energy were
+insufficient to triumph over the violent agitation which took possession
+of him when he spoke to the young girl. His loving heart offered but
+faint opposition to the torrent of passion, which had been so long
+repressed that it was ready to bear away every obstacle. Aminta blushed
+and became troubled when she recognized in the vibration of his voice
+all the emotion Monte-Leone experienced. The conversation became
+general. Signora Rovero spoke to the Count of his trial, the incidents
+of which the Marquis had been kind enough to read. The Count bowed to
+the Marquis as if to acknowledge a favor. Maulear looked away to avoid
+the necessity of acknowledging it. The Count seemed not to perceive it.
+Aminta became aware that if he kept silent longer the circumstance would
+be remarked.</p>
+
+<p>"During your imprisonment, Count, in the Castle <i>Del Uovo</i>, I have heard
+that a terrible episode occurred, the details of which the <i>Diaro</i> does
+not give."</p>
+
+<p>"The reason was the <i>Diario</i> did not know them. True, like other
+journalists he might have invented them, but he did not do so; and,
+perhaps, acted well, for his fancies could not have equalled the truth."</p>
+
+<p>The Count then simply, without exaggeration, and especially without that
+petition for pity which is so frequently met with, told the story of the
+terrible scene in the prison.</p>
+
+<p>Aminta listened to every word. She suffered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_506" id="Page_506">[Pg 506]</a></span> with the prisoner, hoped
+with him, and followed all the details of the story, exhibiting the most
+profound pity for the occurrence. Signora Rovero sympathized with her
+daughter, and, for the time, Monte-Leone was the hero of the villa. All
+the prejudices of Aminta disappeared in a moment in the presence of
+Monte-Leone, as the morning vapors are dispersed by the first rays of
+the sun.</p>
+
+<p>Maulear, in icy silence, listened to the Count and looked at Aminta. As
+he did so, his brow became covered with clouds precisely as that of
+Aminta began to grow bright. The latter, perceiving the painful
+impressions of the Marquis, extended every attention to him, so that
+Monte-Leone began to grow moody. The two rivals passed the whole day in
+alternations of hope and fear, happiness and suffering. The state of
+things, however, was too tense to be of long duration. These few hours
+seemed centuries to the adorers of Aminta, and if any one had been able
+to look into the depths of their ulcerated hearts, he would have seen
+that a spark would have produced an explosion. Many of the neighbors of
+Signora Rovero, who had not visited her since the ball, ventured to
+return. Among others present was Gaetano Brignoli. All loved him for his
+frank and pleasant off-hand speeches, and all received him with good
+humor and confidence. Maulear, who had laid aside his dislike, received
+him kindly, as he had previously done distantly. The <i>Rose of Sorrento</i>
+reproached Gaetano with having forgotten his promise.</p>
+
+<p>"You should yourself on the next day," said she, "have given me news of
+Taddeo and of Monte-Leone's trial. You, however, only wrote. Friends
+like you, and brothers like mine, are unworthy of the affection bestowed
+on them." Then, like a child <i>making friends</i> with a playmate, she took
+Gaetano into the embrasure of a meadow, and began to talk with him in a
+low tone. The night promised to be brilliant and serene, and the air to
+be soft and pleasant. The evening breeze penetrated into the saloon,
+refreshing the atmosphere with the respiration of the sea. "What a
+magnificent evening, Marquis," said Monte-Leone to Maulear, as he
+approached him, and looked at the stars which had begun to dot the sky.</p>
+
+<p>It was the first time the Count had spoken to the Marquis directly. The
+latter trembled as a soldier who hears the sound of the first battle
+signal. His emotion was short, and saluting the Count affably as
+possible, he replied:</p>
+
+<p>"It, is a winter evening in Italy, Count, but in France it would be one
+of summer."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you not think," said Monte-Leone, "that this is the proper hour for
+exercise, in this country? The complete repose of nature, the eloquent
+silence of night, all invite us to confidence, and make us wish for
+isolation and solitude&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Count," said Maulear, "do you wish for a half solitude; a desert
+inhabited by two persons?"</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly, that is what I mean."</p>
+
+<p>"So do I, and would participate in yours."</p>
+
+<p>"Come, then, I never saw a more beautiful night, and I shall be charmed
+to enjoy it with you."</p>
+
+<p>These two men, with rage in their hearts, each being an impregnable
+barrier to the happiness of the other, loving the same woman in the same
+way, resolved to contend for her, to their last breath;&mdash;these two men
+left the saloon, with smiles on their lips, like friends about to listen
+to the secret thoughts of each other beneath the shadow of some
+beautiful landscape, in happiness and pleasure.</p>
+
+<p>Aminta saw them go out. She grew pale, and suffered so that she leaned
+against the window-case.</p>
+
+
+<h4>V. THREE RIVALS.</h4>
+
+<p>Count Monte-Leone and the Marquis de Maulear entered together a vast and
+beautiful avenue, silvered over by a brilliant moon.</p>
+
+<p>"Signor," said the Count to Maulear, "do you ever have waking dreams?
+Can you, by the power of your imagination, transport yourself into the
+future, and, as it were, read your destiny, with all its prosperous and
+unfortunate incidents, its pleasures and chagrins? This often happens to
+me, especially by day and when I am unhappy. For a long time, too, I
+have been unhappy. For instance, not long ago, when shut up in a dark
+prison, with no prospect before me but that of an unjust death, and the
+headsman's axe bringing to a close my sad and eventful career, my good
+angel certainly, for I believe in such beings, sent, two hundred feet
+below the surface of the earth, a vision of dazzling light and beauty. I
+was transported beneath the green shadows of myrtles and orange-trees; I
+breathed an atmosphere impregnated with intoxicating and balsamic
+perfumes, while near me, with her hand in mine, and her heart beating on
+my bosom, was a young girl, destined to be my guide through this life of
+misery; the angel, in fact, of whom I spoke just now. Sorrows,
+suffering, injustice, the dungeon, and the executioner, all disappeared,
+and I enjoyed all the luxury of this heavenly revelation; and I said,
+for the realization of this heavenly revelation, the heart's blood would
+not be too dear a price. Do you not think so, Marquis?"</p>
+
+<p>"I do, Count," said Maulear, "and especially so, because what your rich
+imagination has created for you, chance, or my good genius&mdash;for I too
+have faith in them&mdash;has displayed before me, not in the delirium of a
+dream, but in reality. I have seen the myrtle groves of which you
+dreamed: I have breathed the perfumes you describe so well: I have found
+the woman your imagination has shadowed to me. I found her one day when
+I did not expect to do so. I found one more beautiful than I had fancied
+woman could be, gifted with such charms, grace, and virtue, that I ask
+myself frequently whether such a being can belong to earth."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_507" id="Page_507">[Pg 507]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Marquis," said Monte-Leone, and as he spoke he led the Count towards a
+darker alley, lighted up only by a few rays of the moon, which
+penetrated the interstices of the branches, "would it not be best to
+conclude this conversation rather in the dark than in the light? Our
+words need not any light, and neither you nor I pay any attention to the
+expression of our faces."</p>
+
+<p>"So be it," said Maulear, and they entered the dark alley.</p>
+
+<p>"Marquis," said Monte-Leone, "the divinity of my dream and the object of
+your passion are so alike, that I am sure we worship the same idol, and
+kneel before the same altar. Fortune has led two men of soul and honor
+into the same route. We both struggle for an object which one only can
+reach. One of us must tread on a carcass, which must be either yours or
+mine."</p>
+
+<p>"Count," said Maulear, "we understand each other. We adore the same
+idol, but you are not ignorant that our rights to offer it homage are
+different; that I have rights which you have not."</p>
+
+<p>The Count trembled. A word might crush all his hopes. For a few moments
+he hesitated, and then in a calm voice said,</p>
+
+<p>"Does she love you?"</p>
+
+<p>Without replying to the question, the Marquis said,</p>
+
+<p>"Signora Rovero, for her name is too deeply engraven on our hearts for
+it not to spring to our lips, is aware of my sentiments, of which I have
+already told her."</p>
+
+<p>"And has accepted them?" said Monte-Leone, in yet greater trouble.</p>
+
+<p>"No," said the Marquis, honorably; "but bade me hope that some day she
+would."</p>
+
+<p>"Then," said the Count, with joy, "nothing is lost. Marquis, the past is
+yours, but the future is mine. Had I the mind and grace of a French
+nobleman, I would, perhaps, propose to you a contest of courtesy, and
+might rely on my hope, my love, my attention, to triumph. But the
+contest must be of a different kind; for I will expose myself to no
+risks." Lowering his voice, he continued: "Not one and the other can
+present his love to the Signorina Rovero, but <i>one without the other</i>.
+You or I alone; and, as I told you just now, there is a life too many."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, signor,&mdash;you wage your life against mine. I consent,&mdash;but
+must observe that this duel should, at least, accrue to the interest of
+one or the other of us; and yet I do not think that Signorina Rovero
+would touch a blood-stained hand."</p>
+
+<p>"Signor," said Monte-Leone, "from the moment you accept my challenge,
+the mystery and secrecy with which it must be shrouded shall be my
+affair; and, if you please, I will tell you of my plans."</p>
+
+<p>"Do so, signor," said Maulear, coldly.</p>
+
+<p>"Let us leave this alley, and go towards that group of trees in that
+direction."</p>
+
+<p>He led Maulear towards the sea. When they stood on the shore, he said,
+"Below there is a kind of cove, and in it a gondola like those of
+Venice&mdash;a pleasure-skiff&mdash;built formerly by the minister Rovero for his
+family. At this hour to-morrow, we will meet in this wood and go to the
+boat-house. We will then put to sea, and with no witness but the sea and
+sky, we will settle our affair. Two men will steer the bark to sea, and
+one wilt guide it back&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>In spite of his courage, Maulear could not but shudder at one who
+detailed with such coolness so horrible a plan. The manner of death
+frequently enhances our terror, and he who in a forest would bare his
+bosom to his adversary's ball, would shrink from it on the immensity of
+the ocean.</p>
+
+<p>"But," said Maulear, "is all this romantic preparation, is this naval
+drama in which you insist on appearing, necessary to our purpose? Any
+other secret encounter would have the same effect, and would eventuate
+equally satisfactorily. At the distance of a few days' travel, would we
+not be able to fight more safely than here?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, Marquis, I must remain in this villa until Taddeo de Sorrento shall
+have returned. Neither I nor you can leave it without arousing
+suspicions, and in two days hence, we would no longer be equals; for
+honor compels me to say that Taddeo has promised me his sister's hand,
+and that the influence he exerts over his mother will without doubt
+induce her to decide in my favor. If, however, you prefer to run that
+risk, I will not oppose you."</p>
+
+<p>"No no," said Maulear, who remembered what Taddeo had said to him in
+relation to his sister, "I will fight for her I love at the very foot of
+the altar&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Signor," said Monte-Leone, "let us avoid all scandal. The death of him
+who falls may be easily accounted for; and as you said, we must never
+suffer her we love to think that the happiness of one of us has cost the
+other his life."</p>
+
+<p>"So be it," said Maulear, "I accept your offer."</p>
+
+<p>"To-morrow we will meet," said the Count.</p>
+
+<p>The two enemies returned to the villa calm, and apparently undisturbed,
+as if they had been the best friends possible. When they came into the
+room again, Aminta sat by her mother. The eyes of the young girl,
+however, turning constantly towards the door, seemed to expect the
+return of the two young men with anxiety. Her cheeks became slightly
+flushed when they entered. The Count approached her and besought her to
+sing as he had often heard her. Aminta sat at the piano. Scarcely,
+however, had she sung the first bar, than the door of the saloon opened
+and Scorpione glided in and sat at the feet of the young girl, where he
+laid down as he used to do; not, however, daring to look at her. Since
+the scandal he had caused, he had been in disgrace with all the family,
+and his mistress did not speak to him. The Count, who had become
+acquainted with Tonio during his first visit to Sorrento, could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_508" id="Page_508">[Pg 508]</a></span> not
+repress a movement of horror at the appearance of the wretch. Far,
+however, from being angry, Tonio seemed glad to see him, and testified
+his pleasure by various affectionate signs. Gaetano, who was absent from
+the room, just then returned, and at the request of Signora Rovero sang
+several duets with Aminta. An extraordinary feeling seemed to influence
+the young man, and only with the greatest difficulty could he get
+through his part. When the evening was over, all retired. The next day
+rolled by in embarrassing constraint to all the inhabitants of the
+villa. An atmosphere of sadness surrounded them, like the dark clouds
+which seem at the approach of a storm to overhang the earth. Count
+Monte-Leone alone seemed master of himself, and sought to cure the
+general <i>atony</i> in which even Maulear was involved. A sensible
+difference was remarked between the two men, each of whom loved the same
+woman, while one of them must lose her forever. The Count did not take
+his eyes from her, and seemed thus to lay in a provision of pleasure for
+eternity, which seemed ready to open before him. Maulear, on the other
+hand, was sad and pensive, and scarcely dared to lift his eyes to
+Aminta, fearing, beyond doubt, that he would thus increase his sorrow
+and distress, and diminish his courage when the crisis came. As the day
+wore on. Aminta, feeling unwell, retired to her room. Signora Rovero,
+accustomed to see her daughter have similar attacks, sat to play
+<i>reversis</i> with Count Brignoli and two other persons. Monte-Leone and
+Maulear exchanged a mysterious sign and left the room nearly at the same
+time. The night was not so beautiful as the preceding one had been. The
+disk of the moon sometimes was clouded, and the wind whistled among the
+trees of the park; all nature, deeply agitated, seemed to sympathize
+with the thoughts which agitated the minds of the two enemies. The dark
+and cloudy sky was a meet back-ground for such a picture.</p>
+
+<p>Nine o'clock was struck by the bell of the Church at Sorrento, when two
+men met at the cove we have described. One of them wrapped in a cloak
+had a case under his arm. They went towards the bank and found the
+gondola there. This boat was long, like those of Venice, in imitation of
+which it had been made&mdash;had a little cabin in its stern, which now was
+closed. In it the ladies used to take refuge when bad weather interfered
+with their pleasure. The two men used all their strength to detach the
+gondola from the shore. At last they succeeded. The most robust then
+took one of the oars and pushed the boat from the bank. Just as they
+were about to put off, a burst of demoniac laughter rung in their ears.
+A very demon, a breathing spirit of evil, had witnessed all their
+preparations, and had learned, from its shape, the contents of the box;
+the idea of what they meditated caused him to utter this shout of
+laughter. This demon was Scorpione. This deformity was the rival of
+Monte-Leone and Maulear.</p>
+
+<p>The blue and azure waves of the sea of Naples on that night seemed dark
+as ink. The wind agitated them. Calm as they usually are, and like a
+vast cemetery, the tombs of which open to receive the dead, they opened
+before the prow of the boat like a grave, as they were intended to be.
+At a distance of about three hundred fathoms the two adversaries ceased
+to row and replaced the oars in the gondola. Without speaking, they took
+out the pistols, examined their locks, and opened them.</p>
+
+<p>"Signor," said Monte-Leone, "I thank you for the honor you have done me
+in deigning to use my arms."</p>
+
+<p>"The arms of Count Monte-Leone are not to be refused."</p>
+
+<p>"A true hand gives them."</p>
+
+<p>"A true hand receives them."</p>
+
+<p>Nothing more was said. They then proceeded to place themselves at the
+several ends of the boat. The Count uncovered himself. Maulear did also.
+They let fall their cloaks and opened the linen which covered their
+bosoms. They raised their pistols, took aim, and were about to fire.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>The door of the cabin was thrown open, and Aminta rushed to the centre
+of the gondola. Gaetano followed her. The weapons fell from the hands of
+the rivals; and in terror and surprise they looked on this apparition.
+Not a cry escaped from their lips. Pale and motionless, they looked at
+each other without, at first, recognizing Aminta. Not a word passed
+their lips. Terror-stricken, they fancied themselves in the presence of
+some heavenly being, sent, like the angel of peace, to rescue them from
+death. The voice of Aminta, full of trouble and terror, echoed over the
+waves, like that of an angel, and alone aroused them from the ecstatic
+state in which they were plunged.</p>
+
+<p>"Signori," said she, "I might sooner have put a stop to this atrocious
+duel, the very idea of which terrifies me; had it not have been so near
+its completion, you would, perhaps, have denied the intention to fight
+after all, within a few days. Thanks to the assistance of Gaetano, my
+childhood's friend, who yesterday evening became acquainted with your
+intention, I have by God's aid been able to prevent it. I wished my
+presence to be grave and solemn, that you might never renew the attempt;
+in order that, as it were, in the presence of God and of death, you
+might know my fixed determination. I would not be burdened with an
+existence which had cost the life of a fellow-being: you, Signor
+Monte-Leone, by the revered manes of your father; and you, Marquis de
+Maulear, by all you love, I conjure to swear that you will respect the
+life of him I shall accept as my husband."</p>
+
+<p>"Impose no such oath on me," said Monte-Leone.</p>
+
+<p>"Let me die first," said Maulear.</p>
+
+<p>"Not you only, but I will die also. If I do not hear you swear, I will
+throw myself into the sea."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_509" id="Page_509">[Pg 509]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>She placed her foot on the gunwale of the boat.</p>
+
+<p>"We swear," said the rivals, rushing towards her.</p>
+
+<p>"Thanks, Signori, I will trust your oath. Count Monte-Leone," said she,
+"the Marquis de Maulear saved my life; you will also learn, hereafter,
+how generously he resolved to save my honor when it was compromised. My
+heart is de Maulear's, and I give him my hand."</p>
+
+<p>The Marquis fell at Aminta's feet.</p>
+
+<p>"To you," she continued, "Count Monte-Leone, I can offer only my respect
+and esteem."</p>
+
+<p>"Signorina," said Monte-Leone, with a voice full of dignity and despair,
+"I accept even the boon you offer me; and henceforth he whom you love is
+sacred to me."</p>
+
+<p>By a violent effort over himself he extended his hand to Maulear. The
+waves had borne the bark towards the shore, and all who had participated
+in this scene returned safely to the villa. Signora Rovero, who did not
+know what had passed, on the next day received a letter from
+Monte-Leone, who, during the night, had left the villa.</p>
+
+
+<h4>VI.&mdash;MARRIAGE.</h4>
+
+<p>Nothing can describe the intensity of Count Monte-Leone's grief when he
+was again in the carriage, which, on the evening before, had borne him
+to happiness, and now took him back to Naples, sad and despairing. The
+Count had overcome his own nature, and this was a great victory to one
+who usually yielded to every prompting of passion. On this occasion he
+had restrained himself and overcome his rage at his rival's triumph. He
+overcame his agony at the wreck of his hopes. When he left Sorrento, and
+awoke, so to say, from the stupefaction into which he had plunged, the
+excitable brain and fiery heart again re-opened.</p>
+
+<p>"I was a fool," said he, "I was a fool when I yielded my happiness to
+another. I was yet more mad when I swore to respect his life, when
+something far more violent than mine is wrested from me. Has he not
+crushed and tortured my heart? I regret even my place of imprisonment,"
+continued he. "There I had dreams of love; and had death reached me in
+that abyss, I should have borne away hopes of the future which now are
+crushed for ever."</p>
+
+<p>Two torrents of tears rolled down the cheeks of this iron-hearted man,
+over which they had rarely flown before.</p>
+
+<p>On the morning after Monte-Leone's return to his hotel, he might have
+been observed sitting before the portrait of the victim of Carlo III.,
+the holy martyr of conscience, as he called his father, looking on his
+noble brow with the most tender respect. We have spoken of the almost
+superstitious faith of the Count in the fact that his father protected
+him in all the events of his life. We have heard him call on his father
+when about to be buried in the waves of the sea, and then become
+resigned to death in the pious faith that his father waited for him.
+Whenever danger menaced Monte-Leone; whenever he was unexpectedly
+prosperous, or was involved in misfortune; whenever his life was lighted
+up with prosperity, or misfortune overwhelmed him, he always looked to
+this parent. He thought his pure spirit hovered above him; and
+encouraged by this celestial aid, he trusted to the mutations of fortune
+without fear or apprehension. When he looked at this adored image,
+consolation seemed always to descend on his soul. Overcome by the
+boundless love Aminta had inspired, he had forgotten the political
+duties to which he was devoted. It seemed to him that this cause, to
+which he had consecrated his life, had wonderfully diminished in
+importance since his trial.</p>
+
+<p>"Can it be, oh my father, that you were unwilling for my love to
+interfere with the prospects of the duties imposed on me by your death?
+Or, is it that in your pity you have feared that, in my dangers, the
+angel to whom I have devoted my existence would be overwhelmed. If, oh
+my father, it be thy will that I suffer these cruel torments; if I am to
+reserve my energy for the cause I defend, be rejoiced at my sufferings,
+for I am able to bear them. Ere long I will again see those who have
+trusted me with their fate, and the suspicions of whom offend and wound
+me. They will know my resolutions, and I shall know whether I shall
+remain their leader or tread my weary way alone."</p>
+
+<p>Just then the door of his cabinet opened, and a man appeared, or rather
+a spectre, so much had his appearance been changed by fatigue and
+suffering. He rushed into the arms of Monte-Leone.</p>
+
+<p>"Taddeo," said he, "my God! what has happened? How pale you are! Why are
+these tears in your eyes."</p>
+
+<p>"My friend, La Felina has deceived me only by a day. She was, however,
+mistaken herself. To-morrow, said she, you will <i>love me less</i>. To-day I
+love her no more. You see I have done better than she even hoped."</p>
+
+<p>He fell, with his heart crushed, on a chair, and sobbed.</p>
+
+<p>"Speak, speak to me," said Monte-Leone, forgetful of his friend's
+suffering in his own.</p>
+
+<p>"As I wrote to you," said Taddeo, "I determined to follow her, and find
+out her retreat at all events. Had it been necessary, I would have
+followed her to the end of the world. Leaving the horse I had in a
+street near the theatre, I went to the door whence I supposed La Felina
+would come. I had been there an hour when I saw a post-carriage
+approach. A few moments had elapsed when a woman, accompanied by a
+servant, left the theatre, and after looking anxiously around, to be
+sure that she was unobserved, entered the carriage. The valet got up
+behind, and the postillion, who had not left the saddle, whipped up his
+horses and left in a gallop. I mounted my horse and followed the
+carriage, keeping just two hundred yards behind it. The carriage was
+driven towards Rome, and at every post-house the horses were changed, on
+which occasions I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_510" id="Page_510">[Pg 510]</a></span> kept out of sight, and then resumed my pursuit. Thus
+we travelled about fifteen leagues; when, however, we reached the eighth
+post-house, the carriage spring became broken and the body was thrown
+into a ditch. I rushed towards it, opened the door, and, in a fainting
+condition, received the person it contained. I bore her to the road,
+and, to give her air, threw aside her veil. I uttered a cry of rage and
+agony. The woman in my arms was not La Felina. The sound of my voice
+aroused the stranger's attention, and she looked at me as if she were
+afraid. 'Who are you?' said she, trembling. 'What do you wish?' 'To save
+La Felina, whom I thought was here.' 'La Felina! You were in search of
+La Felina!' 'Certainly.' 'And you are the horseman whom Giuseppe, the
+courier, told me at the last relay, followed us, are you?' 'Certainly I
+am.' The woman examined her arms, etc., to see that she was not hurt,
+looked at me most ironically, and then bursting into laughter, said:
+'Well, after all, the trick was well played.' 'What trick?' 'The one La
+Felina has played on all her lovers, the most ardent of whom you are.' I
+looked at the woman so earnestly, and sorrow seemed so deeply marked on
+my countenance, that I saw an expression of pity steal over her face.
+'Poor young man!' said she, 'then you really loved her?' 'I did, and if
+I lose her I shall die.' 'Come,' said she, 'you will not die. If all who
+have told me the same thing died, Naples would be like the catacombs of
+Rome. Come with me,' she continued, 'to the post-house, for now I feel
+by the pain I suffer that my arm is out of place. There I will tell you
+all.' I went with the woman to the post-house, when a few drops of
+cordial soon invigorated her. 'This is the explanation of what is a
+matter of so much surprise to you. Perhaps I should be silent; but you
+seem to love La Felina so truly, and a young man who really loves is so
+interesting that I will tell you all.' The circumlocution of this woman
+almost ran me mad! She finally said: 'My mistress was afraid some of her
+lovers would follow her, and wishing to conceal the route she had gone,
+took the idea of substituting me for herself, and sent me to Rome, where
+she is to write me her destination. You followed me instead of her. She
+was right, and had good reason to act as she did.' 'Then she has not yet
+left,' asked I, thinking of a means to rejoin her. 'She was to leave
+Naples,' said the woman, 'an hour after me, and is, no doubt, now far
+from the city.' 'And does she travel alone on these dangerous roads?'
+said I. 'Oh, no, she travels with him.' 'With him! of whom, for heaven's
+sake, do you speak?' 'Ah,' said the woman, 'La Felina would never
+forgive me if I told you. He, too, might make me pay dearly for my
+indiscretion.' I begged, I besought the woman to conceal nothing from
+me, and gave her all the money I had, promising to increase the sum
+tenfold. She yielded at last, and told me that <i>La Felina</i> had left
+Naples with her lover. Her lover! do you hear?" continued Taddeo, in a
+delirium of rage, "and her lover is the minister of police, the Duke of
+Palma."</p>
+
+<p>"More perfidious than the water!" said Monte-Leone, contemptuously.
+"Poor Taddeo!"</p>
+
+<p>"Do not pity me," said the latter, in a paroxysm of terrible rage. "I
+was to be pitied when I loved her, when a divinity dwelt in my soul,
+when my love was ecstatic and endowed her with an innocence, which my
+reason told me she did not possess. I was fool enough to deceive myself.
+Now this woman to be sure is but a woman; she is less than feminine, as
+the mistress of a rich and powerful noble, the Duke of Palmo. Love might
+have killed me, but contempt has stifled love."</p>
+
+<p>His head fell on his chest, and he wept. He wept as man weeps for a
+departed passion, which has vivified his heart, but which yields to
+death, or worse still, another passion.</p>
+
+<p>"My friend," said Monte-Leone, "your grief is cruel, but I suffer more
+intensely!" Monte-Leone told Taddeo what had taken place at Sorrento.</p>
+
+<p>The friends were again locked in the arms of each other, and mingled
+their tears&mdash;the one for the loss of an <i>earthly passion</i>, and the other
+for a <i>celestial affection</i>, as Monte-Leone characterized the two
+sentiments when he read a letter of Rovero's. Taddeo had appointed the
+following day for his return to Sorrento, and faithful to his promise he
+left Naples for the villa of his mother. The farewell of the two men was
+sad and touching, for a long time must elapse before they met again.
+Monte-Leone had resolved to leave Naples for some time. The proximity of
+Sorrento lacerated his heart, and to see her he loved the wife of
+another would to him be insupportable. Taddeo was aware of the reasons
+why the Count had determined to travel, and had he no mother he would
+also have been anxious to leave the country.</p>
+
+<p>"Taddeo," said Monte-Leone to his friend, when the former was about to
+set out, "I have a favor to ask of you on which I place an immense
+estimate, and for which I must be indebted to your love. Here," said he,
+presenting the magnificent emerald wrought by Benvenuto Cellini, "take
+this ring, and beg your sister to accept it. Tell her, as she offered me
+her friendship, I have a right to send a testimonial to her of my
+devotion." Then with a voice trembling with emotion, he added, "Say this
+ring preserved my life. This will not add to its value in her eyes; but
+tell her in confidence the history of this ring, and some day," said he,
+with a bitter smile, "it may be looked on as a curious relic."</p>
+
+<p>"Not so, not so," said Taddeo, kissing the ring. "To us it cannot but be
+a precious treasure."</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps while he acted thus, Taddeo thought not only of his friend, but
+of the woman who had preserved him from death.</p>
+
+<p>Taddeo left.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_511" id="Page_511">[Pg 511]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Fifteen days after his reaching home, all Sorrento put on its holiday
+attire. The church of the town, splendidly decorated, the lighted
+torches, the people in their gala dresses, all announced that some
+remarkable event was about to take place in the village. The bells rung
+loud peals, and young girls dressed in white, with flowers in their
+hands, stood on the church portico. Certainly a great event was about to
+take place. The <i>White Rose of Sorrento</i> was about to be married to a
+French nobleman of high rank, <i>Henri Marquis de Maulear</i>.</p>
+
+<p>About noon there was a rumor among the crowd in front of the church that
+the bridal party were near. All hurried to meet them, and Aminta was
+seen leaning on her brother's arm, while the Marquis escorted Signora
+Rovero.</p>
+
+<p>The appearance of the beautiful young girl, whiter than her veil, paler
+than the flowers which adorned her brow, produced a general sensation of
+admiration. Mingled with this, however, was a kind of sadness, when the
+melancholy on her brow was observed. The Marquis seemed also to be ill
+at ease, and to suffer under the influence of feelings which on such a
+day were strange indeed. All care, all anxiety should be lost in the
+intoxication of love. Maulear had purchased his happiness by an error,
+and this oppressed him. After the noble decision of Aminta, and the
+preference she had so heroically expressed at the time of his purposed
+duel with Monte-Leone, Maulear had not dared to mention the letter of
+his father. He had simply told Signora Rovero, that he was master of his
+own actions, and sure of his father's consent and approbation to the
+marriage he was about to contract. The Signora, who was credulous, was
+confident that a brilliant match was secured for Aminta, and suffered
+herself to be easily persuaded. Maulear, too, became daily more
+infatuated; and, listening to passion alone, had informed his father,
+not that he was about to marry, but that when the letter reached him he
+would be married. Yet when he had sent the letter, and the time was
+come, all his fears were aroused, and he shuddered at the apprehension
+of the consequences of what he was about to do. In this state of mind he
+went to the altar, and nothing but the beauty of his bride and the
+solemnity of the ceremony could efface the sombre clouds which obscured
+his brow. The priest blessed the pair, and a few minutes after the young
+Marquis of Maulear, with his beautiful <i>Marquise</i>, left the village.</p>
+
+<p>Just when the venerable village priest, in God's name, placed Aminta's
+hand in Henri's, the terrible cry we have already heard twice echoed
+through the arches of the church, and a man was seen to rush towards the
+sea. The shout, though it filled the church, was uttered in the portico,
+and had not interrupted the service. Thenceforth <i>Scorpione</i> was never
+seen at Sorrento.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_N_14" id="Footnote_N_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_N_14"><span class="label">[N]</span></a> Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1850, by
+Stringer &amp; Townsend, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the
+United States for the Southern District of New York.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_O_15" id="Footnote_O_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_O_15"><span class="label">[O]</span></a> <i>Anglice.</i> Good day, my dear Pignana.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_P_16" id="Footnote_P_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_P_16"><span class="label">[P]</span></a> The original of this sentence is <i>Je vais vous donner la
+liste ... c'est a dire le compte de</i> <span class="smcap">nos hommes</span> ... <i>non de</i> <span class="smcap">nos sommes</span>,
+<i>etc., etc.</i> It is scarcely probably that <span class="smcap">Monte-Leone</span> and Pignana,
+speaking Italian, indulged in French <i>jeux des m&ocirc;ts</i>.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h4>From Frazer's Magazine</h4>
+<h2><a name="THE_ABBE_DE_VOISENON_AND_HIS_TIMES" id="THE_ABBE_DE_VOISENON_AND_HIS_TIMES"></a>THE ABB&Eacute; DE VOISENON AND HIS TIMES.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The province of Brie, in France, divided and subdivided since the
+Revolution of 1789, into departments, arondissements, and cantons, is
+filled with ch&acirc;teaux, which, in the reign of Louis XV., were inhabited
+by those gold-be-spangled marquises, those idle, godless abb&eacute;s, and
+those obese financiers, whom the secret memoirs of Grimm and Bachaumont,
+and the letters of the Marquis de Lauraguais, have held up to such
+unsparing ridicule and contempt. This milky and cheese-producing Brie,
+this inexhaustible Io, was, at the epoch of the regent Orleans and his
+deplorable successor, a literal cavern of pleasures, in the most impure
+acceptation of the term; every ch&acirc;teau which the Black Band has not
+demolished is, as it were, a half-volume of memoirs in which may be read
+the entire history of the times. Here is the spot where formerly stood
+the ch&acirc;teau of Samuel Bernard, the prodigal, it is true, of an anterior
+age, but worthy of the succeeding one; there is the pavilion of Bourei,
+another financier, another Jupiter of all the Dana&euml;s of the Th&eacute;&acirc;tre
+Italien: on this side we see Vaux, the residence of that most princely
+of finance ministers, whose suddenly acquired power and wealth, and as
+sudden downfall, may surely point a moral for all ministers present and
+to come; on that side we have the ch&acirc;teau of Law, the trigonometrical
+thief; and Brunoy, the residence of the greatest eccentric perhaps in
+the annals of French history: in a word, wherever the foot is placed,
+there arises a sort of lamentation of the eighteenth century&mdash;that
+celebrated century, whose limits we do not pretend to circumscribe as
+the astronomers would, but whose beginning may be dated from the decline
+of the reign of Louis XIV., its career closing with Barras, whose
+immodest ch&acirc;teau still displays at the present day its restored
+foundations on the soil upon which Vaux, Brunoy, and Voisenon, shone so
+fatally.</p>
+
+<p>It was in this last named little ch&acirc;teau that was born and educated the
+celebrated abb&eacute;, the friend of Voltaire, of Madame Favart, and of the
+Duc de la Valli&eacute;re; and here it was, also, that in manhood its possessor
+would occasionally resort, though not the least in the world a man who
+could appreciate rural enjoyments, for the purpose of reposing from the
+fatigues of some of his epicurean pilgrimages to his friends at Paris or
+Montrouge, and which was his final sojourn when age and infirmities
+rendered it imperatively necessary for him to breathe the pure air of
+his native place, far away from the heating <i>petits soupers</i> of the
+capital, and the various other dearly cherished scenes of his earlier
+years.</p>
+
+<p>Claude Henri Fus&eacute;e de Voisenon, Abb&eacute; of Jard, and Minister
+Plenipotentiary of the Prince-Bishop of Spire, was born at Voisenon on
+the 8th of June, 1708. Biographers have, perhaps, laid too much stress
+on the debility of constitution which he brought with him into the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_512" id="Page_512">[Pg 512]</a></span>
+world, inherited, they say, from his mother, an exceedingly delicate
+woman. Since the examples of longevity given by Fontenelle and Voltaire,
+of whom the first lived to the use of a hundred, and the second to
+upwards of four-score years, and yet both of whom came into the world
+with very doubtful chances of existence, it is become a very hazardous
+task to determine, or even to foretell, length of days by the state of
+health at birth. They add, that an unhealthy nurse, aggravating the
+hereditary weakness of the child, infused with her milk into his blood
+the germs of that asthma from which he suffered all his life, and of
+which he eventually died. These facts accepted&mdash;a delicate mother, an
+unhealthy nurse, an asthma, and constant spittings of blood&mdash;it follows
+that, even with these serious disadvantages to contend with, a man may
+live and even enjoy life up to the age of sixty-eight. How many healthy
+men there are who would be content to attain this age! And if the Abb&eacute;
+de Voisenon did not exceed the bounds of an age of very fair
+proportions, we must bear in mind that, though even an invalid, he
+constantly trifled with his health with the imprudence of a man of
+vigorous constitution; eating beyond measure, drinking freely, presiding
+at all the <i>petits soupers</i>&mdash;<i>petit</i> only in name&mdash;of the capital,
+passing the nights in running from <i>salon</i> to <i>salon</i>, and seldom
+retiring to rest before morning: a worthy pupil of that Hercules of
+debauchery, Richelieu, his master and his executioner. Terrified at the
+delicate appearance of his child, his father dared not send him to
+school, but had him brought up under his own eye, with all the patience
+of an indulgent parent and the solicitude of a physician. Five years'
+cares were sufficient to develop the intellectual capacities of a mind
+at once lively and clear, and marvellously fitted by nature to receive
+and retain the lessons of preceptors. At eleven years of age he
+addressed a rhyming epistle to Voltaire, who replied,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"You love verses, and I predict that you will make charming ones. Come
+and see me, and be my pupil."</p>
+
+<p>If Voisenon justified the prediction, he scarcely surpassed the
+favorable sense which it incloses. Verbose, incorrect, poor in form,
+pale and washy as diluted Indian ink, his verses occasionally display
+witty touches, because every one was witty in the eighteenth century;
+but to class them with the works of the poets of his day as <i>poetry</i> is
+impossible&mdash;they merit only being considered in the light of lemonade
+made from Voltaire's well-squeezed lemons.</p>
+
+<p>In many respects the prose of the eighteenth century, not being an art,
+but rather the resource of unsuccessful poets, lent itself better than
+did the muse to the idle fantasies of the Abb&eacute; de Voisenon. His faceti&aelig;,
+his historiettes, his Oriental tales, reunited later (at least in part)
+with the works of the Comte de Caylus, and with the libertine tales of
+Duclos and the younger Cr&eacute;billon, prove the facility with which he could
+imitate Voltaire, while his lucubrations must be considered as far
+inferior to the short tales of the latter author. For the most part too
+free, too indecent, in short, to show their faces beside some
+elaborately serious fragments which form what are called his works, they
+figure in the work we have just named under the title of <i>Recueil de ces
+Messieurs; Aventures des Bals des Bois; Etrennes de la St. Jean; Les
+Ecosseuses; les &#338;ufs de P&agrave;ques</i>, &amp;c. We know, by the memoirs of the
+time, that a society of men of letters, formed by Mademoiselle Quinaut
+du Fr&ecirc;ne, and composed of fourteen members chosen by her, had proposed
+to itself the high and difficult mission of supping well at stated
+intervals, and of being immensely witty and extravagantly gay. At the
+end of the half-year these effusions of wit and gayety were printed by
+the society at the mutual expense of its members, and given to the world
+under the title of <i>Recueil de ces Messieurs</i>.<a name="FNanchor_Q_17" id="FNanchor_Q_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_Q_17" class="fnanchor">[Q]</a> Deprived of the
+illusive accompaniments of the lights, the sparkling eyes, the tinkling
+glasses, and the indulgent good-nature engendered by an excellent
+dinner, good wines, and an ample dessert, these table libertinages, when
+read nearly a century afterwards, lose all their piquancy of flavor and
+become simply nauseous. The readings, and consequently the dinners, took
+place sometimes at the house of Mademoiselle Quinaut, sometimes at that
+of the Comte de Caylus.</p>
+
+<p>Having conceived a disgust for the profession of arms&mdash;for which he had
+been originally intended&mdash;in consequence of having fought with and
+wounded a young officer in a duel, he determined upon embracing the
+ecclesiastical state; and shortly after taking orders was inducted by
+Cardinal Fleury to the royal abbey of Jard&mdash;an easy government, the seat
+of which was his own ch&acirc;teau of Voisenon.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as he was actually a dignitary of the Church, he turned his
+thoughts entirely to the stage! In compliance with the request of
+Mademoiselle Quinaut, the new Abb&eacute; of Jard wrote a series of dramatic
+pieces, among which may be cited, <i>La Coquette fix&eacute;e</i>, <i>Le Reveil de
+Thalie</i>, <i>Les Mariages assortis</i>, and <i>Le Jeune Grecque</i>, little
+drawing-room comedies, which have not kept possession of the stage, and
+to which French literature knows not where to give a place at the
+present day, so far are they from offering a single recommendable
+quality. The only style of composition in which the Abb&eacute; de Voisenon
+might have, perhaps, distinguished himself, had he been seconded by an
+intelligent musician, was the operatic. In this <i>baladin</i> talent of his
+there was something of the freedom and sparkle of the Italian abb&eacute;s; and
+yet the Abb&eacute; de Voisenon enjoyed during his life-time a high degree of
+celebrity. Seeing the utter impossibility of justifying this celebrity
+by his works, we must presume that it proceeded chiefly from his amiable
+character, his pointed epigrammatical conversation, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_513" id="Page_513">[Pg 513]</a></span> in a great
+measure, also, from his brilliant position in the world. And, after all,
+did celebrity require other causes at a time when a man's success was
+established, not by the publicity of the press, but from the words
+dropped from his lips in the "world," and from the occasional
+enunciation of a sparkling <i>bon mot</i> quickly caught up and for a length
+of time repeated? Were we to protest against this species of
+<i>illustration</i>, as the French call it, we should be in the wrong: each
+epoch has its own; since then times are altered: now-a-days, in France,
+a man obtains celebrity through the medium of the press, formerly it was
+by the <i>salons</i>. In general, the French <i>litt&eacute;rateurs</i>, especially the
+journalists, may be said to write better now than they did then; but
+where, we should like to know, is there now to be found a young writer
+of thirty capable of creating and sustaining a conversation in a society
+consisting of upwards of a hundred distinguished persons? The lackeys of
+M. de Boufflers were, in all probability, more in their place in a
+<i>salon</i> than would be the most learned or witty writers of the present
+day.</p>
+
+<p>If the Abb&eacute; de Voisenon was not exactly an eagle as regards common sense
+and intellectual attainments, what are we to think of M. de Choiseul,
+who wished to appoint him minister of France at some foreign court? The
+Abb&eacute; de Voisenon a minister! that man whom M. de Lauraguais called <i>a
+handful of fleas</i>! But if he became not minister of France, it was
+decreed by fate that he should be minister of somebody or other; he was
+too incapable to escape this honor. Some years after the failure of this
+ridiculous project of M. de Choiseul, the Prince-bishop of Spire
+appointed him his minister plenipotentiary at the Court of France. His
+admission into the bosom of the French Academy was all that was now
+required to complete his happiness, and this honor was shortly
+afterwards conferred upon him, for he was duly elected to the chair
+vacated by the death of Cr&eacute;billon.</p>
+
+<p>At the age of fifty-two, with the intention of getting rid of his
+asthma, his constant companion through life, he determined to try the
+effect of mineral waters upon his enfeebled constitution. His journey
+from Paris to Cautarets, and his sojourn in this head-quarters of
+bitumen and sulphur, as related by himself in his letters to his
+friends, may be considered as an historical portraiture of the method of
+travelling, as pursued by the grandees of the time, as well as being the
+truest pages of the idle, epicurean, pleasure-loving, yet infirm,
+existence of the narrator.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"We passed through Tours yesterday (writes he to his friend
+Favart, in his first letter, dated from Chatelherault the 8th
+day of June, 1761), where Madame la Duchess de Choiseul
+received all the honors due to the <i>gouvernante</i> of the
+province: we entered by the Mall, which is planted with trees
+as beautiful as those of the Parisian Boulevards. Here we found
+a mayor, who came to harangue the duchess. It happened that M.
+Sainfrais, during the harangue, had posted himself directly
+behind the speaker, so that every now and then his horse, which
+kept constantly tossing its head, as horses will do, would give
+him a little tap on the back&mdash;a circumstance which cut his
+phrases in half in the most ludicrous manner possible; because
+at every blow the orator would turn round to see what was the
+matter, after which he would gravely resume his discourse,
+while I was ready to burst with laughter the whole time. Two
+leagues further on we had another rich scene; an ecclesiastic
+stopped the carriage, and commenced a pompous harangue
+addressed to M. Poisonnier, whom he kept calling <i>mon Prince</i>.
+M. Poisonnier replied, that he was more than a prince, and that
+in fact the lives of all princes depended upon him, for he was
+a physician. 'What!' exclaimed the priest, 'you are not M. le
+Prince de Talmont?' 'He has been dead these two years,' replied
+the Duchesse de Choiseul. 'But who, then, is in this carriage?'
+'It is Madame la Duchesse de Choiseul,' replied some one.
+Forthwith, not a whit disconcerted, he commenced another
+harangue, in which he lauded to the skies the excellent
+education she had bestowed on her son. 'But I have no son,
+monsieur,' replied the duchess quietly. 'Ah! you have no son; I
+am very sorry for that;' and so saying his reverence put his
+harangue in his pocket, and walked off.</p>
+
+<p>"Adieu, my worthy friend. We shall reach Bordeaux on Thursday.
+I intend to feed well when I get there."</p></div>
+
+<p>What an edifying picture of the state of the high and low clergy of
+France at this epoch is presented to us! The Abb&eacute; de Voisenon rolling
+along in his carriage, indulging in the anticipatory delights of some
+good 'feeds' when he shall get to Bordeaux; and a hungry priest
+haranguing right and left the first comers who may present themselves,
+in order to obtain the wherewithal to procure a dinner.</p>
+
+<p>It is to Madame Favart that Voisenon writes from Bordeaux:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"We arrived here at ten o'clock yesterday evening, and found
+Marshal de Richelieu, who had crossed the Garonne to meet the
+Duchesse de Choiseul. This city is beautiful viewed at a
+distance&mdash;all that appertains to the exterior is of the best;
+but what afflicts me most of all, is the sad fact that there
+are no sardines to be had on account of the war. I was not
+aware that the sardines had taken part against; however, I
+revenged myself upon two ortolans, which I devoured for supper,
+along with a <i>pat&eacute;</i> of red partridges <i>aux truffes</i>, which,
+though made as long back as November last&mdash;as Marshal de
+Richelieu assured me&mdash;was as fresh and as <i>parfum&eacute;</i> as if it
+had been made but the night before."</p></div>
+
+<p>If the reader should feel astonished that an asthmatical patient could
+eat partridges and truffles without being horribly ill, his astonishment
+will not be of long continuance. The following day Voisenon wrote to
+Favart:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Oh, my dear friend, I have passed a frightful night. I was
+obliged to smoke and take my <i>kerm&egrave;s</i>. I shall not be able to
+see any of the 'lions' of the place. If I am three days
+following in this state after I get to Cauterets, you will have
+me back again with you by the end of the month."</p></div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_514" id="Page_514">[Pg 514]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>One would suppose that after this gentle hint our abb&eacute; would be more
+prudent; not a bit of it. In the same letter he adds:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The dinner-table yesterday was covered with sardines. At the
+very first start I eat six in as many mouthfuls&mdash;a truly
+delicious <i>morceau</i>; despite my <i>kerm&egrave;s</i>, I reckon upon eating
+as many to-day, along with my two ortolans. We leave to-morrow,
+and on Wednesday we shall reach Cauterets."</p></div>
+
+<p>Thus, ill on the 11th in consequence of a monstrous supper taken on the
+10th, we find him, for all that, on the following day devouring sardines
+by the half-dozen, and ortolans again! On the 18th he writes from
+Cauterets to his friend Favart:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"I arrived yesterday in good health, but have slept badly,
+because the house in which I lodge is situated over a torrent,
+which makes a frightful noise. This country I can only compare
+to an icy horror, like the tragedy of <i>Ter&eacute;e</i>."</p></div>
+
+<p>Twelve days afterwards, Voisenon writes to Madame Favart:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Madame de Choiseul's uncle, who paid you so many compliments
+in the green-room, arrived yesterday: he lodges in the same
+house with me.... I introduced him this morning into one of the
+best houses in Cauterets&mdash;indeed the very best house&mdash;where, I
+must confess, I myself spend three parts of the entire day; in
+a word, it is the pastry-cook's. This learned individual
+compounds admirable tartlets, as well as some little cakes of
+singular lightness; but above all, certain delicious little
+puffs composed of cream and millet-flour, which he calls
+<i>millassons</i>. I stuff them all day long. This makes the waters
+turn sour on my stomach, and myself turn very yellow; but I am
+tolerably well notwithstanding."</p></div>
+
+<p>This gormandizing Abb&eacute; de Voisenon, ever hanging, as it were, between
+<i>p&acirc;t&eacute;s</i> and his grave, becomes now a rather interesting subject of
+study. We begin to speculate upon what it is that will finally carry him
+off: his asthma, or the confectionary he daily swallows.</p>
+
+<p>He writes to Favart:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"I bathe every morning, and during this operation I bear a
+striking resemblance to a match dipped in sulphur. I keep my
+health, however, tolerably well, though still suffering from my
+asthma, of which I fear I shall never be cured."</p></div>
+
+<p>It would be a wonder if he should be cured, with his unfortunate table
+excesses, which would have killed half-a-dozen healthy men. In vain do
+we seek in his correspondence with Favart and his wife, a single thought
+unconnected with the pleasures of the stomach. We have read with what
+delight he sings the praises of a pastry-cook established at Cauterets,
+famous for his millet-cakes and cream-puffs. His happiness did not stop
+here:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"A second pastry-cook (he cries), upon my reputation, has set up here.
+There is a daily trial of skill between the two artists; I eat and
+judge, and it is my stomach that pays the cost. I go to the bath, and
+return to the oven. I shall come here again in the thrush season. We
+have red partridges, which are brought here from all parts; they are
+delicious."</p>
+
+<p>In short, he remained so long stuffing confectionary at Cauterets, where
+he had gone solely to take care of himself, and to live with the
+strictest regularity, that on the eve of his departure he wrote sadly to
+Madame Favart:&mdash;'I am just the same as when you saw me last: sometimes
+asthmatical, and always gormandizing.' The sufferings which he
+experienced during his sojourn at, Bar&egrave;ges, previous to his final return
+to Paris, are proofs of the deplorable effects of the mineral waters
+upon his health:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"I am suffering dreadfully; and am now, while I write, laboring
+under so violent an attack of asthma, that I cannot doubt but
+that the air of this country is as bad for me as that of
+Montrouge. If I am as bad to-morrow, I shall return to pass the
+week at Cauterets, and on Saturday go on to Pau, where I shall
+wait for the ladies who are to pass through on Monday, on their
+way to Bayonne. I know I shall be in a miserable state during
+the journey."</p></div>
+
+<p>Such were the benefits derived by the Abb&eacute; de Voisenon from his four
+months' sojourn at the baths of Cauterets and Bar&egrave;ges. He returned to
+Voisenon infinitely worse than when he left it. On the eve of his
+departure for home, where, as he said some time afterwards, he wished
+<i>to be on the same floor with the tombs of his ancestors</i>, he devoured a
+monstrous dinner on the Bar&egrave;ges mountains.</p>
+
+<p>Finding that the mineral waters of the Pyrenees had failed in
+re&euml;stablishing his health&mdash;that is, if he ever had health&mdash;the Abb&eacute; de
+Voisenon abandoned physicians and their fruitless prescriptions, to seek
+elsewhere remedies for the cure of his asthma, which became more and
+more troublesome as he began to get into years. As he was constantly
+speaking of his disease to everybody, and as everybody&mdash;at least all
+those who wished to get into his good graces&mdash;spoke of it to him, he
+learned one day that there existed in some garret of Paris a certain
+abb&eacute; deeply learned in all the mysteries of occult chemistry, an adept
+of the great Albert, the master of masters in empirical art. Like all
+sorcerers, and all <i>savants</i> of the eighteenth century, this abb&eacute; was
+represented as being in a state of frightful misery and destitution. He
+who possessed the secrets of plants and minerals, of fire and light, of
+the generation of beings, had not the wherewithal to procure himself a
+decent <i>soutane</i>, nor even a morsel of bread. Though, by the efforts of
+his magic, he had reached a dizzy height on the paths of knowledge, it
+was, alas! a fact but too true, that he was unable to maintain himself
+more than a month in the same apartment&mdash;perhaps on account of his
+indifference to the interests of his landlords. For all that he was a
+marvellous being, inventing specifics for the cure of all diseases, and
+consequently of asthma among the rest. It was even whispered, but
+secretly and mysteriously, and with a sort of awe&mdash;for they were very
+superstitious, though very atheistical, in the eighteenth century&mdash;that
+all these specifics were comprised<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_515" id="Page_515">[Pg 515]</a></span> in one remedy, namely, the
+celebrated <span class="smcap">Aurum Potabile</span>, or fluid gold. Now every one knows, or at
+least ought to know, that potable gold, that is, gold in a cold and
+fluid state, like wine, triumphs over every malady to which the human
+frame is subject: it is health itself, perpetual youth, and would be no
+less than immortality had not Paracelsus, who, they say, also possessed
+the secret of potable gold, unfortunately died at the age of
+thirty-three, or thirty-five: thus establishing a fatal argument against
+its virtues in this respect. But one thought now possessed
+Voisenon&mdash;that of getting hold, somehow or other, of this magic abb&eacute;,
+and of enticing him to his ch&acirc;teau; but an insensate and monstrous
+desire was this&mdash;a desire almost impossible to be satisfied, for it was
+stated that this Prometheus repelled all advances. Persecuted by the
+faculty, censured by the ecclesiastical tribunal, maltreated by the
+police, who would not suffer anything in the shape of gold-making, he
+had, in his savage misanthropy, renounced all further thoughts of
+alleviating the pains of humanity at the cost of his repose and safety.
+Here was a terrible state of perplexity for our asthmatical abb&eacute;, who,
+for all that, did not lose courage, but set to work with all his might
+to discover the great physician.</p>
+
+<p>But where, or how, was he to discover a sorcerer in Paris? To whom could
+he decently address himself? To what professional class? There are so
+many people in the world ready to ridicule even the most respectable
+things. Every time that Voisenon elbowed at the Tuileries, or in the
+Palais Royal, an individual in a seedy cassock, he fancied that he had
+discovered his man. Forthwith he would enter into conversation with him,
+his heart fluttering with hope, until the moment came which would
+convince him that he had been deceived. Though for the moment cast into
+despair, he did not lose hope, but would the next day recommence his
+voyages of discovery in search of potable gold. One morning he had a
+sudden illumination:&mdash;"Since the archbishop," thought he, "has censured
+the conduct of the abb&eacute; I have been so long in search of, the archbishop
+must know where he lodges." Just as if sorcerers had lodgings! That very
+day he repaired to the archbishop's court. If the reader wonders why our
+abb&eacute; did not give the clerks whom he interrogated the name of his
+mysterious priest, the answer is easy: it is simply because he did not
+know his name; magicians seldom make themselves known but by their
+works. This name, however, to his great and inexpressible joy, he was
+soon to learn. After some researches made in the register of the
+episcopal court, the clerk informed him that this abb&eacute; (a deplorable
+subject by all accounts) was called Boiviel, and, at the period when the
+acts of censure were passed upon him, lodged in the Rue de Versailles,
+Faubourg Saint Marceau. Voisenon was there almost as soon as the words
+were out of the clerk's mouth.</p>
+
+<p>Voisenon knocked at every kennel of this deplorable street; not even a
+bark replied to the name of the Abb&eacute; Boiviel. At length, at a seventh
+floor above the mud, an old woman, who resided in a loft, to which
+access was obtained by means of a rope-ladder, informed him that the
+Abb&eacute; Boiviel had quitted the apartment about six months before, with the
+avowed intention of going to lodge at Menilmontant; she added, that this
+delay gave fair grounds for supposing that he must necessarily have
+changed his quarters at least five or six times in the course of these
+six months. Disappointed, but not discouraged, Voisenon descended from
+the dizzy height, reflecting upon the sad distress to which a man might
+be reduced, although possessing the secret of potable gold.</p>
+
+<p>An almost incredible chance had so willed it, that the Abb&eacute; Boiviel had
+changed his abode but three times since his descent from the garret of
+the Rue de Versailles. From Menilmontant he had removed to Passy, and
+from Passy to La Chapelle, where he now resided.</p>
+
+<p>At length the two abb&eacute;s met; but to what delicate man&oelig;uvres the
+seigneur of Voisenon was obliged to have recourse in accosting his
+rugged <i>comfr&eacute;re</i>, who was at that moment engaged in eating his
+breakfast off a chair. He had sense enough to put off as long as
+possible the true subject of his visit; besides, what cared he for
+delays? He had found him at last, he was face to face with the
+mysterious, infallible physician, the successor of the great Albert.
+Boiviel was even more savage and morose than the Abb&eacute; de Voisenon had
+anticipated. He spoke of offering his services to the Missionary Society
+in order to get appointed to preach the Gospel in Japan, although, to
+tell the truth, he did not believe over-much in Christianity. "And I do
+not believe in Japan," might have perhaps replied the Abb&eacute; de Voisenon,
+had he been in a joking humor: but the fact is, he was thunderstruck at
+the enunciation of such a project. It was too provoking, when he, had at
+length found the Abb&eacute; Boiviel, to hear that the Abb&eacute; Boiviel was going
+to immolate himself in Japan.</p>
+
+<p>Inspired by circumstance, that tenth muse which is worth all the nine
+put together, Voisenon said to Boiviel, that he was aware of all the
+persecutions which the clergy of Paris had made him endure for causes
+which he did not desire to know; he refrained also from entering on the
+subject of fluid gold. Touched by the exhibition of so much constancy in
+misfortune, he had come, he said, to propose to the Abb&eacute; Boiviel to
+inhabit his ch&acirc;teau of Voisenon, where, in the calm and repose of a
+peaceful existence, and with a mind freed from the harassing cares of
+the world, he would have leisure to meditate and write; that this
+proceeding of his, though strange in appearance, was excusable, and to
+be judged with an indulgent eye; he, the Abb&eacute; de Voisenon, was happy,
+rich, powerful even. The Abb&eacute; Boiviel would be quite at home at the
+ch&acirc;teau de<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_516" id="Page_516">[Pg 516]</a></span> Voisenon; his feelings of independence would not be
+outraged; when he should be tired of sojourning there, he might quit the
+ch&acirc;teau, remain absent as long as it pleased him, and return when it
+suited his fancy. It is hardly necessary to say that the wild boar
+allowed itself to be muzzled; that very evening a hired carriage
+conducted the chemist, the sorcerer, the magician Boiviel, to the
+Ch&acirc;teau de Voisenon. "I shall have my potable gold at last," thought the
+triumphant Abb&eacute;, radiant with hope and exultation.</p>
+
+<p>Installed at the ch&acirc;teau, the Abb&eacute; Boiviel conformed himself with a very
+good grace to the monachal existence led by its inmates. The good
+regimen of the house tended also to considerably soften the former
+asperities of his demeanor; he spoke no more of Japan, but neither did
+he speak of the potable gold, although Voisenon on several occasions
+endeavored to obtain from him an explanation on this essential point.
+Whenever our asthmatical abb&eacute; would lead the conversation towards
+subjects relating to chemistry or alchemy, Boiviel would either avoid a
+direct reply or else fall into a state of profound taciturnity: and yet
+all his debts had been paid, including the various outstanding accounts
+due to his numerous landlords, and his dinners at the Croix de
+Lorraine&mdash;that memorable tavern, where all the abb&eacute;s who received
+fifteen sous for every mass said at St. Sulpice were accustomed to feed
+daily. Several cassocks had also been purchased for him, several pairs
+of stockings, and many shirts.</p>
+
+<p>After a three months' residence at the ch&acirc;teau he had become fat, fresh,
+and rosy, such as he had never before been at any previous epoch of his
+life. Emboldened by the friendship he had shown to his guest, Voisenon
+ventured one day to say to the Abb&eacute; Boiviel, that, skeptical and
+atheistical as they falsely imagined him to be in the world, he
+possessed, nevertheless, an absolute faith in alchemy; he denied neither
+the philosopher's stone, nor the universal panacea, nor even the potable
+gold. Now did he, or did he not, believe in potable gold? This was a
+home-thrust Boiviel could no longer recoil; he <i>did</i> believe in it; but
+according to his idea the audacious chemist committed a great sin in
+composing it: it was, so to speak, as though attacking the decrees of
+creation to change into liquid what had been ordained a metal. A
+sorcerer troubled with religious scruples appeared a strange spectacle
+to the Abb&eacute; de Voisenon and one, too, that rather embarrassed him. He
+did not, however, entirely renounce his conquest of the potable gold; he
+waited three months longer, and during these three months fresh favors
+were lavished on Boiviel, who habituated himself to these proceedings
+with praiseworthy resignation.</p>
+
+<p>Treated as a friend, called also by that title, Boiviel justified the
+Abb&eacute; de Voisenon in saying to him one day, that he had no longer a hope
+in any remedy whatsoever, save the potable gold, for the cure of his
+asthma. Without the specific, as much above other remedies as the sun is
+above fire, the only course left him was to die. Boiviel was moved, his
+iron resolves were shaken, and his qualms of conscience ceded to the
+voice of friendship. He warned his friend, however, that in order to
+compose a little fluid gold much solid gold would be required. The first
+essay would cost ten thousand livres at the very least. Voisenon, who
+would have given twenty thousand to be cured, consented to the
+sacrifice, thanking heartily his future liberator, who, on the following
+day, commenced the great work. What sage deliberation did he bring to
+the task! and how slowly did the work proceed! Day followed day, month
+followed month, but as yet no gold, except that which the Abb&eacute; de
+Voisenon himself contributed in pieces of twenty-four livres each. The
+day at length arrived in which, the ten thousand livres being exhausted,
+Boiviel informed his patient that the fluid gold was in flasks, and
+would be ready for use in a month.</p>
+
+<p>It was during this month that the alchemist Boiviel took leave of the
+Abb&eacute; de Voisenon, on the pretext of going to see his old father, who
+resided in Flanders. Before two months were out he would return to the
+ch&acirc;teau, in order to observe the beneficial effects of the liquified
+metal. Warmly embraced by his friend, overwhelmed with presents,
+solicited to return as speedily as possible, Boiviel quitted the Ch&acirc;teau
+de Voisenon, where he had lived for nearly a year, and in what manner we
+have seen.</p>
+
+<p>After the time allowed by Boiviel for the fluid gold to be fit for use
+had elapsed, the Abb&eacute; de Voisenon began his course of the medicine. He
+emptied the first, the second, and the third flask, awaiting the result
+with exemplary patience; but an asthma is not to be cured in a week,
+especially an asthma of forty years' standing.</p>
+
+<p>Boiviel had not yet returned; he had now been four months in Flanders;
+to these four months succeeded another four, but no Boiviel; the year
+revolved, the flasks diminished, but still no Boiviel.</p>
+
+<p>It is scarcely necessary to say that the Abb&eacute; Boiviel never reappeared,
+and that he was nothing better than a charlatan and a thief. But the
+singular part of the matter is, that the Abb&eacute; de Voisenon found his
+asthma considerably relieved after a course of the fluid gold composed
+by Boiviel; and his sole regret at the end of his days was, not having
+foreseen the death, or disappearance&mdash;a matter quite as disastrous&mdash;of
+his alchemist, who could have furnished him with the means of
+compounding the elixir for himself as it might be wanted.</p>
+
+<p>In order to show himself superior to the assaults of his enemy, our Abb&eacute;
+would often endeavor to persuade himself that he was every whit as
+active as he had formerly been; more active even than he had been in
+his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_517" id="Page_517">[Pg 517]</a></span> youth. On these occasions he would jump up from his easy-chair,
+where he had been sitting groaning under an attack of the asthma; he
+would cast his pillows on one side, his night-cap on the other, would
+pitch his slippers to the other end of the room, and call loudly for his
+domestics. In one of these deceitful triumphs of his will over his
+feeble constitution, he rang one cold winter's morning for his <i>valet de
+chambre</i>.</p>
+
+<p>"My thick cloth trousers!" cried he, "my thick cloth trousers!"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Monsieur l'Abb&eacute;," timidly objected his faithful servitor, "what
+can you be thinking of? you were very bad yesterday evening."</p>
+
+<p>"That's very probable; I have nothing to do with what I was yesterday
+evening. My thick cloth trousers, I tell you&mdash;now, my furred waistcoat!
+Come, look sharp!"</p>
+
+<p>"But, Monsieur l'Abb&eacute;, why quit your warm room, your snug arm-chair? You
+are so pale."</p>
+
+<p>"Pale, am I! that's better than ever, for I have been as yellow as a
+quince all my life! Good, I have my trousers and waistcoat; fetch me my
+redingote!"</p>
+
+<p>"Your redingote! that you only put on when you are going out?"</p>
+
+<p>"And it is precisely because I am going out that I ask for it. You argue
+to-day like a true stage valet. Why should I not put on my redingote?
+Are you afraid of it becoming shabby? Do you wish to steal it from me
+while it is new?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am afraid that you will increase your cough if you don't keep the
+house to-day. It is very cold this morning."</p>
+
+<p>"Very cold, is it, eh? so much the better. I like cold weather."</p>
+
+<p>"It snows even very much, Monsieur l'Abb&eacute;."</p>
+
+<p>"In that case, my large Polish boots."</p>
+
+<p>"Your large Polish boots! And for what purpose?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not to write a poem in, probably; for if Boileau very sensibly
+remarked, that in order to write a good poem time and taste were
+necessary, he did not add that boots were indispensable. Once for all, I
+want my Polish boots to go out shooting in. Is not that plain enough,
+Monsieur Mascarille?"</p>
+
+<p>"Cough shooting, Monsieur l'Abb&eacute;?"</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Maraud!</i> wolf-shooting&mdash;in the wood. Come, quick, my boots, and no
+chattering."</p>
+
+<p>"Here are your boots, Monsieur l'Abb&eacute;. Truly you have no thought for
+your health."</p>
+
+<p>"Have you a design upon my boots, also? Be so good, most discursive
+valet, as to fetch me my deer-skin gloves, my hat, and gun."</p>
+
+<p>The Abb&eacute; de Voisenon was soon equipped with the aid of his valet, who,
+during the operation of dressing, never ceased repeating to him:</p>
+
+<p>"It is fearfully cold this morning. Dogs have been found frozen to death
+in their kennels, fish dead in the fish-ponds, cattle dead in the
+stables, birds dead on the trees, and even wolves dead in the forest."</p>
+
+<p>"My good friend," replied the Abb&eacute; de Voisenon, "you have said too much;
+your story of the wolves prevents me believing the rest: upon this I
+start. Now listen to me. On my return from shooting I expect to find my
+poultices ready, my asses-milk properly warmed, and my <i>tisanes</i> mixed;
+give directions about all this in the kitchen."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Monsieur l'Abb&eacute;. He'll never return, that's certain," murmured the
+valet, as he packed up his master in his great-coat, and drew his fur
+cap well down over his ears.</p>
+
+<p>Followed by three of his dogs, our abb&eacute; started on his shooting
+excursion. At the very first step he took on leaving the court-yard, he
+fell; but he was up in an instant, and brushed speedily along. It must
+have been a strange spectacle to see this old man, as black as a mute at
+a funeral, with his black gloves, black boots, black coat, all black in
+short, tripping gayly along over the snow with three dogs at his heels,
+sometimes whistling and shouting aloud, sometimes cracking his
+pocket-whip, and occasionally pointing his fowling-piece in the
+direction of a flight of crows.</p>
+
+<p>He had passed through the village of Voisenon, and had just gained the
+open country, when he was stopped at the entrance of a lane of small
+cottages by a young girl, who, the instant she perceived him, cried out,</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, monseigneur" (for many people styled him monseigneur), "it is
+surely Providence that has sent you to us!"</p>
+
+<p>"What is the matter?" inquired the abb&eacute;.</p>
+
+<p>"Our grandfather is dying, and he is unwilling to die without
+confession."</p>
+
+<p>"But I have nothing to do with that, my child; that is the priest's
+business."</p>
+
+<p>"But are you not a priest, monseigneur?"</p>
+
+<p>"Almost," replied our abb&eacute;, rather taken aback by this home-thrust, and
+in a very bad humor besides at the interruption, "almost; but address
+yourself in preference to the prior of the convent. Run to the ch&acirc;teau,
+ring at the convent-gate; ring loudly, and reserve me for a better
+occasion."</p>
+
+<p>"Monseigneur," repeated the girl, "our grandfather has not time to wait;
+he is dying&mdash;you must come."</p>
+
+<p>"I tell you," replied the abb&eacute;, confused within himself at his refusal,
+"I cannot go. I am, as you see, out shooting: the thing is utterly
+impossible."</p>
+
+<p>With these words he sought to pursue his way; but the young girl, who
+could not comprehend the bad arguments made use of by the abb&eacute;, clung
+obstinately to his coat skirts, and compelled him to turn round. Aroused
+by the noise of this altercation, a few of the male population appeared
+on the thresholds of their doors, others at their windows; and as a
+village resembles a bundle of dry hay, which a spark will set in a
+blaze, the wives joined their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_518" id="Page_518">[Pg 518]</a></span> husbands, the children their mothers, and
+soon the entire population flocked into the street to see what was the
+matter.</p>
+
+<p>The Abb&eacute; du Jard, seigneur of Voisenon, king of the country, felt deeply
+humiliated amid the crowd which surrounded him, and which had already
+begun to murmur at this refusal, as irreligious as it was inhuman.</p>
+
+<p>But our poor abb&eacute; was not inhuman. The fact was, he had completely
+forgotten the formula used on such occasions; and if the truth must be
+told, as he was careless and indifferent in religious matters, rather
+than hypocritical, his conscience reproached him for going to absolve or
+condemn a fellow-creature when he inwardly felt how utterly unworthy he
+was himself of judging others at the tribunal of the confessional.</p>
+
+<p>Necessity, however, prevailed over his just scruples; which scruples,
+however, be it said, could not be made use of as excuses to his vassals:
+so, with downcast eyes and his reversed fowling-piece under his arm, he
+permitted himself to be led to the cottage where lay the old man, who
+was unwilling to render his last sigh without having made the official
+avowal of his sins.</p>
+
+<p>The villagers knelt in a circle before the door, whilst the abb&eacute; seated
+himself by the side of the dying man, in order the better to receive his
+confession.</p>
+
+<p>Since the unlucky moment in which the Abb&eacute; de Voisenon had been balked
+of his morning's sport, he had lost&mdash;for he had at times his intervals
+of superstitious terror&mdash;the proud determination he had formed of not
+believing himself ill on that day. But then, what signs of evil augury
+had greeted him! He had tripped and fallen on leaving home; he had seen
+flocks of crows; a weeping girl had dragged him to the bedside of a
+terrified sinner&mdash;even now they were repeating the prayers for the dying
+around him. The Abb&eacute; de Voisenon was overcome; his former temerity oozed
+palpably away, he felt sick at heart, his ears tingled, his asthma
+groaned within his chest.</p>
+
+<p>"I am ill," thought he. "I was in the wrong to come out; why did I not
+take my old servant's advice, and remain at home?"</p>
+
+<p>Finally he lent an ear to the old man's confession.</p>
+
+<p>"You were born the same day as myself!" exclaimed the abb&eacute;, at the
+patient's first confidential communication; "you were born the same day
+as myself!"</p>
+
+<p>The old man continued, and here a new terror arose for our abb&eacute;.</p>
+
+<p>"You have never heard mass to the end! And I," thought he, "have never
+heard even the beginning for these last thirty years!"</p>
+
+<p>The penitent continued:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I have committed, monseigneur, the great sin that you know."</p>
+
+<p>"The great sin that I know! I know so many," thought the abb&eacute;. "What
+sin, my friend?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yea, the great sin&mdash;although married&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! I understand!" Then, <i>sotto voce</i>, "My great sin, although a
+priest."</p>
+
+<p>A deplorable fatality, if it was a fatality, had so willed it that the
+vassal should have fallen into the same snares as had his lord, who was
+now called to judge him at his last hour.</p>
+
+<p>When the confession was ended, the Abb&eacute; de Voisenon consulted his own
+heart with inward terror, and after some hesitation he remitted his
+penitent's sins, inwardly avowing to himself that the dying man ought,
+at least, out of gratitude, to render him the same service.</p>
+
+<p>The ceremony over, the abb&eacute; rose to depart: but his limbs failed him,
+and they were actually obliged to carry him home, where he arrived in a
+state of prostration that seriously alarmed his household. During the
+remainder of that day he spoke to no one; wrapped up in the silence of
+his own melancholy thoughts, he opened his lips only to cough. The night
+was bad; icy shiverings passed over his frame: the image of this man, of
+the same age, and burdened with the same sins as he himself had
+committed, would not leave his memory. By daylight his trouble of mind
+and body was at its height; he desired his valet to summon his physician
+and the prior of the convent. "And immediately," added he,
+"immediately."</p>
+
+<p>Comprehending better this time the wishes of his master, the domestic
+hastened to arouse the prior, whose convent almost adjoined the ch&acirc;teau,
+and the physician, who had apartments in the ch&acirc;teau itself. This
+physician was a young man, chosen by the celebrated Tronchin from among
+his cleverest pupils at the express desire of the Abb&eacute; de Voisenon.</p>
+
+<p>Seriously alarmed at the danger of the abb&eacute;, both prior and physician
+hastened to obey the summons. M. de Voisenon was so ill last night.
+Should they arrive in time? So equal and so prompt was their zeal that
+both reached the abb&eacute;'s bedroom door together. But when they opened it,
+what was their astonishment to find that the bird had flown; our abb&eacute;
+had got over his little fright, and had gone out shooting again.</p>
+
+<p>The end of that fatal eighteenth century was now approaching; undermined
+by years and debauchery, it was now like a ruined spend-thrift moving
+away from the calendar of the world in rags; it was hideously old, but
+its years inspired not respect. Old king, old ministers, old
+generals&mdash;if indeed there were generals,&mdash;old courtiers, old mistresses,
+old poets, old musicians, old opera dancers, broken down with <i>ennui</i>,
+pleasure, and idleness&mdash;toothless, faded, rouged, and wrinkled&mdash;were
+descending slowly to the tomb. Louis XV. formed one of the funeral
+procession; he was taken to St. Denis between two lines of <i>cabarets</i>
+filled with drunken revellers, madly rejoicing at being rid of this
+plague, which another plague had carried off to the grave. Cr&eacute;billon was
+dead; the son of the great Racine, honored by the famous title of Member
+of the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles Lettres, was taken off by a
+malignant fever, and obtained from the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_519" id="Page_519">[Pg 519]</a></span> grateful publicity of the day
+the following necrological eulogium, as brief as it was eloquent: "M.
+Racine, last of the name, died yesterday of a malignant fever; as a man
+of letters he was long dead, having become stupefied by wine and
+devotion." Twelve days afterwards Marivaux followed Racine to the grave.
+The Abb&eacute; Prevost died of a tenth attack of apoplexy in the forest of
+Chantilly. In the following spring the celebrated Madame de Pompadour
+descended, at the age of forty-four, into the grave, after having
+exhaled a <i>bon mot</i> in guise of confession. Desirous, as it would
+appear, of leaving this world like the rest of his worthy <i>comp&egrave;res</i>,
+the composer Rameau cried furiously to his confessor, whose lugubrious
+note while intoning the service at his bedside offended the delicacy of
+his ear, 'What the devil are you muttering there, Monsieur le Cur&eacute;? you
+are horribly out of tune!' And thereupon Master Rameau expired of a
+putrid fever. And what think you, worthy reader, occupied the public the
+day following the death of the most celebrated musician in Europe, the
+king of the French school? Why, nothing less than this wonderful piece
+of news: "Mademoiselle Mir&eacute;, of the Opera, more celebrated as a
+courtesan than as a <i>danseuse</i>, has interred her lover; on his tomb are
+engraven these words:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i10">MI RE LA MI LA."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>A touching funeral oration, truly, for poor Rameau! Panard, the father
+of the French vaudeville, died some days after Rameau; and the Parisian
+public, with its national tenderness of heart, merely remarked, that
+"the words could not be separated from the accompaniment."</p>
+
+<p>You see, reader, how the ranks were thinning, how all these old candles
+were expiring in their sockets, how the ball was approaching its end.</p>
+
+<p>"Piron died yesterday," writes a journalist; and he adds, "They say he
+received the cur&eacute; of St. Roche very badly." What an admirable piece of
+buffoonery! these cur&eacute;s going in turn to shrive the writers of the
+eighteenth century, and having flung at their heads epigrams composed
+for the occasion, perhaps, ten years before.</p>
+
+<p>Louis XV. died soon after Piron. A few hours before his death he said to
+Cardinal de la Roche-Aymon: "Although the king is answerable to God
+alone for his conduct, you can say that he is sorry for having caused
+any scandal to his subjects, and that from henceforth he desires to live
+but for the support of faith and religion, and for the happiness of his
+people!"</p>
+
+<p>Like Rameau, Piron, Helvetius, and Pompadour, this good little king
+Louis XV. must have his <i>bon mot</i>; he was sorry for having caused any
+scandal to his subjects, and at his last moment of existence would live
+from henceforth for the sole happiness of his people! "Can any thing be
+finer than this?"</p>
+
+<p>Finally came the Abb&eacute; de Voisenon's turn. Witty to his last hour, when
+they brought home the leaden coffin, the exact form and dimensions of
+which he had himself arranged and ordered beforehand, he said to one of
+his domestics,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"There is a great-coat, any how, that you will not be tempted to steal
+from me."</p>
+
+<p>He died on the 22d of November, 1775, aged sixty-eight.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_Q_17" id="Footnote_Q_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_Q_17"><span class="label">[Q]</span></a> This was the celebrated society called the <i>Acad&eacute;mie de ces
+Messieurs</i>: it numbered among its members all the more celebrated wits
+of the day.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h4>From the London Times</h4>
+<h2><a name="IRELAND_IN_THE_LAST_AGE" id="IRELAND_IN_THE_LAST_AGE"></a>IRELAND IN THE LAST AGE.</h2>
+
+<h3>Recollections of Curran.</h3>
+
+
+<p>If the work of Mr. Charles Phillips were a description of the Roman bar
+in the time of Hadrian, it would scarcely be more completely than at
+present the picture of a time and system entirely passed away; yet he
+professes to give us&mdash;and performs his promise&mdash;a somewhat gossipping
+and very amusing description of the Irish bar, and the great men
+belonging to it, very little more than half a century since. But we
+travel and change quickly in these days of steam and railroads; even
+Time himself appears now to have attached his travelling carriage to a
+locomotive, and in the space of one man's life performs a journey that
+in staid and ancient days would have occupied the years of many
+generations, and, as if in illustration of the fleeting nature of men
+and things and systems at this time, here we find a contemporary (at
+this moment hardly past the prime of life) giving us portraits, and
+relating anecdotes of men with whom he, in his youth, lived in intimate
+and professional relations, but who seem now as absolutely to belong to
+a bygone order of things, as if they had wrangled before the Dikasts of
+Athens, or pleaded before the Pr&aelig;tor at Rome. Mr. Phillips seems to feel
+this, and, as the gay days of his sanguine youth flit by his memory, the
+retrospect brings, as it will ever bring, melancholy, and even sadness,
+with it. Yielding himself up to the dominion of feeling, in place of
+keeping his reason predominant, he mourns over the past, as if, in
+comparison with the present, it were greatly more worthy. Forgetting
+that there is a change also in himself; that the capacity for enjoyment
+is largely diminished; that hope has been fulfilled, or is for ever
+frustrate; he tests the present by his own emotions, instead of weighing
+with philosophic <i>indifference</i> the relative merits of the system that
+he describes, and of that in which he lives. We are told&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view;"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>but, when age comes upon us, we must turn and look back, if we desire to
+enjoy this pleasing hallucination.</p>
+
+<p>But in what is the present of Ireland so different from the past, in
+which our fathers lived? And what do these repinings mean? What is the
+charm that has for ever faded? The answer to this question, if complete,
+would occupy a volume, for the composition of which that of Mr. Phillips
+might well serve in the character of <i>une pi&egrave;ce historique</i>, abounding,
+as it does, in apt and instructive illustration, and giving, by its
+aggregation of anecdotes and descriptions,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_520" id="Page_520">[Pg 520]</a></span> a somewhat confused but
+still interesting and lively picture of a very curious and stirring
+period. There lies, indeed, at the bottom of this inquiry a question
+with which the practical statesman has now little reason to trouble
+himself, but which, nevertheless, to the speculative philosopher, cannot
+fail to be a subject of never-failing interest.</p>
+
+<p>The great physical discoveries of modern times, by which the powers of
+nature are made to act in subservience to the use and comfort of
+mankind, steadily tend to one great political result, viz., the
+permanently uniting and knitting together of much larger numbers of men
+into one and the same community, and subjecting them to one and the same
+Government, and that Government one of law and not of force, than was
+ever known or possible during the early days of man's history. This
+result, as regards the peace of the world and all the material comforts
+of life, is highly favorable. Whether the same can be said, of the
+mental vigor and moral excellence of the human race is a question upon
+which men may speculate, but which time alone can satisfactorily answer.</p>
+
+<p>The small, contentious, and active communities of Greece; the little,
+ill-governed, yet vigorous Republics of modern Italy, stand out in the
+history of mankind bright and illustrious beyond all hope of comparison;
+and, from the wondrous intellects that appeared among them, they have
+proved to all succeeding times a never-failing subject of admiration,
+envy, and despair. Just in proportion to our own advancement in art,
+literature, and science, is the intensity of our astonishment, of our
+envy, and of our despondency. We endeavor to compete with, but can never
+equal them; we imitate, but, like all imitators, we are condemned to
+mediocrity; it is only when we attempt to explore some new and untrod
+region of art or science that we can pretend to the dignity even of
+comparison. And these regions are rare indeed.</p>
+
+<p>But, if we compare our own social condition with that of the Greeks or
+the Italians&mdash;if we look into their houses, their cities, and their
+fields,&mdash;if we acquire an accurate and vivid conception of the
+insecurity of life, of property, and of peace among them,&mdash;and if we
+measure the happiness of life by the comforts of every day existence,
+then, indeed, the superiority belongs to ourselves; and we may be led to
+ask, whether the advantages of both conditions of political and social
+existence may not be united; and to that end seek to learn what it was
+that brought out into such vigorous relief the wonderful mental activity
+of the two periods, which form such peculiar and hitherto unequalled
+epocha in the history of mankind. We shall find, if we pursue this
+inquiry into other times and among other people, that there was one
+circumstance, among many others indeed, of peculiar weight and
+importance, which then exercised and has never failed to exercise,
+wheresoever it has existed, a vast influence upon the mental and moral
+character of the people&mdash;we mean a feeling of intense <i>nationality</i>.
+This feeling is not all that is required; without it no great
+originality or vigor in a people is probable, and where it has been
+strongly manifest, it has generally led to great deeds, and much mental
+activity. The character of this manifestation will, indeed, greatly
+depend upon the natural character of the people&mdash;upon the peculiar state
+of their civilization, and upon their political condition. If these be
+all favorable, the spirit of nationality is divine, and manifest in
+great and ennobling deeds and thoughts; but, if adverse, then the spirit
+will be destructive, and vice will be quickened into fatal activity.</p>
+
+<p>In Ireland, at the end of the eighteenth century, a remarkable series of
+events cherished, if it did not indeed produce, this sentiment of a
+separate nationality and independence. Conquerors and conquered, in
+spite of social and religious distinctions, had long since coalesced
+into one people; and the successful revolt of our American colonies,
+induced the people of Ireland to demand for themselves freedom and
+independence also. With arms in their hands the Volunteers wrung from
+England an independent Parliament in 1782; and in the eighteen years
+which followed, all that is really great in the history of Ireland, is
+comprised. The Volunteers, indeed, obtained independence, but that was
+all. The constitution of the Irish was, as before, narrow and
+mischievous, oppressive and corrupt; but it was Irish, and independent
+of the Parliament of England. And the struggles of an independent
+people, endeavoring, by their own efforts, to reform their own
+institutions, led to the rising of that brilliant galaxy of statesmen,
+orators, wits, and lawyers, to which Irishmen of the present day, almost
+without exception, refer with grief and despondency, not unmixed with
+indignation, when wishing to make the world appreciate the evils their
+country has suffered in consequence of its union with England. But,
+unhappily, the great spirit of freedom was awakened in evil times.
+Great, vigorous, and almost glorious was this wonderful manifestation of
+its power; but eventually the horrible corruption and vice of the period
+bore all before it, and extinguished every chance of benefit from the
+acquisition of independence. Great men appeared, but they were
+powerless. Of the remarkable period in which they lived, however, every
+memorial is of interest. With the society of which they formed a part,
+so different from our own&mdash;with the character and manners of the men
+themselves, their history, their good sayings and wild deeds, every
+student of history wishes to become acquainted, and seizes with avidity
+upon every piece of evidence from which authentic information respecting
+them may be gathered&mdash;and, as a portion of this evidence, the work of
+Mr. Phillips deserves consideration.</p>
+
+<p>Among the most remarkable of the many distinguished characters of this
+stirring period was John Philpot Curran,&mdash;among Irish advocates, as was
+Erskine among those of England,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_521" id="Page_521">[Pg 521]</a></span> <i>facile princeps</i>. With him, when on
+the bench as Master of the Rolls in Ireland, Mr. Phillips, himself then
+a junior at the Irish bar, became acquainted. Acquaintance became
+intimacy, and intimacy led to friendship, which lasted without
+interruption to the day of Curran's death. Admiration and affection
+induced Mr. Phillips to gather together memorials of his deceased
+friend, round whose portrait he has grouped sketches of many of his
+celebrated cotemporaries. He says in his preface&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"My object has been, touching as lightly as possible on the politics of
+the time, to give merely personal sketches of the characters as they
+appeared upon the scene to me. Many of them were my acquaintances&mdash;some
+of them my intimates; and the aim throughout has been a verisimilitude
+in the portraiture;&mdash;in short, to make the reader as familiar with the
+originals as I was myself."</p>
+
+<p>And a more curious collection of likenesses was never crowded into one
+canvas. They all, indeed, have a strong family resemblance, but
+certainly they are like nothing else in nature; and to us, living in
+grave, and possibly dull and prosaic England&mdash;and in this our matter of
+fact and decorous age&mdash;the doings of the society which they have made
+illustrious, appear more like a mad <i>saturnalia</i> than the sober and
+commonplace procedure of rational men. The whole people&mdash;every class,
+profession, and degree&mdash;seemed to consider life but a species of
+delirious dance, and a wild and frantic excitement the one sole
+pleasure. Repose, thoughtfulness, and calm, they must have considered a
+premature death. Every emotion was sought for in its extreme, and a
+rapid variation from merriment to misery, from impassioned love to
+violent hate, was the ordinary (if in such an existence any thing could
+be deemed ordinary)&mdash;the common and ordinary condition of life.
+Laughter, that was ever on the brink of tears&mdash;a wild joy, that might in
+an instant be followed by hopeless despondency&mdash;alternations from
+sanguine and eager hope to blank and apparently crushing despair,&mdash;such
+was Irish life, in which every one appeared to be acting a part, and
+striving to appear original by means of a strained and laborious
+affectation. Steady, continued, and rational industry, was either
+unknown or despised; economy was looked upon as meanness&mdash;thrift was
+called avarice&mdash;and the paying a just debt, except upon compulsion, was
+deemed conduct wholly unworthy of a gentleman. Take the account Mr.
+Phillips himself gives. He speaks of the Irish squire; but the Irish
+squire was the raw material out of which so-called Irish gentlemen were
+made. "The Irish squire of half a century ago <i>scorned</i> not to be in
+debt; it would be beneath his dignity to live within his income; and
+next to not incurring a debt, the greatest degradation would have been
+voluntarily to <i>pay one</i>." And yet was there great pretension to
+<i>honor</i>, but a man of honor of those days would in our time be
+considered a ruffian certainly, and probably a blackleg or a swindler.
+"It was a favorite boast of his (the first Lord Norbury) that he began
+life with fifty pounds, and a pair of hair-trigger pistols." "They
+served his purpose well.... The luck of the hair-triggers triumphed, and
+Toler not only became Chief Justice, but the founder of two peerages,
+and the testator of an enormous fortune. After his promotion, the code
+of honor became, as it were, engrafted on that of the Common Pleas; the
+noble chief not unfrequently announcing that he considered himself a
+judge only while he wore his robes." The sort of law dispensed by this
+fire-eating judge might be easily conceived even without the aid of such
+an anecdote as the following: "A nonsuit was never heard of in his time.
+Ill-natured people said it was to draw suitors to his court." Toler's
+reason for it was that he was too <i>constitutional</i> to interfere with a
+jury, Be that as it may, a nonsuit was a nonentity, 'I hope, my Lord,'
+said counsel in a case actually commanding one, 'your Lordship will, for
+once, have the courage to nonsuit? In a moment the hair-triggers were
+uppermost. 'Courage! I tell you what, Mr. Wallace, there are two sorts
+of courage&mdash;courage to shoot, and courage to nonshoot&mdash;and I have both;
+but nonshoot now I certainly will not; and argument is only a waste of
+time.' "I remember well," says Mr. Phillips, when speaking of another
+judge, Mr. Justice Fletcher, "at the Sligo summer assizes for 1812,
+being counsel in the case of 'The King <i>v.</i> Fenton,' for the murder of
+Major Hillas in a duel, when old Judge Fletcher thus capped his summing
+up to the jury: 'Gentlemen, it's my business to lay down the law to you,
+and I will. The law says, the killing a man in a duel is murder, and I
+am bound to tell you it is murder; therefore, in the discharge of my
+duty, I tell you so; but I tell you at the same time, a <i>fairer duel</i>
+than this I never heard of in the whole <i>coorse</i> of my life.' It is
+scarcely necessary to add that there was an immediate acquittal." By way
+of giving some idea of the character of society then, the following
+enumeration is supplied by the memory of Mr. Phillips:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Lord Clare, afterwards Lord Chancellor, fought Curran,
+afterwards Master of the Rolls. So much for equity; but common
+law also sustained its reputation. Clonmel, afterwards Chief
+Justice, fought two Lords and two Commoners,&mdash;to show his
+impartiality, no doubt. Medge, afterwards Baron, fought his own
+brother-in-law, and two others. Toler, afterwards Chief Justice
+of the Common Pleas, fought three persons, one of whom was
+Fitzgerald, even in Ireland the 'fire-eater,' <i>par excellence</i>.
+Patterson, also afterwards Chief Justice of the same court,
+fought three country gentlemen, one of them with guns, another
+with swords, and wounded them all! Corry, Chancellor of the
+Exchequer, fought Mr. Grattan. The Provost of Dublin
+University, a Privy Councillor, fought Mr. Doyle, a Master in
+Chancery, and several others. His brother, collector of
+Customs, fought Lord Mountmorris. Harry Deane Grady, counsel to
+the Revenue, fought several duels; and 'all hits,' adds
+Barrington, with unction. Curran fought four persons, one of
+whom was Egan, Chairman of Kilmainham;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_522" id="Page_522">[Pg 522]</a></span> afterwards his friend,
+with Lord Buckinghamshire. A duel in these days was often a
+prelude to intimacy."</p></div>
+
+<p>In spite, nevertheless, of this rude, nay, almost wild condition of
+society,&mdash;in spite of a most fantastic affectation attending nearly
+every act and thought and word,&mdash;yet were Curran and his cotemporaries
+men of great and vigorous ability. Grattan, Curran, and Flood, deserve
+indeed to take rank among the foremost class of their own age,&mdash;among
+the men of genius of every age and country. If we speak of them as
+orators, and wish to judge of their excellence with relation to the
+great orators of our own country, we must bear in mind the character of
+the society in which they lived, and of the assemblies they addressed.
+It would be unjust to try them by the rules of our fastidious taste and
+undemonstrative manners. They addressed Irishmen, and Irishmen just when
+most excited, and indulging in all the wild sallies of a dearly-prized
+and lately acquired independence. What to us would appear offensive rant
+and disgusting affectation, would, in the Irish House of Commons, have
+been but the usual manifestation of strong feeling, and was absolutely
+required, if the speaker desired to move as well as convince his
+auditory.</p>
+
+<p>If, however, we seek to know what was the virtue of these men, more
+especially that of Curran, we must probe to the bottom the corruptions
+and baseness of that society, which deserves to be branded as among the
+most base and the most corrupt that history has hitherto described. The
+temptations which England employed, the horrible corruption and
+profligacy she fostered, must be fully known, if we desire to do justice
+to the men who came out undefiled from that filthy ordeal.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h4>From Chambers' Papers for the People.</h4>
+<h2><a name="THE_LOST_LETTER" id="THE_LOST_LETTER"></a>THE LOST LETTER.</h2>
+
+<h3>I.</h3>
+
+<p>One night, between twenty and thirty years ago, a party were assembled
+in the drawing-rooms of a house situated in one of the most spacious
+squares of the great metropolis. The brightly lighted lamps lent an
+additional lustre to yet brighter eyes, and the sprightly tones of
+various instruments accompanied the graceful evolutions of the dancers,
+as they threaded the mazes of the country-dance, cotillon, or quadrille;
+for waltz, polka, and schottish, were then unknown in our ball-rooms.
+Here and there sat a couple in a quiet corner, evidently enjoying the
+pleasures of a flirtation, while one pair, more romantic or more serious
+than the others, had strayed out upon the balcony, to indulge more
+unrestrainedly in the conversation, which, to judge by their low and
+earnest tones, and abstracted air, seemed deeply interesting to both.</p>
+
+<p>It was now long past the hour 'of night's black arch, the keystone,' and
+the early dawn of a midsummer morning was already bestowing its first
+calm sweet smile on the smoke-begrimed streets and world-worn
+thoroughfares of mighty London, as well as on the dewy hay-fields, shady
+lanes, green hedgerows, and quiet country homes of rural England. The
+morning star, large, mild, and lustrous, was declining in the clear sky;
+and on the left of the lovely planet lay a soft purple cloud, tinged on
+the edge with the lucid amber of the dawning day. A light breeze just
+stirred the leaves of the trees in the square garden, and fanned the
+warm cheeks of the two spectators, as, suddenly silent, they stood
+feasting their eyes and hearts on the surpassingly beautiful scene
+before them, and marvelling at the remarkable purity of the atmosphere,
+which, in the foggy metropolis of Britain, seemed almost to realize the
+Venetian transparency of the pictures of Canaletti. Perhaps it may be as
+well to take advantage of the pause to describe the two lovers, for that
+they were lovers you have of course already guessed.</p>
+
+<p>A handsomer pair, I am sure, you would never wish to see! The well-knit,
+well-proportioned figure of the gentleman bespoke at once activity and
+ease, while the spirited, intelligent expression of his
+countenance&mdash;dark-complexioned as that of an Andalusian&mdash;would have
+given interest to far plainer features. The glance of his dark eye, as
+it rested fondly on his fair companion, or was turned abroad on the
+world, told alternately of a loving heart and a proud spirit. Philip
+Hayforth was one who would have scorned to commit an ignoble action, or
+to stain his soul with the shadow of a falsehood for all the treasures
+and the blessings the earth has to bestow; but he was quick to resent an
+injury, and slow to forget it, and not for all the world would he have
+been the first to sue for a reconciliation. Like many other proud
+people, however, he was open-hearted and generous, and ready to forgive
+when forgiveness was asked; the reason of which might be, that a
+petition for pardon is, to the spirit of a proud man, a sort of homage
+far more gratifying than the most skilful flattery, since it establishes
+at once his own superiority. But to his Emily, Philip was all
+consideration and tenderness, and she, poor girl, with the simple faith
+of youth and love, believed him to be perfection, and admired even his
+pride. A very lovely girl was Emily Sherwood&mdash;gifted with a beauty of a
+rare and intellectual cast. As she now stood leaning on the arm of her
+companion, her tall yet pliant and graceful figure enveloped in the airy
+drapery of her white dress, with her eyes turned in mute admiration
+towards the dawning day, it would have required but a slight stretch of
+the imagination to have beheld in her a priestess of the sun, awaiting
+in reverent adoration the appearance of her fire-god. Her complexion and
+features, too, would have helped to strengthen the fantasy, for the one
+was singularly fair, pale, and transparent, and the other characterized
+by delicacy, refinement, and a sort of earnest yet still enthusiasm. Her
+hair, of the softest and palest brown, was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_523" id="Page_523">[Pg 523]</a></span> arranged in simple yet
+massive plaits around her finely-shaped head, and crowned with a wreath
+of 'starry jessamine.' From the absence of color, one might have
+imagined that her beauty would have been cold and statue-like; but you
+had only to glance at her soft, intellectual mouth, or to look into her
+large, clear, hazel eyes, which seemed to have borrowed their sweet,
+thoughtful, chastened radiance from the star whose beams were now fast
+paling in the brightening sky, to learn that Emily Sherwood could both
+think and love.</p>
+
+<p>"Dear Philip," she said at last, in that low tone which is the natural
+expression of all the finer and deeper emotions, "is it not beautiful? I
+feel at this moment as if I were almost oppressed with happiness&mdash;as if
+this were but an intense dream of love and beauty, that must, as
+sentimental people say, 'be too bright to last.' I never felt as I do
+now in all my life before."</p>
+
+<p>"Nor I neither, my Emily, my sweet little poetess; but I suppose it is
+because we love, for love intensifies all the feelings."</p>
+
+<p>"All the best feelings."</p>
+
+<p>"The whole nature, I think. It is, for instance, more difficult to bear
+a slight from those we love than from a comparatively indifferent
+person."</p>
+
+<p>"A slight! but there can be no such thing as a slight between those who
+love perfectly&mdash;as we do. Are we not all in all to each other? Is not
+our happiness indivisible?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is my pride and joy to believe so, my sweet Emily. I know in my own
+heart that the needle is not more true to the magnet than my thoughts
+and feelings are to you. It shall be the chief care of my life to save
+you from all uneasiness; but, Emily, I expect the same devotion I give:
+unkindness from you, of all the world, I could not and would not
+endure."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Philip, Philip!" she said, half tenderly, half reproachfully, "why
+should you say this? I do not doubt <i>you</i>, dear Philip, for I judge your
+love by my own."</p>
+
+<p>He looked into the truthful and affectionate eyes which were raised so
+trustingly to his face, and replied, in a voice tremulous with emotion,
+"Forgive me, Emily. I trust you entirely; but I had started an idea, the
+barest contemplation of which was insupportable&mdash;maddening, because of
+the very excess of my affection. In short, Emily, I know&mdash;that is, I
+suspect&mdash;your father looked for a higher match for you than I am. Report
+says that his prejudices are strong in favor of birth, and that he is
+very proud of his ancient blood; and the idea did cross me for a moment,
+that when you were with him he might influence you to despise me."</p>
+
+<p>"My father <i>is</i> proud; but, dear Philip, is nobody proud but he? And
+notwithstanding his prejudices, as you call them, I can assure you, you
+are not more honorable yourself in every act and thought than he is. He
+has consented to our marriage, and therefore you need not fear him, even
+if you cannot trust me alone."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Emily, pardon me! And so you think me proud. Well, perhaps I am;
+and it is better that you should know it, as you will bear with it, I
+know, for my sake, my best, my truest Emily; and I shall repay your
+goodness with the most fervent gratitude. Yes, I feel with you that no
+cloud can ever come between us two."</p>
+
+<p>Emily Sherwood was the eldest daughter of Colonel Sherwood, a cadet of
+one of the proudest families in England; and which, though it had never
+been adorned with a title, looked down with something like contempt on
+the abundant growth of mushroom nobility which had sprung up around it,
+long after it had already obtained the dignity which, in the opinion of
+the Sherwoods, generations alone could bestow. Colonel Sherwood
+inherited all the pride of his race&mdash;nay, in him it had been increased
+by poverty; for poverty, except in minds of the highest class&mdash;that rare
+class who estimate justly the true value of human life, and the true
+nature of human dignity&mdash;is generally allied either with pride or
+meanness. Of course when I speak of poverty I mean comparative
+poverty&mdash;I allude to those who are poorer than their station. In a
+retired part of one of the eastern counties, Colonel Sherwood struggled
+upon his half-pay to support a wife and seven children, and as far as
+possible to keep up the appearance he considered due to his birth and
+rank in society. Emily had been for two seasons the belle of the country
+balls; and the admiration her beauty and manners had everywhere excited,
+had created in the hearts of her parents a hope that she was destined to
+form an alliance calculated to shed a lustre on the fading glory of the
+Sherwoods. But, alas! as Burns sings&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"The best laid schemes of mice and men<br /></span>
+<span class="i3">Gang aft ajee."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>During a visit to some relatives in London, Emily became acquainted with
+Philip Hayforth; and his agreeable manners and person, his intelligent
+conversation and devotion to herself, had quickly made an impression
+upon feelings which, though susceptible, were fastidious, and therefore
+still untouched. Then, too, the romantic ardor with which his attachment
+was expressed, the enthusiasm he manifested for whatever was great,
+good, or beautiful, aroused in Emily all the latent poetry of her
+nature. Naturally imaginative, and full even of passionate tenderness,
+but diffident and sensitive, she had hitherto, from an instinctive
+consciousness that they would be misunderstood or disapproved,
+studiously concealed her deeper feelings. Hence had been generated in
+her character a degree of thoughtfulness and reserve unusual in one of
+her years. Now, however, that she beheld the ideas and aspirations she
+had so long deemed singular, perhaps reprehensible, shadowed forth more
+powerfully and definitely by a mind more mature and a spirit more
+daring<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_524" id="Page_524">[Pg 524]</a></span> than her own, her heart responded to its more vigorous
+counterpart; and at the magic touch of sympathy, the long pent-up waters
+flowed freely. She loved, was beloved, and asked no more of destiny. It
+was not, it may be supposed, without some reluctance that Colonel
+Sherwood consented to the demolition of the aerial castles of which his
+beautiful Emily had so long been the subject and the tenant, and made up
+his mind to see her the wife of a man who, though of respectable
+parentage, could boast neither title nor pedigree, and was only the
+junior partner in a mercantile firm. But then young Hayforth bore the
+most honorable character; his prospects were said to be good, and his
+manners unexceptionable; and, above all, Emily was evidently much
+attached to him; and remembering the days of his own early love, the
+father's heart of the aristocratic old colonel was fairly melted, and he
+consented to receive the young merchant as his son-in-law. The marriage,
+however, was not to take place till the spring of the following year.
+Meanwhile the lovers agreed to solace the period of their separation by
+long and frequent letters. Philip's last words to Emily, as he handed
+her into the postchaise in which she was to commence her homeward
+journey, were, "Now write to me very often, my own dearest Emily, for I
+shall never be happy but when hearing from you or writing to you; and if
+you are long answering my letters, I shall be miserable, and perhaps
+jealous." She could only answer by a mute sign, and the carriage drove
+away. Poor, agitated Emily, half happy, half sad, leaned back in it, and
+indulged in that feminine luxury&mdash;a hearty fit of tears. As for Philip,
+he took a few turns in the park, walking as if for a wager, and feeling
+sensible of a sort of coldness and dreariness about every object which
+he had never remarked before. Then he suddenly recollected that he must
+go to the counting-house, as he was "very busy." He did not, however,
+make much progress with his business that day, as somehow or other he
+fell into a reverie over every thing he attempted.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing could exceed the regularity of the lovers' correspondence for
+the first two or three months, while their letters were written on the
+largest orthodox sheets to be had from the stationer's&mdash;post-office
+regulations in those days not admitting of the volumes of little notes
+now so much in vogue. At last Emily bethought herself of working a purse
+for Philip, in acknowledgment of a locket he had lately sent her from
+London. Generally speaking, Emily was not very fond of work; but somehow
+or other no occupation, not even the perusal of a favorite poem or
+novel, had ever afforded her half the pleasure that she derived from the
+manufacture of this purse. Each stitch she netted, each bead she strung,
+was a new source of delight&mdash;for she was working for Philip. Love is the
+true magic of life, effecting more strange metamorphoses than ever did
+the spells of Archimago, or the arts of Armida&mdash;the moral alchemy which
+can transmute the basest things into the most precious. It is true of
+all circumstances, as well as of personal qualities, that</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Things base and vile, holding no quantity,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Love can transpose to form and dignity."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The purse was quickly finished, and dispatched to Philip, together with
+a letter. Emily was in high spirits at the prospect of the answer. She
+danced about the house, singing snatches of songs and ballads, and
+displaying an unusual amount of gayety; for, though generally cheerful,
+she was of too thoughtful a disposition to be often merry. Philip, she
+was sure, would write by return of post. How she wished the time were
+come! She knew pretty well, to be sure, what he would say; but what did
+that signify? She longed to feast her eyes on the words his hand had
+traced, and to fancy the tones and the looks which would have
+accompanied them had they been spoken instead of written. The expected
+day came at last, but the post-bag contained no letter for Emily. At
+first she could hardly believe it; her countenance fell, and for a few
+minutes she seemed much disappointed; but never mind, the letter would
+come to-morrow, and she soon began to trip about and to sing almost as
+gayly as before. But another day passed, and another and another, and
+still no letter! Poor Emily's blithe voice was mute now, and her light
+step rarely heard. Sometimes she tried to read, or to play on the piano,
+but without much success; while her anxious looks, and the tear which
+occasionally might be seen to glisten in her eye, betrayed the trouble
+within. A whole week elapsed, a longer period than had ever passed
+before without a letter from Philip Hayforth&mdash;a fortnight&mdash;a month&mdash;and
+the poor girl's appetite failed, her nights were sleepless, and her
+drooping figure and pining looks told of that anxious suffering, that
+weary life-gnawing suspense, which is ten times more hard to bear than
+any evil, however great, of which we can ascertain the nature and
+discern the limits. Could Philip be ill? Could he&mdash;No, he could not be
+inconstant. Ought she to write to him again? But to this question her
+parents answered "No. It would be unfeminine, unladylike, undignified.
+If Mr. Hayforth were ill, he would doubtless write as soon as he was
+able; and if he were well, his conduct was inexcusable, and on Emily's
+part rendered any advance impossible." Poor Emily shrank from
+transgressing what her parents represented as the limits due to delicacy
+and decorum, and she would have died rather than have been guilty of a
+real impropriety, or have appeared unfeminine in the eyes of Philip
+Hayforth; and yet it did often suggest itself to her mind&mdash;rather,
+however, in the shape of an undefined feeling than of a conscious
+thought&mdash;that the shortest, best, most straight-forward way of
+proceeding, was to write at once to Mr. Hayforth, and ask an
+explanation. She could not herself see clearly how this could be wrong;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_525" id="Page_525">[Pg 525]</a></span>
+but she supposed it must be so, and she acknowledged her own ignorance
+and inexperience. Emily was scarcely twenty; just at the age when an
+inquiring and thoughtful mind can no longer rely with the unquestioning
+faith of childhood on assertions sanctioned merely by authority, and
+when a diffident one is too timid to venture to trust to its own
+suggestions. It is only after much experience, or one of those bitter
+mistakes, which are the great lessons of life, that such a character
+learns that self-reliance, exercised with deliberation and humility, is
+the only safeguard for individual rectitude. Emily, therefore, did not
+write, but lived on in the silent, wasting agony of constant expectation
+and perpetual disappointment. Her mother, in the hope of affording her
+some relief, inquired in a letter she was writing to her relative in
+London, if the latter had lately seen Mr. Hayforth. The answer was like
+a death-blow to poor Emily. Her mother's correspondent had "met Mr.
+Hayforth walking with a lady. He had passed her with a very stiff bow,
+and seemed inclined to avoid her. He had not called for a long time. She
+could not at all understand it." Colonel Sherwood could now no longer
+contain his indignation. He forbade the mention of Philip Hayforth's
+name, declaring that "his Emily was far too good and beautiful for the
+wife of a low-born tradesman, and that he deserved the indignity now
+thrown upon his family for ever having thought of degrading it by the
+permission of such a union. And his darling child would, he knew, bear
+up with the spirit of the Sherwoods." Poor Emily had, it is to be
+feared, little of the spirit of the Sherwoods, but she tried to bear up
+from perhaps as good a motive. But it was a difficult task, for she was
+well-nigh broken-hearted. She now never mentioned Philip Hayforth, and
+to all appearance her connection with him was as if it had never been;
+but, waking or sleeping, he was ever present to her thoughts. Oh! was it
+indeed possible that she should never, <i>never</i> see him again? No, it
+could not be; he would seek her, claim her yet, her heart said; but
+reason whispered that it was madness to think so, and bade her at once
+make up her mind to her inevitable fate. But this she could not do&mdash;not
+yet at all events. Month after month of the long dreary winter dragged
+slowly on; her kind parents tried to dissipate her melancholy by taking
+her to every amusement within reach, and she went, partly from
+indifference as to what became of her, partly out of gratitude for their
+kindness. At last the days began to lengthen, and the weather to
+brighten; but spring flowers and sunny skies brought no corresponding
+bloom to the faded hopes and the joyless life of Emily Sherwood. The
+only hope she felt was "the hope which keeps alive despair."</p>
+
+<p>One May morning, as she was listlessly looking over in a newspaper the
+list of marriages, her eye fell upon a well-known name&mdash;the name of one
+who at that very time ought to have knelt at the altar with her. She
+uttered neither scream nor cry, but clasping her hands with one upward
+look of mute despair, fell down in a dead faint. For many days she was
+very ill, and sometimes quite delirious; but her mother tended her with
+the most assiduous affection, while her comfort and recreation seemed
+her father's sole care. They were repaid at last by her recovery, and
+from that time forth she was less miserable. In such a case as Emily's,
+there is not only the shock to the affections, but the terrible wrench
+of all the faculties to be overcome, which ensues on the divorce of the
+thoughts from those objects and that future to which they have so long
+been wedded. There is not only the breaking heart to be healed, but the
+whole mental current to be forcibly turned into a different channel from
+that which alone habit has made easy or pleasant. "The worst," as it is
+called, is, however, easier to be endured than suspense; and if Emily's
+spirits did not regain their former elasticity, she ere long became
+quite resigned, and comparatively cheerful.</p>
+
+<p>More than a year had elapsed since that bright spring morning on which
+she had beheld the irrefragable proof of her lover's perfidy, when she
+received an offer of marriage from a gentleman, of good family and large
+property. He had been struck by her beauty at a party where he had seen
+her; and after a few meetings, made formal proposals to her father
+almost ere she was aware that he admired her. Much averse to form a new
+engagement, she would at once have declined receiving his addresses, had
+her parents not earnestly pressed the match as one in every respect
+highly eligible. Overcome at last by their importunities, and having, as
+she thought, no object in existence save to give pleasure to them, she
+yielded so far to their wishes as to consent to receive Mr. Beauchamp as
+her future husband, on condition that he should be made acquainted with
+the history of her previous engagement, and the present state of her
+feelings. She secretly hoped that when he learned that she had no heart
+to give with her hand, he would withdraw his suit. But she was mistaken.
+Mr. Beauchamp, it is true, knew that there was such a word as <i>heart</i>,
+had a notion that it was a term much in vogue with novel-writers, and
+was sometimes mentioned by parsons in their sermons; but that <i>the
+heart</i> could have any thing to do with the serious affairs of life never
+once entered into his head to suppose. He therefore testified as much
+satisfaction at Emily's answer, as if she had avowed for him the deepest
+affection. They were shortly afterwards married, and the pensive bride
+accompanied her husband to her new home&mdash;Woodthorpe Hall; an ancient,
+castellated edifice, situated in an extensive and finely-wooded park on
+an estate in the East Riding of Yorkshire.</p>
+
+<p>But I have too long neglected Philip Hayforth&mdash;too long permitted a
+cloud to rest upon his honor and constancy. He was not, in truth, the
+heartless, light-minded wretch that I fear<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_526" id="Page_526">[Pg 526]</a></span> you may think him. Pride,
+not falsehood or levity, was the blemish in his otherwise fine
+character; but it was a very plague-spot, tainting his whole moral
+nature, and frequently neutralizing the effect of his best qualities. He
+had been quite as much charmed with Emily's present and Emily's letter,
+as she had ever ventured to hope, and had lost not a moment in writing
+to her in return a long epistle full of the fervent love and gratitude
+with which his heart was overflowing. He had also mentioned several
+affairs of mutual interest and of a pressing nature, but about which he
+was unwilling to take any steps without the concurrence of "his own
+dearest and kindest Emily." He therefore entreated her to write
+immediately; "to write by return of post, if she loved him." But this
+letter never reached its destination: it was lost&mdash;a rare occurrence
+certainly, but, as most of us are aware from our own experience, not
+unknown. And now began with Philip Hayforth the same agony which Emily
+was enduring&mdash;nay, a greater agony; for there was not only the same
+disappointed affection, the same heart-sickness, the same weary
+expectation, but there was the stronger suffering of a more passionate
+and less disciplined temper; and, above all, there was the incessant
+struggle between pride and love&mdash;the same fearful strife which, we are
+told, once made war in Heaven.</p>
+
+<p>Sometimes he thought that Emily might be ill; but then that did not seem
+likely, as her health was generally good; and she was, when she had last
+written, perfectly well, and apparently in excellent spirits. Should he
+write to her again? No, she owed him a letter, and if she loved him,
+would doubtless answer it as soon as circumstances would permit; and he
+'would let that haughty old aristocrat, her father, see that Philip
+Hayforth, the merchant, had more of the spirit of a man in him than to
+cringe to the proudest blood in England. And as for Emily, she was his
+betrothed bride&mdash;the same as his wife; and if he was not more to her
+than any father on earth, she was unworthy of the love he had given her.
+Let her only be true to him, and he was ready to devote his life to
+her&mdash;to die for her.' As the time wore slowly away, he became more and
+more exasperated, fevered, wretched. Sometimes it seemed to him that he
+could no longer endure such torment; that life itself was a burthen too
+intolerable to be borne. But here pride came to the aid of a better
+principle. His cheek tinged at the thought of being spoken of as the
+slighted lover, and his blood boiled at the bare idea of Colonel
+Sherwood's contemptuous pity for the vain plebeian who had dared to
+raise his thoughts to an alliance with his beautiful, high-born
+daughter. He 'would show the world that he was no love-sick, despairing
+swain; and Miss Sherwood's vanity should never be gratified by the
+display of the wounds her falsehood had inflicted. He would very soon,
+he knew, forget the fair coquette who had trampled thus upon his most
+sacred feelings.' So he tried to persuade himself, but his heart misgave
+him. No: he could not forget her&mdash;it was in vain to attempt it; but the
+more his feelings acknowledged her power, even the more the pride she
+had wounded in its tenderest point rose up in wrath against her; and he
+chafed at his own powerlessness to testify towards her his scorn and
+contempt. At such times as these he seemed even to himself on the verge
+of madness. But he had saner moments&mdash;moments when his better nature
+triumphed, and pride resigned for a brief space her stormy empire to the
+benigner sway of the contending passion.</p>
+
+<p>In the midst of those terrific tornados, which in the West Indies and
+elsewhere carry in their path, over immense districts, ruin and
+desolation, there is a pause, often of considerable duration, caused,
+the scientific inform us, by the calm in the centre of the atmospheric
+vortex of which they are composed. Such a calm would occasionally rest
+upon the mind of Philip Hayforth, over the length and breadth of which
+the whirlwind of passion had lately been tearing. One night, after one
+of those hidden transports, which the proud man would have died rather
+than any mortal eye should have scanned, he threw himself upon his bed
+(for he rarely <i>went to bed</i> now, in the accepted sense of the phrase)
+in a state approaching exhaustion, mental and bodily. By degrees a sort
+of dream-like peace fell upon his spirit; the present vanished away, and
+the past became, as it were, once more a living reality. He thought of
+Emily Sherwood as he had first seen her&mdash;a vision of loveliness and
+grace. He thought of her as he had beheld her almost the last time on
+that clear summer morning, and like refreshing dew on his scorched and
+desolated heart fell the remembrance of her gentle words and loving
+looks. Could they have deceived? Ah no! and his whole nature seemed
+suddenly softened. He seemed to see her before him now, with her angel
+face and her floating white robes; he seemed even yet to be looking into
+those soft, bright eyes, and to read there again, as he had read before,
+love unspeakable, truth unchangeable. His heart was filled with a
+yearning tenderness, an intense and longing fondness, and he extended
+his arms, as if to embrace that white-robed image of truth and
+gentleness: but she was not there; it was but her spirit which had come
+to still his angry passions with the calm of trust and love. And in the
+fond superstition that so it was, he sprang from his couch, seized a
+pen, and wrote to her a passionate, incoherent epistle, telling her that
+she had tried him almost beyond his strength, but that he loved and
+believed in her still, and if she answered immediately, that he was
+ready to forgive her for all the pain she had caused him. This letter
+finished, he threw himself upon his bed once again, and after a space,
+slept more soundly than he had done for many a long night before. When
+he rose in the morning he read over his letter, and felt, as he read,
+some faint<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_527" id="Page_527">[Pg 527]</a></span> misgivings; but these were put to flight by the recollection
+of Emily, as she had appeared to him in the vision of the previous
+night. As the post, however, did not go out till evening, he would keep
+the letter till then. Alas for the delay! It changed for ever his own
+fate and that of Emily Sherwood. It chanced that very afternoon that,
+taking up a provincial newspaper in a coffee-room into which he had
+strolled, on his way to the post-office, the following paragraph met his
+eye:&mdash;'We understand that there is a matrimonial alliance in
+contemplation between J&mdash;&mdash; R&mdash;&mdash;, Esq., eldest son of Sir J&mdash;&mdash; R&mdash;&mdash;,
+Bart., and the lovely and accomplished Miss Sherwood, daughter of
+Colonel Sherwood, late of the &mdash;th dragoons, and granddaughter of the
+late R. Sherwood, Esq., of &mdash;&mdash; Park.' On reading this most unfounded
+rumor, Philip Hayforth waited not another moment, but rushed home as if
+driven by the furies; and tearing his letter in a thousand pieces, threw
+it and the purse, Emily's gift, into the fire, and vowed to bestow not
+another thought on the heartless woman who had perjured her own faith
+and sold his true and fervent love for riches and title. Oh how he
+scorned her! how he felt in his own true heart that all the wealth and
+grandeur of the earth would have been powerless to tempt one thought of
+his from her!</p>
+
+<p>To conceal all suspicion of his sufferings from the world, and, if
+possible, banish their remembrance from his own mind, he now went even
+more than formerly into society; and when there, simulated a gayety of
+manner that had hitherto distinguished his most vivacious moments. He
+had always been a general favorite, and now his company was more sought
+after than ever. Among the young persons of the opposite sex with whom
+his engagements most frequently brought him in contact, was a young girl
+of the name of Fanny Hartley, pretty, gentle, excessively amiable, but
+without much mind, and with no literary taste whatever. She had nothing
+to say, but she listened to him, and he felt in her society a sort of
+repose, which was at present peculiarly grateful to his angry, troubled
+spirit. Her very silence soothed him, while the absorbing nature of his
+own feelings prevented him at first from thinking of hers. Philip
+Hayforth had certainly not more than an average share of human vanity,
+but he did at last suspect, partly from an accidental circumstance which
+had first drawn his attention to the subject, that he had created in the
+heart of the innocent Fanny a deeper interest than he had ever intended.
+He was touched, grateful, but at first grieved, for <i>he</i> "could never
+love again." But the charm of being loved soon began to work: his heart
+was less desolate, his feelings were less bitter, when he thought of
+Fanny Hartley, and began to ask himself if he were wise to reject the
+consolation which Providence seemed to offer him in the affection of
+this amiable and artless young creature. And when he thought of the pain
+she might perchance be suffering on his account, all hesitation upon the
+subject was removed at once. If she loved him, as he believed, his
+conduct, it seemed to his really kind heart, had already been barbarous.
+He ought not to delay another day. And accordingly that very evening he
+offered his hand to Fanny Hartley, and was accepted with trembling joy.</p>
+
+<p>Their marriage proved a happy one. Fanny was as amiable as she had
+appeared, and in the conduct of the commoner affairs of life,
+good-feeling with her supplied in a great measure any deficiency of
+strong sense. Philip did perhaps occasionally heave a gentle sigh, and
+think for a moment of Emily Sherwood, when he found how incapable his
+wife was of responding to a lofty or poetic thought, or of appreciating
+the points of an argument, unless it were upon some such subject as the
+merits of a new dress or the seasoning of a pudding. But he quickly
+checked the rising discontent, for Fanny was so pure in heart, and so
+unselfish in disposition, that it was impossible not to respect as well
+as to love her. In short, Philip Hayforth was a fortunate man, and what
+is more surprising, knew himself to be so. And when, after twenty years
+of married life, he saw his faithful, gentle Fanny laid in her grave, he
+felt bereaved indeed. It seemed to him then, as perhaps, at such a time,
+it always does to a tender heart, that he had never done her justice,
+never loved her as her surpassing goodness deserved. And yet a kinder
+husband never lived than he had been; and Fanny had died blessing him,
+and thanking him, as she said, "for twenty years of happiness." "How
+infinitely superior," he now daily and hourly thought, "was her sweet
+temper and loving disposition to all the intellect and all the poetry
+that ever were enshrined in the most beautiful form." And yet Philip
+Hayforth certainly was not sorry that his eldest daughter&mdash;his pretty,
+lively Fanny&mdash;should have turned out not only amiable and affectionate,
+but clever and witty. He was, in truth, very proud of Fanny. He loved
+all his children most dearly; but Fanny was the apple of his eye&mdash;the
+very delight of his existence. He had now almost forgotten Emily
+Sherwood; but when he did think of her, it was with indifference rather
+than forgiveness. He had not heard of her since his marriage, having,
+some time previous to that event, completely broken off the slight
+acquaintance he had formed with her relations; while a short absence
+abroad, at the time of her union with Mr. Beauchamp, had prevented him
+from seeing its announcement in the papers.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile poor Emily's married life had not been so happy as that of her
+former lover. Mr. Beauchamp was of a pompous, tyrannical disposition,
+and had a small, mean mind. He was constantly worrying about trifles,
+perpetually taking offence with nothing, and would spend whole days in
+discussing some trivial point of etiquette, in the breach of which, he
+conceived himself aggrieved. A very miserable woman was his wife amid
+all the cold magnificence<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_528" id="Page_528">[Pg 528]</a></span> of her stately home. Often, very often, in
+her hours of loneliness and depression, her thoughts would revert to the
+brief, bright days of her early love, and her spirit would be rapt away
+by the recollection of that scene on the balcony, when Philip Hayforth
+and she had stood with locked hands and full hearts gazing at the
+sinking star and the sweetly breaking day, and loving, feeling,
+thinking, as if they had but one mind between them, till the present
+seemed all a fevered dream, and the past alone reality. She could not
+have been deceived then: then, at least, he had loved her. Oh, had she
+not wronged him? had there not been a mistake&mdash;some incident
+unexplained? He had warned her that his temper was proud and jealous,
+and she felt now that she ought to have written and asked an
+explanation. She had thrown away her happiness, and deserved her fate.
+Then she recollected that such thoughts in her, the wife of Mr.
+Beauchamp, were worse than foolish&mdash;they were sinful; and the
+upbraidings of her conscience added to her misery.</p>
+
+<p>But Emily had a strong mind, and a lofty sense of right; and in those
+solitary struggles was first developed the depth and strength of her
+character. Partly to divert her thoughts from subjects dangerous to her
+peace, and partly from the natural bent of her inclinations, she sought
+assiduously to cultivate the powers of her mind, while her affections
+found ample scope for their exercise in the love of her infant son, and
+in considerate care for her many dependants, by all of whom she was
+loved and reverenced in no common degree. She learned thus the grand
+lessons&mdash;'to suffer and be strong,' and to make the best of destiny; and
+she felt that if she were a sadder woman, she was also a wiser one, and
+at any price wisdom, she knew, is a purchase not to be despised.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Beauchamp had been married little more than five years when her
+husband died. His will showed, that however unhappy he had made her
+during his life, he had not been insensible to her merit, for he left
+her the sole guardian of their only son, and, while she should remain
+unmarried, the mistress of Woodthorpe Hall. In the childish affection
+and opening mind of her little boy poor Emily at last found
+happiness&mdash;unspeakable happiness, although it was of course qualified by
+the anxiety inseparable from parental love. She doted upon him; but her
+love was of too wise and unselfish a nature to permit her to spoil him,
+while her maternal affection furnished her with another motive for the
+cultivation of her own mind and the improvement of her own character.
+She was fired with the noble ambition of being the mother of her child's
+mind, as well as of that mind's mere perishable shrine.</p>
+
+
+<h3>II.</h3>
+
+<p>Twenty-five years have passed away, with all their changes&mdash;their many
+changes; and now,</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">'Gone are the heads of silvery hair,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And the young that were have a brow of care:'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>And the babe of twenty-five years ago is now a man, ready to rush into
+the thickest and the hottest of the great battle of life.</p>
+
+<p>It was Christmas time; the trees were bare on Woodthorpe Chase; the
+lawns were whitened by a recent shower of snow, and crisped by a sharp
+frost; the stars were coming out in the cold cloudless sky; and two
+enormous fires, high piled with Christmas logs, blazed, crackled, and
+roared in the huge oaken chimneys of the great oak hall. Mrs. Beauchamp
+and her son sat together in the drawing-room, in momentary expectation
+of the arrival of their Christmas guests&mdash;a party of cousins, who lived
+at about ten miles' distance from Woodthorpe Hall. Edmund Beauchamp was
+now a very promising young man, having hitherto fulfilled the hopes and
+answered the cares of his fond and anxious mother. He had already reaped
+laurels at school and college, and his enlightened and liberal views,
+and generous, enthusiastic mind, gave earnest of a career alike
+honourable and useful. In person and features, though both were
+agreeable, he did not much resemble his mother; but he had the same
+large, soft, thoughtful eyes, the same outward tranquillity of demeanour
+hiding the same earnest spirit. At present he was silent, and seemed
+meditative. Mrs. Beauchamp gazed at him long and fondly, and as she
+gazed, her mother's heart swelled with love and pride, and her eyes
+glistened with heartfelt joy. At last she remarked, "I hope the
+Sharpes's new governess is as nice a person as the old one."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, much nicer!" cried Edmund suddenly, and as if awakening from a
+reverie.</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed! I used to think Miss Smith a very nice person."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, so she was&mdash;very good-natured and obliging; but Miss Dalton is
+altogether a different sort of person."</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder you never told me you found her so agreeable."</p>
+
+<p>"I&mdash;Oh, I did not&mdash;&mdash;That is, you never asked me."</p>
+
+<p>"Is she young?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes&mdash;not much above twenty I should think."</p>
+
+<p>"Is she pretty?"</p>
+
+<p>"I&mdash;I don't exactly know," he said, hesitating and colouring; "I
+suppose&mdash;most persons&mdash;&mdash;I should think she is." "How foolish I am!"
+thought Edmund. "What will my mother think of all this?" He then
+continued in a more composed manner&mdash;"She is a very excellent girl at
+least. She is the daughter of a London merchant&mdash;a remarkably honourable
+man&mdash;who has been ruined by these bad times; and though brought up in
+luxury, and with the expectation of large fortune, she has conformed to
+her circumstances in the most cheerful manner, and supports, it seems,
+with the fruits of her talents and industry, two little sisters at
+school. The Sharpes are all so fond of her, and she is the greatest
+favorite imaginable with the children." Edmund spoke with unwonted
+warmth. His mother looked at him half-sympathisingly, half-anxiously.
+She seemed about<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_529" id="Page_529">[Pg 529]</a></span> to speak, when the sound of carriage wheels, and the
+loud knock of a footman at the hall-door, announced the arrival of the
+Sharpes, and Mrs. Beauchamp and her son hastened into the hall to
+welcome their guests. Mrs. Beauchamp's eye sought for the stranger,
+partly because she was a stranger, and partly from the interest in her
+her son's conversation had created. But Miss Dalton was the last to
+enter.</p>
+
+<p>Edmund had not erred in saying she was a pretty girl. Even beneath the
+cumbrous load of cloaks and furs in which she was now enveloped, you
+could detect the exquisite proportions of her <i>petite</i> figure, and the
+sprightly grace of her carriage; while a pretty winter bonnet set off to
+advantage a face remarkable for the intelligence and vivacity of its
+expression. Her features, though not regular, were small, while the
+brilliancy of her colour, though her complexion was that of a brunette,
+lent a yet brighter glow to her sparkling dark eyes, and contrasted well
+with the glossy black ringlets which shaded her animated countenance. At
+this moment, however, her little head was carried somewhat haughtily,
+and there was a sort of something not unlike bashfulness or awkwardness
+in her manner which seemed hardly natural to it. The truth was, Miss
+Dalton had come very unwillingly to share in the festivities of
+Woodthorpe Hall. She was not acquainted with Mrs. Beauchamp, and report
+said she was a very dignified lady, which Fanny Dalton interpreted to
+mean a very proud one; and from her change of circumstances, rendered
+unduly sensitive, she dreaded in her hostess the haughty neglect or
+still haughtier condescension by which vulgar and shallow minds mark out
+their sense of another's social inferiority. And therefore it was that
+she held her head so high, and exhibited the constraint of manner to
+which I have alluded. But all her pride and shyness quickly melted
+before the benign presence and true heart-politeness of Mrs. Beauchamp.
+Dignified the latter certainly was; but her dignity was tempered with
+the utmost benevolence of expression, and the most winning sweetness of
+manner; and when she took the hand of her little stranger-guest between
+both of hers, and holding it kindly, said, "You are the only stranger
+here, Miss Dalton; but for my sake you must try to feel at home," an
+affection for Mrs. Beauchamp entered into the heart of the young girl,
+which has continued ever since steadily to increase. That she should
+conceive such an affection was not unnatural, for there was something in
+the appearance and manners of Mrs. Beauchamp, combined with her position
+in life, calculated to strike the imagination and touch the feelings of
+a warm-hearted and romantic girl such as Fanny Dalton, more especially
+one circumstanced as she was. Even her previous prejudice, with the
+reaction natural to a generous mind, was likely to heighten her
+subsequent admiration. But it is not so easy to account for the sudden
+interest the pretty governess created at first sight in the heart of her
+hostess. Many girls as pretty and as intelligent looking as Miss Dalton
+she had seen before, without their having inspired a spark of the
+tenderness she felt towards this unknown stranger. She could not
+comprehend it herself. She was not prone "to take fancies," as the
+phrase is; and yet, whatever might be the case, certain it was that
+there was a nameless something about this girl, which seemed to touch
+one of the deepest chords of her nature, and to cause her heart to yearn
+towards her with something like a mother's love. She felt that if Miss
+Dalton were all that she had heard, and that if she should really prove
+her son's choice, he should not be gainsaid by her.</p>
+
+<p>The Christmas party at Woodthorpe Hall was generally a merry one; and
+this year it was even merrier than usual. Fanny Dalton was the life of
+the party; her disposition was naturally a lively one, and this hour of
+sunshine in her clouded day called forth all its vivacity. But Fanny was
+not only clever, lively, and amiable; her conduct and manners
+occasionally displayed traits of spirit&mdash;nay, of pride; the latter,
+however, of a generous rather than an egotistical description. Nothing
+was so certain to call it forth as any tale of meanness or oppression.
+One morning Miss Sharpe had been relating an anecdote of a gentleman in
+the neighborhood who had jilted (odious word!) an amiable and highly
+estimable young lady, to whom he had long been engaged, in order to
+marry a wealthy and titled widow. There were many aggravating
+circumstances attending the whole affair, which had contributed to
+excite still more against the offender the indignation of all
+right-thinking persons. The unfortunate young lady was reported to be
+dying of a broken heart.</p>
+
+<p>Fanny, who had been all along listening to the narration with an eager
+and interested countenance, now exclaimed&mdash;"Dying of a broken heart!
+Poor thing! But if I were she, <i>I</i> would not break my heart&mdash;I would
+scorn him as something far beneath me, poor and unimportant as I am. No,
+I might break my heart for the loss of a true lover, but never for the
+loss of a false one!" As Fanny's eyes shone, and her lip curled with a
+lofty contempt, as her naturally clear, merry tones grew deeper and
+stronger with the indignation she expressed, a mist seemed suddenly to
+be cleared away from the eyes of Mrs. Beauchamp, and in that slight
+young girl she beheld the breathing image of one whom she had once
+intimately known and dearly loved&mdash;in those indignant accents she seemed
+to recognize the tones of a voice long since heard, but the echoes of
+which yet lingered in her heart. Why she had so loved Fanny Dalton was
+no mystery now&mdash;she saw in her but the gentler type of him whom she had
+once believed the master of her destiny&mdash;even of Philip Hayforth, long
+unheard of, but never forgotten. But what connection could there be
+between Philip Hayforth and Fanny Dalton? and whence this strange
+resemblance, which lay not so much in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_530" id="Page_530">[Pg 530]</a></span> form or in feature, as in that
+nameless, intangible similarity of expression, gesture, manner, and
+voice, so frequently exhibited by members of the same family.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as Mrs. Beauchamp could quit the table, she withdrew to her own
+room, where she remained for some time in deep meditation, the result of
+which was a determination to fathom the mystery, if mystery there was.
+It was just possible, too, that the attempt might assist her to find a
+key to the riddle of her own destiny.</p>
+
+<p>Accordingly, on the afternoon of the same day, she took an opportunity
+of being alone with Miss Dalton and her son, to say to the former&mdash;"I
+think you told me, my dear, that your father was alive?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh yes, thank God, <i>he</i> is alive! How I wish you knew him, Mrs.
+Beauchamp! I think you would like him, and I am <i>sure</i> he would like and
+admire you."</p>
+
+<p>"Does your father at all resemble you in appearance?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am not sure. I have been told that I was like him, and I always
+consider it a great compliment; for papa is still a very handsome man,
+and was of course even handsomer when he was young, and before his hair
+became grey. I have a miniature likeness of him, taken before his
+marriage, which I have with me, and will show you, if you will so far
+indulge my vanity."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Beauchamp having replied that she should like exceedingly to see
+it, Fanny tripped away, and returned in a few minutes, carrying in her
+hand a handsome, but old-fashioned, morocco case. Mrs. Beauchamp had
+never seen it before, but she well remembered having given directions
+for the making of a case of that very size, shape, and color, for a
+miniature which was to have been painted for her. Her heart began to
+beat. She seemed upon the brink of a discovery. Fanny now opened the
+case, and placing it before Mrs. Beauchamp, exclaimed, "Now, isn't he a
+handsome man?" But Mrs. Beauchamp could not answer. One glance had been
+sufficient. A cold mist gathered before her eyes, and she was obliged to
+lean for support, upon the back of a chair.</p>
+
+<p>"Dear Mrs. Beauchamp, are you ill?"</p>
+
+<p>"My dear mother!" cried Edmund.</p>
+
+<p>"It is nothing," she answered, quickly recovering herself; "only a
+little faintness." And then with the self-command which long habit had
+made easy, she sat down and continued with her usual calm sweetness&mdash;"I
+could almost fancy I had seen your father; but I do not remember ever
+knowing any one of the name of Dalton but yourself."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, but perhaps you might have seen him before he changed his name; and
+yet it seems hardly likely. His name used to be Hayforth; but by the
+will of his former partner, who, dying without near relations, left papa
+all his money, he took the name of Dalton. The money is all gone now, to
+be sure," she continued with the faintest possible sigh; "but we all
+loved the dear old man, and so we still keep his name."</p>
+
+<p>Fanny had seated herself beside Mrs. Beauchamp, and as she finished
+speaking, the latter, obeying the impulse of her heart, drew her towards
+her and kissed her. Fanny, whose feelings were not only easily touched,
+and very strong, but even unusually demonstrative, threw her arms round
+Mrs. Beauchamp, and cried, with tears in her eyes, "How kind you are to
+me, Mrs. Beauchamp! You could hardly be kinder, if you were my mother."</p>
+
+<p>"Dear Fanny," she answered in a low and affectionate tone, "I wish,
+indeed, I were your mother!"</p>
+
+<p>As she spoke, Edmund, who had been standing in a window apart, made a
+sudden movement towards the two ladies, but as suddenly checked himself.
+At this moment his eyes encountered those of his mother, and colouring
+violently, he abruptly quitted the room. This little scene passed quite
+unnoticed by Fanny, who at the instant was thinking only of Mrs.
+Beauchamp, and of her own gentle mother, now beneath the sod.</p>
+
+<p>The daughter of Philip Hayforth became a frequent guest at Woodthorpe
+Hall, spending most of her Sundays with Mrs. Beauchamp, who would
+frequently drive over to the Sharpes's for her of a Saturday afternoon,
+and send her back on the Monday morning. She was invited to spend the
+Easter holidays at the Hall&mdash;a most welcome invitation, as she was not
+to return home till the midsummer vacation. A most agreeable time were
+these Easter holidays! Never had Fanny seemed more bright and joyous.
+Her presence operated as perpetual sunshine on the more pensive natures
+of the mother and son. It was therefore a great surprise to Mrs.
+Beauchamp when, one day at luncheon, about a week before the time fixed
+for the termination of her visit, Fanny announced her intention of
+leaving Woodthorpe that afternoon, if her friend could spare her the
+carriage.</p>
+
+<p>"I can certainly spare it, Fanny; but I should like to know the reason
+of this sudden determination?"</p>
+
+<p>"You must excuse my telling you, Mrs. Beauchamp; but I hope you will
+believe me when I say that it is from a sense of duty." As she spoke,
+she raised her head with a proud look, her eyes flashed, and she spoke
+in the haughty tone which always brought before Mrs. Beauchamp the image
+of her early lover; for it was in her proud moments that Fanny most
+resembled her father.</p>
+
+<p>"Far be it from me, Fanny," she replied, with her wonted sweetness and
+benignity, "to ask any one to tamper with duty; but, my child, our
+faults, our <i>pride</i> frequently mislead us. You shall go to-night, if you
+please; but I wish, for my sake, you could stay at least till to-morrow
+morning. I have not offended you, Fanny?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, dearest Mrs. Beauchamp!" and the poor girl burst into tears. "I
+wish&mdash;I <i>wish</i> I could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_531" id="Page_531">[Pg 531]</a></span> only show you how I love you&mdash;how grateful I am
+for all your goodness; but you will never, never know."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Beauchamp looked anxiously at her, and began, "Fanny"&mdash;&mdash;But
+suddenly stopped, as if she knew not how to proceed. Immediately
+afterwards the young girl left the room, silently and passionately
+kissing Mrs. Beauchamp's hand as she passed her on her way to the door.</p>
+
+<p>A few hours later in the day, as Mrs. Beauchamp sat reading in her
+boudoir, according to her custom at that particular hour, Edmund
+abruptly entered the little room in a state of agitation quite foreign
+to his ordinary disposition and habits.</p>
+
+<p>"Mother!" he cried.</p>
+
+<p>"My love! what is the matter?"</p>
+
+<p>"Mother! I love Fanny Dalton&mdash;I love her with all my soul. I think her
+not only the loveliest and most charming of women, but the best and
+truest! I feel that she might make my life not only happier, but better.
+Oh, mother! is not love as real a thing as either wealth or station? Is
+it not as sufficient for all noble works? Is it not in some shape the
+only motive for all real improvement? It seems to me that such is the
+lesson I have been learning from you all my life long."</p>
+
+<p>"And in that you have learned it I am deeply grateful, and far more than
+repaid for all my care and anxiety on your account; and now thank you
+for your confidence, my dear Edmund, though I think you might have
+bestowed it after a calmer fashion. It would have been better, I think,
+to have said all those violent things to Fanny than to me."</p>
+
+<p>"I <i>have</i> said more than all these to Fanny, and&mdash;she has rejected me!"</p>
+
+<p>"Rejected you! my dearest Edmund! I am grieved indeed; but I do not see
+how I can help you."</p>
+
+<p>"And yet I should not be quite hopeless if you would plead my cause.
+Miss Dalton says that you have loaded her with kindness which she can
+never repay; that she values your affection beyond all expression; and
+that she is determined not to prove herself unworthy of it by being the
+means of disappointing the expectations you may have formed for your
+son, for whom, she says, she is no match either in wealth or station.
+She would not listen to me when I attempted to speak to her but this
+instant in the Laurel Walk, but actually <i>ran</i> away, positively
+commanding me not to follow; and yet, I do think, if she had decidedly
+disliked me, she would have given me to understand so at once, without
+mentioning you. Mother! what do <i>you</i>&mdash;what <i>do</i> you think?"</p>
+
+<p>"You shall hear presently, Edmund; but in the first place let us find
+Miss Dalton."</p>
+
+<p>They went out together, and had not sought her long, when they
+discovered her pacing perturbedly up and down a broad walk of
+closely-shaven grass, inclosed on both sides by a tall impenetrable
+fence of evergreens. As soon as she saw them, she advanced quickly to
+meet them, her face covered with blushes, but her bearing open and
+proud. Ere Mrs. Beauchamp had time to speak, she exclaimed, "Mrs.
