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diff --git a/24902.txt b/24902.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e55cf9d --- /dev/null +++ b/24902.txt @@ -0,0 +1,15193 @@ +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 ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/9/0/24902/ + +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). + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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