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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 62,
+Number 361, November, 1845., 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: Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 62, Number 361, November, 1845.
+
+Author: Various
+
+Release Date: December 25, 2008 [EBook #27611]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE, NOV. 1845 ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Brendan OConnor, Erica Hills, Jonathan Ingram
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images
+generously made available by The Internet Library of Early
+Journals.)
+
+
+
+
+
+TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: Spellings are sometimes erratic. A few obvious
+misprints have been corrected, but in general the original spelling
+and typesetting conventions (e.g. ellipses as * * *) have been retained.
+Accents in foreign language phrases are inconsistent, and have not been
+standardised.
+
+
+
+
+BLACKWOOD'S
+EDINBURGH MAGAZINE.
+
+
+NO. CCCLXI. NOVEMBER, 1845. VOL. LVIII.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+THE STUDENT OF SALAMANCA. PART I.,                   521
+
+HUMBOLDT,                                            541
+
+HAKEM THE SLAVE,                                     560
+
+THE LAY OF STARKĀTHER,                               570
+
+MOZART,                                              572
+
+ACCOUNT OF A VISIT TO THE VOLCANO OF KIRAUEA,        591
+
+THE DAYS OF THE FRONDE,                              596
+
+THE GRAND GENERAL JUNCTION AND INDEFINITE
+      EXTENSION RAILWAY RHAPSODY,                    614
+
+SKETCHES OF ITALY--LUCCA,                            617
+
+THE RAILWAYS,                                        633
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+EDINBURGH:
+WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, 45, GEORGE STREET;
+AND 37, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON.
+
+_To whom all Communications (post paid) must be addressed._
+
+SOLD BY ALL THE BOOKSELLERS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.
+PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE AND HUGHES, EDINBURGH.
+
+
+BLACKWOOD'S EDINBURGH MAGAZINE.
+
+
+No. CCCLXI. NOVEMBER, 1845. VOL. LVIII.
+
+
+
+
+THE STUDENT OF SALAMANCA.
+
+PART I.
+
+
+    "Espaņa de la guerra
+    Tremola la pendon."
+          _Cancion Patriotica._
+
+It wanted about an hour of sunset on the last day of September 1833,
+when two young men, whose respective ages did not much exceed twenty
+years, emerged from a country lane upon the high-road from Tarazona to
+Tudela, in that small district of Navarre which lies south of the
+river Ebro.
+
+The equipments of the travellers--for such the dusty state of their
+apparel, and the knapsacks upon their shoulders, indicated them to
+be--were exactly similar, and well calculated for a pedestrian journey
+across the steep sierras and neglected roads of Spain. They consisted,
+with little variation, of the national Spanish dress--short jackets of
+dark cloth, somewhat braided and embroidered, knee-breeches of the
+same material, and broad-brimmed hats, surrounded by velvet bands.
+Only, instead of the tight-fitting stockings and neat pumps, which
+should have completed the costume, long leathern gamashes extended
+from knee to ankle, and were met below the latter by stout
+high-quartered shoes. Each of the young men carried a stick in his
+hand, rather, as it appeared, from habit, or for purposes of defence,
+than as a support, and each of them had a cloak of coarse black serge
+folded and strapped upon his otter-skin knapsack. With their costume,
+however, the similarity in their appearance ceased; nothing could be
+more widely different than their style of person and countenance. The
+taller of the two, who was also apparently the elder, was of a
+slender, active figure, with well-moulded limbs, and a handsome,
+intelligent countenance, in which energy and decision of character
+were strongly marked. His complexion was dark olive; his eyes and
+short curling hair were of a coal black; what little beard he had was
+closely shaven, excepting upon the upper lip, which was fringed by a
+well-defined mustache, as gracefully curved and delicately penciled as
+any that Vandyke ever painted. At this time, however, there was a
+shade over his countenance other than that cast by the broad leaf of
+his sombrero; it was the look of mingled hope, anxiety, and suspense,
+sometimes worn by persons who are drawing near to a goal, their
+attainment of which is still doubtful, and at which, even when
+attained, it is not quite certain whether pleasure or pain awaits
+them.
+
+No such thoughts or anxieties were to be read upon the joyous,
+careless countenance of the second traveller--a stout, square-built
+young man, whose ruddy complexion and light-brown hair contrasted as
+strongly with the dark locks and olive skin of his companion as they
+differed from the generally received notions of Spanish physiognomy.
+The face wore no particular expression, excepting that of
+good-humoured _insouciance_; his hazel eye had a merry twinkle, and a
+slight fulness of lip and chin seemed to denote a reasonable degree of
+addiction to the good things of this life. Altogether, and to judge
+them by their physiognomies only, one would have chosen the first for
+a friend, the latter for a pleasant and jovial boon-companion.
+
+On leaving the cross-road, the two pedestrians took a northerly
+direction, in which they proceeded for nearly a quarter of an hour
+without exchanging a syllable, the one absorbed in meditations which
+the other was apparently unwilling to disturb. At the end of that time
+they paused, as if by preconcerted arrangement, in front of a small
+_venta_, or country inn, less remarkable for the accommodation it
+afforded, than for its pleasant situation and aspect. It stood a
+little back from the road, in a nook formed by the recession of a line
+of wooded hills which there skirt the highway. The front of the house,
+composed of rough blocks of grey stone, was overgrown by the twisted
+branches of a venerable vine, the age of which did not prevent it from
+becoming covered each spring with leaves and tendrils, nor from
+yielding in the autumn an abundant supply of delicious gold-coloured
+grapes. At a short distance in front of the door, which opened into
+the stable, whence a wooden step-ladder led to the upper floor, there
+stood a huge oak, throwing its broad shadow over a table and some
+benches placed beneath it for the accommodation of guests. On one side
+of the venta, and detached from it, but in a right line with its
+front, was a massive fragment of wall, which had probably, at no very
+remote period, formed part of a chapel or convent. Its summit, which
+was broken and irregular, rose full thirty feet from the ground
+throughout more than double that length, and along the wall, at about
+two-thirds of a man's height, ran a horizontal black line, indicating,
+as did also the numerous marks and bruises upon the whitewashed
+surface, that this ancient piece of masonry enabled the frequenters of
+the venta to indulge in the favourite _juego de pelota_, or a game at
+ball, to which the Navarrese and the northern Spaniards generally are
+much addicted, and at which most of them excel.
+
+On the arrival of our travellers, the benches in front of the venta
+had already two occupants, belonging to classes of men which may rank
+amongst the chief supporters of Spanish roadside inns. One of them was
+a corporal of dragoons, returning to his garrison at Tudela, whence he
+had probably been sent with a despatch, or on some similar mission. He
+was a strapping, powerful fellow, well set up, as the phrase goes, and
+whose broad shoulders and soldierly figure showed to advantage in his
+dark-green uniform. His horse--a high-crested, fine-legged Andalusian,
+whose jetty coat looked yet blacker by contrast with the white
+sheep-skin that covered the saddle, and the flakes of foam with which
+his impatient champings had covered his broad chest--was tied up near
+the stable door, the bridle removed, finishing out of a nose-bag a
+plentiful feed of maize. The dragoon's sabre and his brass and
+leopard-skin helmet were hanging at the saddle-bow, their owner having
+temporarily covered his head with a smart foraging-cap of green and
+scarlet cloth, which set off to great advantage his bearded and
+martial countenance. Having provided for his horse, the trooper was
+now attending to the calls of his own appetite, and doing immense
+execution on some goat's-milk cheese and excellent white bread, which
+he moistened by copious draughts of the thick black wine of Navarre.
+
+Seated opposite to the soldier, and similarly employed, was a
+hardy-looking man, who had arrived in company with two mules, which
+were also tethered to a ring in the venta wall, but at a respectful
+distance from the dragoon's charger. A heap of chopped straw and
+Indian corn leaves was lying before them, at which they assiduously
+munched--not, however, without occasionally casting wistful glances
+at the more luxurious repast of their neighbour. The soldier and the
+muleteer had apparently met before; and when the new-comers approached
+them, they were discussing with great animation the merits of the
+various players in a ball-match which they had recently witnessed near
+Tudela. Thence they glided into a discussion concerning ball-players
+in general; the muleteer, who was a Navarrese, asserting the
+invincibility of his country at the game of pelota, whilst the
+corporal, who came from the neighbourhood of Oviedo, was equally
+confident of the superiority of the Asturians.
+
+Whilst the younger of the travellers was ascertaining from the
+_patrona_ the state of the larder, which, as is usual enough in
+Spanish inns, was but meagrely provided, his companion sought out the
+landlord of the venta, whom he found in the chimney-corner, enjoying a
+supplementary siesta amidst a cloud of wood smoke.
+
+"The Conde de Villabuena," enquired the young man, when he had shaken
+the drowsy host out of his slumbers--"is he still at his house between
+this and Tudela?"
+
+The _ventero_, a greasy, ill-conditioned Valencian, rubbed his eyes,
+muttered a coarse oath, and seemed half disposed, instead of replying,
+to pick a quarrel with his interrogator; but a glance at the athletic
+figure and resolute countenance of the latter, dissipated the
+inclination, and he answered by a surly affirmative.
+
+"And his daughter also?" continued the stranger in a lower tone.
+
+"Doņa Rita? To be sure she is, or was yesterday; for I saw her ride by
+with her father and some other cavaliers. What eyes the little beauty
+has; and what a foot! It was peeping from under her habit as she
+passed. Sant'Antonio, what a foot!"
+
+And now thoroughly awakened, the ventero launched out into a panegyric
+on the lady's beauty, interlarded by appeals to various saints as to
+the justice of his praise, which was continued, in the manner of a
+soliloquy, for some time after the stranger had turned his back upon
+him and descended the stairs.
+
+At the door of the venta the young man encountered his companion, who
+was issuing forth with a jug of wine in his hand.
+
+"Well, Luis," said the latter, "have you ascertained it? Is she still
+here, or has our journey been in vain?"
+
+"She is here," was the reply.
+
+"Good. Then I hope you will put aside your melancholy, and eat and
+drink with better appetite than you have lately done. We have plenty
+of time; it will not be dark for the next two hours. So let us to
+supper, such as it is; ham as rancid as an old oil-cask, eggs that
+would have been chickens to-morrow, and wine--but the wine may atone
+for the rest--it is old Peralta, or the patrona is perjured. I have
+had the table spread under the tree, in hopes that fresh air may
+sweeten musty viands, and in order that we may see the ball-play of
+yonder soldier and muleteer."
+
+The young man who had been addressed by the name of Luis, glanced in
+the direction of the ball-court, where the two men to whom his
+companion referred were preparing for a match. The discussion as to
+the superiority of Navarrese or Asturian ball-players had increased in
+warmth, until the disputants, each obstinate in his opinion, finding
+themselves, perhaps, at a loss for verbal arguments, had agreed to
+refer the matter to a trial of individual skill. The challenge came
+from the dragoon, who, as soon as he heard it accepted, proceeded to
+lighten himself for his task. With great alacrity he threw aside his
+foraging-cap, stripped off his pouch-belt and uniform coat, and
+unfastened his spurs. The preparations of the muleteer were even more
+rapidly completed. When he had thrown off his jacket--the back of
+which was adorned, according to the custom of his class, with flowers
+and various quaint devices, cut out in cloth of many colours, and sewn
+upon the brown material of which the garment was composed--he stood in
+his shirt and trousers of unbleached linen, with light sandals of
+plaited hemp upon his feet. In this latter respect he had the
+advantage of the soldier, who, not choosing to play barefooted, was
+obliged to retain his heavy boots. In apparent activity, too, the
+advantage was greatly on the side of the Navarrese, who was spare and
+sinewy, without an ounce of superfluous flesh about him, but with
+muscles like iron, and limbs as elastic and springy as whalebone. His
+very face partook of the hard, wiry character of his person; the
+cheekbones were slightly prominent, and, although he evidently wanted
+some years of thirty, two deep furrows or lines, such as are rarely
+seen on the countenance of so young a man, curved outwards from either
+nostril to considerably below the mouth, increasing in depth when he
+talked or smiled, and giving, in conjunction with a quick grey eye,
+considerable character to his frank, and by no means disagreeable
+countenance.
+
+The game began with great spirit, and with much appearance of equality
+between the players, who would both have been deemed first-rate in any
+ball-court in Europe. The great strength of the dragoon seemed at
+first to give him the advantage; the tremendous blows he delivered
+sent the ball against the wall with as much seeming force as if it had
+been driven out of a cannon, and caused it to rebound to an immense
+distance, keeping the muleteer continually at the very top of his
+speed. The match was to be the best two out of three games. The first
+of the three was won by the muleteer, after the victory had been long
+and well contested.
+
+"_Bien!_" said the dragoon, as he wiped the perspiration from his
+face, and took a deep draught out of a jug of wine which the ventero
+presented to him. "_Bien_--that is one for you; the next may go
+differently. I only missed the ball through my foot slipping. Curse
+boots for playing ball in, say I! Hola, Valenciano! have you never a
+pair of shoes or espadrillas to lend me?"
+
+The landlord, who acted as umpire, and who, as well as his wife and
+two or three loitering peasants, was taking an intense interest in the
+game, ran into the house and brought out a pair of sandals. These the
+soldier tied upon his feet, in lieu of the boots to which he
+attributed his defeat. Then, with renewed confidence, he took his
+place opposite the wall, where the muleteer was waiting for him.
+
+But if, as the dragoon said, an accident had lost him the first game,
+it soon became evident that the superior activity and endurance of his
+antagonist were equally certain to make him lose the second. The
+idleness of a garrison life, fat feeding, and soft lying, had
+disqualified the soldier to compete for any length of time with a man
+like the Navarrese, accustomed to the severest hardships, whose most
+luxurious meal was a handful of boiled beans, his softest couch a
+bundle of straw or the packsaddles of his mules. Constant exposure and
+unceasing toil had given the muleteer the same insensibility to
+fatigue attributed to certain savage tribes. Whilst his antagonist,
+with inflamed features and short-drawn breath, and reeking with
+perspiration, was toiling after the ball, the Navarrese went through
+the same, or a greater amount of exertion, without the least
+appearance of distress. Not a bead of moisture upon his face, nor a
+pant from his broad, well-opened chest, gave token of the slightest
+inconvenience from the violent exercise he was going through. On the
+contrary, as he went on and got warm in the harness, he seemed to play
+better, to run faster, to catch the ball with greater address, and
+strike it with more force. Sometimes he would be standing close to the
+wall, when a mighty blow from the strong arm of the dragoon sent the
+ball scores of yards in his rear. It seemed impossible that he should
+arrive soon enough to strike it. But before it had time to rebound, he
+was behind it, and by a blow of his horny palm, less forcible perhaps,
+but more dexterously applied than the one his opponent had given, he
+sent it careering back to the wall with greater swiftness than it had
+left it. He rarely struck the ball in the air, even when the
+opportunity offered, but allowed it to rebound--a less dashing, but a
+surer game than he would perhaps have played, had he not considered
+the honour of "Navarra la bella" to be at stake, represented in his
+person. Again, when the ball fell near the wall, he would sometimes
+swing his arm as though about to strike it a violent blow, and, whilst
+the dragoon was already beginning to retire in the direction he
+expected it to take, he would change his apparent intention, and drop
+it gently just above the line, so that his opponent, although rushing
+up in desperate haste, could scarcely arrive in time to avoid being
+put out. It was by a feint of this description that the second game
+was decided in favour of the Navarrese.
+
+"_Viva la Navarra!_" shouted the winner, bounding like a startled
+roebuck three or four feet from the ground, in front of the
+discomfited soldier.
+
+"_Viva el demonio!_" growled the latter in reply. "Do you think that
+because you have beaten me to-day, thanks to your herring guts and
+dog's hide, that you could do the same if I were in training, or had a
+month's practice? You would find it very different, Master Paco."
+
+"Viva la Navarra!" repeated Paco, chucking the small hard ball up into
+the air, to a height at which it appeared scarcely bigger than a
+bullet. Then replying to the words of the dragoon; "At your orders,
+Seņor Velasquez," said he, "I shall pass through Tudela some time next
+month, and shall be ready to give you your revenge."
+
+And catching the ball as it fell, the Navarrese, whom victory had put
+into extravagant spirits, began tossing it from one hand to the other,
+catching it behind his back, and performing various other small feats
+of address, looking the while at the corporal with a sort of jeering
+smile, which greatly aggravated the irritation of the latter.
+
+"_Pues_," said Velasquez at last, after gazing at Paco for the space
+of a minute with a stern look, which was insufficient, however, to
+make the other lower his eyes, or alter the expression of his
+countenance; "Well, what do you stare at? Oh! I forgot--you may well
+stare. It is the first time that you have seen an Asturian caballero
+beaten at any thing by a cur of a Navarrese."
+
+"Not at all," replied the muleteer coolly; "your Seņoria is mistaken.
+It is only the first time that I have seen an Asturian _caballero_
+with a pipeclayed belt over his shoulder, and a corporal's bars upon
+his arm."
+
+And he broke out into one of those wild shrill laughs of scorn and
+defiance with which the peasant soldiers of Navarre have so often,
+during recent Spanish wars, caused the rocks and ravines of their
+native province to ring again.
+
+"_Hijo de zorra!_" muttered the soldier, enraged beyond endurance by
+this last taunt; and drawing back his right arm, he dealt so heavy and
+unexpected a blow upon the breast of the muleteer that the latter
+reeled a couple of paces backwards, and then fell headlong and with
+considerable violence to the ground. The dragoon gazed for an instant
+at the fallen man, as if expecting him to rise and attack him in turn;
+but, seeing that he did not do so, he turned round and walked slowly
+in the direction of his charger.
+
+He had taken but a few steps when the Navarrese sprang to his feet,
+and thrust his hand into the red sash which girded his waist, as
+though seeking a weapon. He found none, and, instantly darting
+forward, he passed the soldier, and reached his mules a moment sooner
+than the former did his horse. The next instant a long brown barrel
+was projected across the packsaddles, and behind it was seen the blue
+cap and pale countenance of Paco, who, with glittering eye and face
+livid from fury, was taking a deadly aim at the soldier, now standing
+beside the shoulder of his charger. Without a moment's hesitation the
+Navarrese pulled the trigger. As he did so, the dragoon, suddenly
+aware of his danger, threw himself on one side, and at the same time
+his horse, either startled by the movement or tormented by a fly,
+tossed his head violently up and backwards. The muleteer's bullet,
+intended for the rider, entered the brain of the steed. There was a
+convulsive quivering of the animal's whole frame, and then, before the
+smoke cleared away, the horse fell over so heavily and suddenly that
+he bore down Velasquez under him. The soldier lay with the whole
+weight of the expiring animal resting upon his legs and thighs; and,
+before he could make an attempt to extricate himself, the Navarrese,
+with a large dagger-shaped knife gleaming in his hand, sprang across
+the space that separated him from his antagonist. The fate of the
+latter would speedily have been decided, had not the innkeeper, his
+wife, and the two young men, who had been observing with much
+interest these rapidly occurring incidents, thrown themselves between
+Paco and the object of his wrath.
+
+"Out of the way!" roared the infuriated muleteer. "He has struck me,
+and by the Holy Trinity I will have his blood. He has struck _me_, a
+free Navarrese!" repeated he, striking his own breast with the points
+of his fingers, one of the expressive and customary gestures of his
+countrymen.
+
+"Let him be, Seņor Don Paco!" yelled the ventero and his wife, greatly
+alarmed at the prospect of a murder in broad daylight and at their
+very threshold. "You have done enough already to send you to the
+galleys. Get on your mules, and ride away before worse comes of it."
+
+"_A los infiernos!_" shouted Paco. "As the horse now is, so shall be
+the rider." And he gave a long sweep of his arm, making the bright
+blade of his knife flash in the last red sun-rays like a curved line
+of burnished gold. The point of the weapon passed within an inch or
+two of the face of the innkeeper, who started back with a cry of
+alarm. At the same moment the wrist of the Navarrese was caught in a
+firm grasp by the elder of the two travellers, and the knife was
+wrested from his hand. The muleteer turned like a madman upon his new
+antagonist. The latter had laid aside the hat which shaded his face,
+and now fixed his eyes upon the angry countenance of the Navarrese.
+
+"Do you not know me, Paco?" said he, repulsing the first furious onset
+of the muleteer.
+
+Paco stared at him for a moment with a look of doubt and astonishment.
+
+"Don Luis!" he at last exclaimed.
+
+"The same," replied the stranger. "You have been too hasty, Paco, and
+we expose ourselves to blame by not detaining you to answer for your
+attempt on yonder soldier's life, and for the death of his horse. But
+you had some provocation, and I, for one, am willing to take the risk.
+Begone, and that immediately."
+
+"I shall do your bidding, Seņorito," said Paco, "were it only for old
+acquaintance sake. But let that cowardly Asturian beware how he meets
+me in the mountains. I have missed him once, but will answer for not
+doing so again."
+
+"And you," retorted the soldier, whom the innkeeper and a peasant had
+dragged from under the dead horse, and placed upon a bench, where he
+sat rubbing his legs, which were numbed and bruised by the weight that
+had fallen upon them--"and you, have a care how you show yourself in
+Tudela. If there is a stirrup-leather or sword-scabbard in the
+garrison, I promise you as sound a beating as you ever yet received."
+
+The Navarrese, who had returned to his mules and was busied reloading
+his gun, snapped his fingers scornfully at this menace. Don Luis
+walked up to him.
+
+"Listen, Paco," said he, in a low voice, "take my advice, and avoid
+this neighbourhood for a while. Are you still in the service of Count
+Villabuena?"
+
+"No, Seņor," replied the man, "I have left his Seņoria, and the mules
+are my own. I shall be passing near the count's house to-morrow, if
+you have any thing to send."
+
+"I have nothing," answered Don Luis. "Should you by chance see any of
+the family, it is unnecessary to mention our meeting."
+
+Paco nodded his head significantly, seated himself sideways on one of
+his mules, his gun across his knees, and, leading the other by the
+bridle, trotted off at a brisk pace down a mountain path nearly
+opposite to the venta. Ten minutes later the dragoon, having regained,
+in some degree, the use of his legs, resumed his boots, took his
+saddle and valise on his shoulders, and set out on foot for his
+garrison.
+
+The sun had set, and the twilight passed away, the night was clear and
+starlight, but moonless, when Luis and his companion left the venta
+and resumed their progress northwards. After following the highway for
+a short league, they took a cross-road, on either side of which the
+richly cultivated plain was sprinkled with farmhouses, and with a few
+country villas. In spite of the darkness, which was increased by the
+overhanging foliage of the fruit-trees that on either hand bordered
+the road, Luis moved rapidly and confidently forward, in the manner
+of one perfectly acquainted with the ground; and presently, leaving
+the beaten track, he passed through a plantation of young trees,
+crossed a field, and arrived with his companion at a low hedge
+surrounding a spacious garden. Jumping over this boundary, the young
+men penetrated some distance into the enclosure, and soon found
+themselves within fifty yards of a house, of which the white walls
+were partially visible, rising out of a thick garland of trees and
+bushes in which the building was embowered. Several of the windows
+were lighted up, and the sound of music reached the ears of Luis and
+his companion.
+
+"This is far enough, Mariano," said the former. "To the right, amongst
+the trees, you will find an old moss-grown bench, upon which I have
+often sat in happier days than these. There await my return."
+
+"Let me accompany you further," replied Mariano. "There is no saying
+what reception the count may give you."
+
+"I shall not see the count," answered Luis; "and if by chance I
+should, there is nothing to apprehend. But my plan, as I have already
+explained to you, is only to seek one moment's interview with Rita. I
+am well acquainted with the arrangements of the house, and you may
+depend that I shall be seen by no one whom I wish to avoid."
+
+Mariano turned into the shrubbery, and Luis, with rapid but silent
+step, advanced towards the villa, favoured in his clandestine approach
+by the darkness of the night and the trees of the thickly-planted
+garden.
+
+The house was a square edifice, without balconies, and the windows
+that were lighted up were those of the first floor. On the side on
+which Luis first approached the building, the windows were closed,
+but, upon moving noiselessly round to the front, he perceived one
+which the fineness of the weather, still mild and genial although at
+the end of September, had induced the occupants of the room to leave
+open. The sound of laughter and merriment issued from it; but this was
+presently hushed, and two voices, accompanied by guitars, began to
+sing a lively _seguidilla_, of which, at the end of each piquant
+couplet, the listeners testified their approbation by a hum of
+mirthful applause. Before the song was over, Luis had sought and found
+a means of observing what was passing within doors. Grasping the lower
+branch of a tree which grew within a few feet of the corner of the
+house, he swung himself up amongst the foliage. A large bough extended
+horizontally below the open window, and by climbing along this, he was
+enabled to look completely into the apartment; whilst, owing to the
+thickness of the leafage and the dark colour of his dress, there was
+scarcely a possibility of his being discovered.
+
+The room was occupied by about twenty persons, the majority of whom
+were visitors, inhabitants of Tudela or of neighbouring
+country-houses. With four or five exceptions, the party consisted of
+men, for the most part elderly or middle-aged. One of the ladies and a
+young officer of the royal guard were the singers, and their
+performance seemed partially to interrupt the conversation of a group
+of the seniors who were seated round a card-table at the further end
+of the apartment. The cards, however, if they had been used at all,
+had long been thrown aside, and replaced by a discussion carried on in
+low tones, and with an earnestness of countenance and gesture, which
+gave to those engaged in it the appearance rather of conspirators than
+of friends met together for the enjoyment of each other's society. The
+ladies, and a few of the younger men, did not appear disposed to let
+the gravity of their elders interfere with their own pleasures. The
+song and the dance, the pointed epigram and witty repartee, all the
+varied resourccs which Spaniards know so well how to bring into play,
+and which render a Spanish _tertulia_ so agreeable, had been in turn
+resorted to. When the seguidilla--during the continuance of which Luis
+had gained his post of observation--was brought to a close, there
+seemed to ensue a sort of break in the amusements of the evening. The
+younger members of the company, whose conversation had previously been
+general, separated into groups of two or three persons; and in more
+than one of those composed of the former number, the flashing eye,
+coquettish smile, and rapidly significant motions of the fan, bespoke
+the existence of an animated flirtation.
+
+Two ladies, neither of whom could have seen more than eighteen
+summers, now left the sofa upon which they had been sitting, and, with
+arms intertwined, approached the open window. Luis remained motionless
+as the leaves that surrounded him, and which were undisturbed by a
+breath of wind. The ladies leaned forward over the window-sill,
+enjoying the freshness of the night; and one of them, the lively
+brunette who had taken a part in the seguidilla, plucked some sprays
+of jasmine which reared their pointed leaves and white blossoms in
+front of the window, and began to entwine them in the hair of her
+companion--a pale and somewhat pensive beauty, in whose golden locks
+and blue eyes the Gothic blood of old Spain was yet to be traced.
+Presently she was interrupted in this fanciful occupation by a voice
+within the room calling upon her to sing. She obeyed the summons, and
+her friend remained alone at the window.
+
+No sooner was this the case than a slight rustling occurred amongst
+the branches of the tree, and the name of "Rita" was uttered in a
+cautious whisper. The lady started, and but half suppressed a cry of
+terror. The next instant the leaves were put aside, and the light from
+the apartment fell upon the countenance of Luis, who, with uplifted
+finger, warned the agitated girl to restrain her emotion.
+
+"Santa Virgen!" she exclaimed, leaning far out of the window, and
+speaking in a hurried whisper, "this is madness, Luis. My father is
+unchanged in his sentiments, and I dread his anger should he find you
+here."
+
+"I will instantly depart," replied Luis, "if you promise me an
+interview. I am about to leave Spain--perhaps for ever; but I cannot
+go without bidding you farewell. You will not refuse me a meeting
+which may probably be our last."
+
+"What mean you?" exclaimed the lady. "Why do you leave Spain, and
+when? But we shall be overheard. To-morrow my father goes to Tudela.
+Be here at mid-day. Brigida will admit you."
+
+She held out her hand, which Luis pressed to his lips. At that moment
+the clatter of a horse's hoofs, rapidly approaching, was heard upon
+the hard ground of the avenue. The lady hastily withdrew her land and
+left the window, whilst Luis again concealed himself behind the screen
+of foliage. Scarcely had he done so, when a horseman dashed up to the
+house, forced his steed up the three or four broad steps leading to
+the door, and, without dismounting or looking for a bell or other
+means of announcing his arrival, struck several blows upon the oaken
+panels with the butt of his heavy riding-whip. Whilst the party
+above-stairs hurried to the windows, and endeavoured to discern who it
+was that disturbed them in so unceremonious a manner, a servant opened
+the small grated wicket in the centre of the door, and enquired the
+stranger's pleasure.
+
+"Is the Conde de Villabuena at home?" demanded the horseman. "I must
+see him instantly."
+
+"The name of your Seņoria," enquired the domestic.
+
+"It is unnecessary. Say that I have a message to him from friends at
+Madrid."
+
+The servant disappeared, and in another moment his place was occupied
+by a grave, stern-looking man, between fifty and sixty years of age.
+
+"I am Count Villabuena," said he; "what is your business?"
+
+The stranger bent forward over his horse's mane, so as to bring his
+face close to the wicket, and uttered three words in a tone audible
+only to the count, who replied to them by an exclamation of surprise.
+The door was immediately opened, and Villabuena stood beside the
+horseman.
+
+"When?" said he.
+
+"Yesterday. I have ridden night and day to bring you the intelligence,
+and shall now push on to the interior of Navarre. At the same time as
+myself, others of our friends started, north and south, east and west.
+Early this morning, Santos Ladron heard it at Valladolid, and Merino
+in Castile. To-day the news has reached Vittoria; this night they will
+be at Bilboa and Tolosa. It is from the northern provinces that most
+is expected; but 'El Rey y la Religion' is a rallying-cry that will
+rouse all Spaniards worthy of the name. You are prepared for the
+event, and know what to do. Farewell, and success attend us!"
+
+The stranger set spurs to his horse, and galloped down the avenue at
+the same rapid pace at which he had arrived. The count re-entered the
+house; and, as soon as he had done so, Luis dropped from his tree, and
+hurried to rejoin Mariano. In another hour they had returned to the
+venta.
+
+Luis Herrera was the son of a Castilian gentleman, who had suffered
+much, both in person and property, for his steady adherence to the
+constitutional cause in Spain. Severely wounded whilst fighting
+against the Royalists and their French allies in 1823, Don Manuel
+Herrera with difficulty escaped to England, taking with him his only
+son, then a boy of eleven years of age. In 1830 he changed his
+residence to the south of France, and thence, taking advantage of his
+proximity to the frontier, and wishing his son's education to be
+completed in Spain, he dispatched Luis to Madrid, with a
+recommendation to the Conde de Villabuena, who, notwithstanding that
+his political principles were diametrically opposed to those of Don
+Manuel, was one of the oldest friends of the latter. The count
+welcomed Luis kindly, and received him into his house, where for some
+months he prosecuted his studies in company with the young
+Villabuenas, and, at the end of that time, went with them to the
+university of Salamanca. The vacations were passed by the young men
+either at the count's house at Madrid, or at a country residence near
+Tudela, north of which, in the central valleys of his native province
+of Navarre, the Conde de Villabuena owned extensive estates. The count
+was a widower, and, besides his two sons, had an only daughter, who,
+at the time of Luis's arrival was in her sixteenth year, and who added
+to great personal attractions a share of accomplishment and
+instruction larger than is usually found even amongst the higher
+classes of Spanish women. During the first sojourn of Luis at the
+count's house, he was naturally thrown a great deal into Doņa Rita's
+society, and a reciprocal attachment grew up between them, which, if
+it occasionally afforded the young Villabuenas a subject of
+good-humoured raillery, on the other hand was unobserved or uncared
+for by the count--a stern silent man, whose thoughts and time were
+engrossed by political intrigues. When Luis went to Salamanca, his
+attachment to Rita, instead of becoming weakened or obliterated,
+appeared to acquire strength from absence; and she, on her part, as
+each vacation approached, unconsciously looked forward with far more
+eagerness to the return of Herrera than to that of her brothers.
+
+The autumn of 1832 arrived, and the count and his family, including
+Luis, were assembled at the villa near Tudela. The attachment existing
+between Rita and Luis had become evident to all who knew them; and
+even the count himself seemed occasionally, by a quiet glance and
+grave smile, to recognise and sanction its existence. Nor was there
+any very obvious or strong reason for disapproval. The family of
+Herrera was ancient and honourable; and, although Don Manuel's estates
+had been confiscated when he fled the country, he had previously
+remitted to England a sum that secured him a moderate independence.
+The state of things in Spain was daily becoming more favourable to the
+hopes of political exiles. The declining health of Ferdinand had
+thrown the reins of government almost entirely into the hands of Queen
+Christina, who, in order to increase the number of her adherents, and
+ensure her daughter's succession to the throne, favoured the return to
+Spain of the Liberal party. Although Don Manuel, who was known to be
+obstinate and violent in his political views, had not yet been
+included in the amnesties published, it was thought that he speedily
+would be so; and then time and importunity, and an adherence to the
+established order of things, might perhaps procure him the restitution
+of some part of his confiscated property.
+
+It chanced, that on the fourth day after the arrival of Luis and the
+Villabuenas from Salamanca, the two latter rode over to the Ebro,
+below Tudela, for the purpose of bathing. They were not good swimmers,
+and were moreover unaccustomed to bathe in so rapid and powerful a
+stream. A peasant, who observed two horses tied to a tree, and some
+clothes upon the grass by the river side, but who could see nothing of
+the owners, suspected an accident, and gave the alarm. A search was
+instituted, and the dead bodies of the unfortunate young men were
+found upon the sandy shore of an island some distance down the river.
+
+This melancholy event was destined to have an important influence on
+the position of Luis Herrera in the family of Count Villabuena, and on
+his future fortunes. Mingled with the natural grief felt by the count
+at the untimely death of his children, were the pangs of disappointed
+pride and ambition. He had reckoned upon the gallant and promising
+young men, thus prematurely snatched away, for the continuance and
+aggrandizement of his ancient name. Upon his daughter he had hitherto
+scarcely bestowed a thought. She would marry--honourably of course,
+richly if possible; but even in this last respect he would not be
+inflexible, for where his pride of birth did not interfere, Villabuena
+was not an unkind father. But the death of his sons brought about
+great changes. The next heir to his title and estates was a distant
+and unmarried cousin, and to him the count determined to marry his
+daughter, whose beauty and large fortune in money and unentailed
+estates, rendered any objection to the match on the part of her
+kinsman a most improbable occurrence. As a first step towards the
+accomplishment of this scheme, the count resolved to put an end at
+once to what he considered the childish attachment existing between
+Rita and Luis. Within a week after the death of his sons, he had a
+conversation with young Herrera, in which he informed him of his
+intentions with regard to his daughter, and pointed out to him the
+necessity of forgetting her. In vain did Luis declare this to be
+impossible, and plead the strength which his attachment had acquired
+by his long permitted intercourse with Rita. The count cared little
+for such lover-like arguments; he assured Luis that he was mistaken,
+that time and absence brought oblivion in their train, and that after
+a few months, perhaps weeks, of separation, he would wonder at the
+change in his sentiments, and laugh at the importance he had attached
+to a mere boyish fancy. It so happened, that on the day preceding the
+one upon which this conversation took place, a letter had been
+received from Don Manuel Herrera, announcing his speedy return to
+Spain, the much-desired permission having at length been obtained. In
+order to give Luis an opportunity of speedily testing the effects of
+absence, the count proposed that he should at once set out for the
+French frontier to meet his father. Under the existing circumstances,
+he said, it was undesirable that he should remain under the same roof
+with his daughter longer than could be avoided.
+
+Although bitterly deploring the prospect of an immediate and lasting
+separation from Rita, Luis had no choice but to adopt the course
+proposed; nor would his pride have allowed him to remain in the
+count's house an instant longer than his presence there was
+acceptable. He feared that the count would prevent his having a last
+interview with Rita; but this Villabuena did not think it worth while
+to do, contenting himself with repeating to his daughter the
+communication he had already made to Luis. When the latter sought his
+mistress, he found her in tears and great affliction. The blow was so
+sudden and unexpected, that she could scarcely believe in its reality,
+and still less could she bring herself to think that the count would
+persist in his cruel resolution. "He will surely relent," she said,
+"when he sees how unhappy his decision makes me; but should he not do
+so, rest assured, Luis, that I will never be forced into this odious
+marriage. Sooner than submit to it, a convent shall receive me." And
+once more repeating the vows of constancy which they had so often
+interchanged, the lovers separated. At daybreak upon the following
+morning, Luis set out for Bayonne.
+
+The joy experienced by Don Manuel Herrera upon once more treading his
+native soil, did not so engross him as to prevent his observing the
+melancholy of his son. In reply to his father's enquiries, Luis
+informed him of his attachment to Rita, and of the interdict which
+the count had put upon its continuance. Don Manuel was indignant at
+what he termed the selfish and unfeeling conduct of Villabuena, who
+would thus sacrifice his daughter's happiness to his own pride and
+ambition. He then endeavoured to rouse the pride of Luis, and to
+convert his regrets into indignation; but, finding himself
+unsuccessful, he resolved to try the effect of change of scene and
+constant occupation. He set out with his son for Old Castile, of which
+he was a native, and undertook various journeys through the province
+in search of a small estate, such as his means would permit him to
+purchase, and upon which he might in future reside. This he at last
+found, a few leagues to the south of Burgos. The purchase completed,
+there were still many arrangements to make before Don Manuel could
+settle down and enjoy the peaceful country life which he had planned
+for himself, and in making these arrangements he took care to find his
+son abundant and varied employment. But all his well-meant efforts
+were in vain. Luis could not detach his thoughts from one
+all-engrossing subject; and at last, although Count Villabuena had
+expressly forbidden any correspondence between his daughter and young
+Herrera, the latter, after some weeks' absence, unable to resist any
+longer his desire to hear from Rita, ventured to write to her. The
+letter was intercepted by the count, and returned unopened, with a few
+haughty lines expressive of his indignation at the ingratitude of
+Luis, who was requiting the kindness he had received at his hands by
+endeavouring to thwart his plans and seduce the affections of his
+daughter. The terms in which this letter was couched roused the ire of
+Don Manuel, who in his turn forbade his son to expose himself to a
+repetition of similar insults by any communication with the count or
+his daughter. Shortly afterwards Luis returned to Salamanca to
+complete his studies.
+
+The profession of the law, to which young Herrera was destined, had
+never had any charms for him. His own inclinations pointed to a
+military career, which he had on various occasions urged his father to
+allow him to adopt; but Don Manuel had invariably refused his request,
+alleging the poor prospect of advancement in time of peace, and in a
+service in which nearly all promotion was gained by interest and
+court-favour. Nevertheless, from his earliest youth Luis had devoted
+his leisure hours to the attainment of accomplishments qualifying him
+for the trade of war. He was the boldest horseman, most skilful
+swordsman, and best shot in the University of Salamanca. His
+superiority in these respects, his decided character, and agreeable
+manners, had gained him considerable popularity amongst his
+fellow-students, who frequently expressed their surprise, that one
+whose vocation was evidently military should abide by the dusty folios
+and dry intricacies of the law.
+
+More insupportable than ever did his studies now appear to Luis, who
+nevertheless persevered in them for several months after his father's
+return to Spain, endeavouring by strenuous application to divert his
+thoughts from his hopeless attachment. Weary at length of the effort,
+he determined to abandon a pursuit so uncongenial to his tastes, and
+to seek a more active course of life, and one for which he felt he was
+better suited. His plan was to repair to Africa, and endeavour to
+obtain a commission in one of the foreign corps which the French were
+raising for their campaign against the Bedouins. Should he fail in
+this, he would serve as a volunteer, and trust to his courage and
+merits for procuring him advancement. Previously, however, to the
+execution of this scheme, he resolved to see Rita once more, ascertain
+from her own lips whether there was a chance of the count's relenting,
+and, should there be none, bid her a last farewell. He would then
+return to his father's house, and obtain Don Manuel's sanction to his
+project.
+
+Since the unfortunate death of the young Villabuenas, Herrera's chief
+intimate at the University had been Mariano Torres, a hot-headed,
+warm-hearted Arragonese, entirely devoted to Luis, to whom he looked
+up as a model of perfection. To this young man Luis had confided his
+love for Rita, and her father's opposition, and to him he now
+communicated his new plans. To his infinite surprise, scarcely had he
+done so when Mariano, instead of expressing regret at his approaching
+departure, threw his three-cornered student's hat to the ceiling, tore
+off his gown, and declared his intention of accompanying his friend to
+Africa, or to any other part of the world to which he chose to betake
+himself. Luis tried to persuade him to abandon so mad a resolution;
+but Torres persisted in it, protesting that it would suit his taste
+much better to fight against Bedouins than to become a bachelor of
+arts, and that he had always intended to leave the University with his
+friend, and to accompany him wherever he might go. Trusting that, by
+the time they should reach Navarre, Mariano's enthusiasm would cool
+down, and his resolution change, Luis at length yielded, and the two
+friends left Salamanca together. Travelling by the public conveyances,
+they reached Valladolid, and subsequently the town of Soria, whence
+they had still nearly twenty leagues of high-road to Tudela. The path
+across the mountains being considerably shorter, and in order to
+diminish the risk of being seen by persons who might inform the count
+of his arrival, Luis resolved to complete the journey on foot; and
+after two short days' march, the young men reached the neighbourhood
+of Count Villabuena's residence.
+
+The church and convent clocks of the right Catholic city of Tudela had
+not yet chimed out the hour of noon, when Luis, impatient for the
+interview promised by Rita, entered the count's domain by the same
+path as on the previous evening. Before he came in sight of the house,
+he was met at an angle of the shrubbery by Rita herself.
+
+"I was sure you would take this path," said she, with a smile in which
+melancholy was mingled with the pleasure she felt at seeing her lover;
+"it was your favourite in days gone by. Our interview must be very
+brief. My father was to have remained at Tudela till evening, but
+something has occurred to derange his plans. He sat up the whole night
+in close conference with some gentlemen. At daybreak two couriers were
+dispatched, and the count rode away with his friends without having
+been in bed. He may return at any moment."
+
+Luis drew the arm of his mistress through his own, and they slowly
+walked down one of the alleys of the garden. Rita had little to tell
+him favourable to the hopes which he still, in spite of himself,
+continued to cherish. The appeals which she had ventured to make to
+her father's affection, and to his regard for her happiness, had been
+met by severe reproof. Her evident depression and melancholy remained
+unnoticed, or at least unadverted to, by the count. All that she said
+only confirmed Luis in his resolution of seeking high distinction or
+an honourable death in a foreign service. He was deliberating, with
+eyes fixed upon the ground, on the best manner of breaking his
+intentions to Rita, when an exclamation of alarm from her lips caused
+him to look up, and he saw Villabuena crossing on horseback the end of
+the walk along which they were advancing. The count's head was turned
+towards them, and he had without doubt seen and recognised them.
+
+Herrera's resolution was instantly taken. He would seek the count's
+presence, take upon himself the whole blame of his clandestine meeting
+with Rita, and appease her father's anger by informing him of his
+proposed self-banishment. Before, however, he had succeeded in calming
+Rita's fears, he again perceived the count, who had left his horse,
+and was advancing slowly towards them, with a grave, but not an angry
+countenance. On his near approach, Luis was about to address him; but
+by a wave of his hand Villabuena enjoined silence.
+
+"Return to the house, Rita," said he in a calm voice: "and, you, Seņor
+de Herrera, remain here; I would speak a few words with you."
+
+Tremblingly, and with one last lingering look at Luis, Rita withdrew.
+
+"We will walk, sir, if you please," said the count; and the two men
+walked for some distance side by side and in silence; Villabuena
+apparently plunged in reflection, Luis wondering at his forbearance,
+and impatient for its explanation.
+
+"You are surprised," said the count at last, "after all that has
+passed, that I show so little resentment at your uninvited presence
+here, and at Rita's infringement of my positive commands."
+
+Luis would have spoken, but Villabuena resumed.
+
+"You will be still more astonished to learn, that there is a
+possibility of your attachment receiving my sanction."
+
+Herrera started, and his face was lighted up with sudden rapture.
+
+"You will of course have heard," continued the count, "of the
+important intelligence received here last night, and with which this
+morning all the country is ringing. I allude to the death of Ferdinand
+VII."
+
+"I had not heard of it," replied Luis, much surprised; for, although
+the desperate state of the king's health was well known, his malady
+had lasted so long that men had almost left off expecting his death.
+
+"I know I can depend upon your honour, Luis," said the count; "and I
+am therefore about to speak to you with a confidence which I should
+repose in few so young and inexperienced."
+
+Luis bowed.
+
+"Although," resumed Villabuena, "his Majesty Charles the Fifth is at
+this moment absent from Spain, his faithful subjects will not allow
+that absence to be prejudicial to him. They intend to vindicate his
+just rights, and to overturn the contemptible faction which, headed by
+an intriguing woman, supports the unfounded claims of a sickly infant.
+In anticipation of Ferdinand's death, all necessary measures have been
+taken; and, before three days elapse, you will see a flame lighted up
+through the land, which will speedily consume and destroy the enemies
+of Spain, and of her rightful monarch. Navarre and Biscay, Valentia
+and Arragon, Catalonia and Castile, will rise almost to a man in
+defence of their king; the other provinces must follow their example,
+or be compelled to submission. Although confident of success, it yet
+behoves us to neglect no means of securing it; nor are we so blinded
+as to think that the faction which at present holds the reins of
+government will resign them without a struggle. Avoiding
+overconfidence, therefore, which so often leads to failure, each man
+must put his shoulder to the wheel, and contribute his best efforts to
+the one great end, regardless of private sacrifices. What I have to
+propose to you is this. Time was when our universities were the
+strongholds of loyalty and religion; but that time is unfortunately
+past, and the baneful doctrines of republicanism and equality have
+found their way even into those nurseries of our priesthood and
+statesmen. We are well informed that at Salamanca especially, many of
+the students, even of the better class, incline to the self-styled
+Liberal party. You, Luis, are ready of speech, bold and prompt in
+action, and, moreover, you are known to have great influence amongst
+your fellow-students. Return, then, to Salamanca, and exert that
+influence to bring back into the right path those who have been led
+astray. Urge the just claims of Charles V., hold out the prospect of
+military glory and distinction, and of the gratitude of an admiring
+country. Let your efforts be chiefly directed to gain over young men
+of wealthy and influential families, and to induce them to take up
+arms for the king. Form them into a squadron, of which you shall have
+the command, and the private soldiers of which shall rank as officers
+in the army, and subsequently be transferred to other corps to act as
+such. Appoint a place of rendezvous; and, when your men are assembled
+there, march them to join the nearest division of the Royalist army. I
+guarantee to you a captain's commission; and as soon as the king, with
+whom I have some influence, arrives in Spain, I will strongly
+recommend you to his favour. Our campaign, however brief, must afford
+opportunities of distinction to brave men who seek them. With your
+energy, and with the natural military talents which I am persuaded you
+possess, high rank, honours, and riches may speedily be yours. And
+when Charles V., firmly seated on the throne of Spain, points you out
+to me as one of those to whom he owes his crown, and as a man whom he
+delights to honour, I will no longer refuse to you my daughter's
+hand."
+
+However distant the perspective of happiness thus offered to his view,
+and although the avenue leading to it was beset with dangers and
+uncertainties, it promised to realize the ardent hopes which Luis
+Herrera had once ventured to indulge. Sanguine and confident, he would
+at once have caught at the count's proposal, but for one consideration
+that flashed across his mind. He was himself wedded to no political
+creed, and had as yet scarcely bestowed a thought upon the different
+parties into which his countrymen were split. But his father, who had
+so strenuously adhered to the Liberal side, who had poured out his
+blood with Mina, fought side by side with Riego, sacrificed his
+property, and endured a long and wearisome exile for conscience and
+his opinions' sake--what would be his feelings if he saw his only son
+range himself beneath the banner of absolutism? The struggle in the
+mind of Luis, between love on the one hand and filial duty and
+affection on the other, was too severe and too equally balanced to be
+instantly decided. He remained silent, and the count, mistaking the
+cause of his hesitation, resumed.
+
+"You are surprised," said he, "to find me so willing to abandon my
+dearest projects for the sake of a remote advantage to the king's
+cause. But remember that I promise nothing--all is contingent on your
+own conduct and success. And although you may have thought me
+unfeeling and severe, I shall gladly, if possible, indulge the
+inclinations of my only surviving child."
+
+It required all Herrera's firmness and sense of duty to prevent him
+from yielding to the temptation held out, and pledging himself at once
+to the cause of Charles V.
+
+"You will not expect me, Seņor Conde," said he, "to give an immediate
+answer to a proposal of such importance. I feel sincerely grateful to
+you, but must crave a short delay for consideration."
+
+"Let that delay be as brief as possible," said Villabuena. "In the
+present circumstances, the value of assistance will be doubled by its
+promptness. When love and loyalty are both in one scale," added he,
+with a slight smile, "methinks a decision were easy."
+
+They had now approached the gate of the garden, and Luis, desirous of
+finding himself alone, to arrange his thoughts and reflect on his
+future conduct, took his leave. The count held out his hand with some
+of his former cordiality.
+
+"You will write to me from Salamanca?" said he.
+
+Herrera bowed his head, and then, fearful lest his assent should be
+misconstrued, he replied--
+
+"From Salamanca, or from elsewhere, you shall certainly hear from me,
+Seņor Conde, and that with all speed."
+
+The count nodded and turned towards the house, whilst Luis retook the
+road to the venta.
+
+He found Mariano impatiently waiting his return, and eager to learn
+the result of his interview with Rita. Upon being informed of the
+proposal that had been made to Luis, Torres, seeing in it only a means
+of happiness for his friend, strongly urged him to accept it. To this,
+however, Luis could not make up his mind; and finally, after some
+deliberation, he resolved to proceed to Old Castile, and endeavour to
+obtain his father's consent to his joining the party of Don Carlos.
+Should he succeed in this, of which he could not help entertaining a
+doubt, he would no longer hesitate, but at once inform the count of
+his decision, and hasten to Salamanca to put his instructions into
+execution. Without further delay the two friends set out for Tarazona,
+where they trusted to find some means of speedy conveyance to the
+residence of Don Manuel.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the kingdom of Old Castile, and more especially in its mountainous
+portions and the districts adjacent to the Ebro, an extraordinary
+bustle and agitation were observable during the first days of October
+1833. There was great furbishing of rusty muskets, an eager search
+for cartridges, much dusting of old uniforms that had long served but
+as hiding-places for moths, and which were now donned by men, many of
+whom seemed but ill at ease in their military equipments. For ten
+years Spain had been tranquil, if not happy; but now, as if even this
+short period of repose were too long for the restless spirit of her
+sons, a new pretext for discord had been found, and an ominous stir,
+the forerunner of civil strife, was perceptible through the land.
+Whilst Santos Ladron, an officer of merit, who had served through the
+whole of the war against Napoleon, raised the standard of Charles V.
+in Navarre, various partisans did the same in the country south of the
+Ebro. In the northeastern corner of Castile, known as the Rioja,
+Basilio Garcia, agent for the Pope's bulls in the province of Soria--a
+man destitute of military knowledge, and remarkable only for his
+repulsive exterior and cold-blooded ferocity--collected and headed a
+small body of insurgents; whilst, in other districts of the same
+province, several battalions of the old Royalist volunteers--a loose,
+ill-disciplined militia, as motely and unsoldierlike in appearance as
+they were unsteady and inefficient in the field--ranged themselves
+under the orders of a general-officer named Cuevillas, and of the
+veteran Merino. To these soon joined themselves various individuals of
+the half-soldier half-bandit class, so numerous in Spain--men who had
+served in former wars, and asked no better than again to enact the
+scenes of bloodshed and pillage which were their element. The
+popularity and acknowledged skill of Merino as a guerilla-leader,
+secured to him the services of many of these daring and desperate
+ruffians, who flocked joyously to the banner of the soldier-priest,
+under whose orders some of them had already fought.
+
+Through a tract of champaign country in the province of Burgos, a
+column of these newly-assembled troops was seen marching early upon
+the third morning after the interview between Luis Herrera and Count
+Villabuena. It consisted of a battalion of the Realista militia, for
+the most part middle-aged citizens, who, although they had felt
+themselves bound to obey the call to arms, seemed but indifferently
+pleased at having left their families and occupations. Their equipment
+was various: few had complete uniform, although most of them displayed
+some part of one; but all had belts and cartridge-box, musket and
+bayonet. Although they had as yet gone but a short distance, many of
+them appeared footsore and weary; and it was pretty evident that, in
+the event of a campaign, their ranks would be thinned nearly as much
+by the fatigues of the march as by the fire of the enemy. In front and
+rear of the battalion marched a squadron of cavalry, of a far more
+soldierly aspect than the foot-soldiers, although even amongst them
+but little uniformity of costume was found. The bronzed and bearded
+physiognomy, athletic form and upright carriage, which bespeak the
+veteran soldier, were not wanting in their ranks; their horses were
+active and hardy, their arms clean and serviceable.
+
+At the head of the column, a few paces in advance, rode a small group
+of officers, the chief amongst whom was only to be distinguished by
+the deference shown to him by his companions. Insignia of rank he had
+none, nor any indications of his military profession, excepting the
+heavy sabre that dangled against the flank of his powerful black
+charger. His dress was entirely civilian, consisting of a long surtout
+something the worse for wear, and a round hat. Heavy spurs upon his
+heels, and an ample cloak, now strapped across his holsters, completed
+the equipment of the cura Merino, in whose hard and rigid features,
+and wiry person, scarcely a sign of decay or infirmity was visible
+after more than sixty years of life, a large portion of which had been
+passed amidst the fatigues and hardships of incessant campaigning.
+
+As if infected by the sombre and taciturn character of their leader,
+the party of officers had been riding for some time in silence, when
+they came in sight of a house situated at a short distance from the
+road, and of a superior description to the _caserias_ and peasants'
+cottages which they had hitherto passed. It was a building of moderate
+size, with an appearance of greater comfort and neatness about it than
+is usually found in Spanish houses. Stables adjoined it, and, at some
+distance in its rear, a range of barns and outhouses served to store
+the crops produced by the extensive tract of well-cultivated land in
+the centre of which the dwelling was situated. The front of the house
+was partially masked from the road by an orchard, and behind it a
+similar growth of fruit trees seemed intended to intercept the keen
+blasts from a line of mountains which rose, grey and gloomy, at the
+distance of a few miles.
+
+"Who lives yonder?" abruptly enquired Merino, pointing to the house,
+which he had been gazing at for some time from under his bushy
+eyebrows. The officer to whom the question was addressed referred to
+another of the party, a native of that part of the country.
+
+"Seņor de Herrera," was the answer. "We have been riding for some
+minutes through his property. He purchased the estate about a year
+ago, on his return from France."
+
+"What had he been doing in France?"
+
+"Living there, which he could not have done here unless he had been
+bullet-proof, or had a neck harder than the iron collar of the
+garrote."
+
+"Herrera!" repeated the cura musingly--"I know the name, but there are
+many who bear it. There was a Manuel Herrera who sat in the Cortes in
+the days of the constitutionalists, and afterwards commanded a
+battalion of their rabble. You do not mean him?"
+
+"The same, general," replied the officer, addressing Merino by the
+rank which he held in the Spanish army since the war of Independence.
+A most unpriestly ejaculation escaped the lips of the cura.
+
+"Manuel Herrera," he repeated; "the dog, the _negro_,[1] the friend of
+the scoundrel Riego! I will hang him up at his own door!"
+
+All the old hatreds and bitter party animosities of Merino seemed
+wakened into new life by the name of one of his former opponents. His
+eyes flashed, his lips quivered with rage, and he half turned his
+horse, as if about to proceed to Herrera's house and put his threat
+into execution. The impulse, however, was checked almost as soon as
+felt.
+
+"Another time will do," said he, with a grin smile. "Let us once get
+Charles V. at Madrid, and we will make short work of the Seņor Herrera
+and of all who resemble him." And the cura continued his march, silent
+as before.
+
+He had proceeded but a short half mile when the officer commanding the
+cavalry rode up beside him.
+
+"We have no forage, general," said he--"not a blade of straw, or a
+grain in our corn-sacks. Shall I send on an orderly, that we may find
+it ready on reaching the halting-place?"
+
+"No!" replied Merino. "Send a party to that house on the left of the
+road which we passed ten minutes ago. Let them press all the carts
+they find there, load them with corn, and bring them after us."
+
+The officer fell back to his squadron, and the next minute a subaltern
+and twenty men detached themselves from the column, and, at a brisk
+trot, began retracing their steps along the road. Upon arriving in
+sight of the house to which they were proceeding, they leaped their
+horses over a narrow ditch dividing the road from the fields and
+struck across the latter in a straight line, compelled, however, by
+the heaviness of the ground to slacken their pace to a walk. They had
+not got over more than half the distance which they had to traverse,
+when they heard the clang of a bell, continuously rung; and this was
+followed by the appearance of two men, who issued from the stables and
+out-buildings, and hurried to the house. Scarcely had they entered
+when the shutters of the lower windows were pushed to, and the heavy
+door closed and barred. The soldiers were now within a hundred yards
+of the dwelling.
+
+"Hallo!" cried the officer contemptuously, "they will not stand a
+siege, will they? The old don is a black-hearted rebel, I know; but he
+will hardly be fool enough to resist us."
+
+The trooper was mistaken. The courage of Don Manuel Herrera was of
+that obstinate and uncalculating character which would have induced
+him to defend his house, single-handed, against a much larger force
+than that now brought against it. When he had learned, three days
+previously, that risings were taking place in his own neighbourhood in
+the name of Charles V., he had attached very little importance to the
+intelligence. An old soldier himself, he entertained the most
+unmitigated contempt for the Realista volunteers, whom he looked upon
+as a set of tailors, whose muskets would rather encumber them than
+injure any body else; and who, on the first appearance of regular
+troops, would infallibly throw down their arms, and betake themselves
+to their homes. As to the parties of insurgent guerillas which he was
+informed were beginning to show themselves at various points of the
+vicinity, he considered them as mere bandits, availing themselves of
+the stir and excitement in the country to exercise their nefarious
+profession; and, should any such parties attempt to molest him, he was
+fully determined to resist their attacks. In this resolution he now
+persevered, although he rightly conjectured that the horsemen
+approaching his house were either the rearguard or a detachment of the
+disorderly-looking column of which he had a short time previously
+observed the passage.
+
+"Hola! Don Manolo!" shouted the officer, as he halted his party in
+front of the house; "what scurvy hospitality is this? What are you
+fastening doors and ringing alarm-bells for, as if there were more
+thieves than honest men in the land? We come to pay you a friendly
+visit, and, instead of welcome and the wine-skin, you shut the door in
+our faces. Devilish unfriendly, that, Don Manolito!"
+
+The speaker, who, like many of Merino's followers, was an inhabitant
+of the neighbouring country, knew Don Manuel well by name and
+reputation, and was also known to him as a deserter from the
+Constitutionalists in 1823, and as one of the most desperate smugglers
+and outlaws in the province.
+
+"What do you want with me, Pedro Rufin?" demanded Don Manuel, who now
+showed himself at one of the upper windows; "and what is the meaning
+of this assemblage of armed men?"
+
+"The meaning is," replied Rufin, "that I have been detached from the
+division of his Excellency General Merino, to demand from you a
+certain quantity of maize or barley, or both, for the service of his
+Majesty King Charles V."
+
+"I know no such persons," retorted Don Manuel, "as General Merino or
+King Charles V. But I know you well, Rufin, and the advice I give you
+is to begone, yourself and your companions. We shall have troops here
+to-day or to-morrow, and you will find the country too hot to hold
+you."
+
+The officer laughed.
+
+"Troops are here already," he said; "you may have seen our column
+march by not half an hour ago. But we have no time to lose. Once more,
+Seņor Herrera, open the door, and that quickly."
+
+"My door does not open at your bidding," replied Don Manuel. "I give
+you two minutes to draw off your followers, and, if you are not gone
+by that time, you shall be fired upon."
+
+"Morral," said the officer to one of his men, "your horse is a kicker,
+I believe. Try the strength of the door."
+
+The soldier left the ranks, and turning his rawboned, vicious-looking
+chestnut horse with its tail to the house-door, he pressed his
+knuckles sharply upon the animal's loins, just behind the saddle. The
+horse lashed out furiously, each kick of his iron-shod heels making
+the door crack and rattle, and striking out white splinters from the
+dark surface of the oak of which it was composed. At the first kick
+Don Manuel left the window. The soldiers stood looking on, laughing
+till they rolled in their saddles at this novel species of
+sledge-hammer. Owing, however, to the great solidity of the door, and
+the numerous fastenings with which it was provided on the other side,
+the kicks of the horse, although several times repeated, failed to
+burst it open; and at last the animal, as if wearied by the resistance
+it met with, relaxed the vigour of its applications.
+
+"Famous horse that of yours, Morral!" said the officer; "as good as a
+locksmith or a six-pounder. Try it again, my boy. You have made some
+ugly marks already. Another round of kicks, and the way is open."
+
+"And if another blow is struck upon my door," said Don Manuel,
+suddenly reappearing at the window, to the soldier, "your horse will
+go home with an empty saddle."
+
+"Silence! you old rebel," shouted Rufin, drawing a pistol from his
+holster. "And you, Morral, never fear. At it again, man."
+
+The soldier again applied his knuckles to his horse's back, and the
+animal gave a tremendous kick. At the same instant a puff of smoke
+issued from the window at which Don Manuel had stationed himself, the
+report of a musket was heard, and the unlucky Morral, shot through the
+body, fell headlong to the ground.
+
+"Damnation!" roared the officer, firing his pistol at the window
+whence the shot had proceeded; and immediately his men, without
+waiting for orders, commenced an irregular fire of carbines and
+pistols against the house. It was replied to with effect from three of
+the windows. A man fell mortally wounded, and two of the horses were
+hit. Rufin, alarmed at the loss the party had experienced, drew his
+men back under shelter of some trees, till he could decide on what was
+best to be done. It seemed at first by no means improbable that the
+Carlists would have to beat a retreat, or at any rate wait the arrival
+of infantry, which it was not improbable Merino might have sent to
+their assistance when the sound of the firing reached his ears. The
+lower windows of the house were protected by strong iron bars; and,
+although the defenders were so few in number, their muskets, and the
+shelter behind which they fought, gave them a great advantage over the
+assailants, whose carbines would not carry far, and who had no cover
+from the fire of their opponents. At last a plan was devised which
+offered some chance of success. The party dismounted; and whilst four
+men, making a circuit, and concealing themselves as much as possible
+behind trees and hedges, endeavoured to get in rear of the building,
+the others, with the exception of two or three who remained with the
+horses, advanced towards the front of the house, firing as rapidly as
+they could, in order, by the smoke and by attracting the attention of
+the besieged, to cover the manoeuvre of their comrades. The
+stratagem was completely successful. Whilst Don Manuel and his
+servants were answering the fire of their assailants with some effect,
+the four men got round the house, climbed over a wall, found a ladder
+in an out-building, and applied it to one of the back-windows, which
+they burst open. A shout of triumph, and the report of their pistols,
+informed their companions of their entrance, and the next moment one
+of them threw open the front door, and the guerillas rushed
+tumultuously into the house.
+
+It was about two hours after these occurrences, that Luis Herrera and
+Mariano Torres arrived at Don Manuel's residence. They had been
+delayed upon the road by the disturbed state of the country, which
+rendered it difficult to procure conveyances, and had at last been
+compelled to hire a couple of indifferent horses, upon which,
+accompanied by a muleteer, they had made but slow progress across the
+mountainous district they had to traverse. The news of the Carlist
+insurrection had inspired Luis with some alarm on account of his
+father, whom he knew to be in the highest degree obnoxious to many of
+that party. At the same time he had not yet heard of the perpetration
+of any acts of violence, and was far from anticipating the spectacle
+which met his eyes when he at last came in view of the Casa Herrera.
+With an exclamation of horror he forced his horse, up a bank
+bordering the road, and, followed by Mariano, galloped towards the
+house.
+
+Of the dwelling, so lately a model of rural ease and comfort, the four
+walls alone were now standing. The roof had fallen in, and the tongues
+of flame which licked and flickered round the apertures where windows
+had been, showed that the devouring element was busy completing its
+work. The adjoining stables, owing to their slighter construction, and
+to the combustibles they contained, had been still more rapidly
+consumed. Of them, a heap of smoking ashes and a few charred beams and
+blackened bricks were all that remained. The paling of the tastefully
+distributed garden was broken down in several places; the parterres
+and melon-beds were trampled and destroyed by the hoofs of the Carlist
+horses, which had seemingly been turned in there to feed, or perhaps
+been ridden through it in utter wantonness by their brutal owners. The
+ground in front of the house was strewed with broken furniture, and
+with articles of wearing apparel, the latter of which appeared to have
+belonged to the Carlists, and to have been exchanged by them for
+others of a better description found in the house. Empty bottles,
+fragments of food, and a couple of wine-skins, of which the greater
+part of the contents had been poured out upon the ground, lay
+scattered about near the carcass of a horse and three human corpses,
+two of the latter being those of Carlists, and the third that of one
+of the defenders of the house. A few peasants stood by, looking on in
+open-mouthed stupefaction; and above the whole scene of desolation, a
+thick cloud of black smoke floated like a funereal pall.
+
+In an agony of suspense Luis enquired for his father. The peasant to
+whom he addressed the question, pointed to the buildings in rear of
+the house, which the Carlists, weary perhaps of the work of
+destruction, had left uninjured.
+
+"Don Manuel is there," said he, "if he still lives."
+
+The latter part of the sentence was drowned in the noise of the
+horse's feet, as Luis spurred furiously towards the buildings
+indicated, which consisted of barns, and of a small dwelling-house
+inhabited by his father's steward. On entering the latter, his worst
+fears were realized.
+
+Upon a bed in a room on the ground floor, Don Manuel Herrera was
+lying, apparently insensible. His face was overspread with an ashy
+paleness, his eyes were closed, his lips blue and pinched. He was
+partially undressed, and his linen, and the bed upon which he lay,
+were stained with blood. A priest stood beside him, a crucifix in one
+hand and a cordial in the other; whilst an elderly peasant woman held
+a linen cloth to a wound in the breast of the expiring man. In an
+adjacent room were heard the sobbings and lamentations of women and
+children. With a heart swollen almost to bursting, Luis approached the
+bed.
+
+"Father!" he exclaimed as he took Don Manuel's hand, which hung
+powerless over the side of the couch--"Father, is it thus I find you!"
+
+The voice of his son seemed to rouse the sufferer from the swoon or
+lethargy in which he lay. He opened his eyes, a faint smile of
+recognition and affection came over his features, and his feeble
+fingers strove to press those of Luis. The priest made a sign to the
+woman, and, whilst she gently raised Don Manuel's head, he held the
+cordial to his lips. The effect of the draught was instantaneous and
+reviving.
+
+"This is a sad welcome for you, Luis," said Don Manuel. "Your home
+destroyed, and your father dying. God be thanked for sending you now,
+and no sooner! I can die happy since you are here to close my eyes."
+
+He paused, exhausted by the exertion of speaking. A slight red foam
+stood upon his lips, which the priest wiped away, and another draught
+of the cordial enabled him to proceed.
+
+"My son," said he, "my minutes are numbered. Mark my last words, and
+attend to them as you value my blessing, and your own repose. I
+foresee that this country is on the eve of a long and bloody struggle.
+How it may end, and whether it is to be the last that shall rend
+unhappy Spain, who can tell? But your course is plain before you. By
+the memory of your sainted mother, and the love you bear to me, be
+stanch to the cause I have ever defended. You are young, and strong,
+and brave; your arm and your heart's best blood are due to the cause
+of Spanish freedom. My son, swear that you will defend it!"
+
+No selfish thought of his own happiness, which would be marred by the
+oath he was required to take, nor any but the one absorbing idea of
+smoothing his dying father's pillow by a prompt and willing compliance
+with his wishes, crossed the mind of Luis as he took the crucifix from
+the hand of the priest, and, kneeling by the bedside, swore on the
+sacred emblem to obey Don Manuel's injunctions both in letter and
+spirit, and to resist to his latest breath the traitors who would
+enslave his country. His father listened to the fervent vow with a
+well-pleased smile. By a last effort he raised himself in his bed, and
+laid his hand upon the head of his kneeling son.
+
+"May God and his saints prosper thee, Luis," said he, "as thou
+observest this oath!"
+
+He sank back, his features convulsed by the pain which the movement
+occasioned him.
+
+"Mother of God!" exclaimed the woman, who was still holding the
+bandage to the wound. The bleeding, which had nearly ceased, had
+recommenced with redoubled violence, and a crimson stream was flowing
+over the bed. The death-rattle was in Don Manuel's throat, but his
+eyes were still fixed upon his son, and he seemed to make an effort to
+extend his arms towards him. With feelings of unutterable agony, Luis
+bent forward and kissed his father's cheek. It was that of a corpse.
+
+For the space of a minute did the bereaved son gaze at the rigid
+features before him, as if unable to comprehend that one so dear was
+gone from him for ever. At last the sad truth forced itself upon his
+mind; he bowed his face upon the pillow of his murdered parent, and
+his overcharged feelings found relief in a passion of tears. The
+priest and the woman left the apartment. Mariano Torres remained
+standing behind his friend, and after a time made an effort to lead
+him from the room. But Luis motioned him away. His grief was of those
+that know not human consolation.
+
+It was evening when Mariano, who had been watching near the chamber of
+death, without venturing to intrude upon his friend's sorrow, saw the
+door open and Luis come forth. Torres started at seeing him, so great
+was the change that had taken place in his aspect. His cheeks were
+pale and his eyes inflamed with weeping, but the expression of his
+countenance was no longer sorrowful; it was stern even to fierceness,
+and his look was that of an avenger rather than a mourner. Taking
+Mariano's arm, he led him out of the house, and, entering the stable,
+began to saddle his horse with his own hands. Torres followed his
+example in silence, and then both mounted and rode off in the
+direction of the high-road. Upon reaching it, Mariano first ventured
+to address a question to his friend.
+
+"What are your plans, Luis?" said he. "Whither do we now proceed?"
+
+"To provide for my father's funeral," was the reply.
+
+"And afterwards?" said his friend, with some hesitation.
+
+"To revenge his death!" hoarsely shouted Herrera, as he spurred his
+horse to its utmost speed along the rough road that led to the nearest
+village.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] _Negro_, or black, was the term commonly applied to the Liberals
+by their antagonists.
+
+
+
+
+HUMBOLDT.
+
+
+We hear much, and much that is true, of the ephemeral character of a
+large part of our literature; but to no branch of it are the
+observations more truly applicable, than to the greater number of
+travels which now issue from the British press. It may safely be
+affirmed that our writers of travels, both male and female, have of
+late years arrived at a pitch of weakness, trifling, and emptiness,
+which is unparalleled in the previous history of literature in this or
+perhaps any other country. When we see two post octavos of travels
+newly done up by the binder, we are prepared for a series of useless
+remarks, weak attempts at jokes, disquisitions on dishes, complaints
+of inns, stale anecdotes and vain flourishes, which almost make us
+blush for our country, and the cause of intelligence over the world.
+The Russian Emperor, who unquestionably has the power of licensing or
+prohibiting any of his subjects to travel at his own pleasure, is said
+to concede the liberty only to the men of intelligence and ability in
+his dominions; the fools are all obliged to remain at home. Hence the
+high reputation which the Muscovites enjoy abroad and the frequent
+disappointment which is felt by travellers of other nations, when they
+visit their own country. It is evident, from the character of the
+books of travels which every spring issue from the London press, with
+a few honourable exceptions, that no such restraining power exists in
+the British dominions. We have no individuals or particular works in
+view in these observations. We speak of things in general. If any one
+doubts their truth, let him enquire how many of the numberless travels
+which annually issue from the British press are ever sought after, or
+heard of, five years after their publication.
+
+Our annual supply of ephemeral travels is far inferior in point of
+merit to the annual supply of novels. This is the more remarkable,
+because travels, if written in the right spirit, and by persons of
+capacity and taste, are among the most delightful, and withal
+instructive, species of composition of which literature can boast.
+They are so, because by their very nature they take the reader, as
+well as the writer, out of the sphere of every-day observation and
+commonplace remark. This is an immense advantage: so great indeed,
+that, if made use of with tolerable capacity, it should give works of
+this sort a decided superiority in point of interest and utility over
+all others, excepting History and the higher species of Romance.
+Commonplace is the bane of literature, especially in an old and
+civilized state; monotony--the thing to be principally dreaded. The
+very air is filled with ordinary ideas. General education, universal
+reading, unhappily make matters worse; they tend only to multiply the
+echoes of the original report--a new one has scarce any chance of
+being heard amidst the ceaseless reverberation of the old. The more
+ancient a nation is, the more liable is it to be overwhelmed by this
+dreadful evil. The Byzantine empire, during a thousand years of
+civilisation and opulence, did not produce one work of original
+thought; five hundred years after the light of Athenian genius had
+been extinguished, the schools of Greece were still pursuing the
+beaten paths, and teaching the doctrines of Plato and Aristotle. It is
+the peculiar and prodigious advantage of travelling, that it
+counteracts this woful and degrading tendency, and by directing men's
+thoughts, as well as their steps, into foreign lands, has a tendency
+to induce into their ideas a portion of the variety and freshness
+which characterize the works of nature. Every person knows how great
+an advantage this proves in society. All must have felt what a relief
+it is to escape from the eternal round of local concerns or county
+politics, of parish grievances or neighbouring railroads, with which
+in every-day life we are beset, to the conversation of a person of
+intelligence who has visited foreign lands, and can give to the
+inquisitive at home a portion of the new ideas, images, and
+recollections with which his mind is stored. How, then, has it
+happened, that the same acquaintance with foreign and distant
+countries, which is universally felt to be such an advantage in
+conversation, is attended with such opposite effects in literature;
+and that, while our travellers are often the most agreeable men in
+company, they are beyond all question the dullest in composition?
+
+Much of this extraordinary and woful deficiency, we are persuaded, is
+owing to the limited range of objects to which the education of the
+young of the higher classes is so exclusively directed in Oxford and
+Cambridge. Greek and Latin, Aristotle's logic and classical
+versification, quadratic equations, conic sections, the differential
+calculus, are very good things, and we are well aware that it is by
+excellence in them that the highest honours in these seminaries of
+learning can alone be attained. They are essential to the fame of a
+Parr or a Porson, a Herschel or a Whewell. But a very different
+species of mental training is required for advantageous travelling.
+Men will soon find that neither Greek prose nor Latin prose, Greek
+verse nor Latin verse, will avail them when they come to traverse the
+present states of the world. The most thorough master of the higher
+mathematics will find his knowledge of scarce any avail in Italy or
+Egypt, the Alps or the Andes. These acquisitions are doubtless among
+the greatest triumphs of the human understanding, and they are
+calculated to raise a few, perhaps one in a hundred, to distinction in
+classical or scientific pursuits; but upon the minds of the remaining
+ninety-nine, they produce no sort of impression. Nature simply rejects
+them; they are not the food which she requires. They do not do much
+mischief to such persons in themselves; but they are of incalculable
+detriment by the time and the industry which they absorb to no
+available purpose. Ten years of youth--the most valuable and important
+period of life--are wasted in studies which, to nineteen-twentieths of
+the persons engaged in them, are of no use whatever in future years.
+Thus our young men, of the highest rank and best connexions, are sent
+out into the world without any ideas or information which can enable
+them to visit foreign countries with advantage. Need we wonder that,
+when they come to write and publish their travels, they produce such a
+woful brood of ephemeral bantlings?[2]
+
+The reaction against this enormous evil in a different class of
+society, has produced another set of errors in education--of an
+opposite description, but perhaps still more fatal to the formation of
+the mental character, which is essential to the useful or elevating
+observation of foreign countries. The commercial and middle classes of
+society, educated at the London university, or any of the numerous
+academies which have sprung up in all parts of the country, have gone
+into the other extreme. Struck with the uselessness, to the great bulk
+of students, of the classical minutiæ required at one of the
+universities, and the mathematical depth deemed indispensable at the
+other, they have turned education into an entirely different channel.
+Nothing was deemed worthy of serious attention, except what led to
+some practical object in life. Education was considered by their
+founders as merely a step to making money. Science became a trade--a
+mere handmaid to art. Mammon was all in all. Their instruction was
+entirely utilitarian. Mechanics and Medicine, Hydraulics and
+Chemistry, Pneumatics and Hydrostatics, Anatomy and Physiology,
+constituted the grand staples of their education. What they taught was
+adapted only for professional students. One would suppose, from
+examining their course of study, that all men were to be either
+doctors or surgeons, apothecaries or druggists, mechanics,
+shipwrights, or civil-engineers. No doubt we must have such
+persons--no doubt it is indispensable that places of instruction
+should exist in which they can learn their various and highly
+important avocations; but is that the school in which the enlarged
+mind is to be formed, the varied information acquired, the
+appreciation of the grand and the beautiful imbibed, which are
+essential to an accomplished and really useful writer of travels?
+Sulphuric acid and Optics, Anatomy and Mechanics, will do many things;
+but they will never make an observer of Nature, a friend of Man, a fit
+commentator on the world of God.
+
+Persons of really cultivated minds and enlarged views will probably
+find it difficult to determine which of these opposite systems of
+education is the best calculated to attain what seems the grand object
+of modern instruction, the cramping and limiting the human mind. But
+without entering upon this much-disputed point--upon which much is to
+be said on both sides, and in which each party will perhaps be found
+to be in the right when they assail their opponents, and in the wrong
+when they defend themselves--it is more material to our present
+purpose to observe, that both are equally fatal to the acquisition of
+the varied information, and the imbibing of the refined and elegant
+taste, which are essential to an accomplished writer of travels. Only
+think what mental qualifications are required to form such a
+character! An eye for the Sublime and the Beautiful, the power of
+graphically describing natural scenery, a vivid perception of the
+peculiarities of national manners, habits, and institutions, will at
+once be acknowledged to be the first requisites. But, in addition to
+this, how much is necessary to make a work which shall really stand
+the test of time, in the delineation of the present countries of the
+world, and the existing state of their inhabitants? How many branches
+of knowledge are called for, how many sources of information required,
+how many enthusiastic pursuits necessary, to enable the traveller
+worthily to discharge his mission? Eyes and no Eyes are nowhere more
+conspicuous in human affairs; and, unhappily, eyes are never given but
+to the mind which has already seen and learned much.
+
+An acquaintance with the history of the country and the leading
+characters in its annals, is indispensable to enable the traveller to
+appreciate the historical associations connected with the scenes; a
+certain degree of familiarity with its principal authors, to render
+him alive to that noblest of interests--that arising from the
+recollection of Genius and intellectual Achievement. Without an
+acquaintance with political economy and the science of government, he
+will be unable to give any useful account of the social state of the
+country, or furnish the most valuable of all information--that
+relating to the institutions, the welfare, and the happiness of man.
+Statistics form almost an indispensable part of every book of travels
+which professes to communicate information; but mere statistics are
+little better than unmeaning figures, if the generalizing and
+philosophical mind is wanting, which, from previous acquaintance with
+the subjects on which they bear, and the conclusions which it is of
+importance to deduce from them, knows what is to be selected and what
+laid aside from the mass. Science, to the highest class of travellers,
+is an addition of the utmost moment; as it alone can render their
+observations of use to that most exalted of all objects, an extension
+of the boundaries of knowledge, and an enlarged acquaintance with the
+laws of nature. The soul of a poet is indispensable to form the most
+interesting species of travels--a mind, and still more a heart,
+capable of appreciating the grand and the beautiful in Art and in
+Nature. The eye of a painter and the hand of a draughtsman are equally
+important to enable him to observe with accuracy the really
+interesting features of external things, and convey, by faithful and
+graphic description, a correct impression of what he has seen, to the
+mind of the reader. Such are the qualifications necessary for a really
+great traveller. It may be too much to hope to find these ever united
+in one individual; but the combination of the majority of them is
+indispensable to distinction or lasting fame in this branch of
+literature.
+
+Compare these necessary and indispensable qualifications for a great
+traveller, with those which really belong to our young men who are
+sent forth from our universities or academies into the world, and take
+upon themselves to communicate what they have seen to others. Does the
+youth come from Oxford? His head is full of Homer and Virgil, Horace
+and Æschylus: he could tell you all the amours of Mars and Venus, of
+Jupiter and Leda; he could rival, Orpheus or Pindar in the melody of
+his Greek verses, and Cicero or Livy in the correctness of his Latin
+prose; but as, unfortunately, he has to write neither about gods nor
+goddesses, but mere mortals, and neither in Greek verse nor Latin
+verse, but good English prose, he is utterly at a loss alike for
+thought and expression. He neither knows what to communicate, nor is
+he master of the language in which it is to be conveyed. Hence his
+recorded travels dwindle away into a mere scrap-book of classical
+quotations--a transcript of immaterial Latin inscriptions, destitute
+of either energy, information, or eloquence. Does he come from
+Cambridge? He could solve cubic equations as well as Cardan, is a more
+perfect master of logarithms than Napier, could explain the laws of
+physical astronomy better than Newton, and rival La Grange in the
+management of the differential calculus. But as, unluckily, the world
+which he visits, and in which we live, is neither a geometric world
+nor an algebraic world, a world of conic sections or fluxions; but a
+world of plains and mountains, of lakes and rivers, of men and women,
+flesh and blood--he finds his knowledge of little or no avail. He
+takes scarce any interest in the sublunary or contemptible objects
+which engross the herd of ordinary mortals, associates only with the
+learned and the recluse in a few universities, and of course comes
+back without having a word to utter, or a sentence to write, which can
+interest the bulk of readers. Does he come from the London University,
+or any of the provincial academies? He is thinking only of railroads
+or mechanics, of chemistry or canals, of medicine or surgery. He could
+descant without end on sulphuric acid or decrepitating salts, on
+capacity for caloric or galvanic batteries, on steam-engines and
+hydraulic machines, on the discoveries of Davy or the conclusions of
+Berzelius, of the systems of Hutton or Werner, of Liebig or Cuvier.
+But although an acquaintance with these different branches of
+practical knowledge is an indispensable preliminary to a traveller in
+foreign countries making himself acquainted with the improvements they
+have respectively made in the useful or practical arts, they will
+never qualify for the composition of a great or lasting book of
+travels. They would make an admirable course of instruction for the
+overseer of a manufactory, of a canal or railway company, of an
+hospital or an infirmary, who was to visit foreign countries in order
+to pick up the latest improvements in practical mechanics, chemistry,
+or medicine; but have we really become a race of shopkeepers or
+doctors, and is Science sunk to be the mere handmaid of Art?
+
+We despair therefore, as long as the present system of education
+prevails in England, (and Scotland of course follows in the wake of
+its great neighbour,) of seeing any traveller arise of lasting
+celebrity, or book of travels written which shall attain to durable
+fame. The native vigour and courage, indeed, of the Anglo-Saxon race,
+is perpetually impelling numbers of energetic young men into the most
+distant parts of the earth, and immense is the addition which they are
+annually making to the sum-total of _geographical_ knowledge. We have
+only to look at one of our recent maps, as compared to those which
+were published fifty years ago, to see how much we owe to the courage
+and enterprise of Parry and Franklin, Park and Horneman, of Burckhardt
+and Lander. But giving all due credit--and none give it more sincerely
+than we do--to the vigour and courage of these very eminent men, it is
+impossible not to feel that, however well fitted they were to explore
+unknown and desert regions, and carry the torch of civilization into
+the wilderness of nature, they had not the mental training, or varied
+information, or powers of composition, necessary to form a great
+_writer of travels_. Clarke and Bishop Heber are most favourable
+specimens of English travellers, and do honour to the great
+universities of which they were such distinguished ornaments; but they
+did not possess the varied accomplishments and information of the
+continental travellers. Their education, and very eminence in their
+peculiar and exclusive lines, precluded it. What is wanting in that
+character above every thing, is an acquaintance with, and interest in,
+a _great many and different branches of knowledge_, joined to
+considerable power of composition, and unconquerable energy of mind;
+and that is precisely what our present system of education in England
+renders it almost impossible for any one to acquire. The system
+pursued in the Scottish universities, undoubtedly, is more likely to
+form men capable of rising to eminence in this department; and the
+names of Park and Bruce show what travellers they are capable of
+sending forth. But the attractions of rank, connexion, and fashion,
+joined to the advantage of speaking correct English, are fast drawing
+a greater proportion of the youth of the higher ranks in Scotland to
+the English universities; and the education pursued at home,
+therefore, is daily running more and more into merely utilitarian and
+professional channels. That system is by no means the one calculated
+to form an accomplished and interesting writer of travels.
+
+In this deficiency of materials for the formation of a great body of
+male travellers, the ladies have kindly stepped in to supply the
+deficiency; and numerous works have issued from the press, from the
+pens of the most accomplished and distinguished of our aristocratic
+beauties. But alas! there is no royal road to literature, any more
+than geometry. Almack's and the exclusives, the opera and ducal
+houses, the lordlings and the guards, form an admirable school for
+manners, and are an indispensable preliminary to success at courts and
+coronations, in ball-rooms and palaces. But the world is not made up
+of courts or palaces, of kings or princes, of dukes or marquesses. Men
+have something more to think of than the reception which the great
+world of one country gives to the great world of another--of the balls
+to which they are invited, or the fętes which they grace by their
+charms--or the privations to which elegant females, nursed in the lap
+of luxury, are exposed in roughing it amidst the snows of the North or
+the deserts of the South. We are grateful to the lady travellers for
+the brilliant and interesting pictures they have given us of capitals
+and manners,[3] of costume and dress, and of many eminent men and
+women, whom their rank and sex gave them peculiar opportunities of
+portraying. But we can scarcely congratulate the country upon having
+found in them a substitute for learned and accomplished travellers of
+the other sex; or formed a set-off on the part of Great Britain, to
+the Humboldts, the Chateaubriands, and Lamartines of continental
+Europe.
+
+It is impossible to contemplate the works of these great men without
+arriving at the conclusion, that it is in the varied and discursive
+education of the Continent, that a foundation has been laid for the
+extraordinary eminence which its travellers have attained. It is the
+vast number of subjects with which the young men are in some degree
+made acquainted at the German universities, which has rendered them so
+capable in after life of travelling with advantage in any quarter of
+the globe, and writing their travels with effect. This advantage is in
+a peculiar manner conspicuous in HUMBOLDT, whose mind, naturally
+ardent and capacious, had been surprisingly enlarged and extended by
+early and various study in the most celebrated German universities. He
+acquired, in consequence, so extraordinary a command of almost every
+department of physical and political science, that there is hardly any
+branch of it in which facts of importance may not be found in his
+travels. He combined, in a degree perhaps never before equalled in one
+individual, the most opposite and generally deemed irreconcilable
+mental qualities. To an ardent poetical temperament, and an eye alive
+to the most vivid impressions of external things, he united a power of
+eloquence rarely given to the most gifted orators, and the habit of
+close and accurate reasoning which belongs to the intellectual powers
+adapted for the highest branches of the exact sciences. An able
+mathematician, a profound natural philosopher, an exact observer of
+nature, he was at the same time a learned statistician, an
+indefatigable social observer, an unwearied philanthropist, and the
+most powerful describer of nature that perhaps ever undertook to
+portray her great and glorious features. It is this extraordinary
+combination of qualities that render his works so surprising and
+valuable. The intellectual and imaginative powers rarely coexist in
+remarkable vigour in the same individual; but when they do, they
+produce the utmost triumphs of the human mind. Leonardo da Vinci,
+Johnson, Burke, and Humboldt, do not resemble single men, how great
+soever, but rather clusters of separate persons, each supremely
+eminent in his peculiar sphere.
+
+Frederick Henry Alexander, Baron of Humboldt, brother of the
+celebrated Prussian statesman of the same name, was born at Berlin on
+the 14th September 1769, the same year with Napoleon, Wellington,
+Goethe, Marshal Ney, and many other illustrious men. He received an
+excellent and extensive education at the university of Gottingeu, and
+at an academy at Frankfort on the Oder. His first step into the
+business of life was as a clerk in the mercantile house of Buch, at
+Hamburg, where he soon made himself master of accounts and
+bookkeeping, and acquired that perfect command of arithmetic, and
+habit of bringing every thing, where it is possible, to the test of
+figures, by which his political and scientific writings are so
+pre-eminently distinguished. But his disposition was too strongly bent
+on scientific and physical pursuits, to admit of his remaining long in
+the comparatively obscure and uninviting paths of commerce. His thirst
+for travelling was from his earliest years unbounded, and it erelong
+received ample gratification. His first considerable journey was with
+two naturalists of distinction, Messrs Fontu and Genns, with whom he
+travelled in Germany, Holland, and England, in the course of which his
+attention was chiefly directed to mineralogical pursuits. The fruit of
+his observations appeared in a work, the first he ever published,
+which was printed at Brunswick in 1790, when he was only twenty-one
+years of age, entitled _Observations sur les Basaltes du Rhin_.
+
+To extend his information, already very considerable, on mineralogical
+science, Humboldt in 1791 repaired to Freyburg, to profit by the
+instructions of the celebrated Werner; and, when there, he devoted
+himself, with the characteristic ardour of his disposition, to make
+himself master of geology and botany, and prosecuted in an especial
+manner the study of the fossil remains of plants in the rocks around
+that place. In 1792, he published at Berlin a learned treatise,
+entitled _Specimen Floræ, Friebergensis Subterraniæ_; which procured
+for him such celebrity, that he was soon after appointed
+director-general of the mines in the principalities of Anspach and
+Bayreuth, in Franconia. His ardent and philanthropic disposition there
+exerted itself for several years in promoting, to the utmost of his
+power, various establishments of public utility; among others, the
+public school of Streben, from which has already issued many
+distinguished scholars. Charmed by the recent and brilliant
+discoveries of M. Galvani in electricity, he next entered with ardour
+into that new branch of science; and, not content with studying it in
+the abstract, he made a great variety of curious experiments on the
+effects of galvanism on his own person, and published the result in
+two octavos, at Berlin, in 1796, enriched by the notes of the
+celebrated naturalist Blümenbach. This work was translated into French
+by J. F. Jadelot, and published at Paris in 1799. Meanwhile Humboldt,
+consumed with an insatiable desire for travelling, resumed his
+wanderings, and roamed over Switzerland and Italy, after which he
+returned to Paris in 1797, and formed an intimacy with a congenial
+spirit, M. Aimé Bonpland; who afterwards became the companion of his
+South American travels. At this time he formed the design of joining
+the expedition of Captain Baudin, who was destined to circumnavigate
+the globe; but the continuance of hostilities prevented him from
+carrying that design into effect. Baffled in that project, upon which
+his heart was much set, Humboldt went to Marseilles with the intention
+of embarking on board a Swedish frigate for Algiers, from whence he
+hoped to join Napoleon's expedition to Egypt, and cross from the banks
+of the Nile to the Persian Gulf and the vast regions of the East. This
+was the turning point of his destiny. The Swedish frigate never
+arrived; the English cruisers rendered it impossible to cross the
+Mediterranean, except in a neutral vessel; and after waiting with
+impatience for about two months, he set out for Madrid, in the hope of
+finding means in the Peninsula of passing into Africa from the
+opposite shores of Andalusia.
+
+Upon his arrival in the Spanish capital, the German philosopher was
+received with all the distinction which his scientific reputation
+deserved; and he obtained from the government the extraordinary and
+unlooked-for boon of a formal leave to travel over the whole South
+American colonies of the monarchy. This immediately determined
+Humboldt. He entered with ardour into the new prospects thus opened to
+him; wrote to his friend Aimé Bonpland to propose that he should join
+him in the contemplated expedition--an offer which was gladly
+accepted; and soon the visions of Arabia and the Himalaya were
+supplanted by those of the Pampas of Buenos Ayres and the Cordilleras
+of Peru. The two friends embarked at Corunna on board a Spanish
+vessel, and after a prosperous voyage, reached Cumana, in the New
+World, in July 1799. From that city they made their first expedition
+in Spanish America, during which they travelled over Spanish Guiana,
+New Andalusia, and the Missions of the Caribbees, from whence they
+returned to Cumana in 1800. There they embarked for the Havannah; and
+the whole of the summer of that year was spent in traversing that
+great and interesting island, on which he collected much important and
+valuable information. In September 1801, he set out for Quito, where
+he arrived in January of the succeeding year, and was received with
+the most flattering distinction. Having reposed for some months from
+their fatigues, Humboldt and Bonpland proceeded, in the first
+instance, to survey the country which had been devastated in 1797 by
+the dreadful earthquake, so frequent in those regions, and which
+swallowed up in a minute forty thousand persons. Then he set out, in
+June 1802, to visit the volcano of Tungaragno and the summit of
+Chimborazo. They ascended to the height of 19,500 feet on the latter
+mountain; but were prevented from reaching the top by impassable
+ravines. Perched on one of the summits, however, of this giant of
+mountains, amidst ice and snow, far above the abode of any living
+creature except the condor, they made a great variety of most
+interesting observations, which have proved of essential service to
+the cause of science. They were 3485 feet above the most elevated
+point which the learned Condamine, who had hitherto ascended highest,
+reached in 1745, but were still 2140 feet below the loftiest summit of
+the mountain. They determined, by a series of strict trigonometrical
+observations, the height of the chief peaks of that celebrated ridge--
+
+    "Where Andes, giant of the western star,
+    Looks from his throne of clouds o'er half the world."
+
+Having returned, after this fatiguing and dangerous mountain
+expedition, to Lima, Humboldt remained several months enjoying the
+hospitality of its kind-hearted inhabitants, whose warm feelings and
+excellent qualities excited in him the warmest admiration. In the
+neighbouring harbour of Callao, he was fortunate enough to see the
+passage of the planet Mercury over the disk of the sun, of which
+transit he made very important observations; and from thence passed
+into the province of New Spain, where he remained an entire year,
+sedulously engaged in agricultural, political, and statistical, as
+well as physical enquiries, the fruits of which added much to the
+value of his published travels. In April 1803, he proceeded to Mexico,
+where he was so fortunate as to discover the only specimen known to
+exist of the tree called _Cheirostomon Platanoides_, of the highest
+antiquity and gigantic dimensions. During the remainder of that year,
+he made several excursions over the mountains and valleys of Mexico,
+inferior to none in the world in interest and beauty; and in autumn
+1804, embarked for the Havannah, from whence he passed into
+Philadelphia, and traversed a considerable part of the United States.
+At length, in 1805, he returned to Europe, and arrived safe at Paris
+in November of that year, bringing with him, in addition to the
+observations he had made, and recollections with which his mind was
+fraught, the most extensive and varied collection of specimens of
+plants and minerals that ever was brought from the New World. His
+herbarium consisted of four thousand different plants, many of them of
+extreme rarity even in South America, and great part of which were
+previously unknown in Europe. His mineralogical collection was of
+equal extent and value. But by far the most important additions he has
+made to the cause of science, consist in the vast series of
+observations he has made in the New World, which have set at rest a
+great many disputed points in geography, mineralogy, and zoology,
+concerning that interesting and, in a great degree, unknown part of
+the world, and extended in a proportional degree the boundaries of
+knowledge regarding it. Nor have his labours been less important in
+collecting the most valuable statistical information regarding the
+Spanish provinces of those vast regions, especially the condition of
+the Indian, negro, and mulatto race which exist within them, and the
+amount of the precious metals annually raised from their mines;
+subjects of vast importance to Great Britain, and especially its
+colonial and commercial interests, but which have hitherto been in an
+unaccountable manner neglected, even by those whose interests and
+fortunes were entirely wound up in the changes connected with these
+vital subjects.
+
+The remainder of Baron Humboldt's life has been chiefly devoted to the
+various and important publications, in which he has embodied the fruit
+of his vast and extensive researches in the New World. In many of
+these he has been assisted by M. Aimé Bonpland, who, his companion in
+literary labour as in the danger and fatigues of travelling, has, with
+the generosity of a really great mind, been content to diminish,
+perhaps destroy, his prospect of individual celebrity, by associating
+himself with the labours Of his illustrious friend. Pursued even in
+mature years by the desire of fame, the thirst for still greater
+achievements, which belongs to minds of the heroic cast, whether in
+war or science, he conceived, at a subsequent period, the design of
+visiting the upper provinces of India and the Himalaya range. After
+having ascended higher than man had yet done on the elevated ridges of
+the New World, he was consumed with a thirst to surmount the still
+more lofty summits of the Old, which have remained in solitary and
+unapproachable grandeur since the waves of the Deluge first receded
+from their sides. But the East India Company, within whose dominions,
+or at least beneath whose influence, the highest ridges of the
+Himalaya are situated, gave no countenance to the design, and even, it
+is said, refused liberty to the immortal Naturalist to visit their
+extensive territories. Whatever opinion we may form on the liberality
+or wisdom of this resolution, considered with reference to the
+interests, physical, moral, and political, of British India, it is not
+to be regretted, for the cause of science and literature over the
+world, that the great traveller has been prevented from setting out
+late in life to a fresh region of discovery. It has left the remainder
+of his life, and his yet undiminished powers, to illustrate and
+explain what he has already seen. To do that, was enough for the
+ordinary span of human life.
+
+Humboldt's works relating to the New World are very numerous. I. He
+first published, in 1805, at Paris, in four volumes quarto, the
+_Personal Narrative_ of his travels from 1799 to 1804. Of this
+splendid and interesting work, several editions have since been
+published in French, in twelve volumes octavo. It is upon it that his
+fame with the generality of readers mainly rests. II. _Vues des
+Cordilleras et Monumens des Peuples Indigčnes de l'Amerique_--two
+volumes folio: Paris, 1811. This magnificent work, the cost of which
+is now Ģ130, contains by far the finest views of the Andes in
+existence. Its great price renders it very scarce, and not more than a
+few copies are to be met with in Great Britain; but a cheap edition,
+without the great plates, was published at Paris in 1817. III.
+_Recueil d'Observations Astronomiques, et de Mésures exécutées dans le
+Nouveau Continent_: two volumes quarto. This learned work contains the
+result of Humboldt's astronomical and trigonometrical observations on
+the lunar distances, the eclipses of the satellites of Jupiter, the
+transit of Mercury, and upwards of five hundred elevated points in the
+New World, taken from barometrical observations, with all the
+requisite allowances and calculations carefully made. IV. _Essai sur
+la Geographie des Plantes, ou Tableau Physique des Regions
+Equinoxiales_: in quarto, with a great map. V. _Plantes Equinoxiales
+recueillies au Mexique, dans l'Ile de Cuba, dans les Provinces de
+Caraccas, &c._: two volumes folio. A splendid and very costly work.
+VI. _Monographie des Mélastomes_: two volumes folio. A most curious
+and interesting work on a most interesting subject. VII. _Nova Genera
+et Species Plantarum_: three volumes folio. Containing an account of
+the botanical treasures collected by him in the New World, and brought
+home in his magnificent herbarium. VIII. _Recueil des Observations de
+Zoologie et d'Anatomie comparée faites dans un Voyage aux Tropiques_:
+two volumes quarto. IX. _Essai Politique sur la Nouvelle Espagne._
+1811: two volumes quarto. Of this admirable work a subsequent edition
+has been published in 1822, in four volumes octavo. It contains an
+astonishing collection of important statistical facts, arranged and
+digested with the utmost ability, and interspersed with political and
+philosophical reflections on the state of the human race, and the
+relation of society in the New World. X. _Ansichten der Natur._
+Tubingen, 1808: in octavo. It is remarkable that this is the only one
+of the learned author's works on Spanish America which originally
+appeared in his own language; but it was soon translated into French
+under the title of _Tableaux de la Nature_. Paris: 1808. It contains a
+series of descriptions of the different styles of scenery and
+remarkable objects in the vast regions he had visited, portrayed with
+all the vigour and accuracy for which the author is distinguished. XI.
+_De Distributione Geographicâ Plantarum secundum Coeli Temperiem et
+Altitudinem Montium, Prolegomena_. In octavo. Paris: 1817. The title
+of this work explains its object and its importance, in describing a
+portion of the globe consisting of such lofty and successive ridges
+and table-lands as rise from the level of the sea to the summits of
+the Cordilleras of Mexico and Peru. XII. _Sur l'Elevation des
+Montagnes de l'Inde._ Octavo. Paris: 1818. A work prepared when the
+author was contemplating a journey to the Himalaya and mountains of
+Thibet. XIII. _Carte du Fleuve Orenoque._ Presented to the Academy of
+Sciences in 1817. M. Humboldt has there demonstrated the singular fact
+of the junction of the great rivers Orinoco and of the Amazon by the
+intermediate waters of the Rio Negro; a fact which the sagacity of
+D'Anville had long ago led him to suspect, but which the travels of
+the indefatigable German has established beyond a doubt. XIV. _Examen
+Critique de l'Histoire de la Geographie du Nouveau Continent, et du
+Progrčs de l'Astronomie Nautique aux 15me et 16me sičcles._ Paris:
+1837. XV. "_Cosmos:_" in German--a "Scheme of a Physical Description
+of the Universe." This last work embraces a much wider sphere of
+learning and speculation than any of the preceding, and is more
+characteristic of the vast erudition and ardent genius of the author.
+
+From the brief account which has now been given of the published works
+of this indefatigable traveller and author, the reader will be able to
+appreciate the extent and variety of his scientific and political
+attainments. We shall now present him under a different aspect, as an
+eloquent and almost unrivalled describer of nature. It need hardly be
+said that it is on these splendid pictures, more even than the
+numerous and valuable additions he has made to the treasures of
+science, that his reputation with the world in general is founded.
+
+The rapids of the Orinoco--one of the most striking scenes in
+America--are thus described by our author:[4]--
+
+    "When we arrived at the top of the Cliff of Marimi, the first
+    object which caught our eye was a sheet of foam, above a mile in
+    length and half a mile in breadth. Enormous masses of black rock,
+    of an iron hue, started up here and there out of its snowy
+    surface. Some resembled huge basaltic cliffs resting on each
+    other; many, castles in ruins, with detached towers and
+    fortalices, guarding their approach from a distance. Their sombre
+    colour formed a contrast with the dazzling whiteness of the foam.
+    Every rock, every island, was covered with flourishing trees, the
+    foliage of which is often united above the foaming gulf by
+    creepers hanging in festoons from their opposite branches. The
+    base of the rocks and islands, as far as the eye can reach, is
+    lost in the volumes of white smoke, which boil above the surface
+    of the river; but above these snowy clouds, noble palms, from
+    eighty to an hundred feet high, rise aloft, stretching their
+    summits of dazzling green towards the clear azure of heaven. With
+    the changes of the day these rocks and palm-trees are alternately
+    illuminated by the brightest sunshine, or projected in deep shadow
+    on the surrounding surge. Never does a breath of wind agitate the
+    foliage, never a cloud obscure the vault of heaven. A dazzling
+    light is ever shed through the air, over the earth enameled with
+    the loveliest flowers, over the foaming stream stretching as far
+    as the eye can reach; the spray, glittering in the sunbeams, forms
+    a thousand rainbows, ever changing, yet ever bright, beneath whose
+    arches, islands of flowers, rivalling the very hues of heaven,
+    flourish in perpetual bloom. There is nothing austere or sombre,
+    as in northern climates, even in this scene of elemental strife;
+    tranquillity and repose seem to sleep on the very edge of the
+    abyss of waters. Neither time, nor the sight of the Cordilleras,
+    nor a long abode in the charming valleys of Mexico, have been able
+    to efface from my recollection the impression made by these
+    cataracts. When I read the description of similar scenes in the
+    East, my mind sees again in clear vision the sea of foam, the
+    islands of flowers, the palm-trees surmounting the snowy vapours.
+    Such recollections, like the memory of the sublimest works of
+    poetry and the arts, leave an impression which is never to be
+    effaced, and which, through the whole of life, is associated with
+    every sentiment of the grand and the beautiful."--(Vol. vii.
+    171-172.)
+
+Such is a specimen of the descriptive powers of the great German
+natural philosopher, geographer, botanist, and traveller. When our
+senior wranglers from Cambridge, our high-honoured men from Oxford, or
+lady travellers from London, produce a parallel to it, we shall hope
+that England is about to compete with the continental nations in the
+race of illustrious travellers--but not till then.
+
+As a contrast to this, we cannot resist the pleasure of laying before
+our readers the following striking description of night on the
+Orinoco, in the placid part of its course, amidst the vast forests of
+the tropical regions:--
+
+    "The night was calm and serene, and a beautiful moon shed a
+    radiance over the scene. The crocodiles lay extended on the sand;
+    placed in such a manner that they could watch our fire, from which
+    they never turned aside their eyes. Its dazzling evidently
+    attracted them, as it does fish, crabs, and the other inhabitants
+    of the waters. The Indians pointed out to us in the sand the
+    recent marks of the feet of three tigers, a mother and two young,
+    which had crossed the open space between the forest and the water.
+    Finding no tree upon the shore, we sank the end of our oars into
+    the sand, in order to form poles for our tents. Every thing
+    remained quiet till eleven at night, when suddenly there arose, in
+    the neighbouring forest, a noise so frightful that it became
+    impossible to shut our eyes. Amidst the voice of so many savage
+    animals, which all roared or cried at once, our Indians could only
+    distinguish the howling of the jaguar, the yell of the tiger, the
+    roar of the cougar, or American lion, and the screams of some
+    birds of prey. When the jaguars approached near to the edge of the
+    forest, our dogs, which to that moment had never ceased to bark,
+    suddenly housed; and, crouching, sought refuge under the shelter
+    of our hammocks. Sometimes, after an interval of silence, the
+    growl of the tiger was heard from the top of the trees, followed
+    immediately by the cries of the monkey tenants of their branches,
+    which fled the danger by which they were menaced.