+Beauchamp, I do not deserve your reproaches. Never till this morning was
+I aware of Mr. Beauchamp's sentiments towards me. Dear, kind friend, I
+would have suffered any tortures rather than that this should have
+happened."</p>
+
+<p>Fanny was violently agitated; while Mrs. Beauchamp, on the contrary,
+preserved a calm exterior. She took one of the young girl's hands
+between both of hers, and answered soothingly, "Compose yourself, my
+dear Fanny, I entreat you. Believe me, I do not blame you for the
+affection my son has conceived for you."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh thank you! Indeed you only do me justice."</p>
+
+<p>"But, Fanny, I blame you very much for another reason."</p>
+
+<p>"For what reason, then, madam?"</p>
+
+<p>"For the same reason which now causes your eye to flash, and makes you
+call your friend by a ceremonious title. I blame you for your <i>pride</i>,
+which has made you think of me harshly and unjustly. Unkind Fanny! What
+reason have I ever given you to think me heartless or worldly? Do you
+not know that those who love are equals? and that if it be a more
+blessed thing to give, yet to a generous heart, for that very reason, it
+ought to be a pleasure to receive? Are you too proud, Fanny, to take any
+thing from us, or is it because my son's affection is displeasing to you
+that you have rejected him?"</p>
+
+<p>Fanny was now in tears, and even sobbing aloud. "Oh, forgive me," she
+cried, "forgive me! I acknowledge my fault. I see that what I believed
+to be a sense of duty was at least partly pride. Oh, Mrs. Beauchamp, you
+would forgive me if you only knew how miserable I was making myself
+too!"</p>
+
+<p>"Were you&mdash;were you indeed making <i>yourself</i> miserable?" cried Edmund.
+"Oh say so again, dearest Fanny; and say you are happy now!"</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Beauchamp smiled fondly as she answered, "I will do more than
+forgive you, my poor Fanny, if you will only love my son. Will you make
+us both so happy?"</p>
+
+<p>Fanny only replied by a rapid glance at Edmund, and by throwing herself
+into the arms of Mrs. Beauchamp, which were extended to receive her. And
+as she was pressed to that fond, maternal heart, she whispered audibly,
+"My mother!&mdash;our mother!"</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Beauchamp then taking her hand, and placing it in that of her son,
+said with evident emotion, "Only make Edmund happy, Fanny, and all the
+gratitude between us will be due on my side; and oh, my children, as you
+value your future peace, believe in each other through light and
+darkness. And may Heaven bless you both!" She had turned towards the
+house, when she looked back to ask, "Shall I countermand the carriage,
+Fanny?" And Edmund added, half-tenderly, half-slyly, "Shall you go
+to-morrow?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_532" id="Page_532">[Pg 532]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Fanny's tears were scarcely dry, and her blushes were deeper than ever,
+but she answered immediately, with her usual lively promptitude, "That
+depends upon the sort of entertainment you may provide as an inducement
+to prolong my visit."</p>
+
+<p>And Edmund, finding that he had no chance with Fanny where repartee or
+badinage was in question, had recourse again to the serious vein, and
+rejoined, "If my power to induce you to prolong your visit were at all
+equal to my will, you would remain for ever, my own dearest Fanny."</p>
+
+<p>We must now pass over a few months. The early freshness and verdure of
+spring had passed away, and the bloom and the glory of summer had
+departed. The apple-trees were now laden with their rosy treasures, the
+peach was ripe on the sunny wall, and the summer darkness of the woods
+had but just begun to be varied by the appearance of a few yellow
+leaves. It was on a September afternoon, when the soft light of the
+autumn sunset was bathing in its pale golden rays the grey turrets of
+Woodthorpe Hall, and resting like a parting smile on the summits of the
+ancestral oaks and elms, while it cast deep shadows, crossed with bright
+gleams, on the spreading lawns, or glanced back from the antlers of the
+deer, as they ever and anon appeared in the hollows of the park or
+between the trees, that a travelling carriage passed under the old
+Gothic archway which formed the entrance to Woodthorpe Park, and drove
+rapidly towards the Hall. It contained Edmund and Fanny, the
+newly-married pair, who had just returned from a wedding trip to Paris.
+They were not, however, the only occupants of the carriage. With them
+was Mr. Dalton, whom we knew in former days as Philip Hayforth, and who
+had been specially invited by Mrs. Beauchamp to accompany the bride and
+bridegroom on their return to Woodthorpe Hall.</p>
+
+<p>And now the carriage stops beneath the porch, and in the arched doorway
+stands a noble and graceful figure&mdash;the lady of the mansion. The
+slanting sunbeams, streaming through the stained windows at the upper
+end of the oak hall, played upon her dress of dark and shining silk,
+which was partly covered by a shawl or mantle of black lace, while her
+sweet pale face was lighted up with affection, and her eyes were full of
+a grave gladness. Her fair hair, just beginning to be streaked with
+silver, was parted over her serene forehead, and above it rested a
+simple matronly cap of finest lace. Emily Beauchamp was still a
+beautiful woman&mdash;beautiful even as when in the early prime of youth and
+love she had stood in the light of the new-born day, clad in her robes
+of vestal whiteness. The change in her was but the change from morning
+to evening&mdash;from spring to autumn; and to some hearts the waning light
+and the fading leaves have a charm which sunshine and spring-time cannot
+boast. Having fondly but hastily embraced her son and daughter, she
+turned to Mr. Dalton, and with cordial warmth bade him welcome to
+Woodthorpe Hall. He started at the sound of the gentle, earnest tones
+which, as if by magic, brought palpably before him scenes and images
+which lay far remote, down the dim vista of years, obscured, almost
+hidden, by later interest and more pressing cares. He looked in Mrs.
+Beauchamp's face, and a new wonder met him in the glance of her large
+brown eyes, so full of seriousness and benignity, while the smooth white
+hand which yet held his in its calm friendly clasp seemed strangely like
+one he had often pressed, but which had always trembled as he held it.
+What could all this mean? Was he dreaming? He was aroused from the
+reverie into which he had fallen by the same voice which had at first
+arrested his attention.</p>
+
+<p>"We must try to become acquainted as quickly as possible, Mr. Dalton,"
+said Mrs. Beauchamp, "and learn to be friends for our children's sake."</p>
+
+<p>Bowing low, he replied, "I have already learned from my daughter to know
+and to esteem Mrs. Beauchamp."</p>
+
+<p>The more Mr. Dalton saw of Mrs. Beauchamp, the more bewildered he
+became. He fancied what appeared to him the strangest impossibilities,
+and yet he found it impossible to believe that there was no ground for
+his vague conjectures. His life had been one of incessant toil, lately
+one of heavy distress and anxious cares, which had frequently sent him
+to a sleepless pillow; but never had he spent a more wakeful night than
+this, his first under the stately roof which his daughter&mdash;his darling
+Fanny&mdash;called that of her home. He felt that he could not endure another
+day of this uncertainty. He must be satisfied at all hazards, and he
+resolved to make an opportunity, should such not spontaneously present
+itself. But he was spared the necessity; for after breakfast the
+following morning his hostess offered to show him the grounds&mdash;an offer
+which, with his desired end in view, he eagerly accepted. They commenced
+their walk in silence, and seemed as if both were suddenly under the
+influence of some secret spell. At last, in a hoarse voice and a
+constrained manner, Mr. Dalton abruptly inquired, "Pray, madam, may I
+ask&mdash;though I fear the question may seem an unceremonious, perhaps a
+strange one&mdash;if you have any relations of the name of Sherwood?"</p>
+
+<p>He saw her start, as she answered with forced composure, "Yes, Mr.
+Dalton, I have. It was indeed my own name before I married."</p>
+
+<p>As she made this avowal, both stood still, it would seem by a sort of
+tacit, mutual consent, and earnestly looked at each other.</p>
+
+<p>Philip Hayforth Dalton was now a man past the meridian of life; his once
+handsome and still striking countenance was deeply marked with lines of
+sorrow and care, and his dark luxuriant locks were thinned and grizzled,
+while his features, which had long been schooled to betray no sign of
+emotion of a transient or superficial nature, were now, as his eyes met<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_533" id="Page_533">[Pg 533]</a></span>
+those of Mrs. Beauchamp's, convulsed as by the working of a strong
+passion. A slight blush tinged Emily's usually pale cheek; she drew a
+rapid breath, and her voice faltered perceptibly as she said at last,
+"Yes, Philip Hayforth, I am Emily Sherwood!"</p>
+
+<p>Not immediately did he reply either by word or look&mdash;not till she had
+asked somewhat eagerly, "We are friends, Mr. Dalton&mdash;are we not?"</p>
+
+<p>Pride wrestled for a minute with the better nature of Philip Hayforth;
+but whether it were that his self-command was now greater than in the
+fiery and impassioned season of youth, or that it was difficult to
+maintain anger and resentment in the gentle, soothing, and dignified
+presence in which he now found himself, I undertake not to tell; but
+certain it is that this time at least he crushed the old demon down, and
+forced himself to answer, though with a formal manner and somewhat harsh
+tone, "Friends, Mrs. Beauchamp! Certainly, we are friends, if <i>you</i> wish
+it. Your goodness to my poor motherless Fanny has completely cancelled
+all wrongs ever done to Fanny's father. Let the past be forgotten!"</p>
+
+<p>"Not so, if you please," she answered gently, "rather let it be
+explained. Mr. Dalton, we are neither of us young now, and have both, I
+trust, outlived the rashness of youth. Never till our mutual truth is
+made mutually clear, can we be the friends we ought to be&mdash;the friends I
+wish we were for Edmund's and Fanny's sake. Let us both speak plainly
+and boldly, and without fear of offence on either side. I promise, on
+mine, to take none at the truth, whatever it may be."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Dalton, as she spoke, regarded her earnestly and wonderingly,
+saying, as she finished, half in reverie, half addressing her, it would
+seem, "The same clear good sense, the same sweet good temper, which I
+had persuaded myself was but the effect of a delusive imagination! But I
+entreat your pardon, madam, and I promise as you have done."</p>
+
+<p>"Tell me then, truly, Mr. Dalton, why you never answered the last letter
+I wrote to you, or acknowledged the receipt of the purse I sent?"</p>
+
+<p>He started, as if he had received a pistol-shot; the formal, distant Mr.
+Dalton had disappeared, and the eager, vehement Philip Hayforth stood
+before her once more. "I did answer it, Emily. Out of the fulness of my
+heart&mdash;and how full it was I cannot tell you now&mdash;I answered your
+letter; but you, Emily, you never answered mine."</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed I never received it."</p>
+
+<p>It was some minutes after this announcement ere either was able to
+speak, but at last Mr. Dalton exclaimed, "Oh how I have wronged you?
+Emily, at this instant I catch, as it were, at the bottom of a dark gulf
+a glimpse of the evil of my nature. I begin to believe that I have
+cherished a devil in my bosom, and called it by the name of a good
+angel. Emily, if I am not too old to improve, you will have been the
+instrument of my improvement. I do not ask you to forgive me, generous
+woman, because I feel that you have already done so."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Beauchamp felt what it must have cost the proud man to make this
+acknowledgment, and she honored him for the effort. "We have both been
+to blame," she said, "and therefore stand in need of mutual forgiveness.
+But it would be idle now to lament the past; rather let us rejoice that
+our friendship, re-established on the firm basis of perfect confidence,
+is cemented by the union of our dear children."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Dalton only answered by offering her his arm, with the kind and
+familiar politeness of an old friend, as she looked a little fatigued,
+and they walked together some distance in silence. At last Mrs.
+Beauchamp inquired, "Was Fanny's mother like herself?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, Emily. My poor dead Fanny," and his voice trembled slightly, "was
+very sweet and amiable, but not at all like my living one."</p>
+
+<p>"Your marriage was happy then? I am glad of that."</p>
+
+<p>"I should have been the most ungrateful of men had it not been so; and
+yours too, Emily I hope"&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>He stopt, he hardly knew why, while, with her eyes fixed on the ground,
+she answered slowly, "I am happy, very happy now!"</p>
+
+<p>A feeling of profound respect and admiration held Mr. Dalton silent for
+a few seconds, and then he said, in the tone of one who expresses an
+earnest conviction, "You are the most noble minded woman I ever knew."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Beauchamp made no answer, and it was not till they stood together
+in the hall, that she said in her natural tone of kind and calm
+cheerfulness, "And now, Mr. Dalton, let us look for Edmund and Fanny;
+and if you please, in order that they may learn of our mistakes that
+trust is the nobler part of love, we shall tell them this story of <span class="smcap">The
+Lost Letter</span>."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h4>From Frazer's Magazine.</h4>
+<h2><a name="LIFE_AT_A_WATERING-PLACE" id="LIFE_AT_A_WATERING-PLACE"></a>LIFE AT A WATERING-PLACE.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE LIONNE.</h3>
+
+<h4>By Charles Astor Bristed.</h4>
+
+<p>One day at Oldport Springs went off pretty much like another. There was
+the same continual whirl, and flurry, and toiling after pleasure&mdash;never
+an hour of repose&mdash;scarcely enough cessation for the two or three
+indispensable meals. When they had walked, and flirted, and played
+ten-pins, and driven, and danced all day, and all night till two in the
+morning, the women retired to their rooms, and the men retired to the
+gambling-house (which being an illegal establishment had, on that
+account, a greater charm in their eyes), and kept it up there till broad
+daylight; notwithstanding which, they always contrived to appear at
+breakfast a few hours after as fresh as ever, and ready to begin the
+same round of dissipation. Indeed it was said that Tom Edwards and his
+most ardent followers among<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_534" id="Page_534">[Pg 534]</a></span> the boys never went to bed at all, but on
+their return from "fighting the tiger," bathed, changed their linen, and
+came down to the breakfast-room, taking the night's sleep for granted.
+It was a perpetual scene of excitement, relieved only by the heavy and
+calm figure of Sumner, who, silent and unimpassioned, largely capacious
+of meat and drink, a recipient of every diversion, without being excited
+by any, went through all the bowling, and riding, and polking, and
+gambling, with the gravity of a <i>commis</i> performing the national French
+dance at the Mabille. There was much rivalry in equipages, especially
+between Ludlow, Benson, and L&ouml;wenberg, who drove the three four-in-hands
+of the place, and emulated one another in horses, harness, and
+vehicles&mdash;even setting up attempts at liveries, in which they found some
+imitators (for you can't do any thing in America, however unpopular,
+without being imitated): and every horse, wagon, man-servant, and
+livery, belonging to every one, was duly chronicled in the Oldport
+correspondence of the <i>Sewer</i> and the <i>Jacobin</i>, which journals were
+wont one day to Billingsgate the "mushroom aristocracy of wealth," and
+the next to play Jenkins for their glorification. Le Roi, who owned no
+horses, and had given up dancing as soon as he found that there were
+many of the natives who could out-dance him, and that the late hours
+were bad for his complexion, attached himself to any or every married
+lady who was at all distinguished for beauty or fortune; and then went
+about asking, with an ostentatious air of mystery,&mdash;<i>"Est-ce qu' on
+parle beaucoup de moi et Madame Chose?"</i> Sometimes he deigned to turn
+aside for an heiress; and as he was a very amusing and rather ornamental
+man, the girls were always glad to have his company; but the good
+speculations took care not to fall in love with him, or to give him
+sufficient encouragement (although a Frenchman does not require a great
+deal) to justify a declaration on his part. Perhaps the legend about the
+mutual-benefit subscription club hurt his prospects, or it may have been
+his limited success in dancing. The same reason&mdash;as much, at least, as
+the assumed one of their vulgarity&mdash;kept Mr. Simpson, and other "birds"
+of his set, out of the exclusive society. For dancing was the one great
+article in the code of the fashionables to which all other amusements or
+occupations were subordinate. There was a grand dress-ball once a week
+at one or other of the hotels, and two undress-balls&mdash;<i>hops</i> they were
+called: but most of the exclusives went to these also in full dress, and
+both balls and hops usually lasted till three or four in the morning.
+Then on the off-nights "our set" got up their own little extempore balls
+in the large public parlor, to the music of some volunteer pianist, and
+when the weather was bad they danced in the same place all day; when it
+was good these informal <i>matin&eacute;es</i> did not generally last more than two
+or three hours. Then there were serenades given about day-break, by
+young men who were tired of "the tiger"&mdash;nominally to some particular
+ladies, but virtually, of course, to the whole hotel, or nearly so&mdash;and
+the only music they could devise for these occasions were waltzes or
+polkas. Ashburner made a calculation that, counting in the serenades,
+the inhabitants of Oldport were edified by waltz, polka, and redowa
+music (in those days the <i>Schottisch</i> was not), eleven hours out of the
+twenty-four, daily. And at last, when Mr. Monson, the Cellarius of
+New-York, came down with various dancing-girls, native and imported, to
+give lessons to such aspiring young men as might desire it, first Mrs.
+Harrison and other women, who, though wealthy and well-known, were not
+exactly "of us," used to drop in to look at the fun; and, finally, all
+the exclusives, irresistibly attracted by the sound of fiddles and
+revolving feet, thronged the little room up-stairs, where the dancing
+class was assembled, and from looking on, proceeded to join in the
+exercises. Ladies, beaux, and dancing-girls, were all mingled together,
+whirling and capering about in an apartment fifteen feet square, which
+hardly gave them room to pass one another. Benson was the only person
+who entered his protest against the proceeding. He declared it was a
+shame that his countrywomen should degrade themselves so before
+foreigners; but his expostulations were only laughed at: nor could he
+even persuade his wife and sister-in-law to quit the place, though he
+stalked off himself in high dudgeon, and wrote a letter to the
+<i>Episcopal Banner</i>, inveighing against the shameless dissipation of the
+watering-places. For Harry was on very good terms with the religious
+people in New-York, and was professedly a religious man, and had some
+sort of idea that he mixed with the fashionables to do them good; which
+was much like what we sometimes hear of a parson who follows the hounds
+to keep the sportsmen from swearing, and about as successful. Trying
+with all his might to serve God, and to live with the exclusives, he was
+in a fair way to get a terrible fall between two stools.</p>
+
+<p>Talking of religion brings us naturally to Sunday, which at Oldport was
+really required as a day of rest. But whether it would have been so or
+not is doubtful, only that the Puritan habits of the country made
+dancing on that day impossible. It was a violation of public opinion,
+and of the actual law of the land, which no one cared to attempt. The
+fashionables were thus left almost without resource. The young men went
+off to dine somewhere in the vicinity, not unfrequently taking with them
+some of Mr. Monson's dancing-girls; the wearied men, and the women
+generally, were in a sad state of listlessness. Some of them literally
+went to bed and slept for the rest of the week; others, in very despair
+of something to do, went to church and fell asleep there. Ashburner took
+advantage of the lull to fill up his journal, and put down his
+observations on the society about him, in which he had remarked<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_535" id="Page_535">[Pg 535]</a></span> some
+striking peculiarities, apart from the dancing mania and other outward
+and open characteristics.</p>
+
+<p>The first thing that surprised him was the great number of
+misunderstandings and quarrels existing among the not very large number
+of people who composed the fashionable set. They seemed to quarrel with
+their relatives in preference, as a matter of course; and to admit
+strangers very readily to the privilege of relatives. The Robinsons were
+at feud with all their cousins: Benson with most of his, except Ludlow.
+Ludlow, White, Sumner, every man he knew, had his set of private
+enemies, with whom he was not on speaking or bowing terms. Mrs.
+Harrison, who was very friendly to most of the men, scarcely spoke to a
+single woman in the place; but this was, perhaps, only carrying the war
+into Africa, as the ladies of "our set" generally had intended not to
+recognize her as one of them. These numberless feuds made it very
+difficult to arrange an excursion, or to get up a dinner at the
+<i>restaurant</i> of a "colored gentleman," whose timely settlement in
+Oldport had enabled Mr. Grabster's guests to escape in some measure the
+pangs of hunger. On studying the cause of these disagreeable
+hostilities, he found that, among relatives, they were often caused by
+disputes upon money matters; that between persons not related they
+frequently sprung from the most trivial sources&mdash;frivolous points of
+etiquette, petty squabbles at cards, imaginary jealousies&mdash;but that in
+both cases the majority of them could be traced to the all-pervading
+spirit of scandal. His purely intellectual education, if it had not made
+him somewhat of a misogynist, had at least prevented him from gaining
+any accurate knowledge or appreciation of women: he set them down <i>en
+masse</i> as addicted to gossip, and was not surprised to find in the
+American ladies what he assumed as a characteristic of the whole sex.
+But he was surprised to find the same quality so prevalent among the
+men. Not that they were in the habit of killing reputations to give
+themselves <i>bonnes fortunes</i>, as Frenchmen might have done under similar
+circumstances; their defamatory gossip was more about men than about
+women, and seemed to arise partly from a general disbelief in virtue,
+and partly from inability to maintain an interesting conversation on
+other than personal topics. And though much of this evil speaking was
+evidently prompted by personal enmities, much also of it seemed to
+originate in no hostile feeling at all; and it was this that
+particularly astonished Ashburner, to find men speaking disparagingly of
+their friends&mdash;those who were so in the real sense of that much-abused
+term. Thus there could be no reasonable doubt that the cousins, Benson
+and Ludlow, were much attached to each other, and fond of each other's
+society; that either would have been ready to take up the other's
+quarrel, or endorse his notes, had circumstances required it. Yet Harry
+could never refrain from laughing before third parties at Gerard's
+ignorance of books, and making him the hero of all the Mrs.
+Malaprop-isms he could pick up or invent; or, as we have seen, speaking
+very disrespectfully of the motives which had led him to commit
+matrimony; and Gerard was not slow to make corresponding comments on
+various foibles of Harry. But the spirit of detraction was most fully
+developed in men who were not professionally idle, but had, or professed
+to have, some little business on hand. Of this class was Arthur Sedley,
+an old acquaintance and groomsman of Benson, and a barrister&mdash;(they are
+beginning to talk about barristers now in New-York, though it is a
+division of labor not generally recognized in the country)&mdash;of some
+small practice. Really well educated, well read, and naturally clever,
+his cleverness and knowledge were vastly more disagreeable than almost
+any amount of ignorance or stupidity could have been. When he cut up
+right and left every man or woman who came on the <i>tapis</i>, his sarcasms
+were so neatly pointed that it was impossible to help laughing with him;
+but it was equally impossible to escape feeling that, as soon as your
+back was turned, he would be laughing at you. Riches and rich people
+were the commonest subject of his sneers, yet he lost no opportunity of
+toadying a profitable connection, and was always supposed to be on the
+look-out for some heiress.</p>
+
+<p>The next thing which made Ashburner marvel was the extreme youth of the
+fashionable set, particularly the male portion of it; or, to speak more
+critically, the way in which the younger members of the set had
+suppressed their elders, and constituted themselves <i>the</i> society. A
+middle-aged man, particularly if, like L&ouml;wenberg, he happened to be
+rich, might be admitted to terms of equality, but the papas and mammas
+were absolutely set aside, and became mere formulas and appendages. The
+old people were nowhere; no one looked after their comfort in a crowd,
+or consulted them about any arrangement till after the arrangement was
+made. They had no influence and no authority. When Miss Friskin rode a
+wild colt bareheaded through the streets of Oldport, or danced the
+Redowa with little Robinson in so very <i>ch&acirc;teau-rouge</i> a style that even
+Mrs. Harrison turned away, poor Mrs. Friskin could interpose no
+impediment to the young lady's amusement; and even her father, the
+respected senior of the wealthy firm, Friskin &amp; Co., who must have heard
+from afar of his daughter's vagaries (for all these things were written
+in the note-book of the <i>Sewer</i>), seemed never to have dreamed of the
+propriety or possibility of coming up to Oldport to put a stop to them.
+When Tom Edwards was squandering his fortune night after night at the
+faro-table, and his health day after day in ceaseless dissipation, there
+was no old friend of his family who dared to give him advice or warning,
+for there was none to whose advice or warning he would have listened.
+Once when Ashburner was conversing with Benson on some subject which
+brought<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_536" id="Page_536">[Pg 536]</a></span> on a reference to this inverse order of things, the latter gave
+his explanation of it, which was to this effect:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The number of foreigners among us, either travelling for pleasure or
+settled for purposes of business, is so great that they become an
+appreciable element in our society. It is, therefore, requisite that a
+fashionable should be able to associate easily with foreigners; and for
+this it is necessary that he or she should have some knowledge of
+foreign customs and languages, and, in the first place, of the French
+language. Now, if we go back a generation, we shall find that the men of
+that day were not educated to speak French. Go into the Senate Chamber
+at Washington, for instance, and you will not meet with many of the
+honorable senators who can converse in the recognized language of
+courts. Many of our most distinguished statesmen and <i>diplomats</i> can
+speak no tongue but their own. And to descend to private life, with
+which we have more particularly to do, when a foreigner presents himself
+with his letters at the dwelling of an old city merchant or professional
+man, it is generally the younger branches of the family who are called
+on to amuse him and play interpreters for the rest. This gives the young
+people a very decided advantage over their elders, and it is not
+surprising that they have become a little vain of it. And similarly with
+regard to foreign dresses, dances, cookery, and habits generally. The
+young men, having been the latest abroad, are the freshest and best
+informed in these things. It does not require any great experience or
+wisdom to master them, only some personal grace and aptitude for
+imitation to start with, and an <i>&agrave; plomb</i> to which ignorance is more
+conducive than knowledge. Hence the standard of excellence has become
+one of superficial accomplishment, and the man of matured mind who
+enters into competition with these handsome, showy, and illiterate boys,
+puts himself at a discount. Look at L&ouml;wenberg. All his literary
+acquirements and artistic tastes (and he really has a great deal of
+both) go for nothing. The little beaux can speak nearly as many
+languages as he can, and dance and dress better. The only thing they can
+appreciate about him is his money, and the horses and dinners consequent
+thereon. If little Robinson, there, with his <i>ne plus ultra</i> tie and
+varnished shoes, were to have the same fortune left him to-morrow, he
+would be the better man of the two, because he can polk better, and
+because, being neither a married man nor the agent of a respectable
+house, he can gamble and do other things which L&ouml;wenberg's position does
+not allow him to do."</p>
+
+<p>This was a great confession for Benson to make against the country;
+nevertheless, it was not perfectly satisfactory to Ashburner, who
+thought that it did not explain all the phenomena of the case. It seemed
+to him that there was at work a radical spirit of insubordination, and a
+principle of overturning the formerly recognized order of domestic rule.
+The little children ate and drank what they liked, went to bed when they
+liked, and altogether were very independent of their natural rulers.
+Benson's boy rode rough-shod over his nurse, bullied his mother, and
+only deigned to mind his father occasionally. The wives ruled their
+husbands despotically, and acted as if they had taken out a patent for
+avenging the inferiority of their sex in other parts of the world.
+Benson did not like dancing: he only danced at all because he thought it
+his business to know a little of every thing, and because society
+thought it the duty of every young man who was not lame to understand
+the polka. But his wife kept him going at every ball for six hours,
+during five of which he was bored to death. Ludlow, whose luxurious
+living made violent exercise necessary for his health, and who,
+therefore, delighted in fencing, boxing, and "constitutionals" that
+would have tired a Cantab, was made to drive about Mrs. Ludlow all day
+till he hated the sight of his own horses. As to Mrs. Harrison, she
+treated her husband, when he made his appearance at Oldport (which was
+not very often) as unceremoniously as one would an old trunk, or any
+other piece of baggage which is never alluded to or taken notice of
+except when wanted for immediate use.</p>
+
+<p>Ashburner first met this lady a very few days after his arrival at
+Oldport; indeed, she was so conspicuous a figure in the place that one
+could not be there long without taking notice of her. About mid-day
+there was usually a brief interval between the ten-pin bowling and the
+informal dance; and during one of these pauses he perceived on the
+smoking-piazza where ladies seldom ventured, a well-dressed and rather
+handsome woman smoking a cigarette, and surrounded by a group of beaux
+of all sizes, from men like White and Sumner to the little huge-cravated
+boys in their teens. She numbered in her train at least half-a-dozen of
+these cavaliers, and was playing them off against one another and
+managing them all at once, as a circus-rider does his four horses, or a
+juggler his four balls. In a country where beauty is the rule rather
+than the exception, she was not a remarkable beauty&mdash;at least, she did
+not appear such to Ashburner, from that distance; nor was her dress,
+though sufficiently elegant and becoming, quite so artistically put on
+as that of Mrs. Benson and the other belles of the set; still there was
+clearly something very attractive and striking about her, and he was
+immediately induced to inquire her name, and, on learning that she was a
+real lady (though not of "our set" of ladies), to request an
+introduction to her. But Benson, to whom he first applied, instead of
+jumping at the opportunity with his usual readiness to execute or
+anticipate his friend's wishes, boggled exceedingly, and put off the
+introduction under frivolous and evidently feigned pretences. It was so
+uncommon for Benson to show any diffidence in such matters, and his
+whole air said so plainly, "I will do this out of friendship for you if
+you wish it, but for my own part I would rather not," that Ashburner
+saw<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_537" id="Page_537">[Pg 537]</a></span> there was something in the wind, and let the subject drop. Ludlow,
+to whom he next had recourse, told him, with the utmost politeness but
+in very decided terms, that "his family" (he was careful not to insist
+on his own personality in the affair) "had not the honor of Mrs.
+Harrison's acquaintance." The next man who happened to come along was
+Mr. Simpson, and to him Ashburner made application, thinking that,
+perhaps, the fair smoker might more properly belong to the "second set,"
+though so surrounded by the beaux of the first. But even Simpson, though
+the last man in the world to be guilty of any superfluous delicacy,
+hesitated very much, and made some allusion to Mrs. Simpson; and then
+Ashburner began to comprehend the real state of the case,&mdash;that most of
+the married women had declared war against Mrs. Harrison, that she had
+retaliated upon them all, and that the husbands were drawn into their
+wives' quarrels, and obliged to fight shy of her before strangers. It
+was clear, then, that he must apply to a bachelor; and accordingly he
+waylaid Sumner, who "was too happy" to introduce him at once in due
+form.</p>
+
+<p>As Ashburner came up to Mrs. Harrison she began to play off her eyes at
+him, and he then perceived that they constituted her chief beauty. They
+were of that deep blue which, in certain lights, passes for
+black,&mdash;large, expressive, and pleasing; the sort of eyes that go right
+through a man and look him down to nothing. Indeed, they had such effect
+on him that he lost all distinctive idea of her other features. Her
+manner, too, had something very attractive, though he could not have
+defined wherein it consisted. She did not exhibit the <i>empressement</i>
+with which most of her countrywomen seek to put a stranger at his ease
+at once; or the <i>exigence</i> of a spoiled lady waiting to be amused; or
+the haughtiness of a great lady, who does not care if she is amused
+herself and deigns no effort to amuse others. Neither did she attack him
+with raillery and irony, as Mrs. Benson had done on their first meeting.
+But she behaved as if she were used to seeing men like Ashburner every
+day of her life, and was willing to meet them half-way and be agreeable
+to them, if they were so to her, without taking any particular trouble,
+for there was no appearance of effort to please, or even of any strong
+desire to please, in her words and gestures; yet she <i>did</i> please and
+attract very decidedly.</p>
+
+<p>"So I saw you in Mrs. Harrison's train!" said Benson, when they next
+met.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and I fancy I know why you hesitated to introduce me."</p>
+
+<p>As Ashburner spoke he glanced towards the parlor, where "our set"&mdash;Mrs.
+Benson, of course, conspicuous among them&mdash;were engaged in their
+ordinary occupation of dancing.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I assure you, <i>madame</i> is not disposed to be jealous, nor am I a
+man to take part in women's quarrels. I don't like the lady myself, to
+begin with; and were I a bachelor, should have as little to say to her
+as I have now. In the first place she is too old&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Too old! she cannot be thirty."</p>
+
+<p>"Of course a lady never <i>is</i> thirty, until she is fifty, at least; but
+at any rate I may say, without sacrilege, that Mrs. H. is pretty high up
+in the twenties. Now, at that age a woman ought&mdash;not to give up society,
+that would be an absurdity in the other extreme, but&mdash;to leave the
+romping dances and the young men to the girls, who want them more and
+whom they become better. Then I don't like her face. You must have taken
+notice that all the upper part of it is fine and intellectual, and she
+has glorious eyes&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Ashburner.</p>
+
+<p>"But all the lower part is heavy and over-sensuous. Now, not only does
+this, in my opinion, entirely disfigure a woman's looks, but it suggests
+unpleasant ideas of her character. A man may have that ponderous chin
+and voluptuous mouth, without their disturbing the harmony of an
+otherwise handsome face. I do not think a woman can; and as in the
+physical so in the moral. A man can stand a much greater amount of
+sensuousness in his composition than a woman. I do not mean to allude to
+the different standards of morality for the two sexes admitted by
+society; for I don't admit it, and think it very unjust; and I am proud
+to say that our people generally entertain more virtuous as well as more
+equitable views on this point than the Europeans. I mean literally that
+a man having so many opportunities for leading an active life, and being
+able to reason himself into or out of a great many things to or from
+which a woman's only guide is her feelings, may be very sensuous without
+its doing any positive harm to himself or others; but with a woman, who
+is compelled to lead a comparatively idle life, such an element
+predominating in her character is sure to bring her into mischief."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you mean to say, then, that&mdash;&mdash;" and Ashburner stopped short, but
+his look implied the remainder of his interrupted question.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you ask me from a personal motive?"</p>
+
+<p>Ashburner colored, and was proceeding to disclaim any such motive with
+an air of injured innocence.</p>
+
+<p>"No, I don't mean any thing of the sort," said Benson, who felt that he
+had gone rather too far, and might unintentionally have slandered his
+countrywoman. "I believe the lady is as pure as&mdash;as my wife, or any one
+else. The number of her beaux, and the equality with which she treats
+them, prove conclusively to my mind that her flirting never runs into
+any thing worse. I don't think a woman runs any danger of that kind when
+she has such a lot of cavaliers; they keep watch on her and on one
+another. I remember when my brother lived in town, he once was away from
+home for two or three weeks, and when he came back an old maid who lived
+in his street, and used to keep religious watch over the goings-out and
+comings-in of every one in the vicinity, said to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_538" id="Page_538">[Pg 538]</a></span> him, "How very gay
+your wife is, Mr. Benson! she has been walking with a different
+gentleman every day since you were gone.' 'Dear me!' says Carl; 'a
+different man every day! How glad I am! If you had told me she was
+walking with the <i>same</i> man every day I might have been a little
+scared.' But a woman may be perfectly chaste herself, and yet cause a
+great deal of unchasteness in other people. Here is this Mrs. Harrison,
+smoking cigarettes&mdash;and cigars, too, sometimes, in the open air;
+drinking grog at night, and sometimes in the morning; letting Tom
+Edwards and the foolish boys who imitate him talk slang to her without
+putting them down; always ready for a walk or drive with the last
+handsome young man who has arrived; and utterly ignoring her husband,
+except when she makes some slighting mention of him for not sending her
+money enough: what is the effect of all this upon the men? The
+foreigners; there are plenty of them here every season; I wonder there
+are so few this time: instead of one decent Frenchman like Le Roi, you
+usually find half-a-dozen disreputable ones; Englishmen many, not always
+of the best sort; Germans, Russians, and Spaniards, occasionally: they
+all are inclined to look upon her&mdash;especially considering her
+belligerent attitude towards the rest of the female population&mdash;as
+something <i>tr&egrave;s l&eacute;g&egrave;re</i>, and to attempt to go a little too far with her.
+Then she puts them down fast enough, and they in spite say things about
+her, the discredit of which extends to our ladies generally&mdash;in short,
+she exposes the country before foreigners. Then for the natives, she
+catches some poor boy just loose upon the world, dances with, flatters
+him&mdash;for she has a knack of flattering people without seeming to do so,
+especially by always appearing to take an interest in what is said to
+her,&mdash;keeps him dangling about her for a while; then some day he says or
+does something to make a fool of himself, and she extinguishes him. The
+man gets a check of this sort at his entry into society that is enough
+to make him a misogynist for life. And the little scenes that she used
+to get up last summer with married men, just to make their wives
+jealous!"</p>
+
+<p>"Which, I suppose, is the reason none of your wives will let you speak
+to her?" said Ashburner, who began to feel, he hardly knew why, a
+sentiment of partisanship for Mrs. Harrison. "But granting that her
+face, as you describe it, is an index of her character, I should draw
+from that exactly the opposite inference. I believe that the women who
+make mischief in the way you mention are your unsensuous and passionless
+ones&mdash;that the perfect flirt, single or married, must be a perfectly
+cold woman, because it is only one of such a temperament who can thus
+trifle with others without danger to herself. I speak hesitatingly, for
+all women are a mystery, and my experience is as yet very limited; but
+such opportunities of observation as have fallen to my lot confirm me in
+the theory."</p>
+
+<p>Somewhat to Ashburner's surprise his friend made no attempt to
+controvert his argument. He only turned it aside, saying,&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I don't like her, at any rate. If I had no other reason, the way
+she talks of her husband would be enough to make me."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, there <i>is</i> a Mr. Harrison, then? One hears so little of him&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"And sees so nothing of him, you may say."</p>
+
+<p>"Exactly&mdash;that I took him for a mythological personage&mdash;a cousin of our
+Mrs. Harris."</p>
+
+<p>"Nevertheless I assure you Mr. Harrison exists very decidedly&mdash;a
+Wall-street speculator, and well known as such by business people, a
+capital man behind a trotter, an excellent judge of wine. Probably he
+will come here from the city once or twice before we leave, and I shall
+find an opportunity to introduce you to him, for he is really worth
+knowing and considerable of a man, as we say&mdash;no fool at all, except in
+the way he lets his wife bully him."</p>
+
+<p>"If he made an unsuitable match that does not show his wisdom
+conspicuously."</p>
+
+<p>"It was an unsuitable match enough, Heaven knows! But when he proposed
+he was in the state of mind in which sensible people do the most foolish
+things. He was a great man in stocks&mdash;controlled the market at one
+time&mdash;had been buying largely just before the election of '44, when we
+all expected Henry Clay would get in with plenty to spare. When Polk was
+elected, great was the terror of all respectable citizens. My brother
+caught such a fright then that I don't think he has fairly recovered
+from it to this day. How the stocks did tumble down! Harrison had about
+nine millions on his hands; he couldn't keep such a fund, and was forced
+to sell at any price, and lost just one third. Just as he was beginning
+to pick himself up after the shock and wonder, like the sailor whom the
+conjurer blew up, what was to come next? Mr. Whitey of the <i>Jacobin</i>,
+now the honorable Pompey Whitey&mdash;and one doesn't see why he shouldn't
+be, for after all an editor is not, generally speaking, a greater
+blackguard than most of our Congressmen&mdash;Whitey, I say, who for our sins
+is nominally attached to the Conservative party, conceived the bright
+idea of overbidding the enemy for popular favor, and proposed&mdash;no, he
+didn't actually propose in so many words, but only strongly hinted at
+the desirableness of the measure&mdash;that there should be no more paying
+rent, and a general division of property. I am not sure but there were
+some additional suggestions on the expediency of abolishing the
+Christian religion and the institution of matrimony, but that has
+nothing to do with politics. This last drop in the bucket quite
+overflowed poor Harrison; so, as if he had said to himself, "Let us eat
+and drink and get married, for to-morrow we shall have a proscription
+and <i>nov&aelig; tabul&aelig;</i>," he rushed off and proposed to Miss Macintyre."</p>
+
+<p>"Then, if she accepted him after he lost his fortune, it shows she did
+not marry for money, at any rate."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_539" id="Page_539">[Pg 539]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"There you have missed it. He lost the whole of <i>a</i> fortune, but not the
+whole of <i>his</i>. He must have a million of dollars left, and a man with
+that is not poor in any country&mdash;certainly it was a great catch for Miss
+Macintyre, without a red cent of her own. She jilted a Frenchman for
+him: the unfortunate, or fortunate cast-off had ordered much jewelry and
+other wedding presents, and when left in the lurch he quietly proposed
+that, as he had no longer any use for the articles, Harrison, who had,
+should take them off his hands; and this offer was accepted. Very French
+in him to make it&mdash;don't you think so?&mdash;and rather American in the other
+to take it. Well, I hope Harrison will come this way soon; I should
+really like you to know him."</p>
+
+<p>One or two days after this conversation Ashburner met his friend walking
+up and down the interminable piazza of the Bath Hotel, arm-in-arm with a
+middle-aged man, who presented as great a contrast to Benson's usual
+associates, and to Benson himself, as could well be imagined. The
+new-comer was short of stature and square-built, rather ugly, and any
+thing but graceful; he wore very good clothes, but they were badly put
+on, and looked as if they had never undergone the brush since leaving
+the tailor's hands; he wore no gloves, and in short had altogether an
+unfashionable appearance. But though indubitably an unfashionable man,
+he did not give you the impression of a vulgar one; there was nothing
+snobbish or pretentious in his ugliness, and his cavernous black eye
+could have belonged only to an intelligent and able man. Benson was
+joking or pressing upon him some matter which he seemed unwilling to
+explain.</p>
+
+<p>"But do tell me," said Harry, as they passed Ashburner, "what <i>have</i> you
+been doing to yourself? Sprained your finger by working too hard the
+night before last packet day? or tumbled down from running too fast in
+Wall-street, and not thinking which way you were going?" And he took in
+his own delicate white hand the rough paw of the stranger, which was
+partly bound up as if suffering from some recent injury.</p>
+
+<p>"If you must know," said the other, stopping short his walk, "I broke my
+knuckles on an Irish hackman's teeth. Last week the fellow drove me from
+the North River boat to my house in Union Square, and I offered him
+seventy-five cents. He was very insolent and demanded a dollar. If I had
+had a dollar-note about me I might have given it to him, but it happened
+that I had only the six shillings in change; and so, knowing that was
+two shillings more than his legal fare, I became as positive as he. At
+last he seized my trunk, and then I could not resist the temptation of
+giving him a left-hander that sent him clean down the steps into the
+gutter."</p>
+
+<p>"And then?</p>
+
+<p>"He made a great bawling, and was beginning to draw a crowd about the
+house, when I walked off to the nearest police-station; and as it turned
+out that my gentleman was known as a troublesome character, they
+threatened to take away his license and have him sent to Blackwell's
+Island if he didn't keep quiet; so he was too glad to make himself
+scarce."</p>
+
+<p>"By Jove, you deserve a testimonial from the city! I once got twenty
+dollars damages from an omnibus-driver for running into my brougham,
+knocking off a wheel, and dumping my wife and child into the street; and
+I thought it was a great exploit, but this performance of yours throws
+me into the shade."</p>
+
+<p>Just then Benson caught sight of Ashburner, and excusing himself to the
+other, rushed up to him.</p>
+
+<p>"Let me tell you now, before I forget it. We are going over to the glen
+to-morrow to dine, and in fact spend the day there. You'll come, of
+course?"</p>
+
+<p>"With great pleasure," said Ashburner; "but pray don't let me take you
+away from your friend."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, that's only Harrison."</p>
+
+<p>We meant, of course, our set, with such foreign lions as the place
+afforded, foremost among whom stood Ashburner and Le Roi. Benson,
+Ludlow, and some of the other married men undertook to arrange it,
+always under the auspices of the Robinsons.</p>
+
+<p>These Robinsons were evidently the leaders in every movement of the
+fashionables, but why they were so was not so clear&mdash;at least, to
+Ashburner, though he had abundant opportunities of studying the whole
+family. There was a father in some kind of business, who occupied the
+usual position of New-York fathers; that is to say, he made the money
+for the rest of the family to spend, and showed himself at Oldport once
+a fortnight or so&mdash;possibly to pay the bills. There was a mother, stout
+and good-humored, rather vulgar, very fussy, and no end of a talker: she
+always reminded Ashburner of an ex-lady-mayoress. There were three or
+four young men, sons and cousins, with the usual amount of white tie and
+the ordinary dexterity in the polka; and two daughters, both well out of
+their teens. The knowing ones said that one of these young ladies was to
+have six thousand a year by her grandfather's will, and the other little
+or nothing; but it was not generally understood which was the heiress,
+and the old lady man&oelig;uvred with them as if <i>both</i> were. This fact,
+however, was not sufficient to account for their rank as <i>belles</i>, since
+there were several other girls in their circle quite as well, or better
+off. Nor had their wit or talent any share in giving them their
+position; on the contrary, people used to laugh at the <i>b&ecirc;tises</i> of the
+Robinsons, and make them the butt of real or imaginary good stories.
+And, in point of birth, they were not related to the Van Hornes, the
+Bensons, the Vanderlyns, or any of the old Dutch settlers; nor like
+White Ludlow, and others of their set, sprung from the British families
+of long standing in the city. On the very morning of the proposed
+excursion Sedley was sneering at them for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_540" id="Page_540">[Pg 540]</a></span> <i>parvenus</i>, and trying to
+amuse Ashburner at their expense with some ridiculous stories about
+them.</p>
+
+<p>"And yet," said the Englishman, "these people are your leaders of
+fashion. You can't do any thing without them. They are the head of this
+excursion that we are just going upon." Benson tells me "the Robinsons
+are to be there," as if that settled the propriety and desirability of
+my being there also."</p>
+
+<p>"As to that," replied Sedley, "fashionable society is a vast absurdity
+anywhere, and it is only natural that absurd people should be at the
+head of it. The Robinsons want to be fashionable&mdash;it is their only
+ambition&mdash;they try hard for it; and it is generally the case that those
+who devote themselves to any pursuit have some success in it, and only
+right that it should be so. Then they are hopelessly good-natured folks,
+that you can't insult or quarrel with." Sedley had so little of this
+quality himself that he looked on the possession of it as a weakness
+rather than a virtue. "Then they are very fond of good living."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I remember hearing Benson say that he always liked to feed Mrs.
+Robinson at a ball,&mdash;it was a perfect pleasure to see her eat; and that
+when L&ouml;wenberg, in the pride of his heart, gave a three-days'
+<i>d&eacute;je&ucirc;ner</i>, or lunch, or whatever it was, after his marriage, she was
+seen there three times each day."</p>
+
+<p>"And he might have told you that they are as liberal of their own good
+things as fond of those of others. Old Robinson has some first-rate
+Madeira, better by a long chalk than that Vanderlyn Sercial that Harry
+Benson is always cramming down your throat&mdash;metaphorically, I mean, not
+literally. The young men like to drop in there of an evening, for they
+are sure to find a good supper and plenty of materials ready for punch
+and polka. Then they always manage to catch the newest lions. When I
+first saw you in their carriage along-side of Miss Julia, I said to
+myself, "That Englishman must be somebody, or the Robinsons would not
+have laid hold of him so soon." But their two seasons in Paris were the
+making of them,&mdash;and the unmaking, too, in another sense; for they ate
+such a hole in their fortune&mdash;or, rather, their French guests did for
+them&mdash;that it has never recovered its original dimensions to this day.
+They took a grand hotel, and gave magnificent balls, and filled their
+rooms with the Parisian aristocracy. My uncle, who is an <i>habitu&eacute;</i> of
+Paris, was at the Jockey Club one day, and heard two exquisites talking
+about them. "<i>Connaissez-vous ce Monsieur Robinson?</i>" asked one.
+"<i>Est-ce que je le connais!</i>" replied the other, shrugging his
+shoulders. "<i>Je mange ses d&icirc;ners, je danse &agrave; ses bals; v'la tout." Voil&agrave;
+tout</i>, indeed! That is just all our people get by keeping open house for
+foreigners."</p>
+
+<p>Just then Benson and Ludlow came up, the former under much excitement,
+and the latter in a sad state of profanity. As they both insisted on
+talking at once, it was some time before either was intelligible; at
+length Ashburner made out that the excursion had met with a double
+check. In the first place, all the bachelors had demanded that Mrs.
+Harrison should be of the party, in which they were sustained by
+L&ouml;wenberg, who, though partly naturalized by his marriage, still
+considered himself sufficiently a stranger to be above all spirit of
+clique. All the other married men had objected, but the Harrisonites
+ultimately carried their point. Of the two principal opponents, Ludlow
+was fairly talked off his feet by the voluble <i>patois</i> of L&ouml;wenberg, and
+Benson completely put down by the laconic and inflexible Sumner. So far
+so bad, but worse was to follow; for after the horses had been ordered,
+and most of the ladies, including the Robinsons, bonneted and shawled
+for the start, the <i>lionne</i>, who had, doubtless, heard of the
+unsuccessful attempt to blackball her, and wished to make a further
+trial of her power, suddenly professed a headache, whereupon her
+partisans almost unanimously declared that, as she couldn't go, they
+didn't want to go; and thus the whole affair had fallen through. Such
+was the substance of their melancholy intelligence, which they had
+hardly finished communicating when a <i>dea ex machina</i> appeared in the
+person of Mrs. Benson. She declared that it was "a shame," and "too
+bad," and she "had never," &amp;c.; and brought her remarks to a practical
+conclusion by vowing that <i>she</i> would go, at any rate, whoever chose to
+stay with that woman; "and if no one else goes with us I'm sure Mr.
+Ashburner will:" at which Ashburner was fain to express his readiness to
+follow her to the end of the world, if necessary. Then she followed up
+her advantage by sending a message to Sumner, which took him captive
+immediately; and as she was well seconded by the Robinsons, who on their
+part had brought over Le Roi, the party was soon reorganized pretty much
+on its original footing. When the cause of all the trouble found herself
+likely to be left in a minority her headache vanished immediately, in
+time for her to secure beaux enough to fill her barouche, and Mr.
+Harrison was put into a carriage with the musicians. Mrs. Benson's
+vehicle was equally well filled; and Harry, who, by his wife's orders,
+and much against his own will, had lent his wagon and ponies to a young
+Southerner that was doing the amiable to Miss Vanderlyn, had nothing
+left for it but to go on horseback; in which Ashburner undertook to join
+him, having heard that there was a good bit of turf on the road to the
+glen.</p>
+
+<p>"If you go that way," said Mrs. Robinson, when he announced his
+intention, "you will have another companion. Mr. Edwards means to ride."</p>
+
+<p>Ashburner had seen Edwards driving a magnificent trotter about Oldport,
+but could not exactly fancy him outside of a horse, and conjectured that
+he would not make quite so good a figure as when leading the redowa down
+a long ball-room. But the hero of the dance<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_541" id="Page_541">[Pg 541]</a></span> was not forthcoming for
+some time, so they mounted, Benson his pet Charlie, and the Englishman
+the best horse the stables of Oldport could furnish, which it is hardly
+necessary to say was not too good a one, and were leaving the village
+leisurely to give the carriages a good start of them, when they heard
+close behind the patter of a light-stepping horse, and the next moment
+Tom Edwards ranged up along side. The little man rode a bright bay mare,
+rising above fifteen hands, nearly full-blooded, but stepping steadily
+and evenly, without any of that fidget and constant change of gait which
+renders so many blood-horses any thing but agreeable to ride, and
+carrying her head and tail to perfection. He wore white cord trousers, a
+buff waistcoat, and a very natty white hair-cloth cap. His coat was
+something between a summer sack and a cutaway,&mdash;the color, a rich green
+of some peculiar and indescribable shade. His spurs were very small, but
+highly polished; and, instead of a whip, he carried a little red cane
+with a carved ivory head. In his marvellously fitting white buckskin
+glove he managed a rein of some mysterious substance that looked like a
+compound of india-rubber and sea-weed. He sat his mare beautifully&mdash;with
+a little too much aim at effect, perhaps; but gracefully and firmly at
+the same time. Ashburner glanced at his own poor beast and wished for
+Daredevil, whose antics he had frequently controlled with great success
+at Devilshoof; and Benson could not help looking a little mortified, for
+Charlie was not very well off for tail, and had recollections of his
+harness days, which made him drop his head at times and pull like a
+steam engine; besides which, Harry&mdash;partly, perhaps, from motives of
+economy, partly, as he said, because he thought it snobbish to ride in
+handsome toggery&mdash;always mounted in the oldest clothes he had, and with
+a well-used bridle and saddle. But there was no help for it now, so off
+the three went together at a fair trot, and soon overtook most of the
+party, Edwards putting his spurs into the bay mare and showing off her
+points and his horsemanship at every successive vehicle they passed.</p>
+
+<p>The piece of turf which Benson had promised his friend was not quite so
+smooth as Newmarket heath, but it was more than three-quarters of a mile
+long, and sufficiently level to be a great improvement on the heavy and
+sandy road. So unaccustomed, however, are Americans to "riding on
+grass," that Edwards could not be persuaded to quit the main path until
+Benson had repeatedly challenged him to a trot on the green. As soon as
+the two horses were fairly along-side they went off, without waiting the
+signal from their riders, at a pace which kept Ashburner at a
+hand-gallop. For awhile they were neck-and-neck, Benson and Charlie
+hauling against each other, the rider with his weight thrown back in the
+stirrups and laboring to keep his "fast crab" from breaking, while the
+mare struck out beautifully with a moderate pull of the rein. Then as
+Benson, who carried no whip, began to get his horse more in hand, he
+raised a series of yells in true jockey fashion, to encourage his own
+animal and to break up Edwards's. The mare skipped&mdash;Tom caught her in an
+instant, but she fell off in her stroke from being held up, and Charlie
+headed her a length; then he gave her her head, and she broke&mdash;once,
+twice, three times; and every time Benson drew in his horse, who was now
+well settled down to his work, and waited for Edwards to come on. At
+last, his mare and he both lost their tempers at once. She started for a
+run, and he dropped the reins on her back and let her go. At the same
+instant Benson stuck both spurs into Charlie, who was a rare combination
+of trotter and runner, and away went the two at full gallop. Ashburner's
+hack was left behind at once, but he could see them going on close
+together, tooling their horses capitally; Edwards's riding, being the
+more graceful, and Benson's the more workmanlike; the mare leading a
+trifle, as he thought, and Charlie pressing her close. Suddenly Edwards
+waved his cane as in triumph, but the next moment he and his mare
+disappeared, as if the earth had swallowed them up, while Benson's horse
+sheered off ten feet to the left.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h4>From the Southern Literary Messenger.</h4>
+<h2><a name="TO_ONE_IN_AFFLICTION" id="TO_ONE_IN_AFFLICTION"></a>TO ONE IN AFFLICTION.</h2>
+
+<h3>By John R. Thompson.</h3>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Dear friend! if word of mine could seal<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The bitter fount of all thy tears,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And, through the future's cloudy years,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Some glimpse of sunshine yet reveal&mdash;<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">That word I might not dare to speak:<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">A father's sorrow o'er his child<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">So sacred seems and undefiled,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To bid it cease we may not seek.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Thy little boy has passed away<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">From mortal sight and mortal love,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">To join the shining choir above<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And dwell amid the perfect day;<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">All robed in spotless innocence,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And fittest for celestial things,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">O'ershadowed by her rustling wings<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The angel softly led him hence:<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">As pure as if the gentle rain<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Of his baptismal morn had sought<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">His bosom's depths, and e'ery thought<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Had sweetly cleansed from earthly stain:<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Such blest assurance brings, I know,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">To bleeding hearts but sad relief&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The dark and troubled tide of grief<br /></span>
+<span class="i0"><i>Must</i> have its ebb and flow&mdash;<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">And most of all when thou dost plod,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2"><i>Alone</i>, upon these wintry days,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Along the old familiar ways<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Wherein <i>his</i> little feet have trod.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">And thou dost treasure up his words,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The fragments of his earnest talk,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">On some remembered morning walk,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When, at the song of earliest birds,<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">He'd ask of thee, with charm&eacute;d look,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And smile upon his features spread,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Whose careful hand the birds had fed,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And filled the ever-running brook?<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Or viewing, from the distant glade,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The dim horizon round his home,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">With simplest speech and air would come<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And ask why were the mountains made?<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Be strong, my friend, these days of doom<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Are but the threads of darkest hue,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">That daily enter to renew<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The warp of the Eternal Loom.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">And when to us it shall be given<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">In joy <i>to see the other side</i><br /></span>
+<span class="i2">These threads the brightest shall abide<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In the fair tapestries of Heaven!<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_542" id="Page_542">[Pg 542]</a></span></p>
+<h4>From Blackwood's Magazine</h4>
+<h2><a name="MY_NOVEL" id="MY_NOVEL"></a>MY NOVEL:</h2>
+
+<h3>OR, VARIETIES IN ENGLISH LIFE.</h3>
+
+<h3>By Pisistratus Caxton.</h3>
+
+<h4><i>Continued from page 421.</i></h4>
+
+<h3>PART VI.&mdash;CHAPTER XIII.</h3>
+
+<p>Whatever may be the ultimate success of Miss Jemima Hazeldean's designs
+upon Dr. Riccabocca, the Machiavellian sagacity with which the Italian
+had counted upon securing the services of Lenny Fairfield was speedily
+and triumphantly established by the result. No voice of the Parson's,
+charmed he ever so wisely, could persuade the peasant boy to go and ask
+pardon of the young gentleman, to whom, because he had done as he was
+bid, he owed an agonizing defeat and a shameful incarceration. And, to
+Mrs. Dale's vexation, the widow took the boy's part. She was deeply
+offended at the unjust disgrace Lenny had undergone in being put in the
+stocks; she shared his pride, and openly approved his spirit. Nor was it
+without great difficulty that Lenny could be induced to resume his
+lessons at school; nay, even to set foot beyond the precincts of his
+mother's holding. The point of the school at last he yielded, though
+sullenly; and the Parson thought it better to temporize as to the more
+unpalatable demand. Unluckily Lenny's apprehensions of the mockery that
+awaited him in the merciless world of his village were realized. Though
+Stirn at first kept his own counsel, the Tinker blabbed the whole
+affair. And after the search instituted for Lenny on the fatal night,
+all attempt to hush up what had passed would have been impossible. So
+then Stirn told his story, as the Tinker had told his own; both tales
+were very unfavorable to Leonard Fairfield. The pattern boy had broken
+the Sabbath, fought with his betters, and been well mauled into the
+bargain; the village lad had sided with Stirn and the authorities in
+spying out the misdemeanors of his equals; therefore Leonard Fairfield,
+in both capacities of degraded pattern boy and baffled spy, could expect
+no mercy;&mdash;he was ridiculed in the one, and hated in the other.</p>
+
+<p>It is true that, in the presence of the schoolmaster, and under the eye
+of Mr. Dale, no one openly gave vent to malignant feelings; but the
+moment those checks were removed, popular persecution began.</p>
+
+<p>Some pointed and mowed at him; some cursed him for a sneak, and all
+shunned his society; voices were heard in the hedgerows, as he passed
+through the village at dusk, "Who was put in the stocks?&mdash;baa!" "Who got
+a bloody nob for playing spy to Nick Stirn?&mdash;baa!" To resist this
+species of aggression would have been a vain attempt for a wiser head
+and a colder temper than our poor pattern boy's. He took his resolution
+at once, and his mother approved it; and the second or third day after
+Dr. Riccabocca's return to the Casino, Lenny Fairfield presented himself
+on the terrace with a little bundle in his hand. "Please, sir," said he
+to the Doctor, who was sitting cross-legged on the balustrade, with his
+red silk umbrella over his head.</p>
+
+<p>"Please, sir, if you'll be good enough to take me now, and give me any
+hole to sleep in, I'll work for your honor night and day; and as for the
+wages, mother says 'just suit yourself, sir.'"</p>
+
+<p>"My child," said the Doctor, taking Lenny by the hand, and looking at
+him with the sagacious eye of a wizard, "I knew you would come! and
+Giacomo is already prepared for you! As to wages, we'll talk of them
+by-and-by."</p>
+
+<p>Lenny being thus settled, his mother looked for some evenings on the
+vacant chair, where he had so long sate in the place of her beloved
+Mark; and the chair seemed so comfortless and desolate, thus left all to
+itself, that she could bear it no longer.</p>
+
+<p>Indeed the village had grown as distasteful to her as to Lenny&mdash;perhaps
+more so; and one morning she hailed the Steward as he was trotting his
+hog-maned cob beside the door, and bade him tell the Squire that "she
+would take it very kind if he would let her off the six months' notice
+for the land and premises she held&mdash;there were plenty to step into the
+place at a much better rent."</p>
+
+<p>"You're a fool," said the good-natured Steward; "and I'm very glad you
+did not speak to that fellow Stirn instead of to me. You've been doing
+extremely well here, and have the place, I may say, for nothing."</p>
+
+<p>"Nothin' as to rent, sir, but a great deal as to feeling," said the
+widow. "And now Lenny has gone to work with the foreign gentleman, I
+should like to go and live near him."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, yes&mdash;I heard Lenny had taken himself off to the Casino&mdash;more fool
+he; but, bless your heart, 'tis no distance&mdash;two miles or so. Can't he
+come home every night after work?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir," exclaimed the widow almost fiercely; "he shan't come home
+here, to be called bad names and jeered at!&mdash;he whom my dead good man
+was so fond and proud of. No, sir; we poor folks have our feelings, as I
+said to Mrs. Dale, and as I will say to the Squire hisself. Not that I
+don't thank him for all favors&mdash;he be a good gentleman if let alone; but
+he says he won't come near us till Lenny goes and axes pardin. Pardin
+for what, I should like to know? Poor lamb! I wish you could ha' seen
+his nose, sir&mdash;as big as your two fists. Ax pardin! If the Squire had
+had such a nose as that, I don't think it's pardin he'd been ha' axing.
+But I let's the passion get the better of me&mdash;I humbly beg you'll excuse
+it, sir. I'm no scollard, as poor Mark was, and Lenny would have been,
+if the Lord had not visited us otherways. Therefore just get the Squire
+to let me go as soon as may be; and as for the bit o' hay and what's on
+the grounds and orchard, the new-comer will no doubt settle that."</p>
+
+<p>The Steward, finding no eloquence of his could induce the widow to
+relinquish her resolution, took her message to the Squire. Mr.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_543" id="Page_543">[Pg 543]</a></span>
+Hazeldean, who was indeed really offended at the boy's obstinate refusal
+to make the <i>amende honorable</i> to Randal Leslie, at first only bestowed
+a hearty curse or two on the pride and ingratitude both of mother and
+son. It may be supposed, however, that his second thoughts were more
+gentle, since that evening, though he did not go himself to the widow,
+he sent his "Harry." Now, though Harry was sometimes austere and
+<i>brusque</i> enough on her own account, and in such business as might
+especially be transacted between herself and the cottagers, yet she
+never appeared as the delegate of her lord except in the capacity of a
+herald-of-peace and mediating angel. It was with good heart, too, that
+she undertook this mission, since, as we have seen, both mother and son
+were great favorites of hers. She entered the cottage with the
+friendliest beam in her bright blue eye, and it was with the softest
+tone of her frank cordial voice that she accosted the widow. But she was
+no more successful than the Steward had been. The truth is, that I don't
+believe the haughtiest duke in the three kingdoms is really so proud as
+your plain English rural peasant, nor half so hard to propitiate and
+deal with when his sense of dignity is ruffled. Nor are there many of my
+own literary brethren (thin-skinned creatures though we are) so
+sensitively alive to the Public Opinion, wisely despised by Dr.
+Riccabocca, as the same peasant. He can endure a good deal of contumely
+sometimes, it is true, from his superiors, (though, thank Heaven! <i>that</i>
+he rarely meets with unjustly;) but to be looked down upon, and mocked,
+and pointed at by his own equals&mdash;his own little world&mdash;cuts him to the
+soul. And if you can succeed in breaking his pride, and destroying this
+sensitiveness, then he is a lost being. He can never recover his
+self-esteem, and you have chucked him half way&mdash;a stolid, inert, sullen
+victim&mdash;to the perdition of the prison or the convict-ship.</p>
+
+<p>Of this stuff was the nature both of the widow and her son. Had the
+honey of Plato flowed from the tongue of Mrs. Hazeldean, it could not
+have turned into sweetness the bitter spirit upon which it descended.
+But Mrs. Hazeldean, though an excellent woman, was rather a bluff,
+plain-spoken one&mdash;and, after all, she had some little feeling for the
+son of a gentleman, and a decayed fallen gentleman, who, even by Lenny's
+account, had been assailed without any intelligible provocation; nor
+could she, with her strong common sense, attach all the importance which
+Mrs. Fairfield did to the unmannerly impertinence of a few young cubs,
+which she said truly, "would soon die away if no notice was taken of
+it." The widow's mind was made up, and Mrs. Hazeldean departed&mdash;with
+much chagrin and some displeasure.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Fairfield, however, tacitly understood that the request she had
+made was granted, and early one morning her door was found locked&mdash;the
+key left at a neighbor's to be given to the Steward; and, on farther
+inquiry, it was ascertained that her furniture and effects had been
+removed by the errand-cart in the dead of the night. Lenny had succeeded
+in finding a cottage, on the road-side, not far from the Casino; and
+there, with a joyous face, he waited to welcome his mother to breakfast,
+and show how he had spent the night in arranging her furniture.</p>
+
+<p>"Parson!" cried the Squire, when all this news came upon him, as he was
+walking arm-in-arm with Mr. Dale to inspect some proposed improvement in
+the Alms-house, "this is all your fault. Why did not you go and talk to
+that brute of a boy, and that dolt of a woman? You've got 'soft sawder
+enough,' as Frank calls it in his new-fashioned slang."</p>
+
+<p>"As if I had not talked myself hoarse to both!" said the Parson in a
+tone of reproachful surprise at the accusation. "But it was in vain! O
+Squire, if you had taken my advice about the stocks&mdash;<i>quieta non
+movere</i>!"</p>
+
+<p>"Bother!" said the Squire. "I suppose I am to be held up as a tyrant, a
+Nero, a Richard the Third, or a Grand Inquisitor, merely for having
+things smart and tidy! Stocks indeed!&mdash;your friend Rickeybockey said he
+was never more comfortable in his life&mdash;quite enjoyed sitting there. And
+what did not hurt Rickeybockey's dignity (a very gentlemanlike man he
+is, when he pleases) ought to be no such great matter to Master Leonard
+Fairfield. But 'tis no use talking! What's to be done now? The woman
+must not starve; and I'm sure she can't live out of Rickeybockey's wages
+to Lenny&mdash;(by the way, I hope he don't board him upon his and Jackeymo's
+leavings: I hear they dine upon newts and sticklebacks&mdash;faugh!) I'll
+tell you what, Parson, now I think of it&mdash;at the back of the cottage
+which she has taken there are some fields of capital land just vacant.
+Rickeybockey wants to have 'em, and sounded me as to the rent when he
+was at the Hall. I only half promised him the refusal. And he must give
+up four or five acres of the best land round the cottage to the
+widow&mdash;just enough for her to manage&mdash;and she can keep a dairy. If she
+want capital, I'll lend her some in your name&mdash;only don't tell Stirn;
+and as for the rent&mdash;we'll talk of that when we see how she gets on,
+thankless obstinate jade that she is! You see," added the Squire, as if
+he felt there was some apology due for this generosity to an object whom
+he professed to consider so ungrateful, "her husband was a faithful
+servant, and so&mdash;I wish you would not stand there staring me out of
+countenance, but go down to the woman at once, or Stirn will have let
+the land to Rickeybockey, as sure as a gun. And hark ye, Dale, perhaps
+you can contrive, if the woman is so cursedly stiff-backed, not to say
+the land is mine, or that it is any favor I want to do her&mdash;or, in
+short, manage it as you can for the best." Still even this charitable
+message failed. The widow knew that the land was the Squire's, and worth
+a good &pound;3 an acre. "She thanked him humbly for that and all favors; but
+she could not afford to buy cows, and she did not wish to be beholden
+to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_544" id="Page_544">[Pg 544]</a></span> any one for her living. And Lenny was well off at Mr.
+Rickeybockey's, and coming on wonderfully in the garden way&mdash;and she did
+not doubt she could get some washing; at all events, her haystack would
+bring in a good bit of money, and she should do nicely, thank their
+honors."</p>
+
+<p>Nothing farther could be done in the direct way, but the remark about
+the washing suggested some mode of indirectly benefiting the widow. And
+a little time afterwards, the sole laundress in that immediate
+neighborhood happening to die, a hint from the Squire obtained from the
+landlady of the inn opposite the Casino such custom as she had to
+bestow, which at times was not inconsiderable. And what with Lenny's
+wages, (whatever that mysterious item might be,) the mother and son
+contrived to live without exhibiting any of those physical signs of fast
+and abstinence which Riccabocca and his valet gratuitously afforded to
+the student in animal anatomy.</p>
+
+
+<h4>CHAPTER XIV.</h4>
+
+<p>Of all the wares and commodities in exchange and barter, wherein so
+mainly consists the civilization of our modern world, there is not one
+which is so carefully weighed&mdash;so accurately measured&mdash;so plumbed and
+gauged&mdash;so doled and scraped&mdash;so poured out in <i>minima</i> and balanced
+with scruples&mdash;as that necessary of social commerce called "an apology!"
+If the chemists were half so careful in vending their poisons, there
+would be a notable diminution in the yearly average of victims to
+arsenic and oxalic acid. But, alas, in the matter of apology, it is not
+from the excess of the dose, but the timid, niggardly, miserly manner in
+which it is dispensed, that poor humanity is hurried off to the Styx!
+How many times does a life depend on the exact proportions of an
+apology! Is it a hairbreadth too short to cover the scratch for which
+you want it? Make your will&mdash;you are a dead man! A life do I say?&mdash;a
+hecatomb of lives! How many wars would have been prevented, how many
+thrones would be standing, dynasties flourishing&mdash;commonwealths brawling
+round a <i>bema</i>, or fitting out galleys for corn and cotton&mdash;if an inch
+or two more of apology had been added to the proffered ell! But then
+that plagy, jealous, suspicious, old vinegar-faced Honor, and her
+partner Pride&mdash;as penny-wise and pound-foolish a she-skinflint as
+herself&mdash;have the monopoly of the article. And what with the time they
+lose in adjusting their spectacles, hunting in the precise shelf for the
+precise quality demanded, then (quality found) the haggling as to
+quantum&mdash;considering whether it should be Apothecary's weight or
+Avoirdupois, or English measure or Flemish&mdash;and, finally, the hullaboloo
+they make if the customer is not perfectly satisfied with the monstrous
+little he gets for his money,&mdash;I don't wonder, for my part, how one
+loses temper and patience, and sends Pride, Honor, and Apology, all to
+the devil. Aristophanes, in his "Comedy of <i>Peace</i>" insinuates a
+beautiful allegory by only suffering that goddess, though in fact she is
+his heroine, to appear as a mute. She takes care never to open her lips.
+The shrewd Greek knew very well that she would cease to be Peace, if she
+once began to chatter. Wherefore, O reader, if ever you find your pump
+under the iron heel of another man's boot, heaven grant that you may
+hold your tongue, and not make things past all endurance and forgiveness
+by bawling out for an apology!</p>
+
+
+<h4>CHAPTER XV.</h4>
+
+<p>But the Squire and his son, Frank, were large-hearted generous creatures
+in the article of apology, as in all things less skimpingly dealt out.
+And seeing that Leonard Fairfield would offer no plaister to Randal
+Leslie, they made amends for his stinginess by their own prodigality.
+The Squire accompanied his son to Rood Hall, and none of the family
+choosing to be at home, the Squire in his own hand, and from his own
+head, indited and composed an epistle which might have satisfied all the
+wounds which the dignity of the Leslies had ever received.</p>
+
+<p>This letter of apology ended with a hearty request that Randall would
+come and spend a few days with his son. Frank's epistle was to the same
+purport, only more Etonian and less legible.</p>
+
+<p>It was some days before Randall's replies to these epistles were
+received. The replies bore the address of a village near London, and
+stated that the writer was now reading with a tutor preparatory to
+entrance at Oxford, and could not, therefore, accept the invitation
+extended to him.</p>
+
+<p>For the rest, Randall expressed himself with good sense, though not with
+much generosity, he excused his participation in the vulgarity of such a
+conflict by a bitter but short allusion to the obstinacy and ignorance
+of the village boor; and did not do what you, my kind reader, certainly
+would have done under similar circumstances&mdash;viz. intercede in behalf of
+a brave and unfortunate antagonist. Most of us like a foe better after
+we have fought him&mdash;that is, if we are the conquering party; this was
+not the case with Randal Leslie. There, so far as the Etonian was
+concerned, the matter rested. And the Squire, irritated that he could
+not repair whatever wrong that young gentleman had sustained, no longer
+felt a pang of regret as he passed by Mrs. Fairfield's deserted cottage.</p>
+
+
+<h4>CHAPTER XVI.</h4>
+
+<p>Lenny Fairfield continued to give great satisfaction to his new
+employers, and to profit in many respects by the familiar kindness with
+which he was treated. Riccabocca, who valued himself on penetrating into
+character, had from the first seen that much stuff of no common quality
+and texture was to be found in the disposition and mind of the English
+village boy. On farther acquaintance, he perceived that,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_545" id="Page_545">[Pg 545]</a></span> under a
+child's innocent simplicity, there were the workings of an acuteness
+that required but development and direction. He ascertained that the
+pattern boy's progress at the village school proceeded from something
+more than mechanical docility and readiness of comprehension. Lenny had
+a keen thirst for knowledge, and through all the disadvantages of and
+circumstance, there were the indications of that natural genius which
+converts disadvantages themselves into stimulants. Still, with the germs
+of good qualities lay the embryos of those which, difficult to separate,
+and hard to destroy, often mar the produce of the soil. With a
+remarkable and generous pride in self-repute, there was some
+stubbornness; with great sensibility to kindness, there was also strong
+reluctance to forgive affront.</p>
+
+<p>This mixed nature in an uncultivated peasant's breast interested
+Riccabocca, who, though long secluded from the commerce of mankind,
+still looked upon man as the most various and entertaining volume which
+philosophical research can explore. He soon accustomed the boy to the
+tone of a conversation generally subtle and suggestive; and Lenny's
+language and ideas became insensibly less rustic and more refined. Then
+Riccabocca selected from his library, small as it was, books that,
+though elementary, were of a higher cast than Lenny could have found
+within his reach at Hazeldean. Riccabocca knew the English language
+well, better in grammar, construction, and genius than many a not
+ill-educated Englishman; for he had studied it with the minuteness with
+which a scholar studies a dead language, and amidst his collection he
+had many of the books which had formerly served him for that purpose.
+These were the first works he had lent to Lenny. Meanwhile Jackeymo
+imparted to the boy many secrets in practical gardening and minute
+husbandry, for at that day farming in England (some favored counties and
+estates excepted) was far below the nicety to which the art has been
+immemorially carried in the north of Italy&mdash;where, indeed, you may
+travel for miles and miles as through a series of market-gardens&mdash;so
+that, all these things considered, Leonard Fairfield might be said to
+have made a change for the better. Yet in truth, and looking below the
+surface, that might be fair matter of doubt. For the same reason which
+had induced the boy to fly his native village, he no longer repaired to
+the church of Hazeldean. The old intimate intercourse between him and
+the Parson became necessarily suspended, or bounded to an occasional
+kindly visit from the father&mdash;visits which grew more rare, and less
+familiar, as he found his former pupil in no want of his services, and
+wholly deaf to his mild entreaties to forget and forgive the past, and
+come at least to his old seat in the parish church. Lenny still went to
+church&mdash;a church a long way off in another parish&mdash;but the sermons did
+not do him the same good as Parson Dale's had done; and the clergyman,
+who had his own flock to attend to, did not condescend, as Parson Dale
+would have done, to explain what seemed obscure, and enforce what was
+profitable, in private talk, with that stray lamb from another's fold.</p>
+
+<p>Now I question much if all Dr. Riccabocca's sage maxims, though they
+were often very moral, and generally very wise, served to expand the
+peasant boy's native good qualities, and correct his bad, half so well
+as the few simple words, not at all indebted to Machiavelli, which
+Leonard had once reverently listened to when he stood by his father's
+chair, yielded up for the moment to the good Parson, worthy to sit in
+it; for Mr. Dale had a heart in which all the fatherless of the parish
+found their place. Nor was this loss of tender, intimate, spiritual love
+so counterbalanced by the greater facilities for purely intellectual
+instruction, as modern enlightenment might presume. For, without
+disputing the advantage of knowledge in a general way, knowledge, in
+itself, is not friendly to content. Its tendency, of course, is to
+increase the desires, to dissatisfy us with what is, in order to urge
+progress to what may be; and, in that progress, what unnoticed martyrs
+among the many must fall, baffled and crushed by the way! To how large a
+number will be given desires they will never realize, dissatisfaction of
+the lot from which they will never rise! <i>Allons!</i> one is viewing the
+dark side of the question. It is all the fault of that confounded
+Riccabocca, who has already caused Lenny Fairfield to lean gloomily on
+his spade, and, after looking round and seeing no one near him, groan
+out querulously&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"And am I born to dig a potato ground?"</p>
+
+<p><i>Pardieu</i>, my friend Lenny, if you live to be seventy, and ride in your
+carriage;&mdash;and by the help of a dinner-pill digest a spoonful of curry,
+you may sigh to think what a relish there was in potatoes, roasted in
+ashes after you had digged them out of that ground with your own stout
+young hands. Dig on, Lenny Fairfield, dig on! Dr. Riccabocca will tell
+you that there was once an illustrious personage<a name="FNanchor_R_18" id="FNanchor_R_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_R_18" class="fnanchor">[R]</a> who made experience
+of two very different occupations&mdash;one was ruling men, the other was
+planting cabbages; he thought planting cabbages much the pleasanter of
+the two!</p>
+
+
+<h4>CHAPTER XVII.</h4>
+
+<p>Dr. Riccabocca had secured Lenny Fairfield, and might therefore be
+considered to have ridden his hobby in the great whirligig with
+adroitness and success. But Miss Jemima was still driving round in her
+car, bundling the reins, and flourishing the whip, without apparently
+having got an inch nearer to the flying form of Dr. Riccabocca.</p>
+
+<p>Indeed, that excellent and only too susceptible spinster, with all her
+experience of the villany of man, had never conceived the wretch to be
+so thoroughly beyond the reach of redemption as when Dr. Riccabocca took
+his leave, and once more interred himself amidst the solitudes<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_546" id="Page_546">[Pg 546]</a></span> of the
+Casino, without having made any formal renunciation of his criminal
+celibacy. For some days she shut herself up in her own chamber, and
+brooded with more than her usual gloomy satisfaction on the certainty of
+the approaching crash. Indeed, many signs of that universal calamity
+which, while the visit of Riccabocca lasted, she had permitted herself
+to consider ambiguous, now became luminously apparent. Even the
+newspaper, which during that credulous and happy period had given half a
+column to births and marriages, now bore an ominously long catalogue of
+deaths; so that it seemed as if the whole population had lost heart, and
+had no chance of repairing its daily losses. The leading articles spoke,
+with the obscurity of a Pythian, of an impending <span class="smcap">Crisis</span>. Monstrous
+turnips sprouted out from the paragraphs devoted to general news. Cows
+bore calves with two heads, whales were stranded in the Humber, showers
+of frogs descended in the High-street of Cheltenham.</p>
+
+<p>All these symptoms of the world's decrepitude and consummation, which by
+the side of the fascinating Riccabocca might admit of some doubt is to
+their origin and cause, now, conjoined with the worst of all, viz.&mdash;the
+frightfully progressive wickedness of man&mdash;left to Miss Jemima no ray of
+hope save that afforded by the reflection that she could contemplate the
+wreck of matter without a single sentiment of regret.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Dale, however, by no means shared the despondency of her fair
+friend, and, having gained access to Miss Jemima's chamber, succeeded,
+though not without difficulty, in her kindly attempts to cheer the
+drooping spirits of that female philanthropist. Nor, in her benevolent
+desire to speed the car of Miss Jemima to its hymenial goal, was Mrs.
+Dale so cruel towards her male friend, Dr. Riccabocca, as she seemed to
+her husband. For Mrs. Dale was a woman of shrewdness and penetration, as
+most quick-tempered women are; and she knew that Miss Jemima was one of
+those excellent young ladies who are likely to value a husband in
+proportion to the difficulty of obtaining him. In fact, my readers of
+both sexes must often have met, in the course of their experience, with
+that peculiar sort of feminine disposition, which requires the warmth of
+the conjugal hearth to develop all its native good qualities; nor is it
+to be blamed over-much if, innocently aware of this tendency in its
+nature, it turns towards what is best fitted for its growth and
+improvement, by laws akin to those which make the sun-flower turn to the
+sun or the willow to the stream. Ladies of this disposition, permanently
+thwarted in their affectionate bias, gradually languish away into
+intellectual inanition, or sprout out into those abnormal eccentricities
+which are classed under the general name of "oddity" or "character."
+But, once admitted to their proper soil, it is astonishing what
+healthful improvement takes place&mdash;how the poor heart, before starved
+and stinted of nourishment, throws out its suckers, and bursts into
+bloom and fruit. And thus many a belle from whom the beaux have stood
+aloof, only because the puppies think she could be had for the asking,
+they see afterwards settled down into true wife and fond mother, with
+amaze at their former disparagement, and a sigh at their blind hardness
+of heart.</p>
+
+<p>In all probability, Mrs. Dale took this view of the subject; and
+certainly, in addition to all the hitherto dormant virtues which would
+be awakened in Miss Jemima when fairly Mrs. Riccabocca, she counted
+somewhat upon the mere worldly advantage which such a match would bestow
+upon the exile. So respectable a connection with one of the oldest,
+wealthiest and most popular families in the shire, would in itself give
+him a position not to be despised by a poor stranger in the land; and
+though the interest of Miss Jemima's dowry might not be much, regarded
+in the light of English pounds, (not Milanese <i>lire</i>,) still it would
+suffice to prevent that gradual process of dematerialization which the
+lengthened diet upon minnows and sticklebacks had already made apparent
+in the fine and slow-evanishing form of the philosopher.</p>
+
+<p>Like all persons convinced of the expediency of a thing, Mrs. Dale saw
+nothing wanting but opportunities to insure success. And that these
+might be forthcoming, she not only renewed with greater frequency, and
+more urgent instance than ever, her friendly invitations to Riccabocca
+to drink tea and spend the evening, but she artfully so chafed the
+Squire on his sore point of hospitality, that the doctor received weekly
+a pressing solicitation to dine and sleep at the Hall.</p>
+
+<p>At first the Italian pished and grunted, and said <i>Cospetto</i>, and <i>Per
+Bacco</i>, and <i>Diavola</i>, and tried to creep out of so much proffered
+courtesy. But, like all single gentlemen, he was a little under the
+tyrannical influence of his faithful servant; and Jackeymo, though he
+could bear starving as well as his master when necessary, still, when he
+had the option, preferred roast beef and plum-pudding. Moreover, that
+vain and incautious confidence of Riccabocca, touching the vast sum at
+his command, and with no heavier drawback than that of so amiable a lady
+as Miss Jemima&mdash;who had already shown him (Jackeymo) many little
+delicate attentions&mdash;had greatly whetted the cupidity which was in the
+servant's Italian nature? a cupidity the more keen because, long
+debarred its legitimate exercise on his own mercenary interests, he
+carried it all to the account of his master's!</p>
+
+<p>Thus tempted by his enemy, and betrayed by his servant, the unfortunate
+Riccabocca fell, though with eyes not unblinded, into the hospitable
+snares extended for the destruction of his&mdash;celibacy! He went often to
+the parsonage, often to the Hall, and by degrees the sweets of the
+social domestic life, long denied him, began to exercise their
+enervating charm upon the stoicism of our poor exile. Frank had now
+returned to Eton. An unexpected invitation had carried off Captain
+Higginbotham to pass a few weeks at Bath, with a distant relation,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_547" id="Page_547">[Pg 547]</a></span> who
+had lately returned from India, and who, as rich as Croesus, felt so
+estranged and solitary in his native isle, that, when the Captain
+"claimed kindred there," to his own amaze "he had his claims allowed;"
+while a very protracted sitting of Parliament still delayed in London
+the Squire's habitual visitors in the later summer; so that&mdash;a chasm
+thus made in his society&mdash;Mr. Hazeldean welcomed with no hollow
+cordiality the diversion or distraction he found in the foreigner's
+companionship. Thus, with pleasure to all parties, and strong hopes to
+the two female conspirators, the intimacy between the Casino and Hall
+rapidly thickened; but still not a word resembling a distinct proposal
+did Dr. Riccabocca breathe. And still, if such an idea obtruded itself
+on his mind, it was chased therefrom with so determined a <i>Diavolo</i>,
+that perhaps, if not the end of the world, at least the end of Miss
+Jemima's tenure in it, might have approached, and seen her still Miss
+Jemima, but for a certain letter with a foreign postmark that reached
+the doctor one Tuesday morning.</p>
+
+
+<h4>CHAPTER XVIII.</h4>
+
+<p>The servant saw that something had gone wrong, and, under pretence of
+syringing the orange trees, he lingered near his master, and peered
+through the sunny leaves upon Riccabocca's melancholy brows.</p>
+
+<p>The doctor sighed heavily. Nor did he, as was his wont, after some such
+sigh, mechanically take up that dear comforter, the pipe. But though the
+tobacco pouch lay by his side on the balustrade, and the pipe stood
+against the wall between his knees, child-like lifting up its lips to
+the customary caress&mdash;he heeded neither the one nor the other, but laid
+the letter silently on his lap, and fixed his eyes upon the ground.</p>
+
+<p>"It must be bad news indeed!" thought Jackeymo, and desisted from his
+work. Approaching his master, he took up the pipe and the tobacco pouch,
+and filled the bowl slowly, glancing all the while to that dark musing
+face on which, when abandoned by the expression of intellectual
+vivacity, or the exquisite smile of Italian courtesy, the deep downward
+lines revealed the characters of sorrow. Jackeymo did not venture to
+speak; but the continued silence of his master disturbed him much. He
+laid that peculiar tinder which your smokers use upon the steel, and
+struck the spark&mdash;still not a word, nor did Riccabocca stretch forth his
+hand.</p>
+
+<p>"I never knew him in this taking before," thought Jackeymo; and
+delicately he insinuated the neck of the pipe into the nerveless fingers
+of the hand that lay supine on those quiet knees&mdash;the pipe fell to the
+ground.</p>
+
+<p>Jackeymo crossed himself, and began praying to his sainted namesake with
+great fervor.</p>
+
+<p>The doctor rose slowly, and, as if with effort, he walked once or twice
+to and fro the terrace; and then he halted abruptly, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Friend!"</p>
+
+<p>"Blessed Monsignore San Giacomo, I knew thou wouldst hear me!" cried the
+servant; and he raised his master's hand to his pipe, then abruptly
+turned away and wiped his eyes. "Friend," repeated Riccabocca, and this
+time with a tremulous emphasis, and in the softest tone of a voice never
+wholly without the music of the sweet South, "I would talk to thee of my
+child."&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+
+<h4>CHAPTER XIX.</h4>
+
+<p>"The letter, then, relates to the Signorina. She is well?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, she is well now. She is in our native Italy."</p>
+
+<p>Jackeymo raised his eyes involuntarily towards the orange-trees, and the
+morning breeze swept by and bore to him the odor of their blossoms.</p>
+
+<p>"Those are sweet even here, with care," said he, pointing to the trees.
+"I think I have said that before to the Padrone."</p>
+
+<p>But Riccabocca was now looking again at the letter, and did not notice
+either the gesture or the remark of his servant.</p>
+
+<p>"My aunt is no more!" said he, after a pause.</p>
+
+<p>"We will pray for her soul!" answered Jackeymo, solemnly. "But she was
+very old, and had been a long time ailing. Let it not grieve the Padrone
+too keenly, at that age, and with those infirmities, death comes as a
+friend."</p>
+
+<p>"Peace be to her dust!" returned the Italian. "If she had her faults, be
+they now forgotten for ever; and in the hour of my danger and distress,
+she sheltered my infant! That shelter is destroyed. This letter is from
+the priest, her confessor. You know that she had nothing at her own
+disposal to bequeath my child, and her property passes to the male
+heir&mdash;mine enemy."</p>
+
+<p>"Traitor!" muttered Jackeymo; and his right hand seemed to feel for the
+weapon which the Italians of lower rank often openly wear in their
+girdles.</p>
+
+<p>"The priest," resumed Riccabocca, calmly, "has rightly judged in
+removing my child as a guest from the house in which my enemy enters as
+lord."</p>
+
+<p>"And where is the Signorina?"</p>
+
+<p>"With that poor priest. See, Giacomo&mdash;here, here&mdash;this is her
+handwriting at the end of the letter&mdash;the first lines she ever yet
+traced to me."</p>
+
+<p>Jackeymo took off his hat, and looked reverently on the large characters
+of a child's writing. But large as they were, they seemed indistinct,
+for the paper was blistered with the child's tears, and on the place
+where they had <i>not</i> fallen, there was a round fresh moist stain of the
+tear that had dropped from the lids of the father. Riccabocca
+renewed,&mdash;"The priest recommends a convent."</p>
+
+<p>"To the devil with the priest!" cried the servant; then crossing himself
+rapidly, he added, "I did not mean that, Monsignore San<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_548" id="Page_548">[Pg 548]</a></span>
+Giacomo&mdash;forgive me! But your excellency<a name="FNanchor_S_19" id="FNanchor_S_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_S_19" class="fnanchor">[S]</a> does not think of making a
+nun of his only child!"</p>
+
+<p>"And yet why not?" said Riccabocca, mournfully; "what can I give her in
+the world? Is the land of the stranger a better refuge than the home of
+peace in her native clime?"</p>
+
+<p>"In the land of the stranger beats her father's heart!"</p>
+
+<p>"And if that beat were stilled, what then? Ill fares the life that a
+single death can bereave of all. In a convent at least (and the priest's
+influence can obtain her that asylum amongst her equals and amidst her
+sex) she is safe from trial and penury&mdash;to her grave."</p>
+
+<p>"Penury! Just see how rich we shall be when we take those fields at
+Michaelmas."</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Pazzie!</i>" (follies) said Riccabocca, listlessly. "Are these suns more
+serene than ours, or the soil more fertile? Yet in our own Italy, saith
+the proverb, 'he who sows land, reaps more care than corn.' It were
+different," continued the father after a pause, and in a more irresolute
+tone, "if I had some independence, however small, to count on&mdash;nay, if
+among all my tribe of dainty relatives there were but one female who
+would accompany Violante to the exile's hearth&mdash;Ishmael had his Hagar.
+But how can we two rough-bearded men provide for all the nameless, wants
+and cares of a frail female child? And she has been so delicately
+reared&mdash;the woman-child needs the fostering hand and tender eye of a
+woman."</p>
+
+<p>"And with a word," said Jackeymo, resolutely, "the Padrone might secure
+to his child all that he needs, to save her from the sepulchre of a
+convent; and ere the autumn leaves fall, she might be sitting on his
+knee. Padrone, do not think that you can conceal from me the truth, that
+you love your child better than all things in the world&mdash;now the Patria
+is as dead to you as the dust of your fathers&mdash;and your heart-strings
+would crack with the effort to tear her from them, and consign her to a
+convent. Padrone, never again to hear her voice&mdash;never again to see her
+face! Those little arms that twined round your neck that dark night,
+when we fled fast for life and freedom, and you said, as you felt their
+clasp, 'Friend, all is not yet lost!'"</p>
+
+<p>"Giacomo!" exclaimed the father, reproachfully, and his voice seemed to
+choke him. Riccabocca turned away, and walked restlessly to and fro the
+terrace; then, lifting his arms with a wild gesture as he still
+continued his long irregular strides, he muttered, "Yes, heaven is my
+witness that I could have borne reverse and banishment without a murmur,
+had I permitted myself that young partner in exile and privation. Heaven
+is my witness that, if I hesitate now, it is because I would not listen
+to my own selfish heart. Yet never, never to see her again&mdash;my child!
+And it was but as the infant that I beheld her! O friend, friend&mdash;&mdash;"
+(and, stopping short with a burst of uncontrollable emotion, he bowed
+his head upon his servant's shoulder;) "thou knowest what I have endured
+and suffered at my hearth, as in my country; the wrong, the perfidy,
+the&mdash;the&mdash;" His voice again failed him; he clung to his servant's
+breast, and his whole frame shook.</p>
+
+<p>"But your child, the innocent one&mdash;I think now only of her!" faltered
+Giacomo, struggling with his own sobs.</p>
+
+<p>"True, only of her," replied the exile, raising his face&mdash;"only of her.
+Put aside thy thoughts for thyself, friend&mdash;counsel me. If I were to
+send for Violante, and if, transplanted to these keen airs, she drooped
+and died&mdash;look, look&mdash;the priest says that she needs such tender care;
+or if I myself were summoned from the world, to leave her in it alone,
+friendless, homeless, breadless perhaps at the age of woman's sharpest
+trial against temptation, would she not live to mourn the cruel egotism
+that closed on her infant innocence the gates of the House of God?"</p>
+
+<p>Giacomo was appalled by this appeal; and indeed Riccabocca had never
+before thus reverently spoken of the cloister. In his hours of
+philosophy, he was wont to sneer at monks and nuns, priesthood and
+superstition. But now, in that hour of emotion, the Old Religion
+reclaimed her empire; and the skeptical world-wise man, thinking only of
+his child, spoke and felt with a child's simple faith.</p>
+
+
+<h4>CHAPTER XX.</h4>
+
+<p>"But again I say," murmured Jackeymo, scarce audibly, and after a long
+silence, "if the Padrone would make up his mind&mdash;to marry!"</p>
+
+<p>He expected that his master would start up in his customary indignation
+at such a suggestion&mdash;nay, he might not have been sorry so to have
+changed the current of feeling; but the poor Italian only winced
+slightly, and mildly withdrawing himself from his servant's supporting
+arm, again paced the terrace, but this time quietly and in silence. A
+quarter of an hour thus passed. "Give me the pipe," said Dr. Riccabocca,
+passing into the Belvidere.</p>
+
+<p>Jackeymo again struck the spark, and, wonderfully relieved at the
+Padrone's return to his usual adviser, mentally besought his sainted
+namesake to bestow a double portion of soothing wisdom on the benignant
+influences of the weed.</p>
+
+
+<h4>CHAPTER XXI.</h4>
+
+<p>Dr. Riccabocca had been some little time in the solitude of the
+Belvidere, when Lenny Fairfield, not knowing that his employer was
+therein, entered to lay down a book which the Doctor had lent him, with
+injunctions to leave on a certain table when done with. Riccabocca
+looked up at the sound of the young peasant's step.</p>
+
+<p>"I beg your honor's pardon&mdash;I did not know&mdash;&mdash;"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_549" id="Page_549">[Pg 549]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Never mind; lay the book there. I wish to speak with you. You look
+well, my child; this air agrees with you as well as that of Hazeldean?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh yes, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Yet it is higher ground, more exposed?"</p>
+
+<p>"That can hardly be, sir," said Lenny; "there are many plants grow here
+which don't flourish at the Squire's. The hill yonder keeps off the east
+wind, and the place lays to the south."</p>
+
+<p>"Lies, not <i>lays</i>, Lenny. What are the principal complaints in these
+parts?"</p>
+
+<p>"Eh, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"I mean what maladies, what diseases?"</p>
+
+<p>"I never heard tell of any, sir, except the rheumatism."</p>
+
+<p>"No low fevers?&mdash;no consumption?"</p>
+
+<p>"Never heard of them, sir."</p>
+
+<p>Riccabocca drew a long breath, as if relieved.</p>
+
+<p>"That seems a very kind family at the Hall."</p>
+
+<p>"I have nothing to say against it," answered Lenny, bluntly. "I have not
+been treated justly. But as that book says, sir, 'It is not every one
+who comes into the world with a silver spoon in his mouth.'"</p>
+
+<p>Little thought the Doctor that those wise maxims may leave sore thoughts
+behind them. He was too occupied with the subject most at his own heart
+to think then of what was in Lenny Fairfield's.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; a kind, English, domestic family. Did you see much of Miss
+Hazeldean?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not so much as of the Lady."</p>
+
+<p>"Is she liked in the village, think you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Miss Jemima? Yes. She never did harm. Her little dog bit me once&mdash;she
+did not ask me to beg its pardon, she asked mine! She's a very nice
+young lady; the girls say she's very affable; and," added Lenny with a
+smile, "there are always more weddings going on when she's down at the
+Hall."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh!" said Riccabocca. Then, after a long whiff, "Did you ever see her
+play with the little children? Is she fond of children, do you think?"</p>
+
+<p>"Lord, sir, you guess every thing! She's never so pleased as when she's
+playing with the babies."</p>
+
+<p>"Humph!" grunted Riccabocca. "Babies&mdash;well, that's womanlike. I don't
+mean exactly babies, but when they're older&mdash;little girls."</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed, sir, I dare say; but," said Lenny, primly, "I never as yet kept
+company with the little girls."</p>
+
+<p>"Quite right, Lenny; be equally discreet all your life. Mrs. Dale is
+very intimate with Miss Hazeldean&mdash;more than with the Squire's lady. Why
+is that, think you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, sir," said Leonard, shrewdly, "Mrs. Dale has her little tempers,
+though she's a very good lady; and Madam Hazeldean is rather high, and
+has a spirit. But Miss Jemima is so soft: any one could live with Miss
+Jemima, as Joe and the servants say at the Hall."</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed! Get my hat out of the parlor, and&mdash;just bring a clothesbrush,
+Lenny. A fine sunny day for a walk."</p>
+
+<p>After this most mean and dishonorable inquisition into the character and
+popular repute of Miss Hazeldean, Signore Riccabocca seemed as much
+cheered up and elated as if he had committed some very noble action; and
+he walked forth in the direction of the Hall with a far lighter and
+livelier step than that with which he had paced the terrace.</p>
+
+<p>"Monsignore San Giacomo, by thy help and the pipe's, the Padrone shall
+have his child!" muttered the servant, looking up from the garden.</p>
+
+
+<h4>CHAPTER XXII.</h4>
+
+<p>Yet Dr. Riccabocca was not rash. The man who wants his wedding-garment
+to fit him must allow plenty of time for the measure. But, from that
+day, the Italian notably changed his manner towards Miss Hazeldean. He
+ceased that profusion of compliment in which he had hitherto carried off
+in safety all serious meaning. For indeed the Doctor considered that
+compliments, to a single gentleman, were what the inky liquid it
+dispenses is to the cuttle-fish, that by obscuring the water sails away
+from its enemy. Neither did he, as before, avoid prolonged conversations
+with that young lady, and contrive to escape from all solitary rambles
+by her side. On the contrary, he now sought every occasion to be in her
+society; and, entirely dropping the language of gallantry, he assumed
+something of the earnest tone of friendship. He bent down his intellect
+to examine and plumb her own. To use a very homely simile, he blew away
+that froth which there is on the surface of mere acquaintanceships,
+especially with the opposite sex; and which, while it lasts, scarce
+allows you to distinguish between small beer and double X. Apparently
+Dr. Riccabocca was satisfied with his scrutiny&mdash;at all events, under
+that froth there was no taste of bitter. The Italian might not find any
+great strength of intellect in Miss Jemima, but he found that,
+disentangled from many little whims and foibles&mdash;which he had himself
+the sense to perceive were harmless enough if they lasted, and not so
+absolutely constitutional but what they might be removed by a tender
+hand&mdash;Miss Hazeldean had quite enough sense to comprehend the plain
+duties of married life; and if the sense could fail, it found a
+substitute in good old homely English principles and the instincts of
+amiable kindly feelings.</p>
+
+<p>I know not how it is, but your very clever man never seems to care so
+much as your less gifted mortals for cleverness in his helpmate. Your
+scholars, and poets, and ministers of state, are more often than not
+found assorted with exceedingly humdrum good sort of women, and
+apparently like them all the better for their deficiencies. Just see how
+happily Racine lived with his wife, and what an angel he thought her,
+and yet she had never read his plays. Certainly Goethe never<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_550" id="Page_550">[Pg 550]</a></span> troubled
+the lady who called him "Mr. Privy Councillor" with whims about
+'monads,' and speculations on 'color,' nor those stiff metaphysical
+problems on which one breaks one's shins in the Second Part of the
+Faust. Probably it may be that such great geniuses&mdash;knowing that, as
+compared with themselves, there is little difference between your clever
+woman and your humdrum woman&mdash;merge at once all minor distinctions,
+relinquish all attempts that could not but prove unsatisfactory, at
+sympathy in hard intellectual pursuits, and are quite satisfied to
+establish that tie which, after all, best resists wear and tear&mdash;viz.
+the tough household bond between one human heart and another.</p>
+
+<p>At all events, this, I suspect, was the reasoning of Dr. Riccabocca,
+when one morning, after a long walk with Miss Hazeldean, he muttered to
+himself&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i5">"Duro con duro<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Non fece mai buon muro."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Which may bear the paraphrase, "Bricks without mortar would make a very
+bad wall." There was quite enough in Miss Jemima's disposition to make
+excellent mortar: the Doctor took the bricks to himself.</p>
+
+<p>When his examination was concluded, our philosopher symbolically evinced
+the result he had arrived at by a very simple proceeding on his
+part&mdash;which would have puzzled you greatly if you had not paused, and
+meditated thereon, till you saw all that it implied. <i>Dr. Riccabocca
+took off his spectacles!</i> He wiped them carefully, put them into their
+shagreen case, and locked them in his bureau:&mdash;that is to say, he left
+off wearing his spectacles.</p>
+
+<p>You will observe that there was a wonderful depth of meaning in that
+critical symptom, whether it be regarded as a sign outward, positive,
+and explicit, or a sign metaphysical, mystical, and esoteric. For, as to
+the last&mdash;it denoted that the task of the spectacles was over; that,
+when a philosopher has made up his mind to marry, it is better
+henceforth to be short-sighted&mdash;nay, even somewhat purblind&mdash;than to be
+always scrutinizing the domestic felicity to which he is about to resign
+himself, through a pair of cold, unillusory barnacles. And for the
+things beyond the hearth, if he cannot see without spectacles, is he not
+about to ally to his own defective vision a good sharp pair of eyes,
+never at fault where his interests are concerned? On the other hand,
+regarded positively, categorically, and explicitly, Dr. Riccabocca, by
+laying aside those spectacles, signified that he was about to commence
+that happy initiation of courtship, when every man, be he ever so much a
+philosopher, wishes to look as young and as handsome as time and nature
+will allow. Vain task to speed the soft language of the eyes through the
+medium of those glassy interpreters! I remember, for my own part, that
+once, on a visit to Adelaide, I was in great danger of falling in
+love&mdash;with a young lady, too, who would have brought me a very good
+fortune&mdash;when she suddenly produced from her reticule a very neat pair
+of No. 4, set in tortoise-shell, and, fixing upon me their Gorgon gaze,
+froze the astonished Cupid into stone! And I hold it a great proof of
+the wisdom of Riccabocca, and of his vast experience in mankind, that he
+was not above the consideration of what your pseudo sages would have
+regarded as foppish and ridiculous trifles. It argued all the better for
+that happiness which is our being's end and aim, that, in condescending
+to play the lover, he put those unbecoming petrifiers under lock and
+key.</p>
+
+<p>And certainly, now the spectacles were abandoned, it was impossible to
+deny that the Italian had remarkably handsome eyes. Even through the
+spectacles, or lifted a little above them, they were always bright and
+expressive; but without those adjuncts, the blaze was softer and more
+tempered: they had that look which the French call <i>velout&eacute;</i>, or
+velvety; and he appeared altogether ten years younger. If our Ulysses,
+thus rejuvinated by his Minerva, has not fully made up his mind to make
+a Penelope of Miss Jemima, all I can say is, that he is worse than
+Polyphemus, who was only an Anthropophagos;&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>He preys upon the weaker sex, and is a Gynopophagite!</p>
+
+
+<h4>CHAPTER XXIII.</h4>
+
+<p>"And you commission me, then, to speak to our dear Jemima?" said Mrs.
+Dale, joyfully, and without any bitterness whatever in that "dear."</p>
+
+<p><i>Dr. Riccabocca.</i>&mdash;"Nay, before speaking to Miss Hazeldean, it would
+surely be proper to know how far my addresses would be acceptable to the
+family."</p>
+
+<p><i>Mrs. Dale.</i>&mdash;"Ah!"</p>
+
+<p><i>Dr. Riccabocca.</i>&mdash;"The Squire is of course the head of the family."</p>
+
+<p><i>Mrs. Dale</i> (absent and <i>distrait</i>.)&mdash;"The Squire&mdash;yes, very true&mdash;quite
+proper." (Then looking up, and with <i>na&iuml;vet&eacute;</i>)&mdash;"Can you believe me, I
+never thought of the Squire. And he is such an odd man, and has so many
+English prejudices, that really&mdash;dear me, how vexatious that it should
+never once have occurred to me that Mr. Hazeldean had a voice in the
+matter! Indeed, the relationship is so distant&mdash;it is not like being her
+father; and Jemima is of age, and can do as she pleases; and&mdash;but, as
+you say, it is quite proper that he should be consulted as the head of
+the family."</p>
+
+<p><i>Dr. Riccabocca.</i>&mdash;"And do you think that the Squire of Hazeldean might
+reject my alliance! Pshaw! that's a grand word, indeed;&mdash;I mean, that he
+might object very reasonably to his cousin's marriage with a foreigner,
+of whom he can know nothing, except that which in all countries is
+disreputable, and is said in this to be criminal&mdash;poverty."</p>
+
+<p><i>Mrs. Dale</i> (kindly.)&mdash;"You misjudge us poor English people, and you
+wrong the Squire, Heaven bless him! for we were poor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_551" id="Page_551">[Pg 551]</a></span> enough when he
+singled out my husband from a hundred for the minister of his parish,
+for his neighbor and his friend. I will speak to him fearlessly&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p><i>Dr. Riccabocca.</i>&mdash;"And frankly. And now I have used that word, let me
+go on with the confession which your kindly readiness, my fair friend,
+somewhat interrupted. I said that if I might presume to think my
+addresses would be acceptable to Miss Hazeldean and her family, I was
+too sensible of her amiable qualities not to&mdash;not to&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p><i>Mrs. Dale</i> (with demure archness.)&mdash;"Not to be the happiest of
+men&mdash;that's the customary English phrase, Doctor."</p>
+
+<p><i>Riccabocca</i> (gallantly.)&mdash;"There cannot be a better. But," continued
+he, seriously, "I wish it first to be understood that I have&mdash;been
+married before."</p>
+
+<p><i>Mrs. Dale</i> (astonished.)&mdash;"Married before!"</p>
+
+<p><i>Riccabocca.</i>&mdash;"And that I have an only child, dear to me&mdash;inexpressibly
+dear. That child, a daughter, has hitherto lived abroad; circumstances
+now render it desirable that she should make her home with me. And I own
+fairly that nothing has so attached me to Miss Hazeldean, nor so induced
+my desire for our matrimonial connection, as my belief that she has the
+heart and the temper to become a kind mother to my little one."</p>
+
+<p><i>Mrs. Dale</i> (with feeling and warmth.)&mdash;"You judge her rightly there."</p>
+
+<p><i>Riccabocca.</i>&mdash;"Now, in pecuniary matters, as you may conjecture from my
+mode of life, I have nothing to offer to Miss Hazeldean correspondent
+with her own fortune, whatever that may be!"</p>
+
+<p><i>Mrs. Dale.</i>&mdash;"That difficulty is obviated by settling Miss Hazeldean's
+fortune on herself, which is customary in such cases."</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Riccabocca's face lengthened. "And my child, then?" said he,
+feelingly. There was something in that appeal so alien from all sordid
+and merely personal mercenary motives, that Mrs. Dale could not have had
+the heart to make the very rational suggestion&mdash;"But that child is not
+Jemima's, and you may have children by her."</p>
+
+<p>She was touched, and replied, hesitatingly&mdash;"But, from what you and
+Jemima may jointly possess, you can save something annually&mdash;you can
+insure your life for your child. We did so when our poor child whom we
+lost was born," (the tears rushed into Mrs. Dale's eyes;) "and I fear
+that Charles still insures his life for my sake, though Heaven knows
+that&mdash;that.&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>The tears burst out. That little heart, quick and petulant though it
+was, had not a fibre of the elastic muscular tissues which are
+mercifully bestowed on the hearts of predestined widows. Dr. Riccabocca
+could not pursue the subject of life insurances further. But the
+idea&mdash;which had never occurred to the foreigner before, though so
+familiar to us English people when only possessed of a life
+income&mdash;pleased him greatly. I will do him the justice to say, that he
+preferred it to the thought of actually appropriating to himself and to
+his child a portion of Miss Hazeldean's dower.</p>
+
+<p>Shortly afterwards he took his leave, and Mrs. Dale hastened to seek her
+husband in his study, inform him of the success of her matrimonial
+scheme, and consult him as to the chance of the Squire's acquiescence
+therein. "You see," said she, hesitatingly, "though the Squire might be
+glad to see Jemima married to some Englishman, yet, if he asks who and
+what is this Dr. Riccabocca, how am I to answer him?"</p>
+
+<p>"You should have thought of that before," said Mr. Dale, with unwonted
+asperity; "and, indeed, if I had ever believed any thing serious could
+come out of what seemed to me so absurd, I should long since have
+requested you not to interfere in such matters. Good heavens!" continued
+the Parson, changing color, "if we should have assisted, underhand as it
+were, to introduce into the family of a man to whom we owe so much, a
+connection that he would dislike! how base we should be!&mdash;how
+ungrateful!"</p>
+
+<p>Poor Mrs. Dale was frightened by this speech, and still more by her
+husband's consternation and displeasure. To do Mrs. Dale justice,
+whenever her mild partner was really either grieved or offended, her
+little temper vanished&mdash;she became as meek as a lamb. As soon as she
+recovered the first shock she experienced, she hastened to dissipate the
+Parson's apprehensions. She assured him that she was convinced that, if
+the Squire disapproved of Riccabocca's pretensions, the Italian would
+withdraw them at once, and Mrs. Hazeldean would never know of his
+proposals. Therefore, in that case, no harm would be done.</p>
+
+<p>This assurance coincided with Mr. Dale's convictions as to Riccabocca's
+scruples on the point of honor, tended much to compose the good man; and
+if he did not, as my reader of the gentler sex would expect from him,
+feel alarm lest Miss Jemima's affections should have been irretrievably
+engaged, and her happiness thus put in jeopardy by the Squire's refusal,
+it was not that the Parson wanted tenderness of heart, but experience in
+woman-kind; and he believed, very erroneously, that Miss Jemima
+Hazeldean was not one upon whom a disappointment of that kind would
+produce a lasting impression. Therefore Mr. Dale, after a pause of
+consideration, said kindly&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Well, don't vex yourself&mdash;and I was to blame quite as much as you. But,
+indeed, I should have thought it easier for the Squire to have
+transplanted one of his tall cedars into his kitchen-garden, than for
+you to inveigle Dr. Riccabocca into matrimonial intentions. But a man
+who could voluntarily put himself into the parish stocks for the sake of
+experiment, must be capable of any thing! However, I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_552" id="Page_552">[Pg 552]</a></span> think it better
+that I, rather than yourself, should speak to the Squire, and I will go
+at once."</p>
+
+
+<h4>CHAPTER XXIV.</h4>
+
+<p>The Parson put on the shovel hat, which&mdash;conjoined with other details in
+his dress peculiarly clerical, and already, even then, beginning to be
+out of fashion with churchmen&mdash;had served to fix upon him, emphatically,
+the dignified but antiquated style and cognomen of "Parson;" and took
+his way towards the Home Farm, at which he expected to find the Squire.
+But he had scarcely entered upon the village green when he beheld Mr.
+Hazeldean, leaning both hands on his stick, and gazing intently upon the
+parish stocks. Now, sorry am I to say that, ever since the Hegira of
+Lenny and his mother, the anti-stockian and revolutionary spirit in
+Hazeldean, which the memorable homily of our Parson had awhile averted
+or suspended, had broken forth afresh. For though, while Lenny was
+present to be moved and jeered at, there had been no pity for him, yet
+no sooner was he removed from the scene of trial, than a universal
+compassion for the barbarous usage he had received produced what is
+called "the reaction of public opinion." Not that those who had mowed
+and jeered repented them of their mockery, or considered themselves in
+the slightest degree the cause of his expatriation. No; they, with the
+rest of the villagers, laid all the blame upon the stocks. It was not to
+be expected that a lad of such exemplary character could be thrust into
+that place of ignominy, and not be sensible of the affront. And who, in
+the whole village, was safe, if such goings-on and puttings-in were to
+be tolerated in silence, and at the expense of the very best and
+quietest lad the village had ever known? Thus, a few days after the
+widow's departure, the stocks was again the object of midnight
+desecration: it was bedaubed and bescratched&mdash;it was hacked and
+hewed&mdash;it was scrawled all over with pithy lamentations for Lenny, and
+laconic execrations for tyrants. Night after night new inscriptions
+appeared, testifying the sarcastic wit and the vindictive sentiment of
+the parish. And perhaps the stocks themselves were only spared from axe
+and bonfire by the convenience they afforded to the malice of the
+disaffected: they became the Pasquin of Hazeldean.</p>
+
+<p>As disaffection naturally produces a correspondent vigor in authority,
+so affairs had been lately administered with greater severity than had
+been hitherto wont in the easy rule of the Squire and his predecessors.
+Suspected persons were naturally marked out by Mr. Stirn, and reported
+to his employer, who, too proud or too pained to charge them openly with
+ingratitude, at first only passed them by in his walks with a silent and
+stiff inclination of his head; and afterwards gradually yielding to the
+baleful influence of Stirn, the Squire grumbled forth that "he did not
+see why he should be always putting himself out of his way to show
+kindness to those who made such a return. There ought to be a difference
+between the good and the bad." Encouraged by this admission, Stirn had
+conducted himself towards the suspected parties, and their whole kith
+and kin, with the iron-handed justice that belonged to his character.
+For some, habitual donations of milk from the dairy, and vegetables from
+the gardens, were surlily suspended: others were informed that their
+pigs were always trespassing on the woods in search of acorns; or that
+they were violating the Game Laws in keeping lurchers. A beer-house,
+popular in the neighborhood, but of late resorted to over-much by the
+grievance-mongers, (and no wonder, since they had become the popular
+party,) was threatened with an application to the magistrates for the
+withdrawal of its license. Sundry old women, whose grandsons were
+notoriously ill-disposed towards the stocks, were interdicted from
+gathering dead sticks under the avenues, on pretence that they broke
+down the live boughs; and, what was more obnoxious to the younger
+members of the parish than most other retaliatory measures, three
+chestnut trees, one walnut, and two cherry trees, standing at the bottom
+of the park, and which had, from time immemorial, been given up to the
+youth of Hazeldean, were now solemnly placed under the general defence
+of "private property." And the crier had announced that, henceforth, all
+depredators on the fruit trees in Copse Hollow would be punished with
+the utmost rigor of the law. Stirn, indeed, recommended much more
+stringent proceedings than all these indications of a change of policy,
+which, he averred, would soon bring the parish to its senses&mdash;such as
+discontinuing many little jobs of unprofitable work that employed the
+surplus labor of the village. But there the Squire, falling into the
+department, and under the benigner influence of his Harry, was as yet
+not properly hardened. When it came to a question that affected the
+absolute quantity of loaves to be consumed by the graceless mouths that
+fed upon him, the milk of human kindness&mdash;with which Providence has so
+bountifully supplied that class of the mammalia called the "Bucolic,"
+and of which our Squire had an extra "yield"&mdash;burst forth, and washed
+away all the indignation of the harsher Adam.</p>
+
+<p>Still your policy of half measures, which irritates without crushing its
+victims, which flaps an exasperated wasp-nest with a silk pocket
+handkerchief, instead of blowing it up with a match and train, is rarely
+successful; and, after three or four other and much guiltier victims
+than Lenny had been incarcerated in the stocks, the parish of Hazeldean
+was ripe for any enormity. Pestilent jacobinical tracts, conceived and
+composed in the sinks of manufacturing towns&mdash;found their way into the
+popular beer-house&mdash;heaven knows how, though the Tinker was suspected of
+being the disseminator by all but Stirn, who still, in a whisper,
+accused the Papishers. And, finally, there<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_553" id="Page_553">[Pg 553]</a></span> appeared amongst the other
+graphic embellishments which the poor stocks had received, the rude
+<i>gravure</i> of a gentleman in a broad-brimmed hat and top-boots, suspended
+from a gibbet, with the inscription beneath&mdash;"A warnin to hall
+tirans&mdash;mind your hi!&mdash;sighnde Captins Traw."</p>
+
+<p>It was upon this significant and emblematic portraiture that the Squire
+was gazing when the parson joined him.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Parson," said Mr. Hazeldean, with a smile which he meant to be
+pleasant and easy, but which was exceedingly bitter and grim, "I wish
+you joy of your flock&mdash;you see they have just hanged me in effigy!"</p>
+
+<p>The Parson stared, and, though greatly shocked, smothered his emotions;
+and attempted, with the wisdom of the serpent and the mildness of the
+dove, to find another original for the effigy.</p>
+
+<p>"It is very bad," quoth he, "but not so bad as all that, Squire; that's
+not the shape of your hat. It is evidently meant for Mr. Stirn."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think so?" said the Squire softened. "Yet the top-boots&mdash;Stirn
+never wears top-boots."</p>
+
+<p>"No more do you&mdash;except in hunting. If you look again, those are not
+tops&mdash;they are leggings&mdash;Stirn wears leggings. Besides, that flourish,
+which is meant for a nose, is a kind of a hook like Stirn's; whereas
+your nose&mdash;though by no means a snub&mdash;rather turns up than not, as the
+Apollo's does, according to the plaster cast in Riccabocca's parlor."</p>
+
+<p>"Poor Stirn!" said the Squire, in a tone that evinced complacency, not
+unmingled with compassion, "that's what a man gets in this world by
+being a faithful servant, and doing his duty with zeal for his employer.
+But you see that things have come to a strange pass, and the question
+now is, what course to pursue. The miscreants hitherto have defied all
+vigilance, and Stirn recommends the employment of a regular nightwatch
+with a lanthorn and bludgeon."</p>
+
+<p>"That may protect the stocks certainly; but will it keep those
+detestable tracts out of the beer-house?"</p>
+
+<p>"We shall shut the beer-house up at the next sessions."</p>
+
+<p>"The tracts will break out elsewhere&mdash;the humor's in the blood!"</p>
+
+<p>"I've half a mind to run off to Brighton or Leamington&mdash;good hunting at
+Leamington&mdash;for a year, just to let the rogues see how they can get on
+without me!"</p>
+
+<p>The Squire's lip trembled.</p>
+
+<p>"My dear Mr. Hazeldean," said the Parson, taking his friend's hand, "I
+don't want to parade my superior wisdom; but if you had taken my advice,
+<i>quieta non movere</i>. Was there ever a parish so peaceable as this, or a
+country-gentleman so beloved as you were before you undertook the task
+which has dethroned kings and ruined states&mdash;that of wantonly meddling
+with antiquity, whether for the purpose of uncalled-for repairs or the
+revival of obsolete uses."</p>
+
+<p>At this rebuke, the Squire did not manifest his constitutional
+tendencies to choler; but he replied almost meekly, "If it were to do
+again, faith, I would leave the parish to the enjoyment of the shabbiest
+pair of stocks that ever disgraced a village. Certainly I meant it for
+the best&mdash;an ornament to the green; however, now they are rebuilt, the
+stocks must be supported. Will Hazeldean is not the man to give way to a
+set of thankless rapscallions."</p>
+
+<p>"I think," said the Parson, "that you will allow that the House of
+Tudor, whatever its faults, was a determined resolute dynasty
+enough&mdash;high-hearted and strong-headed. A Tudor would never have fallen
+into the same calamities as the poor Stuart did!"</p>
+
+<p>"What the plague has the House of Tudor got to do with my stocks?"</p>
+
+<p>"A great deal. Henry the VIII. found a subsidy so unpopular that he gave
+it up; and the people, in return, allowed him to cut off as many heads
+as he pleased, besides those in his own family. Good Queen Bess, who, I
+know, is your idol in history&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"To be sure! she knighted my ancestor at Tilbury Fort."</p>
+
+<p>"Good Queen Bess struggled hard to maintain a certain monopoly; she saw
+it would not do, and she surrendered it with that frank heartiness which
+becomes a sovereign, and makes surrender a grace."</p>
+
+<p>"Ha! and you would have me give up the stocks?"</p>
+
+<p>"I would much rather they had stayed as they were, before you touched
+them; but, as it is, if you could find a good plausible pretext&mdash;and
+there is an excellent one at hand;&mdash;the sternest kings open prisons, and
+grant favors, upon joyful occasions. Now a marriage in the royal family
+is of course a joyful occasion!&mdash;and so it should be in that of the King
+of Hazeldean." Admire that artful turn in the Parson's eloquence!&mdash;it
+was worthy of Riccabocca himself. Indeed, Mr. Dale had profited much by
+his companionship with that Machiavellian intellect.</p>
+
+<p>"A marriage&mdash;yes; but Frank has only just got into long tails!"</p>
+
+<p>"I did not allude to Frank, but to your cousin Jemima!"</p>
+
+
+<h4>CHAPTER XXV.</h4>
+
+<p>The Squire staggered as if the breath had been knocked out of him, and,
+for want of a better seat, sat down on the stocks.</p>
+
+<p>All the female heads in the neighboring cottages peered, themselves
+unseen, through the casements. What could the Squire be about?&mdash;what new
+mischief did he meditate? Did he mean to fortify the stocks? Old Gaffer
+Solomons, who had an indefinite idea of the lawful power of squires, and
+who had been for the last ten minutes at watch on his threshold, shook
+his head and said&mdash;"Them as a cut out the mon, a-hanging, as a put it in
+the Squire's head!"</p>
+
+<p>"Put what?" asked his granddaughter.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_554" id="Page_554">[Pg 554]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"The gallus!" answered Solomons&mdash;"he be a-goin' to have it hung from the
+great elm-tree. And the Parson, good mon, is a-quoting Scripter agin
+it&mdash;you see, he's a taking off his gloves, and a putting his two han's
+togither, as he do when he pray for the sick, Jeany."</p>
+
+<p>That description of the Parson's mien and manner, which, with his usual
+niceness of observation, Gaffer Solomons thus sketched off, will convey
+to you some idea of the earnestness with which the Parson pleaded the
+cause he had undertaken to advocate. He dwelt much upon the sense of
+propriety which the foreigner had evinced in requesting that the Squire
+might be consulted before any formal communication to his cousin; and he
+repeated Mrs. Dale's assurance, that such were Riccabocca's high
+standard of honor and belief in the sacred rights of hospitality, that,
+if the Squire withheld his consent to his proposals, the Parson was
+convinced that the Italian would instantly retract them. Now,
+considering that Miss Hazeldean was, to say the least, come to years of
+discretion, and the Squire had long since placed her property entirely
+at her own disposal, Mr. Hazeldean was forced to acquiesce in the
+Parson's corollary remark, "That this was a delicacy which could not be
+expected from every English pretender to the lady's hand." Seeing that
+he had so far cleared ground, the Parson went on to intimate, though
+with great tact, that, since Miss Jemima would probably marry sooner or
+later, (and, indeed, that the Squire could not wish to prevent her,) it
+might be better for all parties concerned that it should be with some
+one who, though a foreigner, was settled in the neighborhood, and of
+whose character what was known was certainly favorable, than run the
+hazard of her being married for her money by some adventurer or Irish
+fortune-hunter at the watering-places she yearly visited. Then he
+touched lightly on Riccabocca's agreeable and companionable qualities;
+and, concluded with a skilful peroration upon the excellent occasion the
+wedding would afford to reconcile Hall and parish, by making a voluntary
+holocaust of the stocks.</p>
+
+<p>As he concluded, the Squire's brow, before thoughtful, though not
+sullen, cleared up benignly. To say truth, the Squire was dying to get
+rid of the stocks, if he could but do so handsomely and with dignity;
+and if all the stars in the astrological horoscope had conjoined
+together to give Miss Jemima "assurance of a husband," they could not so
+have served her with the Squire, as that conjunction between the altar
+and the stocks which the Parson had effected!</p>
+
+<p>Accordingly, when Mr. Dale had come to an end, the Squire replied with
+great placidity and good sense, "That Mr. Rickeybockey had behaved very
+much like a gentleman, and that he was very much obliged to him; that he
+(the Squire) had no right to interfere in the matter, farther than with
+his advice; that Jemima was old enough to choose for herself, and that,
+as the Parson had implied, after all, she might go farther and fare
+worse&mdash;indeed, the farther she went, (that is, the longer she waited,)
+the worse she was likely to fare. I own, for my part," continued the
+Squire, "that, though I like Rickeybockey very much, I never suspected
+that Jemima was caught with his long face; but there's no accounting for
+tastes. My Harry, indeed, was more shrewd, and gave me many a hint, for
+which I only laughed at her. Still I ought to have thought it looked
+queer when Mounseer took to disguising himself by leaving off his
+glasses, ha&mdash;ha! I wonder what Harry will say; let's go and talk to
+her."</p>
+
+<p>The Parson, rejoiced at this easy way of taking the matter, hooked his
+arm into the Squire's, and they walked amicably towards the Hall. But on
+coming first into the gardens, they found Mrs. Hazeldean herself,
+clipping dead leaves or fading flowers from her rose-trees. The Squire
+stole slily behind her, and startled her in her turn by putting his arm
+round her waist, and saluting her smooth cheek with one of his hearty
+kisses; which, by the way, from some association of ideas, was a
+conjugal freedom that he usually indulged whenever a wedding was going
+on in the village.</p>
+
+<p>"Fie, William!" said Mrs. Hazeldean coyly, and blushing as she saw the
+Parson, "Well, who's going to be married now?"</p>
+
+<p>"Lord, was there ever such a woman?&mdash;she's guessed it!" cried the Squire
+in great admiration. "Tell her all about it, Parson."</p>
+
+<p>The Parson obeyed.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Hazeldean, as the reader may suppose, showed much less surprise
+than her husband had done; but she took the news graciously, and made
+much the same answer as that which had occurred to the Squire, only with
+somewhat more qualification and reserve. "Signor Riccabocca had behaved
+very handsomely; and though a daughter of the Hazeldeans of Hazeldean
+might expect a much better marriage in a worldly point of view, yet as
+the lady in question had deferred finding one so long, it would be
+equally idle and impertinent now to quarrel with her choice&mdash;if indeed
+she should decide on accepting Signor Riccabocca. As for fortune, that
+was a consideration for the two contracting parties. Still, it ought to
+be pointed out to Miss Jemima that the interest of her fortune would
+afford but a very small income. That Dr. Riccabocca was a widower was
+another matter for deliberation; and it seemed rather suspicious that he
+should have been hitherto so close upon all matters connected with his
+former life. Certainly his manners were in his favor, and as long as he
+was merely an acquaintance, and at most a tenant, no one had a right to
+institute inquiries of a strictly private nature; but that, when he was
+about to marry a Hazeldean of Hazeldean, it became the Squire at least
+to know a little more about him&mdash;who and what he was. Why did he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_555" id="Page_555">[Pg 555]</a></span> leave
+his own country? English people went abroad to save; no foreigner would
+choose England as a country in which to save money! She supposed that a
+foreign doctor was no very great things; probably he had been a
+professor in some Italian university. At all events, if the Squire
+interfered at all, it was on such points that he should request
+information.</p>
+
+<p>"My dear madam," said the Parson, "what you say is extremely just. As to
+the causes which have induced our friend to expatriate himself, I think
+we need not look far for them. He is evidently one of the many Italian
+refugees whom political disturbances have driven to our shore, whose
+boast is to receive all exiles of whatever party. For his respectability
+of birth and family he certainly ought to obtain some vouchers. And if
+that be the only objection, I trust we may soon congratulate Miss
+Hazeldean on a marriage with a man who, though certainly very poor, has
+borne privations without a murmur; has preferred all hardships to debt;
+has scorned to attempt betraying her into any clandestine connection;
+who, in short, has shown himself so upright and honest, that I hope my
+dear Mr. Hazeldean will forgive him if he is only a Doctor&mdash;probably of
+Laws&mdash;and not, as most foreigners pretend to be, a marquis, or a baron
+at least."</p>
+
+<p>"As to that," cried the Squire, "'tis the best think I know about
+Rickeybockey, that he don't attempts to humbug us by any such foreign
+trumpery. Thank heaven, the Hazeldeans of Hazeldean were never
+turf-hunters and title-mongers; and if I never ran after an English
+lord, I should certainly be devilishly ashamed of a brother-in-law whom
+I was forced to call markee or count! I should feel sure he was a
+courier, or runaway valley-de-sham. Turn up your nose at a doctor,
+indeed, Harry!&mdash;pshaw, good English style that! Doctor! my aunt married
+a Doctor of Divinity&mdash;excellent man&mdash;wore a wig, and was made a dean! So
+long as Rickeybockey is not a doctor of physic, I don't care a button.
+If he's <i>that</i>, indeed, it would be suspicious; because, you see, those
+foreign doctors of physic are quacks, and tell fortunes, and go about on
+a stage with a Merry-Andrew."</p>
+
+<p>"Lord, Hazeldean! where on earth did you pick up that idea?" said Harry,
+laughing.</p>
+
+<p>"Pick it up!&mdash;why, I saw a fellow myself at the cattle fair last
+year&mdash;when I was buying short-horns&mdash;with a red waistcoat and a cocked
+hat, a little like the Parson's shovel. He called himself Doctor
+Phoscophornio&mdash;wore a white wig and sold pills! The Merry-Andrew was the
+funniest creature&mdash;in salmon-colored tights&mdash;turned head over heels, and
+said he came from Timbuctoo. No, no; if Rickeybockey's a physic Doctor,
+we shall have Jemima in a pink tinsel dress, tramping about the country
+in a caravan!"</p>
+
+<p>At this notion, both the Squire and his wife laughed so heartily that
+the Parson felt the thing was settled, and slipped away, with the
+intention of making his report to Riccabocca.</p>
+
+
+<h4>CHAPTER XXVI.</h4>
+
+<p>It was with a slight disturbance of his ordinary suave and well-bred
+equanimity that the Italian received the information, that he need
+apprehend no obstacle to his suit from the insular prejudices or the
+worldly views of the lady's family. Not that he was mean and cowardly
+enough to recoil from the near and unclouded prospect of that felicity
+which he had left off his glasses to behold with unblinking naked
+eyes:&mdash;no, there his mind was made up; but he had met with very little
+kindness in life, and he was touched not only by the interest in his
+welfare testified by a heretical priest, but by the generosity with
+which he was admitted into a well-born and wealthy family, despite his
+notorious poverty and his foreign descent. He conceded the propriety of
+the only stipulation, which was conveyed to him by the Parson with all
+the delicacy that became a man professionally habituated to deal with
+the subtler susceptibilities of mankind&mdash;viz., that, amongst
+Riccabocca's friends or kindred, some one should be found whose report
+would confirm the persuasion of his respectability entertained by his
+neighbors;&mdash;he assented, I say, to the propriety of this condition; but
+it was not with alacrity and eagerness. His brow became clouded. The
+Parson hastened to assure him that the Squire was not a man <i>qui stupet
+in titulis</i>, (who was besotted with titles,) that he neither expected
+nor desired to find an origin and rank for his brother-in-law above that
+decent mediocrity of condition to which it was evident, from
+Riccabocca's breeding and accomplishments, he could easily establish his
+claim. "And though," said he, smiling, "the Squire is a warm politician
+in his own country, and would never see his sister again, I fear, if she
+married some convicted enemy of our happy constitution, yet for foreign
+politics he does not care a straw; so that if, as I suspect, your exile
+arises from some quarrel with your government&mdash;which, being foreign, he
+takes for granted must be insupportable&mdash;he would but consider you as he
+would a Saxon who fled from the iron hand of William the Conqueror, or a
+Lancastrian expelled by the Yorkists in our Wars of the Roses."</p>
+
+<p>The Italian smiled. "Mr. Hazeldean shall be satisfied," said he simply.
+"I see, by the Squire's newspaper, that an English gentleman who knew me
+in my own country has just arrived in London. I will write to him for a
+testimonial, at least to my probity and character. Probably he may be
+known to you by name&mdash;nay, he must be, for he was a distinguished
+officer in the late war. I allude to Lord L'Estrange."</p>
+
+<p>The parson started.</p>
+
+<p>"You know Lord L'Estrange?&mdash;a profligate bad man, I fear."</p>
+
+<p>"Profligate!&mdash;bad!" exclaimed Riccabocca. "Well, calumnious as the world
+is, I should never have thought that such expressions would be applied
+to one who, though I knew<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_556" id="Page_556">[Pg 556]</a></span> him but little&mdash;knew him chiefly by the
+service he once rendered to me&mdash;first taught me to love and revere the
+English name!"</p>
+
+<p>"He may be changed since&mdash;&mdash;" The parson paused.</p>
+
+<p>"Since when?" asked Riccabocca, with evident curiosity.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Dale seemed embarrassed. "Excuse me," said he, "it is many years
+ago; and, in short, the opinion I then formed of the gentleman in
+question was based upon circumstances which I cannot communicate."</p>
+
+<p>The punctilious Italian bowed in silence but he still looked as if he
+should have liked to prosecute inquiry.</p>
+
+<p>After a pause, he said, "Whatever your impressions respecting Lord
+L'Estrange, there is nothing, I suppose, which would lead you to doubt
+his honor, or reject his testimonial in my favor?"</p>
+
+<p>"According to fashionable morality," said Mr. Dale, rather precisely, "I
+know of nothing that could induce me to suppose that Lord L'Estrange
+would not, in this instance, speak the truth. And he has unquestionably
+a high reputation as a soldier, and a considerable position in the
+world." Therewith the Parson took his leave. A few days afterwards Dr.
+Riccabocca inclosed to the Squire, in a blank envelope, a letter he had
+received from Harley L'Estrange. It was evidently intended for the
+Squire's eye, and to serve as a voucher for the Italian's
+respectability; but this object was fulfilled, not in the coarse form of
+a direct testimonial, but with a tact and delicacy which seemed to show
+more than the fine breeding to be expected from one in Lord L'Estrange's
+station. It argued that most exquisite of all politeness which comes
+from the heart: a certain tone of affectionate respect (which even the
+homely sense of the Squire felt, intuitively, proved far more in favor
+of Riccabocca than the most elaborate certificate of his qualities and
+antecedents) pervaded the whole, and would have sufficed in itself to
+remove all scruples from a mind much more suspicious and exacting than
+that of the Squire of Hazeldean. But, lo and behold! an obstacle now
+occurred to the Parson, of which he ought to have thought long
+before&mdash;viz., the Papistical religion of the Italian. Dr. Riccabocca was
+professedly a Roman Catholic. He so little obtruded that fact&mdash;and,
+indeed, had assented so readily to any animadversions upon the
+superstition and priestcraft which, according to Protestants, are the
+essential characteristics of Papistical communities&mdash;that it was not
+till the hymeneal torch, which brings all faults to light, was fairly
+illumined for the altar, that the remembrance of a faith so cast into
+the shade burst upon the conscience of the Parson. The first idea that
+then occurred to him was the proper and professional one&mdash;viz., the
+conversion of Dr. Riccabocca. He hastened to his study, took down from
+his shelves long neglected volumes of controversial divinity, armed
+himself with an arsenal of authorities, arguments, and texts; then,
+seizing the shovel-hat, posted off to the Casino.</p>
+
+
+<h4>CHAPTER XXVII.</h4>
+
+<p>The Parson burst upon the philosopher like an avalanche! He was so full
+of his subject that he could not let it out in prudent driblets. No, he
+went souse upon the astounded Riccabocca&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i10">"Tremendo,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Jupiter ipse ruens tumultu."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The sage&mdash;shrinking deeper into his arm-chair, and drawing his
+dressing-robe more closely round him&mdash;suffered the Parson to talk for
+three quarters of an hour, till indeed he had thoroughly proved his
+case; and, like Brutus, "paused for a reply."</p>
+
+<p>Then said Riccabocca mildly, "In much of what you have urged so ably,
+and so suddenly, I am inclined to agree. But base is the man who
+formally forswears the creed he has inherited from his fathers, and
+professed since the cradle up to years of maturity, when the change
+presents itself in the guise of a bribe;&mdash;when, for such is human
+nature, he can hardly distinguish or disentangle the appeal to his
+reason from the lure to his interests&mdash;here a text, and there a
+dowry!&mdash;here Protestantism, there Jemima!&mdash;Own, my friend, that the
+soberest casuist would see double under the inebriating effects produced
+by so mixing his polemical liquors. Appeal, my good Mr. Dale, from
+Philip drunken to Philip sober!&mdash;from Riccabocca intoxicated with the
+assurance of your excellent lady, that he is about to be "the happiest
+of men," to Riccabocca accustomed to his happiness, and carrying it off
+with the seasoned equability of one grown familiar with stimulants&mdash;in a
+word, appeal from Riccabocca the wooer to Riccabocca the spouse. I may
+be convertible, but conversion is a slow process; courtship should be a
+quick one&mdash;ask Miss Jemima. <i>Finalmente</i>, marry me first, and convert me
+afterwards!"</p>
+
+<p>"You take this too jestingly," began the Parson; "and I don't see why,
+with your excellent understanding, truths so plain and obvious should
+not strike you at once."</p>
+
+<p>"Truths," interrupted Riccabocca profoundly, "are the slowest growing
+things in the world! It took 1500 years from the date of the Christian
+era to produce your own Luther, and then he flung his Bible at Satan, (I
+have seen the mark made by the book on the wall of his prison in
+Germany,) besides running off with a nun, which no Protestant clergyman
+would think it proper and right to do now-a-days." Then he added, with
+seriousness, "Look you, my dear sir,&mdash;I should lose my own esteem if I
+were even to listen to you now with becoming attention,&mdash;now, I say,
+when you hint that the creed I have professed may be in the way of my
+advantage. If so, I must keep the creed and resign the advantage. But
+if, as I trust&mdash;not only as a Christian, but a man of honor&mdash;you will
+defer this discussion, I will promise to listen to you hereafter; and
+though, to say truth,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_557" id="Page_557">[Pg 557]</a></span> I believe that you will not convert me, I will
+promise you faithfully never to interfere with my wife's religion."</p>
+
+<p>"And any children you may have?"</p>
+
+<p>"Children!" said Dr. Riccabocca, recoiling&mdash;"you are not contented with
+firing your pocket-pistol right in my face; you must also pepper me all
+over with small-shot. Children! well, if they are girls, let them follow
+the faith of their mother; and if boys, while in childhood, let them be
+contented with learning to be Christians; and when they grow into men,
+let them choose for themselves which is the best form for the practice
+of the great principles which all sects have in common."</p>
+
+<p>"But," began Mr. Dale again, pulling a large book from his pocket.</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Riccabocca flung open the window, and jumped out of it.</p>
+
+<p>It was the rapidest and most dastardly flight you could possibly
+conceive; but it was a great compliment to the argumentative powers of
+the Parson, and he felt it as such. Nevertheless, Mr. Dale thought it
+right to have a long conversation, both with the Squire and Miss Jemima
+herself, upon the subject which his intended convert had so
+ignominiously escaped.</p>
+
+<p>The Squire, though a great foe to Popery, politically considered, had
+also quite as great a hatred to turn-coats and apostates. And in his
+heart he would have despised Riccabocca if he could have thrown off his
+religion as easily as he had done his spectacles. Therefore he said
+simply&mdash;"Well, it is certainly a great pity that Rickeybockey is not of
+the Church of England, though, I take it, that would be unreasonable to
+expect in a man born and bred under the nose of the Inquisition," (the
+Squire firmly believed that the Inquisition was in full force in all the
+Italian states, with whips, racks, and thumbscrews; and, indeed, his
+chief information of Italy was gathered from a perusal he had given in
+early youth to <i>The One-Handed Monk</i>;) "but I think he speaks very
+fairly, on the whole, as to his wife and children. And the thing's gone
+too far now to retract. It is all your fault for not thinking of it
+before; and I've now just made up my mind as to the course to pursue
+respecting those&mdash;d&mdash;&mdash;d stocks!"</p>
+
+<p>As for Miss Jemima, the Parson left her with a pious thanksgiving that
+Riccabocca at least was a Christian, and not a Pagan, Mahometan, or Jew!</p>
+
+
+<h4>CHAPTER XXVIII.</h4>
+
+<p>There is that in a wedding which appeals to a universal sympathy. No
+other event in the lives of their superiors in rank creates an equal
+sensation amongst the humbler classes.</p>
+
+<p>From the moment the news had spread throughout the village that Miss
+Jemima was to be married, all the old affection for the Squire and his
+house burst forth the stronger for its temporary suspension. Who could
+think of the stocks in such a season? They were swept out of
+fashion&mdash;hunted from remembrance as completely as the question of Repeal
+or the thought of Rebellion from the warm Irish heart, when the fair
+young face of the Royal Wife beamed on the sister isle.</p>
+
+<p>Again cordial courtesies were dropped at the thresholds by which the
+Squire passed to his home farm; again the sunburnt brows uncovered&mdash;no
+more with sullen ceremony&mdash;were smoothed into cheerful gladness at his
+nod. Nay, the little ones began again to assemble at their ancient
+rendezvous by the stocks, as if either familiarized with the phenomenon,
+or convinced that, in the general sentiment of good-will, its powers of
+evil were annulled.</p>
+
+<p>The Squire tasted once more the sweets of the only popularity which is
+much worth having, and the loss of which a wise man would reasonably
+deplore; viz., the popularity which arises from a persuasion of our
+goodness, and a reluctance to recall our faults. Like all blessings, the
+more sensibly felt from previous interruption, the Squire enjoyed this
+restored popularity with an exhilarated sense of existence; his stout
+heart beat more vigorously, his stalwart step trod more lightly; his
+comely English face looked comelier and more English than ever;&mdash;you
+would have been a merrier man for a week to have come within hearing of
+his jovial laugh.</p>
+
+<p>He felt grateful to Jemima and to Riccabocca as the special agents of
+Providence in this general <i>integratio amoris</i>. To have looked at him,
+you would suppose that it was the Squire who was going to be married a
+second time to his Harry!</p>
+
+<p>One may well conceive that such would have been an inauspicious moment
+for Parson Dale's theological scruples. To have stopped that
+marriage&mdash;chilled all the sunshine it diffused over the village&mdash;seen
+himself surrounded again by long, sulky visages,&mdash;I verily believe,
+though a better friend of Church and State never stood on a hustings,
+that, rather than court such a revulsion, the Squire would have found
+jesuitical excuses for the marriage if Riccabocca had been discovered to
+be the Pope in disguise! As for the stocks, their fate was now
+irrevocably sealed. In short, the marriage was concluded&mdash;first
+privately, according to the bridegroom's creed, by a Roman Catholic
+clergyman, who lived in a town some miles off, and next publicly in the
+village church of Hazeldean.</p>
+
+<p>It was the heartiest rural wedding! Village girls strewed flowers on the
+way;&mdash;a booth was placed amidst the prettiest scenery of the park, on
+the margin of the lake&mdash;for there was to be a dance later in the day; an
+ox was roasted whole. Even Mr. Stirn&mdash;no, Mr. Stirn was <i>not</i> present,
+so much happiness would have been the death of him! And the Papisher
+too, who had conjured Lenny out of the stocks; nay, who had himself sat
+in the stocks for the very purpose of bringing them into contempt&mdash;the
+Papisher! he had as lief Miss Jemima had married the devil! Indeed, he
+was persuaded that, in point of fact, it was all one and the same.
+Therefore Mr. Stirn<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_558" id="Page_558">[Pg 558]</a></span> had asked leave to go and attend his uncle the
+pawnbroker, about to undergo a torturing operation for the stone! Frank
+was there, summoned from Eton for the occasion&mdash;having grown two inches
+taller since he left&mdash;for the one inch of which nature was to be
+thanked, for the other a new pair of resplendent Wellingtons. But the
+boy's joy was less apparent than that of others. For Jemima was a
+special favorite with him, as she would have been with all boys&mdash;for she
+was always kind and gentle, and made many pretty presents whenever she
+came from the watering-places. And Frank knew that he should miss her
+sadly, and thought she had made a very queer choice.</p>
+
+<p>Captain Higginbotham had been invited; but, to the astonishment of
+Jemima, he had replied to the invitation by a letter to herself, marked
+"<i>private and confidential</i>." "She must have long known," said the
+letter, "of his devoted attachment to her; motives of delicacy, arising
+from the narrowness of his income and the magnanimity of his sentiments,
+had alone prevented his formal proposals; but now that he was informed
+(he could scarcely believe his senses, or command his passions) that her
+relations wished to force her into a <span class="smcap">barbarous</span> marriage with a foreigner
+of <span class="smcap">most forbidding appearance</span>, and most <i>abject circumstances</i>, he lost
+not a moment in laying at her feet his own hand and fortune. And he did
+this the more confidently, inasmuch as he could not but be aware of Miss
+Jemima's <span class="smcap">secret</span> feelings towards him, while he was <i>proud</i> and <i>happy</i>
+to say, that his dear and distinguished cousin, Mr. Sharpe Currie, had
+honored him with a warmth of regard, which justified the most
+<i>brilliant</i> <span class="smcap">expectations</span>&mdash;likely to be <i>soon</i> realized&mdash;as his eminent
+relative had contracted a <i>very bad liver complaint</i> in the service of
+his country, and could not last long!"</p>
+
+<p>In all the years they had known each other, Miss Jemima, strange as it
+may appear, had never once suspected the Captain of any other feelings
+to her than those of a brother. To say that she was not gratified by
+learning her mistake, would be to say that she was more than woman.
+Indeed, it must have been a source of no ignoble triumph to think that
+she could prove her disinterested affection to her dear Riccabocca, by a
+prompt rejection of this more brilliant offer. She couched the
+rejection, it is true, in the most soothing terms. But the Captain
+evidently considered himself ill used; he did not reply to the letter,
+and did not come to the wedding.</p>
+
+<p>To let the reader into a secret, never known to Miss Jemima, Captain
+Higginbotham was much less influenced by Cupid than by Plutus in the
+offer he had made. The Captain was one of that class of gentlemen who
+read their accounts by those corpse-lights, or will-o'-the-wisps, called
+<i>expectations</i>. Ever since the Squire's grandfather had left him&mdash;then
+in short clothes&mdash;a legacy of &pound;500, the Captain had peopled the future
+with expectations! He talked of his expectations as a man talks of
+shares in a Tontine; they might fluctuate a little&mdash;be now up and now
+down&mdash;but it was morally impossible, if he lived on, but that he should
+be a <i>millionaire</i> one of these days. Now, though Miss Jemima was a good
+fifteen years younger than himself, yet she always stood for a good
+round sum in the ghostly books of the Captain. She was an <i>expectation</i>
+to the full amount of her &pound;4000, seeing that Frank was an only child,
+and it would be carrying coals to Newmarket to leave <i>him</i> any thing.</p>
+
+<p>Rather than see so considerable a cipher suddenly spunged out of his
+visionary ledger&mdash;rather than so much money should vanish clean out of
+the family, Captain Higginbotham had taken what he conceived, if a
+desperate, at least a certain, step for the preservation of his
+property. If the golden horn could not be had without the heifer, why,
+he must take the heifer into the bargain. He had never formed to himself
+an idea that a heifer so gentle would toss and fling him over. The blow
+was stunning. But no one compassionates the misfortunes of the covetous,
+though few perhaps are in greater need of compassion. And leaving poor
+Captain Higginbotham to retrieve his illusory fortunes as he best may
+among "the expectations" which gathered round the form of Mr. Sharpe
+Currie, who was the crossest old tyrant imaginable, and never allowed at
+his table any dishes not compounded with rice, which played Old Nick
+with the Captain's constitutional functions,&mdash;I return to the wedding at
+Hazeldean, just in time to see the bridegroom&mdash;who looked singularly
+well on the occasion&mdash;hand the bride (who, between sunshiny tears and
+affectionate smiles, was really a very interesting and even a pretty
+bride, as brides go) into a carriage which the Squire had presented to
+them, and depart on the orthodox nuptial excursion amidst the blessings
+of the assembled crowd.</p>
+
+<p>It may be thought strange by the unreflective that these rural
+spectators should so have approved and blessed the marriage of a
+Hazeldean of Hazeldean with a poor, outlandish, long-haired foreigner;
+but, besides that Riccabocca, after all, had become one of the
+neighborhood, and was proverbially 'a civil-spoken gentleman,' it is
+generally noticeable that on wedding occasions the bride so monopolizes
+interest, curiosity, and admiration, that the bridegroom himself goes
+for little or nothing. He is merely the passive agent in the affair&mdash;the
+unregarded cause of the general satisfaction. It was not Riccabocca
+himself that they approved and blessed&mdash;it was the gentleman in the
+white waistcoat who had made Miss Jemima&mdash;Madam Rickeybocky!</p>
+
+<p>Leaning on his wife's arm, (for it was a habit of the Squire to lean on
+his wife's arm rather than she on his, when he was specially pleased;
+and there was something touching in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_559" id="Page_559">[Pg 559]</a></span> the sight of that strong sturdy
+frame thus insensibly, in hours of happiness, seeking dependence on the
+frail arm of woman),&mdash;leaning, I say, on his wife's arm, the Squire,
+about the hour of sunset, walked down to the booth by the lake.</p>
+
+<p>All the parish&mdash;young and old, man, woman, and child&mdash;were assembled
+there, and their faces seemed to bear one family likeness, in the common
+emotion which animated all, as they turned to his frank fatherly smile.
+Squire Hazeldean stood at the head of the long table: he filled a horn
+with ale from the brimming tankard beside him. Then he looked round, and
+lifted his hand to request silence; and, ascending the chair, rose in
+full view of all. Every one felt that the Squire was about to make a
+speech, and the earnestness of the attention was proportioned to the
+rarity of the event; for (though he was not unpractised in the oratory
+of the hustings), only thrice before had the Squire made what could
+fairly be called 'a speech' to the villagers of Hazeldean&mdash;once on a
+kindred festive occasion, when he had presented to them his bride&mdash;once
+in a contested election for the shire, in which he took more than
+ordinary interest, and was not quite so sober as he ought to have
+been&mdash;once in a time of great agricultural distress, when, in spite of
+reduction of rents, the farmers had been compelled to discard a large
+number of their customary laborers; and when the Squire had said,&mdash;"I
+have given up keeping the hounds, because I want to make a fine piece of
+water (that was the origin of the lake), and to drain all the low lands
+round the park. Let every man who wants work come to me!" And that sad
+year the parish rates of Hazeldean were not a penny the more.</p>
+
+<p>Now, for the fourth time, the Squire rose, and thus he spoke. At his
+right hand, Harry; at his left, Frank. At the bottom of the table, as
+vice-president, Parson Dale, his little wife behind him, only obscurely
+seen. She cried readily, and her handkerchief was already before her
+eyes.</p>
+
+
+<h4>CHAPTER XXIX.&mdash;THE SQUIRE'S SPEECH.</h4>
+
+<p>"Friends and neighbors:&mdash;I thank you kindly for coming round me this
+day, and for showing so much interest in me and mine. My cousin was not
+born amongst you as I was, but you have known her from a child. It is a
+familiar face, and one that never frowned, which you will miss at your
+cottage doors, as I and mine will miss it long in the old hall&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>Here there was a sob from some of the women, and nothing was seen of
+Mrs. Dale but the white handkerchief. The Squire himself paused, and
+brushed away a tear with the back of his hand. Then he resumed, with a
+sudden change of voice that was electrical&mdash;"For we none of us prize a
+blessing till we have lost it! Now, friends and neighbors,&mdash;a little
+time ago, it seemed as if some ill-will had crept into the
+village&mdash;ill-will between you and me, neighbors!&mdash;why, that is not like
+Hazeldean!"</p>
+
+<p>The audience hung their heads! You never saw people look so thoroughly
+ashamed of themselves. The Squire proceeded&mdash;"I don't say it was all
+your fault; perhaps it was mine."</p>
+
+<p>"Noa-noa-noa," burst forth in a general chorus.</p>
+
+<p>"Nay, friends," continued the Squire humbly, and in one of those
+illustrative aphorisms which, if less subtle than Riccabocca's, were
+more within reach of the popular comprehension; "nay&mdash;we are all human;
+and every man has his hobby; sometimes he breaks in the hobby, and
+sometimes the hobby, if it is very hard in the mouth, breaks in him. One
+man's hobby has an ill habit of always stopping at the public house!
+(Laughter.) Another man's hobby refuses to stir a peg beyond the door
+where some buxom lass patted its neck the week before&mdash;a hobby I rode
+pretty often when I went courting my good wife here! (Much laughter and
+applause.) Others, have a lazy hobby, that there's no getting
+on;&mdash;others, a runaway hobby that there's no stopping: but to cut the
+matter short, my favorite hobby, as you well know, is always trotted out
+to any place on my property which seems to want the eye and hand of the
+master. I hate (cried the Squire warming), to see things neglected and
+decayed, and going to the dogs! This land we live in is a good mother to
+us, and we can't do too much for her. It is very true, neighbors, that I
+owe her a good many acres, and ought to speak well of her; but what
+then? I live amongst you, and what I take from the rent with one hand, I
+divide amongst you with the other, (low, but assenting murmurs.) Now the
+more I improve my property, the more mouths it feeds. My
+great-grandfather kept a Field-Book, in which were entered not only the
+names of all the farmers and the quantity of land they held, but the
+average number of the laborers each employed. My grandfather and father
+followed his example: I have done the same. I find, neighbors, that our
+rents have doubled since my great-grandfather began to make the book.
+Ay&mdash;but there are more than four times the number of laborers employed
+on the estate, and at much better wages too! Well, my men, that says a
+great deal in favor of improving property, and not letting it go to the
+dogs. (Applause.) And therefore, neighbors, you will kindly excuse my
+hobby: it carries grist to your mill. (Reiterated applause.) Well&mdash;but
+you will say, 'What's the Squire driving at?' Why this, my friends:
+There was only one worn-out, dilapidated, tumble-down thing in the
+Parish of Hazeldean, and it became an eyesore to me; so I saddled my
+hobby, and rode at it. O ho! you know what I mean now! Yes, but
+neighbors, you need not have taken it so to heart. That was a scurvy
+trick of some of you to hang me in effigy, as they call it."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_560" id="Page_560">[Pg 560]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"It warn't you," cried a voice in the crowd, "it war Nick Stirn."</p>
+
+<p>The Squire recognized the voice of the tinker; but though he now guessed
+at the ringleader,&mdash;on that day of general amnesty, he had the prudence
+and magnanimity not to say, "Stand forth, Sprott: thou art the man." Yet
+his gallant English spirit would not suffer him to come off at the
+expense of his servant.</p>
+
+<p>"If it was Nick Stirn you meant," said he gravely, "more shame for you.
+It showed some pluck to hang the master; but to hang the poor servant,
+who only thought to do his duty, careless of what ill-will it brought
+upon him, was a shabby trick&mdash;so little like the lads of Hazeldean, that
+I suspect the man who taught it to them was never born in the parish.
+But let bygones be bygones. One thing is clear, you don't take kindly to
+my new pair of stocks! They have been a stumbling-block and a grievance,
+and there's no denying that we went on very pleasantly without them. I
+may also say that in spite of them we have been coming together again
+lately. And I can't tell you what good it did me to see your children
+playing again on the green, and your honest faces, in spite of the
+stocks, and those diabolical tracts you've been reading lately, lighted
+up at the thought that something pleasant was going on at the Hall. Do
+you know, neighbors, you put me in mind of an old story which, besides
+applying to the Parish, all who are married, and all who intend to
+marry, will do well to recollect. A worthy couple, named John and Joan,
+had lived happily together many a long year, till one unlucky day they
+bought a new bolster. Joan said the bolster was too hard, and John that
+it was too soft. So, of course, they quarrelled. After sulking all day,
+they agreed to put the bolster between them at night." (Roars of
+laughter amongst the men; the women did not know which way to look,
+except, indeed, Mrs. Hazeldean, who, though she was more than usually
+rosy, maintained her innocent genial smile, as much as to say, "There is
+no harm in the Squire's jests.") The orator resumed&mdash;"After they had
+thus lain apart for a little time, very silent and sullen, John sneezed.
+'God bless you!' says Joan over the bolster. 'Did you say God bless me?'
+cries John;&mdash;'then here goes the bolster!'"</p>
+
+<p>Prolonged laughter and tumultuous applause.</p>
+
+<p>"Friends and neighbors," said the Squire when silence was restored, and
+lifting the horn of ale, "I have the pleasure to inform you that I have
+ordered the stocks to be taken down, and made into a bench for the
+chimney nook of our old friend Gaffer Solomons yonder. But mind me,
+lads, if ever you make the Parish regret the loss of the stocks, and the
+overseers come to me with long faces and say, 'the stocks must be
+rebuilded,' why&mdash;" Here from all the youth of the village rose so
+deprecating a clamor, that the Squire would have been the most bungling
+orator in the world if he had said a word further on the subject. He
+elevated the horn over his head&mdash;"Why, that's my old Hazeldean again!
+Health and long life to you all!"</p>
+
+<p>The Tinker had sneaked out of the assembly, and did not show his face in
+the village for the next six months. And as to those poisonous tracts,
+in spite of their salubrious labels, "the Poor Man's Friend," or "the
+Rights of Labor," you could no more have found one of them lurking in
+the drawers of the kitchen-dressers in Hazeldean, than you would have
+found the deadly nightshade on the flower-stands in the drawing-room of
+the Hall. As for the revolutionary beer-house, there was no need to
+apply to the magistrates to shut it up; it shut itself up before the
+week was out.</p>
+
+<p>O young head of the great House of Hapsburg, what a Hazeldean you might
+have made of Hungary! What a "<i>Moriamur pro rege nostro</i>" would have
+rang in your infant reign,&mdash;if you had made such a speech as the
+Squire's!</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_R_18" id="Footnote_R_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_R_18"><span class="label">[R]</span></a> The Emperor Diocletian.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_S_19" id="Footnote_S_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_S_19"><span class="label">[S]</span></a> The title of Excellency does not, in Italian, necessarily
+express any exalted rank: but it is often given by servants to their
+masters.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="Historical_Review_of_the_Month" id="Historical_Review_of_the_Month"></a><i>Historical Review of the Month.</i></h2>
+
+
+<p>In this number of the <i>International</i>, copying the example of the oldest
+magazine in the world, <i>The Gentleman's</i>, which for a hundred years has
+found its account in such a department, we present a carefully prepared
+and succinct summary of the history of the world, as it has come to our
+knowledge during the past month. It is intended hereafter to continue
+this feature in the <i>International</i>, devoting to it such attention that
+our pages shall always be deserving of consultation as an authority in
+regard to contemporary events. In the general characteristics of this
+department we shall offer nothing very original; the examples of our
+English contemporaries will be generally adhered to; but the utmost care
+and candor will be evinced in every <i>resum&eacute;</i> of affairs or opinions
+admitted to our pages.</p>
+
+
+<h4>THE UNITED STATES.</h4>
+
+<p>As the session of Congress draws near to its close, its proceedings
+become more animated and interesting. It is already evident, however,
+that but few of the questions recommended for its consideration can be
+disposed of before its adjournment. One of its most important acts was
+the passage of the Cheap Postage Bill, in the House, on the seventeenth
+of January, by a vote of 130 to 75. This bill provides for a uniform
+rate of three cents per half-ounce, on letters, and a material reduction
+in the rates charged for newspapers and periodicals. The Senate
+Committee to whom the bill was referred, have reported amendments
+raising the postage to five cents on unpaid letters, striking out the
+provision allowing newspapers to go free within thirty miles of their
+place of publication, and reducing postage on magazines fifty per cent
+when prepaid. The French Spoliation Bill, after considerable discussion,
+passed the Senate on Friday, January 24th. The bill provides for the
+payment of claims based on the detention of vessels in the port of
+Bordeaux, the forcible capture and detention of American citizens, and
+depredations on American commerce in the West Indies, to the amount of
+$5,000,000.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_561" id="Page_561">[Pg 561]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The bill to ascertain and settle Private Land Claims in California,
+introduced by Mr. Fremont towards the close of last session, was called
+up by Mr. Gwin, his colleague, on the twenty-seventh of January. Mr.
+Gwin offered a substitute, which was agreed to in Committee of the
+Whole, when the bill was reported to the Senate. After a most animated
+debate, in which the bill was strongly opposed by Mr. Benton, it finally
+passed the Senate on the sixth of February.</p>
+
+<p>The bill introduced in the House for the establishment of Branch Mints
+in New-York and San Francisco gave rise to an exciting debate. The bill
+was discussed for several days, the Pennsylvania members opposing it in
+a body. Its defeat was finally accomplished on Wednesday, February 5th.
+Since then Mr. Gwin has introduced in the Senate a separate bill for the
+establishment of a Branch Mint in San Francisco. A joint resolution,
+reported to the Senate by Mr. Rusk, providing that dead letters
+remaining in the post-offices of California and Oregon shall be opened
+at the post-office in San Francisco, under care of a special agent, was
+adopted.</p>
+
+<p>In the Senate, February 5th, the Committee on Foreign Relations, of
+which Mr. Foote is chairman, reported a resolution that in all future
+treaties by the United States, provisions should be made for settling
+difficulties by arbitration, before resorting to war. The Judiciary
+Committee also reported in favor of Messrs. Winthrop and Ewing (senators
+appointed by the governors of Massachusetts and Ohio to fill vacancies)
+holding their seats till their regularly-elected successors appear to
+claim their places. Mr. Winthrop, however, on Friday, February 7th,
+presented the credentials of his successor, Mr. Rantoul, (who had not
+yet arrived,) and vacated his seat. The credentials of Mr. Bright, as
+senator from Indiana for the ensuing term, were presented on the
+twenty-eighth of January.</p>
+
+<p>A bill for the relief of Mrs. Charlotte Lynch, mother of Miss Anne C.
+Lynch, the poetess, passed the House by a majority of 11. It had
+previously passed the Senate. Mrs. Lynch is the only surviving child of
+Colonel Ebenezer Gray, of the Connecticut line, who served in the army
+of the Revolution. The bill provides five years' full pay, as an
+equivalent for the losses sustained by him through the substitution of
+the commutation certificates issued in 1783.</p>
+
+<p>The American Minister at Rio Janeiro has transmitted some important
+information to the Government in regard to the Brazilian traffic in
+slaves under the American flag. A considerable portion of the infamous
+trade, by which from forty to fifty thousand negroes are annually
+imported into Brazil, is carried on in American-built vessels, under the
+protection of our flag. It has been found impossible to enforce the
+Brazilian statutes on the subject, the authorities charged with their
+execution, almost without exception, conniving at the traffic. In spite
+of the exertions of the American Minister, our flag is still used as a
+protection, and its influence is given to the support of the
+slave-dealer. The communications of the American Minister have been
+referred by the Senate to the Committee on Commerce. Mr. Clay spoke at
+some length in favor of adopting more efficient measures to prevent
+American vessels and seamen from engaging in the slave-trade.</p>
+
+<p>The project of establishing a line of steamers between several American
+ports and the coast of Africa, Gibraltar, and England,&mdash;familiarly known
+as the "Ebony Line,"&mdash;has been strongly recommended to Congress by
+petitions from all quarters. The Legislature of Virginia, and the
+Constitutional Convention of the same State, now in session, have both
+passed resolutions in its favor. Several other States have done, or are
+about to do the same thing. The session is already so far advanced,
+however, that the subject will probably be left without action for the
+next Congress.</p>
+
+<p>The Senate Committee on the Post-office has reported in favor of
+granting to a company the right of way and subscription to the stock of
+an Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Kaufman, a member of the House, from Texas, died very suddenly on
+the thirty-first of January. His funeral took place on the Monday
+following, February 3d. Mr. Kaufman was born in Pennsylvania in 1813,
+graduated in Princeton College in 1833, practiced law in Louisiana, and
+removed to Texas in 1835.</p>
+
+<p>The subject of most general interest in the political world is the
+election of United States Senator, in a number of the States, for the
+term commencing on the 4th of March. Several elections have taken place,
+and others have not been accomplished in spite of repeated ballots. In
+New-York, the Constitution provides for an election on the first
+Wednesday of February. On that day the Whig candidate, ex-Governor
+Hamilton Fish, received a majority of 37 in the House: the Senate, after
+two ineffectual ballots, adjourned. A special law will therefore be
+required to elect a senator. In Massachusetts, the Democratic candidate,
+Robert Rantoul, Jr., was elected to fill the vacancy occasioned by Mr.
+Webster's acceptance of a place in the Cabinet. All attempts to elect a
+senator for the ensuing term have failed up to this period. Mr. Sumner,
+the Free Soil candidate, lacked but two votes of an election on the
+twelfth ballot, but afterwards lost. It was finally postponed to the
+twenty-seventh of February. In the Ohio Legislature, ten successive
+ballots were cast without arriving at an election, after which the
+subject was indefinitely postponed. In Rhode Island, General Charles T.
+James, the Democratic candidate, was elected; in Florida, Stephen R.
+Mallory, in place of Hon. D. L. Yulee, both Democrats; and in Delaware,
+James A. Bayard, Democrat, in the place of Mr. Wales, the present Whig
+senator. Hon. Henry Dodge was reelected by the Legislature of Wisconsin,
+by a majority of one, on the fifth vote. In Pennsylvania, Hon. Richard
+Brodhead was elected in place of Mr. Sturgeon, both members of the
+Democratic party. Henry S. Geyer, Whig, has been elected by the State of
+Missouri, as United States Senator, in place of Col. Thomas H. Benton,
+who is superseded after an uninterrupted service of thirty years.</p>
+
+<p>William H. Ross, the new Governor of Delaware, was inaugurated at Dover,
+on the twenty-first of January. The most important feature of his
+address was the recommendation of a revision of the State Constitution.
+George F. Fort, the new Governor of New Jersey, has been inaugurated.
+His address takes ground in favor of the compromise measures passed by
+Congress. He also advocates the Free School System, and the election of
+Judges by the people. Governor French, of Illinois, in his annual
+message, represents<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_562" id="Page_562">[Pg 562]</a></span> the State as being in a prosperous condition, the
+revenue being sufficient to meet the demands upon the treasury. He
+recommends a geological survey of the State, and the passage of a
+Homestead Exemption Law. The schools of the State are in a flourishing
+condition. The message of Governor Dewey, of Wisconsin, also shows an
+improved condition of State affairs. The finances are represented as
+being sound, and the credit of the State relieved from all fear of
+bankruptcy. Apprehensions of danger to the citizens residing north of
+Wisconsin river, from the return of the Winnebagoes, have been quieted
+by the appointment of an agent to confer with that tribe. The message of
+Governor Ramsey to the second Legislative Assembly of Minnesota
+Territory is an interesting document. Among other subjects recommended
+to the attention of the Assembly are the agricultural interests of the
+Territory, and the improvement of the Mississippi river, both above and
+below the Falls of St. Anthony. The extinction of the Indian title at
+Pembina will admit of the laws of the Territory being extended over the
+half-breeds at that place. It is said that there are hundreds of
+half-breed hunters on the British side of the line, who are only waiting
+the extinction of the Indian title to change their homes and allegiance.
+The assessed value of property in the five principal counties of
+Minnesota is $805,417.48.</p>
+
+<p>The returns of the Seventh Census will shortly be completed. A number of
+States have recently sent in their full reports, among which are the
+following: New-York 3,099,000, being an increase of 670,029 since 1840;
+Virginia 1,428,863, an increase of 189,066; Maryland 580,633, an
+increase of 111,401; New Hampshire 317,999, an increase of 33,425;
+Missouri 681,547, an increase of 297,845; Ohio 1,981,940, an increase of
+462,473; Kentucky 993,344, an increase of 213,516; Indiana, 990,000; New
+Jersey 490,763, an increase of 117,874; and Wisconsin, 305,556. The
+entire population of the United States in 1850 is estimated at
+23,500,000.</p>
+
+<p>A warrant for the arrest of Governor Quitman of Mississippi, for
+participation in the Cuban Expedition, was issued by Judge Gholson in
+New Orleans, early in January. Governor Quitman at first resisted the
+authority, but afterwards resigned his office as Governor, and on the
+seventh of February reached New Orleans, under arrest. He appeared in
+court, and gave bail for future appearance, asking a speedy trial.</p>
+
+<p>Several diplomatic appointments have recently been made. Hon. Richard H.
+Bayard, who was appointed Charg&eacute; d'Affaires to Belgium, has departed for
+his mission. Hon. Robert C. Schenck, of Ohio, has been appointed
+Minister to Brazil, and Hon. J. S. Pendleton, of Virginia, Charg&eacute;
+d'Affaires to New Grenada. The Chevalier Gomez, Special Envoy to Rome
+from the states of Guatemala and San Salvador, has arrived at
+Washington, and assumed, provisionally, the office of Charg&eacute; from those
+states. He has addressed a letter to the Secretary of State in relation
+to the present condition of the Central American States.</p>
+
+<p>General Mosquera, ex-President of New Grenada, is now travelling in this
+country, and was lately in Washington, where he received distinguished
+attentions. General Paez, the distinguished exile from Venezuela, is
+also in Washington. Dr. Frank Taylor, of Pennsylvania, who has recently
+returned from Constantinople and Asia Minor, has received letters from
+the illustrious Kossuth, addressed to the Secretary of State, and
+soliciting the intervention of the United States with the Turkish
+Government, to procure the release of himself and his compatriots, and
+their transportation to the United States. Mr. Webster immediately
+complied with the request, and has dispatched instructions to Mr. Marsh,
+the American Minister at Constantinople, to procure from the Turkish
+Government the release of the Hungarians.</p>
+
+<p>The frigate St. Lawrence has sailed from New-York for Southampton, with
+articles for the World's Fair. She carries out between four and five
+hundred articles, embracing nearly all branches of manufacture, and the
+principal mineral and agricultural productions of the country. The
+contributions are in charge of Charles F. Stansbury, Esq., agent of the
+Central Committee of Washington. The tender of the authorities of
+Southampton, offering the use of that port, with free transportation of
+the goods to Vauxhall, London, has been accepted by the Secretary of
+State.</p>
+
+<p>There have been several serious wrecks, with loss of life, on the
+Atlantic coast and the Mississippi river. The steamboat America, which
+left Wilmington, N.C., on the fourteenth of January, for Mobile,
+foundered on the 29th. The schooner Champion, of Boston, picked up one
+boat's crew, containing six men. A second boat, containing ten men, was
+picked up by the schooner Star, and taken to Washington. A third boat,
+containing six men, has not been heard from. The steamer John Adams, on
+her way from New Orleans to Cincinnati, struck on a snag in the
+Mississippi river, on the morning of January 27th. The cabin parted from
+the hull, which went down in sixty feet water. Out of 230 cabin and deck
+passengers, firemen, and crew, 123 were lost, of whom 82 were German and
+Irish emigrants, and returning Californians. On the ninth of February,
+the steamer Autocrat, from New Orleans to Memphis, came in contact with
+the steamer Magnolia, coming down the river, and sank instantly. Thirty
+lives were lost.</p>
+
+<p>A calamitous fire took place at New Orleans, on the eighteenth of
+January, destroying the magnificent St. Charles Hotel, together with two
+churches and several other buildings. The total loss is about $500,000,
+less than half of which was covered by insurance. Jenny Lind arrived at
+New Orleans from Havana on the 8th of February. Her reception was in the
+highest degree enthusiastic. Her first concert took place on the 10th,
+the receipts therefrom amounting to $20,000. The first ticket was
+purchased for $240 by a New Orleans hatter, the fortunate drawer of
+Powers' Greek Slave in the Cincinnati Art Union.</p>
+
+<p>Two more of the unfortunate Hungarian refugees have reached this city:
+Captain Eduard Becsey, who served during the war as adjutant to General
+Bern, and Lieutenant Aurel Kiring. Captain Becsey was taken prisoner by
+the Russians, and carried to Kiev, on the Dneiper, where he was detained
+a year. After being released, he made his way to the Mediterranean, and
+obtained a passage to New-York.</p>
+
+<p>Our latest news from Eagle Harbor, the port of the mining region on Lake
+Superior, state that the propeller Independence, which had just taken<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_563" id="Page_563">[Pg 563]</a></span>
+on board her last cargo of copper for the season, was blown on shore by
+a heavy gale, and imbedded in the sand, where she must remain till
+Spring. The Napoleon had arrived from Saut St. Mary, with provisions and
+stores for the winter.</p>
+
+<p>Texas papers of the thirty-first of January state that Judge Rollins,
+the United States Agent, had effected a treaty with the Indians,
+providing for a cessation of hostilities, and the restoration of all
+stolen property and prisoners. Lieuts. Smith and Mechler had completed a
+survey of the Rio Grande from its mouth to a point about four hundred
+and fifty miles above Camargo. They report that the river can be made
+navigable for boats of light draught to a short distance above Loredo
+for several months in the year. Col. Anderson, of the corps of
+Topographical Engineers has received orders to make a survey of the
+Brazos and Guadalupe rivers. A fight had occurred between Lieutenant
+King, with seven men, of the Texan volunteers, and a body of Indians,
+who were driving off a number of stolen horses. They were pursued for
+fifteen or twenty miles, when they abandoned the horses, and escaped
+with the loss of three or four of their number. The total vote on the
+Pierce Boundary Bill, as officially reported, is 9,250 ayes, 3,366 noes.</p>
+
+<p>On the eighteenth of December the whole of the American Boundary
+Commission had arrived at Paso del Norte, with the exception of an
+ox-train carrying supplies. The military escort, under the command of
+Col. Craig, was encamped on the American side of the Rio del Norte, but
+was soon to start for the copper-mines near the headwaters of the Gila.
+The Mexican Commissioner, General Conde, with his escort, was quartered
+in the town of El Paso. Several conferences took place between the
+Commissioners before they could agree on the starting-point for the
+boundary, the existing maps being as inconsistent with the terms of the
+treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo as with the topography of the country
+itself. The winter, throughout the valley of the Del Norte has been very
+severe. The thermometer fell to six degrees at El Paso on the sixth of
+December, and the Rio Grande was frozen over for the first time in the
+memory of the inhabitants.</p>
+
+<p>The settlements of New Mexico are threatened with scarcity. On the tenth
+of January corn was selling at three dollars the bushel, and vegetables
+not to be had at any price. The appearance of the agents for taking the
+census of New-Mexico had occasioned great alarm among the pueblos or
+villages. They feared that the account of their property was taken by
+the Government for the purpose of extortion and seizure. The Apaches
+have committed no depredations of late, but the Navajoes have broken
+their treaty by stealing several thousand sheep from the settlements on
+the Rio del Norte.</p>
+
+<p>In the Utah Territory the Mormons have temporarily settled the question
+of slavery, by leaving it to the choice of the slaves themselves. If the
+slave chooses to leave his master, there is no power to retain him; if
+he chooses to stay, no one is allowed to interfere.</p>
+
+<p>Our news from California is to the first of January. The steamers
+Carolina and Columbus sailed from San Francisco on that day, with 330
+passengers and about $1,500,000 in gold dust. Business was very dull,
+both in the ports and inland towns of California, and the trading
+communities among the mines. The immense shipments of goods which had
+arrived from the Atlantic States had produced a complete stagnation in
+the market, bringing many kinds of merchandise below cost prices. After
+the first showers of the rainy season, early in December, the miners
+withdrew to the dry diggings, when the rains ceased, and three or four
+weeks of clear and delightful weather left them without employment. The
+richest localities are very thickly populated, the miners having built
+themselves log-cabins and organized communities for the winter. On parts
+of Feather river, the American Fork, and the Mokelumne, Tuolumne, and
+Mariposa rivers, the diggings were still yielding a good return. New
+discoveries of rich veins of quartz-bearing gold continue to be made. A
+mine of silver ore, of a very rich quality, is reported to have been
+discovered in the neighborhood of Monterey. A company is being formed at
+that place for the purpose of working the mine upon an extensive scale.
+The Sacramento papers state that a large mine of lead, in an almost pure
+state, exists near Johnson's Ranche, about thirty miles from that city.
+The ore is represented to lie on the surface of the earth, in heavy
+masses, so that vast quantities could be obtained without sinking a
+shaft.</p>
+
+<p>On the evening of December 14th another fire broke out in San Francisco,
+in a large zinc building owned by Cooke, Baker &amp; Co. By the exertions of
+the firemen and the citizens the conflagration was subdued, after
+consuming this building and three or four others of less value. The
+large building belonging to the Pacific Mail Steamship Company was in
+the utmost danger, having been greatly scorched by the flames. The total
+loss by this fire was $75,000. The city, on the first of January, was
+fully prepared for the rainy season. By the enterprise of the
+inhabitants, upward of seven and a half miles of street had been graded
+and four miles planked, while capacious piers and wharves were built far
+out into the bay, so that vessels were enabled to load and unload
+without the use of lighters. The cholera had entirely disappeared, not
+only from San Francisco, but from all parts of California. Its ravages
+have been much lighter than was anticipated, a fact which speaks well
+for the health of the country.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Pacific News</i> contains some interesting statistics of the condition
+of San Francisco at the close of the year 1850. The population of the
+city is estimated at 35,000. One hundred and seven miles of street are
+already laid out, one quarter of which is built upon and occupied. The
+business streets are substantially built of brick or iron. In addition
+to seventeen large auction firms and eight express companies, the city
+boasts of ten first class hotels and seven daily papers. The amount of
+gold-dust regularly shipped and entered for exportation during the year
+1850 was $30,000,000; the estimated amount taken away by passengers,
+$12,000,000. The amount of bullion received was $1,722,600. The number
+of vessels which arrived during the year was 1,743 bringing 35,333 male
+and 1,248 female passengers; the number of clearances amounts to 1,461
+vessels, carrying away 26,593 male and eight female passengers. The
+total value of the merchandise received by foreign and domestic vessels
+during the year was between four and five millions of dollars. In
+addition to 14 steamers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_564" id="Page_564">[Pg 564]</a></span> running regularly between San Francisco and
+Panama, and three on the Oregon route, there are 45 steamers and 270
+other craft of various kinds on the bay and inland streams.</p>
+
+<p>We have news from Oregon to the middle of December, at which time the
+Legislature was in session. The message of Governor Gaines recommends
+the establishment of a liberal system of education, and asks for the
+passage of a law for protection against the Indian tribes. It also
+maintains the importance of a liberal policy on the part of the General
+Government in the donation of lands to actual settlers. The country
+appears to be in a highly prosperous condition; all the towns on the
+Columbia and its tributaries are growing rapidly. The news from the gold
+placers on the Klamath and Umpqua rivers, near the borders of
+California, is encouraging as to the yield of dust, but the Oregonians
+place their main reliance on their agricultural interests. The yield of
+wheat is said to be not only double per acre that of the Atlantic
+States, but it is a never-failing crop. The people in Oregon City are
+agitating the subject of a railroad to connect the Willamette Valley
+with the Columbia river, at some point accessible to large vessels. It
+is estimated that the whole cost will only be about $500,000, which it
+is proposed to raise in one thousand shares of $500 each. Twelve months,
+it is believed, will complete the work.</p>
+
+
+<h4>EUROPE.</h4>
+
+<p>On the first of February, England was in a tranquil condition, the
+anti-Papal agitation having almost entirely subsided. The journals were
+engaged in discussing law reform, the New-York Revised Code being
+commended as a model in many quarters. In the Queen's speech at the
+opening of Parliament&mdash;an advance copy having been forwarded to this
+country&mdash;a thorough reform of the Equity courts is recommended, as well
+as the introduction of an act for the registration of deeds, equally
+applicable to each of the three kingdoms. Her Majesty alludes in terms
+of comparative mildness to the Wiseman affair, commending the question
+to the attention of Parliament. Public opinion is strongly in favor of a
+large reduction in taxation, and it is anticipated that the window tax
+will be abolished. The quarterly returns of the revenue have been highly
+satisfactory, since, notwithstanding the abolition of the tax on bricks
+and the reduction of the stamp duty, the income exceeds that of the
+previous year by about &pound;165,000.</p>
+
+<p>The great crystal palace in Hyde Park is rapidly advancing towards its
+completion. The immense structure is exciting the wonder and admiration
+of the metropolis, and the opening of the fair is anticipated with great
+interest. The strength of the building has been amply tested by a severe
+storm of hail and wind, which passed over without breaking a pane of
+glass. All quarters of the world are sending specimens of their
+manufactures and natural productions. South Africa, Australia, and the
+islands of the sea will be represented, while Cashmere shawls, robes of
+pearl, and Runjeet Singh's golden saddle, will be sent from India.</p>
+
+<p>The U.S. Mail steamer Atlantic, which sailed from Liverpool on the
+twenty-eighth of December, arrived in the harbor of Cork on the
+twenty-second of January, having been at sea twenty-five days. When in
+lat. 46&deg; 12', lon. 41&deg; 30', about midway between Cape Clear and
+New-York, her main shaft broke, rendering the engines useless. After
+running westward two days under sail, a heavy gale arose, when Captain
+West put her head about, and made for Cork, a distance of 1400 miles,
+which she made in eleven days. The steamer Cambria was instantly
+chartered to take her place, but most of her passengers left Liverpool
+in the Africa, on February 1st. It is stated on the authority of Earl
+Monteagle, that the British Government have resolved to make Holyhead
+the port of arrival and departure for the transatlantic mail steamers.</p>
+
+<p>In France, a ministerial revolution has taken place, resulting in
+widening the breach between President Napoleon and the National
+Assembly. Several general orders of General Changarnier to the army of
+Paris having been published in one of the journals, in which he commands
+the troops to pay no attention to any orders but those of the
+Lieutenant-General. Changarnier was called upon in the Assembly for
+explanation. He denied that these instructions were meant to be
+permanent, but only to be put in force when an emeute was apprehended.
+His conduct was approved by the Assembly, but Louis Napoleon, who had
+long regarded Changarnier with fear and jealousy, withdrew from him the
+command of the army at Paris, which he divided between two or three
+generals of lower rank. This gave rise to a most excited debate in the
+National Assembly, in which Lamartine made a speech in the President's
+defence. Baroche, Minister of the Interior, General Changarnier, M.
+Thiers, and General Cavaignac followed, the three latter speakers taking
+strong ground against the ministry. After several days of stormy
+discussion, the resolution of M. de St. Beuve, that the Assembly
+"declares that it has no confidence in the ministry," was carried by a
+majority of 139. The ministers tendered their resignation to the
+President the same evening. A ministerial interregnum followed, which
+was terminated on the twenty-fourth of January by a message of the
+President, appointing a "transition ministry," composed of employ&eacute;es
+from the different departments, not one of them having a seat in the
+Assembly. The following is the list, as given in the <i>Moniteur</i>:</p>
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align='left'>Public Instruction</td><td align='left'>M. Giraud, (de l'Institute.)</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Interior</td><td align='left'>M. Vaisse.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Foreign Affairs</td><td align='left'>M. Brennier.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>War</td><td align='left'>General Randon.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Marine</td><td align='left'>Admiral Levaillant.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Commerce</td><td align='left'>M. Schneider.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Finances</td><td align='left'>M. de Germiny.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Public Works</td><td align='left'>M. Magne.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Justice</td><td align='left'>M. de Royer.</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<p>Lamartine, it is stated, was urged by Louis Napoleon to accept an
+appointment in the ministry, but declined on account of his being bound
+to furnish his publishers with two volumes a month, under heavy
+penalties.</p>
+
+<p>The Conference of the German States at Dresden was opened with much
+ceremony early in January. All the states were represented, but the
+negotiations were kept profoundly secret. It has transpired, however,
+that the formation of the new Diet agreed upon gives two votes to
+Prussia, two to Austria, one each to Bavaria, Saxony, Hanover, and
+Wurtemberg, and three more portioned among the smaller principalities,
+making eleven in all. It is also understood that a Provisional Central
+Power will be proclaimed, Prussia and Austria retaining to themselves
+exclusively<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_565" id="Page_565">[Pg 565]</a></span> the right of deciding for the Confederation all questions
+of peace and war.</p>
+
+<p>Austria still labors under financial embarrassments of an almost
+hopeless character. As a measure of temporary relief, the Government has
+contracted two loans, one from Russia, of fifty millions of florins, and
+the other, of one hundred millions, on state obligations, at six per
+cent. The manufacturers of Austria strongly oppose the proposed
+compromise of the Zollverein, and advocate a tariff of a decidedly
+protective character. Great dissatisfaction has been manifested in
+Hungary, on account of the newly imposed tax on tobacco, which is one of
+the principal productions of the country. In consequence of this
+opposition the excise corps has been greatly enlarged, and serious
+difficulties are apprehended.</p>
+
+<p>The smaller German states are now completely overruled by the Austrian
+and Prussian troops. The Elector of Hesse Cassel has returned to his
+Capital, with his Prime Minister, Hassenpflug, under their protection.
+The Constitution is virtually abolished by their presence, and those who
+supported it are subjected to the most shameful persecutions. Many of
+the best citizens are obliged to leave the country. Schleswig Holstein
+has been 'pacified' in a similar manner. Through the instrumentality of
+the Austrian and Prussian Commissioners, backed by a military force, the
+army of Schleswig Holstein has been disbanded, and the country occupied
+by the troops of Denmark. On the sixteenth of January, the proclamation
+of the King of Denmark, administering the oath of fidelity to the
+military, was read in the marketplace of Rendsburg. Hamburgh has been
+occupied by 4000 Austrian troops.</p>
+
+<p>A treaty of amity and commerce has been concluded with the Swiss Diet,
+by Mr. Dudley Mann, Diplomatic Agent of the United States. Its
+provisions are of the most liberal and friendly character. The entire
+reciprocity and equality of the citizens of both countries, is
+guaranteed, so far as the right of establishment is concerned; a citizen
+of the United States being allowed to settle in one of the Swiss Cantons
+upon the same conditions as a citizen born in another Canton. Entire and
+unconditional liberty in disposing of property is mutually stipulated,
+as well as equal taxation of the individuals established, their
+exemption from military duties, and the grant of indemnity for damages
+in case of war. The commercial intercourse of the two countries is also
+arranged upon the most liberal and advantageous basis. Switzerland has
+remained tranquil, with the exception of a riot in the Canton of Berne,
+occasioned by the attempted extradition, on the part of the Government,
+of a Prussian Jew, a noted socialist, residing at St. Imier. This person
+was very popular among the poor, who resisted the authorities, whereupon
+the troops were ordered to be in readiness to support them. The Swiss
+Government has determined to forward a beautiful stone from the Alps, to
+be placed in the National Monument to Washington.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Italy</span> is still in an unquiet state. There seems to be a growing
+apprehension and uneasiness among all classes in the Papal States, and
+it is rumored that Pope Pius, wearied with the anxieties of his
+situation, wishes to resign the Pontificate, and retire to a Convent.</p>
+
+<p>In <span class="smcap">Naples</span>, the Government, alarmed by rumors of Mazzini's revolutionary
+designs, has made many arrests, and instituted a more vigorous police
+system. All cafes and places of public amusement are strictly watched.
+The army is to be increased by 18,000 men, and as English opinions are
+assigned to be dangerous, those Neapolitans who intended to visit the
+Great Exhibition in London, have been refused their passports.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Austrian Italy</span> is even in a worse condition. Several conspiracies have
+been discovered, and a large number of arrests made in consequence. A
+large number of persons have been executed, in the Lombardo-Venetian
+provinces.</p>
+
+<p>The most interesting news from <span class="smcap">Spain</span> is that of another resignation of
+the Ministry. The resignation of General Narvaez was not accepted by the
+Queen, whereupon that gentleman assembled his colleagues, and
+commissioned them to inform the Queen that unless she released him at
+once from his office, he should blow his brains out! This threat had the
+desired effect, and the following Cabinet was then appointed:</p>
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align='left'>President of the Council and Minister of Finance</td><td align='left'>Bravo Murillo.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Foreign Office</td><td align='left'>Bertran de Lys.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Grace and Justice</td><td align='left'>Gonzales Romero.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Home Department</td><td align='left'>Arteta.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>War</td><td align='left'>Count Mirasol.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Marine</td><td align='left'>Bustillos.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Commerce, &amp;c.</td><td align='left'>Fernandez Negrete.</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<p>The project of a revision of the Constitution, which has been so warmly
+agitated in Sweden, has entirely failed. The proposition of the King has
+been rejected by two of the four chambers constituting the Legislative
+Assembly, three being required in its favor, to form a constitutional
+majority. Sweden will therefore preserve her present system of a
+separate representation of the nobility, clergy, citizens, and peasants.</p>
+
+<p>In <span class="smcap">Turkey</span>, the subjection of the rebellious Bosnians was consummated on
+the seventeenth of December, when Omar Pasha made his triumphal entry
+into Bosna Serai. The captive Pashas and Cadis marched on foot in the
+procession. It is rumored that the Porte has at length agreed to accept
+the offer of the British and American Governments to transport the
+Hungarian refugees to America, and will order their immediate release.
+Three hundred Polish refugees, who arrived at Constantinople from Varna,
+on the thirty-first of December, were to be sent to Liverpool at the
+expense of the Turkish Government. Two Commissioners, Ismet Pasha and
+Sami Pasha, have been appointed to travel through Asiatic and European
+Turkey, for the purpose of noting whether the new reforms in favor of
+the Christians have been carried out.</p>
+
+<p>There is nothing from <span class="smcap">Greece</span>, but accounts of the depredations of the
+robbers which now infest all parts of the country. In the provinces of
+Acarnania, Levadia and Attica, several villages have been sacked, and
+the inhabitants put to the torture.</p>
+
+
+<h4>MEXICO</h4>
+
+<p>The Mexican Congress assembled in the Capital on the first of January,
+when General Herrera, the President, made his annual address. He dwelt
+with satisfaction on the relations existing between the United States
+and Mexico, considering them much more harmonious and mutually
+advantageous than was anticipated at the close of the war. The financial
+condition of the country has been somewhat improved by the retrenchment
+of the Government expenses and the consolidation of the Interior Debt: a
+revision of the Revenue Laws<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_566" id="Page_566">[Pg 566]</a></span> is strongly advocated as a still further
+reform in this direction. President Herrera favors the colonization of
+the public lands by immigrants from Europe; he also alludes with
+satisfaction to the increase of manufactures and the improved prospects
+of the silver mines, which last year yielded upwards of $30,000,000.</p>
+
+<p>The two branches of Congress met on the eighth, to count the votes for
+the election of the President of the Republic. The votes of twelve
+States were found to be in favor of General Arista. He was consequently
+declared to be duly elected. On the fifteenth, in the Chamber of
+Deputies, in the presence of the Mexican Congress, he took the oath of
+office and made a short inaugural address, in which he alluded to the
+maintenance of the federal system as necessary to the prosperity of the
+country, and pledged himself to preserve peace and order at all hazards.
+The President of Congress, Don Mariano Ya&ntilde;ez, replied in a short address
+of congratulation. Te Deum was chanted in the Cathedral in the presence
+of the new President, and in the evening the German residents honored
+him with a serenade and torch light procession. Arista's Cabinet is
+composed as follows: Minister of Foreign Affairs, Don Mariano Ya&ntilde;ez;
+Minister of Justice, Don Jose Maria Aguirre; Minister of Finance, Don
+Manuel Payno; Minister of War and Marine, Don Manuel Robles.</p>
+
+<p>Early in January a rebellion broke out in the State of Guanajuato. The
+insurgents, headed by two brothers named Liceagas, obtained possession
+of the city of Guanajuato, with the Government arms and ammunition, but
+were defeated on the night of the 13th by the Government troops under
+Generals Bustamente and Uraga. Several of the chiefs were executed, and
+the movement, which was in favor of Santa Anna, was entirely crushed.</p>
+
+<p>The Tehuantepec treaty was ratified on the 25th of January. On the
+following day, Mr. Letcher, the American Minister, left the capital for
+the United States, on leave of absence. Se&ntilde;or Lacunza, the Ex-Minister
+of Foreign Affairs, has been appointed Minister to England, and Se&ntilde;or
+Valdiviesco Minister to France. The Mexican Government has ceded in
+perpetuity to Don Gayetano Rubio, Don Eustace Barron, Se&ntilde;or Garay, and
+the firm of Yecker, Torre &amp; Co., the whole of the public lands in the
+State of Sonora, including the mines, between lat. 30&deg; N. and the Gila
+River. This grant embraces several millions of acres, and the richest
+mineral land of the Republic. It is said to have been intended to smooth
+the passage of a bill abolishing all tariff prohibitions, which have
+hitherto operated greatly to the advantage of the parties named.</p>
+
+<p>Maj. Barnard's Company for surveying the Isthmus of Tehuantepec reached
+the town of Minatitlan, on the Coatzocoalcos River, in the steamer
+Alabama, on the 25th of December. At the last accounts, one party had
+penetrated a distance of sixty miles into the country, a second was
+engaged in an examination of the river, and a third had set out for
+Tehuantepec, on the Pacific Coast.</p>
+
+
+<h4>BRITISH AMERICA.</h4>
+
+<p>The lawyers in Lower Canada have been making strikes and holding
+meetings to protest against the imposition of the new tariff regulating
+their fees. The Bar of Quebec and of Trois Rivi&egrave;res have struck,
+declining to serve their clients until the legality of the tariff shall
+be decided by the Court of Appeals. It has been decided to admit
+American reprints of English copyright works into Canada, on paying 20
+per cent. duty, which is to be paid over by the Custom House to the
+English authors or proprietors of copyright, who are required to furnish
+a list of their works. Under this law, American reprints will still be
+much cheaper than English editions, and popular English authors may
+therefore look forward to some increase of their revenue. The Imperial
+Cabinet has also assented to the Post-Office Law, enacted at the last
+Session of the Canadian Legislature, and establishing a uniform rate of
+three pence for single letters throughout the British Provinces.</p>
+
+<p>Meetings have been held in Toronto, protesting against the intended
+removal of the Seat of Government from that city, while, on the other
+hand, the French members have resolved not to vote the supplies unless
+it is removed to Quebec in the spring. Lord Elgin, however, has stated
+that the Seat of Government will be transferred to Quebec at the
+completion of its two years in Toronto.</p>
+
+
+<h4>THE WEST INDIES.</h4>
+
+<p>We have news from Havana to the 3d of February. The administration of
+Gen. Concha appears to be more liberal and energetic than that of his
+predecessor, and gives very general satisfaction.</p>
+
+<p>Jenny Lind gave but four concerts in Havana, only the first and last of
+which were well attended. Her Italian songs produced much more effect
+than her Swedish ballads. The proceeds of the last concert, amounting to
+$5000, was devoted to objects of charity. A grand ball was given in her
+honor by the Count de Pe&ntilde;alver, after which she visited Matanzas and the
+extensive sugar plantations in its neighborhood. Se&ntilde;or Salvi, the great
+tenor, was engaged by Mr. Barnum to sing at her concerts in New-York, in
+April. On the 1st February, Frederika Bremer reached Havana, and the two
+renowned Swedes met, for the first time in the new world.</p>
+
+<p>News from Jamaica to the 1st of February state that the cholera was
+still prevailing in many localities, although it had decreased in some
+and entirely disappeared in others.</p>
+
+
+<h4>CENTRAL AMERICA&mdash;THE ISTHMUS.</h4>
+
+<p>In the State of Nicaragua, the elections have taken place and Don Jos&eacute;
+Sacasa has been chosen Director, from the 1st of May, on which the term
+of Director Raminez expires. The National Convention of Delegates from
+the States of Nicaragua, Honduras and San Salvador, met at Chinandega on
+the 21st of December, and organized by choosing as President Don Jos&eacute;
+Barrundia, the author of the Central-American Constitution of 1820. The
+little steamer Director, belonging to the Nicaraguan Company, passed the
+rapids of Machuca, on San Juan River, and entered Lake Nicaragua on the
+1st of January. She is now running between Granada and San Carlos, a
+distance of 95 miles, at $20 a passenger. The engineers employed to
+survey the route of the proposed ship canal, were at work between
+Granada and San Juan del Sur, on the Pacific. By the 1st of January,
+upwards of four thousand returning Californians had passed through
+Nicaragua, on their way to the United States.</p>
+
+<p>Disturbances have broken out in some of the mountain provinces of
+Guatemala, growing out of the refusal of the inhabitants to concur in
+the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_567" id="Page_567">[Pg 567]</a></span> policy adopted by the Government at the instance of the English
+consul, Mr. Chatfield. The insurgents declared in favor of a Federal
+Union of all the Central-American States. The Government troops, under
+Gen. Carrera, in attempting to put down this opposition, were defeated
+at Chiquimula. A blockade of the ports of San Salvador has been ordered
+by Mr. Chatfield, who threatens Honduras and Nicaragua with a similar
+blow, unless they accede to certain demands. In a letter to the
+Nicaraguan Minister of Foreign Affairs, he arbitrarily lays down the
+boundary line between Honduras, Nicaragua and Musquitia&mdash;an assumed
+kingdom, under cover of which the British authorities have taken
+possession of the port of San Juan. Mr. Chatfield states that unless
+these boundaries are accepted, no canal or other improved method of
+transit across the Isthmus can be established. There is much excitement
+in Central America, on account of his arbitrary course.</p>
+
+<p>The winter rains are at an end on the Isthmus of Panama, and the roads
+are in good condition. Upwards of 800 workmen are employed on the Panama
+Railroad, and the track is already prepared for the rails from Navy Bay,
+the Atlantic terminus, to Gatun, on the Chagres River, a distance of
+three and a half miles.</p>
+
+
+<h4>SOUTH AMERICA.</h4>
+
+<p>The Congress of <span class="smcap">Venezuela</span> met on 20th of January, all the members being
+present. It had previously been feared that the Executive Power would be
+violently seized by Guzman, Vice-President of the Republic, who was one
+of the unsuccessful candidates in the electoral colleges, in case there
+should not be a quorum in Congress. Gen. Monagas, brother of the present
+Executive, lacked only two or three votes of the two-thirds required by
+the Constitution in the electoral colleges, and having received
+sixty-five out of the eighty votes of Congress, was declared elected
+President of Venezuela. Guzman, who had used all his power to defeat
+Monagas, notwithstanding he was indebted to the latter for his life, met
+him upon the steps of the Government House after the election, and
+begged pardon, in tears, for the injuries he had done him. Monagas
+forgave him, and the happiest results for Venezuela are anticipated from
+an administration commenced under such circumstances.</p>
+
+<p>The Presidential Election in <span class="smcap">Peru</span> took place on the 20th of December.
+The prominent candidates were Generals Echinique and San Ramon, and at
+the last accounts it was believed the former was elected.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Bolivia</span> is entirely tranquil, the health of Gen. Belzu having been
+completely restored since his attempted assassination, and the
+conspirators against him, Ballivian and Linares, having fled from the
+country. The partisans of Ballivian were totally routed in the southern
+provinces, where they attempted to make a stand, and their leader fled
+in disguise to Copiape, in Chili. Linares escaped into the Argentine
+Republic, and a requisition for his delivery was about to be issued.</p>
+
+<p>In <span class="smcap">Chili</span>, the extra session of Congress convened on the 16th of
+December. In his message calling the session, the President recommended
+to legislative attention, the subjects of reform in the customs and the
+coinage system, appropriations for the current year, the regulation of
+the standing army, and a revision of the taxes.</p>
+
+<p>Early in December a destructive fire broke out in Valparaiso, which was
+finally quelled through the labors of the sailors from the English and
+French vessels of war lying in the harbor, after destroying $250,000
+worth of property. On the 5th of the month, the volcano of Portillo,
+near Santiago, which had been quiet since 1845, suddenly broke out into
+violent eruption. The following day a very severe shock of an earthquake
+was felt, lasting twenty seconds, but fortunately doing little damage.
+Since then, however, a more violent earthquake has entirely destroyed
+the city of Conception, in the southern part of Chili.</p>
+
+<p>Hon. Bailey Peyton, the American Minister, left Valparaiso on the 27th
+of December, in the U.S. Ship <i>Vincennes</i>, on a visit to Talcuhuana, the
+province of Conception and the island of Juan Fernandez. Henri Herz, the
+distinguished pianist, has been giving concerts in Santiago.</p>
+
+<p>At the latest dates from <span class="smcap">Brazil</span>, nothing of political importance had
+transpired. Accounts from Buenos Ayres to Dec. 12th, state that there
+was a prospect of an amicable settlement of the difficulties between
+that country and Brazil. There had been a conflict between the forces of
+Paraguay and those of Buenos Ayres, relative to the occupancy of some
+neutral lands, by the forces of the latter. The finances of the State
+were said to be in an encouraging condition.</p>
+
+
+<h4>AFRICA.</h4>
+
+<p>The Monitor, a paper published at Cape Town, South Africa, gives an
+account of a dreadful massacre committed by the noted Namagua chief,
+Yonker Afrikaner, on the neophytes of the German Missionary station at
+New-Barmen, in Damaraland, between South Africa and the Kingdom of
+Loango.</p>
+
+<p>A curious piece of history has made its way to us from the island of
+Madagascar. Rainharo, the Prime Minister of the reigning Queen of the
+island, determined, in June last, to exterminate all the Christians in
+the province of Imirena. Accordingly, when they were all assembled one
+evening at their religious exercises, the various communities were
+suddenly arrested, to the number of eight thousand, and condemned to
+death. Eighteen of them had already been executed, when the rest
+escaped, and surrounding the palace of the young Prince, the heir to the
+throne of Madagascar, implored his protection. The Queen sent orders
+through the Prime Minister that they should be given up. The Prince
+refused, and in the dispute which followed, drew his sword and aimed a
+blow at the Minister's head, cutting off one of his ears. When the Queen
+heard of this, fearing a revolt in the province of Imirena, to sustain
+the Prince, she suffered the Christians to return to their homes and
+worship as usual. They have since been visited by the Prince, who
+declares his intention to protect them.</p>
+
+<p>The Republic of <span class="smcap">Liberia</span> was in a flourishing condition at the
+commencement of the year. Several explorations of the interior have been
+made, to the distance of two or three hundred miles from the coast. The
+parties brought back enthusiastic accounts of the richness and beauty of
+the country and the salubrity of the climate. President Roberts had sent
+his message to the Liberian Congress, giving a very favorable account of
+the condition and prospects of the country. The agricultural operations
+at Bassa Cove and Bexley have produced very satisfactory results. The
+slave trade is said to be almost destroyed in the neighborhood of
+Gallinas and Ambrize.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_568" id="Page_568">[Pg 568]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="Recent_Deaths" id="Recent_Deaths"></a><i>Recent Deaths.</i></h2>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">The Rev. Walter Colton</span> was born in Rutland, Vermont, about the year
+1797. When sixteen years of age he determined to acquire a liberal
+education, and commenced with industrious energy his preparatory
+studies. In 1818 he entered Yale College, where he received the
+Berkleyan Prize in Latin and Greek, and delivered the valedictory poem,
+when he graduated, in 1822. He soon afterwards entered the Theological
+Seminary at Andover, where he remained three years, giving much of his
+tune to literature, and writing, besides various moral and critical
+dissertations, a <i>Sacred Drama</i>, which was acted by the students at one
+of their rhetorical exhibitions, and an elaborate poem pronounced when
+his class received their diplomas. On being ordained an evangelist,
+according to the usage of the Congregational Church, he became Professor
+of Moral Philosophy and Belles-Lettres in the Scientific and Military
+Academy at Middletown, then under the presidency of Captain Alden
+Partridge. Besides attending to the more immediate duties of his
+position, he wrote while here a prize <i>Essay on Duelling</i>; a <i>Discussion
+of the Genius of Coleridge</i>; <i>The Moral Power of the Poet, Painter, and
+Sculptor, contrasted</i>, and many contributions in verse and prose to the
+public journals, under the signature of "Bertram." In 1828 he resigned
+his professorship, and settled in Washington, as editor of the <i>American
+Spectator</i>, a weekly gazette which he conducted with industry, and such
+tact and temper, that he preserved the most intimate relations with the
+leaders of the political party to which it was most decidedly opposed.
+He was especially a favorite with President Jackson, who was accustomed
+to send for him two or three times in a week to sit with him in his
+private chamber, and when Mr. Colton's health declined, so that a sea
+voyage was recommended by his physicians, the President offered him
+without solicitation a consulship or a chaplaincy in the Navy. The
+latter was accepted, and from 1830 till the end of his life, he
+continued as a chaplain in the naval service.</p>
+
+<p>His first appointment was to the West India squadron, where his
+reputation was increased by several incidents illustrative of his
+personal character. On one occasion a murderous affray had taken place
+between a boat's crew of American sailors and a party of Spaniards
+belonging to Pensacola, in which several sailors were killed. Mr. Colton
+drew up the official report of the outrage, in which he handled the
+police with just severity. The mayor, himself a Spaniard, and a man of
+desperate character, was greatly enraged, and swore he would take ample
+vengeance. He watched his opportunity, and attempted to rush on the
+chaplain with his long knife before he could protect himself. But the
+latter, drawing his pistols at the instant, levelled one of them at his
+breast, and told the mayor if he stirred his hand except to return his
+knife to its belt, he would put a ball through his heart. The Spaniard
+hesitated for a few minutes, and reluctantly complied.</p>
+
+<p>Returning from the West Indies Mr. Colton was appointed to the
+Constellation frigate, and sailed for the Mediterranean, and in the
+three years during which he was connected with this station, he
+travelled through Spain, Italy, Greece, and Asia Minor; visited
+Constantinople, and made his way to Paris and London. The results of his
+observations he partially gave to the public in volumes entitled <i>Ship
+and Shore</i>, and <i>A Visit to Constantinople and Athens</i>. Soon after the
+publication of these works, he was appointed Historiographer to the
+South Sea Surveying and Exploring Expedition; but the ultimate reduction
+of the force designed for the Pacific squadron, and the resignation of
+his associates, induced him to forego the advantages of this office, for
+which he had made very careful preparations in ethnographical studies.</p>
+
+<p>He was now stationed at Philadelphia, where he was chaplain successively
+of the Navy Yard and of the Naval Asylum. In this city we became
+acquainted with him, and for several years enjoyed his frequent society
+and intimate friendship, so that few have had more ample opportunities
+of judging of his character. In 1841 and 1842, with the consent of the
+Government, he added to his official duties the editorship of the
+Philadelphia <i>North American</i>, and in these and the following years he
+wrote much upon religious and literary subjects for other journals. We
+believe it was in 1844 that he delivered before the literary societies
+of the University of Vermont, a poem entitled <i>The Sailor</i>, which has
+not yet been published. In the summer of 1846 he was married, and we
+were selected by him for that occasion to fill the office commonly
+falling to the nearest friend. A few months afterward he was ordered to
+the Congress, the flag-ship of the Pacific squadron, in which he arrived
+off the western coast of America soon after the commencement of the late
+war with Mexico. The incidents of the voyage round Cape Horn are
+detailed with more than his usual felicity in his book, <i>Deck and Port</i>,
+published last summer in this city by Barnes &amp; Co.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after the arrival of the squadron at Monterey, he was appointed
+alcalde, or chief magistrate of that city, an office of difficult duties
+and large responsibilities, demanding the most untiring industry, zeal,
+and fortitude. These were discharged with eminent faithfulness and
+ability, so that he won as much the regard of the conquered inhabitants
+of the country, as the respect of his more immediate associates. In
+addition to the ordinary duties of his place, Mr. Colton established the
+first newspaper printed in California, <i>The Californian</i>, now published
+in San Francisco, under the title of the "Alta California;" he built the
+first <i>school-house</i> in California; and also a large hall for public
+meetings&mdash;said to be the finest building in the state, which the
+citizens called "Colton Hall," in honor of his public spirit and
+enterprise. It was during his administration of affairs at Monterey that
+the discovery of gold in the Sacramento Valley was first made; and,
+considering the vast importance which this discovery has since assumed,
+it may not be uninteresting to state that the honor of first making it
+publicly known in the Atlantic States, whether by accident or otherwise,
+belongs properly to him. It was first announced in a letter bearing his
+initials, which appeared in the Philadelphia <i>North American</i>, and the
+next day in a letter also written by him, in the New-York <i>Journal of
+Commerce</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Colton returned to his home early last summer, with anticipations of
+years of undisturbed happiness. With a family deeply attached to him, a
+large circle of friends, good reputation, and a fortune equal to his
+desires, he applied himself leisurely to the preparation of his MS.
+journals<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_569" id="Page_569">[Pg 569]</a></span> for the press, and the revision of his earlier publications.
+He had published, besides <i>Deck and Port</i>, already mentioned, <i>Three
+Years in California</i>, and had nearly ready for the printer a much
+enlarged and improved edition of <i>Ship and Shore</i>, which was to be
+followed by <i>A Visit to Constantinople, Athens, and the &AElig;gean</i>, a
+collection of his <i>Poems</i>, and a volume of <i>Miscellanies of Literature
+and Religion</i>. His health however began to decline, and a cold, induced
+by exposure during a late visit to Washington, ended in granular dropsy,
+which his physician soon discovered to be incurable. Being in
+Philadelphia on the 22d of January, we left our hotel to pay him an
+early visit, and found the death signs upon his door; he had died at two
+o'clock that morning, surrounded by his relations, and in the presence
+of his friends the Rev. Albert Barnes and the Rev. Dr. Herman
+Hooker&mdash;died very calmly, without mortal enemies and at peace with God.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Colton was of an eminently genial nature, fond of society, and with
+such qualities as made him always a welcome associate. His extensive and
+various travel had left upon his memory a thousand delightful pictures,
+which were reflected in his conversation so distinctly and with such
+skilful preparation of the mind, that his companions lived over his life
+with him as often as he chose to summon its scenes before them. We
+believe him to have been very sincere in all the professions of honor
+and religion, and fully deserving of the respectful regrets with which
+he will be remembered during the lives of his contemporaries.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 30%;" />
+<p><span class="smcap">Auguste d'Avezac</span>, descended from an illustrious French family, was born
+in the island of St. Domingo, about the year 1787. He was educated at
+the celebrated college of La Fl&egrave;che, in France; emigrated to the United
+States; studied medicine at Edenton, North Carolina; and on the
+acquisition of Louisiana removed to New Orleans. Here his sister was
+married to Chancellor Livingston, and he himself became a successful
+lawyer. When General Jackson arrived in New Orleans, d'Avezac became one
+of his aid-de-camps, and he served with him to the end of the war, and
+remained all his life among his most devoted friends. When General
+Jackson became President he appointed Major d'Avezac <i>Charg&eacute; d'Affaires
+to Naples</i>, and afterwards to the Netherlands, whence he was recalled by
+Mr. Van Buren, but under circumstances which did not prevent his hearty
+support of the President's administration. He then took up his residence
+in New-York, and in 1841 and 1843 was elected from this city to the
+Legislature. In 1845, he was appointed <i>Charg&eacute; d'Affaires</i> to the Hague,
+and he remained there until superseded last year by Mr. Folsom, when he
+again returned to New-York, where he died on the 16th ultimo. He was an
+eminently agreeable man in society, and wrote in French and English with
+ease and vivacity, upon literature, art, politics, and history.</p>
+<hr style="width: 30%;" />
+
+<p>At the Hague, a <i>cort&egrave;ge</i> of upwards of three thousand persons have just
+accompanied to the grave, at the premature age of forty-two, <span class="smcap">M. Asser</span>, a
+judge of high reputation in that city, and author of various works on
+comparative legislation.</p>
+<hr style="width: 30%;" />
+
+<p>France has lost one of her geographical celebrities, M. <span class="smcap">Pierre Lapie</span>,
+from whose hand have issued a multitude of valuable maps.</p>
+<hr style="width: 30%;" />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dr. Heinrich Frederick Link</span>, Professor of Botany in the University of
+Berlin, and Director of the Royal Botanic Garden of that city, died on
+the first of January, in the eighty-second year of his age. His literary
+career extends back for more than half a century, his first botanical
+essay, consisting of some observations on the plants of the Botanic
+Garden at Rostock, having been published in 1795. He was contemporary
+with Linn&aelig;us, having been eighteen years old when the great author of
+the "Systema Natur&aelig;" died, and, from his botanical tastes, was probably
+acquainted with that naturalist's writings long before his decease.</p>
+
+<p>He graduated at Gottingen in 1789, having read on that occasion an
+inaugural thesis on the Flora of Gottingen, referring more particularly
+to those found in calcareous districts. Shortly afterwards he was
+appointed Professor of Botany at Rostock; subsequently he held the same
+chair at Breslau; but the latter and larger portion of his scientific
+life was spent at Berlin. He practised at Berlin as a physician among an
+extensive circle of friends, who had a high opinion of his medical
+skill. Although the name of Link fills a large space in the literature
+of botany, his mind was not of the highest order, and his contributions
+to science are not likely to make a very permanent impression. Still, he
+was an energetic, active man, with an observant mind, a retentive
+memory, and with considerable power of systematic arrangement. Hence his
+works, like those of Linn&aelig;us, have been among the most valuable of the
+contributions to the botany of the century in which he lived. Of these,
+his "Elementa Philosophi&aelig; Botanic&aelig;" may be quoted as the most useful.
+This work, which was published in 1824, has served as the basis of most
+of our manuals and introductions to botany since that period. He devoted
+considerable time and attention to the description of new species of
+plants, most of which he published in a continuation of Willdenow's
+"Species Plantarum." With Count Hoffmansegg, he commenced a Flora of
+Portugal, and he also published a memoir on the plants of Greece. He
+contributed several valuable papers on physiological botany to the
+Transactions of the Natural History Society of Berlin; but he has done
+more service for vegetable physiology in his annual reports than in any
+other of his writings. They comprise a summary of all that had been
+published in botany during the year, accompanied with many valuable
+remarks and sound criticisms of his own. In these reports he had to
+defend himself and others from the heavy artillery directed against them
+by Schleiden, who, whilst claiming for himself a large margin for
+liberty of opinion, is most unscrupulous and pertinaciously offensive
+towards those who differ from him. In these literary contests, however,
+Link showed that the experience of above fifty years had not been lost
+upon him, and he was not unfrequently more than a match for the vigor
+and logic of his youthful and more precipitate adversary. According to
+custom, a funeral oration was pronounced over his grave; but
+unfortunately the clergyman selected being a strictly orthodox person,
+and not being able to approve of the spirit of the whole of the writings
+of the deceased, censured them, it is said, in most unbecoming language,
+to the indignation of the numerous friends present.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 30%;" />
+<p>The Italian poet <span class="smcap">Luigi Carrer</span>, died at Venice on the twenty-third of
+December.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_570" id="Page_570">[Pg 570]</a></span></p>
+<hr style="width: 30%;" />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">General Don Jose de San Martin</span>, formerly the "Protector of Peru," and
+one of the most deservedly eminent of the public men of the Spanish
+American States, died in August, 1850, at Bologna, in the seventy-second
+year of his age. His death has but recently been announced, and we
+receive the information now, not from Europe or from South America, but
+by way of the Sandwich Islands. The Honolulu <i>Polynesian</i> of December
+fourteenth, translating from the <i>Panameno</i>, gives us the following
+particulars of his life. General San Martin was a native of one of the
+Provinces of Buenos Ayres, but previous to the war of independence,
+passed over to Spain, where he entered into the army, and distinguished
+himself at the battle of Baylen. In the Spanish army, he rose to the
+rank of Lieutenant Colonel. After his native country, Buenos Ayres, had
+declared itself independent of the mother country, he returned from
+Spain, and fought with great bravery, against Artigas, and in other
+military contests. He thereby gained so much reputation with his
+countrymen, that when an expedition to liberate Chile was determined
+upon, he was the chief chosen to organize and command it. He fulfilled
+that trust, in an admirable manner, at Mendoza&mdash;carried his small army
+successfully across the Andes, through an able piece of strategy,
+confided to a brave young Chilian, Don Manuel Rodriguez, at a point
+where the Spanish forces did not expect the invading army, and signally
+defeated them, on the plains of <i>Chacabuco</i>, near the Capital of Chile.
+The defeated Spaniards had to retire and concentrate themselves in the
+South. San Martin occupied the whole country and shut them up in
+<i>Talcachuano</i>. Expecting that the Spaniards would be soon reinforced
+from Peru, San Martin, with the aid of several foreign officers, French
+and English, recruited his forces in Chile, and raised his army to about
+9000 men. A strong reinforcement having arrived from Peru, at
+Talcahuano, under the command of General Ossioro, the Spaniards regained
+possession of the Province of Concepcion, took the offensive, and
+advanced towards the Capital. San Martin, with forces numerically
+superior, advanced to drive them back. The two armies met at <i>"Cancha
+Rayada,"</i> where, on San Martin's birth day, in 1819, the Spaniards
+attacked his army at night, signally defeated and dispersed them. The
+only division that retired unbroken, was that commanded by General Don
+Gregorio de las Heras, and the army of the Andes left on the field its
+whole artillery, excepting only one piece which was saved by the
+personal exertions and cool intrepidity of Captain Miller, of that army,
+now H. B. M. Consul General for these Islands. After that unexpected
+defeat, the greatest consternation prevailed in the Capital of Chile,
+the cause of the Republic was considered desperate, but the Supreme
+Director, General Don Bernardo Ohiggins, made immense exertions to
+reunite the scattered army and to strengthen it, by new levies; the
+patriotism of the Chilians roused itself with an energy equal to the
+emergency; resident foreign merchants, wishing well to the country and
+alarmed by a report that it was the intention of the Spanish Commander
+in Chief to shoot them all and confiscate their property (it being then
+contrary to the laws of Spain that foreigners should reside in or trade
+with her Colonies without special license), supplied money, arms and
+accoutrements. An army was thus reformed with extraordinary expedition;
+its confidence was restored by a troop of cavalry sent to reconnoitre,
+headed by Major Vial, a brave French officer, who gallantly charged and
+routed a superior force of the enemy, and, under the command of General
+San Martin, on the 5th of April, 1850, on the plain of <i>Maypu</i>, it
+defeated the Spanish army so completely, that only a few of the
+fugitives reached Talcahuano.</p>
+
+<p>But experience having shown that the independence of Chile could never
+be considered secure so long as the Spaniards retained their hold on
+Peru, it was resolved to make an attempt to liberate that Vice-Royalty.
+Colonel Miller, whose promotion after the affair of <i>Cancha Rayadu</i> had
+been rapid, was sent with a small but active force to land at <i>Arica</i>
+and operate in the Southern Provinces, where by astute strategy and
+several brilliant successes he confirmed his high reputation. San Martin
+soon after followed with the main army, escorted by the Chilian squadron
+under command of Lord Cochran; in running down the coast, he took in
+Colonel Miller with his troops, and knowing the powerful diversion that
+the latter had made in the South, he proceeded northward to Pisco, where
+a force was landed under the command of Colonel Charles and Colonel
+Miller, that made itself master of the place, after a bloody combat, in
+which the former gallantly fell while cheering on his troops, and the
+latter received several musket balls, one of which passed through his
+liver.</p>
+
+<p>According to the plan of General San Martin, the force landed to the
+South of Lima, advanced into the interior to the silver mines of Pasco
+under the command of General Arenales, where it defeated the Spanish
+forces under General Oreilly, while San Martin himself, with the main
+body, effected his landing near Huacho to the North of Lima. By this
+plan, ably conceived and no less ably executed, the Spaniards were
+reduced to the Capital and Callao, which port at the same time was
+strictly blockaded by Lord Cochran's squadron. The fall of both Lima and
+Callao was only a question of time; it was retarded for some months
+owing to the great sickness that weakened San Martin's ranks; but these
+were filled up by desertions from the enemy; the whole regiment of
+<i>Numancia</i> passed over to the Patriot side, and at last San Martin
+entered the Capital at the head of his troops, amidst the acclamations
+of the inhabitants. He was soon after declared Protector of Peru, and
+General-in-Chief of the Army. Having now a Peruvian character, and
+having come to liberate&mdash;not to conquer the country, he considered it
+right to create a Peruvian Army. As a <i>nucleus</i> for its formation, the
+<i>Peruvian Legion</i> (intended to consist of several Batallions), was
+raised, and placed under the command of Colonel Miller. But Lima and its
+luxuries proved the <i>Capua</i> of San Martin's army&mdash;national jealousies
+arose between the Buenos Ayrean and the Chilian chiefs&mdash;San Martin's
+confidence in foreign officers and his endeavors to create a national
+army in Peru gave great umbrage to both; a secret political Lodge was
+formed among the leading chiefs of corps, and he was openly charged with
+latent designs to make himself the King or Perpetual Dictator of Peru.</p>
+
+<p>The Spanish army, which had evacuated the Capital unbroken, profiting by
+these dissensions and the delay of the Patriot army in the Capital,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_571" id="Page_571">[Pg 571]</a></span> had
+largely recruited itself in the valley of Jauja; they were every day
+gaining more strength, while the Patriot army was becoming daily weaker
+both physically and morally; under these circumstances General San
+Martin sought an interview with <i>Bolivar</i>, at Guayaquil, and shortly
+after his return to Lima, in 1822, he resigned his high post of
+Protector and General-in-chief, and embarked for Europe. On his arrival
+in Europe, after a short visit to the East of Fife, San Martin passed
+his time chiefly in Brussels and Paris, so much respected by all who
+knew him, and so esteemed for his probity, that <i>Sor Aguado</i>, the rich
+Spanish Banker, on his death-bed, named San Martin his Executor.</p>
+
+<p>It is believed that he retired from Peru, disgusted with the false
+charges that were brought against him, and after having obtained a
+promise from his great rival, Bolivar, that he would finish the war,
+which it would have been much for San Martin's own glory to have
+concluded himself. If so, he had the <i>magnanimity</i> to prefer the good of
+Peru to his own glory, a virtue never found except amongst men of great
+nobleness of soul. San Martin may have even thought that under the
+circumstances, his great rival was fitter to conclude the war than he
+was himself; and if he did so, the result proved at once his modesty and
+the soundness of his judgment, for when the Peruvian Government had
+fairly intrusted their destinies to Bolivar, in rapid succession, he
+fought the bloody battles of Junin and Ayacucho, the result of which was
+the final and total liberation of Peru.</p>
+
+<p>Nor was Bolivar less just to foreign officers of merit than San Martin.
+Amongst his Generals and Aid-de-camps ranked General Brawn, General
+Oleary, Colonel Wilson, and many others; and Colonel Miller (who had
+been raised to the rank of General), as the reward of his gallant
+conduct in the last hard-fought fields of Junin and Ayacucho, received
+the further honor of being declared a <i>Marescal de Agacucho</i>. To other
+officers of Peru, of Chile and of Buenos Ayres, Bolivar was equally
+just, thus showing that he was superior to any petty jealousy of those
+chiefs with whose aid San Martin, his illustrious predecessor, had made
+those great achievements which a weaker mind might have looked upon with
+envy as, in some respects, overwhelming his own.</p>
+<hr style="width: 30%;" />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Frederick Bastiat</span>, the political economist, whose health had been very
+feeble for nearly a year, and of whose death last summer in Italy a
+report was copied into the <i>International</i>, died in Rome on the 24th of
+December. He was born at Bayonne in 1801, and after completing his
+education, he retired to a quiet village in the department of Landes, to
+pursue his favorite studies of trade and society. He was successively
+called to various offices of the department, and to the present National
+Assembly he was chosen by a vote of 56,000, being the second in the list
+of seven representing the Landes. His first book, we believe, was
+<i>Cobden et la Ligue</i>, published in 1844, from which period he was an
+industrious writer. Without being a discoverer of new truths, he
+possessed in an eminent degree the faculty of expanding, with clearness
+and vigor, the grounds and the effects of complex natural laws already
+developed by the technical processes of philosophy. His writings have
+been exceedingly popular. The whole or nearly the whole, of the tracts
+written by him under the generic title of 'Sophismes Economiques,'
+originally appeared in the <i>Journal des Economistes</i>&mdash;a periodical of
+which for the last six years he had been a principal supporter. The
+disease of which he died was a very painful and peculiar affection of
+the throat. He had suffered from it more or less, for some years; and
+the hard work of the last session of the Assembly brought the disorder
+to a crisis which the strength of the patient did not enable him to
+overcome. He may be regarded as the virtual leader of the Free Trade
+party in France. He aided with all his energies the Association
+Fran&ccedil;aise pour la Libert&eacute; des &Eacute;changes, and he did his utmost to spread
+among his countrymen that new philosophy of trade. His last and most
+important work, <i>Les Harmonies Economiques</i>, we lately noticed in these
+pages. His <i>Sophismes Economiques</i> were translated a few years ago by a
+daughter of Langdon Cheves, of South Carolina, and published in this
+city by Mr. Putnam. The extent to which M. Bastiat was indebted to our
+countryman, Henry C. Carey, may be inferred from a note in the February
+number of the <i>International</i>, page 402.</p>
+<hr style="width: 30%;" />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Benjamin W. Crowninshield</span>, died in Boston, on Monday the 3d of February.
+He had left his carriage and entered a store, when he suddenly fell and
+expired, having previously suffered from a disease of the heart, which
+is supposed to have been the cause of his death, although he was about
+77 years of age. He had been a resident of Boston nearly twenty years,
+during the greater part of which period he had been retired from public
+life. He had previously resided in Salem, where the Crowninshields were
+long distinguished for wealth and commercial enterprise. He was many
+years a prominent leader of the old democratic republican party. In
+December, 1814, he received, from President Madison, the appointment of
+Secretary of the Navy, which office he held (being continued by
+President Monroe) until he resigned, in November, 1818, when he was
+succeeded by Smith Thompson, afterwards judge of the Supreme Court. In
+1823 he was chosen a member of Congress from Essex South District, and
+was continued by his constituents in that station until 1831&mdash;eight
+years. He was in Congress when John Quincy Adams was elected President
+of the United States, by that body; he participated in that election by
+giving his vote for Mr. A., and was a zealous supporter of his
+administration, acting subsequently with the whig party. He was
+repeatedly, at different periods of his life, a member of the state
+legislature, and although not distinguished for eminent talents, in all
+the stations which he filled he enjoyed, in a high degree, the public
+confidence.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 30%;" />
+<p><span class="smcap">Professor Anstey</span>, lately connected with St. Mary's College, at
+Wilmington, died in the early part of February. He was dismissed from
+his station on account of intemperate habits, but continued his
+dissipation until reduced to the utmost destitution, wandering about
+homeless and friendless. He was discovered at length in an almost frozen
+state, in an old hovel, with a bottle of whiskey by his side, and soon
+died from the effects of his suffering. Professor Anstey was a young man
+of fine classical attainments, and was the author of a work published a
+year or two since in Philadelphia, entitled, "Elements of Literature, or
+an introduction to the Study of Rhetoric and Belle Lettres."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_572" id="Page_572">[Pg 572]</a></span></p>
+<hr style="width: 30%;" />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Donald McKenzie</span>, born in Scotland, June 15, 1783, died on the 20th of
+January, at Mayville, in New-York. At the age of seventeen he came over
+to Canada and joined the North West Company, and continued eight years
+with them. In 1809 he became one of the partners with the late John
+Jacob Astor, in establishing the fur trade west of the Rocky Mountains,
+and with Mr. Hunt, of St. Louis, made the overland route to the mouth of
+the Columbia River, a feat then rarely attempted, and full of perils,
+and remained at Astoria until it was surrendered by McDougal to the
+British. He converted every thing he could into available funds, which
+he carried safely through the wilderness to Mr. Astor. Washington
+Irving, in "Astoria," narrates a few of Mr. McKenzie's adventures on the
+frontiers, although the friends of McKenzie claim that injustice has
+been done him by Mr. Irving, relative to the betrayal of Astoria. They
+contend that to him alone was Mr. Astor indebted for all that was saved.
+After the restoration of peace, McKenzie exerted himself to secure for
+the United States the exclusive trade of Oregon, but after a long
+negotiation with Mr. Astor, and through him with Messrs. Madison,
+Gallatin, and other leading individuals in and out of office, the matter
+was abandoned, and McKenzie, in March, 1821, joined the Hudson Bay
+Company, and was immediately appointed one of the Council, and Chief
+Factor. In August, 1825, he was married to Adelegonde Humburt (who
+survives him), and was shortly after appointed Governor. At this time he
+resided at Fort Garry, Red River settlement, where he continued to
+reside until 1832, in active and prosperous business, in which he
+amassed a large fortune. In August of the following year he went to
+reside in Mayville, where he spent the rest of his life.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 30%;" />
+<p><span class="smcap">Horace Everett</span>, LL.D., formerly a distinguished representative in
+Congress from Vermont, died at Windsor in that State on the 30th of
+January, in the seventy-second year of his age. Elected to Congress by
+the opponents of General Jackson, he entered the House of
+Representatives in 1829, and was continued by his constituents,
+inhabiting one of the strongest and most enlightened whig districts in
+the Union, for fourteen consecutive years&mdash;his last term expiring in
+March, 1843. During his career in Congress, he was one of the most
+prominent whigs of the House, occupying the front rank, as one of the
+most able of parliamentary debaters, distinguished also as much his good
+sense and acquirements, as for his eloquence. Among his best speeches,
+were several on the Indian Bill, so called, growing out of the
+difficulties between Georgia and the Cherokees.</p>
+<hr style="width: 30%;" />
+
+<p>The London <i>Morning Chronicle</i> has a brief notice of <span class="smcap">James Harfield</span>, who
+was connected with that journal more than twenty years. His reading, in
+every department of literature, was prodigious, and his memory almost a
+phenomenon. On all matters connected with Parliamentary history,
+precedent, and etiquette in particular, Mr. Harfield was an encyclop&aelig;dia
+of information, while the stores of his learning, in every department,
+were always freely at the command of his friends and colleagues. In
+early life, Mr. Harfield was a <i>prot&eacute;g&eacute;</i> of, and afterwards acted as
+secretary to, Jeremy Bentham, who acknowledged his sense of his young
+friend's services by bequeathing to him a magnificent library.</p>
+<hr style="width: 30%;" />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">William Wilson</span>, a painter of considerable reputation, died in
+Charleston, S. C, on the 28th of January. The Charleston <i>Evening News</i>
+says:&mdash;"He was a native of Yorkshire, England, but for the last twenty
+years has resided in this country, and during the last eleven, in
+Georgia and South Carolina. In all the relations of life, as husband,
+father, son, and brother, he was irreproachable, while his gentle and
+winning manners conciliated general esteem and regard. At his death Mr.
+Wilson had attained a distinguished reputation as a portrait painter, in
+which department he first attracted attention in 1836, by the exhibition
+of a portrait of an intimate friend at the first exhibition of the
+"American Art-Union," at the Apollo Gallery. In 1837 he exhibited
+several heads of the Academy of Design, which attracted much attention.
+In 1844 he exhibited a head of a brother artist, which was more
+generally admired than any similar production for years. In 1846 Mr. W.
+received a commission from the State of Georgia to execute two
+portraits&mdash;one of William H. Crawford, former Secretary of the Treasury,
+and the other of Gen. Jackson. After a tedious and troublesome journey
+to the North, in search of Jarvis's portrait of Crawford, which could
+not be traced, he returned to Charleston, and while copying from
+Vanderlyn's portrait of Gen. Jackson in the City Hall, he was presented
+by Charles Fraser, Esq., with a proof engraving of Jarvis's Crawford,
+from which, on his return to Augusta, he produced a most striking
+portrait of Georgia's greatest statesman. These pictures of Jackson and
+Crawford, which adorn the State House at Milledgeville, will be lasting
+memorials of his excellence as an artist."</p>
+<hr style="width: 30%;" />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">James Wallace</span>, D.D., the distinguished Mathematician, several years
+Professor of Mathematics in Columbia College, New-York, died in
+Lexington District, South Carolina, on the 15th of January. After
+completing his course of Theology, he was ordained a clergyman of the
+Roman Catholic Church, and was then appointed to the chair of
+Mathematics in Georgetown College, D.C. A few years later he removed to
+Columbia, S. C., and was appointed Professor of Mathematics in South
+Carolina College. While in New-York he published his justly celebrated
+"Treatise on Globes and Practical Astronomy," and had prepared materials
+for an entire course of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy, but was
+compelled to relinquish his design on account of ill-health and advanced
+age. He was also the author of numerous scientific articles in the
+Southern Quarterly Review. He possessed one of the choicest and most
+extensive scientific libraries in the United States, which was almost
+entirely destroyed by the great conflagration of 1837: the remnant of
+it, with his scientific apparatus, was bequeathed to the Catholic
+Theological Seminary of Charleston. He was a resident of South Carolina
+during the last thirty-eight years.</p>
+<hr style="width: 30%;" />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Joshua Milne</span>, the author of the celebrated treatise on "Annuities and
+Assurances," we see by the English papers died recently near London at
+the advanced age of seventy-eight. He is said to have left behind him
+the most complete collection extant on subjects connected with the
+statistics of vitality, of which a portion at least will probably be
+given to the public.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_573" id="Page_573">[Pg 573]</a></span></p>
+<hr style="width: 30%;" />
+
+<p>The Hungarian General <span class="smcap">Bem</span>, expired with the half-century. Born at
+Tarnon, a Pole, he died at Aleppo, a Turk. In early youth he served in
+the Russian army against Napoleon in his disastrous campaign. He was the
+friend, companion, and favorite of the Grand Duke Constantine, until
+certain indignities to himself and cruelties to his countrymen made him
+the implacable foe of Russia. He joined the Polish insurrection of 1831,
+and performed prodigies of valor at the battle of Ostrolenka. Like many
+others, he became a fugitive and a wanderer. Unsuccessful patriotism
+reduced the companion of royalty to be a pensioner on the charity of the
+friends of Poland in London. 1848 gave Bern once more a career. He went
+to Vienna, and when the people were in the ascendant, in October, he
+held a command. But the Viennese could not trust the Pole. Incompetent
+men were placed over him. Vienna fell before the artillery of
+Windischgratz and Jellachich in November. Slaughter, terror, violation
+reigned. Never will the Viennese forget the red cloaks of the Croats.
+The educated youth of Vienna were shot in clusters. Robert Blum was led
+out to perish. The Odeon, although used as an hospital, was laid in
+ashes, with the wounded in it. Great rewards were offered for the
+apprehension of the popular leaders and generals still alive. The search
+for Bem was vigilant. He doffed the costume of a hackney coachman,
+filled his vehicle with a Hungarian family of nurses and children,
+mounted the box under the eyes of spies and soldiers, laughed at
+inspection, and drove off to Hungary. For ten mouths he was victorious
+there over the Austrians. "Bem beat the Ban." Splinters from an old
+wound escaping from his leg all the time, and able only to sit on
+horseback.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 30%;" />
+<p>T. S. <span class="smcap">Davies</span>, F.R.S., F.A.S., and a Professor of Mathematics in the
+Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, died on the 6th of January at
+Shooter's Hill, Kent, in the fifty-seventh year of his age. Mr. Davies
+was a very distinguished mathematician, and the author of several works
+on mathematics. He possessed, also, extensive and varied acquirements in
+different branches of science and literature. Nor was he unmindful of
+the claims of the more humble aspirant to mathematical honors; his
+encouragement and advice were liberally bestowed, as many deserving
+young men could testify.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 30%;" />
+<p><span class="smcap">Henry Christian Schumacher</span>, the celebrated Danish Astronomer, died at
+Altona on the 28th of December, aged about seventy years. He commenced
+his professional career at the age of twenty-five, as professor of
+astronomy in the University of Copenhagen. In 1822, his royal master,
+Frederic VI., caused to be built, expressly that Schumacher might be
+placed at the head of it, the Observatory of Altona. From 1820 to 1829
+he published his "<i>Auxiliary Tables of Astronomy</i>", in ten volumes,
+<i>quarto</i>. His <i>Astronomical Annals</i>, continued from 1830 to the date of
+his death, have, with his <i>Tables</i>, given him a high and wide
+reputation. In 1832 the King of Denmark established the reward of a
+golden medal for the discovery of new microscopic comets; and it was
+upon his favorite Schumacher exclusively that he devolved the duty of
+verifying the title of claimants and assigning the medal. Since 1847
+Schumacher has been the correspondent of the Academy of Sciences of
+Paris.</p>
+<hr style="width: 30%;" />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Maxwell</span>, the Irish novelist, and author of innumerable humorous sketches
+in the periodical literature of the day, expired on the 29th of
+December, at Musselberge, near Edinburgh. His generally vigorous health
+had of late broken down, and he crept into the retirement of this
+sequestered village to die. He had been in early life a captain in the
+British army, and was of course the delight of the mess-room, and a
+general favorite in social circles. He subsequently entered the church,
+and was some years prebendary of Balla, a wild Connaught church living,
+without any congregation or cure of souls attached to it; though it
+afforded what he was admirably capable of dealing with, plenty of game.
+Of a warm-hearted, kind, and manly temperament, he made friends of all
+who came within the range of his wit or the circle of his acquaintance.
+He was the founder of that school which counts the "Harry Lorrequers"
+and others among its humble disciples; but the "Story of my Life," and
+"Wild Sports of the West," will not be easily surpassed in the peculiar
+qualities of that gay and off-hand style of which he was the originator.
+Among his other more successful works are "Stories of Waterloo," "Hector
+O'Halloran," and "Rambling Recollections of a Soldier of Fortune."
+Besides his novels, he wrote "Notes and Reflections during a Ramble in
+Germany," "Victories of the British Armies," and a "Life of Field
+Marshal the Duke of Wellington".</p>
+<hr style="width: 30%;" />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Alexander Macdonald</span>, well known to the public as an antiquary, died
+early in January at Edinburgh. He was one of Mr. Thompson's earliest
+assistants in the publication of the "Acts of the Parliaments of
+Scotland," and other works, undertaken by the Record Commissioners. He
+was long a most active member of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland;
+and the library and museum of that body owe much to his industry and
+intelligence. He edited several volumes of the Maitland Club, to which
+he contributed "The Register of Ministers in the year 1567"&mdash;the
+earliest extant record of the ecclesiastical appointments of the
+Reformed Church in Scotland. Mr. Macdonald also largely supplied the
+materials of Sir Walter Scott's notes and illustrations of the "Waverley
+Novels." He held many years the office of Keeper of the Register of
+Deeds and Protests in Scotland.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="Scientific_Miscellanies" id="Scientific_Miscellanies"></a><i>Scientific Miscellanies</i></h2>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Walsh</span> writes from Paris to the <i>Journal of Commerce</i>, in the last
+month, as follows:</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Annuaire</i>, or Annual for the present year, has been issued by the
+Board of Longitude. M. Arago has appended to it nearly 200 pages on the
+Calendar in which he treats of all the divisions of time among the
+ancients and the moderns. This celebrated astronomer does not belie, in
+this notice, his reputation for handling scientific subjects so as to
+make them clear to common apprehension. He announces, in his second
+page, that he has completed and will soon publish a <i>Treatise of Popular
+Astronomy</i>; a desideratum for France. Sir John Herschel has supplied it
+for English readers, in his Outlines. The present history and
+explanations of the Calendar may be recommended, as material, to your
+Professor Loomis. In the section concerning the period at which the
+Paris clocks were first regulated on the mean or true<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_574" id="Page_574">[Pg 574]</a></span> time, Arago
+observes: "It will not happen again that an astronomer shall hear for a
+half hour, the same hour struck by different clocks, as Delambre told me
+he had often experienced. M. Chabrol, the Prefect of the Department of
+the Seine, before he would introduce this useful change, required, as a
+guaranty for himself, a report from the Board of Longitude: he was
+fearful that the change might provoke the working population to
+insurrection; that they might refuse to accept a mid-day or noon which,
+by a contradiction in terms, would not correspond to the middle of the
+day; which would divide in two unequal portions the time comprised
+between the rising and the setting of the sun. But this sinister
+anticipation was not realized; the operation passed without being
+perceived." It is all important, on the railroads, that the clocks at
+the different stations should be so regulated. Arago remarks that among
+the ancients it would have been dangerous to announce the existence of
+more than seven planets, owing to the "mysterious virtues" ascribed to
+that number; to complete it the sun was counted among the planets. He
+discusses the point&mdash;which is the first day of the week, and decides for
+Sunday. He devotes a section to the question&mdash;"Will the period come when
+the days will be equal between themselves, and have the same temperature
+throughout the year?" He concludes, of course, in the negative. He
+decides, also, that the nineteenth century began only on the 1st of
+January, 1801. Particular interest may be attributed to the section on
+the long series of ages which the ancients invested with the title "The
+Great Year." The high names of Plato, Cicero, Seneca, Plutarch, should
+not prevent us from regarding the opinions of antiquity on the relations
+of the great year, with the events of every kind observable on the
+earth, as among the crudest conceptions that have descended to the
+moderns.</p>
+
+<p>At the sitting of the <i>Academy of Sciences</i> on the 24th ult., M.
+<span class="smcap">Augustin Cauchy</span> read a memoir on the transversal vibrations of ether,
+and of the dispersion of colors. He furnished a simple, and easily
+intelligible mathematical theory of the various phenomena of light, and
+particularly, the theory of the dispersion of colors. Lord Brougham read
+a paper of his <i>Researches, Experimental and Analytical, on Light</i>. His
+Lordship's ambition is to shine in optics, as in every thing else; but
+you will see by a London paragraph that his researches have nearly cost
+him his eyesight. Dr. Aran submitted a Memoir, which seems to be quite
+important, on local anesthetic medication. "In the medical point of
+view," he remarks, "the number of cases in which local anesthetic
+applications may be employed, is truly immense. My experiments and
+researches, during many months, have conducted me to this practical
+result, which is worthy of all attention. Whenever an acute pain exists
+in any part of the animal economy, whether the pain constitute the
+malady in itself or be only an integral and principal part of it, the
+physician can relieve the patient of it for a longer or shorter time, by
+one or various local anesthetic applications. Great service, too, may be
+rendered by the precedent use of them in various surgical cases. The
+medication is wonderfully useful in articular acute rheumatism."</p>
+
+<p>"Local anesthetic properties belong to all the agents in which the
+general have been found. They depend on the degree of fixity of the
+substance. A number of the anesthetics are irritating for the skin;
+chloroform in particular. According to Dr. Aran, the best agent for
+topical use is <i>&eacute;ther chlorhydique chlor&eacute;</i>. This is efficacious in a few
+minutes. Monsieur Recamier has submitted to the Academy of Medicine a
+<i>galvanic cataplasm</i>, by which, when it is applied to the skin, the
+benefit of electricity is fully conveyed, without the least pain. The
+reporter exclaims, 'Yes, who would have thought it? Electricity is
+transformed into cataplasm. This mysterious power, which, perhaps, is
+life itself, is reduced to an humble and common part in pharmaceutical
+science.'</p>
+
+<p>"At the sitting of the <i>Academy of Sciences</i> on the 30th ult., a very
+interesting memoir (the 4th) was read by M.A. Masson, with the title,
+Studies of Electrical Photometry. He thinks that he has ascertained the
+cause of electrical light. He ascribes the Aurora Borealis to currents
+of great intensity situate in the higher regions of our atmosphere." The
+Report of Lieut. J.C. Walsh on his soundings, was referred for
+examination to Duperroy, the member most eminent in hydrography.</p>
+<hr style="width: 30%;" />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Monsieur Pouillet</span>, the great Professor of Physics, has published in
+Paris a work entitled <i>General Notions of Natural Philosophy and
+Meteorology, for the use of young persons</i>; and Mr. Boussingault,
+eminent as a scientific agriculturist, the second edition of his <i>Rural
+Economy considered in its Relations with Chemistry, Physics, and
+Mineralogy</i>. The <i>Treatise of Mineralogy</i> by Dufresnoy, the celebrated
+Professor, who is of the Academy of Sciences, is complete, and at least
+equal to any other extant. There are four volumes octavo. The 22d volume
+of the memoirs of the Academy was ready in September last; the 23d is in
+the press; the 11th volume of Foreign Communications will appear this
+month. Twelve vacancies from death of foreign correspondents, are soon
+to be filled by election. All merit is ascribed to the work of Dr.
+Fairet, entitled <i>Clinical Instructions respecting Mental Maladies</i>. The
+author, pupil and successor of P&iacute;nel and Esquirol, is the physician of
+the Salpetriere. Along with the able Doctor Voison, he has a noble
+Lunatic Asylum of his own, not far from the capital.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 30%;" />
+<p><span class="smcap">Sir David Brewster</span>, it seems, has become a convert to that part of
+Animal Magnetism called Electro Biology, and which consists in willing a
+person to be somebody else. After describing some wonderful experiments,
+made in the presence of several scientific gentlemen, by a Mr. <span class="smcap">Darling</span>,
+he says, "they were all as convinced as I was, that the phenomena which
+we witnessed were real phenomena, and as well established as any other
+facts in physical science. The process by which the operator produces
+them&mdash;the mode by which that process acts upon the mind of the
+patient&mdash;and the reference of the phenomena to some general law in the
+constitution of man&mdash;may long remain unknown; but it is not difficult to
+see in the recent discoveries of M. <span class="smcap">Dubois Reymond</span> and <span class="smcap">Matteucia</span>, and in
+the laws which regulate the relative intensity of the external and
+internal impressions on the nerves of sensation, some not very
+indistinct indications of that remarkable process by which minds of
+peculiar sensibility are temporarily placed under the dominion of
+physical influences developed and directed by some living agent."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_575" id="Page_575">[Pg 575]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/image587.jpg" width="448" height="273" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="Ladies_Fashions_for_Early_Spring" id="Ladies_Fashions_for_Early_Spring"></a>Ladies' Fashions for Early Spring.</h2>
+
+
+<p>More attention than previously for many seasons appears to have been
+given this winter to ladies' fashions, and some that have come out are
+remarkably tasteful, while generally in fabric and manufacture they
+appear to be unusually expensive. We compile this month mainly from the
+London <i>World of Fashion</i>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Bonnets</i> are remarkable for a novel form, the front of the rims
+continuing large and open, the crowns round, low, and small. Of an
+elegant style are those made of Orient gray pearl, half satin, half
+<i>velours &eacute;pingl&eacute;</i>, having a very rich effect, and decorated with
+<i>touffes Marquises</i>, composed of <i>marabouts</i>. Then, we see bonnets of
+green satin, ornamented at the edge, over the front, and upon the crown,
+with a stamped velvet imitating lace, and decorated upon the left side
+with a small <i>plumet</i> in a weeping feather, the ends of which are tied
+or knotted with green, of two different shades; this is a very favorite
+and <i>recherch&eacute;</i> style. Also a bonnet of grayish green velvet, ornamented
+with a bunch of feathers composed of the <i>gr&egrave;be</i> and the ostrich.
+Drooping low feathers of every description are in request for decorating
+bonnets.</p>
+
+<p><i>Ball Dresses</i> of light materials are most in vogue, and are generally
+made of two and three skirts; as white <i>tulle</i>, with three skirts,
+trimmed all round with a broad, open-worked satin ribbon; the third
+skirt being raised on one side, and attached with a large bouquet of
+flowers, whilst the ribbon is twisted, and ascends to the side of the
+waist, where it finishes; the same kind of flowers serves to ornament
+the sleeves and centre of the corsage, which is also trimmed with a deep
+drapery of <i>tulle</i>. Feather trimmings are in vogue, disposed as fringes
+of <i>marabout</i>, and placed at the edges of the double skirts of <i>tulle</i>.
+Another pretty style, composed also of white <i>tulle</i>, and <i>&agrave; double
+jupes</i>, the under one having a border of white <i>marabout</i> fringe
+sprinkled with small golden grains falling over them in a perfect
+shower; the second <i>jupe</i> having attached to the edge of the hem a
+narrower fringe; the two sides of the upper skirt being open to the
+waist, is ornamented upon each side with an embroidery of gold and white
+silk, caught at regular distances with <i>n&oelig;uds</i> of white and gold
+gauze ribbon, the floating ends of which are edged with fringe; body <i>&agrave;
+la Grecque</i>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Capotes</i> of velvet are considerably lightened in appearance, by a
+novelty consisting of a kind of open stamped velvet, which is placed
+over satin; either a pretty contrast in color, or of the same hue;
+whilst those of plain velvet are relieved with trimmings of black lace,
+with <i>mancinis</i> formed of the convolvulus, made in green velvet. The
+form of the present style of <i>capotes</i> is very open in front, flat upon
+the top of the head, and shallow and sloping at the back. Some are of
+green satin, trimmed with ribbons of an open pattern in black and green.
+Others are decorated with rows of fancy ribbon-velvet, the interior
+having loops of narrow ribbon-velvet of two colors, charmingly blended.</p>
+
+<p>I. A high dress of green silk, the body opening in front <i>&agrave; la demi
+c&oelig;ur</i>; the waist is long and rounded in front; the sleeves, reaching
+a little below the elbow, are moderately wide, and finished either by a
+<i>r&ucirc;che</i> or rich <i>guimpe</i> trimming; the skirt is plain, long, and full.
+<i>Pardessus manteau</i> of claret velvet, fastening to the throat; it is
+ornamented with a narrow silk trimming: this <i>manteau</i> is lined with
+white silk, quilted in large squares. Bonnet of green velvet, with
+feathers of the same color placed low at the left side.</p>
+
+<p>II. <i>Robe</i> of blue <i>brocade</i>; the high body opens in the front nearly to
+the waist; the fronts of the skirt are lined with amber satin, and a
+fulling of the same is placed on the edge of the fronts, graduating in
+width towards the top; it is carried round the neck of the dress; the
+sleeves are very wide from the elbow, and lined with amber satin; the
+edge of the sleeve is left plain, but there is a <i>r&ucirc;che</i> of satin round
+the middle of the sleeve, just above the elbow. Under dress of jaconet
+muslin, trimmed with lace or embroidery. Cap of <i>tulle</i>, with blue
+trimmings.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_576" id="Page_576">[Pg 576]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 322px;">
+<img src="images/image588.jpg" width="322" height="419" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>III. A dress of pink <i>tulle</i>, spotted and <i>brod&eacute;</i> in silver; the <i>jupe</i>
+composed of three skirts, each waved round the lower part; plain
+close-fitting body, made very low, and pointed at the waist; the upper
+part decorated with a narrow cape, descending in a point upon the front
+of the corsage, and decorated with a splendid bouquet of roses; a second
+row of frilling forms the loose short sleeve; the whole worn over a
+dress of pale pink satin; a narrow row of white blonde encircling the
+neck. The hair is arranged in a similar form to figure I; the only
+difference being that the <i>n&oelig;ud</i> of ribbon is replaced by a beautiful
+drooping branch of pink shaded roses and light foliage; a spray of the
+three green leaves being placed upon the centre of the front, just over
+the parting of the hair.</p>
+
+<p>IV. A dress of green satin; the skirt, long and full, has four rows of
+braid up the front; the body is high, open a little in the front, the
+braid being carried round it; it is plaited from the shoulder to the
+waist; wide sleeves, with broad cuffs turned back; they have three rows
+of braid on them. <i>Mantelot</i> of grey cachmere, the sleeves <i>&agrave; la
+Maintenon</i>; the edges are all scalloped and trimmed with braid. Bonnet
+of ultra marine velvet; a broad black lace is turned back over the edge;
+it has a deep curtain.</p>
+
+<p><i>For a Young Lady's Dress</i>, <i>Capote</i> formed of rows of narrow pink fancy
+ribbon. Frock of dark blue cachmere; the skirt trimmed with two rows of
+ribbon-velvet; the cape formed of narrow folds, open in the front,
+continued across with bands of velvet. Pantaloons of embroidered
+cambric.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The International Monthly, Volume 2,
+No. 4, March, 1851, by Various
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+</body>
+</html>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The International Monthly, Volume 2, No. 4,
+March, 1851, by Various
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The International Monthly, Volume 2, No. 4, March, 1851
+
+Author: Various
+
+Release Date: March 23, 2008 [EBook #24902]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE INTERNATIONAL MONTHLY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Joshua Hutchinson, Josephine Paolucci and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net.
+(This file was produced from images generously made
+available by Cornell University Digital Collections).
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE
+
+Of Literature, Art, and Science.
+
+Vol. II.
+
+NEW-YORK, MARCH 1, 1851.
+
+No. IV.
+
+Transcriber's Note: Minor typos have been corrected and footnotes moved
+to the end of the article.
+
+
+
+
+AUSTEN HENRY LAYARD, LL. D.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+In an early number of the _International_ we had the satisfaction of
+printing an original and very interesting letter from Dr. Layard, in
+which, with more fulness and explicitness than in his great work on
+Nineveh, he discusses the subject of Ancient Art. We have carefully
+noted from time to time his proceedings in the East, and our readers
+will remember that we recently gave engravings of the most remarkable of
+the antiquities he sent home last year to the British Museum. Since that
+time he has proceeded to Bagdad, and he is now pursuing in that
+vicinity, with his wonted sagacity and earnestness, researches for the
+remains of Babylon, which in turn will furnish material for another
+extensive publication from his pen.
+
+The first public announcement of the discoveries at Nimroud was made in
+the _Knickerbocker Magazine_ of this city, in a letter from our
+countryman, Minor K. Kellogg, the painter, who was a long time the
+intimate friend and travelling companion of Layard in Asia Minor.
+Introducing the letters in which the antiquary disclosed the successful
+result of his investigations, Mr. Kellogg says:
+
+     "I can scarcely call to mind a person so admirably qualified in
+     all respects for prosecuting such laborious researches. He is
+     young, of a hardy and enduring constitution, is acquainted with
+     the Oriental languages, and speaks the Persian and Turkish
+     fluently. He is enthusiastic and indefatigable in every thing
+     he undertakes, and plentifully endowed with courage, prudence,
+     and good-nature."
+
+This was more than two years before Layard himself, in his "Nineveh and
+its Remains," exhibited those triumphs of his intelligence and devotion
+which have secured for him a place among the most famous travellers and
+antiquaries in the world.
+
+We take the occasion of copying the above portrait from the last number
+of _Bentley's Miscellany_ to present, from various authentic sources, a
+brief sketch of Dr. Layard's history. He is descended from the noble
+French Protestant family of Raymond de Layarde, who accompanied the
+Prince of Orange into England. He was born at Paris, during a temporary
+visit of his parents to that metropolis, on the 5th of March, 1817. His
+father, who was the son of the Rev. Dr. Henry Peter John Layard, Dean of
+Bristol, filled a high civil office in Ceylon, between the years 1820
+and 1830, and took great interest in the circulation of the Scriptures
+among heathen nations. He was a man of considerable classical learning,
+and of refined tastes. During the youth of his son, he lived at
+Florence, where our young antiquary had free access to the stores of the
+Pitti Palace, and of the Tribune. He thus became familiar from his
+infancy with the language of Tuscany, and formed his taste for the fine
+arts and literature upon the models of painting and sculpture amid which
+he lived, and in the rich libraries which he frequented. In this manner
+he added a thorough knowledge of modern languages to a competent
+acquaintance with those of Greece and Rome. Here, also, he acquired,
+almost involuntarily, a power over his pencil, which, long dormant, was
+called forth by the sight of slabs with the noblest sculptures and the
+finest inscriptions, crumbling into dust. No draughtsman had been
+provided for his assistance, and had he not instantly determined to
+arrest by the quickness of his eye, and the skill thus acquired,
+improved subsequently by Mr. Kellogg's companionship, those fleeting
+forms which were about to disappear for ever, many of the finest remains
+of ancient art would have been irrecoverably lost.
+
+On his return from Italy to England, he was urged to choose the
+profession of the law; but his thirst for knowledge, his love of
+adventure, and his foreign tastes and habits, led him, after a brief
+apprenticeship, to travel. He left England, with no very definite
+object, in the summer of 1839, and, accompanied by a friend, visited
+Russia and other northern countries, and afterward, living some time in
+Germany and the states on the Danube, made himself master of the German
+language, and of several of the dialects of Transylvania. From Dalmatia
+he passed into Montenegro, where he remained a considerable time,
+assisting an able and active young chief in ameliorating the condition
+of his semi-barbarous subjects. Travelling through Albania and Romelia,
+where he met with numerous adventures, he arrived at Constantinople,
+about the end of 1839. Here he made arrangements for visiting Asia
+Minor, and other countries in the East, where he spent some years,
+adopting the costume and leading the life of an Arab of the Desert, and
+acquiring a thorough knowledge of the manners and languages of Turkey
+and Arabia. In 1840 or 1841, he transmitted to the Royal Geographical
+Society, an Itinerary from Constantinople to Aleppo, which does not seem
+to have been published; but in the eleventh volume of the Journal of
+that Society, we have an account of the tour which he performed with Mr.
+Ainsworth, in April, 1840. He travelled in Persia in the same year, and
+projected a journey for the purpose of examining Susa, and some other
+places of interest in the Baktyari mountains, to which Major Rawlinson
+had drawn the attention of the Geographical Society. With this view, he
+left Ispahan in the middle of September, in company with Schiffeer Khan,
+a Baktyari chief; and having crossed the highest part of the great chain
+of Mungasht, he visited the ruins of Manjanik, which are of considerable
+extent, and resemble those of the Susannian cities. He visited also the
+ruins in the plain of Mel Amir, and copied some of their cuneiform
+inscriptions. In crossing the hills to Susan, he was attacked by a tribe
+of Dinarunis, and robbed of his watch, compass, &c.; but having
+complained to the chief, and insisted on the return of every missing
+article, he received back the whole of his property. It had been his
+practice to traverse these mountains quite alone, and he was never
+attacked or insulted, except on this occasion, when the country was in a
+state of war. He found scarcely any remains at Susan to indicate the
+site of a large city. In 1842 and 1843, he spent a considerable time in
+the province of Khuistan, an elaborate description of which he
+communicated through Lord Aberdeen to the Royal Geographical Society. It
+was during these various journeys that he prepared himself for the great
+task to which his best and ripest powers were to be devoted. In his
+wanderings through Asia Minor and Syria he had scarcely left a spot
+untrodden which tradition hallowed, or a ruin unexamined which was
+consecrated by history. His companion shared his feelings and his zeal.
+Unmindful of danger, they rode along with no other protection than their
+arms. They tended their own horses, and, mixing with the people, they
+acquired their manners and their language. He himself says: "I had
+traversed Asia Minor and Syria, visiting the ancient seats of
+civilization, and the spots which religion had made holy. I now felt an
+irresistible desire to penetrate to the regions beyond the Euphrates, to
+which history and tradition point as the birthplace of the Wisdom of the
+West."
+
+With these feelings, he looked to the banks of the Tigris, and longed to
+dispel the mysterious darkness which hung over Assyria and Babylonia.
+He, accordingly, made preliminary visits to Mosul, inspected the ruins
+of Nimroud and Kuyunjik, and, fortunately, obtained an interview with
+Sir Stratford Canning at Constantinople, then on his way to England.
+This distinguished man, who was formerly minister to the United States,
+and is remembered with well-deserved gratitude by nearly every recent
+traveller in the East, immediately discovered and appreciated the
+character and talents of Mr. Layard. His knowledge of the East, and of
+its manners and languages, recommended him in a peculiar manner to the
+notice of the ambassador, who persuaded him to remain, and employed him
+on many important public services. Sir Stratford Canning himself took a
+deep interest in the researches which had been made by the French, and
+he promptly aided his young countryman in carrying out the designs of
+which we now have the histories in his books. In the summer of 1845 Mr.
+Layard, Count Perpontier of the Prussian Embassy, and Mr. Kellogg,
+quitted Constantinople together, and visited Brusa (where Layard was
+some time dangerously ill from a _coup de soleil_), Mount Olympus, the
+country of the Ourouks or Wandering Tartars, the valley of the
+Rhyndacus, the Plain of Toushanloo, Kiutayah, the ruins of Azani, &c.
+Shortly after he proceeded to Nimroud, and in December, 1847, he
+returned to England with the fruits of his labors. He wrote to Mr.
+Kellogg, who was now in New-York, under date of
+
+    "CHELTENHAM, Jan. 16, 1848.
+
+     "MY DEAR KELLOGG:--I was quite delighted to see your
+     handwriting again, when a few days ago I received your letter
+     of the 15th November, with the diploma of the New-York
+     Ethnological Society. I reached home on Christmas day, after
+     having been detained three months at Constantinople. As you may
+     well conceive, since my return I have not had a moment to
+     myself--for what with domestic rejoicings and general honors, I
+     have been in one continual movement and excitement. I was
+     gratified to find that the results of my labors had created
+     much more interest in England than I could possibly have
+     expected, and that those connected with art, and interested in
+     early history, were really enthusiastic on the subject; so much
+     so, indeed, that the Trustees of the British Museum are
+     desirous of doing every thing that I think right; and it is
+     probable that ere long a very fine work will be published at
+     the public expense, containing all the drawings (about 130) and
+     inscriptions. I am to write and publish a small descriptive and
+     popular work, for my own advantage, just sufficient to satisfy
+     the public curiosity about Nineveh and the excavations. It will
+     contain an account of the works carried on, a slight sketch of
+     the history of Nineveh, a short inquiry into the manners,
+     customs and religion of the Assyrians, my own adventures in
+     Assyria, and a little information on the language and
+     character, with an account of the progress made in deciphering.
+     There will be two volumes I presume, and I have already
+     advantageous offers from publishers. My reason for entering
+     into these details, is to ask you what the law is in America,
+     and whether any influential bookseller would be willing to give
+     me any thing for the copyright, and if so, how it could be
+     managed? If you could do any thing for me in this matter, I
+     should really be much obliged to you, and I am willing to abide
+     by any arrangement you might think advantageous. I think the
+     work will be attractive--particularly in America, where there
+     are so many Scripture readers.
+
+     "I took Florence on my way, expressly to see you and Powers.
+     Although I was disappointed (and very greatly too) in the
+     first, I was greatly gratified in seeing Powers, and can assure
+     you I left Florence with as high an admiration for his genius
+     and character, as you can have, although unfortunately I was
+     only able to pass an hour or two with him, my stay being so
+     short. I showed him all my drawings, and, as you may suppose,
+     passed a very pleasant morning with him, Kirkup, and
+     Migliarini--all enthusiastic in seeing my drawings, and persons
+     worth showing such things to. Two hours, spent in this way, go
+     far towards recompensing one for any labor and sacrifice. I got
+     your address from Powers, intending to write to you as soon as
+     I reached England. It gave me the sincerest pleasure to hear
+     every one uniting in your praise; I regretted the more that you
+     were absent, and that I was unable to see your works. I was
+     delighted to find that such brilliant prospects were opening to
+     Powers, and I learnt from him, what you hint at in your letter,
+     that you also were prospering, and that substantial advantages
+     were pretty sure. I have only now to get a little money in my
+     pocket, and then inshallah (as the Turks say), I'll have my
+     picture out of you. To return to business for a moment (pardon
+     me for doing so), I think the drawings will be published in
+     first rate style and at a very moderate price: about L10--not a
+     shilling a drawing. Pray mention this to any of your bookseller
+     friends, and perhaps they may be induced to take a few copies.
+     It will be a work which no library ought to be without; it
+     will, I hope, quite surpass the French publication both in
+     execution and subject, and will be sold at one-tenth of the
+     price--theirs coming to nearly L100. I inclose a letter of
+     thanks for the Secretary of the Ethnological Society, which
+     pray send, and also add on my part, many thanks for this honor,
+     which I can assure you I particularly appreciate. My names are
+     Austen Henry Layard, and my designation simply "attached to Her
+     Britannic Majesty's Embassy, at the Sublime Porte." Lady
+     Canning and her family are still in England, Sir Stratford at
+     Berne. It is doubtful when they will return to Constantinople,
+     but I presume ere long. I am ordered out in May, and am named
+     commissioner for the settlement of the boundaries between
+     Turkey and Persia. I wish I had you with me during my
+     commission, for I shall visit a most interesting country,
+     totally unknown, and with magnificent subjects for such a
+     pencil as yours. I am sorry I did not know of your visit to
+     England. I have many influential friends, who would have been
+     glad to welcome you, and who might have been useful. I am now
+     passing a month or two at Cheltenham, for the benefit of my
+     health, which has suffered a little. I will write to you again
+     soon with something more interesting. Believe me, my dear
+     Kellogg, yours ever sincerely,
+
+     A. H. LAYARD."
+
+Upon the publication of his great work on Nineveh and its Remains, thus
+modestly announced, and his One Hundred Plates, he went back to the
+East, to renew his researches. Of the results of his recent labors we
+have already written, in the _International_ for December.
+
+Dr. Layard is a person of the most amiable and pleasing character, with
+all the social virtues which command affection and respect, and such
+capacities in literature as make him one of the most attractive
+travel-writers in our language. The world may yet look for several
+volumes from his hand, upon the East, and we are sure they will deserve
+the large and permanent popularity to which his first work has attained
+in every country where it has been printed.
+
+
+
+
+THE ASTOR LIBRARY.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+We present above an accurate view of the exterior of the ASTOR LIBRARY,
+in Lafayette Place, from a drawing made for the _International_ under
+the direction of the architect, Mr. Alexander Saeltzer. It is destined
+to be one of the chief attractions of the city, and information
+respecting it will be read with interest by the literary and learned
+throughout the country.
+
+It is now three years since John Jacob Astor died, leaving by his will
+four hundred thousand dollars for the establishment of a Public Library
+in New-York, and naming as the first trustees, the Mayor of the city of
+New-York and the Chancellor of the state for the time being. Washington
+Irving, William B. Astor, Daniel Lord, Jr., James G. King, Joseph G.
+Cogswell, Fitz-Greene Halleck, Henry Brevoort, Jr., Samuel B. Ruggles,
+Samuel Ward, and Charles Bristed. On the twentieth of May the trustees
+held their first meeting, accepted the trust conferred on them, and
+appointed Dr. Cogswell, one of their number, superintendent of the
+Library. Of the bequest, $75,000 was authorized to be applied to the
+erection of a building, $120,000 to the purchase of books and other
+objects in the establishment of the Library, and the residue, after
+paying for the site, was to be invested as a fund for its maintenance
+and increase. In September, 1848, the trustees selected the site for the
+edifice. It is convenient for all public purposes, and affords the
+comparative quietude and retirement which are desirable for an
+institution of constant resort for study and for the consultation of
+authorities. In October, Dr. Cogswell was authorized to go to Europe and
+purchase at his discretion books to the value of twenty thousand
+dollars. The object of the trustees in sending him abroad at that
+particular time was to avail themselves of the opportunity, afforded by
+the distracted political condition of Europe and the reduction of prices
+consequent upon it, to purchase books at very low rates; and the
+purchases were made at prices greatly below the ordinary standard, and
+the execution of his trust in all respects amply vindicated the high
+opinion entertained of Dr. Cogswell's fitness for his position.
+
+The plans for the edifice submitted by Mr. Saeltzer having been adopted,
+the work was commenced and has been vigorously prosecuted until the
+present time, when the front and nearly all the exterior are completed.
+The Library is of brown stone, and in the Byzantine style, or rather in
+that of the palaces of Florence, and is one hundred and twenty feet
+long, sixty-five feet wide, and sixty-seven feet high. Scarcely a
+particle of wood enters into its composition. No building in the United
+States, of this character, is formed to so large an extent of iron. Its
+uses, too, are altogether novel, at least in this country, and
+ingenious. For instance, the truss beams, supporting the principal
+weight of the roof, are constructed of cast iron pipes, in a parabolic
+form, on the same plan as the iron bridges in France and other parts of
+Europe, with a view to secure lightness and strength. The Library Hall,
+which occupies the second floor, is one hundred feet high, and sixty
+wide, in the clear. The ascent from the front is by a single line of
+thirty-eight Italian marble steps, decorated on either side, at the
+entrance, by a stone sphinx. Upon nearing the summit of these steps, the
+visitor finds himself near the centre of this immense alcove, surrounded
+by fourteen brick piers, plastered and finished in imitation of marble,
+and supporting iron galleries, midway between the floor and the ceiling.
+The side walls form one continuous shelving, of a capacity sufficient
+for 100,000 volumes. This is reached by means of the main gallery, in
+connection with which are four iron spiral stairways and an intervening
+gallery, of a lighter and smaller description, connected by its eight
+staircases with the main gallery. The whole are very ingeniously
+arranged and appropriately ornamented, in a style corresponding with the
+general architecture of the building. At an elevation of fifty-one feet
+above the floor of the main hall, is the principal skylight, fifty-four
+feet long and fourteen broad, formed of thick glass set in iron. Besides
+this there are circular side skylights of much smaller dimensions. All
+needful light is furnished, by these and by the windows in the front and
+rear walls. Free ventilation is also secured by iron fretwork, in
+suitable portions of the ceiling. In the extreme rear are the two rooms
+for the librarian, to which access is had by means of the main
+galleries.
+
+The first floor contains lecture and reading-rooms, with accommodations
+for five hundred persons. The latter are on each side of the building,
+and separated from the library-hall stairway at the front entrance by
+two corridors leading to the rear vestibule, and thence to the
+lecture-room, still further in the rear. The basement contains the
+keeper's rooms, cellars, coal-vaults, air-furnaces, &c. The floors are
+of richly-wrought mosaic work, on iron beams. The building will not be
+completed, probably, for nearly a year from this time, and the books
+collected, about 27,000, are meanwhile accessible at 32 Bond-street.
+
+Dr. Cogswell has had printed, in an octavo volume of 446 pages, an
+alphabetical index to the books now collected, and of the proposed
+accessions. This catalogue is not published, and there are but few
+copies of it. The learned librarian, who sailed a few days ago on a new
+mission for the library, to Europe, printed it at his own cost,
+convinced that without some such manual it would be extremely difficult,
+if not impossible, in making the necessary purchases, to avoid buying
+duplicates, and equally difficult to select judiciously so many thousand
+volumes as are required. He remarks that the Astor Library is in his
+opinion the first of so considerable an extent that has ever been called
+at once into existence. "That of Gottingen, the nearest parallel, was
+founded more than a century ago, when the whole number of printed books
+was less than half the present number. Should the Astor Library ever
+become a parallel to that in excellence and completeness, it will be as
+great an honor to the new world as that to the old."
+
+
+
+
+THE TEMPER OF WOMEN.
+
+
+In the _Lexington Papers_, just published in London, we have some good
+anecdotes of society two hundred and fifty years ago. Here is one:
+
+"A few days ago two ladies met in a narrow street at ten o'clock in the
+morning. Neither chose to permit her carriage to be drawn back, and they
+remained without moving for six hours. A little after twelve o'clock
+they sent for some refreshment for themselves and food for their horses.
+Each was firmly resolved to stay the night there rather than go back;
+and they would have done so, but a tavern-keeper in the street, who was
+prevented by their obstinacy from bringing to his door a cart laden with
+wine, went in search of the commissary of the district, who at length,
+but with much trouble, succeeded in effecting an arrangement upon these
+terms--that each should retire at the same moment, and that neither
+should pass through the street."
+
+And here another, which would versify into a fine horrible ballad--as
+grand and ghastly as Alfred Tennyson's "Sisters:"
+
+"The Parliament has lately confirmed the sentence of death passed on two
+daughters of a gentleman of Anjou, named Madaillon, for the murder of
+the lover of their younger sister. It appears that he was engaged to be
+married to the eldest sister, but deserting her, and passing over the
+second, he transferred his addresses to the youngest. The two eldest
+sisters, in revenge, invited him to play at blind man's buff, and while
+one bound his eyes, the other cut his throat."
+
+And this is similar:
+
+"In Piedmont a gentleman addressed at the same time one lady who was
+rich and plain, and one who was poor and very beautiful; and they, by
+chance becoming acquainted, exhibited to each other their correspondence
+with the vacillating lover, and one of them invited him to a meeting, in
+which after joining in reproaches, they dexterously each deprived him of
+an ear."
+
+
+
+
+ANDREW MARVEL.
+
+
+Of this Aristides of the poets, and his homes and haunts. Mrs. S. C.
+HALL gives us the following interesting sketches in her "Pilgrimages to
+English Shrines." The illustrations are from drawings by F. W. Fairholt,
+F.S.A.
+
+But a few months ago we had been strolling about Palace-yard, and
+instinctively paused at No. 19 York-street, Westminster. It was evening;
+the lamplighters were running from post to post, but we could still see
+that the house was a plain house to look at, differing little from its
+associate dwellings; a common house, a house you would pass without a
+thought, unless the remembrance of thoughts that had been given to you
+from within the shelter of those plain, ordinary walls, caused you to
+reflect; aye, and to thank God, who has left with you the memories and
+sympathies which elevate human nature. Here, while Latin secretary to
+the Protector, was JOHN MILTON to be found when "at home;" and in his
+society, at times, were met all the men who with their great originator,
+Cromwell, astonished Europe. Just think of those who entered that
+portal; think of them all if you can--statesmen and warriors; or, if you
+are really of a gentle spirit, think of two--but two; either of whom has
+left enough to engross your thoughts and fill your hearts. Think of JOHN
+MILTON and ANDREW MARVEL! think of the Protector of England, with two
+such secretaries!
+
+Evening had deepened into night; busy hands were closing shutters, and
+drawing curtains, to exclude the dense fog, that crept slowly and
+silently, like an assassin, through the streets; the pavement was
+clammy, and the carriages rushing through the mist, like huge-eyed,
+misshapen spectres, proved how eager even the poor horses were to find
+shelter; yet for a long while we stood on the steps of this building,
+and at length retraced our steps homeward. Our train of thought,
+although checked, was not changed, when seated by a comfortable fire. We
+took down a volume of Milton; but "Paradise Lost" was too sublime for
+the mood of the moment, and we "got to thinking" of Andrew Marvel, and
+displaced a volume of Captain Edward Thompson's edition of his works;
+and then it occurred to us to walk to Highgate, and once again enjoy the
+sight of his quaint old cottage on the side of the hill just facing
+"Cromwell House," and next to that which once owned for its master the
+great Earl of Lauderdale.
+
+We know nothing more invigorating than to breast the breeze up a hill,
+with a bright clear sky above, and the crisp ground under foot. The wind
+of March is as pure champagne to a healthy constitution; and let
+mountain-men laugh as they will at Highgate-hill, it is no ordinary
+labor to go and look down upon London from its height.
+
+Here then we are, once more, opposite the house where lived the
+satirist, the poet, the incorruptible patriot.
+
+It is, as you will see presently, a peculiar-looking dwelling, just such
+a one as you might well suppose the chosen of Andrew Marvel--exquisitely
+situated, enjoying abundant natural advantages; and yet altogether
+devoid of pretension; sufficiently beautiful for a poet, sufficiently
+humble for a patriot.
+
+[Illustration: MARVEL'S HOUSE, FRONT VIEW.]
+
+It is an unostentatious home, with simple gables and plain windows, and
+is but a story high. In front are some old trees, and a convenient porch
+to the door, in which to sit and look forth upon the road, a few paces
+in advance of it. The front is of plaster, but the windows are
+modernized, and there are other alterations which the exigencies of
+tenancy have made necessary since Marvel's days.
+
+The dwelling was evidently inhabited;--the curtains in the deep windows
+as white as they were when we visited it some years previous to the
+visit concerning which we now write, and the garden as neat as when in
+those days we asked permission to see the house, and were answered by an
+elderly servant, who took in our message; and an old gentleman came into
+the hall, invited us in, and presented us to his wife, a lady of more
+than middle age, and of that species of beauty depending upon
+expression, which it is not in the power of time to wither, because it
+is of the spirit rather than the flesh; and we also remembered a green
+parrot, in a fine cage, that talked a great deal, and was the only thing
+which seemed out of place in the house. We had been treated with much
+courtesy; and, emboldened by the memory of that kindness, we now
+ascended the stone steps, unlatched the little gate, and knocked.
+
+[Illustration: MARVEL'S HOUSE, BACK VIEW.]
+
+Again we were received courteously and kindly by the lady we had
+formerly seen; and again she blandly offered to show us the house. We
+went up a little winding stair, and into several neat, clean bedrooms,
+where every thing was so old-fashioned, that you could fancy Andrew
+Marvel himself was still its master.
+
+"Look out here," said the old lady; "here's a view! They say this was
+Andrew Marvel's writing closet when he wrote _sense_; but when he wrote
+_poetry_, he used to sit below in his garden. I have heard there is a
+private way under the road to Cromwell House, opposite; but surely that
+could not be necessary. So good a man would not want to work in the
+dark; for he was a true lover of his country, and a brave man. My
+husband used to say, the patriots of those times were not like the
+patriots now;--that then, they acted for their country,--now, they talk
+about it! Alas! the days are passed when you could tell an Englishman
+from every other man, even by his gait, keeping the middle of the road,
+and straight on, as one who knew himself, and made others know him. I am
+sure a party of roundheads, in their sober coats, high hats, and heavy
+boots, would have walked up Highgate Hill to visit Master Andrew Marvel,
+with a different air from the young men of our own time,--or of their
+own time, I should say,--for _my_ time is past, and _yours_ is passing."
+
+That was quite true; but there is no reason, we thought, why we should
+not look cheerfully towards the future, and pray that it may be a bright
+world for others, if not for ourselves;--the greater our enjoyment in
+the contemplation of the happiness of our fellow-creatures, the nearer
+we approach God.
+
+It was too damp for the old lady to venture into the garden; and sweet
+and gentle as she was, both in mind and manner, we were glad to be
+alone. How pretty and peaceful the house looks from this spot! The
+snowdrops were quite up, and the yellow and purple tips of the crocuses
+bursting through the ground in all directions. This, then, was the
+garden the poet loved so well, and to which he alludes so charmingly in
+his poem, where the nymph complains of the death of her fawn--
+
+    "I have a garden of my own,
+    But so with roses overgrown,
+    And lilies, that you would it guess
+    To be a little wilderness."
+
+The garden seems in nothing changed; in fact, the entire appearance of
+the place is what it was in those glorious days when inhabited by the
+truest genius and the most unflinching patriot that ever sprang from the
+sterling stuff that Englishmen were made of in those wonder-working
+times. The genius of Andrew Marvel was as varied as it was
+remarkable;--not only was he a tender and exquisite poet, but entitled
+to stand _facile princeps_ as an incorruptible patriot, the best of
+controversialists, and the leading prose wit of England. We have always
+considered his as the first of the "sprightly runnings" of that
+brilliant stream of wit, which will carry with it to the latent
+posterity the names of Swift, Steele, and Addison. Before Marvel's time,
+to be witty was to be strained, forced, and conceited; from him--whose
+memory consecrates that cottage--wit came sparkling forth, untouched by
+baser matter. It was worthy of him; its main feature was an open
+clearness. Detraction or jealousy cast no stain upon it; he turned
+aside, in the midst of an exalted panegyric to Oliver Cromwell, to say
+the finest things that ever were said of Charles I.
+
+The Patriot was the son of Mr. Andrew Marvel, minister and schoolmaster
+of Kingston-upon-Hull, where he was born in 1620; his father was also
+the lecturer of Trinity Church in that town, and was celebrated as a
+learned and pious man. The son's abilities at an early age were
+remarkable, and his progress so great, that at the age of thirteen, he
+was entered as a student of Trinity College, Cambridge; and it is said
+that the corporation of his natal town furnished him with the means of
+entering the college and prosecuting his studies there. His shrewd and
+inquiring mind attracted the attention of some of the Jesuit emissaries
+who were at this time lurking about the universities, and sparing no
+pains to make proselytes. Marvel entered into disputations with them,
+and ultimately fell so far into their power, that he consented to
+abandon the University and follow one of them to London. Like many other
+clever youths, he was inattentive to the mere drudgery of university
+attendance, and had been reprimanded in consequence; this, and the news
+of his escape from college, reached his father's ears at Hull. That good
+and anxious parent followed him to London; and, after a considerable
+search, at last met with him in a bookseller's shop; he argued with his
+son as a prudent and sensible man should do, and prevailed on him to
+retrace his steps and return with him to college, where he applied to
+his studies with such good-will and continued assiduity, that he
+obtained the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1638. His father lived to see
+the fruits of his wise advice, but was only spared thus long; for he was
+unfortunately drowned in crossing the Humber, as he was attending the
+daughter of an intimate female friend, who, by this event becoming
+childless, sent for young Marvel, and by way of making all the return in
+her power, added considerably to his fortune.