+
+    "I have painted, feature by feature, these nocturnal scenes on the
+    Orinoco, because, having but lately embarked on it, we were as yet
+    unaccustomed to their wildness. They were repeated for months
+    together, every night that the forest approached the edge of the
+    river. Despite the evident danger by which one is surrounded, the
+    security which the Indian feels comes to communicate itself to
+    your mind; you become persuaded with him, that all the tigers fear
+    the light of fire, and will not attack a man when lying in his
+    hammock. In truth, the instances of attacks on persons in hammocks
+    are extremely rare; and during a long residence in South America,
+    I can only call to mind one instance of a Llanero, who was found
+    torn in pieces in his hammock opposite the island of Uhagua.
+
+    "When one asks the Indians what is the cause of this tremendous
+    noise, which at a certain hour of the night the animals of the
+    forest make, they answer gaily, 'They are saluting the full moon.'
+    I suspect the cause in general is some quarrel or combat which has
+    arisen in the interior of the forest. The jaguars, for example,
+    pursue the pecaris and tapirs, which, having no means of defence
+    but their numbers, fly in dense bodies, and press, in all the
+    agony of terror, through the thickets which lie in their way.
+    Terrified at this strife, and the crashing of boughs or rustling
+    of thickets which they hear beneath them, the monkeys on the
+    highest branches set up discordant cries of terror on every side.
+    The din soon wakens the parrots and other birds which fill the
+    woods, they instantly scream in the most violent way, and erelong
+    the whole forest is in an uproar. We soon found that it is not so
+    much during a full moon, as on the approach of a whirlwind or a
+    storm, that this frightful concert arises among the wild beasts.
+    'May heaven give us a peaceable night and rest, like other
+    mortals!' was the exclamation of the monk who had accompanied us
+    from the Rio Negro, as he lay down to repose in our bivouac. It is
+    a singular circumstance to be reduced to such a petition in the
+    midst of the solitude of the woods. In the hotels of Spain, the
+    traveller fears the sound of the guitar from the neighbouring
+    apartment: in the bivouacs of the Orinoco, which are spread on the
+    open sand, or under the shade of a single tree, what you have to
+    dread is, the infernal cries which issue from the adjoining
+    forest."--(Vol. vi., 222-3.)
+
+One of the most remarkable of the many remarkable features of Nature
+in South America, is the prodigious plains which, under the name of
+Llanos and Pampas, stretch from the shores of the Atlantic to the foot
+of the Andes, over a space from fifteen hundred to two thousand miles
+in breadth. Humboldt traversed them more than once in their full
+extent, and has given the following striking description of their
+remarkable peculiarities.
+
+    "In many geographical works, the savannahs of South America are
+    termed _prairies_. That word, however, seems not properly
+    applicable to plains of pasturage, often exclusively dry, though
+    covered with grass four or five feet high. The Llanos and Pampas
+    of South America are true _steppes_: they present a rich covering
+    of verdure during the rainy season; but in the months of drought,
+    the earth assumes the appearance of a desert. The turf is then
+    reduced to powder, the earth gapes in huge cracks; the crocodiles
+    and great serpents lie in a dormant state in the dried mud, till
+    the return of rains, and the rise of the waters in the great
+    rivers, which flood the vast expanse of level surface, awaken them
+    from their long slumber. These appearances are often exhibited
+    over an arid surface of fifty or sixty leagues square--every
+    where, in short, where the savannah is not traversed by any of the
+    great rivers. On the borders, on the other hand, of the streams,
+    and around the lakes, which in the dry season retain a little
+    brackish water, the traveller meets from time to time, even in the
+    most extreme drought, groves of Mauritia, a species of palm, the
+    leaves of which, spreading out like a fan, preserve amidst the
+    surrounding sterility a brilliant verdure.
+
+    "The steppes of Asia are all out of the region of the tropics, and
+    form in general the summit of very elevated plateaux. America also
+    presents, on the reverse of the mountains of Mexico, of Peru, and
+    of Quito, steppes of considerable extent. But the greatest
+    steppes, the Llanos of Cumana, of Caraccas, and of Meta, all
+    belong to the equinoctial zone, and are very little elevated above
+    the level of the ocean. It is this which gives them their peculiar
+    characters. They do not contain, like the steppes of Southern
+    Asia, and the deserts of Persia, those lakes without issue, or
+    rivers which lose themselves in the sand or in subterraneous
+    filtrations. The Llanos of South America incline towards the east
+    and the south; their waters are tributary to the Orinoco, the
+    Amazon, or the Rio de la Plata.
+
+    "What most strongly characterizes the savannahs or steppes of
+    South America, is the entire absence of hills, or inequalities of
+    any kind. The soil, for hundreds of miles together, is perfectly
+    flat, without even a hillock. For this reason, the Castilian
+    conquerors, who penetrated first from Coro to the banks of the
+    Apuré, named the regions to which they came, neither deserts, nor
+    savannahs, nor meadows, but _plains--los Llanos_. Over an extent
+    of thirty leagues square, you will often not meet with an eminence
+    a foot high. The resemblance to the sea which these immense plains
+    bear, strikes the imagination the more forcibly in those places,
+    often as extensive as half of France, where the surface is
+    absolutely destitute of palms, or any species of trees, and where
+    the distance is so great from the mountains, or the forests on the
+    shores of the Orinoco, as to render neither visible. The uniform
+    appearance which the Llanos exhibit, the extreme rarity of any
+    habitations, the fatigues of a journey under a burning sun, and in
+    an atmosphere perpetually clouded with dust, the prospect of a
+    round girdle of an horizon, which appears constantly to recede
+    before the traveller, the isolated stems of the palm-tree, all
+    precisely of the same form, and which he despairs to reach,
+    because he confounds them with other seemingly identical trunks
+    which appear in the distant parts of the horizon: all these causes
+    combine to make these steppes appear even more vast than they
+    really are.
+
+    "Yet are their actual dimensions so prodigious, that it is hard to
+    outstrip them, even by the wildest flights of the imagination. The
+    colonists, who inhabit the slopes of the mountains which form
+    their extreme boundary on the west and north, see the steppes
+    stretch away to the south and east, as far as the eye can reach,
+    an interminable ocean of verdure. Well may they deem it boundless!
+    They know that from the Delta of the Orinoco, crossing the
+    province of Vannos, and from thence by the shores of the Meta, the
+    Guaviare, and the Caguan, you may advance in the plains, at first
+    from east to west, then from north-east, to south-east, three
+    hundred and eighty leagues--a distance as great as from Tombuctoo
+    to the northern coast of Africa. They know, by the report of
+    travellers, that the Pampas of Buenos Ayres--which are also
+    Llanos, destitute of trees, covered with rich grass, filled with
+    cattle and wild horses--are equally extensive. They imagine,
+    according to the greater part of maps, that this huge continent
+    has but one chain of mountains, the Andes, which forms its western
+    boundary; and they form a vague idea of the boundless sea of
+    verdure, stretching the whole way from the foot of this gigantic
+    wall of rock, from the Orinoco and the Apuré, to the Rio de la
+    Plata and the Straits of Magellan. Imagination itself can hardly
+    form an idea of the extent of these plains. The Llanos, from the
+    Caqueta to the Apuré, and from thence to the Delta of the Orinoco,
+    contain 17,000 square marine leagues--a space nearly equal to the
+    area of France; that which stretches to the north and south is of
+    nearly double the extent, or considerably larger than the surface
+    of Germany; and the Pampas of Buenos Ayres, which extend from
+    thence towards Cape Horn, are of such extent, that while one end
+    is shaded by the palm-trees of the tropics, the other, equally
+    flat, is charged with the snows of the antarctic circle."--(Vol.
+    vi. 52, 67.)
+
+These prodigious plains have been overspread with the horses and
+cattle of the Old World, which, originally introduced by the Spanish
+settlers, have strayed from the enclosures of their masters, and
+multiplied without end in the vast savannahs which nature had spread
+out for their reception.
+
+    "It is impossible," says Humboldt, "to form an exact enumeration
+    of the cattle in the Pampas, or even to give an approximation to
+    it, so immensely have they augmented during the three centuries
+    which have elapsed since they were first introduced; but some idea
+    of their number may be formed from the following facts in regard
+    to such portions of these vast herds as are capable of being
+    counted. It is calculated that in the plains from the mouths of
+    the Orinoco to the lake Maracaybo, there are 1,200,000 head of
+    cattle, 180,000 horses, and 90,000 mules, which belong to
+    individual proprietors. In the Pampas of Buenos Ayres there are
+    12,000,000 cows and 3,000,000 horses belonging to private persons,
+    besides the far greater multitude which are wild, and wander
+    altogether beyond the reach of man. Considerable revenues are
+    realized from the sale of the skins of these animals, for they are
+    so common that the carcasses are of scarcely any value. They are
+    at the pains only to look after the young of their herds, which
+    are marked once a-year with the initial letter of the owner.
+    Fourteen or fifteen thousand are marked by the greater proprietors
+    every year, of which five or six thousand are annually
+    sold."--(Vol. vi. 97.)
+
+The enormous number of beasts of prey which multiply with this vast
+accumulation of animals to be devoured, as well those introduced by
+man as those furnished by the hand of nature, renders the life of many
+of the inhabitants of these regions little else than a constant
+struggle with wild animals. Many hairbreadth escapes and heroic
+adventures are recounted by the natives, which would pass for fabulous
+if not stated on such unquestionable authority as that of M. Humboldt,
+and supported by the concurring testimony of other travellers. The
+number of alligators, in particular, on the Orinoco, the Rio Apuré,
+and their tributary streams, is prodigious; and contests with them
+constitute a large portion of the legendary tales of the Indian and
+European settlers in the forest.
+
+    "The numerous wild animals," says Humboldt, "which inhabit the
+    forests on the shores of the Orinoco, have made apertures for
+    themselves in the wall of vegetation and foliage by which the
+    woods are bounded, out of which they come forth to drink in the
+    river. Tigers, tapirs, jaguars, boars, besides numberless lesser
+    quadrupeds, issue out of these dark arches in the green
+    wilderness, and cross the strip of sand which generally lies
+    between it and the edge of the water, formed by the large space
+    which is annually devastated and covered with shingle or mud,
+    during the rise of the water in the rainy season. These singular
+    scenes have always possessed a great attraction for me. The
+    pleasure experienced was not merely that of a naturalist in the
+    objects of his study; it belongs to all men who have been educated
+    in the habits of civilization. You find yourself in contact with a
+    new world, with savage and unconquered Nature. Sometimes it is the
+    jaguar, the beautiful panther of America, which issues from its
+    dark retreat; at others the hosco, with its dark plumes and curved
+    head, which traverses the _sauso_, as the band of yellow sand is
+    called. Animals of the most various kinds and opposite
+    descriptions succeed each other without intermission. 'Es como en
+    el Paraiso,' (It is as in Paradise,) said our pilot, an old Indian
+    of the Missions. In truth, every thing here recalls that primitive
+    world of which the traditions of all nations have preserved the
+    recollection, the innocence, and happiness; but on observing the
+    habits of the animals towards each other, it is evident that the
+    age of gold has ceased to them as well as to the human race; they
+    mutually fear and avoid each other, and in the lonely American
+    forests, as elsewhere, long experience has taught all living
+    beings that gentleness is rarely united to force."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    "When the sands on the river side are of considerable breadth, the
+    sauso often stretches to a considerable distance from the water's
+    edge. It is on this intermediate space that you see the
+    crocodiles, often to the number of eight or ten, stretched on the
+    sand. Motionless, their huge jaws opened at right angles, they lie
+    without giving any of those marks of affection which are
+    observable in other animals which live in society. The troop
+    separate when they leave the coast; they are probably composed of
+    several females and one male. The former are much more numerous
+    than the latter, from the number of males which are killed in
+    fighting during the time of their amours. These monstrous reptiles
+    have multiplied to such a degree, that there was hardly an instant
+    during our voyage along the whole course of the river that we had
+    not five or six in view. We measured one dead which was lying on
+    the sand; it was sixteen feet nine inches long. Soon after, Mr
+    Bonpland found a dead male on the shore, measuring twenty-two
+    feet three inches. Under every zone--in America as in Egypt--this
+    animal attains the same dimensions. The Indians told us, that at
+    San Fernando scarce a year passes without two or three grown up
+    persons, usually women, who are drawing from the river, being
+    devoured by these carnivorous lizards.
+
+    "They related to us an interesting story of a young daughter of
+    Urituen, who, by extraordinary intrepidity and presence of mind,
+    succeeded in extricating herself from the very jaws of a
+    crocodile. When she felt herself seized by the voracious animal in
+    the water, she felt for its eyes, and thrust her fingers into them
+    with such violence that she forced the animal to let go, but not
+    before he had torn off the lower part of her left arm. The Indian
+    girl, notwithstanding the enormous quantity of blood which she
+    lost, succeeded in swimming to shore with the hand which was left,
+    and escaped without further injury. In those desert regions, where
+    man is constantly in strife with animated or inanimated nature,
+    they daily speak of similar or corresponding means by which it is
+    possible to escape from a tiger, a great boa, or a crocodile.
+    Every one prepares himself against a danger which may any day
+    befall him, 'I knew,' said the young girl calmly, when praised for
+    her presence of mind, 'that the crocodile lets go his hold when
+    you plunge your fingers in his eyes.' Long after my return to
+    Europe, I learned that the negroes in the interior of Africa make
+    use of the same method to escape from the alligators in the Niger.
+    Who does not recollect with warm interest, that Isaaco the guide,
+    in his last journey of the unfortunate Mungo Park, was seized
+    twice near Boulinkombro, and that he escaped from the throat of
+    the monster solely by thrusting his fingers into his two eyes?[5]
+    The African Isaaco and the young American girl owed their safety
+    to the same presence of mind, and the same combination of
+    ideas."--(Vol. vi. 203, 205.)
+
+If there is any one fact more than another demonstrated by the
+concurring testimony of travellers, historians, and statistical
+observers, in all ages and quarters of the world, it is, that the
+possession of _property in land_ is the first step in social
+improvement, and the only effectual humanizer of Savage Man.
+Rousseau's famous paradox, "The first Man who enclosed a field, and
+called it mine, is the author of all the social ills which followed,"
+is not only false but decidedly the reverse of the truth. He was the
+first and greatest benefactor of his species. Subsequent ills have
+arisen, not from following but forgetting his example; and preferring
+to the simplicity of country life the seductions and vices of urban
+society. Humboldt adds his important testimony to the noble army of
+witnesses in all ages, and from all parts of the world, on this all
+important subject.
+
+    "The Guamos are a race of Indians whom it is extremely difficult
+    to fix down to the soil. Like other wandering savages, they are
+    distinguished by their dirt, revengeful spirit, and fondness for
+    wandering. The greater part of them live by fishing and the chase,
+    in the plains often flooded by the Apuré, the Meta, and the
+    Guaviare. The nature of those regions, their vast extent, and
+    entire want of any limit or distinguishing mark, seems to invite
+    their inhabitants to a wandering life. On entering, again, the
+    mountains which adjoin the cataracts of the Orinoco, you find
+    among the Piroas, the Macos, and the Macquiritares, milder
+    manners, a love of agriculture, and remarkable cleanliness in the
+    interior of their cabins. On the ridges of mountains, amidst
+    impenetrable forests, man is forced to fix himself, to clear and
+    cultivate a corner of the earth. That culture demands little care,
+    and is richly rewarded: while the life of a hunter is painful and
+    difficult. The Guamos of the Mission of Santa Barbara are kind and
+    hospitable; whenever we entered their cottages, they offered us
+    dried fish and water."--(Vol. vi. 219.)
+
+No spectacle in nature can exceed, few equal, the sublimity and
+magnificence of the scenery presented by the vast chain of mountains
+which, under the name of Cordilleras, Andes, and Rocky Mountains,
+traverses the whole continent of America, both north and south, in the
+neighbourhood of the Pacific Ocean. Of this prodigious pile of rocks
+and precipices, Humboldt, in another of his works, has given the
+following admirable account:--
+
+    "The immense chain of the Andes, traversing its whole extent near
+    the Pacific Ocean, has stamped a character upon South American
+    nature which belongs to no other country. The peculiarity which
+    distinguishes the regions which belong to this immense chain, are
+    the successive plateaux, like so many huge natural terraces, which
+    rise one above another, before arriving at the great central
+    chain, where the highest summits are to be found. Such is the
+    elevation of some of these plains that they often exceed eight and
+    nine, and sometimes reach that of twelve thousand feet above the
+    level of the sea. The lowest of these plateaux is higher than the
+    summit of the Pass of the Great St Bernard, the highest inhabited
+    ground in Europe, which is 7545 feet above the level of the sea.
+    But such is the benignity of the climate, that at these prodigious
+    elevations, which even in the south of Europe are above the line
+    of perpetual snow, are to be found cities and towns, corn-fields
+    and orchards, and all the symptoms of rural felicity. The town of
+    Quito itself, the capital of a province of the same name, is
+    situated on a plateau, or elevated valley, in the centre of the
+    Andes, nearly 9000 feet above the level of the sea. Yet there are
+    found concentrated a numerous population, and it contains cities
+    with thirty, forty, and even fifty thousand inhabitants. After
+    living some months on this elevated ground, you experience an
+    extraordinary illusion. Finding yourself surrounded with pasture
+    and corn-fields, flocks and herds, smiling orchards and golden
+    harvests, the sheep and the lama, the fruits of Europe and those
+    of America, you forget that you are as it were suspended between
+    heaven and earth, and elevated to a height exceeding that by which
+    the European traveller makes his way from France into Italy, and
+    double that of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Great Britain.
+
+    "The different gradations of vegetation, as might be expected in a
+    country where the earth rises from the torrid zone by a few steep
+    ascents to the regions of eternal congelation, exhibit one of the
+    most remarkable features in this land of wonders. From the borders
+    of the sea to the height of two thousand feet, are to be seen the
+    magnificent palm-tree, the musa, the heleconia, the balms of Tolu,
+    the large flowering jasmin, the date-tree, and all the productions
+    of tropical climates. On the arid and burning shores of the ocean,
+    flourish, in addition to these, the cotton-tree, the magnolias,
+    the cactus, the sugar-cane, and all the luscious fruits which
+    ripen under the genial sun, and amidst the balmy breezes of the
+    West India Islands. One only of these tropical children of nature,
+    the _Carosylou Andicola_, is met with far in advance of the rest
+    of its tribe, tossed by the winds at the height of seven and eight
+    thousand feet above the sea, on the middle ridges of the
+    Cordillera range. In this lower region, as nature exhibits the
+    riches, so she has spread the pestilence, of tropical climates.
+    The humidity of the atmosphere, and the damp heats which are
+    nourished amidst its intricate thickets, produce violent fevers,
+    which often prove extremely destructive, especially to European
+    constitutions. But if the patient survives the first attack, the
+    remedy is at hand; a journey to the temperate climate of the
+    elevated plateau soon restores health; and the sufferer is as much
+    revived by the gales of the Andes, as the Indian valetudinarian is
+    by a return to Europe.
+
+    "Above the region of the palms commences the temperate zone. It is
+    there that vegetation appears in its most delightful form,
+    luxuriant without being rank, majestic yet not impervious; it
+    combines all that nature has given of the grand, with all that the
+    poets have figured of the beautiful. The bark-tree, which she has
+    provided as the only effectual febrifuge in the deadly heats of
+    the inferior region; the cyprus and melastoma, with their superb
+    violet blossoms; gigantic fuchsias of every possible variety, and
+    evergreen trees of lofty stature, covered with flowers, adorn that
+    delightful zone. The turf is enamelled by never-fading flowers;
+    mosses of dazzling beauty, fed by the frequent rains attracted by
+    the mountains, cover the rocks; and the trembling branches of the
+    mimosa, and others of the sensitive tribe, hang in graceful
+    pendants over every declivity. Almost all the flowering shrubs
+    which adorn our conservatories, are to be found there in primeval
+    beauty, and what to Europeans appears a gigantic scale;
+    magnificent arums of many different kinds spread their ample snowy
+    petals above the surrounding thickets; and innumerable creepers,
+    adorned by splendid blossoms, mount even to the summit of the
+    highest trees, and diffuse a perennial fragrance around.
+
+    "The oaks and trees of Europe are not found in those parts of the
+    Andes which lie in the torrid zone, till you arrive at the height
+    of five thousand feet above the sea. It is there you first begin
+    to see the leaves fall in winter, and bud in spring, as in
+    European climates: below that level the foliage is perpetual.
+    Nowhere are the trees so large as in this region: not unfrequently
+    they are found of the height of a hundred and eighty or two
+    hundred feet; their stems are from eight to fifteen feet across at
+    their base, and sometimes rise a hundred feet without a single
+    cross branch. When so great an elevation as the plains of Quito,
+    however, which is 9515 above the sea, is reached, they become less
+    considerable, and not larger than those usually found in the
+    forests of Europe. If the traveller ascends two thousand feet
+    higher, to an elevation of eleven or twelve thousand feet, trees
+    almost entirely disappear; but the frequent humidity nourishes a
+    thick covering of arbutus and other evergreens, shrubs three or
+    four feet high, covered with flowers generally of a bright yellow,
+    which form a striking contrast to the dark evergreen foliage with
+    which they are surrounded. Still higher, at the height of thirteen
+    thousand feet, near the summit of the lower ranges of the
+    Cordilleras, almost constant rains overspread the earth with a
+    verdant and slippery coating of moss; amidst which a few stunted
+    specimens of the melastoma still exhibit their purple blossoms. A
+    broad zone succeeds, covered entirely with Alpine plants, which,
+    as in the mountains of Switzerland, nestle in the crevices of
+    rocks, or push their flowers, generally of yellow or dark blue,
+    through the now frequent snow. Higher still, grass alone is to be
+    met with, mixed with the grey moss which conducts the wearied
+    traveller to the region of perpetual snow, which in those warm
+    latitudes is general only at an elevation of fifteen thousand
+    feet. Above that level no animated being is found, except the huge
+    condor, the largest bird that exists, which there, amidst ice and
+    clouds, has fixed its gloomy abode."--(_Tableau de la Nature dans
+    les Regions Equatoriales_, 59, 140-144.)
+
+In the rhythm of prose these are the colours of poetry; but it is of
+poetry chastened and directed by the observation of reality, and
+possessing the inimitable charm of being drawn from real life, and
+sharing the freshness and variety which characterize the works of
+nature, and distinguish them from the brightest conceptions of human
+fancy. As we have set out in this article with placing Humboldt at the
+head of modern travellers, and much above any that Great Britain has
+produced, and assigned as the main reason of this superiority the
+exclusive and limited range of objects on which the attention of our
+youth is fixed at our great universities, we shall, in justice to
+Oxford and Cambridge, present the reader with a specimen of the finest
+passages from Clarke and Bishop Heber, that he may judge for himself
+on their merit, great as it often is, when compared with that of the
+ardent and yet learned German.
+
+Clarke, on leaving Greece, gives the following brilliant summary of
+the leading features of that classic land:--
+
+    "The last moments of this day were employed in taking once more a
+    view of the superb scenery exhibited by the mountains Olympus and
+    Ossa. They appeared upon this occasion in more than usual
+    splendour; like one of those imaginary Alpine regions suggested by
+    viewing a boundary of clouds when they terminate the horizon in a
+    still evening, and are gathered into heaps, with many a towering
+    top shining in fleecy whiteness. The great Olympian chain forms a
+    line which is exactly opposite to Salonica; and even the chasm
+    between Olympus and Ossa, constituting the defile of Tempe, is
+    here visible. Directing the eye towards that chain, there is
+    comprehended in one view the whole of Pieria and Bottiæa; and with
+    the vivid impressions which remain after leaving the country,
+    memory easily recalled into one mental picture the whole of
+    Greece. Every reader may not duly comprehend what is meant by
+    this: but every traveller who has beheld the scenes to which
+    allusion is made, will readily admit its truth; he will be aware
+    that, whenever his thoughts were directed to that country, the
+    whole of it recurred to his imagination, as if he were actually
+    indulged with a view of it.
+
+    "In such an imaginary flight he enters, for example, the defile of
+    Tempe; and as the gorge opens to the south, he beholds all the
+    Larissian plain. This conducts him to the fields of Pharsalia,
+    whence he ascends the mountains south of Pharsalus; then, crossing
+    the bleak and still more elevated region extending from these
+    mountains towards Lamia, he views Mount Pindus far before him, and
+    descending into the plain of the Sperchius, passes the straits of
+    Thermopylæ. Afterwards, ascending, Mount Oeta, he beholds
+    opposite to him the snowy point of Lycorea, with the rest of
+    Parnassus, and the villages and towns lying at its base: the whole
+    plain of Elataia lying at his feet, with the course of the
+    Cephissus to the sea. Passing to the summit of Parnassus, he looks
+    down upon all the other mountains, plains, islands, and gulfs of
+    Greece; but especially surveys the broad bosom of Cithæron,
+    Helicon, and Hymettus. Thence, roaming into the depths and over
+    all the heights of Euboea and Peloponnesus, he has their inmost
+    recesses again submitted to his contemplation. Next, resting upon
+    Hymettus, he examines, even in the minutest detail, the whole of
+    Attica, to the Sunian promontory; for he sees it all--and all the
+    shores of Argos, Sicyon, Corinth, Megara, Eleusis, and Athens.
+    Thus, although not in all the freshness of its living colours, yet
+    in all its grandeur, doth GREECE actually present itself to the
+    mind's eye--and may the impression never be obliterated! In the
+    eve of bidding it farewell for ever, as the hope of visiting this
+    delightful country constituted the earliest and warmest wish of
+    his youth, the author found it to be some alleviation of his
+    regret excited by a consciousness of never returning, that he
+    could thus summon to his recollection the scenes over which he had
+    passed."--(_Clarke's Travels_, Vol. vii. pp. 476-478.)
+
+So far Clarke--the accomplished and famed traveller of Cambridge. We
+now give a favourable specimen of Bishop Heber--his companion in
+traversing Russia--the celebrated author, in early life at Oxford, of
+_Palestine_, the amiable and upright Bishop of Calcutta, whose life,
+if ever that could be said of mortal, was literally spent in doing
+good. This accomplished and excellent prelate thus describes the first
+view of the Himalaya range and the summits of Nundidevi, the highest
+mountain in the world, neatly 5000 feet above the loftiest peak of
+Chimborazo.
+
+    "After coasting the lake for a mile, we ascended for thirteen more
+    by a most steep and rugged road over the neck of Mount Gaughur,
+    through a succession of glens, forests, and views of the most
+    sublime and beautiful description. I never saw such prospects
+    before, and had formed no adequate idea of such. My attention was
+    completely strained, and my eyes filled with tears; every thing
+    around was so wild and magnificent that man appeared as nothing,
+    and I felt myself as if climbing the steps of the altar of the
+    great temple of God. The trees, as we advanced, were in a large
+    proportion fir and cedar; but many were ilex, and to my surprise I
+    still saw, even in these wild Alpine tracts, many venerable Peepul
+    trees, on which the white monkeys were playing their gambols.
+    Tigers used to be very common and mischievous; but since the
+    English have begun to frequent the country, they have become very
+    scarce. There are many wolves and bears, and some chamois, two of
+    which passed near us. After wending up
+
+    'A wild romantic chasm, that slanted
+      Down the steep hill athwart a cedar cover--
+    A savage place, as holy and enchanted
+    As e'er beneath the waning moon was haunted
+      By woman's wailing for her demon lover,'
+
+    we arrived at the gorge of the Pass, in an indent between the two
+    principal summits of Mount Gaughur, near 8600 feet above the sea.
+    And now the snowy mountains, which had been so long eclipsed,
+    opened upon us in full magnificence. To describe a view of this
+    kind is only lost labour: and I found it nearly as impossible to
+    make a sketch of it. Nundidevi was immediately opposite, Kedar
+    Nath was not visible, but Marvo was visible as a distant peak. The
+    eastern mountains, for whom I could procure no name, rose into
+    great consequence, and were very glorious objects as we wound down
+    the hill on the other side. The guides could only tell us they
+    were a great way off, and on the borders of the Chinese empire.
+    Nundidevi, the highest peak in the world, is 25,689 feet above the
+    sea, 4000 higher than Chimborazo. Bhadinath and Kedernath, which
+    are merely summits of it, are 22,300 feet high. They are all in
+    the British dominions."--(_Heber's India_, Vol. ii. pp. 193-194,
+    209.)
+
+On comparing the descriptions of the most interesting objects in
+Europe and Asia--Greece and the Himalaya range--by these two
+distinguished British travellers, with the pictures given by Humboldt
+of the Andes, the falls of the Orinoco, the forests of the same river,
+and the expanse of the Pampas in South America, every one must admit
+the great superiority of the German's powers of painting Nature.
+Neither Clarke nor Heber appear to attempt it. They tell you, indeed,
+that certain scenes were grand and beautiful, certain rocks wild,
+certain glens steep; but they make no attempt to portray their
+features, or convey to the reader's mind the pictures which they tell
+you are for ever engraven on their own. This is a very great defect,
+so great indeed that it will probably prevent their works, how
+valuable soever as books of authority or reference, from ever
+acquiring lasting fame. It is a total mistake to say that it is in
+vain to attempt describing such scenes; that is the same mistake as
+was formerly committed by pacific academical historians, who said it
+was useless to attempt painting a battle, for they were all like each
+other. How like they really are to each other, has been shown by
+Colonel Napier and many other modern historians. We question if even
+the sight of the rapids of the Orinoco would make so vivid an
+impression on the imagination, as Humboldt's inimitable description;
+or a journey over the Pampas or the Andes, convey a clearer or more
+distinct idea of their opposite features than what has been derived
+from his brilliant pencil. It is the same with all the other scenes in
+nature. Description, if done by a masterly hand, can, to an
+intelligent mind, convey as vivid an idea as reality. What is wanting
+is the enthusiasm which warms at the perception of the sublime and the
+beautiful, the poetic mind which seizes as by inspiration its
+characteristic features, and the pictorial eye which discerns the
+appearances they exhibit, and by referring to images known to all,
+succeeds in causing them to be generally felt by the readers.
+
+With all Humboldt's great and transcendent merits, he is a child of
+Adam, and therefore not without his faults. The principal of these is
+the want of arrangement. His travels are put together without any
+proper method; there is a great want of indexes and tables of
+contents; it is scarcely possible, except by looking over the whole,
+to find any passage you want. This is a fault which, in a person of
+his accurate and scientific mind, is very surprising, and the more
+inexcusable that it could so easily be remedied by mechanical
+industry, or the aid of compilers and index-makers. But akin to this,
+is another fault of a more irremediable kind, as it originates in the
+varied excellences of the author, and the vast store of information on
+many different subjects which he brings to bear on the subject of his
+travels. He has so many topics of which he is master himself, that he
+forgets with how few, comparatively, his readers are familiar; he sees
+so many objects of enquiry--physical, moral, and political--in the
+countries which he visits, that he becomes insensible to the fact,
+that though each probably possesses a certain degree of interest to
+each reader, yet it is scarcely possible to find one to whom, as to
+himself, they are _all alike_ the object of eager solicitude and
+anxious investigation. Hence, notwithstanding his attempt to detail
+his personal narrative from the learned works which contain the result
+of his scientific researches, he has by no means succeeded in
+effecting their separation. The ordinary reader, who has been
+fascinated by his glowing description of tropical scenery, or his
+graphic picture of savage manners, is, a few pages on, chilled by
+disquisitions on the height of the barometer, the disk of the sun, or
+the electricity of the atmosphere; while the scientific student, who
+turns to his works for information on his favourite objects of study,
+deems them strangely interspersed with rhapsodies on glowing sunsets,
+silent forests, and sounding cataracts. It is scarcely possible to
+find a reader to whom all these objects are equally interesting; and
+therefore it is scarcely to be expected that his travels, unrivalled
+as their genius and learning are, will ever be the object of general
+popularity.
+
+In truth, here, as in all the other branches of human thought, it will
+be found that the rules of composition are the same, and that a
+certain _unity of design_ is essential to general success or durable
+fame. If an author has many different and opposite subjects of
+interest in his head, which is not unfrequently the case with persons
+of the higher order of intellect, and he can discant on all with equal
+facility, or investigate all with equal eagerness, he will do well to
+recollect that the minds of his readers are not likely to be equally
+discursive, and that he is apt to destroy the influence, or mar the
+effect of each, if he blends them together; separation of works is the
+one thing needful there. A mathematical proposition, a passage of
+poetry, a page of history, are all admirable things in their way, and
+each may be part of a work destined to durable celebrity; but what
+should we say to a composition which should present us, page about,
+with a theorem of Euclid, a scene from Shakspeare, and a section from
+Gibbon? Unity of effect, identity of train of thought, similarity of
+ideas, are as necessary in a book of travels as in an epic poem, a
+tragedy, or a painting. There is no such thing as one set of rules for
+the fine arts, and another for works of thought or reflection. The
+_Iliad_ is constructed on the same principles as the _Principia_ of
+Newton, or the history of Thucydides.
+
+What makes ordinary books of travels so uninteresting, and, in
+general, so shortlived, is the want of any idea of composition, or
+unity of effect, in the minds of their authors. Men and women seem to
+think that there is nothing more to do to make a book of travels, than
+to give a transcript of their journals, in which every thing is put
+down of _whatever_ importance, provided only it really occurred.
+Scenes and adventures, broken wheels and rugged rocks, cataracts and
+omelets, lakes and damp beds, thunderstorms and waiters, are huddled
+together, without any other thread of connexion than the accidental
+and fortuitous one of their having successively come under the notice
+of the traveller. What should we say to any other work composed on the
+same principle? What if Milton, after the speech of Satan in _Paradise
+Lost_, were to treat us to an account of his last dinner; or
+Shakspeare, after the scene of the bones in Juliet, were to tell us of
+the damp sheets in which he slept last night; or Gibbon, after working
+up the enthusiasm of his readers by the account of the storming of
+Constantinople by the Crusaders, was to favour us with a digression on
+the insolence of the postilions in Roumelia? All the world would see
+the folly of this: and yet this is precisely what is constantly done
+by travellers, and tolerated by the public, because it is founded on
+nature. Founded on nature! Is every thing that is actually true, or
+real, fit to be recorded, or worthy of being recounted? Sketches from
+nature are admirable things, and are the only foundation for correct
+and lasting pictures; but no man would think of interposing a gallery
+of paintings with chalk drawings or studies of trees. Correctness,
+fidelity, truth, are the only secure bases of eminence in all the arts
+of imitation; but the light of genius, the skilful arrangement, the
+principles of composition, the selection of topics, are as necessary
+in the writer of travels, as in the landscape painter, the historian,
+or the epic poet.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[2] We lately heard of a young man, who had gone through the
+examination at Cambridge with distinction, enquiring, "whether the
+Greek church _were Christians?_" What sort of a traveller would he
+make in the East or Russia?
+
+[3] Lady Londonderry's description of Moscow is the best in the
+English language.
+
+[4] We have translated all the passages ourselves. A very good
+translation of Humboldt's _Personal Narrative_ was published many
+years ago, by Miss H. Williams; but we could not resist the pleasure
+of trying to transfer to English such noble specimens of descriptive
+eloquence.
+
+[5] Park's _Last Mission to Africa_, 1815, p. 89.
+
+
+
+
+HAKEM THE SLAVE.
+
+A TALE EXTRACTED FROM THE HISTORY OF POLAND.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+
+Albert Glinksi, the powerful, ostentatious, and intriguing Duke of
+Lithuania, was passing, distinguished by his glancing plume and
+gorgeous mantle, through one of the more retired streets of the city
+of Cracow, at this time (A.D. 1530) the capital of Poland, when a
+domestic wearing the livery of the palace deferentially accosted him.
+
+"Her Majesty," he said, "commands me to deliver these tablets into
+your hands; you dropped them in the palace."
+
+"I dropped no tablets," replied the duke; but instantly added, "Yes,
+they are mine--Give them me."
+
+He took from the hands of the domestic certain tablets of ivory, which
+folded into a case of gold exquisitely wrought by one of the most
+skilful artists of Italy, and dismissed the bearer with a liberal
+gratuity for his services.
+
+"Ha! my excellent Bona! youthful bride of our too aged monarch
+Sigismund!" said the duke to himself when he was left alone. "Each day
+some new device. What have we in these tablets? Here, in the corner of
+each leaf, I see a solitary figure finely pencilled in, which to any
+other eye than mine would mean nothing, but which tells me that at
+eight o'clock this evening you will receive your favoured duke. So,
+so! But, charming Bona! it is not love--loveable as you are--it is not
+love--it is ambition gives its zest, and must bring the recompense to
+this perilous intrigue. The Duke of Lithuania is no hot-brained youth
+to be entangled and destroyed by a woman's smiles. To have a month's
+_happiness_, as men phrase it, and then the midnight dagger of a
+jealous monarch--I seek no such adventures. It is the crown of
+Poland--yes, the crown--that you must help me to, fair lady."
+
+As he stood reflecting on his ambitious schemes, his rival in the
+state, Count Laski, minister and chancellor of the king, passed by him
+on his way to the palace. The duke, assuming a frank and cordial
+manner, called to him. Laski paused. "What would the Duke of
+Lithuania?" he asked in his usual calm and reserved manner.
+
+"Peace!" replied the duke--"amicable terms. Political opponents it
+seems we are destined to be. The world gives us out as the selected
+champions of two hostile factions. You affect the commons, I side with
+the nobility. Be it so. But there exists between us, I hope, a mutual
+respect; and it would be my greatest boast if, in spite of this
+political antagonism, I might reckon Count Laski amongst my personal
+friends."
+
+A derisive smile played upon the countenance of the chancellor as he
+replied--"Such friendship, my lord, as is consistent with perpetual
+strife--open and concealed--shall, if it please you, subsist between
+us. Pardon me, but we prate a silly jargon when we talk of private
+friendship and public hostility."
+
+"At all events," rejoined the duke, "political rivalry does not
+exclude the practice of the courtesies of life. It has been reported
+to me that you admire the marble statue of a nymph which an Italian
+sculptor has lately wrought for me. I, on my part, have envied you the
+possession of a certain Arab slave, a living statue, a moving bronze,
+that you have amongst your retainers. Let us, like Homeric heroes,
+make an exchange. Give me your statue-man, your swart Apollo, and
+accept from me what many have been pleased to call the living statue."
+
+Glinski had a secret motive for the acquisition of this slave: his
+known fidelity, his surprising address and power, had protected the
+life of the minister against more than one scheme of assassination.
+
+"The exchange," replied Laski, "is too much in my favour. Your Italian
+marble would purchase a hundred slaves. It would be a present in
+disguise; and you know my rule--even from his Majesty himself I never
+_receive_."
+
+"Yes, we know your tyrannous munificence; but this," said the duke
+with a smile, "shall be pure barter."
+
+"What say you, then," said the count, "to those golden tablets which
+you hold in your hand? Give me leave to look at them. They might suit
+my pedantic way of life. But," added he, as he examined their delicate
+workmanship, "came you honestly by this toy, my lord? What fair
+frailty have you cheated of this knack, that never, I will be sworn,
+was a man's marketing?"
+
+"I am glad to hear so grave a gentleman indulge so pleasant a view,"
+said the duke.
+
+As Count Laski was handling the tablets, he touched, whether by
+accident or design, a spring that had not been observed by him to whom
+the present had been sent. The outer case flew back, and disclosed a
+miniature of the queen!
+
+"I have been indiscreet," said the count, and immediately folded up
+and returned the tablets. "This is perilous ware to deal in, Duke of
+Lithuania. Have you aught else in the way of honest barter to
+propose?"
+
+"What you may infer," said the duke, reddening with anger, and
+grievously embarrassed at his discovery--"What you may infer from this
+silly bauble I shall not be at the pains to enquire. I addressed you,
+my lord, in courteous and amicable terms; you have ill responded to
+them; our conversation had better close here."
+
+"As you will," said the chancellor, bowing; and he continued his way
+towards the palace, with the same deliberate step with which he was
+proceeding when accosted by the duke.
+
+"He is master of our secret," muttered the duke. "He or I"----
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+
+In an apartment of the palace fitted up with every luxury her native
+Italy could supply, sat Bona, the young and beautiful queen of Poland.
+She is known to have transplanted into that northern clime, not only
+the arts and civilization of her own genial soil, but also the
+intrigue and voluptuousness, and the still darker crimes for which it
+was celebrated. Daughter of the crafty Sforza, Duke of Milan, educated
+in a city and at a court where pleasure reigned predominant, married
+out of policy to a monarch many years older than her own father, it
+was almost to be expected that she should seek, in the society of some
+gay cavalier, a compensation for this banishment to a northern
+country, and a sexagenarian spouse. Nor had she hesitated long in her
+choice. Albert Glinski, Duke of Lithuania, who, though he was the
+father of a son ripening into manhood, was still in the vigour of
+life, and surpassed all his younger rivals in grace of manner and
+charm of conversation, had soon fixed her regard, and won whatever of
+affection or love the luxurious princess had to bestow.
+
+She now sat waiting his arrival. Punctually at the hour of eight he
+entered. If any observer could have watched the duke as he traversed
+the corridor which led to the queen's apartment, he would have had
+great difficulty in believing that it was a favoured lover that was
+passing before him; so serious a brow did he wear, and so deep an air
+of abstraction was there on his countenance. No sooner, however, did
+he enter that apartment, than, by a sudden effort, his countenance lit
+up; his manner grew free and unrestrained, and he assumed that mingled
+tone of gaiety and pathos so effective with the fair sex. Never had
+the queen felt more entirely convinced of the merits of her cavalier;
+never had she more thoroughly approved of the choice she had made.
+
+When this favourable disposition was at its height, the duke, adopting
+gradually a more serious tone of conversation, said--
+
+"Has it never occurred to you, charming Bona, that the most exalted of
+your sex share with the humblest this one privilege--love alone must
+be the motive which brings a suitor to their feet. That passion must
+be genuine, must be fever-high, which makes a subject quite forget his
+Queen in the lovely woman before him, and tempts him to dare the
+vengeance of a Monarch, as well as of a husband."
+
+"True, there is danger--perhaps to both of us," she replied, "but it
+daunts us not."
+
+"No;--but it is at hand."
+
+"What mean you, Glinski?"
+
+"We are betrayed."
+
+"How?--by whom?"
+
+"How, or by whom, it matters little; but that subtle demon, Count
+Laski, knows that which in his hands is a warrant for our
+destruction."
+
+"What is to be done? We will bribe him. All my jewels, all my hoards
+shall go to purchase his silence."
+
+"Bribe Laski! bribe the north wind! bribe destiny itself, whose nature
+it is to distribute good and ill, but to feel neither. No, but I would
+have a dagger in his throat before the night were passed, but that his
+short light slumbers are guarded by a slave of singular power, whom
+the villains fear to attack. I had meant to beg or buy of him this
+same fierce automaton, but something broke off the treaty."
+
+"We will poison the mind of the king against him: he shall be
+dismissed from all his offices."
+
+"That poison is too slow. Besides, if he once communicate his
+suspicions to the king--which at this very moment he may be doing--see
+you not, that it is no longer the minister, but the jealous monarch
+that we have to guard against. Hear me, Bona, one of two fates must
+now be mine. Death--or thy hand, and with it the crown of Poland. Do
+not start. There is for _me_ no middle station. You may be safe. A few
+tears, a few smiles, and the old king will lapse into his dotage."
+
+"You speak in riddles, Glinski; I comprehend nothing of all this."
+
+"Yet it is clear enough. Thus it stands: the Duke of Lithuania loved
+the wife of Sigismund, king of Poland. Love!--I call to witness all
+the saints in heaven!--love alone prompted his daring suit. But now
+that fortune has first favoured and then betrayed him, where think you
+does his safety lie? Where, but in the bold enterprises of ambition?
+His only place of refuge is a throne. He who has won a queen must
+protect her with a sceptre. You must be mine--my very queen--you must
+extend your hand and raise me to the royalty of Poland, or see my
+blood flow ignominiously upon the scaffold."
+
+"I extend my hand!" exclaimed the agitated queen, "how can a feeble
+woman give or take away the crown of Poland?"
+
+"Him who wears the crown--she can take away."
+
+"Murder the king!" shrieked Bona.
+
+"Or sentence me," replied the duke.
+
+It was no affected horror that the queen here displayed. Though at a
+subsequent period of her life, if history speaks true, her imagination
+had grown familiar with deeds of this very nature, and she had become
+skilful in the art of poisoning, she was at this time young, and
+unpractised in crime, and received its first suggestions with the
+horror which it naturally inspires. She had sought for pleasure only
+in the society of Glinski; it was a cruel disappointment, it was a
+frightful surprise, to find herself thrust suddenly, with unsandaled
+feet, on the thorny path of ambition. She sank back on the couch where
+they had both been sitting, and, hiding her face in both her hands,
+remained in that position while the duke continued to unfold his
+schemes at greater length.
+
+He represented to her that the possession of the duchy of Lithuania,
+the inhabitants of which were distinguished by their bravery and their
+turbulence, would enable him--should the king opportunely die--to
+seize upon the vacant throne of Poland;--that he had numerous and
+powerful friends among the nobility;--that he had already drawn
+together his Lithuanians, under pretence of protecting the frontier
+from the incursion of predatory bands;--that he intended immediately
+to place himself at their head, and march towards Cracow. Now, if at
+this moment the throne should suddenly become vacant, what power on
+earth could prevent him from ascending it, and claiming the hand of
+his then veritable queen? And then he expatiated on the happiness they
+should enjoy, when they should live in fearless union,
+
+    "Like gods together, careless of mankind."
+
+"What is this," exclaimed Bona, suddenly starting up--"what is this
+you would tempt me to? You dare not even _name_ the horrid deed you
+would have me _commit_. Avaunt! you are a devil, Albert Glinski!--you
+would drag me to perdition." Then, falling in tears upon his neck, she
+implored him not to tempt her further. "Oh, Albert! Albert!" she
+cried, "I beseech you, plunge me not into this pit of guilt. You
+_can_! I feel you can. Have mercy! I implore you, I charge you on your
+soul, convert me not into this demon. Spare me this crime!"
+
+"Is it I alone," said the duke, who strove the while by his caresses
+to soothe and pacify her--"Is it I alone who have brought down upon us
+this distressful alternative? Neither of us, while love decoyed us on
+step by step, dreamed of the terrible necessity towards which it was
+hourly conducting us. But here we _are_--half-way up, and the
+precipice below. We must rush still upwards. There is safety only on
+the summit. Pause, and we fall. Oh, did you think that you, a queen,
+could play as securely as some burgher's wife the pleasant comedy of
+an amorous intrigue? No, no; you must queen it even in crime. High
+station and bold deed become each other. We are committed, Bona. It is
+choice of life or death. His death or _ours_. For--scarcely dare I
+breathe the thought--the sudden revenge of your monarch husband, whose
+jealousy at least, age has not tamed, _may_ execute its purpose before
+his dotage has had time to return."
+
+"Where do you lead me? What shall I become?" cried the bewildered
+queen. "I have loved thee, Albert, but I hate not him."
+
+"I ask thee not to _hate_"----
+
+"They married me to Sigismund out of state policy. You I have chosen
+for the partner of my heart, and I will protect you to the uttermost.
+Let things rest there--'tis well enough."
+
+"We will consult further of our plans, sweet Bona," said the duke,
+and, circling her with his arm, he led the weeping queen into an
+adjoining room.
+
+The victory, he felt, was his.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+
+The scene changes to an apartment of a very different style. We enter
+the house of the chancellor; but it is not the chancellor himself who
+is first presented to our view. In an antique Gothic chamber, in the
+decoration and structure of which the most costly material had been
+studiously united with the severest simplicity of taste, sat Maria,
+the only daughter and child of Count Laski. She sat at her embroidery.
+The embroidery, however, had fallen upon her lap; she leaned back,
+resigned to her meditations, in a massive arm-chair covered with
+purple velvet, which it is impossible not to think must have felt
+something like pride and pleasure as her slight and lovely form sank
+into it. It was a long reverie.
+
+In an angle of this lofty room, at some distance, but not out of the
+range of clear vision, stood, motionless as a statue, the slave Hakem.
+His arms were folded on his breast, his eye rested, without, as it
+seemed, a power to withdraw it, on the beautiful figure of the young
+girl before him. It was one of those long intense looks which show
+that the person on whom it is fixed is still more the object of
+meditation than of vision--where it is the soul that looks. Hakem
+gazed like a devotee upon the sacred image of his saint.
+
+Maria, quite unconscious of this gaze, pursued her meditations. Her
+eye caught the hour-glass that stood on a small table beside her.
+"Sand after sand," said she, musing to herself--"Sand after sand,
+thought after thought. The same sand ever trickling there; the same
+thought ever coursing through my mind. Oh, love! love! They say it
+enlarges the heart; I think it contracts it to a single point."
+
+"Hakem," she said, after a pause, and turning towards the slave, "you
+are true to my father, will you be true also to me?"
+
+"To her father!" he murmured to himself, "as if"----And then,
+checking himself and speaking aloud, he answered--"The Christians are
+not so true to your sweet namesake, the Holy Virgin, whom they adore,
+as I will be to you."
+
+"A simple promise will suffice," said Maria. "You have, Hakem--let me
+say it without offence--a style of language--Eastern, I
+suppose--hyperbolical--which either I must learn to pardon, or you
+must labour to reform. It does not suit our northern clime."
+
+"I am mute. Yet, lady, you have sometimes chid me for my long
+silence."
+
+"And is it for your _much_ speaking that I chide you now?" said the
+maiden, with a smile. "You will stand half the day like a statue
+there; and, when spoken to, answer with a gesture only--so that many
+have thought you really dumb. Much speaking is certainly not thy
+fault."
+
+"I understand. The slave speaks as one who felt the indescribable
+charm of thy presence. It is a presumption worthy of death. Shall I
+inflict the punishment?"
+
+"Is this amendment of thy fault, good Hakem, or repetition of it?"
+
+"I await your commands. What service can Hakem render?"
+
+But Maria relapsed again into silence. She seemed to hesitate in
+making the communication she had designed. Meantime, the arrival of
+her father was announced, and the slave left the apartment.
+
+Never man felt more tender love for his daughter than did the proud,
+high-minded minister for this his beautiful Maria. His demeanour
+towards her, from childhood upwards, had been one of unalterable,
+uninterrupted fondness. He knew no other mood, no other tone, in which
+he could have addressed her. Did the grave chancellor, then--some one,
+who in his way, also, is very grave, may ask--did he, by constant
+fondness, _spoil_ his child? No. It is the fondness which is _not_
+constant that spoils. It is the half-love of weak and irritable
+natures, who are themselves children amongst their children, who can
+themselves be petulant, selfish, and capricious--it is this that mars
+a temper. But calm and unalterable love--oh, believe it not that such
+ever spoilt a child! Maria grew up under the eye of affection, and the
+ever-open hand of paternal love; and she herself seemed to have
+learned no other impulses but those of affection and generosity.
+
+Alas for fathers! when the child grows into the budding woman, and by
+her soft, intelligent companionship fills the house with gladness, and
+the heart with inappreciable content, then comes the gay, permitted
+spoiler--comes the lover with his suit--his honourable suit--and robs
+them of their treasure. The world feels only with the lover--with the
+youth, and the fair maiden that he wins. For the bereaved parent, not
+a thought! No one heeds the sigh that breaks from him, as, amidst
+festivities and mirth, and congratulatory acclamations, he sees his
+daughter, with all her prized affections, borne off from him, in
+triumph, for ever.
+
+There was, on this occasion, in the manner of Laski towards his child,
+an evident sadness. It was not that the political horizon was
+darkening; he had never permitted _that_ to throw its gloom over his
+companionship with his daughter. It was because he had grounds to
+believe that the events which threatened the tranquillity of Poland
+threatened also the peace of his daughter, whose affections he had
+divined were no longer exclusively his own.
+
+She, observing his emotion, and attributing it to some untoward event
+in the political world, could not refrain from expressing the wish
+that he would quit the harassing affairs of state, and live wholly in
+his home.
+
+"I would long since have done so," he replied, "if personal happiness
+had been the sole aim of my existence. But I have a taskwork to
+accomplish--one, I think, which God, by fitting me thereto, has
+pointed out as mine. Else it is indeed here, with thee beside me, that
+I find all that can bear the name of happiness. The rest of life is
+but sternest duty--strife, hostility, contempt. But away with this
+gloomy talk--what gossip is there stirring in your idle world, Maria?"
+
+"Pray, is there war forward?"
+
+"I hope not. Why do you ask?"
+
+"A maid of mine, who in the city gathers news as busily as bees, in
+the open fields, their honey"----
+
+"Your simile, I fear, would scarce hold good as to the _honey_."
+
+"No, in faith; and there is no honey in the news she brings. She tells
+me that a camp is forming in the frontiers between Poland and
+Lithuania, and that Augustus Glinski is sent there to command the
+troops. Is this true?"
+
+"It is; and she might have added that the duke himself secretly left
+the city last night, to place himself at their head."
+
+"Is it a dangerous service?"
+
+"The service on which the duke has entered, and into which he misleads
+his son, _is_ dangerous. You tremble, Maria. It was no maiden, nor the
+tattle of the town, that brought you this. When did you last see or
+hear from him--from Augustus Glinski?"
+
+"Believe me," said Maria, while a crimson blush suddenly spread over
+her countenance, "if I have concealed any thing from you, it was not
+from craft, nor subtlety, nor fear, but from"----
+
+"From a mere delicacy, a simple bashfulness," said the father, coming
+to her assistance. "I know it well. Had you a mother living, I would
+bid you confide these sentiments of your heart to her, and to her
+only; but, having no other parent, make me your confidant. Trust me,
+you shall not find a woman's heart more open to your griefs, your
+fears, your joys, than mine shall be. Make me your sole confidant--you
+love this young Augustus?"
+
+"When I was at my aunt's we met each other often--but to you, my
+father, I have ever referred him as our final arbiter. I need not say
+that the known political rivalry between his father and yourself has
+made him backward in addressing you."
+
+"All men speak well of Augustus Glinski. I blame you not, my child; I
+only tremble for you. The duke, his father, is a restless, bold
+ambitious man, who will lead him--honourable as he is, but too young
+to judge, or to resist his parent--into treasonable enterprises. Both
+father and son--if they will play the rebel, and bring down war on
+Poland--I stand prepared to meet. The sword of justice shall sweep
+them from the earth. But if thy heart, my child, is doomed to bleed in
+this encounter, the wound will not be more yours than mine. There
+shall be no secrets between us. I will protect thee all I can; and if
+I cannot prevent thy sorrows, I will at least share them."
+
+A low tap was here heard at the door, and a page made his appearance.
+On seeing the minister, the stripling was about to retire. Maria,
+however, called him in, and bade him deliver his message. "You come,"
+she said to the youth, who still hesitated to speak--"you come from
+the younger Glinski: speak openly--what is it he has commissioned you
+to say?"
+
+"This, my lady," answered the page, "that he has ridden in all haste
+from the camp--that he must quit the city again before nightfall, and
+craves an audience if only for one minute."
+
+Maria looked towards her father, and thus referred the answer to him.
+
+Count Laski was silent.
+
+"Will you not," said his daughter, "tell this messenger, whether his
+master may come here or not?"
+
+"My child, he _cannot!_ he is at this moment under my arrest. Return,
+sir page," and he motioned him from the room--"but return to the
+fortress of----; you will find your master there a prisoner, under
+charge of high treason."
+
+"Oh, spare him! spare him!" cried Maria, as she sank back almost
+senseless with terror and alarm.
+
+"My child! my child!" exclaimed the minister in heart-breaking
+anguish, as he bent over his weeping daughter.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+
+After having in some measure soothed the terrors of his daughter, the
+chancellor called to him his trusty Hakem. He briefly explained to him
+that the Duke of Lithuania was at that moment in open rebellion
+against his Majesty, and placed in his hands a warrant for his
+execution. "The law cannot reach him through its usual servants," he
+said; "it is a bold enterprise I propose to you--to decapitate a
+general at the head of his troops."
+
+If this was a measure which hardly another minister than Laski would
+have contemplated, it was one also which he would have hardly found
+another than Hakem to undertake and accomplish. The bravery of this
+man was all but miraculous, and was only rescued from madness by the
+extreme skill and address by which it was supported. In battle, he
+rushed on danger as a bold and delighted swimmer plunges in the waves,
+which to him are as innocuous as the breeze that is freshening them.
+Yet, when the excitement was passed, he relapsed into a state of
+apparent apathy. He had been taken captive in one of those
+engagements, at this time not unfrequent, between the Poles and the
+Turks, with the latter of whom he had served as a soldier of fortune.
+To say that he was taken prisoner, is hardly correct; for he was found
+lying half dead on the field of battle, and was brought home by the
+Poles, by some caprice of compassion, with their own sick and dying.
+Neither was it constraint that held him beneath the roof of Laski, or
+in the nominal condition of a slave, for at all times escape would
+have been easy to him. It was either attachment to those who lived
+beneath that roof, or an equal indifference to every thing without or
+beyond it, that retained him there.
+
+To propose to Hakem some bold and perilous enterprise, was to offer
+him one of the few pleasures to which he was open. He accepted,
+therefore, of the strange commission now entrusted to him without
+hesitation; stipulating, only, that he might take from the stables of
+the king a horse which was much celebrated for its amazing power and
+fleetness.
+
+Mounted upon this incomparable steed, he pursued his way to the camp
+of the Duke of Lithuania. On his journey he had made trial of its
+speed, and yet had husbanded its strength. Arrived at the plain where
+the insurgent army was encamped, he there lay in ambush for some time,
+till he saw where the duke, passing his troops in review, rode
+somewhat in advance of what in the language of modern warfare we
+should call his staff. Hakem set spurs to his horse, and rushed upon
+him with the velocity of lightning, his drawn cimeter flashing in the
+sun, and his loud cry of defiance calling the duke to his defence.
+Thus challenged, he put his lance in rest to meet his furious
+assailant. But the thrust of the lance was avoided, and the next
+moment the head of the duke was seen to roll upon the field. The Arab
+wheeled round, and, without quitting his steed, picked up the severed
+head, placed it on his saddle-bows, and darted off fleeter than the
+wind. A cry of horror and a shout of pursuit arose from the whole
+army, who were spectators of this scene. Every horse was in motion.
+But where the contest is one of speed, of what avail are numbers? In
+the whole camp there was not a steed which could compete with that on
+which the solitary fugitive was mounted, and was already seen scouring
+the plain at a distance. As he fled, a paper was observed to fall from
+his hands, which the wind bore amongst his innumerable pursuers; it
+was the judicial warrant that had been thus strangely executed.
+
+Meanwhile, at the palace, the royal mind of Sigismund was not a little
+disquieted and alarmed by this sudden rebellion of the powerful Duke
+of Lithuania. That alarm would not have been diminished had he been
+aware that this open rebellion was to be aided by a secret domestic
+treason, which, in his own palace, was lying in ambush for his life.
+The queen, whilst watching her opportunity to perform her part in this
+criminal enterprise, affected to throw all the blame of this
+formidable rebellion on the unpopularity of the minister Laski, whose
+measures, indeed, the duke proclaimed as the main motive of his
+conduct.
+
+Matters were in this condition when Count Laski, attended by his
+slave, entered the royal apartment. There were present, beside the
+queen, several of the nobility--all prepared, by the insinuations and
+address of the queen, to give but a cold greeting to the minister.
+
+"In good time," said the queen, "Count Laski makes his appearance. We
+wish to know how you will extricate his Majesty from the peril in
+which your unpopular counsels have thrust him. With what forces will
+you meet the Duke of Lithuania? Now, when there is need of the brave
+chivalry of Poland to defend the king from rebellion, we find the
+nobility alienated from the crown by your unwise, and arrogant, and
+plebeian policy. But let us hear what is the excellent advice, what is
+the good intelligence, that you now bring us?"
+
+"The Duke of Lithuania, madam," said the chancellor, slightly raising
+his voice, but preserving the same calm dignity as if he had been
+presiding in a high court of justice--"the Duke of Lithuania is in
+open, manifest rebellion; and rebellion is, in the laws of all
+nations, punished by death."
+
+"Punished!" said the queen scoffingly: "are you speaking of some
+trembling caitiff who holds up his naked hand at your bar of justice?
+Punished! you must conquer him."
+
+"Your Majesty will be pleased to hear," continued the chancellor with
+a look full of significance, "that Albert Glinski, Duke of Lithuania,
+whose treason was open and proclaimed, has been by the royal warrant
+sentenced"----
+
+Count Laski paused.
+
+"Sentenced!" exclaimed Bona, and repeated her scornful laugh, which
+this time but ill concealed a certain vague terror that was rising in
+her mind. "Is our chancellor mad, or does he sport with us? This
+rebel, whom you talk of sentencing--of condemning, we presume, to the
+block--stands at the head of a greater army than his Majesty can at
+this moment assemble."
+
+"And the sentence," pursued the minister, "has been executed!"
+
+As he pronounced these words, the slave Hakem advanced, and drawing
+aside his robe, which had hitherto concealed it, he held up by the
+hair the severed head of the Duke of Lithuania.
+
+There ran a thrill of horror through the assembly. But, the next
+moment, a loud hysterical shriek drew the attention of all parties to
+the queen: she had fallen insensible at the feet of the king. The
+council was abruptly dismissed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+
+Thus far the cause of the chancellor had prospered. Poland had been
+preserved from the horrors of a civil war. The king's life had also
+been saved, and a great crime prevented; the career of assassination
+and of poisoning, into which the queen afterwards entered, was at all
+events postponed. As a public man, the minister was fully triumphant.
+But the minister was a father; at this side he was vulnerable; and
+fortune dealt her blow with cruel and unexpected severity.
+
+We have seen with what stern fidelity to his ministerial duty, and at
+how great a peril to his daughter's happiness, the chancellor had
+arrested Augustus Glinski. The rebellion quelled, the author of it
+punished and decapitated, there seemed no just motive for holding
+longer in imprisonment a youth who could not be accused of having any
+guilty participation in the crime of his father. He accordingly
+proposed his release. But the anger of the king against the late duke,
+who to his political offence had added that of personal ingratitude,
+(for it was Sigismund himself who had bestowed on him the powerful
+duchy of Lithuania,) was still unappeased, and he insisted upon
+including the son in the guilt and punishment of his parent. The
+representations of the minister were here unavailing; he would listen
+to nothing but the dictates of his own vindictive feelings.
+
+Count Laski detailed the manner of his arrest, and explained the
+singular interest he felt in the pardon and liberation of this youth;
+adding, that if Angustus Glinski died upon the scaffold, he feared the
+life of his daughter. But even this was unavailing. The old monarch
+thought he was displaying a great acuteness when he detected, as he
+imagined, in this plea of a daughter's happiness, a scheme of selfish
+aggrandizement. "Ha! ha!" said he, "so the wind sits in that quarter.
+A good match--duchess of Lithuania! I would rather you asked for the
+dukedom yourself, and married your daughter to another."
+
+It was in vain that the minister again repeated his simple and true
+statement; it was in vain that he limited his request to the life of
+the younger Glinski, consenting to the forfeiture of his title and
+estates; Sigismund was resolved this time not to be _overreached_ by
+his subtle minister. The language of entreaty was new to Laski; he
+had tried it, and had failed. It was new to Laski to endure tamely the
+misconstruction of his motives, or the least impeachment of his
+veracity. He had no other resource, no other response, left than the
+resignation of his ministerial office. But the obstinacy and anger of
+the king were proof against this also. The danger which threatened his
+reign had been dispelled. He could afford to be self-willed. He would
+not be controlled. In short, Count Laski left the royal presence--a
+discarded minister.
+
+In a monarchy uncontrolled and unaided by representative assemblies,
+the power which is secured perhaps to one of the weakest of men or
+women, perhaps to a child, has often struck the observer of human
+affairs as a strange anomaly. But the insecure and precarious
+foundation of the power of the great minister in such a monarchy, is
+scarcely less curious to contemplate. The sagacious counsellor, the
+long-experienced governor, who has for years wielded the powers of the
+state, may be reduced to obscurity and impotence by a word--a word of
+puerile passion, kindled perhaps by a silly intrigue. A great ruler is
+displaced at the caprice of a dotard. When Count Laski entered the
+presence of the king, he was in reality the governor of Poland; Europe
+acknowledged him amongst the controllers and directors of human
+affairs; his country expected many signal improvements at his hands;
+the individual happiness of thousands depended upon him; but this
+power, which had devised great schemes, and which was the rock of
+support to so many, could itself be shaken and overthrown in a moment,
+by the splenetic humour of an angry old man.
+
+Who shall describe the grief and despair of Maria when she heard of
+the cruel resolution which the king had taken, of the dreadful fate
+which threatened Augustus Glinski? As she sat this time in her Gothic
+chamber, and in her accustomed chair, what a mortal paleness had
+settled upon her countenance! Her eye glared out, and was fixed on the
+vacant wall, as if a spirit had arisen before her, and arrested her
+regard. There _was_ a spirit there. It was the form of the young
+Augustus, whom she saw withering and wasting in his dungeon; a dungeon
+which would deliver him up only to the scaffold. After the events
+which had occurred all idea of a union with Augustus, presuming that
+his life should be spared, had been resigned. How could he, on whom
+the maxims of that age especially imposed the duty of revenging his
+parent, ally himself to her? How could he choose for his second father
+the very man who had deprived him of his first and natural parent? If
+she could but hear that he had broken loose from imprisonment, that he
+was but safe--this was all that she felt entitled to wish or to pray
+for. It need hardly be added that it was additional bitterness to
+reflect, that but for his unhappy attachment to herself, his arrest
+and captivity would never have taken place.
+
+Again, in the same angle of the apartment, the Arab slave might have
+been seen standing, silent and motionless as before, regarding with
+deep interest and commiseration the beautiful daughter of Laski. The
+secret which she was about, on one occasion, to betray to Hakem, had
+now betrayed itself to his own observation. She loved--she loved the
+son of him whom he had assassinated, or executed. There was a profound
+sadness on the features of the slave.
+
+The silence of the room was suddenly broken by Maria, who, turning to
+the slave, exclaimed in a tone of anguish--"Hakem, you must save him!
+you must save him!" This was said in mere desperation, certainly not
+with any distinct hope that it was in the power of Hakem to obey.
+When, therefore, she heard his voice reply, in a calm but saddened
+tone, "I will!" she was almost as much surprised as if she had not
+addressed herself to him. She rose to be assured that it was he who
+spoke; to bid him repeat his consolatory promise; to question him on
+his means of fulfilling it: but Hakem was no longer there; he had
+suddenly quitted the apartment. It seemed as if some voice in the air
+had sported with her grief.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+
+But it was no voice that mocked at her grief. Hakem proceeded that
+very day to the palace, and sought an interview with the queen. The
+guard or sentinel to whom he addressed himself, laughed at his
+request. "Give her majesty this paper," said the slave, "and refuse to
+deliver it at your peril."
+
+The paper was forwarded to the queen--Hakem was immediately ushered
+into her presence.
+
+"You promise here," she said, pointing to the missive she had
+received, "to revenge the death of the Duke of Lithuania. I presume
+some private motive of revenge against the minister and your master,
+prompts your conduct, and you seek from me in additional recompense
+for an act which you have already resolved on, but which you think
+will be grateful to me. Is it not so?
+
+"Your Majesty is penetrating."
+
+"And this recompense, what is it?"
+
+"That which will cost you nothing, though you alone can accomplish
+it--the release and pardon of Augustus Glinski. Obtain this from the
+king--which to you will be easy--and with my own hand I will
+assassinate the assassin (for such you will doubtless deem him) of the
+Duke of Lithuania."
+
+"I will not ask what are your motives in all this, nor how you have
+divined my wishes, but revenge the death of the Duke of Lithuania, and
+far more than the liberation of the young Augustus shall be your
+reward."
+
+"I ask, and will accept no other. But his rescue must _first_ be
+obtained."
+
+The queen had no objection to urge against this condition; although
+she had hitherto, for reasons which may be easily surmised, avoided
+any appearance of interest in the fate of Augustus. She acquiesced,
+therefore, in Hakem's demand; surprised indeed that she should have
+obtained the gratification of her revenge at so slight a cost.
+
+What the influence and the reasonings of the minister could not
+effect, was very speedily brought about by the blandishments of the
+queen. Augustus Glinski was pardoned, and restored to a portion of his
+father's wealth and dignities.
+
+The warrant for the release of the prisoner was conveyed to the hand
+of Hakem, together with a message that he was now expected to perform
+his part of the engagement.
+
+Hakem, bearing this warrant, and accompanied by one of the officers of
+justice, proceeded to the prison of Augustus, and having liberated
+him, carried him forthwith to the house of the chancellor; the young
+man, who as yet hardly apprehended that he was master of his own
+movements, permitting himself without remonstrance to be led by his
+new conductor.
+
+The chancellor and his daughter sat together in the same apartment to
+which we have already twice introduced the reader. Had his daughter
+been happy, what a release for Laski had been his enfranchisement from
+public office! "Banishment from court!" he exclaimed to one who would
+have condoled with him--"make way there for a liberated prisoner!" But
+the grief of his daughter, who strove in vain to check her flowing
+tears, entirely pre-occupied his mind. These tears he never chid; her
+sadness he never rebuked; he shared it, and by renewed kindness strove
+to alleviate it. They sat in silence together, when Hakem, entering,
+made his obeisance, and presented Augustus to the astonished Maria.
+
+"I have saved him!" was all he said.
+
+The joy of Maria was extreme. It was soon, however, followed by a
+painful embarrassment. Amongst all parties there was a sad conflict of
+feeling. Augustus would have given worlds to have thrown himself at
+the feet of Maria; but if the memory of what had occurred had not been
+sufficient, there stood her father in person before him--the author of
+his own father's death.
+
+Hakem broke the silence. "Beautiful being!" he said, kneeling on one
+knee before Maria, "whom I have in secret worshipped, whom alone to
+worship I have lingered here in the guise and office of a slave--you
+bade me save _him_--and I have! Is there any thing further for thy
+happiness which the Arab can accomplish?"
+
+"No, Hakem, and I feel already overburdened with gratitude for this
+service you have rendered me--_how_ rendered I cannot as yet divine.
+There is no other service now I think that any one can render me." As
+she spoke, her eye had already turned to the spot where Augustus,
+hesitating to approach or to retreat, was still standing.
+
+"No other service! But, by the living God, there is!" cried Hakem,
+starting to his feet. His countenance flushed with sudden excitement;
+his eye kindled with some generous sentiment. "Hear me, gentle sir,"
+he said, addressing himself to Augustus. "Nature calls for
+vengeance--is it not so? Christian and Mahometan, we all resemble in
+this. Blood cries for blood. But the hand that slew your father--it
+was mine. I am the first and direct object of your resentment. Let now
+one victim suffice. Is the Arab too ignoble a victim? That Arab is the
+preserver of your life, at what cost you may one day learn. Let this
+enhance the value of the sacrifice. Over my blood let peace be made
+between you." Turning once more, and bowing with deep emotion before
+Maria, he then, with a movement quick as thought, plunged a poniard in
+his bosom, and fell to the ground. "Go, tell the queen," he said to
+the officer of justice, who had stood a mute spectator of this
+scene--"tell her what you have witnessed; and add, that my promise has
+been fulfilled. And you, Augustus Glinski--will not this suffice? The
+assassin of the duke lies here before you. Oh, take her by the hand!"
+Then, looking his last towards Maria, he murmured--"And I,
+too--loved!" and closed his eyes in death.
+
+The prayer of Hakem was granted. It was impossible to demand another
+sacrifice--impossible not to accept this as full atonement to the
+spirit of revenge. Over the body of Hakem, whom all lamented and
+admired, peace was made.
+
+The generous object of the slave was fully accomplished. His death
+procured the long happiness of Maria.
+
+
+
+
+THE LAY OF STARKĀTHER.
+
+
+    [The following lines are founded on the account given by
+    Saxo-Grammaticus (Lib. VIII.) of the guilt, penitence, and death
+    of Starkāther, a fabulous Scandinavian hero, famous throughout the
+    North for his bodily strength and warlike achievements, as well as
+    for his poetical genius, of which traces are still to be found in
+    the metrical traditions and phraseology of his country. According
+    to the old legend, the existence of Starkāther was prolonged for
+    three lifetimes, in each of which he was doomed to commit some act
+    of infamy; but this fiction has not here been followed out.
+    Oehlenschläger's drama, bearing the name of this hero, has many
+    beauties; but deviates widely from Saxo's story of his death.]
+
+    It was an aged man went forth with slow and tottering tread,
+    The frosts of many a Northland Yule lay thick upon his head;
+    A staff was in his outstretched hand, to lead him on his way,
+    And vainly rolled his faded eyes to find the light of day.
+
+    Yet in that ancient form was seen the pride of other years,
+    In ruined majesty and night the HERO there appears.
+    The awful brow, the ample breast, a shelter from the foe,
+    And there the massive weight of arm that dealt the deadly blow.
+
+    He stopped a passing stranger's steps, and thus his purpose told,--
+    "See here the twin swords by my side, and see this purse of gold;
+    Thy weapon choose to cope with One who should no longer live,
+    And by an easy slaughter earn the guerdon I would give.
+
+    "A hundred winters o'er my soul have shed their gathering gloom,
+    And still I seek, but seek in vain, an honourable tomb;
+    With friendly enmity consent to quench this lingering breath,
+    And give, to crown a warrior's life, one boon--a warrior's death.
+
+    "Of matchless might and fearless soul, with powers of song sublime,
+    I spread afar my name and fame in every Gothic clime;
+    Those godlike gifts were treasured long from blot and blemish clear,
+    But one dark act of fraudful guilt bedimmed my bright career.
+
+    "When Olo sat, the people's choice, in Sealand's kingly seat,
+    And trampled liegemen and the laws beneath his tyrant feet,
+    His nobles placed this glittering hoard within my yielding hand,
+    And bade me rid them of a rule that wide enslaved the land.
+
+    "I watched my royal victim well, I tracked his every path,
+    And found him with a faithless guard within the secret bath;
+    Yet rather had I faced an host fast rushing to the fight,
+    Than the eye of that unarmčd man, there gleaming bold and bright.
+
+    "The fear of my defenceless foe awhile unnerved my arm,
+    But thoughts of glory or of gain dispelled the better charm;
+    The water reddened with his blood, I left the lifeless corse,
+    To meet myself a living death,--a lifetime of remorse.
+
+    "In every feud, in every fray, on every field of strife,
+    I since have fondly sought release from such a loathčd life;
+    The foremost, who suborned my crime, have perished at my feet,
+    But none had heart or hand to strike the blow I longed to meet.
+
+    "Even as I am, I seek the fight, and offer as the prize
+    The untasted bait that bribed my soul, nor thou the boon despise;
+    Else, like some worn-out beast of prey, Starkāther soon must lie,
+    Nor gain the bliss that Odin gives to men who nobly die."
+
+    "I know thee now," the stranger said, "I hear thy hated name,
+    I take thy gold, I take thy life, a forfeit to my claim;
+    My father fell beneath thy hand, his image haunts me still--
+    But the hour of his revenge is come, and he shall drink his fill."
+
+    He seized a sword; its sweeping edge soon laid the Hero low,
+    But not before his sinking arm was felt upon his foe:
+    "Thanks, youthful friend!" the Hero said; "now Odin's hall is won,
+    Its rays already greet my soul, its raptures are begun."
+
+
+
+
+MOZART.[6]
+
+
+The true position of the creative musical power in the scale of human
+genius is difficult to determine; and will be differently estimated by
+different minds. That it is a heavenly gift of a high order, admits of
+no doubt; that it exercises over men's minds a mighty, and, under due
+safeguards, a beneficent influence, is equally indisputable; and that
+its existence implies, and is closely connected with, the possession
+of other superior faculties, moral and intellectual, must also, we
+think, be clear upon reflection, though this last proposition is not
+so likely to be readily conceded. Yet the place which the great
+COMPOSER is generally allowed to occupy, in relation to the PAINTER or
+the POET, does not correspond either to the qualities or to the
+effects displayed in his art. Many would think it a disparagement to
+connect the names of Milton or Virgil, Raphael or Michael Angelo, with
+those of the greatest musical masters; and it may seem not easy to say
+whether this feeling is the result of injustice or accident, on the
+one hand; or, on the other, is founded on some deep and solid truth in
+the laws and elements of our nature.
+
+The mighty magic that lies in the highest manifestations of musical
+composition, must command the wonder and reverence of all who
+understand, or even observe, its operation. The power of giving birth
+to innumerable forms of exquisite melody, delighting the ear and
+stirring every emotion of the soul, agitating us with fear or horror,
+animating us with ardour and enthusiasm, filling us with joy, melting
+us with grief, now lulling us to repose amidst the luxurious calm of
+earthly contentment, now borrowing wings more ethereal than the
+lark's, and wafting us to the gate of heaven, where its notes seem to
+blend undistinguishably with the songs of superior beings--this is a
+faculty that bears no unequivocal mark of a divine descent, and that
+nothing but prejudice or pride can deem of trivial or inferior rank.
+But when to this is added a mastery over the mysterious combinations
+of harmony, a spirit that can make subservient to its one object
+immense masses of dissimilar and sometimes discordant, sounds; and,
+like the leader of a battle, can ride on the whirlwind and direct the
+storm, till it subdue the whole soul, taking captive all our feelings,
+corporeal and mental, and moulding them to its will--a power of this
+nature seems to equal in dignity the highest faculties of genius in
+any of its forms, as it undoubtedly surpasses all the others in the
+overwhelming and instantaneous efficacy of its agency while thus
+working its wonders. Tame is the triumph of the artist in the
+exhibition-room, dim and distant the echo which the poet receives of
+the public praise, compared with the unequivocal and irrepressible
+bursts of admiration which entrance the great composer in the crowded
+theatre, or even with that silent incense which is breathed in the
+stifled emotions of his audience in some more sacred place. The
+nearest approach to any such enthusiastic tribute, is that which
+sometimes awaits the successful tragic poet at the representation of
+his dramas; but, besides the lion's share of applause which the actor
+is apt to appropriate, what dramatic writer, in our own experience or
+history, has been greeted with such homage as that paid to Handel,
+when the king and people of England stood up in trembling awe to hear
+his _Hallelujah_ chorus?--that which hailed Mozart from the enraptured
+theatres of Prague when listening to his greatest operas?--that which
+fanned into new fire the dying embers of Haydn's spirit, when the
+_Creation_ was performed at Vienna, to delight his declining days,
+before an audience of 1500 of the Austrian nobility and gentry?
+
+The ancient poets felt the force of those emotions which musical sound
+produces, and shadowed out under its name the great principles of
+human harmony and social order. Societies were founded, cities built,
+and countries cultivated by Orpheus and Amphion, and men of analogous
+fame, who wielded at will this mythic power, and made all the
+susceptibilities of nature "sequacious of the lyre."
+
+In one respect the fame of the composer is less diffusible than that
+of the poet. He requires various mechanical means and appliances for
+his full success. His works must be performed in order to be felt. He
+cannot be read, like the poet, in the closet, or in the cottage, or on
+the street-stall, where the threadbare student steals from day to day,
+as he lingers at the spot, new draughts of delicious refreshment. Few
+can sit down and peruse a musical composition even for its melody; and
+very few, indeed, can gather from the silent notes the full effect of
+its splendid combinations. Yet even here the great master has
+analogous compensations. The idle amateur, the boarding-school girl,
+the street minstrel, and the barrel-organ, reflect his more palpable
+beauties; and, subjecting them to the severe test of incessant
+reiteration, make us wonder that "custom cannot stale" the infinite
+variety that is shut up even in his simplest creations.
+
+But the creative musician has an immeasurable advantage over both the
+painter and the poet in the absence of all local limitation to his
+popularity. Here, indeed, the painter is the least favoured by the
+nature of his art. The immediate presence of the prophet could only be
+felt at Mecca; the perfection of painting can only be seen at Rome.
+The poet has a wider range, and can be prized and appreciated wherever
+the language is known in which he writes. But the musician is still
+more highly privileged. He speaks with a tongue intelligible alike to
+every nation and class; he expresses himself in a universal character,
+which Bishop Wilkins would have died to possess; he needs no
+translation; he can suffer nothing by change of place; his works are
+equally and at once capable of being enjoyed at London and Naples,
+Paris and Prague, Vienna and St Petersburg. If the enjoyment received
+from his powers is not every where equally great, it is not from the
+want of a medium to make them understood, but from a difference in the
+minds to which they are presented.
+
+The creative art of the musician is not one of mere talent, or of a
+certain sensual refinement and dexterity. It involves deep systematic
+study, closely akin to that of the severer sciences. It has a sequence
+and logic of its own, and excellence in it is unattainable without
+good sense and strong intellect. It involves great moral and pathetic
+sensibility, and a ready sympathy with all the joys and sorrows of
+mankind. And finally, the lightest branch of it is beyond the reach of
+any but those who are lifted up by strong feelings of reverence and
+devotion. Handel was a man of sincere piety, who avowed it to be the
+object of his compositions not merely to please men, but "to make them
+better."
+
+    "The character of Handel," says Mr Hogarth, in his excellent
+    _Musical History_, "in all its great features, was exalted and
+    amiable. Throughout his life he had a deep sense of religion. He
+    used to express the great delight he felt in setting to music the
+    most sublime passages of Holy Writ; and the habitual study of the
+    Scriptures had constant influence on his sentiments and conduct.
+    For the last two or three years of his life, he regularly attended
+    divine service in his parish church of St George's, Hanover
+    Square, where his looks and gestures indicated the fervour of his
+    devotion. In his life he was pure and blameless."--(Vol. i. 209.)
+
+    "Haydn," in like manner, (we quote from the same biographer,) "was
+    a stranger to every evil and malignant passion; and, indeed, was
+    not much under the influence of passion of any sort. But his
+    disposition was cheerful and gentle, and his heart was brimful of
+    kindly affections. He was friendly and benevolent, open and candid
+    in the expression of his sentiments, always ready to acknowledge
+    and aid the claims of talent in his own art, and, in all his
+    actions, distinguished by the most spotless integrity. Such is the
+    account of him given by all those who knew him best; and they add,
+    as the most remarkable feature of his character, that strong and
+    deeply-rooted sense of religion, which is the only solid
+    foundation of moral excellence. Haydn's piety was not a mere
+    feeling, capable, as is often the case with worldly men, of being
+    excited for the moment by circumstances, and dying away when the
+    external influence is removed; it was an active principle, which
+    guided the whole tenor of his life and conduct. His sacred music
+    was exalted by the existence, in his mind, of those devout
+    sentiments which it is the object of sacred music to express.
+    'When I was engaged in composing _The Creation_,' he used to say,
+    'I felt myself so penetrated with religious feeling, that before I
+    sat down to write, I earnestly prayed to God that he would enable
+    me to praise him worthily.'"--(Vol. i. 304.)
+
+Similar feelings of strong piety, as well as of generous benevolence,
+animated and inspired the great and amiable man whose character is
+more immediately the subject of this article. It would be difficult,
+indeed, to think of an oratorio or requiem written by a scoffer or a
+sceptic.
+
+With such exalted requisites, so intense a power, and so extensive a
+range of influence, it is strange that the composer should not have
+taken the rank and relative dignity to which he seems entitled in the
+province of the arts. But honour and fame are chiefly dispensed by
+poets and literary men; and it is impossible not to feel that,
+generally speaking, the musician is treated by men of letters as an
+alien from their own lineage. Music may be praised in vague and
+evasive terms; but the individual composer is not deemed deserving of
+mention. All the great masters of the pencil have been cordially
+commended in immortal verse; but of the great composers' names scarce
+a notice is to be found. It is not wonderful that the poet should
+prize above all others his own form of art. Poetry, as the mouthpiece
+of practical wisdom, as the clearest interpreter of all instruction,
+must ever hold an undisputed pre-eminence. Painting, too, as nearest
+akin to poetry in the objects it presents and the effects it produces,
+may be allowed at least to contest the palm for the second rank. But
+that music in the person of her most inspired sons, should have been
+sternly excluded from a participation in the honours awarded to her
+sister arts, seems an injustice which can be defended on no pleadable
+grounds. The explanation of it seems to be, that most of our great
+poets--and this has certainly been the case in England--have had no
+love or knowledge, and no true appreciation, of high musical
+composition. Milton alone seems to have been an exception; and, we
+cannot doubt, that if he had lived in the same age with Handel, he
+would have given utterance to his admiration in strains worthy of them
+both. The rest of our _vates sacri_, on whom immortality is
+proverbially said to depend, seem, generally speaking, to have been
+ignorance itself in this department. Several of them, indeed, have
+written odes for St Cecilia's day, but this does not prove that they
+had a taste for more than rhythm. Pope had the tact to call Handel a
+giant, and speaks cleverly of his "hundred hands" as sure to be fatal
+to the reign of Dulness.
+
+    "Strong in new arms, lo! giant Handel stands,
+    Like bold Briareus, with his hundred hands,
+    To stir, to rouse, to shake the soul he comes,
+    And Jove's own thunders follow Mars's drums.
+    Arrest him, goddess! or you sleep no more."
+
+But no reference is made to the exquisite beauty of his compositions.
+The loudness is all that seems to be praised, and we suspect, that in
+private Pope was inclined to laugh with Swift in his disparaging
+comparison between Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Wordsworth has written
+on the "Power of Sound;" but the small part of it that touches on the
+musical art, does not impress us with the idea of his knowing or
+caring much about it, though in this, as in other things, he has the
+sense and philosophy to sacrifice a cock to Esculapius, and to bow
+down to what others worship, even where he does not himself feel the
+influence of a warm devotion. Collins and Moore, and perhaps a few
+others whom we have overlooked, ought to be excluded from this
+condemnation; but they have not been led to speak of individual
+musicians, or have not had courage to leave the beaten track.
+
+Thus neglected by those who would have been its most faithful
+depositaries and most effective champions, the fame of the musical
+composer has been left to the guardianship of the few sound and
+enlightened judges who thoroughly comprehend him, to the humble but
+honest admiration of professional performers, to the practice and
+imitation of effeminate amateurs, to the cant of criticism of the
+worthies on the free list, and to the instinctive applause of the
+popular voice. Even with these humbler hands to build up his monument,
+the great master of music has a perpetual possession within the hearts
+of men, that the poet and the painter may well envy. Every chord in
+the human frame that answers to his strains, every tear that rises at
+the bidding of his cadences, every sob that struggles for an outlet at
+his touches of despairing tenderness, or at the thunders of his
+massive harmony, is a tribute to his power and his memory, enough to
+console his spirit if it can still be conscious of them, or to have
+rewarded his living labours in their progress by a bright anticipation
+of their effects. If nobles, and even nations, do not contend for the
+possession of his works, or offer a ransom for their purchase, such as
+is daily given for the masterpieces of the painter's power; it is the
+pride of his genius that his compositions cannot be appropriated or
+possessed. An oratorio of Handel, or an opera of Mozart, cannot become
+property like a picture of Raphael or Guido. They belong to mankind at
+large, open to all, and enjoyable by all who have the faculty to
+perceive, and delight in, their beauties; and in every theatre and
+public place, in every church and in every chamber throughout
+Christendom, a portion of their divine and various influence, suited
+to the scene and occasion, is always within reach, to make men gentler
+and better, happier and holier, than they would otherwise be without
+such manifestations of their Maker's wondrous gifts.
+
+Nowhere can the views we have above suggested be better illustrated,
+than in the fate and character of the singular man who, if not the
+first, was yet only second to one other, among those on whom music has
+shed her fullest inspiration.
+
+It is not our intention to follow minutely the events of Mozart's
+life. They are generally well known; and to those who wish to have a
+clear, complete, and judicious view of them, we can safely recommend
+the book noticed at the outset of this article.
+
+Mozart was born at Salzburg in 1756, and died at Vienna in 1791, in
+his thirty-sixth year. But into that short space were compressed as
+many proofs and compositions of genius, as much joy and sorrow, as
+much triumph and humiliation, as would have crowded a much longer
+lifetime. His early indications of genius are well known, and were
+indeed wonderful, even as compared with those of other great
+composers--for Handel, Haydn, and Beethoven, all gave proofs of their
+musical powers in boyhood--though none of them as children showed that
+full maturity of mind which distinguished Mozart, and which only a few
+of those who witnessed it could fully appreciate. Mozart's
+organization was obviously of the finest and tenderest texture; but he
+had also many advantages in his nurture, and, among others, the
+inestimable blessing of a happy home, where harmony reigned in the
+hearts, as well as upon the lips and fingers of the inmates. His
+father was a man of sense and education, as well as of musical talent,
+and in all respects did his duty to his son throughout life, amidst
+many difficulties and disappointments, resulting partly from his own
+dependent situation at Salzburg, and partly from an over-estimate of
+the worldly prosperity which his son's genius should have commanded.
+His mother seems also to have been an excellent person; and from the
+remarkable letters which Mozart wrote from Paris to prepare his father
+for her death, after the event had happened, she appears to have been
+the object of the tenderest affection to her family. Mozart uniformly
+discharged towards his parents all the offices of pious devotion; and
+he was always affectionately attached to his sister, who was a few
+years older than himself, and whose early and distinguished skill as a
+performer must have been useful in assisting her brother's tastes. In
+1829 the Novello family saw this lady at Salzburg, a widow and in
+narrow circumstances.
+
+    "We found Madame Sonnenberg, lodged in a small but clean room,
+    bed-ridden and quite blind. Hers is a complete decay of nature;
+    suffering no pain, she lies like one awaiting the stroke of
+    death, and will probably expire in her sleep.... Her voice was
+    scarcely above a whisper, so that I was forced to lean my face
+    close to hers to catch the sound. In the sitting-room still
+    remained the old clavichord, on which the brother and sister had
+    frequently played duets together; and on its desk were some pieces
+    of his composition, which were the last things his sister had
+    played over previous to her illness."
+
+With becoming delicacy, the fruits of an English subscription were
+presented to her on her name-day, as a remembrance from some friends
+of her brother.
+
+The bane of Mozart's fortunes was the patronage on which he was
+dependent. His father had got into the trammels of the Archbishop of
+Salzburg--a sordid, arrogant, and ignorant man, who saw Mozart's value
+in the eyes of others, though he could not himself estimate it, and
+would neither pay him nor part with him. When in his twentieth year,
+and already a great composer and an efficient performer, Mozart was in
+the receipt, from this princely prelate, for the liberal use of his
+musical talents, of a salary equal in amount to about Ģ1, 1s. English,
+per annum.
+
+    "Among a multitude of compositions that he wrote for the
+    archbishop's concerts, in 1775, are five concertos for the violin,
+    which he probably performed himself. His gentle disposition made
+    him easily comply with any proposal to augment pleasure, however
+    out of his usual course. During the following year, 1776, he seems
+    to have made his last great effort to awaken the archbishop to
+    some sense of his desert, and a due generosity of acknowledgment,
+    by producing masses, litanies, serenades, divertimentos for
+    instruments, clavier concertos, &c., too numerous for detail. But
+    in vain; and what aggravated the injury of this monstrous
+    appropriation of labour was, that the father, whose household
+    economy was now somewhat pinched, on applying for permission to
+    remedy these circumstances by a tour, was refused. From that hour
+    Wolfgang threw by his pen in disgust--at least as far as it
+    concerned voluntary labour."
+
+It was now resolved that Mozart should leave Salzburg with his mother,
+and try his fortune in the world. He was every where admired; but the
+wonder of his childhood had passed away, and empty praise was all that
+he could, for the most part, earn. After lingering, in the sickness of
+hope deferred, at several of the German courts, his destination was at
+last fixed for Paris. His chance of success as a courtier was probably
+diminished by the blunt though kindly frankness of his opinions, and
+by his inability to stoop to unworthy means of rising. He had also
+many rivals to encounter, particularly those of the more slender
+school of Italian melody; and few of the public had knowledge or
+independence enough to forsake the inferior favourites that were in
+vogue.
+
+In approaching Paris, Mozart became alarmed at the prospect of his
+being there compelled to resort to the drudgery of tuition for his
+support. "I am a composer," he said, "and the son of a kapell-meister,
+and I cannot consent to bury in teaching the talent for composition
+which God has so richly bestowed upon me." His father, more
+experienced in the world, and more prudential in his ideas,
+endeavoured to modify his alarm, and urge him to perseverance in any
+honourable course of employment. The father's letter at this time to
+his son, to apprize him of the true position of the family, and
+preserve him against the dangers in his path, is honourable to both,
+and worthy of perusal.
+
+    "This being in all probability the last letter that you will
+    receive from me at Mannheim, I address it to you alone. How deeply
+    the wider separation which is about to take place between us
+    affects me, you may partly conceive, though not feel it in the
+    same degree with which it oppresses my heart. If you reflect
+    seriously on what I have undergone with you two children in your
+    tender years, you will not accuse me of timidity, but, on the
+    contrary, do me the justice to own that I am, and ever have been,
+    a man with the heart to venture every thing, though indeed I
+    always employed the greatest circumspection and precaution.
+    Against accidents it is impossible to provide, for God only sees
+    into futurity. Up to this time we cannot be said to have been
+    either successful or unsuccessful; but, God be thanked, we have
+    steered between the two. Every thing has been attempted for your
+    success, and through you for our own. We have at least endeavoured
+    to settle you in some appointment on a secure footing; though fate
+    has hitherto decreed that we should fail in our object. This last
+    step of ours, however, makes my spirit sink within me. You may see
+    as clearly as the sun at noonday, that, through it, the future
+    condition of your aged parents, and of your affectionately
+    attached sister, entirely depends upon you. From the time of your
+    birth, and indeed earlier, ever since my marriage, I have found it
+    a hard task to support a wife, and, by degrees, a family of seven
+    children, two relatives by marriage, and the mother, on a certain
+    income of twenty-five florins a month, out of this to pay for
+    maintenance and the expenses of child-bed, deaths, and sicknesses;
+    which expenses, when you reflect upon them, will convince you that
+    I not only never devoted a kreutzer to my own private pleasure,
+    but that I could never, in spite of all my contrivances and care,
+    have managed to live free from debt without the especial favour of
+    God; and yet I never was in debt till now. I devoted all my time
+    to you two, in the hope and indeed reliance upon your care in
+    return; that you would procure for me a peaceful old age, in which
+    I might render account to God for the education of my children,
+    and, without any other concern than the salvation of my soul,
+    quietly await death. But Providence has so ordered, that I must
+    now afresh commence the ungrateful task of lesson-giving, and in a
+    place, too, where this dreary labour is so ill paid, that it will
+    not support one from one end of the year to the other; and yet it
+    is to be thought a matter of rejoicing if, after talking oneself
+    into a consumption, something or other is got by it.
+
+    "I am far, my dear Wolfgang, from having the least mistrust in
+    you--on the contrary, on your filial love I place all confidence
+    and every hope. Every thing now depends upon fortunate
+    circumstances, and the exercise of that sound understanding which
+    you certainly possess, if you will listen to it; the former are
+    uncontrollable--but that you will always take counsel of your
+    understanding I hope and pray....
+
+    "You are now a young man of twenty-two years of age; here is none
+    of that seriousness of years which may dissuade a youth, let his
+    condition be what it may--an adventurer, a libertine, a
+    deceiver--be he old or young, from courting your acquaintance, and
+    drawing you into his society and his plans. One may fall into this
+    danger unawares, and then not know how to recede. Of the other sex
+    I can hardly speak to you, for there the greatest reserve and
+    prudence are necessary, Nature herself being our enemy; but
+    whoever does not employ all his prudence and reserve in his
+    intercourse, will with difficulty extricate himself from the
+    labyrinth--_a misfortune that usually ends in death_. How blindly,
+    through inconsiderate jests, flattery, and play, one may fall into
+    errors at which the returning reason is ashamed, you may perhaps
+    have already a little experienced, and it is not my intention to
+    reproach you. I am persuaded that you do not only consider me as
+    your father, but as your truest and most faithful friend, and that
+    you know and see that our happiness or unhappiness--nay, more, my
+    long life or speedy death is, under God, so to speak, in your
+    hands. If I know you aright, I have nothing but pleasure to expect
+    in you, which thought must console me in your absence for the
+    paternal pleasure of seeing, hearing, and embracing you. Lead the
+    life of a good Catholic Christian; love and fear God; pray to him
+    with devotion and sincerity, and let your conduct be such, that
+    should I never see you more, the hour of my death may be free from
+    apprehension. From my heart I bless you."
+
+His reception at Paris was comparatively cold. The Parisians were
+scarcely done with the "faction fight" in which the rivalry of Gluck
+and Piccini had involved them; but none of the partisans were inclined
+to be enthusiastic about the new-comer. His only great admirer, and
+his best friend, seems to have been his acute and accomplished
+countryman Grimm, who prophesied that monarchs would dispute for the
+possession of Mozart. The prediction was fulfilled, but not in
+sufficient time to benefit the unhappy subject of their competition.
+
+    "Baron Grimm and myself often vent our indignation at the state of
+    music here, that is to say, between ourselves; but in public it is
+    always '_bravo! bravissimo!_' and clapping till the fingers burn.
+    What most displeases me is, that the French gentlemen have only
+    so far improved their taste as to be able to _endure_ good things;
+    but as for any perception that their music is bad--Heaven help
+    them!--and the singing--_oimč!_"
+
+Again he writes--
+
+    "You advise me to visit a great deal, in order to make new
+    acquaintances, or to revive the old ones. That is, however,
+    impossible. The distance is too great, and the ways too miry to go
+    on foot; the muddy state of Paris being indescribable; and to take
+    a coach, one may soon drive away four or five livres, and all in
+    vain, for the people merely pay you compliments, and then it is
+    over. They ask me to come on this or that day--I play, and then
+    they say, '_O c'est un prodige, c'est inconcevable, c'est
+    étonnant_;' and then '_ā Dieu_.'"
+
+    "All this, however," Mr Holmes observes, "might have been endured,
+    so far as mere superciliousness and _hauteur_ to the professional
+    musician were involved, if these people had possessed any real
+    feeling or love for music; but it was their total want of all
+    taste, their utter viciousness, that rendered them hateful to
+    Mozart. He was ready to make any sacrifice for his family, but
+    longed to escape from the artificial and heartless Parisians.
+
+    "If I were in a place," he writes, "where people had ears to hear,
+    hearts to feel, and some small degree of perception and taste, I
+    should laugh heartily over all these things--but really, as it
+    regards music, I am living among mere brute beasts. How can it be
+    otherwise? It is the same in all their passions, and, indeed, in
+    every transaction of life; no place in the world is like Paris. Do
+    not think that I exaggerate when I speak thus of the state of
+    music here--ask any one except a native Frenchman, and if he be
+    fit to answer the question, he will tell you the same. I must
+    endure out of love to you--but I shall thank God Almighty if I
+    leave this place with my healthful natural taste. It is my
+    constant prayer that I may be enabled to establish myself, that I
+    may do honour to the German nation, and make fame and money, and
+    so be the means of helping you out of your present narrow
+    circumstances, and of our all living together once more,
+    cheerfully and happily."
+
+Take the following vivid sketch of his task in teaching composition to
+a young lady:--
+
+    "Among these pupils one is daughter of the Duc de Guines, with
+    whom I am in high favour, and I give her two hours' instruction in
+    composition daily, for which I am very liberally paid. He plays
+    the flute incomparably, and she magnificently on the harp. She
+    possesses much talent and cleverness, and, in particular, a very
+    remarkable memory, which enables her to play all her pieces, of
+    which there are at least two hundred, without book. She is
+    doubtful whether she has genius for composition--particularly with
+    respect to thoughts or ideas; her father (who, between ourselves,
+    is a little too much in love with her) affirms that she certainly
+    has ideas, and that nothing but modesty and a want of confidence
+    in herself prevent their appearing. We shall now see. If she
+    really have no ideas, and I must say I have as yet seen no
+    indication of them, it will be all in vain, for God knows I can
+    give her none. It is not her father's intention to make any very
+    great composer of her. 'I do not wish her,' he says, 'to write any
+    operas, airs, concertos, or symphonies, but merely grand sonatas
+    for her instrument, as I do for mine.'
+
+    "I gave her the fourth lesson to-day, and, as far as the rules of
+    composition go, am tolerably satisfied with her; she put the bass
+    to the first minuet which I placed before her, very correctly. We
+    now commenced writing in three parts. She tried it, and fatigued
+    herself in attempts, but it was impossible to help her; nor can we
+    move on a step further, for it is too early, and in science one
+    must advance by the proper gradations. If she had genius--but
+    alas! there is none--she has no thoughts--nothing comes. I have
+    tried her in every imaginable way; among others it occurred to me
+    to place a very simple minuet before her, to see whether she could
+    make a variation upon it. That was all to no purpose. Now, thought
+    I, she does not know how to begin; so I varied the first bar for
+    her, and told her to continue the variation pursuing that idea;
+    and at length she got through tolerably well. I next requested her
+    to begin something herself--the first part only--a melody; but
+    after a quarter of an hour's cogitation nothing came. I then wrote
+    four bars of a minuet, and said, 'What a stupid fellow I am, I
+    have begun a minuet, and cannot finish the first part of it. Have
+    the goodness to do it for me.' She distrusted her ability, but at
+    last, with much labour, something came to light. I rejoiced that
+    we got something at last. She had now to complete the entire
+    minuet, that is to say, the melody only. On going away, I
+    recommended her to alter my four bars for something of her own; to
+    make another beginning even if she retained the same harmony, and
+    only altered the melody. I shall see to-morrow how she has
+    succeeded."
+
+In the midst of this irksome labour, Mozart's beloved mother expired
+at Paris in the summer of 1778, after a fortnight's illness. He then
+wrote to his father that she was "very ill," and to a family friend at
+Salzburg, desiring him to prepare his father and sister for the truth.
+The whole correspondence at this time is interesting. The letter to
+the Abbé Bullinger is in these words:--
+
+    "Sympathize with me on this the most wretched and melancholy day
+    of my life. I write at two o'clock in the morning to inform you
+    that my mother--my dearest mother--is no more! God has called her
+    to himself. I saw clearly that nothing could save her, and
+    resigned myself entirely to the will of God; he gave, and he can
+    take away. Picture to yourself the state of alarm, care, and
+    anxiety in which I have been kept for the last fortnight. She died
+    without being conscious of any thing--her life went out like a
+    taper. Three days ago she confessed, received the sacrament and
+    extreme unction; but since that time she has been constantly
+    delirious and rambling, until this afternoon at twenty-one minutes
+    after five, when she was seized with convulsions, and immediately
+    lost all perception and feeling. I pressed her hand and spoke to
+    her; but she neither saw me, heard me, nor seemed in the least
+    sensible; and in this state she lay for five hours, namely, till
+    twenty-one minutes past ten, when she departed, no one being
+    present but myself, M. Haine, a good friend of ours whom my father
+    knows, and the nurse.
+
+    "I cannot at present write you the whole particulars of the
+    illness; but my belief is, that she was to die--that it was the
+    will of God. Let me now beg the friendly service of you, to
+    prepare my poor father by gentle degrees for the melancholy
+    tidings. I wrote to him by the same post, but told him no more
+    than that she was very ill; and I now await his answer, by which I
+    shall be guided. May God support and strengthen him! Oh, my
+    friend! through the especial grace of God I have been enabled to
+    endure the whole with fortitude and resignation, and have long
+    since been consoled under this great loss. In her extremity I
+    prayed for two things: a blessed dying hour for my mother, and
+    courage and strength for myself; and the gracious God heard my
+    prayer, and richly bestowed those blessings upon me. Pray,
+    therefore, dear friend, support my father. Say what you can to
+    him, in order that when he knows the worst, he may not feel it too
+    bitterly. I commend my sister also to you from the bottom of my
+    heart. Call on both of them soon, but say no word of the
+    death--only prepare them. You can do and say what you will; but
+    let me be so far at ease as to have no new misfortune to expect.
+    Comfort my dear father and my dear sister, and pray send me a
+    speedy answer."
+
+The letter to his father is curiously circumstantial; but if on such
+occasion it is allowable to deceive at all, it is allowable to make
+the deception complete.
+
+    "The cause of my having left your letter of the 11th of June so
+    long unanswered is, that I have very unpleasant and melancholy
+    intelligence to communicate. My dear mother is very ill. At the
+    beginning of her illness she was, as usual, bled, and this seemed
+    to relieve and do her good; but in a few days she began to
+    complain of sudden chills and heats, which were accompanied by
+    headach and diarrhoea. We began now to use the remedy that we
+    employ at home--the antispasmodic powder. We wished that we had
+    brought the black, but had it not, and could not get it here,
+    where even its name, _pulvis epilepticus_, is unknown. But as she
+    got worse continually, spoke with difficulty, and so far lost her
+    hearing, that it was necessary to call out in speaking to her,
+    Baron Grimm sent us his physician. She is still very weak, and is
+    also feverish and delirious. They want to give me hope; but I have
+    not much. I have been long already--for days and nights
+    together--between hope and fear; but I have now entirely resigned
+    myself to the will of God, and I hope that you and my dear sister
+    will do the like. What are the means then to give us calm and
+    peace, in a degree, if not absolutely? I am resigned, let the end
+    be what it may, because I know that God, who, however mysteriously
+    he may proceed to human eyes, ordains every thing for the best, so
+    wills it; and I am not easily persuaded out of the belief, that
+    neither physician nor any other man, neither misfortune nor
+    accident, can either take or give life, but God alone, though
+    these are the means which he mostly employs; but even these not
+    always. We see people constantly sinking and dying around us; but
+    I do not say, on that account, that my mother must and will die,
+    or that we have lost all hope. She may recover, if it be the will
+    of God. I, however, find consolation in these reflections, after
+    praying to God as earnestly as I am able for my dear mother's
+    health and life; they strengthen, encourage, and console me, and
+    you must needs think I require them. Let us now change the
+    subject, and quit these melancholy thoughts. Let us hope, if not
+    much, and put our trust in God, consoling ourselves with the
+    reflection, that every thing is well ordered which the Almighty
+    orders, and that he best knows what is essential to our temporal
+    happiness and our eternal salvation."