+
+This accession of wealth gave him an opportunity of travelling, and he
+journeyed through Holland, France, and Italy. While at Rome he wrote the
+first of those satirical poems which obtained him so much celebrity. It
+was a satire on an English priest there, a wretched poetaster named
+Flecknoe. From an early period of life Marvel appears to have despised
+conceit, or impertinence, and he found another chance to exhibit his
+powers of satire in the person of an ecclesiastic of Paris, one Joseph
+de Maniban, an abbot who pretended to understand the characters of those
+he had never seen, and to prognosticate their good or bad fortune, from
+an inspection of their handwriting. Marvel addressed a poem to him,
+which, if it did not effectually silence his pretensions, at all events
+exposed them fully to the thinking portions of the community.
+
+[Illustration: CROMWELL HOUSE.]
+
+Beneath Italian skies his immortal friendship with Milton seems to have
+commenced; it was of rapid growth, but was soon firmly established. They
+were, in many ways, kindred spirits, and their hopes for the after
+destinies of England were alike. In 1653 Marvel returned to England, and
+during the eventful years that followed, we can find no record of his
+strong and earnest thoughts, as they worked upwards into the arena of
+public life. One glorious fact we know, and all who honor virtue must
+feel its force,--that in an age when wealth was never wanting to the
+unscrupulous, Marvel, a member of the popular and successful party,
+continued Poor. Many of those years he is certain to have passed--
+
+    "Under the destiny severe
+    Of Fairfax, and the starry Vere--"
+
+in the humble capacity of tutor of languages to their daughters. It was
+most likely, during this period, that he inhabited the cottage at
+Highgate, opposite to the house in which lived part of the family of
+Cromwell, a house upon which we shall remark presently. In 1657 he was
+introduced by Milton to Bradshaw. The precise words of the introduction
+ran thus: 'I present to you Mr. Marvel, laying aside those jealousies
+and that emulation which mine own condition might suggest to me, by
+bringing in such a coadjutor.' His connection with the State took place
+in 1657, when he became assistant secretary with Milton in the service
+of the Protector. 'I never had,' says Marvel, 'any, not the remotest
+relation to public matters, nor correspondence with the persons then
+predominant, until the year 1657.'
+
+After he had been some time fellow-secretary with Milton, even the
+thick-sighted burgesses of Hull perceived the merits of their townsman,
+and sent him as their representative into the House of Commons. We can
+imagine the delight he felt at escaping from the crowded and stormy
+Commons to breathe the invigorating air of his favorite hill, to enjoy
+the society of his former pupils, now his friends; and to gather, in
+
+    '----a garden of his own,'
+
+the flowers that had solaced his leisure hours when he was comparatively
+unknown. But Cromwell died, Charles returned, and Marvel's energies
+sprung into arms at acts which, in accordance with his principles, he
+considered base, and derogatory to his country. His whole efforts were
+directed to the preservation of civil and religious liberty.
+
+It was but a short time previous to the Restoration that Marvel had been
+chosen by his native town to sit as its representative in Parliament.
+The Session began at Westminster in April, 1660, and he acquitted
+himself so honorably, that he was again chosen for the one which began
+in May, 1661. Whether under Cromwell or Charles, he acted with such
+thorough honesty of purpose, and gave such satisfaction to his
+constituents, that they allowed him a handsome pension all the time he
+continued to represent them, which was till the day of his death. This
+was probably the last borough in England that paid a representative.[A]
+He seldom spoke in Parliament, but had much influence with the members
+of both Houses; the spirited Earl of Devonshire called him friend, and
+Prince Rupert particularly paid the greatest regard to his councils; and
+whenever he voted according to the sentiments of Marvel, which he often
+did, it used to be said, by the opposite party, that 'he had been with
+his tutor.' Such certainly was the intimacy between the Prince and
+Marvel, that when he was obliged to abscond, to avoid falling a
+sacrifice to the indignation of those enemies among the governing party
+whom his satirical pen had irritated, the Prince frequently went to see
+him, disguised as a private person.
+
+The noted Doctor Samuel Parker published Bishop Bramhall's work, setting
+forth the rights of kings over the consciences of their subjects, and
+then came forth Marvel's witty and sarcastic poem, 'The Rehearsal
+Transposed.'[B] And yet how brightly did the generosity of his noble
+nature shine forth at this very time, when he forsook his own wit in
+that very poem, to praise the wit of Butler, his rival and political
+enemy. Fortune seems about this period to have dealt hardly with him.
+Even while his political satires rang through the very halls of the
+pampered and impure Charles, when they were roared forth in every
+tavern, shouted in the public streets, and attracted the most envied
+attention throughout England, their author was obliged to exchange the
+free air, apt type of the freedom which he loved, for a lodging in a
+court off the Strand, where, enduring unutterable temptations, flattered
+and threatened, he more than realized the stories of Roman virtue.
+
+The poet Mason has made Marvel the hero of his 'Ode to Independence,'
+and thus alludes to his incorruptible integrity:--
+
+    'In awful Poverty his honest Muse
+      Walks forth Vindictive through a venal land;
+    In vain Corruption sheds her golden dews,
+      In vain Oppression lifts her iron hand;
+    He scorns them both, and arm'd with Truth alone,
+    Bids Lust and Folly tremble on the throne.'
+
+Marvel, by opposing the ministry and its measures, created himself many
+enemies,[C] and made himself very obnoxious to the government, yet
+Charles II. took great delight in his conversation, and tried all means
+to win him over to his side, but in vain; nothing being ever able to
+shake his resolution. There were many instances of his firmness in
+resisting the offers of the Court, in which he showed himself proof
+against all temptations.
+
+We close our eyes upon this peaceful dwelling of the heroic senator, and
+imagine ourselves in the reign of the second Charles, threading our way
+into that 'court off the Strand,' where Marvel ended his days. We enter
+the house, and climbing the stairs even to the second floor, perceive
+the object of our warmest admiration. He is not alone, though there is
+no possibility of confounding the poet with the courtier. Andrew Marvel
+is plainly dressed, his figure is strong, and about the middle size, his
+countenance open, and his complexion of a ruddy cast; his eyes are of a
+soft hazel color, mild and steady; his eyebrows straight, and so
+flexible as to mould without an effort into a satirical curve, if such
+be the mind's desire; his mouth is close, and indicative of firmness;
+and his brown hair falls gracefully back from a full and noble forehead.
+He sits in an upright and determined manner upon an uneasy-looking
+high-backed chair. A somewhat long table intervenes between him and his
+visitor; one end of it is covered with a white cloth, and a dish of cold
+meat is flanked by a loaf of bread and a dark earthenware jug. On the
+opposite end is placed a bag of gold, beside which lies the
+richly-embroidered glove which the cavalier with whom he is conversing
+has flung off. There is strange contrast in the attitude of the two men.
+Lord Danby lounges with the ease of a courtier and the grace of a
+gentleman upon a chair of as stiff and uncomfortable an appearance as
+that which is occupied after so upright a fashion by Andrew Marvel.
+
+"I have answered you, my lord," said the patriot, "already. Methinks
+there need be no further parley on the subject; it is not my first
+temptation, though I most fervently desire it may be the last."
+
+[Illustration: STAIRCASE.]
+
+The nobleman took up his glove and drew it on. "I again pray you to
+consider," he said, "whether, if with us, the very usefulness you so
+much prize would not have a more extensive sphere. You would have larger
+means of being useful."
+
+"My lord, I should certainly have the means of tempting usefulness to
+forsake duty."
+
+The cavalier rose, but the displeasure that flushed his countenance soon
+faded before the serene and holy expression of Milton's friend.
+
+"And are you so determined?" said his lordship, sorrowfully. "Are you
+really so determined? A thousand English pounds are there, and thrice
+the sum--nay, any thing you ask----"
+
+"My lord! my lord!" interrupted Marvel, indignantly, "this perseverance
+borders upon insult. Nay, my good lord, you do not so intend it, but
+your master does not understand me. Pray you, note this: two days ago
+that meat was hot; it has remained cold since, and there is enough still
+for to-morrow; and I am well content. A man so easily satisfied is not
+likely to exchange an approving conscience for dross like that!"
+
+We pray God that the sin of Marvel's death did not rest with the great
+ones of those times; but it was strange and sudden.[D] He did not leave
+wherewith to bury the sheath of such a noble spirit, but his
+constituents furnished forth a decent funeral, and would have erected a
+monument to his memory in the church of St. Giles-in-the-Fields, where
+he was interred; but the rector, blinded by the dust of royalty to the
+merits of the man, refused the necessary permission. Marvel's name is
+remembered, though the rector's has been long forgotten.[E]
+
+Wood tells us, that Marvel was in his conversation very modest, and of
+few words; and Cooke, the writer of his life, observes that he was very
+reserved among those whom he did not know, but a most delightful and
+improving companion among his friends. John Aubrey, who knew him
+personally, thus describes him: 'He was of a middling stature, pretty
+strong set, roundish cherry-checked, hazle-eyed, brown-haired.' He was
+(as Wood also says) in conversation very modest, and of a very few
+words. He was wont to say, that he would not drink high or freely with
+any one with whom he would not trust his life.
+
+Marvel lived among friends at Highgate; exactly opposite to his door was
+the residence of General Ireton and his wife Bridget, the eldest
+daughter of Oliver Cromwell; and which house still bears his name, and
+is described in 'Prickett's History of Highgate,' one of those local
+topographical works which deserve encouragement:--'Cromwell House is
+supposed to have been built by the Protector, whose name it bears, about
+the year 1630, as a residence for General Ireton, who married his
+daughter and was one of the commanders of his army; it is, however, said
+to have been the residence of Oliver Cromwell himself, but no mention is
+made, either in history or in his biography, of his having ever lived at
+Highgate. Tradition states, there was a subterraneous passage from this
+house to the mansion house which stood where the New Church now stands,
+but of its reality no proof has hitherto been adduced. Cromwell House
+was evidently built and internally ornamented in accordance with the
+taste of its military occupant. The staircase, which is of handsome
+proportions, is richly decorated with oaken carved figures, supposed to
+have been of persons in the general's army, in their costume; and the
+balustrades filled in with devices emblematical of warfare. On the
+ceilings of the drawing-room are the arms of General Ireton; this and
+the ceilings of the other principal apartments are enriched in
+conformity with the fashion of those days. The proportion of the noble
+rooms, as well as the brick-work in front, well deserves the notice and
+study of the antiquarian and the architect. From the platform on the top
+of the mansion may be seen a perfect panorama of the surrounding
+country.'
+
+The staircase above described is here engraved. It is a remarkably
+striking and elegant specimen of internal decoration, of broad and noble
+proportion, and of a solid and grand construction suitable to the time
+of its erection; the wood-work of the house is every where equally bold
+and massive; the door-cases of simple but good design. There are some
+ceilings in the first story which are in rich plaster work, ornamented
+with the arms of Ireton; and mouldings of fruit and flowers, of a
+sumptuous and bold enrichment.
+
+The series of figures which stand upon the newels of the staircase are
+all engraved below. There are ten remaining out of twelve, the original
+number; the missing two are said to have been figures of Cromwell and
+Ireton, destroyed at the Restoration. They stand about a foot in height,
+and represent the different soldiers of the army, from the fifer and
+drummer to the captain, and originally, to the commanders. They are
+curious for more reasons than one; their locality, their truthfulness,
+their history, and the picture they help us to realise of the army of
+Cromwell are all so many claims on our attention.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[A] The custom of paying members of the House of Commons for the loss of
+time and travelling expenses, was common in the seventeenth century;
+constituencies believed such equivalents necessary for the attention to
+their interests and wishes which a Parliamentary agent was expected to
+give. In the old Corporation books of provincial towns are many entries
+for payments to members of Parliament, and in some instances we find
+them petitioning to Government for disfranchisement, because they could
+not afford to pay the expenses of a Member.
+
+[B] Marvel's first _expose_ of Parker's false logic was in 1672, in the
+poem named above, which was immediately answered by Parker, and
+re-answered by Marvel, who appears to have had some private threat sent
+him, as he says his pamphlet is occasioned by two letters; one the
+published 'Reproof' of him by Parker in answer to his first attack; 'the
+second, left for me at a friend's house, dated November 3d, 1673,
+subscribed J. G., and concluding with these words:--If thou darest to
+print any lie or libel against Dr. Parker, by the Eternal--I will cut
+thy throat.' This last reply of Marvel's, however, effectually silenced
+Parker: 'It not only humbled Parker, but the whole party,' says Burnet,
+for, 'from the king down to the tradesman, the book was read with
+pleasure.'
+
+[C] 'No stronger satire could be penned than that descriptive of the
+Court of Charles, in the poem called 'Britannia and Raleigh:'--
+
+    'A colony of French possess the Court,
+  Pimps, priests, buffoons, in privy chambers sport;
+  Such slimy monsters ne'er approach'd a throne
+  Since Pharaoh's days, nor so defil'd a crown;
+  In sacred ears tyrannic arts they croak,
+  Pervert his mind, and good intentions choak.'
+
+But not only do the courtiers feel the lash, for when Raleigh implores
+Britannia to urge his duty on the king, and save him from the bad who
+surround him, she interrupts him with--
+
+  'Raleigh, no more! for long in vain I've try'd
+  The Stuart from the tyrant to divide.'
+
+
+[D] 'Marvel died in 1678, in his fifty-eighth year, not without the
+strongest suspicions of having been poisoned; for he was always very
+temperate, and of an healthful and strong constitution to the last.'
+
+[E] On the death of this rector, however, the monument and inscription
+was placed on the north wall of the church, near the spot where he is
+supposed to lie.
+
+
+
+
+A NOVELIST'S APPEAL FOR THE CANADAS.
+
+
+Among the new English novels is one entitled _Ellen Clayton, or the
+Nomades of the West_, by Douglass Huyghue. The author seems to feel for
+the red men the same regard which the adventurous artist and traveller
+Catlin has expressed in England, and his work comes in aid of those
+appeals which Catlin has so often made on their behalf. Such a motive
+entitles the author to respect, and gives an additional value to the
+book; while the talent with which it is written, renders it a narrative
+of unusual interest. In nothing but its _theme_ is it like to any of
+Cooper's novels. Its incidents and its characters are not similar, and
+they lack truthfulness quite as much as they lack similarity. We know
+something of Indian life; in our youth we saw much of it; and we regard
+Cooper as its faithfulest delineator in literary art. The time at which
+this romance opens is in the year 1600, when the wars between France and
+England led to hostilities in Canada, and when an abortive attack was
+made upon Quebec by the British and colonial army. The hero and heroine
+are victims to the disasters of that war, and in describing their
+adventures, Canada, and the condition of its civilized as well as of its
+wild inhabitants, are vividly presented. The incidents justify the
+author in making this appeal to his English readers when he reminds them
+of the associations that should ever be connected with the fortress of
+Quebec:--
+
+     "Men of England, look not coldly upon the interests of that
+     land for the possession of which your fathers fought and bled.
+     Quench not irretrievably the flame of loyalty which burns in
+     many an earnest heart, loath to contract these new ties which
+     the progress of an irresistible destiny would seem to favor, at
+     the sacrifice of affection for the fatherland. The blood of the
+     greatest and wisest nation since the days of the Romans, flows
+     in the veins of the Anglo-Americans, unadulterated by the air
+     of another hemisphere, and stimulated into vigorous action by a
+     necessity for continual exertion, combined with an entire
+     liberty of thought which calls into play every resource of the
+     physical and intellectual man. The sturdy and intelligent race
+     that treads the virgin soil of Canada, can surely claim
+     equality, at the very least, with the denizens of older Europe;
+     cramped as they are for want of room, and enervated by an
+     ultra-civilization that wrongs nature, and has almost taken the
+     sceptre from her hand to put it into that of art. The British
+     colonist enjoys a peculiar exemption from those prejudices,
+     which, for so many ages, have retarded progress, and are
+     successively being overcome by the convictions of a more
+     enlightened era. There is a voice in the woods and mountains of
+     a great solitude that elevates the soul and fortifies it with
+     courage in the time of need. The great torrents and inland seas
+     of that noble country have schooled the generation, nurtured by
+     their side, into a strong conception of freedom, and the right
+     to be justly dealt with, at the hands of those with whom it is
+     connected by the double alliance of kindred predilection. A
+     pernicious, temporizing policy has of late caused such wounds
+     as may not be healed up very easily, we fear. The upright
+     colonist has seen an unprincipled faction permitted to ride
+     triumphant over those whose intentions are honest, and whose
+     loyalty is proven. Let us hope, that ere long something of the
+     chivalrous generosity of other days will pervade the councils
+     of the state, and rouse the stalwart spirit of the Briton to
+     scourge this ignominy from the land; if encouragement be due at
+     all, it surely is to those true-hearted provincials who are
+     avowedly proud of the great people from whence they derive
+     their character, their language, and their laws--and who are as
+     able, as they are willing, to preserve unto their beloved
+     Sovereign the colony their sires won."
+
+This is tolerably good rhetoric, but it is not likely to have much
+effect when the strong argument and imposing eloquence of statesmen have
+failed to arrest attention. We see notices of another political novel
+referring to Canada, which deals more directly, if with less talent,
+with the disabilities and wishes of the people. It is entitled, _The
+Footsteps of Montcalm_, and its hero, descended from a follower of the
+brave Frenchman, contrasts with his ideal of freedom and happiness, the
+laws, institutions, habits, and miseries, which he regards as
+inseparable from the colonial relation. As in the rebellion of 1838,
+whatever disaffection now prevails in British America, is probably
+shared much less largely by the English than by the French population.
+Political, religious, or sectarian novels, however, executed never so
+cleverly, are but sugared pills at which the appetite revolts as soon as
+the quality is discovered.
+
+
+
+
+DR. WEBSTER, PRESIDENT OF THE NEW-YORK FREE ACADEMY.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Throughout the world an extraordinary degree of attention has recently
+been directed to systems and means of Education, and the truth has at
+length been generally recognized that the stability and glory of nations
+must depend upon the intelligence and virtue of their inhabitants. In
+our own country, which is most of all interested in the diffusion of
+knowledge, unexampled efforts are being made not only for the general
+improvement of the culture offered in the seminaries, but for that
+elevation of the laboring classes which, whatever may be said by
+ambitious feeble-minds, seeking for reputation as reformers of the
+social system, is really to be found only in a wise development of
+individual capacities for the strife that has been and must be waged for
+individual well-being.
+
+There have been many improvements suggested or realized lately in
+collegiate education. We have been gratified with Professor Sedgwick's
+admirable treatise on the subject, which, at this time, is receiving in
+England that consideration to which any thing from the mind of one so
+distinguished is entitled. In this country we think no one, upon the
+whole, has written more wisely than Dr. Wayland, whose views are to be
+illustrated in the future government of the university over which he has
+so long presided. But we shall not be satisfied until we have a great
+institution, as much above the existing colleges as they are above the
+common schools in the wards of the city, to which bachelors of arts only
+shall be admitted, and to which they, whether coming from Harvard,
+Oberlin, or Virginia, shall be admitted without charge.
+
+The establishment of the NEW-YORK FREE ACADEMY is suggestive of many
+things, and of this among them. We suppose a discussion whether our
+colleges supply the _degree_ of education suitable to our general
+condition, could be entertained only by dunces; the point whether they
+furnish the kind and quality of culture to fit men for efficient and
+just action, in such public affairs and private occupations as the
+humblest may be called to in a free state, has been amply discussed, and
+it is decided against the colleges.
+
+Our schools, called colleges, have for the most part been fashioned
+after the universities of Europe, but they have in all cases been
+inadequately endowed, and without the internal police which is necessary
+to their vigorous administration. Nine-tenths of the professors are
+incompetent, and quite one half of them, in any thing worthy the name of
+university could claim admission only to the class of freshmen; while
+those who are capable of a reputable performance of their duties--so
+uncertain are the revenues of the institutions to which they are
+attached--are very frequently compelled to modify regulations and relax
+discipline to such a degree that the colleges become only schools of
+vice or nurseries of indolence.
+
+The deficiency is of _authority_. It is useless to talk about courses of
+study, or any thing else, until the discipline of the schools is as
+absolute as that of the camp, the factory, or the counting-room. We are
+inclined to believe that the usefulness of the Military Academy at West
+Point,--which has furnished so large a proportion of the best civil
+engineers, lawyers, physicians, and divines, as well as the soldiers who
+and who _alone_ have conducted our armies to real glory,--we are
+inclined to believe that this justly celebrated school owes all its
+triumphs to its rigid laws and independence of popular clamor.
+
+Discipline is every thing. Without it a man is but a fair model in wood,
+which by it is turned to an engine of iron, and by opportunity furnished
+with water and fire to impel it on a resistless course through the
+world. And a man must be governed by others before he will govern
+himself. The silliness about _liberty_ which is sometimes obtruded into
+discussions of this subject, is fit for very young children and very old
+women. There is no desirable liberty but in obedience. The cant about it
+sometimes illustrates only a pitiable feebleness of intellect, but it
+more frequently discloses some kind or degree of wilful licentiousness.
+The "voluntary system" does very well in the churches. It will not do at
+all in the colleges. St. Paul is always found even with the wisdom of
+the age in which he is quoted, and he tells us that a youth "differeth
+nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all, but is under tutors
+and governors." This is the true philosophy. The "sovereign" people who
+disregard law, and exult when it is outraged at the cost of an unpopular
+party, have not learned what is necessary to freedom; they are not fit
+for it; they will destroy its fairest fabrics, if the state does not
+prepare its children by a thorough discipline for their inheritance. The
+_way_ is by free schools and free colleges, supported by public taxes.
+Sects and parties may have as many seminaries as they choose, and with
+rules of study and conduct so easily to be complied with, and
+administrations so lax, that the most contemptible idler or the most
+independent and self-willed simpleton shall see in them nothing to
+conflict with his habit or temper; but the graduates of these seminaries
+will not ascend the pinnacles of fame nor direct the affairs of nations:
+such affairs will be left for those who have learned, with their
+arithmetic, the self-denial, reverence and obedience, which are the
+conditions of the application of addition and division in the high
+mathematics.
+
+In a free college (and the New-York Free Academy is, in all respects,
+more justly to be considered a college than are most of the schools
+which confer academical "honors"), in a free college, of which the
+professors are responsible only to a judicious board of directors,
+examinations for admissions and for advancements will be rigid and
+impartial, the administration will be vigilant and firm, the reckless
+who will not and the imbecile who cannot acquire a good education, will
+be dismissed for more congenial pursuits, the rich and the poor will be
+upon an equality, and only desert will be honorably distinguished.
+
+The New-York Free Academy is eminently fortunate in its officers. HORACE
+WEBSTER, LL. D., is, in all respects, admirably fitted for his position
+as its President. He perfectly understands the indispensableness of
+thorough organization, and absolute and watchful discipline. Dr. Webster
+is a native of Vermont, and is of that family which, in various
+departments, has furnished the country some of its most illustrious
+names. At an early age, he became a student of the Military Academy, and
+so has himself experience of the advantages of that system which he
+advocates, and illustrates in his own administration. He graduated with
+distinction, and it is properly mentioned as an indication of his
+standing at West Point that, while he was a cadet of the first class, he
+was selected by the government of the Academy to be temporarily himself
+an instructor. In 1818 he joined the army, as a lieutenant, and after
+passing one year with his regiment, of which the late General Taylor was
+at that time the Major, he was elected Assistant Professor of
+Mathematics in the Military Academy, and returned to fulfil for six
+years, with constantly increasing reputation, both for scientific
+abilities and for personal character, the duties of that office, which
+it scarcely need be said are more difficult at West Point than in any
+other school in America. Among the distinguished gentlemen who were
+associated with him in teaching or as students during this period, were
+General Worth, Colonel Bliss, Colonel Thayer, Colonel Mansfield, and
+Professors Alexander D. Bache, LL. D., Charles Davies, LL. D., E. C.
+Ross, LL. D., and John Torrey, LL. D. Resigning his commission, he was
+in 1825 made Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in Geneva
+College, and he filled this place twenty-three years, leaving it in
+1848, to accept the Presidency of the New York Free Academy. We conceive
+that nothing could have invested this school with a higher claim to
+respect, or challenged for it a larger degree of confidence, than the
+selection of a man of such experience, capacities, and reputation, to be
+its chief officer; and for the class of persons likely to come under his
+instruction, no course of study could be more judicious, no training
+more admirably adapted, than may be expected from one who has been so
+long and so successfully engaged in preparing men for the most difficult
+and important offices. His attainments needed no illustration, and his
+administrative abilities have been amply vindicated by his government of
+the Free Academy.
+
+Candidates for admission to the Free Academy must have passed at least
+one year in the public schools, and they are examined in the common
+English studies. The standards for admission are not so high as the
+colleges demand, because the period of instruction is longer. We cannot
+enter into any particular statement of the courses of study, but it
+will be interesting if we indicate their character very briefly, and
+describe the chief teachers. Edward C. Ross, LL. D., the Professor of
+Mathematics, is, like Dr. Webster, a graduate of the Military Academy,
+and was many years a successful teacher in that institution and in
+Kenyon College. He is assisted by G. B. Docherty, A. M., who was
+formerly the Principal of the Flushing Institute. The course embraces
+all the studies necessary for the best accomplishment in engineering,
+and indeed is as thorough and complete as that pursued at West Point,
+with the modifications appropriate to the prospective pursuits of the
+pupils. Theodore Irving, A. M., is Professor of History and
+Belles-Lettres, assisted by Edward C. Marshall, A. M., and G. W.
+Huntsman, A. M. These gentlemen have experience, and we believe their
+system of instruction is in some respects original and in every way very
+excellent. Mr. Irving is a kinsman of "Geoffrey Crayon," and himself
+master of a pleasing and classical style. Oliver Wolcott Gibbs, A. M.,
+M. D., Professor of Chemistry, Natural Philosophy, Mineralogy, and
+Geology, is one of the best practical chemists in this country, having
+completed his own education under the celebrated Liebig, in Germany, and
+since in many ways evinced such capacities in this department, as made
+his selection for the place he occupies almost a matter of course. John
+J. Owen, D. D., whose scholarship is exhibited in his ably edited series
+of the classical authors of these languages, is Professor of Greek and
+Latin, and we neither agree with nor have much respect for those who
+deprecate the attention demanded in the Academy for such studies. The
+French, Spanish and German languages are taught by Professors Roemer,
+Morales, and Glaubensklee, all of whom are known to the public for such
+talents as are necessary in their positions. Mr. Paul P. Duggan, a
+painter whose works adorn many of our best collections in art, is
+Professor of Drawing.
+
+The Free Academy will fulfil the reasonable expectations of its
+founders. It is admirably designed, and its appointments and
+administration have thus far been judicious. We lack yet a University:
+there is no school in America deserving this title; all our colleges
+should be regarded as _gymnasia_, sifting the classes of the common
+schools and preparing their more advanced and ingenious pupils for such
+an institution; and the Free Academy may be accepted as a model by which
+they can be reshaped for their less ambitious but more appropriate
+duties. This is a subject ably and properly treated in Professor
+Tappan's recent volume on Education, (published by Mr. Putnam,) to which
+we beg attention.
+
+The whole number of students now attending the Free Academy is three
+hundred and twenty-nine, of whom one hundred and five were admitted at
+the last examination, in February. The number for whom the building is
+designed is about six hundred.
+
+
+
+
+Authors and Books.
+
+
+A book which we cannot too highly recommend is the _Briefe ueber
+Humboldt's Kosmos_ (Letters on Humboldt's Cosmos), published at Leipzic,
+in two octavo volumes, from the pens of Professor COTTA and Professor
+SCHALLER. It is intended to serve as a commentary upon that work, which
+it is well worthy to accompany. Without attempting an exhaustive
+treatise on the details of the various topics touched on by Humboldt,
+the writers have expanded some of the leading points of his work into
+scientific essays, whose practical utility is none the smaller for an
+elegant and attractive style, and a genial enthusiasm, of which Humboldt
+need not be ashamed. The first volume, by Professor Cotta, contains
+forty letters on the following themes: The enjoyment of nature; matter
+and forces, growth and existence; natural philosophy; the fixed stars,
+their parallaxes, groups, movements, nebulae; double stars, structure of
+the universe, resisting medium; the solar system; the laws of motion,
+Kepler and Newton; density of the heavenly bodies; our moon, its orbit,
+no atmosphere, no water; comets; meteors, and meteoric stones; form of
+the earth; magnetism; volcanic activity; gas-springs; geysers; internal
+structure of the earth; history of organisms, their first origin, and
+developments; the surface, its forms, and their influence on animated
+life; the gradual rising and sinking of the surface in Sweden; the
+tides; circulation of water on the earth--springs, cold, warm, mineral,
+artesian--rivers, seas, ocean currents, evaporation and condensation;
+glaciers; the atmosphere, climate, weather, winds, storm-clouds; organic
+life on the earth, its nature, differences, origin of the differences,
+original production, creation, first appearance; man, his origin, races,
+forms, phrenology, &c. These letters offer, as we have already said, in
+a pleasing and attractive form, a condensed and comprehensive view of
+what is now known with reference to the sciences treated. The letter
+upon Man is especially interesting. Professor Cotta belongs to those who
+think the human race to be "the gradual perfection, through thousands of
+generations," of a lower order of creatures. "The human individual," he
+says, "even now, in the embryonic state, passes through the condition of
+various sorts of animals. The most eminent anatomists have shown that
+before birth we for a time resemble a polypal animal, then for a time a
+fish, next a reptile, till at last appear the characteristics of a
+mammalia. This is a fact which bears strongly in favor of our view. The
+genesis and development of the entire species seem to be here condensed
+in the growth of the individual." But while setting forth this peculiar
+view, Professor Cotta, with true German comprehensiveness, takes care to
+give a fair statement of opposing doctrines, and evinces nothing like a
+narrow dogmatism. The second volume, like the second volume of the
+Cosmos, is that which will most interest and delight the general reader.
+It contains thirty-two letters, mainly on the following subjects: the
+view of nature in general; the religious view; the various forms of the
+religious view; the aesthetic view; the inward connection of the aesthetic
+enjoyment of nature with its artistic representation; the scientific
+view as empirical science and natural philosophy; the relations of the
+various views of nature to each other; the poetic comprehension of
+nature among the Indians; the poetic comprehension of nature among the
+Jews, the Greeks, and the Romans; the Christian contemplation of nature;
+German poetry in the middle ages; Italian poetry; the poetic
+comprehension of nature in modern times; the representation of nature by
+painting, and its gradual appearance in the history of art; the
+physiognomy of plants in connection with the physiognomy of nature in
+general; description of several plant formations; general outlines of
+the animal world; history of the physical view of the universe; natural
+science among the Phenicians, the Greeks, at the time of the Ptolemies,
+at the time of the Roman Empire, and in the middle ages; natural history
+of modern times, Bacon, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Newton; the
+mechanical doctrine of modern physics; the dynamic view of nature;
+Fichte's doctrine, and the natural philosophy of Schelling and Hegel.
+This volume, as will be easily understood, gives at once a history of
+religion, philosophy, art, literature, and science, in their relations
+to the outward universe. For instance, under the head of natural science
+among the Greeks, we have among other things an account of the doctrine
+of the Pythagoreans, Plato, and Aristotle; in treating the middle ages,
+Professor Schaller speaks of the Scholastics, Thomas Aquinas, Roger
+Bacon, Giordano Bruno, and Paracelsus. One of the most interesting parts
+of the whole is that on the poetic view of nature among the Hindoos,
+Jews, Greeks, Romans, Germans, and Italians, the historical statement
+being every where illustrated by copious quotations of admirable
+passages from the poets of those nations. The strictly scientific
+portions are illustrated by excellent engravings, and are free from mere
+technicalities. Sold in New-York by R. Garrigue.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The _Vestiges of Creation_ has been translated into German by Charles
+Vogt, a savan who in late years has become noted as a radical
+politician. The translation is highly praised. Published at Brunswick.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The translation of HEGEL'S _Aesthetik_ into French is now nearly
+completed at Paris, the fourth volume, which is devoted to the
+consideration of music and poetry, having just been published. One
+volume more will complete the work. The translator is M. Charles Benard.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+THE HUMAN RACE AND ITS ORIGIN.--Under the title of _Histoire Generale
+des Races Humaines_, M. Eusebe-Francois de Salles has just published at
+Paris an elaborate work on Ethnography, for which he had prepared
+himself by long and careful personal observation of most of the races on
+the globe, his travels having extended into nearly all climes and
+regions. He takes the ground of the descent of the entire human family
+from a single pair, created adult and perfect in mind and body, not by
+any simple evolution of nature, but by a direct act of the Divine Being.
+The paradise or home of this pair he places to the north of India and
+the east of Persia. All the varieties of men now existing he attributes
+to the influence of climate and circumstances. "The first light of
+history," he says, "shows us the human family in possession of a
+language, and of a certain degree of science, the inheritance of the
+past. Its aptitudes, its passions, and outward circumstances, may
+increase this inheritance, keep it the same, or diminish it. In peoples
+enervated by luxury and by doubt, in tribes softened by too favorable a
+climate, or separated too long from the stronger and better educated
+masses,--in a family or a couple exiled by a catastrophe, a
+shipwreck,--we are to seek the origin of the decline into the various
+degrees of _corruption, barbarism_, the _savage state_, and _brutality_.
+Imagine a boat from the coast of America, or from the South Sea Islands,
+cast by a tempest on some unknown shore or some desert island. A few
+young persons, a few children, alone escape from the shipwreck, knowing
+imperfectly the language, the arts, and the family traditions of their
+parents. Such is the origin of the unfortunates sometimes met with, who
+are ignorant even of the use of fire." Against the spontaneous
+generation of the human race in several localities he argues at length
+as an utter absurdity, the point of his argument being, that isolated
+couples so produced would be unable to resist the inhospitality of
+nature without miraculous aid, and one miracle, he contends, is more
+admissable than ten or a dozen. But the chief grounds upon which he
+labors to establish his doctrine are the similitude of the most ancient
+traditions among all branches of the human species, the affiliation and
+analogy of languages, and the identity of organization and equality of
+aptitudes. He finds similar traditions among the Hebrews, the Chaldeans,
+the Phoenicians, the Egyptians, the Ethiopians, the Hindoos, the
+Persians, the Chinese, the Thibetans, the Scythians, and the Americans.
+In the theogonies and cosmogonies of the Aztecs of America, he says that
+the traditions of ancient Asia are plainly to be found, while some vague
+traces of these primitive narratives are to be found even among the
+savages of Oceanica, and the most barbarous and miserable negroes of
+western Africa. To the negroes he devotes perhaps the most careful and
+learned portion of the work. Starting from the discovery of M. Flaurens
+as to the _pigmentum_ or coloring matter of the skin, he contends with
+great force that nothing but the gradual influence of climate, giving a
+greater and greater intensity to the action of this coloring matter,
+which exists in every race and every individual, has caused the
+essential difference between whites and blacks. For, he argues, there is
+no other difference between them than that of color, all the other
+features, such as the prominent mouth, the woolly hair, the facial
+angle, being in no wise exclusively peculiar to the Africans. And so,
+after having gone over the entire race in detail, proving the identity
+of organization in every division, M. de Salles concludes that the
+primitive complexion was olive, somewhat like the color of unburnt
+coffee, and the original men had red hair. On the affiliation of
+languages he reasons at great length, with a striking affluence of
+curious and learned detail. Languages, he remarks, become more and more
+complicated and perfect as we ascend toward their origin. Next he
+considers the modifications by which the present races of men have
+departed from the first family, and in so doing he takes up every people
+that has ever been known. America, he thinks, was first settled by
+Mongol emigration, with religious traditions, between the eighteenth and
+the fifteenth century before our era: then, six or eight hundred years
+later, there was a second emigration of Hindoo races, with traditions of
+architecture. With the Bible and the facts of geology as his starting
+point, he demonstrates the falsity of the Egyptian, Hindoo, Chinese, and
+Mexican chronologies. The six days of creation he takes as so many great
+epochs; the deluge he places at five thousand years before Christ.
+
+In our account of this book we have not strictly followed the order of
+the author. Thus he makes the direct miraculous creation of man the
+concluding topic of his book, and treats it not without a certain poetic
+elevation as comports with such an event. We have aimed only to give the
+outlines of his doctrine, and for the rest recommend those of our
+readers who are interested in such studies to procure and read the work.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+JOACHIM LELEWEL (a name honored by all lovers of liberty,) has just
+published at Breslau a work on the geography of the middle ages, which
+is worthy of the warmest admiration. It consists of an atlas of fifty
+plates, engraved by the hand of the venerable author, containing one
+hundred and forty-five figures and maps, from eighty-eight different
+Arabic and Latin geographers of different epochs, with eleven
+explicative or comparative maps and two geographical essays. The whole
+work exhibits the most thorough acquaintance and conscientious use of
+the labors of previous explorers in the same direction. The cost of
+importing a copy into this country would be about eight dollars.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+MORE NEW GERMAN NOVELS.--_The Siege of Rheinfels_, by Gustave von See,
+is a historical romance, founded on an episode from the wars of Louis
+XIV., against the German empire. While the Palatinate and the left bank
+of the Rhine were ravaged by the French armies, the fortress of
+Rheinfels held out obstinately against a siege which was prosecuted with
+fury by a much superior force. Amid the scenes of this siege, passes the
+love-story that forms the kernel of the novel, which is written with
+originality and talent. The historical part is equally attractive and
+_vraisemblant_. A collection of romances under the title of _Germania_,
+has appeared at Bremen. It is intended to serve as the beginning of an
+annual publication. The first number contains seven tales, some of them
+by well known romance writers. The first is _Eine Leidenschaft_ (A
+Passion), by Louise von G., and is highly praised by the most reliable
+critics; it abounds in arch and graceful humor. Spiller von Hauenschildt
+is the least successful of the contributors in respect to the artistic
+treatment of his subject. His novel is socialistic. Adolph Hahr and
+Alfred Meissner are also among the contributors. On the whole the book
+is a good one.
+
+Leopold Schefer has published lately in Berlin _The Bishop's Wife, a
+Tale of the Papacy_, in which the great Napoleon of the church,
+Hildebrand, figures as the hero. The Germans have never succeeded in the
+historical novel. With vast resources in materiel, they have always a
+vagueness, a want of definite interest, of picturesque arrangement, and
+of sustained and disciplined power. Schefer is a scholar, and his
+didactic purpose is plain enough, and well enough managed. The Teutonic
+character has always instinctively revolted against the practice of
+celibacy, a form of ascetism quite natural, and sometimes perhaps
+inevitable, as a reaction against the unbridled sensualism of the
+Africans and Asiatics, but quite out of place in climes so temperate and
+races so moderate, conscientious, and self-respecting as those of
+Northern Europe. It needed all the genius and determination of
+Hildebrand himself to enforce the celibacy of the German clergy, and
+certainly they have never ceased more or less covertly to revolt against
+it. It is well understood that, at the present time, there is a very
+general wish among the Catholics of Germany--more especially of South
+Germany, where they are not jealous of Protestant encroachments--to have
+marriage allowed to the parochial clergy; and the clergy themselves are
+foremost in this tendency, though it may not accord with their interest
+unreservedly to display it. It has, however, betrayed its existence in
+various ways, especially in anonymous literary productions, in prose and
+verse. So general is this feeling, and so profound the conviction that
+something must be done, that in 1848 it was very generally credited that
+the Pope was prepared to sanction a relaxation of the laws of the church
+in this respect. For this belief, however, there could have been no
+just foundation, since Pius IX. is the reputed author of the official
+reply, made while he was but a priest, to the Brazilian Archbishop
+Feijo, upon this very subject, in which it was alleged that such a
+relaxation of discipline would be an abandonment of the "integrity of
+the church." Yet without something of the kind, it is thought that a
+very extensive schism in catholic Germany will be inevitable.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Der Mensch im Spiegel der Natur_ (Man in the Mirror of Nature), is an
+excellent little work for popular use, by Mr. E. A. Rossmaessler,
+published at Leipzic, in two neat volumes, with wood-cuts. It sets
+forth, in the most attractive form, the elementary facts of science,
+they being ingeniously interwoven into a narrative of the journeys,
+friendships, and adventures of the author. The work well deserves a
+translation into English.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A work of extreme interest to geologists is the _Gaea Norwegica_, edited
+by Professor KEILHAU of the Christiana University, and published at that
+place. The first volume is just completed. No country of Europe is more
+important in respect of geological science than Norway, and the labors
+of Professor Keilhau and his associates are of the most thorough and
+solid kind. The volume contains 516 pages folio. Cost in America $4.50.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A GERMAN nobleman lately wrote to the French Academy, offering to give
+that body a yearly income of 10,000 francs to be spent in two prizes,
+one of 5,000 francs for the best essay in defence of Catholicism, and
+another of the same sum for the best essay in defence of Absolutism. The
+Academy declined the offer.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A SYSTEM of _Christian Ethics_ has lately been published at Regensburg,
+by Dr. WERNER, Professor in the Catholic Theological Seminary of St.
+Polten. The writer holds that all virtue flows from the mystic fountain
+of regeneration, and is confirmed and supported solely by the sacraments
+of the church.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+WILHELM MEINHOLD, author of the _Amber Witch_, lately the pastor of a
+parish in Pomerania, is now in Berlin, preparing for admission into the
+Roman Catholic Church. It is not long since he forfeited his place in
+the Protestant Church by a street fight, for which, we believe, he was
+imprisoned.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The College of Rabbis, at Padua, offers 1000 florins ($400) as a prize
+for the best descriptive and critical work on the political and
+religious history of the Israelites from the first siege of Jerusalem to
+the time of the latest writers of the Talmud.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+MRS. ROBINSON'S (_Talvi's_) History of the Colonization of America,
+originally published in the German language, has been translated by Mr.
+William Hazlitt, and printed in London.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+GEDICHTE VON JEANNE MARIE (Poems by Jeanne Marie) is the title of one of
+the latest products of the German muse. The authoress is well known and
+well liked by those readers of German novels who take delight in the
+genius of authoresses, and think ladies can write as well as men. Jeanne
+Marie has seen much, felt much, and thought almost if not quite as much
+as she has seen and felt. Her poetic culture is however still defective,
+and her stories are better than her lyrics. The latter lack finish and
+correctness, and abound in mere conceits rather than in genuine poetic
+images. Where she attempts simply to narrate an event in the ballad
+style she is more successful.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A BOOK of curious historical interest is now in course of publication in
+Germany, the first volume of which has already made its appearance. It
+is the Diary of General Patrick Gorton, who served in Russia during a
+large part of the seventeenth century, where he attained the highest
+military rank. He was in the habit of noting every thing that passed
+around him, or with which he was connected, whether of a political,
+military, or personal nature. His field of service extended throughout
+the entire empire, and embraced the most important events in the reign
+of Peter the Great. He participated in the suppression of the corps of
+Strelitzes, made two campaigns against the Turks, was active in Peter's
+reorganization of the army, &c., &c. The first volume comes down to
+1678; the remainder will soon follow. As the whole was written without
+any design of being communicated to the world, it is especially valuable
+for its glimpses at the domestic habits of the country at that peculiar
+period.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+GEORGE SAND'S NEW DRAMA.--George Sand's _Claudie_ has had a brilliant
+fortune at Paris, where it was first performed the second week in
+January. It is a drama of peasant life, in three acts, in prose. Jules
+Janin says of it: "The success of Claudie is a true, sincere, and
+energetic success. It has impassioned the calmest souls; it has calmed
+the most agitated. This poem is a veritable festival, full of the rustic
+delights of the country, of the most honorable passions of the human
+heart, of the noblest sentiments. Add to this, a charm altogether new, a
+charm both inspired and inspiring, in the style, which is reason and
+good sense in the most delicious costume. Neither effort nor study is
+there, but only that simplicity so much sought for in the most precious
+passages of _Daphnis and Chloe_ translated to the Marivaux by Amyot
+himself. The piece was listened to with ravishment. There was universal
+praise among the audience, an inexpressible abundance of tears, of
+laughter, of gayety, of sighs, of words fitly spoken, of eloquent
+silence." Of the plot we take the following account from an article by
+Paul de Musset: From the beginning we feel the air of the country, the
+harvest, and the sun of August. Farmer Fauveau is preparing to pay the
+harvesters. His employer, Dame Rose, a young and pretty widow, has just
+returned from the city, where she had been for a lawsuit. Fauveau, a
+shrewd but good-natured man, skilfully calls her attention to the sad
+and agitated air of his son, who is no doubt in love with some one, and
+with whom can it be except his charming mistress? Dame Rose admits that
+Sylvain Fauveau is a handsome fellow, and a good and intelligent
+workman, who would manage affairs with discretion, but he would be
+jealous of his wife. Jealousy, replies the old man, is a proof of love,
+and so Dame Rose begins to cherish the idea that Sylvain is in love with
+her. This is not true, but the old man has said it purposely. He
+suspects Sylvain of being in love with Claudie, a simple laborer in the
+harvest field, without a penny, and gaining her living, with no other
+relative than a grandfather of eighty, who may any day become a charge
+upon her little earnings. Claudie comes in from work with her
+grandfather, and they ask for their pay, the harvest being finished, and
+it being six leagues to their home. They are paid, and Sylvain takes
+care that they shall receive more than his father intends, and that they
+shall be invited to the harvest festival. Claudie aids in the
+preparations, and Sylvain, reproaching her tenderly for working after a
+day so fatiguing, takes from her the severer part of the duties she has
+undertaken. But she only replies in monosyllables, and does not turn her
+eyes from the plates and other utensils she is engaged with. Sylvain,
+troubled by this, withdraws, murmuring at her coldness and indifference.
+We soon see the cause of this. A young peasant appears. It is the
+handsome Denis Ronciat, the beau and cajoler of the village girls, who
+utters an exclamation of surprise. A brief explanation informs us that
+Denis was betrothed to Claudie when she was fifteen, that he had
+deceived and abandoned her like a villain, leaving her a child, which
+had since died. This explains the gloomy air of Claudie, her
+indifference to the advances of Sylvain, and her almost fierce
+determination never to marry. To complete his outrages, Denis boldly
+avows his intention to marry Dame Rose, and offers money to her he has
+betrayed, in order to bribe her to silence. The band of harvesters
+appears, bearing in triumph the last sheaf, adorned with flowers and
+ribbons. The grandfather, Remy, full of joy, pronounces a discourse of
+rude and simple eloquence on the beneficence of Providence, and of the
+sun He causes to shine, after which a collection is proposed in favor of
+the orator and his granddaughter. Every one gives his offering. Dame
+Rose puts in a new five-franc piece, the father Fauveau a penny, Sylvain
+his watch, wishing that it were his heart, a child brings an apple, and
+finally the last contributor approaches. This is Denis Ronciat: seeing
+the seducer of his child, the indignation of the old man breaks out, he
+rejects the offering, and falls as if struck with apoplexy, pronouncing
+a sort of mysterious malediction, which freezes with horror all who hear
+it. In the second act Claudie is still at the farm, her grandfather
+having been sick there for two months. She has been engaged as a servant
+to the farmer Fauveau, but has not given the least hope to Sylvain, who
+has been constant in his attentions. Dame Rose, in the mean time, has
+fallen in love with him, and is astonished that he has not declared
+himself. Denis Ronciat, seeing his rival preferred, explains to the rich
+widow why the lover she desires will not present himself, and from
+vengeance and vanity divulges the secret of poor Claudie. Here we expect
+a storm of insults and reproaches to fall on the head of the dishonored
+girl. But, as in the rest of the work, the author has laid aside the
+ordinary traditions, customs, and conventionalities, to draw from the
+resources of her own genius. While all are preparing to expel the
+domestic who has deceived every body by her air of candor and innocence,
+the old man, whose reason has been wandering, listens. He recalls his
+recollections, and his presence of mind returns at the critical moment.
+He rises, throws his arms around his granddaughter, and naively recounts
+the story of the seduction and abandonment of Claudie: how she believed
+in Denis, and gave him her heart without distrust; how Denis shamefully
+abused her confidence, and abandoned her, when duty obliged him more
+than ever to be faithful. The old man adds that he himself had neither
+reproached nor cursed her, but that he consoled her, that he took her
+child upon his knees, and loved it, and despaired when it died. Finally
+he demands who would presume to be severer toward his child, and feel
+her wrong more keenly than he. His simplicity, magnanimity, and
+goodness, overpower all who hear him. A more gentle sentiment than even
+respect and pity takes possession of every heart. The devotion of the
+old man raises the fallen girl, and in the admiration he inspires the
+fault of Claudie is almost forgotten. But it is too late. The old man
+takes the arm of his daughter, and leads her away with him. When the
+curtain rises for the last scene, Dame Rose has retained Claudie and her
+grandfather at the house, a riot in the village having prevented their
+departure. Denis has come near being stoned to death. Finally he
+consents to repair his crime by marrying her he has betrayed. He is
+refused. Then Sylvain offers himself to Claudie, but she says she is
+unworthy of him, and refuses obstinately. Dame Rose, Fauveau, and even
+Sylvain's mother, try vainly to change her resolution. The old man at
+last decides, by saying that he reads her soul, and knows that she loves
+Sylvain. His authority makes her give a silent consent, and here the
+curtain falls. _Claudie_ has been brought out in elegant form by a
+Parisian publisher. Why should not some poet attempt a version into
+English?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Several new Plays and Operas have lately attracted attention in Paris.
+_Paillasse_, in five acts, by MM. Dennery and Marc Fournier, produced at
+the _Gaiete_ in November, was one of the greatest hits during the latter
+part of 1850. The character of the conventional French mountebank,
+Paillasse, the vagabond juggler of fairs and streets, was regarded as
+one of the finest creations of Frederic Lemaitre, and in one of the
+Christmas _revues_ a symbol of the piece passed before the eyes of the
+audience as one of the types of the past year. It has since been brought
+out in London with quite as much success, Madame Celeste (the quondam
+star of our _Bowery_?) in the character of the wife of the mountebank.
+The musical season at Paris has been signalized by the production of two
+successful operas. _L'Enfante Prodigue_ of Auber is running a prosperous
+career at the _Academie de Musique_. General opinion speaks highly of
+the music, and the piece appears to be one of the most ingenious of M.
+Scribe. At the _Opera Comique_ another opera by Scribe and Halevy, _La
+Dame de Pique_, has been brought out with success. The _libretto_, taken
+from a Russian tale, translated by M. Merimee, is one of the most
+fantastic Scribe has constructed. It is founded on an old story about
+the Russian Empress Elizabeth, who had found out the secret of
+invariably winning at play by means of three cards, of which the Queen
+of Spades (_la Dame de Pique_) was one.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+M. COMBET, a Protestant clergyman of Cevennes, has just published at
+Paris in three volumes a work of great interest and value, under the
+title of _Histoire de France sous le regne de Henry III. par Mazerai_.
+It comprises a full, conscientious and philosophic account of the French
+religious civil wars, from the beginning of the Reformation down to the
+establishment of religious liberty under the Consulate. To the original
+work of Mazerai, M. Combet has prefixed an elaborate introduction, while
+he has added in the form of an appendix whatever relates to more recent
+matters, with copious notes and commentaries. The whole constitutes an
+invaluable contribution to the history of the modern religious movement.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Some new contributions to the history of labor have just appeared at
+Paris. The most important is the _Histoire de la Classe ouvriere depuis
+l'esclave jusqu'au Proletaire de nos Jours_, by M. Robert (du Var), four
+volumes. Less general and comprehensive in its aim is _Le Livre d'Or des
+Metiers, Histoire des Corporations ouvrieres_, by Paul Lacroix and Ferd.
+Serre, six volumes. Both these books are written without an intention to
+establish any special theory or system.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+THE REV. G. R. GLEIG, author of _The Subaltern's Furlough, Saratoga_,
+&c., is now Inspector-General of Military Schools, and lives in London.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+LEOPOLD RANKE, whose "Lives of the Popes of Rome" is familiar to
+American readers, has lately discovered in the National Library at Paris
+an important long lost MS., by the Cardinal Richelieu. In the MS.
+memoirs of the Cardinal, deposited at the Office for Foreign Affairs, an
+imperfection has existed, in the total absence of a series of leaves
+from the most interesting part of the collection. These appear to have
+been found accidentally, by M. Ranke, in a bundle of papers, gathered
+from some of the old mansions in Saint Germains. It has been a disputed
+question whether Richelieu was the real author of the works under his
+name; whether he availed himself of the literary abilities of others,
+contributing no more from his own resources than here and there an
+observation or a fact. These disputes have had reference to the Memoirs,
+the Testament, and the _Histoire de la Mere et du Fils_; for there seems
+to be good reason for believing that the books published previous to his
+political elevation, such as the _De la Perfection du Chretien_, the
+theological tracts, and his political treatise of 1614, were written by
+him with no more than the ordinary aids of authorship. It is possible
+that the fragment, discovered by M. Ranke, may afford additional
+evidence on this curious subject, which was lately debated in the
+Academy.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Of _bad spelling_ George Sand writes, _apropos_ of some newspaper
+controversy in Paris, that so far from bad spelling being a proof of
+want of capacity, she has a letter of Jean Jacques Rousseau, in which
+there are ten faults of spelling in three lines. Moreover, she assures
+us, that she herself frequently makes a _lapsus pennae_ for which a
+school-boy would be chastised.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+LOLA MONTES has made her _debut_ in the literary arena, by the
+publication in the _feuilleton_ of a daily newspaper of the first
+portion of what she calls her "Memoirs:" a _quasi_-impertinent epistle
+to the ex-king of Bavaria. Since, the publication has been suspended. It
+promised merely scandal, without wit.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+THE COUNT DE MONTALEMBERT has been elected a member of the French
+Academy, in place of M. Droz. The election gives little satisfaction
+outside the Institute; but the Count is not without eminence as a man of
+letters. Some of his religious tracts are written with great eloquence
+and pungency.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The seventh and last volume of the _Glossarium Mediae et Infimae
+Latinitatis_ has just been published by the Didots at Paris. It is a
+perfect repertory of information as to the middle ages, and cannot be
+dispensed with by any one who aims to study the institutions, history,
+and monuments of that period.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A complete grammar of the Coptic language has been brought out at
+Berlin, by Professor SCHWARTZE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+THE ITALIAN REVOLUTION.--Books relating to the late revolution in Italy
+and the events which preceded it are now published in that country in
+considerable numbers. One by Farini, _Lo Stato Romano dall' anno 1815
+all' anno 1850_, not yet completed, only two volumes having been
+published, will be found valuable to the future historian. Its author is
+a constitutionalist, and treats the reign of Pius IX. strictly from that
+stand-point. His book must therefore be read with discretion. With the
+third volume, which will soon appear, will be issued a second edition of
+the first two volumes. Marquis F. A. Gualtiero of Orvieto has just
+brought out at Florence the first volume of a large work, _Gli Ultimenti
+Rivolgimenti Italiani, Memorie Storiche con Documenti Inediti_. This is
+excellent in respect to the pre-revolutionary events, giving a great
+variety of information as to persons as well as circumstances, in
+considerable detail. It is to be followed by an account of the
+revolution itself, treated of course in the same manner. It hardly need
+be said that the Marquis must fail to do justice to Mazzini and the
+republicans. An elaborate and able article reviewing the whole question
+has lately appeared in the _Rivista Italiana_, from the pen of Signor
+Berti. One of the best books yet produced on the revolutionary side is
+General Pepe's _Guerres d'Italie_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+We noticed last month the anniversary meeting of the Archaeological
+Institute at Rome. The same society has just published its Annals, or
+Annual Memoirs, for 1850, a volume of great value and interest. It
+contains Lanza's report on the excavations at Salona, continued down to
+the year 1848. An essay is contributed by Canina upon the three temples
+of Pietas, Spes, and Juno Sospita, on whose ruins is built the church of
+San Nicola _in carcere_, new remains of the temples having been
+discovered in 1848. The statue of Apoxyomenos, found a year since at
+Trastavere, as well as the series of Amazons _in relievo_ now in the
+British Museum, which Emil Braun takes to be relics of the famous
+Mausoleum, are treated at length. A little triangular candelabra, found
+in the Baths of Titus, is made interesting from the relation of the
+figures upon it to the worship of Apollo. The series of Etruscan
+frescoes has been greatly enriched by the pictures in two tombs, one of
+which was discovered in 1846 by A. Francois, while the other was then
+for the first time copied and rescued from entire oblivion. These
+pictures, which, like most monumental works, represent funeral feasts
+and games, according to Braun, are valuable for a mass of details
+relating to antique athletic art, which were before unknown. A Pompeiian
+fresco, representing the twelve gods, hitherto little esteemed, is made
+the subject of a profound investigation by E. Gerhard. Among the essays
+on vases, a long one by Welcker deserves especial mention. It discusses
+all the known representations of the Death of Troilus. The sphere of
+numismatics is filled by a long essay by Cavedoni on the Roman coins of
+the time of Augustus. There are also many other articles of no less
+interest to scholars, antiquaries, and artists.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+M. ANTOINE D'ABBADIE received not long ago from President Bonaparte, the
+decoration of the Legion of Honor, for alleged geographical discoveries
+in Africa. An "Inquiry" into M. Abbadie's journey has just appeared in
+London, from the hand of Dr. Charles T. Beke, and it is not impossible
+that the traveller will turn out a Damburger or a Hunter. Dr. Beke is an
+Englishman; D'Abbadie, an Irishman by birth, but a Frenchman by name,
+education and allegiance. The latter professes to have been the first
+European who ever put foot in the African Kingdom of Kaffa; the former
+gives reasons for doubting his statements entirely, and does not believe
+the Frenchman has even been in the country he describes at all.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The great oriental scholar Monsignore MOLSA has been appointed to the
+office of Chief Guardian of the Vatican Library, in the room of M.
+Laureani, whose melancholy death occurred a few months ago; and the
+Abate Martinucci has been nominated to fill the office of sub-chief,
+which is one of very considerable importance, and has hitherto been
+filled by some of the most eminent of Italian scholars.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+We are to have from Paris a hitherto unpublished ode of PIRON, the
+well-known author of _La Metromanie_. It is entitled _Les Confessions de
+mon Oreiller_, (Confessions of my Pillow,) and is considered by
+connoisseurs to be decidedly authentic. It is signed and headed thus:
+"To be given to the public a hundred years after my death."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The vacancy occasioned by the death of M. ALBAN DE VILLENEUVE-BARGEMONT,
+in the list of members of the French Academy of Moral and Political
+Sciences, has been filled by the election of M. LOUIS REYBAUD, the
+author of _Jerome Paturot_, and husband of Madame Reybaud, who wrote the
+charming novels of _Le Cadet de Calabriere_, _Helena_, &c.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The sons of Rossi, the distinguished economist, and less distinguished
+minister of Pius IX., in which capacity he was assassinated, have
+published the third volume of his _Cours d'Economie Politique_. It
+treats of the distribution of wealth, and is marked by the same ability
+and tendencies as the volumes which preceded it, which were upon the
+production of riches.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+H. BAILLIERE, the eminent publisher, of Paris, has established a branch
+of his house at 169 Fulton street, New-York, where American scholars may
+obtain all the best scientific literature of the time in suitable
+editions and at reasonable prices.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Of MR. JAMES BAILEY, and the blasphemous rant and fustian and crude
+speculation which make up his poem of "Festus," which has had such
+extraordinary popularity among our transcendentalists, and which
+Shakspeare Hudson so excellently well reviewed in the _Whig Review_ a
+year or two ago, we think a correspondent of _The Tribune_ speaks justly
+in the following extract from a letter dated at Nottingham, in England:
+
+"Apropos of Nottingham, I have seen Bailey, the author of 'Festus.' His
+father is proprietor of the _Nottingham Mercury_, and the editorial
+department rests with him. He is a heavy, thick set sort of man; of a
+stature below the middle size; complexion dark; and, in years about
+eight and thirty. His physiognomy would be clownish in expression, if
+his eyes did not redeem his other features. He spoke of 'Festus,' and of
+its fame in America, of which he seemed very proud. In England, it has
+only reached the third edition, while eight or nine have been published
+in the States. You know my opinion of the work. It is as far from being
+a great poem as the Thames, compared with the Mississippi or the Ohio,
+is from being a great river. Anxiously, anxiously have I sought one
+striking original idea in the whole poem (appalling in its length), but
+to no purpose. The transcendental literature of Germany absorbs all
+that, at first glance, arrests the attention. Without learning,
+imagination, or the attraction of a beautiful metre (like that of
+Tennyson's 'Princess'), I am at a loss to know what has given this poem
+its notoriety. Not its daring speculation, surely, for it is but a timid
+compromise between Orthodoxy and Universalism."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+H. F. CLINTON has published in London the concluding volume of his
+_Fasti Romani_: the civil and literary chronology of Rome and
+Constantinople from the death of Augustus to the death of Heraclius. The
+first volume, containing the chronological tables, was published in
+1845, and formed a continuation of the _Fasti Hellenici_, by the same
+author. It came down to the death of Justin II., A. D. 578. The present
+volume continues the tables from the latter date to the death of
+Heraclius, A. D. 641; but the greater part of it consists of a series of
+learned dissertations on various points connected with the civil and
+literary history of the Roman and Byzantine empires.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+CAPTAIN J. D. CUNNINGHAM, author of the "History of the Sikhs," who was
+dismissed from his political situation at Bhopal, by orders of the Court
+of Directors, for having published an official correspondence, without
+the permission of his immediate superiors, has been recalled to public
+employment by the Governor-General of India, Lord Dalhousie having just
+appointed him general superintending engineer in the north-western
+provinces.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+MR. HEPWORTH DIXON, author of "Howard and the Prison-World of Europe,"
+has published in London a Life of William Penn, which will be
+republished immediately by Lea & Blanchard of Philadelphia.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+THE LITERARY WOMEN of England were never so active as now. Mrs. Crowe
+has commenced in _The Palladium_ magazine a new novel entitled _Estelle
+Silvestre_. Miss Anne G. Greene has published the third volume of her
+_Lives of the Princesses of England_; Mrs. David Ogilvy, _Traditions of
+Tuscany_; Mrs. Gordon, _Musgrave, a Story of Gilsland Spa_; Maria de la
+Vaye, _Eugenie, the Young Laundress of the Bastille_; Mrs. Norton, a new
+poem; the author of "Olivia," _Sir Philip Hetherington_; Mrs. Ward,
+_Helen Charteris, or Sayings and Doings in a Cathedral Town_; Mrs.
+Hubbach, niece of the celebrated Miss Austen, _The Wife's Sister, or the
+Forbidden Marriage_; Mrs. Jameson, _Legends of the Madonna_, forming the
+conclusion of her series illustrating Sacred and Legendary Art; the
+authoress of "Mary Powell" has commenced in _Sharpe's Magazine_ a new
+work of the same description, under the title of _The Household of Sir
+Thomas More_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+MISS MARTINEAU began on the first of February, a serial work under the
+title of "Half a Century of the British Empire; a History of the Kingdom
+and the People, from 1800 to 1850." It will be in six volumes, and it is
+intended to present, in handsome octavos at a rate of extraordinary
+cheapness, a connected narrative of the most important era in the
+history of the modern world. The work of Macaulay professes to be "the
+history of England from the accession of King James the Second down to
+the time which is within the memory of men still living." "Half a
+Century of the British Empire," will chiefly deal with events and states
+of society during a period in which many of our contemporaries have
+lived and acted.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The correspondence of ROBERT SUTTON, Lord LEXINGTON, British Minister at
+Vienna in 1694, has just been published by Murray in London, having
+recently been discovered in the library of the Suttons, at Kilham. There
+is not much absolute value in their contents, historically speaking; but
+the letters supply several striking and some amusing illustrations of
+characters already known in history, and are a contribution really
+important to the history of manners and society at the seventeenth
+century. The non-official letters are in this respect most curious and
+entertaining.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Pensions of L100 a year each have been granted in England to Mrs.
+Belzoni, the aged widow of the celebrated traveller; and to Mr. Poole,
+the author of _Paul Pry_, and of many contributions to periodical
+literature, who is a great sufferer from bodily infirmities.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+CAPTAIN MEDWIN, whose book about Byron was once read by every body, and
+who for some time resided in this country, turns up in Holland, after an
+oblivion of several years. He contributes to the last number of the New
+Monthly an article entitled, _Hawking at Loo_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+JOHN CLARE, the peasant poet, sometimes called the "rural Burns," is now
+in the Lunatic Asylum at Northampton. There is much sweetness in some of
+poor Clare's verses, of which four volumes appeared many years ago. We
+believe he was among the proteges of Southey. His complaints to visitors
+of the madhouse are commonly of the injustice done to him by the public
+in not recognizing him, instead of Scott and Byron, as the author of
+"Marmion" and "Don Juan," and in refusing him the honor of having gained
+the battle of Waterloo. Clare was the writer, though not generally known
+as such, of the lines, "Here we meet too soon to part"--which, set to
+one of Rossini's most beautiful airs, were some time exceedingly
+popular.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A new volume of the writings of De Quincey has just been published by
+Ticknor, Reed & Fields, of Boston. It contains, with other admirable
+papers, those "On the Knocking at the Gate, in Macbeth," "Murder
+considered as one of the Fine Arts," "Joan of Arc," and "Dinners, Real
+and Reputed." These works of one of the greatest of living authors, have
+never before been collected, and the publishers confer a most acceptable
+benefit by their edition of them. We have from the same house a copy of
+the best English version of "Faust," that of Hayward.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+SIR EDWARD BULWER LYTTON is publishing a complete collection of his
+Poems and Dramas. This edition will include several pieces not hitherto
+published, and those that have appeared before will receive the author's
+last corrections and revision. Each volume will be illustrated with an
+appropriate vignette title; and the first will contain, in addition, a
+portrait, from a painting by Maclise.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+One of the most delightful books in natural history that we have ever
+seen is "Episodes of Insect Life," recently published in England, and
+now in the press of Mr. Redfield, in this city. It is divided into three
+"scenes," representing spring, summer, and autumn, and is profusely and
+skilfully illustrated. It is even more entertaining than Lord Brougham's
+Dialogues on Instinct, which we had regarded as the pleasantest work in
+such studies.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+DR. ACHILLI, whose imprisonment in the Roman Inquisition is a familiar
+story, has published "Dealings with the Inquisition, or Papal Rome, her
+Priests and her Jesuits; with Important Disclosures." It is an
+autobiography.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+SAMUEL BAILEY, whose "Essays on the Pursuit of Truth and on the Progress
+of Knowledge," "Essays on the Formation and Publication of Opinions,"
+&c., have been largely read in this country, has just published a volume
+entitled, "The Theory of Reasoning, with Comments on the Principal
+Points of Scholastic Logic."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+MAJOR POUSSIN'S "United States, their Power and Progress," a translation
+of _La Puissance Americaine_, by Edmund L. Du Barry, U. S. N., has been
+published in a large octavo of about five hundred pages, by Lippencott,
+Grambo, & Co., of Philadelphia. We take the opportunity to give some
+account of the author.
+
+Guillaume Tell Poussin was born in the autumn of the year 1796 in the
+department of the Seine and Oise, in France. His father was a painter of
+some celebrity, who has left many fine works in the galleries of
+Versailles and Rouen. Introduced, while a child, to the favor of
+Napoleon, it was ordered by a special decree that, as a descendant of
+the great Nicholas Poussin, whose works are among the chief glories of
+French art, William Tell Poussin should be educated at the imperial
+school of Rouen. There he spent seven years, and passed his examination
+for admission to the Polytechnic school. He entered this national
+academy of engineering, and in 1814, while yet a youth, distinguished
+himself by his patriotic spirit, which prompted him to join his comrades
+in the defence of the walls of Paris against an invading enemy. He was
+wounded at the village of Aubervilliers, in an attack against the
+combined force of British and Russian troops who occupied that position;
+and after the surrender of Paris his feelings were so excited that he
+could not bring himself to acts of submission to the Bourbon family, but
+was arrested on account of his opinions, and released only on the
+intervention of powerful friends. He soon embarked for America, and
+arrived at New-York in November, 1815, having for recommendation his
+ardent desire to be useful and a decided love of liberty. After a short
+residence in New-York he proceeded to Philadelphia, where he expected to
+meet with some encouragement in his profession as an engineer. Here he
+became acquainted with Mr. Fairman, the engraver, and worked for him a
+few months with advantage, boarding meanwhile at a French house, into
+which the landlady received him in consideration of the devotion of his
+leisure to the instruction of her children. The next spring he removed
+to Washington, where he had heard that he could be profitably employed
+in the rebuilding of the capitol, which the British army had destroyed
+in the late war. He now worked as an architect for about a year, when,
+several leading senators and representatives having become acquainted
+with him, and, taking a particular interest in him for his earnest and
+manly character and the remarkable abilities he had evinced as an
+engineer, in the incidental opportunities presented by his employment as
+an architect, they signed a petition to President Madison for his
+admission to the corps of Topographical Engineers, which was then to be
+organized, and he was at once transferred to the United States Army. A
+short time after, General Bernard, whom Mr. Crawford, the American
+Minister at Paris, had engaged to be the chief of the Topographical
+Engineers, arrived in Washington, and assuming his office proceeded to
+the necessary preparations for that survey of the physical resources of
+our territory for national defence, and for tracing the lines required
+to form a complete base of operations in time of war, on the assailable
+portions of our frontier, for which the service had been instituted.
+Before leaving France, General Bernard had received especial
+recommendations from the friends of young Poussin to look after his
+interests, and when they met, therefore, their acquaintance was made on
+the most intimate and agreeable terms on both sides. Upon the
+application of General Bernard to the Secretary of War, Poussin was
+attached to his person as an aid-de-camp, and left Washington with him
+for a military reconnaissance of the coast on the Gulf of Mexico, and of
+the delta of the Mississippi. They spent a year and a half upon their
+important duties, in New Orleans and its vicinity, regardless of the
+dangers of that climate, and in 1817 returned to the seat of government
+and submitted to the President a particular and elaborate memoir of
+their operations. It was upon this first report, presented by the
+Executive, on the Military Defences of the United States,--a report
+drawn up in a very large degree by the hand of M. Poussin, and
+illustrated throughout with his discovery and suggestion,--that
+Congress, by an almost unanimous vote, authorized the erection of the
+great line of our military defences, adopting the recommendations of the
+commissioner without even the slightest alteration. The Board of
+Military Engineers entered subsequently on the yearly execution of their
+important duty of examining the coast previous to determining the actual
+sites and descriptions of the works of defence which they afterwards
+delineated. The young topographical engineer continued in his arduous
+scientific labors, and thus contributed largely in the perfecting of
+that great national scheme. It was in these military operations, and
+afterwards in the surveys for roads and canals, which, under the
+supervision of a Board of Internal Improvements, where confided to a
+portion of the same officers, assisted by civil engineers, that Poussin
+rendered himself so efficient as a practical and scientific surveyor,
+and became so perfectly familiar with all the internal resources of our
+extensive country, which he had thus most remarkable opportunities to
+study and appreciate, by crossing it in all directions, and, in fact, by
+visiting every state, and by following up and down every valley and
+river of the eastern half of the continent. Few men have had such
+occasion of studying _de visu_ the extent and resources of the republic;
+and the intelligent readers of the volume before us will acknowledge,
+that few persons have shown themselves more conversant with its
+astonishing advancement. His first publication was a description of the
+works to which he had contributed, under the title of "A History of the
+Internal Improvements of the United States;" his second, an account of
+all the railroads in this country, which had considerable influence in
+developing in Europe a disposition toward our policy in this respect,
+and entitles Major Poussin to the gratitude of all lovers of rapid and
+safe communication. It was reproduced in Belgium and Germany, and has
+long been a textbook upon its subject in those countries, as well as in
+France. His third work was the one now translated, _La Puissance
+Americaine_, in which he has displayed, most emphatically, his
+admiration of our institutions, and offered them as examples to
+communities aspiring after rational liberty. It may be said of it, that
+it is the American system rendered popular by practical and convincing
+illustrations.
+
+Major Poussin returned to France early in 1832, in the hope to cooeperate
+in rendering popular in his own country some of the political
+institutions of the United States, to which he always attributed our
+great prosperity; but he was not fortunate enough to be admitted to
+active official life. He employed himself in his profession of surveyor,
+and superintended several important public works, and frequently in
+pamphlets and in contributions to the journals, labored for the
+dissemination of American ideas. At last, when the Revolution of
+February, 1848, broke out, he was chosen, with the greatest unanimity by
+the Provisional Government, to be the Representative of Republican
+France near the Government of the United States. It was deemed the
+highest compliment of which France was capable, that she sent as her
+minister the citizen most conversant with our affairs, and most eminent
+for admiration of our institutions. His arrival in this country, and the
+misunderstanding with the cabinet at Washington, which resulted in his
+recall by President Bonaparte, cannot have been forgotten by the
+observant reader. We believe that few who have carefully studied the
+conduct of Major Poussin in that affair, will be disposed, in the
+slightest degree, to censure him, while the entire history will readily
+be consigned to oblivion by the American who is in any degree sensitive
+upon the subject of our national honor.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+GUILLAUMIN ET CIE, the well known Parisian publishers, are about to add
+to their _Collection des Principaux Economistes_ several American works
+in this department. One volume, at least, will be devoted to Henry C.
+Carey's masterly compositions, with a preface and commentaries; another
+volume will be given to the Free Trade party, and will embrace the best
+things of Mr. Walker, Mr. Raguet, Mr. Cardozo, Henry Middleton, Dr.
+Wayland, &c.; and essays by Mr. Phillips, Horace Greeley, and other
+Protectionists, will probably constitute another. The _Collection_ now
+embraces Quesnay, Turgot, Dupont Nemours, Le Tronne, the Says, Galliani,
+de Montyon, Condillac, Lavoisier, Adam Smith, Hume, Ricardo, Malthus,
+Bentham, and a dozen more. The only American name in the list is that of
+Franklin quoted in the first volume of the _Melanges_, edited by Daire
+and Molinari.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+JOSEPH GALES, of the _National Intelligencer_, has lately published
+several leading articles of such compactness and completeness, such
+weight and dignity, as distinguish only the greatest compositions in
+philosophy and upon affairs. The intellectual force acting through the
+press of this country is habitually underrated. There are a dozen
+journals here which may be advantageously compared with any in Europe,
+with the single exception of the _Times_. It would perhaps seem
+invidious to point them out, from the greater number that are conducted
+with ability and energy; but it will not be objected by any one who has
+the right to express an opinion in the case, if we say that Mr. Gales is
+of the first rank of public men who have ever influenced or illustrated
+the course of events by written eloquence or argument. The leading
+articles from his hand which in the last twenty-five years have appeared
+in the National Intelligencer, would fill many volumes; and if collected
+and so submitted to one view, they would astonish by their variety, by
+the extraordinary resources of information which they evince, by their
+soundness of logic, elevation of sentiment, and uniform adaptation to
+their several purposes. If they lack the pungent wit, and fiery energy
+of phrase, and adroitly venomous spirit of "Junius," they have, with
+their nobler calmness and uniform candor, a far wider sweep, a subtler
+apprehension of consequences, and a more statesmanlike aim and capacity.
+The diction of "Junius" was calculated to arrest attention, by its
+glitter and strength, and by its freshness; for it was in style, after
+all, that he was most creative, and since his style has by imitation
+become familiar, it is for the mystery of their authorship only that his
+works have continued eminence. As materials for history, and as
+suggestive guides of policy, we have in American literature very few
+works so important as the leading articles of Joseph Gales would
+constitute, fitly arranged, and illustrated by such notes as he could
+readily furnish, necessary now on account of the time since some of them
+were originally printed.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The REV. HENRY T. CHEEVER'S "Whale and his Captors," (published last
+year by the Harpers,) has been reprinted in London under the title of
+"The Whaleman's Adventures in the Northern Ocean," with a highly and
+justly commendatory introduction by the Rev. W. Scoresby, D.D. F.R.S. We
+have great pleasure in recording evidences of the popularity of such
+works as Mr. Cheever's. They have a manly as well as a Christian spirit,
+and are needed to counteract the influences of the many infidel books in
+which the effects of the Christian civilization in the Island World are
+systematically misrepresented. We learn that Mr. Cheever is now engaged
+upon "The Autobiography of Captain Obadiah Conger," who was fifty years
+a mariner from the port of New-York. He is editing the MS. of the
+deceased sailor for the Harpers.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+MR. JOB R. TYSON, whose careful researches respecting the colonial
+history of Pennsylvania have illustrated his abilities and his
+predilections in this line, is about to proceed to Europe, for the
+consultation of certain documents connected with the subject,
+preparatory to the publication of his "History of the American
+Colonies," a work in which, doubtless, he will not be liable to the
+reproach of histories written by New-Englanders, that they exaggerate
+the virtues and the influence of the Puritans. Mr. Tyson is of the best
+stock of the Philadelphia Quakers, and the traditional fame of his party
+will not suffer in his hands.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+MR. HENRY JAMES, the author of "Moralism and Christianity," must
+certainly be regarded by all who come into his fit audience as one of
+the greatest living masters of metaphysics. Mr. James has never been
+mentioned in the _North American Review_; but then, that peculiarly
+national work has not in all its seventy volumes an article upon
+Jonathan Edwards, whom Robert Hall, Dr. Chalmers, Dugald Stuart, Sir
+James Mackintosh, Kant, Cousin, and a hundred others scarcely less
+famous, have regarded as the chief glory in our intellectual firmament;
+it has never let its light shine upon the pages of Legare; it has
+preserved the most profound silence respecting Henry Carey, William R.
+Williams, and Addison Alexander; so that it must not be considered
+altogether conclusive as to Mr. James's merits that he has not had the
+seal of the _North American's_ approval. We regard him as one of the
+great metaphysicians of the time, not because, like Comte, he has
+evolved with irresistible power and majestic order any grand and
+complete system, but because he has brought to the discussion of the few
+questions he has attempted, so independent a spirit, so pure a method,
+such expansive humanity, and such ample resources of learning, as
+separately claim admiration, and combined, constitute a teacher of the
+most dignified rank, who can and will influence the world. We do not
+altogether agree with Mr. James; on the contrary, we have been regarded
+as particularly grim in our conservatism; but we are none the less
+sensible of Mr. James's surpassing merits as a writer upon the
+philosophy of society. We dedicate this paragraph to him on account of
+the series of lectures he has just delivered in New-York, upon "The
+Symbolism of Property," "Democracy and its Issues," "The Harmony of
+Nature and Revelation," "The Past and Future Churches," &c. We
+understand that these splendid dissertations will be given to the public
+in the more acceptable form of a volume. The popular lecture is not a
+suitable medium for such discussions, or certainly not for such
+thinking: one of Mr. James's sentences, diluted to the lecture standard,
+would serve for an entire discourse, which by those who should
+understand it, would be deemed of a singularly compact body, as compared
+with the average of such performances.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+PROFESSOR TORREY, of the University of Vermont, is one of the few
+contemporary scholars, whose names are likely to survive with those of
+the great teachers of past ages. He has translated Schilling's Discourse
+on Fine Arts, and other shorter compositions from the German; but his
+chief labor in this way is, a most laborious and admirably executed
+version of Neander's History of the Christian Religion and Church,
+published in Boston, and now being republished in London, by Bonn, with
+Notes, &c., by the Rev. A. T. W. Morison, of Trinity College, Cambridge.
+
+Neander has sometimes been called, but with scarcely sufficient reason,
+the Niebuhr of ecclesiastical history. The only point in which he
+resembles the historian of Rome, is in that vast range of complete
+erudition which makes the Past in its minutest details as familiar as
+the Present, which is never content with derivative information, but
+traces back every tributary of the great stream of History to its
+remotest accessible source. In this respect the two eminent historians
+were alike, but with this point of resemblance the similarity ends.
+Neander is entirely free from that necessity under which Niebuhr
+labored, of regarding every recorded aggregate of facts as a mass of
+error which the modern philosophy of history was either to decompose
+into a myth, or reconstruct into a new form more consistent with
+preconceived theory.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Works of JOHN C. CALHOUN will soon, through the wise munificence of
+the state of South Carolina, be accessible by the students of political
+philosophy and history in a complete and suitable edition, with such
+memoirs as are necessary for their illustration, and for the
+satisfaction of the natural curiosity respecting their illustrious
+author. The first volume will comprise Mr. Calhoun's elaborate
+_Disquisition on Government, and a Discourse on the Constitution and
+Government of the United States_, in which are displayed in a systematic
+manner the author's opinions upon the whole subject of the philosophy of
+government. These treatises were begun many years ago, and though they
+had not received the ultimate revision which was intended, they are very
+complete, and by the careful and judicious editing of Mr. Cralle, his
+intimate friend and confidential secretary, will perhaps appear as
+perfect in all their parts as if re-written by Mr. Calhoun himself.
+These are now nearly stereotyped; and to correct some misapprehensions
+which seem to prevail in South Carolina, we state that only the
+stereotype plates are made in New-York, there being no foundries for
+stereotyping in Charleston, where the book will be printed and
+published. For this purpose the Legislature has appropriated $10,000,
+which will meet the expenses for fifteen thousand copies of the first
+volume, all but five hundred of which, printed on large paper, for
+public libraries, will be sold for the benefit of Mr. Calhoun's family.
+Another volume will contain Mr. Calhoun's official papers, and another
+his Letters upon Public Affairs. This, we think, will be the most
+interesting of the series. Mr. Calhoun wrote always with sincerity and
+frankness, and his communications to his friends contain, much more than
+his speeches and state papers, the exhibitions of his feeling, his
+regrets, fears, expectations, and ambitions. His speeches will probably
+make three volumes; the collection formerly printed by the Harpers did
+not embrace half of them; many of them have never been printed at all,
+but (particularly some of his most elaborate performances previous to
+1817) exist in carefully prepared manuscript reports. All these speeches
+will be revised and illustrated by Mr. Cralle: and the series will be
+completed with the memoirs of the great senator, for which that
+gentleman has the most ample and interesting materials.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+ARCHBISHOP WHATELEY'S very ingenious _Historical Doubts Respecting
+Napoleon Bonaparte_, is the cleverest book of the kind yet written, not
+excepting the high church pamphlet treating of the Archbishop's own
+existence in the same way. But the idea was not original with Whateley:
+Mr. William Biglow of Boston wrote half a century ago, _The Age of
+Freedom, being an Investigation of Good and Bad Government, in Imitation
+of Mr. Paine's Age of Reason_, and intended, by a similar style of
+argument respecting the Discovery of America, &c., to expose that
+infidel's sophistries. We perceive that the _Life of Jesus_, by Dr.
+Strauss, has been met by another such performance in England, under the
+title of _Historical Certainties respecting the Early History of
+America, developed in a Critical Examination of the Book of the
+Chronicles of the Land of Ecnarf; By the Rev. Aristarchus Newlight,
+Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Giessen, Corresponding Member
+of the Theophilanthropic and Pantisocratical Societies of Leipsig, late
+Professor of all Religions in several distinguished Academies at Home
+and Abroad, &c_. The author very satisfactorily disposes of the events
+between the first French Revolution and the Battle of Waterloo, by
+putting them through the "mythic" circle invented by Dr. Strauss. The
+joke is carried out with remarkable ingenuity, and with the most
+whimsical resources of learning. The good doctor finds, _a la Strauss, a
+nucleus_, for here and there a great tradition, but remorselessly wipes
+out as altogether incredible many of the most striking and familiar
+facts in modern history.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Of Mr. SCHOOLCRAFT'S great work, which we have heretofore announced, the
+first part has just appeared from the press of Lippencott, Grambo & Co.,
+in the most splendid quarto volume that has yet been printed in America.
+We shall take an early opportunity to do justice to this truly national
+performance and to its author.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+DR. ROBERT KNOX--whose book of infidel rigmarole, _The Races of Men_,
+was lately reprinted by an American house which was never before and we
+trust will never again be guilty of such an indiscretion,--we understand
+is coming to New-York to lecture upon Ethnology. He has the "gift" of
+talking, and is said to have been popular as a demonstrator in anatomy;
+but we think it will be best for him to remain a while longer in
+England; the sham science of which his last book is a specimen is no
+longer, we believe, _profitable_ in this country. The last _Princeton
+Review_ says of _The Races of Men_:
+
+     "This book is fairly beneath argument or criticism. It is a
+     curious medley of vanity, ignorance, malice, and fanaticism. At
+     first it provoked our indignation, by the boldness and
+     effrontery of its pretensions; but their very extravagance soon
+     began to render them comical. It claims to originate views
+     which are to overturn 'long received doctrines, national
+     prejudices, stereotyped delusions,' &c., while any tolerable
+     scholar in this department is perfectly familiar with them all
+     in the works of Virey, Courtet, Bory de St. Vincent, Edwards,
+     La Marck, Quetelet, &c. It has not the slightest claim to
+     originality, except for the ridiculous ingenuity, with which it
+     carries out the more cautious follies of these infidel
+     philosophers, into the most glaring absurdities; and sets their
+     ingenious physiological speculations, in broad contradiction to
+     the most authentic and unquestioned truths of history. We
+     certainly should not have noticed this thing at all, but for
+     two reasons. In the first place, this subject is now rendered
+     so interesting by the important bearings of modern ethnological
+     researches, that some of our readers might be cheated by the
+     mere title, and by newspaper puffs, out of the market price for
+     the book; and in the second place, we wish to express our
+     surprise and lift up our remonstrance against such issues from
+     a quarter so respectable as that which has given this reprint
+     to the American public. Whatever may be the social or
+     scientific standing of any influential publishing house, we
+     must say, that in our judgment they merit a deliberate rebuke
+     from the true science of the country, for reprinting so crude
+     and wretched a performance, to say nothing of the low malignity
+     which it vents against the Christian sentiment and enterprise
+     of an age like the present,--and even against men, who stand in
+     the front ranks of science, because they happen to believe that
+     the scriptures are entitled to some respect, as authentic
+     records; or that other races of men are capable of being
+     Christianized, beside the Teutonic. Cuvier was an ignorant and
+     stubborn dogmatist, whose era is now past for ever. Buckland
+     was an ingenious priest and Jesuit; and even Newton's brain was
+     turned by chronology."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+MR. BOKER'S tragedy of Colaynos, has just been produced at the
+Walnut-st. Theatre in Philadelphia, and extremely well received. It had
+indeed a successful run. The Betrothal, which in our last we omitted to
+notice, is, we understand, to be brought out under the auspices of
+Charles Kean, in London. Mr. B. has yet another comedy quite finished,
+which will soon be performed in New-York.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A LETTER purporting to be by General WASHINGTON, and bearing date
+Cambridge, June 24, 1776, was read before the New-Jersey Historical
+Society a few weeks ago; the thanks of the Society were voted to Mr.
+Chetwood for it; and the _Literary World_ characterizes it as
+"interesting," "admirable," &c. The _Literary World_ does not, we
+believe, pretend to be an authority in such matters, but that a
+"historical society" should receive such a gross imposition is somewhat
+surprising. The letter is as much a forgery and imposture as the
+"exceedingly interesting letter from General Washington to his wife,"
+published a few months ago in the _Day Book_. Without going into any
+further statement or argument on this subject, it may be sufficient to
+remark, that Washington was not within two hundred miles of Cambridge on
+the 24th of June, 1776.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+THE REV. HENRY W. DUCACHET, D.D., the learned rector of St. Stephen's,
+in Philadelphia, has been several years engaged upon a Dictionary of the
+Church, which is now nearly ready for publication. Such a work is
+properly but a system and history of doctrine and ritual, in a form
+suited for the readiest consultation, and it demands, therefore, for its
+successful accomplishment, the highest and rarest faculties and
+acquisitions. Dr. Ducachet possesses in a very eminent degree, not only
+the requisite knowledge and judgment, but he has a certain temperament
+and felicity, with a love of and skill in dialectics, which promise even
+to the articles for a dictionary, from his hand, the utmost raciness and
+attractive interest. We understand this work will be very complete and
+voluminous.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Poems of "Edith May," the finest artist among the literary women of
+this country, are to be published in a very beautiful edition next
+summer by E. H. Butler of Philadelphia.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, which on account of some unfortunate
+investments of its capital, has for several years been compelled to
+suspend its publications, is now, we are gratified to be informed, again
+in a good financial condition, and new volumes of its important
+Transactions are in the press.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+PROFESSOR HOWS, during the last month, has given a very interesting
+series of readings from Shakspeare, in which he has displayed not only
+the finest capacity for histrionic effect, but a critical sagacity, and
+a thorough knowledge of the greatest of the poets, which justify his own
+reputation.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+MR. REDFIELD has in press "The Celestial Telegraph, or Secrets of the
+Life to Come, revealed through Magnetism, by M. Cahagnet," a book of the
+class of Mrs. Crowe's "Night Side of Nature;" and "The Volcano Diggings,
+a Tale of California Law, by a member of the Bar."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+We believe it is about six years since the Rev. WILLIAM W. LORD, then a
+resident graduate at Princeton College, published the volume of poems by
+which he was introduced to the literary world. That book had various and
+striking merits, and though it had many defects in an artistic point of
+view, upon the whole it illustrated a just apprehension of the poetic
+principle, and such capacities for execution as justified the sanguine
+hopes it occasioned among his friends of his future eminence in the
+highest and finest of the arts. From that time until the present, Mr.
+Lord has not appeared as an author; but the leisure that could be
+withdrawn from professional study has been devoted to the composition of
+"_Christ in Hades_," (Appleton & Co.) a poem displaying his best
+abilities in art, while it is a suitable offering to religion.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"It was my purpose," he says, "in undertaking this work, to give poetic
+form, design, and history to the descent of Christ into hell; a fact
+that has for so many ages attracted the curiosity of the human mind, as
+to furnish occasion for surprise that the attempt has not hitherto been
+made. As regards the end for which He descended, I have adhered to the
+Christian tradition that it was to free the souls of the ancient saints
+confined in the temporal paradise of the Under-world, embracing also in
+my design the less general opinion, that it was to demonstrate His
+universal supremacy by appearing among the damned.
+
+"A source of additional human interest was suggested by the relation
+which men, as a distinct order of beings, might be supposed to sustain
+to demons in the place of their common doom, and under new conditions of
+existence; such, I conceived, as would make it possible in some degree
+to realize even the divine fictions of the Greek mythology, under the
+forms and with the attributes accorded them by ancient religions, and by
+the poetry of all time. This could not fail to suggest the further
+conception of introducing the divinities of our forefathers, and of
+other great families of mankind, thus bringing together in action and
+contrast the deified men, or various representatives of an heroic
+humanity, among different races: nor did it seem too great a stretch of
+imaginative probability to conceive that their general characteristics
+might be adopted and imitated by beings already invested by the human
+mind with an indefinite power, and inhabiting a world in which the
+wonderful becomes the probable.
+
+"But it is, after all, the general purpose of exhibiting the triumph of
+moral power over all physical and inferior spiritual force, in the
+descent of Christ into hell, which gives my design the complex character
+of a mythic, heroic, and Christian poem, and, at the same time,
+constitutes the unity of its parts. The ancients, whose representative
+types I introduce, knew and appreciated but two kinds of power, brute or
+physical, and spiritual, including all occult and supernatural efficacy,
+and strength of intellect and will. Virtue, triumphant by the aid of
+adventitious force, or relying upon unconquerable pride and disdain to
+resist it, was the highest reach of their dynamic conceptions. Moral
+power is properly a Christian idea. It is not, therefore, without what I
+conceive to be a true as well as a poetic apprehension of the design of
+the Descent into Hell, that the heroes of profane, and the not fabulous
+Titans of sacred antiquity, by their rivalries and contentions, brought
+together in arms for a trial of their comparative strength, are suddenly
+confronted with a common and dissimilar antagonist, and 'all strength,
+all terror, single or in bands, that ever was put forth' opposed to that
+novel, and, save in the Temptation, hitherto untested power, represented
+by Christ, the author of the theory and master of the example.
+
+"He is not supposed to appear among them 'grasping in his hand ten
+thousand thunders,' but endued with an equal power, the result and
+expression of perfect virtue and rightful authority. His triumph is
+attributed neither to natural, nor to supernatural power; but to moral
+superiority, evincing itself in His aspect, and exercising its
+omnipotence upon the soul and conscience. That in the conception of a
+great Christian poet, His appearance among the rebel angels in Heaven
+was distinguished by the former attributes, is due, perhaps, to the
+heroic prejudice of a mind thoroughly imbued with the spirit of pagan
+writers, and of the Hebrew Scriptures."
+
+The volume opens with this noble invocation, in which there is fit
+recognition of Dante and Milton, whose lips aforetime for such song had
+been touched by the divinest fire:
+
+      Thou of the darkness and the fire, and fame
+    Avenged by misery and the Orphic doom,
+    Bard of the tyrant-lay! whom dreadless wrongs,
+    Impatient, and pale thirst for justice drove,
+    A visionary exile, from the earth,
+    To seek it in its iron reign--O stern!
+    And not accepting sympathy, accept
+    A not presumptious offering, that joins
+    That region with a greater name: And thou,
+    Of my own native language, O dread bard!
+    Who, amid heaven's unshadowed light, by thee
+    Supremely sung, abidest--shouldst thou know
+    Who on earth with thoughts of thee erects
+    And purifies his mind, and, but by thee,
+    Awed by no fame, boldened by thee, and awed--
+    Not with thy breadth of wing, yet with the power
+    To breathe the region air--attempts the height
+    Where never Scio's singing eagle towered,
+    Nor that high-soaring Theban moulted plume,
+    Hear thou my song! hear, or be deaf, who may.
+
+      And if not rashly, or too soon, I heed
+    The impulse, but have waited on my heart
+    With patience, and its utterance stilled with awe
+    Oh what inspired it, till I felt it beat
+    True cadence to unconquerable strains;
+    Oh, then may she first wooed from heaven by prayer
+    From thy pure lips, and sympathy austere
+    With suffering, and the sight of solemn age,
+    And thy gray Homer's head, with darkness bound,
+    To me descend, more near, as I am far
+    Beneath thee, and more need her aiding wing.
+
+      Oh, not again invoked in vain, descend,
+    Urania! and eyes with common light
+    More blinded than were his by Heaven's hand
+    Imposed to intercept distracting rays,
+    Bathe in the vision of transcendent day;
+    And of the human senses (the dark veil
+    Before the world of spirit drawn) remove
+    The dim material hindrance, and illume;
+    That human thought again may dare behold
+    The shape and port of spirits, and once more
+    Hear voices in that distant, shadowy world,
+    To which ourselves, and this, are shadows, they
+    The substance, immaterial essence pure--
+    Souls that have freed their slave, and given back
+    Its force unto the elements, the dread
+    Manes, or the more dread Archetypes of men:
+    Like whom in featured reason's shape--like whom
+    Created in the mould of God--they fell,
+    And mixed with them in common ruin, made
+    One vast and many-realmed world, and shared
+    Their deep abodes--their endless exile, some,--
+    Some to return to the ethereous light
+    When one of human form, a Savior-Man
+    Almighty, not in deity alone,
+    But mightier than all angels in the might
+    And guard of human innocence preserved,
+    Should freely enter their dark empire--these
+    To loose, o'er those to triumph; this the theme,
+    The adventure, and the triumph of my song.
+
+
+
+
+The Fine Arts.
+
+
+LEUTZE'S WASHINGTON CROSSING THE DELAWARE.--Our readers are aware of the
+accident by fire which happened some months since to Leutze's
+nearly-finished picture of Washington Crossing the Delaware, in
+consequence of which he abandoned it to the underwriters, intending to
+commence the work anew for the party from which he had received the
+order to paint it. The underwriters have accordingly paid the insurance,
+and are now exhibiting the picture in its incomplete state to the public
+of Cologne, where it meets with high approval. The _Koelnische Zeitung_
+says of it: "In this picture the artist has depicted the events of the
+hour in which the destiny of the Free States of North America was
+decided for centuries through the boldness of their courageous and
+prudent leader. The means of continuing the war were almost exhausted;
+the army threatened in a few days to dissolve itself; the cause of
+freedom for that continent, with its inestimable consequences for
+ancient Europe, would have been postponed, no one can tell how long,
+perhaps for ever. Then the great mind of Washington conceived what the
+morally debased, reposing enemy thought impossible. He crossed the
+Delaware with his army in the night, amid masses of floating ice, and,
+in the twilight of morning, assailed the inactive camp on the other
+side. The picture reproduces the moment when the great general,--ahead
+of the mass of the army, which had also just embarked, and part of which
+are passing off from the shore, and part already struggling with the
+driving ice,--is steering to the opposite shore in a small boat,
+surrounded by eleven heroic figures, officers, farmers, soldiers, and
+boatmen. The tall and majestic form of the man in whose hands at that
+hour lay the fate of millions, rises from the group, standing slightly
+bent, forward, with one foot on the bottom of the boat, the other on the
+forward bench. His mild yet serious and commanding glance seems seeking
+to pierce the mist of the farther shore and discover the enemy, while
+intimations of the future grandeur of his country rise upon his mind.
+Nothing of youthful rashness appears in the expression of this figure,
+but the thoughtful artist has depicted the 'heart for any fate' of the
+general and statesman in noble, vigorous, and faithful traits. And what
+an impulse moves through the group of his companions! Their thought is,
+'Forward, invincibly forward, for our country!' This is expressed in
+their whole bearing, in every movement, in the eyes and features of all.
+Under the influence of this thought they command the raging elements, so
+that the masses of ice seem to dissolve before the will and energy of
+these men. This is a picture by the sight of which, in this weary and
+exhausted time, one can recover health and strength. Let none miss a
+draught from such a goblet of nectar. And while we are writing this, it
+occurs to us that it was at this very hour seventy-four years ago, in
+the ice-cold night, Washington crossed the Delaware. And amid the
+ominous concatenation of events which the weak mind calls accident, but
+which the clear spirit, whose eye rests on the whole world, regards as
+the movement of nature according to eternal laws, there rises from our
+soul the ardent prayer that Germany may soon find her Washington! Honor
+and fame to the artist whose production has power to work upon the
+hearts and inflame the spirits of all that behold it!"
+
+Messrs. Goupil & Co. have purchased the duplicate of this work, to be
+completed on the first of July, for seven thousand dollars. The picture
+described was unfinished, and has been exhibited by the underwriters, to
+whom it was given up after the fire.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+An Italian picture dealer in London named Campanari, lately bought for a
+trifle a portrait which has proved to be a genuine Michel Angelo. It
+represents the famous Vittoria Colonna, wife of the Marchese Pescara,
+the General of Charles V. She was herself distinguished as a poetess as
+well as by the impassioned love and adoration of the great painter, who
+not only took her portrait, but left behind him several sonnets in her
+honor. Campanari, though himself confident of the genuineness of the
+picture, could not procure it to be recognized in England. Accordingly
+he sent it to Rome, where the Academy of San Luca, with Minardi at its
+head, unanimously decided in its favor. In fact, it contains a grandeur
+and sublimity which could be ascribed to nobody but the author of the
+prophets and sibyls of the Sistine Chapel. An antique repose is
+displayed in the whole work, perfectly agreeing with the character of
+the lady as described by Michel Angelo, and which suits the advanced age
+at which she is painted. The execution is like that of the picture in
+the Florentine Tribune, in the wonderful facility of its execution. In
+the coloring a carnation hue is remarkable, like that in Michel Angelo's
+Roman works. The hands of the figure are thought to be by some other
+artist. Only the head and part of the person seem to be by the author.
+The picture has suffered little from time, some parts having apparently
+been repaired by a later pencil. It is valued at $30,000.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+THE MUNICH ART-UNION gives to its subscribers for the next year a
+_galvanograph_ of Rubens' Columbus. This is the first time that
+galvanography has been applied to such a purpose. The plate from which
+the print is taken has been copied by the galvanoplastic process, so
+that it can serve for other art-unions also. For 1851 the Munich Union
+has decided on engraving four Greek landscapes by C. Rottman. These
+plates will also be copied by the same process, and may be had at much
+less than the cost of original plates.
+
+
+
+
+GOETHE'S OPINION OF BYRON, SCOTT, AND CARLYLE.
+
+
+Mr. John Oxenford, who has shown remarkable capacities for
+appropriation, in the use he has made of the labors of William Peter,
+Parke Godwin, and others, in his various "translations" from the German,
+has recently fallen in with Margaret Fuller d'Ossoli's version of the
+_Conversations of Goethe with Eckermann_, published many years ago by
+Mr. Ripley in his "Specimens of Foreign Literature;" and the result is
+two volumes, embracing, with what Margaret Fuller translated, the great
+poet's conversations with Soret. Among the chief notable men who existed
+at the time of the conversations, and to whom reference is made, are
+Scott and Byron. The first, whose _Fair Maid of Perth_ is read as a new
+book, is praised for his "objective" qualities. The second is pronounced
+the greatest modern poet of England, but censured for his polemic
+tendency. Goethe's rapture is kindled when he speaks of him:
+
+     "'Lord Byron,' said Goethe, 'is to be regarded as a man, as an
+     Englishman, and as a great talent. His good qualities belong
+     chiefly to the man, his bad to the Englishman and the peer, his
+     talent is incommensurable. All Englishmen are, as such, without
+     reflection, properly so called; distractions and party spirit
+     will not permit them to unfold themselves in quiet. But they
+     are great as practical men. Thus, Lord Byron could never attain
+     reflection on himself, and on this account the maxims in
+     general are not successful, as is shown by his creed, 'much
+     money, no authority,' for much money always paralyzes
+     authority. But where he will create, he always succeeds; and we
+     may truly say that with him inspiration supplies the place of
+     reflection. He was always obliged to go on poetizing, and then
+     every thing that came from the man, especially from his heart,
+     was excellent. He produced his best things, as women do pretty
+     children, without thinking about it or knowing how it was done.
+     He is a great talent, a born talent, and I never saw the true
+     poetical power greater in any man than in him. In the
+     apprehension of external objects, and a clear penetration into
+     past situations, he is quite as great as Shakspeare. But as a
+     pure individuality, Shakspeare is his superior. This was felt
+     by Byron, and on this account he does not say much of
+     Shakspeare, although he knows whole passages by heart. He would
+     willingly have denied him altogether, for Shakspeare's
+     cheerfulness is in his way, and he feels that he is no match
+     for it. Pope he does not deny, for he had no cause to fear him.
+     On the contrary, he mentions him, and shows him respect when he
+     can, for he knows well enough that Pope is a mere foil to
+     himself.'...
+
+     "Goethe seemed inexhaustible on the subject of Byron, and I
+     felt that I could not listen enough. After a few digressions,
+     he proceeded thus: 'His high rank as an English peer was very
+     injurious to Byron; for every talent is oppressed by the outer
+     world,--how much more, then, when there are such high birth and
+     so great a fortune. A certain middle rank is much more
+     favorable to talent, on which account we find all great artists
+     and poets in the middle classes. Byron's predilection for the
+     unbounded could not have been nearly so dangerous with more
+     humble birth and smaller means. But as it was, he was able to
+     put every fancy into practice, and this involved him in
+     innumerable scrapes. Besides, how could one of such high rank
+     be inspired with awe and respect by any rank whatever? He spoke
+     out whatever he felt, and this brought him into ceaseless
+     conflict with the world. It is surprising to remark,' continued
+     Goethe, 'how large a portion of the life of a rich Englishman
+     of rank is passed in duels and elopements. Lord Byron himself
+     says, that his father carried off three ladies. And let any man
+     be a steady son after that. Properly speaking, he lived
+     perpetually in a state of nature, and with his mode of
+     existence the necessity for self-defence floated daily before
+     his eyes. Hence his constant pistol-shooting. Every moment he
+     expected to be called out. He could not live alone. Hence, with
+     all his oddities, he was very indulgent to his associates. He
+     one evening read his fine poem on the Death of Sir John Moore,
+     and his noble friends did not know what to make of it. This did
+     not move him, but he put it away again. As a poet, he really
+     showed himself a lamb. Another would have commended them to the
+     devil.'"
+
+Yet Goethe had a curious theory in respect to criticism, and believed it
+possible for a foreigner to understand the achievements of a language
+not his own better than those to whom it is native--in which we think he
+was partially correct. In the following he criticises CARLYLE.
+
+     "'Sit down,' said he, 'and let us talk awhile. A new
+     translation of Sophocles has just arrived. It reads well, and
+     seems to be excellent; I will compare it with Solgar. Now, what
+     say you to Carlyle?' I told him what I had been reading upon
+     Fonque. 'Is not that very good?' said Goethe. 'Aye, there are
+     clever people over the sea, who know us and can appreciate
+     us?... We are weakest in the aesthetic department, and may wait
+     long before we meet such a man as Carlyle. It is pleasant to
+     see that intercourse is now so close between the French,
+     English, and Germans, that we shall be able to correct one
+     another. This is the greatest use of a world-literature, which
+     will show itself more and more. Carlyle has written a life of
+     Schiller, and judged him as it would be difficult for a German
+     to judge him. On the other hand, we are clear about Shakspeare
+     and Byron, and can, perhaps, appreciate their merits better
+     than the English themselves."
+
+Carlyle is frequently referred to, and always thus. The clear-sighted,
+great old man, already perceives how much his fame will owe to such an
+apostle and preacher of his faith--for he sees also what Carlyle himself
+will become. The mention of Lockhart is also very interesting.
+
+     "I asked about Lockhart, and whether he still recollected him.
+     'Perfectly well!' returned Goethe. 'His personal appearance
+     makes so decided an impression that one cannot easily forget
+     him. From all I hear from Englishmen, and from my
+     daughter-in-law, he must be a young man from whom great things
+     in literature are to be expected. I almost wonder that Walter
+     Scott does not say a word about Carlyle, who has so decided a
+     German tendency that he must certainly be known to him. It is
+     admirable in Carlyle that, in his judgment of our German
+     authors, he has especially in view the mental and moral core
+     as that which is really influential. Carlyle is a moral force
+     of great importance. There is in him much for the future, and
+     we cannot foresee what he will produce and effect.'"
+
+Again:
+
+     "'It is pleasant to see,' said Goethe, 'how the earlier
+     pedantry of the Scotch has changed into earnestness and
+     profundity. When I recollect how the 'Edinburgh Reviewers'
+     treated my works not many years since, and when I now consider
+     Carlyle's merits with respect to German literature, I am
+     astonished at the important step for the better. In Carlyle,'
+     said he, 'I venerate most of all the mind and the character
+     which lie at the foundation of his tendencies. The chief point
+     with him is the culture of his own nation; and, in the literary
+     productions of other countries, which he wishes to make known
+     to his contemporaries, he pays less attention to the arts of
+     talent, than to the moral elevation which can be attained
+     through such works. Yes,' said Goethe, 'the temper in which he
+     works is always admirable. What an earnest man he is! and how
+     he has studied us Germans! He is always more at home in our
+     literature than ourselves. At any rate we cannot vie with him
+     in our researches in English literature.'"
+
+
+
+
+MR. KELLOGG'S EXPLORATION OF MT. SINAI.
+
+
+The last volume of _Bohn's Illustrated Library_ (published in New-York
+by Bangs & Brother), is "Scripture Lands, Described in a Series of
+Historical, Geographical, and Topographical Sketches," by JOHN KITTO,
+D.D., F.S.A., the well-known author of the Dictionary of the Bible, &c.
+It embraces, in a convenient and condensed form, results of the most
+important recent investigations by travellers and scholars in the
+countries sacred for their connection with the history of true religion.
+With other things by Americans, Dr. Kitto gives a prominent place to Mr.
+MINER K. KELLOGG'S account of Mt. Sinai, which we reprint below; and we
+cannot let the opportunity pass unimproved, of expressing a hope that
+Mr. Kellogg will prepare for the press the voluminous notes which we
+know him to possess of his various and interesting travels in the
+ancient world, which he saw with the eye of an artist, the head of a
+scholar, and the heart of a Christian. If he would, he might give us a
+most delightful and instructive book upon the East, and one that would
+be eminently popular, though Asia has been of all the continents the
+most frequently described. Dr. Kitto says:
+
+"At the foot of the pass which leads up to the sacred shrine beneath the
+awful mount, from whose summit Jehovah proclaimed his law to the
+trembling hosts of Israel, Dr. Robinson says,--'We commenced the slow
+and toilsome ascent along the narrow defile, about south by east,
+between blackened, shattered cliffs of granite, some eight hundred feet
+high, and not more than two hundred and fifty yards apart, which every
+moment threatened to send down their ruins on our heads. Nor is this at
+all times an empty threat; for the whole pass is filled with large
+stones and rocks, the _debris_ of these cliffs. The bottom is a deep and
+narrow water-course, where the wintry torrent sweeps down with fearful
+violence. A path has been made for camels, along the shelving rocks,
+partly by removing the topmost blocks, sometimes in the manner of a
+Swiss mountain-road. But though I had crossed the most rugged passes of
+the Alps, and made from Chamouni the whole circuit of Mont Blanc, I had
+never found a path so rude and difficult as that we were now ascending.'
+
+"After toiling along for nearly two hours, our travellers continue their
+narrative:
+
+"'Here the interior and lofty peaks of the great circle of Sinai began
+to open upon us--black, rugged, desolate summits; and, as we advanced,
+the dark and frowning front of Sinai itself (the present Horeb of the
+monks) began to appear. We were gradually ascending, and the valley
+gradually opening; but as yet all was a naked desert. Afterwards, a few
+shrubs were sprinkled round about, and a small encampment of black tents
+was seen on our right, with camels and goats browsing, and a few donkeys
+belonging to the convent. The scenery through which we had now passed
+reminded me strongly of the mountains around the Mer de Glace in
+Switzerland. I had never seen a spot more wild and desolate.
+
+"'As we advanced, the valley still opened wider and wider with a gentle
+ascent, and became full of shrubs and tufts of herbs, shut in on each
+side by lofty granite ridges, and rugged, shattered peaks, a thousand
+feet high, while the face of Horeb rose directly before us. Both my
+companion and myself involuntarily exclaimed, "here is room enough for a
+large encampment!"
+
+"'Reaching the top of the ascent or watershed, a fine broad plain lay
+before us, sloping down gently towards the south-south-east, inclosed by
+rugged and venerable mountains of dark granite, stern, naked, splintered
+peaks, and ridges of indescribable grandeur; and terminated, at a
+distance of more than a mile, by the bold and awful front of Horeb,
+rising perpendicularly in frowning majesty, from twelve to fifteen
+hundred feet in height. It was a scene of solemn grandeur, wholly
+unexpected, and such as we had never seen; and the associations which at
+the moment rushed upon our minds were almost overwhelming.'
+
+"They subsequently ascended the frowning summit of Horeb, and sketched
+the scene from that point:--'The whole plain, er-Rahah, lay spread out
+beneath our feet, with the adjacent wadys and mountains; while Wady
+esh-Sheikh on the right, and the recess on the left, both connected with
+and opening broadly from er-Rahah, presented an area which serves nearly
+to double that of the plain.
+
+"'Our conviction was strengthened that here, or on some of the adjacent
+cliffs, was the spot where the Lord "descended in fire," and proclaimed
+the law. Here lay the plain where the whole congregation might be
+assembled; here was the mount that could be approached, if not
+forbidden; and here the mountain brow, where alone the lightning and the
+thick cloud would be visible, and the thunders and the voice of the
+trump be heard, when the Lord "came down in the sight of all the people
+upon Mount Sinai."
+
+"'We gave ourselves up to the impressions of the awful scene; and read,
+with a feeling that will never be forgotten, the sublime account of the
+transactions, and the commandments there promulgated, in the original
+words as recorded by the great Hebrew legislator.'"
+
+"Other travellers have explored a valley on the southern base of Sinai,
+which was shut out from the view of Dr. Robinson in his ascent by a long
+ridge of rocks, and which has been found, by measurement of Krafft and
+Strauss, and others, to be even greater than the valley of er-Rahah on
+the north. This, it is supposed by Ritter and others, may have been
+occupied by the Israelites at the giving of the Law. The locality of
+this tremendous scene may perhaps be determined by future researches.
+
+"An American artist and scholar, Mr. M. K. Kellogg, has lately given an
+interesting account of this valley, which appears to be much more
+extensive than er-Rahah, and better suited for the accommodation of the
+immense camp of Israel. To reach this station, the Israelites must have
+continued their march much further down the coast than on the other
+supposition, and turned at a bolder angle up into the mountains near the
+modern town of Tur or Tor. Dophkah, Alush, and Rephidim, must also, on
+this supposition, be transferred to other localities corresponding with
+this supposed line of march.
+
+"If there be such a valley at the southern base of Sinai, it seems very
+extraordinary that it should have escaped the notice of travellers. It
+must be visible from the summit of Sinai (Jebel Musa); but, seen only
+from that lofty summit, and running in an irregular line at the very
+base of the mountain, they must have overlooked it in their brief survey
+of the scenery, so grand, so gloomy and peculiar, which there engaged
+their contemplation. The subject, however, is so curious and
+interesting, that we insert in some detail the narrative of the American
+traveller to which these remarks refer.
+
+"'Having read a letter which appeared in the _Literary World_[F] of the
+20th November, from Dr. Ritter to Dr. Robinson, in which it is said that
+Laborde, in his _Commentary_ "has now for the first time established the
+plain of Wady Sebaiyeh at the southern base of Sinai;" and that this
+"furnishes an important point for the elucidation of the giving of the
+Law," I have been induced to submit to the consideration of the public,
+some of the notes from a journal which I kept during my travels in that
+region in the spring of 1844.[G]
+
+"'Although I have not yet seen the Commentaries of Laborde, and
+therefore cannot judge of their correctness in regard to this plain, yet
+I am happy in being able to furnish some testimony as to its existence
+and extent. Within the last few years a question has arisen as to the
+existence of a plain in front of Mount Sinai, capable of containing the
+multitude of Israelites who were to receive the commandments.
+
+"'Dr. Robinson is the first, I believe, who has attempted to prove that
+no such plain exists. In his _Researches_ he finds a plain at the
+north-east extremity of the mountain called er-Rahah, which he says was
+"the plain where the congregation of Israel were assembled," and that
+the mountain impending over it, the present Horeb, was "the scene of the
+awful phenomena in which the Law was proclaimed."
+
+"'He says he was satisfied, after much inquiry, "that in no other
+quarter of the peninsula, and certainly not around any of the higher
+peaks, is there a spot corresponding in any degree, so fully as this, to
+the historical account, and to the circumstances of the case." Starting
+upon the hypothesis that there is no other plain than the one he
+describes, he has been obliged to give the name of Sinai to one of the
+peaks which overlook this plain, in order that the Israelites might
+witness the awful ceremonies attending the promulgation of the Law which
+took place upon the holy mountain. If this hypothesis is founded on
+truth, then tradition is at fault, which has given to another part of
+this region the name of Sinai, and a capacious plain beneath it; we must
+throw aside all our faith in such tradition, and commence investigations
+which shall elicit the whole truth upon the subject.
+
+"'As many late travellers have been led into error respecting the
+topography of this district, by adopting, without investigation, the
+conclusions of Dr. Robinson, I feel it to be a duty to lay before you
+such facts as may be of service to those who shall hereafter journey
+into the wilderness of Sinai.
+
+"'On the 6th day of March, 1844, my two companions set out from the
+convent at Mount Sinai, for the purpose of ascending the mountain St.
+Catharine. I declined going with them, partly through indisposition, and
+partly because I thought I could spend the day more usefully in making
+sketches in the neighboring convent. After my friend's departure with
+the guides, I took a little Arab boy with me to carry my sketch-book and
+water-bottle, and walked up Wady Shueib, until I came to the little
+Mountain of the Cross (Neja), which almost shuts up the passage into
+Wady Sebaiyeh, and where I had, for the first time, a view of the
+southern face of Mount Sinai. Here opened an extended picture of the
+mountains lying to the south of the Sinaite range, for I was now some
+three hundred feet above the adjacent valleys.
+
+"'After much difficulty, I succeeded in climbing over immense masses of
+granite, to the side of the Mountain of the Cross, which I ascended
+about five hundred feet on its south-western face, in order to obtain a
+good view of the peak of Sinai, which I was anxious to sketch. Here,
+close at my right, arose, almost perpendicularly, the Holy Mountain; its
+shattered pyramidal peak towering above me some 1400 feet, of a brownish
+tint, presenting vertical strata of granite, which threw off the
+glittering rays of the morning sun. Clinging around its base was a range
+of sharp, upheaving crags, from one hundred to two hundred feet in
+height, which formed an almost impassable barrier to the mountain itself
+from the valley adjoining. These crags were separated from the mountain
+by a deep and narrow gorge, yet they must be considered as forming the
+projecting base of Sinai.
+
+"'Directly in front of me was a level valley, stretching onward to the
+south for two or three miles, and inclosed on the east, west, and south
+by low mountains of various altitudes, all much less, however, than that
+of Sinai. This valley passed behind the Mountain of the Cross to my
+left, and out of view, so that I could not calculate its northern extent
+from where I stood. The whole scene was one of inexpressible grandeur
+and solemnity, and I seated myself to transfer some of its remarkable
+features to the pages of my portfolio.
+
+"'I remained at work until nearly sunset, when I discovered people
+coming towards me through the dark ravine between the mountain of Sinai
+and the craggy spurs which shoot up around its base. I feared they might
+prove to be unfriendly Arabs; but, as they came nearer I discovered them
+to be my companions and their guides, who were returning from Mount St.
+Catharine. As the shades of evening were approaching, I shut up my
+portfolio, and descending the hillside, I joined my friends, and we
+returned together to the convent. After dinner, they desired to see what
+I had done during the day, and my sketch-book was opened to them. They
+remarked, on seeing the drawing I had made, that as there was no plain
+on the southern border of the mountain, I might as well have left out
+the one seen in the drawing. After my assurance that I had copied what
+was before me, they laughed, and remarked that none but a painter's
+imagination could have seen the plain in question, for they had passed
+entirely around the mountain that day, and could assert _positively_
+that there was no such plain. Here was a difference of opinion
+certainly, and one that I did not relish much, as it might at some
+future time be the means of creating a doubt as to the faithfulness of
+my eastern drawings. I begged them, therefore, to accompany me the next
+day to that side of the mountain, and be convinced of what I told them.
+They remarked that all authority was against me, and time was too
+precious to go over the same ground twice.'"
+
+"It seems that one of them, however, accompanied the writer in his
+further exploration of the ensuing day, for he uses the plural number,
+and speaks of his 'friend.' We thus condense his statements: One day
+(7th March) is described as having been spent in Wady es-Sabaiyeh, or
+the plain before Mount Sinai. After having penetrated into this wady, he
+says: 'We took our course along the base of Jebel Deir, until we came to
+a point whence the peak of Sinai was no longer visible, because of the
+intervening point of Jebel Deir; then striking across Sebaiyeh to the
+right, keeping Sinai in view, we stopped to contemplate the scene. Here
+the plain is very wide, and forms one with Wady Sedout, which enters it
+from the south-east at a very acute angle, and in the whole of which
+Sinai is plainly visible. These two wadys make a width of at least the
+third of a mile. The hills rising from the east and south of Sebaiyeh,
+in front of Sinai, are of gentle ascent, upon which flocks might feed,
+and the people stand in full view of Sinai. For many miles, perhaps six
+or more, on the eastern border of this plain, are seen many small plains
+high up among the hills, from all of which Sinai is plainly visible.
+Near where we stood, a high, rocky platform of granite arose from the
+plain, upon which I seated myself, and took a sketch of the valley to
+its junction with Wady esh-Sheikh on the north, where stands _Jebel
+Fureia_, a very conspicuous and singular mountain. At this point, Wady
+Sheikh turns from its eastern course, after leaving Wady Rahah, and runs
+north around Jebel Fureia, where it receives Sebaiyeh from the south,
+and with it forms one unbroken plain for about twelve miles to the north
+of the place where I was seated. Turning back now to the south, we
+traversed the plain towards the base of Sinai. The wady grew gently
+narrower as we approached Neja, whose base projected far into the plain,
+and whose head shuts off the view of Sinai for a distance of about
+one-half the width of the plain at its base.
+
+"'As we passed its foot, Sinai again appeared, and we measured the plain
+near the pathway which leads up towards Sinai on the southern border of
+Neja, and which appears to be the only entrance to the Holy Mountain.
+The measured width here was four hundred and thirty feet. Passing on
+three hundred and forty-five paces, we arrived at the narrowest part of
+the plain, some few yards narrower than where we had measured it. This
+may be considered as an entrance-door to the plain, which lies directly
+in front of Sinai, which now spreads out level, clear, and broad, going
+on to the south with varied widths for about three miles on gently
+ascending ground, where it passes between two sloping hills and enters
+another wady which descends beyond, from which it is most probable Sinai
+may yet be clearly seen.
+
+"'On the east, this plain of Sebaiyeh is bounded by mountains having
+long, sloping bases, and covered with wild thyme and other herbs,
+affording a good tenting-ground immediately fronting Sinai, which forms,
+as it were, a grand pyramidal pulpit to the magnificent amphitheatre
+below. The width of the plain immediately in front of Sinai is about
+1600 feet, but further south the width is much increased, so that on an
+average the plain may be considered as being nearly one-third of a mile
+wide, and its length, in view of Mount Sinai, between five and six
+miles. The good tenting-ground on the mountain sides mentioned above,
+would give much more space for the multitude on the great occasion for
+which they were assembled. This estimate does not include that part of
+the plain to the north, and Wady esh-Sheikh, from which the peak of
+Sinai is not visible; for this space would contain three or four times
+the number of people which Sebaiyeh would hold.
+
+"'From Wady Sebaiyeh we crossed over the granite spurs, in order to pass
+around the southern border of Sinai into Wady Lejah. These spurs are of
+sufficient size to have separate names among the Arabs. Around them were
+generally deep and rugged gorges and ravines, or water-courses, whose
+sides were formed of ledges of granite nearly perpendicular, of a pink
+color, and fine texture. There are no _gravel_ hills, as mentioned by
+Dr. Robinson, but a series of low granite hills, much broken up, and of
+different colors, principally of a greenish-gray and brown. The plain is
+covered with a fine _debris_ of granite. Whilst crossing over these low
+hills, my friend pointed out the path between them and Sinai, in the
+ravine, through which he had passed yesterday on his return from St.
+Catharine; and it was seen that no plain would be visible from any part
+of it, owing to the height of the spurs which separated the ravine from
+Sebaiyeh, and we concluded that most travellers had been led into false
+views concerning this part of the mountain from having taken the same
+path, and hence it was that no account has been given respecting the
+plain of Sebaiyeh. This ravine around Sinai becomes a deep impassable
+gorge, with perpendicular walls, as it enters Wady Lejah, passing
+through the high neck connecting with the mountain on the south.
+
+"'Descending into Lejah, under the rocky precipice of Sinai, we found
+the wady narrow and choked up with huge blocks of granite which had
+tumbled from the sides of the adjacent mountains. We could now see the
+olive-ground of the deserted convent of _el-Arbain_, situated in the
+bottom of the narrow valley. Passing through this garden, we found a
+fine running stream of crystal water, of which we partook freely, for
+our thirst was great. The garden was walled, and well irrigated by many
+small canals, but nothing seemed to flourish but the olive.
+
+"'Continuing down the valley, amidst loose rocks of granite, upon some
+of which were inscriptions in the Sinaite, Greek, and Arabic characters,
+and enjoying the wildness of the scene, and the gloomy grandeur of the
+lofty mountains of naked rocks which almost overhung our path, we saw
+Horeb on our right, and soon entered upon the plain before it called
+_Wady Rahah_. After taking a view of Horeb as the sun was setting, we
+made our way to the convent, to pass the night within its hospitable
+walls. Thus was completed a walk around the whole mountain of Sinai.
+
+"'The results of these investigations, together with the information
+afforded by Burckhardt and other travellers, have served to convince my
+own mind that this district is every way adapted to the circumstances
+attending the encampment of the Israelites during the promulgation of
+the law upon Mount Sinai Though other mountains in this vicinity may
+answer as well as that of Jebel Musa for this great purpose, still I
+cannot see any good reason for taking from this mountain that holy
+character with which tradition has invested it for the last fifteen
+centuries.'
+
+"Thus," says Dr. Kitto, "it seems that the question as to the
+camping-ground of the Israelites, which seemed to have been settled by
+the researches of Dr. Robinson and others, must now be regarded as
+re-opened for further investigations. The fact is, that a complete and
+careful survey of the whole of this central mountain region yet remains
+to be taken."
+
+The friend of Mr. Kellogg alluded to in the preceding pages was an
+English gentleman, Mr. Ackanth, (of the East India Service,) whose notes
+will amply vindicate Mr. Kellogg's conclusions.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[F] The _Literary World_ at that period was edited by the able, candid,
+and universally beloved C.F. Hoffman.--(Ed. Int.)
+
+[G] "The writer seems not to have been aware that this still leaves the
+priority to Laborde--whose journey was undertaken even earlier than that
+of Robinson, and whose really valuable work, _Commentaire Geographique
+sur l'Exode et les Nombres_, which now lies before us, was _published_
+in the very year of Mr. Kellogg's journey, 1844. This work certainly
+forms the best _literary_ result of Laborde's celebrated journey."
+
+
+
+
+LAFAYETTE, TALLEYRAND, METTERNICH, AND NAPOLEON.
+
+Sketched By Lord Holland.[H]
+
+
+Lord Holland, says the _Examiner_, has been induced by "the recent
+events on the Continent" to publish what his father had written on
+foreign politics. "If not wholly impartial," the present Lord Holland
+remarks of his father, "he is acknowledged by all who knew him to have
+been as candid as he was benevolent." He might have said more than
+this--indeed far more than it might have been quite becoming in a son to
+say. The late Lord Holland was a noble example of the highest and best
+traits of the English character. Throughout his public life he was the
+champion of all just causes; the friend of all who fairly sought
+redress; the fearless advocate of liberty, religious and civil, in days
+disastrous to both; a statesman of singular courage and consistency, a
+most accomplished gentleman and scholar. He had learning without
+pedantry, and wit without ill-nature. His sweetness of temper and
+fascinating grace of manner had been commemorated by many distinguished
+men who had felt their winning potency and charm. But above all he had a
+store of observation and anecdote of the richest kind, and a power of
+applying it with surprising felicity to whatever subject might be under
+discussion. This book is a delightful surviving proof of that quality in
+his character. Its anecdotes are told with a charming ease and fulness
+of knowledge. No one so quickly as Lord Holland detected the notable
+points, whether of a book or a man, or turned them to such happy
+account. We do not read a page of this volume without feeling that a
+supreme master of that exquisite art is speaking to us. It comprises
+recollections of the scenes and actors in the stirring drama which was
+played out on the Continent between 1791 and 1815. It opens with the
+death of Mirabeau and closes with the death of Napoleon. France,
+Denmark, Prussia, and Spain are the countries principally treated of.
+Lord Holland's first visit to France was in 1791, just after the death
+of Mirabeau and the disastrous flight to Varennes. LAFAYETTE seems to
+have been more disposed than any other public actor in the revolution to
+put faith in the king even after that incident, and his confidence won
+over the young English traveller. But the weakness as well as strength
+of Lafayette is well hit off.
+
+"Lafayette was, however, then as always, a pure disinterested man, full
+of private affection and public virtue, and not devoid of such talents
+as firmness of purpose, sense of honor, and earnestness of zeal will, on
+great occasions, supply. He was indeed accessible to flattery, somewhat
+too credulous, and apt to mistake the forms, or, if I may so phrase it,
+the pedantry of liberty for the substance, as if men could not enjoy any
+freedom without subscribing to certain abstract principles and arbitrary
+tests, or as if the profession and subscription, nay, the technical
+observance of such tests and principles, were not, on the other hand,
+often compatible with practical oppression and tyranny."
+
+MARIE ANTOINETTE is treated almost as badly as by Mr. Geffeson, who
+thought her a devil, far less tenderly than we should have expected. Her
+"amours" are spoken of, though with the limitation that "they were not
+numerous, scandalous, or degrading." We gather that Talleyrand believed
+her to have been guilty in a special instance named, and that Madame
+Champan had confessed it to him. At the same time her person is not very
+flatteringly described.
+
+"As I was not presented at Court, I never saw the Queen but at the
+play-house. She was then in affliction, and her countenance was, no
+doubt, disfigured by long suffering and resentment. I should not,
+however, suppose that the habitual expression of it, even in happier
+seasons, had ever been very agreeable. Her beauty, however extolled,
+consisted, I suspect, exclusively in a fair skin, a straight person, and
+a stately air, which her admirers termed dignity, and her enemies pride
+and disdain. Her total want of judgment and temper no doubt contributed
+to the disasters of the Royal Family, but there was no member of it to
+whom the public was uniformly so harsh and unjust, and her trial and
+death were among the most revolting parts of the whole catastrophe. She
+was indeed insensible when led to the scaffold; but the previous
+persecution which she underwent was base, unmanly, cruel, and ungenerous
+to the last degree."
+
+On the other hand, a better case is made out for Egalite than any writer
+has yet been bold enough, or informed enough, to attempt. His false
+position with the Court is shown not to have been of his own seeking,
+and to have ultimately driven him reluctantly into the ranks of the
+extreme party. His courage is vindicated successfully, his sincerity and
+truthfulness less so. Lord Holland retained his regard for the Orleans
+family to the close of his life. He was one of the warmest defenders of
+the late King of the French. There are some capital notices of
+TALLYRAND.
+
+"It was in this visit to Paris in 1791, that I first formed acquaintance
+with M. Talleyrand. I have seen him in most of his vicissitudes of
+fortune; from his conversation I have derived much of the little
+knowledge I possess of the leading characters in France before and
+during the Revolution. He was then still a bishop. He had, I believe,
+been originally forced into holy orders, in consequence of his lameness,
+by his family, who, on that account, treated him with an indifference
+and unkindness shameful and shocking. He was for some time _aumonier_ to
+his uncle, the Archbishop of Rheims; and when Mr. Pitt went to that town
+to learn French, after the peace of 1782, he lodged him in an apartment
+in the abbey of St. Thierry, where he was then residing with his uncle,
+and constantly accompanied him for six weeks, a circumstance to which,
+as I have heard M. Talleyrand remark with some asperity, Mr. Pitt never
+had the grace to allude either during his embassy, or his emigration, or
+in 1794, when he refused to recall the cruel order by which he was sent
+away from England under the alien bill. Talleyrand was initiated into
+public affairs under M. de Calonne, and learnt from that lively minister
+the happy facility of transacting business without effort and without
+ceremony in the corner of a drawing-room, or in the recess of a window."
+
+Again--of Talleyrand's bon-mots. The bit at Chateaubriand is one of the
+happiest we can remember.
+
+"'Il faut avoir aime Mme. de Stael pour connaitre tout le bonheur
+d'aimer une bete,' was a saying of his much quoted at Paris at that
+time, in explanation of his passion for Mme. Grand, who certainly did
+not win him or any one else by the fascination of her wit or
+conversation. For thirty or forty years, the bon-mots of M. de
+Talleyrand were more frequently repeated and more generally admired
+than those of any living man. The reason was obvious. Few men uttered so
+many, and yet fewer any equally good. By a happy combination of neatness
+in language and ease and suavity of manner, with archness and sagacity
+of thought, his sarcasms assumed a garb at once so courtly and so
+careless, that they often diverted almost as much as they could mortify
+even their immediate objects. His humorous reproof to a gentleman
+vaunting with self-complacency the extreme beauty of his mother, and
+apparently implying that it might account for advantages in person in
+her descendants, is well known: 'Cetait donc,' said he, 'Monsieur votre
+pere qui n'etait pas si bien.' The following is more recent, but the
+humor of it hardly less arch or less refined. The celebrity of M. de
+Chateaubriand, the vainest of mortals, was on the wane. About the same
+time, it happened to be casually mentioned in conversation that
+Chateaubriand was affected with deafness, and complained bitterly of
+that infirmity. 'Je compends,' said Talleyrand; 'dequis qu'on a cesse de
+parler de lui, il se croit sourd.'"
+
+We find a long portrait gallery of ministers, and princes, and
+princesses, one more imbecile, ignorant, and corrupt than another. One
+minister did not know the difference between Russia and Prussia; another
+always wrote Asiatic for Henseatic, and thought his correction
+necessary. Much light is thrown on the first quarrel between Ferdinand
+and his father; and the narrow escape of the Duke of Infantado is well
+told. Godoy, like all who had the honor of Lord Holland's acquaintance,
+was in some degree a favorite of his, his good qualities being brought
+out to neutralize his many bad ones. Jovellanos and Arguelles appear the
+only honest characters in the midst of such a mass of vice, and even
+they were pedantic, impracticable, and prejudiced. No history,
+narrative, or memoir can be so disgusting as those of Spain and its
+court under the dominion of the House of Bourbon. The imagination of no
+novelist has ever attained that _acme_ of duplicity, cruelty, villany,
+and cowardice, which made up the character of Ferdinand. The general
+opinion of PRINCE METTERNICH, since he has become familiar to London
+circles, has been rather to diminish former opinion of his superior
+wisdom. Lord Holland's early opinion of the prince is thus recorded:
+
+"He seems hardly qualified by any superior genius to assume the
+ascendency in the councils of his own and neighboring nations, which
+common rumor has for some years attributed to him. He appeared to me, in
+the short intercourse I had with him, little superior to the common run
+of continental politicians and courtiers, and clearly inferior to the
+Emperor of Russia in those qualities which secure an influence in great
+affairs. Some who admit the degrading but too prevalent opinion that a
+disregard to truth is useful and necessary in the government of mankind,
+have on that score maintained the contrary proposition. His manners are
+reckoned insinuating. In my slight acquaintance with him in London I was
+not struck with them; they seemed such as might have been expected from
+a German who had studied French vivacity in the fashionable novels of
+the day. I saw little of a sagacious and observant statesman, or of a
+courtier accustomed to very refined and enlightened society."
+
+But the statesman who sustained Austria and procured for it the alliance
+of France was not Metternich. Napoleon is known to have long wavered as
+to whether he would build his European system on a close alliance with
+Prussia or with Austria. Bignon we believe it is that gives the reasons
+in the imperial mind for and against. Prussia was the preferable ally,
+being a new country, untrammelled by aristocratic ideas, ambitious,
+military, and eager for domination. But Napoleon had humiliated Prussia
+too deeply to be forgiven. And then Napoleon had in those around him
+politicians who revered Austria for its antiquity and prestige, and who,
+like Lord Aberdeen, made the Caesar of Vienna the pivot on which their
+ideas of policy turned. Talleyrand was one of them. He worshipped
+Austria, opposed all his master's plans for crushing her, and even dared
+to thwart those plans by revealing them to Alexander, and prompting him
+secretly to oppose them. Such treachery fully warrants all the suspicion
+and harshness with which Napoleon treated Talleyrand. The latter's
+conduct is fully revealed in this volume by Lord Holland. In fact, the
+way in which Napoleon found his policy most seriously counteracted, and
+his projects foiled, was his weakness in employing the men of the
+_ancien regime_, the nobles, whom he preferred for their pleasing and
+good manners, but who invariably betrayed the _parvenu_ master, who
+employed and courted them. By an instance of this grievously misplaced
+confidence Napoleon lost his throne. In the last events and negotiations
+of 1814 Napoleon employed Caulaincourt, who, had he had full power,
+might have made an arrangement. Talleyrand and his party at the same
+time employed M. de Vitrolles, and sent him to the Emperor of Austria to
+learn on what terms he would be induced either to support Napoleon or
+abandon him. The Emperor of Austria was naturally most unwilling to
+proceed to the latter extreme. But M. Vitrolles, a secret agent of the
+Bourbons, so falsified and misrepresented everything to the Emperor that
+the sacrifice of Napoleon was assented to.
+
+Our last extract relates some traits of the great NAPOLEON which seem
+more than ordinarily worth his nephew's attention just now. They are
+taken from a somewhat elaborate character of the Emperor which occupies
+nearly a third of the volume.
+
+"Nothing could exceed the order and regularity with which his household
+both as Consul and Emperor was conducted. The great things he
+accomplished, and the savings he made, without even the imputation of
+avarice or meanness, with the sum comparatively inconsiderable of
+fifteen millions of francs a year, are marvellous, and expose his
+successors, and indeed all European Princes, to the reproach of
+negligence or incapacity. In this branch of his government he owed much
+to Duroc. It is said that they often visited the markets of Paris (les
+halles) dressed in plain clothes and early in the morning. When any
+great accounts were to be submitted to the Emperor, Duroc would apprize
+him in secret of some of the minutest details. By an adroit allusion to
+them or a careless remark on the points upon which he had received such
+recent and accurate information, Napoleon contrived to impress his
+audience with a notion that the master's eye was every where. For
+instance, when the Tuileries were furnished, the upholsterer's charges
+though not very exorbitant, were suspected by the Emperor to be higher
+than the usual profit of that trade would have warranted. He suddenly
+asked some minister who was with him how much the egg at the end of the
+bell-rope should cost? 'J'ignore,' was the answer.--'Eh bien! nous
+verrons,' said he, and then cut off the ivory handle, called for a
+valet, and bidding him dress himself in plain and ordinary clothes, and
+neither divulge his immediate commission or general employment to any
+living soul, directed him to inquire the price of such articles at
+several shops in Paris, and to order a dozen as for himself. They were
+one-third less dear than those furnished to the palace. The Emperor,
+inferring that the same advantage had been taken in the other articles,
+struck a third off the whole charge, and directed the tradesman to be
+informed that it was done at his express command, because on
+_inspection_ he had himself discovered the charges to be by one-third
+too exorbitant. When afterwards in the height of his glory he visited
+Caen with the Empress Maria Louisa, and a train of crowned heads and
+princes, his old friend, M. Mechin, the Prefect, aware of his taste for
+detail, waited upon him with five statistical tables of the expenditure,
+revenue, prices, produce, and commerce of the departments. 'C'est bon,'
+said he, when he received them the evening of his arrival, 'vous et moi
+nous ferous bien de l'esprit sur tout cela demain au Conseil.'
+Accordingly, he astonished all the leading proprietors of the department
+at the meeting next day, by his minute knowledge of the prices of good
+and bad cyder, and of the produce and other circumstances of the various
+districts of the department. Even the Royalist gentry were impressed
+with a respect for his person, which gratitude for the restitution of
+their lands had failed to inspire, and which, it must be acknowledged,
+the first faint hope of vengeance against their enemies entirely
+obliterated in almost every member of that intolerant faction. Other
+princes have shown an equal fondness for minute details with Napoleon,
+but here is the difference. The use they made of their knowledge was to
+torment their inferiors and weary their company: the purpose to which
+Napoleon applied it was to confine the expanses of the State to the
+objects and interests of the community."
+
+Lord Holland dwells at some length on the treatment to which Napoleon
+was subjected by the English Government, and on the generous attempts of
+Lady Holland to alleviate his captivity. This part of the volume has
+much present interest, and will be read with great eagerness by all. Of
+the Emperor's temper, he says:
+
+"Napoleon, even in the plenitude of his power, seldom gratified his
+revenge by resorting to any act either illegal or unjust, though he
+frequently indulged his ill-humor by speaking both of and to those who
+had displeased him in a manner mortifying to their feelings and their
+pride. The instances of his love of vengeance are very few: they are
+generally of an insolent rather than a sanguinary character, more
+discreditable to his head than his heart, and a proof of his want of
+manners, taste, and possibly feeling, but not of a dye to affect his
+humanity. Of what man, possessed of such extended yet such disputed
+authority, can so much be said? Of Washington? Of Cromwell? But
+Washington, if he had ever equal provocation and motives for revenge,
+certainly never possessed such power to gratify it. His glory, greater
+in truth than that of Caesar, Cromwell, and Bonaparte, was that he never
+aspired: but he disdained such power; he never had it, and cannot
+therefore deserve immoderate praise for not exerting what he did not
+possess. In the affair of General Lee, he did not, if I recollect, show
+much inclination to forgive. Even Cromwell did not possess the power of
+revenge to the same extent as Napoleon. There is reason, however, to
+infer from his moderation and forbearance that he would have used it as
+sparingly. But Cromwell is less irreproachable, on the score of another
+vice, viz., ingratitude. Napoleon not only never forgot a favor, but,
+unlike most ambitious characters, never allowed subsequent injuries to
+cancel his recollection of services. He was uniformly indulgent to the
+faults of those whom he had once distinguished. He saw them, he
+sometimes exposed and rectified, but he never punished or revenged them.
+Many have blamed him for this on the score of policy; but if it was not
+sense and calculation, it should be ascribed to good-nature. None, I
+presume, will impute it to weakness or want of discernment."
+
+This account of Napoleon's ideas on religion is curious, and we think
+new.
+
+"Whatever were the religious sentiments of this extraordinary man, such
+companions were likely neither to fix nor to shake, to sway nor to alter
+them. I have been at some pains to ascertain the little that can be
+known of his thoughts on such subjects, and, though it is not very
+satisfactory, it appears to me worth recording.
+
+"In the early periods of the Revolution, he, in common with many of his
+countrymen, conformed to the fashion of treating all such matters, both
+in conversation and action, with levity and even derision. In his
+subsequent career, like most men exposed to wonderful vicissitudes, he
+professed, half in jest and half in earnest, a sort of confidence in
+fatalism and predestination. But on some solemn public occasions, and
+yet more in private and sober discussion, he not only gravely disclaimed
+and reproved infidelity, but both by actions and words implied his
+conviction that a conversion to religious enthusiasm might befal
+himself, or any other man. He had more than tolerance--he had indulgence
+and respect for extravagant and ascetic notions of religious duty. He
+grounded that feeling not on their soundness or their truth, but on the
+uncertainty of what our minds may be reserved for, on the possibility of
+our being prevailed upon to admit and even to devote ourselves to tenets
+which at first excite our derision. It has been observed that there was
+a tincture of Italian superstition in his character; a sort of
+conviction from reason that the doctrines of revelation were not true,
+and yet a persuasion, or at least an apprehension, that he might live to
+think them so. He was satisfied that the seeds of belief were deeply
+sown in the human heart. It was on that principle that he permitted and
+justified, though he did not dare to authorize, the revival of La Trappe
+and other austere orders. He contended that they might operate as a
+safety-valve for the fanatical and visionary ferment which would
+otherwise burst forth and disturb society. In his remarks on the death
+of Duroc, and in the reasons he alleged against suicide, both in calm
+and speculative discussion and in moments of strong emotion, (such as
+occurred at Fontainbleau in 1814,) he implied a belief both in fatality
+and Providence.
+
+"In the programme of his coronation, a part of the ceremony was to
+consist in his taking the communion. But when the plan was submitted to
+him, he, to the surprise of those who had drawn it, was absolutely
+indignant at the suggestion. 'No man,' he said, 'had the means of
+knowing, or had the right to say, when or where he would take the
+sacrament, or whether he would or not.' On this occasion, he added, that
+he would not; nor did he.
+
+"There is some mystery about his conduct in similar respects at St.
+Helena, and during the last days of his life. He certainly had mass
+celebrated in his chapel while he was well, and in his bedroom when ill.
+But though I have reason to believe that the last sacraments were
+actually administered to him privately a few days before his death, and
+probably after confession, yet Count Montholon, from whom I derive
+indirectly my information, also stated that he received Napoleon's
+earnest and distinct directions to conceal all the preliminary
+preparations for that melancholy ceremony from all his other companions,
+and even to enjoin the priest, if questioned, to say he acted by Count
+Montholon's orders, but had no knowledge of the Emperor's wishes.
+
+"It seems as if he had some desire for such assurance as the Church
+could give, but yet was ashamed to own it. He knew that some at St.
+Helena, and more in France, would deem his recourse to such consolation
+infirmity; perhaps he deemed it so himself. Religion may sing her
+triumph, philosophy exclaim 'pauvre humanite,' more impartial scepticism
+despair of discovering the motive, but truth and history must, I
+believe, acknowledge the fact."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[H] _Foreign Reminiscences._ By Henry Richard Lord Holland. Edited by
+his Son, Henry Edward Lord Holland. Longman and Co., London. New-York:
+Harpers.
+
+
+
+
+JOHN JAMES AUDUBON.
+
+By Rufus W. Griswold.
+
+
+"Formerly," said Baron Cuvier, in a report to the Royal Academy of
+Sciences in Paris, "European naturalists had to make known her own
+treasures to America; but now her Mitchells, Harlans, and Charles
+Bonapartes, have repaid with interest the debt which she owed to Europe.
+The history of the American birds by Wilson, already equals in elegance
+our most beautiful works in ornithology, and if ever that of Audubon be
+completed, it will have to be confessed that in magnificence of
+execution the Old World is surpassed by the New." The work of the
+"American backwoodsman" thus alluded to, has long been completed; the
+great Cuvier subsequently acknowledged it to be "the most splendid
+monument which art has erected in honor of ornithology;" and the
+judgment of mankind has placed the name of our countryman first in the
+list of authors and artists who have illustrated the beautiful branch of
+natural history to which he has devoted so large a portion of his long
+and heroic life.
+
+JOHN JAMES AUDUBON was born in Louisiana about the year 1782. He was of
+French descent, and his parents perceiving early the bent of his genius
+sent him to Paris to pursue his education. While there he attended
+schools of natural history and the arts, and in drawing took lessons
+from the celebrated David. He returned in his eighteenth year, and his
+father soon after gave him a farm near Philadelphia, where the
+Perkioming creek falls into the Schuylkill. Its fine woods offered him
+numerous subjects for his pencil, and he here commenced that series of
+drawings which ultimately swelled into the magnificent collection of The
+Birds of America. Here too he was married, and here was born his eldest
+son. He engaged in commercial speculations, but was not successful. His
+love for the fields and flowers, the forests and their winged
+inhabitants, we readily suppose unfitted him for trade. At the end of
+ten years he removed to the west. There were then no steamboats on the
+Ohio, and few villages and no cities on its shores. Reaching that noble
+river in the warm days of autumn, he purchased a small boat in which,
+with his wife and child and two rowers, he leisurely pursued his way
+down to Henderson, in Kentucky, where his family resided several years.
+He appears at first to have engaged in commerce, for he mentions his
+meeting with Wilson, of whom till then he had never heard, as having
+occurred in his counting-room in Louisville in the spring of 1810. His
+great predecessor was procuring subscriptions for his work. He called on
+Audubon, explained the nature of his occupations, and requested his
+patronage. The merchant was surprised and gratified at the sight of his
+volumes, and had taken a pen to add his name to the list of subscribers,
+when his partner abruptly said to him in French, "My dear Audubon, what
+induces you to do so? your own drawings are certainly far better, and
+you must know as much of the habits of American birds as this gentleman.
+"Wilson probably understood the remark, for he appeared not to be
+pleased, and inquired whether Audubon had any drawings of birds. A large
+portfolio was placed upon the table, and all its contents exhibited by
+the amateur ornithologist. Wilson was surprised; he had supposed he was
+himself the only person engaged in forming such a collection; and asked
+if it was intended to publish them. Audubon replied in the negative: he
+had never thought of presenting the fruits of his labors to the world.
+Wilson was still more surprised; he lost his cheerfulness; and though
+before he left Louisville Audubon explored with him the neighboring
+woods, loaned him his drawings, and in other ways essayed to promote his
+interests and happiness, he shook the dust from his feet when he
+departed, and wrote in his diary that "literature or art had not a
+friend in the place." Far be it from me to write a word in dispraise of
+Alexander Wilson. He was a man of genius, enthusiasm, and patient
+endurance; an honor to the country of his birth, and a glory to that of
+his adoption; but he evidently could not bear the thought of being
+excelled. With all his merits he was even then greatly inferior to
+Audubon, and his heart failed him when he contrasted the performances
+which had won fame for him with those of the unknown lover of the same
+mistress, Nature, whom he thus encountered.
+
+Audubon must soon have abandoned or neglected his day-books and ledgers,
+for in 1811 we find him with his rifle and drawing paper among the
+bayous of Florida, and in the following years making long and tedious
+journeys, searching the forests and prairies, the shores of rivers,
+lakes, gulfs, and seas, for the subjects of his immortal work, of the
+publication of which, however, he had never yet had a thought.
+
+On the fifth of April, 1824, he visited Philadelphia, where the late Dr.
+Mease, whom he had known on his first arrival in Pennsylvania, presented
+him to Charles Lucien Bonaparte, who in his turn introduced him to the
+Lyceum of Natural History. He perceived that he could look for no
+patronage in this city, and so proceeded to New-York, where he was
+received with a kindness well suited to elevate his depressed spirits,
+and afterwards ascending the Hudson, went westward to the great lakes,
+and in the wildest solitudes of the pathless forests renewed his labors.
+He now began to think of visiting Europe; the number of his drawings had
+greatly increased notwithstanding a misfortune by which two hundred of
+them, representing nearly a thousand birds, had been destroyed; and he
+fancied his work under the hands of the engraver. "Happy days and nights
+of pleasing dreams" followed, as he retired farther from the haunts of
+men, determined to leave nothing undone which could be accomplished by
+time or toil. Another year and a half passed by; he returned to his
+family, then in Louisiana; and having explored the woods of that state,
+at last sailed for England, where he arrived in 1826. In Liverpool and
+Manchester his works procured him a generous reception from the most
+distinguished men of science and letters; and when he proceeded to
+Edinburgh and exhibited there his four hundred paintings, "the hearts of
+all warmed toward Audubon," says Professor Wilson, "who were capable of
+conceiving the difficulties, dangers, and sacrifices that must have been
+encountered, endured, and overcome before genius could have embodied
+these, the glory of its innumerable triumphs."[I] "The man himself," at
+this period writes the same eloquent author in another work, "is just
+what you would expect from his productions; full of fine enthusiasm and
+intelligence, most interesting in his looks and manners, a perfect
+gentleman, and esteemed by all who know him for the simplicity and
+frankness of his nature."[J]
+
+His reception encouraged him to proceed immediately with his plans of
+publication. It was a vast undertaking which it would take probably
+sixteen years to accomplish, and when his first drawings were delivered
+to the engraver he had not a single subscriber. His friends pointed out
+the rashness of the project and urged him to abandon it. "But my heart
+was nerved," he exclaims, "and my reliance on that Power on whom all
+must depend brought bright anticipations of success." Leaving his work
+in the care of his engravers and agents, in the summer of 1828 he
+visited Paris, and received the homage of the most distinguished men of
+science in that capital. Humboldt too, whose gigantic intelligence arose
+above all others in central Europe, became his warm friend, and remained
+until his death a sympathizing correspondent.
+
+The ensuing winter was passed in London, and in April, 1829, he returned
+to America to explore anew the woods of the middle and southern states.
+Accompanied by his wife he left New Orleans on the eighth of January,
+1830, for New-York, and on the twenty-fifth of April, just a year from
+the time of his departure, he was again in the Great Metropolis. Before
+the close of 1830, he had issued his first volume, containing one
+hundred plates, representing ninety-nine species of birds, every figure
+of the size and colors of life. The applause with which it was received
+was enthusiastic and universal. The kings of England and France had
+placed their names at the head of his subscription list; he was made a
+fellow of the Royal Societies of London and Edinburgh; a member of the
+Natural History Society of Paris, and other celebrated institutions; and
+Cuvier, Swainson, and indeed the great ornithologists of every country,
+exhausted the words of panegyric in his praise.
+
+On the first of August, 1831, Audubon arrived once more in New-York, and
+having passed a few days with his friends there and in Philadelphia,
+proceeded to Washington, where the President and other principal
+officers of the government gave him letters of assistance and protection
+to be used all along the coasts and inland frontiers where there were
+collectors of revenue or military or naval forces. He had previously
+received similar letters from the king's ministers to the authorities of
+the British colonies.
+
+The next winter and spring were passed in the Floridas and in
+Charleston; and early in the summer, bending his course northward to
+keep pace with the birds in their migrations, he arrived in
+Philadelphia, where he was joined by his family. The cholera was then
+spreading death and terror through the country, and on reaching Boston
+he was himself arrested by sickness and detained until the middle of
+August. "Although I have been happy in forming many valuable friendships
+in various parts of the world, all dearly cherished by me," he says,
+"the outpouring of kindness which I experienced in Boston far exceeded
+all that I have ever met with;"[K] and he tells us, with characteristic
+enthusiasm, of his gratitude to the Appletons, Everetts, Quincys,
+Pickerings, Parkmans, and other eminent gentlemen and scholars of that
+beautiful and hospitable city.
+
+Proceeding at length upon his mission, he explored the forests of Maine
+and New Brunswick, and the shores of the Bay of Fundy, and chartering a
+vessel at Eastport, sailed for the gulf of St. Lawrence, the Magdalen
+Islands, and the coast of Labrador. Returning as the cold season
+approached, he visited Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, and rejoining his
+family proceeded to Charleston, where he spent the winter, and in the
+spring, after nearly three years' travel and research, sailed a third
+time for England.
+
+Among the warmest of his British friends, was always the congenial
+Wilson, great as a poet, greater as critic, and greatest of all as the
+author of the _Noctes Ambrosianae_, which contain more wit and humor,
+more sound theology, philosophy, and politics, and better and more
+various literature, than any other man now living has furnished in a
+single work. This almost universal genius, whose relish for the rod and
+gun and wild wood was scarcely less than that he felt for the best
+suppers of Ambrose, or the sharpest onslaught on the Whigs in
+Parliament, thoroughly appreciated and heartily loved our illustrious
+countryman, and in Blackwood's Magazine for January, 1835, he gives us
+the following admirable sketch of the visit he now made to Edinburgh:
+
+     "We were sitting one night, lately, all alone by ourselves,
+     almost unconsciously eyeing the members, fire without flame, in
+     the many-visioned grate, but at times aware of the symbols and
+     emblems there beautifully built up, of the ongoings of human
+     life, when a knocking, not loud but resolute, came to the front
+     door, followed by the rustling thrill of the bell-wire, and
+     then by a tinkling far below, too gentle to waken the house
+     that continued to enjoy the undisturbed dream of its repose. At
+     first we supposed it might be but some late-home-going
+     knight-errant from a feast of shells, in a mood, 'between
+     malice and true-love,' seeking to disquiet the slumbers of Old
+     Christopher, in expectation of seeing his night-cap (which he
+     never wears) popped out of the window, and of hearing his voice
+     (of which he is charry in the open air) simulating a scold upon
+     the audacious sleep-breaker. So we benevolently laid back our
+     head on our easy-chair, and pursued our speculations on the
+     state of affairs in general--and more particularly on the
+     floundering fall of that inexplicable people--the Whigs. We had
+     been wondering, and of our wondering found no end, what could
+     have been their chief reasons for committing suicide. It
+     appeared a case of very singular _felo-de-se_--for they had so
+     timed the 'rash act,' as to excite strong suspicions in the
+     public mind that his Majesty had committed murder.
+     Circumstances, however, had soon come to light, that proved to
+     demonstration, that the wretched Ministry had laid violent
+     hands on itself, and effected its purpose by strangulation.
+     There--was the fatal black ring visible round the neck--through
+     a mere thread; there--were the blood-shot eyes protruding from
+     the sockets; there--the lip-biting teeth clenched in the last
+     convulsions; and there--sorriest sight of all--was the ghastly
+     suicidical smile, last relic of the laughter of despair. But
+     the knocking would not leave the door--and listening to its
+     character, we were assured that it came from the fist of a
+     friend, who saw light through the chinks of the shutter, and
+     knew, moreover, that we never put on the shroud of death's
+     pleasant brother sleep, till 'ae wee short hour ayont the
+     twal,' and often not till earliest cock-crow, which chanticleer
+     utters somewhat drowsily, and then replaces his head beneath
+     his wing, supported on one side by a partlet, on the other by a
+     hen. So we gathered up our slippered feet from the rug, lamp in
+     hand stalked along the lobbies, unchained and unlocked the oak
+     which our faithful night porter Somnus had sported--and lo! a
+     figure muffled up in a cloak, and furred like a Russ, who
+     advanced familiarly into the hall, extended both hands and then
+     embracing us, bade God bless us, and pronounced, with somewhat
+     of a foreign accent, the name in which we and the world
+     rejoice--Christopher North!' We were not slow in returning the
+     hug fraternal--for who was it but the 'American
+     Woodsman?'--even Audubon himself--fresh from the Floridas--and
+     breathing of the pure air of far-off Labrador!
+
+     "Three years and upwards had fled since we had taken farewell
+     of the illustrious Ornithologist--on the same spot--at the same
+     hour; and there was something ghostlike in such return of a
+     dear friend from a distant region--almost as if from the land
+     of spirits. It seemed as if the same moon again looked at
+     us--but then she was wan and somewhat sad--now clear as a
+     diamond, and all the starry heavens wore a smile. "Our words
+     they were na mony feck'--but in less time than we have taken to
+     write it--we two were sitting cheek by jowl, and hand in hand,
+     by that essential fire--while we showed by our looks that we
+     both felt, now they were over, that three years were but as one
+     day! The cane coal-scuttle, instinct with spirit, beeted the
+     fire of its own accord, without word or beck of ours, as if
+     placed there by the hands of one of our wakeful Lares; in globe
+     of purest crystal the Glenlivet shone; unasked the bright brass
+     kettle began to whisper its sweet 'under song;' and a centenary
+     of the fairest oysters native to our isle turned towards us
+     their languishing eyes, unseen the Nereid that had on the
+     instant wafted them from the procreant cradle beds of
+     Prestonpans. Grace said, we drew in to supper, and hobnobbing,
+     from elegant long-shank, down each naturalist's gullet
+     graciously descended, with a gurgle, the mildest, the meekest,
+     the very Moses of Ales.
+
+     "Audubon, ere half an hour had elapsed, found an opportunity of
+     telling us that he had never seen us in a higher state of
+     preservation--and in a low voice whispered something about the
+     eagle renewing his youth. We acknowledged the kindness by a
+     remark on bold bright birds of passage that find the seasons
+     obedient to their will, and wing their way through worlds still
+     rejoicing in the perfect year. But too true friends were we not
+     to be sincere in all we seriously said; and while Audubon
+     confessed that he saw rather more plainly than when we parted
+     the crowfeet in the corners of our eyes, we did not deny that
+     we saw in him an image of the Falco Lencocephalus, for that,
+     looking on his 'carum caput,' it answered his own description
+     of that handsome and powerful bird, viz. 'the general color of
+     the plumage above is dull hair-brown, the lower parts being
+     deeply brown, broadly margined with greyish white.' But here he
+     corrected us: for 'surely, my dear friend,' quoth he, 'you must
+     admit I am a living specimen of the Adult Bird, and you
+     remember my description of him in my First Volume.' And thus
+     blending our gravities and our gayeties, we sat facing one
+     another, each with his last oyster on the prong of his trident,
+     which disappeared, like all mortal joys, between a smile and a
+     sigh.
+
+     "How similar--in much--our dispositions--yet in almost all how
+     dissimilar our lives! Since last we parted, 'we scarcely heard
+     of half a mile from home'--he tanned by the suns and beaten by
+     the storms of many latitudes--we like a ship laid up in
+     ordinary, or anchored close in shore within the same sheltering
+     bay--with sails unfurled and flags flying but for sake of show
+     on some holyday--he like a ship that every morning had been
+     dashing through a new world of waves--often close-reefed or
+     under bare poles--but oftener affronting the heavens with a
+     whiter and swifter cloud than any hoisted by the combined
+     fleets in the sky. And now, with canvas unrent, and masts
+     unsprung, returned to the very buoy she left. Somewhat faded,
+     indeed, in her apparelling--but her hull sound as ever--not a
+     speck of dry rot in her timbers--her keel unscathed by
+     rock--her cut-water yet sharp as new-whetted scythe ere the
+     mower renews his toil--her figure-head, that had so often
+     looked out for squalls, now 'patient as the brooding dove'--and
+     her bowsprit--but let us man the main-brace; nor is there purer
+     spirit--my trusty frere--in the Old World or the New.
+
+     "It was quite a Noctes. Audubon told us--by snatches--all his
+     travels, history, with many an anecdote interspersed of the
+     dwellers among the woods--bird, beast, and man.
+
+     "All this and more he told us, with a cheerful voice and
+     animated eyes, while the dusky hours were noiselessly wheeling
+     the chariot of Night along the star-losing sky; and we too had
+     something to tell him of our own home-loving obscurity, not
+     ungladdened by studies sweet in the Forest--till Dawn yoked her
+     dappled coursers for one single slow stage--and then jocund
+     Morn leaping up on the box, took the ribbons in her rosy
+     fingers, and, after a dram of dew, blew her bugle, and drove
+     like blazes right on towards the gates of Day."
+
+     "His great work," says Wilson, elsewhere, "was indeed a
+     perilous undertaking for a stranger in Britain, without the
+     patronage of powerful friends, and with no very great means of
+     his own--all of which he embarked in the enterprise dearest to
+     is heart. Had it failed, Audubon would have been a ruined
+     man--and that fear must have sometimes dismally disturbed him,
+     for he is not alone in life, and is a man of strong family
+     affections. But happily those nearest his breast are as
+     enthusiastic in the love of natural science as himself--and
+     were all willing to sink or swim with the beloved husband and
+     venerated father. America may well be proud of him--and he
+     gratefully records the kindness he has experienced from so many
+     of her most distinguished sons. In his own fame he is just and
+     generous to all who excel in the same studies; not a particle
+     of jealousy is in his composition; a sin, that, alas! seems too
+     easily to beset too many of the most gifted spirits in
+     literature and in science; nor is the happiest
+     genius--imaginative or intellectual--such is the frailty of
+     poor human nature at the best--safe from the access of that
+     dishonouring passion."
+
+The second volume of The Birds of America was finished in 1834, and in
+December of that year he published in Edinburgh the second volume of the
+Ornithological Biography. Soon after, while he was in London, a nobleman
+called upon him, with his family, and on examining some of his original
+drawings, and being told that it would still require eight years to
+complete the work, subscribed for it, saying, "I may not see it
+finished, but my children will." The words made a deep impression on
+Audubon. "The solemnity of his manner I could not forget for several
+days," he writes in the introduction to his third volume; "I often
+thought that neither might I see the work completed, but at length
+exclaimed, 'My sons may;' and now that another volume, both of my
+illustrations and of my biographies, is finished, my trust in Providence
+is augmented, and I cannot but hope that myself and my family together
+may be permitted to see the completion of my labors." When this was
+written, ten years had elapsed since the publication of his first plate.
+In the next three years, among other excursions he made one to the
+western coast of the Floridas and to Texas, in a vessel placed at his
+disposal by our government; and at the end of this time appeared the
+fourth and concluding volume of his engravings, and the fifth of his
+descriptions. The whole comprised four hundred and thirty-five plates,
+containing one thousand and sixty-five figures, from the Bird of
+Washington to the Humming Bird, of the size of life, and a great variety
+of land and marine views, and coral and other productions, of different
+climates and seasons, all carefully drawn and colored after nature. Well
+might the great naturalist felicitate himself upon the completion of his
+gigantic task. He had spent nearly half a century "amid the tall grass
+of the far-extended prairies of the west, in the solemn forests of the
+north, on the heights of the midland mountains, by the shores of the
+boundless ocean, and on the bosoms of our vast bays, lakes and rivers,
+searching for things hidden since the creation of this wondrous world
+from all but the Indian who has roamed in the gorgeous but melancholy
+wilderness." And speaking from the depth of his heart he says, "Once
+more surrounded by all the members of my dear family, enjoying the
+countenance of numerous friends who have never deserted me, and
+possessing a competent share of all that can render life agreeable, I
+look up with gratitude to the Supreme Being, and feel that I am happy."
+
+In 1839, having returned for the last time to his native country and
+established himself with his family near the city of New-York, Audubon
+commenced the publication of The Birds of America in imperial octavo
+volumes, of which the seventh and last was issued in the summer of 1844.
+The plates in this edition, reduced from his larger illustrations, were
+engraved and colored in the most admirable manner by Mr. Bowen of
+Philadelphia, under the direction of the author, and excepting The Birds
+of America in folio, there has never been published so magnificent a
+work on ornithology.
+
+Audubon was too sincere a worshipper of nature to be content with
+inglorious repose, even after having accomplished in action more than
+was ever dreamed of by any other naturalist; and while the "edition for
+the people" of his Birds of America was in course of publication, he was
+busy amid the forests and prairies, the reedy swamps of our southern
+shores, the cliffs that protect our eastern coasts, by the currents of
+the Mexican gulf and the tide streams of the Bay of Fundy, with his
+sons, Victor Gifford and John Woodhouse, making the drawings and writing
+the biographies of the _Quadrupeds of America_, a work in no respect
+inferior to that on our birds, which he began to publish about five
+years ago. The plates, on double imperial folio paper, engraved and
+colored by Mr. Bowen after the original drawings made from nature by
+Audubon and his sons, are even more magnificent than those of the Birds
+of America, which twenty years ago delighted and astonished the
+naturalists of Europe.
+
+The Biography of American Quadrupeds, accompanying these plates, and of
+which the first volume appeared in New-York in 1846, was written
+principally by the Rev. John Bachman, D.D., of Charleston, a long-tried
+and enthusiastic friend, of whose introduction to him Audubon thus
+speaks in the preface of the second volume of his Ornithological
+Biography:
+
+     "It was late in the afternoon when we took our lodgings in
+     Charleston. Being fatigued, and having written the substance of
+     my journey to my family, and delivered a letter to the Rev. Mr.
+     Gilman, I retired to rest. At the first glimpse of day the
+     following morning, my assistants and myself were already
+     several miles from the city, commencing our search in the
+     fields and woods, and having procured abundance of subjects
+     both for the pencil and the scalpel, we returned home, covered
+     with mud, and so accoutred as to draw towards us the attention
+     of every person in the streets. As we approached the
+     boarding-house, I observed a gentleman on horseback close to
+     our door. He looked at me, came up, inquired if my name was
+     Audubon, and on being answered in the affirmative, instantly
+     leaped from his saddle, shook me most cordially by the
+     hand--there is much to be expressed and understood by a shake
+     of the hand--and questioned me in so kind a manner, that I for
+     a while felt doubtful how to reply. At his urgent desire, I
+     removed to his house, as did my assistants. Suitable apartments
+     were assigned to us; and once introduced to the lovely and
+     interesting group that composed his family, I seldom passed a
+     day without enjoying their society. Servants, carriages,
+     horses, and dogs were all at our command, and friends
+     accompanied us to the woods and plantations, and formed parties
+     for water excursions. Before I left Charleston, I was truly
+     sensible of the noble and generous spirit of the hospitable
+     Carolinians."
+
+Audubon and Bachman (the same Bachman who recently refuted the heresies
+of Agassiz respecting the unity of the human race) were from this time
+devoted friends and co-workers. For several years the health of the hero
+naturalist had declined, and he was rarely if ever seen beyond the
+limits of his beautiful estate on the banks of the Hudson, near this
+city, where, on the twenty-seventh of January, 1851, he died, full of
+years, and illustrious with the most desirable glory.
+
+Audubon's highest claim to admiration is founded upon his drawings in
+natural history, in which he has exhibited a perfection never before
+attempted. In all our climates--in the clear atmosphere, by the dashing
+waters, amid the grand old forests with their peculiar and many-tinted
+foliage, by him first made known to art--he has represented our
+feathered tribes, building their nests and fostering their young, poised
+on the tip of the spray and hovering over the sedgy margin of the lake,
+flying in the clouds in quest of prey or from pursuit, in love, enraged,
+indeed in all the varieties of their motion and repose and modes of
+life, so perfectly that all other works of the kind are to his as
+stuffed skins to the living birds.
+
+But he has also indisputable claims to a high rank as a man of letters.
+Some of his written pictures of birds, so graceful, clearly defined,
+and brilliantly colored, are scarcely inferior to the productions of his
+pencil. His powers of general description are not less remarkable. The
+waters seem to dance to his words as to music, and the lights and shades
+of his landscapes show the practised hand of a master. The evanescent
+shades of manners, also, upon the extreme frontiers, where the
+footprints of civilization have hardly crushed the green leaves, have
+been sketched with graphic fidelity in his journals.
+
+No author has more individuality. The enthusiastic, trustful and loving
+spirit which breathes through his works distinguished the man. From the
+beginning he surrendered himself entirely to his favorite pursuit, and
+was intent to learn every thing from the prime teacher, Nature. His
+style as well as his knowledge was a fruit of his experiences. He had
+never written for the press until after the age at which most authors
+have established their reputation; and when he did write, his page
+glowed like the rich wild landscape in the spring, when Nature, then
+most beautiful, "bathes herself in her own dewy waters." We seem to hear
+his expressions of wondering admiration, as unknown mountains, valleys
+and lakes burst upon his view, as the deer at his approach leaped from
+his ambush into the deeper solitudes, as the startled bird with rushing
+wings darted from his feet into the sky; or his pious thanksgiving, as
+at the end of a weary day the song of the sparrow or the robin relieved
+his mind from the heavy melancholy that bore it down.
+
+When the celebrated Buffon had completed the ornithological portion of
+his great work on natural history, he announced with unhesitating
+assurance that he had "finished the history of the birds of the world."
+Twenty centuries had served for the discovery of only eight hundred
+species, but this number seemed immense, and the short-sighted
+naturalist declared that the list would admit of "no material
+augmentation" which embraced hardly a sixteenth of those now known to
+exist. To this astonishing advance of the science of ornithology, no one
+has contributed more than Audubon, by his magnificent painting and
+fascinating history.
+
+Mr. Audubon left unpublished a voluminous autobiography, which we hope
+will be published with as little delay as possible.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[I] Wilson's Miscellanies, vol. ii. p. 118.
+
+[J] Noctes Ambrosianae, vol. ii. p. 103.
+
+[K] Introduction to the second volume of Ornithological Biography, p.
+xvii.
+
+
+
+
+Original Poetry.
+
+
+OLD AGE.
+
+By Alfred B. Street.
+
+      All day the chill bleak wind had shrieked and wailed
+      Through leafless forests, and o'er meadows sear;
+      Through the fierce sky great sable clouds had sailed;
+        Outlines were hard--all nature's looks were drear.
+      Gone, Indian Summer's bland, delicious haze,
+      Thickening soft nights and filming mellow days.
+      Then rose gray clouds; thin fluttered first the snow,
+        Then like loose shaken fleeces, then in dense streams
+      That muffled gradually all below
+        In pearly smoothness. Then outburst the gleams
+      At sunset; nature shone in flashing white,
+      And the last rays tinged all with rosy light.
+      So Life's bland Autumn o'er, may old age come
+    In muffling peace, and death display hope's radiant bloom.
+
+
+THE CASTLE IN THE AIR.[L]
+
+By R. H. Stoddard.
+
+
+    I.
+
+          We have two lives about us,
+          Within us, and without us;
+          Two worlds in which we dwell,
+          Alternate Heaven and Hell:
+          Without, the sombre Real,
+    Within our heart of hearts, the beautiful Ideal!
+      I stand between the thresholds of the two,
+      Fettered and bound with many a heavy chain;
+      I strive to rend their links, but all in vain;
+      The False is strong, and holds me from the True.
+      Only in dreams my spirit wanders o'er
+      The starry portal of the world of bliss,
+      And lives the life which Fate denies in this,
+    Which may have once been mind, but will be, nevermore.
+
+    II.
+
+          My Castle stands alone,
+          Away from Earth and Time,
+          In some diviner clime,
+          In Fancy's tropic zone,
+          Beneath its summer skies,
+    Where all the live-long year the summer never dies!
+      A stately marble pile whose pillars rise,
+      From sculptured bases, fluted to the dome,
+      With wreathed friezes crowned, all carven nice
+      With pendant leaves, like ragged rims of foam;
+      A thousand windows front the rising sun,
+      Deep-set between the columns, many paned,
+      Tri-arched, emblazoned, gorgeously stained,
+      Crimson and purple, green and blue, and dun,
+      And all their wedded colors fall below,
+      Like rainbows shattered on a field of snow;
+      A bordering gallery runs along the roof,
+      Topt by a cupola, whose glittering spire
+      Pierces the brooding clouds, a glowing woof,
+    With golden spindles wove in Morning's loom of fire!
+
+    III.
+
+          What fine and rare domains
+          Untold for leagues around;
+          Green parks, and meads, and plains,
+          And bosky woods profound,--
+    A realm of leafiness, and sweet enchanted ground!
+      Before the palace lies a shaven lawn,
+      Sloping and shining in the dews of dawn,
+      With turfy terraces, and garden bowers,
+      Where rows of slender urns are full of flowers;
+      Broad oaks o'erarch the winding avenues,
+      Edged round with evergreens of fadeless bloom,
+      And pour a thousand intermingling hues,
+      A many tinted flood of golden gloom;
+      Far-seen through twinkling leaves,
+      The fountains gush aloft like silver sheaves,
+      Drooping with shining ears, and crests of spray,
+      And foamy tassels blowing every way,
+      Shaking in marble basins white and cold,
+      A bright and drainless shower of beaded grain,
+      Which winnows off, in sun-illumined rain
+      The dusty chaff, a cloud of misty gold;
+      Around their volumes, down the plashy tide,
+      The swans are sailing mixed in lilies white,
+      Like virgin queens in soft disdain and pride,
+      Sweeping amid their maids with trains of light;
+      A little herd of deer with startled looks,
+      In shady parks where all the year they browse,
+      Head-down are drinking at the lucid brooks,
+      Their antlers mirrored with the tangled boughs;
+      My rivers flow beyond, with guardant ranks
+      Of silver-liveried poplars, on their banks;
+      Barges are fretting at the castle piers,
+      Rocking with every ripple in the tide;
+      And bridges span the stream with arches wide,
+      Their stony 'butments mossed and gray with years;
+      An undulating range of vales, and bowers,
+      And columned palaces, and distant towers,
+      And on the welkin mountains bar the view,
+    Shooting their jagged peaks sublimely up the blue!
+
+    IV.
+
+          I saunter up the walks;
+          My sandals wetted through
+          With dripping flowers and stalks,
+          That line the avenue;
+    My broidered mantle all bedabbled with the dew!
+      I climb a flight of steps with regal pride,
+      And stroll along an echoing colonnade,
+      Sweeping against its pillared balustrade,
+      Adown a porch, and through a portal wide,
+      And I am in my Castle, Lord of all;
+      My faithful groom is standing in the hall
+      To doff my shining robe, while servitors,
+      And cringing chamberlains beside the doors
+      Waving their gilded wands, obsequious wait,
+    And bow me on my way in royal pomp and state!
+
+    V.
+
+          My chamber lies apart,
+          The Castle's very heart,
+          And all things rich and rare,
+          From land, and sea, and air,
+    Are lavished with a wild and waste profusion there!
+      The carpeting was woven in Turkish looms,
+      From softest wool of fine Circassian sheep;
+      Tufted like springy moss in forests deep,
+      Illuminate with all its autumn blooms;
+      The antique chairs are made of cedar trees,
+      Veined with the rings of vanished cennturies
+      And touched with winter's frost, and summer's sun;
+      Sofas and couches, stuffed with cygnet's fleece,
+      Loll round inviting dreaminess and ease;
+      The gorgeous window curtains, damask red,
+      Suspended, silver-ringed, on bars of gold,
+      Droop heavily, in many a fluted fold,
+      And, rounding outward, intercept, and shed
+      The prisoned daylight o'er the slumbrous room,
+      In streams of rosy dimness, purple gloom;
+      Hard by are cabinets of curious shells,
+      Twisted and jointed, horned, wreathed, and curled,
+      And some like moons in rosy mist impearled,
+      With coral boughs from ocean's deepest cells;
+      Cases of rare medallions, coins antique,
+      Found in the dust of cities, Roman, Greek;
+      Etruscan urns, transparent, soft, and bright,
+      With fawns and dancing shepherds on their sides;
+      And costly marble vases dug from night
+      In Pompeii, beneath its lava tides:
+      Clusters of arms, the spoil of ancient wars;
+      Old scimitars of true Damascus brand,
+      Short swords with basket hilts to guard the hand,
+      And iron casques with rusty visor bars;
+      Lances, and spears, and battle axes keen,
+      With crescent edges, shields with studded thorns,
+      Yew bows, and shafts, and curved bugle horns,
+      With tasseled baldricks of the Lincoln green:
+      And on the walls with lifted curtains, see!
+      The portraits of my noble ancestry;
+      Thin featured, stately dames with powdered locks,
+      And courtly shepherdesses tending flocks;
+      Stiff lords in wigs, and ruffles white as snow,
+      Haught peers, and princes centuries ago,
+      And dark Sir Hugh, the bravest of the line,
+    With all the knightly scars he won in Palestine!
+
+    VI.
+
+          My gallery sleeps aloof,
+          Soft-lighted through the roof,
+          Enshrining pictures old,
+          And groups of statues cold,
+    The gems of Art, when Art was in her Age of Gold!
+      Not picked from any single age or clime,
+      Nor one peculiar master, school, or tone;
+      Select of all, the best of all alone,
+      The spoil and largesse of the Earth and Time;
+      Food for all thoughts and fancies, grave or gay;
+      Suggestive of old lore, and poets' themes;
+      These filled with shapes of waking life, and day,
+      And those with spirits and the world of dreams;
+      Let me draw back the curtains, one by one,
+      And give their muffled brightness to the sun:
+
+    THE PICTURES.
+
+      Helen and Paris on their bridal night,
+      Under the swinging cressets' starry light,
+      With Priam and his fifty sons around,
+      Feasting in all their majesty and bloom,
+
+      Filling their golden cups with eager hands,
+      To drink a health, while pale Cassandra stands
+      With all her raven tresses unbound,
+      Her soul o'ershadowed by the coming doom.
+
+      Andromache, with all her tearful charms,
+      Folded upon the mighty Hector's breast,
+      And the babe shrinking in its Nurse's arms,
+      Affrightened by the nodding of his crest.
+
+      The giant Cyclops, sitting in his cave,
+      Helped by the diving Ulysses, old and wise,
+      Spilling the wine in rivers down his beard,
+      Shaggy and grim,--his shoulder overleered
+      By swart Silenus, sly and cunning knave,
+      Who steals a puffy skin with twinkling eyes.
+
+      Anacreon, lolling in the myrtle shades,
+      Bibbing his Teian draughts with rich delight,
+      Pledging the dancing girls and Cyprian maids,
+      Pinching their little ears, and shoulders white.
+
+      A cloudless sunrise on the glittering Nile,
+      A bronzed Sphinx, and temple on the shore,
+      And robed priests that toss their censers while
+      Abased in dust, the populace adore;
+
+      A beaked galley fretting at its curb,
+      With reedy oars, and masts, and silken sails,
+      And Cleopatra walks the deck superb,
+      Slow-followed by her court in spangled veils.
+
+      The Virgin Mother, and the Holy Child,
+      Holding a globe and sceptre, sweet and mild;
+      The Magi bring their gifts with reverent looks,
+      And the rapt Shepherds lean upon their crooks.
+
+      A summer fete, a party on a lawn;
+      Bowing gallants, with plumed caps in hand,
+      And ladies with guitars, and, far withdrawn,
+      The rustic people dancing in a band.
+
+      A bleak defile, a pass in mountains deep,
+      Whose whitened summits wear their morning glow,
+      And dark banditti winding down the steep
+      Of shelvy rocks, pointing their guns below.
+
+      A harvest scene, a vineyard on the Rhine;
+      Arbors, and wreathed pales, and laughing swains
+      Pouring their crowded baskets into wains,
+      And vats, and trodden presses gushing wine.
+
+      A Flemish Tavern: boors and burghers hale
+      Drawn round a table, o'er a board of chess,
+      Smoking their heavy pipes, and drinking ale,
+      Blowing from tankard brims the frothiness.
+
+      A picture of Cathay, a justice scene;
+      Pagodas, statues, and a group around;
+      And, in his sedan chair, the Mandarin,
+      Reading the scroll of laws to prisoners bound,
+      Bambooed with canes, and writhing on the ground;
+      And many more whose veils I will undraw
+      Some other day, exceeding fresh and fine;
+      And statues of the Grecian gods divine,
+      In all their various moods of love and awe:
+      The Phidean Jove, with calm creative face,
+      Like Heaven brooding o'er the deeps of Space;
+      Imperial Juno, Mercury, winged-heeled,
+      Lit with a message. Mars with helm and shield,
+      Apollo with the discus, bent to throw,
+      The piping Pan, and Dian with her bow,
+      And Cytherca just risen from the swell
+      Of crudded foam, half-stooping on her knee,
+      Wringing her dripping tresses in the sea
+      Whose loving billows climb the curved shell
+      Tumultuously, and o'er its edges flow,
+    And kiss with pallid lips her nakedness of snow!
+
+    VII.
+
+          My boots may lie and mould,
+          However rare and old;
+          I cannot read to-day,
+          Away! with books, away!
+          Full-fed with sweets of sense,
+    I sink upon my couch in honied indolence!
+      Here are rich salvers full of nectarines,
+      Dead-ripe pomegranates, sweet Arabian dates,
+      Peaches and plums, and clusters fresh from vines,
+      And all imaginable sweets, and cakes,
+      And here are drinking-cups, and long-necked flasks
+      In wicker mail, and bottles broached from casks,
+      In cellars delved deep, and winter cold,
+      Select, superlative, and centuries old.
+      What more can I desire? what book can be
+      As rich as Idleness and Luxury?
+      What lore can fill my heart with joy divine,
+      Like luscious fruitage, and enchanted wine?
+      Brimming with Helicon I dash the cup;
+      Why should I waste my years in hoarding up
+      The thoughts of eld? Let dust to dust return:
+      No more for me,--my heart is not an urn!
+      I will no longer sip from little flasks,
+      Covered with damp and mould, when Nature yields,
+      And Earth is full of purple vintage fields;
+      Nor peer at Beauty dimmed with mortal masks,
+      When I at will may have them all withdrawn,
+      And freely gaze in her transfigured face;
+      Nor limp in fetters in a weary race,
+      When I may fly unbound, like Mercury's fawn;
+      No more contented with the sweets of old,
+      Albeit embalmed in nectar, since the trees,
+      The Eden bowers, the rich Hesperides,
+    Droop all around my path, with living fruits of gold!
+
+    VIII.
+
+          Oh what a life is mine,
+          A life of joy and mirth,
+          The sensuous life of Earth,
+          Forever fresh and fine.
+    A heavenly worldliness, mortality divine!
+      When eastern skies, the sea, and misty plain,
+      Illumined slowly, doff their nightly shrouds,
+      And Heaven's bright archer Morn begins to rain
+      His golden arrows through the banded clouds,
+      I rise and tramp away the jocund hours,
+      Knee-deep in dewy grass, and beds of flowers;
+      I race my eager greyhound on the hills,
+      And climb with bounding feet the craggy steeps,
+      Peak-lifted, gazing down the cloven deeps,
+      Where mighty rivers shrink to threaded rills;
+      The ramparts of the mountains loom around,
+      Like splintery fragments of a ruined world;
+      The cliff-bound dashing cataracts, downward hurled
+      In thunderous volumes, shake the chasms profound:
+      The imperial eagle, with a dauntless eye
+      Wheels round the sun, the monarch of the sky;
+      I pluck his eyrie in the blasted wood
+      Of ragged pines, and when the vulture screams,
+      I track his flight along the solitude,
+      Like some dark spirit in the world of dreams!
+      When Noon in golden armor, travel spent,
+      Climbing the azure plains of Heaven, alone,
+      Pitches upon its topmost steep his tent,
+      And looks o'er Nature from his burning throne,
+      I loose my little shallop from its quay,
+      And down the winding rivers slowly float,
+      And steer in many a shady cove and bay,
+      Where birds are warbling with melodious note;
+      I listen to the humming of the bees,
+      The water's flow, the winds, the wavy trees,
+      And take my lute and touch its silver chords,
+      And set the Summer's melody to words;
+      Sometimes I rove beside the lonely shore,
+      Margined and flanked by slanting shelvy ledges,
+      And caverns echoing Ocean's sullen roar;
+      Threading the bladdery weeds, and paven shells,
+      Beyond the line of foam, the jewelled chain,
+      The largesse of the ever giving main.
+      Tossed at the feet of Earth with surgy swells,
+      I plunge into the waves, and strike away,
+      Breasting with vigorous strokes the snowy spray;
+      Sometimes I lounge in arbors hung with vines,
+      The which I sip, and sip, with pleasure mute,
+      O'er mouthful bites of golden-rinded fruit;
+      When evening comes, I lie in dreamy rest,
+      Where lifted casements front the glowing west,
+      And watch the clouds, like banners wide unfurled,
+      Hung o'er the flaming threshold of the world:
+      Its mission done, the holy Day recedes,
+      Borne Heavenward in its car, with fiery steeds,
+      Leaving behind a lingering flush of light,
+      Its mantle fallen at the feet of Night;
+      The flocks are penned, the earth is growing dim;
+      The moon comes rounding up the welkin's rim,
+      Glowing through thinnest mist, an argent shell,
+      Washed up the sky from Night's profoundest cell;
+      One after one the stars begin to shine
+      In drifted beds, like pearls through shallow brine;
+      And lo! through clouds that part before the chase
+      Of silent winds--a belt of milky white,
+      The Galaxy, a crested surge of light,
+      A reef of worlds along the sea of Space:
+      I hear my sweet musicians far withdrawn,
+      Below my wreathed lattice, on the lawn,
+      With harp, and lute, and lyre,
+      And passionate voices full of tears and fire;
+      And envious nightingales with rich disdain
+      Filling the pauses of the languid strain;
+      My soul is tranced and bound,
+      Drifting along the magic sea of sound,
+      Driving in a barque of bliss from deep to deep,
+    And piloted at last into the ports of Sleep!
+
+    IX.
+
+       Nor only this, though this
+          Might seal a life of bliss,
+          But something more divine,
+          For which I once did pine,
+          The crown of worlds above,
+    The heart of every heart, the Soul of Being--Love!
+      I bow obedient to my Lady's sway,
+      The sovereignty that won my soul of yore,
+      And linger in her presence night and day,
+      And feel a heaven around her evermore;
+      I sit beside her couch in chambers lone,
+      And soft unbraid, and lay her locks apart,
+      And take her taper fingers in my own,
+      And press them to my lips with leaps of heart;
+      Sometimes I kneel to her with cups of wine,
+      With pleading eyes, beseeching her to taste,
+      With long-delaying lips, the draught divine;
+      And when she sips thereof, I clasp her waist,
+      And kiss her mouth, and shake her hanging curls,
+      And in her coy despite unloose her zone of pearls!
+      I live for Love, for Love alone, and who
+      Dare chide me for it? who dare call it folly?
+      It is a holy thing, if aught is holy,
+      And true indeed, if Truth herself is true:
+      Earth cleaves to earth, its sensuous life is dear,
+      Mortals should love mortality while here,
+      And seize the glowing hours before they fly:
+      Bright eyes should answer eyes, warm lips should meet,
+      And hearts enlocked to kindred hearts should beat,
+    And every soul that lives, in love should live and die!
+
+    X.
+
+          My dear and gentle wife,
+          The Angel of my life,
+          Oppressed with sweetest things,
+          Has folded up her wings,
+          And lies in slumber deep,
+    Like some divinest Dream upon the couch of Sleep!
+
+      Nor sound, nor stir profanes the stilly room,
+      Haunted by Sleep and Silence, linked pair;
+      The very light itself muffled in gloom,
+      Steals in, and melts the enamored air
+      Where Love doth brood and dream, while Passion dies,
+      Breathing his soul out in a mist of sighs!
+      Lo! where she lies behind the curtains white,
+      Pillowed on clouds of down,--her golden hair
+      Braided around her forehead smooth and fair,
+      Like a celestial diadem of light:--
+      Her soft voluptuous lips are drawn apart,
+      Curving in fine repose, and maiden pride;
+      Her creamy breast,--its mantle brushed aside
+      Swells with the long pulsation of her heart:
+      One languid arm rests on the coverlid,
+      And one beneath the crumpled sheet is hid,
+      (Ah happy sheets! to hide an arm so sweet!)
+      Nor all concealed amid their folds of snow,
+      The soft perfection of her shape below,
+      Rounded and tapering to her little feet!
+      Oh Love! if Beauty ever left her sphere,
+      And sovereign sisters, Art and Poesy,
+      Moulded in loveliness she slumbers here,
+      Slumbers, dear love, in thee!
+      It is thy smile that makes the chamber still;
+      It is thy breath that fills the scented air;
+      The light around is borrowed from thy hair,
+      And all things else are subject to thy will,
+      And I am so bewildered in this deep
+      Ambrosial calm, and passionate atmosphere,
+      I know not whether I am dreaming here,
+          Or in the world of Sleep!
+
+    XI.
+
+          My eyes are full of tears,
+          My heart is full of pain,
+          To wake, as now, again,
+    And walk, as in my youth, the wilderness of Years!
+      No more! no more! the autumn winds are loud
+      In stormy passes, howling to the Night:
+      Behind a cloud the moon doth veil her light,
+      And the rain pours from out the horned cloud.
+      And hark! the solemn and mysterious bell,
+      Swinging its brazen echoes o'er the wave:
+      Not mortal hands, but spirits ring the knell,
+    And toll the parting ghost of Midnight to its grave.
+
+
+TO A BEREAVED MOTHER.
+
+BY HERMANN.
+
+    Its smile and happy laugh are lost to thee,
+    Earth must his mother and his pillow be.
+
+    W. G. CLARK.
+
+
+    Mother, now thy task is done,
+      Now thy vigil ended;
+    With the coming of the sun,
+      Grief and joy are blended.
+
+    Grief that thus thy flower of love
+      From its stem is riven;
+    Joy that will bloom above,
+      Midst the bowers of Heaven.
+
+    Gone, as oft expires the light
+      Of thy nightly taper:
+    Gone, as 'fore the sunshine bright,
+      Early morning's vapor.
+
+    Kiss its lips so mute and cold,
+      Cold as chiselled marble,
+    They will now to harp of gold
+      Glad Hosannas warble.
+
+    At the last they sweetly smiled,
+      Told it not for gladness;
+    Would'st thou now recall thy child
+      To a world of sadness?
+
+    It is hard to gather up,
+      Ties so rudely riven;
+    But thou'lt find this bitter cup
+      For thy weal was given.
+
+    Kiss again its hands so white,
+      Kiss its marble forehead;
+    Soon the grave will hide from sight,
+      That thou only borrowed.
+
+    Thou will meet thy child again,
+      Where no death or sorrow
+    Bring their sad to-day of pain,
+      And their dread to-morrow.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[L] This poem, in an unfinished form, was published some months ago in
+_Sartain's Magazine_. It has since been re-written for the
+_International_, and is now much more than before deserving of the
+applause with which it was received.
+
+
+
+
+THE AMBITIOUS BROOKLET.
+
+BY A. OAKEY HALL.
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+     _How the Brooklet was born; and lodged; and wandered off one
+     rainy day._
+
+There was once a Brooklet born of a modest spring that circled through a
+smiling meadow. All the hours of the Spring, and the Summer, and the
+Autumn, kept she her musical round; greeting the sun at his rising,
+together with the meadow-larks which came to dip their beaks in the
+sparkling water-drops; and singing to the moon and stars all night, as
+she bore their features within her bosom, in grateful remembrance of
+their beauty. The laborer in the field hard by often came to visit her,
+and wet his honest, toil-browned brow with her cooling drops; and often,
+too, the laborer's daughter came at sunset time to sit by a mossy stone,
+with so lovely a face that the Brooklet, as she mirrored the features of
+the beautiful visitor, leaped about the pebbles with ripplings of
+admiration.
+
+And so this Brooklet lived on, only ceasing her merry flow and circling
+journey when the bushes by her side became white with snow, and when the
+rabbits from the brushwood fence at her head came out to stand upon the
+slippery casing that the Brooklet often saw spreading over her, and
+shutting out the warm sunshine by day, and at nightfall blurring the
+radiance of moon and stars.
+
+One stormy spring day the Brooklet seemed to rise higher among the twigs
+of the alder-bushes than ever before; the rain came down faster and
+heavier, and beat into her bosom, until her tiny waves were rough and
+sore with pain, and she was fain to nestle closer to the sedgy grass
+that now bent lowly to the pebbles at the roots. Growing higher every
+minute was the Brooklet; and frightened somewhat, and longing for the
+sunlight, or the laborer, and for the lovely daughter's face to cheer
+her up, she looked off over a track of country wider and greener than
+she had ever seen before. And so the Brooklet, all frightened as she
+was, said to herself, "I'll run along a bit into this country spot, so
+wide and green, and maybe I shall find the sunlight and the lovely
+face."
+
+Faster came the rain; and so the Brooklet, leaping wildly over a rock
+whose top until then her eyes had never seen, went flowing on upon this
+country spot, so wide and green. The new sights coming in view at every
+bound quite made the Brooklet forget her terrors from the beating rain;
+she was pained no longer by the heavy drops, but soothed herself among
+the velvet grass; and turned between little flowers scarcely above the
+ground, and which, as she passed them, seemed to be as frightened by the
+wind and rain as herself had been before the meadow was left behind.
+
+The Brooklet had thus run on until she saw the country spot so wide and
+green was well passed over, and trees and bushes, darker and thicker
+than she had ever known before, were close at hand. And while she
+thought of stopping in her way and going back, she heard not far before
+an echo of a sound most like unto her own; and so kept on to find it
+out. Clearer and louder increased the sound, as now through mouldy
+leaves and dark thickets, and under decayed logs and insect-burrowed
+moss, she kept a course, until presently, over a fallen tree, she saw a
+Brooklet, larger, wider, and evidently much older than herself, which,
+on her near approach, ran by the fallen tree's side, and said, "Good
+morning, sister: what is so delicate a being, as you seem to be, doing
+in this dark forest?"
+
+The wanderer Brooklet became silent with wonder. She had never been
+addressed before, though often trying to talk with the laborer, and to
+the lovely face of her meadow acquaintance, without the slightest notice
+upon their part of the overtures.
+
+"Good morning, sister, I say," was repeated over the fallen tree. "Where
+are you going at so slow a pace? Come over, and let us talk a bit."
+
+"I cannot, for I am terribly frightened, and I've lost my way. I want to
+quit this dark place, and go where I can hear the lark again, and see
+the pretty face which used to look at mine when I was circling in yonder
+meadow, now, I fear, far, far behind."
+
+"Larks and pretty faces, indeed! Why what a spooney sister, you are, to
+be sure. I'll show you more birds than ever you heard sing before, and
+prettier faces than ever you saw before."
+
+"No, no, I must go back," replied the wanderer; "I have come too far
+already, and see, the rain has almost ceased."
+
+"More's the pity for that," returned the other; "the faster it rains the
+faster I go, and that is what I want. I have left my family brooks a
+long time since, and I'm going on my travels to be somebody. I'm tired
+of my lonesome life among the meadows. I'm the _ambitious Brooklet_.
+Come over, then, and go along; we'll travel the faster in company."
+
+"I'm not ambitious; and as you may see, I cannot come."
+
+"You're almost to the log top now. I'll kiss you soon," triumphed the
+ambitious Brooklet, circling gayly round a tuft of green.
+
+It must have been the terrible rain, or the fright of her dark
+journeying place, that had taken her strength away:--the wandering
+Brooklet felt that it must be: for now her strength of will was almost
+gone. Nearer the log top came in view, until with a bound she swept its
+polished surface, and with a dash came over upon the ambitious Brooklet.
+
+"Good! that's the way to do it; now we shall journey gayly on," said the
+latter, "I have lost much time in stopping here, and there are such rare
+sights ahead!"
+
+The wanderer felt the oddest sensations she had ever known, and said,
+"Sister--ambitious sister--how much warmer than I are you!"
+
+"Oh, you are young, I suppose--fresh from the icy spring. But journey
+on more southward yet, away from these dark trees, and you'll be warmer
+yet; come, I say."
+
+"I like your feel; but then I shall be lost, I know I shall; and so I'll
+stay behind."
+
+"You cannot; for, ambitious as I am, I want your help. See how much
+faster we travel together when your strength is joined to mine; and I'm
+the strongest, and you can't go back."
+
+The wandering Brooklet looked fearfully around, and saw indeed that the
+log she had leaped was now fast fading away, and felt that her strength
+became less and less as the ambitious Brooklet clung closer to her side.
+
+Presently they came in sight of a ledge of rocks. "Oh, this is rare
+indeed!" said the stronger sister Brooklet, "Let us pause a bit for
+breath, and then for a merry leap adown the valley of pines you see
+before."
+
+The Brooklets stopped, and became stronger, and leaped over the rocks;
+the one with an exulting bound--the other carried tremblingly along.
+
+The leap was a long one, and a hard one; for there were craggy rocks
+beneath, which they had not seen. And the ambitious Brooklet cried
+sharply and loudly--foaming in her rage as she went between the stony
+points, and quite forgetting her weaker sister in her pain. The latter
+was sorely injured too, and cut into little foam-bits; but she kept her
+wits about her, looking around everywhere for a place to rest. Soon she
+espied one--a little bowl of marshy ground, hemmed in by rocks, into
+which a straggling dropping from the chasm above slowly came.
+
+"Here will I go and rest," she said. So waiting for the ambitious
+Brooklet to get far out of sight, she collected all her strength for a
+jump into the bowl, where the drops came sparkling in. There was no need
+for fear of the sister on before; her she heard going over rock after
+rock, crying and wailing in her craggy journey. Then the tired wanderer,
+with a violent effort of her exhausted strength, jumped a rock and fell
+panting into the marshy bowl.
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+     _How the Brooklet lived on in her new quarters; and how
+     misfortune made her discontented._
+
+The dropping of the water from the rocks above her new abode, was cold
+and grateful to the Brooklet in her fevered state. It made her think of
+the spring she came from; and so of the meadow; and the alder-bushes;
+and the lovely face a weary way off now she knew, and fenced away from
+her return by cruel jagged rocks.
+
+Days passed by; and the sun came out all brightly. And the moon and
+stars were seen again; and larger and sweeter birds than she had heard
+before, now perched upon the trees about, warbling and chirruping from
+day-break to twilight. So the time passed on. The wanderer began to feel
+unsettled in her solitude. But there was no return by the path she came;
+still were the sharp rocks seen above; and still she felt a twinge of
+pain when thinking of her weary journey on that rainy day. Often too she
+thought of her ambitious sister, wondering where she was now and what
+she was about; and sometimes she almost fancied she would have been
+happier had she gone along. It was quite evident to herself that she was
+getting discontented.
+
+There was one pleasure she prized much. Following in the train of the
+ambitious Brooklet had been a score of fishes, which, frightened by the
+leap upon the jagged rocks, had staid behind with the timid wanderer,
+until they became part of her family in the new retreat. Overlooking,
+and enjoying the gambols of these fish, the discontented Brooklet often
+amused herself. Observing how when the sun came slanting through the
+sides of the foliage about, they would dart out from their hiding-places
+in the old dead leaves at the feet of the Brooklet, and so jump up to
+greet the warming rays: or how, when a fly fell down from the
+overhanging boughs, and tried to swim away, they would jump to nab a bit
+of lunch, scrabbling and tugging as they went; or how, when the largest
+fish of all threw off his dignity, and played with them at hide and seek
+under the foot-deep bottom of mud, they would all shoot about her
+life-blood drops without regard to the angles of pain their fins would
+leave behind!
+
+Thus the summer-time came on, and was passing by, when one day the
+Brooklet felt a shadow upon her, and looked up to see the cause--when
+high upon the rocks above, there stood a bright-eyed boy, with curling
+locks that blew about in golden beauty with the breeze. In his hand he
+held a little stick, which he turned over from time to time, and would
+take up and then lay it down, as if preparing for something wonderful.
+The curiosity of the Brooklet was aroused to know what he could mean,
+when presently she saw him sit upon the rock, and from the stick drop
+down upon her face a worm, which when the fishes saw they darted out to
+eat.
+
+"It is a beautiful boy; and a kind boy," said the artless Brook unto
+herself; "and he has come to feed the little fishes with a worm. I have
+not seen one since I left my little meadow on that rainy day. How like
+the lovely face I used to see, is his which now looks down."
+
+While thus the Brook was soliloquizing, a fish more cunning than the
+rest, had seized the worm within his mouth, and was swimming away to his
+favorite hole by an old willow stump to there complete a meal. He was
+just entering it, when the Brook saw him suddenly flash from her
+embrace, floundering and pulling as he went up, up through the air, unto
+the mossy bank above the rock from which fell the shadow of the boy. And
+now the Brook, more curious than ever, saw the face so like the
+laborer's daughter overspread with smiles as the tiny hands grasped the
+fish, and with a wrench tore out the worm from his gills, a piece of
+which fell on the Brook athwart the shadow of the laugher.
+
+"What a fine one!" said the boy, and started up;--started up to slip
+against a smooth worn stone, and fall over the rock into the Brook,
+close by the willow stump; the captive fish held tightly as he went, but
+slipping from the falling grasp into its welcome element once more.
+
+The Brook had never felt so hard a blow before. The rain and hail were
+nothing to this. It made her splash and leap and swell against the rocky
+bank, until she could have called with pain.
+
+How still the boy laid on her breast! his head against the willow stump,
+over which there trickled a tiny purple stream smaller than the
+spring-drops from the rock! How richly his golden locks floated upon the
+Brook! but how widely strained his bright blue eyes glaring at the sky
+and tree-tops above, and how he gasped from his mouth; a mouth so like
+the one the laborer had often prest in harvest-time to the Brook, when
+it was yet circling in the meadow! The Brook said to herself, "I will
+put some of my ripples into this mouth, as I have seen the laborer do;
+perhaps, like him, it will make his eye sparkle, and send him away
+again; for he lies heavy on my breast." And so the ripples went into the
+opened mouth by dozens; but the blue sky and tree-tops faded from his
+eyes, and the lips lost their bright color, and the purple trickling on
+the willow stump grew thick and settled into a dark pool.
+
+All night the dead boy lay upon the breast of the Brook; and the fishes
+played around him, wondering what it was; and the little insects hopped
+over him at early sunlight; until the purple pool dried up, and only
+left a stain behind.
+
+And soon the Brook heard the hum of voices sounding over the rocks, as
+she listened from her solitude; and soon more shadows fell upon her
+face. Then looking up she saw the laborer once again; and the Brook
+rejoiced to think perhaps she was going back again into her pleasant
+meadow. He had taken up the stick the boy had used; and was looking down
+below upon the Brook, as the face--the lovely face, with more of the old
+sorrow in it--of the laborer's daughter, raised itself above his
+shoulder.
+
+"My brother!--drowned and dead!--and no more to come home alive to share
+his sister's home."
+
+This the Brook heard, and the fishes swam away into their holes, as
+piercing, sorrowful human tones mingled with the passing breeze; and
+they struck deeper into the willow roots as a pair of brawny arms
+readied out and caught the dead boy, and carried him away.
+
+The boy was gone, but the stain was there; and still a weight remained
+upon the Brook. For still day after day a shadow fell upon her, and the
+Brook looking up beheld the lovely but mournful face of the sorrowing
+sister, who would sit upon the mossy bank and sigh a sob; kissing a lock
+of golden hair the while. And heavier grew the weight on the breast of
+the Brook, as scalding tears fell from the rock above upon her face.
+
+And now the Brook again became discontented: and thought of her
+ambitious sister; and what might have happened had she followed after on
+a weary round of travels. The old meadow and the alders were out of the
+question now: for the winter was coming on, and the laborer and the
+lovely face would no more come to her side; and if they did they would
+sing no more, but sigh and sob, and look so sad, as now, upon the mossy
+rock above.
+
+The summer weather was long over; and the leaves were showering down,
+and had quite hidden the clouds and blue sky, and moon and stars from
+the sight of the Brook. The birds had ceased to sit and warble on the
+trees above. The breezes ceased their music, and instead were heard the
+hoarse notes of the Autumn wind.
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+     _How the Brooklet and the Mountain-Torrent met._
+
+One day the leaves thickened more than ever over the Brook, and, as she
+peeped between, she saw the clouds were heavier and darker than usual.
+The wind roared louder, and the trees which grew so high above her bent
+down their branches until they brushed her face with their trailing. And
+soon the rain began to fall in torrents; and it fell and fell all day;
+all night too. Then the Brook rejoiced to think the leaves which she had
+been angry with before for choking her, protected from the pattering
+strokes. And soon the Brook heard a sound, like that made by her
+ambitious sister in the spring-time;--nearer and nearer it came; through
+the trees; over the rocks; tearing, splashing, dashing, and foaming at a
+direful rate.
+
+"It is my ambitious sister come for me. I'm glad," said the discontented
+Brook.
+
+"Glad of what?" exclaimed a roaring voice, coming over the rock, and
+sweeping away the leaves as if they had been a mere handful; and
+covering up the ugly purple stain upon the willow stump. "Ain't I a
+famous fellow, though? When once my blood is up, can't I go on and
+frighten people? Can't I mine out the earth, and sweep along big trees
+like boats? Can't I tumble down the rocks that dare to stop my path?
+Can't I drown men and boys, and all the cattle in the land? I've
+swallowed a dozen haystacks for my breakfast, and killed the finest
+mill-dam over the world this morning. I said I would as soon as winter
+came, when they dammed me up last spring, so many miles away! Oh, such a
+mass of stone and timber which they put up to fret me in my path; and
+what a joke to think this solid mass is scattered through the land since
+yesternight, and I am free once more."
+
+"This is not my ambitious sister! no indeed," murmured the Brook.
+
+"Why here is a little Brook," continued the voice, "a dainty, prudish,
+modest Brook, collected in a hole to die! Come out, my fair one! I will
+wed thee, as I have wedded fifty thousand of your sex in my short day!
+Come out; no fear; if I am the Mountain-Torrent, I'm not so great a
+monster as they say, especially to hurt a modest Brook."
+
+So saying the Mountain-Torrent caught up the shrinking Brook in his
+powerful embrace, and away they hurried through the very heart of the
+forest, miles and miles below.
+
+"This, this is life indeed," said the wedded Brook, once more a wanderer
+over the land, as with a thousand other Brooks they travelled on for
+many hours with impetuous speed, making dreadful havoc everywhere they
+touched. Havoc among the farmers and the villagers, who fought them inch
+by inch, with sticks and trees, and mounds of stone and clay, all which
+they licked up and swallowed, as if they had been pebbles and clumps of
+leaves. Havoc with the Creeks upon the route, who dared to scorn their
+overtures, and wed the Torrent, willingly; for spurning the placid,
+humble Creeks one side, they tore along their paths, and vented their
+fury on the bridges overhead, bringing down in general destruction,
+turnpikes and railroads with their pressing weight of travel.
+
+Havoc to themselves!
+
+For, tearing on so madly, the Mountain-Torrent, after a while, perceived
+his strength to fail, and his endurance to give out. But still he
+hurried on, though feebly, in hopes to meet more Brooks, perhaps a Lake,
+and so recruit himself the while. The wedded Brook was wearied too--a
+little; not much; at first the Mountain-Torrent had held her tightly in
+embrace, and carried her along with scarcely an effort; but as he
+wearied himself, much of the toil was thrown upon the Brook, and she was
+compelled to help herself. On went the Torrent, weaker every step, until
+at last he stopped and said:
+
+"Oh wedded Brook! my strength is gone; here must I pause; but you go on.
+Perhaps before long I shall meet you again. Go slowly; over the meadows
+and through the villages make me a path; I'll know which way you went."
+
+And so they parted; and so the lonely Brook meandered on, and finding
+out a bubbling spring, was well recruited for the journey. As she went
+she heard, across a little knoll, a remembered voice, and stopped. "I
+know you, sister Brook," cried out the voice, "go on a bit and turn
+towards your left, and there I'll meet you."
+
+And towards the left the lonely Brook met her ambitious sister. She was
+violent no more; but sober and sedate; calm as the evening sky reflected
+from her face.
+
+"I'm the 'ambitious one,'" said she, "ambitious yet, though all my
+strength has departed. Here on this spot was I caught and fastened up.
+They darkened my daylight with that smoking monster yonder, and killed
+my peace of mind with such a horrid din and clang, I've not a morsel of
+energy left. I'm a factory slave; and so are you, too, for that matter,
+now! Don't start; it's not my fault--the way that you were going on, you
+would have brought up in the Pond below, where there is yet another
+smoking monster; only worse than this of mine. The Pond there is a
+horrid fellow; poisoning with some horrid purple dye: I've seen him
+often when I venture near the dam and look below."
+
+"Sister, take courage," cried the other Brook. "I'm glad I met you. I'm
+ambitious too, for I was lately wedded to a glorious fellow, and have
+been on such a glorious tour: scampering over all the land. He calls
+himself the 'Mountain-Torrent.' He is now behind a mile or so, and may
+be down upon us before long, to free us from this distressing
+imprisonment you speak of."
+
+The monster smoked on; and the clanging din about maddened all the air.
+Huge wheels went racking and rumbling under huge brick walls. And day by
+day, a minute at a time, some youthful faces, pale and shadowy, looked
+wistfully upon the landscape below. But little knew the monster, and the
+clanging din, and racking wheels; and little hoped the shadowy faces of
+what the Brooklets plotted at the very factory door.
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+     _How the Mountain-Torrent freed the Brooks; and their fate._
+
+The frost dropped on the Brooks, and once more blurred the moon and
+stars, and shut the sunlight out; and starred a thousand jewels on the
+mill-dam's brow; and sparkled a myriad icicles from the rumbling wheels.
+Far away into the country it spread a white mantle, and froze into the
+very heart of all the Ponds and Creeks above. And then the sun came out
+and shone so brightly; and then the clouds over-covered it, and the rain
+came pattering down as of the olden time, when first its peltings stung
+the meadow Brook and tempted her to roam. And higher swelled the Brooks
+behind their mill-dam prison, and sent more of their life-blood to
+refresh the poisoned Pond below.
+
+"I am getting stronger; I am very strong to-day, sister Brook," said the
+ambitious one. "I think that with our efforts now united, we can push
+this mill-dam over and escape."
+
+"Wait for my darling Mountain-Torrent. I hear him on his way; he follows
+after us. And see down yonder hill-side how he tears along; and hark!
+how gladly, as he sees us from his rocky bed, he roars a song of
+courage."
+
+And the sister Brooks triumphed together as they saw the keepers of the
+smoking monster cease their clanging din, and rush for timbers to uphold
+the dam; and fly about with tools that were but baby toys for what was
+coming now.
+
+"Bring trees; bring stones; bring every thing," cried out the Brooks,
+as they saw the Mountain-Torrent come rushing nearer on, sweeping away
+the fences, and ploughing out a path more fitting for his travels than
+the brookside one he kept in view.
+
+"Welcome, my fair ones," roared he, as with heavy timbers in his maw he
+caught the Brooks again in strong embrace, and dashing at the smoking
+monster, knocked him down at once. Down came the mill-dam with an
+earthquake noise; the din upon the air was not of clanging tools and
+hammer stroke; the wheels were racking and rumbling, not beneath brick
+walls, but over the rocks and ruined factories below; while the pale and
+shadowy faces looked no longer wistfully on the landscape, but madly
+rushed about to spread the tale of ruin through the land.
+
+The same old thing! The same old journey over the country. The same old
+havoc as they went. But the strength of a thousand Brooks seemed given
+to the Mountain-Torrent as, looking miles away, he saw a wide expanse of
+water fringed with brown and bluish lines. "It is the Ocean, fair ones,"
+cried he; "when your feeble sights shall see it, bless my power, for at
+length we reach a home no art of man can invade to fetter us or bind us
+down. Ten millions of our species mingle there; in small harmony it is
+true, but better fight among ourselves than ever thus to wage a war with
+man. Now too approaches the time of our revenge: we'll take his life;
+we'll sink his ships; we'll break his boasted wealth into uncounted
+atoms, and scatter it."
+
+The Brooks trembled in the strong grasp of the Mountain-Torrent to hear
+the vehemence with which he spoke these threatening words; but lost
+their fears in greater astonishment, as now they neared the ocean waste,
+fringed with the lines of brown and blue of which he spoke.
+
+"Why, sister, what a noise!" cried one of the Brooks, "our own is not to
+be heard."
+
+"See what a dreadful wall appears to rise and fall as we approach,"
+answered the other. And they both clung closer to the embrace of the
+Torrent as he crossed the beach they reached at last, and plunged, with
+sticks and stones and all, upon the wall of foam and sand, which parted
+as the Mountain-Torrent and the Brooks joined forces with old _Ocean's_
+solemn waste.
+
+In an instant the meadow-born Brook writhed in pain, pressed on by
+thousands of Mountain-Torrents every way at once. She foamed and fought,
+and fought and foamed; under and over, up and below she plunged, but no
+escape; one weary work for ages yet to come!
+
+"Revenge once more! Gather and rage! Dash to ruin ships and sailors!"
+growled a tone which made the writhing Brook tremble into a million
+foam-beads, as simultaneously a roaring Tempest clattered by with
+thunder and lightning in its train, while a clashing hiss, as of
+something rushing madly through the water, bade the Brook--the sea-slave
+Brook--look up.
+
+No time for thought; for still the tone was heard, "Revenge once more!
+gather and rage! dash to ruin ship and sailors!" And still the tempest
+clattered, and still the hissing of the gallant ship's prow was heard
+cleaving the maddened waves. On, on! a dash; a crash; a march of
+maddening waves; a stunning tempest howl, and then the hiss was heard no
+more. But far and wide were hurried and mashed in one chaotic mass the
+fragments of the gallant ship.
+
+"How wise he is; how true my Mountain-Torrent spoke," thought the
+frightened sea-slave Brook, as the clattering tempest, with thunder and
+lightning in its train, passed out of sight and hearing leagues beyond.
+"And now I'll rest me on this sandy beach, for this ambitious life is
+wearisome indeed."
+
+And she nestled closely to a rock, and so crept into grateful rest. But
+as she lay, she looked beyond her sandy bed to see the lovely face of
+her early meadow life, when she was but a humble Brook. Pale and ghastly
+it lay upon a rounded stone; the hair floating out like fairy circles
+from the marked brow, and on the temple such a purple thickened stain as
+once had been upon the willow stump.
+
+The Brook came by her side and watched her gently as she lay. Then going
+farther out, the Brook brought strings of sea-weed, and strung them
+gayly and softly round her form, and watched her thus again. "Here will
+I stay," thought the Brook, "and fancy I am still in the sunlight meadow
+before I wandered forth into ambitious company. There's nought but
+trouble and pain crossed my path since the rainy days of the latest
+spring-time. Here will I stay, and ever mourn that I listened to
+ambitious counselling."
+
+
+
+
+LAST CASE OF THE SUPERNATURAL.
+
+
+A writer in the January number of _Fraser's Magazine_, at the conclusion
+of a tale crammed with the intensest horrors, presents us with one
+instance in which the architect of such machinery was foiled.
+
+When the recital was finished, and the company were well-nigh breathless
+with its skilfully cumulative terror, cried Tremenheere--
+
+"Humph! that is rather an uncomfortable story to go to bed upon."
+
+And presently--
+
+"You have been lately in Spain, Melton; what news from Seville?"
+
+"Oh," replied Melton, "you must have heard of Don Juan de Murana, of
+terrible memory?"
+
+"Not we," said they.
+
+"One gloomy evening Don Juan de Murana was returning along the quay
+where the Golden Tower looks down upon the Guadalquivir, so lost in
+thought that it was some time before he perceived that his cigar had
+gone out, though he was one of the most determined smokers in Spain. He
+looked about him, and beheld on the other side of the broad river an
+individual whose brilliant cigar sparkled like a star of the first
+magnitude at every aspiration.
+
+"Don Juan, who, thanks to the terror which he had inspired, was
+accustomed to see all the world obedient to his caprices, shouted to the
+smoker to come across the river and give him a light.
+
+"The smoker, without taking that trouble, stretched out his arm towards
+the Don, and so effectually that it traversed the river like a bridge,
+and presented to Don Juan a glowing cigar, which smelt most abominably
+of sulphur.
+
+"If Don Juan felt something like a rising shudder, he suppressed it,
+coolly lighted his own cigar at that of the smoker, and went on his way,
+singing, _Los Toros a la puerta_."
+
+"But who was the smoker?"
+
+"Who could he be, but the Prince of Darkness in person, who had laid a
+wager with Pluto that he would frighten Don Juan De Murana, and went
+back to his place furious at having lost?
+
+"If you would learn more of Don Juan de Murana, how he went to his own
+funeral, and died at last in the odor of sanctity, read that most
+spirited series of letters, _De Paris a Cadix_, wherein Alexander Dumas
+has surpassed himself. And now, Good night!"
+
+
+
+
+A STORY WITHOUT A NAME[M]
+
+Written For The International Monthly Magazine
+
+BY G. P. R. JAMES, ESQ.
+
+_Continued from Page 348._
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+Occasionally in the life of man, as in the life of the
+world--History--or in the course of a stream towards the sea, come quiet
+lapses, sunny and calm, reflecting nothing but the still motionless
+objects around, or the blue sky and moving clouds above. Often too we
+find that this tranquil expanse of silent water follows quickly after
+some more rapid movement, comes close upon some spot where a dashing
+rapid has diversified the scene, or a cataract, in roar and confusion
+and sparkling terror, has broken the course of the stream.
+
+Such a still pause, silent of action--if I may use the term--followed
+the events which I have related in the last chapter, extending over a
+period of nearly six months. Nothing happened worthy of any minute
+detail. Peace and tranquillity dwelt in the various households which I
+have noticed in the course of this story, enlivened in that of Sir
+Philip Hastings by the gay spirit of Emily Hastings, although somewhat
+shadowed by the sterner character of her father; and in the household of
+Mrs. Hazleton brightened by the light of hope, and the fair prospect of
+success in all her schemes which for a certain time continued to open
+before her.
+
+Mr. Marlow only spent two days at her house, and then went away to
+London, but whatever effect her beauty might have produced upon him, his
+society, brief as it was, served but to confirm her feelings towards
+him, and before he left her, she had made up her mind fully and
+entirely, with her characteristic vigor and strength of resolution, that
+her marriage with Mr. Marlow was an event which must and should be.
+There was under this conviction, but not the less strong, not the less
+energetic, not the less vehement, for being concealed even from
+herself--a resolution that no sacrifice, no fear, no hesitation at any
+course, should stand in the way of her purpose. She did not anticipate
+many difficulties certainly; for Mr. Marlow clearly admired her; but the
+resolution was, that if difficulties should arise, she would overcome
+them at all cost. Hers was one of those characters of which the world
+makes its tragedies, having within itself passions too strong and deep
+to be frequently excited--as the more profound waters which rise into
+mountains when once in motion require a hurricane to still
+them--together with that energetic will, that fixed unbending
+determination, which like the outburst of a torrent from the hills,
+sweeps away all before it. But let it be ever remembered that her
+energies were exerted upon herself as well as upon others, not in
+checking passion, not in limiting desire, but in guarding scrupulously
+every external appearance, guiding every thought and act with careful
+art towards its destined object. Mrs. Hazleton suffered Mr. Marlow to be
+in London more than a month before she followed to conclude the mere
+matters of business between them. It cost her a great struggle with
+herself, but in that struggle she was successful, and when at length she
+went, she had several interviews with him. Circumstances--that great
+enemy of schemes, was against her. Sometimes lawyers were present at
+their interviews, sometimes impertinent friends; but Mrs. Hazleton did
+not much care: she trusted to the time he was speedily about to pass in
+the country, for the full effect, and in the meantime took care that
+nothing but the golden side of the shield should be presented to her
+knight.
+
+The continent was at that time open to Englishmen for a short period,
+and Mr. Marlow expressed his determination of going to the Court of
+Versailles for a month or six weeks before he came down to take
+possession of Hartwell place, everything now having been settled between
+them in regard to business.
+
+Mrs. Hazleton did not like his determination, yet she did not much fear
+the result; for Mr. Marlow was preeminently English, and never likely to
+weal a French woman. Still she resolved that he should see her under
+another aspect before he went. She was a great favorite of the Court of
+those days; her station, her wealth, her beauty, and her grace rendered
+her a brightness and an ornament wherever she came. She was invited to
+one of the more private though not less splendid assemblies at the
+Palace, and she contrived that Mr. Marlow should be invited also, though
+neither by nature or habit a courtier. She obtained the invitation for
+him skilfully, saying to the Royal Personage of whom she asked it, that
+as he won a lawsuit against her, she wished to show him that she bore no
+malice. He went, and found her the brightest in the brilliant scene; the
+great and the proud, the handsome and the gay, all bending down and
+worshipping, all striving for a smile, and obtaining it but scantily.
+She smiled upon _him_, however, not sufficiently to attract remark from
+others, but quite sufficiently to mark a strong distinction for his own
+eyes, if he had chosen to use them. He went away to France, and Mrs.
+Hazleton returned to the country; the winter passed with her in
+arranging his house for him; and, in so doing, she often had to write to
+him. His replies were always prompt, kind, and grateful; and at length
+came the spring, and the pleasant tidings that he was on his way back to
+his beloved England.
+
+Alas for human expectation! Alas for the gay day-dream of
+youth--maturity--middle age--old age--for they have all their daydreams!
+Every passion which besets man from the cradle to the grave has its own
+visionary expectations. Each creature, each animal, from the tiger to
+the beetle, has its besetting insect, which preys upon it, gnaws it,
+irritates it, and so have all the ages of the soul and of the heart.
+Alas for human speculation of all kinds! Alas for every hope and
+aspiration! for those that are pure and high, but, growing out of earth,
+bear within themselves the bitter seeds of disappointment; and those
+that are dark or low produce the germ of the most poisonous hybrid,
+where disappointment is united with remorse.
+
+Happy is the man that expecteth nothing, for verily he shall not be
+disappointed! It is a quaint old saying; and could philosophy ever stem
+the course of God's will, it would be one which, well followed, might
+secure to man some greater portion of mortal peace than he possesses.
+But to aspire was the ordinance of God; and, viewed rightly, the
+withering of the flowers upon each footstep we have taken upwards, is no
+discouragement; for if we shape our path aright, there is a wreath of
+bright blossoms crowning each craggy peak before us, as we ascend to
+snatch the garland of immortal glory, placed just beyond the last awful
+leap of death.
+
+Mrs. Hazleton's aspirations, however, were all earthly. She thought of
+little beyond this life. She had never been taught so to think. There
+are some who are led astray from the path of noble daring, to others as
+difficult and more intricate, by some loud shout of passion on the right
+or on the left--and seek in vain to return; some who, misled by an
+apparent similarity in the course of two paths, although the finger post
+says, "Thus shalt thou go!" think that the way so plainly beaten, and so
+seemingly easy, must surely lead them to the same point. Others again
+never learn to read the right path from the wrong (and she was one),
+while others shut their eyes to all direction, fix their gaze upon the
+summit, and strain up, now amidst flowers and now amidst thorns, till
+they are cast back from the face of some steep precipice, to perish in
+the descent or at the foot.
+
+Mrs. Hazleton's aspirations were all earthly; and that was the secret of
+her only want in beauty. That divine form, that resplendent face, beamed
+with every earthly grace: sparkled forth mind and intellect in every
+glance, but they were wanting in soul, in spirit, and in heart. Life was
+there, but the life of life, the intense flame of immortal, over-earthly
+intelligence, was wanting. She might be the grandest animal that ever
+was seen, the most bright and capable intellect that ever dealt with
+mortal things; but the fine golden chain which leads on the electric
+fire from intellectual eminence to spiritual preeminence, from mind to
+soul, from earth to heaven, was wanting, or had been broken. Her
+loveliness none could doubt, her charm of manner none could deny, her
+intellectual superiority all admitted, her womanly softness added a
+grace beyond them all; but there was one grace wanting--the grace of a
+high, holy soul, which, in those who have it, be they fair, be they
+ugly, pours forth as an emanation from every look and every action, and
+surrounds them with a cloud of radiance, faintly imaged by the artist's
+glory round a saint.
+
+Alas for human aspirations! Alas for the expectations of this fair frail
+creature! How eagerly she thought of Mr. Marlow's return! how she had
+anticipated their meeting again! How she had calculated upon all that
+would be said and done during the next few weeks! The first news she
+received was that he had arrived, and with a few servants had taken
+possession of his new dwelling. She remained all day in her own house;
+she ordered no carriage; she took no walk: she tried to read; she played
+upon various instruments of music; she thought each instant he would
+come, at least for a few minutes, to thank her for all the care she had
+bestowed to make his habitation comfortable. The sun gilded the west;
+the melancholy moon rose up in solemn splendor; the hours passed by, and
+he came not.
+
+The next morning, she heard that he had ridden over to the house of Sir
+Philip Hastings, and indignation warred with love in her bosom. She
+thought he must certainly come that day, and she resolved angrily to
+upbraid him for his want of courtesy. Luckily, however, for her, he did
+not come that day; and a sort of melancholy took possession of her.
+Luckily, I say; for when passion takes hold of a scheme it is generally
+sure to shake it to pieces, and that melancholy loosens the grasp of
+passion for a time. The next day he did come, and with an air so easy
+and unconscious of offence as almost to provoke her into vehemence
+again. He knew not what she felt--he had no idea of how he had been
+looked for. He was as ignorant that she had ever thought of him as a
+husband, as she was that he had ever compared her in his mind to his
+own mother.
+
+He talked quietly, indifferently, of his having been over to the house
+of Sir Philip Hastings, adding merely--not as an excuse, but as a simple
+fact--that he had been unable to call there as he had promised before
+leaving the country. He dilated upon the kind reception he had met with
+from Lady Hastings, for Sir Philip was absent upon business; and he went
+on to dwell rather largely upon the exceeding beauty and great grace of
+Emily Hastings.
+
+Oh how Mrs. Hazleton hated her! It requires but a few drops of poison to
+envenom a whole well.
+
+He did worse: he proceeded to descant upon her character--upon the
+blended brightness and deep thought--upon the high-souled emotions and
+child-like sparkle of her disposition--upon the simplicity and
+complexity, upon the many-sided splendor of her character, which, like
+the cut diamond, reflected each ray of light in a thousand varied and
+dazzling hues. Oh how Mrs. Hazleton hated her--hated, because for the
+first time she began to fear. He had spoken to her in praise of another
+woman--with loud encomiums too, with a brightened eye, and a look which
+told her more than his words. These were signs not to be mistaken. They
+did not show in the least that he loved Emily Hastings, and that she
+knew right well; but they showed that he did not love her; and there was
+the poison in the cup.
+
+So painful, so terrible was the sensation, that, with all her mastery
+over herself, she could not conceal the agony under which she writhed.
+She became silent, grave, fell into fits of thought, which clouded the
+broad brow, and made the fine-cut lip quiver. Mr. Marlow was surprised
+and grieved. He asked himself what could be the matter. Something had
+evidently made her sorrowful, and he could not trace the sorrow to its
+source; for she carefully avoided uttering one word in depreciation of
+Emily Hastings. In this she showed no woman's spirit. She could have
+stabbed her, had the girl been there in her presence; but she would not
+scratch her. Petty spite was too low for her, too small for the
+character of her mind. Hers was a heart capable of revenge, and would be
+satisfied with nothing less.
+
+Mr. Marlow soothed her, spoke to her kindly, tenderly, tried to lead her
+mind away, to amuse, to entertain her. Oh, it was all gall and
+bitterness to her. He might have cursed, abused, insulted her, without,
+perhaps--diminishing her love--certainly without inflicting half the
+anguish that was caused by his gentle words. It is impossible to tell
+all the varied emotions that went on in her heart--at least for me.
+Shakspeare could have done it, but none less than Shakspeare. For a
+moment she knew not whether she loved or hated him; but she soon felt
+and knew it was love; and the hate, like lightning striking a rock, and
+glancing from the solid stone to rend a sapling, all turned away from
+him, to fall upon the head of poor unconscious Emily Hastings.
+
+Though she could not recover from the blow she had received, yet she
+soon regained command over herself, conversed, smiled, banished
+absorbing thoughts, answered calmly, pertinently, even spoke in her own
+bright, brilliant way, with a few more figures and ornaments of speech
+than usual; for figures are things rather of the head than of the heart,
+and it was from the head that she was now speaking.
+
+At length Mr. Marlow took his leave, and for the first time in life she
+was glad he was gone.
+
+Mrs. Hazleton gave way to no burst of passion: she shed not a tear; she
+uttered no exclamation. That which was within her heart, was too intense
+for any such ordinary expression. She seated herself at a table, leaned
+her head upon her hand, and fixed her eyes upon one bright spot in the
+marquetry. There she sat for more than an entire hour, without a motion,
+and in the meantime what were the thoughts that passed through her
+brain? We have shown the feelings of her heart enough.
+
+She formed plans; she determined her course; she looked around for
+means. Various persons suggested themselves to her mind as instruments.
+The three women, I have mentioned in a preceding chapter--the good sort
+of friends. But it was an agent she wanted, not a confidant. No, no,
+Mrs. Hazleton knew better than to have a confidant. She was her own best
+council-keeper, and she knew it. Nevertheless, these good ladies might
+serve to act in subordinate parts, and she assigned to each of them
+their position in her scheme with wonderful accuracy and skill. As she
+did so, however, she remembered that it was by the advice of Mrs.
+Warmington that she had brought Mr. Marlow to Hartwell Place; and in her
+heart's secret chamber she gave her fair friend a goodly benediction.
+She resolved to use her nevertheless--to use her as far as she could be
+serviceable; and she forgot not that she herself had been art and part
+in the scheme that had failed. She was not one to shelter herself from
+blame by casting the whole storm of disappointment upon another. She
+took her own full share. "If she was a fool so to advise," said Mrs.
+Hazleton, "'twas a greater fool to follow her advice."
+
+She then turned to seek for the agent. No name presented itself but that
+of Shanks, the attorney; and she smiled bitterly when she thought of
+him. She recollected that Sir Philip Hastings had thrown him
+head-foremost down the steps of the terrace, and that was very
+satisfactory to her; for, although Mr. Shanks was a man who sometimes
+bore injuries very meekly, he never forgot them.
+
+Nevertheless, she had somewhat a difficult part to play, for most agents
+have a desire of becoming confidants also, and that Mrs. Hazleton
+determined her attorney should not be. The task was to insinuate her
+purposes rather than to speak them--to act, without betraying the
+motive of action--to make another act, without committing herself by
+giving directions.
+
+Nevertheless, Mrs. Hazleton arranged it all to her own satisfaction; and
+as she did so, amongst the apparently extinct ashes of former schemes,
+one small spark of hope began to glow, giving promise for the time to
+come. What did she propose? At first, nothing more than to drive Sir
+Philip Hastings and his family from the country, mingling the
+gratification of personal hatred with efforts for the accomplishment of
+her own purposes. It was a bold attempt, but Mrs. Hazleton had her plan;
+and she sat down and wrote for Mr. Shanks, the attorney.
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+Decorum came in with the house of Hanover. I know not whether men and
+women in England were more virtuous before--I think not--but they
+certainly were more frank in both their virtues and their vices. There
+were fewer of those vices of conventionality thrown around the human
+heart--fewer I mean to say of those cold restraints, those gilded chains
+of society, which, like the ornaments that ladies wear upon their necks
+and arms, seem like fetters; but, I fear me, restrain but little human
+action, curb not passion, and are to the strong will but as the green
+rushes round the limbs of the Hebrew giant. Decorum came into England
+with the house of Hanover; but I am speaking of a period before that,
+when ladies were less fearful of the tongue of scandal, when scandal
+itself was fearful of assailing virtue, when honesty of purpose and
+purity of heart could walk free in the broad day, and men did not
+venture to suppose evil acts perpetrated whenever, by a possibility,
+they could be committed.
+
+Emily Hastings walked quietly along by the side of Mr. Marlow, through
+her father's park. There was no one with him, no keen matron's ear to
+listen to and weigh their words, no brother to pretend to accompany
+them, and either feel himself weary with the task or lighten it by
+seeking his own amusement apart. They were alone together, and they
+talked without restraint. Ye gods, how they did talk! The dear girl was
+in one of her brightest, gayest moods. There was nothing that did not
+move her fancy or become a servant to it. The clouds as they shot across
+the sky, the blue fixed hills in the distance, the red and yellow and
+green coloring of the young budding oaks, the dancing of The stream, the
+song of the bird, the whisper of the wind, the misty spring light which
+spread over the morning distance, all had illustrations for her
+thoughts. It seemed that day as if she could not speak without a
+figure--as if she revelled in the flowers of imagination, like a child
+tossing about the new mown grass in a hay-field. And he, with joyous
+sport, took pleasure in furnishing her at every moment with new material
+for the bounding play of fancy.
+
+They had not known each other long; but there was something in the young
+man's manner--nay, let me go farther--in his character, which invited
+confidence, which besought the hearts around to throw off all strange
+disguise, and promised that he would take no base advantage of their
+openness. That something was perhaps his earnestness: one felt that he
+was true in all he said or did or looked: that his words were but his
+spoken feelings: his countenance a paper on which the heart at once
+recorded its sensations. But let me not be mistaken. Do not let it be
+supposed that when I say he was earnest, I mean that he was even grave.
+Oh no! Earnestness can exist as well in the merriest as in the soberest
+heart. One can be as earnest, as truthful, even as eager in joy or
+sport, as in sorrow or sternness. But he was earnest in all things, and
+it was this earnestness which probably found a way for him to so many
+dissimilar hearts.
+
+Emily knew not at all what it was doing with hers; but she felt that he
+was one before whom she had no need to hide a thought: that if she were
+gay, she might be gay in safety: that if she were inclined to muse, she
+might muse on in peace.
+
+Onward they walked, talking of every thing on earth but love. It was in
+the thoughts of neither. Emily knew nothing about it: the tranquil
+expanse of life had never for her been even rippled by the wing of
+passion. Marlow might know more; but for the time he was lost in the
+enjoyment of the moment. The little enemy might be carrying on the war
+against the fortress of each unconscious bosom; but if so, it was by the
+silent sap and mine, more potent far than the fierce assault or
+thundering cannonade--at least in this sort of warfare.
+
+They were wending their way towards a gate, at the very extreme limit of
+the park, which opened upon a path leading by a much shorter way to Mr.
+Marlow's own dwelling than the road he usually pursued. He had that
+morning come to spend but an hour at the house of Sir Philip Hastings,
+and he had an engagement at his own house at noon. He had spent two
+hours instead of one with Emily and her mother, and therefore short
+paths were preferable to long ones for his purpose, Emily had offered to
+show him the way to the gate, and her company was sure to shorten the
+road, though it might lengthen the time it took to travel.
+
+Now in describing the park of Sir Philip Hastings, I have said that
+there was a wide open space around the mansion; but I have also said,
+that at some distance the trees gathered thick and sombre. Those nearest
+the house gathered together in clumps, confusing the eye in a wilderness
+of hawthorns, and bushes, and evergreen oaks, while beyond appeared a
+dense mass of wood; and, through the scattered tufts of trees and thick
+woodland at the extreme of the park ran several paths traced by deer,
+and park-keepers, and country folk. Thus for various reasons some
+guidance was needful to Marlow on his way, and for more reasons still he
+was well pleased that the guide should be Emily Hastings. In the course
+of their walk, amongst many other subjects they spoke of Mrs. Hazleton,
+and Marlow expatiated warmly on her beauty, and grace, and kindness of
+heart. How different was the effect of all this upon Emily Hastings from
+that which his words in her praise had produced upon her of whom he
+spoke! Emily's heart was free. Emily had no schemes, no plans, no
+purposes. She knew not that there was one feeling in her bosom with
+which praise of Mrs. Hazleton could ever jar. She loved her well. Such
+eyes as hers are not practised in seeing into darkness. She had divined
+the Italian singer--perhaps by instinct, perhaps by some distinct trait,
+which occasionally will betray the most wily. But Mrs. Hazleton was a
+fellow-woman--a woman of great brightness and many fine qualities.
+Neither had she any superficial defects to indicate a baser metal or a
+harder within. If she was not all gold, she was doubly gilt.
+
+Emily praised her too, warmed with the theme; and eagerly exclaimed,
+"She always seems to me like one of those dames of fairy tales, upon
+whom some enchanter has bestowed a charm that no one can resist. It is
+not her beauty; for I feel the same when I hear her voice and shut my
+eyes. It is not her conversation; for I feel the same when I look at her
+and she is silent. It seems to breathe from her presence like the odor
+of a flower. It is the same when she is grave as when she is gay."
+
+"Aye, and when she is melancholy," replied Marlow. "I never felt it more
+powerfully than a few days ago when I spent an hour with her, and she
+was not only grave but sad."
+
+"Melancholy!" exclaimed Emily. "I never saw her so. Grave I have seen
+her--thoughtful, silent--but never sad; and I do not know that she has
+not seemed more charming to me in those grave, stiller moods, than in
+more cheerful ones. Do you know that in looking at the beautiful statues
+which I have seen in London, I have often thought they might lose half
+their charm if they would move and speak? Thus, too, with Mrs. Hazleton;
+she seems to me even more lovely, more full of grace, in perfect
+stillness than at any other time. My father," she added, after a
+moment's pause, "is the only one who in her presence seems spell-proof."
+
+Her words threw Marlow into a momentary fit of thought. "Why," he asked
+himself, "was Sir Philip Hastings spell-proof when all others were
+charmed?"
+
+Men have a habit of depending much upon men's judgment, whether justly
+or unjustly I will not stop to inquire. They rely less upon woman's
+judgment in such matters; and yet women are amongst the keenest
+discerners--when they are unbiassed by passion. But are they often so?
+Perhaps it is from a conviction that men judge less frequently from
+impulse, decide more generally from cause, that this presumption of
+their accuracy exists. Woman--perhaps from seclusion, perhaps from
+nature--is more a creature of instincts than man. They are given her for
+defence where reason would act too slowly; and where they do act
+strongly, they are almost invariably right. Man goes through the slower
+process, and naturally relies more firmly on the result; for reason
+demonstrates where instinct leads blindfold. Marlow judged Sir Philip
+Hastings by himself, and fancied that he must have some cause for being
+spell-proof against the fascinations of Mrs. Hazleton. This roused the
+first doubt in his mind as to her being all that she seemed. He repelled
+the doubt as injurious, but it returned from time to time in after days,
+and at length gave him a clue to an intricate labyrinth.
+
+The walk came to an end, too soon he thought. Emily pointed out the gate
+as soon as it appeared in sight, shook hands with him and returned
+homeward. He thought more of her after they had parted, than when she
+was with him. There are times when the most thoughtful do not
+think--when they enjoy. But now, every word, every look of her who had
+just left him, came back to memory. Not that he would admit to himself
+that there was the least touch of love in his feelings. Oh no! He had
+known her too short a time for such a serious passion as love to have
+any thing to do with his sensations. He only thought of
+her--mused--pondered--recalled all she had said and done, because she
+was so unlike any thing he had seen or heard of before--a something
+new--a something to be studied.
+
+She was but a girl--a mere child, he said; and yet there was something
+more than childish grace in that light, but rounded form, where beauty
+was more than budding, but not quite blossomed, like a moss-rose in its
+loveliest state of loveliness. And her mind too; there was nothing
+childish in her thoughts except their playfulness. The morning dew-drops
+had not yet exhaled; but the day-star of the mind was well up in the
+sky.
+
+She was one of those, on whom it is dangerous for a man afraid of love
+to meditate too long. She was one the effect of whose looks and words is
+not evanescent. That of mere beauty passes away. How many a face do we
+see and think it the loveliest in the world; yet shut the eyes an hour
+after, and try to recall the features--to paint them to the mind's eye.
+You cannot. But there are others that link themselves with every feeling
+of the heart, that twine themselves with constantly recurring thoughts,
+that never can be effaced--never forgotten--on which age or time,
+disease or death, may do its work without effecting one change in the
+reality embalmed in memory. Destroy the die, break the mould, you may;
+but the medal and the cast remain. Had Marlow lived a hundred years--had
+he never seen Emily Hastings again, not one line of her bright face, not
+one speaking look, would have passed from his memory. He could have
+painted a portrait of her had he been an artist. Did you ever gaze long
+at the sun, trying your eyes against the eagle's? If so, you have had
+the bright orb floating before your eyes the whole day after. And so it
+was with Marlow: throughout the long hours that followed, he had Emily
+Hastings ever before him. But yet he did not love her. Oh dear no, not
+in the least. Love he thought was very different from mere admiration.
+It was a plant of slower growth. He was no believer in love at first
+sight. He was an infidel as to Romeo and Juliet, and he had firmly
+resolved if ever he did fall in love, it should be done cautiously.
+
+Poor man! he little knew how deep he was in already.
+
+In the meanwhile, Emily walked onward. She was heart-whole at least. She
+had never dreamed of love. It had not been one of her studies. Her
+father had never presented the idea to her. Her mother had often talked
+of marriage, and marriages good and bad; but always put them in the
+light of alliances--compacts--negotiated treaties. Although Lady
+Hastings knew what love is as well as any one, and had felt it as
+deeply, yet she did not wish her daughter to be as romantic as she had
+been, and therefore the subject was avoided. Emily thought a good deal
+of Mr. Marlow, it is true. She thought him handsome, graceful,
+winning--one of the pleasantest companions she had ever known. She liked
+him better than any one she had ever seen; and his words rang in her
+ears long after they were spoken. But even imagination, wicked spinner
+of golden threads as she is, never drew one link between his fate and
+hers. The time had not yet come, if it was to come.
+
+She walked on, however, through the wood; and just when she was emerging
+from the thicker part into the clumps and scattered trees, she saw a
+stranger before her, leaning against the stump of an old hawthorn, and
+seeming to suffer pain. He was young, handsome, well-dressed, and there
+was a gun lying at his feet. But as Emily drew nearer, she saw blood
+slowly trickling from his arm, and falling on the gray sand of the path.
+
+She was not one to suffer shyness to curb humanity; and she exclaimed at
+once, with a look of alarm, "I am afraid you are hurt, sir. Had you not
+better come up to the house?"
+
+The young man looked at her, fainted, and answered in a low tone, "The
+gun has gone off, caught by a branch, and has shattered my arm. I
+thought I could reach the cottage by the park gates, but I feel faint."
+
+"Stay, stay a moment," cried Emily, "I will run to the hall and bring
+assistance--people to assist you upon a carriage."
+
+"No, no!" answered the stranger quickly, "I cannot go there--I will not
+go there! The cottage is nearer," he continued more calmly; "I think
+with a little help I could reach it, if I could staunch the blood."
+
+"Let me try," exclaimed Emily; and with ready zeal, she tied her
+handkerchief round his arm, not without a shaking hand indeed, but with
+firmness and some skill.
+
+"Now lean upon me," she said, when she had done; "the cottage is indeed
+nearer, but you would have better tendance if you could reach the hall."
+
+"No, no, the cottage," replied the stranger, "I shall do well there."
+
+The cottage was perhaps two hundred yards nearer to the spot on which
+they stood than the hall; but there was an eagerness about the young
+man's refusal to go to the latter, which Emily remarked. Suspicion
+indeed was alive to her mind; but those were days when laws concerning
+game, which have every year been becoming less and less strict, were
+hardly less severe than in the time of William Rufus. Every day, in the
+country life which she led, she heard some tale of poaching or its
+punishment. The stranger had a gun with him; she had found him in her
+father's park; he was unwilling even in suffering and need of help to go
+up to the hall for succor; and she could not but fancy that for some
+frolic, perhaps some jest, or some wild whim, he had been trespassing
+upon the manor in pursuit of game. That he was an ordinary poacher she
+could not suppose; his dress, his appearance forbade such a supposition.
+
+But there was something more.
+
+In the young man's face--more in its expression than its features
+perhaps--more in certain marking lines and sudden glances than in the
+general whole--there was something familiar to her--something that
+seemed akin to her. He was handsomer than her father; of a more perfect
+though less lofty character of beauty; and yet there was a strange
+likeness, not constant, but flashing occasionally upon her brow, in
+what, when, she could hardly determine.
+
+It roused another sort of sympathy from any she had felt before; and
+once more she asked him to go up to the hall.
+
+"If you have been taking your sport," she said, "where perhaps you ought
+not, I am sure my father will look over it without a word, when he sees
+how you are hurt. Although people sometimes think he is stern and
+severe, that is all a mistake. He is kind and gentle, I assure you, when
+he does not feel that duty requires him to be rigid."
+
+The stranger gave a quick start, and replied in a tone which would have
+been haughty and fierce, had not weakness subdued it, "I have been
+shooting only where I have a right to shoot. But I will not go up to the
+hall, till--but I dare say I can get down to the cottage without help,
+Mistress Emily. I have been accustomed to do without help in the world;"
+and he withdrew his arm from that which supported him. The next moment,
+however, he tottered, and seemed ready to fall, and Emily again hurried
+to help him. There were no more words spoken. She thought his manner
+somewhat uncivil; she would not leave him, and the necessity for her
+kindness was soon apparent. Ere they were within a hundred yards of the
+cottage, he sunk slowly down. His face grew pale and death-like, and his
+eyes closed faintly as he lay upon the turf. Emily ran on like lightning
+to the cottage, and called out the old man who lived there. The old man
+called his son from the little garden, and with his and other help,
+carried the fainting man in.
+
+"Ay, master John, master John," exclaimed the old cottager, as he laid
+him in his own bed; "one of your wild pranks, I warrant!"
+
+His wife, his son, and he himself tended the young man with care; and a
+young boy was sent off for a surgeon.
+
+Emily did not know what to do; but compassion kept her in the cottage
+till the stranger recovered his consciousness, and then after inquiring
+how he felt, she was about to withdraw, intending to send down further
+aid from the hall. But the stranger beckoned her faintly to come nearer,
+and said in tones of real gratitude, "Thank you a thousand times,
+Mistress Emily; I never thought to need such kindness at your hands. But
+now do me another, and say not a word to any one at the mansion of what
+has happened. It will be better for me, for you, for your father, that
+you should not speak of this business."
+
+"Do not! do not! Mistress Emily!" cried the old man, who was standing
+near. "It will only make mischief and bring about evil."
+
+He spoke evidently under strong apprehension, and Emily was much
+surprised, both to find that one quite a stranger to her knew her at
+once, and to find the old cottager, a long dependant upon her family,
+second so eagerly his strange injunction.
+
+"I will say nothing unless questions are asked me," she replied; "then
+of course I must tell the truth."
+
+"Better not," replied the young man gloomily.
+
+"I cannot speak falsely," replied the beautiful girl, "I cannot deal
+doubly with my parents or any one," and she was turning away.
+
+But the stranger besought her to stop one moment, and said, "I have not
+strength to explain all now; but I shall see you again, and then I will
+tell you why I have spoken as you think strangely. I shall see you
+again. In common charity you will come to ask if I am alive or dead. If
+you knew how near we are to each other, I am sure you would promise!"
+
+"I can make no such promise," replied Emily; but the old cottager seemed
+eager to end the interview; and speaking for her, he exclaimed, "Oh, she
+will come, I am sure, Mistress Emily will come;" and hurried her away,
+seeing her back to the little gate in the park wall.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+Mrs. Hazleton found Mr. Shanks, the attorney, the most difficult person
+to deal with whom she had ever met in her life. She had remarked that he
+was keen, active, intelligent, unscrupulous, confident in his own
+powers, bold as a lion in the wars of quill, parchment, and red tape;
+without fear, without hesitation, without remorse. There was nothing
+that he scrupled to do, nothing that he ever repented having done. She
+had fancied that the only difficulty which she could have to encounter
+was that of concealing from him, at least in a degree, the ultimate
+objects and designs which she herself had in view.
+
+So shrewd people often deceive themselves as to the character of other
+shrewd people. The difficulty was quite different. It was a peculiar
+sort of stolidity on the part of Mr. Shanks, for which she was utterly
+unprepared.
+
+Now the attorney was ready to do any thing on earth which his fair
+patroness wished. He would have perilled his name on the roll in her
+service; and was only eager to understand what were her desires, even
+without giving her the trouble of explaining them. Moreover, there was
+no point of law or equity, no manner of roguery or chicanery, no object
+of avarice, covetousness, or ambition, which he could not have
+comprehended at once. They were things within his own ken and scope, to
+which the intellect and resources of his mind were always open. But to
+other passions, to deeper, more remote motives and emotions, Mr. Shanks
+was as stolid as a door-post. It required to hew a way as it were to his
+perceptions, to tunnel his mind for the passage of a new conception.
+
+The only passion which afforded the slightest cranny of an opening was
+revenge; and after having tried a dozen other ways of making him
+comprehend what she wished without committing herself, Mrs. Hazleton got
+him to understand that she thought Sir Philip Hastings had injured--at
+all events, that he had offended--her, and that she sought vengeance.
+From that moment all was easy. Mr. Shanks could understand the feeling,
+though not its extent. He would himself have given ten pounds out of his
+own pocket--the largest sum he had ever given in life for any thing but
+an advantage--to be revenged upon the same man for the insult he had
+received; and he could perceive that Mrs. Hazleton would go much
+further, without, indeed, being able to conceive, or even dream of, the
+extent to which she was prepared to go.
+
+However, when he had once got the clue, he was prepared to run along the
+road with all celerity; and now she found him every thing she had
+expected. He was a man copious in resources, prolific of schemes. His
+imagination had exercised itself through life in devising crooked paths;
+but in this instance the road was straight-forward before him. He would
+rather it had been tortuous, it is true; but for the sake of his dear
+lady he was ready to follow even a plain path, and he explained to her
+that Sir Philip Hastings stood in a somewhat dangerous position.
+
+He was proceeding to enter into the details, but Mrs. Hazleton
+interrupted him, and, to his surprise, not only told him, but showed
+him, that she knew all the particulars.
+
+"The only question is, Mr. Shanks," she said, "can you prove the
+marriage of his elder brother to this woman before the birth of the
+child?"
+
+"We think we can, madam," replied the attorney, "we think we can. There
+is a very strong letter, and there has been evidently----"
+
+He paused and hesitated, and Mrs. Hazleton demanded, "There has been
+what, Mr. Shanks?"
+
+"There has been evidently a leaf torn out of the register," replied the
+lawyer.
+
+There was something in his manner which made the lady gaze keenly in his
+face; but she would ask no questions on that subject, and she merely
+said, "Then why has not the case gone on, as it was put in your hands
+six months ago?"
+
+"Why, you see, my dear madam," replied Shanks, "law is at best
+uncertain. One wants two or three great lawyers to make a case. Money
+was short; John and his mother had spent all last year's annuity.
+Barristers won't plead without fees, and besides----"
+
+He paused again, but an impatient gesture from the lady urged him on.
+"Besides," he said, "I had devised a little scheme, which, of course, I
+shall abandon now, for marrying him to Mistress Emily Hastings. He is a
+very handsome young fellow, and----"
+
+"I have seen him," said Mrs. Hazleton thoughtfully, "but why should you
+abandon this scheme, Mr. Shanks? It seems to me by no means a bad one."
+
+The poor lawyer was now all at sea again and fancied himself as wide of
+the lady's aim as ever.
+
+Mrs. Hazleton suffered him to remain in this dull suspense for some
+time. Wrapped up in her own thoughts, and busy with her own
+calculations, she suffered several minutes to elapse without adding a
+word to that which had so much surprised the attorney. Then, however,
+she said, in a meditative tone, "There is only one way by which it can
+be accomplished. If you allow it to be conducted in a formal manner, you
+will fail utterly. Sir Philip will never consent. She will never even
+yield."
+
+"But if Sir Philip is made to see that it will save him a tremendous
+lawsuit, and perhaps his whole estate," suggested Mr. Shanks.
+
+"He will resist the more firmly," answered the lady; "if it saved his
+life, he would reject it with scorn--no! But there is a way. If you can
+persuade her--if you can show her that her father's safety, his position
+in life, depends upon her conduct, perhaps you may bring her by degrees
+to consent to a private marriage. She is young, inexperienced,
+enthusiastic, romantic. She loves her father devotedly, and would make
+any sacrifice for him."
+
+"No great sacrifice, I should think, madam," replied Mr. Shanks, "to
+marry a handsome young man who has a just claim to a large fortune."
+
+"That is as people may judge," replied the lady; "but at all events this
+claim gives us a hold upon her which we must not fail to use, and that
+directly. I will contrive means of bringing them together. I will make
+opportunity for the lad, but you must instruct him how to use it
+properly. All I can do is to co-operate without appearing."
+
+"But, my dear madam, I really do not fully understand," said Mr. Shanks.
+"I had a fancy--a sort of imagination like, that you wished--that you
+desired----"
+
+He hesitated; but Mrs. Hazleton would not help him by a single word, and
+at last he added, "I had a fancy that you wished this suit to go on
+against Sir Philip Hastings, and now--but that does not matter--only do
+you really wish to bring it all to an end, to settle it by a marriage
+between John and Mistress Emily?'
+
+"That will be the pleasantest, the easiest way of settling it, sir,"
+replied Mrs. Hazleton, coolly; "and I do not at all desire to injure,
+but rather to serve Sir Philip and his family."
+
+That was false, for though to marry Emily Hastings to any one but Mr.
+Marlow was what the lady did very sincerely desire; yet there was a long
+account to be settled with Sir Philip Hastings which could not well be
+discharged without a certain amount of injury to him and his. The lady
+was well aware, too, that she had told a lie, and moreover that it was
+one which Mr. Shanks was not at all likely to believe. Perhaps even she
+did not quite wish him to believe it, and at all events she knew that
+her actions must soon give it contradiction. But men make strange
+distinctions between speech and action, not to be accounted for without
+long investigation and disquisition. There are cases where people shrink
+from defining in words their purposes, or giving voice to their
+feelings, even when they are prepared by acts to stamp them for
+eternity. There are cases where men do acts which they dare not cover by
+a lie.
+
+Mrs. Hazleton sought for no less than the ruin of Sir Philip Hastings;
+she had determined it in her own heart, and yet she would not own it to
+her agent--perhaps she would not own it to herself. There is a dark
+secret chamber in the breast of every one, at the door of which the eyes
+of the spirit are blindfolded, that it may not see the things to which
+it is consenting. Conscience records them silently, and sooner or later
+her book is to be opened; it may be in this world: it may be in the
+next: but for the time that book is in the keeping of passion, who
+rarely suffers the pages to be seen till purpose has been ratified by
+act, and remorse stands ready to pronounce the doom.
+
+There was a pause after Mrs. Hazleton had spoken, for the attorney was
+busy also with thoughts he wished to utter, yet dared not speak. The
+first prospect of a lawsuit--the only sort of the picturesque in which
+he could find pleasure--a long, intricate, expensive lawsuit, was fading
+before his eyes as if a mist were coming over the scene. Where were his
+consultations, his letters, his briefs, his pleas, his rejoinders, his
+demurrers, his appeals? Where were the fees, the bright golden fees?
+True, in the hopelessness of his young client's fortunes, he had urged
+the marriage with a proviso, that if it took place by his skilful
+management, a handsome bonus was to be his share of the spoil. But then
+Mrs. Hazleton's first communication had raised brighter hopes, had put
+him more in his own element, had opened to him a scene of achievements
+as glorious to his notions as those of the listed field to knights of
+old; and now all was vanishing away. Yet he did not venture to tell her
+how much he was disappointed, still less to show her why and how.
+
+It was the lady who spoke first; and she did so in as calm, deliberate,
+passionless a tone as if she had been devising the fashion of a new
+Mantua.
+
+"It may be as well, Mr. Shanks," she said, "in order to produce the
+effect we wish upon dear Emily's mind"--dear Emily!--"to commence the
+suit against Sir Philip--I mean to take those first steps which may
+create some alarm. I cannot of course judge what they ought to be, but
+you must know; and if not, you must seek advice from counsel learned in
+the law. You understand what I mean, doubtless."
+
+"Oh, certainly, madam, certainly," replied Mr. Shanks, with a profound
+sigh of relief. "First steps commit us to nothing: but they must be
+devised cautiously, and I am very much afraid that--that----"
+
+"Afraid of what, sir?" asked Mrs. Hazleton, in a tone somewhat stern.
+
+"Only that the expense will be greater than my young client can afford,"
+answered the lawyer, seeing that he must come to the point.
+
+"Let not that stand in the way," said Mrs. Hazleton at once; "I will
+supply the means. What will be the expense?"
+
+"Would you object to say five hundred pounds?" asked the lawyer,
+cautiously.
+
+"A thousand," replied the lady, with a slight inclination of the head;
+and then, weary of circumlocution, she added in a bolder tone than she
+had yet used, "only remember, sir, that what is done must be done
+effectually; no mistakes, no errors, no flaws! See that you use all your
+eyes--see that you bend every nerve to the task. I will have no
+procrastination for the sake of fresh fees--nothing omitted one day to
+be remembered the next--no blunders to be corrected after long delays
+and longer correspondence. I know you lawyers and your ways right well;
+and if I find that for the sake of swelling a bill to the bursting, you
+attempt to procrastinate, the cause will be taken at once from your
+hands and placed in those who will do their work more speedily. You can
+practise those tricks upon those who are more or less in your power; but
+you shall not play them upon me."
+
+"I declare, my dear madam, I can assure you," said Mr. Shanks; but Mrs.
+Hazleton cut him short. "There, there," she said, waving her fair hand,
+"do not declare--do not assure me of any thing. Let your actions speak,
+Mr. Shanks. I am too much accustomed to declarations and assurances to
+set much value upon them. Now tell me, but in as few words and with as
+few cant terms as possible, what are the chances of success in this
+suit? How does the young man's case really stand?"
+
+Mr. Shanks would gladly have been excused such explanations. He never
+liked to speak clearly upon such delicate questions, but he would not
+venture to refuse any demand of Mrs. Hazleton's, and therefore he began
+with a circumlocution in regard to the uncertainty of law, and to the
+impossibility of giving any exact assurances of success.
+
+The lady would not be driven from her point, however. "That is not what
+I sought to know," she said. "I am as well aware of the law's
+uncertainty--of its iniquity, as you. But I ask you what grounds you
+have to go upon? Were they ever really married? Is this son legitimate?"
+
+"The lady says they were married," replied Mr. Shanks cautiously, "and I
+have good hope we can prove the legitimacy. There is a letter in which
+the late Mr. John Hastings calls her 'my dear little wife;' and then
+there is clearly a leaf torn out of the marriage register about that
+very time."
+
+Mr. Shanks spoke the last words slowly and with some hesitation; but
+after a pause he went on more boldly and rapidly. "Then we have a
+deposition of the old woman Danby that they were married. This is clear
+and precise," he continued with a grin: "she wanted to put in something
+about 'in the eyes of God,' but I left that out as beside the question;
+and she did the swearing very well. She might have broken down under
+cross-examination, it is true; and therefore it was well to put off the
+trial till she was gone. We can prove, moreover, that the late Sir John
+always paid an annuity to both mother and child, in order to make them
+keep secret--nay more, that he bribed the old woman Danby. This is our
+strong point; but it is beyond doubt--I can prove it, madam--I can prove
+it. All I fear is the mother; she is weak--very weak; I wish to heaven
+she were out of the way till the trial is over."
+
+"Send her out of the way," cried Mrs. Hazleton, decidedly; "send her to
+France;" and then she added, with a bitter smile, "she may still figure
+amongst the beauties of Versailles."
+
+"But she will not go," replied Mr. Shanks. "Madam, she will not go. I
+hinted at such a step--mentioned Cornwall or Ireland--any where she
+could be concealed."
+
+"Cornwall or Ireland!" exclaimed Mrs. Hazleton, "of course she would not
+go. Why did not you propose Africa or the plantations? She shall go, Mr.
+Shanks. Leave her to me. She shall go. And now, set to work at
+once--immediately, I say--this very day. Send the youth to-morrow, and
+let him bring me word that some step is taken. I will instruct him how
+to act, while you deal with the law."
+
+Mr. Shanks promised to obey, and retired overawed by all he had seen and
+heard. There had, it is true, been no vehement demonstration of passion;
+no fierce blaze; no violent flash; but there had been indications enough
+to show the man of law all that was raging within. It had been for him
+like gazing at a fine building on fire at that period of the
+conflagration where dense smoke and heavy darkness brood over the
+fearful scene, while dull, suddenly-smothered flashes break across the
+gloom, and tell how terrible will be the flame when it does burst freely
+forth.
+
+He had never known Mrs. Hazleton before--he had never comprehended her
+fully. But now he knew her--now, though perhaps the depths were still
+unfathomable to his eyes, he felt that there was a strong commanding
+will within that beautiful form which would bear no trifling. He had
+often treated her with easy lightness--with no want of apparent respect
+indeed--but with the persuasions and arguments such as men of business
+often address to women as beings inferior to themselves either in
+intellect or experience. Now Mr. Shanks wondered how he had escaped so
+long and so well, and he resolved that for the future his conduct should
+be very different.
+
+Mrs. Hazleton, when he left her, sat down to rest--yes, to rest; for she
+was very weary. There had been the fatiguing strife of strong passions
+in the heart--hopes--expectations--schemes-contrivances; and, above all,
+there had been a wrestling with herself to deal calmly and softly where
+she felt fiercely. It had exhausted her; and for some minutes she sat
+listlessly, with her eyes half shut, like one utterly tired out. Ere a
+quarter of an hour had passed, wheels rolled up to the door; a
+carriage-step was let down, and there was a foot-fall in the hall.
+
+"Dear Mrs. Warmington, delighted to see you!" said Mrs. Hazleton, with a
+smile sweet and gentle as the dawn of a summer morning.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+Circumstance will always have its finger in the pie with the best-laid
+schemes; but it does not always happen that thereby the pie is spoiled.
+On the contrary, circumstance is sometimes a very powerful auxiliary,
+and it happened so in the present instance with the arrangements of Mrs.
+Hazleton. Before that lady could bring any part of her scheme for
+introducing Emily to the man whom she intended to drive her into taking
+as a husband, to bear, the introduction had already taken place, as we
+have seen, by an accident.
+
+It was likely, indeed, to go no further; for Emily thought over what had
+occurred, before she gave way to her native kindness of heart. She
+remembered how tenacious all country gentlemen of that day were of their
+sporting rights, and especially of what she had often heard her father
+declare, that he looked upon any body who took his game off his
+property, according to every principle of equity and justice, as no
+better than a common robber.
+
+"If the only excuse be that it is more exposed to depredation than other
+property," said Sir Philip, "it only shows that the plunderer of it is a
+coward as well as a villain, and should be punished the more severely."
+Such, and many such speeches she had heard from her father at various
+times, and it became a case of conscience, which puzzled the poor girl
+much, whether she ought or ought not to have promised not to mention
+what had occurred in the park. She loved no concealment, and nothing
+would have induced her to tell a falsehood; but she knew that if she
+mentioned the facts, especially while the young man whom she had seen
+crossing the park with a gun lay wounded at the cottage, great evil
+might have resulted; and though she somewhat reproached herself for
+rashly giving her word, she would not break it when given.
+
+As to seeing him again, however--as to visiting him at the cottage, even
+to inquire after his health, when he had refused all aid from her
+father's house, that was an act she never dreamed of. His last words,
+indeed, had puzzled her; and there was something in his face, too, which
+set her fancy wandering. It was not exactly what she liked; but yet
+there was a resemblance, she thought, to some one she knew and was
+attached to. It could not be to her father, she said to herself, and yet
+her father's face recurred to her mind more frequently than any other
+when she thought of that of the young man she had seen; and from that
+fact a sort of prepossession in the youth's favor took possession of
+her, making her long to know who he really was.
+
+For some days Emily did not go near the cottage, but at length she
+ventured on the road which passed it--not without a hope, indeed, that
+she might meet one of the old people who tenanted it, and have an
+opportunity of inquiring after his health--but certainly not, as some
+good-natured reader may suppose, with any expectation of seeing him
+herself. As she approached, however, she perceived him sitting on a
+bench at the cottage-door, and, by a natural impulse, she turned at once
+into another path, which led back by a way nearly as short to the hall.
+The young man instantly rose, and followed her, addressing her by name,
+in a voice still weak, in truth, but too loud for her not to hear, or to
+affect not to hear.
+
+She paused, rather provoked than otherwise, and slightly inclined her
+head, while the young man approached, with every appearance of respect,
+and thanked her for the assistance she had rendered him.
+
+He had had his lesson in the mean time, and he played his part not
+amiss. All coarse swagger, all vulgar assumption was gone from his
+manner; and referring himself to some words he had spoken when last they
+had met, he said: "Pardon me, Miss Hastings, for what I said some days
+ago, which might seem both strange and mysterious, and for pressing to
+see you again; but at that time I was faint with loss of blood, and knew
+not how this might end. I wished to tell you something I thought you
+ought to hear; but now I am better; and I will find a more fitting
+opportunity ere long."
+
+"It will be better to say any thing you think fit to my father," replied
+Emily. "I am not accustomed to deal with any matters of importance; and
+any thing of so much moment as you seem to think this is, would, of
+course, be told by me to him."
+
+"I think not," replied the other, with a mysterious smile; "but of that
+you will judge when you have heard all I have to say. Your father is the
+last person to whom I would mention it myself, because I believe,
+notwithstanding all his ability, he is the last person who would judge
+sanely of it, as he would of most other matters; but, of course, you
+will speak of it or not, as you think proper. At present," he added, "I
+am too weak to attempt the detail, even if I could venture to detain you
+here. I only wished to return you my best thanks, and assure you of my
+gratitude," and bowing low, he left her to pursue her way homeward.
+
+Emily went on musing. No woman's breast is without curiosity--nor any
+man's, either--and she asked herself what could be the meaning of the
+stranger's words, at least a dozen times. What could he have to tell
+her, and why was there so much mystery? She did not like mystery,
+however; and though she felt interested in the young man--felt _pity_,
+in fact--yet it was by no means the interest that leads to, nor the pity
+which is akin to love. On the contrary, she liked him less than the
+first time she saw him. There was a certain degree of cunning in his
+mysterious smile, a look of self-confidence, almost of triumph in his
+face, which, in spite of his respectful demeanor, did not please her.
+
+Emily's father was absent from home at this time; but he returned two or
+three days after this last interview, and remarked that his daughter was
+unusually grave. To her, and to all that affected her in any way, his
+eyes were always open, though he often failed to comprehend that which
+he observed. Lady Hastings, too, had noticed Emily's unusual gravity,
+and as she had no clue to that which made her thoughtful, she concluded
+that the solitude of the country had a depressing influence upon her
+spirits, as it frequently had upon her own; and she determined to speak
+to her husband upon the matter. To him she represented that the place
+was very dull; that they had but few visitors; that even Mr. Marlow had
+not called for a week; and that Emily really required some variety of
+scene and amusement.
+
+She reasoned well according to her notions, and though Sir Philip could
+not quite comprehend them, though he abhorred great cities, and loved
+the country, she had made some impression at least by reiteration, when
+suddenly a letter arrived from Mrs. Hazleton, petitioning that Emily
+might be permitted to spend a few days with her.
+
+"I am quite alone," she said, "and not very well (she never was better
+in her life), and I propose next week to make some excursions to all the
+beautiful and interesting spots in the neighborhood. But you know, dear
+Lady Hastings, there is but small pleasure in such expeditions when they
+must be solitary; but with such a mind as that of your dear Emily for my
+companion, every object will possess a double interest."
+
+The reader has perceived that the letter was addressed to Lady Hastings;
+but it was written for the eye of Sir Philip, and to him it was shown.
+Lady Hastings observed, as she put the note into her husband's hand,
+that it would be much better to go to London. The change from their own
+house to Mrs. Hazleton's was not enough to do Emily any good; and that,
+as to these expeditions to neighboring places, she had always found them
+the dullest things imaginable.
+
+Sir Philip thought differently, however. He had been brought to the
+point of believing that Emily did want change, but not to the conviction
+that London would afford the best change for her. He inquired of Emily,
+however, which she would like best, a visit of a week to Mrs.
+Hazleton's, or a short visit to the metropolis. Much to his
+satisfaction, Emily decided at once in favor of the former, and Mrs.
+Hazleton's letter was answered, accepting her invitation.
+
+The day before Emily went, Mr. Marlow spent nearly two hours with her
+and her father in the sort of musy, wandering conversation which is so
+delightful to imaginative minds. He paid Emily herself no marked or
+particular attention; but he never suffered her to doubt that even while
+talking with her father, he was fully conscious of her presence, and
+pleased with it. Sometimes his conversation was addressed to her
+directly, and when it was not, by a word or look he would invite her to
+join in, and listened to her words as if they were very sweet to his
+ear.
+
+She loved to listen to him, however, better than to speak herself, and
+he contrived to please and interest her in all he said, gently moving
+all sorts of various feelings, sometimes making her smile gayly,
+sometimes muse thoughtfully, and sometimes rendering her almost sad. If
+he had been the most practiced love-maker in the world, he could not
+have done better with a mind like that of Emily Hastings.
+
+He heard of her proposed visit to Mrs. Hazleton with pleasure, and
+expressed it. "I am very glad to hear you are to be with her," he said,
+"for I do not think Mrs. Hazleton is well. She has lost her usual
+spirits, and has been very grave and thoughtful when I have seen her
+lately."
+
+"Oh, if I can cheer and soothe her," cried Emily eagerly, "how
+delightful my visit will be to me. Mrs. Hazleton says in her letter that
+she is unwell; and that decided me to go to her, rather than to London."
+
+"To London!" exclaimed Mr. Marlow, "I had no idea that you proposed such
+a journey. Oh, Sir Philip, do not take your daughter to London. Friends
+of mine there are often in the habit of bringing in fresh and beautiful
+flowers from the country; but I always see that first they become dull
+and dingy with the smoke and heavy air, and then wither away and perish;
+and often in gay parties, I have thought that I saw in the young and
+beautiful around me the same dulling influence, the same withering, both
+of the body and the heart."
+
+Sir Philip Hastings smiled pleasantly, and assured his young friend that
+he had no desire or intention of going to the capital except for one
+month in the winter, and Emily looked up brightly, saying, "For my part,
+I only wish that even then I could be left behind. When last I was
+there, I was so tired of the blue velvet lining of the gilt _vis-a-vis_,
+that I used to try and paint fancy pictures of the country upon it as I
+drove through the streets with mamma."
+
+At length Emily set out in the heavy family coach, with her maid and Sir
+Philip for her escort. Progression was slow in those days compared with
+our own, when a man can get as much event into fifty years as Methuselah
+did into a thousand. The journey took three hours at the least; but it
+seemed short to Emily, for at the end of the first hour they were
+overtaken by Mr. Marlow on horseback, and he rode along with them to the
+gate of Mrs. Hazleton's house. He was an admirable horseman, for he had
+not only a good but a graceful seat, and his handsome figure and fine
+gentlemanly carriage never appeared to greater advantage than when he
+did his best to be a centaur. The slow progress of the lumbering vehicle
+might have been of some inconvenience, but his horse was trained to
+canter to a walk when he pleased, and, leaning to the window of the
+carriage, and sometimes resting his hand upon it, he contrived to carry
+on the conversation with those within almost as easily as in a
+drawing-room.
+
+Just as the carriage was approaching the gate, Marlow said: "I think I
+shall not go in with you, Sir Philip; for I have a little business
+farther on, and I have ridden more slowly than I thought;" but before
+the sentence was well concluded, the gates of the park were opened by
+the porter, and Mrs. Hazleton herself appeared within, leaning on the
+arm of her maid. She had calculated well the period of Emily's arrival,
+and had gone out to the gate for the purpose of giving her an extremely
+hospitable welcome. Probably, had she not hated her as warmly and
+sincerely as she did, she would have stayed at home; our attention is
+ever doubtful.
+
+But what were Mrs. Hazleton's feelings when she saw Mr. Marlow riding by
+the side of the carriage? I will not attempt to describe them; but for
+one instant a strange dark cloud passed over her beautiful face. It was
+banished in an instant; but not before Marlow had remarked both the
+expression itself and the sudden glance of the lady's eyes from him to
+Emily. For the first time a doubt, a suspicion, a something he did not
+like to fathom, came over his mind; and he resolved to watch. Neither
+Emily nor her father perceived that look, and as the next moment the
+beautiful face was once more as bright as ever, they felt pleased with
+her kind eagerness to meet them; and alighting from the carriage, walked
+on with her to the house, while Marlow, dismounted, accompanied them,
+leading his horse.
+
+"I am glad to see you, Mr. Marlow," said Mrs. Hazleton, in a tone from
+which she could not do what she would--banish all bitterness. "I suppose
+I owe the pleasure of your visit to that which you yourself feel in
+escorting a fair lady."
+
+"I must not, I fear, pretend to such gallantry," replied Marlow. "I
+overtook the carriage accidentally as I was riding to Mr. Cornelius
+Brown's; and to say the truth, I did not intend to come in, for I am
+somewhat late."
+
+"Cold comfort for my vanity," replied the lady, "that you would not have
+paid me a visit unless you had met me at the gate."
+
+She spoke in a tone rather of sadness than of anger; but Marlow did not
+choose to perceive any thing serious in her words, and he replied,
+laughing: "Nay, dear Mrs. Hazleton, you do not read the riddle aright.
+It shows, when rightly interpreted, that your society is so charming
+that I cannot resist its influence when once within the spell, even for
+the sake of the Englishman's god--Business."
+
+"A man always succeeds in drawing some flattery for woman's ear out of
+the least flattering conduct," answered Mrs. Hazleton.
+
+The conversation then took another turn; and after walking with the rest
+of the party up to the house, Marlow again mounted and rode away. As
+soon as the horses had obtained some food and repose, Sir Philip also
+returned, and Emily was left, with a woman who felt at her heart that
+she could have poniarded her not an hour before.
+
+But Mrs. Hazleton was all gentle sweetness, and calm, thoughtful,
+dignified ease. She did not suffer her attention to be diverted for one
+moment from her fair guest: there were no reveries, no absence of mind;
+and Emily--poor Emily--thought her more charming than ever.
+Nevertheless, while speaking upon many subjects, and brightly and
+intelligently upon all, there was an under-current of thought going on
+unceasingly in Mrs. Hazleton's mind, different from that upon the
+surface. She was trying to read Marlow's conduct towards Emily--to judge
+whether he loved her or not. She asked herself whether his having
+escorted her to that house was in reality purely accidental, and she
+wished that she could have seen them together but for a few moments
+longer, though every moment had been a dagger to her heart. Nay, she did
+more: she strove by many a dexterous turn of the conversation, to lure
+out her fair unconscious guest's inmost thoughts--to induce her, not to
+tell all, for that she knew was hopeless, but to betray all. Emily,
+however, happily for herself, was unconscious; she knew not that there
+was any thing to betray. Fortunately, most fortunately, she knew not
+what was in her own breast; or perhaps I should say, knew not what it
+meant. Her answers were all simple, natural and true; and plain candor,
+as often happens, disappointed art.
+
+Mrs. Hazleton retired for the night with the conviction that whatever
+might be Marlow's feelings towards Emily, Emily was not in love with
+Marlow; and that was something gained.
+
+"No, no," she said, with a pride in her own discernment, "a woman who
+knows something of the world can never be long deceived in regard to
+another woman's heart." She should have added, "except by its
+simplicity."
+
+"Now," she continued, mentally, "to-morrow for the first great stop. If
+this youth can but demean himself wisely, and will follow the advice I
+have given him, he has a fair field to act in. He seems prompt and ready
+enough: he is assuredly handsome, and what between his good looks, kind
+persuasion by others, and her father's dangerous position, this girl
+methinks may be easily driven--or led into his arms; and that
+stumbling-block removed. He will punish her enough hereafter, or I am
+mistaken."
+
+Punish her for what, Mrs. Hazleton?
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[M] Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1850, by G. P. R.
+James, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States
+for the Southern District of New-York.
+
+
+
+
+THE FRIENDSHIP OF JOSEPHUS AND ST. PAUL.
+
+
+In the _Princeton Review_, the _Church of England Quarterly_, and other
+periodicals, there have appeared recently several very interesting
+articles upon the Voyage of St. Paul to Rome; and in a work entitled
+"Gleanings on the Overland Route," by the author of "Forty Days in the
+Desert," just published in London, we find a dissertation "On the
+Shipwreck of the Apostle Paul, and the historian Josephus," which goes
+far to prove that Josephus accompanied the apostle to Rome, and that he
+was in some measure the means of procuring the introduction of the
+Christians into "Caesar's household." After a summary account of the
+shipwreck as narrated by St. Luke, aided by such elucidatory particulars
+as have been supplied by Mr. James Smith in his "Voyage and Shipwreck of
+St. Paul," the author says:--
+
+"The only real difference between the two accounts of St. Luke and of
+Josephus is, that Josephus does not mention the stay of three months on
+the island of Malta. He writes as if the ship were wrecked in the open
+sea, and he was saved by being at once taken up into the second ship.
+This very great disagreement in the two narratives we must set to the
+account of Josephus's inaccuracy. The second ship he rightly calls a
+ship of Cyrene, for the Alexandrian vessel, in a favorable voyage, may
+have touched at that port. He adds to the apostolic history the
+interesting information, that it was through the Jewish actor,
+Alituries, that he, and, we may add, the Apostle and Christianity,
+gained an introduction into 'Caesar's household.' That Josephus sailed
+in the same ship with Paul, we may hold for certain. No Jews born in
+Judea had the privilege of Roman citizenship; of Jews who had that
+privilege, the number was so small, that it is not probable that two
+such appeals to Rome, by Jews from the province of Judea, should have
+been allowed in the reign of Nero. That two ships, carrying such Hebrew
+applicants from Judea, should have been wrecked in the Adriatic, from
+both of which the passengers should have been saved, and landed at
+Puteoli, and that within the space of three years, we may pronounce
+impossible. So then the Jewish historian Josephus, when a young man,
+made the voyage from Caesarea to Italy with the Apostle Paul, the
+Evangelist Luke, and their friend Aristarchus, and, for part of the way,
+with the young Titus. He calls the Apostle his friend, though worldly
+prudence forbade his naming him. From these fellow-travellers he must
+have heard the opinions of the Christians. He was able to contradict or
+confirm all that they said of the founder of our religion, for he was
+born only eight years after the crucifixion. But Josephus, when he wrote
+his history and life, was a courtier, and even a traitor to his
+country--he wanted moral courage, he did not mean to be a martyr, and
+any testimony in favor of a despised sect is not to be expected from
+him. The passage in his Antiquities in which Jesus is praised we may
+give up as a forgery of the third century: it is enough for us to
+remark, that after having lived for five months with Paul on the voyage
+from Judea to Italy, he does not write against this earnest teacher of
+Christianity, as either a weak enthusiast or a crafty impostor. But he
+praises his piety and virtues, and boasts that he was of use in
+obtaining his release from prison."
+
+Mr. Smith, to whom allusion is made above, is said to be a gentleman of
+liberal fortune, and to have carefully studied navigation, and in
+numerous voyages in his yacht through these seas to have practised it,
+for the especial purpose of investigating and illustrating the points
+embraced in this interesting portion of the sacred history. He has
+pretty satisfactorily established the precise route of the Apostle on
+this famous journey, which is the most universally familiar of all in
+ancient or modern life. The curious suggestion of such personal
+relations between Paul and Josephus is not new; it was made some time in
+the seventh century in the Reflections of Bernardin Pastouret, and
+perhaps at an earlier time by others. The author whose words are here
+quoted, is Mr. John Sharpe, and he has very clearly presented the case.
+
+
+
+
+THE COUNT MONTE-LEONE: OR, THE SPY IN SOCIETY.[N]
+
+Translated For The International Monthly Magazine From the French of H.
+De St. Georges.
+
+_Continued from page 359._
+
+
+BOOK IV.
+
+
+I. EXPLANATION OF THE ENIGMA.