+
+The elder Mozart had, in the mean time, without knowing of her
+illness, begun a letter to his wife, designed to reach her on her
+name-day; but, before its conclusion, he had received his son's
+letter, and seen the Abbé, and had thus learned not only her danger
+but its result.
+
+    "M. Bullinger found us, as every one else did, in deep affliction;
+    I handed him your letter without saying a word; he dissembled very
+    well; and having read it, enquired what I thought about it. I
+    said, that I firmly believed my dear wife was no more. He almost
+    feared the same thing, he told me--and then, like a true friend,
+    entered upon consolatory topics, and said to me every thing that I
+    had before said to myself. We finished our conversation, and our
+    friends gradually left us with much concern. M. Bullinger,
+    however, remained behind, and when we were alone, asked me whether
+    I believed that there was any ground for hope after such a
+    description of the illness as had been given. I replied, that I
+    not merely believed her dead by this time--but that she was
+    already so on the very day that the letter was written; that I had
+    resigned myself to the will of God, and must remember that I have
+    two children, who I hoped would love me, as I lived solely and
+    entirely for them; indeed, that I felt so certain, as to have
+    taken some pains to write to, and remind you of the consequences,
+    &c. Upon this he said, 'Yes, she is dead,' and in that instant the
+    scales fell from my eyes; for the suddenness of the accident had
+    prevented my perceiving, what I else should have suspected, as
+    soon as I had read your letter--namely, how probable it was that
+    you had privately communicated the real truth to M. Bullinger. In
+    fact, your letter stupified me--it at first was such a blow as to
+    render me incapable of reflection. I have now no more to say. Do
+    not be anxious on my account, I shall bear my sorrow like a man.
+    Remember what a tenderly loving mother you have had--now you will
+    be able to appreciate all her care--as in your mature years, after
+    my death, you will mine, with a constantly increasing affection.
+    If you love me, as I doubt not but you do, take care of your
+    health--on your life hangs mine, and the future support of your
+    affectionate sister. How incomprehensibly bitter a thing it is,
+    when death rends asunder a happy marriage--can only be known by
+    experience."
+
+In a few days, Mozart wrote to his father again:--
+
+    "I hope that you are now prepared to receive with firmness some
+    intelligence of a very melancholy and distressing character;
+    indeed, my last letter, of the 3d, will not have encouraged you to
+    expect any thing very favourable. On the evening of the same day
+    (the 3d,) at twenty-one minutes after ten at night, my mother fell
+    happily asleep in God, and was already experiencing the joys of
+    heaven at the very moment that I wrote to you. All was over--I
+    wrote to you in the night, and I trust that you and my sister will
+    pardon this slight but very necessary artifice;--for when, after
+    all the distress that I had suffered, I turned my thoughts towards
+    you, I could not possibly persuade myself to surprise you all at
+    once with the dreadful and fatal news. Now, however, I hope that
+    you have both prepared yourselves to hear the worst; and after
+    giving way to the reasonable and natural impulses of your grief,
+    to submit yourselves at last to the will of God, and to adore his
+    inscrutable, unfathomable, and all-wise providence.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    "I write this in the house of Madame d'Epinay and M. Baron de
+    Grimm, with whom I am now staying, and where I have a pretty
+    little room with a pleasant prospect, and am, as far as
+    circumstances will permit, happy. It would be a great additional
+    comfort were I to hear that my dear father and sister had resigned
+    themselves with fortitude and submission to the will of God;
+    trusting him entirely, in the full conviction that every thing is
+    ordered for our good. Dear father--be comforted! Dearest
+    sister--be comforted!--you know not the kind intentions of your
+    brother towards you; because hitherto they have not been in his
+    power to fulfil.
+
+    "I hope that you will both be careful of your health. Remember
+    that you have still a son--a brother--who will exert himself to
+    the utmost for your happiness, well knowing what sacrifices you
+    are both ready to make for him, and that when the time shall come,
+    neither of you will oppose the fulfilment of his honourable
+    wishes. Oh! then we will lead a life as peaceful and happy as is
+    attainable in this world; and at length, in God's time, meet all
+    together again in the enjoyment of that object for which we were
+    created."
+
+We have given these letters at some length, as we think they show the
+worth, affection, and right feeling of the whole family.
+
+The disconsolate state in which his father was thus left, decided
+Mozart, however reluctant, to return to the hated service of the
+Archbishop at Salzburg. The terms on which he was received back were
+somewhat improved, for his absence had rendered his value more
+perceptible; and a greater latitude was allowed him in visiting, and
+composing for other courts. In the winter of 1780-1, he made use of
+his leave of absence by writing and bringing out at Munich, with
+triumphant success, the splendid serious opera of _Idomeneo_, always
+so great a favourite with himself, and which is still regarded as a
+masterpiece.
+
+    "With this work, the most important in its influence on music,
+    Mozart crowned his twenty-fifth year. The score is still a picture
+    to the musician. It exhibits consummate knowledge of the theatre,
+    displayed in an opera of the first magnitude and complexity; which
+    unites to a great orchestra the effects of a double chorus on the
+    stage and behind the scenes; and introduces marches, processions,
+    and dances, to various accompaniments in the orchestra, behind the
+    scenes, or under the stage. This model opera, in which Mozart
+    rises on the wing from one beauty to another through long acts,
+    was completed, as we have seen, within a few weeks, and ever since
+    has defied the scrutiny of musicians to detect in it the slightest
+    negligence of style."
+
+In March 1781, Mozart followed the Salzburg court to Vienna, where he
+was subjected to such indignity by his patron, as finally to terminate
+their connexion. The author of _Idomeneo_ was required to take his
+meals at the same table with his grace's valets, confectioner, and
+cooks. This was too much, even for Mozart's good-nature; and,
+aggravated by the Archbishop's refusal to allow the display of his
+talents to the public, gave him courage to insist for his dismissal.
+
+    "The step, however, of resigning a pension, and of throwing
+    himself entirely upon the public for fame and support, was a more
+    important one than his sanguine imagination and excitement of
+    feeling permitted him at the time to contemplate. How far his
+    being an _unappointed_ composer may have hastened the production
+    of his immortal works, is open to question; but that his life was
+    sacrificed in struggling against the difficulties in which he was
+    thereby involved, is beyond a doubt.
+
+    "In the absence of any immediate design of a new dramatic
+    composition, and delighted at the effect which his public
+    performance on the pianoforte had created at Vienna, Mozart forgot
+    all the fears he had expressed previously to his journey to Paris;
+    thought no more that teaching would interfere with the higher
+    vocation of his muse; and was content to become the fashionable
+    performer, teacher, and pianoforte composer of the day. This mode
+    of life for a time had its temptations and its success; and he
+    hoped that he might still better assist his father at Vienna than
+    at Salzburg, as he was at intervals able to remit to him sums of
+    from ten to thirty ducats. But here commenced the precarious
+    existence which the composer was for the future destined to lead.
+    For, not only was the taste of Vienna then, as now, proverbially
+    variable and flippant--not only was concert-giving an uncertain
+    speculation, and teaching an inconstant source of income--but in a
+    man, who, like Mozart, had, from time to time, strong impulses to
+    write for the theatre, it frequently happened that the order and
+    regularity of his engagements were made to yield to the object
+    which engrossed him; and that the profits of his time were
+    sacrificed on the one hand, without any proportionate advantage on
+    the other."
+
+Let it be observed that Mozart's payment for teaching among the
+Austrian nobility, was, at the rate of five shillings a lesson!
+
+Mozart was distinguished for virtues which belong only to great or
+good men when labouring in the field of emulation--an absence of all
+envy and jealousy, of which he was himself too much the object, and a
+just and generous estimate of excellence in others. As observed by Mr
+Holmes, good music, not his own, was his best relaxation from his
+toils; and his predecessors and contemporaries were alike sure of that
+sincere admiration which sprang from an unselfish love of the art. His
+regard and respect for Haydn, who was greatly his inferior in genius
+and power, is a pleasing illustration of what we have said.
+
+    "At this time, Joseph Haydn was established as kapell-meister in
+    the service of Prince Nicholas Esterhazy, and enjoyed a very
+    extensive reputation, which, indeed, the native energy of his
+    genius, and the fortunate circumstances of his mature life,
+    enabled him to earn with ease in a variety of compositions. He was
+    frequently at Vienna, in the suite of his prince; and it was
+    natural that Mozart, who had long lived on terms of mutual esteem
+    with Michael Haydn, at Salzburg, should be predisposed to a regard
+    for his brother;--but the simplicity, benevolence, and sincerity
+    of Joseph Haydn's character, when united with the charming
+    qualities of his genius, offered more than the materials for an
+    ordinary friendship. The attachment of these two men remains
+    accordingly one of the most honourable monuments of the virtuous
+    love of art that musical history can produce. Haydn was at this
+    period about fifty years of age. His constant habit of writing
+    five hours a-day, had accumulated in a series of years a large
+    collection of quartets, pianoforte music, church music, and
+    symphonies, most of which were greatly admired for the spirit and
+    elegance of their style, and the clearness and originality of
+    their design. Mozart at once saw and acknowledged the excellence
+    of Haydn; and in his future intercourse with that master, took the
+    part which the difference of their age, if not of their genius,
+    rendered graceful--by deferring to his judgment with all the
+    meekness of a learner. To Haydn he submitted many of his
+    compositions before publication; delighting often to call him his
+    master and model in quartet writing, which he now began to
+    cultivate in earnest; and omitting no circumstance which could
+    gratify the veteran musician in possessing such an admirer. Haydn
+    on his part repaid all this devotion with becoming generosity.
+    However conscious that, in the universality of musical power, his
+    own genius must be placed at a disadvantage in comparison with
+    that of his friend, he harboured no envious or unworthy sentiment;
+    and death alone interrupted the kind relation in which each stood
+    to the other.
+
+    "At the musical parties which Mozart gave from time to time, when
+    he had new compositions to try, and leisure to indulge his
+    disposition for sociality, Haydn was a frequent guest, and no one
+    more profoundly enjoyed the extraordinary beauty and perfection of
+    Mozart's pianoforte playing. Years after, when those fingers, and
+    the soul which animated them, were sought for in vain, a few
+    touching words from Haydn spoke more feelingly to the imagination,
+    in the description of that beauty, than the most laboured and
+    minute criticism could have done. 'Mozart's playing,' said he, 'I
+    can never forget.'"
+
+Haydn's high estimate of his friend's superiority to himself, was
+always expressed with equal generosity. In a company of critics, who
+discovered that there were faults in Mozart's operas, Haydn, when
+appealed to, replied--"All I know is, that Mozart is the greatest
+composer now existing." When applied to in 1787, to write a comic
+opera, Haydn thought a new subject, or _libretto_, would be necessary,
+and adds--
+
+    "Even then it would be a bold attempt, as scarcely any one can
+    stand by the side of the great Mozart. For were it possible that
+    I could impress every friend of music, particularly among the
+    great, with that deep musical intelligence of the inimitable works
+    of Mozart--that emotion of the soul with which they affect me, and
+    in which I both comprehend and feel them, the nations would
+    contend together for the possession of such a gem. Prague ought to
+    retain him, and reward him well too; else the history of great
+    genius is melancholy, and offers posterity but slight
+    encouragement to exertion, which is the reason, alas! that many
+    hopeful and aspiring spirits are repressed. I feel indignant that
+    this _unique_ Mozart is not yet engaged at some royal or imperial
+    court. Forgive me if I stray from the subject--but I love the man
+    too much."
+
+Again, when engaged, along with Mozart, for Salomon's concerts in
+England--a plan which, so far as Mozart was concerned, was unhappily
+not carried out--Haydn's only stipulation was, that his compositions
+should precede those of his friend; and avowed, with unparalleled
+frankness, his feeling that he would otherwise have less chance of
+being heard with success.
+
+The celebrity of Mozart, and the applause which attended some of his
+new compositions, procured him the notice, and ultimately the
+patronage, of the Emperor Joseph--though somewhat unsteadily
+conferred, and divided with unworthy Italian rivals. The change,
+however, was tardy, and, when it came, did not much improve his
+external circumstances. The appointments he held made but a miserable
+sinecure, with a still more miserable salary; but the deficiency was
+supplied by soft words and familiar looks, which, with Mozart's kindly
+disposition, served to attach him to his imperial master, better than
+would have been done by a larger allowance ungraciously given.
+
+In the mean time, relying upon his position as a composer, and hoping
+for the best, Mozart had formed the connexion, as to which Mr Hogarth
+justly says, "that his fixing his affections on the admirable woman
+whom he married, was the wisest act, as it was the happiest event, of
+his life. Constance Weber was his guide--his monitress--his guardian
+angel. She regulated his domestic establishment--managed his
+affairs--was the cheerful companion of his happier hours--and his
+never-failing consolation in sickness and despondency. He passionately
+loved her, and evinced his feelings by the most tender and delicate
+attentions."
+
+It is remarkable that Mozart's attachment had at first been directed
+to his wife's elder sister, and seemed to be returned on her part. But
+after his absence in Paris, he was coldly received when they again
+met, and, fortunately for himself, he transferred his affections to
+Constance, who became his wife.
+
+Rich as this union was in affection, and in all the happiness that
+affection can bestow, it was soon checkered by distress and
+difficulty. The health of the wife became precarious; and Mozart's
+ignorance of the world, as well as his generous and joyous
+disposition, joined to the precarious and varying amount of his
+earnings, and the disappointment in his prospects of imperial favour,
+involved him in debt, which, by overtaxing his mind and body, led to
+the errors and excesses, such as they were, of his latter life, and
+ultimately undermined his constitution, and brought him to an untimely
+tomb.
+
+The "res angusta domi" stimulated the composer's pen, and the rapidity
+of his productions at this time is marvellous. The taste of Vienna,
+however, was capricious; and cabals among singers and critics
+succeeded in deadening the effect of his _Figaro_, when first brought
+out, and in thoroughly disgusting Mozart with the Viennese opera. How
+different the reception which it met from the true hearts and
+well-attuned ears of the Bohemian audiences! It was in February 1787,
+after parting with the Storaces, on their leaving for England, with a
+hope that the mighty master would soon be allured to follow them, that
+his Bohemian visit was paid.
+
+    "In the very same week that he parted from his English friends,
+    Mozart himself set out upon a journey to Prague, whither he had
+    been very cordially invited by a distinguished nobleman and
+    connoisseur, Count John Joseph Thun, who maintained in his service
+    an excellent private band. This was the first professional
+    expedition of any consequence in which he had engaged since his
+    settlement in Vienna; it was prosecuted under the most favourable
+    auspices, and with glowing anticipations of that pleasure for
+    which he so ardently longed, but so imperfectly realized at
+    home--the entire sympathy of the public. Nor was he disappointed.
+    On the same evening that he alighted at the castle of his noble
+    entertainer, his opera of 'Figaro' was given at the theatre, and
+    Mozart found himself for the first time in the midst of that
+    Bohemian audience of whose enthusiasm and taste he had heard so
+    much. The news of his presence in the theatre quickly ran through
+    the parterre, and the overture was no sooner ended than the whole
+    audience rose and gave him a general acclamation of welcome,
+    amidst deafening salvos of applause.
+
+    "The success of 'Le Nozze di Figaro,' so unsatisfactory at Vienna,
+    was unexampled at Prague, where it amounted to absolute
+    intoxication and frenzy. Having run through the whole previous
+    winter without interruption, and rescued the treasury of the
+    theatre from ruinous embarrassments, the opera was arranged in
+    every possible form; for the pianoforte, for wind-instruments
+    (garden music,) as violin quintets for the chamber, and German
+    dances; in short, the melodies of 'Figaro' re-echoed in every
+    street and every garden; nay, even the blind harper himself, at
+    the door of the beer-house, was obliged to strike up _Non pių
+    andrai_ if he wished to gain an audience, or earn a kreutzer. Such
+    was the effect of the popular parts of the opera on the public at
+    large; its more refined beauties exercised an equal influence on
+    musicians. The director of the orchestra, Strobach, under whose
+    superintendence 'Figaro' was executed at Prague, often declared
+    the excitement and emotion of the band in accompanying this work
+    to have been such, that there was not a man among them, himself
+    included, who, when the performance was finished, would not have
+    cheerfully recommenced and played the whole through again.
+
+    "Finding himself, at length, in a region of sympathy so genial and
+    delightful, a new era in the existence of the composer seemed to
+    open, and he abandoned himself without reserve to its pleasures.
+    In retracing a life so ill rewarded by contemporaries, and so
+    checkered by calamity, it is pleasant to dally awhile in the
+    primrose path, and enjoy the opening prospects of good fortune.
+
+    "In a few days he was called upon to give a grand concert at the
+    opera-house. This was in reality his first public appearance, and
+    many circumstances conspire to render it memorable; but chiefly
+    that every piece throughout the performance was of his own
+    composition. The concert ended by an improvisation on the
+    pianoforte. Having preluded and played a fantasia, which lasted a
+    good half-hour, Mozart rose; but the stormy and outrageous
+    applause of his Bohemian audience was not to be appeased, and he
+    again sat down. His second fantasia, which was of an entirely
+    different character, met with the same success; the applause was
+    without end, and long after he had retired to the
+    withdrawing-room, he heard the people in the theatre _thundering_
+    for his re-appearance. Inwardly delighted, he presented himself
+    for the third time. Just as he was about to begin, when every
+    noise was hushed, and the stillness of death reigned throughout
+    the theatre, a voice in the pit cried '_from Figaro_.' He took the
+    hint, and ended this triumphant display of skill by extemporising
+    a dozen of the most interesting and scientific variations upon the
+    air _Non pių andrai_. It is needless to mention the uproar that
+    followed. The concert was altogether found so delightful, that a
+    second, upon the same plan, soon followed. A sonnet was written in
+    his honour, and his performances brought him one thousand florins.
+    Wherever he appeared in public, it was to meet testimonies of
+    esteem and affection. His emotion at the reception of 'Figaro' in
+    Prague was so great, that he could not help saying to the manager,
+    Bondini, 'As the Bohemians understand me so well, I must write an
+    opera on purpose for them.' Bondini took him at his word, and
+    entered with him, on the spot, into a contract to furnish his
+    theatre with an opera for the ensuing winter. Thus was laid the
+    foundation of 'Il Don Giovanni.'"
+
+The greatest of Mozart's operas was composed at Prague, on a second
+visit thither in 1787, when he lived with a musical friend in the
+suburbs of the city. "Here, on an elevated site which commanded a view
+of the antique magnificence of Prague, its faded castles, ruined
+cloisters, and other majestic remains of feudal times, under the mild
+rays of an autumnal sun, and in the open air, _Don Giovanni_ was
+written." It was immediately brought out at Prague with the success
+it deserves, and was afterwards performed at Vienna, but was badly got
+up, and but indifferently received. "Don Giovanni," said its author,
+"was rather written for Prague than Vienna, but chiefly for myself and
+my friends." It is a disgraceful fact, that it was eclipsed in
+popularity among the Viennese by the "Tarrare" of Salieri, of which no
+one now knows any thing.
+
+In 1787 Mozart's father died at Salzburg, less happy, it is to be
+feared, than his own worth and his son's genius should have made him.
+But he was ignorant of the great truth, that fame, and often merely
+posthumous fame, is the chief external blessing that awaits men of
+extraordinary mental powers in the arts, and that the appropriate
+reward of genius, any more than of virtue, is not always--"bread." On
+hearing of his father's illness, Mozart had written him in
+affectionate terms--
+
+    "I have just received some news which has given me a sad blow; the
+    more so, as your last letter left me reason to suppose that you
+    were in perfect health. I now, however, learn that you are really
+    very ill. How anxiously I await and hope for some comforting
+    intelligence from you I need hardly say, although I have long
+    since accustomed myself in all things to expect the worst. As
+    death, rightly considered, fulfils the real design of our life, I
+    have for the last two years made myself so well acquainted with
+    this true friend of mankind, that his image has no longer any
+    terrors for me, but much that is peaceful and consoling; and I
+    thank God that he has given me the opportunity to know him as the
+    key to our true felicity. I never lie down in bed without
+    reflecting that, perhaps (young as I am), I may never see another
+    day; yet no one who knows me will say that I am gloomy or morose
+    in society. For this blessing I daily thank my Creator, and from
+    my heart wish it participated by my fellow-men."
+
+In the autumn of the same year, he lost a valued and valuable friend
+in Dr Barisani of Vienna, whose medical attentions had already been
+eminently useful to him, and might, if they had been continued, have
+saved him from those irregularities of alternate labour and indulgence
+which so soon afterwards began to affect his health. Mozart made, on
+this occasion, an affecting entry in his memorandum-book, under some
+lines which his friend had written for him.
+
+    "To-day, the 2d of September, I have had the misfortune to lose,
+    through an unexpected death, this honourable man, by best and
+    dearest friend, and the preserver of my life. He is happy!--but
+    I--we, and all who thoroughly knew him, cannot again be so--till
+    we have the felicity to meet him in a better world, never again to
+    separate."
+
+In 1789, Mozart visited Prussia, where he was well received by every
+one, and seems to have been happy. We may here insert part of a
+well-known letter, written about this time, to an amateur baron, which
+gives a curious picture of Mozart's character and habits, as well as
+of the mixed tone of good humour and good sense with which he seems to
+have both written and conversed. The baron had sent him some tolerable
+music, and some better wine.
+
+    "TO THE BARON V----.
+
+    "Herewith I return you, my good baron, your scores; and if you
+    perceive that in my hand there are more _nota benes_ than notes,
+    you will find from the sequel of this letter how that has
+    happened. Your symphony has pleased me, on account of its ideas,
+    more than the other pieces, and yet I think that it will produce
+    the least effect. It is too much crowded, and to hear it partially
+    or piecemeal (_stückweise_) would be, by your permission, like
+    beholding an ant-hill (_Ameisen haufen_). I mean to say, that it is
+    as if Eppes, the devil, were in it.
+
+    "You must not snap your fingers at me, my dearest friend, for I
+    would not for all the world have spoken out so candidly if I could
+    have supposed that it would give you offence. Nor need you wonder
+    at this; for it is so with all composers who, without having from
+    their infancy, as it were, been trained by the whip and the curses
+    (_Donnerwetter_) of the maestro, pretend to do every thing with
+    natural talent alone. Some compose fairly enough, but with other
+    people's ideas, not possessing any themselves; others, who have
+    ideas of their own, do not understand how to treat and master
+    them. This last is your case. Only do not be angry, pray! for St
+    Cecilia's sake, not angry that I break out so abruptly. But your
+    song has a beautiful cantabile, and your dear _Fraenzl_ ought to
+    sing it very often to you, which I should like as much to see as
+    to hear. The minuet in the quartet is also pleasing enough,
+    particularly from the place I have marked. The _coda_, however,
+    may well clatter or tinkle, but it will never produce _music_;
+    _sapienti sat_, and also to the _nihil sapienti_, by whom I mean
+    myself. I am not very expert in writing on such subjects; I rather
+    show at once how it ought to be done.
+
+    "You cannot imagine with what joy I read your letter; only you
+    ought not to have praised me so much. We may get accustomed to the
+    hearing of such things, but to read them is not quite so well. You
+    good people make too much of me; I do not deserve it, nor my
+    compositions either. And what shall I say to your present, my
+    dearest baron, that came like a star in a dark night, or like a
+    flower in winter, or like a cordial in sickness? God knows how I
+    am obliged, at times, to toil and labour to gain a wretched
+    livelihood, and Stänerl, (Constance,) too, must get something.
+
+    "To him who has told you that I am growing idle, I request you
+    sincerely (and a baron may well do such a thing) to give him a
+    good box on the ear. How gladly would I work and work, if it were
+    only left me to write always such music as I please, and as I can
+    write; such, I mean to say, as I myself set some value upon. Thus
+    I composed three weeks ago an orchestral symphony, and by
+    to-morrow's post I write again to Hoffmeister (the music-seller)
+    to offer him three pianoforte quatuors, supposing that he is able
+    to pay. Oh heavens! were I a wealthy man, I would say, 'Mozart,
+    compose what you please, and as well as you can; but till you
+    offer me something finished, you shall not get a single kreutzer.
+    I'll buy of you every MS., and you shall not be obliged to go
+    about and offer it for sale like a hawker.' Good God! how sad all
+    this makes me, and then again how angry and savage, and it is in
+    such a state of mind that I do things which ought not to be done.
+    You see, my dear good friend, so it is, and not as stupid or vile
+    wretches (_lumpen_) may have told you. Let this, however, go _a
+    cassa del diavolo_.
+
+    "I now come to the most difficult part of your letter, which I
+    would willingly pass over in silence, for here my pen denies me
+    its service. Still I will try, even at the risk of being well
+    laughed at. You say, you should like to know my way of composing,
+    and what method I follow in writing works of some extent. I can
+    really say no more on this subject than the following; for I
+    myself know no more about it, and cannot account for it. When I
+    am, as it were, completely myself, entirely alone, and of good
+    cheer--say, travelling in a carriage, or walking after a good
+    meal, or during the night when I cannot sleep; it is on such
+    occasions that my ideas flow best and most abundantly. _Whence_
+    and _how_ they come, I know not; nor can I force them. Those ideas
+    that please me I retain in memory, and am accustomed, as I have
+    been told, to hum them to myself. If I continue in this way, it
+    soon occurs to me how I may turn this or that morsel to account,
+    so as to make a good dish of it; that is to say, agreeably to the
+    rules of counterpoint, to the peculiarities of the various
+    instruments, &c.
+
+    "All this fires my soul, and, provided I am not disturbed, my
+    subject enlarges itself, becomes methodized and defined, and the
+    whole, though it be long, stands almost complete and finished in
+    my mind, so that I can survey it, like a fine picture or a
+    beautiful statue, at a glance. Nor do I hear in my imagination the
+    parts _successively_, but I hear them, as it were, all at once
+    (_gleich alles zusammen_.) What a delight this is I cannot tell!
+    All this inventing, this producing, takes place in a pleasing
+    lively dream. Still the actual hearing of the _tout ensemble_ is
+    after all the best. What has been thus produced I do not easily
+    forget, and this is perhaps the best gift I have my Divine Maker
+    to thank for.
+
+    "When I proceed to write down my ideas, I take out of the bag of
+    my memory, if I may use that phrase, what has previously been
+    collected into it in the way I have mentioned. For this reason the
+    committing to paper is done quickly enough, for every thing is, as
+    I said before, already finished; and it rarely differs on paper
+    from what it was in my imagination. At this occupation, I can
+    therefore suffer myself to be disturbed; for whatever may be going
+    on around me, I write, and even talk, but only of fowls and geese,
+    or of Gretel or Bärbel, or some such matters. But why my
+    productions take from my hand that particular form and style that
+    makes them _Mozartish_, and different from the works of other
+    composers, is probably owing to the same cause which renders my
+    nose so or so large, so aquiline, or, in short, makes it Mozart's,
+    and different from those of other people. For I really do not
+    study or aim at any originality; I should, in fact, not be able to
+    describe in what mine consists, though I think it quite natural
+    that persons who have really an individual appearance of their
+    own, are also differently organized from others, both externally
+    and internally. At least I know that I have constituted myself
+    neither one way nor the other.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    "Here, my best friend and well-wisher, the pages are full, and the
+    bottle of your wine, which has done the duty of this day, is
+    nearly empty. But since the letter which I wrote to my
+    father-in-law, to request the hand of my wife, I hardly ever have
+    written such an enormously long one. Pray take nothing ill. In
+    speaking, as in writing, I must show myself as I am, or I must
+    hold my tongue, and throw my pen aside. My last word shall be--my
+    dearest friend, keep me in kind remembrance. Would to God I could
+    one day be the cause of so much joy to you as you have been to me.
+    Well! I drink to you in this glass: long live my good and
+    faithful ----."     "W. A. MOZART."
+
+
+Before he left Prussia, the King offered him an appointment and a
+liberal pension. "Can I leave my good Emperor?" said Mozart with
+emotion. The proposal, however, made its impression, and shortly
+afterwards probably encouraged him, at Vienna, on occasion of fresh
+intrigues against him, to tender his resignation of his paltry
+situation there. But a kind-like appeal from his imperial patron drove
+him at once from his intention, and fixed him where he was. It was
+afterwards hinted to him that he might, at least, have taken this
+opportunity to stipulate for a better provision for himself. "Satan
+himself," he replied, "would hardly have thought of bargaining at such
+a moment."
+
+The year 1789-90 seems to have been about the most disastrous in the
+situation of his affairs, and led to the most unhappy results.
+
+    "The music-shops, as a source of income, were almost closed to
+    him, as he could not submit his genius to the dictates of fashion.
+    Hoffmeister, the publisher, having once advised him to write in a
+    more _popular_ style, or he could not continue to purchase his
+    compositions, he answered with unusual bitterness, 'Then I can
+    make no more by my pen, and I had better starve, and go to
+    destruction at once.' The fits of dejection which he experienced
+    were partly the effect of bodily ailments, but more of a weariness
+    with the perplexity of affairs, and of a prospect which afforded
+    him but one object on which he could gaze with certainty of
+    relief, and that was--death. Constant disappointment introduced
+    him to indulgences which he had not before permitted himself.
+
+    "He became wild in the pursuit of pleasure; whatever changed the
+    scene was delightful to him, and the more extravagant the better.
+    His associates, and the frequent guests at his table, were
+    recommended by their animal spirits and capacity as boon
+    companions. They were stage-players and orchestral musicians, low
+    and unprincipled persons, whose acquaintance injured him still
+    more in reputation than in purse. Two of these men, Schickaneder,
+    the director of a theatre (for whom Mozart wrote the
+    'Zauberflöte,') and Stadler, a clarionet-player, are known to have
+    behaved with gross dishonesty towards the composer; and yet he
+    forgave them, and continued their benefactor. The society of
+    Schickaneder, a man of grotesque humour, often in difficulties,
+    but of inexhaustible cheerfulness and good-fellowship, had
+    attractions for Mozart, and led him into some excesses that
+    contributed to the disorder of his health, as he was obliged to
+    retrieve at night the hours lost in the day. A long-continued
+    irregularity of income, also, disposed him to make the most of any
+    favourable moment; and when a few rouleaus of gold brought the
+    means of enjoyment, the Champagne and Tokay began to flow. This
+    course is unhappily no novelty in the shifting life of genius,
+    overworked and ill-rewarded, and seeking to throw off its cares in
+    the pursuits and excitements of vulgar existence. It is necessary
+    to know the composer as a man of pleasure, in order to understand
+    certain allusions in the correspondence of his last years, when
+    his affairs were in the most embarrassed condition, and his
+    absence from Vienna frequently caused by the pressure of
+    creditors. He appears at this time to have experienced moments of
+    poignant self-reproach. His love of dancing, masquerades, masked
+    balls, &c., was so great, that he did not willingly forego an
+    opportunity of joining any one of those assemblies, whether public
+    or private. He dressed handsomely, and wished to make a favourable
+    impression in society independently of his music. He was sensitive
+    with regard to his figure, and was annoyed when he heard that the
+    Prussian ambassador had said to some one, 'You must not estimate
+    the genius of Mozart by the insignificance of his exterior.' The
+    extremity of his animal spirits may occasion surprise. He composed
+    pantomimes and ballets, and danced in them himself, and at the
+    carnival balls sometimes assumed a character. He was actually
+    incomparable in Arlequin and Pierrot. The public masquerades at
+    Vienna, during the carnival, were supported with all the vivacity
+    of Italy; the emperor occasionally mingled in them, and his
+    example was generally followed. We are not, therefore, to measure
+    these enjoyments by our colder northern notions."
+
+It should be added, what Mr Holmes tells us on good authority, that
+the vice of ebriety was not among Mozart's failings. "He drank to the
+point of exhilaration, but not beyond." His fondness for
+ballet-dancing may seem strange to us, who have almost a Roman
+repugnance to such exhibitions in men of good station. But it is
+possible that in some minds the love of graceful motion may be a
+refined passion and an exalted art; and it is singular that Mozart's
+wife told of him, that, in his own estimation, his taste lay in
+dancing rather than in music.
+
+    "That these scenes of extravagant delight seduced him into
+    occasional indulgences, which cannot be reconciled with the purity
+    of his earlier life, it would be the worst affectation in his
+    biographer to deny. Nor is it necessary to the vindication of
+    Mozart that such temporary errors should be suppressed by a
+    feeling of mistaken delicacy. Living such a round of excitements,
+    and tortured by perpetual misfortunes, there is nothing very
+    surprising in the fact, that he should sometimes have been drawn
+    into the dangerous vortex; but he redeemed the true nobility of
+    his nature by preserving, in the midst of his hasty inconstancies,
+    the most earnest and unfailing attachment to his home. It is a
+    curious illustration of his real character, that he always
+    confessed his transgressions to his wife, who had the wise
+    generosity to pardon them, from that confidence in his truth which
+    survived alike the troubles and temptations of their checkered
+    lives."
+
+Let none lightly dare either to condemn or to imitate the
+irregularities of life of such wondrous men as Mozart and our own
+Burns. Those who may be gifted with equally strong and exquisite
+sensibilities as they, as fine and flexible affections, as bright an
+imagination, beautifying every object on which its rainbow colours
+rest, and who have been equally tried by affliction and
+misconstruction, and equally tempted by brilliant opportunities of
+pleasure in the intervals of penury and pain--these, if they stand
+fast, may be allowed to speak, and they will seldom speak
+uncharitably, of their brethren who have fallen; or, if they fall,
+they may be heard to plead a somewhat similar excuse. But let ordinary
+men, and men less extraordinary than those we speak of, beware how
+they either refer to them as a reproach, or follow them as an example.
+
+The excesses of men of genius are always exaggerated by their enemies,
+and often overrated even by their friends and companions. With
+characteristic fervour they enter enthusiastically into every thing in
+which they engage; and, when they indulge in dissipation, delight to
+sport on the brink of all its terrors, and to outvie in levity and
+extravagance the most practised professors of their new art. Few that
+see or hear them think, that even in the midst of their revels their
+hearts are often far away, or are extracting good from the evil spread
+before them; and that all the waste of time and talent, so openly and
+ostentatiously exhibited, is compensated in secret by longer and
+intenser application to the true object of their pursuit, and by acts
+of atonement and self-denial, of which the conscious stars of heaven
+are the only created witnesses. The worst operation of dissolute
+indulgences on genius is not, perhaps, in producing depravity of
+heart or habits, for its pure plumes have a virtue about them that is
+a preservative against pollution; but in wearing out the frame,
+ruffling the temper, and depressing the spirits, and thus embittering
+as well as shortening a career that, even when most peaceful and
+placid, is often destined to be short and sad enough.
+
+The good-natured sympathy which Mozart always felt in the welfare of
+the very humblest of his brethren of the lyre, is highly creditable to
+him. But the extent to which he sacrificed his own interests to serve
+them, was often any thing but prudent. He was devoid of every sordid
+and avaricious feeling, and indeed carried his generosity to an
+excess.
+
+    "The extreme kindness of his nature was grossly abused by artful
+    performers, music-sellers, and managers of theatres. Whenever any
+    poor artists, strangers in Vienna, applied to him for assistance,
+    he offered them the use of his house and table, introduced them to
+    the persons whom he thought could be of use to them, and
+    frequently composed for their use concertos, of which he did not
+    even keep a copy, in order that they might have the exclusive
+    advantage of playing them. But, not content with this, they sold
+    these pieces to music-publishers; and thus repaid his kindness by
+    robbing him. He seldom received any recompense for his pianoforte
+    compositions, but generally wrote them for his friends, who were,
+    of course, anxious to possess some work of his for their own use,
+    and suited to their powers of playing. Artaria, a music-seller of
+    Vienna, and other members of the trade, contrived to get
+    possession of many of these pieces, and published them without
+    obtaining the author's consent, or making him any remuneration for
+    them. A Polish count, who was invited to a concert at Mozart's
+    house, heard a quintet performed for the first time, with which he
+    was so greatly delighted that he asked Mozart to compose for him a
+    trio for the flute. Mozart agreed, on condition that he should do
+    it at his own time. The count next day sent a polite note,
+    expressive of his thanks for the pleasure he had enjoyed, and,
+    along with it, one hundred gold demi-sovereigns (about Ģ100
+    sterling.) Mozart immediately sent him the original score of the
+    quintet that had pleased him so much. The count returned to Vienna
+    a year afterwards, and, calling upon Mozart, enquired for the
+    trio. Mozart said that he had never found himself in a disposition
+    to write any thing worthy of his acceptance. "Perhaps, then," said
+    the count, "you may find yourself in a disposition to return me
+    the hundred demi-sovereigns I paid you beforehand." Mozart
+    instantly handed him the money, but the count said not a word
+    about the quintet; and the composer soon afterwards had the
+    satisfaction of seeing it published by Artaria, arranged as a
+    quartet, for the pianoforte, violin, tenor, and violoncello.
+    Mozart's quintets for wind instruments, published also as
+    pianoforte quartets, are among the most charming and popular of
+    his instrumental compositions for the chamber; and this anecdote
+    is a specimen of the manner in which he lost the benefit he ought
+    to have derived, even from his finest works. The opera of the
+    'Zauberflöte' was composed for the purpose of relieving the
+    distresses of a manager, who had been ruined by unsuccessful
+    speculations, and came to implore his assistance. Mozart gave him
+    the score without price, with full permission to perform it in his
+    own theatre, and for his own benefit; only stipulating that he was
+    not to give a copy to any one, in order that the author might
+    afterwards be enabled to dispose of the copyright. The manager
+    promised strict compliance with the condition. The opera was
+    brought out, filled his theatre and his pockets, and, some short
+    time afterwards, appeared at five or six different theatres, by
+    means of copies received from the grateful manager."
+
+Mozart's career, when hastening to its close, was illumined by gleams
+of prosperity that came but too late. On returning from Prague, in
+Nov. 1791, from bringing out the _Clemenza di Tito_, at the coronation
+of Leopold, the new Emperor--
+
+    "He found awaiting him the appointment of kapell-meister to the
+    cathedral church of St Stephen, with all its emoluments, besides
+    extensive commissions from Holland and Hungary for works to be
+    periodically delivered. This, with his engagements for the
+    theatres of Prague and Vienna, assured him of a competent income
+    for the future, exempt from all necessity for degrading
+    employment. But prospects of worldly happiness were now phantoms
+    that only came to mock his helplessness, and embitter his parting
+    hour."
+
+    "Now must I go," he would exclaim, "just as I should be able
+    to live in peace; now leave my art when, no longer the slave
+    of fashion, nor the tool of speculators, I could follow the
+    dictates of my own feeling, and write whatever my heart prompts. I
+    must leave my family--my poor children, at the very instant in
+    which I should have been able to provide for their welfare."
+
+The story of his composing the requiem for a mysterious stranger, and
+his melancholy forebodings during its composition, are too well known
+to require repetition here. The incident, to all appearance, was not
+extraordinary in itself, and owed its imposing character chiefly to
+the morbid state of Mozart's mind at the time.
+
+On the 5th of December 1791, the ill-defined disease under which he
+had for some time laboured, ended in his dissolution; and subsequent
+examination showed that inflammation of the brain had taken place. He
+felt that he was dying--"The taste of death," he said to his
+sister-in-law, "is already on my tongue--_I taste death_; and who will
+be near to support my Constance if you go away?"
+
+    "Süssmayer (an assistant) was standing by the bedside, and on the
+    counterpane lay the 'Requiem,' concerning which Mozart was still
+    speaking and giving directions. As he looked over its pages for
+    the last time, he said, with tears in his eyes, 'Did I not tell
+    you that I was writing this for myself?'"
+
+    It should be added that this "Süssmayer, who had obtained
+    possession of one transcript of the 'Requiem,' the other having
+    been delivered to the stranger immediately after Mozart's decease,
+    published the score some years afterwards, claiming to have
+    composed from the _Sanctus_ to the end. As there was no one to
+    contradict this extraordinary story, it found partial credit until
+    1839, when a full score of the 'Requiem' in Mozart's handwriting
+    was discovered."
+
+We have now done. The life and character that we have been
+considering, speak for themselves. Mozart is not perhaps the greatest
+composer that ever lived, but Handel only is greater than he; and to
+be second to Handel, seems now to us the highest conceivable praise.
+Yet, in some departments, Mozart was even greater than his
+predecessor. It is not our intention to characterise his excellences
+as a composer. The millions of mankind that he has delighted in one
+form or other, according to their opportunities and capacities, have
+spoken his best panegyric in the involuntary accents of open and
+enthusiastic admiration; and his name will for ever be sweet in the
+ear of every one who has music in his soul.
+
+Two remarks only we will make upon Mozart's taste and system as a
+master. The first is, that he invariably considered and proclaimed,
+that the great object of music was, not to astonish by its difficulty,
+but to delight by its beauty. Some of his own compositions are
+difficult as well as beautiful, and in some the beauty may be too
+transcendental for senses less exalted than his own. But the
+production of _pleasure_, in all its varied forms and degrees, was his
+uniform aim and effort; and no master has been more successful. Our
+next remark is, that, with all his genius, he was a laborious and
+learned musician; and the monument to his own fame which he has
+completed in his works, was built upon the most anxious, heartfelt,
+and humble study of all the works of excellence that then existed, and
+without knowing and understanding which, he truly felt that he could
+never have equalled or surpassed them.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[6] _The Life of Mozart, including his Correspondence._ By EDWARD
+HOLMES Author of "A Ramble among the Musicians of Germany." London:
+Chapman and Hall. 1845
+
+
+
+
+TO THE EDITOR OF BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE.
+
+    SIR,--The accompanying narrative was originally sent from the
+    Sandwich Islands in the shape of a letter. Since my return to
+    England, it has been suggested to me that it would suit your
+    pages. If you think so, I shall be happy to place it at your
+    disposal. The ground-plan annexed is intended merely to assist the
+    description: it has no pretensions to strict accuracy, the
+    distances have been estimated, not measured.--I remain, Sir, your
+    obedient servant,
+
+  AN OFFICER OF THE ROYAL NAVY.
+
+
+ACCOUNT OF A VISIT TO THE VOLCANO OF KIRAUEA, IN OWHYHEE, SANDWICH
+ISLANDS, IN SEPTEMBER 1844.
+
+The ship being about to proceed to Byron's Bay, (the Hilo of the
+natives,) on the N.E. side of Owhyhee, to water, the captain arranged,
+that to give all opportunity to all those who wished to visit the
+volcano, distant from the anchorage forty miles, the excursion should
+be made in two parties. Having anchored on Wednesday the 11th of
+September, he and several of the officers left Hilo early on the 12th;
+they travelled on horseback, and returned on the ensuing Monday,
+highly delighted with their trip, but giving a melancholy description
+of the road, which they pronounced to be in some places impassable to
+people on foot. This latter intelligence was disheartening to the
+second division, some of whom, and myself of the number, had intended
+to walk. These, notwithstanding, adhered to their resolution; and the
+second party, consisting of eight, left the ship at 6 A.M. on Tuesday.
+Some on horseback, and some on foot, we got away from the village
+about eight o'clock, attended by thirteen natives, to whose calabashes
+our prog and clothing had been transferred; these calabashes answer
+this purpose admirably; they are gourds of enormous size, cut through
+rather above their largest diameter, which is from eighteen inches to
+two feet; the half of another gourd forms the lid, and keeps all clean
+and dry within; when filled, they are hung by net-work to each end of
+a pole thrown across the shoulders of a native, who will thus travel
+with a load of fifty or sixty pounds about three miles an hour. The
+day was fine and bright, and we started in high spirits, the horsemen
+hardly able to conceal their exultation in their superiority over the
+walkers, whilst they cantered over the plain from which our ascent
+commenced; this, 4000 feet almost gradual in forty miles, is not
+fatiguing; and thus, although we found the path through a wood about
+three miles long, very deep, and the air oppressive, we all arrived
+together without distress at the "half-way house," by 1 P.M. Suppose a
+haystack hollowed out, and some holes cut for doors and windows, and
+you have a picture of the "half-way house," and the ordinary dwellings
+of the natives of these islands; it is kept by a respectable person,
+chiefly for the accommodation of travellers, and in it we found the
+comfort of a table, a piece of furniture by these people usually
+considered superfluous. Here we soon made ourselves snug, commencing
+by throwing ourselves on the mats, and allowing a dozen vigorous
+urchins to "rumi rumi" us. In this process of shampooing, every muscle
+is kneaded or beaten; the refreshing luxury it affords can only be
+perfectly appreciated by those who have, like us, walked twenty miles
+on a bad road, in a tropical climate. Here we were to stay the night,
+and our first object was to prepare dinner and then to eat it; all
+seemed disposed to assist in the last part of this operation, and
+where every one was anxious to please, and determined to be pleased,
+sociability could not be absent. After this we whiled away our time
+with books and conversation, till one by one dropping asleep, all
+became quiet, except a wretched child belonging to our hostess, who,
+from one corner of the hut, every now and then set up its shrill pipe
+to disturb our slumbers.
+
+[Illustration: Map of the Crater.]
+
+_Explanation of Plan:--_
+
+  A A The outer rim.
+  B B The inner rim.
+  C The active crater.
+  D D D D D The surface of the larger crater.
+  E E E E The dike.
+  F The house.
+  G The hut.
+  H H Track to and from crater.
+  I I Track of party on Wednesday night.
+  _o o o o o o_ Cones in large crater.
+
+We were on the march the next morning at six, the walkers more
+confident than the horsemen, some of whose beasts did not seem at all
+disposed for another day's work. Our road lay for the most part
+through immense seas of lava, in the crevices of which a variety of
+ferns had taken root, and, though relieving the otherwise _triste_
+appearance, in many places shut out our view of any thing besides. Two
+of the walkers, and some of the horsemen, came in at the journey's
+end, shortly after eleven o'clock; the remainder, some leaving their
+horses behind them, straggled in by two P.M. Here we were at the
+crater! Shall I confess that my first feeling was disappointment? The
+plan shows some distance between the outer and inner rims, immediately
+below the place where the house (F) is situated; this is filled up by
+another level, which shuts out a great part of the prospect; the
+remainder was too distant, and the sun's rays too powerful, to allow
+of our seeing more than a quantity of smoke, and an occasional fiery
+ebullition from the further extremity. It was not until we had walked
+to the hut (G) that we became sensible of the awful grandeur of the
+scene below; from this point we looked perpendicularly down on the
+blackened mass, and felt our insignificance. The path leads between
+many fissures in the ground, from which sulphurous vapour and steam
+issue; the latter, condensing on the surrounding bushes, and falling
+into holes in the compact lava, affords a supply of most excellent
+water. As evening set in, the active volcano assumed from the house
+the appearance of a city in flames; long intersecting lines of fire
+looked like streets in a blaze; and when here and there a more
+conspicuous burst took place, fancy pictured a church or some large
+building a prey to the element. Not contented with this distant view,
+three of our party started for the hut, whence in the afternoon we had
+so fine a prospect. When there, although our curiosity was highly
+gratified, it prompted us to see more; so, pressing a native into our
+service, we proceeded along the brink of the N.W. side, until, being
+nearly half-way round the outer circle of the crater, we had hoped to
+obtain almost a bird's-eye view of the active volcano; we were
+therefore extremely chagrined to find, that as we drew nearer our
+object, it was completely shut out by a ridge below the one on which
+we stood. Our walking had thus far been very difficult, if not
+dangerous, and this, with the fatigues of the morning, had nearly
+exhausted our perseverance. We determined, however, to make another
+effort before giving it up, and were repaid by the discovery of a spur
+which led us down, and thence through a short valley to the point
+where our track (I) terminates. We came in sight of the crater as we
+crested the hill; the view from hence was most brilliant. The crater
+appeared nearly circular, and was traversed in all directions by what
+seemed canals of fire intensely bright; several of these radiated from
+a centre near the N.E. edge, so as to form a star, from which a
+coruscation, as if of jets of burning gas, was emitted. In other parts
+were furnaces in terrible activity, and undergoing continual change,
+sometimes becoming comparatively dark, and then bursting forth,
+throwing up torrents of flame and molten lava. All around the edge it
+seemed exceedingly agitated, and noise like surf was audible;
+otherwise the stillness served to heighten the effect upon the senses,
+which it would be difficult to describe. The waning moon warned us to
+return, and reluctantly we retraced our steps; it required care to do
+this, so that we did not get back to the house before midnight. Worn
+out with the day's exertions, we threw ourselves on the ground and
+fell asleep, but not before I had revolved the possibility of standing
+at the brink of the active crater after nightfall. In the morning we
+matured the plan, which was to descend by daylight, so as to
+reconnoitre our road, to return to dinner, and then, if we thought it
+practicable, to leave the house about 5 P.M., and to remain in the
+large crater till after night set in. The only objection to this
+scheme (and it was a most serious one) was, that when we mentioned it
+to the guides, they appeared completely horror-struck at the notion of
+it. Here, as elsewhere in the neighbourhood of volcanic activity, the
+common people have a superstitious dread of a presiding deity; in this
+place, especially, where they are scarcely rescued from heathenism, we
+were not surprised to find it. This, and their personal fears, (no
+human being ever having, as the natives assured us, entered the crater
+in darkness,) we then found insuperable: all we could do was to take
+the best guides we were able to procure with us by daylight, so that
+they should refresh their memories as to the _locale_, and ascertain
+if any change had taken place since their last visit, and trust to
+being able during our walk to persuade one to return with us in the
+evening. Accordingly we all left the house after breakfast, following
+the track marked (H), which led us precipitously down, till we landed
+on the surface of the large crater, an immense sheet of scoriaceous
+lava cooled suddenly from a state of fusion; the upheaved waves and
+deep hollows evidencing that congelation has taken place before the
+mighty agitation has subsided. It is dotted with cones 60 or 70 feet
+high, and extensively intersected by deep cracks, from both of which
+sulphurous smoke ascends. It is surrounded by a wall about twelve
+miles in circumference, in most parts 1000 feet deep. I despair of
+conveying an idea of what our sensations were, when we first launched
+out on this fearful pit to cross to the active crater at the further
+end. With all the feeling of insecurity that attends treading on
+unsafe ice, was combined the utter sense of helplessness the
+desolation of the scene encouraged: it produced a sort of instinctive
+dread, such as brutes might be supposed to feel in such situations.
+This, however, soon left us, and attending our guides, who led us away
+to the right for about a mile, we turned abruptly to the left, and
+came upon a deep dike, which, running concentric with the sides,
+terminates near the active crater, with which I conceive its bottom is
+on a level. The lava had slipped into it where we crossed, and the
+loose blocks were difficult to scramble over. In the lowest part where
+these had not fallen, the fire appeared immediately beneath the
+surface. The guides here evinced great caution, trying with their
+poles before venturing their weight; the heat was intense, and made us
+glad to find ourselves again on _terra firma_, if that expression may
+be allowed where the walking was exceedingly disagreeable, owing to
+the hollowness of the lava, formed in great bubbles, that continually
+broke and let us in up to our knees. This dike has probably been
+formed by the drainage of the volcano by a lateral vent, as the part
+of the crater which it confines has sunk lower than that outside it,
+and the contraction caused by loss of heat may well account for its
+width, which varies from one to three hundred yards. In support of
+this opinion, I may mention, that in 1840 a molten river broke out,
+eight miles to the eastward, and, in some places six miles broad,
+rolled down to the sea, where it materially altered the line of coast.
+From where we crossed, there is a gradual rise until within 200 yards
+of the volcano, when the surface dips to its margin. Owing to this we
+came suddenly in view of it, and, lost in amazement, walked silently
+on to the brink. To the party who had made the excursion the previous
+evening, the surprise was not so great as to the others; moreover, a
+bright noonday sun, and a floating mirage which made it difficult to
+discern the real from the deceptive, robbed the scene of much of its
+brilliancy; still it was truly sublime, as a feeble attempt at
+description will show. This immense caldron, two and three quarter
+miles in circumference, is filled to within twenty feet of its brim
+with red molten lava, over which lies a thin scum resembling the slag
+on a smelting furnace. The whole surface was in fearful agitation.
+Great rollers followed each other to the side, and, breaking,
+disclosed deep edges of crimson. These were the canals of fire we had
+noticed the night before diverging from a common centre, and the
+furnaces in equal activity; while what had appeared to us like jets of
+gas, proved to be fitful spurts of lava, thrown up from all parts of
+the lake (though principally from the focus near the N.E. edge) a
+height of thirty feet. Most people probably would have been satisfied
+with having witnessed this magnificent spectacle; but our admiration
+was so little exhausted, that the idea continually suggested itself,
+"How grand would this be by night!" The party who had encountered the
+difficulties of the walk the night before, were convinced that no
+greater ones existed in that of to-day; and therefore, if it continued
+fine, and we could induce the guide to accompany us, the project was
+feasible. The avarice of one of these ultimately overcame his fears,
+and, under his direction, we again left the house at 5 P.M., and,
+returning by our old track, reached the hill above the crater about
+the time the sun set, though long after it had sunk below the edge of
+the pit. Here we halted, and smoking our cigars lit from the cracks
+(now red-hot) which we had passed unnoticed in the glare of the
+sunlight, waited until it became quite dark, when we moved on; and,
+great as had been our expectations, we found them faint compared with
+the awful sublimity of the scene before us. The slag now appeared
+semi-transparent, and so extensively perforated as to show one sheet
+of liquid fire, its waves rising high, and pouring over each other in
+magnificent confusion, forming a succession of cascades of unequalled
+grandeur; the canals, now incandescent, the restless activity of the
+numerous vents throwing out great volumes of molten lava, the terrible
+agitation, and the brilliancy of the jets, which, shooting high in the
+air, fell with an echoless, lead-like sound, breaking the otherwise
+impressive stillness; formed a picture that language (at least any
+that I know) is quite inadequate to describe. We felt this; for no one
+spoke except when betrayed into an involuntary burst of amazement. On
+our hands and knees we crawled to the brink, and lying at full length,
+and shading our faces with paper, looked down at the fiery breakers as
+they dashed against the side of the basin beneath. The excessive heat,
+and the fact that the spray was frequently dashed over the edge, put a
+stop to this fool-hardiness; but at a more rational distance we stood
+gazing, with our feelings of wonder and awe so intensely excited, that
+we paid no regard to the entreaties of our guide to quit the spot. He
+at last persuaded us of the necessity of doing so, by pointing to the
+moon, and her distance above the dense cloud which hung, a lurid
+canopy, above the crater. Taking a last look, we "fell in" in Indian
+file, and got back to the house, with no further accident than a few
+bruises, about ten o'clock. The walk had required caution, and it was
+long after I had closed my eyes ere the retina yielded the impressions
+that had been so nervously drawn on them. The next morning at nine, we
+started on our return to the ship, sauntering leisurely along, picking
+strawberries by the way, and enjoying all the satisfaction inherent to
+the successful accomplishment of an undertaking. With health and
+strength for any attempt we had been peculiarly favoured by the
+weather, and had thus done more than any who had preceded us. Our
+party, under these circumstances, was most joyous; so that,
+independent of the object, the relaxation itself was such as we
+creatures of habit and discipline seldom experience.
+
+To make this narrative more intelligible, it will be necessary to
+describe briefly the position and general features of this volcano,
+which does not, like most others, spring from a cone, but has
+excavated for itself a bed in the side of Mowna Roa, which rises
+14,000 feet above the level of the sea; it is about sixteen miles
+distant from the summit of the mountain, wherein is an enormous
+extinct crater, from which this is probably the outlet; it is 4000
+feet above the level of the sea, and twenty miles from the nearest
+coast line. Several distinct levels in the present crater prove that
+it has eaten its way to its present depth. On the most elevated of
+these large trees now grow, evidences of many years' tranquillity;
+lower down we come to shrubs, and lastly to the fern, apparently the
+most venturesome of the vegetable kingdom; it seems to require nothing
+but rest and water, for we found it shooting out of crevices where the
+lava appeared to have undergone no decomposition. Nowhere, I conceive,
+(not even in Iceland,) can be seen such stupendous volcanic efforts as
+in Owhyhee. The whole island, eighty-six miles long by seventy broad,
+and rising, as it does at Mowna Keah, more than 15,000 feet above the
+sea, would seem to have been formed by layers of lava imposed at
+different periods. Some of these have followed quickly on each other;
+while the thickness of soil, made up of vegetable mould and decomposed
+lava, indicates a long interval of repose between others. The present
+surface is comparatively recent, though there is no tradition of any
+but partial eruptions.
+
+"O Lord! how manifold are Thy works: in wisdom hast Thou made them
+all!"
+
+We reached the village the next day at 1 P.M., and after a refreshing
+bathe, returned on board to find the ship prepared for sea, to which
+we proceeded the following morning at four o'clock.
+
+
+
+
+THE DAYS OF THE FRONDE.
+
+
+At the beginning of the present year, and upon the authority of M.
+Alexandre Dumas, we laid before the readers of this Magazine a sketch
+of certain incidents in the lives of three French guardsmen, who, in
+company with a young cadet of Gascony, fought, drank, loved, and
+plotted under the reign of Louis the Thirteenth and the rule of
+Richelieu. The sketch was incomplete: contrary to established
+practice, M. Dumas neither married nor killed his heroes; but after
+exposing them to innumerable perils, out of all of which they came
+triumphant, although from none did they derive any important benefit,
+he left them nearly as he found them--with their fortunes still to
+make, and with little to rely upon save their good swords and their
+dauntless courage. He promised, however, a continuation of their
+history, and that promise he has kept, but with a difference. Passing
+over a score of years, he again introduces us to the guardsmen, whom
+he left in the heyday of youth, and who have now attained, most of
+them passed, the sober age of forty.
+
+Twenty years later, then, we find D'Artagnan, the young Gascon
+gentleman aforesaid, alone upon the scene. His three friends,
+influenced by various motives, have retired from the corps of
+mousquetaires: Athos to reside upon a small estate in Poitou, Porthos
+to marry a rich widow, Aramis to become an abbé. D'Artagnan alone,
+having no estate to retire to larger than a cabbage-garden, no widow
+to marry, or inclination for the church, has stuck to the service with
+credit, but with small profit to himself; and the lieutenancy bestowed
+upon him by the Cardinal-Duke in 1628, is still a lieutenancy in 1648,
+under Richelieu's less able, but equally ambitious successor, Cardinal
+Mazarine. Moreover, deprived, during the greater part of these twenty
+years, of the society of his three fiends, who had in some measure
+formed his character, and from the example of two of whom he had
+caught much of what chivalry and elegance he possessed--deprived also
+of opportunities of displaying those peculiar talents for bold
+intrigue, which had once enabled him to thwart the projects of
+Richelieu himself, D'Artagnan has degenerated into a mere trooper. His
+talents and shrewdness have not deserted him; on the contrary, the
+latter has increased with his experience of the world; but instead of
+being employed in the service of queens and princes, their exercise
+has been for some years confined to procuring their owner those
+physical and positive comforts which soldiers seek and prize--namely,
+a good table, comfortable quarters, and a complaisant hostess.
+
+Although thus making the best of his position, and only occasionally
+grumbling at the caprice of Dame Fortune, who seems entirely to have
+forgotten him, it is with a lively sensation of joy that D'Artagnan,
+one evening when on guard at the Palais Royal, hears himself summoned
+to the presence of Mazarine. It is at the commencement of the Fronde;
+the exactions of the cardinal have irritated the people, who show
+symptoms of open resistance; his enemies, already sufficiently
+numerous, are daily increasing and becoming more formidable. Mazarine
+trembles for his power, and looks around him for men of head and
+action, to aid him in breasting the storm and carrying out his
+schemes. He hears tell of the four guardsmen, whose fidelity and
+devotion had once saved the reputation of Anne of Austria, and baffled
+the most powerful minister France ever saw; these four men he resolves
+to make his own, and D'Artagnan is dispatched to find his three former
+companions, and induce them to espouse the cause of the cardinal. The
+mission is but partially successful. D'Artagnan finds Porthos, whose
+real name is Du Vallon, rich, flourishing, and a widower, but,
+notwithstanding all these advantages, perfectly unhappy because he has
+no title. Vanity was always the failing of Porthos. Aramis, otherwise
+the Chevalier--now the Abbé--d'Herblay, is up to the ears in intrigues
+of every description. Athos, Count de la Fčre, has abandoned the
+wine-flask, formerly the deity of his adoration, and is busied in the
+education of a natural son, a youth of sixteen, of whom the beautiful
+Duchess of Chevreuse is the mother. By the promise of a barony,
+D'Artagnan easily induces Porthos to follow him to Paris; but with his
+other two friends he is less successful. Athos and Aramis put him off
+with excuses, for both have already pledged themselves to the cause of
+the Fronde and of the Duke of Beaufort.
+
+This prince, the grandson of Henry the Fourth, and of the celebrated
+Gabrielle D'Estrées, is a prisoner in the fortress of Vincennes, and a
+constant subject of uneasiness to Mazarine. Brave as steel, but of
+limited capacity, the idol of the people, who, by the use of his name,
+are easily roused to rebellion, the duke has beguiled his long
+captivity by abuse of the Facchino Mazarini, as he styles the
+cardinal, and by keeping up a constant petty warfare with the governor
+of Vincennes, Monsieur de Chavigny. On his way to prison, he boasted
+to his guards that he had at least forty plans of escape, some one of
+which would infallibly succeed. This was repeated to the cardinal; and
+so well is the duke guarded in consequence, that five years have
+elapsed and he is still at Vincennes. At last his friends find means
+of communicating with him, and Grimaud, the servant of the Count de la
+Fčre, is introduced, in the capacity of an under jailer, into the
+fortress, where, by his taciturnity and apparent strictness, he gains
+the entire confidence of La Ramée, an official who, under M. de
+Chavigny, is appointed to the especial guardianship of the Duke of
+Beaufort. An attempt to escape is fixed for the day of the Pentecost.
+Upon the morning of that day, Monsieur de Chavigny starts upon a short
+journey, leaving the castle in charge of La Ramée, whom the duke
+invites to sup with him upon a famous pasty, that has been ordered for
+the occasion from a confectioner who has recently established himself
+at Vincennes. Here is what takes place at the repast.
+
+La Ramée, who, at the bottom of his heart, entertained a considerable
+degree of regard and affection for M. de Beaufort, made himself a
+great treat of this tęte-ā-tęte supper. His chief foible was gluttony,
+and for this grand occasion the confectioner had promised to outdo
+himself. The pasty was to be of pheasants, the wine of the best
+vintage of Chambertin. By adding to the agreeable images which this
+promise called up in his mind, the society of the duke, who in the
+main was such an excellent fellow, who played Monsieur de Chavigny
+such capital tricks, and made such biting jokes against the cardinal,
+La Ramée had composed a picture of a perfectly delightful evening,
+which he looked forward to with proportionate jubilation, and with an
+impatience almost equalling that of the duke. His first visit that
+morning had been to the pastrycook, who had shown him the crust of a
+gigantic pasty, decorated at the top with the arms of Monsieur de
+Beaufort. The said crust was still empty, but beside it were a
+pheasant and two partridges, so minutely and closely larded, that each
+of them looked like a cushion stuck full of pins. La Ramée's mouth
+watered at the sight.
+
+Early in the day, M. de Beaufort went to play at ball with La Ramée; a
+sign from Grimaud warned him to pay attention to every thing. Grimaud
+walked before them, as if to point out the road that he and the duke
+would have to take that evening. The place where they were in the
+habit of playing was the smaller court of the fortress--a solitary
+enclosure, where sentinels were only stationed when the duke was
+there; even that precaution seeming unnecessary, on account of the
+great height of the ramparts. There were three doors to open before
+reaching this court, and each door was opened with a different key.
+All three keys were kept by La Ramée. When they reached the court,
+Grimaud seated himself negligently in one of the embrasures, his legs
+dangling outside the wall. The duke understood that the rope-ladder
+was to be fixed at that place. This, and other manoeuvres,
+comprehensible enough to M. de Beaufort, and carefully noted by him,
+had, of course, no intelligible meaning for La Ramée.
+
+The game began. M. de Beaufort was in play, and sent the balls
+wherever he liked; La Ramée could not win a game. When they had
+finished playing, the duke, whilst rallying La Ramée on his ill
+success, pulled out a couple of louis-d'ors, and offered them to his
+guards, who had followed him to the court to pick up the balls,
+telling them to go and drink his health. The guards asked La Ramée's
+permission, which he gave, but for the evening only. Up to that time
+he had various important matters to arrange, some of which would
+require him to absent himself from his prisoner, whom he did not wish
+to be lost sight of.
+
+Six o'clock came, and although the dinner-hour was fixed for seven,
+the table was already spread, and the enormous pie placed upon the
+side-board. Every body was impatient for something: the guards to go
+and drink, La Ramée to dine, and Monsieur de Beaufort to escape.
+Grimaud was the only one who seemed to be waiting for nothing, and to
+remain perfectly calm; and at times when the duke looked at his dull,
+immoveable countenance, he almost doubted whether that could be the
+man who was to aid his projected flight.
+
+At half-past six La Ramée dismissed the guards, the duke sat down at
+the table, and signed to his jailer to take a chair opposite to him.
+Grimaud served the soup, and stationed himself behind La Ramée. The
+most perfect enjoyment was depicted on the countenance of the latter,
+as he commenced the repast from which he had been anticipating so much
+pleasure. The duke looked at him with a smile.
+
+"Ventre St Gris! La Ramée," cried he, "if I were told that at this
+moment there is in all France a happier man than yourself, I would not
+believe it."
+
+"And you would be quite right not to do so, Monseigneur," said La
+Ramée. "I confess that, when I am hungry, I know no pleasure equal to
+that of sitting down to a good dinner; and when I remember that my
+Amphitryon is the grandson of Henry the Fourth, the pleasure is at
+least doubled by the honour done to me."
+
+The duke bowed. "My dear La Ramée," said he, "you are unequaled in the
+art of paying compliments."
+
+"It is no compliment, Monseigneur," said La Ramée; "I say exactly what
+I think."
+
+"You are really attached to me then?" said the duke.
+
+"Most sincerely," replied La Ramée; "and I should be inconsolable if
+your highness were to leave Vincennes."
+
+"A singular proof of affection that!" returned the duke.
+
+"But, Monseigneur," continued La Ramée, sipping at a glass of Madeira,
+"what would you do if you were set at liberty? You would only get into
+some new scrape, and be sent to the Bastile instead of to Vincennes."
+
+"Indeed!" said the duke, considerably amused at the turn the
+conversation was taking, and glancing at the clock, of which the
+hands, as he thought, advanced more slowly than usual.
+
+"M. de Chavigny is not very amiable," said La Ramée, "but M. de
+Tremblay is a great deal worse. You may depend, Monseigneur, that it
+was a real kindness to send you here, where you breathe a fine air,
+and have nothing to do but to eat and drink, and play at ball."
+
+"According to your account, La Ramée, I was very ungrateful ever to
+think of escaping."
+
+"Exceedingly so," replied La Ramée; "but your highness never did think
+seriously of it."
+
+"Indeed did I, though!" said the duke; "and what is more, folly though
+it may be, I sometimes think of it still."
+
+"Still by one of your forty plans, Monseigneur?"
+
+The duke nodded affirmatively.
+
+"Monseigneur," resumed La Ramée, "since you have so far honoured me
+with your confidence, I wish you would tell me one of the forty
+methods of escape which your highness had invented."
+
+"With pleasure," replied the duke. "Grimaud, give me the pasty."
+
+"I am all attention," said La Ramée, leaning back in his chair, and
+raising his glass so as to look at the setting sun through the liquid
+amber which it contained. The duke glanced at the clock. Ten minutes
+more and it would strike seven, the hour for which his escape was
+concerted. Grimaud placed the pie before M. de Beaufort, who took his
+silver-bladed knife--steel ones were not allowed him--to cut it; but
+La Ramée, unwilling to see so magnificent a pasty mangled by a dull
+knife, passed him his own, which was of steel.
+
+"Well, Monseigneur," said he, "and this famous plan?"
+
+"Do you wish me to tell you," said the duke, "the one on the success
+of which I most reckoned, and which I intended to try the first?"
+
+"By all means," said La Ramée.
+
+"Well," said M. de Beaufort, who was busy in the dissection of the
+pie, "in the first place I hoped to have for my guardian some honest
+fellow like yourself, Monsieur La Ramée."
+
+"Your hope was realized, Monseigneur. And then?"
+
+"I said to myself," continued the duke, "if once I have about me a
+good fellow like La Ramée, I will get a friend, whom he does not know
+to be my friend, to recommend to him a man devoted to my interests,
+and who will aid my escape."
+
+"Good!" said La Ramée. "No bad idea."
+
+"When I have accomplished this," said the duke, "if the man is
+skilful, and manages to gain the confidence of my jailer, I shall have
+no difficulty in keeping up a communication with my friends."
+
+"Indeed!" said La Ramée; "how so?"
+
+"Easily enough," replied M. de Beaufort; "in playing at ball, for
+instance."
+
+"In playing at ball!" repeated La Ramée, who was beginning to pay
+great attention to the duke's words.
+
+"Yes. I strike a ball into the moat; a man who is at hand, working in
+his garden, picks it up. The ball contains a letter. Instead of
+throwing back the same ball, he throws another, which contains a
+letter for me. My friends hear from me and I from them, without any
+one being the wiser."
+
+"The devil!" said La Ramée, scratching his head, "you do well to tell
+me this, Monseigneur. In future I will keep an eye on pickers up of
+balls. But, after all, that is only a means of correspondence."
+
+"Wait a little. I write to my friends--'On such a day and at such an
+hour, be in waiting on the other side of the moat with two led
+horses.'"
+
+"Well," said La Ramée, with some appearance of uneasiness, "but what
+then? Unless, indeed, the horses have wings, and can fly up the
+rampart to fetch you."
+
+"Or that I have means of flying down," said the duke, carelessly. "A
+rope-ladder, for instance."
+
+"Yes," said La Ramée, with a forced laugh; "but a rope ladder can
+hardly be sent in a tennis-ball, though a letter may."
+
+"No; but it may be sent in something else. Let us only suppose, for
+argument's sake, that my cook, Noirmont, has purchased the
+pastrycook's shop opposite the castle. La Ramée, who is a bit of an
+epicure, tries his pies, finds them excellent, and asks me if I would
+like to taste one. I accept the offer, on condition that he shall help
+me to eat it. To do so more at his ease, he sends away the guards, and
+only keeps Grimaud here to wait upon us. Grimaud is the man whom my
+friend has recommended, and who is ready to second me in all things.
+The moment of my escape is fixed for seven o'clock. At a few minutes
+to seven"----
+
+"At a few minutes to seven!" repeated La Ramée, perspiring with alarm.
+
+"At a few minutes to seven," continued the duke, suiting the action to
+the word, "I take the crust off the pie. Inside it, I find two
+poniards, a rope-ladder, and a gag. I put one of the poniards to La
+Ramée's breast, and I say to him--'My good friend, La Ramée, if you
+make a motion or utter a cry, you are a dead man!'"
+
+The duke, as we have already said, whilst uttering these last
+sentences, had acted in conformity. He was now standing close to La
+Ramée, to whom his tone of voice, and the sight of the dagger levelled
+at his heart, intimated plainly enough that M. de Beaufort would keep
+his word. Meanwhile Grimaud, silent as the grave, took out of the pie
+the second poniard, the rope-ladder, and the gag. La Ramée followed
+each of these objects with his eyes with a visibly increasing terror.
+
+"Oh, Monseigneur!" cried he, looking at the duke with an air of
+stupefaction, which at any other time would have made M. de Beaufort
+laugh heartily, "you would not have the heart to kill me?"
+
+"No, if you do not oppose my flight."
+
+"But, Monseigneur, if I let you escape, I am a ruined man."
+
+"I will pay you the value of your office."
+
+"And if I defend myself, or call out?"
+
+"By the honour of a gentleman, you die upon the spot!"
+
+At this moment the clock struck.
+
+"Seven o'clock," said Grimaud, who had not yet uttered a word.
+
+La Ramée made a movement. The duke frowned, and the unlucky jailer
+felt the point of the dagger penetrate his clothes, and press against
+his breast.
+
+"Enough, Monseigneur," cried he; "I will not stir. But I entreat you
+to tie my hands and feet, or I shall be taken for your accomplice."
+
+The duke took off his girdle, and gave it to Grimaud, who tied La
+Ramée's hands firmly behind his back. La Ramée then held out his legs;
+Grimaud tore a napkin into strips, and bound his ankles together.
+
+"And now the gag!" cried poor La Ramée; "the gag! I insist upon it; or
+they will hang me for not having given the alarm."
+
+In an instant La Ramée was gagged, and laid upon the ground; two or
+three chairs were overturned, to make it appear that there had been a
+struggle. Grimaud took from La Ramée's pockets all the keys that they
+contained, opened the room-door, shut and double-locked it when the
+duke and himself had passed out, and led the way to the court. This
+the fugitives reached without accident or encounter, and found it
+entirely deserted; no sentinels, nor any body at the windows that
+overlooked it. The duke hurried to the rampart, and saw upon the
+further side of the moat three horsemen and two led horses. He
+exchanged a sign with them; they were waiting for him. Meanwhile
+Grimaud was fastening the rope by which the descent was to be
+effected. It was not a ladder, but a silken cord rolled upon a stick,
+which was to be placed between the legs, and become unrolled by the
+weight of the person descending.
+
+"Go," said the duke.
+
+"First, Monseigneur?" asked Grimaud.
+
+"Certainly," was the reply; "if I am taken, a prison awaits me; if you
+are caught, you will be hung."
+
+"True," said Grimaud; and putting himself astride the stick, he
+commenced his perilous descent. The duke followed him anxiously with
+his eyes. About three quarters of the distance were accomplished, when
+the cord broke, and Grimaud fell into the moat. M. de Beaufort uttered
+a cry; but Grimaud said nothing, although he was evidently severely
+hurt, for he remained motionless upon the spot on which he had fallen.
+One of the three horsemen slid down into the moat, fastened the noose
+of a rope under the arms of Grimaud, and his two companions, who held
+the other end, pulled him up.
+
+"Come down, Monseigneur," cried the cavaliers; "the fall is only about
+fifteen feet, and the grass is soft."
+
+The duke was already descending. His task was difficult; for the stick
+was no longer there to sustain him, and he was obliged to lower
+himself along the slender rope from a height of fifty feet by sheer
+force of wrist. But his activity, strength, and coolness came to his
+aid; in less than five minutes he was at the end of the cord. He then
+let go his hold, and fell upon his feet without injury. Climbing out
+of the moat, he found himself in the company of Count Rochefort, and
+of two other gentlemen with whom he was unacquainted. Grimaud, whose
+senses had left him, was fastened upon a horse.
+
+"Gentlemen," said the duke, "I will thank you by and by; just now we
+have not an instant to lose. Forward then, and let who loves me
+follow."
+
+And springing upon his horse, he set off at full gallop, breathing as
+if a load were removed from his breast, and exclaiming in accents of
+inexpressible joy--
+
+"Free! Free! Free!"
+
+The two cavaliers who accompany the Duke and the Count de Rochefort,
+are Athos and Aramis. D'Artagnan and Porthos are sent in pursuit of
+the cardinal, and in the obscurity by night the four friends, who have
+so often fought side by side, find themselves at sword's point with
+each other. Fortunately a recognition ensues before any harm is done.
+A strong party of the Duke of Beaufort's adherents comes up, and
+D'Artagan and Porthos are taken prisoners, but immediately set at
+liberty by the duke.
+
+The readers of the _Three Mousquetaires_ will not have forgotten a
+certain Lady de Winter, having a _fleur-de-lis_ branded on her
+shoulder, who plays an important part in that romance, and who, after
+committing innumerable crimes, at last meets her death at the hands of
+a public executioner, but without form of trial. This latter, indeed,
+might be considered almost superfluous, so numerous and notorious were
+her offences; but nevertheless, D'Artagnan and his three friends, by
+whose order and in whose presence the execution took place, sometimes
+feel pangs of remorse for the deed, which none of the many lives they
+have taken in fair and open fight ever occasion them. Athos
+especially, the most reflecting and sensitive of the four, continually
+reproaches himself with the share he took in that act of illegal
+justice. This woman has left a son, who inherits all her vices, and
+who, having been proved illegitimate, has been deprived of Lord De
+Winter's estates, and passes by the name of Mordaunt. He is now
+brought upon the scene. Raoul, Viscount of Braguelonne, the son of
+Athos, is proceeding to Flanders, in company with the young Count de
+Guiche, to join the army under the Prince of Condé, when, on the last
+day of his journey, and whilst passing through a forest, he falls in
+with, and disperses a party of Spanish marauders who are robbing and
+ill-treating two travellers. Of these latter, one is dead, and the
+other, who is desperately wounded, implores the aid of a priest. Raoul
+and his friend order their attendants to form a litter of branches,
+and to convey the wounded man to a neighbouring forest inn, whilst
+they hasten on to the next village to procure him the spiritual
+consolation he is so urgent to obtain.
+
+The two young men had ridden more than a league, and were already in
+sight of the village of Greney, when they saw coming towards them,
+mounted upon a mule, a poor monk, whom, from his large hat and grey
+woollen gown, they took to be an Augustine friar. Chance seemed to
+have sent them exactly what they were seeking. Upon approaching the
+monk, they found him to be a man of two or three and twenty years of
+age, but who might have been taken for some years older, owing
+probably to long fasts and severe penances. His complexion was pale,
+not that clear white paleness which is agreeable to behold, but a
+bilious yellow; his hair was of a light colour, and his eyes, of a
+greenish grey, seemed devoid of all expression.
+
+"Sir," said Raoul, with his usual politeness, "have you taken orders?"
+
+"Why do you ask?" said the stranger, in a tone so abrupt as to be
+scarcely civil.
+
+"For our information," replied the Count de Guiche haughtily.
+
+The stranger touched his mule with his heel, and moved onwards. With a
+bound of his horse, De Guiche placed himself before him, blocking up
+the road. "Answer, sir" said he. "The question was polite put, and
+deserves a reply."
+
+"I am not obliged, I suppose, to inform the first comer who and what I
+am."
+
+With considerable difficulty De Guiche repressed a violent inclination
+to break the bones of the insolent monk.
+
+"In the first place," said he, "we will tell you who _we_ are. My
+friend here is the Viscount of Braguelonne, and I am the Count de
+Guiche. It is no mere caprice that induces us to question you; we are
+seeking spiritual aid for a dying man. If you are a priest, I call
+upon you in the name of humanity to afford him the assistance he
+implores; if, on the other hand, you are not in orders, I warn you to
+expect the chastisement which your impertinence merits."
+
+The monk's pale face became livid, and a smile of so strange an
+expression overspread it, that Raoul, whose eyes were fixed upon him,
+felt an involuntary and unaccountable uneasiness.
+
+"He is some spy of the Imperialists," said the viscount, putting his
+hand upon his pistols. A stern and menacing glance from the monk
+replied to the accusation.
+
+"Well, sir," said De Guiche, "will you answer?"
+
+"I am a priest," replied the young man, his face resuming its former
+calm inexpressiveness.
+
+"Then, holy father," said Raoul, letting his pistol fall back into the
+holster, and giving a tone of respect to his words, "since you are a
+priest, you have now an opportunity of exercising your sacred
+functions. A man wounded to death is at the little inn which you will
+soon find upon your road, and he implores the assistance of one of
+God's ministers."
+
+"I will go to him," said the monk calmly, setting his mule in motion.
+
+"If you do not, sir," said De Guiche, "remember that our horses will
+soon overtake your mule, that we possess sufficient influence to have
+you seized wherever you go, and that then your trial will be very
+short. A tree and a rope are to be found every where."
+
+The eyes of the monk emitted an angry spark, but he merely repeated
+the words, "I will go to him," and rode on.
+
+"Let us follow," said De Guiche; "it will be the surest plan."
+
+"I was about to propose it," said Raoul. And the young men followed
+the monk at pistol-shot distance.
+
+On arriving in sight of the roadside tavern, they saw their servants
+approaching it from the opposite direction, leading their horses, and
+carrying the wounded man. On perceiving the monk, an expression of joy
+illuminated the countenance of the sufferer.
+
+"And now," said Raoul, "we have done all we can for you, and must
+hasten onwards to join the prince's army. There is to be a battle
+to-morrow, it is said, and we would not miss it."
+
+The host had got everything ready, a bed, lint and bandages, and a
+messenger had been dispatched to Lens, which was the nearest town, to
+bring back a surgeon.
+
+"You will follow us," said Raoul to the servants, "as soon as you have
+conveyed this person to his room. A horseman will arrive here in the
+course of the afternoon," added he to the innkeeper, "and will
+probably enquire if the Viscount de Braguelonne has passed this way.
+He is one of my attendants, and his name is Grimaud. You will tell him
+that I have passed, and shall sleep at Cambrin."
+
+By this time the litter had reached the door of the inn. The monk got
+off his mule, ordered it to be put in the stable without unsaddling,
+and entered the house. The two young men rode away, followed by the
+benedictions of the wounded man.
+
+The litter was just being carried into the inn, when the hostess
+hurried forward to receive her guests. On catching sight of the
+sufferer, she seized her husband's arm with an exclamation of terror.
+
+"Well," said the host, "what is the matter?"
+
+"Do you not recognise him?" said the woman, pointing to the wounded
+man.
+
+"Recognise him! No--yet--surely I remember the face. Can it be?"----
+
+"The former headsman of Bethune," said his wife, completing the
+sentence.
+
+"The headsman of Bethune!" repeated the young monk, recoiling with a
+look and gesture of marked repugnance.
+
+The chief of Raoul's attendants perceived the disgust with which the
+monk heard the quality of his penitent.
+
+"Sir," he said, "although he may have been an executioner, or even if
+he still be so, it is no reason for refusing him the consolations of
+religion. Render him the service he claims at your hands, and you will
+have the more merit in the sight of God."
+
+The monk made no reply, but entered a room on the ground-floor, in
+which the servants were now placing the wounded man upon a bed. As he
+did so, every one left the apartment, and the penitent remained alone
+with his confessor. The presence of Raoul's and De Guiche's followers
+being no longer required, the latter remounted their horses, and set
+off at a sharp trot to rejoin their masters, who were already out of
+sight.
+
+They had been gone but a few minutes, when a single horseman rode up
+to the door of the inn.
+
+"What is your pleasure, sir?" said the host, still pale and aghast at
+the discovery his wife had made.
+
+"A feed for my horse, and a bottle of wine for myself," was the reply.
+"Have you seen a young gentleman pass by," continued the stranger,
+"mounted on a chestnut horse, and followed by two attendants."
+
+"The Viscount de Braguelonne?" said the innkeeper.
+
+"The same."
+
+"Then you are Monsieur Grimaud?"
+
+The traveller nodded assent.
+
+"Your master was here not half an hour ago," said the host. "He has
+ridden on, and will sleep at Cambrin."
+
+Grimaud sat down at a table, wiped the dust and perspiration from his
+face, poured out a glass of wine, and drank in silence. He was about
+to fill his glass a second time, when a loud shrill cry was heard,
+issuing from the apartment in which the monk and the patient were shut
+up together. Grimaud started to his feet.
+
+"What is that?" exclaimed he.
+
+"From the wounded man's room," replied the host.
+
+"What wounded man?"
+
+"The former headsman of Bethune, who has been set upon and sorely hurt
+by Spanish partisans. The Viscount de Braguelonne rescued and brought
+him hither, and he is now confessing himself to an Augustine friar. He
+seems to suffer terribly."
+
+"The headsman of Bethune," muttered Grimaud, apparently striving to
+recollect something. "A man of fifty-five or sixty years of age, tall
+and powerful; of dark complexion, with black hair and beard?"
+
+"The same; excepting that his beard has become grey, and his hair
+white. Do you know him?"
+
+"I have seen him once," replied Grimaud gloomily.
+
+At this moment another cry was heard, less loud than the first, but
+followed by a long deep groan. Grimaud and the innkeeper looked at
+each other.
+
+"It is like the cry of a man who is being murdered," said the latter.
+
+"We must see what it is," said Grimaud.
+
+Although slow to speak, Grimaud was prompt in action. He rushed to the
+door, and shook it violently; it was secured on the inner side.
+
+"Open the door instantly," cried he, "or I break it down."
+
+No answer was returned. Grimaud looked around him, and perceived a
+heavy crowbar standing in a corner of the passage. This he seized hold
+of, and before the host could interfere, the door was burst open. The
+room was inundated with blood, which was trickling from the mattrass;
+there was a hoarse rattling in the wounded man's throat; the monk had
+disappeared. Grimaud hurried to an open window which looked upon the
+court-yard.
+
+"He has escaped through this," said he.
+
+"Do you think so?" said the host. "Boy, see if the monk's mule is
+still in the stable."
+
+"It is gone," was the answer.
+
+Grimaud approached the bed, and gazed upon the harsh and strongly
+marked features of the wounded man.
+
+"Is he still alive?" said the host.
+
+Without replying, Grimaud opened the man's doublet to feel if his
+heart beat, and at the same time the innkeeper approached the bed.
+Suddenly both started back with an exclamation of horror. A poniard
+was buried to the hilt in the left breast of the headsman.
+
+What had passed between the priest and his penitent was as follows.
+
+It has been seen that the monk showed himself little disposed to delay
+his journey in order to receive the confession of the wounded man; so
+little, indeed, that he would probably have endeavoured to avoid it by
+flight, had not the menaces of the Count de Guiche, and afterwards the
+presence of the servants, or perhaps his own reflections, induced him
+to perform to the end the duties of his sacred office.
+
+On finding himself alone with the sufferer, he approached the pillow
+of the latter. The headsman examined him with one of those rapid,
+anxious looks peculiar to dying men, and made a movement of surprise.
+
+"You are very young, holy father," said he.
+
+"Those who wear my dress have no age," replied the monk severely.
+
+"Alas, good father, speak to me more kindly! I need a friend in these
+my last moments."
+
+"Do you suffer much?" asked the monk.
+
+"Yes, but in soul rather than in body."
+
+"We will save your soul," said the young man; "but, tell me, are you
+really the executioner of Bethune, as these people say?"
+
+"I was," replied the wounded man hurriedly, as though fearful that the
+acknowledgment of his degrading profession might deprive him of the
+assistance of which he stood in such imminent need. "I was, but I am
+so no longer; I gave up my office many years ago. I am still obliged
+to appear at executions, but I no longer officiate. Heaven forbid that
+I should!"
+
+"You have a horror of your profession, then?"
+
+The headsman groaned.
+
+"So long as I only struck in the name of the law and of justice," said
+he, "my conscience was at rest, and my sleep untroubled; but since
+that terrible night when I served as instrument of a private
+vengeance, and raised my sword with hatred against one of God's
+creatures--since that night"----
+
+The headsman paused, and shook his head despairingly.
+
+"Speak on," said the monk, who had seated himself on the edge of the
+bed, and began to take an interest in a confession that commenced so
+strangely.
+
+"Ah!" exclaimed the dying man, "what efforts have I not made to stifle
+my remorse by twenty years of good works! I have exposed my own
+existence to preserve that of others, and have saved human lives in
+exchange for the one I had unwarrantably taken. I frequented the
+churches, sought out the poor to console and relieve them; those who
+once avoided became accustomed to see me, and some have even loved me.
+But God has not pardoned me; for, do what I will, the memory of my
+crime pursues me, and each night in my dreams the spectre of that
+woman stands menacing before me."
+
+"A woman! Was it a woman, then, whom you assassinated?" cried the
+monk.
+
+"And you, too," exclaimed the headsman--"you, too, use that word,
+assassinated. It _was_ an assassination, then, not an execution, and I
+am a murderer!"
+
+He shut his eyes and uttered a hollow moan. The monk feared probably
+that he would die without completing his confession, for he hastened
+to console him.
+
+"Go on," said he. "I cannot yet know how far you are guilty. When I
+have heard all, I will decide. Tell me, then, how you came to commit
+this deed."
+
+"It was night," resumed the headsman, in faltering accents: "a man
+came to my house to seek me, and showed me an order. I followed him.
+Four other gentlemen were waiting for him; they put a mask upon my
+face, and led me with them. I was resolved to resist, if what they
+required me to do appeared unjust. We rode on for five or six leagues
+almost without uttering a word; at last we halted--and they showed me,
+through the window of a cottage, a woman seated at a table. 'That,'
+said they, 'is she whom you are to decapitate.'"
+
+"Horrible!" exclaimed the monk. "And you obeyed?"
+
+"Father, that woman was a monster; she had poisoned her husband, had
+tried to assassinate her brother-in-law, who was one of the men that
+now accompanied me; she had murdered a young girl whom she thought her
+rival; and, before leaving England, had instigated the assassination
+of the king's favourite."
+
+"Buckingham?" exclaimed the monk.
+
+"Yes, Buckingham--that was the name."
+
+"She was an Englishwoman, then?"
+
+"No--a Frenchwoman, but she had been married to an English nobleman."
+
+The monk grew pale, passed his hand across his forehead, and, rising
+from the bed, approached the door and bolted it. The headsman thought
+that he was leaving him, and implored him to return.
+
+"I am here," said the monk, resuming his seat. "Who were the five men
+who accompanied you?"
+
+"One was an Englishman; the other four were French, and wore the
+uniform of the mousquetaires."
+
+"Their names?" demanded the monk.
+
+"I do not know them. But the four Frenchmen called the Englishman 'My
+lord.'"
+
+"And the woman; was she young?"
+
+"Young and beautiful, most beautiful, as she kneeled before me
+imploring mercy. I have never been able to understand how I had the
+courage to strike off that pale and lovely head."
+
+The monk seemed to be under the influence of some violent emotion; his
+limbs trembled, and he appeared unable to speak. At last, mastering
+himself by a strong effort--"The name of this woman?" said he.
+
+"I do not know it. She had been married twice, once in France and once
+in England."
+
+"And you killed her!" said the monk, vehemently. "You served as
+instrument to those dastardly villains who dared not kill her
+themselves. You had no pity on her youth, her beauty, her weakness!
+You killed her!"
+
+"Alas! holy father," said the headsman, "this woman concealed, under
+the exterior of an angel, the vices of a demon; and when I saw her,
+when I remembered all that I had myself suffered from her"----
+
+"You? And what could she have done to you?"
+
+"She had seduced my brother, who was a priest, had fled with him from
+his convent, lost him both body and soul."
+
+"Your brother?"
+
+"Yes, my brother had been her first lover. Oh, my father! do not look
+at me thus. I am very guilty, then! You cannot pardon me!"
+
+The monk composed his features, which had assumed a terrible
+expression during the latter part of the dying man's confession.
+
+"I will pardon you," said he, "if you tell me all. Since your brother
+was her first lover, you must know her maiden name. Tell it me."
+
+"Oh, my God! my God!" exclaimed the headsman--"I am dying! Absolution,
+holy father! absolution!"
+
+"Her name," said the monk, "and I give it to you."
+
+The headsman, who was convulsed with agony, both physical and moral,
+seemed scarcely able to speak. The monk bent over him as if to catch
+the smallest sound he should utter.
+
+"Her name," said he, "or no absolution." The dying man seemed to
+collect all his strength.
+
+"Anne de Bueil," murmured he.
+
+"Anne de Bueil!" repeated the monk, rising to his feet and lifting his
+hands to heaven, "Anne de Bueil! Did you say Anne de Bueil?"
+
+"Yes, yes, that was her name; and now absolve me, for I am dying."
+
+"_I_ absolve you?" cried the monk, with a laugh that made the
+sufferer's hair stand on end; "_I_ absolve you? I am no priest!"
+
+"You are no priest!" cried the headsman; "but who and what are you,
+then?"
+
+"I will tell you, miscreant! I am John de Winter, and that woman"----
+
+"And that woman"----gasped the executioner.
+
+"Was my mother!"
+
+The headsman uttered a shriek, the long and terrible one which Grimaud
+and the innkeeper had heard.
+
+"Oh, pardon, pardon!" murmured he--"forgive me, if not in God's name,
+at least in your own. If not as a priest, as a son."
+
+"Pardon you!" replied the pretended monk; "pardon you! God may perhaps
+do it, but I never will. Die, wretch, die! unabsolved, despairing, and
+accursed." And, drawing a dagger from under his gown, he plunged it
+into the breast of the headsman. "Take that," said he, "for my
+absolution."
+
+It was then that the second cry, followed by a long moan, had been
+uttered. The headsman, who had partially raised himself, fell back
+upon the bed. The monk, without withdrawing his dagger from the wound,
+ran to the window, opened it, jumped out into the little flower-garden
+below, and hurried to the stable. Leading out his mule, he plunged
+into the thickest part of the adjacent forest, stripped off his monk's
+garb, took a horseman's dress out of his valise, and put it on. Then,
+making all haste to the nearest post-house, he took a horse, and
+continued with the utmost speed his journey to Paris.
+
+The headsman lives long enough to inform Grimaud of what has passed;
+and Grimaud, who was present at the decapitation of Lady de Winter,
+returns to Paris, to put Athos and his friends on their guard against
+the vengeance of her son. Mordaunt, _alias_ De Winter, is one of
+Cromwell's most devoted and unscrupulous agents, and is proceeding to
+the French capital to negotiate with Mazarine on the part of the
+Parliamentary general. Guided by what he has heard from the
+executioner of Bethune, he discovers who the men are by whose order
+his mother was beheaded, and he vows their destruction. The four
+friends soon afterwards meet in England, whither D'Artagnan and
+Porthos have been sent on a mission to Cromwell; whilst Athos and
+Aramis have repaired thither to strive to prop the falling fortunes of
+Charles the First. We cannot say much in favour of that portion of the
+book of which the scene is laid on English ground. M. Dumas is much
+happier in his delineations of Frondeurs and Mazarinists than of
+Puritans and Cavaliers; and his account of Charles the First, and of
+the scenes prior to his execution, is horribly Frenchified.
+
+After numerous narrow escapes from Mordaunt, who pursues them with
+unrelenting rancour, and succeeds in assassinating their friend and
+his uncle, Lord de Winter, the four guardsmen embark on board a small
+vessel to return to France. Mordaunt discovers this, gets the captain
+and crew out of the way, replaces them by one Groslow and other
+creatures of his own, and conceals himself on board. His plan is, so
+soon as the vessel is a short distance out at sea, to escape in a boat
+with his confederates, after firing a train communicating with some
+barrels of powder in the hold. There is some improbability in this
+part of the story; but gunpowder plots have special privilege of
+absurdity. The guardsmen, however, discover the mischief that is
+brewing against them, just in time to escape through the cabin
+windows, and swim off to the boat, which is towing astern.
+
+Scarcely had D'Artagnan cut the rope that attached the boat to the
+ship, when a shrill whistle was heard proceeding from the latter,
+which, as it moved on whilst the boat remained stationary, was already
+beginning to be lost to view in the darkness. At the same moment a
+lantern was brought upon deck, and lit up the figures of the crew.
+Suddenly a great outcry was heard; and just then the clouds that
+covered the heavens split and parted, and the silver light of the moon
+fell upon the white sails and dark rigging of the vessel. Persons were
+seen running about the deck in bewilderment and confusion; and
+Mordaunt himself, carrying a torch in his hand, appeared upon the
+poop.
+
+At the appointed hour, Groslow had collected his men, and Mordaunt,
+after listening at the door of the cabin, and concluding from the
+silence which reigned that his intended victims were buried in sleep,
+had hurried to the powder barrels and set fire to the train. Whilst he
+was doing this, Groslow and his sailors were preparing to leave the
+ship.
+
+"Haul in the rope," said the former, "and bring the boat along-side."
+
+One of the sailors seized the rope and pulled it. It came to him
+without resistance.
+
+"The cable is cut!" exclaimed the man; "the boat is gone."
+
+"The boat gone!" repeated Groslow; "impossible!"
+
+"It is nevertheless true," returned the sailor. "See here; nothing in
+our wake, and here is the end of the rope."
+
+It was then that Groslow uttered the cry which the guardsmen heard
+from their boat.
+
+"What is the matter?" demanded Mordaunt, emerging from the hatchway,
+his torch in his hand, and rushing towards the stern.
+
+"The matter is, that your enemies have escaped you. They have cut the
+rope, and saved themselves in the boat."
+
+With a single bound Mordaunt was at the cabin-door, which he burst
+open with his foot. It was empty.
+
+"We will follow them," said Groslow; "they cannot be far off. We will
+give them the stem; sail right over them."
+
+"Yes; but the powder--I have fired the train!"
+
+"Damnation!" roared Groslow, rushing to the hatchway. "Perhaps there
+is still time."
+
+A horrible laugh and a frightful blasphemy were Mordaunt's reply; and
+then, his features distorted by rage and disappointed hate rather than
+by fear, he hurled his torch into the sea, and precipitated himself
+after it. At the same moment, and before Groslow had reached the
+powder barrels, the ship opened like the crater of a volcano, a gush
+of fire rose from it with a noise like that of fifty pieces of
+artillery, and blazing fragments of the doomed vessel were seen
+careering through the air in every direction. It lasted but an
+instant; the red glow that had lit up the sea for miles around
+vanished; the burning fragments fell hissing into the water; and, with
+the exception of a vibration in the air, all was calm as before. The
+felucca had disappeared; Groslow and his men were annihilated.
+
+Our four guardsmen had witnessed this terrible spectacle with mute awe
+and horror, and when it was over, they remained for a moment downcast
+and silent. Porthos and D'Artagnan, who had each taken an oar, forgot
+to use them, and sat gazing at their companions, whilst the boat
+rocked to and fro at the will of the waves.
+
+"_Ma foi!_" said Aramis, who was the first to break the pause, "this
+time I think we are fairly rid of him."
+
+"Help, gentlemen, help!" just then cried a voice that came sweeping in
+piteous accents over the troubled surface of the sea. "Help! for
+heaven's sake, help!"
+
+The guardsmen looked at each other. Athos shuddered.
+
+"It is his voice!" said he.
+
+All recognised the voice, and strained their eyes in the direction in
+which the felucca had disappeared. Presently a man was seen swimming
+vigorously towards them. Athos extended his arm, pointing him out to
+his companions.
+
+"Yes, yes," said D'Artagnan; "I see him."
+
+"Will nothing kill him?" said Porthos.
+
+Aramis leaned forward and spoke in a whisper to D'Artagnan. Mordaunt
+advanced a few yards, and raised one hand out of the water in sign of
+distress.
+
+"Pity! gentlemen," cried he; "pity and mercy! My strength is leaving
+me, and I am about to sink."
+
+The tone of agony in which these words were spoken awakened a feeling
+of compassion in the breast of Athos.
+
+"Unhappy man!" he murmured.
+
+"Good!" said D'Artagnan. "I like to see you pity him. On my word, I
+think he is swimming towards us. Does he suppose we are going to take
+him in? Row, Porthos, row."
+
+And D'Artagnan plunged his oar into the water. Two or three long
+strokes placed twenty fathoms between the boat and the drowning man.
+
+"Oh! you will have mercy!" cried Mordaunt. "You will not let me
+perish!"
+
+"Aha! my fine fellow," said Porthos, "we have you now, I think,
+without a chance of escape."
+
+"Oh, Porthos!" murmured the Count de la Fčre.
+
+"For heaven's sake, Athos," replied Porthos, "cease your eternal
+generosity, which is ridiculous under such circumstances. For my part
+I declare to you, that if he comes within my reach, I will split his
+skull with the oar."
+
+D'Artagnan, who had just finished his colloquy with Aramis, stood up
+in the boat.
+
+"Sir," said he to the swimmer, "be so good as to betake yourself in
+some other direction. The vessel which you intended for our coffin is
+scarcely yet at the bottom of the sea, and your present situation is a
+bed of roses compared to that in which you intended to put us."
+
+"Gentlemen!" said Mordaunt in despairing accents, "I swear to you that
+I sincerely repent. I am too young to die. I was led away by a
+natural resentment; I wished to revenge my mother. You would all have
+acted as I have done."
+
+"Pshaw!" said D'Artagnan, who saw that Athos was becoming more and
+more softened by Mordaunt's supplications. The swimmer was again
+within three or four fathoms of the boat. The approach of death seemed
+to give him supernatural strength.
+
+"Alas!" said he, "I am going to die, then. And yet I was right to
+avenge my mother. And besides, if it were a crime, I repent of it, and
+you ought to pardon me."
+
+A wave that passed over his head, interrupted his entreaties. He again
+emerged, and made a stroke in the direction of the boat. D'Artagnan
+took his oar in both hands. The unhappy wretch uttered a groan of
+despair. Athos could bear it no longer.
+
+"D'Artagnan!" cried he, "my son D'Artagnan, I entreat of you to spare
+his life. It is so horrible to let a man die when you can save him by
+stretching out your hand. I cannot witness such a deed; he _must_ be
+saved."
+
+"Mordieu!" replied D'Artagnan, "why do you not tie our hands and feet,
+and deliver us up to him at once? The thing would be sooner over. Ha!
+Count de la Fčre, you wish to perish at his hands: well, I, whom you
+call your son--I will not suffer it."
+
+Aramis quietly drew his sword, which he had carried between his teeth
+when he swam off from the ship.
+
+"If he lays a hand upon the boat," said he, "I sever it from his body,
+like that of a regicide, as he is."
+
+"Wait a moment," said Porthos.
+
+"What are you going to do?" said Aramis.
+
+"Jump overboard and strangle him," replied the giant.
+
+"Oh, my friends!" said Athos, in a tone of entreaty that was
+irresistible; "remember that we are men and Christians! Grant me the
+life of this unhappy wretch!"
+
+D'Artagnan hung his head: Aramis lowered his sword: Porthos sat down.
+
+"Count de la Fčre," exclaimed Mordaunt, now very near the boat, "it is
+you whom I implore. Have pity upon me, and that quickly, for my
+strength is exhausted. Count de la Fčre, where are you?"
+
+"I am here, sir," replied Athos, with that noble and dignified air
+that was habitual to him. "Take my hand, and come into our boat."
+
+"I cannot bear to witness it," said D'Artagnan; "such weakness is
+really pitiable." And he turned towards his two remaining friends,
+who, on their part, recoiled to the other side of the boat, as if
+unwilling to touch the man to whom Athos alone did not fear to give
+his hand. Mordaunt made an effort, raised himself up, and seized the
+arm extended to him.
+
+"So," said Athos, leaning over the gunwale of the boat--"now place
+your other hand here;" and he offered him his shoulder as a support,
+so that his head nearly touched that of Mordaunt; and for a moment the
+two deadly foes seemed to embrace each other like brothers. Mordaunt
+grasped the count's collar with his cold and dripping fingers.
+
+"And now, sir, you are saved," said Athos; "compose yourself."
+
+"Ah, my mother!" exclaimed Mordaunt, with the look of a demon, and an
+accent of hatred impossible to render, "I can offer you but one
+victim, but it is the one you would yourself have chosen!"
+
+D'Artagnan uttered a cry; Porthos raised his oar; Aramis sprang
+forward, his naked sword in his hand. But it was too late. By a last
+effort, and with a yell of triumph, Mordaunt dragged Athos into the
+water, compressing his throat, and winding his limbs round him like
+the coils of a serpent. Without uttering a word, or calling for help,
+Athos strove for a moment to maintain himself on the surface of the
+water. But his movements were fettered, the weight that clung to him
+was too great to bear up against, and little by little he sank. Before
+his friends could get to his assistance, his head was under water, and
+only his long hair was seen floating; then all disappeared, and a
+circle of foam, which in its turn was rapidly obliterated, alone
+marked the spot where the two men had been engulfed. Struck dumb by
+horror, motionless, and almost suffocated with grief and indignation,
+the three guardsmen remained, with dilated eyes and extended arms,
+gazing down upon the dark waves that rolled over the body of their
+friend, the brave, the chivalrous, the noble-hearted Athos. Porthos
+was the first to recover his speech.
+
+"Oh, Athos!" said he, tearing his hair, and with an explosion of grief
+doubly affecting in a man of his gigantic frame and iron mould; "Oh,
+Athos! are you indeed gone from us?"
+
+At this moment, in the midst of the vast circle which the rays of the
+moon lit up, the agitation of the water which had accompanied the
+absorption of the two men, was renewed, and there appeared, first a
+quantity of fair hair, then a pallid human face, with eyes wide open,
+but fixed and glazed, then a body, which, after raising its bust out
+of the water, fell softly backwards, and floated upon the surface of
+the sea. In the breast of the corpse was buried a dagger, of which the
+golden hilt sparkled in the moonbeams.
+
+"Mordaunt! Mordaunt!" cried the three friends; "it is Mordaunt! But
+Athos! where is he?"
+
+Just then the boat gave a lurch, and Grimaud uttered an exclamation of
+joy. The guardsmen turned, and saw Athos, his face livid with
+exhaustion, supporting himself with a trembling hand upon the gunwale
+of the boat. In an instant he was lifted in, and clasped in the arms
+of his friends.
+
+"You are unhurt?" said D'Artagnan.
+
+"Yes," replied Athos. "And Mordaunt?"
+
+"Oh! thank God, he is dead at last. Look yonder."
+
+And D'Artagnan forced Athos to look in the direction he pointed out,
+where the body of Mordaunt, tossed upon the wave, seemed to pursue the
+friends with a look of insult and mortal hate. Athos gazed at it with
+an expression of mingled pity and melancholy.
+
+"Bravo! Athos," cried Aramis, with a degree of exultation which he
+rarely showed.
+
+"A good blow," exclaimed Porthos.
+
+"I have a son," said Athos, "and I wished to live. But it was not I
+who killed him. It was the hand of fate."