+
+While the events we have described are taking place at Sorrento, we will
+retrace our steps to the Etruscan House, where we left Monte-Leone and
+Taddeo when the latter placed in the hands of the former the letter of
+La Felina. The Count opened the letter, and read:
+
+"Taddeo--You told me in the prison of the palace of the Dukes of Palma,
+whither I went to find you, '_Love which speculates is not love. Mine
+will obey you for obedience' sake. Try, however, to ask something grand
+and difficult, that you may judge it by its fruits._'"
+
+"Then you love her?" said Monte-Leone, interrupting himself.
+
+"Read on," said Taddeo.
+
+"'Your heart, Taddeo, is noble,' replied I. 'I have faith in it. May God
+grant that your strength do not betray your courage. In four days you
+will learn what I expect from you.' I write down what I expect, for I
+have not courage to tell you. I cannot crush your hopes, though I know
+that they cannot be realized. The feelings you have avowed to me,
+Taddeo, demand entire confidence: for it would be a crime to deceive a
+heart like yours. I will therefore tell you the truth, painful as it may
+be. It is a year since I came to Naples, having been attracted thither
+by a brilliant engagement at San Carlo. My success was as great as it
+had been in the other capitals of Italy. After the applause and ovations
+of the public--the truest and most discriminating of all--came
+privileged admirers; those, who, from their rank, birth, and fortune,
+have a right to pass the curtain of the sanctuary, and cast incense at
+the very foot of the idol; who can compliment the artiste on the stage,
+and follow her with their commonplaces to her very box. There was no
+scarcity of sacrificers. The noblest of Naples overwhelmed me with
+adulations; from compliments they came to declaration, and there, as at
+Rome, Venice, and elsewhere, I was persecuted by the insipid gallantries
+of suitors, to which every successful artiste possessed of any personal
+attraction must submit. To all these advances my heart remained cold,
+and my insensibility cost me nothing; for I neither loved nor wished to.
+A strange event, however, changed my plans. It was an evening of last
+autumn, and the air was as sultry as possible. Exhausted by the heat of
+the theatre, after the performance was over I sent my carriage home, and
+resolved, in company with my _confidante_, to return on foot. I avoided
+my many suitors, and escaped from the theatre by a back-door. The air
+was so pure, and the night so beautiful, that I walked for some time on
+the _chiaja_. It was late when I returned homeward. Crossing an isolated
+street, which I had taken to shorten the walk, my _confidante_ and
+myself were unexpectedly attacked by a party of men who stood beneath
+the portico of a palace. They had well-nigh stifled our cries with
+scarfs, which had been thrown over our heads, and we should possibly
+have been murdered, when a man, rushing sword in hand, I know not
+whence, attacked our aggressors, disarmed three of them, whom he put to
+flight, and killed the fourth by a dagger-thrust. Rapidly as possible,
+he then took off the bandages from our faces, and gave me, half dead
+with terror, his arm.
+
+"A carriage passed, the stranger called to it, placed us in it, and
+said: 'A lady, signora, of your appearance, met in the streets of Naples
+at such an hour, doubtless is under the influence of some secret motive
+she would be unwilling to expose. My services to you have been too
+slight to warrant my questioning you. Now you have nothing to fear, and
+this carriage will take you any where you please. I will inquire into no
+orders which you may give.' 'But your name, signore?' said I. 'Count
+Monte-Leone,' said he, as he disappeared."
+
+"That is true," said the Count. "I never knew, though, whom I had
+rescued from the hands of bandits."
+
+He then began again to read:
+
+"From that time the Count was, in spite of myself, the object of my
+constant thoughts and secret meditations. I was very anxious, at least,
+to know the features of the man, whom I had only seen in the dark; for
+the services he had rendered me, the courage he had displayed, even the
+sound of his voice, spoke both to my head and heart. One day, as I was
+crossing the street of Toledo, some young persons pointed out to me a
+cavalier, mounted on a noble horse. 'No one but Monte-Leone can ride
+such an animal as that. No one else rides so well.' 'He is the
+handsomest and most brilliant of our young nobles,' said another. 'What
+a pity he gives himself so completely to the people,' said a third. The
+Count, whom I saw then for the first time, was the realization of all my
+youthful dreams and illusions. I loved the Count, though I did not know
+it. From the moment I saw him, my heart and soul were consecrated to
+him."
+
+A painful sigh, uttered near Monte-Leone, made the Count look at young
+Rovero, the pallor of whom indicated intense suffering.
+
+"My friend," said the Count, taking his hand, "what matters it if Felina
+love me, provided I do not love her?"
+
+"Some day you may love her," said Taddeo.
+
+"No," said the Count.
+
+"And why?"
+
+"Because I have but one heart, and that is another's."
+
+A happy smile lighted up the face of Rovero, and Monte-Leone continued
+to read, with as much _sang-froid_ as if another were the subject of the
+letter:
+
+"You wished to know which of the four I loved; excuse me, Taddeo, but
+now I have told you all. From that time I conceived an ardent devotion
+to Monte-Leone. My passion was, however, of that kind which only demands
+the gratification of the soul. All I had heard of the Count's character,
+of his errors, follies, and numerous passions, far from alienating,
+rendered him still dearer to me. It seemed that his lofty, generous
+disposition, full of courage and honor, had wanted nothing but a guide,
+or rather an angel, to wrest him from the torment of the life he had
+prepared for himself."
+
+The Count paused, and reflected for a few moments, which seemed
+centuries to Rovero. He then began again to read:
+
+"Ah, had I met Monte-Leone in the days of my innocence, in the days when
+I also looked for some one to guide my early steps, with my hand in his,
+with my heart beating against his, I should, perhaps, have avoided the
+rocks on which I have been wrecked? To the Count, however, I could be
+now but an ordinary woman, whose attractions might, perhaps, for the
+moment fascinate him, but whom he would soon cast aside, as he has his
+other conquests: then I feel _I should have killed him!_"
+
+The Count quietly read on:
+
+"I loved him too fondly to become his mistress; yet his image pursued me
+by night and day. At last my heart, in its immense and pure love,
+inspired me with the noblest and purest idea: 'Be more than a woman, be
+more than a mistress to him,' said I to myself, 'be a providence, a
+secret and protecting providence which preserves him in all dangers, and
+provides all his happiness.' Alas! I fancied that I had to defend
+Monte-Leone only against the ordinary perils of life, against the
+rivalry excited by his triumphs, and not against the serious dangers to
+which his opinions subjected him. I soon heard the rumors which were
+being circulated about the Count, learned of his danger, and the
+perilous part he had to play in relation to the secret societies. I
+learned all this from public rumor, but I needed other aid and
+information to guide me in the defence of him I loved. Among those most
+carried away by my talent, and if I must say so, most captivated by my
+beauty, was the Duke of Palma, minister of police. I received the
+minister kindly, and without yielding to his persuasions, conferred
+trifling favors on him. His confidence in me was immense. When I was
+stern to him he became desperate, but he professed there was such a
+charm in my company that he sought constantly to see me. Minister as he
+was, he became not my _sicisbeo_, for that I would consent to at no
+price, but my _cavaliero sirviente_, thus occupying the second grand
+hierarchy of love. I learned from the minister himself the snares
+prepared for Monte-Leone, twenty times I informed your friend of them,
+and enabled him to avoid them. In the same manner I heard of your
+imprudent folly at the ball of San-Carlo, and you know what I did to
+avert its consequences. A certain Lippiani, a skilful officer placed by
+means of my influence in the Neapolitan police, while paying a visit of
+inspection to the jailor of the Castle _Del Uovo_, contrived to
+introduce into the prisoner's loaf the mysterious information he
+received. The imagination, or rather the genius of the Count, inspired
+him with a design to secure his liberty. To assure the success of this
+ruse, the Count escaped for some hours from his prison, and amid that
+season of trouble, energy, and anguish, Monte-Leone lost the famous ring
+he always wears. This loss again placed his life and liberty in danger.
+Then I conceived a hardy and bold plan, which cannot succeed without
+your aid and devotion. On that, however, for you so promised me, I rely.
+I learned that you were a prisoner, but were about to be released. You
+can then aid me, but it is necessary to awake no suspicion. Aware of
+every outlet to the palace, which had often been shown to me by the Duke
+of Palma, I remembered a certain secret passage and door hidden in a
+pillar, whither the Duke often comes, to hear, unseen, the examinations
+of prisoners. Thither I sought to come. The porter admitted me at night;
+doubtless, fancying I was come to keep an appointment with his master.
+Of what value, however, were honor and reputation to me compared with
+his danger. Now, Taddeo, read with attention the lines I am about to
+write; follow my advice exactly, or Monte-Leone is lost.
+
+"I obtained possession for a few days of the emerald lost by the Count,
+and which had been sent by his enemies to the Duke of Palma. At a great
+cost I caused a similar one to be made by one of the most skilful
+workmen of Naples. The copy will be easily recognized: _that is what I
+wish_. I have substituted it for the original, and placed it myself in
+the minister's jewel case, the key of which he had given to me to take
+an antique _cameo_, the design of which I wished. The false ring will be
+given to the Count, instead of the true one, which is in the _coffret_ I
+have placed by you. Go to Monte-Leone's house, during the night after
+your release. I am too closely watched now, to dare go thither myself.
+Give this ring to the old servant, tell him to deliver it to the judges,
+but not till the trial. The enemies of whom I spoke will be overcome by
+this pretended proof of their imposition, and the safety of the Count
+will be sure. I have told you all. Now, Taddeo, excuse me for having
+pained you by my disclosure. Excuse me for having unfolded all my heart
+to you, excuse me for having permitted you to read my most secret
+sentiments. Your love deserves something better than mine; but if it
+inspire you with any pity for me, rescue the Count from the executioner,
+and know that to save Monte-Leone is to save La Felina."
+
+"What a woman!" said the Count, as he let fall the letter; "what passion
+and devotion!"
+
+"Ah!" said Taddeo, who looked anxiously into the eyes of the Count, to
+divine the effect produced by the singer's letter, "you see her devotion
+pleases and touches you:--that you love her----"
+
+"Taddeo," said the Count, with great emotion, "that woman was my
+providence, and defended me against my accusers.... She saved my
+life.... It is a noble heart that thus hopelessly devotes itself. Let me
+give her all my gratitude.... A poor and sterile recompense for such
+devotion. The other sentiments of my heart you shall also know!"
+
+Rising up with the dignified and lofty air of a noble, he said:
+
+"Taddeo Rovero, Count Monte-Leone asks of you the hand of Aminta Rovero,
+your sister."
+
+Just then a painful exclamation was heard in the next room. Monte-Leone
+seized his dagger and rushed to the door. He threw it open, and a
+strange spectacle presented itself to him. A woman, pale and trembling,
+leaned on the arm of an old man. Her eyes, fixed and tearful, seemed to
+look without seeing, and her ears appeared to catch no sound. It was La
+Felina. She was sustained by old Giacomo.
+
+"Excuse me, Monsignore, she was permitted to come in; for Signor Rovero,
+when he brought your ring, said you owed your safety to her."
+
+"Felina!" said Taddeo. He fell at the singer's feet.
+
+She remained motionless as a statue whose lips only were living.
+
+"Signore Monte-Leone," said she, "I leave Naples to-night, and for ever.
+Before I did so, however, I wished to see and give you a piece of
+advice. Death menaces you from all sides, and your most insignificant
+actions are observed. Escape from the country, for here you will no
+longer find the faithful friends who have watched over you."
+
+"Say, Signora, the _faithful friend_, the generous providence who saved
+me from the axe of the executioner."
+
+"You know all, Signor," said La Felina; and she looked at Taddeo--"my
+secret has been revealed to you--for blushing, however, I now
+acknowledge with pride that it is true, for it has won for me the
+expressions you uttered just now. Alas!" said she bitterly, "I should
+have fled and have heard no more."
+
+Tears filled her eyes; overcoming her emotion, however, she said:
+
+"My mission is fulfilled, Count Monte-Leone, for you will live and be
+happy. If misfortune, though, befall you, do not forget that one heart
+in the world will taste of all your sorrow.--Taddeo," said she, giving
+the young man her hand, "time and reason will exert their influence on
+so noble a heart, and ere long you will find one worthy of you. Forget
+me," she added, when she saw him about to reply, "do not speak to me of
+sentiments the intensity of which I know--and I will assist you to
+triumph. To-morrow you will love me less. I know so. To-morrow."
+
+"To-morrow!" said Taddeo.
+
+"Yes," said Felina, "and in a little time I shall be but the shadow of a
+dream, which some reality will expel from your heart."
+
+She went towards the door.
+
+"Signori," said she, when she saw Monte-Leone and Taddeo preparing to
+follow her, "I came hither with confidence in the honor of two
+gentlemen, who, I am sure, will not leave the room until I shall have
+left. Do not be afraid," she continued, with a faint smile on her lips,
+"a carriage awaits, but not to convey me to the Castle _Del Uovo_."
+
+Then casting on the Count a glance instinct with sadness and regret, she
+offered her hand to Taddeo, who covered it with kisses, and preceded by
+Giacomo left the room. For some moments the two friends looked at each
+other in silence. Taddeo then went towards the door, saying:
+
+"But I am a fool to let her escape thus."
+
+He crossed the court and went to the door of the room. The carriage,
+however, was gone, and far in the distance he heard the sound of the
+wheels.
+
+
+II.--A LAST APPEARANCE.
+
+The hearts of Monte-Leone and of Taddeo Rovero were, after the departure
+of the singer, in very different conditions. Monte-Leone, delighted with
+the present, and with the prospect of future success, to be attained as
+the husband of Aminta, forgot all else--even the terrible responsibility
+which weighed on him as the chief of a faction of forbidden societies,
+and the perpetual dangers with which it menaced him. Monte-Leone had an
+energetic heart but a volatile mind, over which the accidents of life
+glide like the runner of a sleigh over polished ice, almost without
+leaving traces.
+
+A circumstance of which we will speak of by and by, aroused the Count
+from his peace of soul to cast him in the waves of that sea of politics
+where shipwrecks are so common and tempests so usual. The only idea
+which occupied Taddeo was to see La Felina again. He said rightly enough
+that the rays of such a star could not long be concealed; that its glory
+and success would always betray it, and that the farewell token of
+Monte-Leone in the Etruscan house would not be for ever.
+
+Under the influence, then, of very different sentiments, the two friends
+returned to the Count's hotel at Naples. Less beautiful than the
+magnificent palace of Monte-Leone, it did not, like the latter, render
+indispensable the numerous and imposing array of servants, of which his
+somewhat restricted fortune deprived Monte-Leone. Descried by its master
+during the whole time of his seclusion, this hotel had been the scene of
+the ruinous pleasures of the Count. Splendid festivals had been given
+there; joyous suppers had been proposed, and the shadow of more than
+one graceful dame, wrapped in silken folds, had been traced at midnight
+on the great white marble wall of the portico.
+
+Giacomo, who had left the Etruscan house at an early hour, had
+superintended the preparation of the hotel for its master, and the
+unfolding of the tall wide windows made the house seem to stare on the
+sunlight, like blind persons who but recently have recovered their
+sight. The resuscitation of the hotel of Monte-Leone, as people in the
+Toledo-street said, created a great sensation in that quarter. The Count
+and Taddeo had been there but a short time, when Giacomo, evidently in a
+very bad humor, announced Signor Pignana. Many of the Count's friends
+who had heard of his return came to see him and crowded around him. They
+arose to leave when the new-comer was announced; but they paused when
+they saw the strange person introduced.
+
+"_Buon giorno caro mio Pignana_,"[O] said the Count, advancing to meet
+him. "You are not the last to visit me, and I am deeply touched by your
+visit. He is my landlord, Signori, an excellent man. Something of an
+Arab, it is true, in money matters; but as he is an old tradesman, you
+see it is impossible for him to change his habits. For twenty years he
+furnished the family liveries, and the result is that now he is richer
+than me."
+
+"Ah, my Lord," said Pignana, "you flatter me."
+
+"Not at all, Signor," said Monte-Leone. "Now you can yourself have
+liveries with the Pignana arms, '_Two winged shears on a field argent_,'
+a regular tailor's escutcheon."
+
+"How then," asked one of the young men, "is Signor Pignana your
+landlord--is it of this hotel or of your beautiful palace?"
+
+"Ah," said the Count, "he is not exactly my landlord yet, but he will be
+if my friend and creditor, Signor Pignana, continues to lend me money at
+cent. per cent. At present, however, the excellent man only owns my
+Etruscan house, a very gem of a thing, which he rents to me, and for
+which I am much obliged."
+
+"It is I who am obliged," muttered Pignana.
+
+"Ah!" said the Count, with a smile, "I believe you. That house had
+nearly become historical. If the executioner of Naples, the father of a
+family, and passionately fond of flowers," continued the Count to his
+friends, "with whom I passed a fortnight at the Castle _Del Uovo_, had
+been forced to arrange matters for me, the house in which Monte-Leone
+was arrested would have become historical. Pignana could have let it out
+to tourists, and could have retailed the stores for the London museums.
+Instead of this piece of good fortune, which I am very glad was not
+Pignana's, he possesses a good tenant, who will some day pay him
+punctually, when he has himself been paid all that is due him; for you
+can fancy how the arrest of one man discourages the business of others.
+All his debtors, all the friends of his purse, leap with joy; he seems
+at once outlawed, especially to those who are indebted to him. The most
+honest merely pray that his imprisonment may be prolonged; the least
+delicate pray that the executioner may send them a receipt."
+
+"But the Count also has some true friends who would be distressed at his
+death," said Pignana. "Monsignore counts me among them."
+
+Pignana probably uttered these words under the influence of great
+emotion, for a tear hung on the lid of his eye above an aquiline nose of
+immense size.
+
+"My dear Pignana," said the Count, "I know how far I can depend on you,
+for _I know you_."
+
+Monte-Leone accented this word, the significance of which to Pignana was
+very expressive, for he looked proudly around, as if the Count had given
+him a certificate of valor and courage.
+
+"I am about to give you the list of our men--that is to say of our
+transactions,"[P] said the old man, eagerly correcting himself.
+
+"Yes," said Monte-Leone, who had glanced sternly at him, "the list of
+our transactions. Go on, Pignana, go on, prove your account and diminish
+the total, contrary to your wont; above all, exhibit your vouchers; that
+is especially important."
+
+"Do not trouble yourself, Monsignore: I have all regular, and now you
+must pay in person."
+
+"In person," replied the Count. "Yes, Pignana, I will thus discharge my
+obligations without having recourse to a third party. Go thither,
+however, at once," said he, and he pushed the tailor into the next room.
+"You will find writing materials," he added, aside, "and no one to
+listen to you."
+
+"Excuse me, Signori," said he, speaking to his friends; "you have seen
+one of the greatest misfortunes of our rank, the necessity of civility
+to a fool who is a creditor."
+
+Just then Taddeo Rovero, who had gone out when Pignana entered, came in,
+introducing a handsome lad of about eighteen.
+
+"Count," said he, to Monte-Leone, "let me introduce you to Signor
+Gaetano Brignoli, a friend of my family."
+
+"Then, Signor," said the Count, "you are a friend of mine; for all whom
+they love are dear to me."
+
+"Ah! Count," said Gaetano, "how much uneasiness your trial has caused
+all at Sorrento! Especially to myself, who was particularly charged by
+the charming Aminta to inform her of all the details of the trial. I set
+out on the night before your trial to be one of the first in the hall."
+
+"I scarcely dare," said the Count, with an expression of great pleasure,
+"to think the Signorina entertains such interest in my behalf."
+
+"It was not precisely of yourself that she spoke," replied Gaetano,
+"but of my friend Taddeo, her brother, who was known to be compromised
+with you, and about whom she, naturally enough, was interested."
+
+The Count grew slightly pale as he saw this gratification wrested from
+him.
+
+"By-the-by, Signori," said Gaetano, "you have heard the news with which
+all the city and suburbs echo, and which makes almost as much noise as
+the trial of the Count Monte-Leone."
+
+"I trust," said the Count, bitterly, "that the news is more pleasant."
+
+"Infinitely more so," continued Gaetano. "Every one is talking of it,
+and crazed with it--especially myself, who am a _pazzo per la musica_,
+like the here of Fioravanti. You know, Signori, nothing is more pleasant
+than to win again a pleasure we fancy to have been lost to us."
+
+"Go on," said Taddeo, who had a presentiment that something pleasant was
+about to be related. The very mention of music made him quiver.
+
+"Well, Signori," said Gaetano, "the Sicilian siren, the fairy _La
+Felina_, sings to-night at San Carlo."
+
+"La Felina?" said all the listeners at once.
+
+"La Felina! impossible!" said Rovero. "She left Naples last night."
+
+"Certainly she did," said Gaetano; "and that makes the matter more
+charming and pleasant. _La Felina_ has her caprices as all pretty women,
+and singers especially. That is the condition and very qualification of
+talent. A _prima donna_ who did not keep the public uneasy about her
+health, her business, or her amours, one who did not outrage the
+manager, would not be a complete woman. How could she? One does not earn
+a hundred thousand francs a year for acting as if the salary was only a
+thousand crowns. It would be vulgar and common and altogether unbecoming
+a fine lady. La Felina, therefore, annoyed by the effect produced on the
+public mind by the drama of the Trial of Count Monte-Leone, which
+occupied the attention she thought should be engrossed by her own
+performances, would not appear while the trial was going on. She was
+about to throw up her engagement, and actually did so, when she was at
+the Porta-Capuana. The patrons of the opera, with the empresario at
+their head, accompanied by the orchestra and troupe, not wanting an
+enormous crowd of other admirers of _la Diva_, and they are many,
+prevented the carriage from passing. She was surrounded, pressed, and
+besought to such a degree that she was dragged back to her hotel, and
+promised to sing once more in the Griselda of the _Maestro Paer_, the
+best of all her characters. You can fancy the enthusiasm thus excited,
+and how all struggle to secure seats. I paid for mine thrice the usual
+price, and think I am very fortunate."
+
+For a moment Taddeo said nothing, he saw nothing, and scarcely breathed.
+He was half stifled with joy and surprise. To see one again, from whom
+he had expected to be separated for so long a time, and perhaps for
+ever, seemed to him a dream from which he seemed afraid to awake. The
+friends of the Count left: all hurried to the theatre to secure an
+opportunity of being present at the solemnity.
+
+"Come, come," said Taddeo, hurrying young Brignoli away. "I must go to
+San Carlo to-night at any price, even at that of my life!"
+
+"Indeed!" said Gaetano, "I did not think you so passionate a dilettante.
+You exceed me--to pay for music with gold is well enough, but with
+life--ah, that is altogether a different thing; mine is valuable, and I
+keep it for greater occasions."
+
+The Count stopped Rovero just as he was about to leave.
+
+"What," said he, with an air of deep concern, "will you not go with me
+to-morrow to Sorrento?"
+
+"To-morrow, to-morrow, for pity's sake," said Taddeo in a low tone. "Let
+me be happy to-day, and I will devote all my life to you."
+
+He left with Gaetano.
+
+"No, no," said Monte-Leone, "I will not wait a day, not an hour, before
+I see Aminta,--even if I go to Sorrento alone. I will go thither at
+once."
+
+"Impossible," said a grave voice behind the Count.
+
+The latter turned around and saw Pignana, who had glided unseen from the
+room as soon as he heard the young people leave.
+
+"Why so?" said the Count.
+
+"Why, Monsignore?" replied Pignana, who, casting aside the air and
+manner of a retired tradesman, became a dry and cold old man with a
+dignified bearing. "Because our brothers, terrified at your arrest, were
+on the point of dissolving the _vente_.--Because, it has been reported
+that your excellency was on the point of abandoning the cause, and
+laying aside the functions of supreme chief:--Because, the principal
+_Carbonari_, the agent of whom I am, wish to be informed of your
+intentions, and to be assured by you personally that you will not
+abandon them."
+
+"Then," said the Count, with a gesture of ill-restrained temper, for
+these political embarrassments came in conflict with ideas which were
+far dearer to him, "that is the meaning of what you said just now. How
+can I restore confidence to our associates? The Neapolitan police
+watches over me; the least imprudence, the slightest exhibition of the
+existence of our association, would revive all, and endanger the fate
+and future success of the society, and also my life. You have few men of
+energy among you; you, who are one of the most devoted, trembled _in the
+presence of my friends_. You deserve to be hissed like a bad actor in a
+good part! Listen to me, Pignana: I wish to be your chief; I wish to
+risk a heavy stake in your cause; but now, especially when heavy matters
+weigh on me, I do not purpose to appear in _political comedy_. I wish
+to play a serious part, the theories of which are actions, with many
+deeds and few words. I will do all that is necessary to serve our cause,
+but nothing more. Remember this. The Castle _Del Uovo_, dungeons beneath
+the sea, the executioner and conversations with the Grand-Judge, warn me
+to be careful and prudent. Ask me, then, nothing more. In eight days our
+great general _venta_ will be held at the monastery of San Paola, fifty
+leagues from Naples. I will be there, and will tell you what our
+brethren in France and Germany have informed me of. Until then, however,
+question me about nothing."
+
+"We do not, Monsignore," replied Pignana, who was aware of the firmness
+of the Count, and saw at once that he had mistaken his course. "The
+association, which admires your excellency, especially since the trial,
+which looks on your excellency as a martyr, asks nothing except one
+favor, which will overwhelm it with gratitude and joy."
+
+"And what is that favor?" rejoined the Count.
+
+"That Monsignore will appear to-night at San Carlo in a box, the key of
+which I have with me. This box may be seen from every part of the house.
+All of our principal men will be present, and if Monsignore will
+advance, during the interlude, to the front of the box, _placing his
+hand on his heart_, all our friends will know that they may rely on
+him."
+
+"By my faith, shrewd as the Duke of Palma is, suspicious as the police
+may be, I do not think this can be construed into an act of treason. It
+pledges me to nothing. The ladies to whom we make the gesture understand
+it. I will then make this exhibition of my person, as the English say,
+and I will increase the interest of the performance by my presence. In a
+word, I will appear for the benefit of La Felina. The brave girl and
+myself will not even then be quits."
+
+"Thank you, Count," said Pignana, as he left--"and now, adieu, until we
+meet at San Carlo."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A few hours after the scene we have described, an immense crowd thronged
+every entry to the theatre of San Carlo. It was not, however, the joyous
+crowd intoxicated with folly which we have seen hurry into its precincts
+at the commencement of this story. On this occasion the public seemed
+rather busy than in search of pleasure. It was a matter of importance,
+indeed, to be present at the last appearance of La Felina. The keys of
+the boxes, therefore, according to the Italian custom, were sold at the
+door of the theatre, and at double the usual price. I speak only of the
+small number of boxes, the proprietors of which were absent from Naples.
+We may also as well add, that in Naples a box is often _property_. All
+the other boxes were occupied by illustrious personages, or by the
+wealthiest inhabitants of the great city. San Carlo on that night was
+brilliant as possible. The Count had just come. The women glittered with
+flowers and diamonds. As on the occasion of the masked ball, the theatre
+was illuminated _a giorno_. No detail of the festival, no beauty present
+could escape observation. Count Monte-Leone appeared in the box which
+had been reserved for him, which soon became the object of every
+lorgnette and the theme of every conversation. He bore this annoying
+attention with icy _sang-froid_, seeming even not to observe it. His
+vanity, however, was secretly gratified, and we have said that this was
+his weak point. The overture began, and the curtain was finally raised.
+During this time, and the first scenes of the opera, the private
+conversation was so loud and animated that the singers and orchestra
+were almost overpowered. Suddenly silence was restored--admiration as
+respectful as that which precedes a sovereign's arrival pervaded all.
+
+The true Queen of Naples, at this moment, was La Felina. This complete
+calmness was soon succeeded by a thunder of applause. A thousand voices
+uttered a long shout of commingled bravos and hurras. La Felina was on
+the stage. This delirium produced by a single person, this passionate
+worship expressed by an almost furious admiration, those thousand hearts
+hung to the lips of a single person, is found only on the stage, and was
+one of the triumphs which Naples decreed to the greatest artist in
+Italy. A report was in circulation, also, which added to this almost
+furious admiration. It was said, that she was about to retire for ever,
+and that this was her last appearance. The eyes of love have a secret
+and admirable instinct, enabling them to see what persons who are
+indifferent cannot discover. Among this eager and compact crowd, the
+glances of La Felina were immediately attracted to a point of the hall,
+to a single box in which Monte-Leone sat. To him Felina acted and sang,
+and she was sublime. At the moment when Paer's heroine appeared, a
+single voice was heard above all others, and the person who had uttered
+it, having exhausted all the powers of his soul, during the whole time
+Felina was on the stage, stood with his eyes fixed on her, as if he had
+been fascinated by some charm he could not shake off.
+
+"Poor Taddeo," said the Count, when he saw him, "why does she not love
+him?"
+
+The first act was concluded by a torrent of bouquets, which the audience
+threw at the feet of their favorite actress. The curtain fell. This was
+the moment expected by the associate of Monte-Leone. Faithful to his
+promise, the Count leaned forward in his box, naturally as possible, and
+looked around the brilliant assembly. He then placed his hand on his
+heart, and disappeared in the recess of his box. Before, however, he
+left, he heard a confused and joyous murmur, which rose from the parquet
+to the boxes, and became lost in the arch of the gilded ceiling.
+
+"_They were there_," said Monte-Leone, "and Pignana must be satisfied. I
+have done all he asked literally."
+
+A few friends joined the Count in his box.
+
+"Indeed, dear Monte-Leone," said one of these, with whom he was most
+intimate, a friend of his childhood, "You have resumed your old habits."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"That, scarcely out of prison, I saw you from my box beginning a new
+intrigue by exchanging signs with some fair unknown. This, too, at San
+Carlo. This is bold, indeed, unless the hand on your heart is the
+resumption of an old intrigue, interrupted, perhaps, by your
+imprisonment."
+
+"I do not understand you, Barberini," said the Count, not a little
+annoyed. "I made no sign to any one."
+
+"Perhaps so: if you please, I was mistaken. But if I am, it is all the
+better; for it proves to me that you no longer adhere to the plans you
+once confided to me. I was delighted, too, at what I heard yesterday
+evening."
+
+"Of what plans do you speak?" replied the Count, moved, in spite of
+himself, by this half-confidence.
+
+"Mon Dieu! of your own. Did you not tell me that you were passionately
+fond of the sister of Taddeo de Sorrento, of the beautiful Aminta
+Rovero, daughter of the old minister of finances of Murat?"
+
+"True," said the Count.
+
+"Well," continued Barberini, "I hope you are cured of that love, for you
+have a rival."
+
+"A rival!" said the Count.
+
+"Yes, and perhaps a happy one."
+
+"Signor," said Monte-Leone, restraining himself with difficulty, "let me
+tell you I purpose to make that lady my wife. All that touches her
+honor, touches mine also."
+
+"I say nothing derogatory to it, but merely repeat what I have heard."
+
+"What have you heard?" said Monte-Leone, and the blood rushed to his
+head.
+
+"One of my young relations," continued Count Barberini, "was at an
+entertainment given on the recurrence of her daughter's birthday by
+Signora Rovero. He spoke to me of a Frenchman who is with them, and who
+seems passionately fond of the young Aminta."
+
+"And then?" said Monte-Leone, with the same tone in which he would have
+asked the executioner to strike him with certainty.
+
+"And then! why that is all," said Barberini, who had become terrified at
+Monte-Leone's manner. "I heard nothing more.... If I did, I would take
+care to be silent when you look so furiously. All this interests me very
+slightly. One's own love affairs are too troublesome to enable us to
+occupy ourselves with those of others.... There, too, is the Countess
+d'Oliviero, waving her bouquet so impatiently to and fro that I see she
+will break it to pieces unless I go. I must leave you, to save her
+flowers." The young man left.
+
+"I was right," said he, "not to tell the story of the night affair of
+which my kinsman was a witness. I think he would have killed me at
+once."
+
+
+III. A PATERNAL LETTER
+
+On the day after the terrible night during which Aminta had strayed in
+her sleep to the room of Maulear, two ladies met at about nine in the
+morning in the saloon of the villa of Sorrento, and were locked in each
+other's arms.
+
+"Yes, my child," said one of them, "your sleep has given an
+interpretation to all that has passed, and I understand all. Your honor
+cannot suffer, for you are chaste and pure."
+
+"In your eyes, dear mother, I am; but in those of the world, which they
+tell me is so envious and malicious! Even last night, when every eye was
+fixed on me, I fancied that I read suspicion and contempt in the
+expression of more than one."
+
+"No, my child," replied Signora Rovero, clasping her to her heart, "I
+saw almost all our guests this morning, immediately before they left.
+They had already heard of your somnambulism, and our servants had told
+how you suffered with it from your childhood. All are convinced of your
+innocence."
+
+"Dear mother, do not think so. They spoke to you only with their lips,
+but believe me guilty."
+
+"Mother," added she, with that strange emotion to which she was
+sometimes a victim, "I think that this unfortunate affair is but the
+beginning of the realization of the unfortunate fate which I know is
+reserved for me. It seems to me that on yesterday our evil days began."
+
+She hid her head in her mother's bosom to conceal her tears, and to find
+a refuge against the misfortunes she feared.
+
+A servant came in, and said, "The Marquis de Maulear wishes to wait on
+the ladies."
+
+"Mother, mother," said Aminta, "how can I refrain from blushing before
+him?"
+
+Signora Rovero bade the servant show the Marquis in. Then arranging
+Aminta's beautiful hair, she kissed her forehead, and said:
+
+"Daughter, one never blushes in the presence of a husband."
+
+Aminta, with great surprise, looked at her mother.
+
+"Ah, ah!" said Madame Rovero, with a smile, "a parent's eyes see much."
+
+Before Aminta had time to speak, the Marquis entered. He was pale and
+excited.
+
+"Signora," said he to Aminta's mother, "I come to beg you to pardon me
+for a great fault."
+
+"To what, Signor, do you refer?"
+
+"Of the greatest of all faults, after the manner in which I have been
+received, and your kindness towards me--for not having confided in you,
+and said yesterday what I wish to say to-day. Yet only from you have I
+kept my secret. Yesterday, nothing obliged you to grant me the favor I
+am about to solicit: yesterday, you might have refused it. To-day,
+perhaps, it will be less difficult. A circumstance favorable only to
+myself," added he, with a timid glance at Aminta, "marks out my
+conduct, which assumes now the aspect of an obligation. It fulfils all
+my wishes, and makes me the happiest of men. In one word, signora, I
+come to beg that you will suffer me to become allied to your family."
+
+"Marquis," said Signora Rovero, "I expected to hear you speak thus, for
+I was sure of your honor. But far from wishing that now for the first
+time you had informed my daughter of the sentiments with which she has
+inspired you, I rejoice that your course has been different. Without
+this motive, signor, neither my daughter nor I would accept the alliance
+you wish to offer us. _No reparation can be exacted, where no fault has
+been committed._ I wish to strengthen your conscience, by assuring you,
+that in my opinion nothing obliges you to the course you have adopted,
+if it interferes with your prospects and success."
+
+The last expressions of Signora Rovero produced a deep sensation on
+Maulear, and a shadow of uneasiness passed over his brow. She had
+ignorantly touched a sensitive chord of the heart of the young lover.
+Led astray by his heart, seduced invincibly by charms which were so new
+to him, Maulear, under the influence of passion, had entered on the
+flowery route, at the end of which he caught a glimpse of happiness. In
+the delirium of passion, he had forgotten that a severe judge, that the
+imperious master of his destiny, that a father, with principles
+eminently aristocratic, like all fathers in 1768, awaited to absolve or
+acquit him, to receive or repel him, to unite or to sever--in one word,
+to make him happy or miserable. All these important ideas were at once
+evoked in the mind of Maulear by the last sentence Signora Rovero had
+uttered. It was this hidden and sombre apparition which arose between
+Maulear and her he loved, the sinister aspect of which was reflected in
+a manner by the expression of Aminta's lover.
+
+Signorina Rovero perceived it, and with the acute discrimination she
+possessed to so high a degree, said, in the melodious tones which
+touched all who heard them:
+
+"Marquis, my mother has spoken for her family, I will speak for myself.
+You have informed us of the noble family to which you belong. I know
+that your wife one day will be a princess, and I wish you to remember,
+that she, to whom you offer this title, is the daughter of 'a noble of
+yesterday;' the glory of whom is derived from her daughter's virtues.
+This, Marquis, I say not for you, but for others. Excuse me, too, for
+what you are about to hear. If I have need of courage to own it to you,
+perhaps you will require all your generosity to hearken to it." With a
+trembling voice she added: "As yet, I do not reciprocate the sentiments
+you have expressed. To the hope, though, which I permitted you to
+entertain yesterday, let me add, that I am additionally gratified by the
+offer of your hand; for in the eyes of many persons, signor, in the eyes
+of those who were witnesses of our presence together last night, you
+would not now marry her you were anxious to espouse yesterday.
+
+"I shall marry an angel!" said Maulear, falling on his knees before
+Aminta, "an angel of candor and virtue. If your heart does not yet
+reciprocate the love you inspire, my care and tenderness will so delight
+you, that some day you will love me."
+
+"Well, then," said she to Maulear, "grant me one favor. Suffer me to
+await that day. Take pity on a poor girl full of terror and
+apprehension, at a tie she has always feared. Grant her heart time to
+make itself worthy of you, Marquis, and remember that until then you are
+free. As my mother has told you, nothing binds you to me. Now you owe me
+nothing, nor will you, until I shall confide my destiny to your hands,
+when you will owe me the happiness you promise me."
+
+"You do not consent? Then, Signorina, I will wait. Henceforth, however,
+I am pledged _to you_; and my hand and heart are yours."
+
+Just then a servant told Maulear that a courier from Naples had brought
+him important letters. The Marquis bade adieu to the two ladies, and
+left.
+
+"My child," said Signora Rovero, in a tone of affectionate reproach,
+"what must a man do to win your love?"
+
+"I do not know; I am certainly foolish, but I am afraid!"
+
+Maulear found the courier of the French embassy in his room. "An urgent
+letter from France," said he, to Maulear.
+
+Henri read the direction and shuddered. It was from the Prince de
+Maulear. The Prince wrote rarely. What did he ask? The son who felt that
+he had acted incorrectly in disposing of his hand, without consulting
+the head of his family, trembled before he broke the seal. The character
+of Maulear was weak, as we have said, and, like people of this kind, the
+prospect of danger and misfortune annoyed him more than the reality
+itself. At last he resolved to know all, and with a trembling hand
+opened the letter. He read as follows:
+
+    "Paris, April 10, 1816.
+
+"MY SON:--I often hear of you, not through your own letters, for you
+write rarely, but through other friends, whom I have requested to keep
+me _au fait_. I know what kind of life you lead at Naples, and am
+dissatisfied with you. The son of a shop-keeper and a banker would act
+more like a gentleman than you. People talk of you here no better than
+they do of the deputy of the hangman. I had hoped the Marquis de Maulear
+would behave more correctly in a foreign country. I was no older than
+you are, when I went as secretary of legation to Madrid. Three months
+afterwards I was recalled. I had run away with three women, fought four
+duels, and lost at cards fifty thousand crowns. That was something to be
+recalled for. It was an assurance that in future I would be reasonable.
+When our youth reasons, and does not laugh, things go wrong. The King
+spoke to me yesterday about you. He asked me, if you found any thing to
+amuse you at Naples. I replied that you found too much to amuse you. 'I
+am glad of it,' said the King, 'so our family honor at least is saved.'
+Since, however, you are most ignobly virtuous, I have tried to turn the
+affair to the best advantage. I have brought about a magnificent match
+for you, to supersede one I have heard you were making for yourself. The
+lady is rich, noble, and beautiful. She is the daughter of the Duke
+d'Harcourt, one of the gentlemen in waiting of his majesty. You may,
+perhaps, at Naples have seen Rene d'Harcourt, the brother of the lady.
+The marriage will take place three months hence. I trust I have
+surprised you not unpleasantly. Adieu, my son. Your aunt, the Countess,
+sends her love to you, and amuses herself with the preparation of your
+_corbeille_.
+
+    "LE PRINCE DE MAULEAR.
+
+"P.S. You have three months' more folly before you, and for the rest of
+your life you must be prudent. I have opened a credit of one hundred
+thousand livres in your favor, with the banker Antonio Lamberti."
+
+The letter fell from the hands of the Marquis, and he sank on his chair
+completely overwhelmed. Like a thunder-bolt, it aroused him from a happy
+dream. There are, in fact, in all love matters, certain moments of
+intoxication, when men, ordinarily sensible, become blunderers. For a
+month the Marquis had been in this condition, half reasonable, half mad.
+Living with one thought prominent, all others were indistinct to him. To
+him love was every thing. His father, with his antiquated obstinacy,
+imbued with retrograde principles, disappeared like a ghost before the
+brilliant reality of passion. Besides, fear of a rival, dread of the
+brilliant Count Monte-Leone, who, full of love, as Henri had heard,
+aspired to nothing more than to become the husband of Aminta left him no
+other alternative, than to do what another was about to--make an
+offering of his hand and faith. Lovers, too, see nothing but the object
+of their passion; and Henri sometimes thought his father would agree
+with him. The strange epistle of the Prince had however reversed all his
+dreams. The anger of the Prince when he should learn that a marriage had
+been contracted, contrary to his wishes, and in spite of his orders,
+might possibly exert a terrible influence on the fortune and future fate
+of the young couple; without regarding the chagrin and humiliation to
+which he would subject Aminta by bringing her into a family without the
+consent of its head.
+
+Maulear passed three days in this cruel perplexity, sometimes hoping and
+then fearing that Aminta would yield to his prayer. His heart wished.
+His mind feared. If Signorina Rovero should accept his hand, it would be
+necessary for him to decide, to act; and then, from the weakness of his
+character, Maulear would be subjected to cruel uncertainty.
+
+A few days after the scene which had occurred in his room, Maulear and
+the ladies sat together in a boudoir near the _salon_, which opened on
+the park, a view of which Aminta was taking. The Marquis had been
+reading to the ladies the trial of Count Monte-Leone from the _Diario di
+Napoli_. This curious story, full of surprises, the noble energy, the
+wonderful _sang-froid_ of the Count, the remarks of the journalist on
+the character of the prisoner, and the unjust accusation to which he had
+been subjected, and which he had so completely refuted, and to which he
+had submitted with such nobleness and heroism, all was listened to with
+the greatest interest. Maulear had read all this much to his own
+dissatisfaction, because Signora Rovero had requested it. The praises of
+Monte-Leone were most unpleasant to him.
+
+Aminta heard every word. Every detail of the Count's daring, every
+change of character in this judicial drama, awakened an inexplicable
+emotion in her. It seemed that Count Monte-Leone, to whose singular
+story she had listened, was a far different man from the one she had
+imagined him to be. His powerful mind, his exalted soul, all the powers
+of which had been developed by the trial, conferred on Monte-Leone new
+proportions hitherto not realized by her. Count Monte-Leone, whom she
+had seen at home, almost timid in the presence of her he adored, annoyed
+by his false position as a refugee, suffering from a passion he dared
+not own, was not the person of whom she had heard for the past month.
+Looking down on her drawing, which her increasing absence of mind made
+almost invisible to her, Aminta sought to recall the features of the
+Count which had been nearly effaced from her memory. Gradually, however,
+they arose before her. Had her mother then spoken, had her glances been
+diverted from the album on which they were fixed, a strange trouble and
+confusion would have been visible, when aroused from this meditation.
+The sound of wheels entering the court yard of the villa broke the charm
+which entranced Aminta, and made Signora Rovero utter a cry of joy.
+
+"It is he," cried she. "It is he who returns, my son Taddeo. Daughter,
+let us hurry to meet him. Let us be the first to embrace him."
+
+Accompanied by Maulear, the two ladies hurried into the vestibule, which
+they crossed, standing at the villa-door just as the carriage stopped. A
+man left it and bowed respectfully to Signora Rovero and her daughter.
+This man was MONTE-LEONE.
+
+
+IV.--TWO RIVALS.
+
+Much had passed since Count Barberini had told Monte-Leone of the love
+of Maulear for Aminta Rovero. Monte-Leone felt all the furies of hell
+glide into his heart at this revelation. The idea that Aminta could love
+any one had never entered his mind. Whether from confidence in her, or
+from that error so common to lovers that they are entitled to love
+because they love themselves, Monte-Leone flattered himself that he had
+left a pleasant recollection in Aminta's mind. We may therefore imagine
+how painfully the Count was disturbed by the half-confidence of
+Barberini. Yet Taddeo, his friend, whom, he loved as a brother, could
+not have deceived him, and have concealed what had taken place at
+Sorrento, when he had received so cordially the hand of his sister.
+Taddeo, then, was ignorant of it. Monte-Leone, a prey to a thousand
+thoughts, left his box, forgetful of the opera, his friends and
+companions, with but one object and wish. He was determined to see
+Taddeo, to question him and find out who was the rival that menaced his
+happiness, and whom Aminta probably loved. The Count went to that part
+of the theatre in which he had seen Aminta. The second act, however, was
+about to begin; and the efforts of Monte-Leone to get near his friend
+created such murmurs, complaints, and anger, that he was obliged to wait
+for a more favorable opportunity. La Griselda was singing the _andante_
+of her cavatina, and the artist's magnificent, powerful, and tender
+voice, echoing through the vastness of the hall, fell in pearly notes
+like a shower of diamonds on the ears of the spectators. After the
+_andante_ came the _caballeta_, and then the _coda-finale_. For a while
+one might have thought the four thousand spectators had but one breath,
+and were animated by a single heart, that they restrained the first to
+prevent the pulsations of the other from being disturbed. This gem of
+the opera was at last concluded, and mad applause rose from every part
+of the room. We are constrained, however, to say, that from this time
+the accents of La Felina were less passionate and brilliant, and that a
+veil, as it were, was extended over all the rest of the representation,
+so that a person who had heard only the second act of La Griselda would
+have asked with surprise, if it was really the wonderful prima donna,
+the songs of whom were purchased with gold, and the wonderful talent of
+whom, had enslaved the audiences of the great Italian theatres. The
+reason was, that, after the second act, the star which shone on La
+Felina had become eclipsed. Monte-Leone had left his box--the box which
+had been the source of Griselda's inspiration from the commencement of
+the first act. Hope had sustained the singer during the cavatina, at the
+beginning of the second act. She fancied that he whom she loved possibly
+heard her from the recess of some other box. When, however, she was
+satisfied that he was gone, despair took possession of her. "Nothing
+touches his heart," said she, with pain. "Neither my love nor my talent
+are able to captivate him--to attach him to me for a time." Thenceforth,
+as she sang for him alone, she sang for no one. The holy fire was
+extinguished. Genius unfurled its wings and flew to the unknown regions
+of art, whence passion had won it. La Felina finished the opera, as a
+prima donna should, rendering the music precisely and distinctly, note
+for note, and as her score required. She neither added a single
+_fioritura_ nor a single ornament which had not been noted by the
+composer. In one word, the audience at San Carlo on that day heard the
+opera of the _Maestro_ Paer and not La Felina. During this, Monte-Leone,
+who had given up all hopes of reaching Taddeo, and whom Taddeo, paying
+attention only to the _artiste_, had neither heard nor seen, Monte-Leone
+walked in front of the opera-house, a prey to the greatest agitation,
+impatiently waiting for the conclusion of the representation, to see his
+friend and hear from him what he had to hope or fear at Sorrento.
+
+The opera ended. The crowd slowly dispersed, and Monte-Leone, wrapped up
+in his cloak, watched with anxiety every spectator who left the theatre.
+Taddeo did not come. The doors of the theatre were closed, and the Count
+still waited. Surprised and impatient he went to his hotel, where Taddeo
+also lived, but he was not there. Night passed away, and he did not
+come. About three in the morning a stranger was shown in, and gave
+Monte-Leone three letters. One of them was addressed to the Count: he
+opened it anxiously.
+
+"Excuse me, my dear friend, at quitting you thus. Excuse me, especially
+the uneasiness I have created in your mind"--wrote Taddeo--"I have
+learned that she left Naples to-night, and if I leave her I shall die. I
+will follow her by post and on horseback, without stopping, until I
+shall learn whither she has gone. What will I do then! I do not
+know,--but at least I will know where she is, and I will not fancy that
+she is lost to me for ever. 'To-morrow,' said she, when she left us,
+'you will love me less.' She was mistaken, my friend, or she has
+deceived me; for to-day I love her better than I did yesterday. My heart
+suffers too much for me not to sympathize with yours, and I understand
+how impatient you are to go to Sorrento. I send a letter to my good
+mother--give it yourself to her. I beg her to receive you as a friend,
+and as she would receive a brother of mine. Stay with her until I come
+back. Say that in three days I will come back to ask her to give you
+Aminta's hand."
+
+"Has the person who gave you these letters gone?" asked Monte-Leone of
+the messenger.
+
+"He went an hour since from the post-house, on one of our best horses,"
+said the messenger.
+
+Monte-Leone gave him a piece of gold and dismissed him.
+
+"Poor Taddeo!" said he, "to suffer as well as I do--no no, not so much
+as I do; for earthly love cannot be compared with heavenly passion.
+Jealousy such as I suffer can be compared to nothing; and all is derived
+from the serpent's stings, with which Barberini pricked my heart."
+
+The time until day seemed interminable to Monte-Leone. It came at last.
+The Count rang for Giacomo and dressed himself elegantly. The old man
+on this occasion assisted him cheerfully and zealously, as he had
+previously shown repugnance on the night of the terrible expedition at
+Torre-del-Greco. Monte-Leone ordered his handsomest equipage. A few
+minutes afterwards the horses pawed impatiently in the court-yard, so
+that the driver could with difficulty restrain them. When the Count came
+down, he found Giacomo standing in the door of the saloon so as to bar
+his egress. Pale and agitated, the old man restrained the Count, and in
+a stern, quarrelsome voice said:
+
+"What is the matter now? what new folly are you about to commit?"
+
+"What the devil do you mean?" asked the Count, taking hold of the
+intendant's hand.
+
+"No, Monsignore, you shall not go," said Giacomo, extending his arms so
+as completely to shut the door, "unless you serve me as you did Stenio
+Salvatori. Is it not a shame that the noblest of the gentlemen of
+Naples, that the son of my master, should walk abroad armed like the
+bravo of Venice--with a sword, poniard and pistol in his bosom? What, if
+you please, was that box of pistols, placed by little Jack, your groom,
+as those animals are called in England, in your carriage?"
+
+"What is it to you?" said the Count, impatiently.
+
+"What is it to me?" asked the old man with tears in his eyes. "Are you
+not again about to risk your life against I know not whom nor why? What
+is it to me? That you may live, that my last days may not be passed in
+uneasiness and despair, like those which have gone by--for I love you.
+Count," said the old man, kneeling before his master, "I love you as a
+father loves his son. I held you in my arms when you were a child. For
+heaven's sake renounce your dangerous plans, renounce the acquaintance
+of those rascally mysterious looking men who come so often to see you.
+Have nothing to say to that rascally Signor Pignana, whom I would so
+gladly see hung. Be again happy, gay, and joyous, as you used to he.
+True, we were ruining ourselves, but we were not conspirators."
+
+The Count gave his hand to Giacomo.
+
+"Giacomo, my good fellow," said he, "I am about to engage in no
+conspiracy."
+
+"What then?"
+
+"I am about to marry," said Monte-Leone, with a smile.
+
+"Marry! with a case of pistols as a wedding present?"
+
+"Why!" said the Count, moodily, "I may perhaps meet enemies on the road.
+Now I have more than life to protect: I have my honor."
+
+Monte-Leone, making an affectionate gesture to the old man, descended
+gayly and sprang into the coach, which bore him rapidly towards
+Sorrento, and stopped at the door of Signora Rovero's house, as we have
+previously said.
+
+When she saw Monte-Leone, instead of Taddeo, Signora Rovero trembled.
+
+"Signor," said she to the Count, "for heaven's sake tell me what evil
+tidings you bear. What misfortune has befallen Taddeo?"
+
+"In two days, Signora, Taddeo will be here, and I have the difficult
+duty to excuse his absence. He has, however, asked me to deliver you his
+letter, which explains all."
+
+Signora Rovero took the letter and opened it with eagerness.
+
+"Excuse me, Signor," said she to the Count, "but you must make allowance
+for a mother's anxiety."
+
+"So be it," she observed, after having read it. "Taddeo is in no danger
+if we except that his fortune may be bad. A hunting party in the
+mountains will detain him for two days from us."
+
+"Count," said Signora Rovero, "my son speaks so affectionately of you
+that I am led to offer you my own love."
+
+"I have the advantage in that respect, Signora, for the kindness with
+which you treated me while here, and the memories I bore away, have ever
+since inspired the deepest affection for you."
+
+They entered the saloon, and Signora Rovero introduced Maulear to
+Monte-Leone. They saluted each other with the most exquisite politeness,
+but without exchanging a glance.
+
+Between love and hate there is this in common: it sees without the eye;
+it hears without the ear. Love has a presentiment of love, and hatred of
+hatred.
+
+Monte-Leone approached Aminta. All his power and energy were
+insufficient to triumph over the violent agitation which took possession
+of him when he spoke to the young girl. His loving heart offered but
+faint opposition to the torrent of passion, which had been so long
+repressed that it was ready to bear away every obstacle. Aminta blushed
+and became troubled when she recognized in the vibration of his voice
+all the emotion Monte-Leone experienced. The conversation became
+general. Signora Rovero spoke to the Count of his trial, the incidents
+of which the Marquis had been kind enough to read. The Count bowed to
+the Marquis as if to acknowledge a favor. Maulear looked away to avoid
+the necessity of acknowledging it. The Count seemed not to perceive it.
+Aminta became aware that if he kept silent longer the circumstance would
+be remarked.
+
+"During your imprisonment, Count, in the Castle _Del Uovo_, I have heard
+that a terrible episode occurred, the details of which the _Diaro_ does
+not give."
+
+"The reason was the _Diario_ did not know them. True, like other
+journalists he might have invented them, but he did not do so; and,
+perhaps, acted well, for his fancies could not have equalled the truth."
+
+The Count then simply, without exaggeration, and especially without that
+petition for pity which is so frequently met with, told the story of the
+terrible scene in the prison.
+
+Aminta listened to every word. She suffered with the prisoner, hoped
+with him, and followed all the details of the story, exhibiting the most
+profound pity for the occurrence. Signora Rovero sympathized with her
+daughter, and, for the time, Monte-Leone was the hero of the villa. All
+the prejudices of Aminta disappeared in a moment in the presence of
+Monte-Leone, as the morning vapors are dispersed by the first rays of
+the sun.
+
+Maulear, in icy silence, listened to the Count and looked at Aminta. As
+he did so, his brow became covered with clouds precisely as that of
+Aminta began to grow bright. The latter, perceiving the painful
+impressions of the Marquis, extended every attention to him, so that
+Monte-Leone began to grow moody. The two rivals passed the whole day in
+alternations of hope and fear, happiness and suffering. The state of
+things, however, was too tense to be of long duration. These few hours
+seemed centuries to the adorers of Aminta, and if any one had been able
+to look into the depths of their ulcerated hearts, he would have seen
+that a spark would have produced an explosion. Many of the neighbors of
+Signora Rovero, who had not visited her since the ball, ventured to
+return. Among others present was Gaetano Brignoli. All loved him for his
+frank and pleasant off-hand speeches, and all received him with good
+humor and confidence. Maulear, who had laid aside his dislike, received
+him kindly, as he had previously done distantly. The _Rose of Sorrento_
+reproached Gaetano with having forgotten his promise.
+
+"You should yourself on the next day," said she, "have given me news of
+Taddeo and of Monte-Leone's trial. You, however, only wrote. Friends
+like you, and brothers like mine, are unworthy of the affection bestowed
+on them." Then, like a child _making friends_ with a playmate, she took
+Gaetano into the embrasure of a meadow, and began to talk with him in a
+low tone. The night promised to be brilliant and serene, and the air to
+be soft and pleasant. The evening breeze penetrated into the saloon,
+refreshing the atmosphere with the respiration of the sea. "What a
+magnificent evening, Marquis," said Monte-Leone to Maulear, as he
+approached him, and looked at the stars which had begun to dot the sky.
+
+It was the first time the Count had spoken to the Marquis directly. The
+latter trembled as a soldier who hears the sound of the first battle
+signal. His emotion was short, and saluting the Count affably as
+possible, he replied:
+
+"It, is a winter evening in Italy, Count, but in France it would be one
+of summer."
+
+"Do you not think," said Monte-Leone, "that this is the proper hour for
+exercise, in this country? The complete repose of nature, the eloquent
+silence of night, all invite us to confidence, and make us wish for
+isolation and solitude--"
+
+"Count," said Maulear, "do you wish for a half solitude; a desert
+inhabited by two persons?"
+
+"Certainly, that is what I mean."
+
+"So do I, and would participate in yours."
+
+"Come, then, I never saw a more beautiful night, and I shall be charmed
+to enjoy it with you."
+
+These two men, with rage in their hearts, each being an impregnable
+barrier to the happiness of the other, loving the same woman in the same
+way, resolved to contend for her, to their last breath;--these two men
+left the saloon, with smiles on their lips, like friends about to listen
+to the secret thoughts of each other beneath the shadow of some
+beautiful landscape, in happiness and pleasure.
+
+Aminta saw them go out. She grew pale, and suffered so that she leaned
+against the window-case.
+
+
+V. THREE RIVALS.
+
+Count Monte-Leone and the Marquis de Maulear entered together a vast and
+beautiful avenue, silvered over by a brilliant moon.
+
+"Signor," said the Count to Maulear, "do you ever have waking dreams?
+Can you, by the power of your imagination, transport yourself into the
+future, and, as it were, read your destiny, with all its prosperous and
+unfortunate incidents, its pleasures and chagrins? This often happens to
+me, especially by day and when I am unhappy. For a long time, too, I
+have been unhappy. For instance, not long ago, when shut up in a dark
+prison, with no prospect before me but that of an unjust death, and the
+headsman's axe bringing to a close my sad and eventful career, my good
+angel certainly, for I believe in such beings, sent, two hundred feet
+below the surface of the earth, a vision of dazzling light and beauty. I
+was transported beneath the green shadows of myrtles and orange-trees; I
+breathed an atmosphere impregnated with intoxicating and balsamic
+perfumes, while near me, with her hand in mine, and her heart beating on
+my bosom, was a young girl, destined to be my guide through this life of
+misery; the angel, in fact, of whom I spoke just now. Sorrows,
+suffering, injustice, the dungeon, and the executioner, all disappeared,
+and I enjoyed all the luxury of this heavenly revelation; and I said,
+for the realization of this heavenly revelation, the heart's blood would
+not be too dear a price. Do you not think so, Marquis?"
+
+"I do, Count," said Maulear, "and especially so, because what your rich
+imagination has created for you, chance, or my good genius--for I too
+have faith in them--has displayed before me, not in the delirium of a
+dream, but in reality. I have seen the myrtle groves of which you
+dreamed: I have breathed the perfumes you describe so well: I have found
+the woman your imagination has shadowed to me. I found her one day when
+I did not expect to do so. I found one more beautiful than I had fancied
+woman could be, gifted with such charms, grace, and virtue, that I ask
+myself frequently whether such a being can belong to earth."
+
+"Marquis," said Monte-Leone, and as he spoke he led the Count towards a
+darker alley, lighted up only by a few rays of the moon, which
+penetrated the interstices of the branches, "would it not be best to
+conclude this conversation rather in the dark than in the light? Our
+words need not any light, and neither you nor I pay any attention to the
+expression of our faces."
+
+"So be it," said Maulear, and they entered the dark alley.
+
+"Marquis," said Monte-Leone, "the divinity of my dream and the object of
+your passion are so alike, that I am sure we worship the same idol, and
+kneel before the same altar. Fortune has led two men of soul and honor
+into the same route. We both struggle for an object which one only can
+reach. One of us must tread on a carcass, which must be either yours or
+mine."
+
+"Count," said Maulear, "we understand each other. We adore the same
+idol, but you are not ignorant that our rights to offer it homage are
+different; that I have rights which you have not."
+
+The Count trembled. A word might crush all his hopes. For a few moments
+he hesitated, and then in a calm voice said,
+
+"Does she love you?"
+
+Without replying to the question, the Marquis said,
+
+"Signora Rovero, for her name is too deeply engraven on our hearts for
+it not to spring to our lips, is aware of my sentiments, of which I have
+already told her."
+
+"And has accepted them?" said Monte-Leone, in yet greater trouble.
+
+"No," said the Marquis, honorably; "but bade me hope that some day she
+would."
+
+"Then," said the Count, with joy, "nothing is lost. Marquis, the past is
+yours, but the future is mine. Had I the mind and grace of a French
+nobleman, I would, perhaps, propose to you a contest of courtesy, and
+might rely on my hope, my love, my attention, to triumph. But the
+contest must be of a different kind; for I will expose myself to no
+risks." Lowering his voice, he continued: "Not one and the other can
+present his love to the Signorina Rovero, but _one without the other_.
+You or I alone; and, as I told you just now, there is a life too many."
+
+"Very well, signor,--you wage your life against mine. I consent,--but
+must observe that this duel should, at least, accrue to the interest of
+one or the other of us; and yet I do not think that Signorina Rovero
+would touch a blood-stained hand."
+
+"Signor," said Monte-Leone, "from the moment you accept my challenge,
+the mystery and secrecy with which it must be shrouded shall be my
+affair; and, if you please, I will tell you of my plans."
+
+"Do so, signor," said Maulear, coldly.
+
+"Let us leave this alley, and go towards that group of trees in that
+direction."
+
+He led Maulear towards the sea. When they stood on the shore, he said,
+"Below there is a kind of cove, and in it a gondola like those of
+Venice--a pleasure-skiff--built formerly by the minister Rovero for his
+family. At this hour to-morrow, we will meet in this wood and go to the
+boat-house. We will then put to sea, and with no witness but the sea and
+sky, we will settle our affair. Two men will steer the bark to sea, and
+one wilt guide it back----"
+
+In spite of his courage, Maulear could not but shudder at one who
+detailed with such coolness so horrible a plan. The manner of death
+frequently enhances our terror, and he who in a forest would bare his
+bosom to his adversary's ball, would shrink from it on the immensity of
+the ocean.
+
+"But," said Maulear, "is all this romantic preparation, is this naval
+drama in which you insist on appearing, necessary to our purpose? Any
+other secret encounter would have the same effect, and would eventuate
+equally satisfactorily. At the distance of a few days' travel, would we
+not be able to fight more safely than here?"
+
+"No, Marquis, I must remain in this villa until Taddeo de Sorrento shall
+have returned. Neither I nor you can leave it without arousing
+suspicions, and in two days hence, we would no longer be equals; for
+honor compels me to say that Taddeo has promised me his sister's hand,
+and that the influence he exerts over his mother will without doubt
+induce her to decide in my favor. If, however, you prefer to run that
+risk, I will not oppose you."
+
+"No no," said Maulear, who remembered what Taddeo had said to him in
+relation to his sister, "I will fight for her I love at the very foot of
+the altar--"
+
+"Signor," said Monte-Leone, "let us avoid all scandal. The death of him
+who falls may be easily accounted for; and as you said, we must never
+suffer her we love to think that the happiness of one of us has cost the
+other his life."
+
+"So be it," said Maulear, "I accept your offer."
+
+"To-morrow we will meet," said the Count.
+
+The two enemies returned to the villa calm, and apparently undisturbed,
+as if they had been the best friends possible. When they came into the
+room again, Aminta sat by her mother. The eyes of the young girl,
+however, turning constantly towards the door, seemed to expect the
+return of the two young men with anxiety. Her cheeks became slightly
+flushed when they entered. The Count approached her and besought her to
+sing as he had often heard her. Aminta sat at the piano. Scarcely,
+however, had she sung the first bar, than the door of the saloon opened
+and Scorpione glided in and sat at the feet of the young girl, where he
+laid down as he used to do; not, however, daring to look at her. Since
+the scandal he had caused, he had been in disgrace with all the family,
+and his mistress did not speak to him. The Count, who had become
+acquainted with Tonio during his first visit to Sorrento, could not
+repress a movement of horror at the appearance of the wretch. Far,
+however, from being angry, Tonio seemed glad to see him, and testified
+his pleasure by various affectionate signs. Gaetano, who was absent from
+the room, just then returned, and at the request of Signora Rovero sang
+several duets with Aminta. An extraordinary feeling seemed to influence
+the young man, and only with the greatest difficulty could he get
+through his part. When the evening was over, all retired. The next day
+rolled by in embarrassing constraint to all the inhabitants of the
+villa. An atmosphere of sadness surrounded them, like the dark clouds
+which seem at the approach of a storm to overhang the earth. Count
+Monte-Leone alone seemed master of himself, and sought to cure the
+general _atony_ in which even Maulear was involved. A sensible
+difference was remarked between the two men, each of whom loved the same
+woman, while one of them must lose her forever. The Count did not take
+his eyes from her, and seemed thus to lay in a provision of pleasure for
+eternity, which seemed ready to open before him. Maulear, on the other
+hand, was sad and pensive, and scarcely dared to lift his eyes to
+Aminta, fearing, beyond doubt, that he would thus increase his sorrow
+and distress, and diminish his courage when the crisis came. As the day
+wore on. Aminta, feeling unwell, retired to her room. Signora Rovero,
+accustomed to see her daughter have similar attacks, sat to play
+_reversis_ with Count Brignoli and two other persons. Monte-Leone and
+Maulear exchanged a mysterious sign and left the room nearly at the same
+time. The night was not so beautiful as the preceding one had been. The
+disk of the moon sometimes was clouded, and the wind whistled among the
+trees of the park; all nature, deeply agitated, seemed to sympathize
+with the thoughts which agitated the minds of the two enemies. The dark
+and cloudy sky was a meet back-ground for such a picture.
+
+Nine o'clock was struck by the bell of the Church at Sorrento, when two
+men met at the cove we have described. One of them wrapped in a cloak
+had a case under his arm. They went towards the bank and found the
+gondola there. This boat was long, like those of Venice, in imitation of
+which it had been made--had a little cabin in its stern, which now was
+closed. In it the ladies used to take refuge when bad weather interfered
+with their pleasure. The two men used all their strength to detach the
+gondola from the shore. At last they succeeded. The most robust then
+took one of the oars and pushed the boat from the bank. Just as they
+were about to put off, a burst of demoniac laughter rung in their ears.
+A very demon, a breathing spirit of evil, had witnessed all their
+preparations, and had learned, from its shape, the contents of the box;
+the idea of what they meditated caused him to utter this shout of
+laughter. This demon was Scorpione. This deformity was the rival of
+Monte-Leone and Maulear.
+
+The blue and azure waves of the sea of Naples on that night seemed dark
+as ink. The wind agitated them. Calm as they usually are, and like a
+vast cemetery, the tombs of which open to receive the dead, they opened
+before the prow of the boat like a grave, as they were intended to be.
+At a distance of about three hundred fathoms the two adversaries ceased
+to row and replaced the oars in the gondola. Without speaking, they took
+out the pistols, examined their locks, and opened them.
+
+"Signor," said Monte-Leone, "I thank you for the honor you have done me
+in deigning to use my arms."
+
+"The arms of Count Monte-Leone are not to be refused."
+
+"A true hand gives them."
+
+"A true hand receives them."
+
+Nothing more was said. They then proceeded to place themselves at the
+several ends of the boat. The Count uncovered himself. Maulear did also.
+They let fall their cloaks and opened the linen which covered their
+bosoms. They raised their pistols, took aim, and were about to fire.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The door of the cabin was thrown open, and Aminta rushed to the centre
+of the gondola. Gaetano followed her. The weapons fell from the hands of
+the rivals; and in terror and surprise they looked on this apparition.
+Not a cry escaped from their lips. Pale and motionless, they looked at
+each other without, at first, recognizing Aminta. Not a word passed
+their lips. Terror-stricken, they fancied themselves in the presence of
+some heavenly being, sent, like the angel of peace, to rescue them from
+death. The voice of Aminta, full of trouble and terror, echoed over the
+waves, like that of an angel, and alone aroused them from the ecstatic
+state in which they were plunged.
+
+"Signori," said she, "I might sooner have put a stop to this atrocious
+duel, the very idea of which terrifies me; had it not have been so near
+its completion, you would, perhaps, have denied the intention to fight
+after all, within a few days. Thanks to the assistance of Gaetano, my
+childhood's friend, who yesterday evening became acquainted with your
+intention, I have by God's aid been able to prevent it. I wished my
+presence to be grave and solemn, that you might never renew the attempt;
+in order that, as it were, in the presence of God and of death, you
+might know my fixed determination. I would not be burdened with an
+existence which had cost the life of a fellow-being: you, Signor
+Monte-Leone, by the revered manes of your father; and you, Marquis de
+Maulear, by all you love, I conjure to swear that you will respect the
+life of him I shall accept as my husband."
+
+"Impose no such oath on me," said Monte-Leone.
+
+"Let me die first," said Maulear.
+
+"Not you only, but I will die also. If I do not hear you swear, I will
+throw myself into the sea."
+
+She placed her foot on the gunwale of the boat.
+
+"We swear," said the rivals, rushing towards her.
+
+"Thanks, Signori, I will trust your oath. Count Monte-Leone," said she,
+"the Marquis de Maulear saved my life; you will also learn, hereafter,
+how generously he resolved to save my honor when it was compromised. My
+heart is de Maulear's, and I give him my hand."
+
+The Marquis fell at Aminta's feet.
+
+"To you," she continued, "Count Monte-Leone, I can offer only my respect
+and esteem."
+
+"Signorina," said Monte-Leone, with a voice full of dignity and despair,
+"I accept even the boon you offer me; and henceforth he whom you love is
+sacred to me."
+
+By a violent effort over himself he extended his hand to Maulear. The
+waves had borne the bark towards the shore, and all who had participated
+in this scene returned safely to the villa. Signora Rovero, who did not
+know what had passed, on the next day received a letter from
+Monte-Leone, who, during the night, had left the villa.
+
+
+VI.--MARRIAGE.
+
+Nothing can describe the intensity of Count Monte-Leone's grief when he
+was again in the carriage, which, on the evening before, had borne him
+to happiness, and now took him back to Naples, sad and despairing. The
+Count had overcome his own nature, and this was a great victory to one
+who usually yielded to every prompting of passion. On this occasion he
+had restrained himself and overcome his rage at his rival's triumph. He
+overcame his agony at the wreck of his hopes. When he left Sorrento, and
+awoke, so to say, from the stupefaction into which he had plunged, the
+excitable brain and fiery heart again re-opened.
+
+"I was a fool," said he, "I was a fool when I yielded my happiness to
+another. I was yet more mad when I swore to respect his life, when
+something far more violent than mine is wrested from me. Has he not
+crushed and tortured my heart? I regret even my place of imprisonment,"
+continued he. "There I had dreams of love; and had death reached me in
+that abyss, I should have borne away hopes of the future which now are
+crushed for ever."
+
+Two torrents of tears rolled down the cheeks of this iron-hearted man,
+over which they had rarely flown before.
+
+On the morning after Monte-Leone's return to his hotel, he might have
+been observed sitting before the portrait of the victim of Carlo III.,
+the holy martyr of conscience, as he called his father, looking on his
+noble brow with the most tender respect. We have spoken of the almost
+superstitious faith of the Count in the fact that his father protected
+him in all the events of his life. We have heard him call on his father
+when about to be buried in the waves of the sea, and then become
+resigned to death in the pious faith that his father waited for him.
+Whenever danger menaced Monte-Leone; whenever he was unexpectedly
+prosperous, or was involved in misfortune; whenever his life was lighted
+up with prosperity, or misfortune overwhelmed him, he always looked to
+this parent. He thought his pure spirit hovered above him; and
+encouraged by this celestial aid, he trusted to the mutations of fortune
+without fear or apprehension. When he looked at this adored image,
+consolation seemed always to descend on his soul. Overcome by the
+boundless love Aminta had inspired, he had forgotten the political
+duties to which he was devoted. It seemed to him that this cause, to
+which he had consecrated his life, had wonderfully diminished in
+importance since his trial.
+
+"Can it be, oh my father, that you were unwilling for my love to
+interfere with the prospects of the duties imposed on me by your death?
+Or, is it that in your pity you have feared that, in my dangers, the
+angel to whom I have devoted my existence would be overwhelmed. If, oh
+my father, it be thy will that I suffer these cruel torments; if I am to
+reserve my energy for the cause I defend, be rejoiced at my sufferings,
+for I am able to bear them. Ere long I will again see those who have
+trusted me with their fate, and the suspicions of whom offend and wound
+me. They will know my resolutions, and I shall know whether I shall
+remain their leader or tread my weary way alone."
+
+Just then the door of his cabinet opened, and a man appeared, or rather
+a spectre, so much had his appearance been changed by fatigue and
+suffering. He rushed into the arms of Monte-Leone.
+
+"Taddeo," said he, "my God! what has happened? How pale you are! Why are
+these tears in your eyes."
+
+"My friend, La Felina has deceived me only by a day. She was, however,
+mistaken herself. To-morrow, said she, you will _love me less_. To-day I
+love her no more. You see I have done better than she even hoped."
+
+He fell, with his heart crushed, on a chair, and sobbed.
+
+"Speak, speak to me," said Monte-Leone, forgetful of his friend's
+suffering in his own.
+
+"As I wrote to you," said Taddeo, "I determined to follow her, and find
+out her retreat at all events. Had it been necessary, I would have
+followed her to the end of the world. Leaving the horse I had in a
+street near the theatre, I went to the door whence I supposed La Felina
+would come. I had been there an hour when I saw a post-carriage
+approach. A few moments had elapsed when a woman, accompanied by a
+servant, left the theatre, and after looking anxiously around, to be
+sure that she was unobserved, entered the carriage. The valet got up
+behind, and the postillion, who had not left the saddle, whipped up his
+horses and left in a gallop. I mounted my horse and followed the
+carriage, keeping just two hundred yards behind it. The carriage was
+driven towards Rome, and at every post-house the horses were changed, on
+which occasions I kept out of sight, and then resumed my pursuit. Thus
+we travelled about fifteen leagues; when, however, we reached the eighth
+post-house, the carriage spring became broken and the body was thrown
+into a ditch. I rushed towards it, opened the door, and, in a fainting
+condition, received the person it contained. I bore her to the road,
+and, to give her air, threw aside her veil. I uttered a cry of rage and
+agony. The woman in my arms was not La Felina. The sound of my voice
+aroused the stranger's attention, and she looked at me as if she were
+afraid. 'Who are you?' said she, trembling. 'What do you wish?' 'To save
+La Felina, whom I thought was here.' 'La Felina! You were in search of
+La Felina!' 'Certainly.' 'And you are the horseman whom Giuseppe, the
+courier, told me at the last relay, followed us, are you?' 'Certainly I
+am.' The woman examined her arms, etc., to see that she was not hurt,
+looked at me most ironically, and then bursting into laughter, said:
+'Well, after all, the trick was well played.' 'What trick?' 'The one La
+Felina has played on all her lovers, the most ardent of whom you are.' I
+looked at the woman so earnestly, and sorrow seemed so deeply marked on
+my countenance, that I saw an expression of pity steal over her face.
+'Poor young man!' said she, 'then you really loved her?' 'I did, and if
+I lose her I shall die.' 'Come,' said she, 'you will not die. If all who
+have told me the same thing died, Naples would be like the catacombs of
+Rome. Come with me,' she continued, 'to the post-house, for now I feel
+by the pain I suffer that my arm is out of place. There I will tell you
+all.' I went with the woman to the post-house, when a few drops of
+cordial soon invigorated her. 'This is the explanation of what is a
+matter of so much surprise to you. Perhaps I should be silent; but you
+seem to love La Felina so truly, and a young man who really loves is so
+interesting that I will tell you all.' The circumlocution of this woman
+almost ran me mad! She finally said: 'My mistress was afraid some of her
+lovers would follow her, and wishing to conceal the route she had gone,
+took the idea of substituting me for herself, and sent me to Rome, where
+she is to write me her destination. You followed me instead of her. She
+was right, and had good reason to act as she did.' 'Then she has not yet
+left,' asked I, thinking of a means to rejoin her. 'She was to leave
+Naples,' said the woman, 'an hour after me, and is, no doubt, now far
+from the city.' 'And does she travel alone on these dangerous roads?'
+said I. 'Oh, no, she travels with him.' 'With him! of whom, for heaven's
+sake, do you speak?' 'Ah,' said the woman, 'La Felina would never
+forgive me if I told you. He, too, might make me pay dearly for my
+indiscretion.' I begged, I besought the woman to conceal nothing from
+me, and gave her all the money I had, promising to increase the sum
+tenfold. She yielded at last, and told me that _La Felina_ had left
+Naples with her lover. Her lover! do you hear?" continued Taddeo, in a
+delirium of rage, "and her lover is the minister of police, the Duke of
+Palma."
+
+"More perfidious than the water!" said Monte-Leone, contemptuously.
+"Poor Taddeo!"
+
+"Do not pity me," said the latter, in a paroxysm of terrible rage. "I
+was to be pitied when I loved her, when a divinity dwelt in my soul,
+when my love was ecstatic and endowed her with an innocence, which my
+reason told me she did not possess. I was fool enough to deceive myself.
+Now this woman to be sure is but a woman; she is less than feminine, as
+the mistress of a rich and powerful noble, the Duke of Palmo. Love might
+have killed me, but contempt has stifled love."
+
+His head fell on his chest, and he wept. He wept as man weeps for a
+departed passion, which has vivified his heart, but which yields to
+death, or worse still, another passion.
+
+"My friend," said Monte-Leone, "your grief is cruel, but I suffer more
+intensely!" Monte-Leone told Taddeo what had taken place at Sorrento.
+
+The friends were again locked in the arms of each other, and mingled
+their tears--the one for the loss of an _earthly passion_, and the other
+for a _celestial affection_, as Monte-Leone characterized the two
+sentiments when he read a letter of Rovero's. Taddeo had appointed the
+following day for his return to Sorrento, and faithful to his promise he
+left Naples for the villa of his mother. The farewell of the two men was
+sad and touching, for a long time must elapse before they met again.
+Monte-Leone had resolved to leave Naples for some time. The proximity of
+Sorrento lacerated his heart, and to see her he loved the wife of
+another would to him be insupportable. Taddeo was aware of the reasons
+why the Count had determined to travel, and had he no mother he would
+also have been anxious to leave the country.
+
+"Taddeo," said Monte-Leone to his friend, when the former was about to
+set out, "I have a favor to ask of you on which I place an immense
+estimate, and for which I must be indebted to your love. Here," said he,
+presenting the magnificent emerald wrought by Benvenuto Cellini, "take
+this ring, and beg your sister to accept it. Tell her, as she offered me
+her friendship, I have a right to send a testimonial to her of my
+devotion." Then with a voice trembling with emotion, he added, "Say this
+ring preserved my life. This will not add to its value in her eyes; but
+tell her in confidence the history of this ring, and some day," said he,
+with a bitter smile, "it may be looked on as a curious relic."
+
+"Not so, not so," said Taddeo, kissing the ring. "To us it cannot but be
+a precious treasure."
+
+Perhaps while he acted thus, Taddeo thought not only of his friend, but
+of the woman who had preserved him from death.
+
+Taddeo left.
+
+Fifteen days after his reaching home, all Sorrento put on its holiday
+attire. The church of the town, splendidly decorated, the lighted
+torches, the people in their gala dresses, all announced that some
+remarkable event was about to take place in the village. The bells rung
+loud peals, and young girls dressed in white, with flowers in their
+hands, stood on the church portico. Certainly a great event was about to
+take place. The _White Rose of Sorrento_ was about to be married to a
+French nobleman of high rank, _Henri Marquis de Maulear_.
+
+About noon there was a rumor among the crowd in front of the church that
+the bridal party were near. All hurried to meet them, and Aminta was
+seen leaning on her brother's arm, while the Marquis escorted Signora
+Rovero.
+
+The appearance of the beautiful young girl, whiter than her veil, paler
+than the flowers which adorned her brow, produced a general sensation of
+admiration. Mingled with this, however, was a kind of sadness, when the
+melancholy on her brow was observed. The Marquis seemed also to be ill
+at ease, and to suffer under the influence of feelings which on such a
+day were strange indeed. All care, all anxiety should be lost in the
+intoxication of love. Maulear had purchased his happiness by an error,
+and this oppressed him. After the noble decision of Aminta, and the
+preference she had so heroically expressed at the time of his purposed
+duel with Monte-Leone, Maulear had not dared to mention the letter of
+his father. He had simply told Signora Rovero, that he was master of his
+own actions, and sure of his father's consent and approbation to the
+marriage he was about to contract. The Signora, who was credulous, was
+confident that a brilliant match was secured for Aminta, and suffered
+herself to be easily persuaded. Maulear, too, became daily more
+infatuated; and, listening to passion alone, had informed his father,
+not that he was about to marry, but that when the letter reached him he
+would be married. Yet when he had sent the letter, and the time was
+come, all his fears were aroused, and he shuddered at the apprehension
+of the consequences of what he was about to do. In this state of mind he
+went to the altar, and nothing but the beauty of his bride and the
+solemnity of the ceremony could efface the sombre clouds which obscured
+his brow. The priest blessed the pair, and a few minutes after the young
+Marquis of Maulear, with his beautiful _Marquise_, left the village.
+
+Just when the venerable village priest, in God's name, placed Aminta's
+hand in Henri's, the terrible cry we have already heard twice echoed
+through the arches of the church, and a man was seen to rush towards the
+sea. The shout, though it filled the church, was uttered in the portico,
+and had not interrupted the service. Thenceforth _Scorpione_ was never
+seen at Sorrento.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[N] Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1850, by Stringer
+& Townsend, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United
+States for the Southern District of New York.
+
+[O] _Anglice._ Good day, my dear Pignana.
+
+[P] The original of this sentence is _Je vais vous donner la liste ...
+c'est a dire le compte de_ NOS HOMMES ... _non de_ NOS SOMMES, _etc.,
+etc._ It is scarcely probably that MONTE-LEONE and Pignana, speaking
+Italian, indulged in French _jeux des mots_.
+
+
+
+
+THE ABBE DE VOISENON AND HIS TIMES.
+
+From Frazer's Magazine
+
+
+The province of Brie, in France, divided and subdivided since the
+Revolution of 1789, into departments, arondissements, and cantons, is
+filled with chateaux, which, in the reign of Louis XV., were inhabited
+by those gold-be-spangled marquises, those idle, godless abbes, and
+those obese financiers, whom the secret memoirs of Grimm and Bachaumont,
+and the letters of the Marquis de Lauraguais, have held up to such
+unsparing ridicule and contempt. This milky and cheese-producing Brie,
+this inexhaustible Io, was, at the epoch of the regent Orleans and his
+deplorable successor, a literal cavern of pleasures, in the most impure
+acceptation of the term; every chateau which the Black Band has not
+demolished is, as it were, a half-volume of memoirs in which may be read
+the entire history of the times. Here is the spot where formerly stood
+the chateau of Samuel Bernard, the prodigal, it is true, of an anterior
+age, but worthy of the succeeding one; there is the pavilion of Bourei,
+another financier, another Jupiter of all the Danaes of the Theatre
+Italien: on this side we see Vaux, the residence of that most princely
+of finance ministers, whose suddenly acquired power and wealth, and as
+sudden downfall, may surely point a moral for all ministers present and
+to come; on that side we have the chateau of Law, the trigonometrical
+thief; and Brunoy, the residence of the greatest eccentric perhaps in
+the annals of French history: in a word, wherever the foot is placed,
+there arises a sort of lamentation of the eighteenth century--that
+celebrated century, whose limits we do not pretend to circumscribe as
+the astronomers would, but whose beginning may be dated from the decline
+of the reign of Louis XIV., its career closing with Barras, whose
+immodest chateau still displays at the present day its restored
+foundations on the soil upon which Vaux, Brunoy, and Voisenon, shone so
+fatally.
+
+It was in this last named little chateau that was born and educated the
+celebrated abbe, the friend of Voltaire, of Madame Favart, and of the
+Duc de la Valliere; and here it was, also, that in manhood its possessor
+would occasionally resort, though not the least in the world a man who
+could appreciate rural enjoyments, for the purpose of reposing from the
+fatigues of some of his epicurean pilgrimages to his friends at Paris or
+Montrouge, and which was his final sojourn when age and infirmities
+rendered it imperatively necessary for him to breathe the pure air of
+his native place, far away from the heating _petits soupers_ of the
+capital, and the various other dearly cherished scenes of his earlier
+years.
+
+Claude Henri Fusee de Voisenon, Abbe of Jard, and Minister
+Plenipotentiary of the Prince-Bishop of Spire, was born at Voisenon on
+the 8th of June, 1708. Biographers have, perhaps, laid too much stress
+on the debility of constitution which he brought with him into the
+world, inherited, they say, from his mother, an exceedingly delicate
+woman. Since the examples of longevity given by Fontenelle and Voltaire,
+of whom the first lived to the use of a hundred, and the second to
+upwards of four-score years, and yet both of whom came into the world
+with very doubtful chances of existence, it is become a very hazardous
+task to determine, or even to foretell, length of days by the state of
+health at birth. They add, that an unhealthy nurse, aggravating the
+hereditary weakness of the child, infused with her milk into his blood
+the germs of that asthma from which he suffered all his life, and of
+which he eventually died. These facts accepted--a delicate mother, an
+unhealthy nurse, an asthma, and constant spittings of blood--it follows
+that, even with these serious disadvantages to contend with, a man may
+live and even enjoy life up to the age of sixty-eight. How many healthy
+men there are who would be content to attain this age! And if the Abbe
+de Voisenon did not exceed the bounds of an age of very fair
+proportions, we must bear in mind that, though even an invalid, he
+constantly trifled with his health with the imprudence of a man of
+vigorous constitution; eating beyond measure, drinking freely, presiding
+at all the _petits soupers_--_petit_ only in name--of the capital,
+passing the nights in running from _salon_ to _salon_, and seldom
+retiring to rest before morning: a worthy pupil of that Hercules of
+debauchery, Richelieu, his master and his executioner. Terrified at the
+delicate appearance of his child, his father dared not send him to
+school, but had him brought up under his own eye, with all the patience
+of an indulgent parent and the solicitude of a physician. Five years'
+cares were sufficient to develop the intellectual capacities of a mind
+at once lively and clear, and marvellously fitted by nature to receive
+and retain the lessons of preceptors. At eleven years of age he
+addressed a rhyming epistle to Voltaire, who replied,--
+
+"You love verses, and I predict that you will make charming ones. Come
+and see me, and be my pupil."
+
+If Voisenon justified the prediction, he scarcely surpassed the
+favorable sense which it incloses. Verbose, incorrect, poor in form,
+pale and washy as diluted Indian ink, his verses occasionally display
+witty touches, because every one was witty in the eighteenth century;
+but to class them with the works of the poets of his day as _poetry_ is
+impossible--they merit only being considered in the light of lemonade
+made from Voltaire's well-squeezed lemons.
+
+In many respects the prose of the eighteenth century, not being an art,
+but rather the resource of unsuccessful poets, lent itself better than
+did the muse to the idle fantasies of the Abbe de Voisenon. His facetiae,
+his historiettes, his Oriental tales, reunited later (at least in part)
+with the works of the Comte de Caylus, and with the libertine tales of
+Duclos and the younger Crebillon, prove the facility with which he could
+imitate Voltaire, while his lucubrations must be considered as far
+inferior to the short tales of the latter author. For the most part too
+free, too indecent, in short, to show their faces beside some
+elaborately serious fragments which form what are called his works, they
+figure in the work we have just named under the title of _Recueil de ces
+Messieurs; Aventures des Bals des Bois; Etrennes de la St. Jean; Les
+Ecosseuses; les Oeufs de Paques_, &c. We know, by the memoirs of the
+time, that a society of men of letters, formed by Mademoiselle Quinaut
+du Frene, and composed of fourteen members chosen by her, had proposed
+to itself the high and difficult mission of supping well at stated
+intervals, and of being immensely witty and extravagantly gay. At the
+end of the half-year these effusions of wit and gayety were printed by
+the society at the mutual expense of its members, and given to the world
+under the title of _Recueil de ces Messieurs_.[Q] Deprived of the
+illusive accompaniments of the lights, the sparkling eyes, the tinkling
+glasses, and the indulgent good-nature engendered by an excellent
+dinner, good wines, and an ample dessert, these table libertinages, when
+read nearly a century afterwards, lose all their piquancy of flavor and
+become simply nauseous. The readings, and consequently the dinners, took
+place sometimes at the house of Mademoiselle Quinaut, sometimes at that
+of the Comte de Caylus.
+
+Having conceived a disgust for the profession of arms--for which he had
+been originally intended--in consequence of having fought with and
+wounded a young officer in a duel, he determined upon embracing the
+ecclesiastical state; and shortly after taking orders was inducted by
+Cardinal Fleury to the royal abbey of Jard--an easy government, the seat
+of which was his own chateau of Voisenon.
+
+As soon as he was actually a dignitary of the Church, he turned his
+thoughts entirely to the stage! In compliance with the request of
+Mademoiselle Quinaut, the new Abbe of Jard wrote a series of dramatic
+pieces, among which may be cited, _La Coquette fixee_, _Le Reveil de
+Thalie_, _Les Mariages assortis_, and _Le Jeune Grecque_, little
+drawing-room comedies, which have not kept possession of the stage, and
+to which French literature knows not where to give a place at the
+present day, so far are they from offering a single recommendable
+quality. The only style of composition in which the Abbe de Voisenon
+might have, perhaps, distinguished himself, had he been seconded by an
+intelligent musician, was the operatic. In this _baladin_ talent of his
+there was something of the freedom and sparkle of the Italian abbes; and
+yet the Abbe de Voisenon enjoyed during his life-time a high degree of
+celebrity. Seeing the utter impossibility of justifying this celebrity
+by his works, we must presume that it proceeded chiefly from his amiable
+character, his pointed epigrammatical conversation, and in a great
+measure, also, from his brilliant position in the world. And, after all,
+did celebrity require other causes at a time when a man's success was
+established, not by the publicity of the press, but from the words
+dropped from his lips in the "world," and from the occasional
+enunciation of a sparkling _bon mot_ quickly caught up and for a length
+of time repeated? Were we to protest against this species of
+_illustration_, as the French call it, we should be in the wrong: each
+epoch has its own; since then times are altered: now-a-days, in France,
+a man obtains celebrity through the medium of the press, formerly it was
+by the _salons_. In general, the French _litterateurs_, especially the
+journalists, may be said to write better now than they did then; but
+where, we should like to know, is there now to be found a young writer
+of thirty capable of creating and sustaining a conversation in a society
+consisting of upwards of a hundred distinguished persons? The lackeys of
+M. de Boufflers were, in all probability, more in their place in a
+_salon_ than would be the most learned or witty writers of the present
+day.
+
+If the Abbe de Voisenon was not exactly an eagle as regards common sense
+and intellectual attainments, what are we to think of M. de Choiseul,
+who wished to appoint him minister of France at some foreign court? The
+Abbe de Voisenon a minister! that man whom M. de Lauraguais called _a
+handful of fleas_! But if he became not minister of France, it was
+decreed by fate that he should be minister of somebody or other; he was
+too incapable to escape this honor. Some years after the failure of this
+ridiculous project of M. de Choiseul, the Prince-bishop of Spire
+appointed him his minister plenipotentiary at the Court of France. His
+admission into the bosom of the French Academy was all that was now
+required to complete his happiness, and this honor was shortly
+afterwards conferred upon him, for he was duly elected to the chair
+vacated by the death of Crebillon.
+
+At the age of fifty-two, with the intention of getting rid of his
+asthma, his constant companion through life, he determined to try the
+effect of mineral waters upon his enfeebled constitution. His journey
+from Paris to Cautarets, and his sojourn in this head-quarters of
+bitumen and sulphur, as related by himself in his letters to his
+friends, may be considered as an historical portraiture of the method of
+travelling, as pursued by the grandees of the time, as well as being the
+truest pages of the idle, epicurean, pleasure-loving, yet infirm,
+existence of the narrator.
+
+     "We passed through Tours yesterday (writes he to his friend
+     Favart, in his first letter, dated from Chatelherault the 8th
+     day of June, 1761), where Madame la Duchess de Choiseul
+     received all the honors due to the _gouvernante_ of the
+     province: we entered by the Mall, which is planted with trees
+     as beautiful as those of the Parisian Boulevards. Here we found
+     a mayor, who came to harangue the duchess. It happened that M.
+     Sainfrais, during the harangue, had posted himself directly
+     behind the speaker, so that every now and then his horse, which
+     kept constantly tossing its head, as horses will do, would give
+     him a little tap on the back--a circumstance which cut his
+     phrases in half in the most ludicrous manner possible; because
+     at every blow the orator would turn round to see what was the
+     matter, after which he would gravely resume his discourse,
+     while I was ready to burst with laughter the whole time. Two
+     leagues further on we had another rich scene; an ecclesiastic
+     stopped the carriage, and commenced a pompous harangue
+     addressed to M. Poisonnier, whom he kept calling _mon Prince_.
+     M. Poisonnier replied, that he was more than a prince, and that
+     in fact the lives of all princes depended upon him, for he was
+     a physician. 'What!' exclaimed the priest, 'you are not M. le
+     Prince de Talmont?' 'He has been dead these two years,' replied
+     the Duchesse de Choiseul. 'But who, then, is in this carriage?'
+     'It is Madame la Duchesse de Choiseul,' replied some one.
+     Forthwith, not a whit disconcerted, he commenced another
+     harangue, in which he lauded to the skies the excellent
+     education she had bestowed on her son. 'But I have no son,
+     monsieur,' replied the duchess quietly. 'Ah! you have no son; I
+     am very sorry for that;' and so saying his reverence put his
+     harangue in his pocket, and walked off.
+
+     "Adieu, my worthy friend. We shall reach Bordeaux on Thursday.
+     I intend to feed well when I get there."
+
+What an edifying picture of the state of the high and low clergy of
+France at this epoch is presented to us! The Abbe de Voisenon rolling
+along in his carriage, indulging in the anticipatory delights of some
+good 'feeds' when he shall get to Bordeaux; and a hungry priest
+haranguing right and left the first comers who may present themselves,
+in order to obtain the wherewithal to procure a dinner.
+
+It is to Madame Favart that Voisenon writes from Bordeaux:--
+
+     "We arrived here at ten o'clock yesterday evening, and found
+     Marshal de Richelieu, who had crossed the Garonne to meet the
+     Duchesse de Choiseul. This city is beautiful viewed at a
+     distance--all that appertains to the exterior is of the best;
+     but what afflicts me most of all, is the sad fact that there
+     are no sardines to be had on account of the war. I was not
+     aware that the sardines had taken part against; however, I
+     revenged myself upon two ortolans, which I devoured for supper,
+     along with a _pate_ of red partridges _aux truffes_, which,
+     though made as long back as November last--as Marshal de
+     Richelieu assured me--was as fresh and as _parfume_ as if it
+     had been made but the night before."
+
+If the reader should feel astonished that an asthmatical patient could
+eat partridges and truffles without being horribly ill, his astonishment
+will not be of long continuance. The following day Voisenon wrote to
+Favart:--
+
+     "Oh, my dear friend, I have passed a frightful night. I was
+     obliged to smoke and take my _kermes_. I shall not be able to
+     see any of the 'lions' of the place. If I am three days
+     following in this state after I get to Cauterets, you will have
+     me back again with you by the end of the month."
+
+One would suppose that after this gentle hint our abbe would be more
+prudent; not a bit of it. In the same letter he adds:--
+
+     "The dinner-table yesterday was covered with sardines. At the
+     very first start I eat six in as many mouthfuls--a truly
+     delicious _morceau_; despite my _kermes_, I reckon upon eating
+     as many to-day, along with my two ortolans. We leave to-morrow,
+     and on Wednesday we shall reach Cauterets."
+
+Thus, ill on the 11th in consequence of a monstrous supper taken on the
+10th, we find him, for all that, on the following day devouring sardines
+by the half-dozen, and ortolans again! On the 18th he writes from
+Cauterets to his friend Favart:--
+
+     "I arrived yesterday in good health, but have slept badly,
+     because the house in which I lodge is situated over a torrent,
+     which makes a frightful noise. This country I can only compare
+     to an icy horror, like the tragedy of _Teree_."
+
+Twelve days afterwards, Voisenon writes to Madame Favart:--
+
+     "Madame de Choiseul's uncle, who paid you so many compliments
+     in the green-room, arrived yesterday: he lodges in the same
+     house with me.... I introduced him this morning into one of the
+     best houses in Cauterets--indeed the very best house--where, I
+     must confess, I myself spend three parts of the entire day; in
+     a word, it is the pastry-cook's. This learned individual
+     compounds admirable tartlets, as well as some little cakes of
+     singular lightness; but above all, certain delicious little
+     puffs composed of cream and millet-flour, which he calls
+     _millassons_. I stuff them all day long. This makes the waters
+     turn sour on my stomach, and myself turn very yellow; but I am
+     tolerably well notwithstanding."
+
+This gormandizing Abbe de Voisenon, ever hanging, as it were, between
+_pates_ and his grave, becomes now a rather interesting subject of
+study. We begin to speculate upon what it is that will finally carry him
+off: his asthma, or the confectionary he daily swallows.
+
+He writes to Favart:--
+
+     "I bathe every morning, and during this operation I bear a
+     striking resemblance to a match dipped in sulphur. I keep my
+     health, however, tolerably well, though still suffering from my
+     asthma, of which I fear I shall never be cured."
+
+It would be a wonder if he should be cured, with his unfortunate table
+excesses, which would have killed half-a-dozen healthy men. In vain do
+we seek in his correspondence with Favart and his wife, a single thought
+unconnected with the pleasures of the stomach. We have read with what
+delight he sings the praises of a pastry-cook established at Cauterets,
+famous for his millet-cakes and cream-puffs. His happiness did not stop
+here:--
+
+"A second pastry-cook (he cries), upon my reputation, has set up here.
+There is a daily trial of skill between the two artists; I eat and
+judge, and it is my stomach that pays the cost. I go to the bath, and
+return to the oven. I shall come here again in the thrush season. We
+have red partridges, which are brought here from all parts; they are
+delicious."
+
+In short, he remained so long stuffing confectionary at Cauterets, where
+he had gone solely to take care of himself, and to live with the
+strictest regularity, that on the eve of his departure he wrote sadly to
+Madame Favart:--'I am just the same as when you saw me last: sometimes
+asthmatical, and always gormandizing.' The sufferings which he
+experienced during his sojourn at, Bareges, previous to his final return
+to Paris, are proofs of the deplorable effects of the mineral waters
+upon his health:--
+
+     "I am suffering dreadfully; and am now, while I write, laboring
+     under so violent an attack of asthma, that I cannot doubt but
+     that the air of this country is as bad for me as that of
+     Montrouge. If I am as bad to-morrow, I shall return to pass the
+     week at Cauterets, and on Saturday go on to Pau, where I shall
+     wait for the ladies who are to pass through on Monday, on their
+     way to Bayonne. I know I shall be in a miserable state during
+     the journey."
+
+Such were the benefits derived by the Abbe de Voisenon from his four
+months' sojourn at the baths of Cauterets and Bareges. He returned to
+Voisenon infinitely worse than when he left it. On the eve of his
+departure for home, where, as he said some time afterwards, he wished
+_to be on the same floor with the tombs of his ancestors_, he devoured a
+monstrous dinner on the Bareges mountains.
+
+Finding that the mineral waters of the Pyrenees had failed in
+reestablishing his health--that is, if he ever had health--the Abbe de
+Voisenon abandoned physicians and their fruitless prescriptions, to seek
+elsewhere remedies for the cure of his asthma, which became more and
+more troublesome as he began to get into years. As he was constantly
+speaking of his disease to everybody, and as everybody--at least all
+those who wished to get into his good graces--spoke of it to him, he
+learned one day that there existed in some garret of Paris a certain
+abbe deeply learned in all the mysteries of occult chemistry, an adept
+of the great Albert, the master of masters in empirical art. Like all
+sorcerers, and all _savants_ of the eighteenth century, this abbe was
+represented as being in a state of frightful misery and destitution. He
+who possessed the secrets of plants and minerals, of fire and light, of
+the generation of beings, had not the wherewithal to procure himself a
+decent _soutane_, nor even a morsel of bread. Though, by the efforts of
+his magic, he had reached a dizzy height on the paths of knowledge, it
+was, alas! a fact but too true, that he was unable to maintain himself
+more than a month in the same apartment--perhaps on account of his
+indifference to the interests of his landlords. For all that he was a
+marvellous being, inventing specifics for the cure of all diseases, and
+consequently of asthma among the rest. It was even whispered, but
+secretly and mysteriously, and with a sort of awe--for they were very
+superstitious, though very atheistical, in the eighteenth century--that
+all these specifics were comprised in one remedy, namely, the
+celebrated AURUM POTABILE, or fluid gold. Now every one knows, or at
+least ought to know, that potable gold, that is, gold in a cold and
+fluid state, like wine, triumphs over every malady to which the human
+frame is subject: it is health itself, perpetual youth, and would be no
+less than immortality had not Paracelsus, who, they say, also possessed
+the secret of potable gold, unfortunately died at the age of
+thirty-three, or thirty-five: thus establishing a fatal argument against
+its virtues in this respect. But one thought now possessed
+Voisenon--that of getting hold, somehow or other, of this magic abbe,
+and of enticing him to his chateau; but an insensate and monstrous
+desire was this--a desire almost impossible to be satisfied, for it was
+stated that this Prometheus repelled all advances. Persecuted by the
+faculty, censured by the ecclesiastical tribunal, maltreated by the
+police, who would not suffer anything in the shape of gold-making, he
+had, in his savage misanthropy, renounced all further thoughts of
+alleviating the pains of humanity at the cost of his repose and safety.
+Here was a terrible state of perplexity for our asthmatical abbe, who,
+for all that, did not lose courage, but set to work with all his might
+to discover the great physician.
+
+But where, or how, was he to discover a sorcerer in Paris? To whom could
+he decently address himself? To what professional class? There are so
+many people in the world ready to ridicule even the most respectable
+things. Every time that Voisenon elbowed at the Tuileries, or in the
+Palais Royal, an individual in a seedy cassock, he fancied that he had
+discovered his man. Forthwith he would enter into conversation with him,
+his heart fluttering with hope, until the moment came which would
+convince him that he had been deceived. Though for the moment cast into
+despair, he did not lose hope, but would the next day recommence his
+voyages of discovery in search of potable gold. One morning he had a
+sudden illumination:--"Since the archbishop," thought he, "has censured
+the conduct of the abbe I have been so long in search of, the archbishop
+must know where he lodges." Just as if sorcerers had lodgings! That very
+day he repaired to the archbishop's court. If the reader wonders why our
+abbe did not give the clerks whom he interrogated the name of his
+mysterious priest, the answer is easy: it is simply because he did not
+know his name; magicians seldom make themselves known but by their
+works. This name, however, to his great and inexpressible joy, he was
+soon to learn. After some researches made in the register of the
+episcopal court, the clerk informed him that this abbe (a deplorable
+subject by all accounts) was called Boiviel, and, at the period when the
+acts of censure were passed upon him, lodged in the Rue de Versailles,
+Faubourg Saint Marceau. Voisenon was there almost as soon as the words
+were out of the clerk's mouth.
+
+Voisenon knocked at every kennel of this deplorable street; not even a
+bark replied to the name of the Abbe Boiviel. At length, at a seventh
+floor above the mud, an old woman, who resided in a loft, to which
+access was obtained by means of a rope-ladder, informed him that the
+Abbe Boiviel had quitted the apartment about six months before, with the
+avowed intention of going to lodge at Menilmontant; she added, that this
+delay gave fair grounds for supposing that he must necessarily have
+changed his quarters at least five or six times in the course of these
+six months. Disappointed, but not discouraged, Voisenon descended from
+the dizzy height, reflecting upon the sad distress to which a man might
+be reduced, although possessing the secret of potable gold.
+
+An almost incredible chance had so willed it, that the Abbe Boiviel had
+changed his abode but three times since his descent from the garret of
+the Rue de Versailles. From Menilmontant he had removed to Passy, and
+from Passy to La Chapelle, where he now resided.
+
+At length the two abbes met; but to what delicate manoeuvres the
+seigneur of Voisenon was obliged to have recourse in accosting his
+rugged _comfrere_, who was at that moment engaged in eating his
+breakfast off a chair. He had sense enough to put off as long as
+possible the true subject of his visit; besides, what cared he for
+delays? He had found him at last, he was face to face with the
+mysterious, infallible physician, the successor of the great Albert.
+Boiviel was even more savage and morose than the Abbe de Voisenon had
+anticipated. He spoke of offering his services to the Missionary Society
+in order to get appointed to preach the Gospel in Japan, although, to
+tell the truth, he did not believe over-much in Christianity. "And I do
+not believe in Japan," might have perhaps replied the Abbe de Voisenon,
+had he been in a joking humor: but the fact is, he was thunderstruck at
+the enunciation of such a project. It was too provoking, when he, had at
+length found the Abbe Boiviel, to hear that the Abbe Boiviel was going
+to immolate himself in Japan.
+
+Inspired by circumstance, that tenth muse which is worth all the nine
+put together, Voisenon said to Boiviel, that he was aware of all the
+persecutions which the clergy of Paris had made him endure for causes
+which he did not desire to know; he refrained also from entering on the
+subject of fluid gold. Touched by the exhibition of so much constancy in
+misfortune, he had come, he said, to propose to the Abbe Boiviel to
+inhabit his chateau of Voisenon, where, in the calm and repose of a
+peaceful existence, and with a mind freed from the harassing cares of
+the world, he would have leisure to meditate and write; that this
+proceeding of his, though strange in appearance, was excusable, and to
+be judged with an indulgent eye; he, the Abbe de Voisenon, was happy,
+rich, powerful even. The Abbe Boiviel would be quite at home at the
+chateau de Voisenon; his feelings of independence would not be
+outraged; when he should be tired of sojourning there, he might quit the
+chateau, remain absent as long as it pleased him, and return when it
+suited his fancy. It is hardly necessary to say that the wild boar
+allowed itself to be muzzled; that very evening a hired carriage
+conducted the chemist, the sorcerer, the magician Boiviel, to the
+Chateau de Voisenon. "I shall have my potable gold at last," thought the
+triumphant Abbe, radiant with hope and exultation.
+
+Installed at the chateau, the Abbe Boiviel conformed himself with a very
+good grace to the monachal existence led by its inmates. The good
+regimen of the house tended also to considerably soften the former
+asperities of his demeanor; he spoke no more of Japan, but neither did
+he speak of the potable gold, although Voisenon on several occasions
+endeavored to obtain from him an explanation on this essential point.
+Whenever our asthmatical abbe would lead the conversation towards
+subjects relating to chemistry or alchemy, Boiviel would either avoid a
+direct reply or else fall into a state of profound taciturnity: and yet
+all his debts had been paid, including the various outstanding accounts
+due to his numerous landlords, and his dinners at the Croix de
+Lorraine--that memorable tavern, where all the abbes who received
+fifteen sous for every mass said at St. Sulpice were accustomed to feed
+daily. Several cassocks had also been purchased for him, several pairs
+of stockings, and many shirts.
+
+After a three months' residence at the chateau he had become fat, fresh,
+and rosy, such as he had never before been at any previous epoch of his
+life. Emboldened by the friendship he had shown to his guest, Voisenon
+ventured one day to say to the Abbe Boiviel, that, skeptical and
+atheistical as they falsely imagined him to be in the world, he
+possessed, nevertheless, an absolute faith in alchemy; he denied neither
+the philosopher's stone, nor the universal panacea, nor even the potable
+gold. Now did he, or did he not, believe in potable gold? This was a
+home-thrust Boiviel could no longer recoil; he _did_ believe in it; but
+according to his idea the audacious chemist committed a great sin in
+composing it: it was, so to speak, as though attacking the decrees of
+creation to change into liquid what had been ordained a metal. A
+sorcerer troubled with religious scruples appeared a strange spectacle
+to the Abbe de Voisenon and one, too, that rather embarrassed him. He
+did not, however, entirely renounce his conquest of the potable gold; he
+waited three months longer, and during these three months fresh favors
+were lavished on Boiviel, who habituated himself to these proceedings
+with praiseworthy resignation.
+
+Treated as a friend, called also by that title, Boiviel justified the
+Abbe de Voisenon in saying to him one day, that he had no longer a hope
+in any remedy whatsoever, save the potable gold, for the cure of his
+asthma. Without the specific, as much above other remedies as the sun is
+above fire, the only course left him was to die. Boiviel was moved, his
+iron resolves were shaken, and his qualms of conscience ceded to the
+voice of friendship. He warned his friend, however, that in order to
+compose a little fluid gold much solid gold would be required. The first
+essay would cost ten thousand livres at the very least. Voisenon, who
+would have given twenty thousand to be cured, consented to the
+sacrifice, thanking heartily his future liberator, who, on the following
+day, commenced the great work. What sage deliberation did he bring to
+the task! and how slowly did the work proceed! Day followed day, month
+followed month, but as yet no gold, except that which the Abbe de
+Voisenon himself contributed in pieces of twenty-four livres each. The
+day at length arrived in which, the ten thousand livres being exhausted,
+Boiviel informed his patient that the fluid gold was in flasks, and
+would be ready for use in a month.
+
+It was during this month that the alchemist Boiviel took leave of the
+Abbe de Voisenon, on the pretext of going to see his old father, who
+resided in Flanders. Before two months were out he would return to the
+chateau, in order to observe the beneficial effects of the liquified
+metal. Warmly embraced by his friend, overwhelmed with presents,
+solicited to return as speedily as possible, Boiviel quitted the Chateau
+de Voisenon, where he had lived for nearly a year, and in what manner we
+have seen.
+
+After the time allowed by Boiviel for the fluid gold to be fit for use
+had elapsed, the Abbe de Voisenon began his course of the medicine. He
+emptied the first, the second, and the third flask, awaiting the result
+with exemplary patience; but an asthma is not to be cured in a week,
+especially an asthma of forty years' standing.
+
+Boiviel had not yet returned; he had now been four months in Flanders;
+to these four months succeeded another four, but no Boiviel; the year
+revolved, the flasks diminished, but still no Boiviel.
+
+It is scarcely necessary to say that the Abbe Boiviel never reappeared,
+and that he was nothing better than a charlatan and a thief. But the
+singular part of the matter is, that the Abbe de Voisenon found his
+asthma considerably relieved after a course of the fluid gold composed
+by Boiviel; and his sole regret at the end of his days was, not having
+foreseen the death, or disappearance--a matter quite as disastrous--of
+his alchemist, who could have furnished him with the means of
+compounding the elixir for himself as it might be wanted.
+
+In order to show himself superior to the assaults of his enemy, our Abbe
+would often endeavor to persuade himself that he was every whit as
+active as he had formerly been; more active even than he had been in
+his youth. On these occasions he would jump up from his easy-chair,
+where he had been sitting groaning under an attack of the asthma; he
+would cast his pillows on one side, his night-cap on the other, would
+pitch his slippers to the other end of the room, and call loudly for his
+domestics. In one of these deceitful triumphs of his will over his
+feeble constitution, he rang one cold winter's morning for his _valet de
+chambre_.
+
+"My thick cloth trousers!" cried he, "my thick cloth trousers!"
+
+"Why, Monsieur l'Abbe," timidly objected his faithful servitor, "what
+can you be thinking of? you were very bad yesterday evening."
+
+"That's very probable; I have nothing to do with what I was yesterday
+evening. My thick cloth trousers, I tell you--now, my furred waistcoat!
+Come, look sharp!"
+
+"But, Monsieur l'Abbe, why quit your warm room, your snug arm-chair? You
+are so pale."
+
+"Pale, am I! that's better than ever, for I have been as yellow as a
+quince all my life! Good, I have my trousers and waistcoat; fetch me my
+redingote!"
+
+"Your redingote! that you only put on when you are going out?"
+
+"And it is precisely because I am going out that I ask for it. You argue
+to-day like a true stage valet. Why should I not put on my redingote?
+Are you afraid of it becoming shabby? Do you wish to steal it from me
+while it is new?"
+
+"I am afraid that you will increase your cough if you don't keep the
+house to-day. It is very cold this morning."
+
+"Very cold, is it, eh? so much the better. I like cold weather."
+
+"It snows even very much, Monsieur l'Abbe."
+
+"In that case, my large Polish boots."
+
+"Your large Polish boots! And for what purpose?"
+
+"Not to write a poem in, probably; for if Boileau very sensibly
+remarked, that in order to write a good poem time and taste were
+necessary, he did not add that boots were indispensable. Once for all, I
+want my Polish boots to go out shooting in. Is not that plain enough,
+Monsieur Mascarille?"
+
+"Cough shooting, Monsieur l'Abbe?"
+
+"_Maraud!_ wolf-shooting--in the wood. Come, quick, my boots, and no
+chattering."
+
+"Here are your boots, Monsieur l'Abbe. Truly you have no thought for
+your health."
+
+"Have you a design upon my boots, also? Be so good, most discursive
+valet, as to fetch me my deer-skin gloves, my hat, and gun."
+
+The Abbe de Voisenon was soon equipped with the aid of his valet, who,
+during the operation of dressing, never ceased repeating to him:
+
+"It is fearfully cold this morning. Dogs have been found frozen to death
+in their kennels, fish dead in the fish-ponds, cattle dead in the
+stables, birds dead on the trees, and even wolves dead in the forest."
+
+"My good friend," replied the Abbe de Voisenon, "you have said too much;
+your story of the wolves prevents me believing the rest: upon this I
+start. Now listen to me. On my return from shooting I expect to find my
+poultices ready, my asses-milk properly warmed, and my _tisanes_ mixed;
+give directions about all this in the kitchen."
+
+"Yes, Monsieur l'Abbe. He'll never return, that's certain," murmured the
+valet, as he packed up his master in his great-coat, and drew his fur
+cap well down over his ears.
+
+Followed by three of his dogs, our abbe started on his shooting
+excursion. At the very first step he took on leaving the court-yard, he
+fell; but he was up in an instant, and brushed speedily along. It must
+have been a strange spectacle to see this old man, as black as a mute at
+a funeral, with his black gloves, black boots, black coat, all black in
+short, tripping gayly along over the snow with three dogs at his heels,
+sometimes whistling and shouting aloud, sometimes cracking his
+pocket-whip, and occasionally pointing his fowling-piece in the
+direction of a flight of crows.
+
+He had passed through the village of Voisenon, and had just gained the
+open country, when he was stopped at the entrance of a lane of small
+cottages by a young girl, who, the instant she perceived him, cried out,
+
+"Ah, monseigneur" (for many people styled him monseigneur), "it is
+surely Providence that has sent you to us!"
+
+"What is the matter?" inquired the abbe.
+
+"Our grandfather is dying, and he is unwilling to die without
+confession."
+
+"But I have nothing to do with that, my child; that is the priest's
+business."
+
+"But are you not a priest, monseigneur?"
+
+"Almost," replied our abbe, rather taken aback by this home-thrust, and
+in a very bad humor besides at the interruption, "almost; but address
+yourself in preference to the prior of the convent. Run to the chateau,
+ring at the convent-gate; ring loudly, and reserve me for a better
+occasion."
+
+"Monseigneur," repeated the girl, "our grandfather has not time to wait;
+he is dying--you must come."
+
+"I tell you," replied the abbe, confused within himself at his refusal,
+"I cannot go. I am, as you see, out shooting: the thing is utterly
+impossible."
+
+With these words he sought to pursue his way; but the young girl, who
+could not comprehend the bad arguments made use of by the abbe, clung
+obstinately to his coat skirts, and compelled him to turn round. Aroused
+by the noise of this altercation, a few of the male population appeared
+on the thresholds of their doors, others at their windows; and as a
+village resembles a bundle of dry hay, which a spark will set in a
+blaze, the wives joined their husbands, the children their mothers, and
+soon the entire population flocked into the street to see what was the
+matter.
+
+The Abbe du Jard, seigneur of Voisenon, king of the country, felt deeply
+humiliated amid the crowd which surrounded him, and which had already
+begun to murmur at this refusal, as irreligious as it was inhuman.
+
+But our poor abbe was not inhuman. The fact was, he had completely
+forgotten the formula used on such occasions; and if the truth must be
+told, as he was careless and indifferent in religious matters, rather
+than hypocritical, his conscience reproached him for going to absolve or
+condemn a fellow-creature when he inwardly felt how utterly unworthy he
+was himself of judging others at the tribunal of the confessional.
+
+Necessity, however, prevailed over his just scruples; which scruples,
+however, be it said, could not be made use of as excuses to his vassals:
+so, with downcast eyes and his reversed fowling-piece under his arm, he
+permitted himself to be led to the cottage where lay the old man, who
+was unwilling to render his last sigh without having made the official
+avowal of his sins.
+
+The villagers knelt in a circle before the door, whilst the abbe seated
+himself by the side of the dying man, in order the better to receive his
+confession.
+
+Since the unlucky moment in which the Abbe de Voisenon had been balked
+of his morning's sport, he had lost--for he had at times his intervals
+of superstitious terror--the proud determination he had formed of not
+believing himself ill on that day. But then, what signs of evil augury
+had greeted him! He had tripped and fallen on leaving home; he had seen
+flocks of crows; a weeping girl had dragged him to the bedside of a
+terrified sinner--even now they were repeating the prayers for the dying
+around him. The Abbe de Voisenon was overcome; his former temerity oozed
+palpably away, he felt sick at heart, his ears tingled, his asthma
+groaned within his chest.
+
+"I am ill," thought he. "I was in the wrong to come out; why did I not
+take my old servant's advice, and remain at home?"
+
+Finally he lent an ear to the old man's confession.
+
+"You were born the same day as myself!" exclaimed the abbe, at the
+patient's first confidential communication; "you were born the same day
+as myself!"
+
+The old man continued, and here a new terror arose for our abbe.
+
+"You have never heard mass to the end! And I," thought he, "have never
+heard even the beginning for these last thirty years!"
+
+The penitent continued:--
+
+"I have committed, monseigneur, the great sin that you know."
+
+"The great sin that I know! I know so many," thought the abbe. "What
+sin, my friend?"
+
+"Yea, the great sin--although married--"
+
+"Ah! I understand!" Then, _sotto voce_, "My great sin, although a
+priest."
+
+A deplorable fatality, if it was a fatality, had so willed it that the
+vassal should have fallen into the same snares as had his lord, who was
+now called to judge him at his last hour.
+
+When the confession was ended, the Abbe de Voisenon consulted his own
+heart with inward terror, and after some hesitation he remitted his
+penitent's sins, inwardly avowing to himself that the dying man ought,
+at least, out of gratitude, to render him the same service.
+
+The ceremony over, the abbe rose to depart: but his limbs failed him,
+and they were actually obliged to carry him home, where he arrived in a
+state of prostration that seriously alarmed his household. During the
+remainder of that day he spoke to no one; wrapped up in the silence of
+his own melancholy thoughts, he opened his lips only to cough. The night
+was bad; icy shiverings passed over his frame: the image of this man, of
+the same age, and burdened with the same sins as he himself had
+committed, would not leave his memory. By daylight his trouble of mind
+and body was at its height; he desired his valet to summon his physician
+and the prior of the convent. "And immediately," added he,
+"immediately."
+
+Comprehending better this time the wishes of his master, the domestic
+hastened to arouse the prior, whose convent almost adjoined the chateau,
+and the physician, who had apartments in the chateau itself. This
+physician was a young man, chosen by the celebrated Tronchin from among
+his cleverest pupils at the express desire of the Abbe de Voisenon.
+
+Seriously alarmed at the danger of the abbe, both prior and physician
+hastened to obey the summons. M. de Voisenon was so ill last night.
+Should they arrive in time? So equal and so prompt was their zeal that
+both reached the abbe's bedroom door together. But when they opened it,
+what was their astonishment to find that the bird had flown; our abbe
+had got over his little fright, and had gone out shooting again.
+
+The end of that fatal eighteenth century was now approaching; undermined
+by years and debauchery, it was now like a ruined spend-thrift moving
+away from the calendar of the world in rags; it was hideously old, but
+its years inspired not respect. Old king, old ministers, old
+generals--if indeed there were generals,--old courtiers, old mistresses,
+old poets, old musicians, old opera dancers, broken down with _ennui_,
+pleasure, and idleness--toothless, faded, rouged, and wrinkled--were
+descending slowly to the tomb. Louis XV. formed one of the funeral
+procession; he was taken to St. Denis between two lines of _cabarets_
+filled with drunken revellers, madly rejoicing at being rid of this
+plague, which another plague had carried off to the grave. Crebillon was
+dead; the son of the great Racine, honored by the famous title of Member
+of the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles Lettres, was taken off by a
+malignant fever, and obtained from the grateful publicity of the day
+the following necrological eulogium, as brief as it was eloquent: "M.
+Racine, last of the name, died yesterday of a malignant fever; as a man
+of letters he was long dead, having become stupefied by wine and
+devotion." Twelve days afterwards Marivaux followed Racine to the grave.
+The Abbe Prevost died of a tenth attack of apoplexy in the forest of
+Chantilly. In the following spring the celebrated Madame de Pompadour
+descended, at the age of forty-four, into the grave, after having
+exhaled a _bon mot_ in guise of confession. Desirous, as it would
+appear, of leaving this world like the rest of his worthy _comperes_,
+the composer Rameau cried furiously to his confessor, whose lugubrious
+note while intoning the service at his bedside offended the delicacy of
+his ear, 'What the devil are you muttering there, Monsieur le Cure? you
+are horribly out of tune!' And thereupon Master Rameau expired of a
+putrid fever. And what think you, worthy reader, occupied the public the
+day following the death of the most celebrated musician in Europe, the
+king of the French school? Why, nothing less than this wonderful piece
+of news: "Mademoiselle Mire, of the Opera, more celebrated as a
+courtesan than as a _danseuse_, has interred her lover; on his tomb are
+engraven these words:
+
+    MI RE LA MI LA."
+
+A touching funeral oration, truly, for poor Rameau! Panard, the father
+of the French vaudeville, died some days after Rameau; and the Parisian
+public, with its national tenderness of heart, merely remarked, that
+"the words could not be separated from the accompaniment."
+
+You see, reader, how the ranks were thinning, how all these old candles
+were expiring in their sockets, how the ball was approaching its end.
+
+"Piron died yesterday," writes a journalist; and he adds, "They say he
+received the cure of St. Roche very badly." What an admirable piece of
+buffoonery! these cures going in turn to shrive the writers of the
+eighteenth century, and having flung at their heads epigrams composed
+for the occasion, perhaps, ten years before.
+
+Louis XV. died soon after Piron. A few hours before his death he said to
+Cardinal de la Roche-Aymon: "Although the king is answerable to God
+alone for his conduct, you can say that he is sorry for having caused
+any scandal to his subjects, and that from henceforth he desires to live
+but for the support of faith and religion, and for the happiness of his
+people!"
+
+Like Rameau, Piron, Helvetius, and Pompadour, this good little king
+Louis XV. must have his _bon mot_; he was sorry for having caused any
+scandal to his subjects, and at his last moment of existence would live
+from henceforth for the sole happiness of his people! "Can any thing be
+finer than this?"
+
+Finally came the Abbe de Voisenon's turn. Witty to his last hour, when
+they brought home the leaden coffin, the exact form and dimensions of
+which he had himself arranged and ordered beforehand, he said to one of
+his domestics,--
+
+"There is a great-coat, any how, that you will not be tempted to steal
+from me."
+
+He died on the 22d of November, 1775, aged sixty-eight.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Q] This was the celebrated society called the _Academie de ces
+Messieurs_: it numbered among its members all the more celebrated wits
+of the day.
+
+
+
+
+IRELAND IN THE LAST AGE.
+
+Recollections of Curran.
+
+From the London Times
+
+
+If the work of Mr. Charles Phillips were a description of the Roman bar
+in the time of Hadrian, it would scarcely be more completely than at
+present the picture of a time and system entirely passed away; yet he
+professes to give us--and performs his promise--a somewhat gossipping
+and very amusing description of the Irish bar, and the great men
+belonging to it, very little more than half a century since. But we
+travel and change quickly in these days of steam and railroads; even
+Time himself appears now to have attached his travelling carriage to a
+locomotive, and in the space of one man's life performs a journey that
+in staid and ancient days would have occupied the years of many
+generations, and, as if in illustration of the fleeting nature of men
+and things and systems at this time, here we find a contemporary (at
+this moment hardly past the prime of life) giving us portraits, and
+relating anecdotes of men with whom he, in his youth, lived in intimate
+and professional relations, but who seem now as absolutely to belong to
+a bygone order of things, as if they had wrangled before the Dikasts of
+Athens, or pleaded before the Praetor at Rome. Mr. Phillips seems to feel
+this, and, as the gay days of his sanguine youth flit by his memory, the
+retrospect brings, as it will ever bring, melancholy, and even sadness,
+with it. Yielding himself up to the dominion of feeling, in place of
+keeping his reason predominant, he mourns over the past, as if, in
+comparison with the present, it were greatly more worthy. Forgetting
+that there is a change also in himself; that the capacity for enjoyment
+is largely diminished; that hope has been fulfilled, or is for ever
+frustrate; he tests the present by his own emotions, instead of weighing
+with philosophic _indifference_ the relative merits of the system that
+he describes, and of that in which he lives. We are told--
+
+    "'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view;"
+
+but, when age comes upon us, we must turn and look back, if we desire to
+enjoy this pleasing hallucination.
+
+But in what is the present of Ireland so different from the past, in
+which our fathers lived? And what do these repinings mean? What is the
+charm that has for ever faded? The answer to this question, if complete,
+would occupy a volume, for the composition of which that of Mr. Phillips
+might well serve in the character of _une piece historique_, abounding,
+as it does, in apt and instructive illustration, and giving, by its
+aggregation of anecdotes and descriptions, a somewhat confused but
+still interesting and lively picture of a very curious and stirring
+period. There lies, indeed, at the bottom of this inquiry a question
+with which the practical statesman has now little reason to trouble
+himself, but which, nevertheless, to the speculative philosopher, cannot
+fail to be a subject of never-failing interest.
+
+The great physical discoveries of modern times, by which the powers of
+nature are made to act in subservience to the use and comfort of
+mankind, steadily tend to one great political result, viz., the
+permanently uniting and knitting together of much larger numbers of men
+into one and the same community, and subjecting them to one and the same
+Government, and that Government one of law and not of force, than was
+ever known or possible during the early days of man's history. This
+result, as regards the peace of the world and all the material comforts
+of life, is highly favorable. Whether the same can be said, of the
+mental vigor and moral excellence of the human race is a question upon
+which men may speculate, but which time alone can satisfactorily answer.
+
+The small, contentious, and active communities of Greece; the little,
+ill-governed, yet vigorous Republics of modern Italy, stand out in the
+history of mankind bright and illustrious beyond all hope of comparison;
+and, from the wondrous intellects that appeared among them, they have
+proved to all succeeding times a never-failing subject of admiration,
+envy, and despair. Just in proportion to our own advancement in art,
+literature, and science, is the intensity of our astonishment, of our
+envy, and of our despondency. We endeavor to compete with, but can never
+equal them; we imitate, but, like all imitators, we are condemned to
+mediocrity; it is only when we attempt to explore some new and untrod
+region of art or science that we can pretend to the dignity even of
+comparison. And these regions are rare indeed.
+
+But, if we compare our own social condition with that of the Greeks or
+the Italians--if we look into their houses, their cities, and their
+fields,--if we acquire an accurate and vivid conception of the
+insecurity of life, of property, and of peace among them,--and if we
+measure the happiness of life by the comforts of every day existence,
+then, indeed, the superiority belongs to ourselves; and we may be led to
+ask, whether the advantages of both conditions of political and social
+existence may not be united; and to that end seek to learn what it was
+that brought out into such vigorous relief the wonderful mental activity
+of the two periods, which form such peculiar and hitherto unequalled
+epocha in the history of mankind. We shall find, if we pursue this
+inquiry into other times and among other people, that there was one
+circumstance, among many others indeed, of peculiar weight and
+importance, which then exercised and has never failed to exercise,
+wheresoever it has existed, a vast influence upon the mental and moral
+character of the people--we mean a feeling of intense _nationality_.
+This feeling is not all that is required; without it no great
+originality or vigor in a people is probable, and where it has been
+strongly manifest, it has generally led to great deeds, and much mental
+activity. The character of this manifestation will, indeed, greatly
+depend upon the natural character of the people--upon the peculiar state
+of their civilization, and upon their political condition. If these be
+all favorable, the spirit of nationality is divine, and manifest in
+great and ennobling deeds and thoughts; but, if adverse, then the spirit
+will be destructive, and vice will be quickened into fatal activity.
+
+In Ireland, at the end of the eighteenth century, a remarkable series of
+events cherished, if it did not indeed produce, this sentiment of a
+separate nationality and independence. Conquerors and conquered, in
+spite of social and religious distinctions, had long since coalesced
+into one people; and the successful revolt of our American colonies,
+induced the people of Ireland to demand for themselves freedom and
+independence also. With arms in their hands the Volunteers wrung from
+England an independent Parliament in 1782; and in the eighteen years
+which followed, all that is really great in the history of Ireland, is
+comprised. The Volunteers, indeed, obtained independence, but that was
+all. The constitution of the Irish was, as before, narrow and
+mischievous, oppressive and corrupt; but it was Irish, and independent
+of the Parliament of England. And the struggles of an independent
+people, endeavoring, by their own efforts, to reform their own
+institutions, led to the rising of that brilliant galaxy of statesmen,
+orators, wits, and lawyers, to which Irishmen of the present day, almost
+without exception, refer with grief and despondency, not unmixed with
+indignation, when wishing to make the world appreciate the evils their
+country has suffered in consequence of its union with England. But,
+unhappily, the great spirit of freedom was awakened in evil times.
+Great, vigorous, and almost glorious was this wonderful manifestation of
+its power; but eventually the horrible corruption and vice of the period
+bore all before it, and extinguished every chance of benefit from the
+acquisition of independence. Great men appeared, but they were
+powerless. Of the remarkable period in which they lived, however, every
+memorial is of interest. With the society of which they formed a part,
+so different from our own--with the character and manners of the men
+themselves, their history, their good sayings and wild deeds, every
+student of history wishes to become acquainted, and seizes with avidity
+upon every piece of evidence from which authentic information respecting
+them may be gathered--and, as a portion of this evidence, the work of
+Mr. Phillips deserves consideration.
+
+Among the most remarkable of the many distinguished characters of this
+stirring period was John Philpot Curran,--among Irish advocates, as was
+Erskine among those of England, _facile princeps_. With him, when on
+the bench as Master of the Rolls in Ireland, Mr. Phillips, himself then
+a junior at the Irish bar, became acquainted. Acquaintance became
+intimacy, and intimacy led to friendship, which lasted without
+interruption to the day of Curran's death. Admiration and affection
+induced Mr. Phillips to gather together memorials of his deceased
+friend, round whose portrait he has grouped sketches of many of his
+celebrated cotemporaries. He says in his preface--
+
+"My object has been, touching as lightly as possible on the politics of
+the time, to give merely personal sketches of the characters as they
+appeared upon the scene to me. Many of them were my acquaintances--some
+of them my intimates; and the aim throughout has been a verisimilitude
+in the portraiture;--in short, to make the reader as familiar with the
+originals as I was myself."
+
+And a more curious collection of likenesses was never crowded into one
+canvas. They all, indeed, have a strong family resemblance, but
+certainly they are like nothing else in nature; and to us, living in
+grave, and possibly dull and prosaic England--and in this our matter of
+fact and decorous age--the doings of the society which they have made
+illustrious, appear more like a mad _saturnalia_ than the sober and
+commonplace procedure of rational men. The whole people--every class,
+profession, and degree--seemed to consider life but a species of
+delirious dance, and a wild and frantic excitement the one sole
+pleasure. Repose, thoughtfulness, and calm, they must have considered a
+premature death. Every emotion was sought for in its extreme, and a
+rapid variation from merriment to misery, from impassioned love to
+violent hate, was the ordinary (if in such an existence any thing could
+be deemed ordinary)--the common and ordinary condition of life.
+Laughter, that was ever on the brink of tears--a wild joy, that might in
+an instant be followed by hopeless despondency--alternations from
+sanguine and eager hope to blank and apparently crushing despair,--such
+was Irish life, in which every one appeared to be acting a part, and
+striving to appear original by means of a strained and laborious
+affectation. Steady, continued, and rational industry, was either
+unknown or despised; economy was looked upon as meanness--thrift was
+called avarice--and the paying a just debt, except upon compulsion, was
+deemed conduct wholly unworthy of a gentleman. Take the account Mr.
+Phillips himself gives. He speaks of the Irish squire; but the Irish
+squire was the raw material out of which so-called Irish gentlemen were
+made. "The Irish squire of half a century ago _scorned_ not to be in
+debt; it would be beneath his dignity to live within his income; and
+next to not incurring a debt, the greatest degradation would have been
+voluntarily to _pay one_." And yet was there great pretension to
+_honor_, but a man of honor of those days would in our time be
+considered a ruffian certainly, and probably a blackleg or a swindler.
+"It was a favorite boast of his (the first Lord Norbury) that he began
+life with fifty pounds, and a pair of hair-trigger pistols." "They
+served his purpose well.... The luck of the hair-triggers triumphed, and
+Toler not only became Chief Justice, but the founder of two peerages,
+and the testator of an enormous fortune. After his promotion, the code
+of honor became, as it were, engrafted on that of the Common Pleas; the
+noble chief not unfrequently announcing that he considered himself a
+judge only while he wore his robes." The sort of law dispensed by this
+fire-eating judge might be easily conceived even without the aid of such
+an anecdote as the following: "A nonsuit was never heard of in his time.
+Ill-natured people said it was to draw suitors to his court." Toler's
+reason for it was that he was too _constitutional_ to interfere with a
+jury, Be that as it may, a nonsuit was a nonentity, 'I hope, my Lord,'
+said counsel in a case actually commanding one, 'your Lordship will, for
+once, have the courage to nonsuit? In a moment the hair-triggers were
+uppermost. 'Courage! I tell you what, Mr. Wallace, there are two sorts
+of courage--courage to shoot, and courage to nonshoot--and I have both;
+but nonshoot now I certainly will not; and argument is only a waste of
+time.' "I remember well," says Mr. Phillips, when speaking of another
+judge, Mr. Justice Fletcher, "at the Sligo summer assizes for 1812,
+being counsel in the case of 'The King _v._ Fenton,' for the murder of
+Major Hillas in a duel, when old Judge Fletcher thus capped his summing
+up to the jury: 'Gentlemen, it's my business to lay down the law to you,
+and I will. The law says, the killing a man in a duel is murder, and I
+am bound to tell you it is murder; therefore, in the discharge of my
+duty, I tell you so; but I tell you at the same time, a _fairer duel_
+than this I never heard of in the whole _coorse_ of my life.' It is
+scarcely necessary to add that there was an immediate acquittal." By way
+of giving some idea of the character of society then, the following
+enumeration is supplied by the memory of Mr. Phillips:--
+
+     "Lord Clare, afterwards Lord Chancellor, fought Curran,
+     afterwards Master of the Rolls. So much for equity; but common
+     law also sustained its reputation. Clonmel, afterwards Chief
+     Justice, fought two Lords and two Commoners,--to show his
+     impartiality, no doubt. Medge, afterwards Baron, fought his own
+     brother-in-law, and two others. Toler, afterwards Chief Justice
+     of the Common Pleas, fought three persons, one of whom was
+     Fitzgerald, even in Ireland the 'fire-eater,' _par excellence_.
+     Patterson, also afterwards Chief Justice of the same court,
+     fought three country gentlemen, one of them with guns, another
+     with swords, and wounded them all! Corry, Chancellor of the
+     Exchequer, fought Mr. Grattan. The Provost of Dublin
+     University, a Privy Councillor, fought Mr. Doyle, a Master in
+     Chancery, and several others. His brother, collector of
+     Customs, fought Lord Mountmorris. Harry Deane Grady, counsel to
+     the Revenue, fought several duels; and 'all hits,' adds
+     Barrington, with unction. Curran fought four persons, one of
+     whom was Egan, Chairman of Kilmainham; afterwards his friend,
+     with Lord Buckinghamshire. A duel in these days was often a
+     prelude to intimacy."
+
+In spite, nevertheless, of this rude, nay, almost wild condition of
+society,--in spite of a most fantastic affectation attending nearly
+every act and thought and word,--yet were Curran and his cotemporaries
+men of great and vigorous ability. Grattan, Curran, and Flood, deserve
+indeed to take rank among the foremost class of their own age,--among
+the men of genius of every age and country. If we speak of them as
+orators, and wish to judge of their excellence with relation to the
+great orators of our own country, we must bear in mind the character of
+the society in which they lived, and of the assemblies they addressed.
+It would be unjust to try them by the rules of our fastidious taste and
+undemonstrative manners. They addressed Irishmen, and Irishmen just when
+most excited, and indulging in all the wild sallies of a dearly-prized
+and lately acquired independence. What to us would appear offensive rant
+and disgusting affectation, would, in the Irish House of Commons, have
+been but the usual manifestation of strong feeling, and was absolutely
+required, if the speaker desired to move as well as convince his
+auditory.
+
+If, however, we seek to know what was the virtue of these men, more
+especially that of Curran, we must probe to the bottom the corruptions
+and baseness of that society, which deserves to be branded as among the
+most base and the most corrupt that history has hitherto described. The
+temptations which England employed, the horrible corruption and
+profligacy she fostered, must be fully known, if we desire to do justice
+to the men who came out undefiled from that filthy ordeal.
+
+
+
+
+THE LOST LETTER.
+
+From Chambers' Papers for the People.
+
+
+I.
+
+One night, between twenty and thirty years ago, a party were assembled
+in the drawing-rooms of a house situated in one of the most spacious
+squares of the great metropolis. The brightly lighted lamps lent an
+additional lustre to yet brighter eyes, and the sprightly tones of
+various instruments accompanied the graceful evolutions of the dancers,
+as they threaded the mazes of the country-dance, cotillon, or quadrille;
+for waltz, polka, and schottish, were then unknown in our ball-rooms.
+Here and there sat a couple in a quiet corner, evidently enjoying the
+pleasures of a flirtation, while one pair, more romantic or more serious
+than the others, had strayed out upon the balcony, to indulge more
+unrestrainedly in the conversation, which, to judge by their low and
+earnest tones, and abstracted air, seemed deeply interesting to both.
+
+It was now long past the hour 'of night's black arch, the keystone,' and
+the early dawn of a midsummer morning was already bestowing its first
+calm sweet smile on the smoke-begrimed streets and world-worn
+thoroughfares of mighty London, as well as on the dewy hay-fields, shady
+lanes, green hedgerows, and quiet country homes of rural England. The
+morning star, large, mild, and lustrous, was declining in the clear sky;
+and on the left of the lovely planet lay a soft purple cloud, tinged on
+the edge with the lucid amber of the dawning day. A light breeze just
+stirred the leaves of the trees in the square garden, and fanned the
+warm cheeks of the two spectators, as, suddenly silent, they stood
+feasting their eyes and hearts on the surpassingly beautiful scene
+before them, and marvelling at the remarkable purity of the atmosphere,
+which, in the foggy metropolis of Britain, seemed almost to realize the
+Venetian transparency of the pictures of Canaletti. Perhaps it may be as
+well to take advantage of the pause to describe the two lovers, for that
+they were lovers you have of course already guessed.
+
+A handsomer pair, I am sure, you would never wish to see! The well-knit,
+well-proportioned figure of the gentleman bespoke at once activity and
+ease, while the spirited, intelligent expression of his
+countenance--dark-complexioned as that of an Andalusian--would have
+given interest to far plainer features. The glance of his dark eye, as
+it rested fondly on his fair companion, or was turned abroad on the
+world, told alternately of a loving heart and a proud spirit. Philip
+Hayforth was one who would have scorned to commit an ignoble action, or
+to stain his soul with the shadow of a falsehood for all the treasures
+and the blessings the earth has to bestow; but he was quick to resent an
+injury, and slow to forget it, and not for all the world would he have
+been the first to sue for a reconciliation. Like many other proud
+people, however, he was open-hearted and generous, and ready to forgive
+when forgiveness was asked; the reason of which might be, that a
+petition for pardon is, to the spirit of a proud man, a sort of homage
+far more gratifying than the most skilful flattery, since it establishes
+at once his own superiority. But to his Emily, Philip was all
+consideration and tenderness, and she, poor girl, with the simple faith
+of youth and love, believed him to be perfection, and admired even his
+pride. A very lovely girl was Emily Sherwood--gifted with a beauty of a
+rare and intellectual cast. As she now stood leaning on the arm of her
+companion, her tall yet pliant and graceful figure enveloped in the airy
+drapery of her white dress, with her eyes turned in mute admiration
+towards the dawning day, it would have required but a slight stretch of
+the imagination to have beheld in her a priestess of the sun, awaiting
+in reverent adoration the appearance of her fire-god. Her complexion and
+features, too, would have helped to strengthen the fantasy, for the one
+was singularly fair, pale, and transparent, and the other characterized
+by delicacy, refinement, and a sort of earnest yet still enthusiasm. Her
+hair, of the softest and palest brown, was arranged in simple yet
+massive plaits around her finely-shaped head, and crowned with a wreath
+of 'starry jessamine.' From the absence of color, one might have
+imagined that her beauty would have been cold and statue-like; but you
+had only to glance at her soft, intellectual mouth, or to look into her
+large, clear, hazel eyes, which seemed to have borrowed their sweet,
+thoughtful, chastened radiance from the star whose beams were now fast
+paling in the brightening sky, to learn that Emily Sherwood could both
+think and love.
+
+"Dear Philip," she said at last, in that low tone which is the natural
+expression of all the finer and deeper emotions, "is it not beautiful? I
+feel at this moment as if I were almost oppressed with happiness--as if
+this were but an intense dream of love and beauty, that must, as
+sentimental people say, 'be too bright to last.' I never felt as I do
+now in all my life before."
+
+"Nor I neither, my Emily, my sweet little poetess; but I suppose it is
+because we love, for love intensifies all the feelings."
+
+"All the best feelings."
+
+"The whole nature, I think. It is, for instance, more difficult to bear
+a slight from those we love than from a comparatively indifferent
+person."
+
+"A slight! but there can be no such thing as a slight between those who
+love perfectly--as we do. Are we not all in all to each other? Is not
+our happiness indivisible?"
+
+"It is my pride and joy to believe so, my sweet Emily. I know in my own
+heart that the needle is not more true to the magnet than my thoughts
+and feelings are to you. It shall be the chief care of my life to save
+you from all uneasiness; but, Emily, I expect the same devotion I give:
+unkindness from you, of all the world, I could not and would not
+endure."
+
+"Oh, Philip, Philip!" she said, half tenderly, half reproachfully, "why
+should you say this? I do not doubt _you_, dear Philip, for I judge your
+love by my own."
+
+He looked into the truthful and affectionate eyes which were raised so
+trustingly to his face, and replied, in a voice tremulous with emotion,
+"Forgive me, Emily. I trust you entirely; but I had started an idea, the
+barest contemplation of which was insupportable--maddening, because of
+the very excess of my affection. In short, Emily, I know--that is, I
+suspect--your father looked for a higher match for you than I am. Report
+says that his prejudices are strong in favor of birth, and that he is
+very proud of his ancient blood; and the idea did cross me for a moment,
+that when you were with him he might influence you to despise me."
+
+"My father _is_ proud; but, dear Philip, is nobody proud but he? And
+notwithstanding his prejudices, as you call them, I can assure you, you
+are not more honorable yourself in every act and thought than he is. He
+has consented to our marriage, and therefore you need not fear him, even
+if you cannot trust me alone."
+
+"Oh, Emily, pardon me! And so you think me proud. Well, perhaps I am;
+and it is better that you should know it, as you will bear with it, I
+know, for my sake, my best, my truest Emily; and I shall repay your
+goodness with the most fervent gratitude. Yes, I feel with you that no
+cloud can ever come between us two."
+
+Emily Sherwood was the eldest daughter of Colonel Sherwood, a cadet of
+one of the proudest families in England; and which, though it had never
+been adorned with a title, looked down with something like contempt on
+the abundant growth of mushroom nobility which had sprung up around it,
+long after it had already obtained the dignity which, in the opinion of
+the Sherwoods, generations alone could bestow. Colonel Sherwood
+inherited all the pride of his race--nay, in him it had been increased
+by poverty; for poverty, except in minds of the highest class--that rare
+class who estimate justly the true value of human life, and the true
+nature of human dignity--is generally allied either with pride or
+meanness. Of course when I speak of poverty I mean comparative
+poverty--I allude to those who are poorer than their station. In a
+retired part of one of the eastern counties, Colonel Sherwood struggled
+upon his half-pay to support a wife and seven children, and as far as
+possible to keep up the appearance he considered due to his birth and
+rank in society. Emily had been for two seasons the belle of the country
+balls; and the admiration her beauty and manners had everywhere excited,
+had created in the hearts of her parents a hope that she was destined to
+form an alliance calculated to shed a lustre on the fading glory of the
+Sherwoods. But, alas! as Burns sings--
+
+    "The best laid schemes of mice and men
+       Gang aft ajee."
+
+During a visit to some relatives in London, Emily became acquainted with
+Philip Hayforth; and his agreeable manners and person, his intelligent
+conversation and devotion to herself, had quickly made an impression
+upon feelings which, though susceptible, were fastidious, and therefore
+still untouched. Then, too, the romantic ardor with which his attachment
+was expressed, the enthusiasm he manifested for whatever was great,
+good, or beautiful, aroused in Emily all the latent poetry of her
+nature. Naturally imaginative, and full even of passionate tenderness,
+but diffident and sensitive, she had hitherto, from an instinctive
+consciousness that they would be misunderstood or disapproved,
+studiously concealed her deeper feelings. Hence had been generated in
+her character a degree of thoughtfulness and reserve unusual in one of
+her years. Now, however, that she beheld the ideas and aspirations she
+had so long deemed singular, perhaps reprehensible, shadowed forth more
+powerfully and definitely by a mind more mature and a spirit more
+daring than her own, her heart responded to its more vigorous
+counterpart; and at the magic touch of sympathy, the long pent-up waters
+flowed freely. She loved, was beloved, and asked no more of destiny. It
+was not, it may be supposed, without some reluctance that Colonel
+Sherwood consented to the demolition of the aerial castles of which his
+beautiful Emily had so long been the subject and the tenant, and made up
+his mind to see her the wife of a man who, though of respectable
+parentage, could boast neither title nor pedigree, and was only the
+junior partner in a mercantile firm. But then young Hayforth bore the
+most honorable character; his prospects were said to be good, and his
+manners unexceptionable; and, above all, Emily was evidently much
+attached to him; and remembering the days of his own early love, the
+father's heart of the aristocratic old colonel was fairly melted, and he
+consented to receive the young merchant as his son-in-law. The marriage,
+however, was not to take place till the spring of the following year.
+Meanwhile the lovers agreed to solace the period of their separation by
+long and frequent letters. Philip's last words to Emily, as he handed
+her into the postchaise in which she was to commence her homeward
+journey, were, "Now write to me very often, my own dearest Emily, for I
+shall never be happy but when hearing from you or writing to you; and if
+you are long answering my letters, I shall be miserable, and perhaps
+jealous." She could only answer by a mute sign, and the carriage drove
+away. Poor, agitated Emily, half happy, half sad, leaned back in it, and
+indulged in that feminine luxury--a hearty fit of tears. As for Philip,
+he took a few turns in the park, walking as if for a wager, and feeling
+sensible of a sort of coldness and dreariness about every object which
+he had never remarked before. Then he suddenly recollected that he must
+go to the counting-house, as he was "very busy." He did not, however,
+make much progress with his business that day, as somehow or other he
+fell into a reverie over every thing he attempted.
+
+Nothing could exceed the regularity of the lovers' correspondence for
+the first two or three months, while their letters were written on the
+largest orthodox sheets to be had from the stationer's--post-office
+regulations in those days not admitting of the volumes of little notes
+now so much in vogue. At last Emily bethought herself of working a purse
+for Philip, in acknowledgment of a locket he had lately sent her from
+London. Generally speaking, Emily was not very fond of work; but somehow
+or other no occupation, not even the perusal of a favorite poem or
+novel, had ever afforded her half the pleasure that she derived from the
+manufacture of this purse. Each stitch she netted, each bead she strung,
+was a new source of delight--for she was working for Philip. Love is the
+true magic of life, effecting more strange metamorphoses than ever did
+the spells of Archimago, or the arts of Armida--the moral alchemy which
+can transmute the basest things into the most precious. It is true of
+all circumstances, as well as of personal qualities, that
+
+    "Things base and vile, holding no quantity,
+    Love can transpose to form and dignity."
+
+The purse was quickly finished, and dispatched to Philip, together with
+a letter. Emily was in high spirits at the prospect of the answer. She
+danced about the house, singing snatches of songs and ballads, and
+displaying an unusual amount of gayety; for, though generally cheerful,
+she was of too thoughtful a disposition to be often merry. Philip, she
+was sure, would write by return of post. How she wished the time were
+come! She knew pretty well, to be sure, what he would say; but what did
+that signify? She longed to feast her eyes on the words his hand had
+traced, and to fancy the tones and the looks which would have
+accompanied them had they been spoken instead of written. The expected
+day came at last, but the post-bag contained no letter for Emily. At
+first she could hardly believe it; her countenance fell, and for a few
+minutes she seemed much disappointed; but never mind, the letter would
+come to-morrow, and she soon began to trip about and to sing almost as
+gayly as before. But another day passed, and another and another, and
+still no letter! Poor Emily's blithe voice was mute now, and her light
+step rarely heard. Sometimes she tried to read, or to play on the piano,
+but without much success; while her anxious looks, and the tear which
+occasionally might be seen to glisten in her eye, betrayed the trouble
+within. A whole week elapsed, a longer period than had ever passed
+before without a letter from Philip Hayforth--a fortnight--a month--and
+the poor girl's appetite failed, her nights were sleepless, and her
+drooping figure and pining looks told of that anxious suffering, that
+weary life-gnawing suspense, which is ten times more hard to bear than
+any evil, however great, of which we can ascertain the nature and
+discern the limits. Could Philip be ill? Could he--No, he could not be
+inconstant. Ought she to write to him again? But to this question her
+parents answered "No. It would be unfeminine, unladylike, undignified.
+If Mr. Hayforth were ill, he would doubtless write as soon as he was
+able; and if he were well, his conduct was inexcusable, and on Emily's
+part rendered any advance impossible." Poor Emily shrank from
+transgressing what her parents represented as the limits due to delicacy
+and decorum, and she would have died rather than have been guilty of a
+real impropriety, or have appeared unfeminine in the eyes of Philip
+Hayforth; and yet it did often suggest itself to her mind--rather,
+however, in the shape of an undefined feeling than of a conscious
+thought--that the shortest, best, most straight-forward way of
+proceeding, was to write at once to Mr. Hayforth, and ask an
+explanation. She could not herself see clearly how this could be wrong;
+but she supposed it must be so, and she acknowledged her own ignorance
+and inexperience. Emily was scarcely twenty; just at the age when an
+inquiring and thoughtful mind can no longer rely with the unquestioning
+faith of childhood on assertions sanctioned merely by authority, and
+when a diffident one is too timid to venture to trust to its own
+suggestions. It is only after much experience, or one of those bitter
+mistakes, which are the great lessons of life, that such a character
+learns that self-reliance, exercised with deliberation and humility, is
+the only safeguard for individual rectitude. Emily, therefore, did not
+write, but lived on in the silent, wasting agony of constant expectation
+and perpetual disappointment. Her mother, in the hope of affording her
+some relief, inquired in a letter she was writing to her relative in
+London, if the latter had lately seen Mr. Hayforth. The answer was like
+a death-blow to poor Emily. Her mother's correspondent had "met Mr.
+Hayforth walking with a lady. He had passed her with a very stiff bow,
+and seemed inclined to avoid her. He had not called for a long time. She
+could not at all understand it." Colonel Sherwood could now no longer
+contain his indignation. He forbade the mention of Philip Hayforth's
+name, declaring that "his Emily was far too good and beautiful for the
+wife of a low-born tradesman, and that he deserved the indignity now
+thrown upon his family for ever having thought of degrading it by the
+permission of such a union. And his darling child would, he knew, bear
+up with the spirit of the Sherwoods." Poor Emily had, it is to be
+feared, little of the spirit of the Sherwoods, but she tried to bear up
+from perhaps as good a motive. But it was a difficult task, for she was
+well-nigh broken-hearted. She now never mentioned Philip Hayforth, and
+to all appearance her connection with him was as if it had never been;
+but, waking or sleeping, he was ever present to her thoughts. Oh! was it
+indeed possible that she should never, _never_ see him again? No, it
+could not be; he would seek her, claim her yet, her heart said; but
+reason whispered that it was madness to think so, and bade her at once
+make up her mind to her inevitable fate. But this she could not do--not
+yet at all events. Month after month of the long dreary winter dragged
+slowly on; her kind parents tried to dissipate her melancholy by taking
+her to every amusement within reach, and she went, partly from
+indifference as to what became of her, partly out of gratitude for their
+kindness. At last the days began to lengthen, and the weather to
+brighten; but spring flowers and sunny skies brought no corresponding
+bloom to the faded hopes and the joyless life of Emily Sherwood. The
+only hope she felt was "the hope which keeps alive despair."
+
+One May morning, as she was listlessly looking over in a newspaper the
+list of marriages, her eye fell upon a well-known name--the name of one
+who at that very time ought to have knelt at the altar with her. She
+uttered neither scream nor cry, but clasping her hands with one upward
+look of mute despair, fell down in a dead faint. For many days she was
+very ill, and sometimes quite delirious; but her mother tended her with
+the most assiduous affection, while her comfort and recreation seemed
+her father's sole care. They were repaid at last by her recovery, and
+from that time forth she was less miserable. In such a case as Emily's,
+there is not only the shock to the affections, but the terrible wrench
+of all the faculties to be overcome, which ensues on the divorce of the
+thoughts from those objects and that future to which they have so long
+been wedded. There is not only the breaking heart to be healed, but the
+whole mental current to be forcibly turned into a different channel from
+that which alone habit has made easy or pleasant. "The worst," as it is
+called, is, however, easier to be endured than suspense; and if Emily's
+spirits did not regain their former elasticity, she ere long became
+quite resigned, and comparatively cheerful.
+
+More than a year had elapsed since that bright spring morning on which
+she had beheld the irrefragable proof of her lover's perfidy, when she
+received an offer of marriage from a gentleman, of good family and large
+property. He had been struck by her beauty at a party where he had seen
+her; and after a few meetings, made formal proposals to her father
+almost ere she was aware that he admired her. Much averse to form a new
+engagement, she would at once have declined receiving his addresses, had
+her parents not earnestly pressed the match as one in every respect
+highly eligible. Overcome at last by their importunities, and having, as
+she thought, no object in existence save to give pleasure to them, she
+yielded so far to their wishes as to consent to receive Mr. Beauchamp as
+her future husband, on condition that he should be made acquainted with
+the history of her previous engagement, and the present state of her
+feelings. She secretly hoped that when he learned that she had no heart
+to give with her hand, he would withdraw his suit. But she was mistaken.
+Mr. Beauchamp, it is true, knew that there was such a word as _heart_,
+had a notion that it was a term much in vogue with novel-writers, and
+was sometimes mentioned by parsons in their sermons; but that _the
+heart_ could have any thing to do with the serious affairs of life never
+once entered into his head to suppose. He therefore testified as much
+satisfaction at Emily's answer, as if she had avowed for him the deepest
+affection. They were shortly afterwards married, and the pensive bride
+accompanied her husband to her new home--Woodthorpe Hall; an ancient,
+castellated edifice, situated in an extensive and finely-wooded park on
+an estate in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
+
+But I have too long neglected Philip Hayforth--too long permitted a
+cloud to rest upon his honor and constancy. He was not, in truth, the
+heartless, light-minded wretch that I fear you may think him. Pride,
+not falsehood or levity, was the blemish in his otherwise fine
+character; but it was a very plague-spot, tainting his whole moral
+nature, and frequently neutralizing the effect of his best qualities. He
+had been quite as much charmed with Emily's present and Emily's letter,
+as she had ever ventured to hope, and had lost not a moment in writing
+to her in return a long epistle full of the fervent love and gratitude
+with which his heart was overflowing. He had also mentioned several
+affairs of mutual interest and of a pressing nature, but about which he
+was unwilling to take any steps without the concurrence of "his own
+dearest and kindest Emily." He therefore entreated her to write
+immediately; "to write by return of post, if she loved him." But this
+letter never reached its destination: it was lost--a rare occurrence
+certainly, but, as most of us are aware from our own experience, not
+unknown. And now began with Philip Hayforth the same agony which Emily
+was enduring--nay, a greater agony; for there was not only the same
+disappointed affection, the same heart-sickness, the same weary
+expectation, but there was the stronger suffering of a more passionate
+and less disciplined temper; and, above all, there was the incessant
+struggle between pride and love--the same fearful strife which, we are
+told, once made war in Heaven.
+
+Sometimes he thought that Emily might be ill; but then that did not seem
+likely, as her health was generally good; and she was, when she had last
+written, perfectly well, and apparently in excellent spirits. Should he
+write to her again? No, she owed him a letter, and if she loved him,
+would doubtless answer it as soon as circumstances would permit; and he
+'would let that haughty old aristocrat, her father, see that Philip
+Hayforth, the merchant, had more of the spirit of a man in him than to
+cringe to the proudest blood in England. And as for Emily, she was his
+betrothed bride--the same as his wife; and if he was not more to her
+than any father on earth, she was unworthy of the love he had given her.
+Let her only be true to him, and he was ready to devote his life to
+her--to die for her.' As the time wore slowly away, he became more and
+more exasperated, fevered, wretched. Sometimes it seemed to him that he
+could no longer endure such torment; that life itself was a burthen too
+intolerable to be borne. But here pride came to the aid of a better
+principle. His cheek tinged at the thought of being spoken of as the
+slighted lover, and his blood boiled at the bare idea of Colonel
+Sherwood's contemptuous pity for the vain plebeian who had dared to
+raise his thoughts to an alliance with his beautiful, high-born
+daughter. He 'would show the world that he was no love-sick, despairing
+swain; and Miss Sherwood's vanity should never be gratified by the
+display of the wounds her falsehood had inflicted. He would very soon,
+he knew, forget the fair coquette who had trampled thus upon his most
+sacred feelings.' So he tried to persuade himself, but his heart misgave
+him. No: he could not forget her--it was in vain to attempt it; but the
+more his feelings acknowledged her power, even the more the pride she
+had wounded in its tenderest point rose up in wrath against her; and he
+chafed at his own powerlessness to testify towards her his scorn and
+contempt. At such times as these he seemed even to himself on the verge
+of madness. But he had saner moments--moments when his better nature
+triumphed, and pride resigned for a brief space her stormy empire to the
+benigner sway of the contending passion.
+
+In the midst of those terrific tornados, which in the West Indies and
+elsewhere carry in their path, over immense districts, ruin and
+desolation, there is a pause, often of considerable duration, caused,
+the scientific inform us, by the calm in the centre of the atmospheric
+vortex of which they are composed. Such a calm would occasionally rest
+upon the mind of Philip Hayforth, over the length and breadth of which
+the whirlwind of passion had lately been tearing. One night, after one
+of those hidden transports, which the proud man would have died rather
+than any mortal eye should have scanned, he threw himself upon his bed
+(for he rarely _went to bed_ now, in the accepted sense of the phrase)
+in a state approaching exhaustion, mental and bodily. By degrees a sort
+of dream-like peace fell upon his spirit; the present vanished away, and
+the past became, as it were, once more a living reality. He thought of
+Emily Sherwood as he had first seen her--a vision of loveliness and
+grace. He thought of her as he had beheld her almost the last time on
+that clear summer morning, and like refreshing dew on his scorched and
+desolated heart fell the remembrance of her gentle words and loving
+looks. Could they have deceived? Ah no! and his whole nature seemed
+suddenly softened. He seemed to see her before him now, with her angel
+face and her floating white robes; he seemed even yet to be looking into
+those soft, bright eyes, and to read there again, as he had read before,
+love unspeakable, truth unchangeable. His heart was filled with a
+yearning tenderness, an intense and longing fondness, and he extended
+his arms, as if to embrace that white-robed image of truth and
+gentleness: but she was not there; it was but her spirit which had come
+to still his angry passions with the calm of trust and love. And in the
+fond superstition that so it was, he sprang from his couch, seized a
+pen, and wrote to her a passionate, incoherent epistle, telling her that
+she had tried him almost beyond his strength, but that he loved and
+believed in her still, and if she answered immediately, that he was
+ready to forgive her for all the pain she had caused him. This letter
+finished, he threw himself upon his bed once again, and after a space,
+slept more soundly than he had done for many a long night before. When
+he rose in the morning he read over his letter, and felt, as he read,
+some faint misgivings; but these were put to flight by the recollection
+of Emily, as she had appeared to him in the vision of the previous
+night. As the post, however, did not go out till evening, he would keep
+the letter till then. Alas for the delay! It changed for ever his own
+fate and that of Emily Sherwood. It chanced that very afternoon that,
+taking up a provincial newspaper in a coffee-room into which he had
+strolled, on his way to the post-office, the following paragraph met his
+eye:--'We understand that there is a matrimonial alliance in
+contemplation between J---- R----, Esq., eldest son of Sir J---- R----,
+Bart., and the lovely and accomplished Miss Sherwood, daughter of
+Colonel Sherwood, late of the --th dragoons, and granddaughter of the
+late R. Sherwood, Esq., of ---- Park.' On reading this most unfounded
+rumor, Philip Hayforth waited not another moment, but rushed home as if
+driven by the furies; and tearing his letter in a thousand pieces, threw
+it and the purse, Emily's gift, into the fire, and vowed to bestow not
+another thought on the heartless woman who had perjured her own faith
+and sold his true and fervent love for riches and title. Oh how he
+scorned her! how he felt in his own true heart that all the wealth and
+grandeur of the earth would have been powerless to tempt one thought of
+his from her!
+
+To conceal all suspicion of his sufferings from the world, and, if
+possible, banish their remembrance from his own mind, he now went even
+more than formerly into society; and when there, simulated a gayety of
+manner that had hitherto distinguished his most vivacious moments. He
+had always been a general favorite, and now his company was more sought
+after than ever. Among the young persons of the opposite sex with whom
+his engagements most frequently brought him in contact, was a young girl
+of the name of Fanny Hartley, pretty, gentle, excessively amiable, but
+without much mind, and with no literary taste whatever. She had nothing
+to say, but she listened to him, and he felt in her society a sort of
+repose, which was at present peculiarly grateful to his angry, troubled
+spirit. Her very silence soothed him, while the absorbing nature of his
+own feelings prevented him at first from thinking of hers. Philip
+Hayforth had certainly not more than an average share of human vanity,
+but he did at last suspect, partly from an accidental circumstance which
+had first drawn his attention to the subject, that he had created in the
+heart of the innocent Fanny a deeper interest than he had ever intended.
+He was touched, grateful, but at first grieved, for _he_ "could never
+love again." But the charm of being loved soon began to work: his heart
+was less desolate, his feelings were less bitter, when he thought of
+Fanny Hartley, and began to ask himself if he were wise to reject the
+consolation which Providence seemed to offer him in the affection of
+this amiable and artless young creature. And when he thought of the pain
+she might perchance be suffering on his account, all hesitation upon the
+subject was removed at once. If she loved him, as he believed, his
+conduct, it seemed to his really kind heart, had already been barbarous.
+He ought not to delay another day. And accordingly that very evening he
+offered his hand to Fanny Hartley, and was accepted with trembling joy.
+
+Their marriage proved a happy one. Fanny was as amiable as she had
+appeared, and in the conduct of the commoner affairs of life,
+good-feeling with her supplied in a great measure any deficiency of
+strong sense. Philip did perhaps occasionally heave a gentle sigh, and
+think for a moment of Emily Sherwood, when he found how incapable his
+wife was of responding to a lofty or poetic thought, or of appreciating
+the points of an argument, unless it were upon some such subject as the
+merits of a new dress or the seasoning of a pudding. But he quickly
+checked the rising discontent, for Fanny was so pure in heart, and so
+unselfish in disposition, that it was impossible not to respect as well
+as to love her. In short, Philip Hayforth was a fortunate man, and what
+is more surprising, knew himself to be so. And when, after twenty years
+of married life, he saw his faithful, gentle Fanny laid in her grave, he
+felt bereaved indeed. It seemed to him then, as perhaps, at such a time,
+it always does to a tender heart, that he had never done her justice,
+never loved her as her surpassing goodness deserved. And yet a kinder
+husband never lived than he had been; and Fanny had died blessing him,
+and thanking him, as she said, "for twenty years of happiness." "How
+infinitely superior," he now daily and hourly thought, "was her sweet
+temper and loving disposition to all the intellect and all the poetry
+that ever were enshrined in the most beautiful form." And yet Philip
+Hayforth certainly was not sorry that his eldest daughter--his pretty,
+lively Fanny--should have turned out not only amiable and affectionate,
+but clever and witty. He was, in truth, very proud of Fanny. He loved
+all his children most dearly; but Fanny was the apple of his eye--the
+very delight of his existence. He had now almost forgotten Emily
+Sherwood; but when he did think of her, it was with indifference rather
+than forgiveness. He had not heard of her since his marriage, having,
+some time previous to that event, completely broken off the slight
+acquaintance he had formed with her relations; while a short absence
+abroad, at the time of her union with Mr. Beauchamp, had prevented him
+from seeing its announcement in the papers.
+
+Meanwhile poor Emily's married life had not been so happy as that of her
+former lover. Mr. Beauchamp was of a pompous, tyrannical disposition,
+and had a small, mean mind. He was constantly worrying about trifles,
+perpetually taking offence with nothing, and would spend whole days in
+discussing some trivial point of etiquette, in the breach of which, he
+conceived himself aggrieved. A very miserable woman was his wife amid
+all the cold magnificence of her stately home. Often, very often, in
+her hours of loneliness and depression, her thoughts would revert to the
+brief, bright days of her early love, and her spirit would be rapt away
+by the recollection of that scene on the balcony, when Philip Hayforth
+and she had stood with locked hands and full hearts gazing at the
+sinking star and the sweetly breaking day, and loving, feeling,
+thinking, as if they had but one mind between them, till the present
+seemed all a fevered dream, and the past alone reality. She could not
+have been deceived then: then, at least, he had loved her. Oh, had she
+not wronged him? had there not been a mistake--some incident
+unexplained? He had warned her that his temper was proud and jealous,
+and she felt now that she ought to have written and asked an
+explanation. She had thrown away her happiness, and deserved her fate.
+Then she recollected that such thoughts in her, the wife of Mr.
+Beauchamp, were worse than foolish--they were sinful; and the
+upbraidings of her conscience added to her misery.
+
+But Emily had a strong mind, and a lofty sense of right; and in those
+solitary struggles was first developed the depth and strength of her
+character. Partly to divert her thoughts from subjects dangerous to her
+peace, and partly from the natural bent of her inclinations, she sought
+assiduously to cultivate the powers of her mind, while her affections
+found ample scope for their exercise in the love of her infant son, and
+in considerate care for her many dependants, by all of whom she was
+loved and reverenced in no common degree. She learned thus the grand
+lessons--'to suffer and be strong,' and to make the best of destiny; and
+she felt that if she were a sadder woman, she was also a wiser one, and
+at any price wisdom, she knew, is a purchase not to be despised.
+
+Mrs. Beauchamp had been married little more than five years when her
+husband died. His will showed, that however unhappy he had made her
+during his life, he had not been insensible to her merit, for he left
+her the sole guardian of their only son, and, while she should remain
+unmarried, the mistress of Woodthorpe Hall. In the childish affection
+and opening mind of her little boy poor Emily at last found
+happiness--unspeakable happiness, although it was of course qualified by
+the anxiety inseparable from parental love. She doted upon him; but her
+love was of too wise and unselfish a nature to permit her to spoil him,
+while her maternal affection furnished her with another motive for the
+cultivation of her own mind and the improvement of her own character.
+She was fired with the noble ambition of being the mother of her child's
+mind, as well as of that mind's mere perishable shrine.
+
+
+II.
+
+Twenty-five years have passed away, with all their changes--their many
+changes; and now,
+
+    'Gone are the heads of silvery hair,
+    And the young that were have a brow of care:'
+
+And the babe of twenty-five years ago is now a man, ready to rush into
+the thickest and the hottest of the great battle of life.
+
+It was Christmas time; the trees were bare on Woodthorpe Chase; the
+lawns were whitened by a recent shower of snow, and crisped by a sharp
+frost; the stars were coming out in the cold cloudless sky; and two
+enormous fires, high piled with Christmas logs, blazed, crackled, and
+roared in the huge oaken chimneys of the great oak hall. Mrs. Beauchamp
+and her son sat together in the drawing-room, in momentary expectation
+of the arrival of their Christmas guests--a party of cousins, who lived
+at about ten miles' distance from Woodthorpe Hall. Edmund Beauchamp was
+now a very promising young man, having hitherto fulfilled the hopes and
+answered the cares of his fond and anxious mother. He had already reaped
+laurels at school and college, and his enlightened and liberal views,
+and generous, enthusiastic mind, gave earnest of a career alike
+honourable and useful. In person and features, though both were
+agreeable, he did not much resemble his mother; but he had the same
+large, soft, thoughtful eyes, the same outward tranquillity of demeanour
+hiding the same earnest spirit. At present he was silent, and seemed
+meditative. Mrs. Beauchamp gazed at him long and fondly, and as she
+gazed, her mother's heart swelled with love and pride, and her eyes
+glistened with heartfelt joy. At last she remarked, "I hope the
+Sharpes's new governess is as nice a person as the old one."
+
+"Oh, much nicer!" cried Edmund suddenly, and as if awakening from a
+reverie.
+
+"Indeed! I used to think Miss Smith a very nice person."
+
+"Oh, so she was--very good-natured and obliging; but Miss Dalton is
+altogether a different sort of person."
+
+"I wonder you never told me you found her so agreeable."
+
+"I--Oh, I did not----That is, you never asked me."
+
+"Is she young?"
+
+"Yes--not much above twenty I should think."
+
+"Is she pretty?"
+
+"I--I don't exactly know," he said, hesitating and colouring; "I
+suppose--most persons----I should think she is." "How foolish I am!"
+thought Edmund. "What will my mother think of all this?" He then
+continued in a more composed manner--"She is a very excellent girl at
+least. She is the daughter of a London merchant--a remarkably honourable
+man--who has been ruined by these bad times; and though brought up in
+luxury, and with the expectation of large fortune, she has conformed to
+her circumstances in the most cheerful manner, and supports, it seems,
+with the fruits of her talents and industry, two little sisters at
+school. The Sharpes are all so fond of her, and she is the greatest
+favorite imaginable with the children." Edmund spoke with unwonted
+warmth. His mother looked at him half-sympathisingly, half-anxiously.
+She seemed about to speak, when the sound of carriage wheels, and the
+loud knock of a footman at the hall-door, announced the arrival of the
+Sharpes, and Mrs. Beauchamp and her son hastened into the hall to
+welcome their guests. Mrs. Beauchamp's eye sought for the stranger,
+partly because she was a stranger, and partly from the interest in her
+her son's conversation had created. But Miss Dalton was the last to
+enter.
+
+Edmund had not erred in saying she was a pretty girl. Even beneath the
+cumbrous load of cloaks and furs in which she was now enveloped, you
+could detect the exquisite proportions of her _petite_ figure, and the
+sprightly grace of her carriage; while a pretty winter bonnet set off to
+advantage a face remarkable for the intelligence and vivacity of its
+expression. Her features, though not regular, were small, while the
+brilliancy of her colour, though her complexion was that of a brunette,
+lent a yet brighter glow to her sparkling dark eyes, and contrasted well
+with the glossy black ringlets which shaded her animated countenance. At
+this moment, however, her little head was carried somewhat haughtily,
+and there was a sort of something not unlike bashfulness or awkwardness
+in her manner which seemed hardly natural to it. The truth was, Miss
+Dalton had come very unwillingly to share in the festivities of
+Woodthorpe Hall. She was not acquainted with Mrs. Beauchamp, and report
+said she was a very dignified lady, which Fanny Dalton interpreted to
+mean a very proud one; and from her change of circumstances, rendered
+unduly sensitive, she dreaded in her hostess the haughty neglect or
+still haughtier condescension by which vulgar and shallow minds mark out
+their sense of another's social inferiority. And therefore it was that
+she held her head so high, and exhibited the constraint of manner to
+which I have alluded. But all her pride and shyness quickly melted
+before the benign presence and true heart-politeness of Mrs. Beauchamp.
+Dignified the latter certainly was; but her dignity was tempered with
+the utmost benevolence of expression, and the most winning sweetness of
+manner; and when she took the hand of her little stranger-guest between
+both of hers, and holding it kindly, said, "You are the only stranger
+here, Miss Dalton; but for my sake you must try to feel at home," an
+affection for Mrs. Beauchamp entered into the heart of the young girl,
+which has continued ever since steadily to increase. That she should
+conceive such an affection was not unnatural, for there was something in
+the appearance and manners of Mrs. Beauchamp, combined with her position
+in life, calculated to strike the imagination and touch the feelings of
+a warm-hearted and romantic girl such as Fanny Dalton, more especially
+one circumstanced as she was. Even her previous prejudice, with the
+reaction natural to a generous mind, was likely to heighten her
+subsequent admiration. But it is not so easy to account for the sudden
+interest the pretty governess created at first sight in the heart of her
+hostess. Many girls as pretty and as intelligent looking as Miss Dalton
+she had seen before, without their having inspired a spark of the
+tenderness she felt towards this unknown stranger. She could not
+comprehend it herself. She was not prone "to take fancies," as the
+phrase is; and yet, whatever might be the case, certain it was that
+there was a nameless something about this girl, which seemed to touch
+one of the deepest chords of her nature, and to cause her heart to yearn
+towards her with something like a mother's love. She felt that if Miss
+Dalton were all that she had heard, and that if she should really prove
+her son's choice, he should not be gainsaid by her.
+
+The Christmas party at Woodthorpe Hall was generally a merry one; and
+this year it was even merrier than usual. Fanny Dalton was the life of
+the party; her disposition was naturally a lively one, and this hour of
+sunshine in her clouded day called forth all its vivacity. But Fanny was
+not only clever, lively, and amiable; her conduct and manners
+occasionally displayed traits of spirit--nay, of pride; the latter,
+however, of a generous rather than an egotistical description. Nothing
+was so certain to call it forth as any tale of meanness or oppression.
+One morning Miss Sharpe had been relating an anecdote of a gentleman in
+the neighborhood who had jilted (odious word!) an amiable and highly
+estimable young lady, to whom he had long been engaged, in order to
+marry a wealthy and titled widow. There were many aggravating
+circumstances attending the whole affair, which had contributed to
+excite still more against the offender the indignation of all
+right-thinking persons. The unfortunate young lady was reported to be
+dying of a broken heart.
+
+Fanny, who had been all along listening to the narration with an eager
+and interested countenance, now exclaimed--"Dying of a broken heart!
+Poor thing! But if I were she, _I_ would not break my heart--I would
+scorn him as something far beneath me, poor and unimportant as I am. No,
+I might break my heart for the loss of a true lover, but never for the
+loss of a false one!" As Fanny's eyes shone, and her lip curled with a
+lofty contempt, as her naturally clear, merry tones grew deeper and
+stronger with the indignation she expressed, a mist seemed suddenly to
+be cleared away from the eyes of Mrs. Beauchamp, and in that slight
+young girl she beheld the breathing image of one whom she had once
+intimately known and dearly loved--in those indignant accents she seemed
+to recognize the tones of a voice long since heard, but the echoes of
+which yet lingered in her heart. Why she had so loved Fanny Dalton was
+no mystery now--she saw in her but the gentler type of him whom she had
+once believed the master of her destiny--even of Philip Hayforth, long
+unheard of, but never forgotten. But what connection could there be
+between Philip Hayforth and Fanny Dalton? and whence this strange
+resemblance, which lay not so much in form or in feature, as in that
+nameless, intangible similarity of expression, gesture, manner, and
+voice, so frequently exhibited by members of the same family.
+
+As soon as Mrs. Beauchamp could quit the table, she withdrew to her own
+room, where she remained for some time in deep meditation, the result of
+which was a determination to fathom the mystery, if mystery there was.
+It was just possible, too, that the attempt might assist her to find a
+key to the riddle of her own destiny.
+
+Accordingly, on the afternoon of the same day, she took an opportunity
+of being alone with Miss Dalton and her son, to say to the former--"I
+think you told me, my dear, that your father was alive?"
+
+"Oh yes, thank God, _he_ is alive! How I wish you knew him, Mrs.
+Beauchamp! I think you would like him, and I am _sure_ he would like and
+admire you."
+
+"Does your father at all resemble you in appearance?"
+
+"I am not sure. I have been told that I was like him, and I always
+consider it a great compliment; for papa is still a very handsome man,
+and was of course even handsomer when he was young, and before his hair
+became grey. I have a miniature likeness of him, taken before his
+marriage, which I have with me, and will show you, if you will so far
+indulge my vanity."
+
+Mrs. Beauchamp having replied that she should like exceedingly to see
+it, Fanny tripped away, and returned in a few minutes, carrying in her
+hand a handsome, but old-fashioned, morocco case. Mrs. Beauchamp had
+never seen it before, but she well remembered having given directions
+for the making of a case of that very size, shape, and color, for a
+miniature which was to have been painted for her. Her heart began to
+beat. She seemed upon the brink of a discovery. Fanny now opened the
+case, and placing it before Mrs. Beauchamp, exclaimed, "Now, isn't he a
+handsome man?" But Mrs. Beauchamp could not answer. One glance had been
+sufficient. A cold mist gathered before her eyes, and she was obliged to
+lean for support, upon the back of a chair.
+
+"Dear Mrs. Beauchamp, are you ill?"
+
+"My dear mother!" cried Edmund.
+
+"It is nothing," she answered, quickly recovering herself; "only a
+little faintness." And then with the self-command which long habit had
+made easy, she sat down and continued with her usual calm sweetness--"I
+could almost fancy I had seen your father; but I do not remember ever
+knowing any one of the name of Dalton but yourself."
+
+"Oh, but perhaps you might have seen him before he changed his name; and
+yet it seems hardly likely. His name used to be Hayforth; but by the
+will of his former partner, who, dying without near relations, left papa
+all his money, he took the name of Dalton. The money is all gone now, to
+be sure," she continued with the faintest possible sigh; "but we all
+loved the dear old man, and so we still keep his name."
+
+Fanny had seated herself beside Mrs. Beauchamp, and as she finished
+speaking, the latter, obeying the impulse of her heart, drew her towards
+her and kissed her. Fanny, whose feelings were not only easily touched,
+and very strong, but even unusually demonstrative, threw her arms round
+Mrs. Beauchamp, and cried, with tears in her eyes, "How kind you are to
+me, Mrs. Beauchamp! You could hardly be kinder, if you were my mother."
+
+"Dear Fanny," she answered in a low and affectionate tone, "I wish,
+indeed, I were your mother!"
+
+As she spoke, Edmund, who had been standing in a window apart, made a
+sudden movement towards the two ladies, but as suddenly checked himself.
+At this moment his eyes encountered those of his mother, and colouring
+violently, he abruptly quitted the room. This little scene passed quite
+unnoticed by Fanny, who at the instant was thinking only of Mrs.
+Beauchamp, and of her own gentle mother, now beneath the sod.
+
+The daughter of Philip Hayforth became a frequent guest at Woodthorpe
+Hall, spending most of her Sundays with Mrs. Beauchamp, who would
+frequently drive over to the Sharpes's for her of a Saturday afternoon,
+and send her back on the Monday morning. She was invited to spend the
+Easter holidays at the Hall--a most welcome invitation, as she was not
+to return home till the midsummer vacation. A most agreeable time were
+these Easter holidays! Never had Fanny seemed more bright and joyous.
+Her presence operated as perpetual sunshine on the more pensive natures
+of the mother and son. It was therefore a great surprise to Mrs.
+Beauchamp when, one day at luncheon, about a week before the time fixed
+for the termination of her visit, Fanny announced her intention of
+leaving Woodthorpe that afternoon, if her friend could spare her the
+carriage.
+
+"I can certainly spare it, Fanny; but I should like to know the reason
+of this sudden determination?"
+
+"You must excuse my telling you, Mrs. Beauchamp; but I hope you will
+believe me when I say that it is from a sense of duty." As she spoke,
+she raised her head with a proud look, her eyes flashed, and she spoke
+in the haughty tone which always brought before Mrs. Beauchamp the image
+of her early lover; for it was in her proud moments that Fanny most
+resembled her father.
+
+"Far be it from me, Fanny," she replied, with her wonted sweetness and
+benignity, "to ask any one to tamper with duty; but, my child, our
+faults, our _pride_ frequently mislead us. You shall go to-night, if you
+please; but I wish, for my sake, you could stay at least till to-morrow
+morning. I have not offended you, Fanny?"
+
+"Oh, dearest Mrs. Beauchamp!" and the poor girl burst into tears. "I
+wish--I _wish_ I could only show you how I love you--how grateful I am
+for all your goodness; but you will never, never know."
+
+Mrs. Beauchamp looked anxiously at her, and began, "Fanny"----But
+suddenly stopped, as if she knew not how to proceed. Immediately
+afterwards the young girl left the room, silently and passionately
+kissing Mrs. Beauchamp's hand as she passed her on her way to the door.
+
+A few hours later in the day, as Mrs. Beauchamp sat reading in her
+boudoir, according to her custom at that particular hour, Edmund
+abruptly entered the little room in a state of agitation quite foreign
+to his ordinary disposition and habits.
+
+"Mother!" he cried.
+
+"My love! what is the matter?"
+
+"Mother! I love Fanny Dalton--I love her with all my soul. I think her
+not only the loveliest and most charming of women, but the best and
+truest! I feel that she might make my life not only happier, but better.
+Oh, mother! is not love as real a thing as either wealth or station? Is
+it not as sufficient for all noble works? Is it not in some shape the
+only motive for all real improvement? It seems to me that such is the
+lesson I have been learning from you all my life long."
+
+"And in that you have learned it I am deeply grateful, and far more than
+repaid for all my care and anxiety on your account; and now thank you
+for your confidence, my dear Edmund, though I think you might have
+bestowed it after a calmer fashion. It would have been better, I think,
+to have said all those violent things to Fanny than to me."
+
+"I _have_ said more than all these to Fanny, and--she has rejected me!"
+
+"Rejected you! my dearest Edmund! I am grieved indeed; but I do not see
+how I can help you."
+
+"And yet I should not be quite hopeless if you would plead my cause.
+Miss Dalton says that you have loaded her with kindness which she can
+never repay; that she values your affection beyond all expression; and
+that she is determined not to prove herself unworthy of it by being the
+means of disappointing the expectations you may have formed for your
+son, for whom, she says, she is no match either in wealth or station.
+She would not listen to me when I attempted to speak to her but this
+instant in the Laurel Walk, but actually _ran_ away, positively
+commanding me not to follow; and yet, I do think, if she had decidedly
+disliked me, she would have given me to understand so at once, without
+mentioning you. Mother! what do _you_--what _do_ you think?"
+
+"You shall hear presently, Edmund; but in the first place let us find
+Miss Dalton."
+
+They went out together, and had not sought her long, when they
+discovered her pacing perturbedly up and down a broad walk of
+closely-shaven grass, inclosed on both sides by a tall impenetrable
+fence of evergreens. As soon as she saw them, she advanced quickly to
+meet them, her face covered with blushes, but her bearing open and
+proud. Ere Mrs. Beauchamp had time to speak, she exclaimed, "Mrs.
+Beauchamp, I do not deserve your reproaches. Never till this morning was
+I aware of Mr. Beauchamp's sentiments towards me. Dear, kind friend, I
+would have suffered any tortures rather than that this should have
+happened."
+
+Fanny was violently agitated; while Mrs. Beauchamp, on the contrary,
+preserved a calm exterior. She took one of the young girl's hands
+between both of hers, and answered soothingly, "Compose yourself, my
+dear Fanny, I entreat you. Believe me, I do not blame you for the
+affection my son has conceived for you."
+
+"Oh thank you! Indeed you only do me justice."
+
+"But, Fanny, I blame you very much for another reason."
+
+"For what reason, then, madam?"
+
+"For the same reason which now causes your eye to flash, and makes you
+call your friend by a ceremonious title. I blame you for your _pride_,
+which has made you think of me harshly and unjustly. Unkind Fanny! What
+reason have I ever given you to think me heartless or worldly? Do you
+not know that those who love are equals? and that if it be a more
+blessed thing to give, yet to a generous heart, for that very reason, it
+ought to be a pleasure to receive? Are you too proud, Fanny, to take any
+thing from us, or is it because my son's affection is displeasing to you
+that you have rejected him?"
+
+Fanny was now in tears, and even sobbing aloud. "Oh, forgive me," she
+cried, "forgive me! I acknowledge my fault. I see that what I believed
+to be a sense of duty was at least partly pride. Oh, Mrs. Beauchamp, you
+would forgive me if you only knew how miserable I was making myself
+too!"
+
+"Were you--were you indeed making _yourself_ miserable?" cried Edmund.
+"Oh say so again, dearest Fanny; and say you are happy now!"
+
+Mrs. Beauchamp smiled fondly as she answered, "I will do more than
+forgive you, my poor Fanny, if you will only love my son. Will you make
+us both so happy?"
+
+Fanny only replied by a rapid glance at Edmund, and by throwing herself
+into the arms of Mrs. Beauchamp, which were extended to receive her. And
+as she was pressed to that fond, maternal heart, she whispered audibly,
+"My mother!--our mother!"
+
+Mrs. Beauchamp then taking her hand, and placing it in that of her son,
+said with evident emotion, "Only make Edmund happy, Fanny, and all the
+gratitude between us will be due on my side; and oh, my children, as you
+value your future peace, believe in each other through light and
+darkness. And may Heaven bless you both!" She had turned towards the
+house, when she looked back to ask, "Shall I countermand the carriage,
+Fanny?" And Edmund added, half-tenderly, half-slyly, "Shall you go
+to-morrow?"
+
+Fanny's tears were scarcely dry, and her blushes were deeper than ever,
+but she answered immediately, with her usual lively promptitude, "That
+depends upon the sort of entertainment you may provide as an inducement
+to prolong my visit."
+
+And Edmund, finding that he had no chance with Fanny where repartee or
+badinage was in question, had recourse again to the serious vein, and
+rejoined, "If my power to induce you to prolong your visit were at all
+equal to my will, you would remain for ever, my own dearest Fanny."
+
+We must now pass over a few months. The early freshness and verdure of
+spring had passed away, and the bloom and the glory of summer had
+departed. The apple-trees were now laden with their rosy treasures, the
+peach was ripe on the sunny wall, and the summer darkness of the woods
+had but just begun to be varied by the appearance of a few yellow
+leaves. It was on a September afternoon, when the soft light of the
+autumn sunset was bathing in its pale golden rays the grey turrets of
+Woodthorpe Hall, and resting like a parting smile on the summits of the
+ancestral oaks and elms, while it cast deep shadows, crossed with bright
+gleams, on the spreading lawns, or glanced back from the antlers of the
+deer, as they ever and anon appeared in the hollows of the park or
+between the trees, that a travelling carriage passed under the old
+Gothic archway which formed the entrance to Woodthorpe Park, and drove
+rapidly towards the Hall. It contained Edmund and Fanny, the
+newly-married pair, who had just returned from a wedding trip to Paris.
+They were not, however, the only occupants of the carriage. With them
+was Mr. Dalton, whom we knew in former days as Philip Hayforth, and who
+had been specially invited by Mrs. Beauchamp to accompany the bride and
+bridegroom on their return to Woodthorpe Hall.
+
+And now the carriage stops beneath the porch, and in the arched doorway
+stands a noble and graceful figure--the lady of the mansion. The
+slanting sunbeams, streaming through the stained windows at the upper
+end of the oak hall, played upon her dress of dark and shining silk,
+which was partly covered by a shawl or mantle of black lace, while her
+sweet pale face was lighted up with affection, and her eyes were full of
+a grave gladness. Her fair hair, just beginning to be streaked with
+silver, was parted over her serene forehead, and above it rested a
+simple matronly cap of finest lace. Emily Beauchamp was still a
+beautiful woman--beautiful even as when in the early prime of youth and
+love she had stood in the light of the new-born day, clad in her robes
+of vestal whiteness. The change in her was but the change from morning
+to evening--from spring to autumn; and to some hearts the waning light
+and the fading leaves have a charm which sunshine and spring-time cannot
+boast. Having fondly but hastily embraced her son and daughter, she
+turned to Mr. Dalton, and with cordial warmth bade him welcome to
+Woodthorpe Hall. He started at the sound of the gentle, earnest tones
+which, as if by magic, brought palpably before him scenes and images
+which lay far remote, down the dim vista of years, obscured, almost
+hidden, by later interest and more pressing cares. He looked in Mrs.
+Beauchamp's face, and a new wonder met him in the glance of her large
+brown eyes, so full of seriousness and benignity, while the smooth white
+hand which yet held his in its calm friendly clasp seemed strangely like
+one he had often pressed, but which had always trembled as he held it.
+What could all this mean? Was he dreaming? He was aroused from the
+reverie into which he had fallen by the same voice which had at first
+arrested his attention.
+
+"We must try to become acquainted as quickly as possible, Mr. Dalton,"
+said Mrs. Beauchamp, "and learn to be friends for our children's sake."
+
+Bowing low, he replied, "I have already learned from my daughter to know
+and to esteem Mrs. Beauchamp."
+
+The more Mr. Dalton saw of Mrs. Beauchamp, the more bewildered he
+became. He fancied what appeared to him the strangest impossibilities,
+and yet he found it impossible to believe that there was no ground for
+his vague conjectures. His life had been one of incessant toil, lately
+one of heavy distress and anxious cares, which had frequently sent him
+to a sleepless pillow; but never had he spent a more wakeful night than
+this, his first under the stately roof which his daughter--his darling
+Fanny--called that of her home. He felt that he could not endure another
+day of this uncertainty. He must be satisfied at all hazards, and he
+resolved to make an opportunity, should such not spontaneously present
+itself. But he was spared the necessity; for after breakfast the
+following morning his hostess offered to show him the grounds--an offer
+which, with his desired end in view, he eagerly accepted. They commenced
+their walk in silence, and seemed as if both were suddenly under the
+influence of some secret spell. At last, in a hoarse voice and a
+constrained manner, Mr. Dalton abruptly inquired, "Pray, madam, may I
+ask--though I fear the question may seem an unceremonious, perhaps a
+strange one--if you have any relations of the name of Sherwood?"
+
+He saw her start, as she answered with forced composure, "Yes, Mr.
+Dalton, I have. It was indeed my own name before I married."
+
+As she made this avowal, both stood still, it would seem by a sort of
+tacit, mutual consent, and earnestly looked at each other.
+
+Philip Hayforth Dalton was now a man past the meridian of life; his once
+handsome and still striking countenance was deeply marked with lines of
+sorrow and care, and his dark luxuriant locks were thinned and grizzled,
+while his features, which had long been schooled to betray no sign of
+emotion of a transient or superficial nature, were now, as his eyes met
+those of Mrs. Beauchamp's, convulsed as by the working of a strong
+passion. A slight blush tinged Emily's usually pale cheek; she drew a
+rapid breath, and her voice faltered perceptibly as she said at last,
+"Yes, Philip Hayforth, I am Emily Sherwood!"
+
+Not immediately did he reply either by word or look--not till she had
+asked somewhat eagerly, "We are friends, Mr. Dalton--are we not?"
+
+Pride wrestled for a minute with the better nature of Philip Hayforth;
+but whether it were that his self-command was now greater than in the
+fiery and impassioned season of youth, or that it was difficult to
+maintain anger and resentment in the gentle, soothing, and dignified
+presence in which he now found himself, I undertake not to tell; but
+certain it is that this time at least he crushed the old demon down, and
+forced himself to answer, though with a formal manner and somewhat harsh
+tone, "Friends, Mrs. Beauchamp! Certainly, we are friends, if _you_ wish
+it. Your goodness to my poor motherless Fanny has completely cancelled
+all wrongs ever done to Fanny's father. Let the past be forgotten!"
+
+"Not so, if you please," she answered gently, "rather let it be
+explained. Mr. Dalton, we are neither of us young now, and have both, I
+trust, outlived the rashness of youth. Never till our mutual truth is
+made mutually clear, can we be the friends we ought to be--the friends I
+wish we were for Edmund's and Fanny's sake. Let us both speak plainly
+and boldly, and without fear of offence on either side. I promise, on
+mine, to take none at the truth, whatever it may be."
+
+Mr. Dalton, as she spoke, regarded her earnestly and wonderingly,
+saying, as she finished, half in reverie, half addressing her, it would
+seem, "The same clear good sense, the same sweet good temper, which I
+had persuaded myself was but the effect of a delusive imagination! But I
+entreat your pardon, madam, and I promise as you have done."
+
+"Tell me then, truly, Mr. Dalton, why you never answered the last letter
+I wrote to you, or acknowledged the receipt of the purse I sent?"
+
+He started, as if he had received a pistol-shot; the formal, distant Mr.
+Dalton had disappeared, and the eager, vehement Philip Hayforth stood
+before her once more. "I did answer it, Emily. Out of the fulness of my
+heart--and how full it was I cannot tell you now--I answered your
+letter; but you, Emily, you never answered mine."
+
+"Indeed I never received it."
+
+It was some minutes after this announcement ere either was able to
+speak, but at last Mr. Dalton exclaimed, "Oh how I have wronged you?
+Emily, at this instant I catch, as it were, at the bottom of a dark gulf
+a glimpse of the evil of my nature. I begin to believe that I have
+cherished a devil in my bosom, and called it by the name of a good
+angel. Emily, if I am not too old to improve, you will have been the
+instrument of my improvement. I do not ask you to forgive me, generous
+woman, because I feel that you have already done so."
+
+Mrs. Beauchamp felt what it must have cost the proud man to make this
+acknowledgment, and she honored him for the effort. "We have both been
+to blame," she said, "and therefore stand in need of mutual forgiveness.
+But it would be idle now to lament the past; rather let us rejoice that
+our friendship, re-established on the firm basis of perfect confidence,
+is cemented by the union of our dear children."
+
+Mr. Dalton only answered by offering her his arm, with the kind and
+familiar politeness of an old friend, as she looked a little fatigued,
+and they walked together some distance in silence. At last Mrs.
+Beauchamp inquired, "Was Fanny's mother like herself?"
+
+"No, Emily. My poor dead Fanny," and his voice trembled slightly, "was
+very sweet and amiable, but not at all like my living one."
+
+"Your marriage was happy then? I am glad of that."
+
+"I should have been the most ungrateful of men had it not been so; and
+yours too, Emily I hope"----
+
+He stopt, he hardly knew why, while, with her eyes fixed on the ground,
+she answered slowly, "I am happy, very happy now!"
+
+A feeling of profound respect and admiration held Mr. Dalton silent for
+a few seconds, and then he said, in the tone of one who expresses an
+earnest conviction, "You are the most noble minded woman I ever knew."
+
+Mrs. Beauchamp made no answer, and it was not till they stood together
+in the hall, that she said in her natural tone of kind and calm
+cheerfulness, "And now, Mr. Dalton, let us look for Edmund and Fanny;
+and if you please, in order that they may learn of our mistakes that
+trust is the nobler part of love, we shall tell them this story of THE
+LOST LETTER."
+
+
+
+
+LIFE AT A WATERING-PLACE.
+
+THE LIONNE.
+
+By Charles Astor Bristed.
+
+From Frazer's Magazine.
+
+
+One day at Oldport Springs went off pretty much like another. There was
+the same continual whirl, and flurry, and toiling after pleasure--never
+an hour of repose--scarcely enough cessation for the two or three
+indispensable meals. When they had walked, and flirted, and played
+ten-pins, and driven, and danced all day, and all night till two in the
+morning, the women retired to their rooms, and the men retired to the
+gambling-house (which being an illegal establishment had, on that
+account, a greater charm in their eyes), and kept it up there till broad
+daylight; notwithstanding which, they always contrived to appear at
+breakfast a few hours after as fresh as ever, and ready to begin the
+same round of dissipation. Indeed it was said that Tom Edwards and his
+most ardent followers among the boys never went to bed at all, but on
+their return from "fighting the tiger," bathed, changed their linen, and
+came down to the breakfast-room, taking the night's sleep for granted.
+It was a perpetual scene of excitement, relieved only by the heavy and
+calm figure of Sumner, who, silent and unimpassioned, largely capacious
+of meat and drink, a recipient of every diversion, without being excited
+by any, went through all the bowling, and riding, and polking, and
+gambling, with the gravity of a _commis_ performing the national French
+dance at the Mabille. There was much rivalry in equipages, especially
+between Ludlow, Benson, and Loewenberg, who drove the three four-in-hands
+of the place, and emulated one another in horses, harness, and
+vehicles--even setting up attempts at liveries, in which they found some
+imitators (for you can't do any thing in America, however unpopular,
+without being imitated): and every horse, wagon, man-servant, and
+livery, belonging to every one, was duly chronicled in the Oldport
+correspondence of the _Sewer_ and the _Jacobin_, which journals were
+wont one day to Billingsgate the "mushroom aristocracy of wealth," and
+the next to play Jenkins for their glorification. Le Roi, who owned no
+horses, and had given up dancing as soon as he found that there were
+many of the natives who could out-dance him, and that the late hours
+were bad for his complexion, attached himself to any or every married
+lady who was at all distinguished for beauty or fortune; and then went
+about asking, with an ostentatious air of mystery,--_"Est-ce qu' on
+parle beaucoup de moi et Madame Chose?"_ Sometimes he deigned to turn
+aside for an heiress; and as he was a very amusing and rather ornamental
+man, the girls were always glad to have his company; but the good
+speculations took care not to fall in love with him, or to give him
+sufficient encouragement (although a Frenchman does not require a great
+deal) to justify a declaration on his part. Perhaps the legend about the
+mutual-benefit subscription club hurt his prospects, or it may have been
+his limited success in dancing. The same reason--as much, at least, as
+the assumed one of their vulgarity--kept Mr. Simpson, and other "birds"
+of his set, out of the exclusive society. For dancing was the one great
+article in the code of the fashionables to which all other amusements or
+occupations were subordinate. There was a grand dress-ball once a week
+at one or other of the hotels, and two undress-balls--_hops_ they were
+called: but most of the exclusives went to these also in full dress, and
+both balls and hops usually lasted till three or four in the morning.
+Then on the off-nights "our set" got up their own little extempore balls
+in the large public parlor, to the music of some volunteer pianist, and
+when the weather was bad they danced in the same place all day; when it
+was good these informal _matinees_ did not generally last more than two
+or three hours. Then there were serenades given about day-break, by
+young men who were tired of "the tiger"--nominally to some particular
+ladies, but virtually, of course, to the whole hotel, or nearly so--and
+the only music they could devise for these occasions were waltzes or
+polkas. Ashburner made a calculation that, counting in the serenades,
+the inhabitants of Oldport were edified by waltz, polka, and redowa
+music (in those days the _Schottisch_ was not), eleven hours out of the
+twenty-four, daily. And at last, when Mr. Monson, the Cellarius of
+New-York, came down with various dancing-girls, native and imported, to
+give lessons to such aspiring young men as might desire it, first Mrs.
+Harrison and other women, who, though wealthy and well-known, were not
+exactly "of us," used to drop in to look at the fun; and, finally, all
+the exclusives, irresistibly attracted by the sound of fiddles and
+revolving feet, thronged the little room up-stairs, where the dancing
+class was assembled, and from looking on, proceeded to join in the
+exercises. Ladies, beaux, and dancing-girls, were all mingled together,
+whirling and capering about in an apartment fifteen feet square, which
+hardly gave them room to pass one another. Benson was the only person
+who entered his protest against the proceeding. He declared it was a
+shame that his countrywomen should degrade themselves so before
+foreigners; but his expostulations were only laughed at: nor could he
+even persuade his wife and sister-in-law to quit the place, though he
+stalked off himself in high dudgeon, and wrote a letter to the
+_Episcopal Banner_, inveighing against the shameless dissipation of the
+watering-places. For Harry was on very good terms with the religious
+people in New-York, and was professedly a religious man, and had some
+sort of idea that he mixed with the fashionables to do them good; which
+was much like what we sometimes hear of a parson who follows the hounds
+to keep the sportsmen from swearing, and about as successful. Trying
+with all his might to serve God, and to live with the exclusives, he was
+in a fair way to get a terrible fall between two stools.
+
+Talking of religion brings us naturally to Sunday, which at Oldport was
+really required as a day of rest. But whether it would have been so or
+not is doubtful, only that the Puritan habits of the country made
+dancing on that day impossible. It was a violation of public opinion,
+and of the actual law of the land, which no one cared to attempt. The
+fashionables were thus left almost without resource. The young men went
+off to dine somewhere in the vicinity, not unfrequently taking with them
+some of Mr. Monson's dancing-girls; the wearied men, and the women
+generally, were in a sad state of listlessness. Some of them literally
+went to bed and slept for the rest of the week; others, in very despair
+of something to do, went to church and fell asleep there. Ashburner took
+advantage of the lull to fill up his journal, and put down his
+observations on the society about him, in which he had remarked some
+striking peculiarities, apart from the dancing mania and other outward
+and open characteristics.
+
+The first thing that surprised him was the great number of
+misunderstandings and quarrels existing among the not very large number
+of people who composed the fashionable set. They seemed to quarrel with
+their relatives in preference, as a matter of course; and to admit
+strangers very readily to the privilege of relatives. The Robinsons were
+at feud with all their cousins: Benson with most of his, except Ludlow.
+Ludlow, White, Sumner, every man he knew, had his set of private
+enemies, with whom he was not on speaking or bowing terms. Mrs.
+Harrison, who was very friendly to most of the men, scarcely spoke to a
+single woman in the place; but this was, perhaps, only carrying the war
+into Africa, as the ladies of "our set" generally had intended not to
+recognize her as one of them. These numberless feuds made it very
+difficult to arrange an excursion, or to get up a dinner at the
+_restaurant_ of a "colored gentleman," whose timely settlement in
+Oldport had enabled Mr. Grabster's guests to escape in some measure the
+pangs of hunger. On studying the cause of these disagreeable
+hostilities, he found that, among relatives, they were often caused by
+disputes upon money matters; that between persons not related they
+frequently sprung from the most trivial sources--frivolous points of
+etiquette, petty squabbles at cards, imaginary jealousies--but that in
+both cases the majority of them could be traced to the all-pervading
+spirit of scandal. His purely intellectual education, if it had not made
+him somewhat of a misogynist, had at least prevented him from gaining
+any accurate knowledge or appreciation of women: he set them down _en
+masse_ as addicted to gossip, and was not surprised to find in the
+American ladies what he assumed as a characteristic of the whole sex.
+But he was surprised to find the same quality so prevalent among the
+men. Not that they were in the habit of killing reputations to give
+themselves _bonnes fortunes_, as Frenchmen might have done under similar
+circumstances; their defamatory gossip was more about men than about
+women, and seemed to arise partly from a general disbelief in virtue,
+and partly from inability to maintain an interesting conversation on
+other than personal topics. And though much of this evil speaking was
+evidently prompted by personal enmities, much also of it seemed to
+originate in no hostile feeling at all; and it was this that
+particularly astonished Ashburner, to find men speaking disparagingly of
+their friends--those who were so in the real sense of that much-abused
+term. Thus there could be no reasonable doubt that the cousins, Benson
+and Ludlow, were much attached to each other, and fond of each other's
+society; that either would have been ready to take up the other's
+quarrel, or endorse his notes, had circumstances required it. Yet Harry
+could never refrain from laughing before third parties at Gerard's
+ignorance of books, and making him the hero of all the Mrs.
+Malaprop-isms he could pick up or invent; or, as we have seen, speaking
+very disrespectfully of the motives which had led him to commit
+matrimony; and Gerard was not slow to make corresponding comments on
+various foibles of Harry. But the spirit of detraction was most fully
+developed in men who were not professionally idle, but had, or professed
+to have, some little business on hand. Of this class was Arthur Sedley,
+an old acquaintance and groomsman of Benson, and a barrister--(they are
+beginning to talk about barristers now in New-York, though it is a
+division of labor not generally recognized in the country)--of some
+small practice. Really well educated, well read, and naturally clever,
+his cleverness and knowledge were vastly more disagreeable than almost
+any amount of ignorance or stupidity could have been. When he cut up
+right and left every man or woman who came on the _tapis_, his sarcasms
+were so neatly pointed that it was impossible to help laughing with him;
+but it was equally impossible to escape feeling that, as soon as your
+back was turned, he would be laughing at you. Riches and rich people
+were the commonest subject of his sneers, yet he lost no opportunity of
+toadying a profitable connection, and was always supposed to be on the
+look-out for some heiress.
+
+The next thing which made Ashburner marvel was the extreme youth of the
+fashionable set, particularly the male portion of it; or, to speak more
+critically, the way in which the younger members of the set had
+suppressed their elders, and constituted themselves _the_ society. A
+middle-aged man, particularly if, like Loewenberg, he happened to be
+rich, might be admitted to terms of equality, but the papas and mammas
+were absolutely set aside, and became mere formulas and appendages. The
+old people were nowhere; no one looked after their comfort in a crowd,
+or consulted them about any arrangement till after the arrangement was
+made. They had no influence and no authority. When Miss Friskin rode a
+wild colt bareheaded through the streets of Oldport, or danced the
+Redowa with little Robinson in so very _chateau-rouge_ a style that even
+Mrs. Harrison turned away, poor Mrs. Friskin could interpose no
+impediment to the young lady's amusement; and even her father, the
+respected senior of the wealthy firm, Friskin & Co., who must have heard
+from afar of his daughter's vagaries (for all these things were written
+in the note-book of the _Sewer_), seemed never to have dreamed of the
+propriety or possibility of coming up to Oldport to put a stop to them.
+When Tom Edwards was squandering his fortune night after night at the
+faro-table, and his health day after day in ceaseless dissipation, there
+was no old friend of his family who dared to give him advice or warning,
+for there was none to whose advice or warning he would have listened.
+Once when Ashburner was conversing with Benson on some subject which
+brought on a reference to this inverse order of things, the latter gave
+his explanation of it, which was to this effect:--
+
+"The number of foreigners among us, either travelling for pleasure or
+settled for purposes of business, is so great that they become an
+appreciable element in our society. It is, therefore, requisite that a
+fashionable should be able to associate easily with foreigners; and for
+this it is necessary that he or she should have some knowledge of
+foreign customs and languages, and, in the first place, of the French
+language. Now, if we go back a generation, we shall find that the men of
+that day were not educated to speak French. Go into the Senate Chamber
+at Washington, for instance, and you will not meet with many of the
+honorable senators who can converse in the recognized language of
+courts. Many of our most distinguished statesmen and _diplomats_ can
+speak no tongue but their own. And to descend to private life, with
+which we have more particularly to do, when a foreigner presents himself
+with his letters at the dwelling of an old city merchant or professional
+man, it is generally the younger branches of the family who are called
+on to amuse him and play interpreters for the rest. This gives the young
+people a very decided advantage over their elders, and it is not
+surprising that they have become a little vain of it. And similarly with
+regard to foreign dresses, dances, cookery, and habits generally. The
+young men, having been the latest abroad, are the freshest and best
+informed in these things. It does not require any great experience or
+wisdom to master them, only some personal grace and aptitude for
+imitation to start with, and an _a plomb_ to which ignorance is more
+conducive than knowledge. Hence the standard of excellence has become
+one of superficial accomplishment, and the man of matured mind who
+enters into competition with these handsome, showy, and illiterate boys,
+puts himself at a discount. Look at Loewenberg. All his literary
+acquirements and artistic tastes (and he really has a great deal of
+both) go for nothing. The little beaux can speak nearly as many
+languages as he can, and dance and dress better. The only thing they can
+appreciate about him is his money, and the horses and dinners consequent
+thereon. If little Robinson, there, with his _ne plus ultra_ tie and
+varnished shoes, were to have the same fortune left him to-morrow, he
+would be the better man of the two, because he can polk better, and
+because, being neither a married man nor the agent of a respectable
+house, he can gamble and do other things which Loewenberg's position does
+not allow him to do."
+
+This was a great confession for Benson to make against the country;
+nevertheless, it was not perfectly satisfactory to Ashburner, who
+thought that it did not explain all the phenomena of the case. It seemed
+to him that there was at work a radical spirit of insubordination, and a
+principle of overturning the formerly recognized order of domestic rule.
+The little children ate and drank what they liked, went to bed when they
+liked, and altogether were very independent of their natural rulers.
+Benson's boy rode rough-shod over his nurse, bullied his mother, and
+only deigned to mind his father occasionally. The wives ruled their
+husbands despotically, and acted as if they had taken out a patent for
+avenging the inferiority of their sex in other parts of the world.
+Benson did not like dancing: he only danced at all because he thought it
+his business to know a little of every thing, and because society
+thought it the duty of every young man who was not lame to understand
+the polka. But his wife kept him going at every ball for six hours,
+during five of which he was bored to death. Ludlow, whose luxurious
+living made violent exercise necessary for his health, and who,
+therefore, delighted in fencing, boxing, and "constitutionals" that
+would have tired a Cantab, was made to drive about Mrs. Ludlow all day
+till he hated the sight of his own horses. As to Mrs. Harrison, she
+treated her husband, when he made his appearance at Oldport (which was
+not very often) as unceremoniously as one would an old trunk, or any
+other piece of baggage which is never alluded to or taken notice of
+except when wanted for immediate use.
+
+Ashburner first met this lady a very few days after his arrival at
+Oldport; indeed, she was so conspicuous a figure in the place that one
+could not be there long without taking notice of her. About mid-day
+there was usually a brief interval between the ten-pin bowling and the
+informal dance; and during one of these pauses he perceived on the
+smoking-piazza where ladies seldom ventured, a well-dressed and rather
+handsome woman smoking a cigarette, and surrounded by a group of beaux
+of all sizes, from men like White and Sumner to the little huge-cravated
+boys in their teens. She numbered in her train at least half-a-dozen of
+these cavaliers, and was playing them off against one another and
+managing them all at once, as a circus-rider does his four horses, or a
+juggler his four balls. In a country where beauty is the rule rather
+than the exception, she was not a remarkable beauty--at least, she did
+not appear such to Ashburner, from that distance; nor was her dress,
+though sufficiently elegant and becoming, quite so artistically put on
+as that of Mrs. Benson and the other belles of the set; still there was
+clearly something very attractive and striking about her, and he was
+immediately induced to inquire her name, and, on learning that she was a
+real lady (though not of "our set" of ladies), to request an
+introduction to her. But Benson, to whom he first applied, instead of
+jumping at the opportunity with his usual readiness to execute or
+anticipate his friend's wishes, boggled exceedingly, and put off the
+introduction under frivolous and evidently feigned pretences. It was so
+uncommon for Benson to show any diffidence in such matters, and his
+whole air said so plainly, "I will do this out of friendship for you if
+you wish it, but for my own part I would rather not," that Ashburner
+saw there was something in the wind, and let the subject drop. Ludlow,
+to whom he next had recourse, told him, with the utmost politeness but
+in very decided terms, that "his family" (he was careful not to insist
+on his own personality in the affair) "had not the honor of Mrs.
+Harrison's acquaintance." The next man who happened to come along was
+Mr. Simpson, and to him Ashburner made application, thinking that,
+perhaps, the fair smoker might more properly belong to the "second set,"
+though so surrounded by the beaux of the first. But even Simpson, though
+the last man in the world to be guilty of any superfluous delicacy,
+hesitated very much, and made some allusion to Mrs. Simpson; and then
+Ashburner began to comprehend the real state of the case,--that most of
+the married women had declared war against Mrs. Harrison, that she had
+retaliated upon them all, and that the husbands were drawn into their
+wives' quarrels, and obliged to fight shy of her before strangers. It
+was clear, then, that he must apply to a bachelor; and accordingly he
+waylaid Sumner, who "was too happy" to introduce him at once in due
+form.
+
+As Ashburner came up to Mrs. Harrison she began to play off her eyes at
+him, and he then perceived that they constituted her chief beauty. They
+were of that deep blue which, in certain lights, passes for
+black,--large, expressive, and pleasing; the sort of eyes that go right
+through a man and look him down to nothing. Indeed, they had such effect
+on him that he lost all distinctive idea of her other features. Her
+manner, too, had something very attractive, though he could not have
+defined wherein it consisted. She did not exhibit the _empressement_
+with which most of her countrywomen seek to put a stranger at his ease
+at once; or the _exigence_ of a spoiled lady waiting to be amused; or
+the haughtiness of a great lady, who does not care if she is amused
+herself and deigns no effort to amuse others. Neither did she attack him
+with raillery and irony, as Mrs. Benson had done on their first meeting.
+But she behaved as if she were used to seeing men like Ashburner every
+day of her life, and was willing to meet them half-way and be agreeable
+to them, if they were so to her, without taking any particular trouble,
+for there was no appearance of effort to please, or even of any strong
+desire to please, in her words and gestures; yet she _did_ please and
+attract very decidedly.
+
+"So I saw you in Mrs. Harrison's train!" said Benson, when they next
+met.
+
+"Yes, and I fancy I know why you hesitated to introduce me."
+
+As Ashburner spoke he glanced towards the parlor, where "our set"--Mrs.
+Benson, of course, conspicuous among them--were engaged in their
+ordinary occupation of dancing.
+
+"Oh, I assure you, _madame_ is not disposed to be jealous, nor am I a
+man to take part in women's quarrels. I don't like the lady myself, to
+begin with; and were I a bachelor, should have as little to say to her
+as I have now. In the first place she is too old----"
+
+"Too old! she cannot be thirty."
+
+"Of course a lady never _is_ thirty, until she is fifty, at least; but
+at any rate I may say, without sacrilege, that Mrs. H. is pretty high up
+in the twenties. Now, at that age a woman ought--not to give up society,
+that would be an absurdity in the other extreme, but--to leave the
+romping dances and the young men to the girls, who want them more and
+whom they become better. Then I don't like her face. You must have taken
+notice that all the upper part of it is fine and intellectual, and she
+has glorious eyes----"
+
+"Yes," said Ashburner.
+
+"But all the lower part is heavy and over-sensuous. Now, not only does
+this, in my opinion, entirely disfigure a woman's looks, but it suggests
+unpleasant ideas of her character. A man may have that ponderous chin
+and voluptuous mouth, without their disturbing the harmony of an
+otherwise handsome face. I do not think a woman can; and as in the
+physical so in the moral. A man can stand a much greater amount of
+sensuousness in his composition than a woman. I do not mean to allude to
+the different standards of morality for the two sexes admitted by
+society; for I don't admit it, and think it very unjust; and I am proud
+to say that our people generally entertain more virtuous as well as more
+equitable views on this point than the Europeans. I mean literally that
+a man having so many opportunities for leading an active life, and being
+able to reason himself into or out of a great many things to or from
+which a woman's only guide is her feelings, may be very sensuous without
+its doing any positive harm to himself or others; but with a woman, who
+is compelled to lead a comparatively idle life, such an element
+predominating in her character is sure to bring her into mischief."
+
+"Do you mean to say, then, that----" and Ashburner stopped short, but
+his look implied the remainder of his interrupted question.
+
+"Do you ask me from a personal motive?"
+
+Ashburner colored, and was proceeding to disclaim any such motive with
+an air of injured innocence.
+
+"No, I don't mean any thing of the sort," said Benson, who felt that he
+had gone rather too far, and might unintentionally have slandered his
+countrywoman. "I believe the lady is as pure as--as my wife, or any one
+else. The number of her beaux, and the equality with which she treats
+them, prove conclusively to my mind that her flirting never runs into
+any thing worse. I don't think a woman runs any danger of that kind when
+she has such a lot of cavaliers; they keep watch on her and on one
+another. I remember when my brother lived in town, he once was away from
+home for two or three weeks, and when he came back an old maid who lived
+in his street, and used to keep religious watch over the goings-out and
+comings-in of every one in the vicinity, said to him, "How very gay
+your wife is, Mr. Benson! she has been walking with a different
+gentleman every day since you were gone.' 'Dear me!' says Carl; 'a
+different man every day! How glad I am! If you had told me she was
+walking with the _same_ man every day I might have been a little
+scared.' But a woman may be perfectly chaste herself, and yet cause a
+great deal of unchasteness in other people. Here is this Mrs. Harrison,
+smoking cigarettes--and cigars, too, sometimes, in the open air;
+drinking grog at night, and sometimes in the morning; letting Tom
+Edwards and the foolish boys who imitate him talk slang to her without
+putting them down; always ready for a walk or drive with the last
+handsome young man who has arrived; and utterly ignoring her husband,
+except when she makes some slighting mention of him for not sending her
+money enough: what is the effect of all this upon the men? The
+foreigners; there are plenty of them here every season; I wonder there
+are so few this time: instead of one decent Frenchman like Le Roi, you
+usually find half-a-dozen disreputable ones; Englishmen many, not always
+of the best sort; Germans, Russians, and Spaniards, occasionally: they
+all are inclined to look upon her--especially considering her
+belligerent attitude towards the rest of the female population--as
+something _tres legere_, and to attempt to go a little too far with her.
+Then she puts them down fast enough, and they in spite say things about
+her, the discredit of which extends to our ladies generally--in short,
+she exposes the country before foreigners. Then for the natives, she
+catches some poor boy just loose upon the world, dances with, flatters
+him--for she has a knack of flattering people without seeming to do so,
+especially by always appearing to take an interest in what is said to
+her,--keeps him dangling about her for a while; then some day he says or
+does something to make a fool of himself, and she extinguishes him. The
+man gets a check of this sort at his entry into society that is enough
+to make him a misogynist for life. And the little scenes that she used
+to get up last summer with married men, just to make their wives
+jealous!"
+
+"Which, I suppose, is the reason none of your wives will let you speak
+to her?" said Ashburner, who began to feel, he hardly knew why, a
+sentiment of partisanship for Mrs. Harrison. "But granting that her
+face, as you describe it, is an index of her character, I should draw
+from that exactly the opposite inference. I believe that the women who
+make mischief in the way you mention are your unsensuous and passionless
+ones--that the perfect flirt, single or married, must be a perfectly
+cold woman, because it is only one of such a temperament who can thus
+trifle with others without danger to herself. I speak hesitatingly, for
+all women are a mystery, and my experience is as yet very limited; but
+such opportunities of observation as have fallen to my lot confirm me in
+the theory."
+
+Somewhat to Ashburner's surprise his friend made no attempt to
+controvert his argument. He only turned it aside, saying,----
+
+"Well, I don't like her, at any rate. If I had no other reason, the way
+she talks of her husband would be enough to make me."
+
+"Oh, there _is_ a Mr. Harrison, then? One hears so little of him----"
+
+"And sees so nothing of him, you may say."
+
+"Exactly--that I took him for a mythological personage--a cousin of our
+Mrs. Harris."
+
+"Nevertheless I assure you Mr. Harrison exists very decidedly--a
+Wall-street speculator, and well known as such by business people, a
+capital man behind a trotter, an excellent judge of wine. Probably he
+will come here from the city once or twice before we leave, and I shall
+find an opportunity to introduce you to him, for he is really worth
+knowing and considerable of a man, as we say--no fool at all, except in
+the way he lets his wife bully him."
+
+"If he made an unsuitable match that does not show his wisdom
+conspicuously."
+
+"It was an unsuitable match enough, Heaven knows! But when he proposed
+he was in the state of mind in which sensible people do the most foolish
+things. He was a great man in stocks--controlled the market at one
+time--had been buying largely just before the election of '44, when we
+all expected Henry Clay would get in with plenty to spare. When Polk was
+elected, great was the terror of all respectable citizens. My brother
+caught such a fright then that I don't think he has fairly recovered
+from it to this day. How the stocks did tumble down! Harrison had about
+nine millions on his hands; he couldn't keep such a fund, and was forced
+to sell at any price, and lost just one third. Just as he was beginning
+to pick himself up after the shock and wonder, like the sailor whom the
+conjurer blew up, what was to come next? Mr. Whitey of the _Jacobin_,
+now the honorable Pompey Whitey--and one doesn't see why he shouldn't
+be, for after all an editor is not, generally speaking, a greater
+blackguard than most of our Congressmen--Whitey, I say, who for our sins
+is nominally attached to the Conservative party, conceived the bright
+idea of overbidding the enemy for popular favor, and proposed--no, he
+didn't actually propose in so many words, but only strongly hinted at
+the desirableness of the measure--that there should be no more paying
+rent, and a general division of property. I am not sure but there were
+some additional suggestions on the expediency of abolishing the
+Christian religion and the institution of matrimony, but that has
+nothing to do with politics. This last drop in the bucket quite
+overflowed poor Harrison; so, as if he had said to himself, "Let us eat
+and drink and get married, for to-morrow we shall have a proscription
+and _novae tabulae_," he rushed off and proposed to Miss Macintyre."
+
+"Then, if she accepted him after he lost his fortune, it shows she did
+not marry for money, at any rate."
+
+"There you have missed it. He lost the whole of _a_ fortune, but not the
+whole of _his_. He must have a million of dollars left, and a man with
+that is not poor in any country--certainly it was a great catch for Miss
+Macintyre, without a red cent of her own. She jilted a Frenchman for
+him: the unfortunate, or fortunate cast-off had ordered much jewelry and
+other wedding presents, and when left in the lurch he quietly proposed
+that, as he had no longer any use for the articles, Harrison, who had,
+should take them off his hands; and this offer was accepted. Very French
+in him to make it--don't you think so?--and rather American in the other
+to take it. Well, I hope Harrison will come this way soon; I should
+really like you to know him."
+
+One or two days after this conversation Ashburner met his friend walking
+up and down the interminable piazza of the Bath Hotel, arm-in-arm with a
+middle-aged man, who presented as great a contrast to Benson's usual
+associates, and to Benson himself, as could well be imagined. The
+new-comer was short of stature and square-built, rather ugly, and any
+thing but graceful; he wore very good clothes, but they were badly put
+on, and looked as if they had never undergone the brush since leaving
+the tailor's hands; he wore no gloves, and in short had altogether an
+unfashionable appearance. But though indubitably an unfashionable man,
+he did not give you the impression of a vulgar one; there was nothing
+snobbish or pretentious in his ugliness, and his cavernous black eye
+could have belonged only to an intelligent and able man. Benson was
+joking or pressing upon him some matter which he seemed unwilling to
+explain.
+
+"But do tell me," said Harry, as they passed Ashburner, "what _have_ you
+been doing to yourself? Sprained your finger by working too hard the
+night before last packet day? or tumbled down from running too fast in
+Wall-street, and not thinking which way you were going?" And he took in
+his own delicate white hand the rough paw of the stranger, which was
+partly bound up as if suffering from some recent injury.
+
+"If you must know," said the other, stopping short his walk, "I broke my
+knuckles on an Irish hackman's teeth. Last week the fellow drove me from
+the North River boat to my house in Union Square, and I offered him
+seventy-five cents. He was very insolent and demanded a dollar. If I had
+had a dollar-note about me I might have given it to him, but it happened
+that I had only the six shillings in change; and so, knowing that was
+two shillings more than his legal fare, I became as positive as he. At
+last he seized my trunk, and then I could not resist the temptation of
+giving him a left-hander that sent him clean down the steps into the
+gutter."
+
+"And then?
+
+"He made a great bawling, and was beginning to draw a crowd about the
+house, when I walked off to the nearest police-station; and as it turned
+out that my gentleman was known as a troublesome character, they
+threatened to take away his license and have him sent to Blackwell's
+Island if he didn't keep quiet; so he was too glad to make himself
+scarce."
+
+"By Jove, you deserve a testimonial from the city! I once got twenty
+dollars damages from an omnibus-driver for running into my brougham,
+knocking off a wheel, and dumping my wife and child into the street; and
+I thought it was a great exploit, but this performance of yours throws
+me into the shade."
+
+Just then Benson caught sight of Ashburner, and excusing himself to the
+other, rushed up to him.
+
+"Let me tell you now, before I forget it. We are going over to the glen
+to-morrow to dine, and in fact spend the day there. You'll come, of
+course?"
+
+"With great pleasure," said Ashburner; "but pray don't let me take you
+away from your friend."
+
+"Oh, that's only Harrison."
+
+We meant, of course, our set, with such foreign lions as the place
+afforded, foremost among whom stood Ashburner and Le Roi. Benson,
+Ludlow, and some of the other married men undertook to arrange it,
+always under the auspices of the Robinsons.
+
+These Robinsons were evidently the leaders in every movement of the
+fashionables, but why they were so was not so clear--at least, to
+Ashburner, though he had abundant opportunities of studying the whole
+family. There was a father in some kind of business, who occupied the
+usual position of New-York fathers; that is to say, he made the money
+for the rest of the family to spend, and showed himself at Oldport once
+a fortnight or so--possibly to pay the bills. There was a mother, stout
+and good-humored, rather vulgar, very fussy, and no end of a talker: she
+always reminded Ashburner of an ex-lady-mayoress. There were three or
+four young men, sons and cousins, with the usual amount of white tie and
+the ordinary dexterity in the polka; and two daughters, both well out of
+their teens. The knowing ones said that one of these young ladies was to
+have six thousand a year by her grandfather's will, and the other little
+or nothing; but it was not generally understood which was the heiress,
+and the old lady manoeuvred with them as if _both_ were. This fact,
+however, was not sufficient to account for their rank as _belles_, since
+there were several other girls in their circle quite as well, or better
+off. Nor had their wit or talent any share in giving them their
+position; on the contrary, people used to laugh at the _betises_ of the
+Robinsons, and make them the butt of real or imaginary good stories.
+And, in point of birth, they were not related to the Van Hornes, the
+Bensons, the Vanderlyns, or any of the old Dutch settlers; nor like
+White Ludlow, and others of their set, sprung from the British families
+of long standing in the city. On the very morning of the proposed
+excursion Sedley was sneering at them for _parvenus_, and trying to
+amuse Ashburner at their expense with some ridiculous stories about
+them.
+
+"And yet," said the Englishman, "these people are your leaders of
+fashion. You can't do any thing without them. They are the head of this
+excursion that we are just going upon." Benson tells me "the Robinsons
+are to be there," as if that settled the propriety and desirability of
+my being there also."
+
+"As to that," replied Sedley, "fashionable society is a vast absurdity
+anywhere, and it is only natural that absurd people should be at the
+head of it. The Robinsons want to be fashionable--it is their only
+ambition--they try hard for it; and it is generally the case that those
+who devote themselves to any pursuit have some success in it, and only
+right that it should be so. Then they are hopelessly good-natured folks,
+that you can't insult or quarrel with." Sedley had so little of this
+quality himself that he looked on the possession of it as a weakness
+rather than a virtue. "Then they are very fond of good living."
+
+"Yes, I remember hearing Benson say that he always liked to feed Mrs.
+Robinson at a ball,--it was a perfect pleasure to see her eat; and that
+when Loewenberg, in the pride of his heart, gave a three-days'
+_dejeuner_, or lunch, or whatever it was, after his marriage, she was
+seen there three times each day."
+
+"And he might have told you that they are as liberal of their own good
+things as fond of those of others. Old Robinson has some first-rate
+Madeira, better by a long chalk than that Vanderlyn Sercial that Harry
+Benson is always cramming down your throat--metaphorically, I mean, not
+literally. The young men like to drop in there of an evening, for they
+are sure to find a good supper and plenty of materials ready for punch
+and polka. Then they always manage to catch the newest lions. When I
+first saw you in their carriage along-side of Miss Julia, I said to
+myself, "That Englishman must be somebody, or the Robinsons would not
+have laid hold of him so soon." But their two seasons in Paris were the
+making of them,--and the unmaking, too, in another sense; for they ate
+such a hole in their fortune--or, rather, their French guests did for
+them--that it has never recovered its original dimensions to this day.
+They took a grand hotel, and gave magnificent balls, and filled their
+rooms with the Parisian aristocracy. My uncle, who is an _habitue_ of
+Paris, was at the Jockey Club one day, and heard two exquisites talking
+about them. "_Connaissez-vous ce Monsieur Robinson?_" asked one.
+"_Est-ce que je le connais!_" replied the other, shrugging his
+shoulders. "_Je mange ses diners, je danse a ses bals; v'la tout." Voila
+tout_, indeed! That is just all our people get by keeping open house for
+foreigners."
+
+Just then Benson and Ludlow came up, the former under much excitement,
+and the latter in a sad state of profanity. As they both insisted on
+talking at once, it was some time before either was intelligible; at
+length Ashburner made out that the excursion had met with a double
+check. In the first place, all the bachelors had demanded that Mrs.
+Harrison should be of the party, in which they were sustained by
+Loewenberg, who, though partly naturalized by his marriage, still
+considered himself sufficiently a stranger to be above all spirit of
+clique. All the other married men had objected, but the Harrisonites
+ultimately carried their point. Of the two principal opponents, Ludlow
+was fairly talked off his feet by the voluble _patois_ of Loewenberg, and
+Benson completely put down by the laconic and inflexible Sumner. So far
+so bad, but worse was to follow; for after the horses had been ordered,
+and most of the ladies, including the Robinsons, bonneted and shawled
+for the start, the _lionne_, who had, doubtless, heard of the
+unsuccessful attempt to blackball her, and wished to make a further
+trial of her power, suddenly professed a headache, whereupon her
+partisans almost unanimously declared that, as she couldn't go, they
+didn't want to go; and thus the whole affair had fallen through. Such
+was the substance of their melancholy intelligence, which they had
+hardly finished communicating when a _dea ex machina_ appeared in the
+person of Mrs. Benson. She declared that it was "a shame," and "too
+bad," and she "had never," &c.; and brought her remarks to a practical
+conclusion by vowing that _she_ would go, at any rate, whoever chose to
+stay with that woman; "and if no one else goes with us I'm sure Mr.
+Ashburner will:" at which Ashburner was fain to express his readiness to
+follow her to the end of the world, if necessary. Then she followed up
+her advantage by sending a message to Sumner, which took him captive
+immediately; and as she was well seconded by the Robinsons, who on their
+part had brought over Le Roi, the party was soon reorganized pretty much
+on its original footing. When the cause of all the trouble found herself
+likely to be left in a minority her headache vanished immediately, in
+time for her to secure beaux enough to fill her barouche, and Mr.
+Harrison was put into a carriage with the musicians. Mrs. Benson's
+vehicle was equally well filled; and Harry, who, by his wife's orders,
+and much against his own will, had lent his wagon and ponies to a young
+Southerner that was doing the amiable to Miss Vanderlyn, had nothing
+left for it but to go on horseback; in which Ashburner undertook to join
+him, having heard that there was a good bit of turf on the road to the
+glen.
+
+"If you go that way," said Mrs. Robinson, when he announced his
+intention, "you will have another companion. Mr. Edwards means to ride."
+
+Ashburner had seen Edwards driving a magnificent trotter about Oldport,
+but could not exactly fancy him outside of a horse, and conjectured that
+he would not make quite so good a figure as when leading the redowa down
+a long ball-room. But the hero of the dance was not forthcoming for
+some time, so they mounted, Benson his pet Charlie, and the Englishman
+the best horse the stables of Oldport could furnish, which it is hardly
+necessary to say was not too good a one, and were leaving the village
+leisurely to give the carriages a good start of them, when they heard
+close behind the patter of a light-stepping horse, and the next moment
+Tom Edwards ranged up along side. The little man rode a bright bay mare,
+rising above fifteen hands, nearly full-blooded, but stepping steadily
+and evenly, without any of that fidget and constant change of gait which
+renders so many blood-horses any thing but agreeable to ride, and
+carrying her head and tail to perfection. He wore white cord trousers, a
+buff waistcoat, and a very natty white hair-cloth cap. His coat was
+something between a summer sack and a cutaway,--the color, a rich green
+of some peculiar and indescribable shade. His spurs were very small, but
+highly polished; and, instead of a whip, he carried a little red cane
+with a carved ivory head. In his marvellously fitting white buckskin
+glove he managed a rein of some mysterious substance that looked like a
+compound of india-rubber and sea-weed. He sat his mare beautifully--with
+a little too much aim at effect, perhaps; but gracefully and firmly at
+the same time. Ashburner glanced at his own poor beast and wished for
+Daredevil, whose antics he had frequently controlled with great success
+at Devilshoof; and Benson could not help looking a little mortified, for
+Charlie was not very well off for tail, and had recollections of his
+harness days, which made him drop his head at times and pull like a
+steam engine; besides which, Harry--partly, perhaps, from motives of
+economy, partly, as he said, because he thought it snobbish to ride in
+handsome toggery--always mounted in the oldest clothes he had, and with
+a well-used bridle and saddle. But there was no help for it now, so off
+the three went together at a fair trot, and soon overtook most of the
+party, Edwards putting his spurs into the bay mare and showing off her
+points and his horsemanship at every successive vehicle they passed.
+
+The piece of turf which Benson had promised his friend was not quite so
+smooth as Newmarket heath, but it was more than three-quarters of a mile
+long, and sufficiently level to be a great improvement on the heavy and
+sandy road. So unaccustomed, however, are Americans to "riding on
+grass," that Edwards could not be persuaded to quit the main path until
+Benson had repeatedly challenged him to a trot on the green. As soon as
+the two horses were fairly along-side they went off, without waiting the
+signal from their riders, at a pace which kept Ashburner at a
+hand-gallop. For awhile they were neck-and-neck, Benson and Charlie
+hauling against each other, the rider with his weight thrown back in the
+stirrups and laboring to keep his "fast crab" from breaking, while the
+mare struck out beautifully with a moderate pull of the rein. Then as
+Benson, who carried no whip, began to get his horse more in hand, he
+raised a series of yells in true jockey fashion, to encourage his own
+animal and to break up Edwards's. The mare skipped--Tom caught her in an
+instant, but she fell off in her stroke from being held up, and Charlie
+headed her a length; then he gave her her head, and she broke--once,
+twice, three times; and every time Benson drew in his horse, who was now
+well settled down to his work, and waited for Edwards to come on. At
+last, his mare and he both lost their tempers at once. She started for a
+run, and he dropped the reins on her back and let her go. At the same
+instant Benson stuck both spurs into Charlie, who was a rare combination
+of trotter and runner, and away went the two at full gallop. Ashburner's
+hack was left behind at once, but he could see them going on close
+together, tooling their horses capitally; Edwards's riding, being the
+more graceful, and Benson's the more workmanlike; the mare leading a
+trifle, as he thought, and Charlie pressing her close. Suddenly Edwards
+waved his cane as in triumph, but the next moment he and his mare
+disappeared, as if the earth had swallowed them up, while Benson's horse
+sheered off ten feet to the left.
+
+
+
+
+TO ONE IN AFFLICTION.
+
+By John R. Thompson.
+
+From the Southern Literary Messenger.
+
+
+    Dear friend! if word of mine could seal
+      The bitter fount of all thy tears,
+      And, through the future's cloudy years,
+    Some glimpse of sunshine yet reveal--
+
+    That word I might not dare to speak:
+      A father's sorrow o'er his child
+      So sacred seems and undefiled,
+    To bid it cease we may not seek.
+
+    Thy little boy has passed away
+      From mortal sight and mortal love,
+      To join the shining choir above
+    And dwell amid the perfect day;
+
+    All robed in spotless innocence,
+      And fittest for celestial things,
+      O'ershadowed by her rustling wings
+    The angel softly led him hence:
+
+    As pure as if the gentle rain
+      Of his baptismal morn had sought
+      His bosom's depths, and e'ery thought
+    Had sweetly cleansed from earthly stain:
+
+    Such blest assurance brings, I know,
+      To bleeding hearts but sad relief--
+      The dark and troubled tide of grief
+    _Must_ have its ebb and flow--
+
+    And most of all when thou dost plod,
+      _Alone_, upon these wintry days,
+      Along the old familiar ways
+    Wherein _his_ little feet have trod.
+
+    And thou dost treasure up his words,
+      The fragments of his earnest talk,
+      On some remembered morning walk,
+    When, at the song of earliest birds,
+
+    He'd ask of thee, with charmed look,
+      And smile upon his features spread,
+      Whose careful hand the birds had fed,
+    And filled the ever-running brook?
+
+    Or viewing, from the distant glade,
+      The dim horizon round his home,
+      With simplest speech and air would come
+    And ask why were the mountains made?
+
+    Be strong, my friend, these days of doom
+      Are but the threads of darkest hue,
+      That daily enter to renew
+    The warp of the Eternal Loom.
+
+    And when to us it shall be given
+      In joy _to see the other side_
+      These threads the brightest shall abide
+    In the fair tapestries of Heaven!
+
+
+
+
+MY NOVEL:
+
+OR, VARIETIES IN ENGLISH LIFE.
+
+By Pisistratus Caxton.
+
+_Continued from page 421._
+
+From Blackwood's Magazine
+
+
+PART VI.--CHAPTER XIII.
+
+Whatever may be the ultimate success of Miss Jemima Hazeldean's designs
+upon Dr. Riccabocca, the Machiavellian sagacity with which the Italian
+had counted upon securing the services of Lenny Fairfield was speedily
+and triumphantly established by the result. No voice of the Parson's,
+charmed he ever so wisely, could persuade the peasant boy to go and ask
+pardon of the young gentleman, to whom, because he had done as he was
+bid, he owed an agonizing defeat and a shameful incarceration. And, to
+Mrs. Dale's vexation, the widow took the boy's part. She was deeply
+offended at the unjust disgrace Lenny had undergone in being put in the
+stocks; she shared his pride, and openly approved his spirit. Nor was it
+without great difficulty that Lenny could be induced to resume his
+lessons at school; nay, even to set foot beyond the precincts of his
+mother's holding. The point of the school at last he yielded, though
+sullenly; and the Parson thought it better to temporize as to the more
+unpalatable demand. Unluckily Lenny's apprehensions of the mockery that
+awaited him in the merciless world of his village were realized. Though
+Stirn at first kept his own counsel, the Tinker blabbed the whole
+affair. And after the search instituted for Lenny on the fatal night,
+all attempt to hush up what had passed would have been impossible. So
+then Stirn told his story, as the Tinker had told his own; both tales
+were very unfavorable to Leonard Fairfield. The pattern boy had broken
+the Sabbath, fought with his betters, and been well mauled into the
+bargain; the village lad had sided with Stirn and the authorities in
+spying out the misdemeanors of his equals; therefore Leonard Fairfield,
+in both capacities of degraded pattern boy and baffled spy, could expect
+no mercy;--he was ridiculed in the one, and hated in the other.
+
+It is true that, in the presence of the schoolmaster, and under the eye
+of Mr. Dale, no one openly gave vent to malignant feelings; but the
+moment those checks were removed, popular persecution began.
+
+Some pointed and mowed at him; some cursed him for a sneak, and all
+shunned his society; voices were heard in the hedgerows, as he passed
+through the village at dusk, "Who was put in the stocks?--baa!" "Who got
+a bloody nob for playing spy to Nick Stirn?--baa!" To resist this
+species of aggression would have been a vain attempt for a wiser head
+and a colder temper than our poor pattern boy's. He took his resolution
+at once, and his mother approved it; and the second or third day after
+Dr. Riccabocca's return to the Casino, Lenny Fairfield presented himself
+on the terrace with a little bundle in his hand. "Please, sir," said he
+to the Doctor, who was sitting cross-legged on the balustrade, with his
+red silk umbrella over his head.
+
+"Please, sir, if you'll be good enough to take me now, and give me any
+hole to sleep in, I'll work for your honor night and day; and as for the
+wages, mother says 'just suit yourself, sir.'"
+
+"My child," said the Doctor, taking Lenny by the hand, and looking at
+him with the sagacious eye of a wizard, "I knew you would come! and
+Giacomo is already prepared for you! As to wages, we'll talk of them
+by-and-by."
+
+Lenny being thus settled, his mother looked for some evenings on the
+vacant chair, where he had so long sate in the place of her beloved
+Mark; and the chair seemed so comfortless and desolate, thus left all to
+itself, that she could bear it no longer.
+
+Indeed the village had grown as distasteful to her as to Lenny--perhaps
+more so; and one morning she hailed the Steward as he was trotting his
+hog-maned cob beside the door, and bade him tell the Squire that "she
+would take it very kind if he would let her off the six months' notice
+for the land and premises she held--there were plenty to step into the
+place at a much better rent."
+
+"You're a fool," said the good-natured Steward; "and I'm very glad you
+did not speak to that fellow Stirn instead of to me. You've been doing
+extremely well here, and have the place, I may say, for nothing."
+
+"Nothin' as to rent, sir, but a great deal as to feeling," said the
+widow. "And now Lenny has gone to work with the foreign gentleman, I
+should like to go and live near him."
+
+"Ah, yes--I heard Lenny had taken himself off to the Casino--more fool
+he; but, bless your heart, 'tis no distance--two miles or so. Can't he
+come home every night after work?"
+
+"No, sir," exclaimed the widow almost fiercely; "he shan't come home
+here, to be called bad names and jeered at!--he whom my dead good man
+was so fond and proud of. No, sir; we poor folks have our feelings, as I
+said to Mrs. Dale, and as I will say to the Squire hisself. Not that I
+don't thank him for all favors--he be a good gentleman if let alone; but
+he says he won't come near us till Lenny goes and axes pardin. Pardin
+for what, I should like to know? Poor lamb! I wish you could ha' seen
+his nose, sir--as big as your two fists. Ax pardin! If the Squire had
+had such a nose as that, I don't think it's pardin he'd been ha' axing.
+But I let's the passion get the better of me--I humbly beg you'll excuse
+it, sir. I'm no scollard, as poor Mark was, and Lenny would have been,
+if the Lord had not visited us otherways. Therefore just get the Squire
+to let me go as soon as may be; and as for the bit o' hay and what's on
+the grounds and orchard, the new-comer will no doubt settle that."
+
+The Steward, finding no eloquence of his could induce the widow to
+relinquish her resolution, took her message to the Squire. Mr.
+Hazeldean, who was indeed really offended at the boy's obstinate refusal
+to make the _amende honorable_ to Randal Leslie, at first only bestowed
+a hearty curse or two on the pride and ingratitude both of mother and
+son. It may be supposed, however, that his second thoughts were more
+gentle, since that evening, though he did not go himself to the widow,
+he sent his "Harry." Now, though Harry was sometimes austere and
+_brusque_ enough on her own account, and in such business as might
+especially be transacted between herself and the cottagers, yet she
+never appeared as the delegate of her lord except in the capacity of a
+herald-of-peace and mediating angel. It was with good heart, too, that
+she undertook this mission, since, as we have seen, both mother and son
+were great favorites of hers. She entered the cottage with the
+friendliest beam in her bright blue eye, and it was with the softest
+tone of her frank cordial voice that she accosted the widow. But she was
+no more successful than the Steward had been. The truth is, that I don't
+believe the haughtiest duke in the three kingdoms is really so proud as
+your plain English rural peasant, nor half so hard to propitiate and
+deal with when his sense of dignity is ruffled. Nor are there many of my
+own literary brethren (thin-skinned creatures though we are) so
+sensitively alive to the Public Opinion, wisely despised by Dr.
+Riccabocca, as the same peasant. He can endure a good deal of contumely
+sometimes, it is true, from his superiors, (though, thank Heaven! _that_
+he rarely meets with unjustly;) but to be looked down upon, and mocked,
+and pointed at by his own equals--his own little world--cuts him to the
+soul. And if you can succeed in breaking his pride, and destroying this
+sensitiveness, then he is a lost being. He can never recover his
+self-esteem, and you have chucked him half way--a stolid, inert, sullen
+victim--to the perdition of the prison or the convict-ship.
+
+Of this stuff was the nature both of the widow and her son. Had the
+honey of Plato flowed from the tongue of Mrs. Hazeldean, it could not
+have turned into sweetness the bitter spirit upon which it descended.
+But Mrs. Hazeldean, though an excellent woman, was rather a bluff,
+plain-spoken one--and, after all, she had some little feeling for the
+son of a gentleman, and a decayed fallen gentleman, who, even by Lenny's
+account, had been assailed without any intelligible provocation; nor
+could she, with her strong common sense, attach all the importance which
+Mrs. Fairfield did to the unmannerly impertinence of a few young cubs,
+which she said truly, "would soon die away if no notice was taken of
+it." The widow's mind was made up, and Mrs. Hazeldean departed--with
+much chagrin and some displeasure.
+
+Mrs. Fairfield, however, tacitly understood that the request she had
+made was granted, and early one morning her door was found locked--the
+key left at a neighbor's to be given to the Steward; and, on farther
+inquiry, it was ascertained that her furniture and effects had been
+removed by the errand-cart in the dead of the night. Lenny had succeeded
+in finding a cottage, on the road-side, not far from the Casino; and
+there, with a joyous face, he waited to welcome his mother to breakfast,
+and show how he had spent the night in arranging her furniture.
+
+"Parson!" cried the Squire, when all this news came upon him, as he was
+walking arm-in-arm with Mr. Dale to inspect some proposed improvement in
+the Alms-house, "this is all your fault. Why did not you go and talk to
+that brute of a boy, and that dolt of a woman? You've got 'soft sawder
+enough,' as Frank calls it in his new-fashioned slang."
+
+"As if I had not talked myself hoarse to both!" said the Parson in a
+tone of reproachful surprise at the accusation. "But it was in vain! O
+Squire, if you had taken my advice about the stocks--_quieta non
+movere_!"
+
+"Bother!" said the Squire. "I suppose I am to be held up as a tyrant, a
+Nero, a Richard the Third, or a Grand Inquisitor, merely for having
+things smart and tidy! Stocks indeed!--your friend Rickeybockey said he
+was never more comfortable in his life--quite enjoyed sitting there. And
+what did not hurt Rickeybockey's dignity (a very gentlemanlike man he
+is, when he pleases) ought to be no such great matter to Master Leonard
+Fairfield. But 'tis no use talking! What's to be done now? The woman
+must not starve; and I'm sure she can't live out of Rickeybockey's wages
+to Lenny--(by the way, I hope he don't board him upon his and Jackeymo's
+leavings: I hear they dine upon newts and sticklebacks--faugh!) I'll
+tell you what, Parson, now I think of it--at the back of the cottage
+which she has taken there are some fields of capital land just vacant.
+Rickeybockey wants to have 'em, and sounded me as to the rent when he
+was at the Hall. I only half promised him the refusal. And he must give
+up four or five acres of the best land round the cottage to the
+widow--just enough for her to manage--and she can keep a dairy. If she
+want capital, I'll lend her some in your name--only don't tell Stirn;
+and as for the rent--we'll talk of that when we see how she gets on,
+thankless obstinate jade that she is! You see," added the Squire, as if
+he felt there was some apology due for this generosity to an object whom
+he professed to consider so ungrateful, "her husband was a faithful
+servant, and so--I wish you would not stand there staring me out of
+countenance, but go down to the woman at once, or Stirn will have let
+the land to Rickeybockey, as sure as a gun. And hark ye, Dale, perhaps
+you can contrive, if the woman is so cursedly stiff-backed, not to say
+the land is mine, or that it is any favor I want to do her--or, in
+short, manage it as you can for the best." Still even this charitable
+message failed. The widow knew that the land was the Squire's, and worth
+a good L3 an acre. "She thanked him humbly for that and all favors; but
+she could not afford to buy cows, and she did not wish to be beholden
+to any one for her living. And Lenny was well off at Mr.
+Rickeybockey's, and coming on wonderfully in the garden way--and she did
+not doubt she could get some washing; at all events, her haystack would
+bring in a good bit of money, and she should do nicely, thank their
+honors."
+
+Nothing farther could be done in the direct way, but the remark about
+the washing suggested some mode of indirectly benefiting the widow. And
+a little time afterwards, the sole laundress in that immediate
+neighborhood happening to die, a hint from the Squire obtained from the
+landlady of the inn opposite the Casino such custom as she had to
+bestow, which at times was not inconsiderable. And what with Lenny's
+wages, (whatever that mysterious item might be,) the mother and son
+contrived to live without exhibiting any of those physical signs of fast
+and abstinence which Riccabocca and his valet gratuitously afforded to
+the student in animal anatomy.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+Of all the wares and commodities in exchange and barter, wherein so
+mainly consists the civilization of our modern world, there is not one
+which is so carefully weighed--so accurately measured--so plumbed and
+gauged--so doled and scraped--so poured out in _minima_ and balanced
+with scruples--as that necessary of social commerce called "an apology!"
+If the chemists were half so careful in vending their poisons, there
+would be a notable diminution in the yearly average of victims to
+arsenic and oxalic acid. But, alas, in the matter of apology, it is not
+from the excess of the dose, but the timid, niggardly, miserly manner in
+which it is dispensed, that poor humanity is hurried off to the Styx!
+How many times does a life depend on the exact proportions of an
+apology! Is it a hairbreadth too short to cover the scratch for which
+you want it? Make your will--you are a dead man! A life do I say?--a
+hecatomb of lives! How many wars would have been prevented, how many
+thrones would be standing, dynasties flourishing--commonwealths brawling
+round a _bema_, or fitting out galleys for corn and cotton--if an inch
+or two more of apology had been added to the proffered ell! But then
+that plagy, jealous, suspicious, old vinegar-faced Honor, and her
+partner Pride--as penny-wise and pound-foolish a she-skinflint as
+herself--have the monopoly of the article. And what with the time they
+lose in adjusting their spectacles, hunting in the precise shelf for the
+precise quality demanded, then (quality found) the haggling as to
+quantum--considering whether it should be Apothecary's weight or
+Avoirdupois, or English measure or Flemish--and, finally, the hullaboloo
+they make if the customer is not perfectly satisfied with the monstrous
+little he gets for his money,--I don't wonder, for my part, how one
+loses temper and patience, and sends Pride, Honor, and Apology, all to
+the devil. Aristophanes, in his "Comedy of _Peace_" insinuates a
+beautiful allegory by only suffering that goddess, though in fact she is
+his heroine, to appear as a mute. She takes care never to open her lips.
+The shrewd Greek knew very well that she would cease to be Peace, if she
+once began to chatter. Wherefore, O reader, if ever you find your pump
+under the iron heel of another man's boot, heaven grant that you may
+hold your tongue, and not make things past all endurance and forgiveness
+by bawling out for an apology!
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+But the Squire and his son, Frank, were large-hearted generous creatures
+in the article of apology, as in all things less skimpingly dealt out.
+And seeing that Leonard Fairfield would offer no plaister to Randal
+Leslie, they made amends for his stinginess by their own prodigality.
+The Squire accompanied his son to Rood Hall, and none of the family
+choosing to be at home, the Squire in his own hand, and from his own
+head, indited and composed an epistle which might have satisfied all the
+wounds which the dignity of the Leslies had ever received.
+
+This letter of apology ended with a hearty request that Randall would
+come and spend a few days with his son. Frank's epistle was to the same
+purport, only more Etonian and less legible.
+
+It was some days before Randall's replies to these epistles were
+received. The replies bore the address of a village near London, and
+stated that the writer was now reading with a tutor preparatory to
+entrance at Oxford, and could not, therefore, accept the invitation
+extended to him.
+
+For the rest, Randall expressed himself with good sense, though not with
+much generosity, he excused his participation in the vulgarity of such a
+conflict by a bitter but short allusion to the obstinacy and ignorance
+of the village boor; and did not do what you, my kind reader, certainly
+would have done under similar circumstances--viz. intercede in behalf of
+a brave and unfortunate antagonist. Most of us like a foe better after
+we have fought him--that is, if we are the conquering party; this was
+not the case with Randal Leslie. There, so far as the Etonian was
+concerned, the matter rested. And the Squire, irritated that he could
+not repair whatever wrong that young gentleman had sustained, no longer
+felt a pang of regret as he passed by Mrs. Fairfield's deserted cottage.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+Lenny Fairfield continued to give great satisfaction to his new
+employers, and to profit in many respects by the familiar kindness with
+which he was treated. Riccabocca, who valued himself on penetrating into
+character, had from the first seen that much stuff of no common quality
+and texture was to be found in the disposition and mind of the English
+village boy. On farther acquaintance, he perceived that, under a
+child's innocent simplicity, there were the workings of an acuteness
+that required but development and direction. He ascertained that the
+pattern boy's progress at the village school proceeded from something
+more than mechanical docility and readiness of comprehension. Lenny had
+a keen thirst for knowledge, and through all the disadvantages of and
+circumstance, there were the indications of that natural genius which
+converts disadvantages themselves into stimulants. Still, with the germs
+of good qualities lay the embryos of those which, difficult to separate,
+and hard to destroy, often mar the produce of the soil. With a
+remarkable and generous pride in self-repute, there was some
+stubbornness; with great sensibility to kindness, there was also strong
+reluctance to forgive affront.
+
+This mixed nature in an uncultivated peasant's breast interested
+Riccabocca, who, though long secluded from the commerce of mankind,
+still looked upon man as the most various and entertaining volume which
+philosophical research can explore. He soon accustomed the boy to the
+tone of a conversation generally subtle and suggestive; and Lenny's
+language and ideas became insensibly less rustic and more refined. Then
+Riccabocca selected from his library, small as it was, books that,
+though elementary, were of a higher cast than Lenny could have found
+within his reach at Hazeldean. Riccabocca knew the English language
+well, better in grammar, construction, and genius than many a not
+ill-educated Englishman; for he had studied it with the minuteness with
+which a scholar studies a dead language, and amidst his collection he
+had many of the books which had formerly served him for that purpose.
+These were the first works he had lent to Lenny. Meanwhile Jackeymo
+imparted to the boy many secrets in practical gardening and minute
+husbandry, for at that day farming in England (some favored counties and
+estates excepted) was far below the nicety to which the art has been
+immemorially carried in the north of Italy--where, indeed, you may
+travel for miles and miles as through a series of market-gardens--so
+that, all these things considered, Leonard Fairfield might be said to
+have made a change for the better. Yet in truth, and looking below the
+surface, that might be fair matter of doubt. For the same reason which
+had induced the boy to fly his native village, he no longer repaired to
+the church of Hazeldean. The old intimate intercourse between him and
+the Parson became necessarily suspended, or bounded to an occasional
+kindly visit from the father--visits which grew more rare, and less
+familiar, as he found his former pupil in no want of his services, and
+wholly deaf to his mild entreaties to forget and forgive the past, and
+come at least to his old seat in the parish church. Lenny still went to
+church--a church a long way off in another parish--but the sermons did
+not do him the same good as Parson Dale's had done; and the clergyman,
+who had his own flock to attend to, did not condescend, as Parson Dale
+would have done, to explain what seemed obscure, and enforce what was
+profitable, in private talk, with that stray lamb from another's fold.
+
+Now I question much if all Dr. Riccabocca's sage maxims, though they
+were often very moral, and generally very wise, served to expand the
+peasant boy's native good qualities, and correct his bad, half so well
+as the few simple words, not at all indebted to Machiavelli, which
+Leonard had once reverently listened to when he stood by his father's
+chair, yielded up for the moment to the good Parson, worthy to sit in
+it; for Mr. Dale had a heart in which all the fatherless of the parish
+found their place. Nor was this loss of tender, intimate, spiritual love
+so counterbalanced by the greater facilities for purely intellectual
+instruction, as modern enlightenment might presume. For, without
+disputing the advantage of knowledge in a general way, knowledge, in
+itself, is not friendly to content. Its tendency, of course, is to
+increase the desires, to dissatisfy us with what is, in order to urge
+progress to what may be; and, in that progress, what unnoticed martyrs
+among the many must fall, baffled and crushed by the way! To how large a
+number will be given desires they will never realize, dissatisfaction of
+the lot from which they will never rise! _Allons!_ one is viewing the
+dark side of the question. It is all the fault of that confounded
+Riccabocca, who has already caused Lenny Fairfield to lean gloomily on
+his spade, and, after looking round and seeing no one near him, groan
+out querulously--
+
+"And am I born to dig a potato ground?"
+
+_Pardieu_, my friend Lenny, if you live to be seventy, and ride in your
+carriage;--and by the help of a dinner-pill digest a spoonful of curry,
+you may sigh to think what a relish there was in potatoes, roasted in
+ashes after you had digged them out of that ground with your own stout
+young hands. Dig on, Lenny Fairfield, dig on! Dr. Riccabocca will tell
+you that there was once an illustrious personage[R] who made experience
+of two very different occupations--one was ruling men, the other was
+planting cabbages; he thought planting cabbages much the pleasanter of
+the two!
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+Dr. Riccabocca had secured Lenny Fairfield, and might therefore be
+considered to have ridden his hobby in the great whirligig with
+adroitness and success. But Miss Jemima was still driving round in her
+car, bundling the reins, and flourishing the whip, without apparently
+having got an inch nearer to the flying form of Dr. Riccabocca.
+
+Indeed, that excellent and only too susceptible spinster, with all her
+experience of the villany of man, had never conceived the wretch to be
+so thoroughly beyond the reach of redemption as when Dr. Riccabocca took
+his leave, and once more interred himself amidst the solitudes of the
+Casino, without having made any formal renunciation of his criminal
+celibacy. For some days she shut herself up in her own chamber, and
+brooded with more than her usual gloomy satisfaction on the certainty of
+the approaching crash. Indeed, many signs of that universal calamity
+which, while the visit of Riccabocca lasted, she had permitted herself
+to consider ambiguous, now became luminously apparent. Even the
+newspaper, which during that credulous and happy period had given half a
+column to births and marriages, now bore an ominously long catalogue of
+deaths; so that it seemed as if the whole population had lost heart, and
+had no chance of repairing its daily losses. The leading articles spoke,
+with the obscurity of a Pythian, of an impending CRISIS. Monstrous
+turnips sprouted out from the paragraphs devoted to general news. Cows
+bore calves with two heads, whales were stranded in the Humber, showers
+of frogs descended in the High-street of Cheltenham.
+
+All these symptoms of the world's decrepitude and consummation, which by
+the side of the fascinating Riccabocca might admit of some doubt is to
+their origin and cause, now, conjoined with the worst of all, viz.--the
+frightfully progressive wickedness of man--left to Miss Jemima no ray of
+hope save that afforded by the reflection that she could contemplate the
+wreck of matter without a single sentiment of regret.
+
+Mrs. Dale, however, by no means shared the despondency of her fair
+friend, and, having gained access to Miss Jemima's chamber, succeeded,
+though not without difficulty, in her kindly attempts to cheer the
+drooping spirits of that female philanthropist. Nor, in her benevolent
+desire to speed the car of Miss Jemima to its hymenial goal, was Mrs.
+Dale so cruel towards her male friend, Dr. Riccabocca, as she seemed to
+her husband. For Mrs. Dale was a woman of shrewdness and penetration, as
+most quick-tempered women are; and she knew that Miss Jemima was one of
+those excellent young ladies who are likely to value a husband in
+proportion to the difficulty of obtaining him. In fact, my readers of
+both sexes must often have met, in the course of their experience, with
+that peculiar sort of feminine disposition, which requires the warmth of
+the conjugal hearth to develop all its native good qualities; nor is it
+to be blamed over-much if, innocently aware of this tendency in its
+nature, it turns towards what is best fitted for its growth and
+improvement, by laws akin to those which make the sun-flower turn to the
+sun or the willow to the stream. Ladies of this disposition, permanently
+thwarted in their affectionate bias, gradually languish away into
+intellectual inanition, or sprout out into those abnormal eccentricities
+which are classed under the general name of "oddity" or "character."
+But, once admitted to their proper soil, it is astonishing what
+healthful improvement takes place--how the poor heart, before starved
+and stinted of nourishment, throws out its suckers, and bursts into
+bloom and fruit. And thus many a belle from whom the beaux have stood
+aloof, only because the puppies think she could be had for the asking,
+they see afterwards settled down into true wife and fond mother, with
+amaze at their former disparagement, and a sigh at their blind hardness
+of heart.
+
+In all probability, Mrs. Dale took this view of the subject; and
+certainly, in addition to all the hitherto dormant virtues which would
+be awakened in Miss Jemima when fairly Mrs. Riccabocca, she counted
+somewhat upon the mere worldly advantage which such a match would bestow
+upon the exile. So respectable a connection with one of the oldest,
+wealthiest and most popular families in the shire, would in itself give
+him a position not to be despised by a poor stranger in the land; and
+though the interest of Miss Jemima's dowry might not be much, regarded
+in the light of English pounds, (not Milanese _lire_,) still it would
+suffice to prevent that gradual process of dematerialization which the
+lengthened diet upon minnows and sticklebacks had already made apparent
+in the fine and slow-evanishing form of the philosopher.
+
+Like all persons convinced of the expediency of a thing, Mrs. Dale saw
+nothing wanting but opportunities to insure success. And that these
+might be forthcoming, she not only renewed with greater frequency, and
+more urgent instance than ever, her friendly invitations to Riccabocca
+to drink tea and spend the evening, but she artfully so chafed the
+Squire on his sore point of hospitality, that the doctor received weekly
+a pressing solicitation to dine and sleep at the Hall.
+
+At first the Italian pished and grunted, and said _Cospetto_, and _Per
+Bacco_, and _Diavola_, and tried to creep out of so much proffered
+courtesy. But, like all single gentlemen, he was a little under the
+tyrannical influence of his faithful servant; and Jackeymo, though he
+could bear starving as well as his master when necessary, still, when he
+had the option, preferred roast beef and plum-pudding. Moreover, that
+vain and incautious confidence of Riccabocca, touching the vast sum at
+his command, and with no heavier drawback than that of so amiable a lady
+as Miss Jemima--who had already shown him (Jackeymo) many little
+delicate attentions--had greatly whetted the cupidity which was in the
+servant's Italian nature? a cupidity the more keen because, long
+debarred its legitimate exercise on his own mercenary interests, he
+carried it all to the account of his master's!
+
+Thus tempted by his enemy, and betrayed by his servant, the unfortunate
+Riccabocca fell, though with eyes not unblinded, into the hospitable
+snares extended for the destruction of his--celibacy! He went often to
+the parsonage, often to the Hall, and by degrees the sweets of the
+social domestic life, long denied him, began to exercise their
+enervating charm upon the stoicism of our poor exile. Frank had now
+returned to Eton. An unexpected invitation had carried off Captain
+Higginbotham to pass a few weeks at Bath, with a distant relation, who
+had lately returned from India, and who, as rich as Croesus, felt so
+estranged and solitary in his native isle, that, when the Captain
+"claimed kindred there," to his own amaze "he had his claims allowed;"
+while a very protracted sitting of Parliament still delayed in London
+the Squire's habitual visitors in the later summer; so that--a chasm
+thus made in his society--Mr. Hazeldean welcomed with no hollow
+cordiality the diversion or distraction he found in the foreigner's
+companionship. Thus, with pleasure to all parties, and strong hopes to
+the two female conspirators, the intimacy between the Casino and Hall
+rapidly thickened; but still not a word resembling a distinct proposal
+did Dr. Riccabocca breathe. And still, if such an idea obtruded itself
+on his mind, it was chased therefrom with so determined a _Diavolo_,
+that perhaps, if not the end of the world, at least the end of Miss
+Jemima's tenure in it, might have approached, and seen her still Miss
+Jemima, but for a certain letter with a foreign postmark that reached
+the doctor one Tuesday morning.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+The servant saw that something had gone wrong, and, under pretence of
+syringing the orange trees, he lingered near his master, and peered
+through the sunny leaves upon Riccabocca's melancholy brows.
+
+The doctor sighed heavily. Nor did he, as was his wont, after some such
+sigh, mechanically take up that dear comforter, the pipe. But though the
+tobacco pouch lay by his side on the balustrade, and the pipe stood
+against the wall between his knees, child-like lifting up its lips to
+the customary caress--he heeded neither the one nor the other, but laid
+the letter silently on his lap, and fixed his eyes upon the ground.
+
+"It must be bad news indeed!" thought Jackeymo, and desisted from his
+work. Approaching his master, he took up the pipe and the tobacco pouch,
+and filled the bowl slowly, glancing all the while to that dark musing
+face on which, when abandoned by the expression of intellectual
+vivacity, or the exquisite smile of Italian courtesy, the deep downward
+lines revealed the characters of sorrow. Jackeymo did not venture to
+speak; but the continued silence of his master disturbed him much. He
+laid that peculiar tinder which your smokers use upon the steel, and
+struck the spark--still not a word, nor did Riccabocca stretch forth his
+hand.
+
+"I never knew him in this taking before," thought Jackeymo; and
+delicately he insinuated the neck of the pipe into the nerveless fingers
+of the hand that lay supine on those quiet knees--the pipe fell to the
+ground.
+
+Jackeymo crossed himself, and began praying to his sainted namesake with
+great fervor.
+
+The doctor rose slowly, and, as if with effort, he walked once or twice
+to and fro the terrace; and then he halted abruptly, and said--
+
+"Friend!"
+
+"Blessed Monsignore San Giacomo, I knew thou wouldst hear me!" cried the
+servant; and he raised his master's hand to his pipe, then abruptly
+turned away and wiped his eyes. "Friend," repeated Riccabocca, and this
+time with a tremulous emphasis, and in the softest tone of a voice never
+wholly without the music of the sweet South, "I would talk to thee of my
+child."----
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+"The letter, then, relates to the Signorina. She is well?"
+
+"Yes, she is well now. She is in our native Italy."
+
+Jackeymo raised his eyes involuntarily towards the orange-trees, and the
+morning breeze swept by and bore to him the odor of their blossoms.
+
+"Those are sweet even here, with care," said he, pointing to the trees.
+"I think I have said that before to the Padrone."
+
+But Riccabocca was now looking again at the letter, and did not notice
+either the gesture or the remark of his servant.
+
+"My aunt is no more!" said he, after a pause.
+
+"We will pray for her soul!" answered Jackeymo, solemnly. "But she was
+very old, and had been a long time ailing. Let it not grieve the Padrone
+too keenly, at that age, and with those infirmities, death comes as a
+friend."
+
+"Peace be to her dust!" returned the Italian. "If she had her faults, be
+they now forgotten for ever; and in the hour of my danger and distress,
+she sheltered my infant! That shelter is destroyed. This letter is from
+the priest, her confessor. You know that she had nothing at her own
+disposal to bequeath my child, and her property passes to the male
+heir--mine enemy."
+
+"Traitor!" muttered Jackeymo; and his right hand seemed to feel for the
+weapon which the Italians of lower rank often openly wear in their
+girdles.
+
+"The priest," resumed Riccabocca, calmly, "has rightly judged in
+removing my child as a guest from the house in which my enemy enters as
+lord."
+
+"And where is the Signorina?"
+
+"With that poor priest. See, Giacomo--here, here--this is her
+handwriting at the end of the letter--the first lines she ever yet
+traced to me."
+
+Jackeymo took off his hat, and looked reverently on the large characters
+of a child's writing. But large as they were, they seemed indistinct,
+for the paper was blistered with the child's tears, and on the place
+where they had _not_ fallen, there was a round fresh moist stain of the
+tear that had dropped from the lids of the father. Riccabocca
+renewed,--"The priest recommends a convent."
+
+"To the devil with the priest!" cried the servant; then crossing himself
+rapidly, he added, "I did not mean that, Monsignore San
+Giacomo--forgive me! But your excellency[S] does not think of making a
+nun of his only child!"
+
+"And yet why not?" said Riccabocca, mournfully; "what can I give her in
+the world? Is the land of the stranger a better refuge than the home of
+peace in her native clime?"
+
+"In the land of the stranger beats her father's heart!"
+
+"And if that beat were stilled, what then? Ill fares the life that a
+single death can bereave of all. In a convent at least (and the priest's
+influence can obtain her that asylum amongst her equals and amidst her
+sex) she is safe from trial and penury--to her grave."
+
+"Penury! Just see how rich we shall be when we take those fields at
+Michaelmas."
+
+"_Pazzie!_" (follies) said Riccabocca, listlessly. "Are these suns more
+serene than ours, or the soil more fertile? Yet in our own Italy, saith
+the proverb, 'he who sows land, reaps more care than corn.' It were
+different," continued the father after a pause, and in a more irresolute
+tone, "if I had some independence, however small, to count on--nay, if
+among all my tribe of dainty relatives there were but one female who
+would accompany Violante to the exile's hearth--Ishmael had his Hagar.
+But how can we two rough-bearded men provide for all the nameless, wants
+and cares of a frail female child? And she has been so delicately
+reared--the woman-child needs the fostering hand and tender eye of a
+woman."
+
+"And with a word," said Jackeymo, resolutely, "the Padrone might secure
+to his child all that he needs, to save her from the sepulchre of a
+convent; and ere the autumn leaves fall, she might be sitting on his
+knee. Padrone, do not think that you can conceal from me the truth, that
+you love your child better than all things in the world--now the Patria
+is as dead to you as the dust of your fathers--and your heart-strings
+would crack with the effort to tear her from them, and consign her to a
+convent. Padrone, never again to hear her voice--never again to see her
+face! Those little arms that twined round your neck that dark night,
+when we fled fast for life and freedom, and you said, as you felt their
+clasp, 'Friend, all is not yet lost!'"
+
+"Giacomo!" exclaimed the father, reproachfully, and his voice seemed to
+choke him. Riccabocca turned away, and walked restlessly to and fro the
+terrace; then, lifting his arms with a wild gesture as he still
+continued his long irregular strides, he muttered, "Yes, heaven is my
+witness that I could have borne reverse and banishment without a murmur,
+had I permitted myself that young partner in exile and privation. Heaven
+is my witness that, if I hesitate now, it is because I would not listen
+to my own selfish heart. Yet never, never to see her again--my child!
+And it was but as the infant that I beheld her! O friend, friend----"
+(and, stopping short with a burst of uncontrollable emotion, he bowed
+his head upon his servant's shoulder;) "thou knowest what I have endured
+and suffered at my hearth, as in my country; the wrong, the perfidy,
+the--the--" His voice again failed him; he clung to his servant's
+breast, and his whole frame shook.
+
+"But your child, the innocent one--I think now only of her!" faltered
+Giacomo, struggling with his own sobs.
+
+"True, only of her," replied the exile, raising his face--"only of her.
+Put aside thy thoughts for thyself, friend--counsel me. If I were to
+send for Violante, and if, transplanted to these keen airs, she drooped
+and died--look, look--the priest says that she needs such tender care;
+or if I myself were summoned from the world, to leave her in it alone,
+friendless, homeless, breadless perhaps at the age of woman's sharpest
+trial against temptation, would she not live to mourn the cruel egotism
+that closed on her infant innocence the gates of the House of God?"
+
+Giacomo was appalled by this appeal; and indeed Riccabocca had never
+before thus reverently spoken of the cloister. In his hours of
+philosophy, he was wont to sneer at monks and nuns, priesthood and
+superstition. But now, in that hour of emotion, the Old Religion
+reclaimed her empire; and the skeptical world-wise man, thinking only of
+his child, spoke and felt with a child's simple faith.
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+"But again I say," murmured Jackeymo, scarce audibly, and after a long
+silence, "if the Padrone would make up his mind--to marry!"
+
+He expected that his master would start up in his customary indignation
+at such a suggestion--nay, he might not have been sorry so to have
+changed the current of feeling; but the poor Italian only winced
+slightly, and mildly withdrawing himself from his servant's supporting
+arm, again paced the terrace, but this time quietly and in silence. A
+quarter of an hour thus passed. "Give me the pipe," said Dr. Riccabocca,
+passing into the Belvidere.
+
+Jackeymo again struck the spark, and, wonderfully relieved at the
+Padrone's return to his usual adviser, mentally besought his sainted
+namesake to bestow a double portion of soothing wisdom on the benignant
+influences of the weed.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+Dr. Riccabocca had been some little time in the solitude of the
+Belvidere, when Lenny Fairfield, not knowing that his employer was
+therein, entered to lay down a book which the Doctor had lent him, with
+injunctions to leave on a certain table when done with. Riccabocca
+looked up at the sound of the young peasant's step.
+
+"I beg your honor's pardon--I did not know----"
+
+"Never mind; lay the book there. I wish to speak with you. You look
+well, my child; this air agrees with you as well as that of Hazeldean?"
+
+"Oh yes, sir."
+
+"Yet it is higher ground, more exposed?"
+
+"That can hardly be, sir," said Lenny; "there are many plants grow here
+which don't flourish at the Squire's. The hill yonder keeps off the east
+wind, and the place lays to the south."
+
+"Lies, not _lays_, Lenny. What are the principal complaints in these
+parts?"
+
+"Eh, sir?"
+
+"I mean what maladies, what diseases?"
+
+"I never heard tell of any, sir, except the rheumatism."
+
+"No low fevers?--no consumption?"
+
+"Never heard of them, sir."
+
+Riccabocca drew a long breath, as if relieved.
+
+"That seems a very kind family at the Hall."
+
+"I have nothing to say against it," answered Lenny, bluntly. "I have not
+been treated justly. But as that book says, sir, 'It is not every one
+who comes into the world with a silver spoon in his mouth.'"
+
+Little thought the Doctor that those wise maxims may leave sore thoughts
+behind them. He was too occupied with the subject most at his own heart
+to think then of what was in Lenny Fairfield's.
+
+"Yes; a kind, English, domestic family. Did you see much of Miss
+Hazeldean?"
+
+"Not so much as of the Lady."
+
+"Is she liked in the village, think you?"
+
+"Miss Jemima? Yes. She never did harm. Her little dog bit me once--she
+did not ask me to beg its pardon, she asked mine! She's a very nice
+young lady; the girls say she's very affable; and," added Lenny with a
+smile, "there are always more weddings going on when she's down at the
+Hall."
+
+"Oh!" said Riccabocca. Then, after a long whiff, "Did you ever see her
+play with the little children? Is she fond of children, do you think?"
+
+"Lord, sir, you guess every thing! She's never so pleased as when she's
+playing with the babies."
+
+"Humph!" grunted Riccabocca. "Babies--well, that's womanlike. I don't
+mean exactly babies, but when they're older--little girls."
+
+"Indeed, sir, I dare say; but," said Lenny, primly, "I never as yet kept
+company with the little girls."
+
+"Quite right, Lenny; be equally discreet all your life. Mrs. Dale is
+very intimate with Miss Hazeldean--more than with the Squire's lady. Why
+is that, think you?"
+
+"Well, sir," said Leonard, shrewdly, "Mrs. Dale has her little tempers,
+though she's a very good lady; and Madam Hazeldean is rather high, and
+has a spirit. But Miss Jemima is so soft: any one could live with Miss
+Jemima, as Joe and the servants say at the Hall."
+
+"Indeed! Get my hat out of the parlor, and--just bring a clothesbrush,
+Lenny. A fine sunny day for a walk."
+
+After this most mean and dishonorable inquisition into the character and
+popular repute of Miss Hazeldean, Signore Riccabocca seemed as much
+cheered up and elated as if he had committed some very noble action; and
+he walked forth in the direction of the Hall with a far lighter and
+livelier step than that with which he had paced the terrace.
+
+"Monsignore San Giacomo, by thy help and the pipe's, the Padrone shall
+have his child!" muttered the servant, looking up from the garden.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+Yet Dr. Riccabocca was not rash. The man who wants his wedding-garment
+to fit him must allow plenty of time for the measure. But, from that
+day, the Italian notably changed his manner towards Miss Hazeldean. He
+ceased that profusion of compliment in which he had hitherto carried off
+in safety all serious meaning. For indeed the Doctor considered that
+compliments, to a single gentleman, were what the inky liquid it
+dispenses is to the cuttle-fish, that by obscuring the water sails away
+from its enemy. Neither did he, as before, avoid prolonged conversations
+with that young lady, and contrive to escape from all solitary rambles
+by her side. On the contrary, he now sought every occasion to be in her
+society; and, entirely dropping the language of gallantry, he assumed
+something of the earnest tone of friendship. He bent down his intellect
+to examine and plumb her own. To use a very homely simile, he blew away
+that froth which there is on the surface of mere acquaintanceships,
+especially with the opposite sex; and which, while it lasts, scarce
+allows you to distinguish between small beer and double X. Apparently
+Dr. Riccabocca was satisfied with his scrutiny--at all events, under
+that froth there was no taste of bitter. The Italian might not find any
+great strength of intellect in Miss Jemima, but he found that,
+disentangled from many little whims and foibles--which he had himself
+the sense to perceive were harmless enough if they lasted, and not so
+absolutely constitutional but what they might be removed by a tender
+hand--Miss Hazeldean had quite enough sense to comprehend the plain
+duties of married life; and if the sense could fail, it found a
+substitute in good old homely English principles and the instincts of
+amiable kindly feelings.
+
+I know not how it is, but your very clever man never seems to care so
+much as your less gifted mortals for cleverness in his helpmate. Your
+scholars, and poets, and ministers of state, are more often than not
+found assorted with exceedingly humdrum good sort of women, and
+apparently like them all the better for their deficiencies. Just see how
+happily Racine lived with his wife, and what an angel he thought her,
+and yet she had never read his plays. Certainly Goethe never troubled
+the lady who called him "Mr. Privy Councillor" with whims about
+'monads,' and speculations on 'color,' nor those stiff metaphysical
+problems on which one breaks one's shins in the Second Part of the
+Faust. Probably it may be that such great geniuses--knowing that, as
+compared with themselves, there is little difference between your clever
+woman and your humdrum woman--merge at once all minor distinctions,
+relinquish all attempts that could not but prove unsatisfactory, at
+sympathy in hard intellectual pursuits, and are quite satisfied to
+establish that tie which, after all, best resists wear and tear--viz.
+the tough household bond between one human heart and another.
+
+At all events, this, I suspect, was the reasoning of Dr. Riccabocca,
+when one morning, after a long walk with Miss Hazeldean, he muttered to
+himself--
+
+         "Duro con duro
+    Non fece mai buon muro."
+
+Which may bear the paraphrase, "Bricks without mortar would make a very
+bad wall." There was quite enough in Miss Jemima's disposition to make
+excellent mortar: the Doctor took the bricks to himself.
+
+When his examination was concluded, our philosopher symbolically evinced
+the result he had arrived at by a very simple proceeding on his
+part--which would have puzzled you greatly if you had not paused, and
+meditated thereon, till you saw all that it implied. _Dr. Riccabocca
+took off his spectacles!_ He wiped them carefully, put them into their
+shagreen case, and locked them in his bureau:--that is to say, he left
+off wearing his spectacles.