+
+Soon after the escape of Monsieur de Beaufort, the Parisians, stirred
+up by various influential malecontents--one of the chief of whom is
+the famous Jean de Gondy, Coadjutor of Paris, and afterwards Cardinal
+de Retz--break out into open insurrection. Mazarine's life is menaced;
+the queen-mother and the young king are virtually prisoners of the
+Frondeurs. The Prince of Condé, with the laurels he has gained on the
+battle-field of Lens yet fresh upon his brow, hurries to Paris to take
+part against the Fronde; the queen and Mazarine are anxious to escape
+from the capital in order to carry on the war in the open field
+instead of in the narrow streets, fighting in which latter, or from
+behind their barricades, the ill-disciplined troops of the insurgents
+are nearly as efficient as the most practised veterans. How to manage
+the escape is the difficulty. The gates of the city are guarded by
+armed citizens; there appears no possibility of egress. In this
+dilemma, Anne of Austria bethinks her of the man to whose address and
+courage she had, twenty years previously, been so deeply indebted;
+D'Artagnan is called in to her assistance. He succeeds in smuggling
+the cardinal out of Paris, and then returns to fetch Louis XIV. and
+the queen-mother.
+
+Instead of re-entering Paris by the gate of St Honoré, D'Artagnan, who
+had time to spare, went round to that of Richelieu. The guard stopped
+him, and when they saw by his plumed hat and laced cloak that he was
+an officer of mousquetaires, they insisted upon his crying out, "Down
+with Mazarine." This he did with so good a grace, and in so sonorous a
+voice, that the most difficult were fully satisfied. He then walked
+down the Rue Richelieu, reflecting how he should manage the escape of
+the queen, for it would be impossible to take her away in one of the
+royal carriages, with the arms of France painted upon it. On passing
+before the hotel of Madame de Guéménée, who passed for the mistress of
+Monsieur de Gondy, he perceived a coach standing at the door. A sudden
+idea struck him.
+
+"Pardieu!" said he, "it would be an excellent manoeuvre." And,
+stepping up to the carriage, he examined the arms upon the panels,
+and the livery of the coachman, who was sleeping on the box.
+
+"It is the Coadjutor's carriage," said D'Artagnan to himself.
+"Providence is decidedly in our favour."
+
+He opened the door without noise, got into the coach, and pulled the
+check-string.
+
+"To the Palais Royal," cried he to the coachman.
+
+The man, waking in a fright, made no doubt that the order came from
+his master, and drove off at full speed to the palace. The gates of
+the court were just closing as he drove in. On pulling up at the
+steps, the coachman perceived that the footmen were not behind the
+carriage, and, supposing that M. de Gondy had sent them somewhere, he
+got off his box and opened the door. D'Artagnan jumped out, and just
+as the coachman, alarmed at seeing a stranger instead of his master,
+made a step backwards, he seized him by the collar with his left hand,
+and with his right put a pistol to his breast.
+
+"Not a word," said D'Artagnan, "or you are a dead man."
+
+The coachman saw that he had fallen into a snare. He remained silent,
+with open mouth and staring eyes. Two mousquetaires were walking up
+and down the court; D'Artagnan called them, handed over the coachman
+to one of them, with orders to keep him in safe custody, and desired
+the other to get on the box of the carriage, drive it round to the
+door of the private staircase leading out of the palace, and there to
+wait till he came. The coachman's livery coat and hat went with the
+carriage. These arrangements completed, D'Artagnan entered the palace,
+and knocked at the door of the queen's apartments. He was instantly
+admitted; Anne of Austria was waiting for him in her oratory.
+
+"Is every thing prepared?" said she.
+
+"Every thing, madam."
+
+"And the cardinal?"
+
+"He has left Paris without accident, and waits for your majesty at
+Cours la Reine."
+
+"Come with me to the king."
+
+D'Artagnan bowed and followed the queen. The young king was already
+dressed, with the exception of his shoes and doublet. He seemed
+greatly astonished at being thus roused in the middle of the night,
+and overwhelmed his valet-de-chambre, Laporte, with questions, to all
+of which the latter replied--"Sire, it is by order of her majesty."
+The bed-clothes were thrown back, and the sheets were seen worn
+threadbare and even into holes. This was one of the results of
+Mazarine's excessive parsimony. The queen entered, and D'Artagnan
+remained at the door of the apartment. As soon as the child saw his
+mother, he escaped from Laporte's hand and ran up to her. She signed
+to D'Artagnan to approach.
+
+"My son," said Anne of Austria, showing him the mousquetaire, who
+stood with his plumed hat in his hand, calm, grave, and collected,
+"this is M. D'Artagnan, who is brave as one of those knights of old
+whose histories you love to hear repeated. Look at him well, and
+remember his name, for he is about to render us a great service."
+
+Louis XIV. gazed at D'Artagnan with his large proud eyes; then, slowly
+lifting his little hand, he held it out to the officer, who bent his
+knee and kissed it.
+
+"Monsieur D'Artagnan," repeated the young king. "It is well, madam; I
+shall remember it."
+
+At this moment a loud murmuring noise was heard approaching the
+palace.
+
+"Ha!" said D'Artagnan, straining his ears to distinguish the
+sound--"The people are rising."
+
+"We must fly instantly," said the queen.
+
+"Madam," said D'Artagran, "you have deigned to give me the direction
+of this night's proceedings. Let your majesty remain and learn what
+the people want. I will answer for every thing."
+
+Nothing is more easily communicated than confidence. The queen,
+herself courageous and energetic, appreciated in the highest degree
+those two virtues in others.
+
+"Do as you please," said she. "I trust entirely to you."
+
+"Does your majesty authorize me to give orders in your name?"
+
+"I do, sir."
+
+D'Artagnan hurried from the room. The tumult was increasing; the mob
+seemed to surround the Palais Royal. On all sides were heard seditious
+cries and clamours. Presently M. de Comminges, who was on guard that
+night at the Palais Royal, craved admittance to the queen's presence.
+He had about two hundred men in the court-yard and stables, and he
+placed them at her majesty's disposal.
+
+"What do the people want?" said Anne of Austria to D'Artagnan, who
+just then re-appeared.
+
+"A report has been spread, madam, that your majesty has left the
+Palais Royal, taking the king with you. The mob demand a proof of the
+contrary, or threaten to demolish the palace."
+
+"Oh! this time it is too bad," said the queen. "I will soon show them
+that I am not gone."
+
+D'Artagnan saw by the expression of Anne's face, that she was about to
+give some violent order. He hastened to interfere.
+
+"Madam," said he, in a low voice, "have you still confidence in me?"
+
+"Entire confidence, sir," was the reply.
+
+"Then let your majesty send away M. de Comminges, and order him to
+shut himself up with his men in the guard-room and stables. The people
+wish to see the king, and the people must see him."
+
+"See him! But how? On the balcony?"
+
+"No, madam; here, in his bed, sleeping."
+
+The queen reflected a moment, and smiled. There as a degree of
+duplicity in the course proposed that chimed in with her humour.
+
+"Let it be as you will," said she.
+
+"Monsieur Laporte," said D'Artagnan; "go and announce to the people,
+that in five minutes they shall see the king in his bed. Say also that
+his majesty is sleeping, and that the queen requests them to be
+silent, in order not to awaken him."
+
+"But they cannot all come," said Anne. "A deputation of two or four
+persons."
+
+"All of them, madam."
+
+"But it will last till to-morrow morning."
+
+"In a quarter of hour it will be over. I know the mob, madam; it is a
+great baby that only wants flattery and caresses. Before the king,
+these noisy rioters will be mute and timid as lambs."
+
+"Go, Laporte," said the queen. The young king approached his mother.
+
+"Why do you do what these people ask?" said he.
+
+"It must be so, my son," said Anne of Austria.
+
+"But if they can tell me that it _must_ be so, I am no longer king."
+
+The queen remained silent.
+
+"Sire," said D'Artagnan, "will your majesty permit me to ask you a
+question?"
+
+"Yes, sir," replied Louis, after a moment's pause, occasioned by
+surprise at the guardsman's boldness.
+
+"Does our majesty remember, when playing in the park at
+Fontaine-bleau, or the gardens at Versailles, to have seen the heavens
+become clouded, and to have heard the thunder roll?"
+
+"Certainly I do," answered Louis.
+
+"Well, the noise of that thunder told your majesty, that, however
+disposed you might be to play, you _must_ go in-doors."
+
+"Certainly, sir; but I have been told that the voice of the thunder is
+the voice of God."
+
+"Well, sire, let your majesty listen to the voice of the people, and
+you will perceive that it greatly resembles that of the thunder."
+
+As he spoke, a low deep roar, proceeding from the multitude without,
+was borne upon the night breeze to the windows of the apartment. The
+next instant all was still and hushed.
+
+"Hark, sire," said D'Artagnan, "they have just told the people that
+you are sleeping. You see that you are still king."
+
+The queen looked with astonishment at the singular man, whose
+brilliant courage made him the equal of the bravest; whose keen and
+ready wit rendered him the equal of all. Laporte entered the room, and
+announced that the message he had taken to the people had acted like
+oil upon the waves, and that they were waiting in respectful silence,
+till the five minutes, at the expiration of which they were to see the
+king, should have elapsed. By the queen's order, Louis was put into
+bed, dressed as he was, and covered up to the throat with the sheets.
+His mother stooped over him, and kissed his forehead.
+
+"Pretend to sleep, Louis," said she.
+
+"Yes," said the king, "but not one of those men must touch me."
+
+"Sire," said D'Artagnan, "I am here; and if one of them had that
+audacity, he should pay for it with his life."
+
+The five minutes were over. Laporte went out to usher in the mob; the
+queen remained standing near the door; D'Artagnan concealed himself
+behind the curtains of the bed. Then was heard the march of a great
+multitude of men, striving to step lightly and noiselessly. The queen
+raised with her own hand the tapestry that covered the doorway, and
+placed her finger on her lips. On beholding her, the crowd paused,
+struck with respect.
+
+"Come in, gentlemen--come in," said the queen.
+
+There was apparent in the mob a degree of hesitation which resembled
+shame; they had expected resistance, had anticipated a contest with
+the guards, bloodshed and violence; instead of that, the gates had
+been peaceably opened, and the king, ostensibly at least, was
+unguarded save by his mother. The men in front of the throng stammered
+out an excuse, and attempted to retire.
+
+"Come in, gentlemen," said Laporte, "since the queen desires it."
+
+Upon this invitation, a man, bolder than the rest, entered the room,
+and advanced on tiptoe towards the bed. He was followed by others, and
+the chamber was rapidly filled, as silently as if the new-comers had
+been the most humble and obsequious courtiers. D'Artagnan saw every
+thing through a hole he had made in the curtain. In the man who had
+first entered, he recognised his former servant Planchet, who, since
+he had left his service, had been a sergeant in the regiment of
+Piedmont, and who was now a confectioner in the Rue des Lombards, and
+an active partisan of the Fronde.
+
+"Sir," said the queen, who saw that Planchet was a leader of the mob,
+"you wished to see the king, and the king is here. Approach, and look
+at him, and say if we resemble persons who are going to escape."
+
+"Certainly not, your majesty," said Planchet, a little astonished at
+the honour done to him.
+
+"You will tell my good and loyal Parisians," continued Anne of
+Austria, with a smile of which D'Artagnan well understood the meaning,
+"that you have seen the king in bed, and sleeping, and the queen about
+to go to bed also."
+
+"I will tell them so, madam, and those who accompany me will also bear
+witness to it, but"----
+
+"But what?" said the queen.
+
+"I beseech your majesty to pardon me," said Planchet "but is this
+really the king?"
+
+The queen trembled with suppressed anger.
+
+"Is there one amongst you who knows the king?" said she. "If so, let
+him approach, and say if this be his majesty or not."
+
+A man, muffled in a cloak, which he wore in such a manner as to
+conceal his face, drew near, and stooping over the bed, gazed at the
+features of Louis. For a moment D'Artagnan thought that this person
+had some evil design, and he placed his hand upon his sword; but as he
+did so, the cloak slipped partially from before the man's face, and
+the guardsman recognised the Coadjutor, De Gondy.
+
+"It is the king himself," said the man. "God bless his majesty!"
+
+"God bless his majesty!" murmured the crowd.
+
+"And now, my friends," said Planchet; "let us thank her majesty, and
+retire."
+
+The insurgents bowed their thanks, and left the room with the same
+caution and silence with which they had entered it. When the last had
+disappeared, followed by Laporte, the remaining actors in this strange
+scene remained for a moment looking at each other without uttering a
+word: the queen standing near the door; D'Artagnan half out of his
+hiding-place; the king leaning on his elbow, but ready to fall back
+upon his pillow at the least noise that should indicate the return of
+the mob. The noise of footsteps, however, grew rapidly more remote,
+and at last entirely ceased. The queen drew a deep breath of relief;
+D'Artagnan wiped the perspiration of anxiety from his brow; the king
+slid out of his bed.
+
+"Let us go," said Louis.
+
+Just then Laporte returned.
+
+"I have followed them to the gates, madam," said the valet-de-chambre;
+"they informed their companions that they had seen the king and spoken
+to the queen, and the mob has dispersed, perfectly satisfied."
+
+"The wretches!" murmured Anne of Austria; "they shall pay dearly for
+their insolence." Then, turning to D'Artagnan, "Sir," said she, "you
+have this night given me the best advice I ever received in my life.
+What is next to be done?"
+
+"We can set out when your majesty pleases. I shall be waiting at the
+foot of the private staircase."
+
+"Go, sir," said the queen. "We will follow you."
+
+D'Artagnan descended the stairs, and found the carriage at the
+appointed place, with the guardsman sitting on the box. He took the
+hat and coat of M. de Gondy's coachman, put them on himself, and took
+the guardsman's place. He had a brace of pistols in his belt, a
+musquetoon under his feet, his naked sword behind him. The queen
+appeared, accompanied by the king, and by his brother, the Duke of
+Anjou.
+
+"The Coadjutor's carriage!" exclaimed she, starting back in
+astonishment.
+
+"Yes, madam," said D'Artagnan "but be not alarmed. I shall drive you."
+
+The queen uttered a cry of surprise, and stepped into the coach. The
+king and his brother followed, and sat down beside her. By her
+command, Laporte also entered the vehicle. The mantelets of the
+windows were closed, and the horses set off at a gallop along the Rue
+Richelieu. On reaching the gate at the extremity of the street, the
+chief of the guard advanced at the head of a dozen men, and carrying a
+lantern in his hand. D'Artagnan made him a sign.
+
+"Do you recognise the carriage?" said he to the sergeant.
+
+"No," was the reply.
+
+"Look at the arms."
+
+The sergeant put his lantern close to the pannel.
+
+"They are those of M. le Coadjuteur," said he.
+
+"Hush!" said d'Artagnan. "Madam de Guéménée is with him."
+
+The sergeant laughed. "Open the gate," said he; "I know who it is."
+Then, approaching the mantelet--"Much pleasure, Monseigneur," said he.
+
+"Hold your tongue!" cried D'Artagnan, "or you will lose me my place."
+
+The gate creaked upon its hinges; D'Artagnan, seeing the gate open,
+flogged his horses, and set off at a rapid trot. In five minutes he
+had rejoined the cardinal's coach.
+
+"Mousqueton," cried D'Artagnan to M. du Vallon's servant, "open the
+door of his majesty's carriage."
+
+"It is he!" exclaimed Porthos, who was waiting for his friend.
+
+"In a coachman's livery!" cried Mazarine.
+
+"And with the Coadjutor's carriage," said the queen.
+
+"_Corpo di Dio_, Monsieur d'Artagnan!" said the cardinal, "you are
+worth your weight in gold!"
+
+We cannot attempt to give more than these slight glimpses of the eight
+volumes now lying before us, in which the extravagance and
+exaggeration of many of the incidents are only redeemed by the
+brilliant diction and animated narrative of their clever but
+unscrupulous author. It would be too lengthy to give even a sketch of
+the chain of incidents that succeeds those above detailed, or to show
+how, according to M. Dumas, D'Artagnan and his friends became
+instrumental to the conclusion of the treaty by which the hostilities
+between Frondeurs and Mazarinists are for the time brought to a close.
+The first act of the war of the Fronde is over; Louis XIV., now within
+a year of his majority, re-enters the capital with Anne of Austria and
+Mazarine, D'Artagnan, now captain of mousquetaires, riding on one side
+of his carriage, and Porthos, now Baron du Vallon, on the other. Baron
+Porthos goes back to his estates, happy and glorious; Aramis and Athos
+return to the seclusion whence the stirring times had called them
+forth, the latter leaving his son in charge of D'Artagnan, who is to
+take the young man with him to the Flemish wars. The restless spirit
+of the Gascon abhors the idea of repose.
+
+"Come, D'Artagnan," said Porthos, as he got upon his horse to depart,
+"take my advice; throw up your commission, hang up your sword, and
+accompany me to Du Vallon. We will grow old together, whilst talking
+of our past adventures."
+
+"Not so," replied D'Artagnan. "_Peste!_ the campaign is just opening,
+and I mean to make it. I hope to gain something by it."
+
+"And what do you hope to become?"
+
+"_Pardieu!_ who can tell? Marshal of France, perhaps."
+
+"Ah, ah!" said Porthos, looking at D'Artagnan, to whose gasconading he
+had never been able quite to accustom himself. And the two friends
+parted.
+
+"You will prepare your best apartment for me, Madeleine," said
+D'Artagnan to his handsome hostess, as he re-entered his hotel. "I
+must keep up appearances, now that I am Captain of Mousquetaires."
+
+
+
+
+THE GRAND GENERAL JUNCTION AND INDEFINITE EXTENSION RAILWAY RHAPSODY.
+
+BY A PROVISIONAL COMMITTEE OF CONTRIBUTORS.
+
+
+    Though the farmer's hope may perish,
+      While in floods the harvest lies,
+    Speculation let us cherish,
+      Let the Railway market rise!
+
+    Honest trader, whosoever,
+      Sick with losses, sad with cares,
+    Quit your burden now or never,
+      Cut the shop and deal in shares.
+
+    Spendthrift--short of drink and dinners,
+      Half-pay captain, younger son,
+    Boldly throw while all are winners,
+      Laugh henceforth at debt and dun.
+
+    Come, ye saints, whose skill in cavilling,
+      Shock'd at skittles, cards, or dice,
+    Thinks, except for Sunday travelling,
+      Railway gaming is no vice.
+
+    Hither haste, each black-leg fellow,
+      Quit the turf or loaded bone;
+    Like your brother-black Othello,
+      Own your occupation's gone.
+
+    Tribes that live by depredation--
+      "Bulls" and "Bears," and birds of prey,
+    See the coming spoliation,
+      Scent the premiums far away.
+
+    "Stags!" your rapid forms revealing,
+      Show awhile your front so bright,
+    Then from your pursuers stealing,
+      Vanish sudden out of sight.
+
+    Leave all meaner things, my St John,
+      For the locomotive race;
+    Post your tin upon the engine,
+      Go ahead, and keep the pace.
+
+    At a Railway Monarch's splendour
+      Envious squires and nobles stare;
+    Even the Hebrew gewgaw vender
+      Turns sharebroker in despair.
+
+    Now no more the Ragfair dealer
+      Hints with horrid breath, "Old Clo';"
+    Putting forth another feeler,
+      "Any shares?" he whispers low.
+
+    Every paper's a prospectus,
+      Nostrums, news, are at an end;
+    "Easy shaving" don't affect us,
+      Silent even "The Silent Friend."
+
+    Morison resigns his bubbling,
+      Lazenby has lost his zest;
+    Widow Welch has ceased from troubling,
+      Weary Moses is at rest.
+
+    Every station, age, and gender,
+      Deep within the torrent dip;
+    Even our children, young and tender,
+      Play at games of nursery scrip.
+
+    Over meadows, moors, and mosses,
+      Quagmires black, and mountains grey,
+    Careless where or how it crosses,
+      Speculation finds the way.
+
+    Every valley is exalted,
+      Every mountain is made low;
+    Where we once were roughly jolted,
+      Light and lively now we go.
+
+    Speed along with fire and fury!
+      Hark! the whistle shrilly shrieks!
+    Speed--but mark! we don't insure ye
+      'Gainst the boiler's frolic freaks.
+
+    But before a trip is ventured,
+      This precaution prudence begs:
+    When you've seen your luggage enter'd,
+      Also book your arms and legs.
+
+    Ask not if yon luckless stoker,
+      Blown into the air, survive--
+    These are trifles, while the broker
+      Quotes our shares at Ninety-five.
+
+    Vainly points some bleeding spectre
+      To his mangled remnants;--still
+    Calmly answers each Director,
+      "Charge the damage to the bill."
+
+    All the perils which environ
+      (As the poet _now_ would sing)
+    Him who meddles with _hot_ iron,
+      Seem to us a pleasant thing.
+
+    Countless lines, from Lewes to Lerwick,
+      Cross like nets the country soon;
+    Soon a railway (Atmospheric,)
+      Speeds our progress to the moon.
+
+    Traversing yon space between us,
+      Soon the rapid trains will bring
+    Ores from Mars and fires from Venus,
+      Lots of lead from Saturn's Ring;
+
+    Belts from Jupiter's own factory,
+      Mercury from Maia's Son;
+    And when summers look refractory,
+      Bottled sunbeams from the sun.
+
+    If too soaring, too seraphic,
+      Seems to some that heavenward track,
+    T'other way there's much more traffic,
+      Though not many travel back.
+
+    What a gradient through Avernus!
+      What a curve will Hades take!
+    When with joy the Shades discern us,
+      How Hell's terminus will shake!
+
+    How the Pandemonium Junction,
+      With the Central will combine,
+    Rattling both without compunction
+      Down the Tartarus incline!
+
+    Phlegethon no more need fright us,
+      For we've bridged its fiery way;
+    And the steamer on Cocytus
+      Long ago has ceased to pay.
+
+    Charon--under sequestration--
+      Does the Stygian bark resign,
+    Glad to find a situation
+      As policeman to the line.
+
+    Thoughts of penance need not haunt us;
+      Who remains our sins to snub?
+    Pluto, Minos, Rhadamanthus,
+      All have joined the "Railway Club."
+
+    Fortune's gifts, then, catch and cherish;
+      Follow where her currents flow;
+    Sure to prosper--or to perish,
+      Follow, though to Styx we go!
+
+
+
+
+SKETCHES OF ITALY--LUCCA.
+
+
+The records of travellers in the _Livre des Etrangers_ at Modena, had
+prepared us to expect nothing tolerable at the night halts in our
+journey through the Apennines to our projected place of _séjour_
+during the great heats of summer, the _Bagni di Lucca_. At the
+_mountain_ locandas, we were always prepared, not to say resigned, to
+encounter those various distresses which seem light evils at a
+distance--knowing that we could not starve as long as eggs and
+maccaroni were to be found, and even as to lodging we were too old
+travellers to flinch at trifles. The rural inn at Piave, which looked
+more inviting than the great one of the small place, was delighted to
+receive us, and gave us good trout, tolerable bread, and excellent
+honey: we were in the midst of a lovely country, we heard a limpid
+stream running within a few yards of our window; and what had we to
+fear? But night came, and with it more annoyances than one bargains
+for even in Italy. A floor of thin planks which had never fitted, and
+of which the joinings, which had never been of the kind called
+_callidæ_, were now widened by time, was all that parted our small
+bedroom from that of the horses. Through these, and also through large
+rat-holes, there came up copious ammoniacal smells, which our mucous
+membrane resented from the first; and well it had fared with us had
+this been all. We had never been so near horses at night, and had no
+idea they made such an incessant noise. _One_ horse stabled and
+littered for the night were bad enough, but we had a whole stableful;
+and just as we were forgetting the fleas, and forgiving the mosquitos,
+and sleep led on by indigestion was heavy on our eyelids, a snort,
+loud as a lion's roar, made us start. Then there came a long
+succession of chump, chump, from the molar teeth, and a snort, snort,
+from the wakeful nostril of our mute companions, (_equo ne credite,
+Teucri!_)--one stinted quadruped was ransacking the manger for hay,
+another was cracking his beans to make him frisky to-morrow, and more
+than one seemed actually rubbing his moist nose just under our bed!
+This was not all; not a whisk of their tails escaped us, and when they
+coughed, which was often, the hoarse _roncione_ shook the very
+tressels of our bed; in short, we never suffered such real night_mare_
+before. We dreamt _stethoscopes_ and racks. But morning came, and,
+with it, morning freshness and morning sound. The wood-pigeons are
+cooing, the green hills just opposite seem to have come closer up to
+our window to wish us good-day; so we throw open our little casement,
+to let out the gaseous compounds from bed and stable. How elegantly do
+the dew-bedded vines take hold of the poplars and elms, and hang their
+festoons of ripening fruit from branch to branch! But the sun begins
+to break a brilliant pencil of rays over the hill-top, nor will he
+take long to leave the screen and uncover himself; indeed, in less
+than a quarter of an hour, he will have stared us quite out of
+countenance, and, long before the hour of his advent shall have been
+completed, the birds, which till now have been all activity, will
+become torpid, the pigeons will have given over their cooing, and the
+sparrow his chirp; so the fish that has not yet breakfasted had better
+make haste, for his are chariot-wheels which have been looked after
+overnight, and linchpins that never come out; nor has he had one
+break-down or overturn since he first set off on his _Macadamized_
+way. In haste to escape from the heat of the plains of Tuscany, we
+were not sorry when we saw the douaniers of _Pistoia_, the last of its
+cities. This town is dulness, not epitomized, but extended over a
+considerable space; its streets are many, long, and, what is not usual
+in Italy, wide. There is no population stirring; the very piazza is
+without activity; and, if you leave it, you may walk a mile between
+very large houses, churches, convents, and palaces, without meeting
+any one. Pistoia, in short, is an improvement on _Oxford_ in the long
+vacation--the place, however, has its ancient fame, has given birth to
+two or three distinguished literati, and figured in the civil wars.
+The fifteenth century records among others the name of _Cini_, whose
+epitaph we saw in the cathedral; and the author of the _Riciardetto_
+was, we believe, also one of its citizens. In its immediate vicinity
+fell _Catiline_. They say the Italian language is spoken here with
+great purity of _accent_, which is remarkable, as it is only twenty
+miles from the guttural and inharmonious speech of Florence. It was
+not our purpose to explore its decayed manufactures, if such there
+still exist at all, of fire-arms and organs; indeed, we know not if
+pistols and organ-pipes have any thing particular to do with it; so,
+after refreshment of the cattle, we passed on through a beautiful
+country at its most beautiful season, and thought we had seldom seen
+any thing more striking than the views from _Serravalle_, or those
+about _Pescia_ and _Monte Catino_. The high, almost the highest
+Apennines were right a-head; and could we have taken the wings of the
+bird, or of the morning, and lighted on any of those peaks at no great
+distance, we should have looked directly down on to the Mediterranean,
+and almost into the gulf of _La Spezzia_; we should have seen the long
+Ligurian promontory in the distant horizon to the right, and have
+embraced Leghorn, Elba, Gorgona, and the coast as far as _Piombino_,
+in the opposite direction. An imperceptible ascent conducts from the
+_town of Lucca_ towards its _baths_; and you may expect, in about
+three hours, to have accomplished its sixteen miles. The road follows
+the long windings and beautiful valleys of the _Serchio_, of which,
+harmless as it looks, we read on all the bridges records of its
+occasional violence, and of their repeated destruction. After a
+morning's ride, to which there are few equals even in Italy or
+Switzerland, we begin to get our books, and paper, and light luggage,
+out of the nets and pockets of the carriage--for there are the _Bagni
+Caldi_, about a mile before us. It is not our purpose to describe the
+humours of an Italian watering-place; but let it not be supposed that
+this retreat is the happy thought of our own restless population. The
+English have had nothing to do with bringing the baths of Lucca into
+notice or fashion, although they are at present among its principal
+inhabitants from June to September. Hither flock in summer the
+families who have established themselves in winter-quarters at
+Florence or Pisa; and here they soon get possession of all the cracked
+pianos, and strolling music-masters who come on speculation, and
+forthwith begin a series of screaming lessons, called singing,
+executed by English young women, studious of cheap accomplishments, to
+the infinite distress of all who pass by their open windows, at
+whatever hour! As the baths are frequented by the little court of
+Lucca, there is a _residenza_, a _casino_, and tables for play. There
+are two or three good hotels or _tables-d'hôtes_, and there is a
+shabby little coffee-house, and a handful of _Balzacs and Paul de
+Kocks_ at one circulating library. There is one butcher and one baker
+at each of the villages, privileged dispensers of their respective
+commodities. There is a scarcity of poultry, of fresh butter, and
+vegetables; but there is abundance of maccaroni. There are two
+grocers, who both supply amateurs with English pickles, Harvey's
+sauce, Warren's blacking, Henry's magnesia, James's powder, and the
+other necessaries of life. The houses are generally let for the
+season, and the rent of the best is as high as Ģ4 a-week. The
+furniture is old and bad, but tolerably clean. Ascend any of the
+hills, and you look down on roofs that have scarcely any chimneys.
+Whenever you ride or walk, you have a hill on the right and left of
+you, and a river making its way against the opposition of huge masses
+of stone, and angular impediments from the turns of the valley itself.
+On these hills, you have uniformly vines below; and when you get above
+the vines, you walk entirely among the chestnut-trees which constitute
+the real riches of the country. The best office, however, of the
+hills, is not the production of fruit-trees, but the screen they
+afford against the Italian sun. The early sunset here is worth all the
+wine of the territory, which is scarce and very bad. In the evenings
+of July and August, there is a turn-out of equipages that have figured
+on the Boulevards and in Hyde Park, which commonly make a halt
+opposite the little shabby coffee-house, to eat bad ices, and do the
+agreeable to each other--the rush-bottomed chairs at the door being
+occupied the while by a set of _intelligent_ young men, with mustache,
+who smoke bad cigars, and cultivate as elsewhere the charm of each
+others' classical conversation. Montaigne was here in the 15th
+century, and Fallopius, he of the trumpets, came here to be cured of
+deafness--which is one of the infirmities which the Latin inscription
+declares to have yielded to the use of the waters. Lorenzo di Medici
+came to talk platonism and the fine arts at a place which will never
+know either any more; and, from a Latin letter extant, was summoned
+from the Bagni to the death-bed of his wife. Ladies have often been
+recommended to the baths to be cured of sterility; and, from what we
+have seen, we think there are far more unpromising places. Doctors,
+whose names only are known, but who were probably men of learning,
+have written on these salutary springs, and modern flippancy has at
+present forborne them. We have no Quack to patronize them; the "_numen
+aquæ_" is not violated in _print_ at least by jobbing apothecaries;
+but there is Gentile di Foligno, and Ugolino di Monte Catino, and
+Savonarola, and Bandinelli (1483,) and Fallopio (1569,) and Ducini
+(1711,) who have written books, of which the object, as they are in
+Latin, is not assuredly what there is too much reason to believe it
+_is_, when such books are now presented to the world. Of the waters,
+(which, like those of Bath, contain minute portions of silex and oxide
+of iron,) the temperature differs at the different establishments--and
+there are three; 43° Reaumur is assigned as the highest, and 35° 24'
+to two others.
+
+We were stranded at this pleasant place of endurable ennui for three
+long months, during which there was no going out from nine to five
+P.M. Our society afforded little resource, our reading less. When the
+weather permitted--that is, in the delicious, incomparable month of
+October--we made little excursions to Barga, Ponte Nero, &c. &c., and
+always returned delighted; nor were our walks of shorter distance
+unproductive of interest. The Lucchese are the most industrious people
+in the world, and their agriculture made us, _pro tempore_, amateurs
+of rural economy. We will not bore the reader with _Georgics_ such as
+ours; but if he will accept, in place of picture galleries and
+churches, the "_quid faciat lætas segetes_" of this far from miserable
+population, we will cheerfully take him with us in our walks.
+
+
+AGRICULTURE ROUND LUCCA.
+
+The _bearded_ wheat, or _triticum_, not the _siligo_, or common wheat
+of our English culture, was the plant which, whenever the attributes
+of Ceres were to be represented on ancient coins, was selected for
+that purpose; but the Lucchese territory, where the _Cerealia_ in
+general abound, offers few specimens of either kind. These productions
+seem afraid of their _ears_ in the neighbourhood of the _Great Turk_,
+who is the great tyrant here, and, together with the rice, monopolizes
+three-fourths of all the land devoted to the culture of grain; the
+_millet_ (_miglio_,) the _panixa_ (_panico_,) Indian wheat (_sagena_,)
+together with the lupins, and a variety of peas, beans, and lentiles,
+occupy the remainder. "The Great Turk is a great eater, is he not?"
+"Yes," replied the peasant who cultivated him, "_mangia come
+Cristiano_,"--he eats like a Christian all he can get out of the
+ground; only, the more he gets the better he looks for it--which is
+not always the case with Christians. There are two kinds of _Gran
+Turco_, or _maize_; that sown in May is of rather better quality than
+the other, and produces on an average 10 lbs. more per sack in weight
+than that which is sown afterwards in June. In order to secure a good
+crop, it is necessary that the ground should be well manured with
+lupins, which are either grown for this single purpose the year
+before, and left to rot, or boiled to prevent their germination, and
+then scattered over the field. The Grand Turk commonly carries but one
+head on his shoulders, but occasionally we have remarked two or more
+on the same stem. In the year 1817, the sack (160 lbs.) fetched
+fifty-eight pauls; while wheat was seventy-eight, and even the
+chestnut flour sold at fifty; so that, even in the Lucchese territory,
+they have their approach to famine in bad years.
+
+
+SAGENA.
+
+Pliny mentions the _Sagena_, under the name of Saracenic millet, as a
+thing which came from India, and was first brought into Italy in his
+own time. Herodotus speaks of its cultivation by the Babylonians. The
+Saracens used it in the fourteenth century for making bread, as do the
+Lucchese to this day; it is, however, lightly esteemed, and not used
+at all when other corn abounds, but thrown into the hencoop to fatten
+poultry. It is a beautiful thing to see the high jungle of this most
+elastic plant bending to the breeze, and displaying, as it moves, its
+beaded top, looking at a distance like so many flowers; but, when seen
+nearer, exhibiting _racemes_ (on highly polished stems) of small
+pedunculated berries, in mitre-looking capsules. When the seed has
+been shaken from the plant, the tops are brought together, and form
+those excellent besoms which, throughout southern Europe, supply the
+place of birch-broom, than which they are more elastic, not so
+brittle, and much cleaner. The ultimate fibrils of this plant are
+sometimes sold in little bundles for the purpose of being slit, and
+receiving the small Neapolitan firework called _gera foletti_, which
+scintillates like a fire-fly. Other kinds of millet and pannick are
+also grown here; care being taken to plant them far from the vine and
+mulberry, as they make considerable demands on the soil. Rice is said
+to have constituted the sole aliment of the republicans of early Rome,
+and it is still largely cultivated in many parts of Italy. In the
+low-land about Viareggio, it monopolizes the ground almost as much as
+the Grand Turk in the more interior parts of the country.
+
+
+LUPINS
+
+Lupins are largely cultivated, both for their own intrinsic value, and
+to induce the growth of other plants. "We are bitter," say the Lupins
+in an Italian work on agriculture; "but we enrich the earth which
+lacks other manure, and by our bitterness kill those insects which, if
+not destroyed, would destroy our successors in the soil. You owe much,
+O husbandmen! to us Lupins."
+
+
+HEMP.
+
+Invaluable plant--pride of intelligent agriculture--that tendest thine
+own fibre--and strength to him that rightly cultivates thee--and
+constitutest the greatest element of mechanical power! What does not
+England--the world itself--owe to that growth which we now
+contemplate! Armies are encamped within thy walls--thou towest forth
+the ship of discovery on her venturous way, and carriest man and his
+merchandise to the Equator and to the Pole! Vain were the auspicious
+breeze unless it blew upon thy opening sails; and what were the
+sheet-anchor, but for that cable of thine which connects it with the
+ship. Vegetable iron! incomparable hemp! Extemporaneous memory can
+scarcely follow thy services. Talk of the battering-ram--but what
+propelled it forward? The shot, whizzing in the teeth of adverse
+winds, carries thy _coil_ to snatch the sailor from the rock where he
+stands helpless and beyond aid from all the powers or productions of
+man and nature but thine! Thy ladder, and thine alone, can rescue from
+the house on fire! Look at the fisheries all over the world--the
+herrings of Scotland and the cod of the Baltic might defy us but for
+thee. What were wells and windlasses without thee? useless as
+corkscrews to empty bottles. Thou art the strong arm of the pulley and
+the crane. Gravitation itself, that universal tyrant, had bound all
+things to the earth but for thy opposition. The scaffolds were thine
+from which grew the _Colosseum_, and the Pyramids have arisen in thine
+arms. The kite of science, which went cruising among thunder-clouds to
+bring down to a modern Prometheus the spark which ignites the storm,
+was held by fibres of thine. The _diver_ and the _miner_ cling to thee
+for safety, and they that hunt the wild-bird's egg on the sea-shaken
+cliff, as they swing over the frightful abyss. With the lasso the bold
+Matador, like the _Retiarius_ of the ancient arena, makes the cast
+that is for life. Then the fine arts!--Carrara sends her block for the
+Laocoon by aid of thine; and what were all the galleries in Europe but
+a collection of gilt frames, but for thy backing and support. By thy
+subserviency alone (for what were _panel_ or _laminated copper_ for
+such gigantic works?) did Raffaelle bequeath so many legacies of his
+immortal genius. It is the strength of thy fibres that is the strength
+of the loaded supper-tables of Paul Veronese; and the velvets, the
+furs, the satins of Titian and Vandyke, are quilted upon thee. Nor
+disdainest thou to render to man, who bruises thee to try thy virtue,
+a thousand humbler services. Thou preservest our horses from flies,
+our fruit from birds; and who has not felt how thou cheerest the weary
+length of continental travelling, by the crack of thy whipcord at the
+approach of a new relay?
+
+Here our friend _Anamnesis_ seemed fatigued, as if he thought he had
+spun a sufficiently _long yarn_ on the subject; so we prevailed on him
+to prosecute the walk, as evening was beginning to close in--not,
+indeed, without apprehension that he would make a stand at several
+other interesting plants on which it might suit him to prelect!
+
+Hemp, when cut, is left to dry for a week; it is then immersed for an
+other week in water; after which it is flayed of its skin--a process
+which is conducted either by the hand, leaving the stem in this case
+entire; or by subjecting the whole plant to a bruising process,
+conducted by a machine.
+
+Besides the above-mentioned grain, the ground produces plenty of
+vegetables, but of an inferior quality, as are all Italian fruits, and
+most of the leguminous productions also, from want of care. Even as to
+flowers, you would find it difficult to make up a bouquet, unless of
+ferns, which here abound. The only cultivated flower, except a few
+dahlias and sunflowers, are the yellow petals of the lucchini, a kind
+of vegetable marrow, which creeps and creeps till its twisted tendrils
+and broad leaves occupy, by continual encroachment, the whole field
+where they germinate. Besides the _fruit_ of this plant, which we
+begin to be supplied with about August, its young leaf and stalk are
+boiled like kail for common greens; and its yellow flower, a little
+later, makes a _frittura_, which is in request. Fruits are plentiful,
+and some of them good; but, for the greater part, of a very inferior
+quality. Strawberries, and particularly raspberries, (_lampóni_,) are
+found throughout the season; which, commencing with these, and a
+scanty supply of currants and gooseberries, (the latter very poor
+indeed, and the first quite inferior to our own,) brings us fine figs
+of many species and in vast quantities. Apples and pears have their
+kinds, and many distinctive names, but are without flavour. The great
+supply of the raspberry and small Alpine strawberry is about midsummer
+The next-door-hood of all the _Scotch_ families is now fragrant, "on
+all lawful days," with the odour of boiling down fruit for jams and
+marmalades for winter consumption. As autumn comes on, heaps of
+watermelons, piled like cannon-balls under the chestnut-trees, display
+their promising purple flesh, and look cooling and desirable, but are
+not to be attempted twice under penalty of gastric inconvenience.
+Plums and nuts abound, and are followed by a second course of hard,
+unripe, and tasteless nectarines and peaches. The season is closing
+fast, for the prickly pods of the ripening chestnut now begin to gape,
+and the indifferent grapes of the district attain their imperfect
+maturity, and are gathered for the wine-press. September is in its
+last week, and in less than another month we must all migrate
+somewhere for the winter. The baths, on the 15th of October, are quite
+empty.
+
+
+TREES.
+
+A good walnut-tree is as good to a poor man as a milk-cow. "I would
+not sell either of those walnut-trees in my garden for thirty scudi
+a-piece," said a peasant to us; and, observing that we looked as if we
+would not like to tempt him, asked us if we had seen the large
+walnut-tree of _Teraglia_, (we had, and had _pic-nicked_ very nearly
+under it,) "because," added he, "the proprietor of _that_ tree refused
+sixty _scudi_ for it last week, _e ha ragione_, for it is a nonpareil.
+A good tree like those in my garden yields me eight _sacks of shelled
+fruit_ on an average every year; and a sack of walnuts fetches from a
+scudo to ten pauls (four shillings and sixpence) in the market. So
+that my trees, between them, bring me in one hundred and sixty pauls
+(_i.e._ Ģ4 English) every year." Indeed! and the chestnut-trees
+opposite? Oh! in this land of chestnut-trees we don't pay _prezzi
+d'affezione_ for them--a good tree standing in the _plain_ may cost
+about eight or ten scudi, and may yield about four sacks of shelled
+fruit in a good year; but it is a capricious tree even in the _plain_;
+while those on the _mountain_, the roots of which derive a precarious
+subsistence from the uncertain soil, are liable to be blown down, and
+are made pollards of at an early age to prevent this mishap; also,
+they are frequently burned down by bonfires kindled under them to
+destroy the furze. The chestnut shoot is only four years old before it
+begins to bear. Three pounds of fresh chestnuts fetch about one
+penny--_dried_, or in flour, about double that price. The peasants
+bake a little cake of the chestnut flour called "_netche_," about the
+thickness of a crimpet, and having much the flavour and appearance of
+potato scones. This paste they bake between two hot stones, with a
+couple of the leaves of the chestnut (dried for the purpose by the
+peasants) interposed. The baking takes scarcely a minute, and the
+cakes are then piled and packed, and sent far and wide. The arms and
+the tops of the chestnuts are made into charcoal, so that no part of
+this important tree is lost. We are here in the very midst of forests
+of chestnut only--far as the eye can reach in every direction, and as
+far as vegetation will go up every mountain side, its grateful green
+forms a pleasing contrast to those gloomy frequenters and favourites
+of the mountain, the sombre pine and dusky olive.
+
+Several fine-sized olive-trees were shown to us for sale, and said to
+be good fruit-bearers, (no olive bears fruit under ten years,) for
+twenty-five scudi per tree. These trees were computed to yield about
+two and a quarter to three sacks of berries; whereof every sack
+yielded a profit of three scudi for one hundred to one hundred and ten
+pounds of oil, which represents about the quantity generally
+expressed. In retail, Lucca oil, at the present moment, is about one
+paul, and olives about three farthings per pound.
+
+
+OAKS.
+
+We observe three kinds of oaks which here both flourish and abound.
+The _Farnia_, the _Querci_, and the _Leccio_--the last evidently a
+corruption of Ilex. The first kind grows with amazing rapidity; in
+twenty years it is a head and shoulders above all the other trees
+which began life with it. It has very long acorns, which are less
+astringent than those of either of the other trees, and very much
+preferred by pigs. A common oak felled for ship timber costs, where it
+stands, from ten to fourteen scudi, and they are in great request for
+the Leghorn market.
+
+
+INSECTS.
+
+Insects do not greatly abound in the neighbourhood about Lucca. Even
+the mosquito winds his horn less frequently in our valley, than his
+universality elsewhere would lead you to expect. Our beds are free
+from bugs, and fleas are not very troublesome. Of the out-of-doors
+insects, those which live upon the vegetable kingdom are not very
+numerous, nor of much variety. The _Cassida_, who rejoices in lettuce,
+brings up his family in other districts where the lettuce abounds.
+Wanting the tamarisk, we miss our little _Curculio_, who thrives upon
+its leaves; and the _Bruchus pisi_, for want of peas, is frequently
+caught in the bean-tops. But the republican armies of ants are
+immense, and the realm of bees is uncircumscribed; as no birds of
+prey, neither the audacious robin, nor the woodpecker, tapping away on
+the hollow beech-tree, diminish their hordes. But if the fowls of the
+air be few, the nets of entomologists abound. _Slaters_ of an immense
+kind, and spotted, and small mahogany-coloured _Blattidæ_, are found
+under stones, which also conceal hordes of predatory _beetles_ and
+_scorpions_, which bristle up at you as you expose them; and nests of
+tiny _snakes_, that coil and cuddle together, from the size of
+crowquills to the thickness of the little finger. During June and
+July, the monotonous _Cicadæ_ spring their rattles in the trees
+around, and one comes at last even to like their note, in spite of its
+sameness. A little later, flies and wasps send their buzzing progeny
+into our dining-rooms, to tease us over our dessert, like troublesome
+children: at the same period, some of the larger families of
+_Longicorns_ abound, and one of them, _Hamaticherus moschatus_, musks
+your finger if you lay hold of him. In the July and August evenings,
+fire-flies scintillate on a thousand points around you, and swarm
+along the hedges, lighting each other to bed, till about midnight,
+which is their curfew; for you seldom meet one of these
+lantern-bearers later, though you may still, in returning from a late
+party, be stopped with momentary admiration at beholding a magnificent
+glow-worm burning her tail away at a great rate, and lighting up some
+dark recess unvisited by star or moon, herself a star, and giving
+sufficient light to enable you to read the small print of a newspaper
+a foot off! But who shall attempt to describe his first acquaintance
+with the fire-fly! We have seen birthday illuminations in London and
+in Paris; we have seen the cupola of St Peter's start into pale yellow
+light, as the deepening shadows of night shrouded all things around;
+we have seen the Corso, on _Moccoletti_ night, a long fluctuating line
+of ever renewed light, from the street to the fourth story--an
+illumination _sui generis_, and "beautiful exceedingly;" but noise and
+confusion are around all these as you approach them. But, oh! to
+plunge suddenly into an atmosphere filled with _Lucciole_ in the quiet
+gloaming of an Italian sky, amidst the olive groves and plantations of
+Indian corn, with no noise but the drowsy hum of the huge _stag
+beetle_, (the only patrole of the district,) or the yet fainter sounds
+of frogs complaining to each other of the sultriness of the night, or
+the monotonous hymn, at the peasant's door, addressed to the Virgin!
+Your first impression is unmixed delight--your next, a wish probably
+that you could introduce the fire-fly into England. Could one empty a
+few hatfuls along Pall-Mall or Bond Street, on opera nights, what an
+amazement would seize the people! We swept them up into the crown of
+our hat, and could not get enough of them; then we set them flying
+about our room, putting out the lights and shutting the shutters; and
+then we caught them, and began to look more closely at the sources of
+our delight, and to examine the acts and deeds of these wonderful
+little creatures. As to the light itself, we soon perceived that, in
+reality, the fire-fly emitted it from _two sources_; for, besides his
+_steady_ light, which never varied, there came, we saw, at intervals,
+flicks or sparks of far greater brilliancy, like the revolving light
+of the beacon on the sea-shore, only that the light here was never
+wholly eclipsed, but merely much abated. We soon perceived, too, that
+those sudden jets of light came and went at vastly IRREGULAR
+intervals; sometimes in very quick succession, sometimes less
+frequently--from which observation, we concluded that this
+dispensation of his rich endowment did not proceed from any motion of
+the _fluids_ in the animal economy, analogous to our own
+circulation--it being far too irregular and inconstant to depend on
+any such regulated movement. On removing the head of a _Lucciola_,
+this intermitting light _immediately_ ceased; but the other--the
+permanent, steady, and equable light--remained unchanged, and was not
+extinguished for from _sixty to seventy hours after the death of the
+insect_, unless the body was immersed in oil or alcohol, which
+extinguished it presently. We found, that though oil and alcohol
+quickly extinguished the light, it became suddenly much brighter when
+fading, by plunging the insect into hot water; but we did not find
+that it could be restored when it had once _entirely_ ceased, by this
+or any other means, as some French naturalists have affirmed; and as
+to its exploding a jar of hydrogen, as others have written, we
+disbelieve it, because the temperature of the insect is far too low.
+We think, then, for the present, that there are two distinct
+repositories, or two different sources, of light in the fire-fly; and
+that while _one_ depends on the _head_, and is a strictly _vital
+phenomenon_, the other is altogether independent of any physiological
+law of the nervous or circulating system.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+We have a great respect for _ants_; but we do not go the length of
+some of their historians, or believe them to be, any more than
+ourselves, _infallible_. We have seen a laborious ant (_magni Formica
+laboris_) tugging a snail-shell (for some reason only known to
+himself) up a hill, stopping to take breath, and going cheerily to
+work again till he had nearly accomplished his ascent, and found
+himself on the very edge of its summit. Here he has been surrounded by
+friends, officious busy-bodies, who, _intending_ no doubt to help him,
+have got _into_ the shell, in place of lending him a hand, till their
+added load was too much, and the unfortunate ant has been obliged to
+loose its hold and let them go, shell and all! Then off they would
+send, very much frightened no doubt at the overturn; while he, having
+remained stationary a moment as if to watch its results, takes his
+resolution, and proceeds on his journey without his load. In brushing
+the grass for insects, we have constantly found that the ants, _with
+their mouths full_, fight with each other, or with their brother
+captives, and are quite unaware of their bondage. For while most other
+insects, on opening the net, are glad to escape by flying or leaping,
+these will remain as if to secure their booty, and turn even
+misfortunes to account. Often have we watched their battles, which are
+battles indeed!--battles, in which every man of them seems to think
+the day depends on his own courage and activity. We have never been
+able to make out which were the best battalions of these variously
+coloured troops; for all of them fight to the death, and _show no
+quarter_. We have seen on some large tree the ants running up and
+down, and picking off individual enemies from a horde of smaller kind
+and reddish colour below. We have occasionally knocked off one or two
+of the giants, who, falling alive into the midst of their enemies,
+were surrounded, spread-eagled, trampled upon, and either lacerated to
+death, or killed by their own _formic acid_, in a very short space of
+time indeed. We have seen all this and marvelled; but we were never
+sufficiently in the confidence of either the invaders or the invaded
+to know their motives for fighting. It could not be for territory, for
+they had all the world before them; it could not be for food, for they
+were full.
+
+We never could make out why flies seem _fond of walking over dead
+spiders_; for we will not impute to them our unworthy feelings of
+enduring hatred and hostility. That insects had no brains in their
+heads to direct and guide their progressive movements, or form focuses
+for their passions, had long ago to us been plain. Besides all that we
+once committed ourselves by writing on the subject, we have done many
+other cruel things; such as dividing insects, (whether at the union of
+the head with corselet, or of the corselet with the abdomen,) and we
+have found that the segments to which the members were articulated
+carried on their functions _without the head_. The Elytra would open
+the wings, and the legs would move, as by association they had moved
+in the perfect insect. The guidance of the head was destroyed, yet the
+legs pushed the abdomen and corselet on; so that a disapproving friend
+had to _divide_ his sympathy, and to _feel for each of the pieces_.
+And what appeared to us worthy of remark was, that whereas, when a
+snake was decollated, it was only the tail that continued to
+wriggle--when a _worm_ was divided, _all_ the segments writhed in the
+same way, and manifested an equal irritability; showing the difference
+between creatures of annulated structure, according as they have or
+have not a _brain_. A new argument against the brain as the organ of
+sensation, was afforded to us by the conduct of many insects of
+voracious propensities. We took _locusts_ and _grilli_; we held them
+by their wings, and we presented them _with their own legs_ for
+dinner; and on our veracity we can affirm, that on no single occasion
+did the animal fail to seize his foot; and having demolished the toes
+and the tibia, with all the meat upon it, proceed to demolish up to
+the very end of the _trochanter_! Nor were they more tender of their
+own _antennæ_, of which, when we had duly convinced a sceptical
+friend, he exclaimed--It _seems impossible_; but _there is no doubting
+the fact_!
+
+Insects (who would have thought it?) lose a great deal by insensible
+transpiration; from one-tenth to one-quarter of their whole weight, as
+we have abundantly ascertained by series of experiments, for which we
+have the tables to show. A very interesting fact respecting the
+difference of irritability of insects from that of the higher animals,
+is this: the temperature of man and the mammalia is in health always
+the same, and varies very inconsiderably in disease. _External_ heat
+and _external_ cold do not produce a blood, in man, warmer at the
+equator than at the pole. This is not the case with insects, whose
+mean temperature may be about 80°; but the thermometer inserted into
+their bodies may be made to _rise_ or _fall_ by bringing any cold or
+warm body in contact with their external surface. You may thus sink
+the temperature of an insect to 50° or raise it to 100°, and the
+insect continue alive. This is a very curious fact, and shows the
+inaccuracy of Hunter's description or definition of _life_--"That it
+was _that_ which _resisted_ the physical agency of cold and heat."
+Insectorum duorum (e genere Cantharidum) in coitu deprehensorum,
+extincto a nobis uno, alterum per dies plures, nullo alio quām
+organorum sexus vinculo sibi adstrictum, amicæ suæ corpus sursum et
+deorsum trahentem, mirantes vidimus!--_Spanish_ flies, you
+exclaim!--as if he had not taken a dose of his own powder; but after
+the joke is over, we think this is another _poser_ for the advocates
+of insect intelligence. We found that if either of two insects was
+destroyed in coition, that state was not interrupted for two or three
+days. The insects on which are observed this remarkable circumstance,
+were the _Cantharis oclemero_, and some others. Spanish flies, you
+will say? That accounts for it; but at present we are not mystifying
+our indulgent readers.
+
+
+SHOOTING FISH.
+
+Long before the middle of September we are frequently startled, before
+we have proceeded a hundred yards, by the popping of guns amongst the
+vineyards and chestnut woods, but more frequently in the direction of
+the stream that winds along our valley--and the sight of one or two of
+the chasseurs on the road may well surprise any not accustomed to the
+sports of the Lucchese.--Here are two of them, each with a gun on his
+shoulder, coming up the stream. One has shot three four-ounce dace,
+which dangle by his side; the other has a bag full of _small fry_,
+shot as they frisked about in shoals near the water's edge! an ounce
+of _sand_ exploded to receive about the same amount of fish! The man
+who has shot the dace is proud of his exploit, and keeps turning them
+round and round to gauge their dimensions, as if they were partridges!
+Don't think, however, they have killed off all the fish of the stream.
+Besides that string of four-ounce dace, we have every now and then a
+sample of barbel and trout. One man has purchased the monopoly of the
+fishery within two miles, and for which he pays twelve crowns by the
+year. He sells his trout at two, and two and a half, pauls per pound,
+and we should have thought that he made a good thing of it; but they
+lose their fish: the torrents come and empty the holes, and they have
+nothing for it but to stock them again--an event which, he assured me,
+frequently took place. Besides, fly-rods and flies have been
+introduced by an English shopkeeper, and there is no legal provision
+against them.
+
+
+OWLS.
+
+There comes a man with an owl in a basket and another tied by the leg
+on a pole covered with red cloth; another accompanies him with a
+bundle of reeds, through which a rod runs, smeared all the way down
+with birdlime. This apparatus he disposes on a hedge or cover of any
+kind--the little owl (_Civetta_) sits opposite on his pole--the birds
+come to tease him, and fly on the birdlime twig, when, if it be a
+sparrow, he is effectually detained by the viscus only--if a
+blackbird, pop at him goes an old rusty gun. "We sometimes catch
+twenty tomtits before breakfast," said a modest-looking sportsman,
+modestly, but not shamefacedly, showing us one thrush and one linnet.
+
+An image-man told me to-day, that after the trade for classical
+models--Apollos and Venuses--had gone out, and nobody would buy, _Tam
+o' Shanter_ and _Souter Johnny_ operated a good _revival_ of the fine
+arts for several months. How much, then, the models from the antique,
+do towards improving our taste! and how absurd to set up institutions
+with the expectation of making the populace other than the gross,
+unideal, matter-of-fact thing it is, and always was, no doubt, even in
+Athens itself!
+
+
+THE IMPROVISATORE.
+
+We heard one of these monsters last night. The arena for his
+exhibition might, but for the known liberality of society, be thought
+objectionable--being none other than the English place of worship. But
+_tout est sain aux sains_--or _aux saints_, if you please. Charity
+covereth many sins; and if there be a place upon earth where charity
+reigns, it is at what you call _watering-places_. Pindar was right,
+[Greek: ariston men hudôz]. If we were enquired of, and propitiated
+by a fee, as to the effects of the waters here, we should give it as
+our opinion that they act directly on the _picrochole_, or bitter
+principle of bile, and carry it, soft as milk, through the duodenal
+passages. Our Improvisatore has, we understand, been six times
+_painted_, (we know not what saloons are so fortunate as to possess
+his portrait,) but we believe he has not been described. When we saw
+him, his hair danced wildly over his shoulders, as if electrified: he
+had a quick eye, and wore enviably well-fitting ducks: his neck,
+besides supporting his head and all its contents, supported an
+inextricable labyrinth of gold chains; from every buttonhole of his
+waistcoat the chains they came in, and the chains they came out, like
+the peripatetic man on the Boulevards who sells them: his gloves,
+well-fitting, and buttoning at the wrist, were of the whitest kid, and
+grasped a yet whiter and highly-scented cambric: his boots shone
+bright with varnish, and his face with self-complacency. As the room
+filled, he went round, giving the girls permission to write _subjects_
+on bits of waste (wasted!) paper, which set them _thinking_ at a great
+rate. Presently, a second circuit round the room, to collect the
+orders payable at sight--a title such as the _Lucciola_, _Italia_,
+_The Exile_, _Woman's Love_, _Man's Ingratitude_; after which he
+proceeds to fold up and puts them into a large glass vessel. Presently
+a small hand, properly incited, dives down for a second into the
+interior of the vase, and brings up, between two of its fair, round,
+turquoise-encircled fingers, the scrap of paper. Its pretty owner
+blushes, and timidly announces, "Bellini's Tomb;" _Bellini's Tomb_ is
+buzzed about the room. At this juncture the Duke, who has been
+_expected_, sends a messenger to announce that we are not to wait for
+him--a sly fellow the Duke! The bard now concentrates himself for
+inspiration, but begs us to talk on, and not mind him. While he waits
+for the _afflatus divinus_, and consults the muses--and in fact his
+eyes soon begin to betray _possession_--he passes his hand over his
+parturient forehead, while the _os magno sonaturum_ is getting ready;
+the labour-pains are evidently on him; he hurls back his hair, and
+fixes his eyes upon the moon, (who has been looking at _him_ for
+several minutes through the window opposite.) Full of her influence,
+and not knowing there is such a place as Bedlam in the world, he
+starts upon his legs, makes two or three rapid strides up and down the
+room, like a lion taking exercise, or a lord of council and session in
+Scotland preparing to pronounce sentence, and means to be delivered
+(mercy on us!) exactly opposite our chair! All are attentive to the
+godlike man; you might hear a pin drop: the subject is announced once
+and again in a very audible voice; the touch-paper is ignited, the
+magazine will blow up presently! Incontinently we are rapt off to
+_Pčre la Chaise_, where the great composer lies buried, and a form of
+communication is made to us on this suitable spot, that Bellini is
+_dead_; then comes, in episode, a catalogue of all the operas he ever
+wrote, with allusions to each, and not a little vapouring and pathos,
+while a host of heroes and heroines we never before heard of, is let
+loose upon us; presently, a marked pause, and some by-play, makes it
+evident that he sees something, and cannot see what the thing is; he
+shortly, however, imparts to us in confidence, though in a very low
+tone, for fear of disturbing it--he sees, he assures us, a female form
+stealing to the young man's tomb--the form of a widowed lady--who is
+she? _e la sua madre!_ This was startling, no doubt; though we, or
+many of us, were like the cat in Florian, to whom the monkey was
+showing a magic lantern _without a light_, and describing what she
+ought to have seen. Believing her, however, to be there on such good
+authority, we were getting very sorry for Bellini's mother, when we
+were unexpectedly relieved, by finding it was only a bit of
+make-believe; for it was now divulged, _che questa madre che piangea
+il suo figlio_, was not in fact his personal mother, but "_Italy_"
+dressed up _like_ his mother, and gone to Paris on purpose to weep and
+put garlands on the composer's tomb, amaranth and crocus, and whatever
+else was in season. Thunders of applause--we hope the new chapel is
+insured!-for the _assiduo ruptæ lectore columnæ_ is as old as
+earthquake in Italy. He now mopped his forehead, and prepared for a
+new effort. The English girls are already in raptures, and their
+Italian masters, sitting by, "ride on the whirlwind and direct the
+storm." The next subject which destiny assigned to him, and inflicted
+on us, was _The Exile_. A nicely manured field or common place to sow
+and reap on--and what a harvest it yielded accordingly!--the dear
+friends! the dear native hill! the honour of suffering for the truth!
+(political martyrdom!) the mother that bore him--(and a good deal
+besides)--his helpless children! (a proper number for the
+occasion,)--all these fascinating themes were dwelt on, one by one,
+till, moved apparently at our emotion, he dropt his menacing attitude,
+and, mitigating his voice, assumed a resigned demeanour, of which many
+of his audience had long since set him the example. He began to look
+down mournfully, whereas he had a minute ago looked up fiercely--a
+smile, to the relief of the young ladies, stole over his countenance,
+and having thrice shaken his head to dispel whatever gloomy thoughts
+might still be lingering there, he carried us to the Exile's return,
+which brought of course the natal soil and a second service of the
+mother, sire, and son, with the addition of a dog, a clump of trees, a
+church, and a steeple. He compresses between his hands the yielding
+cambric into a very small space, his body is fixed, his legs are
+slightly apart, his head wags, like a wooden mandarin's, with thoughts
+too big for utterance, till the moment arrives for the critical start,
+then, "_Duplices tendens ad sidera palmas_," he becomes quite
+Virgilian. The unfurled cambric flutters to the breeze of his own
+creation, and coruscations of white kid and other white materials pass
+and repass before our eyes. He gives vent to his emotions in tears,
+after a reasonable indulgence in which, as he cannot (as Tilburina's
+_confidante_ very properly observes) stay crying there all night, he
+gradually comes right again. Besides all which, it is eight o'clock,
+and he has still to _do_, and we to _suffer_, _Napoleon_--whose ashes
+were just then being carried to Paris, as we had read in all the
+papers of last week. Glad were we when they reached the _Octroi_, and
+when the indulgent _Barričre_ passed them with all the honours of the
+_Douane_. An old lady has twice yawned, and many would follow her
+example, but that the performer fascinates his audience by staring at
+them--like the boa at the poor bird in the wood--and frightens them to
+their seats for a few minutes longer. At length one _resolute_ chair
+moves; two others are out of the ranks; new centres of movement are
+establishing; several shawls are seen advancing to the door. The rout
+is complete, there will be no rally, and the efforts of the artist
+have been _crowned_ (one hundred and fifty scudi) with success. We
+meet him every where. He honours our table-d'hôte daily, where he
+stays an hour and a half to bait--after which we see him lounging in
+the carriage of some fair _compatriote_ with herself and daughters. If
+we are paying a morning visit, in he comes, "glissarding it" into the
+drawing-room, and bowing like a dancing-master; nor does he disdain to
+produce a small book of testimonials, in which the subscribers have
+agreed to give him a poetic _character_, and compare him to a torrent,
+to a nightingale, to an eagle, to an avalanche. They who love flattery
+as a bee loves honey, are all captivated, and almost make love to him.
+Their albums are rich in the spoils of his poetry, and she is happy
+who, by her blandishment, can detain him in conversation for five
+minutes. Yet they own they understand less than half of what he says.
+Vexed with _one_ to whom we were talking, we thought rationally, for
+permitting herself to be "so pestered by a popinjay,"--"He _is_ so
+clever," was the reply; "such an odd creature, too. I wish you knew
+him. He is in such a strange humour to-night. Do you know he tells me
+he wishes to marry an English girl? See! he is gone into the balcony
+yonder to look at the moon." To be sure he was. He came back looking
+somewhat wild, and, walking in like a modern Prometheus, down he sits,
+and the new inspiration is presently bespoken for the fly page of
+virgin scrap-book. Smoothly flows the immortal verse, without care,
+correction, or halt, for the lines are the result of power that works
+unerringly, (Pope _blotted_ most disgracefully,) and goes right
+_ahead_. The precious _morceau_ is concluded, and the improvisatore's
+name appears in a constellation of zig-zags.
+
+
+TABLES D'HÔTES--MR SNAPLEY.
+
+Did you never meet Mr Snapley?--Mr Snapley was the greatest of
+bores--he bored holes in your self-complacency, and riddled your
+patience through and through; to put up with him was hard, to put him
+down was impossible, (your long tolerated nuisance of fifty is always
+incorrigible.) His bore was surprising considering the smallness of
+his calibre; like a meagre gimlet, he would drill a small hole in some
+unimportant statement, and then gather up his _opima spolia_, and
+march off to the sound of his own trumpet. For instance, on convicting
+you of assigning a fine picture to a wrong church or gallery, he
+denied all your pretensions to judge of the picture itself. He had a
+reindeer's length of tongue, (how often did we wish it salted and
+dried!) and the splutter of words it sent forth, took off, as often
+happens, sufficient observation of the miserably small stock of ideas
+that he had to work upon. He enjoyed, as we all do, the blameless
+pleasure of dining out as often as he could; when, though he did not
+consume all the provisions, he would willingly have taken possession
+of the whole of the talk, (_that_ being his notion of a conversation.)
+When one had to dine at the same table with him, one contrived to take
+up a position as remote as possible from the interruption of his thin,
+wiry, ill-modulated voice--the _false_ suavity of which in saying
+impertinent things was really so disagreeable, that one would have
+renounced the society of wit or beauty on the right hand, rather than
+have been flanked by Mr Snapley on the _left_, and thankfully have
+accepted the companionship, _pro hac vice_, of the plainest woman or
+the dullest man of the party, to be only completely out of his reach.
+Your _soup_ you _might_ take in peace, for he was at this time
+studying the composition of the party, and the chances of endurance or
+resistance inscribed on the countenance of the guests; but the moment
+an opportunity occurred of correcting or cavilling with any of those
+unprecise and generally unchallenged observations, the interruption of
+which is at the cost of the quietness of the repast, Mr Snapley's
+voice was heard! You were too glad, of course, to give up the trifling
+point out of which he had raised a discussion; but the earliest
+concession never saved you, nor did you ever afterwards escape the
+consciousness that he was still hovering like a harpy over the
+tablecloth, and ready to fall foul of you again. Let the subject be
+what it might, you had only to make a remark in his presence, and
+without his permission, to _insure_ its contradiction. "What a
+needless annoyance in travelling it is for a family to be stopped by
+douaniers, only to extort money for _not_ doing a duty which would be
+absurd if _done_!" "Why, really I don't see that," &c. &c. "What a
+plague it is to send your servant (a whole morning's work) from one
+subaltern with a queer name, to another, for a lady's ticket to
+witness any of the functions at the Sistine!" Well, it did appear to
+him the simplest thing in the world; it was ten times more troublesome
+to see any thing in London! "What a nuisance it is on quitting an
+Italian city, to find the passport which has already given you so much
+trouble only available for _three_ days, leaving you liable to be
+stopped at the gate, if sickness or accident have made you transgress
+even _by an hour_!" "Why, it is _your own fault_, it is _so easy_ to
+get it _viséd again_ overnight." All these impertinencies were only
+[Greek: pidakos ex hieręs oligę libas]. Besides all this, Mr Snapley
+was a miserable monopolizer of pompously advanced nothings. He would
+not willingly suffer any other man's goose to feed upon the common--he
+cared for nobody but himself, and every thing that was or he esteemed
+to be _his_--his very joints were worked unlike those of another
+man--he must have had a set of _adductors_ and _abductors_, of
+_flexors_ and _extensors_, on purpose. He was stiff, priggish,
+precise, when he addressed any gentleman with light hair and an
+_English complexion_; but let him approach any foreign buttonhole with
+a bit of riband in it, then worked he the muscles of his face into
+most grotesque expression of interest or pleasure--(_Tunc immensa cavi
+spirant mendacia folles!_)--and you had a famous display of grimace
+and deferential civility, in bad French or worse Italian. We have seen
+him sneering and leering as he made his way round a drawing-room at an
+evening party, and bowing like a French perruquier to some absurd fool
+of a foreigner; and we have seen him, a minute after, holding up his
+head and cocking his chin in defiance, if an English voice approached.
+When any of us ventured to criticise _any thing foreign_, he was up in
+arms, and cock-a-hoop for the climate, the customs, the constitution!
+He sneered awfully at a simple _gaucherie_, but, to make amends, had
+ever an approving wink for the meanest _irreverence_; any intellect,
+however feeble, being secure of his praise if it only tried to thwart
+the end for which it was given. When not _talking_ about himself,
+which was seldom, he was evidently _occupied_ about his _personel_,
+with which he was obviously satisfied. If you talked of books, he
+settled for you, in laconic sentences, works of acknowledged
+merit--put down men of uncontested superiority--but women of title and
+tainted reputation, if they would but ask him to their parties,
+became at once his favourites and his oracles. He cunningly contrives
+to get a good artist's opinion on works of art, and debits it as his
+own--a proceeding which makes Mr Snapley _sometimes_ formidable in
+sculpture and in painting. As to other topics, on which educated men
+and accomplished women converse, he would fain be as profound as
+_Locke_ with the one, and as gallant as _Fontenelle_ with the other.
+For ourselves, who meet him but too often, we would as soon approach
+without necessity a huxter's mongrel growling under his master's cart,
+as venture near enough to examine all the small-wares of one who
+"hates coxcombs," and is the very prince of fops; laughs at pedants,
+and only wants a _little more learning_ to attempt the character; with
+whom no repetition of familiar acts can reconcile you, and to whom no
+number of dinners can conquer your repugnance.----_Did_ you ever meet
+Mr Snapley? We are sure you must--the Snapleys are a very old
+family--you may generally know them by the _nez retroussé_, (which our
+acquaintance, however, had not.) We never knew but _one_ good-natured
+man with a _nez retroussé_, and he was, if ever man was--a
+philanthropist. Generally, however, _beware_ of the _nez retroussé_
+except in women--you know its interpretation _chez elles_;--and if you
+do, (on second thoughts,) still beware.
+
+
+HINTS FOR DOCTORS.
+
+_Esquilias_, dictumque petunt a _Vimine_ collem--JUV.
+
+* * * "I observed a gentleman in black," said our informant, "who
+seemed to fix me across the table-d'hôte, at dinner, in a way which
+soon showed me I was an object of interest to him. It was very odd! We
+were not in Austria! I could not have offended the police--nor in
+Spain, the Inquisition. If I _took_ of a particular dish, his eye was
+on me again. They _did_ use to _poison_ people in Italy, but it was in
+the fifteenth century, and all the Borgias were gone! What could it
+mean? The very waiters seemed to watch the man in black, and signals
+of intelligence seemed to pass between them as they went their rounds
+with the dishes. After thus meeting the eye of the unknown at
+intervals for more than an hour, when the table was beginning to
+clear, I rose, and limped out of the room as well as my complaints
+would let me, and was sauntering a few steps from the door, when judge
+of my terror on turning round, to find him of the black coat at my
+elbow! "In pain, sir, I see." All my alarm ceased in a moment. It was
+pure philanthropy which had made me an object of so much interest.
+"Yes, sir, in great pain." "_You should take care of yourself, sir._
+Rheumatic, are you not?" "Very rheumatic." "Well, sir, you have come
+to the best place in the world for rheumatism. The air, the water, and
+proper treatment, will soon set you up." "Your report is encouraging;
+but I have suffered too long to hope much." "Well, at any rate, sir,
+let us not talk over your interesting case in this heat. Come and put
+your feet up on a chair in my rooms, and we will drink a glass of
+soda-water to your better health." What a kind-hearted man I had met
+with, and how kind Providence is to us! I now ventured to ask him his
+name. "My name is Dr ----; and now, my dear friend, just tell me your
+whole case from the very beginning down to now, for I am really
+interested in you." I told my case. "Put out your tongue." "Brown," we
+thought we heard him say. "Wrist--pulse not amiss--but you _require
+care, sir! you require care!_ Clear case for the medicine I gave so
+successfully last week." Finding myself thus fallen into professional
+hands _without intending it_, I said something introductory to the
+mention of a fee. "True, I was _forgetting_ that; when one takes a
+proper interest in one's case, and hopes to do good, fees are the last
+thing one thinks of--two scudi if you please." So I found myself
+immediately booked in a small memorandum-book, and constituted his
+patient. Now came civil promises to introduce me, &c. &c. &c., and I
+took my leave delighted. It is almost needless to say, that in a very
+short time I found that my acquaintance had, like so many more,
+commenced physician on the soil of Italy. What will become of London
+if all her apothecaries desert her at this rate? For ourselves,
+reflecting on the accomplishments of many of these patriotic men,
+their learning, their modesty, their disinterestedness, we have often
+had a twinge of the philanthropic extorted by the loss inflicted on
+our native city--she may come to want a doze of julap, and have nobody
+to mix it!--and have said to ourselves, as we have looked more than
+one of these worthies in the face, [Greek: Ô alein Athęnai, Pallados
+th'ôrismata, Oion steręsesth andros]!
+
+One day after dinner a little bit of gold rolled over the table to the
+doctor, from a bluff-looking gentleman opposite--it was well
+aimed--"There, doctor! _there's your fee_; but don't you begin again
+prating a parcel of stuff to my wife about her complaints--she is
+quite well--and if you frighten her into illness, take notice, you
+will get a different sort of fee next time!" All this, half joke, half
+earnestly, must have been very agreeable to the guests."
+
+
+PRIVATE MUSIC PARTY.
+
+Let us try to describe the last musical party at which we assisted. A
+scramble amid piles of unbound music; the right _cahier_ found,
+snatched up, and opened at the well-thumbed solo with which she has
+already contended for many a long hour, and now hopes to execute for
+our applause. Alas! the piano sounds as if it had the pip; the
+paralytic keys halt, and stammer, and tremble, or else run into each
+other like ink upon blotting paper, and the pedals are the only part
+of the instrument which do the work for which they were intended. We
+should be sorry that our favourite dog had his paw between them and
+the lady's slipper. The dust which succeeds the concerto proves
+satisfactorily that it is possible to be frisky without being lively;
+its vulgarity is so pronounced that it offends you like low
+conversation. Another concerto follows--ten folio pages! whew!!----Oh,
+ye ebony and ivory devils! oh, for an exorcist to put you to
+flight! Cramped fingers are crossing each other at a great rate; we
+really tremble for the glue, and the pegs, and the wires, and the
+whole economy of the instrument, at that critical juncture when the
+performers arrive at a piece of mysterious notation, where a great
+many tadpole-looking figures are huddled together under a black
+rainbow. At such a "passage" as this, it seems one would think the
+house were on fire, and no time to be lost; the black mittens and the
+white now _Rob-Royishly_ invade each other's territory; each snatches
+up something and carries it off, like the old marauders of the Border
+country; and reprisals are made, and lines of discord and dissonance
+are establishing, which require the police, the magistrate, and the
+riot act. Bravo! bravo! bravo! and the battle ceases, and the _babble_
+commences. Place for the foreign train, the performers _par métier!_
+Full of confidence are they; amidst all their smiles and
+obsequiousness, there is a business air about the thing. As soon as
+the pianist has asked the piano how it finds itself, and the piano has
+intimated that it is pretty well, but somewhat out of tune, a
+collateral fiddler and a violoncello brace up their respective nerves,
+compare notes, and when their drawlings and crookings are in unison, a
+third piece of music of indefinite duration, and as it seems to us all
+about nothing, begins. Our violinist is evidently not long come out,
+and has little to recommend him--he employs but a second-rate tailor,
+wears no collar, dirty mustaches, and a tight coat; he is ill at ease,
+poor man, wincing, pulling down his coat-sleeves, or pulling up his
+braces over their respective shoulders. His strings soon become moist
+with the finger dew of exertion and trepidation; his bow draws out
+nothing but groans or squeals; and so, in order to correct these
+visceral complaints, a piece of rosin is awkwardly produced from his
+trousers' pocket, and applied to the rheumatic member, with some
+half-dozen brisk rubs in a parenthesis of music. The effect is
+painfully ludicrous!----
+
+I am _sleepy_, _sleepy_, begins the piano! Sleepy, sleepy, _mews_ Mr
+Violin--very, very, very sleepy, drones the drowsy four-stringed
+leviathan. Oh, do try if you can't say something, something, something
+to enliven one a bit! On this hint, the little violin first got
+excited upon one string, and then upon another, and then the bow rode
+a hand-gallop over two at once; then saw we four fingers flying as far
+up the finger-board as they could go, without falling overboard, near
+the _bridge_--a dangerous place at all times from the currents and
+eddies--and there provoking a series of sounds, as if the performer
+were pinching the tails of a dozen mice, that squeaked and squealed as
+he made the experiment. The bow (like the funambulist with the soles
+of his slippers fresh chalked) kept glancing on and off, till we hoped
+he would be off altogether and break his neck; and now the least harsh
+and grating of the cords snaps up in the fiddler's face, and a crude
+one is to be applied; and now--but what is the use of pursuing the
+description? Let us leave the old bass to snore away his lethargic
+accompaniment for ten minutes more, and the affair will end. The
+pianist, the Octavius of the triumvirs, thinks it necessary to excuse
+Signor ----, telling us, "He has bad violin, he play like one angel on
+good one"--but hisht, hisht! the evening-star is rising, and we are to
+be repaid, they say, for all we have gone through! Signor * * * is going
+to play. The _maestro_ advances with perfect consciousness of his own
+powers; his gait is lounging, he does not mean to hurry himself, not
+he--his power of abstraction (from the company) is perfect; he is
+going to play in solitude before fifty people, and only for his own
+amusement. He placed himself at least a foot from the piano, his knees
+touching the board, his body rises perpendicularly from the
+music-stool, his head turns for a moment to either shoulder as if he
+were glancing at epaulettes thereon, and then he looks right ahead; he
+neither has nor needs a book; with the wide-extended fingers of both
+hands, down he pounces, like a falcon, on the sleeping keys, which,
+caught by surprise, now speak out and exert all their energies. Those
+keys, which a few minutes ago vibrated so feebly, and spoke so
+inarticulately, now pour forth a continuous swell of the richest
+melody and distinctest utterance. The little wooden parallelograms at
+first seem to be keeping out of their ranks just to see what is going
+on, till, the affair becoming warm, they can no longer stand it, but
+grow excited and take part in the general action. Relying fully on the
+perfect obedience of his light troops, and relaxing a little from his
+erect attitude of command, he gently inclines his body to the left,
+leads his disposable force rapidly upwards in that direction, where,
+having surprised the post against which they were dispatched, he
+recovers his swerve, and they retrace with equal precision and
+rapidity their course from the wings to the centre.
+
+Come, _this_ is playing! This is worth coming to; the instrument seems
+but the organ of the man's own feelings; its mournful tones are only a
+paraphrase of his sighs; its brilliant arabesques are but the playful
+expression of his own delight with every thing and every body! His
+cheek is warm, his eyes sparkle, his hands detonate thunder and
+lightnings from the keys, and he concludes as suddenly as he began;
+the very silence is felt, and the breathless guests, who have watched
+the fingers and been rapt by the tones, now burst forth simultaneously
+in expressions of delight and applause.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+THE RAILWAYS.
+
+
+We read, no later than yesterday, two very pungent leading articles in
+the London daily journals, on the present all-absorbing subject of
+railway speculation. Both writers are evidently well versed in the
+details of the novel system; both possess some smattering of political
+economy, sufficient at least to enable them to form a judgment; and
+both consistent in their data and statistical information. Yet,
+agreeing in these points, it is somewhat singular to find that the
+_Coryphæi_ have arrived at diametrically opposite conclusions. One of
+them is quite clear, that if the present railway _mania_ (as he calls
+it) is permitted to go on unchecked for a short time further, the
+country will not only be on the verge of bankruptcy, but a general
+crash will be inevitable; that, vast as the resources of Britain
+undoubtedly are, she cannot, by any exertion short of crippling her
+staple commercial relations, furnish capital enough for the fulfilment
+of a moiety of the schemes already announced, and thrown into the
+public market; that the fact, which is incontestable, that a large
+proportion of these shares were originally, and are presently, held by
+parties who have no means of paying up the calls, but who are solely
+speculating for the rise, must very soon produce a reaction, and that
+such reaction will be of the absolute nature of a panic. Such are the
+opinions of this writer, who is clearly of the restrictive school. He
+holds, that the government is bound, in such a crisis as that which he
+rather states than prophesies, to interfere at once with an arbitrary
+order, and to prevent the issue of any new schemes until those already
+before the public are either disposed of or exhausted.
+
+How this is to be effected, the writer does not sufficiently explain.
+He points to immediate interference, from which expression we are led
+to believe he points at some such proceeding as an Order in Council,
+to be pronounced during the recess of Parliament. If so, we may
+dismiss this gentleman and his remedy in a very summary manner. Such
+an Order in Council would be worse than useless, because it would be a
+manifest breach of the constitution. As well might an Order be issued
+to close our manufactories, to restrict the amount of any branch of
+produce, or to prevent parties from forming themselves into companies
+for the most blameless and legitimate purpose. It is a strange symptom
+of the credulousness of the age, or rather of the ignorance of the
+people in all matters relating to the science of government, that,
+towards the close of September last, some such rumour was actually
+circulated and believed, though its father was manifestly _a bear_,
+and its birthplace the Stock Exchange. But if this merely is meant,
+that there lies with the Imperial Parliament a controlling and
+interferential power, and that the great estates of the realm may be
+called upon to use it, we do not question the proposition. Whether,
+however, it would be wise to use that power so sweepingly as the
+journalist recommends, or whether, practically, it could be possible,
+are very serious considerations indeed.
+
+But the existence of any evil is denied _in toto_ by the other
+journalist. In the crowded columns of the morning prints, driven to
+supplement and even extra-supplement by the overwhelming mass of
+railway advertisements, he can see no topic of alarm, but "matter for
+high exultation, and almost boundless hope." His belief in
+superabundance of capital, and its annual enormous increment, is fixed
+and steadfast. He considers the railways as the most legitimate
+channel ever yet afforded for the employment of that capital, and the
+most fortunate in result for the ultimate destinies of the country. He
+compares--and very aptly too--the essential difference between the
+nature of the schemes in which the public are now embarking and those
+which led to the disastrous results of 1825. His sole regret is, that
+he must regard the present direction of enterprise, "as an
+opportunity, that is, facility of investment, that from its nature can
+be but temporary, though the profit of the investment must, from the
+nature of things, be perpetual, and though even the temporary facility
+may, and probably will, last for some years." This is a hopeful,
+sunny-minded fellow, with whose aspirations, did our conscience permit
+us, we should be thoroughly delighted to concur.
+
+These writers may be taken as examples of two numerous classes. They
+are, in fact, the Trois Eschelles' and Petit Andrés of the railroads.
+The first consider every commercial exertion consequent on a new
+discovery, or the opening of a new channel for investment, doubtful in
+itself, and highly dangerous if hurriedly and unhesitatingly adopted.
+The social system, in their view, may suffer quite as much from
+plethora as from inanition. Too much blood is as unwholesome as too
+little, notwithstanding of any extraneous means to work it off. "Slow
+and sure," is their motto--"Carpe diem," essentially that of their
+antagonists. And yet in one thing, we believe, most individuals
+holding these opposite opinions will be found to concur. They all
+speculate. Heraclitus signs his contract with a shudder, and trembles
+as he places his realized premium in the bank. Democritus laughingly
+subscribes his name to thousands, and chuckles as he beholds his
+favourite stock ascending in the thermometer of the share-market.
+Heraclitus sells--Democritus holds; and thus the great point of wisdom
+at issue between them, is reduced to a mere question of time.
+
+But it is with their opinions, not their practice, that we have to
+deal. As usual, truth will be found to lie somewhere between two
+opposite extremes. We neither entertain the timid fear of the one
+writer, nor the fearless enthusiasm of the other. The present state of
+matters presents, in a double sense, a vast field of speculation,
+through which we think it necessary to see our way a little more
+clearly. Rash interference may be as dangerous as the principle of
+"_laissez faire_," which in fact is no principle at all, but a blind
+abandonment to chance. Let us, therefore, endeavour to borrow some
+light from the experience of the past.
+
+The desire of growing rapidly rich is a very old epidemic in this
+country. It is a disease which infests the nation whenever capital, in
+consequence of the success of trade and prosperous harvests, becomes
+abundant; nor can it, in the nature of things, be otherwise. Capital
+will not remain unemployed. If no natural channel is presented, the
+accumulated weight of riches is sure to make an outlet for itself; and
+the wisdom or folly of the irruption depends solely upon the course
+which the stream may take. Of false channels which have conducted our
+British Pactolus directly to a Dead Sea, from which there is no
+return--we or our fathers have witnessed many. For example, there were
+the South American and Mexican mining companies, founded on the most
+absurd reports, and miserably mismanaged, in which many millions of
+the capital of this country were sunk. Again, Mr Porter writes so late
+as 1843--"A very large amount of capital belonging to individuals in
+this country, the result of their savings, has of late years sought
+profitable investments in other lands. It has been computed that the
+United States of America have, _during the last five years_, absorbed
+in this manner more than TWENTY-FIVE MILLIONS of English capital,
+which sum has been invested in various public undertakings, such as
+canals, _railroads_, and banks in that country. Large sums have also
+been, from time to time, invested in the public securities of that and
+other foreign governments, not always, indeed, with a profitable
+result." We need hardly remind our readers of the poignant testimony
+of the Rev. Sydney Smith as to the profit derived from such
+investments, or the probable fate of the actual capital under a
+repudiating system.
+
+These may be taken as two great instances of the danger of foreign
+speculation. The capital of the mining companies was squandered with
+no other effect than that of providing employment, for a certain
+number of years, to the lowest of the Mexican peasantry; whereas the
+same amount, applied to a similar purpose in this country, would not
+only have produced a handsome return to the invester, but would have
+afforded work and wages to a considerable portion of the community.
+There is a reciprocity between labour and capital which never ought
+to be forgotten. Labour is the parent of all capital, and capital,
+therefore, should be used for the fostering and assistance of the
+power by which it is produced. Here, however, it was removed, and
+became, to all intents and purposes, as useless and irrecoverable as
+the bullion on board of a vessel which has foundered at sea. This,
+therefore, may be regarded as so much lost capital; but what shall we
+say to the other instance? Simply this--that whoever has lost by the
+failure of American banks, by repudiation, or by stoppages of
+dividends, need not claim one single iota of our compassion. With
+British money has the acute Columbian united state to state by more
+enduring ties than can be framed within the walls of Congress--with
+it, he has overcome the gigantic difficulties of nature--formed a
+level for the western waters where none existed before--pierced the
+interminable forests with his railroads, and made such a rapid stride
+in civilization as the world has never yet witnessed. What of all this
+could he have done on his own resources? Something, we must
+allow--because his spirit of enterprise is great, even to
+recklessness, and a young and forming country can afford to run risks
+which are impossible for an older state--but a very small part,
+unquestionably, without the use of British capital. We cannot, and we
+will not, believe that any considerable portion of these loans will be
+ultimately lost to this country. Great allowance must be made for the
+anger and vexation of the prospective sufferers at the first apparent
+breach of international faith, and it is no wonder if their lament was
+both loud, and long, and heavy. But we think it is but a fair
+construction to suppose that our Transatlantic brethren, in the very
+rapidity of their "slickness," have carried improvement too far, given
+way to a false system of credit among themselves, and so, having
+outrun the national constable, have found themselves compelled to
+suspend payment for an interval, which, in the present course of their
+prosperity, cannot be of long continuance. So at least we, having lent
+the American neither plack nor penny, do in perfect charity presume;
+but in the mean time he has our capital--say now some thirty
+millions--he has used it most thoroughly and judiciously for himself,
+and even supposing that we shall not ultimately suffer, what gain can
+we qualify thereby?
+
+If John Doe hath an estate of some twenty thousand acres in tolerable
+cultivation, which, nevertheless, in order to bring it to a perfect
+state of production, requires the accessaries of tile-draining,
+planting, fencing, and the accommodation of roads, it is quite evident
+that his extra thousand pounds of capital will be more profitably
+expended on such purposes than on lending it to Richard Roe, who has
+double the quantity of land in a state of nature. For Richard, though
+with the best intentions, may not find his agricultural returns quite
+so speedy as he expected, may shake his head negatively at the hint of
+repayment of the principal, and even be rather tardy with tender of
+interest at the term. John, moreover, has a population on his land
+whom he cannot get rid of, who must be clothed and fed at his expense,
+whether he can find work for them or no. This latter consideration,
+indeed, is, in political economy, paramount--give work to your own
+people, and ample work if possible, before you commit in loan to your
+neighbour that capital which constitutes the sinews alike of peace and
+of war.
+
+We believe there are few thinking persons in this country who will
+dispute the truth of this position. Indeed, the general results of
+foreign speculation have been unprofitable altogether, as is shown by
+the testimony of our ablest commercial writers. One of them gives the
+following summary:--"Large sums have, from time to time, been lent to
+various foreign states by English capitalists, whose money has been
+put to great hazard, and, in some cases, lost. On the other hand, many
+foreign loans have been contracted by our merchants, which have proved
+highly profitable, through the progressive sale of the stock in
+foreign countries at higher than the contract prices. It is evidently
+impossible to form any correct estimate of the profit or loss which
+has resulted to the country from these various operations; the
+general impression is, that hitherto the losses have much exceeded the
+gains." In that general impression we most cordially concur--indeed,
+we never heard any man whose opinion was worth having, say otherwise.
+
+But in the absence of home speculation it is little wonder that, for
+the chance of unfrequent gain, men should choose, rather than leave
+their capital unemployed, to run the risk of the frequent loss. It
+does not, however, follow, as a matter of course, that home
+speculation shall always prove profitable either to the invester or to
+the nation at large. We have said already, that the proper function of
+capital is to foster and encourage labour; but this may be carried too
+far. For example, it is just twenty years ago, when, at a time of
+great prosperity in trade--the regular products of this country being
+as nearly as possible equal to the demand--a large body of
+capitalists, finding no other outlet for their savings, gave an
+unnatural stimulus to production, by buying up and storing immense
+quantities of our home manufactures. This they must have done upon
+some abstruse but utterly false calculation of augmented demand from
+abroad, making no allowance for change of season, foreign fluctuation,
+or any other of the occult causes which influence the markets of the
+world. The result, as is well known, was most disastrous. Trade on a
+sudden grew slack. The capitalists, in alarm, threw open the whole of
+their accumulated stock at greatly depreciated prices. There was no
+further demand for manufacturing labour, because the world was glutted
+with the supply, and hence arose strikes, panic, bankruptcy, and a
+period of almost unexampled hardship to the workman, and of serious
+and permanent loss to the master manufacturer. Speculation, therefore,
+in an old branch of industry, is perilous not only to the invester but
+to the prosperity of the branch itself. The case, however, is widely
+different when a new and important source of industry and income is
+suddenly developed in the country.
+
+We shall look back in vain over our past history to find any parallel
+at all approaching to the present state and prospects of the railway
+system. Forty-four years have elapsed since the first public railway
+in Great Britain (the Wandsworth and Croydon) received the sanction of
+the legislature. Twenty-five years afterwards, at the close of 1826,
+when the Manchester and Liverpool bill was passed, the whole number of
+railroad acts amounted to thirty-five: in 1838 it had increased to one
+hundred and forty-two. The capital of these railways, with the sums
+which the proprietors were authorized to borrow, cannot be taken at
+less than SIXTY MILLIONS STERLING.
+
+Now, it is very instructive to remark, that until the opening of the
+Liverpool and Manchester line in September 1830, not one single
+railway was constructed with a view to the conveyance of passengers.
+The first intention of the railway was to provide for the carriage of
+goods at a cheaper rate than could be effected by means of the canals,
+and for the accommodation of the great coal-fields and mineral
+districts of England. In the Liverpool and Manchester prospectus--a
+species of document not usually remarkable for modesty or shyness of
+assumption--the estimate of the number of passengers between these two
+great towns was taken at the rate of one half of those who availed
+themselves of coach conveyance. Cotton bales, manufactures, cattle,
+coals, and iron, were relied on as the staple sources of revenue. Had
+it not been for the introduction of the locomotive engine, and the
+vast improvements it has received, by means of which we are now
+whirled from place to place with almost magical rapidity, there can be
+no doubt that the railways would, in most instances, have proved an
+utter failure. The fact is singular, but it is perfectly ascertained,
+that the railroads have not hitherto materially interfered with the
+canals in the article of transmission of goods. The cost of railway
+construction is incomparably greater than that attendant on the
+cutting of canals, and therefore the land carriage can very seldom,
+when speed is not required, compete with the water conveyance. But for
+passengers, speed is all in all. The facility and shortness of transit
+creates travellers at a ratio of which we probably have as yet no
+very accurate idea. Wherever the system has had a fair trial, the
+number of passengers has been quadrupled--in some cases quintupled,
+and even more; and every month is adding to their numbers.
+
+But 1838, though prolific in railways, was still a mere Rachel when
+compared with the seven Leahs that have succeeded it. The principle of
+trunk lines, then first recognised, has since been carried into effect
+throughout England, and adopted in Scotland, though here the system
+has not yet had full time for development. The statistics of the
+railways already completed, have fully and satisfactorily demonstrated
+the immense amount of revenue which in future will be drawn from these
+great national undertakings, the increase on the last year alone
+having amounted to upwards of a million sterling. That revenue is the
+interest of the new property so created; and, therefore, we are making
+no extravagant calculation when we estimate the increased value of
+these railways at twenty millions in the course of a single year. That
+is an enormous national gain, and quite beyond precedent. Indeed, if
+the following paragraph, which we have extracted from a late railway
+periodical, be true, our estimate is much within the mark. "The
+improvement in the incomes of existing railways still continues, and
+during the last two months has amounted to upwards of Ģ200,000 in
+comparison with the corresponding two months of 1844. The lines which
+have reduced their fares most liberally, are the greatest gainers. At
+this rate of increase of income, the value of the railway property of
+the country is becoming greater by upwards of Ģ2,000,000 sterling per
+month." It is, therefore, by no means wonderful that as much of the
+available capital of the country as can be withdrawn from its staple
+sources of income should be eagerly invested in the railways, since no
+other field can afford the prospect of so certain and increasing a
+return.
+
+The question has been often mooted, whether government ought not in
+the first instance to have taken the management of the railways into
+its own hands. Much may be said upon one or other side, and the
+success of the experiment is, of course, a very different thing from
+the mere prospect of success. Our opinion is quite decided, that, as
+great public works, the government ought most certainly to have made
+the trunk railways or, as in France, to have leased them to companies
+who would undertake the construction of them for a certain term of
+years, at the expiry of which the works themselves would have become
+the property of the nation. Never was there such a prospect afforded
+to a statesman of relieving the country, by its own internal
+resources, of a great part of the national debt. Public works are not
+unknown or without precedent in this country; but somehow or other
+they are always unprofitable. At the cost of upwards of a million,
+government constructed the Caledonian Canal, the revenue drawn from
+which does not at the present moment defray its own expenses, much
+less return a farthing of interest on this large expenditure of
+capital. Now it is very difficult to see why government, if it has
+power to undertake a losing concern, should not likewise be entitled,
+for the benefit of the nation at large, to undertake even greater
+works, which not only assist the commerce of the nation, but might in
+a very short period, comparatively speaking, have almost extinguished
+its taxation. It is now, of course, far too late for any idea of the
+kind. The golden opportunity presented itself for a very short period
+of time, and to the hands of men far too timid to grasp it, even if
+they could have comprehended its advantages. Finance never was, and
+probably never will be, a branch of Whig education, as even Joseph
+Hume has been compelled a thousand times piteously and with wringing
+of the hands to admit--and whose arithmetic could we expect them even
+to know, if they admitted and knew not Joseph's? But this at least
+they might have done, when the progress of railroads throughout the
+kingdom became a matter of absolute certainty. The whole subject
+should have been brought under the consideration of a board, to
+determine what railways were most necessary throughout the kingdom,
+and what line would be cheapest and most advantageous to the public;
+and when these points had once been ascertained, no competition
+whatever should have been allowed. The functions of the Board of
+Trade were not nearly so extensive; they had no report of government
+engineers, and no _data_ to go upon save the contradictory statements
+of the rival companies. Hence their decision, in almost every
+instance, was condemned by the parties interested, who, having a
+further tribunal in Parliament, where a thousand interests unknown to
+the Board of Trade could be appealed to, rushed into a protracted
+contest, at an expenditure which this year is understood to have
+exceeded all precedent. We have no means of ascertaining the expenses
+of such a line as the London and York, which was fought inch by inch
+through the Committees of both Houses with unexampled acrimony and
+perseverance. We know, however, that the expenses connected with the
+Great Western, and the London and Birmingham bills, amounted
+respectively to Ģ88,710 and Ģ72,868, exclusive altogether of the costs
+incurred by the different parties who opposed these lines in
+Parliament. It has been stated in a former number of this
+Magazine--and we believe it--that the parliamentary costs incurred for
+the Scottish private and railway bills, during the last session alone,
+amounted to a million and a half.
+
+Now, though a great part of the money thus expended is immediately
+returned to circulation, still it is a severe tax upon the provinces,
+and might very easily have been avoided by the adoption of some such
+plan as that which we have intimated above; and we shall presently
+venture to offer a few practical remarks as to the course which we
+think is still open to the government for checking an evil which is by
+no means inseparable from the system.
+
+But, first, we are bound to state that, _as yet_, we can see no
+grounds for believing that the nominal amount of capital invested in
+the railways which have obtained the sanction of Parliament is beyond,
+or any thing approaching to, the surplus means of the country. Foreign
+speculation, except in so far as regards railroads, (and these are
+neither so safe nor so profitable an investment as at home,) seems for
+the present entirely to have ceased. The last three years of almost
+unequalled prosperity have accumulated in the country a prodigious
+deal of capital, which is this way finding an outlet; and though it
+may be true that the parties who originally subscribed to these
+undertakings may not, in the aggregate, be possessed of capital enough
+to carry them successfully to an end, still there has been no want of
+capitalists to purchase the shares at a premium--not, as we verily
+believe, for a mere gambling transaction, but for the purposes of
+solid investment. We base our calculations very much upon the steadily
+maintained prices of the railways which passed in 1844, and which are
+now making. Now, these afford no immediate return--on the contrary, a
+considerable amount of calls is still due upon most of them, and the
+earliest will probably not be opened until the expiry of ten months
+from the present date. It is quite obvious that, in this kind of
+stock, there can be no incentive to gambling, because the chances are,
+that any new lines which may be started in the vicinity of them shall
+be rivals rather than feeders; and if capital were so scarce as in
+some quarters it is represented to be, it is scarce possible that
+these lines could have remained so firmly held. Let us take the prices
+of the principal of these from the Liverpool share-lists as on 27th
+September.
+
+ Share.  Paid.                              Selling Price.
+  25      10      BLACKBURN AND PRESTON,   19-3/4 to 20-1/4
+  50      15      CHESTER AND HOLYHEAD,        20 to 20-1/2
+  50      25      LANCASTER AND CARLISLE,  53-1/2 to 54-1/2
+  50      15      LEEDS AND BRADFORD,          61 to 63
+  25     12-1/2   EAST LANCASHIRE,             22 to 22-1/2
+  20       9      NORTH WALES MINERAL,     14-3/4 to 15-1/4
+  10       1        DO. NEW,                5-1/4 to 5-1/2
+  25      15      NORTH BRITISH,               25 to 26
+  50      20      SOUTH DEVON,                 34 to 36
+
+These lines have, in the language of the Stock Exchange, passed out of
+the hands of the jobbers, and most of them are now too heavy in
+amount for the operations of the smaller speculators. We therefore
+look upon their steadiness as a high proof, not only of their ultimate
+value, but of the general abundance of capital.
+
+It is hardly possible as yet to draw any such deduction from the
+present prices of the lines which were passed in the course of last
+session. Upon many of these no calls have yet been made, and
+consequently they are still open to every kind of fluctuation. It
+cannot, therefore, be said that they have settled down to their true
+estimated value, and, in all probability, erelong some may decline to
+a certain degree. Still it is very remarkable, and certainly
+corroborative of our view, that the amazing influx of new schemes
+during the last few months--which, time and circumstance considered,
+may be fairly denominated a craze--has as yet had no effect in
+lowering them; more especially when we recollect, that the amount of
+deposit now required upon new railways is ten per cent on the whole
+capital, or exactly double of the ratio of the former deposits. We
+give these facts to the terrorists who opine that our surplus capital
+is ere now exhausted, and that deep inroads have been made upon the
+illegitimate stores of credit; and we ask them for an explanation
+consistent with their timorous theory.
+
+At the same time, we would by no means scoff at the counsel of our
+Ahitophels. A glance at the newspapers of last month, and their
+interminable advertising columns, is quite enough to convince us that
+the thing may be overdone. True, not one out of five--nay, perhaps,
+not one out of fifteen--of these swarming schemes, has the chance of
+obtaining the sanction of Parliament for years to come; still, it is
+not only a pity, but a great waste and national grievance, that so
+large a sum as the deposits which are paid on these railways should be
+withdrawn--it matters not how long--from practical use, and locked up
+to await the explosion of each particular bubble. We do think,
+therefore, that it is high time for the legislature to interfere, not
+for any purpose of opposing the progress of railways, but either by
+establishing a peremptory board of supervision, or portioning out the
+different localities with respect to time, on some new and compendious
+method.
+
+Last session the committees, though they performed their duties with
+much zeal and assiduity, were hardly able to overtake the amount of
+business before them. It was not without much flattery and coaxing
+that the adroit Premier, of all men best formed for a general leader
+of the House of Commons, could persuade the unfortunate members that
+an unfaltering attendance of some six hours a-day in a sweltering and
+ill-ventilated room, where their ears were regaled with a constant
+repetition of the jargon connected with curves, gradients, and
+traffic-tables, was their great and primary duty to the commonwealth.
+Most marvellous to say, he succeeded in overcoming their stubborn
+will. Every morning, by times, the knight of the shire, albeit
+exhausted from the endurance of the over-night's debate, rose up from
+his neglected breakfast, and posted down to his daily cell in the
+Cloisters. Prometheus under the beak of the vulture could not have
+shown more patience than most of those unhappy gentlemen under the
+infliction of the lawyer's tongue; and their stoicism was the more
+praiseworthy, because in many instances there seemed no prospect,
+however remote, of the advent of a Hercules to deliver them. The only
+men who behaved unhandsomely on the occasion were some of the Irish
+members, advocates of Repeal, who, with more than national brass,
+grounded their declinature on the galling yoke of the Saxon, and
+retreated to Connemara, doubtless exulting that in this instance at
+least they had freed themselves from "hereditary bonds." It may be
+doubted, however, whether the tone of the committees was materially
+deteriorated by their absence. Now, we have a great regard for the
+members of the House of Commons collectively; and, were it on no other
+account save theirs, we cannot help regarding the enormous
+accumulation of railway bills for next session with feelings of
+peculiar abhorrence. Last spring every exertion of the whole combined
+pitchforks was required to cleanse that Augean stable: can Sir Robert
+Peel have the inhumanity next year to request them to buckle to a
+tenfold augmented task? In our humble opinion, (and we know something
+of the matter,) flesh and blood are unable to stand it. The private
+business of this country, if conducted on the ancient plan, must
+utterly swamp the consideration of public affairs, and the member of
+Parliament dwindle into a mere arbiter between hostile surveyors;
+whilst the ministry, delighted at the abstraction of both friend and
+foe, have the great game of politics unchecked and unquestioned to
+themselves. The surest way to gag a conscientious opponent, or to stop
+the mouth of an imprudent ally, is to get him placed upon some such
+committee as that before which the cases of the London and York, and
+Direct Northern lines were discussed. If, after three days' patient
+hearing of the witnesses and lawyers, he has one tangible idea
+floating in his head, he is either an Alcibiades or a Bavius--a
+heaven-born genius or the mere incarnation of a fool!
+
+Let it be granted that the present system pursued by Parliament, more
+especially when its immediate prospects are considered, is an
+evil--and we believe there are few who will be bold enough to deny
+it--it still remains that we seek out a remedy. This is no easy task.
+The detection of an error is always a slight matter compared with its
+emendation, and we profess to have neither the aptitude nor the
+experience of a Solon. But as we are sanguine that wherever an evil
+exists a remedy also may be found, we shall venture to offer our own
+crude ideas, in the hope that some better workman, whose appetite for
+business has been a little allayed by the copious surfeit of last
+year, may elaborate them into shape, and emancipate one of the most
+deserving, as well as the worst used, classes of her Majesty's
+faithful lieges. And first, we would say this--Do not any longer
+degrade the honourable House of Commons, by forcing on its attention
+matters and details which ought to fall beneath the province of a
+lower tribunal: do not leave it in the power of any fool or knave--and
+there are many such actively employed at this time--who can persuade
+half a dozen of the same class with himself into gross delusion of the
+public, to occupy the time, and monopolize the nobler functions of the
+legislature, in the consideration of some miserable scheme, which
+never can be carried into effect, and which is protracted beyond
+endurance simply for the benefit of its promoters. We do not mean that
+Parliament should abandon its controlling power, or even delegate it
+altogether. We only wish that the initiative--the question whether any
+particular project is likely to tend to the public benefit, and, if
+so, whether this is a fit and proper time to bring it forward--should
+be discussed elsewhere. A recommendation of the Board of Trade, which
+still leaves the matter open, is plainly useless and inoperative. It
+has been overleaped, derided, despised, and will be so again--we
+scarcely dare to say unjustly; for no body of five men, however
+intelligent, could by possibility be expected to form an accurate
+judgment upon such an enormous mass of materials and conflicting
+statements as were laid before them. And yet, preliminary enquiry
+there must be. The movement is far too great, and charged with too
+important interests, to permit its march unchecked. Of all tyrannical
+bodies, a railway company is the most tyrannical. It asks to be armed
+with powers which the common law denies to the Sovereign herself. It
+seeks, without your leave, to usurp your property, and will not buy it
+from you at your own price. It levels your house, be it grange or
+cottage, lays down its rails in your gardens, cuts through your
+policy, and fells down unmercifully the oaks which your Norman
+ancestor planted in the days of William Rufus. All this you must
+submit to, for the public benefit is paramount to your private
+feelings; but it would be an intolerable grievance were you called
+upon to submit to this, not for the public benefit, but for the mere
+temporary emolument of a handful of unprincipled jobbers. Therefore
+there must be enquiry, even though Parliament, strangled with a
+multitude of projects, should delegate a portion of its powers
+elsewhere.
+
+And why not? It required no great acuteness of vision to see, that,
+even had the railway mania not risen to this singular height, some
+such step must erelong have been rendered imperative by the growing
+necessities and altered circumstances of the country. The leading
+feature of our age is the institution of joint-stock societies. We
+have taken up very lately the views which Æsop hinted at some
+thousands of years ago, in his quaint parabolic manner, and which
+Defoe, who lived a century and a half before his time, most clearly
+enunciated and described. We have found the way, at last, to make
+small capitals effect the most gigantic results, by encircling them
+with the magic ties of combination. No matter when it was discovered;
+the principle has never yet been thoroughly acted upon until now, and
+we know not how far it may be carried. Our fathers, for want of this
+principle, ruined themselves by isolated attempts--we are in no such
+danger, if we do not yield ourselves to the madness of extravagant
+daring. Put railways aside altogether, and the number of private bills
+which are now brought before Parliament is perfectly astounding.
+Twenty years ago, such an influx would have daunted the heart of the
+stoutest legislator; and yet, with all this remarkable increase, we
+have clung pertinaciously to the same machinery, and expect it to work
+as well as when it had not one tithe of the labour to perform.
+
+We have always been, and we shall always continue to be, the strenuous
+advocates of LOCAL BOARDS, as by far the soundest, cheapest, and most
+natural method of administering local affairs. We can recognise no
+principle in the system by which a Scottish bill is entrusted to the
+judgment of a committee consisting of strangers, who are utterly
+ignorant of locality, vested interest, popular feeling, and every
+other point which ought to influence the consideration of such a
+matter. One would think, by the care which is invariably taken to
+exclude from the committee every man whose local knowledge can qualify
+him to form an opinion, that in ignorance alone is there safety from
+venality and prejudice--a supposition which, to say the least, conveys
+no compliment to the character or understanding of the British
+statesman. And yet this is the system which has hitherto been most
+rigidly adopted. We have judges in our law courts whose impartiality
+is beyond all suspicion. They are placed on a high, conspicuous
+pinnacle in the sight of the nation, to do justice between man and
+man; they are fenced and fortified by the high dignity, almost
+sanctity, of their calling, against clamour, idle rumour, private
+interest, or any other element that might disturb the course of
+equity, and therefore their decisions are received on all sides with
+reverential acquiescence. Why should not the private business of the
+country be placed upon the same footing? Let there be three
+commissions issued--three permanent local boards established in
+England, Scotland, and Ireland, under the superintendence, if
+necessary, of the Board of Trade; let Parliament lay down rules for
+their guidance, and let every measure which at present would be
+launched _de plano_ into the House of Commons, be first submitted to
+their consideration; and let their determination to reject or postpone
+be final, unless the legislature shall see fit, by a solemn vote, to
+reverse that portion of their report. In this way a multitude of loose
+and undigested schemes would be thrown back upon the hands of their
+promoters, without clogging the wheels of Parliament; and such only as
+bear _ex facie_ to be for the public advantage, would be allowed to
+undergo the more searching ordeal of a committee. These boards would
+literally cost the country nothing, even although the constituent
+members of them were paid, as they ought to be for the performance of
+such a duty, very highly. Each company applying for a bill might be
+assessed to a certain amount, corresponding to the value of its stock;
+as it is but fair that the parties who have created the exigency, and
+whose avowed object is profit, should defray the attendant expense.
+
+Supposing that the principle of these boards were admitted, it seems
+to us that Parliament has still to exercise a great and serious duty
+in laying down rules for their guidance. This is perhaps the most
+difficult subject connected with the railway system; and we approach
+it with diffidence, as it is inseparable, nay, must be based upon the
+two grand considerations of CAPITAL and LABOUR. We shall endeavour to
+explain our meaning a little more minutely.
+
+The reader will gather from what we have written above, that we
+entertain no fear that the nominal capital invested in the railways
+_which have already received the sanction of Parliament_, is now more
+than the surplus capital floating in the country which can be applied
+to such a purpose without injuring any portion of our staple
+manufactures or commerce. On the contrary, we think that it is very
+greatly below that mark, and therefore that it matters little, in a
+general point of view, by whom the stock is presently held. Sooner or
+later it must find its way into the hands of the capitalists, a class
+whose numbers are notoriously every day on the increase. Even were
+this not the case, and the balance otherwise, it must be recollected
+that the investment of that capital is not the thing of a moment. Four
+years, probably, may elapse before all the railways _which have
+obtained bills_ can be completed, and during that time the calls are
+gradual. Unless, therefore, there shall occur some untoward and
+unforeseen cause, such as a continental war or a general stoppage of
+trade, the accumulation of capital in this country will be at least
+equally progressive. There is thus a future increment corresponding to
+the period of the completion of these public works, which may very
+fairly be taken into consideration, at least, as a kind of security
+that we have not hitherto advanced with too rash or hasty steps. But
+with the unchecked influx of new schemes, this security, which at best
+is but contingent, must disappear, and a further enormous absorption
+of capital, the existence of which is not satisfactorily proved, be
+called for. In such a state of things, it is unquestionably the duty
+of government to use its controlling power. The payment of ten per
+cent deposit is no guarantee at all. Whilst new stocks are at premium,
+a hundred pounds, in the hands of an enterprising speculator, may
+figure as the representative of many thousands in twenty different
+railway schemes. The limit of disposable capital in the country
+must--if all the new projects are permitted to go on--be reached, and
+that erelong; then comes a period of gambling whilst money is cheap
+and credit plentiful--a sudden contraction of currency--and a crash.
+
+It has been found utterly impossible to ascertain the amount of
+capital at any time floating in Great Britain. We can, therefore, only
+guess from certain commercial symptoms when it is nearly exhausted. On
+this point the money articles in the London journals have of late
+contained many significant hints. The settlements on the Stock
+Exchange are weekly becoming more difficult, and an enormous per
+centage is said to be paid at present for temporary accommodation. It
+is understood, also, that the banks are about to raise the rate of
+discount; from which we infer that their deposits are being gradually
+withdrawn, since there is no other circumstance whatever that ought to
+operate a change.[7] But really it requires no calculation and no
+foresight to see, that the mere amount of deposits required for the
+new schemes must erelong lock up the whole available capital of Great
+Britain. Let those who think this is a bold assertion on our part,
+attend to the following fact. We have taken from _The Railway Record_,
+the amount of _new railway schemes_ advertised _in a single week_, at
+the beginning of October. The number of the schemes is FORTY; and they
+comprehend the ephemera of England and Ireland only--Scotland, which,
+during that period, was most emulously at work, seems, by some
+unaccountable accident, to have been overlooked. Of the amount of
+capital to be invested in no less than ELEVEN of these, we have no
+statement. The promoters apparently have no time to attend to such
+trifling details; and, doubtless, it will be early enough to announce
+the capital when they have playfully pounced upon the deposits. But
+there is some candour in TWENTY-NINE provisional committees, and their
+accumulated nominal capital proves to be--how much, think you, gifted
+reader, and confident dabbler in new stock? Why, merely
+this--TWENTY-FIVE MILLIONS EIGHT HUNDRED AND THIRTY THOUSAND POUNDS!!!
+Now--for we wish always to speak and write within the mark--let us
+calculate the eleven Harpocrates Companies and the Northern Schemes,
+(which are more than eleven,) at fourteen or fifteen additional
+millions; and you thus have parties engaged, _in the course of a
+single week_, for FORTY MILLIONS STERLING, or _about one-twentieth
+part of the whole national debt_; which, according to this rate of
+subscription, may be extinguished by our surplus capital in the short
+space of five months. And this is the country, where, three years ago,
+the manufacturer and miner were starving, Manchester almost in a state
+of siege, and Staley-bridge in absolute insurrection! Happy Britain,
+where every man has discovered the philosopher's stone!
+
+After this, need we say any thing more upon the great topic of
+capital? Were the nation now in its sober senses, the facts which we
+have stated, and for the accuracy of which we pledge ourselves, would
+surely be enough to awaken it to a true conception of the vortex into
+which it is plunging. But as every man will no doubt think--with the
+ordinary self-delusion of our kind--that the scheme in which he is
+individually embarked is an exception from the common rule; let us ask
+each speculator candidly to make answer, whether he has minutely
+examined the merits of the line which he has adopted, or whether he
+has thrown himself into it upon the assurances of others, and the mere
+expectations of a premium? If the former, let him hold. We war with no
+man's deliberate judgment; and that there are many projected lines in
+Great Britain which must ultimately be carried, and which will prove
+most profitable to the shareholders, is beyond all manner of doubt.
+Whether they may receive the sanction of the legislature so soon as
+the proprietor expects, is a very different question. But if the
+latter, his case is far otherwise. We have seen the prospectus of
+several of the most gigantic schemes now in the market, by means of
+which the whole length of England is to be traversed, and these have
+undergone no further survey than the application of a ruler to a
+lithographic map, and a trifling transplantation of the principal
+towns, so as to coincide with the direct and undeviating rail. There
+is hardly a sharebroker in the kingdom who is not cognisant of this
+most flagrant fact; and by many of them the impudent impositions have
+been returned with the scorn which such conduct demands. It is hardly
+possible to conceive that these schemes were ever intended to meet the
+eye of Parliament; but, if not, why were they ever started? The
+reflection is a very serious one for those who have deposited their
+money.
+
+Such projects, of course, are the exceptions, and not the rule. Still,
+their existence, and the support which they have unthinkingly
+obtained, are very lamentable symptoms of the recklessness which
+characterises the present impulse. Were the tone of commercial
+enterprise healthy, and kept within due bounds, there would be nothing
+of this; neither should we hear, as we do every day, of shares which,
+immediately after their allocation, attain an enormous premium, and,
+after having fluctuated for a week or two, subside to something like
+their real value.
+
+Are we then justified or not in saying, that it is the imperative duty
+of the legislature to look to this question of capital; that it is
+bound to see that the country does not pledge itself so utterly beyond
+its means; and that the advance of the railway system must be made
+slow and steady, in order to render its basis secure?
+
+But there is another point beyond this. Supposing that all our remarks
+on the subject of capital were erroneous, and that our financial views
+were as puerile as we believe them to be strictly sound--we fall back
+upon an element which is more easily ascertained, and that is, LABOUR.
+We hold it to be a clear economical maxim, that beyond a certain
+point, at all events within a given time, capital, however abundant it
+may be, cannot _create_ labour. It has passed into a sort of truism
+that there is nothing which money cannot accomplish--analyse it, and
+you will find that it is not a truism but a popular fallacy. There are
+many, many things which money cannot accomplish. It has no power to
+clear the social atmosphere from crime; it may mar the morals of a
+people, but it cannot make them; and still less can it usurp the
+stupendous functions of the Deity. It may rear labour, but it cannot
+by any possibility create it, after such a fashion as the crop that
+sprang from the sowing of the Cadmean teeth. Let us illustrate this a
+little.
+
+Probably--nay, certainly--there never was a country in which labour
+has been so accurately balanced as in Great Britain. Our population
+has been for a number of years upon the increment; but the increase
+has been of the nature of supply, consequent and almost dependent upon
+the demand. The wages paid to the children in manufacturing districts
+have swelled that portion of our population to a great degree, though
+probably not more than is indispensable from the fluctuating nature of
+commerce. But, so far as we can learn from statistical tables, the
+number of agricultural labourers--that is, those who are strictly
+employed in the cultivation of the land, and who cannot be spared from
+that most necessary task--has been rather on the decrease. Our
+business, however, is neither with manufacturer nor with
+agriculturist, but with a different class--those, namely, who are
+engaged in the public works of the country. Let us take Mr Porter's
+estimate, according to the census of 1831.
+
+    "The summary of the returns of 1831, respecting the occupations of
+    males twenty years of age and upwards, throws considerable light
+    upon the subject, by exhibiting them under several subdivisions.
+    The males belonging to the families included in the
+    non-agricultural and non-manufacturing classes, were given at the
+    last census under four distinct heads of description, viz.:--
+
+    "Capitalists, Bankers, Professional, and other educated men.
+
+    "_Labourers employed in labour, not Agricultural._
+
+    "Other males, twenty years of age, except servants.
+
+    "Male servants, twenty years of age.
+
+    "The whole number of males included under these heads, amounts to
+    1,137,270. Of _these_, 608,712 were actually employed in labour,
+    which although, usually speaking, it was neither manufacturing nor
+    trading, was yet necessary in the successful prosecution of some
+    branch of trade or manufactures, _such as mining, road-making,
+    canal-digging, inland navigation, &c._"
+
+Of these 600,000, now probably augmented by a tenth, how many can be
+spared from their several employments for the construction of the
+railways, and how many are at this moment so employed, with their
+labour mortgaged for years? This is a question which Parliament ought
+most certainly--if it can be done--to get answered in a satisfactory
+manner. It must be remarked, that in this class are included the
+miners, who certainly cannot be withdrawn from their present work,
+which in fact is indispensable for the completion of the railways. If
+possible, their numbers must be augmented. The stored iron of the
+country is now exhausted, and the masters are using every diligence in
+their power to facilitate the supply, which still, as the advancing
+price of that great commodity will testify, is short of, and
+insufficient for the demand. From the agricultural labourers you
+cannot receive any material number of recruits. The land, above all
+things, must be tilled; and--notwithstanding the trashy assertions of
+popular slip-slop authors and Cockney sentimentalists, who have
+favored us with pictures of the Will Ferns of the kingdom, as unlike
+the reality as may be--the condition of those who cultivate the soil
+of Britain is superior to that of the peasantry in every other country
+of Europe. The inevitable increase of demand for labour will even
+better their condition, according to the operation of a law apparent
+to every man of common sense, but which is hopelessly concealed from
+the eyes of these spurious regenerators of the times. It is impossible
+to transform the manufacturer, even were that trade slack, into a
+railway labourer; the habits and constitution of the two classes
+being essentially different and distinct. Indeed, as the writer we
+have already quoted well remarks--"Experience has shown that
+uneducated men pass with difficulty, and unwillingly, from occupations
+to which they have been long accustomed," and nothing, consequently,
+is more difficult than to augment materially and suddenly the numbers
+of any industrial class, when an unexpected demand arises. To us,
+therefore, it seems perfectly clear, that even if the capital were
+forthcoming, there is not labour enough in the country for the
+simultaneous construction of a tithe of the projected schemes.
+
+There are considerations connected with this matter which entail a
+great responsibility upon the government. The capitalists are, in
+fact, putting at its disposal the means of maintaining a great portion
+of the poorer population for many years to cone. If this be properly
+attended to, emigration, which principally benefits the labourer, may
+be discontinued. We have now arrived at a pass when the absence of
+those who have already emigrated becomes a matter of regret. There is
+work to be had nearer than the Canadian woods or the waterless
+prairies of Australia--work, too, that in its results must be of
+incalculable benefit to the community. But the government is bound to
+regulate it so, that, amidst superabundance of wealth, due regard is
+paid to the ECONOMY OF LABOUR. It is rumoured that some railway
+directors, fully aware of the facts which we have stated, are
+meditating, in their exuberant haste for dividends, the introduction
+of foreign labourers. We doubt whether, under any circumstances, such
+a scheme is practicable; but of this we entertain no doubt, that it is
+as mischievous a device as ever was forged in the cabinet of Mammon!
+Some years ago the cuckoo cry of the political quacks was
+over-population. Now it seems there is a scarcity of hands, and in
+order to supply the want--for we have drained the Highlands--we are to
+have an importation from Baden or Bavaria, without even the protecting
+solemnity of a tariff. If this be true, it seems to us that government
+is bound to interpose by the most stringent measures. It is monstrous
+to think, that whereas, for many years past, for mere slackness of
+labour, we have been encouraging emigration among the productive
+classes of our countrymen to a very great degree; draining, as it
+were, the mother country to found the colonies, and therein resorting
+to the last step which a paternal government, even in times of the
+greatest necessity, should adopt--now, when a new experiment, or
+social crisis--call it which you will--has arisen, when labour has
+again reached the point where the demand exceeds the supply, we are to
+admit an influx of strangers amongst us, and thereby entail upon
+ourselves and posterity the evils of prospective pauperism. We have
+been already too prone, in matters relating rather to the luxuries
+than the necessities of our social system, to give undue preference to
+the foreigner. British art has, in many branches, been thereby
+crippled and discouraged, and a cry, not unnatural surely, has ere now
+been raised against the practice. But how incomparably more dangerous
+it would be to inundate the country with an alien population, whose
+mere brute strength, without a particle of productive skill, is their
+only passport and certificate! This too, be it observed, is not for
+the purpose of establishing or furthering a branch of industry which
+can furnish permanent employment, but merely for carrying out a system
+of great change certainly, but of limited endurance. If labour
+required to be forced, it would certainly be more for our advantage to
+revise our penal institutions, and to consider seriously whether those
+who have committed offences against our social laws, might not be more
+profitably employed in the great works of the kingdom, than by
+transplanting them as at present to the Antipodes at a fearful
+expense, the diminution of which appears, in all human probability,
+impossible.
+
+If, then, we are right in our premises, the two leading points which
+Parliament must steadily regard in forming its decisions connected
+with the new schemes, are the sufficiency of unfettered capital and
+the adequate supply of labour. Our conviction is, that neither exist
+to any thing like the extent which would be required were the present
+mania allowed to run its course unchecked. But, on the other hand, a
+total stoppage of improvement might be equally dangerous; and it will
+therefore be necessary to steer a middle course, and to regulate the
+movement according to certain principles. Let us, then, first consider
+what lines ought _not_ to be granted.
+
+At the head of these we should place the whole bundle of rival
+companies to railways already completed or in progress. We are not of
+the number of those who stand up for exclusive commercial monopoly;
+but we do think that there is a tacit or implied contract between the
+state and the proprietors of the sanctioned lines, which ought to
+shield the latter against rash and invidious competition. The older
+railways are the parents of the system; without them, it never could
+have been discovered what gradients were requisite, what works
+indispensable, what savings practicable. The expense of their
+construction we know to have been, in many instances, far greater than
+is contained in the modern estimates, and the land which they required
+to occupy was procured at extravagant prices. Now it does seem to us
+in the highest degree unfair, that the interest of these companies
+should be sacrificed for the sake of what is called the "direct"
+principle. A saving of twenty or thirty miles between Newcastle and
+London, is now thought to be a matter of so much importance as to
+justify one or more independent lines, which, despising intermediate
+cities and their traffic, still hold their even course as the crow
+flies, from point to point, and thereby shorten the transit from the
+south to the north of England by--it may be--the matter of an hour. We
+did not use to be quite so chary of our minutes: nor, though fully
+aware of the value of time, did we ever bestow the same regard upon
+the fractional portions of our existence. What the nation requires is
+a safe, commodious, and speedy mode of conveyance, and we defy the
+veriest streak-of-lightning man to say, that the present companies in
+operation do not afford us that to our heart's content. It is but a
+very few years ago since we used to glorify ourselves in the rapidity
+of the mail-coach, doing its ten miles an hour with the punctuality of
+clockwork. Now we have arrived at the ratio of forty within the same
+period, and yet we are not content. Next year, within fourteen hours
+we shall be transported from Edinburgh to London. That, it seems, is
+not enough. A company offers to transport us by a straighter line in
+thirteen; and for that purpose they ask leave of the legislature to
+construct a rival line at the expense of a few millions! Now, keeping
+in mind what we have said as to capital, is not this, in the present
+state of things, most wanton prodigality? The same "few millions"--and
+we rather suspect they are fewer than is commonly supposed--would open
+up counties hitherto untouched by the railway system--would give us
+communication through the heart of the Highlands, through the remoter
+districts of Wales, through the unvisited nooks of Ireland, and, in so
+doing, would minister not only to the wants of the community, but in
+an inconceivable degree to the social improvement of the people. Among
+the list of proposed schemes for next session, there are many such;
+and surely our government, if its functions correspond to the name, is
+bound, in the first instance, to give a preference to these;
+and--since all cannot be accomplished at once--to assist the schemes
+which volunteer the opening of a new district, rather than the
+competition of mushroom companies where the field is already occupied.
+
+There is also a filching spirit abroad, which ought decidedly to be
+checked. Scarce a main line has been established from which it has not
+been found necessary, for the purposes of accommodation, to run
+several branches. Until about a year ago, it was generally understood
+that these adjuncts ought to be left in the hands of the original
+companies, who, for their own sakes, were always ready to augment
+their traffic by such feeders. Now it is widely different. Four or
+five miles of cross country is reckoned a sufficient justification for
+the establishment of an independent company, who, without any
+consultation with the proprietors of the main line, or enquiry as to
+their ultimate intentions, seize upon the vacant ground as a waif,
+and throw themselves confidently upon the public. If the matter does
+not end in a lease, the unfortunate public will be the losers, since
+it is manifestly impossible that a little Lilliput line can be cheaply
+worked, independent of the larger trunk. This class of schemes also
+should receive their speedy _quietus_; for what would be the use of
+permitting the promoters to attempt the proof of an impossible case?
+
+England has already made a great portion of her railroads, but neither
+Scotland nor Ireland as yet have attained the same point. Now, in a
+general point of view, it will hardly be denied, that it is of far
+greater importance to have the country thoroughly opened up,
+throughout its length and breadth, than to have an accumulation of
+cross and intersecting railways in one particular district. We are
+asking no favouritism, for it has become a mere matter of choice
+between companies, as to which shall have the earlier preference. In
+point of policy, the legislature ought certainly to extend every
+possible favour to the Irish lines. It may be that in this railway
+system--for Providence works with strange agents--there lies the germ
+of a better understanding between us, and the dawn of a happier day
+for Ireland. At any rate, to its pauper population, the employment
+afforded by companies, where no absenteeism can exist, is a great and
+timely boon, and may work more social wonders than any scheme of
+conciliation which the statesman has as yet devised. Idleness and lack
+of employment are the most fertile sources of agitation; let these be
+removed, and we may look, if not with confidence, at least with hope,
+for a cessation of the stormy evil. By all means, then, let Ireland
+have the precedence. She needs it more than the other countries do,
+and to her claims we are all disposed to yield.
+
+But England owes Scotland something also. For a long series of years,
+amidst great political changes, through good and through evil report,
+this Magazine has been the consistent champion of our national
+interests; and, whether the blow was aimed at our country by seeming
+friend or open foe, we have never hesitated to speak out boldly. More
+than twenty years ago, a measure was passed by the United Parliament,
+which literally brought down ruin upon the Highlands of Scotland, and
+from the effects of which many of the districts have never recovered.
+Along all the western coast and throughout the islands, the
+manufacture of kelp was the only branch of industry within the reach
+of a poor and extended population, who, from their very poverty, were
+entitled to the most kindly regard of government. But, as it is
+believed, at the instigation of one member of the cabinet, himself
+largely connected with foreign trade, without enquiry and without
+warning, the market was thrown open to competition from without,
+barilla imported, and the staple product of the north of Scotland
+annihilated. To this fatal, and, we hesitate not to say, most wanton
+measure, we attribute the periods of distress, and the long-continued
+depression, which, in very many lamentable instances, have been the
+ruin of our ancient families, and in consequence of which the Highland
+glens have been depopulated. It was a cruel thing to do, under any
+circumstances--a wicked thing, when we remember the interest by which
+it was carried. There is now a great opportunity of giving us a
+reasonable compensation. From the introduction of the railway system,
+we anticipate a new era of prosperity to Scotland--a time when we
+shall not have to devote ourselves to the melancholy task of
+decreasing the population by a harsh or inhuman exile--when the crofts
+of the valleys shall again be tilled, and the household fires shall be
+lighted on the now deserted hearthstone. Therefore, in the event of a
+restriction, we so far claim precedence. Let the work, however, be
+impartially distributed throughout the kingdoms, and there can be no
+ground any where for complaint. Only let our haste be tempered with
+prudence, and our enthusiasm moderated down to a just coincidence with
+our means.
+
+During all this torrent of speculation, what is the Currency doing? No
+man seems to know. The nation has found a paper of its own quite as
+effective as that which is doled out by the chartered bank. The
+brokers are, in fact, becoming bankers, and payments of all kinds are
+readily made in scrip. This is an instructive fact, and may somewhat
+tend to disturb the triumph of the theorists who uphold the doctrine
+of a restrictive trade in money. We do not rely on the safety of the
+system, but we look upon it as a strong proof that our monetary
+regulations are wrong, and that there is not only a wish, but several
+practical ways, effectually to evade its fetters. We are not, however,
+going into that question, though it is by no means unconnected with
+our present subject. At the same time we should like to see this same
+article of scrip, which is fast approximating to notes, a little more
+protected. Has it never occurred to the mind of the Chancellor of the
+Exchequer, or to the Premier, who has a most searching eye, that a
+very profitable source of revenue to the public, and one which would
+hardly be grudged, might be derived from the simple expedient of
+requiring that _all scrip should be stamped_? There is no practical
+difficulty in the matter. Companies already formed, if they do not
+desire the benefit of a stamp--the best, and indeed at present the
+only security against the forger--may be called upon to pay their
+quota, corresponding to the number of their shares, from the fund of
+their Parliamentary deposit. New companies, again, might be
+imperatively required to issue stamps; and we confidently believe that
+no tax whatever would be more cheerfully assented to. Let the currency
+doctors do what they will, they never can drive scrip from the market.
+Would it not, then, be a measure of good policy to enlist it as a
+serviceable ally?
+
+Whether these observations of ours may stand the test of another
+year's experience, is certainly matter of doubt. The period of a
+single month makes wild changes in the prospects of the system, and
+involves us not only in new calculations but in a newer phase of
+things. At any rate it can do no harm, in the present period of
+excitement, to preach a little moderation, even though our voice
+should be as inaudible as the chirp of a sparrow on the house-top. The
+speculative spirit of the age may be checked and controlled, but it
+cannot be put down, nor would we wish to see it pass away. All great
+improvement is the fruit of speculation, upon which, indeed, commerce
+itself is based. We have, therefore, no sympathy for that numerous
+class of gentlemen who profess a pious horror for every venture of the
+kind, who croak prophetical bankruptcies, and would disinherit their
+sons without scruple, if by any accident they detected them in
+dalliance with scrip. A worthier, but a more contracted, section of
+the human race does not exist. They are the genuine descendants of the
+Picts; and, had they lived in remoter days, would have been the first
+to protest against the abolition of ochre as an ornament, or the
+substitution of broadcloth for the untanned buffalo hide. The nation
+must progress, and the true Conservative policy is to lay down a
+proper plan for the steadiness and endurance of its march. The Roman
+state was once saved by the judicious dispositions of a Fabius, and,
+in our mind, Sir Robert Peel cannot do the public a greater service
+than to imitate the example of the _Cunctator_. He has the power, and,
+more than any living statesman, the practical ability, to grapple with
+such a subject in all its details. That Parliament must do something,
+is apparent to every reflecting man. The machinery of it cannot
+dispose, as heretofore, of the superabundant material. It must devise
+some method of regulation, and that method must be clear and decisive.
+A question more important can hardly be conceived, and so with the
+legislature we leave it.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[7] Since this article was sent to press, the Bank of England has
+raised its rates of discount one-half per cent. Our prognostication,
+therefore, has been verified sooner than we expected, and we are not
+sorry to find that great establishment thus early indicating its
+opinion that speculation has been pushed too far. We see no ground of
+alarm in the rise, but rather a security for a more healthy and
+moderate market.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Edinburgh: Printed by Ballantyne & Hughes, Paul's Work._
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume
+62, Number 361, November, 1845., by Various
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE, NOV. 1845 ***
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+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 62,
+Number 361, November, 1845., 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: Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 62, Number 361, November, 1845.
+
+Author: Various
+
+Release Date: December 25, 2008 [EBook #27611]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE, NOV. 1845 ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Brendan OConnor, Erica Hills, Jonathan Ingram
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images
+generously made available by The Internet Library of Early
+Journals.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<div class="transnote">
+TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: Spellings are sometimes erratic. A few obvious
+misprints have been corrected, but in general the original spelling and typesetting conventions
+(e.g. ellipses as * * *) have been retained. Accents in foreign language phrases are
+inconsistent, and have not been standardised.</div>
+
+<h1>BLACKWOOD'S<br />
+EDINBURGH MAGAZINE.</h1>
+<h3>
+<span class="rspace">No. CCCLXI.</span>
+<span class="btbb">NOVEMBER, 1845.</span>
+<span class="lspace">VOL. LXII.</span>
+</h3>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS.</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<div class="center">
+<table summary="Table of contents">
+
+<tr><td class="toc">The Student of Salamanca. Part I.</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_521">521</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="toc">Humboldt.</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_541">541</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="toc">Hakem the Slave.</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_560">560</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class="toc">The Lay of Stark&agrave;ther.</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_570">570</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class="toc">Mozart.</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_572">572</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="toc">Account of a Visit to the Volcano of Kirauea.</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_591">591</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="toc">The Days of the Fronde.</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_596">596</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="toc">The Grand General Junction and Indefinite</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tocin">Extension Railway Rhapsody.</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_614">614</a></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td class="toc">Sketches of Italy&mdash;Lucca</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_617">617</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class="toc">The Railways.</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_633">633</a></td></tr>
+
+</table></div>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+
+<h2>EDINBURGH:</h2>
+
+<h3>WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, 45, GEORGE STREET; <br />
+AND 37, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON.,</h3>
+
+<h5><i>To whom all Communications (post paid) must be addressed.</i></h5>
+
+<h4>SOLD BY ALL THE BOOKSELLERS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.</h4>
+
+<h4>PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE AND HUGHES, EDINBURGH.</h4>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<h2>BLACKWOOD'S<br />
+EDINBURGH MAGAZINE.</h2>
+<h4>
+<span class="rspace">No. CCCLXI.</span>
+<span class="btbb">NOVEMBER, 1845.</span>
+<span class="lspace">VOL. LXII.</span>
+</h4>
+
+<div class="biggap">
+<!-- Page 521 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_521" id="Page_521">[Pg 521]</a></span>
+<h2>THE STUDENT OF SALAMANCA.</h2></div>
+
+<h2><span class="smcap">Part I.</span></h2>
+
+<div class="poem center"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i5">"Espa&ntilde;a de la guerra<br /></span>
+<span class="i5">Tremola la pendon."<br /></span>
+<span class="i6"><i>Cancion Patriotica.</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+<div class="gap" />
+<p>It wanted about an hour of sunset
+on the last day of September 1833,
+when two young men, whose respective
+ages did not much exceed twenty
+years, emerged from a country lane
+upon the high-road from Tarazona to
+Tudela, in that small district of Navarre
+which lies south of the river
+Ebro.</p>
+
+<p>The equipments of the travellers&mdash;for
+such the dusty state of their apparel,
+and the knapsacks upon their
+shoulders, indicated them to be&mdash;were
+exactly similar, and well calculated
+for a pedestrian journey across the steep
+sierras and neglected roads of Spain.
+They consisted, with little variation, of
+the national Spanish dress&mdash;short jackets
+of dark cloth, somewhat braided
+and embroidered, knee-breeches of the
+same material, and broad-brimmed
+hats, surrounded by velvet bands.
+Only, instead of the tight-fitting
+stockings and neat pumps, which
+should have completed the costume,
+long leathern gamashes extended from
+knee to ankle, and were met below
+the latter by stout high-quartered
+shoes. Each of the young men carried
+a stick in his hand, rather, as it
+appeared, from habit, or for purposes
+of defence, than as a support, and
+each of them had a cloak of coarse
+black serge folded and strapped upon
+his otter-skin knapsack. With their
+costume, however, the similarity in
+their appearance ceased; nothing
+could be more widely different than
+their style of person and countenance.
+The taller of the two, who was also
+apparently the elder, was of a slender,
+active figure, with well-moulded
+limbs, and a handsome, intelligent
+countenance, in which energy and
+decision of character were strongly
+marked. His complexion was dark
+olive; his eyes and short curling hair
+were of a coal black; what little beard
+he had was closely shaven, excepting
+upon the upper lip, which was fringed
+by a well-defined mustache, as gracefully
+curved and delicately penciled
+as any that Vandyke ever painted.
+At this time, however, there was a
+shade over his countenance other than
+that cast by the broad leaf of his sombrero;
+it was the look of mingled
+hope, anxiety, and suspense, sometimes
+worn by persons who are drawing
+near to a goal, their attainment
+of which is still doubtful, and at which,
+even when attained, it is not quite
+certain whether pleasure or pain
+awaits them.</p>
+
+<p>No such thoughts or anxieties were
+to be read upon the joyous, careless<!-- Page 522 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_522" id="Page_522">[Pg 522]</a></span>
+countenance of the second traveller&mdash;a
+stout, square-built young man,
+whose ruddy complexion and light-brown
+hair contrasted as strongly
+with the dark locks and olive skin of
+his companion as they differed from
+the generally received notions of Spanish
+physiognomy. The face wore
+no particular expression, excepting
+that of good-humoured <i>insouciance</i>;
+his hazel eye had a merry twinkle,
+and a slight fulness of lip and chin
+seemed to denote a reasonable degree
+of addiction to the good things of this
+life. Altogether, and to judge them
+by their physiognomies only, one
+would have chosen the first for a
+friend, the latter for a pleasant and
+jovial boon-companion.</p>
+
+<p>On leaving the cross-road, the two
+pedestrians took a northerly direction,
+in which they proceeded for nearly a
+quarter of an hour without exchanging
+a syllable, the one absorbed in
+meditations which the other was apparently
+unwilling to disturb. At the
+end of that time they paused, as if by
+preconcerted arrangement, in front of
+a small <i>venta</i>, or country inn, less
+remarkable for the accommodation it
+afforded, than for its pleasant situation
+and aspect. It stood a little back
+from the road, in a nook formed by
+the recession of a line of wooded hills
+which there skirt the highway. The
+front of the house, composed of rough
+blocks of grey stone, was overgrown by
+the twisted branches of a venerable
+vine, the age of which did not prevent
+it from becoming covered each spring
+with leaves and tendrils, nor from
+yielding in the autumn an abundant
+supply of delicious gold-coloured
+grapes. At a short distance in front
+of the door, which opened into the
+stable, whence a wooden step-ladder
+led to the upper floor, there stood a
+huge oak, throwing its broad shadow
+over a table and some benches placed
+beneath it for the accommodation of
+guests. On one side of the venta,
+and detached from it, but in a right
+line with its front, was a massive
+fragment of wall, which had probably,
+at no very remote period, formed part
+of a chapel or convent. Its summit,
+which was broken and irregular, rose
+full thirty feet from the ground
+throughout more than double that
+length, and along the wall, at about
+two-thirds of a man's height, ran a
+horizontal black line, indicating, as
+did also the numerous marks and
+bruises upon the whitewashed surface,
+that this ancient piece of masonry
+enabled the frequenters of the venta
+to indulge in the favourite <i>juego de
+pelota</i>, or a game at ball, to which the
+Navarrese and the northern Spaniards
+generally are much addicted, and at
+which most of them excel.</p>
+
+<p>On the arrival of our travellers,
+the benches in front of the venta had
+already two occupants, belonging to
+classes of men which may rank
+amongst the chief supporters of Spanish
+roadside inns. One of them was
+a corporal of dragoons, returning to
+his garrison at Tudela, whence he
+had probably been sent with a despatch,
+or on some similar mission.
+He was a strapping, powerful fellow,
+well set up, as the phrase goes, and
+whose broad shoulders and soldierly
+figure showed to advantage in his
+dark-green uniform. His horse&mdash;a
+high-crested, fine-legged Andalusian,
+whose jetty coat looked yet blacker
+by contrast with the white sheep-skin
+that covered the saddle, and the
+flakes of foam with which his impatient
+champings had covered his broad
+chest&mdash;was tied up near the stable
+door, the bridle removed, finishing
+out of a nose-bag a plentiful feed of
+maize. The dragoon's sabre and his
+brass and leopard-skin helmet were
+hanging at the saddle-bow, their
+owner having temporarily covered his
+head with a smart foraging-cap of
+green and scarlet cloth, which set off to
+great advantage his bearded and martial
+countenance. Having provided for
+his horse, the trooper was now attending
+to the calls of his own appetite,
+and doing immense execution on some
+goat's-milk cheese and excellent white
+bread, which he moistened by copious
+draughts of the thick black wine of
+Navarre.</p>
+
+<p>Seated opposite to the soldier, and
+similarly employed, was a hardy-looking
+man, who had arrived in company
+with two mules, which were also
+tethered to a ring in the venta wall,
+but at a respectful distance from the
+dragoon's charger. A heap of chopped
+straw and Indian corn leaves was
+lying before them, at which they assiduously
+munched&mdash;not, however,<!-- Page 523 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_523" id="Page_523">[Pg 523]</a></span>
+without occasionally casting wistful
+glances at the more luxurious repast
+of their neighbour. The soldier and
+the muleteer had apparently met before;
+and when the new-comers approached
+them, they were discussing
+with great animation the merits of the
+various players in a ball-match which
+they had recently witnessed near
+Tudela. Thence they glided into a
+discussion concerning ball-players in
+general; the muleteer, who was a
+Navarrese, asserting the invincibility
+of his country at the game of pelota,
+whilst the corporal, who came from
+the neighbourhood of Oviedo, was
+equally confident of the superiority of
+the Asturians.</p>
+
+<p>Whilst the younger of the travellers
+was ascertaining from the <i>patrona</i>
+the state of the larder, which, as is
+usual enough in Spanish inns, was
+but meagrely provided, his companion
+sought out the landlord of the
+venta, whom he found in the chimney-corner,
+enjoying a supplementary
+siesta amidst a cloud of wood smoke.</p>
+
+<p>"The Conde de Villabuena," enquired
+the young man, when he had
+shaken the drowsy host out of his
+slumbers&mdash;"is he still at his house
+between this and Tudela?"</p>
+
+<p>The <i>ventero</i>, a greasy, ill-conditioned
+Valencian, rubbed his eyes, muttered
+a coarse oath, and seemed half
+disposed, instead of replying, to pick
+a quarrel with his interrogator; but a
+glance at the athletic figure and resolute
+countenance of the latter, dissipated
+the inclination, and he answered
+by a surly affirmative.</p>
+
+<p>"And his daughter also?" continued
+the stranger in a lower tone.</p>
+
+<p>"Do&ntilde;a Rita? To be sure she is,
+or was yesterday; for I saw her ride
+by with her father and some other
+cavaliers. What eyes the little
+beauty has; and what a foot! It was
+peeping from under her habit as she
+passed. Sant'Antonio, what a foot!"</p>
+
+<p>And now thoroughly awakened, the
+ventero launched out into a panegyric
+on the lady's beauty, interlarded by
+appeals to various saints as to the
+justice of his praise, which was continued,
+in the manner of a soliloquy,
+for some time after the stranger had
+turned his back upon him and descended
+the stairs.</p>
+
+<p>At the door of the venta the young
+man encountered his companion, who
+was issuing forth with a jug of wine
+in his hand.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Luis," said the latter, "have
+you ascertained it? Is she still here,
+or has our journey been in vain?"</p>
+
+<p>"She is here," was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>"Good. Then I hope you will put
+aside your melancholy, and eat and
+drink with better appetite than you
+have lately done. We have plenty
+of time; it will not be dark for the
+next two hours. So let us to supper,
+such as it is; ham as rancid as an old
+oil-cask, eggs that would have been
+chickens to-morrow, and wine&mdash;but the
+wine may atone for the rest&mdash;it is old
+Peralta, or the patrona is perjured. I
+have had the table spread under the
+tree, in hopes that fresh air may
+sweeten musty viands, and in order
+that we may see the ball-play of yonder
+soldier and muleteer."</p>
+
+<p>The young man who had been addressed
+by the name of Luis, glanced
+in the direction of the ball-court,
+where the two men to whom his companion
+referred were preparing for a
+match. The discussion as to the
+superiority of Navarrese or Asturian
+ball-players had increased in warmth,
+until the disputants, each obstinate
+in his opinion, finding themselves,
+perhaps, at a loss for verbal arguments,
+had agreed to refer the matter
+to a trial of individual skill. The
+challenge came from the dragoon,
+who, as soon as he heard it accepted,
+proceeded to lighten himself for his
+task. With great alacrity he threw
+aside his foraging-cap, stripped off his
+pouch-belt and uniform coat, and unfastened
+his spurs. The preparations
+of the muleteer were even more rapidly
+completed. When he had thrown
+off his jacket&mdash;the back of which was
+adorned, according to the custom of
+his class, with flowers and various
+quaint devices, cut out in cloth of
+many colours, and sewn upon the
+brown material of which the garment
+was composed&mdash;he stood in his shirt
+and trousers of unbleached linen,
+with light sandals of plaited hemp
+upon his feet. In this latter respect
+he had the advantage of the soldier,
+who, not choosing to play barefooted,
+was obliged to retain his heavy boots.
+In apparent activity, too, the advantage
+was greatly on the side of the<!-- Page 524 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_524" id="Page_524">[Pg 524]</a></span>
+Navarrese, who was spare and sinewy,
+without an ounce of superfluous flesh
+about him, but with muscles like iron,
+and limbs as elastic and springy as
+whalebone. His very face partook of
+the hard, wiry character of his person;
+the cheekbones were slightly prominent,
+and, although he evidently
+wanted some years of thirty, two deep
+furrows or lines, such as are rarely
+seen on the countenance of so young
+a man, curved outwards from either
+nostril to considerably below the
+mouth, increasing in depth when he
+talked or smiled, and giving, in conjunction
+with a quick grey eye, considerable
+character to his frank, and by
+no means disagreeable countenance.</p>
+
+<p>The game began with great spirit,
+and with much appearance of equality
+between the players, who would both
+have been deemed first-rate in any
+ball-court in Europe. The great
+strength of the dragoon seemed at
+first to give him the advantage; the
+tremendous blows he delivered sent
+the ball against the wall with as much
+seeming force as if it had been driven
+out of a cannon, and caused it to rebound
+to an immense distance, keeping
+the muleteer continually at the
+very top of his speed. The match
+was to be the best two out of three
+games. The first of the three was
+won by the muleteer, after the victory
+had been long and well contested.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Bien!</i>" said the dragoon, as he
+wiped the perspiration from his face,
+and took a deep draught out of a jug
+of wine which the ventero presented
+to him. "<i>Bien</i>&mdash;that is one for you;
+the next may go differently. I only
+missed the ball through my foot slipping.
+Curse boots for playing ball
+in, say I! Hola, Valenciano! have
+you never a pair of shoes or espadrillas
+to lend me?"</p>
+
+<p>The landlord, who acted as umpire,
+and who, as well as his wife and two
+or three loitering peasants, was taking
+an intense interest in the game, ran
+into the house and brought out a pair
+of sandals. These the soldier tied
+upon his feet, in lieu of the boots to
+which he attributed his defeat. Then,
+with renewed confidence, he took his
+place opposite the wall, where the
+muleteer was waiting for him.</p>
+
+<p>But if, as the dragoon said, an accident
+had lost him the first game, it
+soon became evident that the superior
+activity and endurance of his antagonist
+were equally certain to make
+him lose the second. The idleness of
+a garrison life, fat feeding, and soft
+lying, had disqualified the soldier to
+compete for any length of time with
+a man like the Navarrese, accustomed
+to the severest hardships, whose most
+luxurious meal was a handful of
+boiled beans, his softest couch a bundle
+of straw or the packsaddles of his
+mules. Constant exposure and unceasing
+toil had given the muleteer
+the same insensibility to fatigue attributed
+to certain savage tribes.
+Whilst his antagonist, with inflamed
+features and short-drawn breath, and
+reeking with perspiration, was toiling
+after the ball, the Navarrese went
+through the same, or a greater amount
+of exertion, without the least appearance
+of distress. Not a bead of moisture
+upon his face, nor a pant from
+his broad, well-opened chest, gave
+token of the slightest inconvenience
+from the violent exercise he was
+going through. On the contrary, as
+he went on and got warm in the harness,
+he seemed to play better, to run
+faster, to catch the ball with greater
+address, and strike it with more force.
+Sometimes he would be standing close
+to the wall, when a mighty blow from
+the strong arm of the dragoon sent
+the ball scores of yards in his rear.
+It seemed impossible that he should
+arrive soon enough to strike it. But
+before it had time to rebound, he was
+behind it, and by a blow of his horny
+palm, less forcible perhaps, but more
+dexterously applied than the one his
+opponent had given, he sent it careering
+back to the wall with greater
+swiftness than it had left it. He
+rarely struck the ball in the air, even
+when the opportunity offered, but
+allowed it to rebound&mdash;a less dashing,
+but a surer game than he would perhaps
+have played, had he not considered
+the honour of "Navarra la
+bella" to be at stake, represented in
+his person. Again, when the ball
+fell near the wall, he would sometimes
+swing his arm as though about to
+strike it a violent blow, and, whilst
+the dragoon was already beginning to
+retire in the direction he expected it
+to take, he would change his apparent
+intention, and drop it gently just<!-- Page 525 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_525" id="Page_525">[Pg 525]</a></span>
+above the line, so that his opponent,
+although rushing up in desperate
+haste, could scarcely arrive in time
+to avoid being put out. It was by
+a feint of this description that the
+second game was decided in favour
+of the Navarrese.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Viva la Navarra!</i>" shouted the
+winner, bounding like a startled roebuck
+three or four feet from the
+ground, in front of the discomfited
+soldier.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Viva el demonio!</i>" growled the
+latter in reply. "Do you think that
+because you have beaten me to-day,
+thanks to your herring guts and dog's
+hide, that you could do the same if I
+were in training, or had a month's
+practice? You would find it very different,
+Master Paco."</p>
+
+<p>"Viva la Navarra!" repeated
+Paco, chucking the small hard ball up
+into the air, to a height at which it
+appeared scarcely bigger than a bullet.
+Then replying to the words of the
+dragoon; "At your orders, Se&ntilde;or
+Velasquez," said he, "I shall pass
+through Tudela some time next month,
+and shall be ready to give you your
+revenge."</p>
+
+<p>And catching the ball as it fell, the
+Navarrese, whom victory had put
+into extravagant spirits, began tossing
+it from one hand to the other,
+catching it behind his back, and performing
+various other small feats of
+address, looking the while at the corporal
+with a sort of jeering smile,
+which greatly aggravated the irritation
+of the latter.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Pues</i>," said Velasquez at last,
+after gazing at Paco for the space of
+a minute with a stern look, which was
+insufficient, however, to make the
+other lower his eyes, or alter the expression
+of his countenance; "Well,
+what do you stare at? Oh! I forgot&mdash;you
+may well stare. It is the first
+time that you have seen an Asturian
+caballero beaten at any thing by a cur
+of a Navarrese."</p>
+
+<p>"Not at all," replied the muleteer
+coolly; "your Se&ntilde;oria is mistaken.
+It is only the first time that I have
+seen an Asturian <i>caballero</i> with a
+pipeclayed belt over his shoulder,
+and a corporal's bars upon his arm."</p>
+
+<p>And he broke out into one of those
+wild shrill laughs of scorn and defiance
+with which the peasant soldiers
+of Navarre have so often, during recent
+Spanish wars, caused the rocks
+and ravines of their native province
+to ring again.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Hijo de zorra!</i>" muttered the
+soldier, enraged beyond endurance by
+this last taunt; and drawing back his
+right arm, he dealt so heavy and unexpected
+a blow upon the breast of
+the muleteer that the latter reeled a
+couple of paces backwards, and then
+fell headlong and with considerable
+violence to the ground. The dragoon
+gazed for an instant at the fallen man,
+as if expecting him to rise and attack
+him in turn; but, seeing that he did
+not do so, he turned round and walked
+slowly in the direction of his charger.</p>
+
+<p>He had taken but a few steps when
+the Navarrese sprang to his feet, and
+thrust his hand into the red sash
+which girded his waist, as though
+seeking a weapon. He found none,
+and, instantly darting forward, he
+passed the soldier, and reached his
+mules a moment sooner than the former
+did his horse. The next instant
+a long brown barrel was projected
+across the packsaddles, and behind
+it was seen the blue cap and pale
+countenance of Paco, who, with glittering
+eye and face livid from fury,
+was taking a deadly aim at the soldier,
+now standing beside the shoulder of
+his charger. Without a moment's
+hesitation the Navarrese pulled the
+trigger. As he did so, the dragoon,
+suddenly aware of his danger, threw
+himself on one side, and at the same
+time his horse, either startled by the
+movement or tormented by a fly,
+tossed his head violently up and backwards.
+The muleteer's bullet, intended
+for the rider, entered the brain of
+the steed. There was a convulsive
+quivering of the animal's whole frame,
+and then, before the smoke cleared
+away, the horse fell over so heavily
+and suddenly that he bore down Velasquez
+under him. The soldier lay
+with the whole weight of the expiring
+animal resting upon his legs and thighs;
+and, before he could make an attempt
+to extricate himself, the Navarrese,
+with a large dagger-shaped knife
+gleaming in his hand, sprang across
+the space that separated him from his
+antagonist. The fate of the latter
+would speedily have been decided,
+had not the innkeeper, his wife, and<!-- Page 526 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_526" id="Page_526">[Pg 526]</a></span>
+the two young men, who had been
+observing with much interest these
+rapidly occurring incidents, thrown
+themselves between Paco and the
+object of his wrath.</p>
+
+<p>"Out of the way!" roared the infuriated
+muleteer. "He has struck me,
+and by the Holy Trinity I will have
+his blood. He has struck <i>me</i>, a free
+Navarrese!" repeated he, striking his
+own breast with the points of his
+fingers, one of the expressive and
+customary gestures of his countrymen.</p>
+
+<p>"Let him be, Se&ntilde;or Don Paco!"
+yelled the ventero and his wife, greatly
+alarmed at the prospect of a murder
+in broad daylight and at their
+very threshold. "You have done
+enough already to send you to the
+galleys. Get on your mules, and ride
+away before worse comes of it."</p>
+
+<p>"<i>A los infiernos!</i>" shouted Paco.
+"As the horse now is, so shall be the
+rider." And he gave a long sweep of
+his arm, making the bright blade of
+his knife flash in the last red sun-rays
+like a curved line of burnished gold.
+The point of the weapon passed within
+an inch or two of the face of the innkeeper,
+who started back with a cry
+of alarm. At the same moment the
+wrist of the Navarrese was caught in
+a firm grasp by the elder of the two
+travellers, and the knife was wrested
+from his hand. The muleteer turned
+like a madman upon his new antagonist.
+The latter had laid aside the
+hat which shaded his face, and now
+fixed his eyes upon the angry countenance
+of the Navarrese.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you not know me, Paco?"
+said he, repulsing the first furious
+onset of the muleteer.</p>
+
+<p>Paco stared at him for a moment
+with a look of doubt and astonishment.</p>
+
+<p>"Don Luis!" he at last exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>"The same," replied the stranger.
+"You have been too hasty, Paco, and
+we expose ourselves to blame by not
+detaining you to answer for your attempt
+on yonder soldier's life, and for
+the death of his horse. But you had
+some provocation, and I, for one, am
+willing to take the risk. Begone, and
+that immediately."</p>
+
+<p>"I shall do your bidding, Se&ntilde;orito,"
+said Paco, "were it only for old acquaintance
+sake. But let that cowardly
+Asturian beware how he meets
+me in the mountains. I have missed
+him once, but will answer for not
+doing so again."</p>
+
+<p>"And you," retorted the soldier,
+whom the innkeeper and a peasant
+had dragged from under the dead
+horse, and placed upon a bench,
+where he sat rubbing his legs, which
+were numbed and bruised by the
+weight that had fallen upon them&mdash;"and
+you, have a care how you show
+yourself in Tudela. If there is a stirrup-leather
+or sword-scabbard in the
+garrison, I promise you as sound a
+beating as you ever yet received."</p>
+
+<p>The Navarrese, who had returned
+to his mules and was busied reloading
+his gun, snapped his fingers scornfully
+at this menace. Don Luis walked up
+to him.</p>
+
+<p>"Listen, Paco," said he, in a low
+voice, "take my advice, and avoid
+this neighbourhood for a while. Are
+you still in the service of Count Villabuena?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, Se&ntilde;or," replied the man, "I
+have left his Se&ntilde;oria, and the mules
+are my own. I shall be passing near
+the count's house to-morrow, if you
+have any thing to send."</p>
+
+<p>"I have nothing," answered Don
+Luis. "Should you by chance see
+any of the family, it is unnecessary to
+mention our meeting."</p>
+
+<p>Paco nodded his head significantly,
+seated himself sideways on one of his
+mules, his gun across his knees, and,
+leading the other by the bridle, trotted
+off at a brisk pace down a mountain
+path nearly opposite to the venta.
+Ten minutes later the dragoon, having
+regained, in some degree, the use of
+his legs, resumed his boots, took his
+saddle and valise on his shoulders,
+and set out on foot for his garrison.</p>
+
+<p>The sun had set, and the twilight
+passed away, the night was clear and
+starlight, but moonless, when Luis and
+his companion left the venta and
+resumed their progress northwards.
+After following the highway for a
+short league, they took a cross-road,
+on either side of which the richly cultivated
+plain was sprinkled with farmhouses,
+and with a few country villas.
+In spite of the darkness, which was
+increased by the overhanging foliage
+of the fruit-trees that on either hand
+bordered the road, Luis moved rapidly
+and confidently forward, in the<!-- Page 527 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_527" id="Page_527">[Pg 527]</a></span>
+manner of one perfectly acquainted
+with the ground; and presently, leaving
+the beaten track, he passed through
+a plantation of young trees, crossed a
+field, and arrived with his companion
+at a low hedge surrounding a spacious
+garden. Jumping over this boundary,
+the young men penetrated some distance
+into the enclosure, and soon
+found themselves within fifty yards
+of a house, of which the white walls
+were partially visible, rising out of a
+thick garland of trees and bushes in
+which the building was embowered.
+Several of the windows were lighted
+up, and the sound of music reached
+the ears of Luis and his companion.</p>
+
+<p>"This is far enough, Mariano,"
+said the former. "To the right,
+amongst the trees, you will find an
+old moss-grown bench, upon which I
+have often sat in happier days than
+these. There await my return."</p>
+
+<p>"Let me accompany you further,"
+replied Mariano. "There is no saying
+what reception the count may
+give you."</p>
+
+<p>"I shall not see the count," answered
+Luis; "and if by chance
+I should, there is nothing to apprehend.
+But my plan, as I have
+already explained to you, is only to
+seek one moment's interview with
+Rita. I am well acquainted with the
+arrangements of the house, and you
+may depend that I shall be seen by
+no one whom I wish to avoid."</p>
+
+<p>Mariano turned into the shrubbery,
+and Luis, with rapid but silent
+step, advanced towards the villa, favoured
+in his clandestine approach by
+the darkness of the night and the
+trees of the thickly-planted garden.</p>
+
+<p>The house was a square edifice,
+without balconies, and the windows
+that were lighted up were those of
+the first floor. On the side on which
+Luis first approached the building,
+the windows were closed, but, upon
+moving noiselessly round to the front,
+he perceived one which the fineness
+of the weather, still mild and genial
+although at the end of September,
+had induced the occupants of the room
+to leave open. The sound of laughter
+and merriment issued from it; but this
+was presently hushed, and two voices,
+accompanied by guitars, began to sing
+a lively <i>seguidilla</i>, of which, at the
+end of each piquant couplet, the listeners
+testified their approbation by a
+hum of mirthful applause. Before
+the song was over, Luis had sought
+and found a means of observing what
+was passing within doors. Grasping
+the lower branch of a tree which grew
+within a few feet of the corner of the
+house, he swung himself up amongst
+the foliage. A large bough extended
+horizontally below the open window,
+and by climbing along this, he was
+enabled to look completely into the
+apartment; whilst, owing to the thickness
+of the leafage and the dark colour
+of his dress, there was scarcely a possibility
+of his being discovered.</p>
+
+<p>The room was occupied by about
+twenty persons, the majority of whom
+were visitors, inhabitants of Tudela or
+of neighbouring country-houses. With
+four or five exceptions, the party consisted
+of men, for the most part elderly
+or middle-aged. One of the ladies
+and a young officer of the royal guard
+were the singers, and their performance
+seemed partially to interrupt the
+conversation of a group of the seniors
+who were seated round a card-table at
+the further end of the apartment.
+The cards, however, if they had been
+used at all, had long been thrown
+aside, and replaced by a discussion
+carried on in low tones, and with an
+earnestness of countenance and gesture,
+which gave to those engaged in
+it the appearance rather of conspirators
+than of friends met together for
+the enjoyment of each other's society.
+The ladies, and a few of the younger
+men, did not appear disposed to let
+the gravity of their elders interfere
+with their own pleasures. The song
+and the dance, the pointed epigram
+and witty repartee, all the varied resourccs
+which Spaniards know so well
+how to bring into play, and which
+render a Spanish <i>tertulia</i> so agreeable,
+had been in turn resorted to.
+When the seguidilla&mdash;during the continuance
+of which Luis had gained his
+post of observation&mdash;was brought to a
+close, there seemed to ensue a sort of
+break in the amusements of the evening.
+The younger members of the
+company, whose conversation had previously
+been general, separated into
+groups of two or three persons; and
+in more than one of those composed
+of the former number, the flashing
+eye, coquettish smile, and rapidly significant<!-- Page 528 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_528" id="Page_528">[Pg 528]</a></span>
+motions of the fan, bespoke
+the existence of an animated flirtation.</p>
+
+<p>Two ladies, neither of whom could
+have seen more than eighteen summers,
+now left the sofa upon which
+they had been sitting, and, with arms
+intertwined, approached the open
+window. Luis remained motionless
+as the leaves that surrounded him,
+and which were undisturbed by a
+breath of wind. The ladies leaned
+forward over the window-sill, enjoying
+the freshness of the night; and one
+of them, the lively brunette who had
+taken a part in the seguidilla, plucked
+some sprays of jasmine which reared
+their pointed leaves and white blossoms
+in front of the window, and began
+to entwine them in the hair of
+her companion&mdash;a pale and somewhat
+pensive beauty, in whose golden locks
+and blue eyes the Gothic blood of old
+Spain was yet to be traced. Presently
+she was interrupted in this
+fanciful occupation by a voice within
+the room calling upon her to sing.
+She obeyed the summons, and her
+friend remained alone at the window.</p>
+
+<p>No sooner was this the case than a
+slight rustling occurred amongst the
+branches of the tree, and the name of
+"Rita" was uttered in a cautious
+whisper. The lady started, and but half
+suppressed a cry of terror. The next
+instant the leaves were put aside, and
+the light from the apartment fell upon
+the countenance of Luis, who, with
+uplifted finger, warned the agitated
+girl to restrain her emotion.</p>
+
+<p>"Santa Virgen!" she exclaimed,
+leaning far out of the window, and
+speaking in a hurried whisper, "this
+is madness, Luis. My father is unchanged
+in his sentiments, and I
+dread his anger should he find you
+here."</p>
+
+<p>"I will instantly depart," replied
+Luis, "if you promise me an interview.
+I am about to leave Spain&mdash;perhaps
+for ever; but I cannot go
+without bidding you farewell. You
+will not refuse me a meeting which
+may probably be our last."</p>
+
+<p>"What mean you?" exclaimed
+the lady. "Why do you leave Spain,
+and when? But we shall be overheard.
+To-morrow my father goes
+to Tudela. Be here at mid-day.
+Brigida will admit you."</p>
+
+<p>She held out her hand, which Luis
+pressed to his lips. At that moment
+the clatter of a horse's hoofs, rapidly
+approaching, was heard upon the hard
+ground of the avenue. The lady
+hastily withdrew her land and left
+the window, whilst Luis again concealed
+himself behind the screen of
+foliage. Scarcely had he done so,
+when a horseman dashed up to the
+house, forced his steed up the three
+or four broad steps leading to the
+door, and, without dismounting or
+looking for a bell or other means of
+announcing his arrival, struck several
+blows upon the oaken panels with
+the butt of his heavy riding-whip.
+Whilst the party above-stairs hurried
+to the windows, and endeavoured to
+discern who it was that disturbed
+them in so unceremonious a manner,
+a servant opened the small grated
+wicket in the centre of the door, and
+enquired the stranger's pleasure.</p>
+
+<p>"Is the Conde de Villabuena at
+home?" demanded the horseman. "I
+must see him instantly."</p>
+
+<p>"The name of your Se&ntilde;oria," enquired
+the domestic.</p>
+
+<p>"It is unnecessary. Say that I
+have a message to him from friends
+at Madrid."</p>
+
+<p>The servant disappeared, and in
+another moment his place was occupied
+by a grave, stern-looking man,
+between fifty and sixty years of age.</p>
+
+<p>"I am Count Villabuena," said he;
+"what is your business?"</p>
+
+<p>The stranger bent forward over his
+horse's mane, so as to bring his face
+close to the wicket, and uttered three
+words in a tone audible only to the
+count, who replied to them by an
+exclamation of surprise. The door
+was immediately opened, and Villabuena
+stood beside the horseman.</p>
+
+<p>"When?" said he.</p>
+
+<p>"Yesterday. I have ridden night
+and day to bring you the intelligence,
+and shall now push on to the interior
+of Navarre. At the same time as
+myself, others of our friends started,
+north and south, east and west. Early
+this morning, Santos Ladron heard it
+at Valladolid, and Merino in Castile.
+To-day the news has reached Vittoria;
+this night they will be at Bilboa and
+Tolosa. It is from the northern provinces
+that most is expected; but
+'El Rey y la Religion' is a rallying-cry<!-- Page 529 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_529" id="Page_529">[Pg 529]</a></span>
+that will rouse all Spaniards
+worthy of the name. You are prepared
+for the event, and know what
+to do. Farewell, and success attend
+us!"</p>
+
+<p>The stranger set spurs to his horse,
+and galloped down the avenue at
+the same rapid pace at which he had
+arrived. The count re-entered the
+house; and, as soon as he had done so,
+Luis dropped from his tree, and hurried
+to rejoin Mariano. In another
+hour they had returned to the venta.</p>
+
+<p>Luis Herrera was the son of a Castilian
+gentleman, who had suffered
+much, both in person and property,
+for his steady adherence to the constitutional
+cause in Spain. Severely
+wounded whilst fighting against the
+Royalists and their French allies in
+1823, Don Manuel Herrera with difficulty
+escaped to England, taking with
+him his only son, then a boy of eleven
+years of age. In 1830 he changed his
+residence to the south of France, and
+thence, taking advantage of his proximity
+to the frontier, and wishing his
+son's education to be completed in
+Spain, he dispatched Luis to Madrid,
+with a recommendation to the Conde
+de Villabuena, who, notwithstanding
+that his political principles were diametrically
+opposed to those of Don
+Manuel, was one of the oldest friends
+of the latter. The count welcomed
+Luis kindly, and received him into
+his house, where for some months he
+prosecuted his studies in company
+with the young Villabuenas, and, at
+the end of that time, went with them
+to the university of Salamanca. The
+vacations were passed by the young
+men either at the count's house at
+Madrid, or at a country residence
+near Tudela, north of which, in the
+central valleys of his native province
+of Navarre, the Conde de Villabuena
+owned extensive estates. The count
+was a widower, and, besides his two
+sons, had an only daughter, who, at
+the time of Luis's arrival was in her
+sixteenth year, and who added to
+great personal attractions a share of
+accomplishment and instruction larger
+than is usually found even amongst
+the higher classes of Spanish women.
+During the first sojourn of Luis at the
+count's house, he was naturally thrown
+a great deal into Do&ntilde;a Rita's society,
+and a reciprocal attachment grew up
+between them, which, if it occasionally
+afforded the young Villabuenas a subject
+of good-humoured raillery, on the
+other hand was unobserved or uncared
+for by the count&mdash;a stern silent man,
+whose thoughts and time were engrossed
+by political intrigues. When
+Luis went to Salamanca, his attachment
+to Rita, instead of becoming
+weakened or obliterated, appeared to
+acquire strength from absence; and
+she, on her part, as each vacation
+approached, unconsciously looked forward
+with far more eagerness to the
+return of Herrera than to that of her
+brothers.</p>
+
+<p>The autumn of 1832 arrived, and
+the count and his family, including
+Luis, were assembled at the villa near
+Tudela. The attachment existing
+between Rita and Luis had become
+evident to all who knew them; and
+even the count himself seemed occasionally,
+by a quiet glance and grave
+smile, to recognise and sanction its
+existence. Nor was there any very
+obvious or strong reason for disapproval.
+The family of Herrera was
+ancient and honourable; and, although
+Don Manuel's estates had been confiscated
+when he fled the country, he
+had previously remitted to England a
+sum that secured him a moderate independence.
+The state of things in
+Spain was daily becoming more favourable
+to the hopes of political
+exiles. The declining health of Ferdinand
+had thrown the reins of
+government almost entirely into the
+hands of Queen Christina, who, in
+order to increase the number of her
+adherents, and ensure her daughter's
+succession to the throne, favoured the
+return to Spain of the Liberal party.
+Although Don Manuel, who was known
+to be obstinate and violent in his
+political views, had not yet been included
+in the amnesties published, it
+was thought that he speedily would
+be so; and then time and importunity,
+and an adherence to the established
+order of things, might perhaps procure
+him the restitution of some part
+of his confiscated property.</p>
+
+<p>It chanced, that on the fourth day
+after the arrival of Luis and the Villabuenas
+from Salamanca, the two
+latter rode over to the Ebro, below
+Tudela, for the purpose of bathing.
+They were not good swimmers, and<!-- Page 530 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_530" id="Page_530">[Pg 530]</a></span>
+were moreover unaccustomed to bathe
+in so rapid and powerful a stream. A
+peasant, who observed two horses
+tied to a tree, and some clothes upon
+the grass by the river side, but who
+could see nothing of the owners, suspected
+an accident, and gave the alarm.
+A search was instituted, and the dead
+bodies of the unfortunate young men
+were found upon the sandy shore of an
+island some distance down the river.</p>
+
+<p>This melancholy event was destined
+to have an important influence on the
+position of Luis Herrera in the family
+of Count Villabuena, and on his
+future fortunes. Mingled with the
+natural grief felt by the count at the
+untimely death of his children, were
+the pangs of disappointed pride and
+ambition. He had reckoned upon the
+gallant and promising young men, thus
+prematurely snatched away, for the
+continuance and aggrandizement of
+his ancient name. Upon his daughter
+he had hitherto scarcely bestowed a
+thought. She would marry&mdash;honourably
+of course, richly if possible; but
+even in this last respect he would not
+be inflexible, for where his pride of
+birth did not interfere, Villabuena
+was not an unkind father. But the
+death of his sons brought about great
+changes. The next heir to his title
+and estates was a distant and unmarried
+cousin, and to him the count
+determined to marry his daughter,
+whose beauty and large fortune in
+money and unentailed estates, rendered
+any objection to the match on
+the part of her kinsman a most improbable
+occurrence. As a first step
+towards the accomplishment of this
+scheme, the count resolved to put an
+end at once to what he considered the
+childish attachment existing between
+Rita and Luis. Within a week after
+the death of his sons, he had a conversation
+with young Herrera, in
+which he informed him of his intentions
+with regard to his daughter, and
+pointed out to him the necessity of
+forgetting her. In vain did Luis declare
+this to be impossible, and plead
+the strength which his attachment
+had acquired by his long permitted
+intercourse with Rita. The count
+cared little for such lover-like arguments;
+he assured Luis that he was
+mistaken, that time and absence
+brought oblivion in their train, and
+that after a few months, perhaps
+weeks, of separation, he would wonder
+at the change in his sentiments, and
+laugh at the importance he had attached
+to a mere boyish fancy. It so
+happened, that on the day preceding the
+one upon which this conversation took
+place, a letter had been received from
+Don Manuel Herrera, announcing his
+speedy return to Spain, the much-desired
+permission having at length
+been obtained. In order to give Luis
+an opportunity of speedily testing the
+effects of absence, the count proposed
+that he should at once set out for the
+French frontier to meet his father.
+Under the existing circumstances, he
+said, it was undesirable that he should
+remain under the same roof with his
+daughter longer than could be avoided.</p>
+
+<p>Although bitterly deploring the
+prospect of an immediate and lasting
+separation from Rita, Luis had no
+choice but to adopt the course proposed;
+nor would his pride have
+allowed him to remain in the count's
+house an instant longer than his presence
+there was acceptable. He feared
+that the count would prevent his
+having a last interview with Rita;
+but this Villabuena did not think it
+worth while to do, contenting himself
+with repeating to his daughter the
+communication he had already made
+to Luis. When the latter sought his
+mistress, he found her in tears and
+great affliction. The blow was so
+sudden and unexpected, that she could
+scarcely believe in its reality, and
+still less could she bring herself to
+think that the count would persist in
+his cruel resolution. "He will surely
+relent," she said, "when he sees how
+unhappy his decision makes me; but
+should he not do so, rest assured,
+Luis, that I will never be forced into
+this odious marriage. Sooner than
+submit to it, a convent shall receive
+me." And once more repeating the
+vows of constancy which they had so
+often interchanged, the lovers separated.
+At daybreak upon the following
+morning, Luis set out for Bayonne.</p>
+
+<p>The joy experienced by Don Manuel
+Herrera upon once more treading his
+native soil, did not so engross him as
+to prevent his observing the melancholy
+of his son. In reply to his
+father's enquiries, Luis informed him<!-- Page 531 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_531" id="Page_531">[Pg 531]</a></span>
+of his attachment to Rita, and of the
+interdict which the count had put
+upon its continuance. Don Manuel
+was indignant at what he termed the
+selfish and unfeeling conduct of Villabuena,
+who would thus sacrifice his
+daughter's happiness to his own pride
+and ambition. He then endeavoured
+to rouse the pride of Luis, and to convert
+his regrets into indignation; but,
+finding himself unsuccessful, he resolved
+to try the effect of change of
+scene and constant occupation. He
+set out with his son for Old Castile,
+of which he was a native, and undertook
+various journeys through the
+province in search of a small estate,
+such as his means would permit him
+to purchase, and upon which he might
+in future reside. This he at last
+found, a few leagues to the south of
+Burgos. The purchase completed,
+there were still many arrangements to
+make before Don Manuel could settle
+down and enjoy the peaceful country
+life which he had planned for himself,
+and in making these arrangements he
+took care to find his son abundant and
+varied employment. But all his well-meant
+efforts were in vain. Luis
+could not detach his thoughts from
+one all-engrossing subject; and at last,
+although Count Villabuena had expressly
+forbidden any correspondence
+between his daughter and young Herrera,
+the latter, after some weeks'
+absence, unable to resist any longer
+his desire to hear from Rita, ventured
+to write to her. The letter was intercepted
+by the count, and returned
+unopened, with a few haughty lines
+expressive of his indignation at the
+ingratitude of Luis, who was requiting
+the kindness he had received at
+his hands by endeavouring to thwart
+his plans and seduce the affections of
+his daughter. The terms in which
+this letter was couched roused the
+ire of Don Manuel, who in his turn
+forbade his son to expose himself to a
+repetition of similar insults by any
+communication with the count or his
+daughter. Shortly afterwards Luis
+returned to Salamanca to complete his
+studies.</p>
+
+<p>The profession of the law, to which
+young Herrera was destined, had
+never had any charms for him. His
+own inclinations pointed to a military
+career, which he had on various occasions
+urged his father to allow him to
+adopt; but Don Manuel had invariably
+refused his request, alleging the
+poor prospect of advancement in time
+of peace, and in a service in which
+nearly all promotion was gained by
+interest and court-favour. Nevertheless,
+from his earliest youth Luis had
+devoted his leisure hours to the attainment
+of accomplishments qualifying
+him for the trade of war. He was
+the boldest horseman, most skilful
+swordsman, and best shot in the University
+of Salamanca. His superiority
+in these respects, his decided character,
+and agreeable manners, had
+gained him considerable popularity
+amongst his fellow-students, who frequently
+expressed their surprise, that
+one whose vocation was evidently
+military should abide by the dusty
+folios and dry intricacies of the law.</p>
+
+<p>More insupportable than ever did
+his studies now appear to Luis, who
+nevertheless persevered in them for
+several months after his father's return
+to Spain, endeavouring by strenuous
+application to divert his thoughts
+from his hopeless attachment. Weary
+at length of the effort, he determined
+to abandon a pursuit so uncongenial
+to his tastes, and to seek a more active
+course of life, and one for which
+he felt he was better suited. His
+plan was to repair to Africa, and endeavour
+to obtain a commission in
+one of the foreign corps which the
+French were raising for their campaign
+against the Bedouins. Should he fail
+in this, he would serve as a volunteer,
+and trust to his courage and merits
+for procuring him advancement. Previously,
+however, to the execution of
+this scheme, he resolved to see Rita
+once more, ascertain from her own
+lips whether there was a chance of
+the count's relenting, and, should
+there be none, bid her a last farewell.
+He would then return to his father's
+house, and obtain Don Manuel's sanction
+to his project.</p>
+
+<p>Since the unfortunate death of the
+young Villabuenas, Herrera's chief
+intimate at the University had been
+Mariano Torres, a hot-headed, warm-hearted
+Arragonese, entirely devoted
+to Luis, to whom he looked up as a
+model of perfection. To this young<!-- Page 532 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_532" id="Page_532">[Pg 532]</a></span>
+man Luis had confided his love for
+Rita, and her father's opposition,
+and to him he now communicated his
+new plans. To his infinite surprise,
+scarcely had he done so when Mariano,
+instead of expressing regret at
+his approaching departure, threw his
+three-cornered student's hat to the
+ceiling, tore off his gown, and declared
+his intention of accompanying his
+friend to Africa, or to any other part
+of the world to which he chose to betake
+himself. Luis tried to persuade
+him to abandon so mad a resolution;
+but Torres persisted in it, protesting
+that it would suit his taste
+much better to fight against Bedouins
+than to become a bachelor of
+arts, and that he had always intended
+to leave the University with
+his friend, and to accompany him
+wherever he might go. Trusting
+that, by the time they should reach
+Navarre, Mariano's enthusiasm would
+cool down, and his resolution change,
+Luis at length yielded, and the
+two friends left Salamanca together.
+Travelling by the public conveyances,
+they reached Valladolid, and
+subsequently the town of Soria,
+whence they had still nearly twenty
+leagues of high-road to Tudela. The
+path across the mountains being considerably
+shorter, and in order to
+diminish the risk of being seen by persons
+who might inform the count of
+his arrival, Luis resolved to complete
+the journey on foot; and after two
+short days' march, the young men
+reached the neighbourhood of Count
+Villabuena's residence.</p>
+
+<p>The church and convent clocks of
+the right Catholic city of Tudela had not
+yet chimed out the hour of noon, when
+Luis, impatient for the interview promised
+by Rita, entered the count's
+domain by the same path as on the
+previous evening. Before he came in
+sight of the house, he was met at an
+angle of the shrubbery by Rita herself.</p>
+
+<p>"I was sure you would take this
+path," said she, with a smile in which
+melancholy was mingled with the
+pleasure she felt at seeing her lover;
+"it was your favourite in days gone
+by. Our interview must be very brief.
+My father was to have remained
+at Tudela till evening, but something
+has occurred to derange his plans.
+He sat up the whole night in close
+conference with some gentlemen. At
+daybreak two couriers were dispatched,
+and the count rode away with his
+friends without having been in bed.
+He may return at any moment."</p>
+
+<p>Luis drew the arm of his mistress
+through his own, and they slowly
+walked down one of the alleys of the
+garden. Rita had little to tell him
+favourable to the hopes which he
+still, in spite of himself, continued
+to cherish. The appeals which she
+had ventured to make to her father's
+affection, and to his regard for her
+happiness, had been met by severe
+reproof. Her evident depression and
+melancholy remained unnoticed, or at
+least unadverted to, by the count. All
+that she said only confirmed Luis in
+his resolution of seeking high distinction
+or an honourable death in a
+foreign service. He was deliberating,
+with eyes fixed upon the ground, on
+the best manner of breaking his intentions
+to Rita, when an exclamation
+of alarm from her lips caused him
+to look up, and he saw Villabuena
+crossing on horseback the end of the
+walk along which they were advancing.
+The count's head was turned towards
+them, and he had without doubt seen
+and recognised them.</p>
+
+<p>Herrera's resolution was instantly
+taken. He would seek the count's
+presence, take upon himself the whole
+blame of his clandestine meeting with
+Rita, and appease her father's anger
+by informing him of his proposed self-banishment.
+Before, however, he
+had succeeded in calming Rita's fears,
+he again perceived the count, who
+had left his horse, and was advancing
+slowly towards them, with a grave,
+but not an angry countenance. On
+his near approach, Luis was about to
+address him; but by a wave of his
+hand Villabuena enjoined silence.</p>
+
+<p>"Return to the house, Rita," said
+he in a calm voice: "and, you, Se&ntilde;or de
+Herrera, remain here; I would speak
+a few words with you."</p>
+
+<p>Tremblingly, and with one last lingering
+look at Luis, Rita withdrew.</p>
+
+<p>"We will walk, sir, if you please,"
+said the count; and the two men
+walked for some distance side by side
+and in silence; Villabuena apparently<!-- Page 533 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_533" id="Page_533">[Pg 533]</a></span>
+plunged in reflection, Luis wondering
+at his forbearance, and impatient for
+its explanation.</p>
+
+<p>"You are surprised," said the
+count at last, "after all that has
+passed, that I show so little resentment
+at your uninvited presence here,
+and at Rita's infringement of my positive
+commands."</p>
+
+<p>Luis would have spoken, but Villabuena
+resumed.</p>
+
+<p>"You will be still more astonished
+to learn, that there is a possibility of
+your attachment receiving my sanction."</p>
+
+<p>Herrera started, and his face was
+lighted up with sudden rapture.</p>
+
+<p>"You will of course have heard,"
+continued the count, "of the important
+intelligence received here last
+night, and with which this morning
+all the country is ringing. I allude
+to the death of Ferdinand VII."</p>
+
+<p>"I had not heard of it," replied
+Luis, much surprised; for, although
+the desperate state of the king's
+health was well known, his malady had
+lasted so long that men had almost
+left off expecting his death.</p>
+
+<p>"I know I can depend upon your
+honour, Luis," said the count; "and
+I am therefore about to speak to you
+with a confidence which I should repose
+in few so young and inexperienced."</p>
+
+<p>Luis bowed.</p>
+
+<p>"Although," resumed Villabuena,
+"his Majesty Charles the Fifth is at
+this moment absent from Spain, his
+faithful subjects will not allow that
+absence to be prejudicial to him. They
+intend to vindicate his just rights, and
+to overturn the contemptible faction
+which, headed by an intriguing woman,
+supports the unfounded claims
+of a sickly infant. In anticipation of
+Ferdinand's death, all necessary measures
+have been taken; and, before
+three days elapse, you will see a
+flame lighted up through the land,
+which will speedily consume and destroy
+the enemies of Spain, and of her
+rightful monarch. Navarre and Biscay,
+Valentia and Arragon, Catalonia and
+Castile, will rise almost to a man in
+defence of their king; the other provinces
+must follow their example, or
+be compelled to submission. Although
+confident of success, it yet behoves us
+to neglect no means of securing it;
+nor are we so blinded as to think that
+the faction which at present holds the
+reins of government will resign them
+without a struggle. Avoiding overconfidence,
+therefore, which so often
+leads to failure, each man must put
+his shoulder to the wheel, and contribute
+his best efforts to the one great
+end, regardless of private sacrifices.
+What I have to propose to you is
+this. Time was when our universities
+were the strongholds of loyalty
+and religion; but that time is unfortunately
+past, and the baneful doctrines
+of republicanism and equality
+have found their way even into those
+nurseries of our priesthood and statesmen.
+We are well informed that at
+Salamanca especially, many of the
+students, even of the better class, incline
+to the self-styled Liberal party.
+You, Luis, are ready of speech, bold
+and prompt in action, and, moreover,
+you are known to have great influence
+amongst your fellow-students. Return,
+then, to Salamanca, and exert
+that influence to bring back into the
+right path those who have been led
+astray. Urge the just claims of
+Charles V., hold out the prospect of
+military glory and distinction, and of
+the gratitude of an admiring country.
+Let your efforts be chiefly directed to
+gain over young men of wealthy and
+influential families, and to induce them
+to take up arms for the king. Form
+them into a squadron, of which you
+shall have the command, and the
+private soldiers of which shall rank
+as officers in the army, and subsequently
+be transferred to other corps
+to act as such. Appoint a place of
+rendezvous; and, when your men are
+assembled there, march them to join
+the nearest division of the Royalist
+army. I guarantee to you a captain's
+commission; and as soon as the king,
+with whom I have some influence,
+arrives in Spain, I will strongly recommend
+you to his favour. Our
+campaign, however brief, must afford
+opportunities of distinction to brave
+men who seek them. With your
+energy, and with the natural military
+talents which I am persuaded you
+possess, high rank, honours, and riches
+may speedily be yours. And when
+Charles V., firmly seated on the throne<!-- Page 534 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_534" id="Page_534">[Pg 534]</a></span>
+of Spain, points you out to me as one
+of those to whom he owes his crown,
+and as a man whom he delights to
+honour, I will no longer refuse to you
+my daughter's hand."</p>
+
+<p>However distant the perspective of
+happiness thus offered to his view,
+and although the avenue leading to it
+was beset with dangers and uncertainties,
+it promised to realize the
+ardent hopes which Luis Herrera had
+once ventured to indulge. Sanguine
+and confident, he would at once have
+caught at the count's proposal, but
+for one consideration that flashed
+across his mind. He was himself
+wedded to no political creed, and had
+as yet scarcely bestowed a thought
+upon the different parties into which
+his countrymen were split. But his
+father, who had so strenuously adhered
+to the Liberal side, who had poured
+out his blood with Mina, fought
+side by side with Riego, sacrificed
+his property, and endured a long
+and wearisome exile for conscience
+and his opinions' sake&mdash;what would be
+his feelings if he saw his only son
+range himself beneath the banner of
+absolutism? The struggle in the mind
+of Luis, between love on the one hand
+and filial duty and affection on the
+other, was too severe and too equally
+balanced to be instantly decided. He
+remained silent, and the count, mistaking
+the cause of his hesitation, resumed.</p>
+
+<p>"You are surprised," said he, "to
+find me so willing to abandon my
+dearest projects for the sake of a
+remote advantage to the king's
+cause. But remember that I promise
+nothing&mdash;all is contingent on your
+own conduct and success. And although
+you may have thought me unfeeling
+and severe, I shall gladly, if
+possible, indulge the inclinations of
+my only surviving child."</p>
+
+<p>It required all Herrera's firmness
+and sense of duty to prevent him from
+yielding to the temptation held out,
+and pledging himself at once to the
+cause of Charles V.</p>
+
+<p>"You will not expect me, Se&ntilde;or
+Conde," said he, "to give an immediate
+answer to a proposal of such
+importance. I feel sincerely grateful
+to you, but must crave a short delay
+for consideration."</p>
+
+<p>"Let that delay be as brief as possible,"
+said Villabuena. "In the
+present circumstances, the value of
+assistance will be doubled by its
+promptness. When love and loyalty
+are both in one scale," added he, with
+a slight smile, "methinks a decision
+were easy."</p>
+
+<p>They had now approached the gate
+of the garden, and Luis, desirous of
+finding himself alone, to arrange his
+thoughts and reflect on his future
+conduct, took his leave. The count
+held out his hand with some of his
+former cordiality.</p>
+
+<p>"You will write to me from Salamanca?"
+said he.</p>
+
+<p>Herrera bowed his head, and then,
+fearful lest his assent should be misconstrued,
+he replied&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"From Salamanca, or from elsewhere,
+you shall certainly hear from
+me, Se&ntilde;or Conde, and that with all
+speed."</p>
+
+<p>The count nodded and turned towards
+the house, whilst Luis retook
+the road to the venta.</p>
+
+<p>He found Mariano impatiently waiting
+his return, and eager to learn the
+result of his interview with Rita.
+Upon being informed of the proposal
+that had been made to Luis, Torres,
+seeing in it only a means of happiness
+for his friend, strongly urged him to
+accept it. To this, however, Luis
+could not make up his mind; and
+finally, after some deliberation, he
+resolved to proceed to Old Castile,
+and endeavour to obtain his father's
+consent to his joining the party of
+Don Carlos. Should he succeed in
+this, of which he could not help entertaining
+a doubt, he would no longer
+hesitate, but at once inform the count
+of his decision, and hasten to Salamanca
+to put his instructions into
+execution. Without further delay
+the two friends set out for Tarazona,
+where they trusted to find some means
+of speedy conveyance to the residence
+of Don Manuel.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>In the kingdom of Old Castile, and
+more especially in its mountainous
+portions and the districts adjacent to
+the Ebro, an extraordinary bustle
+and agitation were observable during
+the first days of October 1833. There
+was great furbishing of rusty muskets,<!-- Page 535 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_535" id="Page_535">[Pg 535]</a></span>
+an eager search for cartridges, much
+dusting of old uniforms that had long
+served but as hiding-places for moths,
+and which were now donned by men,
+many of whom seemed but ill at ease
+in their military equipments. For
+ten years Spain had been tranquil, if
+not happy; but now, as if even this
+short period of repose were too long
+for the restless spirit of her sons, a
+new pretext for discord had been
+found, and an ominous stir, the forerunner
+of civil strife, was perceptible
+through the land. Whilst Santos
+Ladron, an officer of merit, who had
+served through the whole of the war
+against Napoleon, raised the standard
+of Charles V. in Navarre, various
+partisans did the same in the country
+south of the Ebro. In the northeastern
+corner of Castile, known as
+the Rioja, Basilio Garcia, agent for
+the Pope's bulls in the province of
+Soria&mdash;a man destitute of military
+knowledge, and remarkable only for
+his repulsive exterior and cold-blooded
+ferocity&mdash;collected and headed
+a small body of insurgents; whilst, in
+other districts of the same province,
+several battalions of the old Royalist
+volunteers&mdash;a loose, ill-disciplined militia,
+as motely and unsoldierlike in
+appearance as they were unsteady
+and inefficient in the field&mdash;ranged
+themselves under the orders of a general-officer
+named Cuevillas, and of
+the veteran Merino. To these soon
+joined themselves various individuals
+of the half-soldier half-bandit class, so
+numerous in Spain&mdash;men who had
+served in former wars, and asked no
+better than again to enact the scenes
+of bloodshed and pillage which were
+their element. The popularity and
+acknowledged skill of Merino as a
+guerilla-leader, secured to him the
+services of many of these daring
+and desperate ruffians, who flocked
+joyously to the banner of the soldier-priest,
+under whose orders some of
+them had already fought.</p>
+
+<p>Through a tract of champaign
+country in the province of Burgos, a
+column of these newly-assembled
+troops was seen marching early upon
+the third morning after the interview
+between Luis Herrera and Count Villabuena.
+It consisted of a battalion
+of the Realista militia, for the most
+part middle-aged citizens, who, although
+they had felt themselves bound
+to obey the call to arms, seemed but
+indifferently pleased at having left
+their families and occupations. Their
+equipment was various: few had
+complete uniform, although most of
+them displayed some part of one; but
+all had belts and cartridge-box, musket
+and bayonet. Although they had
+as yet gone but a short distance, many
+of them appeared footsore and weary;
+and it was pretty evident that, in the
+event of a campaign, their ranks
+would be thinned nearly as much by
+the fatigues of the march as by the
+fire of the enemy. In front and rear
+of the battalion marched a squadron
+of cavalry, of a far more soldierly
+aspect than the foot-soldiers, although
+even amongst them but little
+uniformity of costume was found.
+The bronzed and bearded physiognomy,
+athletic form and upright carriage,
+which bespeak the veteran
+soldier, were not wanting in their
+ranks; their horses were active and
+hardy, their arms clean and serviceable.</p>
+
+<p>At the head of the column, a few
+paces in advance, rode a small group
+of officers, the chief amongst whom
+was only to be distinguished by the
+deference shown to him by his
+companions. Insignia of rank he
+had none, nor any indications of his
+military profession, excepting the
+heavy sabre that dangled against the
+flank of his powerful black charger.
+His dress was entirely civilian, consisting
+of a long surtout something
+the worse for wear, and a round hat.
+Heavy spurs upon his heels, and an
+ample cloak, now strapped across his
+holsters, completed the equipment of
+the cura Merino, in whose hard and
+rigid features, and wiry person, scarcely
+a sign of decay or infirmity was
+visible after more than sixty years of
+life, a large portion of which had
+been passed amidst the fatigues and
+hardships of incessant campaigning.</p>
+
+<p>As if infected by the sombre and
+taciturn character of their leader, the
+party of officers had been riding for
+some time in silence, when they came
+in sight of a house situated at a short
+distance from the road, and of a superior
+description to the <i>caserias</i> and<!-- Page 536 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_536" id="Page_536">[Pg 536]</a></span>
+peasants' cottages which they had
+hitherto passed. It was a building of
+moderate size, with an appearance
+of greater comfort and neatness
+about it than is usually found in
+Spanish houses. Stables adjoined it,
+and, at some distance in its rear, a
+range of barns and outhouses served
+to store the crops produced by the
+extensive tract of well-cultivated land
+in the centre of which the dwelling
+was situated. The front of the house
+was partially masked from the road
+by an orchard, and behind it a similar
+growth of fruit trees seemed intended
+to intercept the keen blasts from a
+line of mountains which rose, grey
+and gloomy, at the distance of a few
+miles.</p>
+
+<p>"Who lives yonder?" abruptly enquired
+Merino, pointing to the house,
+which he had been gazing at for some
+time from under his bushy eyebrows.
+The officer to whom the question was
+addressed referred to another of the
+party, a native of that part of the
+country.</p>
+
+<p>"Se&ntilde;or de Herrera," was the answer.
+"We have been riding for
+some minutes through his property.
+He purchased the estate about a year
+ago, on his return from France."</p>
+
+<p>"What had he been doing in
+France?"</p>
+
+<p>"Living there, which he could not
+have done here unless he had been
+bullet-proof, or had a neck harder
+than the iron collar of the garrote."</p>
+
+<p>"Herrera!" repeated the cura musingly&mdash;"I
+know the name, but there
+are many who bear it. There was a
+Manuel Herrera who sat in the Cortes
+in the days of the constitutionalists,
+and afterwards commanded a battalion
+of their rabble. You do not
+mean him?"</p>
+
+<p>"The same, general," replied the
+officer, addressing Merino by the rank
+which he held in the Spanish army
+since the war of Independence. A
+most unpriestly ejaculation escaped
+the lips of the cura.</p>
+
+<p>"Manuel Herrera," he repeated;
+"the dog, the <i>negro</i>,<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> the friend of
+the scoundrel Riego! I will hang him
+up at his own door!"</p>
+
+<p>All the old hatreds and bitter party
+animosities of Merino seemed wakened
+into new life by the name of one of
+his former opponents. His eyes
+flashed, his lips quivered with rage,
+and he half turned his horse, as if
+about to proceed to Herrera's house
+and put his threat into execution.
+The impulse, however, was checked
+almost as soon as felt.</p>
+
+<p>"Another time will do," said he,
+with a grin smile. "Let us once
+get Charles V. at Madrid, and we will
+make short work of the Se&ntilde;or Herrera
+and of all who resemble him."
+And the cura continued his march,
+silent as before.</p>
+
+<p>He had proceeded but a short half
+mile when the officer commanding the
+cavalry rode up beside him.</p>
+
+<p>"We have no forage, general,"
+said he&mdash;"not a blade of straw, or a
+grain in our corn-sacks. Shall I send
+on an orderly, that we may find it
+ready on reaching the halting-place?"</p>
+
+<p>"No!" replied Merino. "Send a
+party to that house on the left of the
+road which we passed ten minutes
+ago. Let them press all the carts
+they find there, load them with corn,
+and bring them after us."</p>
+
+<p>The officer fell back to his squadron,
+and the next minute a subaltern and
+twenty men detached themselves from
+the column, and, at a brisk trot, began
+retracing their steps along the
+road. Upon arriving in sight of the
+house to which they were proceeding,
+they leaped their horses over a narrow
+ditch dividing the road from the
+fields and struck across the latter in
+a straight line, compelled, however,
+by the heaviness of the ground to
+slacken their pace to a walk. They had
+not got over more than half the distance
+which they had to traverse,
+when they heard the clang of a bell,
+continuously rung; and this was followed
+by the appearance of two men,
+who issued from the stables and out-buildings,
+and hurried to the house.
+Scarcely had they entered when the<!-- Page 537 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_537" id="Page_537">[Pg 537]</a></span>
+shutters of the lower windows were
+pushed to, and the heavy door closed
+and barred. The soldiers were now
+within a hundred yards of the dwelling.</p>
+
+<p>"Hallo!" cried the officer contemptuously,
+"they will not stand a
+siege, will they? The old don is a
+black-hearted rebel, I know; but he
+will hardly be fool enough to resist
+us."</p>
+
+<p>The trooper was mistaken. The
+courage of Don Manuel Herrera was
+of that obstinate and uncalculating
+character which would have induced
+him to defend his house, single-handed,
+against a much larger force than that
+now brought against it. When he
+had learned, three days previously,
+that risings were taking place in his
+own neighbourhood in the name of
+Charles V., he had attached very
+little importance to the intelligence.
+An old soldier himself, he entertained
+the most unmitigated contempt for
+the Realista volunteers, whom he
+looked upon as a set of tailors,
+whose muskets would rather encumber
+them than injure any body else;
+and who, on the first appearance of
+regular troops, would infallibly throw
+down their arms, and betake themselves
+to their homes. As to the
+parties of insurgent guerillas which
+he was informed were beginning to
+show themselves at various points of
+the vicinity, he considered them as
+mere bandits, availing themselves of
+the stir and excitement in the country
+to exercise their nefarious profession;
+and, should any such parties attempt
+to molest him, he was fully determined
+to resist their attacks. In this
+resolution he now persevered, although
+he rightly conjectured that the horsemen
+approaching his house were either
+the rearguard or a detachment of the
+disorderly-looking column of which he
+had a short time previously observed
+the passage.</p>
+
+<p>"Hola! Don Manolo!" shouted
+the officer, as he halted his party in
+front of the house; "what scurvy hospitality
+is this? What are you fastening
+doors and ringing alarm-bells
+for, as if there were more thieves than
+honest men in the land? We come
+to pay you a friendly visit, and, instead
+of welcome and the wine-skin,
+you shut the door in our faces. Devilish
+unfriendly, that, Don Manolito!"</p>
+
+<p>The speaker, who, like many of
+Merino's followers, was an inhabitant
+of the neighbouring country, knew
+Don Manuel well by name and reputation,
+and was also known to him as
+a deserter from the Constitutionalists
+in 1823, and as one of the most desperate
+smugglers and outlaws in the
+province.</p>
+
+<p>"What do you want with me, Pedro
+Rufin?" demanded Don Manuel,
+who now showed himself at one of
+the upper windows; "and what is the
+meaning of this assemblage of armed
+men?"</p>
+
+<p>"The meaning is," replied Rufin,
+"that I have been detached from the
+division of his Excellency General
+Merino, to demand from you a certain
+quantity of maize or barley, or
+both, for the service of his Majesty
+King Charles V."</p>
+
+<p>"I know no such persons," retorted
+Don Manuel, "as General Merino or
+King Charles V. But I know you well,
+Rufin, and the advice I give you is to
+begone, yourself and your companions.
+We shall have troops here to-day or
+to-morrow, and you will find the
+country too hot to hold you."</p>
+
+<p>The officer laughed.</p>
+
+<p>"Troops are here already," he said;
+"you may have seen our column
+march by not half an hour ago. But
+we have no time to lose. Once more,
+Se&ntilde;or Herrera, open the door, and
+that quickly."</p>
+
+<p>"My door does not open at your
+bidding," replied Don Manuel. "I
+give you two minutes to draw off your
+followers, and, if you are not gone by
+that time, you shall be fired upon."</p>
+
+<p>"Morral," said the officer to one of
+his men, "your horse is a kicker, I
+believe. Try the strength of the
+door."</p>
+
+<p>The soldier left the ranks, and turning
+his rawboned, vicious-looking
+chestnut horse with its tail to the
+house-door, he pressed his knuckles
+sharply upon the animal's loins, just
+behind the saddle. The horse lashed
+out furiously, each kick of his iron-shod
+heels making the door crack and
+rattle, and striking out white splinters
+from the dark surface of the oak
+of which it was composed. At the<!-- Page 538 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_538" id="Page_538">[Pg 538]</a></span>
+first kick Don Manuel left the window.
+The soldiers stood looking on,
+laughing till they rolled in their saddles
+at this novel species of sledge-hammer.
+Owing, however, to the
+great solidity of the door, and the
+numerous fastenings with which it was
+provided on the other side, the kicks
+of the horse, although several times
+repeated, failed to burst it open;
+and at last the animal, as if wearied
+by the resistance it met with, relaxed
+the vigour of its applications.</p>
+
+<p>"Famous horse that of yours,
+Morral!" said the officer; "as good
+as a locksmith or a six-pounder. Try
+it again, my boy. You have made
+some ugly marks already. Another
+round of kicks, and the way is open."</p>
+
+<p>"And if another blow is struck
+upon my door," said Don Manuel,
+suddenly reappearing at the window,
+to the soldier, "your horse will
+go home with an empty saddle."</p>
+
+<p>"Silence! you old rebel," shouted
+Rufin, drawing a pistol from his
+holster. "And you, Morral, never
+fear. At it again, man."</p>
+
+<p>The soldier again applied his
+knuckles to his horse's back, and the
+animal gave a tremendous kick. At
+the same instant a puff of smoke
+issued from the window at which Don
+Manuel had stationed himself, the report
+of a musket was heard, and the
+unlucky Morral, shot through the
+body, fell headlong to the ground.</p>
+
+<p>"Damnation!" roared the officer,
+firing his pistol at the window whence
+the shot had proceeded; and immediately
+his men, without waiting for
+orders, commenced an irregular fire
+of carbines and pistols against the
+house. It was replied to with effect
+from three of the windows. A man
+fell mortally wounded, and two of the
+horses were hit. Rufin, alarmed at
+the loss the party had experienced,
+drew his men back under shelter
+of some trees, till he could decide on
+what was best to be done. It seemed
+at first by no means improbable that
+the Carlists would have to beat a retreat,
+or at any rate wait the arrival
+of infantry, which it was not improbable
+Merino might have sent to their
+assistance when the sound of the firing
+reached his ears. The lower windows
+of the house were protected by strong
+iron bars; and, although the defenders
+were so few in number, their
+muskets, and the shelter behind which
+they fought, gave them a great advantage
+over the assailants, whose carbines
+would not carry far, and who
+had no cover from the fire of their
+opponents. At last a plan was devised
+which offered some chance of success.
+The party dismounted; and
+whilst four men, making a circuit, and
+concealing themselves as much as
+possible behind trees and hedges, endeavoured
+to get in rear of the building,
+the others, with the exception of
+two or three who remained with the
+horses, advanced towards the front of
+the house, firing as rapidly as they
+could, in order, by the smoke and by
+attracting the attention of the besieged,
+to cover the man&oelig;ig;uvre of their
+comrades. The stratagem was completely
+successful. Whilst Don Manuel
+and his servants were answering
+the fire of their assailants with some
+effect, the four men got round the
+house, climbed over a wall, found a
+ladder in an out-building, and applied
+it to one of the back-windows, which
+they burst open. A shout of triumph,
+and the report of their pistols, informed
+their companions of their entrance,
+and the next moment one of them
+threw open the front door, and the
+guerillas rushed tumultuously into the
+house.</p>
+
+<p>It was about two hours after these
+occurrences, that Luis Herrera and
+Mariano Torres arrived at Don Manuel's
+residence. They had been delayed
+upon the road by the disturbed
+state of the country, which rendered
+it difficult to procure conveyances, and
+had at last been compelled to hire a
+couple of indifferent horses, upon
+which, accompanied by a muleteer,
+they had made but slow progress
+across the mountainous district they
+had to traverse. The news of the
+Carlist insurrection had inspired Luis
+with some alarm on account of his
+father, whom he knew to be in the
+highest degree obnoxious to many of
+that party. At the same time he had
+not yet heard of the perpetration of
+any acts of violence, and was far from
+anticipating the spectacle which met
+his eyes when he at last came in view
+of the Casa Herrera. With an exclamation<!-- Page 539 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_539" id="Page_539">[Pg 539]</a></span>
+of horror he forced his horse,
+up a bank bordering the road, and,
+followed by Mariano, galloped towards
+the house.</p>
+
+<p>Of the dwelling, so lately a model
+of rural ease and comfort, the four
+walls alone were now standing. The
+roof had fallen in, and the tongues of
+flame which licked and flickered round
+the apertures where windows had
+been, showed that the devouring
+element was busy completing its
+work. The adjoining stables, owing
+to their slighter construction, and to
+the combustibles they contained, had
+been still more rapidly consumed.
+Of them, a heap of smoking ashes and
+a few charred beams and blackened
+bricks were all that remained. The
+paling of the tastefully distributed garden
+was broken down in several places;
+the parterres and melon-beds were
+trampled and destroyed by the hoofs
+of the Carlist horses, which had seemingly
+been turned in there to feed, or
+perhaps been ridden through it in utter
+wantonness by their brutal owners.
+The ground in front of the house was
+strewed with broken furniture, and
+with articles of wearing apparel, the
+latter of which appeared to have belonged
+to the Carlists, and to have
+been exchanged by them for others of
+a better description found in the house.
+Empty bottles, fragments of food,
+and a couple of wine-skins, of which
+the greater part of the contents had
+been poured out upon the ground, lay
+scattered about near the carcass of a
+horse and three human corpses, two of
+the latter being those of Carlists, and
+the third that of one of the defenders of
+the house. A few peasants stood by,
+looking on in open-mouthed stupefaction;
+and above the whole scene of
+desolation, a thick cloud of black
+smoke floated like a funereal pall.</p>
+
+<p>In an agony of suspense Luis enquired
+for his father. The peasant to
+whom he addressed the question,
+pointed to the buildings in rear of the
+house, which the Carlists, weary perhaps
+of the work of destruction, had
+left uninjured.</p>
+
+<p>"Don Manuel is there," said he,
+"if he still lives."</p>
+
+<p>The latter part of the sentence was
+drowned in the noise of the horse's
+feet, as Luis spurred furiously towards
+the buildings indicated, which consisted
+of barns, and of a small dwelling-house
+inhabited by his father's steward.
+On entering the latter, his
+worst fears were realized.</p>
+
+<p>Upon a bed in a room on the ground
+floor, Don Manuel Herrera was lying,
+apparently insensible. His face was
+overspread with an ashy paleness, his
+eyes were closed, his lips blue and
+pinched. He was partially undressed,
+and his linen, and the bed upon which
+he lay, were stained with blood. A
+priest stood beside him, a crucifix in
+one hand and a cordial in the other;
+whilst an elderly peasant woman
+held a linen cloth to a wound in
+the breast of the expiring man. In
+an adjacent room were heard the sobbings
+and lamentations of women and
+children. With a heart swollen almost
+to bursting, Luis approached the bed.</p>
+
+<p>"Father!" he exclaimed as he took
+Don Manuel's hand, which hung
+powerless over the side of the couch&mdash;"Father,
+is it thus I find you!"</p>
+
+<p>The voice of his son seemed to
+rouse the sufferer from the swoon or
+lethargy in which he lay. He opened
+his eyes, a faint smile of recognition
+and affection came over his features,
+and his feeble fingers strove to
+press those of Luis. The priest made
+a sign to the woman, and, whilst she
+gently raised Don Manuel's head, he
+held the cordial to his lips. The effect
+of the draught was instantaneous and
+reviving.</p>
+
+<p>"This is a sad welcome for you,
+Luis," said Don Manuel. "Your
+home destroyed, and your father
+dying. God be thanked for sending
+you now, and no sooner! I can die
+happy since you are here to close my
+eyes."</p>
+
+<p>He paused, exhausted by the exertion
+of speaking. A slight red foam
+stood upon his lips, which the priest
+wiped away, and another draught of
+the cordial enabled him to proceed.</p>
+
+<p>"My son," said he, "my minutes
+are numbered. Mark my last words,
+and attend to them as you value my
+blessing, and your own repose. I
+foresee that this country is on the eve
+of a long and bloody struggle. How
+it may end, and whether it is to be
+the last that shall rend unhappy Spain,
+who can tell? But your course is<!-- Page 540 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_540" id="Page_540">[Pg 540]</a></span>
+plain before you. By the memory of
+your sainted mother, and the love
+you bear to me, be stanch to the
+cause I have ever defended. You are
+young, and strong, and brave; your
+arm and your heart's best blood are
+due to the cause of Spanish freedom.
+My son, swear that you will defend
+it!"</p>
+
+<p>No selfish thought of his own happiness,
+which would be marred by the
+oath he was required to take, nor any
+but the one absorbing idea of smoothing
+his dying father's pillow by a
+prompt and willing compliance with
+his wishes, crossed the mind of Luis
+as he took the crucifix from the hand
+of the priest, and, kneeling by the bedside,
+swore on the sacred emblem to
+obey Don Manuel's injunctions both
+in letter and spirit, and to resist to his
+latest breath the traitors who would
+enslave his country. His father listened
+to the fervent vow with a well-pleased
+smile. By a last effort he
+raised himself in his bed, and laid his
+hand upon the head of his kneeling
+son.</p>
+
+<p>"May God and his saints prosper
+thee, Luis," said he, "as thou observest
+this oath!"</p>
+
+<p>He sank back, his features convulsed
+by the pain which the movement
+occasioned him.</p>
+
+<p>"Mother of God!" exclaimed the
+woman, who was still holding the
+bandage to the wound. The bleeding,
+which had nearly ceased, had recommenced
+with redoubled violence,
+and a crimson stream was flowing
+over the bed. The death-rattle was
+in Don Manuel's throat, but his eyes
+were still fixed upon his son, and he
+seemed to make an effort to extend
+his arms towards him. With feelings
+of unutterable agony, Luis bent forward
+and kissed his father's cheek.