+
+You will observe that there was a wonderful depth of meaning in that
+critical symptom, whether it be regarded as a sign outward, positive,
+and explicit, or a sign metaphysical, mystical, and esoteric. For, as to
+the last--it denoted that the task of the spectacles was over; that,
+when a philosopher has made up his mind to marry, it is better
+henceforth to be short-sighted--nay, even somewhat purblind--than to be
+always scrutinizing the domestic felicity to which he is about to resign
+himself, through a pair of cold, unillusory barnacles. And for the
+things beyond the hearth, if he cannot see without spectacles, is he not
+about to ally to his own defective vision a good sharp pair of eyes,
+never at fault where his interests are concerned? On the other hand,
+regarded positively, categorically, and explicitly, Dr. Riccabocca, by
+laying aside those spectacles, signified that he was about to commence
+that happy initiation of courtship, when every man, be he ever so much a
+philosopher, wishes to look as young and as handsome as time and nature
+will allow. Vain task to speed the soft language of the eyes through the
+medium of those glassy interpreters! I remember, for my own part, that
+once, on a visit to Adelaide, I was in great danger of falling in
+love--with a young lady, too, who would have brought me a very good
+fortune--when she suddenly produced from her reticule a very neat pair
+of No. 4, set in tortoise-shell, and, fixing upon me their Gorgon gaze,
+froze the astonished Cupid into stone! And I hold it a great proof of
+the wisdom of Riccabocca, and of his vast experience in mankind, that he
+was not above the consideration of what your pseudo sages would have
+regarded as foppish and ridiculous trifles. It argued all the better for
+that happiness which is our being's end and aim, that, in condescending
+to play the lover, he put those unbecoming petrifiers under lock and
+key.
+
+And certainly, now the spectacles were abandoned, it was impossible to
+deny that the Italian had remarkably handsome eyes. Even through the
+spectacles, or lifted a little above them, they were always bright and
+expressive; but without those adjuncts, the blaze was softer and more
+tempered: they had that look which the French call _veloute_, or
+velvety; and he appeared altogether ten years younger. If our Ulysses,
+thus rejuvinated by his Minerva, has not fully made up his mind to make
+a Penelope of Miss Jemima, all I can say is, that he is worse than
+Polyphemus, who was only an Anthropophagos;----
+
+He preys upon the weaker sex, and is a Gynopophagite!
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+"And you commission me, then, to speak to our dear Jemima?" said Mrs.
+Dale, joyfully, and without any bitterness whatever in that "dear."
+
+_Dr. Riccabocca._--"Nay, before speaking to Miss Hazeldean, it would
+surely be proper to know how far my addresses would be acceptable to the
+family."
+
+_Mrs. Dale._--"Ah!"
+
+_Dr. Riccabocca._--"The Squire is of course the head of the family."
+
+_Mrs. Dale_ (absent and _distrait_.)--"The Squire--yes, very true--quite
+proper." (Then looking up, and with _naivete_)--"Can you believe me, I
+never thought of the Squire. And he is such an odd man, and has so many
+English prejudices, that really--dear me, how vexatious that it should
+never once have occurred to me that Mr. Hazeldean had a voice in the
+matter! Indeed, the relationship is so distant--it is not like being her
+father; and Jemima is of age, and can do as she pleases; and--but, as
+you say, it is quite proper that he should be consulted as the head of
+the family."
+
+_Dr. Riccabocca._--"And do you think that the Squire of Hazeldean might
+reject my alliance! Pshaw! that's a grand word, indeed;--I mean, that he
+might object very reasonably to his cousin's marriage with a foreigner,
+of whom he can know nothing, except that which in all countries is
+disreputable, and is said in this to be criminal--poverty."
+
+_Mrs. Dale_ (kindly.)--"You misjudge us poor English people, and you
+wrong the Squire, Heaven bless him! for we were poor enough when he
+singled out my husband from a hundred for the minister of his parish,
+for his neighbor and his friend. I will speak to him fearlessly----"
+
+_Dr. Riccabocca._--"And frankly. And now I have used that word, let me
+go on with the confession which your kindly readiness, my fair friend,
+somewhat interrupted. I said that if I might presume to think my
+addresses would be acceptable to Miss Hazeldean and her family, I was
+too sensible of her amiable qualities not to--not to--"
+
+_Mrs. Dale_ (with demure archness.)--"Not to be the happiest of
+men--that's the customary English phrase, Doctor."
+
+_Riccabocca_ (gallantly.)--"There cannot be a better. But," continued
+he, seriously, "I wish it first to be understood that I have--been
+married before."
+
+_Mrs. Dale_ (astonished.)--"Married before!"
+
+_Riccabocca._--"And that I have an only child, dear to me--inexpressibly
+dear. That child, a daughter, has hitherto lived abroad; circumstances
+now render it desirable that she should make her home with me. And I own
+fairly that nothing has so attached me to Miss Hazeldean, nor so induced
+my desire for our matrimonial connection, as my belief that she has the
+heart and the temper to become a kind mother to my little one."
+
+_Mrs. Dale_ (with feeling and warmth.)--"You judge her rightly there."
+
+_Riccabocca._--"Now, in pecuniary matters, as you may conjecture from my
+mode of life, I have nothing to offer to Miss Hazeldean correspondent
+with her own fortune, whatever that may be!"
+
+_Mrs. Dale._--"That difficulty is obviated by settling Miss Hazeldean's
+fortune on herself, which is customary in such cases."
+
+Dr. Riccabocca's face lengthened. "And my child, then?" said he,
+feelingly. There was something in that appeal so alien from all sordid
+and merely personal mercenary motives, that Mrs. Dale could not have had
+the heart to make the very rational suggestion--"But that child is not
+Jemima's, and you may have children by her."
+
+She was touched, and replied, hesitatingly--"But, from what you and
+Jemima may jointly possess, you can save something annually--you can
+insure your life for your child. We did so when our poor child whom we
+lost was born," (the tears rushed into Mrs. Dale's eyes;) "and I fear
+that Charles still insures his life for my sake, though Heaven knows
+that--that.----"
+
+The tears burst out. That little heart, quick and petulant though it
+was, had not a fibre of the elastic muscular tissues which are
+mercifully bestowed on the hearts of predestined widows. Dr. Riccabocca
+could not pursue the subject of life insurances further. But the
+idea--which had never occurred to the foreigner before, though so
+familiar to us English people when only possessed of a life
+income--pleased him greatly. I will do him the justice to say, that he
+preferred it to the thought of actually appropriating to himself and to
+his child a portion of Miss Hazeldean's dower.
+
+Shortly afterwards he took his leave, and Mrs. Dale hastened to seek her
+husband in his study, inform him of the success of her matrimonial
+scheme, and consult him as to the chance of the Squire's acquiescence
+therein. "You see," said she, hesitatingly, "though the Squire might be
+glad to see Jemima married to some Englishman, yet, if he asks who and
+what is this Dr. Riccabocca, how am I to answer him?"
+
+"You should have thought of that before," said Mr. Dale, with unwonted
+asperity; "and, indeed, if I had ever believed any thing serious could
+come out of what seemed to me so absurd, I should long since have
+requested you not to interfere in such matters. Good heavens!" continued
+the Parson, changing color, "if we should have assisted, underhand as it
+were, to introduce into the family of a man to whom we owe so much, a
+connection that he would dislike! how base we should be!--how
+ungrateful!"
+
+Poor Mrs. Dale was frightened by this speech, and still more by her
+husband's consternation and displeasure. To do Mrs. Dale justice,
+whenever her mild partner was really either grieved or offended, her
+little temper vanished--she became as meek as a lamb. As soon as she
+recovered the first shock she experienced, she hastened to dissipate the
+Parson's apprehensions. She assured him that she was convinced that, if
+the Squire disapproved of Riccabocca's pretensions, the Italian would
+withdraw them at once, and Mrs. Hazeldean would never know of his
+proposals. Therefore, in that case, no harm would be done.
+
+This assurance coincided with Mr. Dale's convictions as to Riccabocca's
+scruples on the point of honor, tended much to compose the good man; and
+if he did not, as my reader of the gentler sex would expect from him,
+feel alarm lest Miss Jemima's affections should have been irretrievably
+engaged, and her happiness thus put in jeopardy by the Squire's refusal,
+it was not that the Parson wanted tenderness of heart, but experience in
+woman-kind; and he believed, very erroneously, that Miss Jemima
+Hazeldean was not one upon whom a disappointment of that kind would
+produce a lasting impression. Therefore Mr. Dale, after a pause of
+consideration, said kindly----
+
+"Well, don't vex yourself--and I was to blame quite as much as you. But,
+indeed, I should have thought it easier for the Squire to have
+transplanted one of his tall cedars into his kitchen-garden, than for
+you to inveigle Dr. Riccabocca into matrimonial intentions. But a man
+who could voluntarily put himself into the parish stocks for the sake of
+experiment, must be capable of any thing! However, I think it better
+that I, rather than yourself, should speak to the Squire, and I will go
+at once."
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+The Parson put on the shovel hat, which--conjoined with other details in
+his dress peculiarly clerical, and already, even then, beginning to be
+out of fashion with churchmen--had served to fix upon him, emphatically,
+the dignified but antiquated style and cognomen of "Parson;" and took
+his way towards the Home Farm, at which he expected to find the Squire.
+But he had scarcely entered upon the village green when he beheld Mr.
+Hazeldean, leaning both hands on his stick, and gazing intently upon the
+parish stocks. Now, sorry am I to say that, ever since the Hegira of
+Lenny and his mother, the anti-stockian and revolutionary spirit in
+Hazeldean, which the memorable homily of our Parson had awhile averted
+or suspended, had broken forth afresh. For though, while Lenny was
+present to be moved and jeered at, there had been no pity for him, yet
+no sooner was he removed from the scene of trial, than a universal
+compassion for the barbarous usage he had received produced what is
+called "the reaction of public opinion." Not that those who had mowed
+and jeered repented them of their mockery, or considered themselves in
+the slightest degree the cause of his expatriation. No; they, with the
+rest of the villagers, laid all the blame upon the stocks. It was not to
+be expected that a lad of such exemplary character could be thrust into
+that place of ignominy, and not be sensible of the affront. And who, in
+the whole village, was safe, if such goings-on and puttings-in were to
+be tolerated in silence, and at the expense of the very best and
+quietest lad the village had ever known? Thus, a few days after the
+widow's departure, the stocks was again the object of midnight
+desecration: it was bedaubed and bescratched--it was hacked and
+hewed--it was scrawled all over with pithy lamentations for Lenny, and
+laconic execrations for tyrants. Night after night new inscriptions
+appeared, testifying the sarcastic wit and the vindictive sentiment of
+the parish. And perhaps the stocks themselves were only spared from axe
+and bonfire by the convenience they afforded to the malice of the
+disaffected: they became the Pasquin of Hazeldean.
+
+As disaffection naturally produces a correspondent vigor in authority,
+so affairs had been lately administered with greater severity than had
+been hitherto wont in the easy rule of the Squire and his predecessors.
+Suspected persons were naturally marked out by Mr. Stirn, and reported
+to his employer, who, too proud or too pained to charge them openly with
+ingratitude, at first only passed them by in his walks with a silent and
+stiff inclination of his head; and afterwards gradually yielding to the
+baleful influence of Stirn, the Squire grumbled forth that "he did not
+see why he should be always putting himself out of his way to show
+kindness to those who made such a return. There ought to be a difference
+between the good and the bad." Encouraged by this admission, Stirn had
+conducted himself towards the suspected parties, and their whole kith
+and kin, with the iron-handed justice that belonged to his character.
+For some, habitual donations of milk from the dairy, and vegetables from
+the gardens, were surlily suspended: others were informed that their
+pigs were always trespassing on the woods in search of acorns; or that
+they were violating the Game Laws in keeping lurchers. A beer-house,
+popular in the neighborhood, but of late resorted to over-much by the
+grievance-mongers, (and no wonder, since they had become the popular
+party,) was threatened with an application to the magistrates for the
+withdrawal of its license. Sundry old women, whose grandsons were
+notoriously ill-disposed towards the stocks, were interdicted from
+gathering dead sticks under the avenues, on pretence that they broke
+down the live boughs; and, what was more obnoxious to the younger
+members of the parish than most other retaliatory measures, three
+chestnut trees, one walnut, and two cherry trees, standing at the bottom
+of the park, and which had, from time immemorial, been given up to the
+youth of Hazeldean, were now solemnly placed under the general defence
+of "private property." And the crier had announced that, henceforth, all
+depredators on the fruit trees in Copse Hollow would be punished with
+the utmost rigor of the law. Stirn, indeed, recommended much more
+stringent proceedings than all these indications of a change of policy,
+which, he averred, would soon bring the parish to its senses--such as
+discontinuing many little jobs of unprofitable work that employed the
+surplus labor of the village. But there the Squire, falling into the
+department, and under the benigner influence of his Harry, was as yet
+not properly hardened. When it came to a question that affected the
+absolute quantity of loaves to be consumed by the graceless mouths that
+fed upon him, the milk of human kindness--with which Providence has so
+bountifully supplied that class of the mammalia called the "Bucolic,"
+and of which our Squire had an extra "yield"--burst forth, and washed
+away all the indignation of the harsher Adam.
+
+Still your policy of half measures, which irritates without crushing its
+victims, which flaps an exasperated wasp-nest with a silk pocket
+handkerchief, instead of blowing it up with a match and train, is rarely
+successful; and, after three or four other and much guiltier victims
+than Lenny had been incarcerated in the stocks, the parish of Hazeldean
+was ripe for any enormity. Pestilent jacobinical tracts, conceived and
+composed in the sinks of manufacturing towns--found their way into the
+popular beer-house--heaven knows how, though the Tinker was suspected of
+being the disseminator by all but Stirn, who still, in a whisper,
+accused the Papishers. And, finally, there appeared amongst the other
+graphic embellishments which the poor stocks had received, the rude
+_gravure_ of a gentleman in a broad-brimmed hat and top-boots, suspended
+from a gibbet, with the inscription beneath--"A warnin to hall
+tirans--mind your hi!--sighnde Captins Traw."
+
+It was upon this significant and emblematic portraiture that the Squire
+was gazing when the parson joined him.
+
+"Well, Parson," said Mr. Hazeldean, with a smile which he meant to be
+pleasant and easy, but which was exceedingly bitter and grim, "I wish
+you joy of your flock--you see they have just hanged me in effigy!"
+
+The Parson stared, and, though greatly shocked, smothered his emotions;
+and attempted, with the wisdom of the serpent and the mildness of the
+dove, to find another original for the effigy.
+
+"It is very bad," quoth he, "but not so bad as all that, Squire; that's
+not the shape of your hat. It is evidently meant for Mr. Stirn."
+
+"Do you think so?" said the Squire softened. "Yet the top-boots--Stirn
+never wears top-boots."
+
+"No more do you--except in hunting. If you look again, those are not
+tops--they are leggings--Stirn wears leggings. Besides, that flourish,
+which is meant for a nose, is a kind of a hook like Stirn's; whereas
+your nose--though by no means a snub--rather turns up than not, as the
+Apollo's does, according to the plaster cast in Riccabocca's parlor."
+
+"Poor Stirn!" said the Squire, in a tone that evinced complacency, not
+unmingled with compassion, "that's what a man gets in this world by
+being a faithful servant, and doing his duty with zeal for his employer.
+But you see that things have come to a strange pass, and the question
+now is, what course to pursue. The miscreants hitherto have defied all
+vigilance, and Stirn recommends the employment of a regular nightwatch
+with a lanthorn and bludgeon."
+
+"That may protect the stocks certainly; but will it keep those
+detestable tracts out of the beer-house?"
+
+"We shall shut the beer-house up at the next sessions."
+
+"The tracts will break out elsewhere--the humor's in the blood!"
+
+"I've half a mind to run off to Brighton or Leamington--good hunting at
+Leamington--for a year, just to let the rogues see how they can get on
+without me!"
+
+The Squire's lip trembled.
+
+"My dear Mr. Hazeldean," said the Parson, taking his friend's hand, "I
+don't want to parade my superior wisdom; but if you had taken my advice,
+_quieta non movere_. Was there ever a parish so peaceable as this, or a
+country-gentleman so beloved as you were before you undertook the task
+which has dethroned kings and ruined states--that of wantonly meddling
+with antiquity, whether for the purpose of uncalled-for repairs or the
+revival of obsolete uses."
+
+At this rebuke, the Squire did not manifest his constitutional
+tendencies to choler; but he replied almost meekly, "If it were to do
+again, faith, I would leave the parish to the enjoyment of the shabbiest
+pair of stocks that ever disgraced a village. Certainly I meant it for
+the best--an ornament to the green; however, now they are rebuilt, the
+stocks must be supported. Will Hazeldean is not the man to give way to a
+set of thankless rapscallions."
+
+"I think," said the Parson, "that you will allow that the House of
+Tudor, whatever its faults, was a determined resolute dynasty
+enough--high-hearted and strong-headed. A Tudor would never have fallen
+into the same calamities as the poor Stuart did!"
+
+"What the plague has the House of Tudor got to do with my stocks?"
+
+"A great deal. Henry the VIII. found a subsidy so unpopular that he gave
+it up; and the people, in return, allowed him to cut off as many heads
+as he pleased, besides those in his own family. Good Queen Bess, who, I
+know, is your idol in history----"
+
+"To be sure! she knighted my ancestor at Tilbury Fort."
+
+"Good Queen Bess struggled hard to maintain a certain monopoly; she saw
+it would not do, and she surrendered it with that frank heartiness which
+becomes a sovereign, and makes surrender a grace."
+
+"Ha! and you would have me give up the stocks?"
+
+"I would much rather they had stayed as they were, before you touched
+them; but, as it is, if you could find a good plausible pretext--and
+there is an excellent one at hand;--the sternest kings open prisons, and
+grant favors, upon joyful occasions. Now a marriage in the royal family
+is of course a joyful occasion!--and so it should be in that of the King
+of Hazeldean." Admire that artful turn in the Parson's eloquence!--it
+was worthy of Riccabocca himself. Indeed, Mr. Dale had profited much by
+his companionship with that Machiavellian intellect.
+
+"A marriage--yes; but Frank has only just got into long tails!"
+
+"I did not allude to Frank, but to your cousin Jemima!"
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+The Squire staggered as if the breath had been knocked out of him, and,
+for want of a better seat, sat down on the stocks.
+
+All the female heads in the neighboring cottages peered, themselves
+unseen, through the casements. What could the Squire be about?--what new
+mischief did he meditate? Did he mean to fortify the stocks? Old Gaffer
+Solomons, who had an indefinite idea of the lawful power of squires, and
+who had been for the last ten minutes at watch on his threshold, shook
+his head and said--"Them as a cut out the mon, a-hanging, as a put it in
+the Squire's head!"
+
+"Put what?" asked his granddaughter.
+
+"The gallus!" answered Solomons--"he be a-goin' to have it hung from the
+great elm-tree. And the Parson, good mon, is a-quoting Scripter agin
+it--you see, he's a taking off his gloves, and a putting his two han's
+togither, as he do when he pray for the sick, Jeany."
+
+That description of the Parson's mien and manner, which, with his usual
+niceness of observation, Gaffer Solomons thus sketched off, will convey
+to you some idea of the earnestness with which the Parson pleaded the
+cause he had undertaken to advocate. He dwelt much upon the sense of
+propriety which the foreigner had evinced in requesting that the Squire
+might be consulted before any formal communication to his cousin; and he
+repeated Mrs. Dale's assurance, that such were Riccabocca's high
+standard of honor and belief in the sacred rights of hospitality, that,
+if the Squire withheld his consent to his proposals, the Parson was
+convinced that the Italian would instantly retract them. Now,
+considering that Miss Hazeldean was, to say the least, come to years of
+discretion, and the Squire had long since placed her property entirely
+at her own disposal, Mr. Hazeldean was forced to acquiesce in the
+Parson's corollary remark, "That this was a delicacy which could not be
+expected from every English pretender to the lady's hand." Seeing that
+he had so far cleared ground, the Parson went on to intimate, though
+with great tact, that, since Miss Jemima would probably marry sooner or
+later, (and, indeed, that the Squire could not wish to prevent her,) it
+might be better for all parties concerned that it should be with some
+one who, though a foreigner, was settled in the neighborhood, and of
+whose character what was known was certainly favorable, than run the
+hazard of her being married for her money by some adventurer or Irish
+fortune-hunter at the watering-places she yearly visited. Then he
+touched lightly on Riccabocca's agreeable and companionable qualities;
+and, concluded with a skilful peroration upon the excellent occasion the
+wedding would afford to reconcile Hall and parish, by making a voluntary
+holocaust of the stocks.
+
+As he concluded, the Squire's brow, before thoughtful, though not
+sullen, cleared up benignly. To say truth, the Squire was dying to get
+rid of the stocks, if he could but do so handsomely and with dignity;
+and if all the stars in the astrological horoscope had conjoined
+together to give Miss Jemima "assurance of a husband," they could not so
+have served her with the Squire, as that conjunction between the altar
+and the stocks which the Parson had effected!
+
+Accordingly, when Mr. Dale had come to an end, the Squire replied with
+great placidity and good sense, "That Mr. Rickeybockey had behaved very
+much like a gentleman, and that he was very much obliged to him; that he
+(the Squire) had no right to interfere in the matter, farther than with
+his advice; that Jemima was old enough to choose for herself, and that,
+as the Parson had implied, after all, she might go farther and fare
+worse--indeed, the farther she went, (that is, the longer she waited,)
+the worse she was likely to fare. I own, for my part," continued the
+Squire, "that, though I like Rickeybockey very much, I never suspected
+that Jemima was caught with his long face; but there's no accounting for
+tastes. My Harry, indeed, was more shrewd, and gave me many a hint, for
+which I only laughed at her. Still I ought to have thought it looked
+queer when Mounseer took to disguising himself by leaving off his
+glasses, ha--ha! I wonder what Harry will say; let's go and talk to
+her."
+
+The Parson, rejoiced at this easy way of taking the matter, hooked his
+arm into the Squire's, and they walked amicably towards the Hall. But on
+coming first into the gardens, they found Mrs. Hazeldean herself,
+clipping dead leaves or fading flowers from her rose-trees. The Squire
+stole slily behind her, and startled her in her turn by putting his arm
+round her waist, and saluting her smooth cheek with one of his hearty
+kisses; which, by the way, from some association of ideas, was a
+conjugal freedom that he usually indulged whenever a wedding was going
+on in the village.
+
+"Fie, William!" said Mrs. Hazeldean coyly, and blushing as she saw the
+Parson, "Well, who's going to be married now?"
+
+"Lord, was there ever such a woman?--she's guessed it!" cried the Squire
+in great admiration. "Tell her all about it, Parson."
+
+The Parson obeyed.
+
+Mrs. Hazeldean, as the reader may suppose, showed much less surprise
+than her husband had done; but she took the news graciously, and made
+much the same answer as that which had occurred to the Squire, only with
+somewhat more qualification and reserve. "Signor Riccabocca had behaved
+very handsomely; and though a daughter of the Hazeldeans of Hazeldean
+might expect a much better marriage in a worldly point of view, yet as
+the lady in question had deferred finding one so long, it would be
+equally idle and impertinent now to quarrel with her choice--if indeed
+she should decide on accepting Signor Riccabocca. As for fortune, that
+was a consideration for the two contracting parties. Still, it ought to
+be pointed out to Miss Jemima that the interest of her fortune would
+afford but a very small income. That Dr. Riccabocca was a widower was
+another matter for deliberation; and it seemed rather suspicious that he
+should have been hitherto so close upon all matters connected with his
+former life. Certainly his manners were in his favor, and as long as he
+was merely an acquaintance, and at most a tenant, no one had a right to
+institute inquiries of a strictly private nature; but that, when he was
+about to marry a Hazeldean of Hazeldean, it became the Squire at least
+to know a little more about him--who and what he was. Why did he leave
+his own country? English people went abroad to save; no foreigner would
+choose England as a country in which to save money! She supposed that a
+foreign doctor was no very great things; probably he had been a
+professor in some Italian university. At all events, if the Squire
+interfered at all, it was on such points that he should request
+information.
+
+"My dear madam," said the Parson, "what you say is extremely just. As to
+the causes which have induced our friend to expatriate himself, I think
+we need not look far for them. He is evidently one of the many Italian
+refugees whom political disturbances have driven to our shore, whose
+boast is to receive all exiles of whatever party. For his respectability
+of birth and family he certainly ought to obtain some vouchers. And if
+that be the only objection, I trust we may soon congratulate Miss
+Hazeldean on a marriage with a man who, though certainly very poor, has
+borne privations without a murmur; has preferred all hardships to debt;
+has scorned to attempt betraying her into any clandestine connection;
+who, in short, has shown himself so upright and honest, that I hope my
+dear Mr. Hazeldean will forgive him if he is only a Doctor--probably of
+Laws--and not, as most foreigners pretend to be, a marquis, or a baron
+at least."
+
+"As to that," cried the Squire, "'tis the best think I know about
+Rickeybockey, that he don't attempts to humbug us by any such foreign
+trumpery. Thank heaven, the Hazeldeans of Hazeldean were never
+turf-hunters and title-mongers; and if I never ran after an English
+lord, I should certainly be devilishly ashamed of a brother-in-law whom
+I was forced to call markee or count! I should feel sure he was a
+courier, or runaway valley-de-sham. Turn up your nose at a doctor,
+indeed, Harry!--pshaw, good English style that! Doctor! my aunt married
+a Doctor of Divinity--excellent man--wore a wig, and was made a dean! So
+long as Rickeybockey is not a doctor of physic, I don't care a button.
+If he's _that_, indeed, it would be suspicious; because, you see, those
+foreign doctors of physic are quacks, and tell fortunes, and go about on
+a stage with a Merry-Andrew."
+
+"Lord, Hazeldean! where on earth did you pick up that idea?" said Harry,
+laughing.
+
+"Pick it up!--why, I saw a fellow myself at the cattle fair last
+year--when I was buying short-horns--with a red waistcoat and a cocked
+hat, a little like the Parson's shovel. He called himself Doctor
+Phoscophornio--wore a white wig and sold pills! The Merry-Andrew was the
+funniest creature--in salmon-colored tights--turned head over heels, and
+said he came from Timbuctoo. No, no; if Rickeybockey's a physic Doctor,
+we shall have Jemima in a pink tinsel dress, tramping about the country
+in a caravan!"
+
+At this notion, both the Squire and his wife laughed so heartily that
+the Parson felt the thing was settled, and slipped away, with the
+intention of making his report to Riccabocca.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+It was with a slight disturbance of his ordinary suave and well-bred
+equanimity that the Italian received the information, that he need
+apprehend no obstacle to his suit from the insular prejudices or the
+worldly views of the lady's family. Not that he was mean and cowardly
+enough to recoil from the near and unclouded prospect of that felicity
+which he had left off his glasses to behold with unblinking naked
+eyes:--no, there his mind was made up; but he had met with very little
+kindness in life, and he was touched not only by the interest in his
+welfare testified by a heretical priest, but by the generosity with
+which he was admitted into a well-born and wealthy family, despite his
+notorious poverty and his foreign descent. He conceded the propriety of
+the only stipulation, which was conveyed to him by the Parson with all
+the delicacy that became a man professionally habituated to deal with
+the subtler susceptibilities of mankind--viz., that, amongst
+Riccabocca's friends or kindred, some one should be found whose report
+would confirm the persuasion of his respectability entertained by his
+neighbors;--he assented, I say, to the propriety of this condition; but
+it was not with alacrity and eagerness. His brow became clouded. The
+Parson hastened to assure him that the Squire was not a man _qui stupet
+in titulis_, (who was besotted with titles,) that he neither expected
+nor desired to find an origin and rank for his brother-in-law above that
+decent mediocrity of condition to which it was evident, from
+Riccabocca's breeding and accomplishments, he could easily establish his
+claim. "And though," said he, smiling, "the Squire is a warm politician
+in his own country, and would never see his sister again, I fear, if she
+married some convicted enemy of our happy constitution, yet for foreign
+politics he does not care a straw; so that if, as I suspect, your exile
+arises from some quarrel with your government--which, being foreign, he
+takes for granted must be insupportable--he would but consider you as he
+would a Saxon who fled from the iron hand of William the Conqueror, or a
+Lancastrian expelled by the Yorkists in our Wars of the Roses."
+
+The Italian smiled. "Mr. Hazeldean shall be satisfied," said he simply.
+"I see, by the Squire's newspaper, that an English gentleman who knew me
+in my own country has just arrived in London. I will write to him for a
+testimonial, at least to my probity and character. Probably he may be
+known to you by name--nay, he must be, for he was a distinguished
+officer in the late war. I allude to Lord L'Estrange."
+
+The parson started.
+
+"You know Lord L'Estrange?--a profligate bad man, I fear."
+
+"Profligate!--bad!" exclaimed Riccabocca. "Well, calumnious as the world
+is, I should never have thought that such expressions would be applied
+to one who, though I knew him but little--knew him chiefly by the
+service he once rendered to me--first taught me to love and revere the
+English name!"
+
+"He may be changed since----" The parson paused.
+
+"Since when?" asked Riccabocca, with evident curiosity.
+
+Mr. Dale seemed embarrassed. "Excuse me," said he, "it is many years
+ago; and, in short, the opinion I then formed of the gentleman in
+question was based upon circumstances which I cannot communicate."
+
+The punctilious Italian bowed in silence but he still looked as if he
+should have liked to prosecute inquiry.
+
+After a pause, he said, "Whatever your impressions respecting Lord
+L'Estrange, there is nothing, I suppose, which would lead you to doubt
+his honor, or reject his testimonial in my favor?"
+
+"According to fashionable morality," said Mr. Dale, rather precisely, "I
+know of nothing that could induce me to suppose that Lord L'Estrange
+would not, in this instance, speak the truth. And he has unquestionably
+a high reputation as a soldier, and a considerable position in the
+world." Therewith the Parson took his leave. A few days afterwards Dr.
+Riccabocca inclosed to the Squire, in a blank envelope, a letter he had
+received from Harley L'Estrange. It was evidently intended for the
+Squire's eye, and to serve as a voucher for the Italian's
+respectability; but this object was fulfilled, not in the coarse form of
+a direct testimonial, but with a tact and delicacy which seemed to show
+more than the fine breeding to be expected from one in Lord L'Estrange's
+station. It argued that most exquisite of all politeness which comes
+from the heart: a certain tone of affectionate respect (which even the
+homely sense of the Squire felt, intuitively, proved far more in favor
+of Riccabocca than the most elaborate certificate of his qualities and
+antecedents) pervaded the whole, and would have sufficed in itself to
+remove all scruples from a mind much more suspicious and exacting than
+that of the Squire of Hazeldean. But, lo and behold! an obstacle now
+occurred to the Parson, of which he ought to have thought long
+before--viz., the Papistical religion of the Italian. Dr. Riccabocca was
+professedly a Roman Catholic. He so little obtruded that fact--and,
+indeed, had assented so readily to any animadversions upon the
+superstition and priestcraft which, according to Protestants, are the
+essential characteristics of Papistical communities--that it was not
+till the hymeneal torch, which brings all faults to light, was fairly
+illumined for the altar, that the remembrance of a faith so cast into
+the shade burst upon the conscience of the Parson. The first idea that
+then occurred to him was the proper and professional one--viz., the
+conversion of Dr. Riccabocca. He hastened to his study, took down from
+his shelves long neglected volumes of controversial divinity, armed
+himself with an arsenal of authorities, arguments, and texts; then,
+seizing the shovel-hat, posted off to the Casino.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+The Parson burst upon the philosopher like an avalanche! He was so full
+of his subject that he could not let it out in prudent driblets. No, he
+went souse upon the astounded Riccabocca--
+
+              "Tremendo,
+    Jupiter ipse ruens tumultu."
+
+The sage--shrinking deeper into his arm-chair, and drawing his
+dressing-robe more closely round him--suffered the Parson to talk for
+three quarters of an hour, till indeed he had thoroughly proved his
+case; and, like Brutus, "paused for a reply."
+
+Then said Riccabocca mildly, "In much of what you have urged so ably,
+and so suddenly, I am inclined to agree. But base is the man who
+formally forswears the creed he has inherited from his fathers, and
+professed since the cradle up to years of maturity, when the change
+presents itself in the guise of a bribe;--when, for such is human
+nature, he can hardly distinguish or disentangle the appeal to his
+reason from the lure to his interests--here a text, and there a
+dowry!--here Protestantism, there Jemima!--Own, my friend, that the
+soberest casuist would see double under the inebriating effects produced
+by so mixing his polemical liquors. Appeal, my good Mr. Dale, from
+Philip drunken to Philip sober!--from Riccabocca intoxicated with the
+assurance of your excellent lady, that he is about to be "the happiest
+of men," to Riccabocca accustomed to his happiness, and carrying it off
+with the seasoned equability of one grown familiar with stimulants--in a
+word, appeal from Riccabocca the wooer to Riccabocca the spouse. I may
+be convertible, but conversion is a slow process; courtship should be a
+quick one--ask Miss Jemima. _Finalmente_, marry me first, and convert me
+afterwards!"
+
+"You take this too jestingly," began the Parson; "and I don't see why,
+with your excellent understanding, truths so plain and obvious should
+not strike you at once."
+
+"Truths," interrupted Riccabocca profoundly, "are the slowest growing
+things in the world! It took 1500 years from the date of the Christian
+era to produce your own Luther, and then he flung his Bible at Satan, (I
+have seen the mark made by the book on the wall of his prison in
+Germany,) besides running off with a nun, which no Protestant clergyman
+would think it proper and right to do now-a-days." Then he added, with
+seriousness, "Look you, my dear sir,--I should lose my own esteem if I
+were even to listen to you now with becoming attention,--now, I say,
+when you hint that the creed I have professed may be in the way of my
+advantage. If so, I must keep the creed and resign the advantage. But
+if, as I trust--not only as a Christian, but a man of honor--you will
+defer this discussion, I will promise to listen to you hereafter; and
+though, to say truth, I believe that you will not convert me, I will
+promise you faithfully never to interfere with my wife's religion."
+
+"And any children you may have?"
+
+"Children!" said Dr. Riccabocca, recoiling--"you are not contented with
+firing your pocket-pistol right in my face; you must also pepper me all
+over with small-shot. Children! well, if they are girls, let them follow
+the faith of their mother; and if boys, while in childhood, let them be
+contented with learning to be Christians; and when they grow into men,
+let them choose for themselves which is the best form for the practice
+of the great principles which all sects have in common."
+
+"But," began Mr. Dale again, pulling a large book from his pocket.
+
+Dr. Riccabocca flung open the window, and jumped out of it.
+
+It was the rapidest and most dastardly flight you could possibly
+conceive; but it was a great compliment to the argumentative powers of
+the Parson, and he felt it as such. Nevertheless, Mr. Dale thought it
+right to have a long conversation, both with the Squire and Miss Jemima
+herself, upon the subject which his intended convert had so
+ignominiously escaped.
+
+The Squire, though a great foe to Popery, politically considered, had
+also quite as great a hatred to turn-coats and apostates. And in his
+heart he would have despised Riccabocca if he could have thrown off his
+religion as easily as he had done his spectacles. Therefore he said
+simply--"Well, it is certainly a great pity that Rickeybockey is not of
+the Church of England, though, I take it, that would be unreasonable to
+expect in a man born and bred under the nose of the Inquisition," (the
+Squire firmly believed that the Inquisition was in full force in all the
+Italian states, with whips, racks, and thumbscrews; and, indeed, his
+chief information of Italy was gathered from a perusal he had given in
+early youth to _The One-Handed Monk_;) "but I think he speaks very
+fairly, on the whole, as to his wife and children. And the thing's gone
+too far now to retract. It is all your fault for not thinking of it
+before; and I've now just made up my mind as to the course to pursue
+respecting those--d----d stocks!"
+
+As for Miss Jemima, the Parson left her with a pious thanksgiving that
+Riccabocca at least was a Christian, and not a Pagan, Mahometan, or Jew!
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+There is that in a wedding which appeals to a universal sympathy. No
+other event in the lives of their superiors in rank creates an equal
+sensation amongst the humbler classes.
+
+From the moment the news had spread throughout the village that Miss
+Jemima was to be married, all the old affection for the Squire and his
+house burst forth the stronger for its temporary suspension. Who could
+think of the stocks in such a season? They were swept out of
+fashion--hunted from remembrance as completely as the question of Repeal
+or the thought of Rebellion from the warm Irish heart, when the fair
+young face of the Royal Wife beamed on the sister isle.
+
+Again cordial courtesies were dropped at the thresholds by which the
+Squire passed to his home farm; again the sunburnt brows uncovered--no
+more with sullen ceremony--were smoothed into cheerful gladness at his
+nod. Nay, the little ones began again to assemble at their ancient
+rendezvous by the stocks, as if either familiarized with the phenomenon,
+or convinced that, in the general sentiment of good-will, its powers of
+evil were annulled.
+
+The Squire tasted once more the sweets of the only popularity which is
+much worth having, and the loss of which a wise man would reasonably
+deplore; viz., the popularity which arises from a persuasion of our
+goodness, and a reluctance to recall our faults. Like all blessings, the
+more sensibly felt from previous interruption, the Squire enjoyed this
+restored popularity with an exhilarated sense of existence; his stout
+heart beat more vigorously, his stalwart step trod more lightly; his
+comely English face looked comelier and more English than ever;--you
+would have been a merrier man for a week to have come within hearing of
+his jovial laugh.
+
+He felt grateful to Jemima and to Riccabocca as the special agents of
+Providence in this general _integratio amoris_. To have looked at him,
+you would suppose that it was the Squire who was going to be married a
+second time to his Harry!
+
+One may well conceive that such would have been an inauspicious moment
+for Parson Dale's theological scruples. To have stopped that
+marriage--chilled all the sunshine it diffused over the village--seen
+himself surrounded again by long, sulky visages,--I verily believe,
+though a better friend of Church and State never stood on a hustings,
+that, rather than court such a revulsion, the Squire would have found
+jesuitical excuses for the marriage if Riccabocca had been discovered to
+be the Pope in disguise! As for the stocks, their fate was now
+irrevocably sealed. In short, the marriage was concluded--first
+privately, according to the bridegroom's creed, by a Roman Catholic
+clergyman, who lived in a town some miles off, and next publicly in the
+village church of Hazeldean.
+
+It was the heartiest rural wedding! Village girls strewed flowers on the
+way;--a booth was placed amidst the prettiest scenery of the park, on
+the margin of the lake--for there was to be a dance later in the day; an
+ox was roasted whole. Even Mr. Stirn--no, Mr. Stirn was _not_ present,
+so much happiness would have been the death of him! And the Papisher
+too, who had conjured Lenny out of the stocks; nay, who had himself sat
+in the stocks for the very purpose of bringing them into contempt--the
+Papisher! he had as lief Miss Jemima had married the devil! Indeed, he
+was persuaded that, in point of fact, it was all one and the same.
+Therefore Mr. Stirn had asked leave to go and attend his uncle the
+pawnbroker, about to undergo a torturing operation for the stone! Frank
+was there, summoned from Eton for the occasion--having grown two inches
+taller since he left--for the one inch of which nature was to be
+thanked, for the other a new pair of resplendent Wellingtons. But the
+boy's joy was less apparent than that of others. For Jemima was a
+special favorite with him, as she would have been with all boys--for she
+was always kind and gentle, and made many pretty presents whenever she
+came from the watering-places. And Frank knew that he should miss her
+sadly, and thought she had made a very queer choice.
+
+Captain Higginbotham had been invited; but, to the astonishment of
+Jemima, he had replied to the invitation by a letter to herself, marked
+"_private and confidential_." "She must have long known," said the
+letter, "of his devoted attachment to her; motives of delicacy, arising
+from the narrowness of his income and the magnanimity of his sentiments,
+had alone prevented his formal proposals; but now that he was informed
+(he could scarcely believe his senses, or command his passions) that her
+relations wished to force her into a BARBAROUS marriage with a foreigner
+of MOST FORBIDDING APPEARANCE, and most _abject circumstances_, he lost
+not a moment in laying at her feet his own hand and fortune. And he did
+this the more confidently, inasmuch as he could not but be aware of Miss
+Jemima's SECRET feelings towards him, while he was _proud_ and _happy_
+to say, that his dear and distinguished cousin, Mr. Sharpe Currie, had
+honored him with a warmth of regard, which justified the most
+_brilliant_ EXPECTATIONS--likely to be _soon_ realized--as his eminent
+relative had contracted a _very bad liver complaint_ in the service of
+his country, and could not last long!"
+
+In all the years they had known each other, Miss Jemima, strange as it
+may appear, had never once suspected the Captain of any other feelings
+to her than those of a brother. To say that she was not gratified by
+learning her mistake, would be to say that she was more than woman.
+Indeed, it must have been a source of no ignoble triumph to think that
+she could prove her disinterested affection to her dear Riccabocca, by a
+prompt rejection of this more brilliant offer. She couched the
+rejection, it is true, in the most soothing terms. But the Captain
+evidently considered himself ill used; he did not reply to the letter,
+and did not come to the wedding.
+
+To let the reader into a secret, never known to Miss Jemima, Captain
+Higginbotham was much less influenced by Cupid than by Plutus in the
+offer he had made. The Captain was one of that class of gentlemen who
+read their accounts by those corpse-lights, or will-o'-the-wisps, called
+_expectations_. Ever since the Squire's grandfather had left him--then
+in short clothes--a legacy of L500, the Captain had peopled the future
+with expectations! He talked of his expectations as a man talks of
+shares in a Tontine; they might fluctuate a little--be now up and now
+down--but it was morally impossible, if he lived on, but that he should
+be a _millionaire_ one of these days. Now, though Miss Jemima was a good
+fifteen years younger than himself, yet she always stood for a good
+round sum in the ghostly books of the Captain. She was an _expectation_
+to the full amount of her L4000, seeing that Frank was an only child,
+and it would be carrying coals to Newmarket to leave _him_ any thing.
+
+Rather than see so considerable a cipher suddenly spunged out of his
+visionary ledger--rather than so much money should vanish clean out of
+the family, Captain Higginbotham had taken what he conceived, if a
+desperate, at least a certain, step for the preservation of his
+property. If the golden horn could not be had without the heifer, why,
+he must take the heifer into the bargain. He had never formed to himself
+an idea that a heifer so gentle would toss and fling him over. The blow
+was stunning. But no one compassionates the misfortunes of the covetous,
+though few perhaps are in greater need of compassion. And leaving poor
+Captain Higginbotham to retrieve his illusory fortunes as he best may
+among "the expectations" which gathered round the form of Mr. Sharpe
+Currie, who was the crossest old tyrant imaginable, and never allowed at
+his table any dishes not compounded with rice, which played Old Nick
+with the Captain's constitutional functions,--I return to the wedding at
+Hazeldean, just in time to see the bridegroom--who looked singularly
+well on the occasion--hand the bride (who, between sunshiny tears and
+affectionate smiles, was really a very interesting and even a pretty
+bride, as brides go) into a carriage which the Squire had presented to
+them, and depart on the orthodox nuptial excursion amidst the blessings
+of the assembled crowd.
+
+It may be thought strange by the unreflective that these rural
+spectators should so have approved and blessed the marriage of a
+Hazeldean of Hazeldean with a poor, outlandish, long-haired foreigner;
+but, besides that Riccabocca, after all, had become one of the
+neighborhood, and was proverbially 'a civil-spoken gentleman,' it is
+generally noticeable that on wedding occasions the bride so monopolizes
+interest, curiosity, and admiration, that the bridegroom himself goes
+for little or nothing. He is merely the passive agent in the affair--the
+unregarded cause of the general satisfaction. It was not Riccabocca
+himself that they approved and blessed--it was the gentleman in the
+white waistcoat who had made Miss Jemima--Madam Rickeybocky!
+
+Leaning on his wife's arm, (for it was a habit of the Squire to lean on
+his wife's arm rather than she on his, when he was specially pleased;
+and there was something touching in the sight of that strong sturdy
+frame thus insensibly, in hours of happiness, seeking dependence on the
+frail arm of woman),--leaning, I say, on his wife's arm, the Squire,
+about the hour of sunset, walked down to the booth by the lake.
+
+All the parish--young and old, man, woman, and child--were assembled
+there, and their faces seemed to bear one family likeness, in the common
+emotion which animated all, as they turned to his frank fatherly smile.
+Squire Hazeldean stood at the head of the long table: he filled a horn
+with ale from the brimming tankard beside him. Then he looked round, and
+lifted his hand to request silence; and, ascending the chair, rose in
+full view of all. Every one felt that the Squire was about to make a
+speech, and the earnestness of the attention was proportioned to the
+rarity of the event; for (though he was not unpractised in the oratory
+of the hustings), only thrice before had the Squire made what could
+fairly be called 'a speech' to the villagers of Hazeldean--once on a
+kindred festive occasion, when he had presented to them his bride--once
+in a contested election for the shire, in which he took more than
+ordinary interest, and was not quite so sober as he ought to have
+been--once in a time of great agricultural distress, when, in spite of
+reduction of rents, the farmers had been compelled to discard a large
+number of their customary laborers; and when the Squire had said,--"I
+have given up keeping the hounds, because I want to make a fine piece of
+water (that was the origin of the lake), and to drain all the low lands
+round the park. Let every man who wants work come to me!" And that sad
+year the parish rates of Hazeldean were not a penny the more.
+
+Now, for the fourth time, the Squire rose, and thus he spoke. At his
+right hand, Harry; at his left, Frank. At the bottom of the table, as
+vice-president, Parson Dale, his little wife behind him, only obscurely
+seen. She cried readily, and her handkerchief was already before her
+eyes.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.--THE SQUIRE'S SPEECH.
+
+"Friends and neighbors:--I thank you kindly for coming round me this
+day, and for showing so much interest in me and mine. My cousin was not
+born amongst you as I was, but you have known her from a child. It is a
+familiar face, and one that never frowned, which you will miss at your
+cottage doors, as I and mine will miss it long in the old hall----"
+
+Here there was a sob from some of the women, and nothing was seen of
+Mrs. Dale but the white handkerchief. The Squire himself paused, and
+brushed away a tear with the back of his hand. Then he resumed, with a
+sudden change of voice that was electrical--"For we none of us prize a
+blessing till we have lost it! Now, friends and neighbors,--a little
+time ago, it seemed as if some ill-will had crept into the
+village--ill-will between you and me, neighbors!--why, that is not like
+Hazeldean!"
+
+The audience hung their heads! You never saw people look so thoroughly
+ashamed of themselves. The Squire proceeded--"I don't say it was all
+your fault; perhaps it was mine."
+
+"Noa-noa-noa," burst forth in a general chorus.
+
+"Nay, friends," continued the Squire humbly, and in one of those
+illustrative aphorisms which, if less subtle than Riccabocca's, were
+more within reach of the popular comprehension; "nay--we are all human;
+and every man has his hobby; sometimes he breaks in the hobby, and
+sometimes the hobby, if it is very hard in the mouth, breaks in him. One
+man's hobby has an ill habit of always stopping at the public house!
+(Laughter.) Another man's hobby refuses to stir a peg beyond the door
+where some buxom lass patted its neck the week before--a hobby I rode
+pretty often when I went courting my good wife here! (Much laughter and
+applause.) Others, have a lazy hobby, that there's no getting
+on;--others, a runaway hobby that there's no stopping: but to cut the
+matter short, my favorite hobby, as you well know, is always trotted out
+to any place on my property which seems to want the eye and hand of the
+master. I hate (cried the Squire warming), to see things neglected and
+decayed, and going to the dogs! This land we live in is a good mother to
+us, and we can't do too much for her. It is very true, neighbors, that I
+owe her a good many acres, and ought to speak well of her; but what
+then? I live amongst you, and what I take from the rent with one hand, I
+divide amongst you with the other, (low, but assenting murmurs.) Now the
+more I improve my property, the more mouths it feeds. My
+great-grandfather kept a Field-Book, in which were entered not only the
+names of all the farmers and the quantity of land they held, but the
+average number of the laborers each employed. My grandfather and father
+followed his example: I have done the same. I find, neighbors, that our
+rents have doubled since my great-grandfather began to make the book.
+Ay--but there are more than four times the number of laborers employed
+on the estate, and at much better wages too! Well, my men, that says a
+great deal in favor of improving property, and not letting it go to the
+dogs. (Applause.) And therefore, neighbors, you will kindly excuse my
+hobby: it carries grist to your mill. (Reiterated applause.) Well--but
+you will say, 'What's the Squire driving at?' Why this, my friends:
+There was only one worn-out, dilapidated, tumble-down thing in the
+Parish of Hazeldean, and it became an eyesore to me; so I saddled my
+hobby, and rode at it. O ho! you know what I mean now! Yes, but
+neighbors, you need not have taken it so to heart. That was a scurvy
+trick of some of you to hang me in effigy, as they call it."
+
+"It warn't you," cried a voice in the crowd, "it war Nick Stirn."
+
+The Squire recognized the voice of the tinker; but though he now guessed
+at the ringleader,--on that day of general amnesty, he had the prudence
+and magnanimity not to say, "Stand forth, Sprott: thou art the man." Yet
+his gallant English spirit would not suffer him to come off at the
+expense of his servant.
+
+"If it was Nick Stirn you meant," said he gravely, "more shame for you.
+It showed some pluck to hang the master; but to hang the poor servant,
+who only thought to do his duty, careless of what ill-will it brought
+upon him, was a shabby trick--so little like the lads of Hazeldean, that
+I suspect the man who taught it to them was never born in the parish.
+But let bygones be bygones. One thing is clear, you don't take kindly to
+my new pair of stocks! They have been a stumbling-block and a grievance,
+and there's no denying that we went on very pleasantly without them. I
+may also say that in spite of them we have been coming together again
+lately. And I can't tell you what good it did me to see your children
+playing again on the green, and your honest faces, in spite of the
+stocks, and those diabolical tracts you've been reading lately, lighted
+up at the thought that something pleasant was going on at the Hall. Do
+you know, neighbors, you put me in mind of an old story which, besides
+applying to the Parish, all who are married, and all who intend to
+marry, will do well to recollect. A worthy couple, named John and Joan,
+had lived happily together many a long year, till one unlucky day they
+bought a new bolster. Joan said the bolster was too hard, and John that
+it was too soft. So, of course, they quarrelled. After sulking all day,
+they agreed to put the bolster between them at night." (Roars of
+laughter amongst the men; the women did not know which way to look,
+except, indeed, Mrs. Hazeldean, who, though she was more than usually
+rosy, maintained her innocent genial smile, as much as to say, "There is
+no harm in the Squire's jests.") The orator resumed--"After they had
+thus lain apart for a little time, very silent and sullen, John sneezed.
+'God bless you!' says Joan over the bolster. 'Did you say God bless me?'
+cries John;--'then here goes the bolster!'"
+
+Prolonged laughter and tumultuous applause.
+
+"Friends and neighbors," said the Squire when silence was restored, and
+lifting the horn of ale, "I have the pleasure to inform you that I have
+ordered the stocks to be taken down, and made into a bench for the
+chimney nook of our old friend Gaffer Solomons yonder. But mind me,
+lads, if ever you make the Parish regret the loss of the stocks, and the
+overseers come to me with long faces and say, 'the stocks must be
+rebuilded,' why--" Here from all the youth of the village rose so
+deprecating a clamor, that the Squire would have been the most bungling
+orator in the world if he had said a word further on the subject. He
+elevated the horn over his head--"Why, that's my old Hazeldean again!
+Health and long life to you all!"
+
+The Tinker had sneaked out of the assembly, and did not show his face in
+the village for the next six months. And as to those poisonous tracts,
+in spite of their salubrious labels, "the Poor Man's Friend," or "the
+Rights of Labor," you could no more have found one of them lurking in
+the drawers of the kitchen-dressers in Hazeldean, than you would have
+found the deadly nightshade on the flower-stands in the drawing-room of
+the Hall. As for the revolutionary beer-house, there was no need to
+apply to the magistrates to shut it up; it shut itself up before the
+week was out.
+
+O young head of the great House of Hapsburg, what a Hazeldean you might
+have made of Hungary! What a "_Moriamur pro rege nostro_" would have
+rang in your infant reign,--if you had made such a speech as the
+Squire's!
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[R] The Emperor Diocletian.
+
+[S] The title of Excellency does not, in Italian, necessarily express
+any exalted rank: but it is often given by servants to their masters.
+
+
+
+
+Historical Review of the Month.
+
+
+In this number of the _International_, copying the example of the oldest
+magazine in the world, _The Gentleman's_, which for a hundred years has
+found its account in such a department, we present a carefully prepared
+and succinct summary of the history of the world, as it has come to our
+knowledge during the past month. It is intended hereafter to continue
+this feature in the _International_, devoting to it such attention that
+our pages shall always be deserving of consultation as an authority in
+regard to contemporary events. In the general characteristics of this
+department we shall offer nothing very original; the examples of our
+English contemporaries will be generally adhered to; but the utmost care
+and candor will be evinced in every _resume_ of affairs or opinions
+admitted to our pages.
+
+
+THE UNITED STATES.
+
+As the session of Congress draws near to its close, its proceedings
+become more animated and interesting. It is already evident, however,
+that but few of the questions recommended for its consideration can be
+disposed of before its adjournment. One of its most important acts was
+the passage of the Cheap Postage Bill, in the House, on the seventeenth
+of January, by a vote of 130 to 75. This bill provides for a uniform
+rate of three cents per half-ounce, on letters, and a material reduction
+in the rates charged for newspapers and periodicals. The Senate
+Committee to whom the bill was referred, have reported amendments
+raising the postage to five cents on unpaid letters, striking out the
+provision allowing newspapers to go free within thirty miles of their
+place of publication, and reducing postage on magazines fifty per cent
+when prepaid. The French Spoliation Bill, after considerable discussion,
+passed the Senate on Friday, January 24th. The bill provides for the
+payment of claims based on the detention of vessels in the port of
+Bordeaux, the forcible capture and detention of American citizens, and
+depredations on American commerce in the West Indies, to the amount of
+$5,000,000.
+
+The bill to ascertain and settle Private Land Claims in California,
+introduced by Mr. Fremont towards the close of last session, was called
+up by Mr. Gwin, his colleague, on the twenty-seventh of January. Mr.
+Gwin offered a substitute, which was agreed to in Committee of the
+Whole, when the bill was reported to the Senate. After a most animated
+debate, in which the bill was strongly opposed by Mr. Benton, it finally
+passed the Senate on the sixth of February.
+
+The bill introduced in the House for the establishment of Branch Mints
+in New-York and San Francisco gave rise to an exciting debate. The bill
+was discussed for several days, the Pennsylvania members opposing it in
+a body. Its defeat was finally accomplished on Wednesday, February 5th.
+Since then Mr. Gwin has introduced in the Senate a separate bill for the
+establishment of a Branch Mint in San Francisco. A joint resolution,
+reported to the Senate by Mr. Rusk, providing that dead letters
+remaining in the post-offices of California and Oregon shall be opened
+at the post-office in San Francisco, under care of a special agent, was
+adopted.
+
+In the Senate, February 5th, the Committee on Foreign Relations, of
+which Mr. Foote is chairman, reported a resolution that in all future
+treaties by the United States, provisions should be made for settling
+difficulties by arbitration, before resorting to war. The Judiciary
+Committee also reported in favor of Messrs. Winthrop and Ewing (senators
+appointed by the governors of Massachusetts and Ohio to fill vacancies)
+holding their seats till their regularly-elected successors appear to
+claim their places. Mr. Winthrop, however, on Friday, February 7th,
+presented the credentials of his successor, Mr. Rantoul, (who had not
+yet arrived,) and vacated his seat. The credentials of Mr. Bright, as
+senator from Indiana for the ensuing term, were presented on the
+twenty-eighth of January.
+
+A bill for the relief of Mrs. Charlotte Lynch, mother of Miss Anne C.
+Lynch, the poetess, passed the House by a majority of 11. It had
+previously passed the Senate. Mrs. Lynch is the only surviving child of
+Colonel Ebenezer Gray, of the Connecticut line, who served in the army
+of the Revolution. The bill provides five years' full pay, as an
+equivalent for the losses sustained by him through the substitution of
+the commutation certificates issued in 1783.
+
+The American Minister at Rio Janeiro has transmitted some important
+information to the Government in regard to the Brazilian traffic in
+slaves under the American flag. A considerable portion of the infamous
+trade, by which from forty to fifty thousand negroes are annually
+imported into Brazil, is carried on in American-built vessels, under the
+protection of our flag. It has been found impossible to enforce the
+Brazilian statutes on the subject, the authorities charged with their
+execution, almost without exception, conniving at the traffic. In spite
+of the exertions of the American Minister, our flag is still used as a
+protection, and its influence is given to the support of the
+slave-dealer. The communications of the American Minister have been
+referred by the Senate to the Committee on Commerce. Mr. Clay spoke at
+some length in favor of adopting more efficient measures to prevent
+American vessels and seamen from engaging in the slave-trade.
+
+The project of establishing a line of steamers between several American
+ports and the coast of Africa, Gibraltar, and England,--familiarly known
+as the "Ebony Line,"--has been strongly recommended to Congress by
+petitions from all quarters. The Legislature of Virginia, and the
+Constitutional Convention of the same State, now in session, have both
+passed resolutions in its favor. Several other States have done, or are
+about to do the same thing. The session is already so far advanced,
+however, that the subject will probably be left without action for the
+next Congress.
+
+The Senate Committee on the Post-office has reported in favor of
+granting to a company the right of way and subscription to the stock of
+an Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company.
+
+Mr. Kaufman, a member of the House, from Texas, died very suddenly on
+the thirty-first of January. His funeral took place on the Monday
+following, February 3d. Mr. Kaufman was born in Pennsylvania in 1813,
+graduated in Princeton College in 1833, practiced law in Louisiana, and
+removed to Texas in 1835.
+
+The subject of most general interest in the political world is the
+election of United States Senator, in a number of the States, for the
+term commencing on the 4th of March. Several elections have taken place,
+and others have not been accomplished in spite of repeated ballots. In
+New-York, the Constitution provides for an election on the first
+Wednesday of February. On that day the Whig candidate, ex-Governor
+Hamilton Fish, received a majority of 37 in the House: the Senate, after
+two ineffectual ballots, adjourned. A special law will therefore be
+required to elect a senator. In Massachusetts, the Democratic candidate,
+Robert Rantoul, Jr., was elected to fill the vacancy occasioned by Mr.
+Webster's acceptance of a place in the Cabinet. All attempts to elect a
+senator for the ensuing term have failed up to this period. Mr. Sumner,
+the Free Soil candidate, lacked but two votes of an election on the
+twelfth ballot, but afterwards lost. It was finally postponed to the
+twenty-seventh of February. In the Ohio Legislature, ten successive
+ballots were cast without arriving at an election, after which the
+subject was indefinitely postponed. In Rhode Island, General Charles T.
+James, the Democratic candidate, was elected; in Florida, Stephen R.
+Mallory, in place of Hon. D. L. Yulee, both Democrats; and in Delaware,
+James A. Bayard, Democrat, in the place of Mr. Wales, the present Whig
+senator. Hon. Henry Dodge was reelected by the Legislature of Wisconsin,
+by a majority of one, on the fifth vote. In Pennsylvania, Hon. Richard
+Brodhead was elected in place of Mr. Sturgeon, both members of the
+Democratic party. Henry S. Geyer, Whig, has been elected by the State of
+Missouri, as United States Senator, in place of Col. Thomas H. Benton,
+who is superseded after an uninterrupted service of thirty years.
+
+William H. Ross, the new Governor of Delaware, was inaugurated at Dover,
+on the twenty-first of January. The most important feature of his
+address was the recommendation of a revision of the State Constitution.
+George F. Fort, the new Governor of New Jersey, has been inaugurated.
+His address takes ground in favor of the compromise measures passed by
+Congress. He also advocates the Free School System, and the election of
+Judges by the people. Governor French, of Illinois, in his annual
+message, represents the State as being in a prosperous condition, the
+revenue being sufficient to meet the demands upon the treasury. He
+recommends a geological survey of the State, and the passage of a
+Homestead Exemption Law. The schools of the State are in a flourishing
+condition. The message of Governor Dewey, of Wisconsin, also shows an
+improved condition of State affairs. The finances are represented as
+being sound, and the credit of the State relieved from all fear of
+bankruptcy. Apprehensions of danger to the citizens residing north of
+Wisconsin river, from the return of the Winnebagoes, have been quieted
+by the appointment of an agent to confer with that tribe. The message of
+Governor Ramsey to the second Legislative Assembly of Minnesota
+Territory is an interesting document. Among other subjects recommended
+to the attention of the Assembly are the agricultural interests of the
+Territory, and the improvement of the Mississippi river, both above and
+below the Falls of St. Anthony. The extinction of the Indian title at
+Pembina will admit of the laws of the Territory being extended over the
+half-breeds at that place. It is said that there are hundreds of
+half-breed hunters on the British side of the line, who are only waiting
+the extinction of the Indian title to change their homes and allegiance.
+The assessed value of property in the five principal counties of
+Minnesota is $805,417.48.
+
+The returns of the Seventh Census will shortly be completed. A number of
+States have recently sent in their full reports, among which are the
+following: New-York 3,099,000, being an increase of 670,029 since 1840;
+Virginia 1,428,863, an increase of 189,066; Maryland 580,633, an
+increase of 111,401; New Hampshire 317,999, an increase of 33,425;
+Missouri 681,547, an increase of 297,845; Ohio 1,981,940, an increase of
+462,473; Kentucky 993,344, an increase of 213,516; Indiana, 990,000; New
+Jersey 490,763, an increase of 117,874; and Wisconsin, 305,556. The
+entire population of the United States in 1850 is estimated at
+23,500,000.
+
+A warrant for the arrest of Governor Quitman of Mississippi, for
+participation in the Cuban Expedition, was issued by Judge Gholson in
+New Orleans, early in January. Governor Quitman at first resisted the
+authority, but afterwards resigned his office as Governor, and on the
+seventh of February reached New Orleans, under arrest. He appeared in
+court, and gave bail for future appearance, asking a speedy trial.
+
+Several diplomatic appointments have recently been made. Hon. Richard H.
+Bayard, who was appointed Charge d'Affaires to Belgium, has departed for
+his mission. Hon. Robert C. Schenck, of Ohio, has been appointed
+Minister to Brazil, and Hon. J. S. Pendleton, of Virginia, Charge
+d'Affaires to New Grenada. The Chevalier Gomez, Special Envoy to Rome
+from the states of Guatemala and San Salvador, has arrived at
+Washington, and assumed, provisionally, the office of Charge from those
+states. He has addressed a letter to the Secretary of State in relation
+to the present condition of the Central American States.
+
+General Mosquera, ex-President of New Grenada, is now travelling in this
+country, and was lately in Washington, where he received distinguished
+attentions. General Paez, the distinguished exile from Venezuela, is
+also in Washington. Dr. Frank Taylor, of Pennsylvania, who has recently
+returned from Constantinople and Asia Minor, has received letters from
+the illustrious Kossuth, addressed to the Secretary of State, and
+soliciting the intervention of the United States with the Turkish
+Government, to procure the release of himself and his compatriots, and
+their transportation to the United States. Mr. Webster immediately
+complied with the request, and has dispatched instructions to Mr. Marsh,
+the American Minister at Constantinople, to procure from the Turkish
+Government the release of the Hungarians.
+
+The frigate St. Lawrence has sailed from New-York for Southampton, with
+articles for the World's Fair. She carries out between four and five
+hundred articles, embracing nearly all branches of manufacture, and the
+principal mineral and agricultural productions of the country. The
+contributions are in charge of Charles F. Stansbury, Esq., agent of the
+Central Committee of Washington. The tender of the authorities of
+Southampton, offering the use of that port, with free transportation of
+the goods to Vauxhall, London, has been accepted by the Secretary of
+State.
+
+There have been several serious wrecks, with loss of life, on the
+Atlantic coast and the Mississippi river. The steamboat America, which
+left Wilmington, N.C., on the fourteenth of January, for Mobile,
+foundered on the 29th. The schooner Champion, of Boston, picked up one
+boat's crew, containing six men. A second boat, containing ten men, was
+picked up by the schooner Star, and taken to Washington. A third boat,
+containing six men, has not been heard from. The steamer John Adams, on
+her way from New Orleans to Cincinnati, struck on a snag in the
+Mississippi river, on the morning of January 27th. The cabin parted from
+the hull, which went down in sixty feet water. Out of 230 cabin and deck
+passengers, firemen, and crew, 123 were lost, of whom 82 were German and
+Irish emigrants, and returning Californians. On the ninth of February,
+the steamer Autocrat, from New Orleans to Memphis, came in contact with
+the steamer Magnolia, coming down the river, and sank instantly. Thirty
+lives were lost.
+
+A calamitous fire took place at New Orleans, on the eighteenth of
+January, destroying the magnificent St. Charles Hotel, together with two
+churches and several other buildings. The total loss is about $500,000,
+less than half of which was covered by insurance. Jenny Lind arrived at
+New Orleans from Havana on the 8th of February. Her reception was in the
+highest degree enthusiastic. Her first concert took place on the 10th,
+the receipts therefrom amounting to $20,000. The first ticket was
+purchased for $240 by a New Orleans hatter, the fortunate drawer of
+Powers' Greek Slave in the Cincinnati Art Union.
+
+Two more of the unfortunate Hungarian refugees have reached this city:
+Captain Eduard Becsey, who served during the war as adjutant to General
+Bern, and Lieutenant Aurel Kiring. Captain Becsey was taken prisoner by
+the Russians, and carried to Kiev, on the Dneiper, where he was detained
+a year. After being released, he made his way to the Mediterranean, and
+obtained a passage to New-York.
+
+Our latest news from Eagle Harbor, the port of the mining region on Lake
+Superior, state that the propeller Independence, which had just taken
+on board her last cargo of copper for the season, was blown on shore by
+a heavy gale, and imbedded in the sand, where she must remain till
+Spring. The Napoleon had arrived from Saut St. Mary, with provisions and
+stores for the winter.
+
+Texas papers of the thirty-first of January state that Judge Rollins,
+the United States Agent, had effected a treaty with the Indians,
+providing for a cessation of hostilities, and the restoration of all
+stolen property and prisoners. Lieuts. Smith and Mechler had completed a
+survey of the Rio Grande from its mouth to a point about four hundred
+and fifty miles above Camargo. They report that the river can be made
+navigable for boats of light draught to a short distance above Loredo
+for several months in the year. Col. Anderson, of the corps of
+Topographical Engineers has received orders to make a survey of the
+Brazos and Guadalupe rivers. A fight had occurred between Lieutenant
+King, with seven men, of the Texan volunteers, and a body of Indians,
+who were driving off a number of stolen horses. They were pursued for
+fifteen or twenty miles, when they abandoned the horses, and escaped
+with the loss of three or four of their number. The total vote on the
+Pierce Boundary Bill, as officially reported, is 9,250 ayes, 3,366 noes.
+
+On the eighteenth of December the whole of the American Boundary
+Commission had arrived at Paso del Norte, with the exception of an
+ox-train carrying supplies. The military escort, under the command of
+Col. Craig, was encamped on the American side of the Rio del Norte, but
+was soon to start for the copper-mines near the headwaters of the Gila.
+The Mexican Commissioner, General Conde, with his escort, was quartered
+in the town of El Paso. Several conferences took place between the
+Commissioners before they could agree on the starting-point for the
+boundary, the existing maps being as inconsistent with the terms of the
+treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo as with the topography of the country
+itself. The winter, throughout the valley of the Del Norte has been very
+severe. The thermometer fell to six degrees at El Paso on the sixth of
+December, and the Rio Grande was frozen over for the first time in the
+memory of the inhabitants.
+
+The settlements of New Mexico are threatened with scarcity. On the tenth
+of January corn was selling at three dollars the bushel, and vegetables
+not to be had at any price. The appearance of the agents for taking the
+census of New-Mexico had occasioned great alarm among the pueblos or
+villages. They feared that the account of their property was taken by
+the Government for the purpose of extortion and seizure. The Apaches
+have committed no depredations of late, but the Navajoes have broken
+their treaty by stealing several thousand sheep from the settlements on
+the Rio del Norte.
+
+In the Utah Territory the Mormons have temporarily settled the question
+of slavery, by leaving it to the choice of the slaves themselves. If the
+slave chooses to leave his master, there is no power to retain him; if
+he chooses to stay, no one is allowed to interfere.
+
+Our news from California is to the first of January. The steamers
+Carolina and Columbus sailed from San Francisco on that day, with 330
+passengers and about $1,500,000 in gold dust. Business was very dull,
+both in the ports and inland towns of California, and the trading
+communities among the mines. The immense shipments of goods which had
+arrived from the Atlantic States had produced a complete stagnation in
+the market, bringing many kinds of merchandise below cost prices. After
+the first showers of the rainy season, early in December, the miners
+withdrew to the dry diggings, when the rains ceased, and three or four
+weeks of clear and delightful weather left them without employment. The
+richest localities are very thickly populated, the miners having built
+themselves log-cabins and organized communities for the winter. On parts
+of Feather river, the American Fork, and the Mokelumne, Tuolumne, and
+Mariposa rivers, the diggings were still yielding a good return. New
+discoveries of rich veins of quartz-bearing gold continue to be made. A
+mine of silver ore, of a very rich quality, is reported to have been
+discovered in the neighborhood of Monterey. A company is being formed at
+that place for the purpose of working the mine upon an extensive scale.
+The Sacramento papers state that a large mine of lead, in an almost pure
+state, exists near Johnson's Ranche, about thirty miles from that city.
+The ore is represented to lie on the surface of the earth, in heavy
+masses, so that vast quantities could be obtained without sinking a
+shaft.
+
+On the evening of December 14th another fire broke out in San Francisco,
+in a large zinc building owned by Cooke, Baker & Co. By the exertions of
+the firemen and the citizens the conflagration was subdued, after
+consuming this building and three or four others of less value. The
+large building belonging to the Pacific Mail Steamship Company was in
+the utmost danger, having been greatly scorched by the flames. The total
+loss by this fire was $75,000. The city, on the first of January, was
+fully prepared for the rainy season. By the enterprise of the
+inhabitants, upward of seven and a half miles of street had been graded
+and four miles planked, while capacious piers and wharves were built far
+out into the bay, so that vessels were enabled to load and unload
+without the use of lighters. The cholera had entirely disappeared, not
+only from San Francisco, but from all parts of California. Its ravages
+have been much lighter than was anticipated, a fact which speaks well
+for the health of the country.
+
+The _Pacific News_ contains some interesting statistics of the condition
+of San Francisco at the close of the year 1850. The population of the
+city is estimated at 35,000. One hundred and seven miles of street are
+already laid out, one quarter of which is built upon and occupied. The
+business streets are substantially built of brick or iron. In addition
+to seventeen large auction firms and eight express companies, the city
+boasts of ten first class hotels and seven daily papers. The amount of
+gold-dust regularly shipped and entered for exportation during the year
+1850 was $30,000,000; the estimated amount taken away by passengers,
+$12,000,000. The amount of bullion received was $1,722,600. The number
+of vessels which arrived during the year was 1,743 bringing 35,333 male
+and 1,248 female passengers; the number of clearances amounts to 1,461
+vessels, carrying away 26,593 male and eight female passengers. The
+total value of the merchandise received by foreign and domestic vessels
+during the year was between four and five millions of dollars. In
+addition to 14 steamers running regularly between San Francisco and
+Panama, and three on the Oregon route, there are 45 steamers and 270
+other craft of various kinds on the bay and inland streams.
+
+We have news from Oregon to the middle of December, at which time the
+Legislature was in session. The message of Governor Gaines recommends
+the establishment of a liberal system of education, and asks for the
+passage of a law for protection against the Indian tribes. It also
+maintains the importance of a liberal policy on the part of the General
+Government in the donation of lands to actual settlers. The country
+appears to be in a highly prosperous condition; all the towns on the
+Columbia and its tributaries are growing rapidly. The news from the gold
+placers on the Klamath and Umpqua rivers, near the borders of
+California, is encouraging as to the yield of dust, but the Oregonians
+place their main reliance on their agricultural interests. The yield of
+wheat is said to be not only double per acre that of the Atlantic
+States, but it is a never-failing crop. The people in Oregon City are
+agitating the subject of a railroad to connect the Willamette Valley
+with the Columbia river, at some point accessible to large vessels. It
+is estimated that the whole cost will only be about $500,000, which it
+is proposed to raise in one thousand shares of $500 each. Twelve months,
+it is believed, will complete the work.
+
+
+EUROPE.
+
+On the first of February, England was in a tranquil condition, the
+anti-Papal agitation having almost entirely subsided. The journals were
+engaged in discussing law reform, the New-York Revised Code being
+commended as a model in many quarters. In the Queen's speech at the
+opening of Parliament--an advance copy having been forwarded to this
+country--a thorough reform of the Equity courts is recommended, as well
+as the introduction of an act for the registration of deeds, equally
+applicable to each of the three kingdoms. Her Majesty alludes in terms
+of comparative mildness to the Wiseman affair, commending the question
+to the attention of Parliament. Public opinion is strongly in favor of a
+large reduction in taxation, and it is anticipated that the window tax
+will be abolished. The quarterly returns of the revenue have been highly
+satisfactory, since, notwithstanding the abolition of the tax on bricks
+and the reduction of the stamp duty, the income exceeds that of the
+previous year by about L165,000.
+
+The great crystal palace in Hyde Park is rapidly advancing towards its
+completion. The immense structure is exciting the wonder and admiration
+of the metropolis, and the opening of the fair is anticipated with great
+interest. The strength of the building has been amply tested by a severe
+storm of hail and wind, which passed over without breaking a pane of
+glass. All quarters of the world are sending specimens of their
+manufactures and natural productions. South Africa, Australia, and the
+islands of the sea will be represented, while Cashmere shawls, robes of
+pearl, and Runjeet Singh's golden saddle, will be sent from India.
+
+The U.S. Mail steamer Atlantic, which sailed from Liverpool on the
+twenty-eighth of December, arrived in the harbor of Cork on the
+twenty-second of January, having been at sea twenty-five days. When in
+lat. 46 deg. 12', lon. 41 deg. 30', about midway between Cape Clear and
+New-York, her main shaft broke, rendering the engines useless. After
+running westward two days under sail, a heavy gale arose, when Captain
+West put her head about, and made for Cork, a distance of 1400 miles,
+which she made in eleven days. The steamer Cambria was instantly
+chartered to take her place, but most of her passengers left Liverpool
+in the Africa, on February 1st. It is stated on the authority of Earl
+Monteagle, that the British Government have resolved to make Holyhead
+the port of arrival and departure for the transatlantic mail steamers.
+
+In France, a ministerial revolution has taken place, resulting in
+widening the breach between President Napoleon and the National
+Assembly. Several general orders of General Changarnier to the army of
+Paris having been published in one of the journals, in which he commands
+the troops to pay no attention to any orders but those of the
+Lieutenant-General. Changarnier was called upon in the Assembly for
+explanation. He denied that these instructions were meant to be
+permanent, but only to be put in force when an emeute was apprehended.
+His conduct was approved by the Assembly, but Louis Napoleon, who had
+long regarded Changarnier with fear and jealousy, withdrew from him the
+command of the army at Paris, which he divided between two or three
+generals of lower rank. This gave rise to a most excited debate in the
+National Assembly, in which Lamartine made a speech in the President's
+defence. Baroche, Minister of the Interior, General Changarnier, M.
+Thiers, and General Cavaignac followed, the three latter speakers taking
+strong ground against the ministry. After several days of stormy
+discussion, the resolution of M. de St. Beuve, that the Assembly
+"declares that it has no confidence in the ministry," was carried by a
+majority of 139. The ministers tendered their resignation to the
+President the same evening. A ministerial interregnum followed, which
+was terminated on the twenty-fourth of January by a message of the
+President, appointing a "transition ministry," composed of employees
+from the different departments, not one of them having a seat in the
+Assembly. The following is the list, as given in the _Moniteur_:
+
+    Public Instruction            M. Giraud, (de l'Institute.)
+    Interior                      M. Vaisse.
+    Foreign Affairs               M. Brennier.
+    War                           General Randon.
+    Marine                        Admiral Levaillant.
+    Commerce                      M. Schneider.
+    Finances                      M. de Germiny.
+    Public Works                  M. Magne.
+    Justice                       M. de Royer.
+
+Lamartine, it is stated, was urged by Louis Napoleon to accept an
+appointment in the ministry, but declined on account of his being bound
+to furnish his publishers with two volumes a month, under heavy
+penalties.
+
+The Conference of the German States at Dresden was opened with much
+ceremony early in January. All the states were represented, but the
+negotiations were kept profoundly secret. It has transpired, however,
+that the formation of the new Diet agreed upon gives two votes to
+Prussia, two to Austria, one each to Bavaria, Saxony, Hanover, and
+Wurtemberg, and three more portioned among the smaller principalities,
+making eleven in all. It is also understood that a Provisional Central
+Power will be proclaimed, Prussia and Austria retaining to themselves
+exclusively the right of deciding for the Confederation all questions
+of peace and war.
+
+Austria still labors under financial embarrassments of an almost
+hopeless character. As a measure of temporary relief, the Government has
+contracted two loans, one from Russia, of fifty millions of florins, and
+the other, of one hundred millions, on state obligations, at six per
+cent. The manufacturers of Austria strongly oppose the proposed
+compromise of the Zollverein, and advocate a tariff of a decidedly
+protective character. Great dissatisfaction has been manifested in
+Hungary, on account of the newly imposed tax on tobacco, which is one of
+the principal productions of the country. In consequence of this
+opposition the excise corps has been greatly enlarged, and serious
+difficulties are apprehended.
+
+The smaller German states are now completely overruled by the Austrian
+and Prussian troops. The Elector of Hesse Cassel has returned to his
+Capital, with his Prime Minister, Hassenpflug, under their protection.
+The Constitution is virtually abolished by their presence, and those who
+supported it are subjected to the most shameful persecutions. Many of
+the best citizens are obliged to leave the country. Schleswig Holstein
+has been 'pacified' in a similar manner. Through the instrumentality of
+the Austrian and Prussian Commissioners, backed by a military force, the
+army of Schleswig Holstein has been disbanded, and the country occupied
+by the troops of Denmark. On the sixteenth of January, the proclamation
+of the King of Denmark, administering the oath of fidelity to the
+military, was read in the marketplace of Rendsburg. Hamburgh has been
+occupied by 4000 Austrian troops.
+
+A treaty of amity and commerce has been concluded with the Swiss Diet,
+by Mr. Dudley Mann, Diplomatic Agent of the United States. Its
+provisions are of the most liberal and friendly character. The entire
+reciprocity and equality of the citizens of both countries, is
+guaranteed, so far as the right of establishment is concerned; a citizen
+of the United States being allowed to settle in one of the Swiss Cantons
+upon the same conditions as a citizen born in another Canton. Entire and
+unconditional liberty in disposing of property is mutually stipulated,
+as well as equal taxation of the individuals established, their
+exemption from military duties, and the grant of indemnity for damages
+in case of war. The commercial intercourse of the two countries is also
+arranged upon the most liberal and advantageous basis. Switzerland has
+remained tranquil, with the exception of a riot in the Canton of Berne,
+occasioned by the attempted extradition, on the part of the Government,
+of a Prussian Jew, a noted socialist, residing at St. Imier. This person
+was very popular among the poor, who resisted the authorities, whereupon
+the troops were ordered to be in readiness to support them. The Swiss
+Government has determined to forward a beautiful stone from the Alps, to
+be placed in the National Monument to Washington.
+
+ITALY is still in an unquiet state. There seems to be a growing
+apprehension and uneasiness among all classes in the Papal States, and
+it is rumored that Pope Pius, wearied with the anxieties of his
+situation, wishes to resign the Pontificate, and retire to a Convent.
+
+In NAPLES, the Government, alarmed by rumors of Mazzini's revolutionary
+designs, has made many arrests, and instituted a more vigorous police
+system. All cafes and places of public amusement are strictly watched.
+The army is to be increased by 18,000 men, and as English opinions are
+assigned to be dangerous, those Neapolitans who intended to visit the
+Great Exhibition in London, have been refused their passports.
+
+AUSTRIAN ITALY is even in a worse condition. Several conspiracies have
+been discovered, and a large number of arrests made in consequence. A
+large number of persons have been executed, in the Lombardo-Venetian
+provinces.
+
+The most interesting news from SPAIN is that of another resignation of
+the Ministry. The resignation of General Narvaez was not accepted by the
+Queen, whereupon that gentleman assembled his colleagues, and
+commissioned them to inform the Queen that unless she released him at
+once from his office, he should blow his brains out! This threat had the
+desired effect, and the following Cabinet was then appointed:
+
+    President of the Council and Minister of Finance   Bravo Murillo.
+    Foreign Office                                     Bertran de Lys.
+    Grace and Justice                                  Gonzales Romero.
+    Home Department                                    Arteta.
+    War                                                Count Mirasol.
+    Marine                                             Bustillos.
+    Commerce, &c.                                      Fernandez Negrete.
+
+The project of a revision of the Constitution, which has been so warmly
+agitated in Sweden, has entirely failed. The proposition of the King has
+been rejected by two of the four chambers constituting the Legislative
+Assembly, three being required in its favor, to form a constitutional
+majority. Sweden will therefore preserve her present system of a
+separate representation of the nobility, clergy, citizens, and peasants.
+
+In TURKEY, the subjection of the rebellious Bosnians was consummated on
+the seventeenth of December, when Omar Pasha made his triumphal entry
+into Bosna Serai. The captive Pashas and Cadis marched on foot in the
+procession. It is rumored that the Porte has at length agreed to accept
+the offer of the British and American Governments to transport the
+Hungarian refugees to America, and will order their immediate release.
+Three hundred Polish refugees, who arrived at Constantinople from Varna,
+on the thirty-first of December, were to be sent to Liverpool at the
+expense of the Turkish Government. Two Commissioners, Ismet Pasha and
+Sami Pasha, have been appointed to travel through Asiatic and European
+Turkey, for the purpose of noting whether the new reforms in favor of
+the Christians have been carried out.
+
+There is nothing from GREECE, but accounts of the depredations of the
+robbers which now infest all parts of the country. In the provinces of
+Acarnania, Levadia and Attica, several villages have been sacked, and
+the inhabitants put to the torture.
+
+
+MEXICO
+
+The Mexican Congress assembled in the Capital on the first of January,
+when General Herrera, the President, made his annual address. He dwelt
+with satisfaction on the relations existing between the United States
+and Mexico, considering them much more harmonious and mutually
+advantageous than was anticipated at the close of the war. The financial
+condition of the country has been somewhat improved by the retrenchment
+of the Government expenses and the consolidation of the Interior Debt: a
+revision of the Revenue Laws is strongly advocated as a still further
+reform in this direction. President Herrera favors the colonization of
+the public lands by immigrants from Europe; he also alludes with
+satisfaction to the increase of manufactures and the improved prospects
+of the silver mines, which last year yielded upwards of $30,000,000.
+
+The two branches of Congress met on the eighth, to count the votes for
+the election of the President of the Republic. The votes of twelve
+States were found to be in favor of General Arista. He was consequently
+declared to be duly elected. On the fifteenth, in the Chamber of
+Deputies, in the presence of the Mexican Congress, he took the oath of
+office and made a short inaugural address, in which he alluded to the
+maintenance of the federal system as necessary to the prosperity of the
+country, and pledged himself to preserve peace and order at all hazards.
+The President of Congress, Don Mariano Yanez, replied in a short address
+of congratulation. Te Deum was chanted in the Cathedral in the presence
+of the new President, and in the evening the German residents honored
+him with a serenade and torch light procession. Arista's Cabinet is
+composed as follows: Minister of Foreign Affairs, Don Mariano Yanez;
+Minister of Justice, Don Jose Maria Aguirre; Minister of Finance, Don
+Manuel Payno; Minister of War and Marine, Don Manuel Robles.
+
+Early in January a rebellion broke out in the State of Guanajuato. The
+insurgents, headed by two brothers named Liceagas, obtained possession
+of the city of Guanajuato, with the Government arms and ammunition, but
+were defeated on the night of the 13th by the Government troops under
+Generals Bustamente and Uraga. Several of the chiefs were executed, and
+the movement, which was in favor of Santa Anna, was entirely crushed.
+
+The Tehuantepec treaty was ratified on the 25th of January. On the
+following day, Mr. Letcher, the American Minister, left the capital for
+the United States, on leave of absence. Senor Lacunza, the Ex-Minister
+of Foreign Affairs, has been appointed Minister to England, and Senor
+Valdiviesco Minister to France. The Mexican Government has ceded in
+perpetuity to Don Gayetano Rubio, Don Eustace Barron, Senor Garay, and
+the firm of Yecker, Torre & Co., the whole of the public lands in the
+State of Sonora, including the mines, between lat. 30 deg. N. and the Gila
+River. This grant embraces several millions of acres, and the richest
+mineral land of the Republic. It is said to have been intended to smooth
+the passage of a bill abolishing all tariff prohibitions, which have
+hitherto operated greatly to the advantage of the parties named.
+
+Maj. Barnard's Company for surveying the Isthmus of Tehuantepec reached
+the town of Minatitlan, on the Coatzocoalcos River, in the steamer
+Alabama, on the 25th of December. At the last accounts, one party had
+penetrated a distance of sixty miles into the country, a second was
+engaged in an examination of the river, and a third had set out for
+Tehuantepec, on the Pacific Coast.
+
+
+BRITISH AMERICA.
+
+The lawyers in Lower Canada have been making strikes and holding
+meetings to protest against the imposition of the new tariff regulating
+their fees. The Bar of Quebec and of Trois Rivieres have struck,
+declining to serve their clients until the legality of the tariff shall
+be decided by the Court of Appeals. It has been decided to admit
+American reprints of English copyright works into Canada, on paying 20
+per cent. duty, which is to be paid over by the Custom House to the
+English authors or proprietors of copyright, who are required to furnish
+a list of their works. Under this law, American reprints will still be
+much cheaper than English editions, and popular English authors may
+therefore look forward to some increase of their revenue. The Imperial
+Cabinet has also assented to the Post-Office Law, enacted at the last
+Session of the Canadian Legislature, and establishing a uniform rate of
+three pence for single letters throughout the British Provinces.
+
+Meetings have been held in Toronto, protesting against the intended
+removal of the Seat of Government from that city, while, on the other
+hand, the French members have resolved not to vote the supplies unless
+it is removed to Quebec in the spring. Lord Elgin, however, has stated
+that the Seat of Government will be transferred to Quebec at the
+completion of its two years in Toronto.
+
+
+THE WEST INDIES.
+
+We have news from Havana to the 3d of February. The administration of
+Gen. Concha appears to be more liberal and energetic than that of his
+predecessor, and gives very general satisfaction.
+
+Jenny Lind gave but four concerts in Havana, only the first and last of
+which were well attended. Her Italian songs produced much more effect
+than her Swedish ballads. The proceeds of the last concert, amounting to
+$5000, was devoted to objects of charity. A grand ball was given in her
+honor by the Count de Penalver, after which she visited Matanzas and the
+extensive sugar plantations in its neighborhood. Senor Salvi, the great
+tenor, was engaged by Mr. Barnum to sing at her concerts in New-York, in
+April. On the 1st February, Frederika Bremer reached Havana, and the two
+renowned Swedes met, for the first time in the new world.
+
+News from Jamaica to the 1st of February state that the cholera was
+still prevailing in many localities, although it had decreased in some
+and entirely disappeared in others.
+
+
+CENTRAL AMERICA--THE ISTHMUS.
+
+In the State of Nicaragua, the elections have taken place and Don Jose
+Sacasa has been chosen Director, from the 1st of May, on which the term
+of Director Raminez expires. The National Convention of Delegates from
+the States of Nicaragua, Honduras and San Salvador, met at Chinandega on
+the 21st of December, and organized by choosing as President Don Jose
+Barrundia, the author of the Central-American Constitution of 1820. The
+little steamer Director, belonging to the Nicaraguan Company, passed the
+rapids of Machuca, on San Juan River, and entered Lake Nicaragua on the
+1st of January. She is now running between Granada and San Carlos, a
+distance of 95 miles, at $20 a passenger. The engineers employed to
+survey the route of the proposed ship canal, were at work between
+Granada and San Juan del Sur, on the Pacific. By the 1st of January,
+upwards of four thousand returning Californians had passed through
+Nicaragua, on their way to the United States.
+
+Disturbances have broken out in some of the mountain provinces of
+Guatemala, growing out of the refusal of the inhabitants to concur in
+the policy adopted by the Government at the instance of the English
+consul, Mr. Chatfield. The insurgents declared in favor of a Federal
+Union of all the Central-American States. The Government troops, under
+Gen. Carrera, in attempting to put down this opposition, were defeated
+at Chiquimula. A blockade of the ports of San Salvador has been ordered
+by Mr. Chatfield, who threatens Honduras and Nicaragua with a similar
+blow, unless they accede to certain demands. In a letter to the
+Nicaraguan Minister of Foreign Affairs, he arbitrarily lays down the
+boundary line between Honduras, Nicaragua and Musquitia--an assumed
+kingdom, under cover of which the British authorities have taken
+possession of the port of San Juan. Mr. Chatfield states that unless
+these boundaries are accepted, no canal or other improved method of
+transit across the Isthmus can be established. There is much excitement
+in Central America, on account of his arbitrary course.
+
+The winter rains are at an end on the Isthmus of Panama, and the roads
+are in good condition. Upwards of 800 workmen are employed on the Panama
+Railroad, and the track is already prepared for the rails from Navy Bay,
+the Atlantic terminus, to Gatun, on the Chagres River, a distance of
+three and a half miles.
+
+
+SOUTH AMERICA.
+
+The Congress of VENEZUELA met on 20th of January, all the members being
+present. It had previously been feared that the Executive Power would be
+violently seized by Guzman, Vice-President of the Republic, who was one
+of the unsuccessful candidates in the electoral colleges, in case there
+should not be a quorum in Congress. Gen. Monagas, brother of the present
+Executive, lacked only two or three votes of the two-thirds required by
+the Constitution in the electoral colleges, and having received
+sixty-five out of the eighty votes of Congress, was declared elected
+President of Venezuela. Guzman, who had used all his power to defeat
+Monagas, notwithstanding he was indebted to the latter for his life, met
+him upon the steps of the Government House after the election, and
+begged pardon, in tears, for the injuries he had done him. Monagas
+forgave him, and the happiest results for Venezuela are anticipated from
+an administration commenced under such circumstances.
+
+The Presidential Election in PERU took place on the 20th of December.
+The prominent candidates were Generals Echinique and San Ramon, and at
+the last accounts it was believed the former was elected.
+
+BOLIVIA is entirely tranquil, the health of Gen. Belzu having been
+completely restored since his attempted assassination, and the
+conspirators against him, Ballivian and Linares, having fled from the
+country. The partisans of Ballivian were totally routed in the southern
+provinces, where they attempted to make a stand, and their leader fled
+in disguise to Copiape, in Chili. Linares escaped into the Argentine
+Republic, and a requisition for his delivery was about to be issued.
+
+In CHILI, the extra session of Congress convened on the 16th of
+December. In his message calling the session, the President recommended
+to legislative attention, the subjects of reform in the customs and the
+coinage system, appropriations for the current year, the regulation of
+the standing army, and a revision of the taxes.
+
+Early in December a destructive fire broke out in Valparaiso, which was
+finally quelled through the labors of the sailors from the English and
+French vessels of war lying in the harbor, after destroying $250,000
+worth of property. On the 5th of the month, the volcano of Portillo,
+near Santiago, which had been quiet since 1845, suddenly broke out into
+violent eruption. The following day a very severe shock of an earthquake
+was felt, lasting twenty seconds, but fortunately doing little damage.
+Since then, however, a more violent earthquake has entirely destroyed
+the city of Conception, in the southern part of Chili.
+
+Hon. Bailey Peyton, the American Minister, left Valparaiso on the 27th
+of December, in the U.S. Ship _Vincennes_, on a visit to Talcuhuana, the
+province of Conception and the island of Juan Fernandez. Henri Herz, the
+distinguished pianist, has been giving concerts in Santiago.
+
+At the latest dates from BRAZIL, nothing of political importance had
+transpired. Accounts from Buenos Ayres to Dec. 12th, state that there
+was a prospect of an amicable settlement of the difficulties between
+that country and Brazil. There had been a conflict between the forces of
+Paraguay and those of Buenos Ayres, relative to the occupancy of some
+neutral lands, by the forces of the latter. The finances of the State
+were said to be in an encouraging condition.
+
+
+AFRICA.
+
+The Monitor, a paper published at Cape Town, South Africa, gives an
+account of a dreadful massacre committed by the noted Namagua chief,
+Yonker Afrikaner, on the neophytes of the German Missionary station at
+New-Barmen, in Damaraland, between South Africa and the Kingdom of
+Loango.
+
+A curious piece of history has made its way to us from the island of
+Madagascar. Rainharo, the Prime Minister of the reigning Queen of the
+island, determined, in June last, to exterminate all the Christians in
+the province of Imirena. Accordingly, when they were all assembled one
+evening at their religious exercises, the various communities were
+suddenly arrested, to the number of eight thousand, and condemned to
+death. Eighteen of them had already been executed, when the rest
+escaped, and surrounding the palace of the young Prince, the heir to the
+throne of Madagascar, implored his protection. The Queen sent orders
+through the Prime Minister that they should be given up. The Prince
+refused, and in the dispute which followed, drew his sword and aimed a
+blow at the Minister's head, cutting off one of his ears. When the Queen
+heard of this, fearing a revolt in the province of Imirena, to sustain
+the Prince, she suffered the Christians to return to their homes and
+worship as usual. They have since been visited by the Prince, who
+declares his intention to protect them.
+
+The Republic of LIBERIA was in a flourishing condition at the
+commencement of the year. Several explorations of the interior have been
+made, to the distance of two or three hundred miles from the coast. The
+parties brought back enthusiastic accounts of the richness and beauty of
+the country and the salubrity of the climate. President Roberts had sent
+his message to the Liberian Congress, giving a very favorable account of
+the condition and prospects of the country. The agricultural operations
+at Bassa Cove and Bexley have produced very satisfactory results. The
+slave trade is said to be almost destroyed in the neighborhood of
+Gallinas and Ambrize.
+
+
+
+
+Recent Deaths.
+
+
+THE REV. WALTER COLTON was born in Rutland, Vermont, about the year
+1797. When sixteen years of age he determined to acquire a liberal
+education, and commenced with industrious energy his preparatory
+studies. In 1818 he entered Yale College, where he received the
+Berkleyan Prize in Latin and Greek, and delivered the valedictory poem,
+when he graduated, in 1822. He soon afterwards entered the Theological
+Seminary at Andover, where he remained three years, giving much of his
+tune to literature, and writing, besides various moral and critical
+dissertations, a _Sacred Drama_, which was acted by the students at one
+of their rhetorical exhibitions, and an elaborate poem pronounced when
+his class received their diplomas. On being ordained an evangelist,
+according to the usage of the Congregational Church, he became Professor
+of Moral Philosophy and Belles-Lettres in the Scientific and Military
+Academy at Middletown, then under the presidency of Captain Alden
+Partridge. Besides attending to the more immediate duties of his
+position, he wrote while here a prize _Essay on Duelling_; a _Discussion
+of the Genius of Coleridge_; _The Moral Power of the Poet, Painter, and
+Sculptor, contrasted_, and many contributions in verse and prose to the
+public journals, under the signature of "Bertram." In 1828 he resigned
+his professorship, and settled in Washington, as editor of the _American
+Spectator_, a weekly gazette which he conducted with industry, and such
+tact and temper, that he preserved the most intimate relations with the
+leaders of the political party to which it was most decidedly opposed.
+He was especially a favorite with President Jackson, who was accustomed
+to send for him two or three times in a week to sit with him in his
+private chamber, and when Mr. Colton's health declined, so that a sea
+voyage was recommended by his physicians, the President offered him
+without solicitation a consulship or a chaplaincy in the Navy. The
+latter was accepted, and from 1830 till the end of his life, he
+continued as a chaplain in the naval service.
+
+His first appointment was to the West India squadron, where his
+reputation was increased by several incidents illustrative of his
+personal character. On one occasion a murderous affray had taken place
+between a boat's crew of American sailors and a party of Spaniards
+belonging to Pensacola, in which several sailors were killed. Mr. Colton
+drew up the official report of the outrage, in which he handled the
+police with just severity. The mayor, himself a Spaniard, and a man of
+desperate character, was greatly enraged, and swore he would take ample
+vengeance. He watched his opportunity, and attempted to rush on the
+chaplain with his long knife before he could protect himself. But the
+latter, drawing his pistols at the instant, levelled one of them at his
+breast, and told the mayor if he stirred his hand except to return his
+knife to its belt, he would put a ball through his heart. The Spaniard
+hesitated for a few minutes, and reluctantly complied.
+
+Returning from the West Indies Mr. Colton was appointed to the
+Constellation frigate, and sailed for the Mediterranean, and in the
+three years during which he was connected with this station, he
+travelled through Spain, Italy, Greece, and Asia Minor; visited
+Constantinople, and made his way to Paris and London. The results of his
+observations he partially gave to the public in volumes entitled _Ship
+and Shore_, and _A Visit to Constantinople and Athens_. Soon after the
+publication of these works, he was appointed Historiographer to the
+South Sea Surveying and Exploring Expedition; but the ultimate reduction
+of the force designed for the Pacific squadron, and the resignation of
+his associates, induced him to forego the advantages of this office, for
+which he had made very careful preparations in ethnographical studies.
+
+He was now stationed at Philadelphia, where he was chaplain successively
+of the Navy Yard and of the Naval Asylum. In this city we became
+acquainted with him, and for several years enjoyed his frequent society
+and intimate friendship, so that few have had more ample opportunities
+of judging of his character. In 1841 and 1842, with the consent of the
+Government, he added to his official duties the editorship of the
+Philadelphia _North American_, and in these and the following years he
+wrote much upon religious and literary subjects for other journals. We
+believe it was in 1844 that he delivered before the literary societies
+of the University of Vermont, a poem entitled _The Sailor_, which has
+not yet been published. In the summer of 1846 he was married, and we
+were selected by him for that occasion to fill the office commonly
+falling to the nearest friend. A few months afterward he was ordered to
+the Congress, the flag-ship of the Pacific squadron, in which he arrived
+off the western coast of America soon after the commencement of the late
+war with Mexico. The incidents of the voyage round Cape Horn are
+detailed with more than his usual felicity in his book, _Deck and Port_,
+published last summer in this city by Barnes & Co.
+
+Soon after the arrival of the squadron at Monterey, he was appointed
+alcalde, or chief magistrate of that city, an office of difficult duties
+and large responsibilities, demanding the most untiring industry, zeal,
+and fortitude. These were discharged with eminent faithfulness and
+ability, so that he won as much the regard of the conquered inhabitants
+of the country, as the respect of his more immediate associates. In
+addition to the ordinary duties of his place, Mr. Colton established the
+first newspaper printed in California, _The Californian_, now published
+in San Francisco, under the title of the "Alta California;" he built the
+first _school-house_ in California; and also a large hall for public
+meetings--said to be the finest building in the state, which the
+citizens called "Colton Hall," in honor of his public spirit and
+enterprise. It was during his administration of affairs at Monterey that
+the discovery of gold in the Sacramento Valley was first made; and,
+considering the vast importance which this discovery has since assumed,
+it may not be uninteresting to state that the honor of first making it
+publicly known in the Atlantic States, whether by accident or otherwise,
+belongs properly to him. It was first announced in a letter bearing his
+initials, which appeared in the Philadelphia _North American_, and the
+next day in a letter also written by him, in the New-York _Journal of
+Commerce_.
+
+Mr. Colton returned to his home early last summer, with anticipations of
+years of undisturbed happiness. With a family deeply attached to him, a
+large circle of friends, good reputation, and a fortune equal to his
+desires, he applied himself leisurely to the preparation of his MS.
+journals for the press, and the revision of his earlier publications.
+He had published, besides _Deck and Port_, already mentioned, _Three
+Years in California_, and had nearly ready for the printer a much
+enlarged and improved edition of _Ship and Shore_, which was to be
+followed by _A Visit to Constantinople, Athens, and the AEgean_, a
+collection of his _Poems_, and a volume of _Miscellanies of Literature
+and Religion_. His health however began to decline, and a cold, induced
+by exposure during a late visit to Washington, ended in granular dropsy,
+which his physician soon discovered to be incurable. Being in
+Philadelphia on the 22d of January, we left our hotel to pay him an
+early visit, and found the death signs upon his door; he had died at two
+o'clock that morning, surrounded by his relations, and in the presence
+of his friends the Rev. Albert Barnes and the Rev. Dr. Herman
+Hooker--died very calmly, without mortal enemies and at peace with God.
+
+Mr. Colton was of an eminently genial nature, fond of society, and with
+such qualities as made him always a welcome associate. His extensive and
+various travel had left upon his memory a thousand delightful pictures,
+which were reflected in his conversation so distinctly and with such
+skilful preparation of the mind, that his companions lived over his life
+with him as often as he chose to summon its scenes before them. We
+believe him to have been very sincere in all the professions of honor
+and religion, and fully deserving of the respectful regrets with which
+he will be remembered during the lives of his contemporaries.
+
+
+AUGUSTE D'AVEZAC, descended from an illustrious French family, was born
+in the island of St. Domingo, about the year 1787. He was educated at
+the celebrated college of La Fleche, in France; emigrated to the United
+States; studied medicine at Edenton, North Carolina; and on the
+acquisition of Louisiana removed to New Orleans. Here his sister was
+married to Chancellor Livingston, and he himself became a successful
+lawyer. When General Jackson arrived in New Orleans, d'Avezac became one
+of his aid-de-camps, and he served with him to the end of the war, and
+remained all his life among his most devoted friends. When General
+Jackson became President he appointed Major d'Avezac _Charge d'Affaires
+to Naples_, and afterwards to the Netherlands, whence he was recalled by
+Mr. Van Buren, but under circumstances which did not prevent his hearty
+support of the President's administration. He then took up his residence
+in New-York, and in 1841 and 1843 was elected from this city to the
+Legislature. In 1845, he was appointed _Charge d'Affaires_ to the Hague,
+and he remained there until superseded last year by Mr. Folsom, when he
+again returned to New-York, where he died on the 16th ultimo. He was an
+eminently agreeable man in society, and wrote in French and English with
+ease and vivacity, upon literature, art, politics, and history.
+
+
+At the Hague, a _cortege_ of upwards of three thousand persons have just
+accompanied to the grave, at the premature age of forty-two, M. ASSER, a
+judge of high reputation in that city, and author of various works on
+comparative legislation.
+
+
+France has lost one of her geographical celebrities, M. PIERRE LAPIE,
+from whose hand have issued a multitude of valuable maps.
+
+
+DR. HEINRICH FREDERICK LINK, Professor of Botany in the University of
+Berlin, and Director of the Royal Botanic Garden of that city, died on
+the first of January, in the eighty-second year of his age. His literary
+career extends back for more than half a century, his first botanical
+essay, consisting of some observations on the plants of the Botanic
+Garden at Rostock, having been published in 1795. He was contemporary
+with Linnaeus, having been eighteen years old when the great author of
+the "Systema Naturae" died, and, from his botanical tastes, was probably
+acquainted with that naturalist's writings long before his decease.
+
+He graduated at Gottingen in 1789, having read on that occasion an
+inaugural thesis on the Flora of Gottingen, referring more particularly
+to those found in calcareous districts. Shortly afterwards he was
+appointed Professor of Botany at Rostock; subsequently he held the same
+chair at Breslau; but the latter and larger portion of his scientific
+life was spent at Berlin. He practised at Berlin as a physician among an
+extensive circle of friends, who had a high opinion of his medical
+skill. Although the name of Link fills a large space in the literature
+of botany, his mind was not of the highest order, and his contributions
+to science are not likely to make a very permanent impression. Still, he
+was an energetic, active man, with an observant mind, a retentive
+memory, and with considerable power of systematic arrangement. Hence his
+works, like those of Linnaeus, have been among the most valuable of the
+contributions to the botany of the century in which he lived. Of these,
+his "Elementa Philosophiae Botanicae" may be quoted as the most useful.
+This work, which was published in 1824, has served as the basis of most
+of our manuals and introductions to botany since that period. He devoted
+considerable time and attention to the description of new species of
+plants, most of which he published in a continuation of Willdenow's
+"Species Plantarum." With Count Hoffmansegg, he commenced a Flora of
+Portugal, and he also published a memoir on the plants of Greece. He
+contributed several valuable papers on physiological botany to the
+Transactions of the Natural History Society of Berlin; but he has done
+more service for vegetable physiology in his annual reports than in any
+other of his writings. They comprise a summary of all that had been
+published in botany during the year, accompanied with many valuable
+remarks and sound criticisms of his own. In these reports he had to
+defend himself and others from the heavy artillery directed against them
+by Schleiden, who, whilst claiming for himself a large margin for
+liberty of opinion, is most unscrupulous and pertinaciously offensive
+towards those who differ from him. In these literary contests, however,
+Link showed that the experience of above fifty years had not been lost
+upon him, and he was not unfrequently more than a match for the vigor
+and logic of his youthful and more precipitate adversary. According to
+custom, a funeral oration was pronounced over his grave; but
+unfortunately the clergyman selected being a strictly orthodox person,
+and not being able to approve of the spirit of the whole of the writings
+of the deceased, censured them, it is said, in most unbecoming language,
+to the indignation of the numerous friends present.
+
+
+The Italian poet LUIGI CARRER, died at Venice on the twenty-third of
+December.
+
+
+GENERAL DON JOSE DE SAN MARTIN, formerly the "Protector of Peru," and
+one of the most deservedly eminent of the public men of the Spanish
+American States, died in August, 1850, at Bologna, in the seventy-second
+year of his age. His death has but recently been announced, and we
+receive the information now, not from Europe or from South America, but
+by way of the Sandwich Islands. The Honolulu _Polynesian_ of December
+fourteenth, translating from the _Panameno_, gives us the following
+particulars of his life. General San Martin was a native of one of the
+Provinces of Buenos Ayres, but previous to the war of independence,
+passed over to Spain, where he entered into the army, and distinguished
+himself at the battle of Baylen. In the Spanish army, he rose to the
+rank of Lieutenant Colonel. After his native country, Buenos Ayres, had
+declared itself independent of the mother country, he returned from
+Spain, and fought with great bravery, against Artigas, and in other
+military contests. He thereby gained so much reputation with his
+countrymen, that when an expedition to liberate Chile was determined
+upon, he was the chief chosen to organize and command it. He fulfilled
+that trust, in an admirable manner, at Mendoza--carried his small army
+successfully across the Andes, through an able piece of strategy,
+confided to a brave young Chilian, Don Manuel Rodriguez, at a point
+where the Spanish forces did not expect the invading army, and signally
+defeated them, on the plains of _Chacabuco_, near the Capital of Chile.
+The defeated Spaniards had to retire and concentrate themselves in the
+South. San Martin occupied the whole country and shut them up in
+_Talcachuano_. Expecting that the Spaniards would be soon reinforced
+from Peru, San Martin, with the aid of several foreign officers, French
+and English, recruited his forces in Chile, and raised his army to about
+9000 men. A strong reinforcement having arrived from Peru, at
+Talcahuano, under the command of General Ossioro, the Spaniards regained
+possession of the Province of Concepcion, took the offensive, and
+advanced towards the Capital. San Martin, with forces numerically
+superior, advanced to drive them back. The two armies met at _"Cancha
+Rayada,"_ where, on San Martin's birth day, in 1819, the Spaniards
+attacked his army at night, signally defeated and dispersed them. The
+only division that retired unbroken, was that commanded by General Don
+Gregorio de las Heras, and the army of the Andes left on the field its
+whole artillery, excepting only one piece which was saved by the
+personal exertions and cool intrepidity of Captain Miller, of that army,
+now H. B. M. Consul General for these Islands. After that unexpected
+defeat, the greatest consternation prevailed in the Capital of Chile,
+the cause of the Republic was considered desperate, but the Supreme
+Director, General Don Bernardo Ohiggins, made immense exertions to
+reunite the scattered army and to strengthen it, by new levies; the
+patriotism of the Chilians roused itself with an energy equal to the
+emergency; resident foreign merchants, wishing well to the country and
+alarmed by a report that it was the intention of the Spanish Commander
+in Chief to shoot them all and confiscate their property (it being then
+contrary to the laws of Spain that foreigners should reside in or trade
+with her Colonies without special license), supplied money, arms and
+accoutrements. An army was thus reformed with extraordinary expedition;
+its confidence was restored by a troop of cavalry sent to reconnoitre,
+headed by Major Vial, a brave French officer, who gallantly charged and
+routed a superior force of the enemy, and, under the command of General
+San Martin, on the 5th of April, 1850, on the plain of _Maypu_, it
+defeated the Spanish army so completely, that only a few of the
+fugitives reached Talcahuano.
+
+But experience having shown that the independence of Chile could never
+be considered secure so long as the Spaniards retained their hold on
+Peru, it was resolved to make an attempt to liberate that Vice-Royalty.
+Colonel Miller, whose promotion after the affair of _Cancha Rayadu_ had
+been rapid, was sent with a small but active force to land at _Arica_
+and operate in the Southern Provinces, where by astute strategy and
+several brilliant successes he confirmed his high reputation. San Martin
+soon after followed with the main army, escorted by the Chilian squadron
+under command of Lord Cochran; in running down the coast, he took in
+Colonel Miller with his troops, and knowing the powerful diversion that
+the latter had made in the South, he proceeded northward to Pisco, where
+a force was landed under the command of Colonel Charles and Colonel
+Miller, that made itself master of the place, after a bloody combat, in
+which the former gallantly fell while cheering on his troops, and the
+latter received several musket balls, one of which passed through his
+liver.
+
+According to the plan of General San Martin, the force landed to the
+South of Lima, advanced into the interior to the silver mines of Pasco
+under the command of General Arenales, where it defeated the Spanish
+forces under General Oreilly, while San Martin himself, with the main
+body, effected his landing near Huacho to the North of Lima. By this
+plan, ably conceived and no less ably executed, the Spaniards were
+reduced to the Capital and Callao, which port at the same time was
+strictly blockaded by Lord Cochran's squadron. The fall of both Lima and
+Callao was only a question of time; it was retarded for some months
+owing to the great sickness that weakened San Martin's ranks; but these
+were filled up by desertions from the enemy; the whole regiment of
+_Numancia_ passed over to the Patriot side, and at last San Martin
+entered the Capital at the head of his troops, amidst the acclamations
+of the inhabitants. He was soon after declared Protector of Peru, and
+General-in-Chief of the Army. Having now a Peruvian character, and
+having come to liberate--not to conquer the country, he considered it
+right to create a Peruvian Army. As a _nucleus_ for its formation, the
+_Peruvian Legion_ (intended to consist of several Batallions), was
+raised, and placed under the command of Colonel Miller. But Lima and its
+luxuries proved the _Capua_ of San Martin's army--national jealousies
+arose between the Buenos Ayrean and the Chilian chiefs--San Martin's
+confidence in foreign officers and his endeavors to create a national
+army in Peru gave great umbrage to both; a secret political Lodge was
+formed among the leading chiefs of corps, and he was openly charged with
+latent designs to make himself the King or Perpetual Dictator of Peru.
+
+The Spanish army, which had evacuated the Capital unbroken, profiting by
+these dissensions and the delay of the Patriot army in the Capital, had
+largely recruited itself in the valley of Jauja; they were every day
+gaining more strength, while the Patriot army was becoming daily weaker
+both physically and morally; under these circumstances General San
+Martin sought an interview with _Bolivar_, at Guayaquil, and shortly
+after his return to Lima, in 1822, he resigned his high post of
+Protector and General-in-chief, and embarked for Europe. On his arrival
+in Europe, after a short visit to the East of Fife, San Martin passed
+his time chiefly in Brussels and Paris, so much respected by all who
+knew him, and so esteemed for his probity, that _Sor Aguado_, the rich
+Spanish Banker, on his death-bed, named San Martin his Executor.
+
+It is believed that he retired from Peru, disgusted with the false
+charges that were brought against him, and after having obtained a
+promise from his great rival, Bolivar, that he would finish the war,
+which it would have been much for San Martin's own glory to have
+concluded himself. If so, he had the _magnanimity_ to prefer the good of
+Peru to his own glory, a virtue never found except amongst men of great
+nobleness of soul. San Martin may have even thought that under the
+circumstances, his great rival was fitter to conclude the war than he
+was himself; and if he did so, the result proved at once his modesty and
+the soundness of his judgment, for when the Peruvian Government had
+fairly intrusted their destinies to Bolivar, in rapid succession, he
+fought the bloody battles of Junin and Ayacucho, the result of which was
+the final and total liberation of Peru.
+
+Nor was Bolivar less just to foreign officers of merit than San Martin.
+Amongst his Generals and Aid-de-camps ranked General Brawn, General
+Oleary, Colonel Wilson, and many others; and Colonel Miller (who had
+been raised to the rank of General), as the reward of his gallant
+conduct in the last hard-fought fields of Junin and Ayacucho, received
+the further honor of being declared a _Marescal de Agacucho_. To other
+officers of Peru, of Chile and of Buenos Ayres, Bolivar was equally
+just, thus showing that he was superior to any petty jealousy of those
+chiefs with whose aid San Martin, his illustrious predecessor, had made
+those great achievements which a weaker mind might have looked upon with
+envy as, in some respects, overwhelming his own.
+
+
+FREDERICK BASTIAT, the political economist, whose health had been very
+feeble for nearly a year, and of whose death last summer in Italy a
+report was copied into the _International_, died in Rome on the 24th of
+December. He was born at Bayonne in 1801, and after completing his
+education, he retired to a quiet village in the department of Landes, to
+pursue his favorite studies of trade and society. He was successively
+called to various offices of the department, and to the present National
+Assembly he was chosen by a vote of 56,000, being the second in the list
+of seven representing the Landes. His first book, we believe, was
+_Cobden et la Ligue_, published in 1844, from which period he was an
+industrious writer. Without being a discoverer of new truths, he
+possessed in an eminent degree the faculty of expanding, with clearness
+and vigor, the grounds and the effects of complex natural laws already
+developed by the technical processes of philosophy. His writings have
+been exceedingly popular. The whole or nearly the whole, of the tracts
+written by him under the generic title of 'Sophismes Economiques,'
+originally appeared in the _Journal des Economistes_--a periodical of
+which for the last six years he had been a principal supporter. The
+disease of which he died was a very painful and peculiar affection of
+the throat. He had suffered from it more or less, for some years; and
+the hard work of the last session of the Assembly brought the disorder
+to a crisis which the strength of the patient did not enable him to
+overcome. He may be regarded as the virtual leader of the Free Trade
+party in France. He aided with all his energies the Association
+Francaise pour la Liberte des Echanges, and he did his utmost to spread
+among his countrymen that new philosophy of trade. His last and most
+important work, _Les Harmonies Economiques_, we lately noticed in these
+pages. His _Sophismes Economiques_ were translated a few years ago by a
+daughter of Langdon Cheves, of South Carolina, and published in this
+city by Mr. Putnam. The extent to which M. Bastiat was indebted to our
+countryman, Henry C. Carey, may be inferred from a note in the February
+number of the _International_, page 402.
+
+
+BENJAMIN W. CROWNINSHIELD, died in Boston, on Monday the 3d of February.
+He had left his carriage and entered a store, when he suddenly fell and
+expired, having previously suffered from a disease of the heart, which
+is supposed to have been the cause of his death, although he was about
+77 years of age. He had been a resident of Boston nearly twenty years,
+during the greater part of which period he had been retired from public
+life. He had previously resided in Salem, where the Crowninshields were
+long distinguished for wealth and commercial enterprise. He was many
+years a prominent leader of the old democratic republican party. In
+December, 1814, he received, from President Madison, the appointment of
+Secretary of the Navy, which office he held (being continued by
+President Monroe) until he resigned, in November, 1818, when he was
+succeeded by Smith Thompson, afterwards judge of the Supreme Court. In
+1823 he was chosen a member of Congress from Essex South District, and
+was continued by his constituents in that station until 1831--eight
+years. He was in Congress when John Quincy Adams was elected President
+of the United States, by that body; he participated in that election by
+giving his vote for Mr. A., and was a zealous supporter of his
+administration, acting subsequently with the whig party. He was
+repeatedly, at different periods of his life, a member of the state
+legislature, and although not distinguished for eminent talents, in all
+the stations which he filled he enjoyed, in a high degree, the public
+confidence.
+
+
+PROFESSOR ANSTEY, lately connected with St. Mary's College, at
+Wilmington, died in the early part of February. He was dismissed from
+his station on account of intemperate habits, but continued his
+dissipation until reduced to the utmost destitution, wandering about
+homeless and friendless. He was discovered at length in an almost frozen
+state, in an old hovel, with a bottle of whiskey by his side, and soon
+died from the effects of his suffering. Professor Anstey was a young man
+of fine classical attainments, and was the author of a work published a
+year or two since in Philadelphia, entitled, "Elements of Literature, or
+an introduction to the Study of Rhetoric and Belle Lettres."
+
+
+DONALD MCKENZIE, born in Scotland, June 15, 1783, died on the 20th of
+January, at Mayville, in New-York. At the age of seventeen he came over
+to Canada and joined the North West Company, and continued eight years
+with them. In 1809 he became one of the partners with the late John
+Jacob Astor, in establishing the fur trade west of the Rocky Mountains,
+and with Mr. Hunt, of St. Louis, made the overland route to the mouth of
+the Columbia River, a feat then rarely attempted, and full of perils,
+and remained at Astoria until it was surrendered by McDougal to the
+British. He converted every thing he could into available funds, which
+he carried safely through the wilderness to Mr. Astor. Washington
+Irving, in "Astoria," narrates a few of Mr. McKenzie's adventures on the
+frontiers, although the friends of McKenzie claim that injustice has
+been done him by Mr. Irving, relative to the betrayal of Astoria. They
+contend that to him alone was Mr. Astor indebted for all that was saved.
+After the restoration of peace, McKenzie exerted himself to secure for
+the United States the exclusive trade of Oregon, but after a long
+negotiation with Mr. Astor, and through him with Messrs. Madison,
+Gallatin, and other leading individuals in and out of office, the matter
+was abandoned, and McKenzie, in March, 1821, joined the Hudson Bay
+Company, and was immediately appointed one of the Council, and Chief
+Factor. In August, 1825, he was married to Adelegonde Humburt (who
+survives him), and was shortly after appointed Governor. At this time he
+resided at Fort Garry, Red River settlement, where he continued to
+reside until 1832, in active and prosperous business, in which he
+amassed a large fortune. In August of the following year he went to
+reside in Mayville, where he spent the rest of his life.
+
+
+HORACE EVERETT, LL.D., formerly a distinguished representative in
+Congress from Vermont, died at Windsor in that State on the 30th of
+January, in the seventy-second year of his age. Elected to Congress by
+the opponents of General Jackson, he entered the House of
+Representatives in 1829, and was continued by his constituents,
+inhabiting one of the strongest and most enlightened whig districts in
+the Union, for fourteen consecutive years--his last term expiring in
+March, 1843. During his career in Congress, he was one of the most
+prominent whigs of the House, occupying the front rank, as one of the
+most able of parliamentary debaters, distinguished also as much his good
+sense and acquirements, as for his eloquence. Among his best speeches,
+were several on the Indian Bill, so called, growing out of the
+difficulties between Georgia and the Cherokees.
+
+
+The London _Morning Chronicle_ has a brief notice of JAMES HARFIELD, who
+was connected with that journal more than twenty years. His reading, in
+every department of literature, was prodigious, and his memory almost a
+phenomenon. On all matters connected with Parliamentary history,
+precedent, and etiquette in particular, Mr. Harfield was an encyclopaedia
+of information, while the stores of his learning, in every department,
+were always freely at the command of his friends and colleagues. In
+early life, Mr. Harfield was a _protege_ of, and afterwards acted as
+secretary to, Jeremy Bentham, who acknowledged his sense of his young
+friend's services by bequeathing to him a magnificent library.
+
+
+WILLIAM WILSON, a painter of considerable reputation, died in
+Charleston, S. C, on the 28th of January. The Charleston _Evening News_
+says:--"He was a native of Yorkshire, England, but for the last twenty
+years has resided in this country, and during the last eleven, in
+Georgia and South Carolina. In all the relations of life, as husband,
+father, son, and brother, he was irreproachable, while his gentle and
+winning manners conciliated general esteem and regard. At his death Mr.
+Wilson had attained a distinguished reputation as a portrait painter, in
+which department he first attracted attention in 1836, by the exhibition
+of a portrait of an intimate friend at the first exhibition of the
+"American Art-Union," at the Apollo Gallery. In 1837 he exhibited
+several heads of the Academy of Design, which attracted much attention.
+In 1844 he exhibited a head of a brother artist, which was more
+generally admired than any similar production for years. In 1846 Mr. W.
+received a commission from the State of Georgia to execute two
+portraits--one of William H. Crawford, former Secretary of the Treasury,
+and the other of Gen. Jackson. After a tedious and troublesome journey
+to the North, in search of Jarvis's portrait of Crawford, which could
+not be traced, he returned to Charleston, and while copying from
+Vanderlyn's portrait of Gen. Jackson in the City Hall, he was presented
+by Charles Fraser, Esq., with a proof engraving of Jarvis's Crawford,
+from which, on his return to Augusta, he produced a most striking
+portrait of Georgia's greatest statesman. These pictures of Jackson and
+Crawford, which adorn the State House at Milledgeville, will be lasting
+memorials of his excellence as an artist."
+
+
+JAMES WALLACE, D.D., the distinguished Mathematician, several years
+Professor of Mathematics in Columbia College, New-York, died in
+Lexington District, South Carolina, on the 15th of January. After
+completing his course of Theology, he was ordained a clergyman of the
+Roman Catholic Church, and was then appointed to the chair of
+Mathematics in Georgetown College, D.C. A few years later he removed to
+Columbia, S. C., and was appointed Professor of Mathematics in South
+Carolina College. While in New-York he published his justly celebrated
+"Treatise on Globes and Practical Astronomy," and had prepared materials
+for an entire course of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy, but was
+compelled to relinquish his design on account of ill-health and advanced
+age. He was also the author of numerous scientific articles in the
+Southern Quarterly Review. He possessed one of the choicest and most
+extensive scientific libraries in the United States, which was almost
+entirely destroyed by the great conflagration of 1837: the remnant of
+it, with his scientific apparatus, was bequeathed to the Catholic
+Theological Seminary of Charleston. He was a resident of South Carolina
+during the last thirty-eight years.
+
+
+JOSHUA MILNE, the author of the celebrated treatise on "Annuities and
+Assurances," we see by the English papers died recently near London at
+the advanced age of seventy-eight. He is said to have left behind him
+the most complete collection extant on subjects connected with the
+statistics of vitality, of which a portion at least will probably be
+given to the public.
+
+
+The Hungarian General BEM, expired with the half-century. Born at
+Tarnon, a Pole, he died at Aleppo, a Turk. In early youth he served in
+the Russian army against Napoleon in his disastrous campaign. He was the
+friend, companion, and favorite of the Grand Duke Constantine, until
+certain indignities to himself and cruelties to his countrymen made him
+the implacable foe of Russia. He joined the Polish insurrection of 1831,
+and performed prodigies of valor at the battle of Ostrolenka. Like many
+others, he became a fugitive and a wanderer. Unsuccessful patriotism
+reduced the companion of royalty to be a pensioner on the charity of the
+friends of Poland in London. 1848 gave Bern once more a career. He went
+to Vienna, and when the people were in the ascendant, in October, he
+held a command. But the Viennese could not trust the Pole. Incompetent
+men were placed over him. Vienna fell before the artillery of
+Windischgratz and Jellachich in November. Slaughter, terror, violation
+reigned. Never will the Viennese forget the red cloaks of the Croats.
+The educated youth of Vienna were shot in clusters. Robert Blum was led
+out to perish. The Odeon, although used as an hospital, was laid in
+ashes, with the wounded in it. Great rewards were offered for the
+apprehension of the popular leaders and generals still alive. The search
+for Bem was vigilant. He doffed the costume of a hackney coachman,
+filled his vehicle with a Hungarian family of nurses and children,
+mounted the box under the eyes of spies and soldiers, laughed at
+inspection, and drove off to Hungary. For ten mouths he was victorious
+there over the Austrians. "Bem beat the Ban." Splinters from an old
+wound escaping from his leg all the time, and able only to sit on
+horseback.
+
+
+T. S. DAVIES, F.R.S., F.A.S., and a Professor of Mathematics in the
+Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, died on the 6th of January at
+Shooter's Hill, Kent, in the fifty-seventh year of his age. Mr. Davies
+was a very distinguished mathematician, and the author of several works
+on mathematics. He possessed, also, extensive and varied acquirements in
+different branches of science and literature. Nor was he unmindful of
+the claims of the more humble aspirant to mathematical honors; his
+encouragement and advice were liberally bestowed, as many deserving
+young men could testify.
+
+
+HENRY CHRISTIAN SCHUMACHER, the celebrated Danish Astronomer, died at
+Altona on the 28th of December, aged about seventy years. He commenced
+his professional career at the age of twenty-five, as professor of
+astronomy in the University of Copenhagen. In 1822, his royal master,
+Frederic VI., caused to be built, expressly that Schumacher might be
+placed at the head of it, the Observatory of Altona. From 1820 to 1829
+he published his "_Auxiliary Tables of Astronomy_", in ten volumes,
+_quarto_. His _Astronomical Annals_, continued from 1830 to the date of
+his death, have, with his _Tables_, given him a high and wide
+reputation. In 1832 the King of Denmark established the reward of a
+golden medal for the discovery of new microscopic comets; and it was
+upon his favorite Schumacher exclusively that he devolved the duty of
+verifying the title of claimants and assigning the medal. Since 1847
+Schumacher has been the correspondent of the Academy of Sciences of
+Paris.
+
+
+MAXWELL, the Irish novelist, and author of innumerable humorous sketches
+in the periodical literature of the day, expired on the 29th of
+December, at Musselberge, near Edinburgh. His generally vigorous health
+had of late broken down, and he crept into the retirement of this
+sequestered village to die. He had been in early life a captain in the
+British army, and was of course the delight of the mess-room, and a
+general favorite in social circles. He subsequently entered the church,
+and was some years prebendary of Balla, a wild Connaught church living,
+without any congregation or cure of souls attached to it; though it
+afforded what he was admirably capable of dealing with, plenty of game.
+Of a warm-hearted, kind, and manly temperament, he made friends of all
+who came within the range of his wit or the circle of his acquaintance.
+He was the founder of that school which counts the "Harry Lorrequers"
+and others among its humble disciples; but the "Story of my Life," and
+"Wild Sports of the West," will not be easily surpassed in the peculiar
+qualities of that gay and off-hand style of which he was the originator.
+Among his other more successful works are "Stories of Waterloo," "Hector
+O'Halloran," and "Rambling Recollections of a Soldier of Fortune."
+Besides his novels, he wrote "Notes and Reflections during a Ramble in
+Germany," "Victories of the British Armies," and a "Life of Field
+Marshal the Duke of Wellington".
+
+
+ALEXANDER MACDONALD, well known to the public as an antiquary, died
+early in January at Edinburgh. He was one of Mr. Thompson's earliest
+assistants in the publication of the "Acts of the Parliaments of
+Scotland," and other works, undertaken by the Record Commissioners. He
+was long a most active member of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland;
+and the library and museum of that body owe much to his industry and
+intelligence. He edited several volumes of the Maitland Club, to which
+he contributed "The Register of Ministers in the year 1567"--the
+earliest extant record of the ecclesiastical appointments of the
+Reformed Church in Scotland. Mr. Macdonald also largely supplied the
+materials of Sir Walter Scott's notes and illustrations of the "Waverley
+Novels." He held many years the office of Keeper of the Register of
+Deeds and Protests in Scotland.
+
+
+
+
+Scientific Miscellanies
+
+
+MR. WALSH writes from Paris to the _Journal of Commerce_, in the last
+month, as follows:
+
+The _Annuaire_, or Annual for the present year, has been issued by the
+Board of Longitude. M. Arago has appended to it nearly 200 pages on the
+Calendar in which he treats of all the divisions of time among the
+ancients and the moderns. This celebrated astronomer does not belie, in
+this notice, his reputation for handling scientific subjects so as to
+make them clear to common apprehension. He announces, in his second
+page, that he has completed and will soon publish a _Treatise of Popular
+Astronomy_; a desideratum for France. Sir John Herschel has supplied it
+for English readers, in his Outlines. The present history and
+explanations of the Calendar may be recommended, as material, to your
+Professor Loomis. In the section concerning the period at which the
+Paris clocks were first regulated on the mean or true time, Arago
+observes: "It will not happen again that an astronomer shall hear for a
+half hour, the same hour struck by different clocks, as Delambre told me
+he had often experienced. M. Chabrol, the Prefect of the Department of
+the Seine, before he would introduce this useful change, required, as a
+guaranty for himself, a report from the Board of Longitude: he was
+fearful that the change might provoke the working population to
+insurrection; that they might refuse to accept a mid-day or noon which,
+by a contradiction in terms, would not correspond to the middle of the
+day; which would divide in two unequal portions the time comprised
+between the rising and the setting of the sun. But this sinister
+anticipation was not realized; the operation passed without being
+perceived." It is all important, on the railroads, that the clocks at
+the different stations should be so regulated. Arago remarks that among
+the ancients it would have been dangerous to announce the existence of
+more than seven planets, owing to the "mysterious virtues" ascribed to
+that number; to complete it the sun was counted among the planets. He
+discusses the point--which is the first day of the week, and decides for
+Sunday. He devotes a section to the question--"Will the period come when
+the days will be equal between themselves, and have the same temperature
+throughout the year?" He concludes, of course, in the negative. He
+decides, also, that the nineteenth century began only on the 1st of
+January, 1801. Particular interest may be attributed to the section on
+the long series of ages which the ancients invested with the title "The
+Great Year." The high names of Plato, Cicero, Seneca, Plutarch, should
+not prevent us from regarding the opinions of antiquity on the relations
+of the great year, with the events of every kind observable on the
+earth, as among the crudest conceptions that have descended to the
+moderns.
+
+At the sitting of the _Academy of Sciences_ on the 24th ult., M.
+AUGUSTIN CAUCHY read a memoir on the transversal vibrations of ether,
+and of the dispersion of colors. He furnished a simple, and easily
+intelligible mathematical theory of the various phenomena of light, and
+particularly, the theory of the dispersion of colors. Lord Brougham read
+a paper of his _Researches, Experimental and Analytical, on Light_. His
+Lordship's ambition is to shine in optics, as in every thing else; but
+you will see by a London paragraph that his researches have nearly cost
+him his eyesight. Dr. Aran submitted a Memoir, which seems to be quite
+important, on local anesthetic medication. "In the medical point of
+view," he remarks, "the number of cases in which local anesthetic
+applications may be employed, is truly immense. My experiments and
+researches, during many months, have conducted me to this practical
+result, which is worthy of all attention. Whenever an acute pain exists
+in any part of the animal economy, whether the pain constitute the
+malady in itself or be only an integral and principal part of it, the
+physician can relieve the patient of it for a longer or shorter time, by
+one or various local anesthetic applications. Great service, too, may be
+rendered by the precedent use of them in various surgical cases. The
+medication is wonderfully useful in articular acute rheumatism."
+
+"Local anesthetic properties belong to all the agents in which the
+general have been found. They depend on the degree of fixity of the
+substance. A number of the anesthetics are irritating for the skin;
+chloroform in particular. According to Dr. Aran, the best agent for
+topical use is _ether chlorhydique chlore_. This is efficacious in a few
+minutes. Monsieur Recamier has submitted to the Academy of Medicine a
+_galvanic cataplasm_, by which, when it is applied to the skin, the
+benefit of electricity is fully conveyed, without the least pain. The
+reporter exclaims, 'Yes, who would have thought it? Electricity is
+transformed into cataplasm. This mysterious power, which, perhaps, is
+life itself, is reduced to an humble and common part in pharmaceutical
+science.'
+
+"At the sitting of the _Academy of Sciences_ on the 30th ult., a very
+interesting memoir (the 4th) was read by M.A. Masson, with the title,
+Studies of Electrical Photometry. He thinks that he has ascertained the
+cause of electrical light. He ascribes the Aurora Borealis to currents
+of great intensity situate in the higher regions of our atmosphere." The
+Report of Lieut. J.C. Walsh on his soundings, was referred for
+examination to Duperroy, the member most eminent in hydrography.
+
+
+MONSIEUR POUILLET, the great Professor of Physics, has published in
+Paris a work entitled _General Notions of Natural Philosophy and
+Meteorology, for the use of young persons_; and Mr. Boussingault,
+eminent as a scientific agriculturist, the second edition of his _Rural
+Economy considered in its Relations with Chemistry, Physics, and
+Mineralogy_. The _Treatise of Mineralogy_ by Dufresnoy, the celebrated
+Professor, who is of the Academy of Sciences, is complete, and at least
+equal to any other extant. There are four volumes octavo. The 22d volume
+of the memoirs of the Academy was ready in September last; the 23d is in
+the press; the 11th volume of Foreign Communications will appear this
+month. Twelve vacancies from death of foreign correspondents, are soon
+to be filled by election. All merit is ascribed to the work of Dr.
+Fairet, entitled _Clinical Instructions respecting Mental Maladies_. The
+author, pupil and successor of Pinel and Esquirol, is the physician of
+the Salpetriere. Along with the able Doctor Voison, he has a noble
+Lunatic Asylum of his own, not far from the capital.
+
+
+SIR DAVID BREWSTER, it seems, has become a convert to that part of
+Animal Magnetism called Electro Biology, and which consists in willing a
+person to be somebody else. After describing some wonderful experiments,
+made in the presence of several scientific gentlemen, by a Mr. DARLING,
+he says, "they were all as convinced as I was, that the phenomena which
+we witnessed were real phenomena, and as well established as any other
+facts in physical science. The process by which the operator produces
+them--the mode by which that process acts upon the mind of the
+patient--and the reference of the phenomena to some general law in the
+constitution of man--may long remain unknown; but it is not difficult to
+see in the recent discoveries of M. DUBOIS REYMOND and MATTEUCIA, and in
+the laws which regulate the relative intensity of the external and
+internal impressions on the nerves of sensation, some not very
+indistinct indications of that remarkable process by which minds of
+peculiar sensibility are temporarily placed under the dominion of
+physical influences developed and directed by some living agent."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+Ladies' Fashions for Early Spring.
+
+
+More attention than previously for many seasons appears to have been
+given this winter to ladies' fashions, and some that have come out are
+remarkably tasteful, while generally in fabric and manufacture they
+appear to be unusually expensive. We compile this month mainly from the
+London _World of Fashion_.
+
+_Bonnets_ are remarkable for a novel form, the front of the rims
+continuing large and open, the crowns round, low, and small. Of an
+elegant style are those made of Orient gray pearl, half satin, half
+_velours epingle_, having a very rich effect, and decorated with
+_touffes Marquises_, composed of _marabouts_. Then, we see bonnets of
+green satin, ornamented at the edge, over the front, and upon the crown,
+with a stamped velvet imitating lace, and decorated upon the left side
+with a small _plumet_ in a weeping feather, the ends of which are tied
+or knotted with green, of two different shades; this is a very favorite
+and _recherche_ style. Also a bonnet of grayish green velvet, ornamented
+with a bunch of feathers composed of the _grebe_ and the ostrich.
+Drooping low feathers of every description are in request for decorating
+bonnets.
+
+_Ball Dresses_ of light materials are most in vogue, and are generally
+made of two and three skirts; as white _tulle_, with three skirts,
+trimmed all round with a broad, open-worked satin ribbon; the third
+skirt being raised on one side, and attached with a large bouquet of
+flowers, whilst the ribbon is twisted, and ascends to the side of the
+waist, where it finishes; the same kind of flowers serves to ornament
+the sleeves and centre of the corsage, which is also trimmed with a deep
+drapery of _tulle_. Feather trimmings are in vogue, disposed as fringes
+of _marabout_, and placed at the edges of the double skirts of _tulle_.
+Another pretty style, composed also of white _tulle_, and _a double
+jupes_, the under one having a border of white _marabout_ fringe
+sprinkled with small golden grains falling over them in a perfect
+shower; the second _jupe_ having attached to the edge of the hem a
+narrower fringe; the two sides of the upper skirt being open to the
+waist, is ornamented upon each side with an embroidery of gold and white
+silk, caught at regular distances with _noeuds_ of white and gold
+gauze ribbon, the floating ends of which are edged with fringe; body _a
+la Grecque_.
+
+_Capotes_ of velvet are considerably lightened in appearance, by a
+novelty consisting of a kind of open stamped velvet, which is placed
+over satin; either a pretty contrast in color, or of the same hue;
+whilst those of plain velvet are relieved with trimmings of black lace,
+with _mancinis_ formed of the convolvulus, made in green velvet. The
+form of the present style of _capotes_ is very open in front, flat upon
+the top of the head, and shallow and sloping at the back. Some are of
+green satin, trimmed with ribbons of an open pattern in black and green.
+Others are decorated with rows of fancy ribbon-velvet, the interior
+having loops of narrow ribbon-velvet of two colors, charmingly blended.
+
+I. A high dress of green silk, the body opening in front _a la demi
+coeur_; the waist is long and rounded in front; the sleeves, reaching
+a little below the elbow, are moderately wide, and finished either by a
+_ruche_ or rich _guimpe_ trimming; the skirt is plain, long, and full.
+_Pardessus manteau_ of claret velvet, fastening to the throat; it is
+ornamented with a narrow silk trimming: this _manteau_ is lined with
+white silk, quilted in large squares. Bonnet of green velvet, with
+feathers of the same color placed low at the left side.
+
+II. _Robe_ of blue _brocade_; the high body opens in the front nearly to
+the waist; the fronts of the skirt are lined with amber satin, and a
+fulling of the same is placed on the edge of the fronts, graduating in
+width towards the top; it is carried round the neck of the dress; the
+sleeves are very wide from the elbow, and lined with amber satin; the
+edge of the sleeve is left plain, but there is a _ruche_ of satin round
+the middle of the sleeve, just above the elbow. Under dress of jaconet
+muslin, trimmed with lace or embroidery. Cap of _tulle_, with blue
+trimmings.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+III. A dress of pink _tulle_, spotted and _brode_ in silver; the _jupe_
+composed of three skirts, each waved round the lower part; plain
+close-fitting body, made very low, and pointed at the waist; the upper
+part decorated with a narrow cape, descending in a point upon the front
+of the corsage, and decorated with a splendid bouquet of roses; a second
+row of frilling forms the loose short sleeve; the whole worn over a
+dress of pale pink satin; a narrow row of white blonde encircling the
+neck. The hair is arranged in a similar form to figure I; the only
+difference being that the _noeud_ of ribbon is replaced by a beautiful
+drooping branch of pink shaded roses and light foliage; a spray of the
+three green leaves being placed upon the centre of the front, just over
+the parting of the hair.
+
+IV. A dress of green satin; the skirt, long and full, has four rows of
+braid up the front; the body is high, open a little in the front, the
+braid being carried round it; it is plaited from the shoulder to the
+waist; wide sleeves, with broad cuffs turned back; they have three rows
+of braid on them. _Mantelot_ of grey cachmere, the sleeves _a la
+Maintenon_; the edges are all scalloped and trimmed with braid. Bonnet
+of ultra marine velvet; a broad black lace is turned back over the edge;
+it has a deep curtain.
+
+_For a Young Lady's Dress_, _Capote_ formed of rows of narrow pink fancy
+ribbon. Frock of dark blue cachmere; the skirt trimmed with two rows of
+ribbon-velvet; the cape formed of narrow folds, open in the front,
+continued across with bands of velvet. Pantaloons of embroidered
+cambric.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The International Monthly, Volume 2,
+No. 4, March, 1851, by Various
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE INTERNATIONAL MONTHLY ***
+
+***** This file should be named 24902.txt or 24902.zip *****
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