+It was that of a corpse.</p>
+
+<p>For the space of a minute did the
+bereaved son gaze at the rigid features
+before him, as if unable to comprehend
+that one so dear was gone from him
+for ever. At last the sad truth forced
+itself upon his mind; he bowed his
+face upon the pillow of his murdered
+parent, and his overcharged feelings
+found relief in a passion of tears. The
+priest and the woman left the apartment.
+Mariano Torres remained
+standing behind his friend, and after
+a time made an effort to lead him
+from the room. But Luis motioned
+him away. His grief was of those
+that know not human consolation.</p>
+
+<p>It was evening when Mariano, who
+had been watching near the chamber
+of death, without venturing to intrude
+upon his friend's sorrow, saw the door
+open and Luis come forth. Torres
+started at seeing him, so great was
+the change that had taken place in
+his aspect. His cheeks were pale
+and his eyes inflamed with weeping,
+but the expression of his countenance
+was no longer sorrowful; it was stern
+even to fierceness, and his look was
+that of an avenger rather than a
+mourner. Taking Mariano's arm, he
+led him out of the house, and, entering
+the stable, began to saddle his horse
+with his own hands. Torres followed
+his example in silence, and then both
+mounted and rode off in the direction
+of the high-road. Upon reaching it,
+Mariano first ventured to address a
+question to his friend.</p>
+
+<p>"What are your plans, Luis?"
+said he. "Whither do we now proceed?"</p>
+
+<p>"To provide for my father's funeral,"
+was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>"And afterwards?" said his friend,
+with some hesitation.</p>
+
+<p>"To revenge his death!" hoarsely
+shouted Herrera, as he spurred his
+horse to its utmost speed along the
+rough road that led to the nearest
+village.</p>
+
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> <i>Negro</i>, or black, was the term commonly applied to the Liberals by their antagonists.<!-- Page 541 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_541" id="Page_541">[Pg 541]</a></span></p></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<div class="biggap">
+<h2><a name="HUMBOLDT" id="HUMBOLDT"></a>HUMBOLDT.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>We hear much, and much that is
+true, of the ephemeral character of
+a large part of our literature; but
+to no branch of it are the observations
+more truly applicable, than to
+the greater number of travels which
+now issue from the British press. It
+may safely be affirmed that our writers
+of travels, both male and female, have
+of late years arrived at a pitch of weakness,
+trifling, and emptiness, which is
+unparalleled in the previous history
+of literature in this or perhaps any
+other country. When we see two
+post octavos of travels newly done up
+by the binder, we are prepared for a
+series of useless remarks, weak attempts
+at jokes, disquisitions on
+dishes, complaints of inns, stale anecdotes
+and vain flourishes, which almost
+make us blush for our country,
+and the cause of intelligence over the
+world. The Russian Emperor, who
+unquestionably has the power of
+licensing or prohibiting any of his
+subjects to travel at his own pleasure,
+is said to concede the liberty only to
+the men of intelligence and ability in
+his dominions; the fools are all obliged
+to remain at home. Hence the
+high reputation which the Muscovites
+enjoy abroad and the frequent disappointment
+which is felt by travellers
+of other nations, when they visit their
+own country. It is evident, from the
+character of the books of travels
+which every spring issue from the
+London press, with a few honourable
+exceptions, that no such restraining
+power exists in the British dominions.
+We have no individuals or particular
+works in view in these observations.
+We speak of things in general. If any
+one doubts their truth, let him enquire
+how many of the numberless travels
+which annually issue from the British
+press are ever sought after, or heard
+of, five years after their publication.</p>
+
+<p>Our annual supply of ephemeral
+travels is far inferior in point of
+merit to the annual supply of novels.
+This is the more remarkable, because
+travels, if written in the right
+spirit, and by persons of capacity and
+taste, are among the most delightful,
+and withal instructive, species of composition
+of which literature can boast.
+They are so, because by their very
+nature they take the reader, as well as
+the writer, out of the sphere of everyday
+observation and commonplace remark.
+This is an immense advantage:
+so great indeed, that, if made use of
+with tolerable capacity, it should give
+works of this sort a decided superiority
+in point of interest and utility over
+all others, excepting History and the
+higher species of Romance. Commonplace
+is the bane of literature, especially
+in an old and civilized state;
+monotony&mdash;the thing to be principally
+dreaded. The very air is filled with
+ordinary ideas. General education,
+universal reading, unhappily make
+matters worse; they tend only to multiply
+the echoes of the original report&mdash;a
+new one has scarce any chance of
+being heard amidst the ceaseless reverberation
+of the old. The more ancient
+a nation is, the more liable is it
+to be overwhelmed by this dreadful
+evil. The Byzantine empire, during a
+thousand years of civilisation and opulence,
+did not produce one work of
+original thought; five hundred years
+after the light of Athenian genius had
+been extinguished, the schools of
+Greece were still pursuing the beaten
+paths, and teaching the doctrines of
+Plato and Aristotle. It is the peculiar
+and prodigious advantage of travelling,
+that it counteracts this woful
+and degrading tendency, and by directing
+men's thoughts, as well as
+their steps, into foreign lands, has a
+tendency to induce into their ideas a
+portion of the variety and freshness
+which characterize the works of nature.
+Every person knows how great
+an advantage this proves in society.
+All must have felt what a relief it is
+to escape from the eternal round of
+local concerns or county politics, of
+parish grievances or neighbouring
+railroads, with which in every-day
+life we are beset, to the conversation
+of a person of intelligence who has
+visited foreign lands, and can give to
+the inquisitive at home a portion of
+the new ideas, images, and recollections
+with which his mind is stored.
+How, then, has it happened, that the<!-- Page 542 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_542" id="Page_542">[Pg 542]</a></span>
+same acquaintance with foreign and
+distant countries, which is universally
+felt to be such an advantage in conversation,
+is attended with such opposite
+effects in literature; and that, while
+our travellers are often the most
+agreeable men in company, they are
+beyond all question the dullest in
+composition?</p>
+
+<p>Much of this extraordinary and
+woful deficiency, we are persuaded, is
+owing to the limited range of objects
+to which the education of the young
+of the higher classes is so exclusively
+directed in Oxford and Cambridge.
+Greek and Latin, Aristotle's logic
+and classical versification, quadratic
+equations, conic sections, the differential
+calculus, are very good things,
+and we are well aware that it is by
+excellence in them that the highest
+honours in these seminaries of learning
+can alone be attained. They are
+essential to the fame of a Parr or a
+Porson, a Herschel or a Whewell.
+But a very different species of mental
+training is required for advantageous
+travelling. Men will soon find that
+neither Greek prose nor Latin prose,
+Greek verse nor Latin verse, will
+avail them when they come to traverse
+the present states of the world.
+The most thorough master of the higher
+mathematics will find his knowledge
+of scarce any avail in Italy or Egypt,
+the Alps or the Andes. These acquisitions
+are doubtless among the greatest
+triumphs of the human understanding,
+and they are calculated to
+raise a few, perhaps one in a hundred,
+to distinction in classical or scientific
+pursuits; but upon the minds of the
+remaining ninety-nine, they produce
+no sort of impression. Nature simply
+rejects them; they are not the food
+which she requires. They do not do
+much mischief to such persons in
+themselves; but they are of incalculable
+detriment by the time and the
+industry which they absorb to no
+available purpose. Ten years of youth&mdash;the
+most valuable and important
+period of life&mdash;are wasted in studies
+which, to nineteen-twentieths of the
+persons engaged in them, are of no
+use whatever in future years. Thus
+our young men, of the highest rank
+and best connexions, are sent out
+into the world without any ideas or
+information which can enable them to
+visit foreign countries with advantage.
+Need we wonder that, when
+they come to write and publish their
+travels, they produce such a woful
+brood of ephemeral bantlings?<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p>
+
+<p>The reaction against this enormous
+evil in a different class of society, has
+produced another set of errors in
+education&mdash;of an opposite description,
+but perhaps still more fatal to the
+formation of the mental character,
+which is essential to the useful or
+elevating observation of foreign countries.
+The commercial and middle
+classes of society, educated at the
+London university, or any of the
+numerous academies which have
+sprung up in all parts of the country,
+have gone into the other extreme.
+Struck with the uselessness, to the
+great bulk of students, of the classical
+minuti&aelig; required at one of the universities,
+and the mathematical depth
+deemed indispensable at the other,
+they have turned education into an
+entirely different channel. Nothing
+was deemed worthy of serious attention,
+except what led to some practical
+object in life. Education was
+considered by their founders as merely
+a step to making money. Science
+became a trade&mdash;a mere handmaid to
+art. Mammon was all in all. Their
+instruction was entirely utilitarian.
+Mechanics and Medicine, Hydraulics
+and Chemistry, Pneumatics and Hydrostatics,
+Anatomy and Physiology,
+constituted the grand staples of their
+education. What they taught was
+adapted only for professional students.
+One would suppose, from examining
+their course of study, that all men
+were to be either doctors or surgeons,
+apothecaries or druggists, mechanics,
+shipwrights, or civil-engineers. No
+doubt we must have such persons&mdash;no
+doubt it is indispensable that places
+of instruction should exist in which
+they can learn their various and highly
+important avocations; but is that the<!-- Page 543 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_543" id="Page_543">[Pg 543]</a></span>
+school in which the enlarged mind is
+to be formed, the varied information
+acquired, the appreciation of the grand
+and the beautiful imbibed, which are
+essential to an accomplished and really
+useful writer of travels? Sulphuric
+acid and Optics, Anatomy and Mechanics,
+will do many things; but they
+will never make an observer of Nature,
+a friend of Man, a fit commentator
+on the world of God.</p>
+
+<p>Persons of really cultivated minds
+and enlarged views will probably find
+it difficult to determine which of these
+opposite systems of education is the
+best calculated to attain what seems
+the grand object of modern instruction,
+the cramping and limiting the
+human mind. But without entering
+upon this much-disputed point&mdash;upon
+which much is to be said on both
+sides, and in which each party will
+perhaps be found to be in the right
+when they assail their opponents, and
+in the wrong when they defend themselves&mdash;it
+is more material to our present
+purpose to observe, that both are
+equally fatal to the acquisition of the
+varied information, and the imbibing
+of the refined and elegant taste, which
+are essential to an accomplished writer
+of travels. Only think what mental
+qualifications are required to form
+such a character! An eye for the
+Sublime and the Beautiful, the power
+of graphically describing natural scenery,
+a vivid perception of the peculiarities
+of national manners, habits,
+and institutions, will at once be acknowledged
+to be the first requisites.
+But, in addition to this, how much is
+necessary to make a work which shall
+really stand the test of time, in the
+delineation of the present countries of
+the world, and the existing state of
+their inhabitants? How many branches
+of knowledge are called for, how many
+sources of information required, how
+many enthusiastic pursuits necessary,
+to enable the traveller worthily to discharge
+his mission? Eyes and no
+Eyes are nowhere more conspicuous in
+human affairs; and, unhappily, eyes are
+never given but to the mind which
+has already seen and learned much.</p>
+
+<p>An acquaintance with the history
+of the country and the leading characters
+in its annals, is indispensable to
+enable the traveller to appreciate the
+historical associations connected with
+the scenes; a certain degree of familiarity
+with its principal authors, to render
+him alive to that noblest of interests&mdash;that
+arising from the recollection of
+Genius and intellectual Achievement.
+Without an acquaintance with political
+economy and the science of government,
+he will be unable to give
+any useful account of the social state
+of the country, or furnish the most
+valuable of all information&mdash;that relating
+to the institutions, the welfare,
+and the happiness of man. Statistics
+form almost an indispensable part of
+every book of travels which professes
+to communicate information; but mere
+statistics are little better than unmeaning
+figures, if the generalizing
+and philosophical mind is wanting,
+which, from previous acquaintance
+with the subjects on which they bear,
+and the conclusions which it is of importance
+to deduce from them, knows
+what is to be selected and what laid
+aside from the mass. Science, to the
+highest class of travellers, is an addition
+of the utmost moment; as it alone
+can render their observations of use to
+that most exalted of all objects, an
+extension of the boundaries of knowledge,
+and an enlarged acquaintance
+with the laws of nature. The soul of a
+poet is indispensable to form the most
+interesting species of travels&mdash;a mind,
+and still more a heart, capable of appreciating
+the grand and the beautiful
+in Art and in Nature. The eye of a
+painter and the hand of a draughtsman
+are equally important to enable him
+to observe with accuracy the really
+interesting features of external things,
+and convey, by faithful and graphic
+description, a correct impression of
+what he has seen, to the mind of the
+reader. Such are the qualifications
+necessary for a really great traveller.
+It may be too much to hope to find
+these ever united in one individual;
+but the combination of the majority
+of them is indispensable to distinction
+or lasting fame in this branch of
+literature.</p>
+
+<p>Compare these necessary and indispensable
+qualifications for a great traveller,
+with those which really belong
+to our young men who are sent forth
+from our universities or academies
+into the world, and take upon themselves
+to communicate what they have
+seen to others. Does the youth come<!-- Page 544 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_544" id="Page_544">[Pg 544]</a></span>
+from Oxford? His head is full of
+Homer and Virgil, Horace and &AElig;schylus:
+he could tell you all the amours
+of Mars and Venus, of Jupiter and
+Leda; he could rival, Orpheus or
+Pindar in the melody of his Greek
+verses, and Cicero or Livy in the correctness
+of his Latin prose; but as, unfortunately,
+he has to write neither
+about gods nor goddesses, but mere
+mortals, and neither in Greek verse
+nor Latin verse, but good English
+prose, he is utterly at a loss alike for
+thought and expression. He neither
+knows what to communicate, nor is he
+master of the language in which it is
+to be conveyed. Hence his recorded
+travels dwindle away into a mere
+scrap-book of classical quotations&mdash;a
+transcript of immaterial Latin inscriptions,
+destitute of either energy, information,
+or eloquence. Does he
+come from Cambridge? He could
+solve cubic equations as well as Cardan,
+is a more perfect master of logarithms
+than Napier, could explain
+the laws of physical astronomy better
+than Newton, and rival La Grange in
+the management of the differential
+calculus. But as, unluckily, the world
+which he visits, and in which we live,
+is neither a geometric world nor an
+algebraic world, a world of conic sections
+or fluxions; but a world of
+plains and mountains, of lakes and
+rivers, of men and women, flesh and
+blood&mdash;he finds his knowledge of little
+or no avail. He takes scarce any interest
+in the sublunary or contemptible
+objects which engross the herd of ordinary
+mortals, associates only with
+the learned and the recluse in a few
+universities, and of course comes back
+without having a word to utter, or a
+sentence to write, which can interest
+the bulk of readers. Does he come
+from the London University, or any of
+the provincial academies? He is
+thinking only of railroads or mechanics,
+of chemistry or canals, of
+medicine or surgery. He could descant
+without end on sulphuric acid or
+decrepitating salts, on capacity for
+caloric or galvanic batteries, on steam-engines
+and hydraulic machines, on
+the discoveries of Davy or the conclusions
+of Berzelius, of the systems of
+Hutton or Werner, of Liebig or Cuvier.
+But although an acquaintance
+with these different branches of practical
+knowledge is an indispensable
+preliminary to a traveller in foreign
+countries making himself acquainted
+with the improvements they have
+respectively made in the useful or
+practical arts, they will never qualify
+for the composition of a great or lasting
+book of travels. They would
+make an admirable course of instruction
+for the overseer of a manufactory,
+of a canal or railway company, of an
+hospital or an infirmary, who was to
+visit foreign countries in order to pick
+up the latest improvements in practical
+mechanics, chemistry, or medicine;
+but have we really become a race of
+shopkeepers or doctors, and is Science
+sunk to be the mere handmaid of
+Art?</p>
+
+<p>We despair therefore, as long as the
+present system of education prevails
+in England, (and Scotland of course
+follows in the wake of its great
+neighbour,) of seeing any traveller
+arise of lasting celebrity, or book of
+travels written which shall attain to
+durable fame. The native vigour
+and courage, indeed, of the Anglo-Saxon
+race, is perpetually impelling
+numbers of energetic young men into
+the most distant parts of the earth,
+and immense is the addition which
+they are annually making to the sum-total
+of <i>geographical</i> knowledge. We
+have only to look at one of our recent
+maps, as compared to those which
+were published fifty years ago, to see
+how much we owe to the courage
+and enterprise of Parry and Franklin,
+Park and Horneman, of Burckhardt
+and Lander. But giving all due
+credit&mdash;and none give it more sincerely
+than we do&mdash;to the vigour and courage
+of these very eminent men, it is impossible
+not to feel that, however
+well fitted they were to explore unknown
+and desert regions, and carry
+the torch of civilization into the wilderness
+of nature, they had not the
+mental training, or varied information,
+or powers of composition, necessary
+to form a great <i>writer of travels</i>.
+Clarke and Bishop Heber are most
+favourable specimens of English travellers,
+and do honour to the great
+universities of which they were such
+distinguished ornaments; but they
+did not possess the varied accomplishments
+and information of the continental
+travellers. Their education,<!-- Page 545 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_545" id="Page_545">[Pg 545]</a></span>
+and very eminence in their peculiar
+and exclusive lines, precluded it.
+What is wanting in that character
+above every thing, is an acquaintance
+with, and interest in, a <i>great many and
+different branches of knowledge</i>, joined
+to considerable power of composition,
+and unconquerable energy of
+mind; and that is precisely what our
+present system of education in England
+renders it almost impossible for
+any one to acquire. The system pursued
+in the Scottish universities,
+undoubtedly, is more likely to form
+men capable of rising to eminence in
+this department; and the names of
+Park and Bruce show what travellers
+they are capable of sending forth.
+But the attractions of rank, connexion,
+and fashion, joined to the advantage
+of speaking correct English, are fast
+drawing a greater proportion of the
+youth of the higher ranks in Scotland
+to the English universities; and the
+education pursued at home, therefore,
+is daily running more and more into
+merely utilitarian and professional
+channels. That system is by no
+means the one calculated to form an
+accomplished and interesting writer
+of travels.</p>
+
+<p>In this deficiency of materials for
+the formation of a great body of male
+travellers, the ladies have kindly
+stepped in to supply the deficiency; and
+numerous works have issued from the
+press, from the pens of the most accomplished
+and distinguished of our
+aristocratic beauties. But alas! there
+is no royal road to literature, any
+more than geometry. Almack's and
+the exclusives, the opera and ducal
+houses, the lordlings and the guards,
+form an admirable school for manners,
+and are an indispensable preliminary
+to success at courts and coronations,
+in ball-rooms and palaces. But the
+world is not made up of courts or
+palaces, of kings or princes, of dukes
+or marquesses. Men have something
+more to think of than the reception
+which the great world of one country
+gives to the great world of another&mdash;of
+the balls to which they are invited,
+or the f&ecirc;tes which they grace
+by their charms&mdash;or the privations to
+which elegant females, nursed in the
+lap of luxury, are exposed in roughing
+it amidst the snows of the North
+or the deserts of the South. We are
+grateful to the lady travellers for
+the brilliant and interesting pictures
+they have given us of capitals and
+manners,<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> of costume and dress,
+and of many eminent men and women,
+whom their rank and sex gave
+them peculiar opportunities of portraying.
+But we can scarcely congratulate
+the country upon having
+found in them a substitute for learned
+and accomplished travellers of the
+other sex; or formed a set-off on the
+part of Great Britain, to the Humboldts,
+the Chateaubriands, and
+Lamartines of continental Europe.</p>
+
+<p>It is impossible to contemplate the
+works of these great men without
+arriving at the conclusion, that it is
+in the varied and discursive education
+of the Continent, that a foundation
+has been laid for the extraordinary
+eminence which its travellers
+have attained. It is the vast number
+of subjects with which the young
+men are in some degree made acquainted
+at the German universities,
+which has rendered them so capable
+in after life of travelling with advantage
+in any quarter of the globe, and
+writing their travels with effect.
+This advantage is in a peculiar manner
+conspicuous in <span class="smcap">Humboldt</span>, whose
+mind, naturally ardent and capacious,
+had been surprisingly enlarged and
+extended by early and various study
+in the most celebrated German universities.
+He acquired, in consequence,
+so extraordinary a command
+of almost every department of physical
+and political science, that there is
+hardly any branch of it in which facts
+of importance may not be found in
+his travels. He combined, in a degree
+perhaps never before equalled in one
+individual, the most opposite and
+generally deemed irreconcilable mental
+qualities. To an ardent poetical
+temperament, and an eye alive to the
+most vivid impressions of external
+things, he united a power of eloquence
+rarely given to the most gifted
+orators, and the habit of close and<!-- Page 546 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_546" id="Page_546">[Pg 546]</a></span>
+accurate reasoning which belongs to
+the intellectual powers adapted for
+the highest branches of the exact
+sciences. An able mathematician, a
+profound natural philosopher, an
+exact observer of nature, he was at
+the same time a learned statistician,
+an indefatigable social observer, an
+unwearied philanthropist, and the most
+powerful describer of nature that
+perhaps ever undertook to portray
+her great and glorious features. It
+is this extraordinary combination of
+qualities that render his works so
+surprising and valuable. The intellectual
+and imaginative powers
+rarely coexist in remarkable vigour
+in the same individual; but when
+they do, they produce the utmost
+triumphs of the human mind. Leonardo
+da Vinci, Johnson, Burke, and
+Humboldt, do not resemble single
+men, how great soever, but rather
+clusters of separate persons, each
+supremely eminent in his peculiar
+sphere.</p>
+
+<p>Frederick Henry Alexander, Baron
+of Humboldt, brother of the celebrated
+Prussian statesman of the same name,
+was born at Berlin on the 14th September
+1769, the same year with Napoleon,
+Wellington, Goethe, Marshal
+Ney, and many other illustrious men.
+He received an excellent and extensive
+education at the university of
+Gottingeu, and at an academy at
+Frankfort on the Oder. His first
+step into the business of life was as a
+clerk in the mercantile house of Buch,
+at Hamburg, where he soon made
+himself master of accounts and bookkeeping,
+and acquired that perfect
+command of arithmetic, and habit of
+bringing every thing, where it is possible,
+to the test of figures, by which
+his political and scientific writings are
+so pre-eminently distinguished. But
+his disposition was too strongly bent
+on scientific and physical pursuits, to
+admit of his remaining long in the
+comparatively obscure and uninviting
+paths of commerce. His thirst for
+travelling was from his earliest years
+unbounded, and it erelong received
+ample gratification. His first considerable
+journey was with two naturalists
+of distinction, Messrs Fontu
+and Genns, with whom he travelled
+in Germany, Holland, and England,
+in the course of which his attention
+was chiefly directed to mineralogical
+pursuits. The fruit of his observations
+appeared in a work, the first he
+ever published, which was printed at
+Brunswick in 1790, when he was only
+twenty-one years of age, entitled
+<i>Observations sur les Basaltes du
+Rhin</i>.</p>
+
+<p>To extend his information, already
+very considerable, on mineralogical
+science, Humboldt in 1791 repaired to
+Freyburg, to profit by the instructions
+of the celebrated Werner; and, when
+there, he devoted himself, with the
+characteristic ardour of his disposition,
+to make himself master of geology and
+botany, and prosecuted in an especial
+manner the study of the fossil remains
+of plants in the rocks around that
+place. In 1792, he published at
+Berlin a learned treatise, entitled
+<i>Specimen Flor&aelig;, Friebergensis Subterrani&aelig;</i>;
+which procured for him
+such celebrity, that he was soon after
+appointed director-general of the
+mines in the principalities of Anspach
+and Bayreuth, in Franconia. His ardent
+and philanthropic disposition
+there exerted itself for several years
+in promoting, to the utmost of his
+power, various establishments of
+public utility; among others, the
+public school of Streben, from which
+has already issued many distinguished
+scholars. Charmed by the recent and
+brilliant discoveries of M. Galvani in
+electricity, he next entered with ardour
+into that new branch of science;
+and, not content with studying it in
+the abstract, he made a great variety
+of curious experiments on the effects
+of galvanism on his own person, and
+published the result in two octavos,
+at Berlin, in 1796, enriched by the
+notes of the celebrated naturalist
+Bl&uuml;menbach. This work was translated
+into French by J. F. Jadelot,
+and published at Paris in 1799.
+Meanwhile Humboldt, consumed
+with an insatiable desire for travelling,
+resumed his wanderings, and
+roamed over Switzerland and Italy,
+after which he returned to Paris in
+1797, and formed an intimacy with a
+congenial spirit, M. Aim&eacute; Bonpland;
+who afterwards became the companion
+of his South American travels. At
+this time he formed the design of
+joining the expedition of Captain
+Baudin, who was destined to circumnavigate<!-- Page 547 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_547" id="Page_547">[Pg 547]</a></span>
+the globe; but the continuance
+of hostilities prevented him from
+carrying that design into effect.
+Baffled in that project, upon which
+his heart was much set, Humboldt
+went to Marseilles with the intention
+of embarking on board a Swedish
+frigate for Algiers, from whence he
+hoped to join Napoleon's expedition
+to Egypt, and cross from the banks of
+the Nile to the Persian Gulf and the
+vast regions of the East. This was
+the turning point of his destiny. The
+Swedish frigate never arrived; the
+English cruisers rendered it impossible
+to cross the Mediterranean,
+except in a neutral vessel; and after
+waiting with impatience for about
+two months, he set out for Madrid, in
+the hope of finding means in the Peninsula
+of passing into Africa from
+the opposite shores of Andalusia.</p>
+
+<p>Upon his arrival in the Spanish
+capital, the German philosopher was
+received with all the distinction which
+his scientific reputation deserved; and
+he obtained from the government
+the extraordinary and unlooked-for
+boon of a formal leave to
+travel over the whole South American
+colonies of the monarchy. This
+immediately determined Humboldt.
+He entered with ardour into the new
+prospects thus opened to him; wrote to
+his friend Aim&eacute; Bonpland to propose
+that he should join him in the contemplated
+expedition&mdash;an offer which
+was gladly accepted; and soon the
+visions of Arabia and the Himalaya
+were supplanted by those of the
+Pampas of Buenos Ayres and the
+Cordilleras of Peru. The two friends
+embarked at Corunna on board a
+Spanish vessel, and after a prosperous
+voyage, reached Cumana, in the New
+World, in July 1799. From that
+city they made their first expedition
+in Spanish America, during which
+they travelled over Spanish Guiana,
+New Andalusia, and the Missions of
+the Caribbees, from whence they returned
+to Cumana in 1800. There
+they embarked for the Havannah; and
+the whole of the summer of that year
+was spent in traversing that great and
+interesting island, on which he collected
+much important and valuable
+information. In September 1801, he
+set out for Quito, where he arrived in
+January of the succeeding year, and
+was received with the most flattering
+distinction. Having reposed for some
+months from their fatigues, Humboldt
+and Bonpland proceeded, in the first
+instance, to survey the country which
+had been devastated in 1797 by the
+dreadful earthquake, so frequent in
+those regions, and which swallowed
+up in a minute forty thousand persons.
+Then he set out, in June 1802, to visit
+the volcano of Tungaragno and the
+summit of Chimborazo. They ascended
+to the height of 19,500 feet on
+the latter mountain; but were prevented
+from reaching the top by impassable
+ravines. Perched on one of the
+summits, however, of this giant of
+mountains, amidst ice and snow, far
+above the abode of any living creature
+except the condor, they made a
+great variety of most interesting observations,
+which have proved of essential
+service to the cause of science.
+They were 3485 feet above the most
+elevated point which the learned Condamine,
+who had hitherto ascended
+highest, reached in 1745, but were still
+2140 feet below the loftiest summit
+of the mountain. They determined,
+by a series of strict trigonometrical
+observations, the height of the chief
+peaks of that celebrated ridge&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Where Andes, giant of the western star,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Looks from his throne of clouds o'er half the world."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Having returned, after this fatiguing
+and dangerous mountain expedition,
+to Lima, Humboldt remained several
+months enjoying the hospitality of
+its kind-hearted inhabitants, whose
+warm feelings and excellent qualities
+excited in him the warmest admiration.
+In the neighbouring harbour
+of Callao, he was fortunate enough to
+see the passage of the planet Mercury
+over the disk of the sun, of which
+transit he made very important observations;
+and from thence passed
+into the province of New Spain, where
+he remained an entire year, sedulously
+engaged in agricultural, political,
+and statistical, as well as physical
+enquiries, the fruits of which added
+much to the value of his published
+travels. In April 1803, he proceeded
+to Mexico, where he was so fortunate
+as to discover the only specimen
+known to exist of the tree called<!-- Page 548 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_548" id="Page_548">[Pg 548]</a></span>
+<i>Cheirostomon Platanoides</i>, of the
+highest antiquity and gigantic dimensions.
+During the remainder of that
+year, he made several excursions over
+the mountains and valleys of Mexico,
+inferior to none in the world in interest
+and beauty; and in autumn 1804,
+embarked for the Havannah, from
+whence he passed into Philadelphia,
+and traversed a considerable part of
+the United States. At length, in 1805,
+he returned to Europe, and arrived
+safe at Paris in November of that
+year, bringing with him, in addition
+to the observations he had made, and
+recollections with which his mind was
+fraught, the most extensive and varied
+collection of specimens of plants and
+minerals that ever was brought from
+the New World. His herbarium consisted
+of four thousand different plants,
+many of them of extreme rarity even
+in South America, and great part of
+which were previously unknown in
+Europe. His mineralogical collection
+was of equal extent and value. But
+by far the most important additions
+he has made to the cause of science,
+consist in the vast series of observations
+he has made in the New World,
+which have set at rest a great many
+disputed points in geography, mineralogy,
+and zoology, concerning that
+interesting and, in a great degree,
+unknown part of the world, and extended
+in a proportional degree the
+boundaries of knowledge regarding it.
+Nor have his labours been less important
+in collecting the most valuable statistical
+information regarding the Spanish
+provinces of those vast regions,
+especially the condition of the Indian,
+negro, and mulatto race which exist
+within them, and the amount of the
+precious metals annually raised from
+their mines; subjects of vast importance
+to Great Britain, and especially
+its colonial and commercial interests,
+but which have hitherto been in an
+unaccountable manner neglected, even
+by those whose interests and fortunes
+were entirely wound up in the changes
+connected with these vital subjects.</p>
+
+<p>The remainder of Baron Humboldt's
+life has been chiefly devoted to the
+various and important publications, in
+which he has embodied the fruit of his
+vast and extensive researches in the
+New World. In many of these he
+has been assisted by M. Aim&eacute; Bonpland,
+who, his companion in literary
+labour as in the danger and fatigues
+of travelling, has, with the generosity
+of a really great mind, been content
+to diminish, perhaps destroy, his
+prospect of individual celebrity, by
+associating himself with the labours
+Of his illustrious friend. Pursued
+even in mature years by the desire of
+fame, the thirst for still greater
+achievements, which belongs to minds
+of the heroic cast, whether in war or
+science, he conceived, at a subsequent
+period, the design of visiting the upper
+provinces of India and the Himalaya
+range. After having ascended higher
+than man had yet done on the elevated
+ridges of the New World, he was consumed
+with a thirst to surmount the still
+more lofty summits of the Old, which
+have remained in solitary and unapproachable
+grandeur since the waves
+of the Deluge first receded from their
+sides. But the East India Company,
+within whose dominions, or at least
+beneath whose influence, the highest
+ridges of the Himalaya are situated,
+gave no countenance to the design,
+and even, it is said, refused liberty to
+the immortal Naturalist to visit their
+extensive territories. Whatever opinion
+we may form on the liberality or
+wisdom of this resolution, considered
+with reference to the interests, physical,
+moral, and political, of British
+India, it is not to be regretted, for the
+cause of science and literature over
+the world, that the great traveller has
+been prevented from setting out late
+in life to a fresh region of discovery.
+It has left the remainder of his life,
+and his yet undiminished powers, to
+illustrate and explain what he has
+already seen. To do that, was enough
+for the ordinary span of human life.</p>
+
+<p>Humboldt's works relating to the
+New World are very numerous. I.
+He first published, in 1805, at Paris,
+in four volumes quarto, the <i>Personal
+Narrative</i> of his travels from 1799
+to 1804. Of this splendid and interesting
+work, several editions have
+since been published in French, in
+twelve volumes octavo. It is upon
+it that his fame with the generality
+of readers mainly rests. II. <i>Vues des
+Cordilleras et Monumens des Peuples
+Indig&egrave;nes de l'Amerique</i>&mdash;two volumes
+folio: Paris, 1811. This magnificent
+work, the cost of which is now<!-- Page 549 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_549" id="Page_549">[Pg 549]</a></span>
+&pound;130, contains by far the finest views
+of the Andes in existence. Its great
+price renders it very scarce, and not
+more than a few copies are to be met
+with in Great Britain; but a cheap
+edition, without the great plates, was
+published at Paris in 1817. III.
+<i>Recueil d'Observations Astronomiques,
+et de M&eacute;sures ex&eacute;cut&eacute;es dans le Nouveau
+Continent</i>: two volumes quarto.
+This learned work contains the result
+of Humboldt's astronomical and trigonometrical
+observations on the
+lunar distances, the eclipses of the
+satellites of Jupiter, the transit of
+Mercury, and upwards of five hundred
+elevated points in the New
+World, taken from barometrical observations,
+with all the requisite allowances
+and calculations carefully
+made. IV. <i>Essai sur la Geographie
+des Plantes, ou Tableau Physique des
+Regions Equinoxiales:</i> in quarto, with
+a great map. V. <i>Plantes Equinoxiales
+recueillies au Mexique, dans
+l'Ile de Cuba, dans les Provinces de
+Caraccas, &amp;c.:</i> two volumes folio.
+A splendid and very costly work.
+VI. <i>Monographie des M&eacute;lastomes</i>:
+two volumes folio. A most curious
+and interesting work on a most interesting
+subject. VII. <i>Nova Genera
+et Species Plantarum</i>: three volumes
+folio. Containing an account of the
+botanical treasures collected by him
+in the New World, and brought home
+in his magnificent herbarium. VIII.
+<i>Recueil des Observations de Zoologie et
+d'Anatomie compar&eacute;e faites dans un
+Voyage aux Tropiques</i>: two volumes
+quarto. IX. <i>Essai Politique sur la
+Nouvelle Espagne.</i> 1811: two volumes
+quarto. Of this admirable
+work a subsequent edition has been
+published in 1822, in four volumes
+octavo. It contains an astonishing
+collection of important statistical facts,
+arranged and digested with the utmost
+ability, and interspersed with
+political and philosophical reflections
+on the state of the human race, and the
+relation of society in the New World.
+X. <i>Ansichten der Natur.</i> Tubingen,
+1808: in octavo. It is remarkable
+that this is the only one of the
+learned author's works on Spanish
+America which originally appeared
+in his own language; but it was soon
+translated into French under the
+title of <i>Tableaux de la Nature</i>. Paris:
+1808. It contains a series of descriptions
+of the different styles of scenery
+and remarkable objects in the vast
+regions he had visited, portrayed
+with all the vigour and accuracy for
+which the author is distinguished.
+XI. <i>De Distributione Geographic&acirc;
+Plantarum secundum C&oelig;ig;li Temperiem
+et Altitudinem Montium, Prolegomena</i>.
+In octavo. Paris: 1817. The title
+of this work explains its object and
+its importance, in describing a portion
+of the globe consisting of such lofty
+and successive ridges and table-lands
+as rise from the level of the sea to the
+summits of the Cordilleras of Mexico
+and Peru. XII. <i>Sur l'Elevation des
+Montagnes de l'Inde.</i> Octavo. Paris:
+1818. A work prepared when
+the author was contemplating a journey
+to the Himalaya and mountains
+of Thibet. XIII. <i>Carte du Fleuve
+Orenoque.</i> Presented to the Academy
+of Sciences in 1817. M. Humboldt
+has there demonstrated the singular
+fact of the junction of the great rivers
+Orinoco and of the Amazon by the
+intermediate waters of the Rio Negro;
+a fact which the sagacity of D'Anville
+had long ago led him to suspect, but
+which the travels of the indefatigable
+German has established beyond a
+doubt. XIV. <i>Examen Critique de
+l'Histoire de la Geographie du Nouveau
+Continent, et du Progr&egrave;s de l'Astronomie
+Nautique aux 15me et 16me
+si&egrave;cles.</i> Paris: 1837. XV. "<i>Cosmos:</i>"
+in German&mdash;a "Scheme of a Physical
+Description of the Universe." This
+last work embraces a much wider
+sphere of learning and speculation
+than any of the preceding, and is
+more characteristic of the vast erudition
+and ardent genius of the author.</p>
+
+<p>From the brief account which has
+now been given of the published
+works of this indefatigable traveller
+and author, the reader will be able to
+appreciate the extent and variety of
+his scientific and political attainments.
+We shall now present him under a
+different aspect, as an eloquent and
+almost unrivalled describer of nature.
+It need hardly be said that it is on
+these splendid pictures, more even
+than the numerous and valuable additions
+he has made to the treasures
+of science, that his reputation with
+the world in general is founded.</p>
+
+<p>The rapids of the Orinoco&mdash;one of the<!-- Page 550 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_550" id="Page_550">[Pg 550]</a></span>
+most striking scenes in America&mdash;are
+thus described by our author:<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a>&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"When we arrived at the top of the
+Cliff of Marimi, the first object which
+caught our eye was a sheet of foam,
+above a mile in length and half a mile
+in breadth. Enormous masses of black
+rock, of an iron hue, started up here
+and there out of its snowy surface.
+Some resembled huge basaltic cliffs
+resting on each other; many, castles in
+ruins, with detached towers and fortalices,
+guarding their approach from a
+distance. Their sombre colour formed
+a contrast with the dazzling whiteness
+of the foam. Every rock, every island,
+was covered with flourishing trees, the
+foliage of which is often united above
+the foaming gulf by creepers hanging
+in festoons from their opposite branches.
+The base of the rocks and islands, as far
+as the eye can reach, is lost in the
+volumes of white smoke, which boil
+above the surface of the river; but
+above these snowy clouds, noble palms,
+from eighty to an hundred feet high,
+rise aloft, stretching their summits of
+dazzling green towards the clear azure
+of heaven. With the changes of the
+day these rocks and palm-trees are
+alternately illuminated by the brightest
+sunshine, or projected in deep shadow
+on the surrounding surge. Never does
+a breath of wind agitate the foliage,
+never a cloud obscure the vault of
+heaven. A dazzling light is ever shed
+through the air, over the earth enameled
+with the loveliest flowers, over the
+foaming stream stretching as far as the
+eye can reach; the spray, glittering in
+the sunbeams, forms a thousand rainbows,
+ever changing, yet ever bright,
+beneath whose arches, islands of flowers,
+rivalling the very hues of heaven, flourish
+in perpetual bloom. There is nothing
+austere or sombre, as in northern
+climates, even in this scene of elemental
+strife; tranquillity and repose seem to
+sleep on the very edge of the abyss of
+waters. Neither time, nor the sight
+of the Cordilleras, nor a long abode
+in the charming valleys of Mexico, have
+been able to efface from my recollection
+the impression made by these cataracts.
+When I read the description of
+similar scenes in the East, my mind sees
+again in clear vision the sea of foam,
+the islands of flowers, the palm-trees surmounting
+the snowy vapours. Such
+recollections, like the memory of the
+sublimest works of poetry and the arts,
+leave an impression which is never to
+be effaced, and which, through the
+whole of life, is associated with every
+sentiment of the grand and the beautiful."&mdash;(Vol.
+vii. 171-172.)</p></div>
+
+<p>Such is a specimen of the descriptive
+powers of the great German
+natural philosopher, geographer, botanist,
+and traveller. When our
+senior wranglers from Cambridge,
+our high-honoured men from Oxford,
+or lady travellers from London, produce
+a parallel to it, we shall hope
+that England is about to compete
+with the continental nations in the
+race of illustrious travellers&mdash;but not
+till then.</p>
+
+<p>As a contrast to this, we cannot
+resist the pleasure of laying before our
+readers the following striking description
+of night on the Orinoco, in the
+placid part of its course, amidst the
+vast forests of the tropical regions:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The night was calm and serene,
+and a beautiful moon shed a radiance
+over the scene. The crocodiles lay extended
+on the sand; placed in such a
+manner that they could watch our fire,
+from which they never turned aside
+their eyes. Its dazzling evidently attracted
+them, as it does fish, crabs, and
+the other inhabitants of the waters.
+The Indians pointed out to us in the
+sand the recent marks of the feet of
+three tigers, a mother and two young,
+which had crossed the open space between
+the forest and the water. Finding
+no tree upon the shore, we sank the
+end of our oars into the sand, in order
+to form poles for our tents. Every
+thing remained quiet till eleven at night,
+when suddenly there arose, in the neighbouring
+forest, a noise so frightful that
+it became impossible to shut our eyes.
+Amidst the voice of so many savage
+animals, which all roared or cried at
+once, our Indians could only distinguish
+the howling of the jaguar, the yell of
+<!-- Page 551 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_551" id="Page_551">[Pg 551]</a></span>the tiger, the roar of the cougar, or
+American lion, and the screams of some
+birds of prey. When the jaguars approached
+near to the edge of the forest,
+our dogs, which to that moment had
+never ceased to bark, suddenly housed;
+and, crouching, sought refuge under the
+shelter of our hammocks. Sometimes,
+after an interval of silence, the growl
+of the tiger was heard from the top of
+the trees, followed immediately by the
+cries of the monkey tenants of their
+branches, which fled the danger by
+which they were menaced.</p>
+
+<p>"I have painted, feature by feature,
+these nocturnal scenes on the Orinoco,
+because, having but lately embarked on
+it, we were as yet unaccustomed to their
+wildness. They were repeated for
+months together, every night that the
+forest approached the edge of the river.
+Despite the evident danger by which one
+is surrounded, the security which the
+Indian feels comes to communicate itself
+to your mind; you become persuaded
+with him, that all the tigers fear the
+light of fire, and will not attack a man
+when lying in his hammock. In truth,
+the instances of attacks on persons in
+hammocks are extremely rare; and during
+a long residence in South America,
+I can only call to mind one instance of
+a Llanero, who was found torn in pieces
+in his hammock opposite the island of
+Uhagua.</p>
+
+<p>"When one asks the Indians what is
+the cause of this tremendous noise,
+which at a certain hour of the night the
+animals of the forest make, they answer
+gaily, 'They are saluting the full moon.'
+I suspect the cause in general is some
+quarrel or combat which has arisen in
+the interior of the forest. The jaguars,
+for example, pursue the pecaris and
+tapirs, which, having no means of defence
+but their numbers, fly in dense
+bodies, and press, in all the agony of
+terror, through the thickets which lie
+in their way. Terrified at this strife,
+and the crashing of boughs or rustling
+of thickets which they hear beneath
+them, the monkeys on the highest
+branches set up discordant cries of
+terror on every side. The din soon
+wakens the parrots and other birds
+which fill the woods, they instantly
+scream in the most violent way, and
+erelong the whole forest is in an uproar.
+We soon found that it is not so much
+during a full moon, as on the approach
+of a whirlwind or a storm, that this
+frightful concert arises among the wild
+beasts. 'May heaven give us a peaceable
+night and rest, like other mortals!'
+was the exclamation of the monk who
+had accompanied us from the Rio Negro,
+as he lay down to repose in our bivouac.
+It is a singular circumstance to be reduced
+to such a petition in the midst of
+the solitude of the woods. In the hotels
+of Spain, the traveller fears the sound
+of the guitar from the neighbouring
+apartment: in the bivouacs of the Orinoco,
+which are spread on the open
+sand, or under the shade of a single
+tree, what you have to dread is, the infernal
+cries which issue from the adjoining
+forest."&mdash;(Vol. vi., 222-3.)</p></div>
+
+<p>One of the most remarkable of the
+many remarkable features of Nature
+in South America, is the prodigious
+plains which, under the name of
+Llanos and Pampas, stretch from the
+shores of the Atlantic to the foot of
+the Andes, over a space from fifteen
+hundred to two thousand miles in
+breadth. Humboldt traversed them
+more than once in their full extent,
+and has given the following striking
+description of their remarkable peculiarities.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"In many geographical works, the
+savannahs of South America are termed
+<i>prairies</i>. That word, however, seems
+not properly applicable to plains of
+pasturage, often exclusively dry, though
+covered with grass four or five feet
+high. The Llanos and Pampas of South
+America are true <i>steppes</i>: they present
+a rich covering of verdure during
+the rainy season; but in the months of
+drought, the earth assumes the appearance
+of a desert. The turf is then reduced
+to powder, the earth gapes in
+huge cracks; the crocodiles and great
+serpents lie in a dormant state in the
+dried mud, till the return of rains, and
+the rise of the waters in the great rivers,
+which flood the vast expanse of level
+surface, awaken them from their long
+slumber. These appearances are often
+exhibited over an arid surface of fifty or
+sixty leagues square&mdash;every where, in
+short, where the savannah is not traversed
+by any of the great rivers. On
+the borders, on the other hand, of the
+streams, and around the lakes, which in
+the dry season retain a little brackish
+water, the traveller meets from time to
+time, even in the most extreme drought,
+groves of Mauritia, a species of palm,
+the leaves of which, spreading out like
+<!-- Page 552 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_552" id="Page_552">[Pg 552]</a></span>a fan, preserve amidst the surrounding
+sterility a brilliant verdure.</p>
+
+<p>"The steppes of Asia are all out of
+the region of the tropics, and form in
+general the summit of very elevated
+plateaux. America also presents, on the
+reverse of the mountains of Mexico, of
+Peru, and of Quito, steppes of considerable
+extent. But the greatest steppes,
+the Llanos of Cumana, of Caraccas, and
+of Meta, all belong to the equinoctial
+zone, and are very little elevated above
+the level of the ocean. It is this
+which gives them their peculiar characters.
+They do not contain, like the
+steppes of Southern Asia, and the deserts
+of Persia, those lakes without
+issue, or rivers which lose themselves in
+the sand or in subterraneous filtrations.
+The Llanos of South America incline
+towards the east and the south; their
+waters are tributary to the Orinoco,
+the Amazon, or the Rio de la Plata.</p>
+
+<p>"What most strongly characterizes
+the savannahs or steppes of South
+America, is the entire absence of hills,
+or inequalities of any kind. The soil,
+for hundreds of miles together, is perfectly
+flat, without even a hillock. For
+this reason, the Castilian conquerors,
+who penetrated first from Coro to the
+banks of the Apur&eacute;, named the regions
+to which they came, neither deserts, nor
+savannahs, nor meadows, but <i>plains&mdash;los
+Llanos</i>. Over an extent of thirty leagues
+square, you will often not meet with an
+eminence a foot high. The resemblance
+to the sea which these immense plains
+bear, strikes the imagination the more
+forcibly in those places, often as extensive
+as half of France, where the surface
+is absolutely destitute of palms, or
+any species of trees, and where the distance
+is so great from the mountains,
+or the forests on the shores of the
+Orinoco, as to render neither visible.
+The uniform appearance which the
+Llanos exhibit, the extreme rarity of
+any habitations, the fatigues of a journey
+under a burning sun, and in an atmosphere
+perpetually clouded with dust,
+the prospect of a round girdle of an
+horizon, which appears constantly to
+recede before the traveller, the isolated
+stems of the palm-tree, all precisely of the
+same form, and which he despairs to
+reach, because he confounds them with
+other seemingly identical trunks which
+appear in the distant parts of the horizon:
+all these causes combine to make
+these steppes appear even more vast
+than they really are.</p>
+
+<p>"Yet are their actual dimensions so
+prodigious, that it is hard to outstrip
+them, even by the wildest flights of the
+imagination. The colonists, who inhabit
+the slopes of the mountains which
+form their extreme boundary on the
+west and north, see the steppes stretch
+away to the south and east, as far as
+the eye can reach, an interminable
+ocean of verdure. Well may they deem
+it boundless! They know that from the
+Delta of the Orinoco, crossing the province
+of Vannos, and from thence by
+the shores of the Meta, the Guaviare,
+and the Caguan, you may advance in
+the plains, at first from east to west,
+then from north-east, to south-east,
+three hundred and eighty leagues&mdash;a
+distance as great as from Tombuctoo
+to the northern coast of Africa. They
+know, by the report of travellers, that the
+Pampas of Buenos Ayres&mdash;which are
+also Llanos, destitute of trees, covered
+with rich grass, filled with cattle and
+wild horses&mdash;are equally extensive.
+They imagine, according to the greater
+part of maps, that this huge continent
+has but one chain of mountains, the
+Andes, which forms its western boundary;
+and they form a vague idea of
+the boundless sea of verdure, stretching
+the whole way from the foot of this gigantic
+wall of rock, from the Orinoco
+and the Apur&eacute;, to the Rio de la Plata
+and the Straits of Magellan. Imagination
+itself can hardly form an idea of
+the extent of these plains. The Llanos,
+from the Caqueta to the Apur&eacute;, and
+from thence to the Delta of the Orinoco,
+contain 17,000 square marine leagues&mdash;a
+space nearly equal to the area of
+France; that which stretches to the
+north and south is of nearly double the
+extent, or considerably larger than the
+surface of Germany; and the Pampas
+of Buenos Ayres, which extend from
+thence towards Cape Horn, are of such
+extent, that while one end is shaded by
+the palm-trees of the tropics, the other,
+equally flat, is charged with the snows of
+the antarctic circle."&mdash;(Vol. vi. 52, 67.)</p></div>
+
+<p>These prodigious plains have been
+overspread with the horses and cattle
+of the Old World, which, originally introduced
+by the Spanish settlers, have
+strayed from the enclosures of their
+masters, and multiplied without end in
+the vast savannahs which nature had
+spread out for their reception.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"It is impossible," says Humboldt,
+"to form an exact enumeration of the
+cattle in the Pampas, or even to give an
+approximation to it, so immensely have
+<!-- Page 553 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_553" id="Page_553">[Pg 553]</a></span>they augmented during the three centuries
+which have elapsed since they
+were first introduced; but some idea of
+their number may be formed from the
+following facts in regard to such portions
+of these vast herds as are capable
+of being counted. It is calculated that
+in the plains from the mouths of the
+Orinoco to the lake Maracaybo, there are
+1,200,000 head of cattle, 180,000 horses,
+and 90,000 mules, which belong to individual
+proprietors. In the Pampas of
+Buenos Ayres there are 12,000,000 cows
+and 3,000,000 horses belonging to private
+persons, besides the far greater
+multitude which are wild, and wander
+altogether beyond the reach of man.
+Considerable revenues are realized from
+the sale of the skins of these animals,
+for they are so common that the carcasses
+are of scarcely any value. They
+are at the pains only to look after the
+young of their herds, which are marked
+once a-year with the initial letter of the
+owner. Fourteen or fifteen thousand
+are marked by the greater proprietors
+every year, of which five or six thousand
+are annually sold."&mdash;(Vol. vi. 97.)</p></div>
+
+<p>The enormous number of beasts of
+prey which multiply with this vast accumulation
+of animals to be devoured,
+as well those introduced by man as
+those furnished by the hand of nature,
+renders the life of many of the inhabitants
+of these regions little else than a
+constant struggle with wild animals.
+Many hairbreadth escapes and heroic
+adventures are recounted by the natives,
+which would pass for fabulous if
+not stated on such unquestionable
+authority as that of M. Humboldt,
+and supported by the concurring testimony
+of other travellers. The number
+of alligators, in particular, on the
+Orinoco, the Rio Apur&eacute;, and their
+tributary streams, is prodigious; and
+contests with them constitute a large
+portion of the legendary tales of the
+Indian and European settlers in the
+forest.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The numerous wild animals," says
+Humboldt, "which inhabit the forests on
+the shores of the Orinoco, have made
+apertures for themselves in the wall of
+vegetation and foliage by which the
+woods are bounded, out of which they
+come forth to drink in the river. Tigers,
+tapirs, jaguars, boars, besides numberless
+lesser quadrupeds, issue out of these
+dark arches in the green wilderness, and
+cross the strip of sand which generally
+lies between it and the edge of the water,
+formed by the large space which
+is annually devastated and covered with
+shingle or mud, during the rise of the
+water in the rainy season. These singular
+scenes have always possessed a
+great attraction for me. The pleasure
+experienced was not merely that of a
+naturalist in the objects of his study; it
+belongs to all men who have been educated
+in the habits of civilization. You
+find yourself in contact with a new
+world, with savage and unconquered
+Nature. Sometimes it is the jaguar,
+the beautiful panther of America, which
+issues from its dark retreat; at others
+the hosco, with its dark plumes and
+curved head, which traverses the <i>sauso</i>,
+as the band of yellow sand is called.
+Animals of the most various kinds and
+opposite descriptions succeed each other
+without intermission. 'Es como en el
+Paraiso,' (It is as in Paradise,) said our
+pilot, an old Indian of the Missions. In
+truth, every thing here recalls that primitive
+world of which the traditions of
+all nations have preserved the recollection,
+the innocence, and happiness; but
+on observing the habits of the animals
+towards each other, it is evident that the
+age of gold has ceased to them as well
+as to the human race; they mutually fear
+and avoid each other, and in the lonely
+American forests, as elsewhere, long experience
+has taught all living beings that
+gentleness is rarely united to force."</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>"When the sands on the river side
+are of considerable breadth, the sauso
+often stretches to a considerable distance
+from the water's edge. It is on
+this intermediate space that you see the
+crocodiles, often to the number of eight
+or ten, stretched on the sand. Motionless,
+their huge jaws opened at right
+angles, they lie without giving any of
+those marks of affection which are observable
+in other animals which live in
+society. The troop separate when they
+leave the coast; they are probably composed
+of several females and one male.
+The former are much more numerous
+than the latter, from the number of
+males which are killed in fighting during
+the time of their amours. These
+monstrous reptiles have multiplied to
+such a degree, that there was hardly
+an instant during our voyage along the
+whole course of the river that we had
+not five or six in view. We measured
+one dead which was lying on the sand;
+it was sixteen feet nine inches long.
+Soon after, Mr Bonpland found a dead
+<!-- Page 554 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_554" id="Page_554">[Pg 554]</a></span>male on the shore, measuring twenty-two
+feet three inches. Under every
+zone&mdash;in America as in Egypt&mdash;this
+animal attains the same dimensions.
+The Indians told us, that at San Fernando
+scarce a year passes without
+two or three grown up persons, usually
+women, who are drawing from the
+river, being devoured by these carnivorous
+lizards.</p>
+
+<p>"They related to us an interesting
+story of a young daughter of Urituen,
+who, by extraordinary intrepidity and
+presence of mind, succeeded in extricating
+herself from the very jaws of a
+crocodile. When she felt herself seized
+by the voracious animal in the water,
+she felt for its eyes, and thrust her
+fingers into them with such violence
+that she forced the animal to let go, but
+not before he had torn off the lower
+part of her left arm. The Indian girl,
+notwithstanding the enormous quantity
+of blood which she lost, succeeded in
+swimming to shore with the hand which
+was left, and escaped without further
+injury. In those desert regions, where
+man is constantly in strife with animated
+or inanimated nature, they daily speak
+of similar or corresponding means by
+which it is possible to escape from a
+tiger, a great boa, or a crocodile.
+Every one prepares himself against a
+danger which may any day befall him,
+'I knew,' said the young girl calmly,
+when praised for her presence of mind,
+'that the crocodile lets go his hold when
+you plunge your fingers in his eyes.'
+Long after my return to Europe, I
+learned that the negroes in the interior
+of Africa make use of the same method
+to escape from the alligators in the
+Niger. Who does not recollect with
+warm interest, that Isaaco the guide, in
+his last journey of the unfortunate Mungo
+Park, was seized twice near Boulinkombro,
+and that he escaped from the
+throat of the monster solely by thrusting
+his fingers into his two eyes?<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> The
+African Isaaco and the young American
+girl owed their safety to the same
+presence of mind, and the same combination
+of ideas."&mdash;(Vol. vi. 203, 205.)</p></div>
+
+<p>If there is any one fact more than
+another demonstrated by the concurring
+testimony of travellers, historians,
+and statistical observers, in all
+ages and quarters of the world, it is,
+that the possession of <i>property in land</i>
+is the first step in social improvement,
+and the only effectual humanizer of
+Savage Man. Rousseau's famous
+paradox, "The first Man who enclosed
+a field, and called it mine, is the
+author of all the social ills which followed,"
+is not only false but decidedly
+the reverse of the truth. He was the
+first and greatest benefactor of his
+species. Subsequent ills have arisen,
+not from following but forgetting his
+example; and preferring to the simplicity
+of country life the seductions
+and vices of urban society. Humboldt
+adds his important testimony to
+the noble army of witnesses in all
+ages, and from all parts of the world,
+on this all important subject.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The Guamos are a race of Indians
+whom it is extremely difficult to fix
+down to the soil. Like other wandering
+savages, they are distinguished by
+their dirt, revengeful spirit, and fondness
+for wandering. The greater part
+of them live by fishing and the chase,
+in the plains often flooded by the Apur&eacute;,
+the Meta, and the Guaviare. The nature
+of those regions, their vast extent,
+and entire want of any limit or distinguishing
+mark, seems to invite their
+inhabitants to a wandering life. On
+entering, again, the mountains which adjoin
+the cataracts of the Orinoco, you
+find among the Piroas, the Macos, and
+the Macquiritares, milder manners, a
+love of agriculture, and remarkable cleanliness
+in the interior of their cabins.
+On the ridges of mountains, amidst impenetrable
+forests, man is forced to fix
+himself, to clear and cultivate a corner
+of the earth. That culture demands
+little care, and is richly rewarded:
+while the life of a hunter is painful and
+difficult. The Guamos of the Mission
+of Santa Barbara are kind and hospitable;
+whenever we entered their cottages,
+they offered us dried fish and
+water."&mdash;(Vol. vi. 219.)</p></div>
+
+<p>No spectacle in nature can exceed,
+few equal, the sublimity and magnificence
+of the scenery presented by
+the vast chain of mountains which,
+under the name of Cordilleras, Andes,
+and Rocky Mountains, traverses the
+whole continent of America, both north
+and south, in the neighbourhood of the<!-- Page 555 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_555" id="Page_555">[Pg 555]</a></span>
+Pacific Ocean. Of this prodigious
+pile of rocks and precipices, Humboldt,
+in another of his works, has given the
+following admirable account:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The immense chain of the Andes,
+traversing its whole extent near the
+Pacific Ocean, has stamped a character
+upon South American nature which
+belongs to no other country. The peculiarity
+which distinguishes the regions
+which belong to this immense
+chain, are the successive plateaux, like
+so many huge natural terraces, which
+rise one above another, before arriving
+at the great central chain, where the
+highest summits are to be found. Such
+is the elevation of some of these plains
+that they often exceed eight and nine,
+and sometimes reach that of twelve thousand
+feet above the level of the sea.
+The lowest of these plateaux is higher
+than the summit of the Pass of the
+Great St Bernard, the highest inhabited
+ground in Europe, which is 7545 feet
+above the level of the sea. But such is
+the benignity of the climate, that at
+these prodigious elevations, which even
+in the south of Europe are above the
+line of perpetual snow, are to be found
+cities and towns, corn-fields and orchards,
+and all the symptoms of rural
+felicity. The town of Quito itself, the
+capital of a province of the same name,
+is situated on a plateau, or elevated
+valley, in the centre of the Andes,
+nearly 9000 feet above the level of the
+sea. Yet there are found concentrated
+a numerous population, and it contains
+cities with thirty, forty, and even fifty
+thousand inhabitants. After living
+some months on this elevated ground,
+you experience an extraordinary illusion.
+Finding yourself surrounded with
+pasture and corn-fields, flocks and herds,
+smiling orchards and golden harvests,
+the sheep and the lama, the fruits of
+Europe and those of America, you forget
+that you are as it were suspended
+between heaven and earth, and elevated
+to a height exceeding that by which
+the European traveller makes his way
+from France into Italy, and double that
+of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in
+Great Britain.</p>
+
+<p>"The different gradations of vegetation,
+as might be expected in a country
+where the earth rises from the torrid
+zone by a few steep ascents to the regions
+of eternal congelation, exhibit
+one of the most remarkable features in
+this land of wonders. From the borders
+of the sea to the height of two
+thousand feet, are to be seen the magnificent
+palm-tree, the musa, the heleconia,
+the balms of Tolu, the large
+flowering jasmin, the date-tree, and all
+the productions of tropical climates.
+On the arid and burning shores of the
+ocean, flourish, in addition to these, the
+cotton-tree, the magnolias, the cactus,
+the sugar-cane, and all the luscious
+fruits which ripen under the genial sun,
+and amidst the balmy breezes of the
+West India Islands. One only of these
+tropical children of nature, the <i>Carosylou
+Andicola</i>, is met with far in advance
+of the rest of its tribe, tossed by the
+winds at the height of seven and eight
+thousand feet above the sea, on the
+middle ridges of the Cordillera range.
+In this lower region, as nature exhibits
+the riches, so she has spread the pestilence,
+of tropical climates. The humidity
+of the atmosphere, and the damp
+heats which are nourished amidst its
+intricate thickets, produce violent fevers,
+which often prove extremely destructive,
+especially to European constitutions.
+But if the patient survives
+the first attack, the remedy is at hand;
+a journey to the temperate climate of
+the elevated plateau soon restores
+health; and the sufferer is as much revived
+by the gales of the Andes, as the
+Indian valetudinarian is by a return to
+Europe.</p>
+
+<p>"Above the region of the palms
+commences the temperate zone. It is
+there that vegetation appears in its
+most delightful form, luxuriant without
+being rank, majestic yet not impervious;
+it combines all that nature has given of
+the grand, with all that the poets have
+figured of the beautiful. The bark-tree,
+which she has provided as the only
+effectual febrifuge in the deadly heats
+of the inferior region; the cyprus and
+melastoma, with their superb violet
+blossoms; gigantic fuchsias of every
+possible variety, and evergreen trees of
+lofty stature, covered with flowers,
+adorn that delightful zone. The turf
+is enamelled by never-fading flowers;
+mosses of dazzling beauty, fed by the
+frequent rains attracted by the mountains,
+cover the rocks; and the trembling
+branches of the mimosa, and others
+of the sensitive tribe, hang in graceful
+pendants over every declivity. Almost
+all the flowering shrubs which adorn
+our conservatories, are to be found
+there in primeval beauty, and what to
+Europeans appears a gigantic scale;
+magnificent arums of many different
+kinds spread their ample snowy petals
+<!-- Page 556 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_556" id="Page_556">[Pg 556]</a></span>above the surrounding thickets; and innumerable
+creepers, adorned by splendid
+blossoms, mount even to the summit
+of the highest trees, and diffuse a perennial
+fragrance around.</p>
+
+<p>"The oaks and trees of Europe are
+not found in those parts of the Andes
+which lie in the torrid zone, till you arrive
+at the height of five thousand feet
+above the sea. It is there you first
+begin to see the leaves fall in winter,
+and bud in spring, as in European climates:
+below that level the foliage is
+perpetual. Nowhere are the trees so
+large as in this region: not unfrequently
+they are found of the height of a
+hundred and eighty or two hundred
+feet; their stems are from eight to
+fifteen feet across at their base, and
+sometimes rise a hundred feet without
+a single cross branch. When so great
+an elevation as the plains of Quito,
+however, which is 9515 above the sea,
+is reached, they become less considerable,
+and not larger than those usually
+found in the forests of Europe. If the
+traveller ascends two thousand feet
+higher, to an elevation of eleven or
+twelve thousand feet, trees almost entirely
+disappear; but the frequent humidity
+nourishes a thick covering of
+arbutus and other evergreens, shrubs
+three or four feet high, covered with
+flowers generally of a bright yellow,
+which form a striking contrast to the
+dark evergreen foliage with which they
+are surrounded. Still higher, at the
+height of thirteen thousand feet, near
+the summit of the lower ranges of the
+Cordilleras, almost constant rains overspread
+the earth with a verdant and
+slippery coating of moss; amidst which
+a few stunted specimens of the melastoma
+still exhibit their purple blossoms.
+A broad zone succeeds, covered entirely
+with Alpine plants, which, as in the
+mountains of Switzerland, nestle in the
+crevices of rocks, or push their flowers,
+generally of yellow or dark blue,
+through the now frequent snow. Higher
+still, grass alone is to be met with,
+mixed with the grey moss which conducts
+the wearied traveller to the region
+of perpetual snow, which in those warm
+latitudes is general only at an elevation
+of fifteen thousand feet. Above that
+level no animated being is found, except
+the huge condor, the largest bird
+that exists, which there, amidst ice and
+clouds, has fixed its gloomy abode."&mdash;(<i>Tableau
+de la Nature dans les Regions
+Equatoriales</i>, 59, 140-144.)</p></div>
+
+<p>In the rhythm of prose these are
+the colours of poetry; but it is of
+poetry chastened and directed by the
+observation of reality, and possessing
+the inimitable charm of being drawn
+from real life, and sharing the freshness
+and variety which characterize
+the works of nature, and distinguish
+them from the brightest conceptions
+of human fancy. As we have set out in
+this article with placing Humboldt at
+the head of modern travellers, and much
+above any that Great Britain has produced,
+and assigned as the main reason
+of this superiority the exclusive and
+limited range of objects on which the
+attention of our youth is fixed at our
+great universities, we shall, in justice
+to Oxford and Cambridge, present the
+reader with a specimen of the finest
+passages from Clarke and Bishop
+Heber, that he may judge for himself
+on their merit, great as it often is,
+when compared with that of the ardent
+and yet learned German.</p>
+
+<p>Clarke, on leaving Greece, gives the
+following brilliant summary of the
+leading features of that classic land:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The last moments of this day were
+employed in taking once more a view
+of the superb scenery exhibited by the
+mountains Olympus and Ossa. They
+appeared upon this occasion in more
+than usual splendour; like one of those
+imaginary Alpine regions suggested by
+viewing a boundary of clouds when they
+terminate the horizon in a still evening,
+and are gathered into heaps, with many
+a towering top shining in fleecy whiteness.
+The great Olympian chain forms
+a line which is exactly opposite to
+Salonica; and even the chasm between
+Olympus and Ossa, constituting the defile
+of Tempe, is here visible. Directing
+the eye towards that chain, there is
+comprehended in one view the whole of
+Pieria and Botti&aelig;a; and with the vivid
+impressions which remain after leaving
+the country, memory easily recalled into
+one mental picture the whole of Greece.
+Every reader may not duly comprehend
+what is meant by this: but every traveller
+who has beheld the scenes to
+which allusion is made, will readily admit
+its truth; he will be aware that,
+whenever his thoughts were directed to
+that country, the whole of it recurred
+to his imagination, as if he were actually
+indulged with a view of it.</p>
+
+<p>"In such an imaginary flight he enters,
+for example, the defile of Tempe; and as
+the gorge opens to the south, he beholds
+<!-- Page 557 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_557" id="Page_557">[Pg 557]</a></span>all the Larissian plain. This conducts him
+to the fields of Pharsalia, whence he ascends
+the mountains south of Pharsalus;
+then, crossing the bleak and still more elevated
+region extending from these mountains
+towards Lamia, he views Mount
+Pindus far before him, and descending
+into the plain of the Sperchius, passes
+the straits of Thermopyl&aelig;. Afterwards,
+ascending, Mount &OElig;ta, he beholds opposite
+to him the snowy point of Lycorea,
+with the rest of Parnassus, and the
+villages and towns lying at its base: the
+whole plain of Elataia lying at his feet,
+with the course of the Cephissus to the
+sea. Passing to the summit of Parnassus,
+he looks down upon all the other
+mountains, plains, islands, and gulfs of
+Greece; but especially surveys the
+broad bosom of Cith&aelig;ron, Helicon,
+and Hymettus. Thence, roaming into the
+depths and over all the heights of Eub&oelig;ig;a
+and Peloponnesus, he has their inmost
+recesses again submitted to his contemplation.
+Next, resting upon Hymettus,
+he examines, even in the minutest detail,
+the whole of Attica, to the Sunian promontory;
+for he sees it all&mdash;and all the
+shores of Argos, Sicyon, Corinth, Megara,
+Eleusis, and Athens. Thus, although
+not in all the freshness of its
+living colours, yet in all its grandeur,
+doth <span class="smcap">Greece</span> actually present itself to
+the mind's eye&mdash;and may the impression
+never be obliterated! In the eve of
+bidding it farewell for ever, as the hope
+of visiting this delightful country constituted
+the earliest and warmest wish
+of his youth, the author found it to be
+some alleviation of his regret excited
+by a consciousness of never returning,
+that he could thus summon to his recollection
+the scenes over which he had
+passed."&mdash;(<i>Clarke's Travels</i>, Vol. vii.
+pp. 476-478.)</p></div>
+
+<p>So far Clarke&mdash;the accomplished
+and famed traveller of Cambridge.
+We now give a favourable specimen
+of Bishop Heber&mdash;his companion in
+traversing Russia&mdash;the celebrated author,
+in early life at Oxford, of <i>Palestine</i>,
+the amiable and upright Bishop of
+Calcutta, whose life, if ever that could
+be said of mortal, was literally spent
+in doing good. This accomplished and
+excellent prelate thus describes the
+first view of the Himalaya range and
+the summits of Nundidevi, the highest
+mountain in the world, neatly 5000 feet
+above the loftiest peak of Chimborazo.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"After coasting the lake for a mile,
+we ascended for thirteen more by a most
+steep and rugged road over the neck of
+Mount Gaughur, through a succession
+of glens, forests, and views of the most
+sublime and beautiful description. I
+never saw such prospects before, and
+had formed no adequate idea of such.
+My attention was completely strained,
+and my eyes filled with tears; every
+thing around was so wild and magnificent
+that man appeared as nothing, and
+I felt myself as if climbing the steps of
+the altar of the great temple of God.
+The trees, as we advanced, were in a
+large proportion fir and cedar; but many
+were ilex, and to my surprise I still saw,
+even in these wild Alpine tracts, many
+venerable Peepul trees, on which the
+white monkeys were playing their gambols.
+Tigers used to be very common
+and mischievous; but since the English
+have begun to frequent the country,
+they have become very scarce. There
+are many wolves and bears, and some
+chamois, two of which passed near us.
+After wending up</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">'A wild romantic chasm, that slanted<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Down the steep hill athwart a cedar cover&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A savage place, as holy and enchanted<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">As e'er beneath the waning moon was haunted<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">By woman's wailing for her demon lover,'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>we arrived at the gorge of the Pass,
+in an indent between the two principal
+summits of Mount Gaughur, near 8600
+feet above the sea. And now the snowy
+mountains, which had been so long
+eclipsed, opened upon us in full magnificence.
+To describe a view of this kind
+is only lost labour: and I found it nearly
+as impossible to make a sketch of it.
+Nundidevi was immediately opposite,
+Kedar Nath was not visible, but Marvo
+was visible as a distant peak. The eastern
+mountains, for whom I could procure
+no name, rose into great consequence,
+and were very glorious objects
+as we wound down the hill on the other
+side. The guides could only tell us they
+were a great way off, and on the borders
+of the Chinese empire. Nundidevi, the
+highest peak in the world, is 25,689 feet
+above the sea, 4000 higher than Chimborazo.
+Bhadinath and Kedernath,
+which are merely summits of it, are
+22,300 feet high. They are all in the
+British dominions."&mdash;(<i>Heber's India</i>,
+Vol. ii. pp. 193-194, 209.)</p></div>
+
+<p>On comparing the descriptions of<!-- Page 558 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_558" id="Page_558">[Pg 558]</a></span>
+the most interesting objects in Europe
+and Asia&mdash;Greece and the Himalaya
+range&mdash;by these two distinguished
+British travellers, with the pictures
+given by Humboldt of the Andes, the
+falls of the Orinoco, the forests of the
+same river, and the expanse of the
+Pampas in South America, every one
+must admit the great superiority of
+the German's powers of painting
+Nature. Neither Clarke nor Heber
+appear to attempt it. They tell you,
+indeed, that certain scenes were grand
+and beautiful, certain rocks wild,
+certain glens steep; but they make
+no attempt to portray their features,
+or convey to the reader's mind the
+pictures which they tell you are for
+ever engraven on their own. This is
+a very great defect, so great indeed
+that it will probably prevent their
+works, how valuable soever as books
+of authority or reference, from ever
+acquiring lasting fame. It is a total
+mistake to say that it is in vain to
+attempt describing such scenes; that
+is the same mistake as was formerly
+committed by pacific academical historians,
+who said it was useless to
+attempt painting a battle, for they
+were all like each other. How like
+they really are to each other, has been
+shown by Colonel Napier and many
+other modern historians. We question
+if even the sight of the rapids of the
+Orinoco would make so vivid an impression
+on the imagination, as Humboldt's
+inimitable description; or a
+journey over the Pampas or the Andes,
+convey a clearer or more distinct idea
+of their opposite features than what has
+been derived from his brilliant pencil.
+It is the same with all the other scenes
+in nature. Description, if done by a
+masterly hand, can, to an intelligent
+mind, convey as vivid an idea as
+reality. What is wanting is the enthusiasm
+which warms at the perception
+of the sublime and the beautiful,
+the poetic mind which seizes as by
+inspiration its characteristic features,
+and the pictorial eye which discerns
+the appearances they exhibit, and by
+referring to images known to all,
+succeeds in causing them to be generally
+felt by the readers.</p>
+
+<p>With all Humboldt's great and transcendent
+merits, he is a child of Adam,
+and therefore not without his faults.
+The principal of these is the want of
+arrangement. His travels are put
+together without any proper method;
+there is a great want of indexes and
+tables of contents; it is scarcely possible,
+except by looking over the whole,
+to find any passage you want. This
+is a fault which, in a person of his
+accurate and scientific mind, is very
+surprising, and the more inexcusable
+that it could so easily be remedied by
+mechanical industry, or the aid of
+compilers and index-makers. But
+akin to this, is another fault of a more
+irremediable kind, as it originates in
+the varied excellences of the author,
+and the vast store of information on
+many different subjects which he
+brings to bear on the subject of his
+travels. He has so many topics of
+which he is master himself, that he
+forgets with how few, comparatively,
+his readers are familiar; he sees so
+many objects of enquiry&mdash;physical,
+moral, and political&mdash;in the countries
+which he visits, that he becomes insensible
+to the fact, that though each
+probably possesses a certain degree of
+interest to each reader, yet it is scarcely
+possible to find one to whom, as to
+himself, they are <i>all alike</i> the object
+of eager solicitude and anxious investigation.
+Hence, notwithstanding his
+attempt to detail his personal narrative
+from the learned works which
+contain the result of his scientific researches,
+he has by no means succeeded
+in effecting their separation.
+The ordinary reader, who has been
+fascinated by his glowing description
+of tropical scenery, or his graphic picture
+of savage manners, is, a few pages
+on, chilled by disquisitions on the
+height of the barometer, the disk of
+the sun, or the electricity of the atmosphere;
+while the scientific student,
+who turns to his works for information
+on his favourite objects of study,
+deems them strangely interspersed
+with rhapsodies on glowing sunsets,
+silent forests, and sounding cataracts.
+It is scarcely possible to find a reader
+to whom all these objects are
+equally interesting; and therefore it
+is scarcely to be expected that his
+travels, unrivalled as their genius and
+learning are, will ever be the object
+of general popularity.</p>
+
+<p>In truth, here, as in all the other
+branches of human thought, it will be
+found that the rules of composition
+<!-- Page 559 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_559" id="Page_559">[Pg 559]</a></span>are the same, and that a certain <i>unity
+of design</i> is essential to general success
+or durable fame. If an author
+has many different and opposite subjects
+of interest in his head, which is
+not unfrequently the case with persons
+of the higher order of intellect, and
+he can discant on all with equal facility,
+or investigate all with equal eagerness,
+he will do well to recollect that
+the minds of his readers are not
+likely to be equally discursive, and that
+he is apt to destroy the influence,
+or mar the effect of each, if he blends
+them together; separation of works is
+the one thing needful there. A mathematical
+proposition, a passage of
+poetry, a page of history, are all admirable
+things in their way, and each
+may be part of a work destined to
+durable celebrity; but what should
+we say to a composition which should
+present us, page about, with a theorem
+of Euclid, a scene from Shakspeare,
+and a section from Gibbon? Unity
+of effect, identity of train of thought,
+similarity of ideas, are as necessary in
+a book of travels as in an epic poem, a
+tragedy, or a painting. There is no
+such thing as one set of rules for the
+fine arts, and another for works of
+thought or reflection. The <i>Iliad</i> is
+constructed on the same principles as
+the <i>Principia</i> of Newton, or the history
+of Thucydides.</p>
+
+<p>What makes ordinary books of
+travels so uninteresting, and, in general,
+so shortlived, is the want of any
+idea of composition, or unity of effect,
+in the minds of their authors. Men
+and women seem to think that there
+is nothing more to do to make a book
+of travels, than to give a transcript of
+their journals, in which every thing is
+put down of <i>whatever</i> importance,
+provided only it really occurred.
+Scenes and adventures, broken wheels
+and rugged rocks, cataracts and omelets,
+lakes and damp beds, thunderstorms
+and waiters, are huddled together,
+without any other thread of
+connexion than the accidental and
+fortuitous one of their having successively
+come under the notice of the
+traveller. What should we say to
+any other work composed on the
+same principle? What if Milton,
+after the speech of Satan in <i>Paradise
+Lost</i>, were to treat us to an account
+of his last dinner; or Shakspeare,
+after the scene of the bones in Juliet,
+were to tell us of the damp sheets in
+which he slept last night; or Gibbon,
+after working up the enthusiasm of
+his readers by the account of the
+storming of Constantinople by the
+Crusaders, was to favour us with a
+digression on the insolence of the
+postilions in Roumelia? All the
+world would see the folly of this: and
+yet this is precisely what is constantly
+done by travellers, and tolerated
+by the public, because it is founded on
+nature. Founded on nature! Is
+every thing that is actually true, or
+real, fit to be recorded, or worthy of
+being recounted? Sketches from nature
+are admirable things, and are the only
+foundation for correct and lasting
+pictures; but no man would think of
+interposing a gallery of paintings with
+chalk drawings or studies of trees.
+Correctness, fidelity, truth, are the
+only secure bases of eminence in all
+the arts of imitation; but the light of
+genius, the skilful arrangement, the
+principles of composition, the selection
+of topics, are as necessary in the writer
+of travels, as in the landscape painter,
+the historian, or the epic poet.</p>
+
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> We lately heard of a young man, who had gone through the examination at
+Cambridge with distinction, enquiring, "whether the Greek church <i>were Christians?</i>"
+What sort of a traveller would he make in the East or Russia?<!-- Page 560 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_560" id="Page_560">[Pg 560]</a></span></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Lady Londonderry's description of Moscow is the best in the English language.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> We have translated all the passages ourselves. A very good translation
+of Humboldt's <i>Personal Narrative</i> was published many years ago, by Miss H.
+Williams; but we could not resist the pleasure of trying to transfer to English
+such noble specimens of descriptive eloquence.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Park's <i>Last Mission to Africa</i>, 1815, p. 89.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="biggap">
+<h2><a name="HAKEM_THE_SLAVE" id="HAKEM_THE_SLAVE"></a>HAKEM THE SLAVE.</h2></div>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">A Tale extracted from the History of Poland.</span></h3>
+<div class="biggap">
+<h2><span class="smcap">Chapter I.</span></h2></div>
+
+
+<p>Albert Glinksi, the powerful, ostentatious,
+and intriguing Duke of
+Lithuania, was passing, distinguished
+by his glancing plume and gorgeous
+mantle, through one of the more retired
+streets of the city of Cracow, at
+this time (<span class="smcap">a.d.</span> 1530) the capital of
+Poland, when a domestic wearing the
+livery of the palace deferentially accosted
+him.</p>
+
+<p>"Her Majesty," he said, "commands
+me to deliver these tablets into
+your hands; you dropped them in
+the palace."</p>
+
+<p>"I dropped no tablets," replied the
+duke; but instantly added, "Yes,
+they are mine&mdash;Give them me."</p>
+
+<p>He took from the hands of the domestic
+certain tablets of ivory, which
+folded into a case of gold exquisitely
+wrought by one of the most skilful artists
+of Italy, and dismissed the bearer
+with a liberal gratuity for his services.</p>
+
+<p>"Ha! my excellent Bona! youthful
+bride of our too aged monarch
+Sigismund!" said the duke to himself
+when he was left alone. "Each day
+some new device. What have we in
+these tablets? Here, in the corner
+of each leaf, I see a solitary figure
+finely pencilled in, which to any other
+eye than mine would mean nothing,
+but which tells me that at eight
+o'clock this evening you will receive
+your favoured duke. So, so! But,
+charming Bona! it is not love&mdash;loveable
+as you are&mdash;it is not love&mdash;it is
+ambition gives its zest, and must
+bring the recompense to this perilous
+intrigue. The Duke of Lithuania is
+no hot-brained youth to be entangled
+and destroyed by a woman's smiles.
+To have a month's <i>happiness</i>, as men
+phrase it, and then the midnight dagger
+of a jealous monarch&mdash;I seek no
+such adventures. It is the crown of
+Poland&mdash;yes, the crown&mdash;that you
+must help me to, fair lady."</p>
+
+<p>As he stood reflecting on his ambitious
+schemes, his rival in the state,
+Count Laski, minister and chancellor
+of the king, passed by him on his way
+to the palace. The duke, assuming a
+frank and cordial manner, called to
+him. Laski paused. "What would
+the Duke of Lithuania?" he asked in
+his usual calm and reserved manner.</p>
+
+<p>"Peace!" replied the duke&mdash;"amicable
+terms. Political opponents it
+seems we are destined to be. The
+world gives us out as the selected
+champions of two hostile factions. You
+affect the commons, I side with the
+nobility. Be it so. But there exists
+between us, I hope, a mutual respect;
+and it would be my greatest boast if,
+in spite of this political antagonism, I
+might reckon Count Laski amongst
+my personal friends."</p>
+
+<p>A derisive smile played upon the
+countenance of the chancellor as he
+replied&mdash;"Such friendship, my lord,
+as is consistent with perpetual strife&mdash;open
+and concealed&mdash;shall, if it
+please you, subsist between us. Pardon
+me, but we prate a silly jargon
+when we talk of private friendship and
+public hostility."</p>
+
+<p>"At all events," rejoined the duke,
+"political rivalry does not exclude the
+practice of the courtesies of life. It
+has been reported to me that you admire
+the marble statue of a nymph
+which an Italian sculptor has lately
+wrought for me. I, on my part, have
+envied you the possession of a certain
+Arab slave, a living statue, a moving
+bronze, that you have amongst your
+retainers. Let us, like Homeric heroes,
+make an exchange. Give me
+your statue-man, your swart Apollo,
+and accept from me what many have
+been pleased to call the living statue."</p>
+
+<p>Glinski had a secret motive for the
+acquisition of this slave: his known
+fidelity, his surprising address and
+power, had protected the life of the
+minister against more than one scheme
+of assassination.</p>
+
+<p>"The exchange," replied Laski,
+"is too much in my favour. Your
+Italian marble would purchase a hundred
+slaves. It would be a present
+in disguise; and you know my rule&mdash;even<!-- Page 561 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_561" id="Page_561">[Pg 561]</a></span>
+from his Majesty himself I never
+<i>receive</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, we know your tyrannous
+munificence; but this," said the duke
+with a smile, "shall be pure barter."</p>
+
+<p>"What say you, then," said the
+count, "to those golden tablets which
+you hold in your hand? Give me
+leave to look at them. They might
+suit my pedantic way of life. But,"
+added he, as he examined their delicate
+workmanship, "came you honestly
+by this toy, my lord? What fair
+frailty have you cheated of this knack,
+that never, I will be sworn, was a
+man's marketing?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am glad to hear so grave a gentleman
+indulge so pleasant a view,"
+said the duke.</p>
+
+<p>As Count Laski was handling the
+tablets, he touched, whether by accident
+or design, a spring that had not
+been observed by him to whom the
+present had been sent. The outer
+case flew back, and disclosed a miniature
+of the queen!</p>
+
+<p>"I have been indiscreet," said the
+count, and immediately folded up and
+returned the tablets. "This is perilous
+ware to deal in, Duke of Lithuania.
+Have you aught else in the
+way of honest barter to propose?"</p>
+
+<p>"What you may infer," said the
+duke, reddening with anger, and grievously
+embarrassed at his discovery&mdash;"What
+you may infer from this silly
+bauble I shall not be at the pains to
+enquire. I addressed you, my lord,
+in courteous and amicable terms; you
+have ill responded to them; our conversation
+had better close here."</p>
+
+<p>"As you will," said the chancellor,
+bowing; and he continued his way towards
+the palace, with the same deliberate
+step with which he was proceeding
+when accosted by the duke.</p>
+
+<p>"He is master of our secret," muttered
+the duke. "He or I"&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+
+<h2><span class="smcap">Chapter II.</span></h2>
+
+<p>In an apartment of the palace fitted
+up with every luxury her native Italy
+could supply, sat Bona, the young and
+beautiful queen of Poland. She is
+known to have transplanted into that
+northern clime, not only the arts and
+civilization of her own genial soil, but
+also the intrigue and voluptuousness,
+and the still darker crimes for which
+it was celebrated. Daughter of the
+crafty Sforza, Duke of Milan, educated
+in a city and at a court where pleasure
+reigned predominant, married
+out of policy to a monarch many years
+older than her own father, it was almost
+to be expected that she should
+seek, in the society of some gay cavalier,
+a compensation for this banishment
+to a northern country, and a
+sexagenarian spouse. Nor had she
+hesitated long in her choice. Albert
+Glinski, Duke of Lithuania, who,
+though he was the father of a son ripening
+into manhood, was still in the vigour
+of life, and surpassed all his younger
+rivals in grace of manner and charm
+of conversation, had soon fixed her
+regard, and won whatever of affection
+or love the luxurious princess had to
+bestow.</p>
+
+<p>She now sat waiting his arrival.
+Punctually at the hour of eight he
+entered. If any observer could have
+watched the duke as he traversed the
+corridor which led to the queen's
+apartment, he would have had great
+difficulty in believing that it was a
+favoured lover that was passing before
+him; so serious a brow did he wear,
+and so deep an air of abstraction was
+there on his countenance. No sooner,
+however, did he enter that apartment,
+than, by a sudden effort, his countenance
+lit up; his manner grew free
+and unrestrained, and he assumed that
+mingled tone of gaiety and pathos so
+effective with the fair sex. Never had
+the queen felt more entirely convinced
+of the merits of her cavalier;
+never had she more thoroughly approved
+of the choice she had made.</p>
+
+<p>When this favourable disposition
+was at its height, the duke, adopting
+gradually a more serious tone of conversation,
+said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Has it never occurred to you,
+charming Bona, that the most exalted
+of your sex share with the humblest
+this one privilege&mdash;love alone must
+be the motive which brings a suitor
+to their feet. That passion must be
+genuine, must be fever-high, which
+makes a subject quite forget his Queen
+in the lovely woman before him, and<!-- Page 562 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_562" id="Page_562">[Pg 562]</a></span>
+tempts him to dare the vengeance of
+a Monarch, as well as of a husband."</p>
+
+<p>"True, there is danger&mdash;perhaps to
+both of us," she replied, "but it daunts
+us not."</p>
+
+<p>"No;&mdash;but it is at hand."</p>
+
+<p>"What mean you, Glinski?"</p>
+
+<p>"We are betrayed."</p>
+
+<p>"How?&mdash;by whom?"</p>
+
+<p>"How, or by whom, it matters little;
+but that subtle demon, Count
+Laski, knows that which in his hands
+is a warrant for our destruction."</p>
+
+<p>"What is to be done? We will
+bribe him. All my jewels, all my
+hoards shall go to purchase his silence."</p>
+
+<p>"Bribe Laski! bribe the north
+wind! bribe destiny itself, whose nature
+it is to distribute good and ill,
+but to feel neither. No, but I would
+have a dagger in his throat before the
+night were passed, but that his short
+light slumbers are guarded by a slave
+of singular power, whom the villains
+fear to attack. I had meant to beg or
+buy of him this same fierce automaton,
+but something broke off the treaty."</p>
+
+<p>"We will poison the mind of the
+king against him: he shall be dismissed
+from all his offices."</p>
+
+<p>"That poison is too slow. Besides,
+if he once communicate his suspicions
+to the king&mdash;which at this very moment
+he may be doing&mdash;see you not,
+that it is no longer the minister, but
+the jealous monarch that we have to
+guard against. Hear me, Bona, one
+of two fates must now be mine. Death&mdash;or
+thy hand, and with it the crown
+of Poland. Do not start. There is for
+<i>me</i> no middle station. You may be
+safe. A few tears, a few smiles, and the
+old king will lapse into his dotage."</p>
+
+<p>"You speak in riddles, Glinski; I
+comprehend nothing of all this."</p>
+
+<p>"Yet it is clear enough. Thus it
+stands: the Duke of Lithuania loved
+the wife of Sigismund, king of Poland.
+Love!&mdash;I call to witness all the saints
+in heaven!&mdash;love alone prompted his
+daring suit. But now that fortune
+has first favoured and then betrayed
+him, where think you does his safety
+lie? Where, but in the bold enterprises
+of ambition? His only place of
+refuge is a throne. He who has won
+a queen must protect her with a
+sceptre. You must be mine&mdash;my
+very queen&mdash;you must extend your
+hand and raise me to the royalty of
+Poland, or see my blood flow ignominiously
+upon the scaffold."</p>
+
+<p>"I extend my hand!" exclaimed
+the agitated queen, "how can a feeble
+woman give or take away the crown
+of Poland?"</p>
+
+<p>"Him who wears the crown&mdash;she
+can take away."</p>
+
+<p>"Murder the king!" shrieked Bona.</p>
+
+<p>"Or sentence me," replied the duke.</p>
+
+<p>It was no affected horror that the
+queen here displayed. Though at a
+subsequent period of her life, if history
+speaks true, her imagination had
+grown familiar with deeds of this very
+nature, and she had become skilful in
+the art of poisoning, she was at this
+time young, and unpractised in crime,
+and received its first suggestions with
+the horror which it naturally inspires.
+She had sought for pleasure only in
+the society of Glinski; it was a cruel
+disappointment, it was a frightful surprise,
+to find herself thrust suddenly,
+with unsandaled feet, on the thorny
+path of ambition. She sank back on
+the couch where they had both been
+sitting, and, hiding her face in both
+her hands, remained in that position
+while the duke continued to unfold his
+schemes at greater length.</p>
+
+<p>He represented to her that the possession
+of the duchy of Lithuania,
+the inhabitants of which were distinguished
+by their bravery and their
+turbulence, would enable him&mdash;should
+the king opportunely die&mdash;to seize
+upon the vacant throne of Poland;&mdash;that
+he had numerous and powerful
+friends among the nobility;&mdash;that he
+had already drawn together his Lithuanians,
+under pretence of protecting
+the frontier from the incursion of predatory
+bands;&mdash;that he intended immediately
+to place himself at their
+head, and march towards Cracow.
+Now, if at this moment the throne
+should suddenly become vacant, what
+power on earth could prevent him
+from ascending it, and claiming the
+hand of his then veritable queen?
+And then he expatiated on the happiness
+they should enjoy, when they
+should live in fearless union,</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Like gods together, careless of mankind."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>"What is this," exclaimed Bona,
+suddenly starting up&mdash;"what is this
+you would tempt me to? You dare<!-- Page 563 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_563" id="Page_563">[Pg 563]</a></span>
+not even <i>name</i> the horrid deed you
+would have me <i>commit</i>. Avaunt!
+you are a devil, Albert Glinski!&mdash;you
+would drag me to perdition."
+Then, falling in tears upon his neck,
+she implored him not to tempt her
+further. "Oh, Albert! Albert!" she
+cried, "I beseech you, plunge me not
+into this pit of guilt. You <i>can</i>! I
+feel you can. Have mercy! I implore
+you, I charge you on your soul,
+convert me not into this demon.
+Spare me this crime!"</p>
+
+<p>"Is it I alone," said the duke, who
+strove the while by his caresses to
+soothe and pacify her&mdash;"Is it I alone
+who have brought down upon us this
+distressful alternative? Neither of us,
+while love decoyed us on step by step,
+dreamed of the terrible necessity towards
+which it was hourly conducting
+us. But here we <i>are</i>&mdash;half-way up,
+and the precipice below. We must
+rush still upwards. There is safety
+only on the summit. Pause, and we
+fall. Oh, did you think that you, a
+queen, could play as securely as some
+burgher's wife the pleasant comedy of
+an amorous intrigue? No, no; you
+must queen it even in crime. High
+station and bold deed become each
+other. We are committed, Bona. It
+is choice of life or death. His death
+or <i>ours</i>. For&mdash;scarcely dare I breathe
+the thought&mdash;the sudden revenge of
+your monarch husband, whose jealousy
+at least, age has not tamed, <i>may</i>
+execute its purpose before his dotage
+has had time to return."</p>
+
+<p>"Where do you lead me? What
+shall I become?" cried the bewildered
+queen. "I have loved thee, Albert,
+but I hate not him."</p>
+
+<p>"I ask thee not to <i>hate</i>"&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"They married me to Sigismund
+out of state policy. You I have
+chosen for the partner of my heart,
+and I will protect you to the uttermost.
+Let things rest there&mdash;'tis well
+enough."</p>
+
+<p>"We will consult further of our
+plans, sweet Bona," said the duke, and,
+circling her with his arm, he led the
+weeping queen into an adjoining room.</p>
+
+<p>The victory, he felt, was his.</p>
+
+
+<h2><span class="smcap">Chapter III.</span></h2>
+
+<p>The scene changes to an apartment
+of a very different style. We enter
+the house of the chancellor; but it is
+not the chancellor himself who is first
+presented to our view. In an antique
+Gothic chamber, in the decoration and
+structure of which the most costly
+material had been studiously united
+with the severest simplicity of taste,
+sat Maria, the only daughter and child
+of Count Laski. She sat at her embroidery.
+The embroidery, however,
+had fallen upon her lap; she leaned
+back, resigned to her meditations, in a
+massive arm-chair covered with purple
+velvet, which it is impossible not to
+think must have felt something like
+pride and pleasure as her slight and
+lovely form sank into it. It was a
+long reverie.</p>
+
+<p>In an angle of this lofty room, at some
+distance, but not out of the range of
+clear vision, stood, motionless as a statue,
+the slave Hakem. His arms were
+folded on his breast, his eye rested, without,
+as it seemed, a power to withdraw
+it, on the beautiful figure of the young
+girl before him. It was one of those
+long intense looks which show that the
+person on whom it is fixed is still more
+the object of meditation than of vision&mdash;where
+it is the soul that looks.
+Hakem gazed like a devotee upon the
+sacred image of his saint.</p>
+
+<p>Maria, quite unconscious of this gaze,
+pursued her meditations. Her eye
+caught the hour-glass that stood on a
+small table beside her. "Sand after
+sand," said she, musing to herself&mdash;"Sand
+after sand, thought after
+thought. The same sand ever trickling
+there; the same thought ever coursing
+through my mind. Oh, love! love!
+They say it enlarges the heart; I think
+it contracts it to a single point."</p>
+
+<p>"Hakem," she said, after a pause,
+and turning towards the slave, "you
+are true to my father, will you be true
+also to me?"</p>
+
+<p>"To her father!" he murmured to
+himself, "as if"&mdash;&mdash;And then, checking
+himself and speaking aloud, he
+answered&mdash;"The Christians are not
+so true to your sweet namesake, the
+Holy Virgin, whom they adore, as I
+will be to you."<!-- Page 564 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_564" id="Page_564">[Pg 564]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"A simple promise will suffice,"
+said Maria. "You have, Hakem&mdash;let
+me say it without offence&mdash;a style
+of language&mdash;Eastern, I suppose&mdash;hyperbolical&mdash;which
+either I must
+learn to pardon, or you must labour
+to reform. It does not suit our northern
+clime."</p>
+
+<p>"I am mute. Yet, lady, you have
+sometimes chid me for my long silence."</p>
+
+<p>"And is it for your <i>much</i> speaking
+that I chide you now?" said the
+maiden, with a smile. "You will
+stand half the day like a statue there;
+and, when spoken to, answer with a
+gesture only&mdash;so that many have
+thought you really dumb. Much
+speaking is certainly not thy fault."</p>
+
+<p>"I understand. The slave speaks
+as one who felt the indescribable
+charm of thy presence. It is a presumption
+worthy of death. Shall I
+inflict the punishment?"</p>
+
+<p>"Is this amendment of thy fault,
+good Hakem, or repetition of it?"</p>
+
+<p>"I await your commands. What
+service can Hakem render?"</p>
+
+<p>But Maria relapsed again into silence.
+She seemed to hesitate in
+making the communication she had
+designed. Meantime, the arrival of
+her father was announced, and the
+slave left the apartment.</p>
+
+<p>Never man felt more tender love
+for his daughter than did the proud,
+high-minded minister for this his
+beautiful Maria. His demeanour towards
+her, from childhood upwards,
+had been one of unalterable, uninterrupted
+fondness. He knew no other
+mood, no other tone, in which he
+could have addressed her. Did the
+grave chancellor, then&mdash;some one,
+who in his way, also, is very grave,
+may ask&mdash;did he, by constant fondness,
+<i>spoil</i> his child? No. It is the
+fondness which is <i>not</i> constant that
+spoils. It is the half-love of weak
+and irritable natures, who are themselves
+children amongst their children,
+who can themselves be petulant, selfish,
+and capricious&mdash;it is this that
+mars a temper. But calm and unalterable
+love&mdash;oh, believe it not that
+such ever spoilt a child! Maria grew
+up under the eye of affection, and the
+ever-open hand of paternal love; and
+she herself seemed to have learned no
+other impulses but those of affection
+and generosity.</p>
+
+<p>Alas for fathers! when the child
+grows into the budding woman, and
+by her soft, intelligent companionship
+fills the house with gladness, and the
+heart with inappreciable content, then
+comes the gay, permitted spoiler&mdash;comes
+the lover with his suit&mdash;his
+honourable suit&mdash;and robs them of
+their treasure. The world feels only
+with the lover&mdash;with the youth, and
+the fair maiden that he wins. For
+the bereaved parent, not a thought!
+No one heeds the sigh that breaks
+from him, as, amidst festivities and
+mirth, and congratulatory acclamations,
+he sees his daughter, with all
+her prized affections, borne off from
+him, in triumph, for ever.</p>
+
+<p>There was, on this occasion, in the
+manner of Laski towards his child, an
+evident sadness. It was not that the
+political horizon was darkening; he
+had never permitted <i>that</i> to throw its
+gloom over his companionship with
+his daughter. It was because he had
+grounds to believe that the events
+which threatened the tranquillity of
+Poland threatened also the peace of
+his daughter, whose affections he had
+divined were no longer exclusively his
+own.</p>
+
+<p>She, observing his emotion, and
+attributing it to some untoward event
+in the political world, could not refrain
+from expressing the wish that he
+would quit the harassing affairs of
+state, and live wholly in his home.</p>
+
+<p>"I would long since have done so,"
+he replied, "if personal happiness had
+been the sole aim of my existence.
+But I have a taskwork to accomplish&mdash;one,
+I think, which God, by fitting
+me thereto, has pointed out as mine.
+Else it is indeed here, with thee beside
+me, that I find all that can bear the
+name of happiness. The rest of life
+is but sternest duty&mdash;strife, hostility,
+contempt. But away with this gloomy
+talk&mdash;what gossip is there stirring in
+your idle world, Maria?"</p>
+
+<p>"Pray, is there war forward?"</p>
+
+<p>"I hope not. Why do you ask?"</p>
+
+<p>"A maid of mine, who in the city
+gathers news as busily as bees, in the
+open fields, their honey"&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Your simile, I fear, would scarce
+hold good as to the <i>honey</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"No, in faith; and there is no
+honey in the news she brings. She
+tells me that a camp is forming in the<!-- Page 565 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_565" id="Page_565">[Pg 565]</a></span>
+frontiers between Poland and Lithuania,
+and that Augustus Glinski is
+sent there to command the troops.
+Is this true?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is; and she might have added
+that the duke himself secretly left the
+city last night, to place himself at
+their head."</p>
+
+<p>"Is it a dangerous service?"</p>
+
+<p>"The service on which the duke
+has entered, and into which he misleads
+his son, <i>is</i> dangerous. You
+tremble, Maria. It was no maiden,
+nor the tattle of the town, that brought
+you this. When did you last see
+or hear from him&mdash;from Augustus
+Glinski?"</p>
+
+<p>"Believe me," said Maria, while a
+crimson blush suddenly spread over
+her countenance, "if I have concealed
+any thing from you, it was not from
+craft, nor subtlety, nor fear, but
+from"&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"From a mere delicacy, a simple
+bashfulness," said the father, coming
+to her assistance. "I know it well.
+Had you a mother living, I would bid
+you confide these sentiments of your
+heart to her, and to her only; but,
+having no other parent, make me your
+confidant. Trust me, you shall not
+find a woman's heart more open to
+your griefs, your fears, your joys, than
+mine shall be. Make me your sole
+confidant&mdash;you love this young Augustus?"</p>
+
+<p>"When I was at my aunt's we met
+each other often&mdash;but to you, my father,
+I have ever referred him as our
+final arbiter. I need not say that the
+known political rivalry between his
+father and yourself has made him
+backward in addressing you."</p>
+
+<p>"All men speak well of Augustus
+Glinski. I blame you not, my child;
+I only tremble for you. The duke,
+his father, is a restless, bold ambitious
+man, who will lead him&mdash;honourable
+as he is, but too young to judge,
+or to resist his parent&mdash;into treasonable
+enterprises. Both father and son&mdash;if
+they will play the rebel, and bring
+down war on Poland&mdash;I stand prepared
+to meet. The sword of justice
+shall sweep them from the earth. But
+if thy heart, my child, is doomed to
+bleed in this encounter, the wound
+will not be more yours than mine.
+There shall be no secrets between us.
+I will protect thee all I can; and if I
+cannot prevent thy sorrows, I will at
+least share them."</p>
+
+<p>A low tap was here heard at the door,
+and a page made his appearance. On
+seeing the minister, the stripling was
+about to retire. Maria, however,
+called him in, and bade him deliver his
+message. "You come," she said to the
+youth, who still hesitated to speak&mdash;"you
+come from the younger Glinski:
+speak openly&mdash;what is it he has commissioned
+you to say?"</p>
+
+<p>"This, my lady," answered the
+page, "that he has ridden in all haste
+from the camp&mdash;that he must quit the
+city again before nightfall, and craves
+an audience if only for one minute."</p>
+
+<p>Maria looked towards her father,
+and thus referred the answer to him.</p>
+
+<p>Count Laski was silent.</p>
+
+<p>"Will you not," said his daughter,
+"tell this messenger, whether his master
+may come here or not?"</p>
+
+<p>"My child, he <i>cannot!</i> he is at this
+moment under my arrest. Return, sir
+page," and he motioned him from the
+room&mdash;"but return to the fortress of
+----; you will find your master there
+a prisoner, under charge of high treason."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, spare him! spare him!" cried
+Maria, as she sank back almost senseless
+with terror and alarm.</p>
+
+<p>"My child! my child!" exclaimed
+the minister in heart-breaking anguish,
+as he bent over his weeping daughter.</p>
+
+
+<h2><span class="smcap">Chapter IV.</span></h2>
+
+<p>After having in some measure
+soothed the terrors of his daughter,
+the chancellor called to him his trusty
+Hakem. He briefly explained to him
+that the Duke of Lithuania was at
+that moment in open rebellion against
+his Majesty, and placed in his hands
+a warrant for his execution. "The
+law cannot reach him through its usual
+servants," he said; "it is a bold enterprise
+I propose to you&mdash;to decapitate
+a general at the head of his troops."</p>
+
+<p>If this was a measure which hardly
+another minister than Laski would
+have contemplated, it was one also
+which he would have hardly found<!-- Page 566 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_566" id="Page_566">[Pg 566]</a></span>
+another than Hakem to undertake and
+accomplish. The bravery of this man
+was all but miraculous, and was only
+rescued from madness by the extreme
+skill and address by which it was supported.
+In battle, he rushed on danger
+as a bold and delighted swimmer
+plunges in the waves, which to him
+are as innocuous as the breeze that is
+freshening them. Yet, when the excitement
+was passed, he relapsed into
+a state of apparent apathy. He had
+been taken captive in one of those engagements,
+at this time not unfrequent,
+between the Poles and the Turks,
+with the latter of whom he had served
+as a soldier of fortune. To say that
+he was taken prisoner, is hardly correct;
+for he was found lying half dead
+on the field of battle, and was brought
+home by the Poles, by some caprice
+of compassion, with their own sick
+and dying. Neither was it constraint
+that held him beneath the roof of
+Laski, or in the nominal condition of
+a slave, for at all times escape would
+have been easy to him. It was either
+attachment to those who lived beneath
+that roof, or an equal indifference to
+every thing without or beyond it, that
+retained him there.</p>
+
+<p>To propose to Hakem some bold
+and perilous enterprise, was to offer
+him one of the few pleasures to which
+he was open. He accepted, therefore,
+of the strange commission now
+entrusted to him without hesitation;
+stipulating, only, that he might take
+from the stables of the king a horse
+which was much celebrated for its
+amazing power and fleetness.</p>
+
+<p>Mounted upon this incomparable
+steed, he pursued his way to the camp
+of the Duke of Lithuania. On his
+journey he had made trial of its speed,
+and yet had husbanded its strength.
+Arrived at the plain where the insurgent
+army was encamped, he there
+lay in ambush for some time, till he
+saw where the duke, passing his
+troops in review, rode somewhat in
+advance of what in the language of
+modern warfare we should call his
+staff. Hakem set spurs to his horse,
+and rushed upon him with the velocity
+of lightning, his drawn cimeter
+flashing in the sun, and his loud cry
+of defiance calling the duke to his defence.
+Thus challenged, he put his
+lance in rest to meet his furious assailant.
+But the thrust of the lance
+was avoided, and the next moment
+the head of the duke was seen to roll
+upon the field. The Arab wheeled
+round, and, without quitting his steed,
+picked up the severed head, placed it
+on his saddle-bows, and darted off
+fleeter than the wind. A cry of horror
+and a shout of pursuit arose from the
+whole army, who were spectators of
+this scene. Every horse was in motion.
+But where the contest is one
+of speed, of what avail are numbers?
+In the whole camp there was not a
+steed which could compete with that
+on which the solitary fugitive was
+mounted, and was already seen scouring
+the plain at a distance. As he
+fled, a paper was observed to fall
+from his hands, which the wind bore
+amongst his innumerable pursuers; it
+was the judicial warrant that had
+been thus strangely executed.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, at the palace, the royal
+mind of Sigismund was not a little
+disquieted and alarmed by this sudden
+rebellion of the powerful Duke of
+Lithuania. That alarm would not
+have been diminished had he been
+aware that this open rebellion was
+to be aided by a secret domestic treason,
+which, in his own palace, was
+lying in ambush for his life. The
+queen, whilst watching her opportunity
+to perform her part in this
+criminal enterprise, affected to throw
+all the blame of this formidable rebellion
+on the unpopularity of the
+minister Laski, whose measures, indeed,
+the duke proclaimed as the main
+motive of his conduct.</p>
+
+<p>Matters were in this condition when
+Count Laski, attended by his slave,
+entered the royal apartment. There
+were present, beside the queen, several
+of the nobility&mdash;all prepared, by
+the insinuations and address of the
+queen, to give but a cold greeting to
+the minister.</p>
+
+<p>"In good time," said the queen,
+"Count Laski makes his appearance.
+We wish to know how you will extricate
+his Majesty from the peril in which
+your unpopular counsels have thrust
+him. With what forces will you meet
+the Duke of Lithuania? Now, when
+there is need of the brave chivalry of
+Poland to defend the king from rebellion,
+we find the nobility alienated
+from the crown by your unwise, and<!-- Page 567 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_567" id="Page_567">[Pg 567]</a></span>
+arrogant, and plebeian policy. But let
+us hear what is the excellent advice,
+what is the good intelligence, that you
+now bring us?"</p>
+
+<p>"The Duke of Lithuania, madam,"
+said the chancellor, slightly raising his
+voice, but preserving the same calm
+dignity as if he had been presiding in
+a high court of justice&mdash;"the Duke
+of Lithuania is in open, manifest rebellion;
+and rebellion is, in the laws
+of all nations, punished by death."</p>
+
+<p>"Punished!" said the queen scoffingly:
+"are you speaking of some
+trembling caitiff who holds up his
+naked hand at your bar of justice?
+Punished! you must conquer him."</p>
+
+<p>"Your Majesty will be pleased to
+hear," continued the chancellor with
+a look full of significance, "that
+Albert Glinski, Duke of Lithuania,
+whose treason was open and proclaimed,
+has been by the royal warrant sentenced"&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>Count Laski paused.</p>
+
+<p>"Sentenced!" exclaimed Bona, and
+repeated her scornful laugh, which this
+time but ill concealed a certain vague
+terror that was rising in her mind. "Is
+our chancellor mad, or does he sport
+with us? This rebel, whom you talk of
+sentencing&mdash;of condemning, we presume,
+to the block&mdash;stands at the head
+of a greater army than his Majesty
+can at this moment assemble."</p>
+
+<p>"And the sentence," pursued the
+minister, "has been executed!"</p>
+
+<p>As he pronounced these words, the
+slave Hakem advanced, and drawing
+aside his robe, which had hitherto concealed
+it, he held up by the hair the
+severed head of the Duke of Lithuania.</p>
+
+<p>There ran a thrill of horror through
+the assembly. But, the next moment,
+a loud hysterical shriek drew the attention
+of all parties to the queen: she
+had fallen insensible at the feet of the
+king. The council was abruptly dismissed.</p>
+
+
+<h2><span class="smcap">Chapter V.</span></h2>
+
+<p>Thus far the cause of the chancellor
+had prospered. Poland had been
+preserved from the horrors of a civil
+war. The king's life had also been
+saved, and a great crime prevented;
+the career of assassination and of
+poisoning, into which the queen afterwards
+entered, was at all events postponed.
+As a public man, the minister
+was fully triumphant. But the minister
+was a father; at this side he was
+vulnerable; and fortune dealt her blow
+with cruel and unexpected severity.</p>
+
+<p>We have seen with what stern fidelity
+to his ministerial duty, and at how
+great a peril to his daughter's happiness,
+the chancellor had arrested Augustus
+Glinski. The rebellion quelled,
+the author of it punished and decapitated,
+there seemed no just motive
+for holding longer in imprisonment a
+youth who could not be accused of
+having any guilty participation in the
+crime of his father. He accordingly
+proposed his release. But the anger
+of the king against the late duke, who
+to his political offence had added that
+of personal ingratitude, (for it was
+Sigismund himself who had bestowed
+on him the powerful duchy of Lithuania,)
+was still unappeased, and he
+insisted upon including the son in the
+guilt and punishment of his parent.
+The representations of the minister
+were here unavailing; he would listen
+to nothing but the dictates of his own
+vindictive feelings.</p>
+
+<p>Count Laski detailed the manner of
+his arrest, and explained the singular
+interest he felt in the pardon and
+liberation of this youth; adding, that
+if Angustus Glinski died upon the
+scaffold, he feared the life of his
+daughter. But even this was unavailing.
+The old monarch thought he
+was displaying a great acuteness when
+he detected, as he imagined, in this plea
+of a daughter's happiness, a scheme
+of selfish aggrandizement. "Ha!
+ha!" said he, "so the wind sits in
+that quarter. A good match&mdash;duchess
+of Lithuania! I would rather you
+asked for the dukedom yourself, and
+married your daughter to another."</p>
+
+<p>It was in vain that the minister
+again repeated his simple and true
+statement; it was in vain that he
+limited his request to the life of the
+younger Glinski, consenting to the
+forfeiture of his title and estates;
+Sigismund was resolved this time not
+to be <i>overreached</i> by his subtle minister.<!-- Page 568 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_568" id="Page_568">[Pg 568]</a></span>
+The language of entreaty was
+new to Laski; he had tried it, and
+had failed. It was new to Laski to
+endure tamely the misconstruction of
+his motives, or the least impeachment
+of his veracity. He had no other
+resource, no other response, left than
+the resignation of his ministerial
+office. But the obstinacy and anger
+of the king were proof against this
+also. The danger which threatened
+his reign had been dispelled. He
+could afford to be self-willed. He
+would not be controlled. In short,
+Count Laski left the royal presence&mdash;a
+discarded minister.</p>
+
+<p>In a monarchy uncontrolled and
+unaided by representative assemblies,
+the power which is secured perhaps
+to one of the weakest of men or
+women, perhaps to a child, has often
+struck the observer of human affairs
+as a strange anomaly. But the insecure
+and precarious foundation of
+the power of the great minister in
+such a monarchy, is scarcely less
+curious to contemplate. The sagacious
+counsellor, the long-experienced
+governor, who has for years wielded
+the powers of the state, may be reduced
+to obscurity and impotence
+by a word&mdash;a word of puerile passion,
+kindled perhaps by a silly intrigue.
+A great ruler is displaced at the
+caprice of a dotard. When Count
+Laski entered the presence of the
+king, he was in reality the governor
+of Poland; Europe acknowledged
+him amongst the controllers and directors
+of human affairs; his country
+expected many signal improvements
+at his hands; the individual happiness
+of thousands depended upon him;
+but this power, which had devised
+great schemes, and which was the
+rock of support to so many, could
+itself be shaken and overthrown in a
+moment, by the splenetic humour of
+an angry old man.</p>
+
+<p>Who shall describe the grief and
+despair of Maria when she heard of
+the cruel resolution which the king
+had taken, of the dreadful fate which
+threatened Augustus Glinski? As
+she sat this time in her Gothic chamber,
+and in her accustomed chair,
+what a mortal paleness had settled
+upon her countenance! Her eye
+glared out, and was fixed on the
+vacant wall, as if a spirit had arisen
+before her, and arrested her regard.
+There <i>was</i> a spirit there. It was the
+form of the young Augustus, whom
+she saw withering and wasting in his
+dungeon; a dungeon which would
+deliver him up only to the scaffold.
+After the events which had occurred
+all idea of a union with Augustus,
+presuming that his life should be
+spared, had been resigned. How
+could he, on whom the maxims of
+that age especially imposed the duty
+of revenging his parent, ally himself
+to her? How could he choose for
+his second father the very man who
+had deprived him of his first and
+natural parent? If she could but
+hear that he had broken loose from
+imprisonment, that he was but safe&mdash;this
+was all that she felt entitled to
+wish or to pray for. It need hardly
+be added that it was additional bitterness
+to reflect, that but for his unhappy
+attachment to herself, his
+arrest and captivity would never have
+taken place.</p>
+
+<p>Again, in the same angle of the
+apartment, the Arab slave might
+have been seen standing, silent and
+motionless as before, regarding with
+deep interest and commiseration the
+beautiful daughter of Laski. The
+secret which she was about, on one
+occasion, to betray to Hakem, had
+now betrayed itself to his own observation.
+She loved&mdash;she loved the
+son of him whom he had assassinated,
+or executed. There was a profound
+sadness on the features of the slave.</p>
+
+<p>The silence of the room was suddenly
+broken by Maria, who, turning
+to the slave, exclaimed in a tone of
+anguish&mdash;"Hakem, you must save
+him! you must save him!" This
+was said in mere desperation, certainly
+not with any distinct hope
+that it was in the power of Hakem to
+obey. When, therefore, she heard his
+voice reply, in a calm but saddened
+tone, "I will!" she was almost as
+much surprised as if she had not addressed
+herself to him. She rose to
+be assured that it was he who spoke;
+to bid him repeat his consolatory
+promise; to question him on his
+means of fulfilling it: but Hakem was
+no longer there; he had suddenly
+quitted the apartment. It seemed as
+if some voice in the air had sported
+with her grief.<!-- Page 569 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_569" id="Page_569">[Pg 569]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><span class="smcap">Chapter VI.</span></h2>
+
+<p>But it was no voice that mocked
+at her grief. Hakem proceeded that
+very day to the palace, and sought
+an interview with the queen. The
+guard or sentinel to whom he addressed
+himself, laughed at his request.
+"Give her majesty this
+paper," said the slave, "and refuse
+to deliver it at your peril."</p>
+
+<p>The paper was forwarded to the
+queen&mdash;Hakem was immediately
+ushered into her presence.</p>
+
+<p>"You promise here," she said,
+pointing to the missive she had received,
+"to revenge the death of the
+Duke of Lithuania. I presume some
+private motive of revenge against the
+minister and your master, prompts
+your conduct, and you seek from me
+in additional recompense for an act
+which you have already resolved on,
+but which you think will be grateful
+to me. Is it not so?</p>
+
+<p>"Your Majesty is penetrating."</p>
+
+<p>"And this recompense, what
+is it?"</p>
+
+<p>"That which will cost you nothing,
+though you alone can accomplish
+it&mdash;the release and pardon of
+Augustus Glinski. Obtain this from
+the king&mdash;which to you will be easy&mdash;and
+with my own hand I will assassinate
+the assassin (for such you will
+doubtless deem him) of the Duke of
+Lithuania."</p>
+
+<p>"I will not ask what are your
+motives in all this, nor how you have
+divined my wishes, but revenge the
+death of the Duke of Lithuania, and
+far more than the liberation of the
+young Augustus shall be your reward."</p>
+
+<p>"I ask, and will accept no other.
+But his rescue must <i>first</i> be obtained."</p>
+
+<p>The queen had no objection to
+urge against this condition; although
+she had hitherto, for reasons which
+may be easily surmised, avoided any
+appearance of interest in the fate of
+Augustus. She acquiesced, therefore,
+in Hakem's demand; surprised indeed
+that she should have obtained the
+gratification of her revenge at so slight
+a cost.</p>
+
+<p>What the influence and the reasonings
+of the minister could not effect,
+was very speedily brought about by
+the blandishments of the queen. Augustus
+Glinski was pardoned, and restored
+to a portion of his father's
+wealth and dignities.</p>
+
+<p>The warrant for the release of the
+prisoner was conveyed to the hand
+of Hakem, together with a message
+that he was now expected to perform
+his part of the engagement.</p>
+
+<p>Hakem, bearing this warrant, and
+accompanied by one of the officers of
+justice, proceeded to the prison of
+Augustus, and having liberated him,
+carried him forthwith to the house of
+the chancellor; the young man, who
+as yet hardly apprehended that he
+was master of his own movements,
+permitting himself without remonstrance
+to be led by his new conductor.</p>
+
+<p>The chancellor and his daughter
+sat together in the same apartment
+to which we have already twice introduced
+the reader. Had his daughter
+been happy, what a release for
+Laski had been his enfranchisement
+from public office! "Banishment from
+court!" he exclaimed to one who would
+have condoled with him&mdash;"make
+way there for a liberated prisoner!"
+But the grief of his daughter, who
+strove in vain to check her flowing
+tears, entirely pre-occupied his mind.
+These tears he never chid; her sadness
+he never rebuked; he shared it,
+and by renewed kindness strove to
+alleviate it. They sat in silence together,
+when Hakem, entering, made
+his obeisance, and presented Augustus
+to the astonished Maria.</p>
+
+<p>"I have saved him!" was all he
+said.</p>
+
+<p>The joy of Maria was extreme.
+It was soon, however, followed by a
+painful embarrassment. Amongst all
+parties there was a sad conflict of
+feeling. Augustus would have given
+worlds to have thrown himself at the
+feet of Maria; but if the memory of
+what had occurred had not been sufficient,
+there stood her father in person
+before him&mdash;the author of his own
+father's death.</p>
+
+<p>Hakem broke the silence. "Beautiful
+being!" he said, kneeling on one
+knee before Maria, "whom I have in<!-- Page 570 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_570" id="Page_570">[Pg 570]</a></span>
+secret worshipped, whom alone to
+worship I have lingered here in the
+guise and office of a slave&mdash;you bade
+me save <i>him</i>&mdash;and I have! Is there
+any thing further for thy happiness
+which the Arab can accomplish?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, Hakem, and I feel already
+overburdened with gratitude for this
+service you have rendered me&mdash;<i>how</i>
+rendered I cannot as yet divine. There
+is no other service now I think that
+any one can render me." As she
+spoke, her eye had already turned to
+the spot where Augustus, hesitating
+to approach or to retreat, was still
+standing.</p>
+
+<p>"No other service! But, by the
+living God, there is!" cried Hakem,
+starting to his feet. His countenance
+flushed with sudden excitement; his
+eye kindled with some generous sentiment.
+"Hear me, gentle sir," he
+said, addressing himself to Augustus.
+"Nature calls for vengeance&mdash;is it not
+so? Christian and Mahometan, we all
+resemble in this. Blood cries for
+blood. But the hand that slew your
+father&mdash;it was mine. I am the first
+and direct object of your resentment.
+Let now one victim suffice. Is the
+Arab too ignoble a victim? That
+Arab is the preserver of your life, at
+what cost you may one day learn.
+Let this enhance the value of the sacrifice.
+Over my blood let peace be
+made between you." Turning once
+more, and bowing with deep emotion
+before Maria, he then, with a movement
+quick as thought, plunged a
+poniard in his bosom, and fell to the
+ground. "Go, tell the queen," he
+said to the officer of justice, who had
+stood a mute spectator of this scene&mdash;"tell
+her what you have witnessed;
+and add, that my promise has been
+fulfilled. And you, Augustus Glinski&mdash;will
+not this suffice? The assassin of
+the duke lies here before you. Oh,
+take her by the hand!" Then, looking
+his last towards Maria, he murmured&mdash;"And
+I, too&mdash;loved!" and
+closed his eyes in death.</p>
+
+<p>The prayer of Hakem was granted.
+It was impossible to demand another
+sacrifice&mdash;impossible not to accept
+this as full atonement to the spirit of
+revenge. Over the body of Hakem,
+whom all lamented and admired,
+peace was made.</p>
+
+<p>The generous object of the slave
+was fully accomplished. His death
+procured the long happiness of Maria.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="biggap"></div>
+<h2><a name="THE_LAY_OF_STARKATHER" id="THE_LAY_OF_STARKATHER"></a>THE LAY OF STARK&Agrave;THER.</h2>
+
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>[The following lines are founded on the account given by Saxo-Grammaticus
+(Lib. VIII.) of the guilt, penitence, and death of Stark&agrave;ther, a fabulous Scandinavian
+hero, famous throughout the North for his bodily strength and warlike
+achievements, as well as for his poetical genius, of which traces are still
+to be found in the metrical traditions and phraseology of his country. According
+to the old legend, the existence of Stark&agrave;ther was prolonged for three lifetimes,
+in each of which he was doomed to commit some act of infamy; but
+this fiction has not here been followed out. Oehlenschl&auml;ger's drama, bearing
+the name of this hero, has many beauties; but deviates widely from Saxo's
+story of his death.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">It was an aged man went forth with slow and tottering tread,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The frosts of many a Northland Yule lay thick upon his head;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A staff was in his outstretched hand, to lead him on his way,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And vainly rolled his faded eyes to find the light of day.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Yet in that ancient form was seen the pride of other years,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In ruined majesty and night the <span class="smcap">Hero</span> there appears.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The awful brow, the ample breast, a shelter from the foe,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And there the massive weight of arm that dealt the deadly blow.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">He stopped a passing stranger's steps, and thus his purpose told,&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"See here the twin swords by my side, and see this purse of gold;<br /></span>
+<!-- Page 571 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_571" id="Page_571">[Pg 571]</a></span></div></div>
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Thy weapon choose to cope with One who should no longer live,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And by an easy slaughter earn the guerdon I would give.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"A hundred winters o'er my soul have shed their gathering gloom,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And still I seek, but seek in vain, an honourable tomb;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">With friendly enmity consent to quench this lingering breath,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And give, to crown a warrior's life, one boon&mdash;a warrior's death.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Of matchless might and fearless soul, with powers of song sublime,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I spread afar my name and fame in every Gothic clime;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Those godlike gifts were treasured long from blot and blemish clear,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But one dark act of fraudful guilt bedimmed my bright career.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"When Olo sat, the people's choice, in Sealand's kingly seat,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And trampled liegemen and the laws beneath his tyrant feet,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">His nobles placed this glittering hoard within my yielding hand,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And bade me rid them of a rule that wide enslaved the land.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"I watched my royal victim well, I tracked his every path,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And found him with a faithless guard within the secret bath;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Yet rather had I faced an host fast rushing to the fight,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Than the eye of that unarm&egrave;d man, there gleaming bold and bright.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"The fear of my defenceless foe awhile unnerved my arm,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But thoughts of glory or of gain dispelled the better charm;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The water reddened with his blood, I left the lifeless corse,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To meet myself a living death,&mdash;a lifetime of remorse.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"In every feud, in every fray, on every field of strife,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I since have fondly sought release from such a loath&egrave;d life;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The foremost, who suborned my crime, have perished at my feet,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But none had heart or hand to strike the blow I longed to meet.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Even as I am, I seek the fight, and offer as the prize<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The untasted bait that bribed my soul, nor thou the boon despise;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Else, like some worn-out beast of prey, Stark&agrave;ther soon must lie,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Nor gain the bliss that Odin gives to men who nobly die."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"I know thee now," the stranger said, "I hear thy hated name,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I take thy gold, I take thy life, a forfeit to my claim;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">My father fell beneath thy hand, his image haunts me still&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But the hour of his revenge is come, and he shall drink his fill."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">He seized a sword; its sweeping edge soon laid the Hero low,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But not before his sinking arm was felt upon his foe:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"Thanks, youthful friend!" the Hero said; "now Odin's hall is won,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Its rays already greet my soul, its raptures are begun."<br /></span>
+<!-- Page 572 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_572" id="Page_572">[Pg 572]</a></span></div></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="biggap">
+<h2><a name="MOZART6" id="MOZART6"></a>MOZART.<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a></h2>
+
+
+<p>The true position of the creative
+musical power in the scale of human
+genius is difficult to determine; and
+will be differently estimated by different
+minds. That it is a heavenly
+gift of a high order, admits of no
+doubt; that it exercises over men's
+minds a mighty, and, under due safeguards,
+a beneficent influence, is equally
+indisputable; and that its existence
+implies, and is closely connected with,
+the possession of other superior faculties,
+moral and intellectual, must also,
+we think, be clear upon reflection,
+though this last proposition is not so
+likely to be readily conceded. Yet
+the place which the great <span class="smcap">composer</span> is
+generally allowed to occupy, in relation
+to the <span class="smcap">painter</span> or the <span class="smcap">poet</span>, does
+not correspond either to the qualities
+or to the effects displayed in his art.
+Many would think it a disparagement
+to connect the names of Milton or
+Virgil, Raphael or Michael Angelo,
+with those of the greatest musical
+masters; and it may seem not easy to
+say whether this feeling is the result
+of injustice or accident, on the one
+hand; or, on the other, is founded on
+some deep and solid truth in the laws
+and elements of our nature.</p>
+
+<p>The mighty magic that lies in the
+highest manifestations of musical composition,
+must command the wonder
+and reverence of all who understand,
+or even observe, its operation. The
+power of giving birth to innumerable
+forms of exquisite melody, delighting
+the ear and stirring every emotion of
+the soul, agitating us with fear or
+horror, animating us with ardour and
+enthusiasm, filling us with joy, melting
+us with grief, now lulling us to
+repose amidst the luxurious calm of
+earthly contentment, now borrowing
+wings more ethereal than the lark's,
+and wafting us to the gate of heaven,
+where its notes seem to blend undistinguishably
+with the songs of superior
+beings&mdash;this is a faculty that
+bears no unequivocal mark of a divine
+descent, and that nothing but prejudice
+or pride can deem of trivial or
+inferior rank. But when to this is
+added a mastery over the mysterious
+combinations of harmony, a spirit
+that can make subservient to its one
+object immense masses of dissimilar
+and sometimes discordant, sounds;
+and, like the leader of a battle, can
+ride on the whirlwind and direct the
+storm, till it subdue the whole soul,
+taking captive all our feelings, corporeal
+and mental, and moulding them to
+its will&mdash;a power of this nature seems
+to equal in dignity the highest faculties
+of genius in any of its forms, as
+it undoubtedly surpasses all the others
+in the overwhelming and instantaneous
+efficacy of its agency while thus
+working its wonders. Tame is the
+triumph of the artist in the exhibition-room,
+dim and distant the echo
+which the poet receives of the public
+praise, compared with the unequivocal
+and irrepressible bursts of admiration which
+entrance the great composer in
+the crowded theatre, or even with
+that silent incense which is breathed
+in the stifled emotions of his audience
+in some more sacred place. The nearest
+approach to any such enthusiastic
+tribute, is that which sometimes
+awaits the successful tragic poet at
+the representation of his dramas; but,
+besides the lion's share of applause
+which the actor is apt to appropriate,
+what dramatic writer, in our own experience
+or history, has been greeted
+with such homage as that paid to
+Handel, when the king and people of
+England stood up in trembling awe
+to hear his <i>Hallelujah</i> chorus?&mdash;that
+which hailed Mozart from the enraptured
+theatres of Prague when listening
+to his greatest operas?&mdash;that which
+fanned into new fire the dying embers
+of Haydn's spirit, when the <i>Creation</i>
+was performed at Vienna, to delight
+his declining days, before an audience
+of 1500 of the Austrian nobility and
+gentry?</p>
+
+<p>The ancient poets felt the force of
+those emotions which musical sound
+produces, and shadowed out under its
+name the great principles of human
+harmony and social order. Societies
+were founded, cities built, and countries
+cultivated by Orpheus and Amphion,
+and men of analogous fame,<!-- Page 573 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_573" id="Page_573">[Pg 573]</a></span>
+who wielded at will this mythic power,
+and made all the susceptibilities of nature
+"sequacious of the lyre."</p>
+
+<p>In one respect the fame of the composer
+is less diffusible than that of the
+poet. He requires various mechanical
+means and appliances for his full success.
+His works must be performed
+in order to be felt. He cannot be read,
+like the poet, in the closet, or in the
+cottage, or on the street-stall, where the
+threadbare student steals from day
+to day, as he lingers at the spot, new
+draughts of delicious refreshment. Few
+can sit down and peruse a musical
+composition even for its melody; and
+very few, indeed, can gather from the
+silent notes the full effect of its splendid
+combinations. Yet even here the
+great master has analogous compensations.
+The idle amateur, the boarding-school
+girl, the street minstrel,
+and the barrel-organ, reflect his more
+palpable beauties; and, subjecting
+them to the severe test of incessant
+reiteration, make us wonder that
+"custom cannot stale" the infinite
+variety that is shut up even in his
+simplest creations.</p>
+
+<p>But the creative musician has an
+immeasurable advantage over both the
+painter and the poet in the absence of
+all local limitation to his popularity.
+Here, indeed, the painter is the least
+favoured by the nature of his art. The
+immediate presence of the prophet
+could only be felt at Mecca; the perfection
+of painting can only be seen
+at Rome. The poet has a wider range,
+and can be prized and appreciated
+wherever the language is known in
+which he writes. But the musician
+is still more highly privileged. He
+speaks with a tongue intelligible alike
+to every nation and class; he expresses
+himself in a universal character,
+which Bishop Wilkins would
+have died to possess; he needs no
+translation; he can suffer nothing by
+change of place; his works are equally
+and at once capable of being enjoyed
+at London and Naples, Paris and
+Prague, Vienna and St Petersburg.
+If the enjoyment received from his
+powers is not every where equally
+great, it is not from the want of a medium
+to make them understood, but
+from a difference in the minds to which
+they are presented.</p>
+
+<p>The creative art of the musician is
+not one of mere talent, or of a certain
+sensual refinement and dexterity. It
+involves deep systematic study, closely
+akin to that of the severer sciences.
+It has a sequence and logic of its own,
+and excellence in it is unattainable
+without good sense and strong intellect.
+It involves great moral and pathetic
+sensibility, and a ready sympathy
+with all the joys and sorrows of mankind.
+And finally, the lightest branch
+of it is beyond the reach of any but
+those who are lifted up by strong feelings
+of reverence and devotion. Handel
+was a man of sincere piety, who
+avowed it to be the object of his compositions
+not merely to please men,
+but "to make them better."</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The character of Handel," says Mr
+Hogarth, in his excellent <i>Musical History</i>,
+"in all its great features, was exalted
+and amiable. Throughout his life
+he had a deep sense of religion. He
+used to express the great delight he felt
+in setting to music the most sublime
+passages of Holy Writ; and the habitual
+study of the Scriptures had constant
+influence on his sentiments and
+conduct. For the last two or three
+years of his life, he regularly attended
+divine service in his parish church of St
+George's, Hanover Square, where his
+looks and gestures indicated the fervour
+of his devotion. In his life he was pure
+and blameless."&mdash;(Vol. i. 209.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Haydn," in like manner, (we quote
+from the same biographer,) "was a
+stranger to every evil and malignant
+passion; and, indeed, was not much under
+the influence of passion of any sort.
+But his disposition was cheerful and
+gentle, and his heart was brimful of
+kindly affections. He was friendly and
+benevolent, open and candid in the expression
+of his sentiments, always ready
+to acknowledge and aid the claims of
+talent in his own art, and, in all his
+actions, distinguished by the most spotless
+integrity. Such is the account of
+him given by all those who knew him
+best; and they add, as the most remarkable
+feature of his character, that
+strong and deeply-rooted sense of religion,
+which is the only solid foundation
+of moral excellence. Haydn's piety
+was not a mere feeling, capable, as is
+often the case with worldly men, of
+being excited for the moment by circumstances,
+and dying away when the
+external influence is removed; it was
+<!-- Page 574 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_574" id="Page_574">[Pg 574]</a></span>an active principle, which guided the
+whole tenor of his life and conduct. His
+sacred music was exalted by the existence,
+in his mind, of those devout sentiments
+which it is the object of sacred
+music to express. 'When I was engaged
+in composing <i>The Creation</i>,' he
+used to say, 'I felt myself so penetrated
+with religious feeling, that before I sat
+down to write, I earnestly prayed to
+God that he would enable me to praise
+him worthily.'"&mdash;(Vol. i. 304.)</p></div>
+
+<p>Similar feelings of strong piety, as
+well as of generous benevolence, animated
+and inspired the great and
+amiable man whose character is more
+immediately the subject of this article.
+It would be difficult, indeed, to think
+of an oratorio or requiem written by
+a scoffer or a sceptic.</p>
+
+<p>With such exalted requisites, so intense
+a power, and so extensive a
+range of influence, it is strange that
+the composer should not have taken
+the rank and relative dignity to which
+he seems entitled in the province of
+the arts. But honour and fame are
+chiefly dispensed by poets and literary
+men; and it is impossible not to feel
+that, generally speaking, the musician
+is treated by men of letters as an alien
+from their own lineage. Music may
+be praised in vague and evasive terms;
+but the individual composer is not
+deemed deserving of mention. All
+the great masters of the pencil have
+been cordially commended in immortal
+verse; but of the great composers'
+names scarce a notice is to be found.
+It is not wonderful that the poet
+should prize above all others his own
+form of art. Poetry, as the mouthpiece
+of practical wisdom, as the
+clearest interpreter of all instruction,
+must ever hold an undisputed pre-eminence.
+Painting, too, as nearest
+akin to poetry in the objects it presents
+and the effects it produces, may
+be allowed at least to contest the
+palm for the second rank. But that
+music in the person of her most inspired
+sons, should have been sternly excluded
+from a participation in the honours
+awarded to her sister arts, seems
+an injustice which can be defended on
+no pleadable grounds. The explanation
+of it seems to be, that most of
+our great poets&mdash;and this has certainly
+been the case in England&mdash;have
+had no love or knowledge, and no
+true appreciation, of high musical composition.
+Milton alone seems to have
+been an exception; and, we cannot
+doubt, that if he had lived in the same
+age with Handel, he would have given
+utterance to his admiration in strains
+worthy of them both. The rest of
+our <i>vates sacri</i>, on whom immortality
+is proverbially said to depend, seem,
+generally speaking, to have been ignorance
+itself in this department.
+Several of them, indeed, have written
+odes for St Cecilia's day, but this does
+not prove that they had a taste for
+more than rhythm. Pope had the
+tact to call Handel a giant, and speaks
+cleverly of his "hundred hands" as
+sure to be fatal to the reign of Dulness.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Strong in new arms, lo! giant Handel stands,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Like bold Briareus, with his hundred hands,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To stir, to rouse, to shake the soul he comes,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And Jove's own thunders follow Mars's drums.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Arrest him, goddess! or you sleep no more."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>But no reference is made to the exquisite
+beauty of his compositions.
+The loudness is all that seems to be
+praised, and we suspect, that in private
+Pope was inclined to laugh with
+Swift in his disparaging comparison
+between Tweedledum and Tweedledee.
+Wordsworth has written on the
+"Power of Sound;" but the small
+part of it that touches on the musical
+art, does not impress us with the idea
+of his knowing or caring much about
+it, though in this, as in other things,
+he has the sense and philosophy to
+sacrifice a cock to Esculapius, and to
+bow down to what others worship,
+even where he does not himself feel
+the influence of a warm devotion.
+Collins and Moore, and perhaps a few
+others whom we have overlooked,
+ought to be excluded from this condemnation;
+but they have not been
+led to speak of individual musicians,
+or have not had courage to leave the
+beaten track.</p>
+
+<p>Thus neglected by those who would
+have been its most faithful depositaries
+and most effective champions, the fame
+of the musical composer has been left
+to the guardianship of the few sound<!-- Page 575 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_575" id="Page_575">[Pg 575]</a></span>
+and enlightened judges who thoroughly
+comprehend him, to the humble but
+honest admiration of professional performers,
+to the practice and imitation
+of effeminate amateurs, to the cant
+of criticism of the worthies on the free
+list, and to the instinctive applause of
+the popular voice. Even with these
+humbler hands to build up his monument,
+the great master of music has a
+perpetual possession within the hearts
+of men, that the poet and the painter
+may well envy. Every chord in the human
+frame that answers to his strains,
+every tear that rises at the bidding of
+his cadences, every sob that struggles
+for an outlet at his touches of despairing
+tenderness, or at the thunders of
+his massive harmony, is a tribute to
+his power and his memory, enough to
+console his spirit if it can still be conscious
+of them, or to have rewarded
+his living labours in their progress by
+a bright anticipation of their effects.
+If nobles, and even nations, do not
+contend for the possession of his works,
+or offer a ransom for their purchase,
+such as is daily given for the masterpieces
+of the painter's power; it is
+the pride of his genius that his compositions
+cannot be appropriated or
+possessed. An oratorio of Handel, or
+an opera of Mozart, cannot become
+property like a picture of Raphael or
+Guido. They belong to mankind at
+large, open to all, and enjoyable by
+all who have the faculty to perceive,
+and delight in, their beauties; and in
+every theatre and public place, in
+every church and in every chamber
+throughout Christendom, a portion of
+their divine and various influence,
+suited to the scene and occasion, is
+always within reach, to make men
+gentler and better, happier and holier,
+than they would otherwise be without
+such manifestations of their Maker's
+wondrous gifts.</p>
+
+<p>Nowhere can the views we have
+above suggested be better illustrated,
+than in the fate and character of the
+singular man who, if not the first, was
+yet only second to one other, among
+those on whom music has shed her
+fullest inspiration.</p>
+
+<p>It is not our intention to follow
+minutely the events of Mozart's life.
+They are generally well known; and
+to those who wish to have a clear,
+complete, and judicious view of them,
+we can safely recommend the book
+noticed at the outset of this article.</p>
+
+<p>Mozart was born at Salzburg in
+1756, and died at Vienna in 1791, in
+his thirty-sixth year. But into that
+short space were compressed as many
+proofs and compositions of genius, as
+much joy and sorrow, as much triumph
+and humiliation, as would have
+crowded a much longer lifetime. His
+early indications of genius are well
+known, and were indeed wonderful,
+even as compared with those of other
+great composers&mdash;for Handel, Haydn,
+and Beethoven, all gave proofs of their
+musical powers in boyhood&mdash;though
+none of them as children showed that
+full maturity of mind which distinguished
+Mozart, and which only a few
+of those who witnessed it could fully
+appreciate. Mozart's organization
+was obviously of the finest and tenderest
+texture; but he had also many
+advantages in his nurture, and, among
+others, the inestimable blessing of a
+happy home, where harmony reigned
+in the hearts, as well as upon the lips
+and fingers of the inmates. His father
+was a man of sense and education, as
+well as of musical talent, and in all
+respects did his duty to his son
+throughout life, amidst many difficulties
+and disappointments, resulting
+partly from his own dependent situation
+at Salzburg, and partly from an
+over-estimate of the worldly prosperity
+which his son's genius should
+have commanded. His mother seems
+also to have been an excellent person;
+and from the remarkable letters which
+Mozart wrote from Paris to prepare
+his father for her death, after the
+event had happened, she appears to
+have been the object of the tenderest
+affection to her family. Mozart
+uniformly discharged towards his parents
+all the offices of pious devotion;
+and he was always affectionately attached
+to his sister, who was a few
+years older than himself, and whose
+early and distinguished skill as a performer
+must have been useful in
+assisting her brother's tastes. In 1829
+the Novello family saw this lady at
+Salzburg, a widow and in narrow circumstances.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"We found Madame Sonnenberg,
+lodged in a small but clean room, bed-ridden
+and quite blind. Hers is a complete
+decay of nature; suffering no pain,
+<!-- Page 576 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_576" id="Page_576">[Pg 576]</a></span>she lies like one awaiting the stroke of
+death, and will probably expire in her
+sleep.... Her voice was scarcely
+above a whisper, so that I was forced
+to lean my face close to hers to catch
+the sound. In the sitting-room still remained
+the old clavichord, on which the
+brother and sister had frequently played
+duets together; and on its desk were
+some pieces of his composition, which
+were the last things his sister had played
+over previous to her illness."</p></div>
+
+<p>With becoming delicacy, the fruits
+of an English subscription were presented
+to her on her name-day, as a remembrance
+from some friends of her
+brother.</p>
+
+<p>The bane of Mozart's fortunes was
+the patronage on which he was dependent.
+His father had got into the
+trammels of the Archbishop of Salzburg&mdash;a
+sordid, arrogant, and ignorant
+man, who saw Mozart's value in
+the eyes of others, though he could
+not himself estimate it, and would
+neither pay him nor part with him.
+When in his twentieth year, and already
+a great composer and an efficient
+performer, Mozart was in the
+receipt, from this princely prelate, for
+the liberal use of his musical talents,
+of a salary equal in amount to about
+&pound;1, 1s. English, per annum.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Among a multitude of compositions
+that he wrote for the archbishop's concerts,
+in 1775, are five concertos for the
+violin, which he probably performed
+himself. His gentle disposition made him
+easily comply with any proposal to augment
+pleasure, however out of his usual
+course. During the following year,
+1776, he seems to have made his last
+great effort to awaken the archbishop
+to some sense of his desert, and a due
+generosity of acknowledgment, by producing
+masses, litanies, serenades, divertimentos
+for instruments, clavier concertos,
+&amp;c., too numerous for detail.
+But in vain; and what aggravated the
+injury of this monstrous appropriation
+of labour was, that the father, whose
+household economy was now somewhat
+pinched, on applying for permission to
+remedy these circumstances by a tour,
+was refused. From that hour Wolfgang
+threw by his pen in disgust&mdash;at
+least as far as it concerned voluntary
+labour."</p></div>
+
+<p>It was now resolved that Mozart
+should leave Salzburg with his mother,
+and try his fortune in the world. He
+was every where admired; but the
+wonder of his childhood had passed
+away, and empty praise was all that
+he could, for the most part, earn.
+After lingering, in the sickness of hope
+deferred, at several of the German
+courts, his destination was at last fixed
+for Paris. His chance of success as a
+courtier was probably diminished by the
+blunt though kindly frankness of his
+opinions, and by his inability to stoop to
+unworthy means of rising. He had also
+many rivals to encounter, particularly
+those of the more slender school of
+Italian melody; and few of the public
+had knowledge or independence
+enough to forsake the inferior favourites
+that were in vogue.</p>
+
+<p>In approaching Paris, Mozart became
+alarmed at the prospect of his
+being there compelled to resort to the
+drudgery of tuition for his support.
+"I am a composer," he said, "and
+the son of a kapell-meister, and I
+cannot consent to bury in teaching
+the talent for composition which God
+has so richly bestowed upon me."
+His father, more experienced in the
+world, and more prudential in his
+ideas, endeavoured to modify his
+alarm, and urge him to perseverance
+in any honourable course of employment.
+The father's letter at this time
+to his son, to apprize him of the true
+position of the family, and preserve
+him against the dangers in his path,
+is honourable to both, and worthy
+of perusal.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"This being in all probability the
+last letter that you will receive from
+me at Mannheim, I address it to you
+alone. How deeply the wider separation
+which is about to take place between
+us affects me, you may partly
+conceive, though not feel it in the same
+degree with which it oppresses my
+heart. If you reflect seriously on what
+I have undergone with you two children
+in your tender years, you will not
+accuse me of timidity, but, on the contrary,
+do me the justice to own that I
+am, and ever have been, a man with the
+heart to venture every thing, though
+indeed I always employed the greatest
+circumspection and precaution. Against
+accidents it is impossible to provide, for
+God only sees into futurity. Up to this
+time we cannot be said to have been
+either successful or unsuccessful; but,
+<!-- Page 577 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_577" id="Page_577">[Pg 577]</a></span>God be thanked, we have steered between
+the two. Every thing has been
+attempted for your success, and through
+you for our own. We have at least
+endeavoured to settle you in some appointment
+on a secure footing; though
+fate has hitherto decreed that we should
+fail in our object. This last step of
+ours, however, makes my spirit sink
+within me. You may see as clearly as
+the sun at noonday, that, through it, the
+future condition of your aged parents,
+and of your affectionately attached sister,
+entirely depends upon you. From the
+time of your birth, and indeed earlier,
+ever since my marriage, I have found
+it a hard task to support a wife, and,
+by degrees, a family of seven children,
+two relatives by marriage, and the mother,
+on a certain income of twenty-five
+florins a month, out of this to pay for
+maintenance and the expenses of child-bed,
+deaths, and sicknesses; which expenses,
+when you reflect upon them, will
+convince you that I not only never devoted
+a kreutzer to my own private
+pleasure, but that I could never, in spite
+of all my contrivances and care, have
+managed to live free from debt without
+the especial favour of God; and yet I
+never was in debt till now. I devoted
+all my time to you two, in the hope and
+indeed reliance upon your care in return;
+that you would procure for me
+a peaceful old age, in which I might
+render account to God for the education
+of my children, and, without any
+other concern than the salvation of my
+soul, quietly await death. But Providence
+has so ordered, that I must now
+afresh commence the ungrateful task of
+lesson-giving, and in a place, too, where
+this dreary labour is so ill paid, that it
+will not support one from one end of
+the year to the other; and yet it is to
+be thought a matter of rejoicing if,
+after talking oneself into a consumption,
+something or other is got by it.</p>
+
+<p>"I am far, my dear Wolfgang, from
+having the least mistrust in you&mdash;on the
+contrary, on your filial love I place all
+confidence and every hope. Every
+thing now depends upon fortunate circumstances,
+and the exercise of that
+sound understanding which you certainly
+possess, if you will listen to it;
+the former are uncontrollable&mdash;but that
+you will always take counsel of your
+understanding I hope and pray....</p>
+
+<p>"You are now a young man of
+twenty-two years of age; here is none
+of that seriousness of years which may
+dissuade a youth, let his condition be
+what it may&mdash;an adventurer, a libertine,
+a deceiver&mdash;be he old or young,
+from courting your acquaintance, and
+drawing you into his society and his
+plans. One may fall into this danger
+unawares, and then not know how to
+recede. Of the other sex I can hardly
+speak to you, for there the greatest reserve
+and prudence are necessary, Nature
+herself being our enemy; but whoever
+does not employ all his prudence
+and reserve in his intercourse, will with
+difficulty extricate himself from the
+labyrinth&mdash;<i>a misfortune that usually
+ends in death</i>. How blindly, through
+inconsiderate jests, flattery, and play,
+one may fall into errors at which the
+returning reason is ashamed, you may
+perhaps have already a little experienced,
+and it is not my intention to reproach
+you. I am persuaded that you
+do not only consider me as your father,
+but as your truest and most faithful
+friend, and that you know and see that
+our happiness or unhappiness&mdash;nay,
+more, my long life or speedy death is,
+under God, so to speak, in your hands.
+If I know you aright, I have nothing but
+pleasure to expect in you, which
+thought must console me in your absence
+for the paternal pleasure of seeing,
+hearing, and embracing you. Lead
+the life of a good Catholic Christian;
+love and fear God; pray to him with
+devotion and sincerity, and let your
+conduct be such, that should I never
+see you more, the hour of my death
+may be free from apprehension. From
+my heart I bless you."</p></div>
+
+<p>His reception at Paris was comparatively
+cold. The Parisians were
+scarcely done with the "faction fight"
+in which the rivalry of Gluck and
+Piccini had involved them; but none
+of the partisans were inclined to be
+enthusiastic about the new-comer.
+His only great admirer, and his best
+friend, seems to have been his acute
+and accomplished countryman Grimm,
+who prophesied that monarchs would
+dispute for the possession of Mozart.
+The prediction was fulfilled, but not
+in sufficient time to benefit the unhappy
+subject of their competition.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Baron Grimm and myself often
+vent our indignation at the state of
+music here, that is to say, between ourselves;
+but in public it is always '<i>bravo!
+bravissimo!</i>' and clapping till the fingers
+burn. What most displeases me
+<!-- Page 578 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_578" id="Page_578">[Pg 578]</a></span>is, that the French gentlemen have only
+so far improved their taste as to be able
+to <i>endure</i> good things; but as for any
+perception that their music is bad&mdash;Heaven
+help them!&mdash;and the singing&mdash;<i>oim&egrave;!</i>"</p></div>
+
+<p>Again he writes&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"You advise me to visit a great deal,
+in order to make new acquaintances, or
+to revive the old ones. That is, however,
+impossible. The distance is too
+great, and the ways too miry to go on
+foot; the muddy state of Paris being
+indescribable; and to take a coach, one
+may soon drive away four or five livres,
+and all in vain, for the people merely
+pay you compliments, and then it is
+over. They ask me to come on this or
+that day&mdash;I play, and then they say,
+'<i>O c'est un prodige, c'est inconcevable,
+c'est &eacute;tonnant;</i>' and then '<i>&agrave; Dieu</i>.'"</p>
+
+<p>"All this, however," Mr Holmes
+observes, "might have been endured,
+so far as mere superciliousness and <i>hauteur</i>
+to the professional musician were
+involved, if these people had possessed
+any real feeling or love for music; but
+it was their total want of all taste, their
+utter viciousness, that rendered them
+hateful to Mozart. He was ready to
+make any sacrifice for his family, but
+longed to escape from the artificial and
+heartless Parisians.</p>
+
+<p>"If I were in a place," he writes, "where
+people had ears to hear, hearts to feel,
+and some small degree of perception and
+taste, I should laugh heartily over all these
+things&mdash;but really, as it regards music,
+I am living among mere brute beasts.
+How can it be otherwise? It is the
+same in all their passions, and, indeed,
+in every transaction of life; no place in
+the world is like Paris. Do not think that
+I exaggerate when I speak thus of the
+state of music here&mdash;ask any one except
+a native Frenchman, and if he be fit to
+answer the question, he will tell you the
+same. I must endure out of love to you&mdash;but
+I shall thank God Almighty if I
+leave this place with my healthful natural
+taste. It is my constant prayer
+that I may be enabled to establish myself,
+that I may do honour to the German
+nation, and make fame and money,
+and so be the means of helping you out
+of your present narrow circumstances,
+and of our all living together once more,
+cheerfully and happily."</p></div>
+
+<p>Take the following vivid sketch of
+his task in teaching composition to a
+young lady:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Among these pupils one is daughter
+of the Duc de Guines, with whom I am
+in high favour, and I give her two hours'
+instruction in composition daily, for
+which I am very liberally paid. He
+plays the flute incomparably, and she
+magnificently on the harp. She possesses
+much talent and cleverness, and,
+in particular, a very remarkable memory,
+which enables her to play all her pieces,
+of which there are at least two hundred,
+without book. She is doubtful
+whether she has genius for composition&mdash;particularly
+with respect to thoughts
+or ideas; her father (who, between ourselves,
+is a little too much in love with
+her) affirms that she certainly has ideas,
+and that nothing but modesty and a
+want of confidence in herself prevent
+their appearing. We shall now see. If
+she really have no ideas, and I must say
+I have as yet seen no indication of them,
+it will be all in vain, for God knows I
+can give her none. It is not her father's
+intention to make any very great composer
+of her. 'I do not wish her,' he
+says, 'to write any operas, airs, concertos,
+or symphonies, but merely grand
+sonatas for her instrument, as I do for
+mine.'</p>
+
+<p>"I gave her the fourth lesson to-day,
+and, as far as the rules of composition
+go, am tolerably satisfied with her; she
+put the bass to the first minuet which I
+placed before her, very correctly. We
+now commenced writing in three parts.
+She tried it, and fatigued herself in
+attempts, but it was impossible to help
+her; nor can we move on a step further,
+for it is too early, and in science one
+must advance by the proper gradations.
+If she had genius&mdash;but alas! there is
+none&mdash;she has no thoughts&mdash;nothing
+comes. I have tried her in every imaginable
+way; among others it occurred
+to me to place a very simple minuet
+before her, to see whether she could
+make a variation upon it. That was all
+to no purpose. Now, thought I, she
+does not know how to begin; so I varied
+the first bar for her, and told her to
+continue the variation pursuing that
+idea; and at length she got through
+tolerably well. I next requested her to
+begin something herself&mdash;the first part
+only&mdash;a melody; but after a quarter of
+an hour's cogitation nothing came. I
+then wrote four bars of a minuet, and
+said, 'What a stupid fellow I am, I
+have begun a minuet, and cannot finish
+the first part of it. Have the goodness
+to do it for me.' She distrusted her
+<!-- Page 579 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_579" id="Page_579">[Pg 579]</a></span>ability, but at last, with much labour,
+something came to light. I rejoiced
+that we got something at last. She had
+now to complete the entire minuet, that
+is to say, the melody only. On going
+away, I recommended her to alter my
+four bars for something of her own; to
+make another beginning even if she
+retained the same harmony, and only
+altered the melody. I shall see to-morrow
+how she has succeeded."</p></div>
+
+<p>In the midst of this irksome labour,
+Mozart's beloved mother expired at
+Paris in the summer of 1778, after a
+fortnight's illness. He then wrote to
+his father that she was "very ill," and
+to a family friend at Salzburg, desiring
+him to prepare his father and sister
+for the truth. The whole correspondence
+at this time is interesting. The
+letter to the Abb&eacute; Bullinger is in these
+words:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Sympathize with me on this the most
+wretched and melancholy day of my
+life. I write at two o'clock in the morning
+to inform you that my mother&mdash;my
+dearest mother&mdash;is no more! God has
+called her to himself. I saw clearly
+that nothing could save her, and resigned
+myself entirely to the will of God;
+he gave, and he can take away. Picture
+to yourself the state of alarm, care,
+and anxiety in which I have been kept
+for the last fortnight. She died without
+being conscious of any thing&mdash;her
+life went out like a taper. Three days
+ago she confessed, received the sacrament
+and extreme unction; but since
+that time she has been constantly delirious
+and rambling, until this afternoon
+at twenty-one minutes after five, when
+she was seized with convulsions, and
+immediately lost all perception and feeling.
+I pressed her hand and spoke to
+her; but she neither saw me, heard me,
+nor seemed in the least sensible; and in
+this state she lay for five hours, namely,
+till twenty-one minutes past ten, when
+she departed, no one being present but
+myself, M. Haine, a good friend of ours
+whom my father knows, and the nurse.</p>
+
+<p>"I cannot at present write you the
+whole particulars of the illness; but my
+belief is, that she was to die&mdash;that it
+was the will of God. Let me now beg
+the friendly service of you, to prepare
+my poor father by gentle degrees for
+the melancholy tidings. I wrote to him
+by the same post, but told him no more
+than that she was very ill; and I now
+await his answer, by which I shall be
+guided. May God support and strengthen
+him! Oh, my friend! through
+the especial grace of God I have been
+enabled to endure the whole with fortitude
+and resignation, and have long
+since been consoled under this great
+loss. In her extremity I prayed for
+two things: a blessed dying hour for my
+mother, and courage and strength for
+myself; and the gracious God heard my
+prayer, and richly bestowed those blessings
+upon me. Pray, therefore, dear
+friend, support my father. Say what
+you can to him, in order that when he
+knows the worst, he may not feel it too
+bitterly. I commend my sister also to
+you from the bottom of my heart. Call
+on both of them soon, but say no word
+of the death&mdash;only prepare them. You
+can do and say what you will; but let
+me be so far at ease as to have no new
+misfortune to expect. Comfort my
+dear father and my dear sister, and pray
+send me a speedy answer."</p></div>
+
+<p>The letter to his father is curiously
+circumstantial; but if on such occasion
+it is allowable to deceive at all,
+it is allowable to make the deception
+complete.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The cause of my having left your
+letter of the 11th of June so long unanswered
+is, that I have very unpleasant
+and melancholy intelligence to communicate.
+My dear mother is very ill.
+At the beginning of her illness she was,
+as usual, bled, and this seemed to relieve
+and do her good; but in a few
+days she began to complain of sudden
+chills and heats, which were accompanied
+by headach and diarrh&oelig;ig;a. We
+began now to use the remedy that we
+employ at home&mdash;the antispasmodic
+powder. We wished that we had
+brought the black, but had it not, and
+could not get it here, where even its
+name, <i>pulvis epilepticus</i>, is unknown.
+But as she got worse continually, spoke
+with difficulty, and so far lost her hearing,
+that it was necessary to call out in
+speaking to her, Baron Grimm sent us
+his physician. She is still very weak,
+and is also feverish and delirious.
+They want to give me hope; but I have
+not much. I have been long already&mdash;for
+days and nights together&mdash;between
+hope and fear; but I have now entirely
+resigned myself to the will of God, and
+I hope that you and my dear sister will
+do the like. What are the means then
+to give us calm and peace, in a degree,
+if not absolutely? I am resigned, let
+<!-- Page 580 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_580" id="Page_580">[Pg 580]</a></span>the end be what it may, because I know
+that God, who, however mysteriously
+he may proceed to human eyes, ordains
+every thing for the best, so wills it; and
+I am not easily persuaded out of the
+belief, that neither physician nor any
+other man, neither misfortune nor accident,
+can either take or give life, but
+God alone, though these are the means
+which he mostly employs; but even
+these not always. We see people constantly
+sinking and dying around us;
+but I do not say, on that account, that
+my mother must and will die, or that we
+have lost all hope. She may recover, if
+it be the will of God. I, however, find
+consolation in these reflections, after
+praying to God as earnestly as I am
+able for my dear mother's health and
+life; they strengthen, encourage, and
+console me, and you must needs think I
+require them. Let us now change the
+subject, and quit these melancholy
+thoughts. Let us hope, if not much, and
+put our trust in God, consoling ourselves
+with the reflection, that every thing is
+well ordered which the Almighty orders,
+and that he best knows what is essential
+to our temporal happiness and our
+eternal salvation."</p></div>
+
+<p>The elder Mozart had, in the mean
+time, without knowing of her illness,
+begun a letter to his wife, designed to
+reach her on her name-day; but,
+before its conclusion, he had received
+his son's letter, and seen the Abb&eacute;,
+and had thus learned not only her
+danger but its result.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"M. Bullinger found us, as every one
+else did, in deep affliction; I handed
+him your letter without saying a word;
+he dissembled very well; and having
+read it, enquired what I thought about
+it. I said, that I firmly believed my
+dear wife was no more. He almost
+feared the same thing, he told me&mdash;and
+then, like a true friend, entered upon
+consolatory topics, and said to me every
+thing that I had before said to myself.
+We finished our conversation, and our
+friends gradually left us with much concern.
+M. Bullinger, however, remained
+behind, and when we were alone, asked
+me whether I believed that there was
+any ground for hope after such a description
+of the illness as had been
+given. I replied, that I not merely
+believed her dead by this time&mdash;but
+that she was already so on the very day
+that the letter was written; that I had
+resigned myself to the will of God, and
+must remember that I have two children,
+who I hoped would love me, as I
+lived solely and entirely for them; indeed,
+that I felt so certain, as to have
+taken some pains to write to, and remind
+you of the consequences, &amp;c.
+Upon this he said, 'Yes, she is dead,'
+and in that instant the scales fell from
+my eyes; for the suddenness of the
+accident had prevented my perceiving,
+what I else should have suspected, as
+soon as I had read your letter&mdash;namely,
+how probable it was that you had privately
+communicated the real truth to
+M. Bullinger. In fact, your letter stupified
+me&mdash;it at first was such a blow as
+to render me incapable of reflection. I
+have now no more to say. Do not be
+anxious on my account, I shall bear my
+sorrow like a man. Remember what a
+tenderly loving mother you have had&mdash;now
+you will be able to appreciate all
+her care&mdash;as in your mature years,
+after my death, you will mine, with a
+constantly increasing affection. If you
+love me, as I doubt not but you do,
+take care of your health&mdash;on your life
+hangs mine, and the future support of
+your affectionate sister. How incomprehensibly
+bitter a thing it is, when
+death rends asunder a happy marriage&mdash;can
+only be known by experience."</p></div>
+
+<p>In a few days, Mozart wrote to his
+father again:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"I hope that you are now prepared
+to receive with firmness some intelligence
+of a very melancholy and distressing
+character; indeed, my last letter,
+of the 3d, will not have encouraged
+you to expect any thing very favourable.
+On the evening of the same day
+(the 3d,) at twenty-one minutes after
+ten at night, my mother fell happily
+asleep in God, and was already experiencing
+the joys of heaven at the very
+moment that I wrote to you. All was
+over&mdash;I wrote to you in the night, and
+I trust that you and my sister will pardon
+this slight but very necessary artifice;&mdash;for
+when, after all the distress
+that I had suffered, I turned my thoughts
+towards you, I could not possibly persuade
+myself to surprise you all at once
+with the dreadful and fatal news. Now,
+however, I hope that you have both
+prepared yourselves to hear the worst;
+and after giving way to the reasonable
+and natural impulses of your grief, to
+submit yourselves at last to the will of
+<!-- Page 581 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_581" id="Page_581">[Pg 581]</a></span>God, and to adore his inscrutable, unfathomable,
+and all-wise providence.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>"I write this in the house of Madame
+d'Epinay and M. Baron de Grimm, with
+whom I am now staying, and where I
+have a pretty little room with a pleasant
+prospect, and am, as far as circumstances
+will permit, happy. It would be a great
+additional comfort were I to hear that
+my dear father and sister had resigned
+themselves with fortitude and submission
+to the will of God; trusting him
+entirely, in the full conviction that every
+thing is ordered for our good. Dear
+father&mdash;be comforted! Dearest sister&mdash;be
+comforted!&mdash;you know not the kind
+intentions of your brother towards you;
+because hitherto they have not been in
+his power to fulfil.</p>
+
+<p>"I hope that you will both be careful
+of your health. Remember that you
+have still a son&mdash;a brother&mdash;who will
+exert himself to the utmost for your
+happiness, well knowing what sacrifices
+you are both ready to make for him,
+and that when the time shall come, neither
+of you will oppose the fulfilment of
+his honourable wishes. Oh! then we
+will lead a life as peaceful and happy as
+is attainable in this world; and at length,
+in God's time, meet all together again
+in the enjoyment of that object for
+which we were created."</p></div>
+
+<p>We have given these letters at some
+length, as we think they show the
+worth, affection, and right feeling of
+the whole family.</p>
+
+<p>The disconsolate state in which his
+father was thus left, decided Mozart,
+however reluctant, to return to the
+hated service of the Archbishop at
+Salzburg. The terms on which he
+was received back were somewhat
+improved, for his absence had rendered
+his value more perceptible; and a
+greater latitude was allowed him in
+visiting, and composing for other
+courts. In the winter of 1780-1, he
+made use of his leave of absence by
+writing and bringing out at Munich,
+with triumphant success, the splendid
+serious opera of <i>Idomeneo</i>, always so
+great a favourite with himself, and
+which is still regarded as a masterpiece.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"With this work, the most important
+in its influence on music, Mozart crowned
+his twenty-fifth year. The score is still
+a picture to the musician. It exhibits
+consummate knowledge of the theatre,
+displayed in an opera of the first magnitude
+and complexity; which unites to
+a great orchestra the effects of a double
+chorus on the stage and behind the
+scenes; and introduces marches, processions,
+and dances, to various accompaniments
+in the orchestra, behind the
+scenes, or under the stage. This model
+opera, in which Mozart rises on the
+wing from one beauty to another
+through long acts, was completed, as
+we have seen, within a few weeks, and
+ever since has defied the scrutiny of
+musicians to detect in it the slightest
+negligence of style."</p></div>
+
+<p>In March 1781, Mozart followed the
+Salzburg court to Vienna, where he was
+subjected to such indignity by his
+patron, as finally to terminate their
+connexion. The author of <i>Idomeneo</i>
+was required to take his meals at the
+same table with his grace's valets,
+confectioner, and cooks. This was
+too much, even for Mozart's good-nature;
+and, aggravated by the Archbishop's
+refusal to allow the display
+of his talents to the public, gave him
+courage to insist for his dismissal.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The step, however, of resigning a
+pension, and of throwing himself entirely
+upon the public for fame and support,
+was a more important one than his
+sanguine imagination and excitement of
+feeling permitted him at the time to
+contemplate. How far his being an
+<i>unappointed</i> composer may have hastened
+the production of his immortal
+works, is open to question; but that his
+life was sacrificed in struggling against
+the difficulties in which he was thereby
+involved, is beyond a doubt.</p>
+
+<p>"In the absence of any immediate
+design of a new dramatic composition,
+and delighted at the effect which his
+public performance on the pianoforte
+had created at Vienna, Mozart forgot
+all the fears he had expressed previously
+to his journey to Paris; thought no
+more that teaching would interfere with
+the higher vocation of his muse; and
+was content to become the fashionable
+performer, teacher, and pianoforte composer
+of the day. This mode of life for
+a time had its temptations and its success;
+and he hoped that he might still
+better assist his father at Vienna than
+at Salzburg, as he was at intervals able
+to remit to him sums of from ten to
+thirty ducats. But here commenced the
+precarious existence which the composer
+<!-- Page 582 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_582" id="Page_582">[Pg 582]</a></span>was for the future destined to lead.
+For, not only was the taste of Vienna
+then, as now, proverbially variable and
+flippant&mdash;not only was concert-giving
+an uncertain speculation, and teaching
+an inconstant source of income&mdash;but in
+a man, who, like Mozart, had, from time
+to time, strong impulses to write for the
+theatre, it frequently happened that the
+order and regularity of his engagements
+were made to yield to the object which
+engrossed him; and that the profits of
+his time were sacrificed on the one hand,
+without any proportionate advantage on
+the other."</p></div>
+
+<p>Let it be observed that Mozart's
+payment for teaching among the
+Austrian nobility, was, at the rate of
+five shillings a lesson!</p>
+
+<p>Mozart was distinguished for virtues
+which belong only to great or
+good men when labouring in the field
+of emulation&mdash;an absence of all envy
+and jealousy, of which he was himself
+too much the object, and a just and
+generous estimate of excellence in
+others. As observed by Mr Holmes,
+good music, not his own, was his best
+relaxation from his toils; and his predecessors
+and contemporaries were
+alike sure of that sincere admiration
+which sprang from an unselfish love
+of the art. His regard and respect for
+Haydn, who was greatly his inferior
+in genius and power, is a pleasing
+illustration of what we have said.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"At this time, Joseph Haydn was
+established as kapell-meister in the service
+of Prince Nicholas Esterhazy, and
+enjoyed a very extensive reputation,
+which, indeed, the native energy of his
+genius, and the fortunate circumstances
+of his mature life, enabled him to earn
+with ease in a variety of compositions.
+He was frequently at Vienna, in the
+suite of his prince; and it was natural
+that Mozart, who had long lived on
+terms of mutual esteem with Michael
+Haydn, at Salzburg, should be predisposed
+to a regard for his brother;&mdash;but
+the simplicity, benevolence, and sincerity
+of Joseph Haydn's character, when
+united with the charming qualities of
+his genius, offered more than the materials
+for an ordinary friendship. The
+attachment of these two men remains
+accordingly one of the most honourable
+monuments of the virtuous love of art
+that musical history can produce. Haydn
+was at this period about fifty years of
+age. His constant habit of writing five
+hours a-day, had accumulated in a series
+of years a large collection of quartets,
+pianoforte music, church music, and
+symphonies, most of which were greatly
+admired for the spirit and elegance of
+their style, and the clearness and originality
+of their design. Mozart at once
+saw and acknowledged the excellence of
+Haydn; and in his future intercourse
+with that master, took the part which
+the difference of their age, if not of
+their genius, rendered graceful&mdash;by deferring
+to his judgment with all the
+meekness of a learner. To Haydn he
+submitted many of his compositions
+before publication; delighting often to
+call him his master and model in quartet
+writing, which he now began to cultivate
+in earnest; and omitting no circumstance
+which could gratify the veteran
+musician in possessing such an
+admirer. Haydn on his part repaid all
+this devotion with becoming generosity.
+However conscious that, in the universality
+of musical power, his own genius
+must be placed at a disadvantage in
+comparison with that of his friend, he
+harboured no envious or unworthy sentiment;
+and death alone interrupted the
+kind relation in which each stood to the
+other.</p>
+
+<p>"At the musical parties which Mozart
+gave from time to time, when he had new
+compositions to try, and leisure to indulge
+his disposition for sociality, Haydn
+was a frequent guest, and no one more
+profoundly enjoyed the extraordinary
+beauty and perfection of Mozart's pianoforte
+playing. Years after, when those
+fingers, and the soul which animated
+them, were sought for in vain, a few
+touching words from Haydn spoke
+more feelingly to the imagination, in the
+description of that beauty, than the
+most laboured and minute criticism
+could have done. 'Mozart's playing,'
+said he, 'I can never forget.'"</p></div>
+
+<p>Haydn's high estimate of his friend's
+superiority to himself, was always expressed
+with equal generosity. In a
+company of critics, who discovered
+that there were faults in Mozart's
+operas, Haydn, when appealed to,
+replied&mdash;"All I know is, that Mozart
+is the greatest composer now existing."
+When applied to in 1787, to
+write a comic opera, Haydn thought
+a new subject, or <i>libretto</i>, would be
+necessary, and adds&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Even then it would be a bold attempt,
+as scarcely any one can stand by
+<!-- Page 583 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_583" id="Page_583">[Pg 583]</a></span>the side of the great Mozart. For were
+it possible that I could impress every
+friend of music, particularly among the
+great, with that deep musical intelligence
+of the inimitable works of Mozart&mdash;that
+emotion of the soul with which
+they affect me, and in which I both
+comprehend and feel them, the nations
+would contend together for the possession
+of such a gem. Prague ought to
+retain him, and reward him well too;
+else the history of great genius is melancholy,
+and offers posterity but slight
+encouragement to exertion, which is the
+reason, alas! that many hopeful and
+aspiring spirits are repressed. I feel
+indignant that this <i>unique</i> Mozart is not
+yet engaged at some royal or imperial
+court. Forgive me if I stray from the
+subject&mdash;but I love the man too much."</p></div>
+
+<p>Again, when engaged, along with
+Mozart, for Salomon's concerts in
+England&mdash;a plan which, so far as
+Mozart was concerned, was unhappily
+not carried out&mdash;Haydn's only stipulation
+was, that his compositions
+should precede those of his friend;
+and avowed, with unparalleled frankness,
+his feeling that he would otherwise
+have less chance of being heard
+with success.</p>
+
+<p>The celebrity of Mozart, and the
+applause which attended some of his
+new compositions, procured him the
+notice, and ultimately the patronage,
+of the Emperor Joseph&mdash;though somewhat
+unsteadily conferred, and divided
+with unworthy Italian rivals. The
+change, however, was tardy, and, when
+it came, did not much improve his external
+circumstances. The appointments
+he held made but a miserable
+sinecure, with a still more miserable
+salary; but the deficiency was supplied
+by soft words and familiar looks,
+which, with Mozart's kindly disposition,
+served to attach him to his imperial
+master, better than would have
+been done by a larger allowance ungraciously
+given.</p>
+
+<p>In the mean time, relying upon his
+position as a composer, and hoping
+for the best, Mozart had formed the
+connexion, as to which Mr Hogarth
+justly says, "that his fixing his affections
+on the admirable woman whom
+he married, was the wisest act, as it
+was the happiest event, of his life.
+Constance Weber was his guide&mdash;his
+monitress&mdash;his guardian angel. She
+regulated his domestic establishment&mdash;managed
+his affairs&mdash;was the cheerful
+companion of his happier hours&mdash;and
+his never-failing consolation in
+sickness and despondency. He passionately
+loved her, and evinced his
+feelings by the most tender and delicate
+attentions."</p>
+
+<p>It is remarkable that Mozart's attachment
+had at first been directed to
+his wife's elder sister, and seemed to
+be returned on her part. But after
+his absence in Paris, he was coldly received
+when they again met, and, fortunately
+for himself, he transferred
+his affections to Constance, who became
+his wife.</p>
+
+<p>Rich as this union was in affection,
+and in all the happiness that affection
+can bestow, it was soon checkered by
+distress and difficulty. The health of
+the wife became precarious; and Mozart's
+ignorance of the world, as well
+as his generous and joyous disposition,
+joined to the precarious and
+varying amount of his earnings, and
+the disappointment in his prospects
+of imperial favour, involved him in
+debt, which, by overtaxing his mind
+and body, led to the errors and excesses,
+such as they were, of his latter
+life, and ultimately undermined his
+constitution, and brought him to an
+untimely tomb.</p>
+
+<p>The "res angusta domi" stimulated
+the composer's pen, and the
+rapidity of his productions at this
+time is marvellous. The taste of
+Vienna, however, was capricious;
+and cabals among singers and critics
+succeeded in deadening the effect of
+his <i>Figaro</i>, when first brought out,
+and in thoroughly disgusting Mozart
+with the Viennese opera. How different
+the reception which it met from
+the true hearts and well-attuned ears
+of the Bohemian audiences! It was in
+February 1787, after parting with the
+Storaces, on their leaving for England,
+with a hope that the mighty
+master would soon be allured to follow
+them, that his Bohemian visit
+was paid.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"In the very same week that he parted
+from his English friends, Mozart himself
+set out upon a journey to Prague, whither
+he had been very cordially invited
+by a distinguished nobleman and connoisseur,
+Count John Joseph Thun, who
+maintained in his service an excellent
+private band. This was the first professional
+expedition of any consequence
+<!-- Page 584 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_584" id="Page_584">[Pg 584]</a></span>in which he had engaged since his settlement
+in Vienna; it was prosecuted
+under the most favourable auspices, and
+with glowing anticipations of that pleasure
+for which he so ardently longed,
+but so imperfectly realized at home&mdash;the
+entire sympathy of the public. Nor
+was he disappointed. On the same
+evening that he alighted at the castle
+of his noble entertainer, his opera of
+'Figaro' was given at the theatre, and
+Mozart found himself for the first time
+in the midst of that Bohemian audience
+of whose enthusiasm and taste he had
+heard so much. The news of his presence
+in the theatre quickly ran through
+the parterre, and the overture was no
+sooner ended than the whole audience
+rose and gave him a general acclamation
+of welcome, amidst deafening salvos
+of applause.</p>
+
+<p>"The success of 'Le Nozze di Figaro,'
+so unsatisfactory at Vienna, was unexampled
+at Prague, where it amounted
+to absolute intoxication and frenzy.
+Having run through the whole previous
+winter without interruption, and rescued
+the treasury of the theatre from ruinous
+embarrassments, the opera was arranged
+in every possible form; for the pianoforte,
+for wind-instruments (garden
+music,) as violin quintets for the chamber,
+and German dances; in short, the
+melodies of 'Figaro' re-echoed in
+every street and every garden; nay,
+even the blind harper himself, at the
+door of the beer-house, was obliged to
+strike up <i>Non pi&ugrave; andrai</i> if he wished
+to gain an audience, or earn a kreutzer.
+Such was the effect of the popular parts
+of the opera on the public at large; its
+more refined beauties exercised an equal
+influence on musicians. The director of
+the orchestra, Strobach, under whose
+superintendence 'Figaro' was executed
+at Prague, often declared the excitement
+and emotion of the band in accompanying
+this work to have been
+such, that there was not a man among
+them, himself included, who, when the
+performance was finished, would not
+have cheerfully recommenced and played
+the whole through again.</p>
+
+<p>"Finding himself, at length, in a region
+of sympathy so genial and delightful, a
+new era in the existence of the composer
+seemed to open, and he abandoned
+himself without reserve to its pleasures.
+In retracing a life so ill rewarded by
+contemporaries, and so checkered by
+calamity, it is pleasant to dally awhile
+in the primrose path, and enjoy the
+opening prospects of good fortune.</p>
+
+<p>"In a few days he was called upon to
+give a grand concert at the opera-house.
+This was in reality his first public appearance,
+and many circumstances conspire
+to render it memorable; but
+chiefly that every piece throughout the
+performance was of his own composition.
+The concert ended by an improvisation
+on the pianoforte. Having preluded
+and played a fantasia, which lasted
+a good half-hour, Mozart rose; but the
+stormy and outrageous applause of his
+Bohemian audience was not to be appeased,
+and he again sat down. His
+second fantasia, which was of an entirely
+different character, met with the same
+success; the applause was without end,
+and long after he had retired to the
+withdrawing-room, he heard the people
+in the theatre <i>thundering</i> for his re-appearance.
+Inwardly delighted, he presented
+himself for the third time. Just
+as he was about to begin, when every
+noise was hushed, and the stillness of
+death reigned throughout the theatre, a
+voice in the pit cried '<i>from Figaro</i>.'
+He took the hint, and ended this triumphant
+display of skill by extemporising
+a dozen of the most interesting and scientific
+variations upon the air <i>Non pi&ugrave;
+andrai</i>. It is needless to mention the
+uproar that followed. The concert was
+altogether found so delightful, that a second,
+upon the same plan, soon followed.
+A sonnet was written in his honour, and
+his performances brought him one thousand
+florins. Wherever he appeared
+in public, it was to meet testimonies of
+esteem and affection. His emotion at
+the reception of 'Figaro' in Prague
+was so great, that he could not help saying
+to the manager, Bondini, 'As the
+Bohemians understand me so well, I
+must write an opera on purpose for
+them.' Bondini took him at his word,
+and entered with him, on the spot, into
+a contract to furnish his theatre with an
+opera for the ensuing winter. Thus
+was laid the foundation of 'Il Don Giovanni.'"</p></div>
+
+<p>The greatest of Mozart's operas was
+composed at Prague, on a second
+visit thither in 1787, when he lived
+with a musical friend in the suburbs
+of the city. "Here, on an elevated
+site which commanded a view of the
+antique magnificence of Prague, its
+faded castles, ruined cloisters, and
+other majestic remains of feudal times,
+under the mild rays of an autumnal
+sun, and in the open air, <i>Don Giovanni</i>
+was written." It was immediately<!-- Page 585 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_585" id="Page_585">[Pg 585]</a></span>
+brought out at Prague with
+the success it deserves, and was afterwards
+performed at Vienna, but was
+badly got up, and but indifferently
+received. "Don Giovanni," said its
+author, "was rather written for
+Prague than Vienna, but chiefly for
+myself and my friends." It is a disgraceful
+fact, that it was eclipsed in
+popularity among the Viennese by
+the "Tarrare" of Salieri, of which no
+one now knows any thing.</p>
+
+<p>In 1787 Mozart's father died at
+Salzburg, less happy, it is to be feared,
+than his own worth and his son's
+genius should have made him. But
+he was ignorant of the great truth,
+that fame, and often merely posthumous
+fame, is the chief external blessing
+that awaits men of extraordinary
+mental powers in the arts, and that
+the appropriate reward of genius, any
+more than of virtue, is not always&mdash;"bread."
+On hearing of his father's
+illness, Mozart had written him in affectionate
+terms&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"I have just received some news
+which has given me a sad blow; the
+more so, as your last letter left me
+reason to suppose that you were in perfect
+health. I now, however, learn that
+you are really very ill. How anxiously
+I await and hope for some comforting
+intelligence from you I need hardly say,
+although I have long since accustomed
+myself in all things to expect the worst.
+As death, rightly considered, fulfils the
+real design of our life, I have for the
+last two years made myself so well acquainted
+with this true friend of mankind,
+that his image has no longer any
+terrors for me, but much that is peaceful
+and consoling; and I thank God
+that he has given me the opportunity
+to know him as the key to our true
+felicity. I never lie down in bed without
+reflecting that, perhaps (young as I
+am), I may never see another day; yet
+no one who knows me will say that I
+am gloomy or morose in society. For
+this blessing I daily thank my Creator,
+and from my heart wish it participated
+by my fellow-men."</p></div>
+
+<p>In the autumn of the same year, he
+lost a valued and valuable friend in
+Dr Barisani of Vienna, whose medical
+attentions had already been eminently
+useful to him, and might, if they had
+been continued, have saved him from
+those irregularities of alternate labour
+and indulgence which so soon afterwards
+began to affect his health.
+Mozart made, on this occasion, an
+affecting entry in his memorandum-book,
+under some lines which his
+friend had written for him.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"To-day, the 2d of September, I
+have had the misfortune to lose, through
+an unexpected death, this honourable
+man, by best and dearest friend, and the
+preserver of my life. He is happy!&mdash;but
+I&mdash;we, and all who thoroughly
+knew him, cannot again be so&mdash;till we
+have the felicity to meet him in a better
+world, never again to separate."</p></div>
+
+<p>In 1789, Mozart visited Prussia,
+where he was well received by every
+one, and seems to have been happy.
+We may here insert part of a well-known
+letter, written about this time,
+to an amateur baron, which gives a
+curious picture of Mozart's character
+and habits, as well as of the mixed
+tone of good humour and good sense
+with which he seems to have both
+written and conversed. The baron
+had sent him some tolerable music,
+and some better wine.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"<span class="smcap">To the Baron V&mdash;&mdash;.</span></p>
+
+<p>"Herewith I return you, my good
+baron, your scores; and if you perceive
+that in my hand there are more <i>nota
+benes</i> than notes, you will find from the
+sequel of this letter how that has happened.
+Your symphony has pleased
+me, on account of its ideas, more than
+the other pieces, and yet I think that
+it will produce the least effect. It is
+too much crowded, and to hear it partially
+or piecemeal (<i>st&uuml;ckweise</i>) would
+be, by your permission, like beholding
+an ant-hill (<i>Ameisen haufen</i>). I mean
+to say, that it is as if Eppes, the devil,
+were in it.</p>
+
+<p>"You must not snap your fingers at
+me, my dearest friend, for I would not
+for all the world have spoken out so
+candidly if I could have supposed that
+it would give you offence. Nor need
+you wonder at this; for it is so with all
+composers who, without having from
+their infancy, as it were, been trained
+by the whip and the curses (<i>Donnerwetter</i>)
+of the maestro, pretend to do every
+thing with natural talent alone. Some
+compose fairly enough, but with other
+people's ideas, not possessing any themselves;
+others, who have ideas of their
+own, do not understand how to treat
+and master them. This last is your case.
+<!-- Page 586 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_586" id="Page_586">[Pg 586]</a></span>Only do not be angry, pray! for St
+Cecilia's sake, not angry that I break out
+so abruptly. But your song has a beautiful
+cantabile, and your dear <i>Fraenzl</i>
+ought to sing it very often to you, which
+I should like as much to see as to hear.
+The minuet in the quartet is also pleasing
+enough, particularly from the place I
+have marked. The <i>coda</i>, however, may
+well clatter or tinkle, but it will never
+produce <i>music</i>; <i>sapienti sat</i>, and also to
+the <i>nihil sapienti</i>, by whom I mean myself.
+I am not very expert in writing
+on such subjects; I rather show at
+once how it ought to be done.</p>
+
+<p>"You cannot imagine with what joy
+I read your letter; only you ought not
+to have praised me so much. We may
+get accustomed to the hearing of such
+things, but to read them is not quite so
+well. You good people make too much
+of me; I do not deserve it, nor my compositions
+either. And what shall I say
+to your present, my dearest baron, that
+came like a star in a dark night, or like
+a flower in winter, or like a cordial in
+sickness? God knows how I am obliged,
+at times, to toil and labour to gain a
+wretched livelihood, and St&auml;nerl, (Constance,)
+too, must get something.</p>
+
+<p>"To him who has told you that I am
+growing idle, I request you sincerely
+(and a baron may well do such a thing)
+to give him a good box on the ear.
+How gladly would I work and work, if
+it were only left me to write always
+such music as I please, and as I can
+write; such, I mean to say, as I myself
+set some value upon. Thus I composed
+three weeks ago an orchestral symphony,
+and by to-morrow's post I write again
+to Hoffmeister (the music-seller) to
+offer him three pianoforte quatuors,
+supposing that he is able to pay. Oh
+heavens! were I a wealthy man, I would
+say, 'Mozart, compose what you please,
+and as well as you can; but till you
+offer me something finished, you shall
+not get a single kreutzer. I'll buy of
+you every MS., and you shall not be
+obliged to go about and offer it for sale
+like a hawker.' Good God! how sad all
+this makes me, and then again how angry
+and savage, and it is in such a state of
+mind that I do things which ought not
+to be done. You see, my dear good
+friend, so it is, and not as stupid or vile
+wretches (<i>lumpen</i>) may have told you.
+Let this, however, go <i>a cassa del
+diavolo</i>.</p>
+
+<p>"I now come to the most difficult
+part of your letter, which I would willingly
+pass over in silence, for here my
+pen denies me its service. Still I will
+try, even at the risk of being well
+laughed at. You say, you should like
+to know my way of composing, and
+what method I follow in writing works
+of some extent. I can really say no
+more on this subject than the following;
+for I myself know no more about
+it, and cannot account for it. When I
+am, as it were, completely myself, entirely
+alone, and of good cheer&mdash;say,
+travelling in a carriage, or walking
+after a good meal, or during the night
+when I cannot sleep; it is on such occasions
+that my ideas flow best and most
+abundantly. <i>Whence</i> and <i>how</i> they
+come, I know not; nor can I force
+them. Those ideas that please me I
+retain in memory, and am accustomed,
+as I have been told, to hum them to
+myself. If I continue in this way, it
+soon occurs to me how I may turn this
+or that morsel to account, so as to make
+a good dish of it; that is to say, agreeably
+to the rules of counterpoint, to the
+peculiarities of the various instruments,
+&amp;c.</p>
+
+<p>"All this fires my soul, and, provided
+I am not disturbed, my subject
+enlarges itself, becomes methodized
+and defined, and the whole, though it
+be long, stands almost complete and
+finished in my mind, so that I can survey
+it, like a fine picture or a beautiful
+statue, at a glance. Nor do I hear in
+my imagination the parts <i>successively</i>,
+but I hear them, as it were, all at once
+(<i>gleich alles zusammen</i>.) What a delight
+this is I cannot tell! All this inventing,
+this producing, takes place in a pleasing
+lively dream. Still the actual hearing
+of the <i>tout ensemble</i> is after all the best.
+What has been thus produced I do not
+easily forget, and this is perhaps the
+best gift I have my Divine Maker to
+thank for.</p>
+
+<p>"When I proceed to write down my
+ideas, I take out of the bag of my memory,
+if I may use that phrase, what
+has previously been collected into it in
+the way I have mentioned. For this
+reason the committing to paper is done
+quickly enough, for every thing is, as I
+said before, already finished; and it
+rarely differs on paper from what it was
+in my imagination. At this occupation,
+I can therefore suffer myself to be disturbed;
+for whatever may be going on
+around me, I write, and even talk, but
+only of fowls and geese, or of Gretel or
+B&auml;rbel, or some such matters. But
+<!-- Page 587 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_587" id="Page_587">[Pg 587]</a></span>why my productions take from my hand
+that particular form and style that makes
+them <i>Mozartish</i>, and different from the
+works of other composers, is probably
+owing to the same cause which renders
+my nose so or so large, so aquiline, or,
+in short, makes it Mozart's, and different
+from those of other people. For I
+really do not study or aim at any originality;
+I should, in fact, not be able to
+describe in what mine consists, though
+I think it quite natural that persons who
+have really an individual appearance of
+their own, are also differently organized
+from others, both externally and internally.
+At least I know that I have constituted
+myself neither one way nor the
+other.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>"Here, my best friend and well-wisher,
+the pages are full, and the bottle
+of your wine, which has done the duty
+of this day, is nearly empty. But since
+the letter which I wrote to my father-in-law,
+to request the hand of my wife,
+I hardly ever have written such an
+enormously long one. Pray take nothing
+ill. In speaking, as in writing, I
+must show myself as I am, or I must
+hold my tongue, and throw my pen
+aside. My last word shall be&mdash;my dearest
+friend, keep me in kind remembrance.
+Would to God I could one day be the
+cause of so much joy to you as you have
+been to me. Well! I drink to you in
+this glass: long live my good and faithful &mdash;&mdash;."
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">"W. A. Mozart"</span>.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>Before he left Prussia, the King
+offered him an appointment and a
+liberal pension. "Can I leave my
+good Emperor?" said Mozart with
+emotion. The proposal, however,
+made its impression, and shortly
+afterwards probably encouraged him, at
+Vienna, on occasion of fresh intrigues
+against him, to tender his resignation
+of his paltry situation there. But a
+kind-like appeal from his imperial
+patron drove him at once from his
+intention, and fixed him where he
+was. It was afterwards hinted to
+him that he might, at least, have
+taken this opportunity to stipulate for
+a better provision for himself. "Satan
+himself," he replied, "would
+hardly have thought of bargaining at
+such a moment."</p>
+
+<p>The year 1789-90 seems to have
+been about the most disastrous in the
+situation of his affairs, and led to the
+most unhappy results.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The music-shops, as a source of income,
+were almost closed to him, as he
+could not submit his genius to the dictates
+of fashion. Hoffmeister, the publisher,
+having once advised him to write
+in a more <i>popular</i> style, or he could not
+continue to purchase his compositions,
+he answered with unusual bitterness,
+'Then I can make no more by my pen,
+and I had better starve, and go to destruction
+at once.' The fits of dejection
+which he experienced were partly the
+effect of bodily ailments, but more of a
+weariness with the perplexity of affairs,
+and of a prospect which afforded him
+but one object on which he could gaze
+with certainty of relief, and that was&mdash;death.
+Constant disappointment introduced
+him to indulgences which he
+had not before permitted himself.</p>
+
+<p>"He became wild in the pursuit of
+pleasure; whatever changed the scene
+was delightful to him, and the more extravagant
+the better. His associates,
+and the frequent guests at his table,
+were recommended by their animal
+spirits and capacity as boon companions.
+They were stage-players and orchestral
+musicians, low and unprincipled persons,
+whose acquaintance injured him still
+more in reputation than in purse.
+Two of these men, Schickaneder,
+the director of a theatre (for whom
+Mozart wrote the 'Zauberfl&ouml;te,') and
+Stadler, a clarionet-player, are known
+to have behaved with gross dishonesty
+towards the composer; and yet he forgave
+them, and continued their benefactor.
+The society of Schickaneder, a
+man of grotesque humour, often in difficulties,
+but of inexhaustible cheerfulness
+and good-fellowship, had attractions for
+Mozart, and led him into some excesses
+that contributed to the disorder of his
+health, as he was obliged to retrieve at
+night the hours lost in the day. A long-continued
+irregularity of income, also,
+disposed him to make the most of any
+favourable moment; and when a few
+rouleaus of gold brought the means of
+enjoyment, the Champagne and Tokay
+began to flow. This course is unhappily
+no novelty in the shifting life of genius,
+overworked and ill-rewarded, and seeking
+to throw off its cares in the pursuits
+and excitements of vulgar existence. It
+is necessary to know the composer as a
+man of pleasure, in order to understand
+certain allusions in the correspondence
+of his last years, when his affairs were
+in the most embarrassed condition, and
+his absence from Vienna frequently
+<!-- Page 588 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_588" id="Page_588">[Pg 588]</a></span>caused by the pressure of creditors.
+He appears at this time to have experienced
+moments of poignant self-reproach.
+His love of dancing, masquerades,
+masked balls, &amp;c., was so great,
+that he did not willingly forego an opportunity
+of joining any one of those
+assemblies, whether public or private.
+He dressed handsomely, and wished to
+make a favourable impression in society
+independently of his music. He was sensitive
+with regard to his figure, and was
+annoyed when he heard that the Prussian
+ambassador had said to some one, 'You
+must not estimate the genius of Mozart
+by the insignificance of his exterior.'
+The extremity of his animal spirits may
+occasion surprise. He composed pantomimes
+and ballets, and danced in them
+himself, and at the carnival balls sometimes
+assumed a character. He was
+actually incomparable in Arlequin and
+Pierrot. The public masquerades at
+Vienna, during the carnival, were supported
+with all the vivacity of Italy;
+the emperor occasionally mingled in
+them, and his example was generally
+followed. We are not, therefore, to
+measure these enjoyments by our colder
+northern notions."</p></div>
+
+<p>It should be added, what Mr
+Holmes tells us on good authority,
+that the vice of ebriety was not
+among Mozart's failings. "He drank
+to the point of exhilaration, but not
+beyond." His fondness for ballet-dancing
+may seem strange to us, who
+have almost a Roman repugnance to
+such exhibitions in men of good station.
+But it is possible that in some
+minds the love of graceful motion may
+be a refined passion and an exalted
+art; and it is singular that Mozart's
+wife told of him, that, in his own estimation,
+his taste lay in dancing
+rather than in music.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"That these scenes of extravagant
+delight seduced him into occasional indulgences,
+which cannot be reconciled
+with the purity of his earlier life, it
+would be the worst affectation in his
+biographer to deny. Nor is it necessary
+to the vindication of Mozart that such
+temporary errors should be suppressed
+by a feeling of mistaken delicacy. Living
+such a round of excitements, and
+tortured by perpetual misfortunes,
+there is nothing very surprising in the
+fact, that he should sometimes have been
+drawn into the dangerous vortex; but
+he redeemed the true nobility of his
+nature by preserving, in the midst of
+his hasty inconstancies, the most earnest
+and unfailing attachment to his
+home. It is a curious illustration of his
+real character, that he always confessed
+his transgressions to his wife, who had
+the wise generosity to pardon them,
+from that confidence in his truth which
+survived alike the troubles and temptations
+of their checkered lives."</p></div>
+
+<p>Let none lightly dare either to condemn
+or to imitate the irregularities
+of life of such wondrous men as Mozart
+and our own Burns. Those who
+may be gifted with equally strong and
+exquisite sensibilities as they, as fine
+and flexible affections, as bright an
+imagination, beautifying every object
+on which its rainbow colours rest, and
+who have been equally tried by affliction
+and misconstruction, and equally
+tempted by brilliant opportunities of
+pleasure in the intervals of penury
+and pain&mdash;these, if they stand fast,
+may be allowed to speak, and they
+will seldom speak uncharitably, of
+their brethren who have fallen; or, if
+they fall, they may be heard to plead
+a somewhat similar excuse. But let
+ordinary men, and men less extraordinary
+than those we speak of, beware
+how they either refer to them as
+a reproach, or follow them as an
+example.</p>
+
+<p>The excesses of men of genius are
+always exaggerated by their enemies,
+and often overrated even by their
+friends and companions. With characteristic
+fervour they enter enthusiastically
+into every thing in which
+they engage; and, when they indulge
+in dissipation, delight to sport on the
+brink of all its terrors, and to outvie
+in levity and extravagance the most
+practised professors of their new art.
+Few that see or hear them think, that
+even in the midst of their revels their
+hearts are often far away, or are extracting
+good from the evil spread
+before them; and that all the waste
+of time and talent, so openly and
+ostentatiously exhibited, is compensated
+in secret by longer and intenser
+application to the true object of their
+pursuit, and by acts of atonement
+and self-denial, of which the conscious
+stars of heaven are the only created
+witnesses. The worst operation of
+dissolute indulgences on genius is not,
+perhaps, in producing depravity of<!-- Page 589 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_589" id="Page_589">[Pg 589]</a></span>
+heart or habits, for its pure plumes
+have a virtue about them that is a
+preservative against pollution; but in
+wearing out the frame, ruffling the
+temper, and depressing the spirits,
+and thus embittering as well as shortening
+a career that, even when most
+peaceful and placid, is often destined
+to be short and sad enough.</p>
+
+<p>The good-natured sympathy which
+Mozart always felt in the welfare of
+the very humblest of his brethren of
+the lyre, is highly creditable to him.
+But the extent to which he sacrificed
+his own interests to serve them, was
+often any thing but prudent. He was
+devoid of every sordid and avaricious
+feeling, and indeed carried his generosity
+to an excess.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The extreme kindness of his nature
+was grossly abused by artful performers,
+music-sellers, and managers of theatres.
+Whenever any poor artists,
+strangers in Vienna, applied to him for
+assistance, he offered them the use of
+his house and table, introduced them to
+the persons whom he thought could be
+of use to them, and frequently composed
+for their use concertos, of which
+he did not even keep a copy, in order
+that they might have the exclusive advantage
+of playing them. But, not
+content with this, they sold these pieces
+to music-publishers; and thus repaid
+his kindness by robbing him. He seldom
+received any recompense for his
+pianoforte compositions, but generally
+wrote them for his friends, who were,
+of course, anxious to possess some work
+of his for their own use, and suited to
+their powers of playing. Artaria, a
+music-seller of Vienna, and other members
+of the trade, contrived to get possession
+of many of these pieces, and published
+them without obtaining the author's
+consent, or making him any remuneration
+for them. A Polish count, who
+was invited to a concert at Mozart's
+house, heard a quintet performed for the
+first time, with which he was so greatly
+delighted that he asked Mozart to compose
+for him a trio for the flute. Mozart
+agreed, on condition that he should do
+it at his own time. The count next day
+sent a polite note, expressive of his
+thanks for the pleasure he had enjoyed,
+and, along with it, one hundred gold
+demi-sovereigns (about &pound;100 sterling.)
+Mozart immediately sent him the original
+score of the quintet that had
+pleased him so much. The count returned
+to Vienna a year afterwards, and,
+calling upon Mozart, enquired for the
+trio. Mozart said that he had never
+found himself in a disposition to write
+any thing worthy of his acceptance.
+"Perhaps, then," said the count, "you
+may find yourself in a disposition to return
+me the hundred demi-sovereigns
+I paid you beforehand." Mozart instantly
+handed him the money, but the
+count said not a word about the quintet;
+and the composer soon afterwards had
+the satisfaction of seeing it published by
+Artaria, arranged as a quartet, for the
+pianoforte, violin, tenor, and violoncello.
+Mozart's quintets for wind instruments,
+published also as pianoforte quartets,
+are among the most charming and popular
+of his instrumental compositions for
+the chamber; and this anecdote is a
+specimen of the manner in which he lost
+the benefit he ought to have derived,
+even from his finest works. The opera
+of the 'Zauberfl&ouml;te' was composed for
+the purpose of relieving the distresses of
+a manager, who had been ruined by unsuccessful
+speculations, and came to implore
+his assistance. Mozart gave him
+the score without price, with full permission
+to perform it in his own theatre,
+and for his own benefit; only stipulating
+that he was not to give a copy to any
+one, in order that the author might
+afterwards be enabled to dispose of the
+copyright. The manager promised
+strict compliance with the condition.
+The opera was brought out, filled his
+theatre and his pockets, and, some short
+time afterwards, appeared at five or six
+different theatres, by means of copies
+received from the grateful manager."</p></div>
+
+<p>Mozart's career, when hastening to
+its close, was illumined by gleams of
+prosperity that came but too late.
+On returning from Prague, in Nov.
+1791, from bringing out the <i>Clemenza
+di Tito</i>, at the coronation of Leopold,
+the new Emperor&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"He found awaiting him the appointment
+of kapell-meister to the cathedral
+church of St Stephen, with all its emoluments,
+besides extensive commissions
+from Holland and Hungary for works
+to be periodically delivered. This,
+with his engagements for the theatres
+of Prague and Vienna, assured him of
+a competent income for the future,
+exempt from all necessity for degrading
+employment. But prospects of
+worldly happiness were now phantoms
+that only came to mock his helplessness,
+and embitter his parting hour."</p>
+
+
+<p><!-- Page 590 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_590" id="Page_590">[Pg 590]</a></span>"Now must I go," he would exclaim,
+"just as I should be able to live in
+peace; now leave my art when, no
+longer the slave of fashion, nor the
+tool of speculators, I could follow the
+dictates of my own feeling, and write
+whatever my heart prompts. I must
+leave my family&mdash;my poor children, at
+the very instant in which I should have
+been able to provide for their welfare."</p></div>
+
+<p>The story of his composing the
+requiem for a mysterious stranger, and
+his melancholy forebodings during its
+composition, are too well known to
+require repetition here. The incident,
+to all appearance, was not extraordinary
+in itself, and owed its imposing
+character chiefly to the morbid state
+of Mozart's mind at the time.</p>
+
+<p>On the 5th of December 1791, the
+ill-defined disease under which he had
+for some time laboured, ended in his
+dissolution; and subsequent examination
+showed that inflammation of the
+brain had taken place. He felt that
+he was dying&mdash;"The taste of death,"
+he said to his sister-in-law, "is already
+on my tongue&mdash;<i>I taste death</i>;
+and who will be near to support my
+Constance if you go away?"</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"S&uuml;ssmayer (an assistant) was standing
+by the bedside, and on the counterpane
+lay the 'Requiem,' concerning
+which Mozart was still speaking and
+giving directions. As he looked over
+its pages for the last time, he said,
+with tears in his eyes, 'Did I not tell
+you that I was writing this for myself?'"</p>
+
+<p>It should be added that this "S&uuml;ssmayer,
+who had obtained possession of
+one transcript of the 'Requiem,' the
+other having been delivered to the
+stranger immediately after Mozart's decease,
+published the score some years
+afterwards, claiming to have composed
+from the <i>Sanctus</i> to the end. As there was
+no one to contradict this extraordinary
+story, it found partial credit until 1839,
+when a full score of the 'Requiem' in
+Mozart's handwriting was discovered."</p></div>
+
+<p>We have now done. The life and
+character that we have been considering,
+speak for themselves. Mozart
+is not perhaps the greatest
+composer that ever lived, but Handel
+only is greater than he; and to be
+second to Handel, seems now to
+us the highest conceivable praise.
+Yet, in some departments, Mozart
+was even greater than his predecessor.
+It is not our intention to
+characterise his excellences as a composer.
+The millions of mankind that
+he has delighted in one form or other,
+according to their opportunities and
+capacities, have spoken his best panegyric
+in the involuntary accents of
+open and enthusiastic admiration;
+and his name will for ever be sweet
+in the ear of every one who has
+music in his soul.</p>
+
+<p>Two remarks only we will make upon
+Mozart's taste and system as a master.
+The first is, that he invariably considered
+and proclaimed, that the great object
+of music was, not to astonish by its
+difficulty, but to delight by its beauty.
+Some of his own compositions are
+difficult as well as beautiful, and in
+some the beauty may be too transcendental
+for senses less exalted than his
+own. But the production of <i>pleasure</i>,
+in all its varied forms and degrees,
+was his uniform aim and effort; and
+no master has been more successful.
+Our next remark is, that, with all his
+genius, he was a laborious and learned
+musician; and the monument to his
+own fame which he has completed in
+his works, was built upon the most anxious,
+heartfelt, and humble study of
+all the works of excellence that then
+existed, and without knowing and
+understanding which, he truly felt
+that he could never have equalled or
+surpassed them.<!-- Page 591 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_591" id="Page_591">[Pg 591]</a></span></p>
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3>
+
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> <i>The Life of Mozart, including his Correspondence.</i> By <span class="smcap">Edward Holmes</span>
+Author of "A Ramble among the Musicians of Germany." London: Chapman and
+Hall. 1845</p></div></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="biggap">
+<h2><a name="TO_THE_EDITOR_OF_BLACKWOODS_MAGAZINE" id="TO_THE_EDITOR_OF_BLACKWOODS_MAGAZINE"></a>TO THE EDITOR OF BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE.</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="blockquot"><p><span class="smcap">Sir</span>,&mdash;The accompanying narrative was originally sent from the Sandwich
+Islands in the shape of a letter. Since my return to England, it has been
+suggested to me that it would suit your pages. If you think so, I shall be
+happy to place it at your disposal. The ground-plan annexed is intended
+merely to assist the description: it has no pretensions to strict accuracy, the
+distances have been estimated, not measured.&mdash;I remain, Sir, your obedient
+servant,</p></div>
+
+
+<h6>  An Officer of the Royal Navy.</h6><br />
+
+
+
+<h2>ACCOUNT OF A VISIT TO THE VOLCANO OF KIRAUEA, IN OWHYHEE,
+SANDWICH ISLANDS, IN SEPTEMBER 1844.
+</h2>
+<p>The ship being about to proceed to
+Byron's Bay, (the Hilo of the natives,)
+on the N.E. side of Owhyhee, to
+water, the captain arranged, that to
+give all opportunity to all those who
+wished to visit the volcano, distant
+from the anchorage forty miles, the excursion
+should be made in two parties.
+Having anchored on Wednesday the
+11th of September, he and several of
+the officers left Hilo early on the 12th;
+they travelled on horseback, and returned
+on the ensuing Monday, highly
+delighted with their trip, but giving a
+melancholy description of the road,
+which they pronounced to be in some
+places impassable to people on foot.
+This latter intelligence was disheartening
+to the second division, some of
+whom, and myself of the number, had
+intended to walk. These, notwithstanding,
+adhered to their resolution;
+and the second party, consisting of
+eight, left the ship at 6 <span class="smcap">a.m.</span> on Tuesday.
+Some on horseback, and some
+on foot, we got away from the village
+about eight o'clock, attended by thirteen
+natives, to whose calabashes our
+prog and clothing had been transferred;
+these calabashes answer this purpose
+admirably; they are gourds of
+enormous size, cut through rather
+above their largest diameter, which is
+from eighteen inches to two feet; the
+half of another gourd forms the lid,
+and keeps all clean and dry within;
+when filled, they are hung by net-work
+to each end of a pole thrown
+across the shoulders of a native, who
+will thus travel with a load of fifty or
+sixty pounds about three miles an
+hour. The day was fine and bright,
+and we started in high spirits, the
+horsemen hardly able to conceal their
+exultation in their superiority over
+the walkers, whilst they cantered over
+the plain from which our ascent commenced;
+this, 4000 feet almost gradual
+in forty miles, is not fatiguing;
+and thus, although we found the path
+through a wood about three miles
+long, very deep, and the air oppressive,
+we all arrived together without
+distress at the "half-way house," by
+1 <span class="smcap">p.m.</span> Suppose a haystack hollowed
+out, and some holes cut for doors
+and windows, and you have a picture
+of the "half-way house," and the ordinary
+dwellings of the natives of these
+islands; it is kept by a respectable
+person, chiefly for the accommodation
+of travellers, and in it we found
+the comfort of a table, a piece of furniture
+by these people usually considered
+superfluous. Here we soon
+made ourselves snug, commencing by
+throwing ourselves on the mats, and
+allowing a dozen vigorous urchins to
+"rumi rumi" us. In this process of
+shampooing, every muscle is kneaded
+or beaten; the refreshing luxury it
+affords can only be perfectly appreciated
+by those who have, like us,
+walked twenty miles on a bad road, in
+a tropical climate. Here we were to
+stay the night, and our first object
+was to prepare dinner and then to eat
+it; all seemed disposed to assist in
+the last part of this operation, and
+where every one was anxious to
+please, and determined to be pleased,
+sociability could not be absent. After
+this we whiled away our time with
+books and conversation, till one by
+one dropping asleep, all became quiet,
+except a wretched child belonging to
+our hostess, who, from one corner of
+the hut, every now and then set up its
+shrill pipe to disturb our slumbers.<!-- Page 592 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_592" id="Page_592">[Pg 592]</a></span></p>
+ <h2>Map of the Crater.</h2>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/crater-img.jpg" width="400" height="508" alt="Map of the Crater."></img></div>
+
+<div class="center">
+<div class="biggap">
+<i>Explanation of Plan:&mdash;</i></div></div>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="10" summary="0">
+<tr><td class="img">A A</td><td align='center'>The outer rim.</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="img">B B</td><td align='center'>The inner rim.</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="img">C</td><td align='center'>The active crater.</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="img">D D D D D</td><td align='center'>The surface of the larger crater.</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="img">E E E E</td><td align='center'>The dike.</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="img">F</td><td align='center'>The house.</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="img">G</td><td align='center'>The hut.</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="img">H H</td><td align='center'>Track to and from crater.</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="img">I I</td><td align='center'>Track of party on Wednesday night.</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="img"><i>o o o o o o</i></td><td align='center'> Cones in large crater.</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<p> We were on the march the next morning
+at six, the walkers more confident
+than the horsemen, some of whose
+beasts did not seem at all disposed for
+another day's work. Our road lay for
+the most part through immense seas of
+lava, in the crevices of which a variety
+of ferns had taken root, and, though relieving
+the otherwise <i>triste</i> appearance,
+in many places shut out our view of
+any thing besides. Two of the walkers,
+and some of the horsemen, came
+in at the journey's end, shortly after
+eleven o'clock; the remainder, some
+leaving their horses behind them,
+straggled in by two <span class="smcap">p.m.</span> Here we
+were at the crater! Shall I confess
+that my first feeling was disappointment?
+The plan shows some distance
+between the outer and inner rims,
+immediately below the place where the
+house (F) is situated; this is filled up
+by another level, which shuts out a <!-- Page 593 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_593" id="Page_593">[Pg 593]</a></span>
+great part of the prospect; the remainder
+was too distant, and the
+sun's rays too powerful, to allow of our
+seeing more than a quantity of smoke,
+and an occasional fiery ebullition from
+the further extremity. It was not
+until we had walked to the hut (G)
+that we became sensible of the awful
+grandeur of the scene below; from
+this point we looked perpendicularly
+down on the blackened mass, and felt
+our insignificance. The path leads between
+many fissures in the ground,
+from which sulphurous vapour and
+steam issue; the latter, condensing on
+the surrounding bushes, and falling
+into holes in the compact lava, affords
+a supply of most excellent water.
+As evening set in, the active volcano
+assumed from the house the appearance
+of a city in flames; long intersecting
+lines of fire looked like streets
+in a blaze; and when here and there
+a more conspicuous burst took place,
+fancy pictured a church or some large
+building a prey to the element. Not
+contented with this distant view, three
+of our party started for the hut, whence
+in the afternoon we had so fine a
+prospect. When there, although our
+curiosity was highly gratified, it
+prompted us to see more; so, pressing
+a native into our service, we proceeded
+along the brink of the N.W. side,
+until, being nearly half-way round the
+outer circle of the crater, we had
+hoped to obtain almost a bird's-eye
+view of the active volcano; we were
+therefore extremely chagrined to find,
+that as we drew nearer our object, it
+was completely shut out by a ridge
+below the one on which we stood.
+Our walking had thus far been very
+difficult, if not dangerous, and this,
+with the fatigues of the morning, had
+nearly exhausted our perseverance.
+We determined, however, to make
+another effort before giving it up, and
+were repaid by the discovery of a
+spur which led us down, and thence
+through a short valley to the point
+where our track (I) terminates.
+We came in sight of the crater
+as we crested the hill; the view
+from hence was most brilliant. The
+crater appeared nearly circular, and
+was traversed in all directions by
+what seemed canals of fire intensely
+bright; several of these radiated from
+a centre near the N.E. edge, so as to
+form a star, from which a coruscation,
+as if of jets of burning gas, was
+emitted. In other parts were furnaces
+in terrible activity, and undergoing
+continual change, sometimes becoming
+comparatively dark, and then bursting
+forth, throwing up torrents of
+flame and molten lava. All around
+the edge it seemed exceedingly agitated,
+and noise like surf was audible;
+otherwise the stillness served to
+heighten the effect upon the senses,
+which it would be difficult to describe.
+The waning moon warned us to return,
+and reluctantly we retraced our
+steps; it required care to do this, so
+that we did not get back to the house
+before midnight. Worn out with the
+day's exertions, we threw ourselves
+on the ground and fell asleep, but not
+before I had revolved the possibility
+of standing at the brink of the active
+crater after nightfall. In the morning
+we matured the plan, which was
+to descend by daylight, so as to reconnoitre
+our road, to return to dinner,
+and then, if we thought it practicable,
+to leave the house about 5 P.M.,
+and to remain in the large crater till
+after night set in. The only objection
+to this scheme (and it was a most
+serious one) was, that when we mentioned
+it to the guides, they appeared
+completely horror-struck at the notion
+of it. Here, as elsewhere in the
+neighbourhood of volcanic activity,
+the common people have a superstitious
+dread of a presiding deity; in
+this place, especially, where they are
+scarcely rescued from heathenism,
+we were not surprised to find it. This,
+and their personal fears, (no human
+being ever having, as the natives
+assured us, entered the crater in darkness,)
+we then found insuperable: all
+we could do was to take the best
+guides we were able to procure with us
+by daylight, so that they should refresh
+their memories as to the <i>locale</i>,
+and ascertain if any change had taken
+place since their last visit, and trust
+to being able during our walk to persuade
+one to return with us in the
+evening. Accordingly we all left the
+house after breakfast, following the
+track marked (H), which led us precipitously
+down, till we landed on the
+surface of the large crater, an immense
+sheet of scoriaceous lava cooled
+suddenly from a state of fusion; the<!-- Page 594 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_594" id="Page_594">[Pg 594]</a></span>
+upheaved waves and deep hollows
+evidencing that congelation has taken
+place before the mighty agitation has
+subsided. It is dotted with cones
+60 or 70 feet high, and extensively
+intersected by deep cracks, from both
+of which sulphurous smoke ascends.
+It is surrounded by a wall about
+twelve miles in circumference, in most
+parts 1000 feet deep. I despair of
+conveying an idea of what our sensations
+were, when we first launched
+out on this fearful pit to cross to the
+active crater at the further end. With
+all the feeling of insecurity that attends
+treading on unsafe ice, was
+combined the utter sense of helplessness
+the desolation of the scene encouraged:
+it produced a sort of instinctive
+dread, such as brutes might
+be supposed to feel in such situations.
+This, however, soon left us, and attending
+our guides, who led us away
+to the right for about a mile, we
+turned abruptly to the left, and came
+upon a deep dike, which, running concentric
+with the sides, terminates near
+the active crater, with which I conceive
+its bottom is on a level. The
+lava had slipped into it where we
+crossed, and the loose blocks were
+difficult to scramble over. In the
+lowest part where these had not fallen,
+the fire appeared immediately beneath
+the surface. The guides here evinced
+great caution, trying with their poles
+before venturing their weight; the
+heat was intense, and made us glad
+to find ourselves again on <i>terra firma</i>,
+if that expression may be allowed
+where the walking was exceedingly
+disagreeable, owing to the hollowness
+of the lava, formed in great bubbles,
+that continually broke and let us in
+up to our knees. This dike has probably
+been formed by the drainage of
+the volcano by a lateral vent, as the
+part of the crater which it confines
+has sunk lower than that outside it,
+and the contraction caused by loss of
+heat may well account for its width,
+which varies from one to three hundred
+yards. In support of this opinion,
+I may mention, that in 1840 a
+molten river broke out, eight miles to
+the eastward, and, in some places six
+miles broad, rolled down to the sea,
+where it materially altered the line of
+coast. From where we crossed, there
+is a gradual rise until within 200 yards
+of the volcano, when the surface dips
+to its margin. Owing to this we
+came suddenly in view of it, and, lost
+in amazement, walked silently on to
+the brink. To the party who had
+made the excursion the previous
+evening, the surprise was not so great
+as to the others; moreover, a bright
+noonday sun, and a floating mirage
+which made it difficult to discern the
+real from the deceptive, robbed the
+scene of much of its brilliancy; still
+it was truly sublime, as a feeble attempt
+at description will show. This
+immense caldron, two and three quarter
+miles in circumference, is filled to
+within twenty feet of its brim with
+red molten lava, over which lies a
+thin scum resembling the slag on a
+smelting furnace. The whole surface
+was in fearful agitation. Great rollers
+followed each other to the side,
+and, breaking, disclosed deep edges of
+crimson. These were the canals of
+fire we had noticed the night before
+diverging from a common centre, and
+the furnaces in equal activity; while
+what had appeared to us like jets
+of gas, proved to be fitful spurts
+of lava, thrown up from all parts of
+the lake (though principally from the
+focus near the N.E. edge) a height of
+thirty feet. Most people probably
+would have been satisfied with having
+witnessed this magnificent spectacle;
+but our admiration was so little exhausted,
+that the idea continually
+suggested itself, "How grand would
+this be by night!" The party who
+had encountered the difficulties of the
+walk the night before, were convinced
+that no greater ones existed in that
+of to-day; and therefore, if it continued
+fine, and we could induce the guide
+to accompany us, the project was
+feasible. The avarice of one of these
+ultimately overcame his fears, and,
+under his direction, we again left the
+house at 5 <span class="smcap">p.m.</span>, and, returning by our
+old track, reached the hill above the
+crater about the time the sun set,
+though long after it had sunk below
+the edge of the pit. Here we halted,
+and smoking our cigars lit from the
+cracks (now red-hot) which we had
+passed unnoticed in the glare of the
+sunlight, waited until it became quite
+dark, when we moved on; and, great as
+had been our expectations, we found
+them faint compared with the awful<!-- Page 595 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_595" id="Page_595">[Pg 595]</a></span>
+sublimity of the scene before us. The
+slag now appeared semi-transparent,
+and so extensively perforated as to
+show one sheet of liquid fire, its waves
+rising high, and pouring over each
+other in magnificent confusion, forming
+a succession of cascades of unequalled
+grandeur; the canals, now
+incandescent, the restless activity of
+the numerous vents throwing out
+great volumes of molten lava, the
+terrible agitation, and the brilliancy
+of the jets, which, shooting high in the
+air, fell with an echoless, lead-like
+sound, breaking the otherwise impressive
+stillness; formed a picture
+that language (at least any that I
+know) is quite inadequate to describe.
+We felt this; for no one spoke except
+when betrayed into an involuntary
+burst of amazement. On our hands
+and knees we crawled to the brink,
+and lying at full length, and shading
+our faces with paper, looked down at
+the fiery breakers as they dashed
+against the side of the basin beneath.
+The excessive heat, and the fact that
+the spray was frequently dashed over
+the edge, put a stop to this fool-hardiness;
+but at a more rational distance
+we stood gazing, with our feelings of
+wonder and awe so intensely excited,
+that we paid no regard to the entreaties
+of our guide to quit the spot. He
+at last persuaded us of the necessity
+of doing so, by pointing to the moon,
+and her distance above the dense cloud
+which hung, a lurid canopy, above
+the crater. Taking a last look, we
+"fell in" in Indian file, and got back
+to the house, with no further accident
+than a few bruises, about ten o'clock.
+The walk had required caution, and
+it was long after I had closed my eyes
+ere the retina yielded the impressions
+that had been so nervously drawn on
+them. The next morning at nine, we
+started on our return to the ship,
+sauntering leisurely along, picking
+strawberries by the way, and enjoying
+all the satisfaction inherent to the
+successful accomplishment of an undertaking.
+With health and strength
+for any attempt we had been peculiarly
+favoured by the weather, and
+had thus done more than any who
+had preceded us. Our party, under
+these circumstances, was most joyous;
+so that, independent of the object, the
+relaxation itself was such as we creatures
+of habit and discipline seldom
+experience.</p>
+
+<p>To make this narrative more intelligible,
+it will be necessary to describe
+briefly the position and general
+features of this volcano, which
+does not, like most others, spring
+from a cone, but has excavated for
+itself a bed in the side of Mowna
+Roa, which rises 14,000 feet above
+the level of the sea; it is about sixteen
+miles distant from the summit of
+the mountain, wherein is an enormous
+extinct crater, from which this is probably
+the outlet; it is 4000 feet above
+the level of the sea, and twenty miles
+from the nearest coast line. Several
+distinct levels in the present crater
+prove that it has eaten its way to its
+present depth. On the most elevated
+of these large trees now grow, evidences
+of many years' tranquillity;
+lower down we come to shrubs, and
+lastly to the fern, apparently the most
+venturesome of the vegetable kingdom;
+it seems to require nothing but
+rest and water, for we found it shooting
+out of crevices where the lava
+appeared to have undergone no decomposition.
+Nowhere, I conceive,
+(not even in Iceland,) can be seen
+such stupendous volcanic efforts as in
+Owhyhee. The whole island, eighty-six
+miles long by seventy broad, and
+rising, as it does at Mowna Keah,
+more than 15,000 feet above the sea,
+would seem to have been formed by
+layers of lava imposed at different
+periods. Some of these have followed
+quickly on each other; while the
+thickness of soil, made up of vegetable
+mould and decomposed lava, indicates
+a long interval of repose between
+others. The present surface is comparatively
+recent, though there is no
+tradition of any but partial eruptions.</p>
+
+<p>"O Lord! how manifold are Thy
+works: in wisdom hast Thou made
+them all!"</p>
+
+<p>We reached the village the next
+day at 1 <span class="smcap">p.m.</span>, and after a refreshing
+bathe, returned on board to find the
+ship prepared for sea, to which we
+proceeded the following morning at
+four o'clock.<!-- Page 596 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_596" id="Page_596">[Pg 596]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="biggap">
+<h2><a name="THE_DAYS_OF_THE_FRONDE" id="THE_DAYS_OF_THE_FRONDE"></a>THE DAYS OF THE FRONDE.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>At the beginning of the present
+year, and upon the authority of M.
+Alexandre Dumas, we laid before the
+readers of this Magazine a sketch of
+certain incidents in the lives of three
+French guardsmen, who, in company
+with a young cadet of Gascony, fought,
+drank, loved, and plotted under the
+reign of Louis the Thirteenth and the
+rule of Richelieu. The sketch was incomplete:
+contrary to established practice,
+M. Dumas neither married nor killed
+his heroes; but after exposing them to
+innumerable perils, out of all of which
+they came triumphant, although from
+none did they derive any important
+benefit, he left them nearly as he
+found them&mdash;with their fortunes still
+to make, and with little to rely upon
+save their good swords and their
+dauntless courage. He promised,
+however, a continuation of their history,
+and that promise he has kept,
+but with a difference. Passing over a
+score of years, he again introduces us
+to the guardsmen, whom he left in the
+heyday of youth, and who have now
+attained, most of them passed, the
+sober age of forty.</p>
+
+<p>Twenty years later, then, we find
+D'Artagnan, the young Gascon gentleman
+aforesaid, alone upon the scene.
+His three friends, influenced by various
+motives, have retired from the
+corps of mousquetaires: Athos to reside
+upon a small estate in Poitou,
+Porthos to marry a rich widow,
+Aramis to become an abb&eacute;. D'Artagnan
+alone, having no estate to retire
+to larger than a cabbage-garden, no
+widow to marry, or inclination for the
+church, has stuck to the service with
+credit, but with small profit to himself;
+and the lieutenancy bestowed
+upon him by the Cardinal-Duke in
+1628, is still a lieutenancy in 1648,
+under Richelieu's less able, but equally
+ambitious successor, Cardinal Mazarine.
+Moreover, deprived, during the
+greater part of these twenty years, of
+the society of his three fiends, who
+had in some measure formed his character,
+and from the example of two of
+whom he had caught much of what
+chivalry and elegance he possessed&mdash;deprived
+also of opportunities of displaying
+those peculiar talents for bold
+intrigue, which had once enabled him
+to thwart the projects of Richelieu
+himself, D'Artagnan has degenerated
+into a mere trooper. His talents and
+shrewdness have not deserted him; on
+the contrary, the latter has increased
+with his experience of the world; but
+instead of being employed in the service
+of queens and princes, their exercise
+has been for some years confined
+to procuring their owner those physical
+and positive comforts which
+soldiers seek and prize&mdash;namely, a good
+table, comfortable quarters, and a complaisant
+hostess.</p>
+
+<p>Although thus making the best of
+his position, and only occasionally
+grumbling at the caprice of Dame
+Fortune, who seems entirely to have
+forgotten him, it is with a lively sensation
+of joy that D'Artagnan, one
+evening when on guard at the Palais
+Royal, hears himself summoned to the
+presence of Mazarine. It is at the
+commencement of the Fronde; the
+exactions of the cardinal have irritated
+the people, who show symptoms
+of open resistance; his enemies, already
+sufficiently numerous, are daily increasing
+and becoming more formidable.
+Mazarine trembles for his power,
+and looks around him for men of head
+and action, to aid him in breasting the
+storm and carrying out his schemes.
+He hears tell of the four guardsmen,
+whose fidelity and devotion had once
+saved the reputation of Anne of
+Austria, and baffled the most powerful
+minister France ever saw; these four
+men he resolves to make his own, and
+D'Artagnan is dispatched to find his
+three former companions, and induce
+them to espouse the cause of the
+cardinal. The mission is but partially
+successful. D'Artagnan finds Porthos,
+whose real name is Du Vallon, rich,
+flourishing, and a widower, but, notwithstanding
+all these advantages,
+perfectly unhappy because he has no
+title. Vanity was always the failing
+of Porthos. Aramis, otherwise the
+Chevalier&mdash;now the Abb&eacute;&mdash;d'Herblay,
+is up to the ears in intrigues of every
+description. Athos, Count de la F&egrave;re,
+has abandoned the wine-flask, formerly<!-- Page 597 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_597" id="Page_597">[Pg 597]</a></span>
+the deity of his adoration, and
+is busied in the education of a natural
+son, a youth of sixteen, of whom the
+beautiful Duchess of Chevreuse is the
+mother. By the promise of a barony,
+D'Artagnan easily induces Porthos to
+follow him to Paris; but with his
+other two friends he is less successful.
+Athos and Aramis put him off with
+excuses, for both have already pledged
+themselves to the cause of the Fronde
+and of the Duke of Beaufort.</p>
+
+<p>This prince, the grandson of Henry
+the Fourth, and of the celebrated
+Gabrielle D'Estr&eacute;es, is a prisoner in
+the fortress of Vincennes, and a constant
+subject of uneasiness to Mazarine.
+Brave as steel, but of limited
+capacity, the idol of the people, who,
+by the use of his name, are easily
+roused to rebellion, the duke has beguiled
+his long captivity by abuse of
+the Facchino Mazarini, as he styles
+the cardinal, and by keeping up a constant
+petty warfare with the governor
+of Vincennes, Monsieur de Chavigny.
+On his way to prison, he boasted to
+his guards that he had at least forty
+plans of escape, some one of which
+would infallibly succeed. This was
+repeated to the cardinal; and so well
+is the duke guarded in consequence,
+that five years have elapsed and he is
+still at Vincennes. At last his friends
+find means of communicating with him,
+and Grimaud, the servant of the
+Count de la F&egrave;re, is introduced, in the
+capacity of an under jailer, into the
+fortress, where, by his taciturnity and
+apparent strictness, he gains the entire
+confidence of La Ram&eacute;e, an official
+who, under M. de Chavigny, is appointed
+to the especial guardianship
+of the Duke of Beaufort. An attempt
+to escape is fixed for the day of the
+Pentecost. Upon the morning of that
+day, Monsieur de Chavigny starts
+upon a short journey, leaving the
+castle in charge of La Ram&eacute;e, whom
+the duke invites to sup with him upon
+a famous pasty, that has been ordered
+for the occasion from a confectioner
+who has recently established himself
+at Vincennes. Here is what takes
+place at the repast.</p>
+
+<p>La Ram&eacute;e, who, at the bottom of
+his heart, entertained a considerable
+degree of regard and affection for M.
+de Beaufort, made himself a great
+treat of this t&ecirc;te-&agrave;-t&ecirc;te supper. His
+chief foible was gluttony, and for this
+grand occasion the confectioner had
+promised to outdo himself. The
+pasty was to be of pheasants, the
+wine of the best vintage of Chambertin.
+By adding to the agreeable images
+which this promise called up in his
+mind, the society of the duke, who in
+the main was such an excellent fellow,
+who played Monsieur de Chavigny
+such capital tricks, and made such
+biting jokes against the cardinal, La
+Ram&eacute;e had composed a picture of a
+perfectly delightful evening, which he
+looked forward to with proportionate
+jubilation, and with an impatience
+almost equalling that of the duke.
+His first visit that morning had been
+to the pastrycook, who had shown
+him the crust of a gigantic pasty,
+decorated at the top with the arms of
+Monsieur de Beaufort. The said crust
+was still empty, but beside it were a
+pheasant and two partridges, so minutely
+and closely larded, that each of
+them looked like a cushion stuck full
+of pins. La Ram&eacute;e's mouth watered
+at the sight.</p>
+
+<p>Early in the day, M. de Beaufort
+went to play at ball with La Ram&eacute;e;
+a sign from Grimaud warned him to
+pay attention to every thing. Grimaud
+walked before them, as if to
+point out the road that he and the
+duke would have to take that evening.
+The place where they were in
+the habit of playing was the smaller
+court of the fortress&mdash;a solitary enclosure,
+where sentinels were only stationed
+when the duke was there; even
+that precaution seeming unnecessary,
+on account of the great height of the
+ramparts. There were three doors to
+open before reaching this court, and
+each door was opened with a different
+key. All three keys were kept by La
+Ram&eacute;e. When they reached the
+court, Grimaud seated himself negligently
+in one of the embrasures, his
+legs dangling outside the wall. The
+duke understood that the rope-ladder
+was to be fixed at that place. This,
+and other manoeuvres, comprehensible
+enough to M. de Beaufort, and carefully
+noted by him, had, of course, no
+intelligible meaning for La Ram&eacute;e.</p>
+
+<p>The game began. M. de Beaufort
+was in play, and sent the balls wherever
+he liked; La Ram&eacute;e could not
+win a game. When they had finished<!-- Page 598 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_598" id="Page_598">[Pg 598]</a></span>
+playing, the duke, whilst rallying La
+Ram&eacute;e on his ill success, pulled out a
+couple of louis-d'ors, and offered them
+to his guards, who had followed him
+to the court to pick up the balls, telling
+them to go and drink his health.
+The guards asked La Ram&eacute;e's permission,
+which he gave, but for the
+evening only. Up to that time he
+had various important matters to arrange,
+some of which would require
+him to absent himself from his prisoner,
+whom he did not wish to be
+lost sight of.</p>
+
+<p>Six o'clock came, and although the
+dinner-hour was fixed for seven, the
+table was already spread, and the
+enormous pie placed upon the side-board.
+Every body was impatient
+for something: the guards to go and
+drink, La Ram&eacute;e to dine, and Monsieur
+de Beaufort to escape. Grimaud
+was the only one who seemed to be
+waiting for nothing, and to remain
+perfectly calm; and at times when
+the duke looked at his dull, immoveable
+countenance, he almost doubted
+whether that could be the man who
+was to aid his projected flight.</p>
+
+<p>At half-past six La Ram&eacute;e dismissed
+the guards, the duke sat down at
+the table, and signed to his jailer to
+take a chair opposite to him. Grimaud
+served the soup, and stationed himself
+behind La Ram&eacute;e. The most
+perfect enjoyment was depicted on the
+countenance of the latter, as he commenced
+the repast from which he had
+been anticipating so much pleasure.
+The duke looked at him with a smile.</p>
+
+<p>"Ventre St Gris! La Ram&eacute;e,"
+cried he, "if I were told that at this
+moment there is in all France a happier
+man than yourself, I would not
+believe it."</p>
+
+<p>"And you would be quite right not
+to do so, Monseigneur," said La
+Ram&eacute;e. "I confess that, when I am
+hungry, I know no pleasure equal to
+that of sitting down to a good dinner;
+and when I remember that my Amphitryon
+is the grandson of Henry the
+Fourth, the pleasure is at least
+doubled by the honour done to me."</p>
+
+<p>The duke bowed. "My dear La
+Ram&eacute;e," said he, "you are unequaled
+in the art of paying compliments."</p>
+
+<p>"It is no compliment, Monseigneur,"
+said La Ram&eacute;e; "I say exactly
+what I think."</p>
+
+<p>"You are really attached to me
+then?" said the duke.</p>
+
+<p>"Most sincerely," replied La Ram&eacute;e;
+"and I should be inconsolable
+if your highness were to leave Vincennes."</p>
+
+<p>"A singular proof of affection that!"
+returned the duke.</p>
+
+<p>"But, Monseigneur," continued La
+Ram&eacute;e, sipping at a glass of Madeira,
+"what would you do if you were set
+at liberty? You would only get into
+some new scrape, and be sent to the
+Bastile instead of to Vincennes."</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed!" said the duke, considerably
+amused at the turn the conversation
+was taking, and glancing at
+the clock, of which the hands, as he
+thought, advanced more slowly than
+usual.</p>
+
+<p>"M. de Chavigny is not very amiable,"
+said La Ram&eacute;e, "but M. de
+Tremblay is a great deal worse. You
+may depend, Monseigneur, that it
+was a real kindness to send you here,
+where you breathe a fine air, and
+have nothing to do but to eat and
+drink, and play at ball."</p>
+
+<p>"According to your account, La
+Ram&eacute;e, I was very ungrateful ever to
+think of escaping."</p>
+
+<p>"Exceedingly so," replied La Ram&eacute;e;
+"but your highness never did
+think seriously of it."</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed did I, though!" said the
+duke; "and what is more, folly
+though it may be, I sometimes think
+of it still."</p>
+
+<p>"Still by one of your forty plans,
+Monseigneur?"</p>
+
+<p>The duke nodded affirmatively.</p>
+
+<p>"Monseigneur," resumed La Ram&eacute;e,
+"since you have so far honoured
+me with your confidence, I wish you
+would tell me one of the forty methods
+of escape which your highness
+had invented."</p>
+
+<p>"With pleasure," replied the duke.
+"Grimaud, give me the pasty."</p>
+
+<p>"I am all attention," said La Ram&eacute;e,
+leaning back in his chair, and
+raising his glass so as to look at the
+setting sun through the liquid amber
+which it contained. The duke
+glanced at the clock. Ten minutes
+more and it would strike seven, the
+hour for which his escape was concerted.
+Grimaud placed the pie before
+M. de Beaufort, who took his
+silver-bladed knife&mdash;steel ones were<!-- Page 599 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_599" id="Page_599">[Pg 599]</a></span>
+not allowed him&mdash;to cut it; but La
+Ram&eacute;e, unwilling to see so magnificent
+a pasty mangled by a dull knife,
+passed him his own, which was of
+steel.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Monseigneur," said he,
+"and this famous plan?"</p>
+
+<p>"Do you wish me to tell you,"
+said the duke, "the one on the success
+of which I most reckoned, and
+which I intended to try the first?"</p>
+
+<p>"By all means," said La Ram&eacute;e.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said M. de Beaufort, who
+was busy in the dissection of the pie,
+"in the first place I hoped to have for
+my guardian some honest fellow like
+yourself, Monsieur La Ram&eacute;e."</p>
+
+<p>"Your hope was realized, Monseigneur.
+And then?"</p>
+
+<p>"I said to myself," continued the
+duke, "if once I have about me a
+good fellow like La Ram&eacute;e, I will get
+a friend, whom he does not know to
+be my friend, to recommend to him a
+man devoted to my interests, and
+who will aid my escape."</p>
+
+<p>"Good!" said La Ram&eacute;e. "No
+bad idea."</p>
+
+<p>"When I have accomplished this,"
+said the duke, "if the man is skilful,
+and manages to gain the confidence
+of my jailer, I shall have no difficulty
+in keeping up a communication with
+my friends."</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed!" said La Ram&eacute;e; "how
+so?"</p>
+
+<p>"Easily enough," replied M. de
+Beaufort; "in playing at ball, for
+instance."</p>
+
+<p>"In playing at ball!" repeated La
+Ram&eacute;e, who was beginning to pay
+great attention to the duke's words.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. I strike a ball into the
+moat; a man who is at hand, working
+in his garden, picks it up. The
+ball contains a letter. Instead of
+throwing back the same ball, he
+throws another, which contains a letter
+for me. My friends hear from
+me and I from them, without any one
+being the wiser."</p>
+
+<p>"The devil!" said La Ram&eacute;e,
+scratching his head, "you do well to
+tell me this, Monseigneur. In future
+I will keep an eye on pickers up of
+balls. But, after all, that is only a
+means of correspondence."</p>
+
+<p>"Wait a little. I write to my
+friends&mdash;'On such a day and at such
+an hour, be in waiting on the other
+side of the moat with two led
+horses.'"</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said La Ram&eacute;e, with
+some appearance of uneasiness, "but
+what then? Unless, indeed, the
+horses have wings, and can fly up the
+rampart to fetch you."</p>
+
+<p>"Or that I have means of flying
+down," said the duke, carelessly.
+"A rope-ladder, for instance."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said La Ram&eacute;e, with a
+forced laugh; "but a rope ladder can
+hardly be sent in a tennis-ball, though
+a letter may."</p>
+
+<p>"No; but it may be sent in something
+else. Let us only suppose, for
+argument's sake, that my cook, Noirmont,
+has purchased the pastrycook's
+shop opposite the castle. La Ram&eacute;e,
+who is a bit of an epicure, tries his
+pies, finds them excellent, and asks
+me if I would like to taste one. I
+accept the offer, on condition that he
+shall help me to eat it. To do so
+more at his ease, he sends away the
+guards, and only keeps Grimaud here
+to wait upon us. Grimaud is the
+man whom my friend has recommended,
+and who is ready to second me in
+all things. The moment of my escape
+is fixed for seven o'clock. At a few
+minutes to seven"&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"At a few minutes to seven!"
+repeated La Ram&eacute;e, perspiring with
+alarm.</p>
+
+<p>"At a few minutes to seven," continued
+the duke, suiting the action to
+the word, "I take the crust off the
+pie. Inside it, I find two poniards, a
+rope-ladder, and a gag. I put one of
+the poniards to La Ram&eacute;e's breast,
+and I say to him&mdash;'My good friend,
+La Ram&eacute;e, if you make a motion or
+utter a cry, you are a dead man!'"</p>
+
+<p>The duke, as we have already said,
+whilst uttering these last sentences,
+had acted in conformity. He was
+now standing close to La Ram&eacute;e, to
+whom his tone of voice, and the sight
+of the dagger levelled at his heart,
+intimated plainly enough that M. de
+Beaufort would keep his word. Meanwhile
+Grimaud, silent as the grave,
+took out of the pie the second poniard,
+the rope-ladder, and the gag. La
+Ram&eacute;e followed each of these objects
+with his eyes with a visibly increasing
+terror.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Monseigneur!" cried he,
+looking at the duke with an air of<!-- Page 600 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_600" id="Page_600">[Pg 600]</a></span>
+stupefaction, which at any other time
+would have made M. de Beaufort
+laugh heartily, "you would not have
+the heart to kill me?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, if you do not oppose my
+flight."</p>
+
+<p>"But, Monseigneur, if I let you
+escape, I am a ruined man."</p>
+
+<p>"I will pay you the value of your
+office."</p>
+
+<p>"And if I defend myself, or call
+out?"</p>
+
+<p>"By the honour of a gentleman,
+you die upon the spot!"</p>
+
+<p>At this moment the clock struck.</p>
+
+<p>"Seven o'clock," said Grimaud,
+who had not yet uttered a word.</p>
+
+<p>La Ram&eacute;e made a movement. The
+duke frowned, and the unlucky jailer
+felt the point of the dagger penetrate
+his clothes, and press against his
+breast.</p>
+
+<p>"Enough, Monseigneur," cried he;
+"I will not stir. But I entreat you
+to tie my hands and feet, or I shall be
+taken for your accomplice."</p>
+
+<p>The duke took off his girdle, and
+gave it to Grimaud, who tied La
+Ram&eacute;e's hands firmly behind his
+back. La Ram&eacute;e then held out his
+legs; Grimaud tore a napkin into
+strips, and bound his ankles together.</p>
+
+<p>"And now the gag!" cried poor La
+Ram&eacute;e; "the gag! I insist upon it;
+or they will hang me for not having
+given the alarm."</p>
+
+<p>In an instant La Ram&eacute;e was gagged,
+and laid upon the ground; two or
+three chairs were overturned, to make
+it appear that there had been a struggle.
+Grimaud took from La Ram&eacute;e's
+pockets all the keys that they contained,
+opened the room-door, shut
+and double-locked it when the duke
+and himself had passed out, and led
+the way to the court. This the fugitives
+reached without accident or encounter,
+and found it entirely deserted;
+no sentinels, nor any body at the
+windows that overlooked it. The
+duke hurried to the rampart, and saw
+upon the further side of the moat
+three horsemen and two led horses.
+He exchanged a sign with them; they
+were waiting for him. Meanwhile
+Grimaud was fastening the rope by
+which the descent was to be effected.
+It was not a ladder, but a silken cord
+rolled upon a stick, which was to be
+placed between the legs, and become
+unrolled by the weight of the person
+descending.</p>
+
+<p>"Go," said the duke.</p>
+
+<p>"First, Monseigneur?" asked
+Grimaud.</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly," was the reply; "if I am
+taken, a prison awaits me; if you
+are caught, you will be hung."</p>
+
+<p>"True," said Grimaud; and putting
+himself astride the stick, he commenced
+his perilous descent. The duke followed
+him anxiously with his eyes.
+About three quarters of the distance
+were accomplished, when the cord
+broke, and Grimaud fell into the moat.
+M. de Beaufort uttered a cry; but
+Grimaud said nothing, although he
+was evidently severely hurt, for he
+remained motionless upon the spot on
+which he had fallen. One of the three
+horsemen slid down into the moat,
+fastened the noose of a rope under the
+arms of Grimaud, and his two companions,
+who held the other end, pulled
+him up.</p>
+
+<p>"Come down, Monseigneur," cried
+the cavaliers; "the fall is only about
+fifteen feet, and the grass is soft."</p>
+
+<p>The duke was already descending.
+His task was difficult; for the stick
+was no longer there to sustain him,
+and he was obliged to lower himself
+along the slender rope from a height
+of fifty feet by sheer force of wrist.
+But his activity, strength, and coolness
+came to his aid; in less than five
+minutes he was at the end of the cord.
+He then let go his hold, and fell
+upon his feet without injury. Climbing
+out of the moat, he found himself
+in the company of Count Rochefort,
+and of two other gentlemen with
+whom he was unacquainted. Grimaud,
+whose senses had left him, was
+fastened upon a horse.</p>
+
+<p>"Gentlemen," said the duke, "I
+will thank you by and by; just now
+we have not an instant to lose. Forward
+then, and let who loves me
+follow."</p>
+
+<p>And springing upon his horse, he
+set off at full gallop, breathing as if
+a load were removed from his breast,
+and exclaiming in accents of inexpressible
+joy&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Free! Free! Free!"</p>
+
+<p>The two cavaliers who accompany
+the Duke and the Count de Rochefort,
+are Athos and Aramis. D'Artagnan<!-- Page 601 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_601" id="Page_601">[Pg 601]</a></span>
+and Porthos are sent in pursuit of the
+cardinal, and in the obscurity by night
+the four friends, who have so often
+fought side by side, find themselves
+at sword's point with each other.
+Fortunately a recognition ensues before
+any harm is done. A strong
+party of the Duke of Beaufort's adherents
+comes up, and D'Artagan and
+Porthos are taken prisoners, but immediately
+set at liberty by the duke.</p>
+
+<p>The readers of the <i>Three Mousquetaires</i>
+will not have forgotten a
+certain Lady de Winter, having a
+<i>fleur-de-lis</i> branded on her shoulder,
+who plays an important part in that
+romance, and who, after committing
+innumerable crimes, at last meets her
+death at the hands of a public executioner,
+but without form of trial.
+This latter, indeed, might be considered
+almost superfluous, so numerous
+and notorious were her offences; but
+nevertheless, D'Artagnan and his three
+friends, by whose order and in whose
+presence the execution took place,
+sometimes feel pangs of remorse for
+the deed, which none of the many
+lives they have taken in fair and open
+fight ever occasion them. Athos
+especially, the most reflecting and
+sensitive of the four, continually reproaches
+himself with the share he
+took in that act of illegal justice.
+This woman has left a son, who inherits
+all her vices, and who, having
+been proved illegitimate, has been
+deprived of Lord De Winter's estates,
+and passes by the name of Mordaunt.
+He is now brought upon the scene.
+Raoul, Viscount of Braguelonne, the
+son of Athos, is proceeding to Flanders,
+in company with the young
+Count de Guiche, to join the army
+under the Prince of Cond&eacute;, when, on
+the last day of his journey, and whilst
+passing through a forest, he falls in
+with, and disperses a party of Spanish
+marauders who are robbing and ill-treating
+two travellers. Of these
+latter, one is dead, and the other, who
+is desperately wounded, implores the
+aid of a priest. Raoul and his friend
+order their attendants to form a litter
+of branches, and to convey the wounded
+man to a neighbouring forest inn,
+whilst they hasten on to the next village
+to procure him the spiritual consolation
+he is so urgent to obtain.</p>
+
+<p>The two young men had ridden
+more than a league, and were already
+in sight of the village of Greney, when
+they saw coming towards them,
+mounted upon a mule, a poor monk,
+whom, from his large hat and grey
+woollen gown, they took to be an
+Augustine friar. Chance seemed to
+have sent them exactly what they
+were seeking. Upon approaching the
+monk, they found him to be a man
+of two or three and twenty years of
+age, but who might have been taken
+for some years older, owing probably
+to long fasts and severe penances.
+His complexion was pale, not that
+clear white paleness which is agreeable
+to behold, but a bilious yellow;
+his hair was of a light colour, and his
+eyes, of a greenish grey, seemed devoid
+of all expression.</p>
+
+<p>"Sir," said Raoul, with his usual
+politeness, "have you taken orders?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why do you ask?" said the
+stranger, in a tone so abrupt as to be
+scarcely civil.</p>
+
+<p>"For our information," replied the
+Count de Guiche haughtily.</p>
+
+<p>The stranger touched his mule with
+his heel, and moved onwards. With
+a bound of his horse, De Guiche
+placed himself before him, blocking
+up the road. "Answer, sir" said he.
+"The question was polite put, and
+deserves a reply."</p>
+
+<p>"I am not obliged, I suppose, to
+inform the first comer who and what
+I am."</p>
+
+<p>With considerable difficulty De
+Guiche repressed a violent inclination
+to break the bones of the insolent
+monk.</p>
+
+<p>"In the first place," said he, "we
+will tell you who <i>we</i> are. My friend
+here is the Viscount of Braguelonne,
+and I am the Count de Guiche. It is
+no mere caprice that induces us to
+question you; we are seeking spiritual
+aid for a dying man. If you are a
+priest, I call upon you in the name of
+humanity to afford him the assistance
+he implores; if, on the other hand,
+you are not in orders, I warn you to
+expect the chastisement which your
+impertinence merits."</p>
+
+<p>The monk's pale face became livid,
+and a smile of so strange an expression
+overspread it, that Raoul, whose
+eyes were fixed upon him, felt an
+involuntary and unaccountable uneasiness.<!-- Page 602 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_602" id="Page_602">[Pg 602]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"He is some spy of the Imperialists,"
+said the viscount, putting his
+hand upon his pistols. A stern and
+menacing glance from the monk replied
+to the accusation.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, sir," said De Guiche, "will
+you answer?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am a priest," replied the young
+man, his face resuming its former calm
+inexpressiveness.</p>
+
+<p>"Then, holy father," said Raoul,
+letting his pistol fall back into the
+holster, and giving a tone of respect to
+his words, "since you are a priest, you
+have now an opportunity of exercising
+your sacred functions. A man
+wounded to death is at the little inn
+which you will soon find upon your
+road, and he implores the assistance
+of one of God's ministers."</p>
+
+<p>"I will go to him," said the monk
+calmly, setting his mule in motion.</p>
+
+<p>"If you do not, sir," said De
+Guiche, "remember that our horses
+will soon overtake your mule, that we
+possess sufficient influence to have you
+seized wherever you go, and that then
+your trial will be very short. A tree
+and a rope are to be found every
+where."</p>
+
+<p>The eyes of the monk emitted an
+angry spark, but he merely repeated
+the words, "I will go to him," and
+rode on.</p>
+
+<p>"Let us follow," said De Guiche;
+"it will be the surest plan."</p>
+
+<p>"I was about to propose it," said
+Raoul. And the young men followed
+the monk at pistol-shot distance.</p>
+
+<p>On arriving in sight of the roadside
+tavern, they saw their servants approaching
+it from the opposite direction,
+leading their horses, and carrying
+the wounded man. On perceiving
+the monk, an expression of joy illuminated
+the countenance of the sufferer.</p>
+
+<p>"And now," said Raoul, "we have
+done all we can for you, and must
+hasten onwards to join the prince's
+army. There is to be a battle to-morrow,
+it is said, and we would not
+miss it."</p>
+
+<p>The host had got everything ready,
+a bed, lint and bandages, and a messenger
+had been dispatched to Lens,
+which was the nearest town, to bring
+back a surgeon.</p>
+
+<p>"You will follow us," said Raoul
+to the servants, "as soon as you have
+conveyed this person to his room. A
+horseman will arrive here in the course
+of the afternoon," added he to the
+innkeeper, "and will probably enquire
+if the Viscount de Braguelonne has
+passed this way. He is one of my
+attendants, and his name is Grimaud.
+You will tell him that I have passed,
+and shall sleep at Cambrin."</p>
+
+<p>By this time the litter had reached
+the door of the inn. The monk got
+off his mule, ordered it to be put in
+the stable without unsaddling, and
+entered the house. The two young
+men rode away, followed by the benedictions
+of the wounded man.</p>
+
+<p>The litter was just being carried
+into the inn, when the hostess hurried
+forward to receive her guests. On
+catching sight of the sufferer, she
+seized her husband's arm with an exclamation
+of terror.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said the host, "what is
+the matter?"</p>
+
+<p>"Do you not recognise him?" said
+the woman, pointing to the wounded
+man.</p>
+
+<p>"Recognise him! No&mdash;yet&mdash;surely
+I remember the face. Can it
+be?"&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The former headsman of Bethune,"
+said his wife, completing the
+sentence.</p>
+
+<p>"The headsman of Bethune!" repeated
+the young monk, recoiling with
+a look and gesture of marked repugnance.</p>
+
+<p>The chief of Raoul's attendants
+perceived the disgust with which the
+monk heard the quality of his penitent.</p>
+
+<p>"Sir," he said, "although he may
+have been an executioner, or even if
+he still be so, it is no reason for refusing
+him the consolations of religion.
+Render him the service he claims at
+your hands, and you will have the
+more merit in the sight of God."</p>
+
+<p>The monk made no reply, but entered
+a room on the ground-floor,
+in which the servants were now placing
+the wounded man upon a bed. As
+he did so, every one left the apartment,
+and the penitent remained alone
+with his confessor. The presence of
+Raoul's and De Guiche's followers
+being no longer required, the latter
+remounted their horses, and set off at
+a sharp trot to rejoin their masters,
+who were already out of sight.</p>
+
+<p>They had been gone but a few<!-- Page 603 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_603" id="Page_603">[Pg 603]</a></span>
+minutes, when a single horseman rode
+up to the door of the inn.</p>
+
+<p>"What is your pleasure, sir?" said
+the host, still pale and aghast at the
+discovery his wife had made.</p>
+
+<p>"A feed for my horse, and a bottle
+of wine for myself," was the reply.
+"Have you seen a young gentleman
+pass by," continued the stranger,
+"mounted on a chestnut horse, and
+followed by two attendants."</p>
+
+<p>"The Viscount de Braguelonne?"
+said the innkeeper.</p>
+
+<p>"The same."</p>
+
+<p>"Then you are Monsieur Grimaud?"</p>
+
+<p>The traveller nodded assent.</p>
+
+<p>"Your master was here not half
+an hour ago," said the host. "He
+has ridden on, and will sleep at Cambrin."</p>
+
+<p>Grimaud sat down at a table, wiped
+the dust and perspiration from his
+face, poured out a glass of wine, and
+drank in silence. He was about to
+fill his glass a second time, when a
+loud shrill cry was heard, issuing
+from the apartment in which the
+monk and the patient were shut up
+together. Grimaud started to his
+feet.</p>
+
+<p>"What is that?" exclaimed he.</p>
+
+<p>"From the wounded man's room,"
+replied the host.</p>
+
+<p>"What wounded man?"</p>
+
+<p>"The former headsman of Bethune,
+who has been set upon and sorely
+hurt by Spanish partisans. The Viscount
+de Braguelonne rescued and
+brought him hither, and he is now confessing
+himself to an Augustine friar.
+He seems to suffer terribly."</p>
+
+<p>"The headsman of Bethune," muttered
+Grimaud, apparently striving to
+recollect something. "A man of
+fifty-five or sixty years of age, tall
+and powerful; of dark complexion,
+with black hair and beard?"</p>
+
+<p>"The same; excepting that his
+beard has become grey, and his hair
+white. Do you know him?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have seen him once," replied
+Grimaud gloomily.</p>
+
+<p>At this moment another cry was
+heard, less loud than the first, but
+followed by a long deep groan. Grimaud
+and the innkeeper looked at
+each other.</p>
+
+<p>"It is like the cry of a man who is
+being murdered," said the latter.</p>
+
+<p>"We must see what it is," said
+Grimaud.</p>
+
+<p>Although slow to speak, Grimaud
+was prompt in action. He rushed to
+the door, and shook it violently; it
+was secured on the inner side.</p>
+
+<p>"Open the door instantly," cried
+he, "or I break it down."</p>
+
+<p>No answer was returned. Grimaud
+looked around him, and perceived a
+heavy crowbar standing in a corner
+of the passage. This he seized hold
+of, and before the host could interfere,
+the door was burst open. The room
+was inundated with blood, which was
+trickling from the mattrass; there was
+a hoarse rattling in the wounded
+man's throat; the monk had disappeared.
+Grimaud hurried to an open
+window which looked upon the court-yard.</p>
+
+<p>"He has escaped through this,"
+said he.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think so?" said the host.
+"Boy, see if the monk's mule is still
+in the stable."</p>
+
+<p>"It is gone," was the answer.</p>
+
+<p>Grimaud approached the bed, and
+gazed upon the harsh and strongly
+marked features of the wounded
+man.</p>
+
+<p>"Is he still alive?" said the host.</p>
+
+<p>Without replying, Grimaud opened
+the man's doublet to feel if his heart
+beat, and at the same time the innkeeper
+approached the bed. Suddenly
+both started back with an exclamation
+of horror. A poniard was buried
+to the hilt in the left breast of the
+headsman.</p>
+
+<p>What had passed between the priest
+and his penitent was as follows.</p>
+
+<p>It has been seen that the monk
+showed himself little disposed to delay
+his journey in order to receive the
+confession of the wounded man; so
+little, indeed, that he would probably
+have endeavoured to avoid it by flight,
+had not the menaces of the Count de
+Guiche, and afterwards the presence
+of the servants, or perhaps his own
+reflections, induced him to perform
+to the end the duties of his sacred
+office.</p>
+
+<p>On finding himself alone with the
+sufferer, he approached the pillow of
+the latter. The headsman examined
+him with one of those rapid, anxious
+looks peculiar to dying men, and made
+a movement of surprise.<!-- Page 604 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_604" id="Page_604">[Pg 604]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"You are very young, holy father,"
+said he.</p>
+
+<p>"Those who wear my dress have
+no age," replied the monk severely.</p>
+
+<p>"Alas, good father, speak to me
+more kindly! I need a friend in these
+my last moments."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you suffer much?" asked the
+monk.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, but in soul rather than in
+body."</p>
+
+<p>"We will save your soul," said the
+young man; "but, tell me, are you
+really the executioner of Bethune, as
+these people say?"</p>
+
+<p>"I was," replied the wounded man
+hurriedly, as though fearful that the
+acknowledgment of his degrading profession
+might deprive him of the assistance
+of which he stood in such
+imminent need. "I was, but I am
+so no longer; I gave up my office
+many years ago. I am still obliged
+to appear at executions, but I no
+longer officiate. Heaven forbid that
+I should!"</p>
+
+<p>"You have a horror of your profession,
+then?"</p>
+
+<p>The headsman groaned.</p>
+
+<p>"So long as I only struck in the
+name of the law and of justice," said
+he, "my conscience was at rest, and
+my sleep untroubled; but since that
+terrible night when I served as instrument
+of a private vengeance, and
+raised my sword with hatred against
+one of God's creatures&mdash;since that
+night"&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>The headsman paused, and shook
+his head despairingly.</p>
+
+<p>"Speak on," said the monk, who
+had seated himself on the edge of the
+bed, and began to take an interest
+in a confession that commenced so
+strangely.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah!" exclaimed the dying man,
+"what efforts have I not made to
+stifle my remorse by twenty years of
+good works! I have exposed my own
+existence to preserve that of others,
+and have saved human lives in exchange
+for the one I had unwarrantably
+taken. I frequented the
+churches, sought out the poor to
+console and relieve them; those who
+once avoided became accustomed to
+see me, and some have even loved
+me. But God has not pardoned me;
+for, do what I will, the memory of my
+crime pursues me, and each night in
+my dreams the spectre of that woman
+stands menacing before me."</p>
+
+<p>"A woman! Was it a woman,
+then, whom you assassinated?" cried
+the monk.</p>
+
+<p>"And you, too," exclaimed the
+headsman&mdash;"you, too, use that word,
+assassinated. It <i>was</i> an assassination,
+then, not an execution, and I am
+a murderer!"</p>
+
+<p>He shut his eyes and uttered a
+hollow moan. The monk feared probably
+that he would die without completing
+his confession, for he hastened
+to console him.</p>
+
+<p>"Go on," said he. "I cannot yet
+know how far you are guilty. When
+I have heard all, I will decide. Tell
+me, then, how you came to commit
+this deed."</p>
+
+<p>"It was night," resumed the headsman,
+in faltering accents: "a man
+came to my house to seek me, and
+showed me an order. I followed him.
+Four other gentlemen were waiting
+for him; they put a mask upon my
+face, and led me with them. I was
+resolved to resist, if what they required
+me to do appeared unjust. We
+rode on for five or six leagues almost
+without uttering a word; at last we
+halted&mdash;and they showed me, through
+the window of a cottage, a woman
+seated at a table. 'That,' said
+they, 'is she whom you are to
+decapitate.'"</p>
+
+<p>"Horrible!" exclaimed the monk.
+"And you obeyed?"</p>
+
+<p>"Father, that woman was a monster;
+she had poisoned her husband,
+had tried to assassinate her brother-in-law,
+who was one of the men that
+now accompanied me; she had murdered
+a young girl whom she thought
+her rival; and, before leaving England,
+had instigated the assassination of
+the king's favourite."</p>
+
+<p>"Buckingham?" exclaimed the
+monk.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Buckingham&mdash;that was the
+name."</p>
+
+<p>"She was an Englishwoman,
+then?"</p>
+
+<p>"No&mdash;a Frenchwoman, but she
+had been married to an English nobleman."</p>
+
+<p>The monk grew pale, passed his
+hand across his forehead, and, rising
+from the bed, approached the door
+and bolted it. The headsman<!-- Page 605 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_605" id="Page_605">[Pg 605]</a></span>
+thought that he was leaving him, and
+implored him to return.</p>
+
+<p>"I am here," said the monk, resuming
+his seat. "Who were the
+five men who accompanied you?"</p>
+
+<p>"One was an Englishman; the
+other four were French, and wore the
+uniform of the mousquetaires."</p>
+
+<p>"Their names?" demanded the
+monk.</p>
+
+<p>"I do not know them. But the
+four Frenchmen called the Englishman
+'My lord.'"</p>
+
+<p>"And the woman; was she
+young?"</p>
+
+<p>"Young and beautiful, most beautiful,
+as she kneeled before me imploring
+mercy. I have never been able
+to understand how I had the courage
+to strike off that pale and lovely
+head."</p>
+
+<p>The monk seemed to be under the
+influence of some violent emotion; his
+limbs trembled, and he appeared
+unable to speak. At last, mastering
+himself by a strong effort&mdash;"The
+name of this woman?" said he.</p>
+
+<p>"I do not know it. She had been
+married twice, once in France and
+once in England."</p>
+
+<p>"And you killed her!" said the
+monk, vehemently. "You served as
+instrument to those dastardly villains
+who dared not kill her themselves.
+You had no pity on her youth, her
+beauty, her weakness! You killed
+her!"</p>
+
+<p>"Alas! holy father," said the
+headsman, "this woman concealed,
+under the exterior of an angel, the
+vices of a demon; and when I saw
+her, when I remembered all that I
+had myself suffered from her"&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"You? And what could she have
+done to you?"</p>
+
+<p>"She had seduced my brother, who
+was a priest, had fled with him from
+his convent, lost him both body and
+soul."</p>
+
+<p>"Your brother?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, my brother had been her
+first lover. Oh, my father! do not
+look at me thus. I am very guilty,
+then! You cannot pardon me!"</p>
+
+<p>The monk composed his features,
+which had assumed a terrible expression
+during the latter part of the dying
+man's confession.</p>
+
+<p>"I will pardon you," said he, "if
+you tell me all. Since your brother
+was her first lover, you must know
+her maiden name. Tell it me."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, my God! my God!" exclaimed
+the headsman&mdash;"I am dying!
+Absolution, holy father! absolution!"</p>
+
+<p>"Her name," said the monk, "and
+I give it to you."</p>
+
+<p>The headsman, who was convulsed
+with agony, both physical and moral,
+seemed scarcely able to speak. The
+monk bent over him as if to catch the
+smallest sound he should utter.</p>
+
+<p>"Her name," said he, "or no absolution."
+The dying man seemed
+to collect all his strength.</p>
+
+<p>"Anne de Bueil," murmured he.</p>
+
+<p>"Anne de Bueil!" repeated the
+monk, rising to his feet and lifting his
+hands to heaven, "Anne de Bueil!
+Did you say Anne de Bueil?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, yes, that was her name;
+and now absolve me, for I am dying."</p>
+
+<p>"<i>I</i> absolve you?" cried the monk,
+with a laugh that made the sufferer's
+hair stand on end; "<i>I</i> absolve you?
+I am no priest!"</p>
+
+<p>"You are no priest!" cried the
+headsman; "but who and what are
+you, then?"</p>
+
+<p>"I will tell you, miscreant! I am
+John de Winter, and that woman"&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"And that woman"&mdash;&mdash;gasped
+the executioner.</p>
+
+<p>"Was my mother!"</p>
+
+<p>The headsman uttered a shriek, the
+long and terrible one which Grimaud
+and the innkeeper had heard.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, pardon, pardon!" murmured
+he&mdash;"forgive me, if not in God's
+name, at least in your own. If not
+as a priest, as a son."</p>
+
+<p>"Pardon you!" replied the pretended
+monk; "pardon you! God
+may perhaps do it, but I never will.
+Die, wretch, die! unabsolved, despairing,
+and accursed." And, drawing
+a dagger from under his gown, he
+plunged it into the breast of the
+headsman. "Take that," said he,
+"for my absolution."</p>
+
+<p>It was then that the second cry,
+followed by a long moan, had been
+uttered. The headsman, who had
+partially raised himself, fell back upon
+the bed. The monk, without withdrawing
+his dagger from the wound,
+ran to the window, opened it, jumped
+out into the little flower-garden below,<!-- Page 606 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_606" id="Page_606">[Pg 606]</a></span>
+and hurried to the stable. Leading
+out his mule, he plunged into the
+thickest part of the adjacent forest,
+stripped off his monk's garb, took a
+horseman's dress out of his valise,
+and put it on. Then, making all
+haste to the nearest post-house, he
+took a horse, and continued with the
+utmost speed his journey to Paris.</p>
+
+<p>The headsman lives long enough
+to inform Grimaud of what has passed;
+and Grimaud, who was present at
+the decapitation of Lady de Winter,
+returns to Paris, to put Athos and his
+friends on their guard against the
+vengeance of her son. Mordaunt,
+<i>alias</i> De Winter, is one of Cromwell's
+most devoted and unscrupulous agents,
+and is proceeding to the French capital
+to negotiate with Mazarine on the
+part of the Parliamentary general.
+Guided by what he has heard from
+the executioner of Bethune, he discovers
+who the men are by whose
+order his mother was beheaded, and
+he vows their destruction. The four
+friends soon afterwards meet in England,
+whither D'Artagnan and Porthos
+have been sent on a mission to Cromwell;
+whilst Athos and Aramis have
+repaired thither to strive to prop the
+falling fortunes of Charles the First.
+We cannot say much in favour of that
+portion of the book of which the scene
+is laid on English ground. M. Dumas
+is much happier in his delineations of
+Frondeurs and Mazarinists than of
+Puritans and Cavaliers; and his account
+of Charles the First, and of the
+scenes prior to his execution, is horribly
+Frenchified.</p>
+
+<p>After numerous narrow escapes
+from Mordaunt, who pursues them
+with unrelenting rancour, and succeeds
+in assassinating their friend and
+his uncle, Lord de Winter, the four
+guardsmen embark on board a small
+vessel to return to France. Mordaunt
+discovers this, gets the captain and
+crew out of the way, replaces them
+by one Groslow and other creatures
+of his own, and conceals himself on
+board. His plan is, so soon as the
+vessel is a short distance out at sea,
+to escape in a boat with his confederates,
+after firing a train communicating
+with some barrels of powder
+in the hold. There is some improbability
+in this part of the story; but
+gunpowder plots have special privilege
+of absurdity. The guardsmen,
+however, discover the mischief that is
+brewing against them, just in time to
+escape through the cabin windows,
+and swim off to the boat, which is
+towing astern.</p>
+
+<p>Scarcely had D'Artagnan cut the
+rope that attached the boat to the
+ship, when a shrill whistle was heard
+proceeding from the latter, which, as
+it moved on whilst the boat remained
+stationary, was already beginning to
+be lost to view in the darkness. At
+the same moment a lantern was
+brought upon deck, and lit up the
+figures of the crew. Suddenly a great
+outcry was heard; and just then the
+clouds that covered the heavens split
+and parted, and the silver light of
+the moon fell upon the white sails
+and dark rigging of the vessel. Persons
+were seen running about the
+deck in bewilderment and confusion;
+and Mordaunt himself, carrying a
+torch in his hand, appeared upon the
+poop.</p>
+
+<p>At the appointed hour, Groslow had
+collected his men, and Mordaunt, after
+listening at the door of the cabin, and
+concluding from the silence which reigned
+that his intended victims were buried
+in sleep, had hurried to the powder
+barrels and set fire to the train. Whilst
+he was doing this, Groslow and his
+sailors were preparing to leave the
+ship.</p>
+
+<p>"Haul in the rope," said the former,
+"and bring the boat along-side."</p>
+
+<p>One of the sailors seized the rope
+and pulled it. It came to him without
+resistance.</p>
+
+<p>"The cable is cut!" exclaimed the
+man; "the boat is gone."</p>
+
+<p>"The boat gone!" repeated Groslow;
+"impossible!"</p>
+
+<p>"It is nevertheless true," returned
+the sailor. "See here; nothing in
+our wake, and here is the end of the
+rope."</p>
+
+<p>It was then that Groslow uttered
+the cry which the guardsmen heard
+from their boat.</p>
+
+<p>"What is the matter?" demanded
+Mordaunt, emerging from the hatchway,
+his torch in his hand, and rushing
+towards the stern.</p>
+
+<p>"The matter is, that your enemies<!-- Page 607 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_607" id="Page_607">[Pg 607]</a></span>
+have escaped you. They have cut the
+rope, and saved themselves in the
+boat."</p>
+
+<p>With a single bound Mordaunt was
+at the cabin-door, which he burst open
+with his foot. It was empty.</p>
+
+<p>"We will follow them," said Groslow;
+"they cannot be far off. We
+will give them the stem; sail right
+over them."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; but the powder&mdash;I have
+fired the train!"</p>
+
+<p>"Damnation!" roared Groslow,
+rushing to the hatchway. "Perhaps
+there is still time."</p>
+
+<p>A horrible laugh and a frightful
+blasphemy were Mordaunt's reply;
+and then, his features distorted by
+rage and disappointed hate rather
+than by fear, he hurled his torch into
+the sea, and precipitated himself after
+it. At the same moment, and before
+Groslow had reached the powder barrels,
+the ship opened like the crater of
+a volcano, a gush of fire rose from it
+with a noise like that of fifty pieces of
+artillery, and blazing fragments of
+the doomed vessel were seen careering
+through the air in every direction.
+It lasted but an instant; the red glow
+that had lit up the sea for miles around
+vanished; the burning fragments fell
+hissing into the water; and, with the
+exception of a vibration in the air, all
+was calm as before. The felucca had
+disappeared; Groslow and his men
+were annihilated.</p>
+
+<p>Our four guardsmen had witnessed
+this terrible spectacle with mute awe
+and horror, and when it was over,
+they remained for a moment downcast
+and silent. Porthos and D'Artagnan,
+who had each taken an oar, forgot to
+use them, and sat gazing at their companions,
+whilst the boat rocked to and
+fro at the will of the waves.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Ma foi!</i>" said Aramis, who was
+the first to break the pause, "this
+time I think we are fairly rid of
+him."</p>
+
+<p>"Help, gentlemen, help!" just
+then cried a voice that came sweeping
+in piteous accents over the troubled
+surface of the sea. "Help! for heaven's
+sake, help!"</p>
+
+<p>The guardsmen looked at each
+other. Athos shuddered.</p>
+
+<p>"It is his voice!" said he.</p>
+
+<p>All recognised the voice, and
+strained their eyes in the direction in
+which the felucca had disappeared.
+Presently a man was seen swimming
+vigorously towards them. Athos extended
+his arm, pointing him out to
+his companions.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, yes," said D'Artagnan; "I
+see him."</p>
+
+<p>"Will nothing kill him?" said
+Porthos.</p>
+
+<p>Aramis leaned forward and spoke
+in a whisper to D'Artagnan. Mordaunt
+advanced a few yards, and
+raised one hand out of the water in
+sign of distress.</p>
+
+<p>"Pity! gentlemen," cried he;
+"pity and mercy! My strength is
+leaving me, and I am about to sink."</p>
+
+<p>The tone of agony in which these
+words were spoken awakened a feeling
+of compassion in the breast of
+Athos.</p>
+
+<p>"Unhappy man!" he murmured.</p>
+
+<p>"Good!" said D'Artagnan. "I
+like to see you pity him. On my
+word, I think he is swimming towards
+us. Does he suppose we are going to
+take him in? Row, Porthos, row."</p>
+
+<p>And D'Artagnan plunged his oar
+into the water. Two or three long
+strokes placed twenty fathoms between
+the boat and the drowning man.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! you will have mercy!" cried
+Mordaunt. "You will not let me
+perish!"</p>
+
+<p>"Aha! my fine fellow," said Porthos,
+"we have you now, I think,
+without a chance of escape."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Porthos!" murmured the
+Count de la F&egrave;re.</p>
+
+<p>"For heaven's sake, Athos," replied
+Porthos, "cease your eternal
+generosity, which is ridiculous under
+such circumstances. For my part I
+declare to you, that if he comes within
+my reach, I will split his skull with
+the oar."</p>
+
+<p>D'Artagnan, who had just finished
+his colloquy with Aramis, stood up in
+the boat.</p>
+
+<p>"Sir," said he to the swimmer,
+"be so good as to betake yourself in
+some other direction. The vessel
+which you intended for our coffin is
+scarcely yet at the bottom of the sea,
+and your present situation is a bed of
+roses compared to that in which you
+intended to put us."</p>
+
+<p>"Gentlemen!" said Mordaunt in
+despairing accents, "I swear to you
+that I sincerely repent. I am too<!-- Page 608 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_608" id="Page_608">[Pg 608]</a></span>
+young to die. I was led away by
+a natural resentment; I wished to
+revenge my mother. You would all
+have acted as I have done."</p>
+
+<p>"Pshaw!" said D'Artagnan, who
+saw that Athos was becoming more
+and more softened by Mordaunt's
+supplications. The swimmer was
+again within three or four fathoms of
+the boat. The approach of death
+seemed to give him supernatural
+strength.</p>
+
+<p>"Alas!" said he, "I am going to
+die, then. And yet I was right to
+avenge my mother. And besides, if
+it were a crime, I repent of it, and
+you ought to pardon me."</p>
+
+<p>A wave that passed over his head,
+interrupted his entreaties. He again
+emerged, and made a stroke in the
+direction of the boat. D'Artagnan
+took his oar in both hands. The unhappy
+wretch uttered a groan of despair.
+Athos could bear it no longer.</p>
+
+<p>"D'Artagnan!" cried he, "my
+son D'Artagnan, I entreat of you to
+spare his life. It is so horrible to let
+a man die when you can save him by
+stretching out your hand. I cannot
+witness such a deed; he <i>must</i> be
+saved."</p>
+
+<p>"Mordieu!" replied D'Artagnan,
+"why do you not tie our hands and
+feet, and deliver us up to him at once?
+The thing would be sooner over. Ha!
+Count de la F&egrave;re, you wish to perish
+at his hands: well, I, whom you call
+your son&mdash;I will not suffer it."</p>
+
+<p>Aramis quietly drew his sword,
+which he had carried between his
+teeth when he swam off from the ship.</p>
+
+<p>"If he lays a hand upon the boat,"
+said he, "I sever it from his body,
+like that of a regicide, as he is."</p>
+
+<p>"Wait a moment," said Porthos.</p>
+
+<p>"What are you going to do?" said
+Aramis.</p>
+
+<p>"Jump overboard and strangle
+him," replied the giant.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, my friends!" said Athos, in
+a tone of entreaty that was irresistible;
+"remember that we are men and
+Christians! Grant me the life of this
+unhappy wretch!"</p>
+
+<p>D'Artagnan hung his head: Aramis
+lowered his sword: Porthos sat
+down.</p>
+
+<p>"Count de la F&egrave;re," exclaimed
+Mordaunt, now very near the boat,
+"it is you whom I implore. Have
+pity upon me, and that quickly, for
+my strength is exhausted. Count de
+la F&egrave;re, where are you?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am here, sir," replied Athos,
+with that noble and dignified air that
+was habitual to him. "Take my
+hand, and come into our boat."</p>
+
+<p>"I cannot bear to witness it," said
+D'Artagnan; "such weakness is really
+pitiable." And he turned towards
+his two remaining friends, who, on
+their part, recoiled to the other side
+of the boat, as if unwilling to touch
+the man to whom Athos alone did not
+fear to give his hand. Mordaunt
+made an effort, raised himself up, and
+seized the arm extended to him.</p>
+
+<p>"So," said Athos, leaning over the
+gunwale of the boat&mdash;"now place
+your other hand here;" and he offered
+him his shoulder as a support, so that
+his head nearly touched that of Mordaunt;
+and for a moment the two
+deadly foes seemed to embrace each
+other like brothers. Mordaunt grasped
+the count's collar with his cold and
+dripping fingers.</p>
+
+<p>"And now, sir, you are saved," said
+Athos; "compose yourself."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, my mother!" exclaimed
+Mordaunt, with the look of a demon,
+and an accent of hatred impossible to
+render, "I can offer you but one victim,
+but it is the one you would yourself
+have chosen!"</p>
+
+<p>D'Artagnan uttered a cry; Porthos
+raised his oar; Aramis sprang forward,
+his naked sword in his hand. But it
+was too late. By a last effort, and
+with a yell of triumph, Mordaunt
+dragged Athos into the water, compressing
+his throat, and winding his
+limbs round him like the coils of a
+serpent. Without uttering a word, or
+calling for help, Athos strove for a
+moment to maintain himself on the
+surface of the water. But his movements
+were fettered, the weight that
+clung to him was too great to bear up
+against, and little by little he sank.
+Before his friends could get to his assistance,
+his head was under water,
+and only his long hair was seen floating;
+then all disappeared, and a circle
+of foam, which in its turn was rapidly
+obliterated, alone marked the spot
+where the two men had been engulfed.
+Struck dumb by horror, motionless,
+and almost suffocated with grief and
+indignation, the three guardsmen remained,<!-- Page 609 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_609" id="Page_609">[Pg 609]</a></span>
+with dilated eyes and extended
+arms, gazing down upon the dark
+waves that rolled over the body of
+their friend, the brave, the chivalrous,
+the noble-hearted Athos. Porthos
+was the first to recover his speech.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Athos!" said he, tearing his
+hair, and with an explosion of grief
+doubly affecting in a man of his gigantic
+frame and iron mould; "Oh,
+Athos! are you indeed gone from
+us?"</p>
+
+<p>At this moment, in the midst of the
+vast circle which the rays of the moon
+lit up, the agitation of the water
+which had accompanied the absorption
+of the two men, was renewed,
+and there appeared, first a quantity of
+fair hair, then a pallid human face,
+with eyes wide open, but fixed and
+glazed, then a body, which, after
+raising its bust out of the water, fell
+softly backwards, and floated upon
+the surface of the sea. In the breast
+of the corpse was buried a dagger, of
+which the golden hilt sparkled in the
+moonbeams.</p>
+
+<p>"Mordaunt! Mordaunt!" cried the
+three friends; "it is Mordaunt! But
+Athos! where is he?"</p>
+
+<p>Just then the boat gave a lurch,
+and Grimaud uttered an exclamation
+of joy. The guardsmen turned, and
+saw Athos, his face livid with exhaustion,
+supporting himself with a trembling
+hand upon the gunwale of the
+boat. In an instant he was lifted in,
+and clasped in the arms of his friends.</p>
+
+<p>"You are unhurt?" said D'Artagnan.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," replied Athos. "And
+Mordaunt?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! thank God, he is dead at last.
+Look yonder."</p>
+
+<p>And D'Artagnan forced Athos to
+look in the direction he pointed out,
+where the body of Mordaunt, tossed
+upon the wave, seemed to pursue the
+friends with a look of insult and mortal
+hate. Athos gazed at it with an
+expression of mingled pity and melancholy.</p>
+
+<p>"Bravo! Athos," cried Aramis,
+with a degree of exultation which he
+rarely showed.</p>
+
+<p>"A good blow," exclaimed Porthos.</p>
+
+<p>"I have a son," said Athos, "and
+I wished to live. But it was not I
+who killed him. It was the hand of
+fate."</p>
+
+<p>Soon after the escape of Monsieur de
+Beaufort, the Parisians, stirred up by
+various influential malecontents&mdash;one
+of the chief of whom is the famous
+Jean de Gondy, Coadjutor of Paris,
+and afterwards Cardinal de Retz&mdash;break
+out into open insurrection.
+Mazarine's life is menaced; the queen-mother
+and the young king are virtually
+prisoners of the Frondeurs. The
+Prince of Cond&eacute;, with the laurels he
+has gained on the battle-field of Lens
+yet fresh upon his brow, hurries to
+Paris to take part against the Fronde;
+the queen and Mazarine are anxious
+to escape from the capital in order to
+carry on the war in the open field
+instead of in the narrow streets, fighting
+in which latter, or from behind
+their barricades, the ill-disciplined
+troops of the insurgents are nearly as
+efficient as the most practised veterans.
+How to manage the escape is the
+difficulty. The gates of the city are
+guarded by armed citizens; there appears
+no possibility of egress. In
+this dilemma, Anne of Austria bethinks
+her of the man to whose address
+and courage she had, twenty
+years previously, been so deeply indebted;
+D'Artagnan is called in to
+her assistance. He succeeds in smuggling
+the cardinal out of Paris, and
+then returns to fetch Louis XIV. and
+the queen-mother.</p>
+
+<p>Instead of re-entering Paris by the
+gate of St Honor&eacute;, D'Artagnan, who
+had time to spare, went round to that
+of Richelieu. The guard stopped him,
+and when they saw by his plumed
+hat and laced cloak that he was an
+officer of mousquetaires, they insisted
+upon his crying out, "Down with Mazarine."
+This he did with so good a
+grace, and in so sonorous a voice, that
+the most difficult were fully satisfied.
+He then walked down the Rue Richelieu,
+reflecting how he should manage
+the escape of the queen, for it would
+be impossible to take her away in one
+of the royal carriages, with the arms
+of France painted upon it. On passing
+before the hotel of Madame de
+Gu&eacute;m&eacute;n&eacute;e, who passed for the mistress
+of Monsieur de Gondy, he perceived
+a coach standing at the door.
+A sudden idea struck him.</p>
+
+<p>"Pardieu!" said he, "it would be
+an excellent man&oelig;ig;uvre." And, stepping
+up to the carriage, he examined<!-- Page 610 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_610" id="Page_610">[Pg 610]</a></span>
+the arms upon the panels, and the
+livery of the coachman, who was
+sleeping on the box.</p>
+
+<p>"It is the Coadjutor's carriage,"
+said D'Artagnan to himself. "Providence
+is decidedly in our favour."</p>
+
+<p>He opened the door without noise,
+got into the coach, and pulled the
+check-string.</p>
+
+<p>"To the Palais Royal," cried he to
+the coachman.</p>
+
+<p>The man, waking in a fright, made
+no doubt that the order came from
+his master, and drove off at full speed
+to the palace. The gates of the court
+were just closing as he drove in. On
+pulling up at the steps, the coachman
+perceived that the footmen were not
+behind the carriage, and, supposing
+that M. de Gondy had sent them
+somewhere, he got off his box and
+opened the door. D'Artagnan jumped
+out, and just as the coachman, alarmed
+at seeing a stranger instead of his
+master, made a step backwards, he
+seized him by the collar with his left
+hand, and with his right put a pistol
+to his breast.</p>
+
+<p>"Not a word," said D'Artagnan,
+"or you are a dead man."</p>
+
+<p>The coachman saw that he had
+fallen into a snare. He remained
+silent, with open mouth and staring
+eyes. Two mousquetaires were walking
+up and down the court; D'Artagnan
+called them, handed over the
+coachman to one of them, with orders
+to keep him in safe custody, and desired
+the other to get on the box of
+the carriage, drive it round to the
+door of the private staircase leading
+out of the palace, and there to wait
+till he came. The coachman's livery
+coat and hat went with the carriage.
+These arrangements completed, D'Artagnan
+entered the palace, and knocked
+at the door of the queen's apartments.
+He was instantly admitted; Anne of
+Austria was waiting for him in her
+oratory.</p>
+
+<p>"Is every thing prepared?" said
+she.</p>
+
+<p>"Every thing, madam."</p>
+
+<p>"And the cardinal?"</p>
+
+<p>"He has left Paris without accident,
+and waits for your majesty at
+Cours la Reine."</p>
+
+<p>"Come with me to the king."</p>
+
+<p>D'Artagnan bowed and followed
+the queen. The young king was already
+dressed, with the exception of
+his shoes and doublet. He seemed
+greatly astonished at being thus roused
+in the middle of the night, and overwhelmed
+his valet-de-chambre, Laporte,
+with questions, to all of which
+the latter replied&mdash;"Sire, it is by
+order of her majesty." The bed-clothes
+were thrown back, and the
+sheets were seen worn threadbare and
+even into holes. This was one of the
+results of Mazarine's excessive parsimony.
+The queen entered, and D'Artagnan
+remained at the door of the
+apartment. As soon as the child saw
+his mother, he escaped from Laporte's
+hand and ran up to her. She signed
+to D'Artagnan to approach.</p>
+
+<p>"My son," said Anne of Austria,
+showing him the mousquetaire, who
+stood with his plumed hat in his hand,
+calm, grave, and collected, "this is
+M. D'Artagnan, who is brave as one
+of those knights of old whose histories
+you love to hear repeated. Look at
+him well, and remember his name, for
+he is about to render us a great service."</p>
+
+<p>Louis XIV. gazed at D'Artagnan
+with his large proud eyes; then, slowly
+lifting his little hand, he held it out to
+the officer, who bent his knee and
+kissed it.</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur D'Artagnan," repeated
+the young king. "It is well, madam;
+I shall remember it."</p>
+
+<p>At this moment a loud murmuring
+noise was heard approaching the palace.</p>
+
+<p>"Ha!" said D'Artagnan, straining
+his ears to distinguish the sound&mdash;"The
+people are rising."</p>
+
+<p>"We must fly instantly," said the
+queen.</p>
+
+<p>"Madam," said D'Artagran, "you
+have deigned to give me the direction
+of this night's proceedings. Let your
+majesty remain and learn what the
+people want. I will answer for every
+thing."</p>
+
+<p>Nothing is more easily communicated
+than confidence. The queen,
+herself courageous and energetic, appreciated
+in the highest degree those
+two virtues in others.</p>
+
+<p>"Do as you please," said she. "I
+trust entirely to you."</p>
+
+<p>"Does your majesty authorize me
+to give orders in your name?"</p>
+
+<p>"I do, sir."<!-- Page 611 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_611" id="Page_611">[Pg 611]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>D'Artagnan hurried from the room.
+The tumult was increasing; the mob
+seemed to surround the Palais Royal.
+On all sides were heard seditious cries
+and clamours. Presently M. de Comminges,
+who was on guard that night
+at the Palais Royal, craved admittance
+to the queen's presence. He
+had about two hundred men in the
+court-yard and stables, and he placed
+them at her majesty's disposal.</p>
+
+<p>"What do the people want?" said
+Anne of Austria to D'Artagnan, who
+just then re-appeared.</p>
+
+<p>"A report has been spread, madam,
+that your majesty has left the Palais
+Royal, taking the king with you. The
+mob demand a proof of the contrary,
+or threaten to demolish the palace."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! this time it is too bad," said
+the queen. "I will soon show them
+that I am not gone."</p>
+
+<p>D'Artagnan saw by the expression
+of Anne's face, that she was about to
+give some violent order. He hastened
+to interfere.</p>
+
+<p>"Madam," said he, in a low voice,
+"have you still confidence in me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Entire confidence, sir," was the
+reply.</p>
+
+<p>"Then let your majesty send away
+M. de Comminges, and order him to
+shut himself up with his men in the
+guard-room and stables. The people
+wish to see the king, and the people
+must see him."</p>
+
+<p>"See him! But how? On the
+balcony?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, madam; here, in his bed,
+sleeping."</p>
+
+<p>The queen reflected a moment, and
+smiled. There as a degree of duplicity
+in the course proposed that
+chimed in with her humour.</p>
+
+<p>"Let it be as you will," said she.</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur Laporte," said D'Artagnan;
+"go and announce to the
+people, that in five minutes they shall
+see the king in his bed. Say also that
+his majesty is sleeping, and that the
+queen requests them to be silent, in
+order not to awaken him."</p>
+
+<p>"But they cannot all come," said
+Anne. "A deputation of two or four
+persons."</p>
+
+<p>"All of them, madam."</p>
+
+<p>"But it will last till to-morrow
+morning."</p>
+
+<p>"In a quarter of hour it will be
+over. I know the mob, madam; it is
+a great baby that only wants flattery
+and caresses. Before the king, these
+noisy rioters will be mute and timid
+as lambs."</p>
+
+<p>"Go, Laporte," said the queen.
+The young king approached his mother.</p>
+
+<p>"Why do you do what these people
+ask?" said he.</p>
+
+<p>"It must be so, my son," said
+Anne of Austria.</p>
+
+<p>"But if they can tell me that it
+<i>must</i> be so, I am no longer king."</p>
+
+<p>The queen remained silent.</p>
+
+<p>"Sire," said D'Artagnan, "will
+your majesty permit me to ask you a
+question?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir," replied Louis, after a
+moment's pause, occasioned by surprise
+at the guardsman's boldness.</p>
+
+<p>"Does our majesty remember,
+when playing in the park at Fontaine-bleau,
+or the gardens at Versailles,
+to have seen the heavens become
+clouded, and to have heard the thunder
+roll?"</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly I do," answered Louis.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, the noise of that thunder
+told your majesty, that, however disposed
+you might be to play, you <i>must</i>
+go in-doors."</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly, sir; but I have been
+told that the voice of the thunder is
+the voice of God."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, sire, let your majesty listen
+to the voice of the people, and you will
+perceive that it greatly resembles that
+of the thunder."</p>
+
+<p>As he spoke, a low deep roar, proceeding
+from the multitude without,
+was borne upon the night breeze to
+the windows of the apartment. The
+next instant all was still and hushed.</p>
+
+<p>"Hark, sire," said D'Artagnan,
+"they have just told the people that
+you are sleeping. You see that you
+are still king."</p>
+
+<p>The queen looked with astonishment
+at the singular man, whose
+brilliant courage made him the equal
+of the bravest; whose keen and ready
+wit rendered him the equal of all.
+Laporte entered the room, and announced
+that the message he had
+taken to the people had acted like
+oil upon the waves, and that they
+were waiting in respectful silence, till
+the five minutes, at the expiration of
+which they were to see the king,
+should have elapsed. By the queen's<!-- Page 612 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_612" id="Page_612">[Pg 612]</a></span>
+order, Louis was put into bed, dressed
+as he was, and covered up to the
+throat with the sheets. His mother
+stooped over him, and kissed his forehead.</p>
+
+<p>"Pretend to sleep, Louis," said
+she.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said the king, "but not
+one of those men must touch me."</p>
+
+<p>"Sire," said D'Artagnan, "I am
+here; and if one of them had that
+audacity, he should pay for it with his
+life."</p>
+
+<p>The five minutes were over. Laporte
+went out to usher in the mob;
+the queen remained standing near the
+door; D'Artagnan concealed himself
+behind the curtains of the bed. Then
+was heard the march of a great multitude
+of men, striving to step lightly
+and noiselessly. The queen raised
+with her own hand the tapestry that
+covered the doorway, and placed her
+finger on her lips. On beholding her,
+the crowd paused, struck with respect.</p>
+
+<p>"Come in, gentlemen&mdash;come in,"
+said the queen.</p>
+
+<p>There was apparent in the mob a
+degree of hesitation which resembled
+shame; they had expected resistance,
+had anticipated a contest with the
+guards, bloodshed and violence; instead
+of that, the gates had been
+peaceably opened, and the king, ostensibly
+at least, was unguarded save by
+his mother. The men in front of the
+throng stammered out an excuse, and
+attempted to retire.</p>
+
+<p>"Come in, gentlemen," said Laporte,
+"since the queen desires it."</p>
+
+<p>Upon this invitation, a man, bolder
+than the rest, entered the room,
+and advanced on tiptoe towards the
+bed. He was followed by others,
+and the chamber was rapidly filled,
+as silently as if the new-comers had
+been the most humble and obsequious
+courtiers. D'Artagnan saw every
+thing through a hole he had made in
+the curtain. In the man who had
+first entered, he recognised his former
+servant Planchet, who, since he had
+left his service, had been a sergeant
+in the regiment of Piedmont, and who
+was now a confectioner in the Rue
+des Lombards, and an active partisan
+of the Fronde.</p>
+
+<p>"Sir," said the queen, who saw
+that Planchet was a leader of the mob,
+"you wished to see the king, and the
+king is here. Approach, and look at
+him, and say if we resemble persons
+who are going to escape."</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly not, your majesty,"
+said Planchet, a little astonished at
+the honour done to him.</p>
+
+<p>"You will tell my good and loyal
+Parisians," continued Anne of Austria,
+with a smile of which D'Artagnan
+well understood the meaning,
+"that you have seen the king in bed,
+and sleeping, and the queen about to
+go to bed also."</p>
+
+<p>"I will tell them so, madam, and
+those who accompany me will also
+bear witness to it, but"&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"But what?" said the queen.</p>
+
+<p>"I beseech your majesty to pardon
+me," said Planchet "but is this
+really the king?"</p>
+
+<p>The queen trembled with suppressed
+anger.</p>
+
+<p>"Is there one amongst you who
+knows the king?" said she. "If so,
+let him approach, and say if this be
+his majesty or not."</p>
+
+<p>A man, muffled in a cloak, which
+he wore in such a manner as to conceal
+his face, drew near, and stooping
+over the bed, gazed at the features of
+Louis. For a moment D'Artagnan
+thought that this person had some
+evil design, and he placed his hand
+upon his sword; but as he did so, the
+cloak slipped partially from before the
+man's face, and the guardsman recognised
+the Coadjutor, De Gondy.</p>
+
+<p>"It is the king himself," said the
+man. "God bless his majesty!"</p>
+
+<p>"God bless his majesty!" murmured
+the crowd.</p>
+
+<p>"And now, my friends," said Planchet;
+"let us thank her majesty, and
+retire."</p>
+
+<p>The insurgents bowed their thanks,
+and left the room with the same caution
+and silence with which they had
+entered it. When the last had disappeared,
+followed by Laporte, the
+remaining actors in this strange scene
+remained for a moment looking at
+each other without uttering a word:
+the queen standing near the door;
+D'Artagnan half out of his hiding-place;
+the king leaning on his elbow,
+but ready to fall back upon his pillow
+at the least noise that should indicate
+the return of the mob. The noise of
+footsteps, however, grew rapidly more<!-- Page 613 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_613" id="Page_613">[Pg 613]</a></span>
+remote, and at last entirely ceased.
+The queen drew a deep breath of relief;
+D'Artagnan wiped the perspiration
+of anxiety from his brow; the
+king slid out of his bed.</p>
+
+<p>"Let us go," said Louis.</p>
+
+<p>Just then Laporte returned.</p>
+
+<p>"I have followed them to the gates,
+madam," said the valet-de-chambre;
+"they informed their companions that
+they had seen the king and spoken to
+the queen, and the mob has dispersed,
+perfectly satisfied."</p>
+
+<p>"The wretches!" murmured Anne
+of Austria; "they shall pay dearly for
+their insolence." Then, turning to
+D'Artagnan, "Sir," said she, "you
+have this night given me the best
+advice I ever received in my life.
+What is next to be done?"</p>
+
+<p>"We can set out when your majesty
+pleases. I shall be waiting at
+the foot of the private staircase."</p>
+
+<p>"Go, sir," said the queen. "We
+will follow you."</p>
+
+<p>D'Artagnan descended the stairs,
+and found the carriage at the appointed
+place, with the guardsman sitting
+on the box. He took the hat and
+coat of M. de Gondy's coachman, put
+them on himself, and took the guardsman's
+place. He had a brace of pistols
+in his belt, a musquetoon under
+his feet, his naked sword behind him.
+The queen appeared, accompanied by
+the king, and by his brother, the Duke
+of Anjou.</p>
+
+<p>"The Coadjutor's carriage!" exclaimed
+she, starting back in astonishment.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, madam," said D'Artagnan
+"but be not alarmed. I shall drive
+you."</p>
+
+<p>The queen uttered a cry of surprise,
+and stepped into the coach. The
+king and his brother followed, and sat
+down beside her. By her command,
+Laporte also entered the vehicle.
+The mantelets of the windows were
+closed, and the horses set off at a
+gallop along the Rue Richelieu. On
+reaching the gate at the extremity of
+the street, the chief of the guard advanced
+at the head of a dozen men,
+and carrying a lantern in his hand.
+D'Artagnan made him a sign.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you recognise the carriage?"
+said he to the sergeant.</p>
+
+<p>"No," was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>"Look at the arms."</p>
+
+<p>The sergeant put his lantern close
+to the pannel.</p>
+
+<p>"They are those of M. le Coadjuteur,"
+said he.</p>
+
+<p>"Hush!" said d'Artagnan. "Madam
+de Gu&eacute;m&eacute;n&eacute;e is with him."</p>
+
+<p>The sergeant laughed. "Open the
+gate," said he; "I know who it is."
+Then, approaching the mantelet&mdash;"Much
+pleasure, Monseigneur," said
+he.</p>
+
+<p>"Hold your tongue!" cried D'Artagnan,
+"or you will lose me my
+place."</p>
+
+<p>The gate creaked upon its hinges;
+D'Artagnan, seeing the gate open,
+flogged his horses, and set off at a
+rapid trot. In five minutes he had
+rejoined the cardinal's coach.</p>
+
+<p>"Mousqueton," cried D'Artagnan
+to M. du Vallon's servant, "open the
+door of his majesty's carriage."</p>
+
+<p>"It is he!" exclaimed Porthos,
+who was waiting for his friend.</p>
+
+<p>"In a coachman's livery!" cried
+Mazarine.</p>
+
+<p>"And with the Coadjutor's carriage,"
+said the queen.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Corpo di Dio</i>, Monsieur d'Artagnan!"
+said the cardinal, "you are
+worth your weight in gold!"</p>
+
+<p>We cannot attempt to give more
+than these slight glimpses of the eight
+volumes now lying before us, in which
+the extravagance and exaggeration of
+many of the incidents are only redeemed
+by the brilliant diction and
+animated narrative of their clever
+but unscrupulous author. It would
+be too lengthy to give even a
+sketch of the chain of incidents that
+succeeds those above detailed, or to
+show how, according to M. Dumas,
+D'Artagnan and his friends became
+instrumental to the conclusion of the
+treaty by which the hostilities between
+Frondeurs and Mazarinists are for
+the time brought to a close. The first
+act of the war of the Fronde is over;
+Louis XIV., now within a year of his
+majority, re-enters the capital with
+Anne of Austria and Mazarine,
+D'Artagnan, now captain of mousquetaires,
+riding on one side of his carriage,
+and Porthos, now Baron du
+Vallon, on the other. Baron Porthos
+goes back to his estates, happy and
+glorious; Aramis and Athos return to
+the seclusion whence the stirring times
+had called them forth, the latter leaving<!-- Page 614 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_614" id="Page_614">[Pg 614]</a></span>
+his son in charge of D'Artagnan,
+who is to take the young man with
+him to the Flemish wars. The restless
+spirit of the Gascon abhors the
+idea of repose.</p>
+
+<p>"Come, D'Artagnan," said Porthos,
+as he got upon his horse to depart,
+"take my advice; throw up your commission,
+hang up your sword, and
+accompany me to Du Vallon. We
+will grow old together, whilst talking
+of our past adventures."</p>
+
+<p>"Not so," replied D'Artagnan.
+"<i>Peste!</i> the campaign is just opening,
+and I mean to make it. I hope to
+gain something by it."</p>
+
+<p>"And what do you hope to become?"</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Pardieu!</i> who can tell? Marshal
+of France, perhaps."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, ah!" said Porthos, looking at
+D'Artagnan, to whose gasconading he
+had never been able quite to accustom
+himself. And the two friends parted.</p>
+
+<p>"You will prepare your best apartment
+for me, Madeleine," said D'Artagnan
+to his handsome hostess, as he
+re-entered his hotel. "I must keep
+up appearances, now that I am Captain
+of Mousquetaires."</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="biggap">
+<h2><a name="THE_GRAND_GENERAL_JUNCTION_AND_INDEFINITE_EXTENSION_RAILWAY_RHAPSODY" id="THE_GRAND_GENERAL_JUNCTION_AND_INDEFINITE_EXTENSION_RAILWAY_RHAPSODY"></a>THE GRAND GENERAL JUNCTION AND INDEFINITE EXTENSION <br /> RAILWAY RHAPSODY.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">By a Provisional Committee of Contributors.</span></h3>
+
+<div class="poem center">
+<div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Though the farmer's hope may perish,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">While in floods the harvest lies,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Speculation let us cherish,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Let the Railway market rise!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Honest trader, whosoever,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Sick with losses, sad with cares,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Quit your burden now or never,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Cut the shop and deal in shares.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Spendthrift&mdash;short of drink and dinners,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Half-pay captain, younger son,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Boldly throw while all are winners,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Laugh henceforth at debt and dun.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Come, ye saints, whose skill in cavilling,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Shock'd at skittles, cards, or dice,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thinks, except for Sunday travelling,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Railway gaming is no vice.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Hither haste, each black-leg fellow,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Quit the turf or loaded bone;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Like your brother-black Othello,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Own your occupation's gone.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Tribes that live by depredation&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">"Bulls" and "Bears," and birds of prey,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">See the coming spoliation,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Scent the premiums far away.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Stags!" your rapid forms revealing,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Show awhile your front so bright,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Then from your pursuers stealing,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Vanish sudden out of sight.<br /></span>
+<!-- Page 615 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_615" id="Page_615">[Pg 615]</a></span></div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Leave all meaner things, my St John,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">For the locomotive race;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Post your tin upon the engine,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Go ahead, and keep the pace.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">At a Railway Monarch's splendour<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Envious squires and nobles stare;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Even the Hebrew gewgaw vender<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Turns sharebroker in despair.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Now no more the Ragfair dealer<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Hints with horrid breath, "Old Clo';"<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Putting forth another feeler,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">"Any shares?" he whispers low.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Every paper's a prospectus,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Nostrums, news, are at an end;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"Easy shaving" don't affect us,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Silent even "The Silent Friend."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Morison resigns his bubbling,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Lazenby has lost his zest;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Widow Welch has ceased from troubling,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Weary Moses is at rest.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Every station, age, and gender,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Deep within the torrent dip;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Even our children, young and tender,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Play at games of nursery scrip.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Over meadows, moors, and mosses,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Quagmires black, and mountains grey,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Careless where or how it crosses,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Speculation finds the way.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Every valley is exalted,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Every mountain is made low;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where we once were roughly jolted,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Light and lively now we go.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Speed along with fire and fury!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Hark! the whistle shrilly shrieks!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Speed&mdash;but mark! we don't insure ye<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">'Gainst the boiler's frolic freaks.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">But before a trip is ventured,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">This precaution prudence begs:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When you've seen your luggage enter'd,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Also book your arms and legs.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Ask not if yon luckless stoker,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Blown into the air, survive&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">These are trifles, while the broker<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Quotes our shares at Ninety-five.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Vainly points some bleeding spectre<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">To his mangled remnants;&mdash;still<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Calmly answers each Director,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">"Charge the damage to the bill."<br /></span>
+<!-- Page 616 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_616" id="Page_616">[Pg 616]</a></span></div></div>
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">All the perils which environ<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">(As the poet <i>now</i> would sing)<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Him who meddles with <i>hot</i> iron,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Seem to us a pleasant thing.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Countless lines, from Lewes to Lerwick,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Cross like nets the country soon;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Soon a railway (Atmospheric,)<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Speeds our progress to the moon.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Traversing yon space between us,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Soon the rapid trains will bring<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Ores from Mars and fires from Venus,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Lots of lead from Saturn's Ring;<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Belts from Jupiter's own factory,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Mercury from Maia's Son;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And when summers look refractory,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Bottled sunbeams from the sun.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">If too soaring, too seraphic,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Seems to some that heavenward track,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">T'other way there's much more traffic,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Though not many travel back.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">What a gradient through Avernus!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">What a curve will Hades take!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When with joy the Shades discern us,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">How Hell's terminus will shake!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">How the Pandemonium Junction,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">With the Central will combine,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Rattling both without compunction<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Down the Tartarus incline!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Phlegethon no more need fright us,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">For we've bridged its fiery way;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And the steamer on Cocytus<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Long ago has ceased to pay.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Charon&mdash;under sequestration&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Does the Stygian bark resign,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Glad to find a situation<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">As policeman to the line.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Thoughts of penance need not haunt us;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Who remains our sins to snub?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Pluto, Minos, Rhadamanthus,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">All have joined the "Railway Club."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Fortune's gifts, then, catch and cherish;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Follow where her currents flow;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Sure to prosper&mdash;or to perish,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Follow, though to Styx we go!<br /></span></div></div>
+<!-- Page 617 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_617" id="Page_617">[Pg 617]</a></span></div></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="biggap">
+<h2><a name="SKETCHES_OF_ITALY_LUCCA" id="SKETCHES_OF_ITALY_LUCCA"></a>SKETCHES OF ITALY&mdash;LUCCA.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>The records of travellers in the
+<i>Livre des Etrangers</i> at Modena, had
+prepared us to expect nothing tolerable
+at the night halts in our journey
+through the Apennines to our projected
+place of <i>s&eacute;jour</i> during the great heats of
+summer, the <i>Bagni di Lucca</i>. At the
+<i>mountain</i> locandas, we were always
+prepared, not to say resigned, to
+encounter those various distresses
+which seem light evils at a distance&mdash;knowing
+that we could not starve as
+long as eggs and maccaroni were to
+be found, and even as to lodging we
+were too old travellers to flinch at
+trifles. The rural inn at Piave, which
+looked more inviting than the great
+one of the small place, was delighted
+to receive us, and gave us good trout,
+tolerable bread, and excellent honey:
+we were in the midst of a lovely
+country, we heard a limpid stream
+running within a few yards of our
+window; and what had we to fear?
+But night came, and with it more annoyances
+than one bargains for even
+in Italy. A floor of thin planks which
+had never fitted, and of which the
+joinings, which had never been of the
+kind called <i>callid&aelig;</i>, were now widened
+by time, was all that parted our small
+bedroom from that of the horses.
+Through these, and also through large
+rat-holes, there came up copious ammoniacal
+smells, which our mucous
+membrane resented from the first;
+and well it had fared with us had this
+been all. We had never been so near
+horses at night, and had no idea they
+made such an incessant noise. <i>One</i>
+horse stabled and littered for the night
+were bad enough, but we had a whole
+stableful; and just as we were forgetting
+the fleas, and forgiving the
+mosquitos, and sleep led on by indigestion
+was heavy on our eyelids,
+a snort, loud as a lion's roar, made us
+start. Then there came a long succession
+of chump, chump, from the
+molar teeth, and a snort, snort, from
+the wakeful nostril of our mute companions,
+(<i>equo ne credite, Teucri!</i>)&mdash;one
+stinted quadruped was ransacking
+the manger for hay, another was
+cracking his beans to make him
+frisky to-morrow, and more than one
+seemed actually rubbing his moist
+nose just under our bed! This was
+not all; not a whisk of their tails
+escaped us, and when they coughed,
+which was often, the hoarse <i>roncione</i>
+shook the very tressels of our bed; in
+short, we never suffered such real
+night<i>mare</i> before. We dreamt <i>stethoscopes</i>
+and racks. But morning came,
+and, with it, morning freshness and
+morning sound. The wood-pigeons are
+cooing, the green hills just opposite
+seem to have come closer up to our window
+to wish us good-day; so we throw
+open our little casement, to let out the
+gaseous compounds from bed and
+stable. How elegantly do the dew-bedded
+vines take hold of the poplars
+and elms, and hang their festoons of
+ripening fruit from branch to branch!
+But the sun begins to break a brilliant
+pencil of rays over the hill-top,
+nor will he take long to leave the screen
+and uncover himself; indeed, in less
+than a quarter of an hour, he will have
+stared us quite out of countenance, and,
+long before the hour of his advent shall
+have been completed, the birds, which
+till now have been all activity, will
+become torpid, the pigeons will have
+given over their cooing, and the sparrow
+his chirp; so the fish that has not
+yet breakfasted had better make haste,
+for his are chariot-wheels which have
+been looked after overnight, and
+linchpins that never come out; nor
+has he had one break-down or overturn
+since he first set off on his <i>Macadamized</i>
+way. In haste to escape
+from the heat of the plains of Tuscany,
+we were not sorry when we
+saw the douaniers of <i>Pistoia</i>, the last
+of its cities. This town is dulness,
+not epitomized, but extended over a
+considerable space; its streets are
+many, long, and, what is not usual
+in Italy, wide. There is no population
+stirring; the very piazza is without
+activity; and, if you leave it, you
+may walk a mile between very large
+houses, churches, convents, and palaces,
+without meeting any one. Pistoia,<!-- Page 618 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_618" id="Page_618">[Pg 618]</a></span>
+in short, is an improvement on
+<i>Oxford</i> in the long vacation&mdash;the
+place, however, has its ancient fame,
+has given birth to two or three distinguished
+literati, and figured in the
+civil wars. The fifteenth century records
+among others the name of <i>Cini</i>,
+whose epitaph we saw in the cathedral;
+and the author of the <i>Riciardetto</i>
+was, we believe, also one of its
+citizens. In its immediate vicinity
+fell <i>Catiline</i>. They say the Italian
+language is spoken here with great
+purity of <i>accent</i>, which is remarkable,
+as it is only twenty miles from the
+guttural and inharmonious speech of
+Florence. It was not our purpose to
+explore its decayed manufactures, if
+such there still exist at all, of fire-arms
+and organs; indeed, we know not if
+pistols and organ-pipes have any thing
+particular to do with it; so, after refreshment
+of the cattle, we passed on
+through a beautiful country at its
+most beautiful season, and thought
+we had seldom seen any thing more
+striking than the views from <i>Serravalle</i>,
+or those about <i>Pescia</i> and <i>Monte Catino</i>.
+The high, almost the highest Apennines
+were right a-head; and could
+we have taken the wings of the bird,
+or of the morning, and lighted on
+any of those peaks at no great distance,
+we should have looked directly
+down on to the Mediterranean, and
+almost into the gulf of <i>La Spezzia</i>;
+we should have seen the long Ligurian
+promontory in the distant horizon
+to the right, and have embraced
+Leghorn, Elba, Gorgona,
+and the coast as far as <i>Piombino</i>,
+in the opposite direction. An
+imperceptible ascent conducts from
+the <i>town of Lucca</i> towards its <i>baths</i>;
+and you may expect, in about three
+hours, to have accomplished its sixteen
+miles. The road follows the
+long windings and beautiful valleys of
+the <i>Serchio</i>, of which, harmless as it
+looks, we read on all the bridges records
+of its occasional violence, and of
+their repeated destruction. After a
+morning's ride, to which there are
+few equals even in Italy or Switzerland,
+we begin to get our books, and
+paper, and light luggage, out of the
+nets and pockets of the carriage&mdash;for
+there are the <i>Bagni Caldi</i>, about a
+mile before us. It is not our purpose
+to describe the humours of an Italian
+watering-place; but let it not be supposed
+that this retreat is the happy
+thought of our own restless population.
+The English have had nothing
+to do with bringing the baths of
+Lucca into notice or fashion, although
+they are at present among its principal
+inhabitants from June to September.
+Hither flock in summer the
+families who have established themselves
+in winter-quarters at Florence
+or Pisa; and here they soon get
+possession of all the cracked pianos,
+and strolling music-masters who come
+on speculation, and forthwith begin a
+series of screaming lessons, called
+singing, executed by English young
+women, studious of cheap accomplishments,
+to the infinite distress of all
+who pass by their open windows, at
+whatever hour! As the baths are
+frequented by the little court of Lucca,
+there is a <i>residenza</i>, a <i>casino</i>, and
+tables for play. There are two or
+three good hotels or <i>tables-d'h&ocirc;tes</i>,
+and there is a shabby little coffee-house,
+and a handful of <i>Balzacs and
+Paul de Kocks</i> at one circulating library.
+There is one butcher and one baker
+at each of the villages, privileged dispensers
+of their respective commodities.
+There is a scarcity of poultry,
+of fresh butter, and vegetables; but
+there is abundance of maccaroni.
+There are two grocers, who both supply
+amateurs with English pickles, Harvey's
+sauce, Warren's blacking,
+Henry's magnesia, James's powder,
+and the other necessaries of life. The
+houses are generally let for the season,
+and the rent of the best is as
+high as &pound;4 a-week. The furniture is
+old and bad, but tolerably clean.
+Ascend any of the hills, and you look
+down on roofs that have scarcely any
+chimneys. Whenever you ride or
+walk, you have a hill on the right
+and left of you, and a river making
+its way against the opposition of huge
+masses of stone, and angular impediments
+from the turns of the valley
+itself. On these hills, you have uniformly
+vines below; and when you
+get above the vines, you walk entirely
+among the chestnut-trees which constitute
+the real riches of the country.
+The best office, however, of the hills, is
+not the production of fruit-trees, but<!-- Page 619 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_619" id="Page_619">[Pg 619]</a></span>
+the screen they afford against the
+Italian sun. The early sunset here
+is worth all the wine of the territory,
+which is scarce and very bad. In the
+evenings of July and August, there is
+a turn-out of equipages that have
+figured on the Boulevards and in
+Hyde Park, which commonly make
+a halt opposite the little shabby coffee-house,
+to eat bad ices, and do the
+agreeable to each other&mdash;the rush-bottomed
+chairs at the door being occupied
+the while by a set of <i>intelligent</i>
+young men, with mustache, who smoke
+bad cigars, and cultivate as elsewhere
+the charm of each others' classical
+conversation. Montaigne was here
+in the 15th century, and Fallopius,
+he of the trumpets, came here to be
+cured of deafness&mdash;which is one of
+the infirmities which the Latin inscription
+declares to have yielded to
+the use of the waters. Lorenzo di
+Medici came to talk platonism and
+the fine arts at a place which will
+never know either any more; and,
+from a Latin letter extant, was summoned
+from the Bagni to the death-bed
+of his wife. Ladies have often
+been recommended to the baths to be
+cured of sterility; and, from what we
+have seen, we think there are far
+more unpromising places. Doctors,
+whose names only are known, but
+who were probably men of learning,
+have written on these salutary
+springs, and modern flippancy has
+at present forborne them. We
+have no Quack to patronize them;
+the "<i>numen aqu&aelig;</i>" is not violated
+in <i>print</i> at least by jobbing apothecaries;
+but there is Gentile di Foligno,
+and Ugolino di Monte Catino,
+and Savonarola, and Bandinelli
+(1483,) and Fallopio (1569,) and
+Ducini (1711,) who have written
+books, of which the object, as they are
+in Latin, is not assuredly what there
+is too much reason to believe it <i>is</i>,
+when such books are now presented
+to the world. Of the waters, (which,
+like those of Bath, contain minute
+portions of silex and oxide of iron,)
+the temperature differs at the different
+establishments&mdash;and there are
+three; 43&deg; Reaumur is assigned as the
+highest, and 35&deg; 24' to two others.</p>
+
+<p>We were stranded at this pleasant
+place of endurable ennui for
+three long months, during which there
+was no going out from nine to five
+<span class="smcap">p.m.</span> Our society afforded little resource,
+our reading less. When the
+weather permitted&mdash;that is, in the
+delicious, incomparable month of
+October&mdash;we made little excursions
+to Barga, Ponte Nero, &amp;c. &amp;c.,
+and always returned delighted; nor
+were our walks of shorter distance
+unproductive of interest. The Lucchese
+are the most industrious people in the
+world, and their agriculture made us,
+<i>pro tempore</i>, amateurs of rural economy.
+We will not bore the reader
+with <i>Georgics</i> such as ours; but if
+he will accept, in place of picture
+galleries and churches, the "<i>quid
+faciat l&aelig;tas segetes</i>" of this far from
+miserable population, we will cheerfully
+take him with us in our walks.</p>
+
+
+<h2><span class="smcap">Agriculture Round Lucca.</span></h2>
+
+<p>The <i>bearded</i> wheat, or <i>triticum</i>,
+not the <i>siligo</i>, or common wheat of our
+English culture, was the plant which,
+whenever the attributes of Ceres
+were to be represented on ancient
+coins, was selected for that purpose;
+but the Lucchese territory, where the
+<i>Cerealia</i> in general abound, offers
+few specimens of either kind. These
+productions seem afraid of their <i>ears</i>
+in the neighbourhood of the <i>Great
+Turk</i>, who is the great tyrant here,
+and, together with the rice, monopolizes
+three-fourths of all the land devoted
+to the culture of grain; the
+<i>millet</i> (<i>miglio</i>,) the <i>panixa</i> (<i>panico</i>,)
+Indian wheat (<i>sagena</i>,) together with
+the lupins, and a variety of peas,
+beans, and lentiles, occupy the remainder.
+"The Great Turk is a
+great eater, is he not?" "Yes," replied
+the peasant who cultivated him,
+"<i>mangia come Cristiano</i>,"&mdash;he eats
+like a Christian all he can get out of
+the ground; only, the more he gets
+the better he looks for it&mdash;which is
+not always the case with Christians."
+There are two kinds of <i>Gran Turco</i>, or
+<i>maize</i>; that sown in May is of rather
+better quality than the other, and<!-- Page 620 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_620" id="Page_620">[Pg 620]</a></span>
+produces on an average 10 lbs. more
+per sack in weight than that which
+is sown afterwards in June. In order
+to secure a good crop, it is necessary
+that the ground should be well manured
+with lupins, which are either
+grown for this single purpose the
+year before, and left to rot, or boiled
+to prevent their germination, and then
+scattered over the field. The Grand
+Turk commonly carries but one head
+on his shoulders, but occasionally we
+have remarked two or more on the
+same stem. In the year 1817, the
+sack (160 lbs.) fetched fifty-eight
+pauls; while wheat was seventy-eight,
+and even the chestnut flour sold
+at fifty; so that, even in the Lucchese
+territory, they have their approach
+to famine in bad years.</p>
+
+
+<h2><span class="smcap">Sagena.</span></h2>
+
+<p>Pliny mentions the <i>Sagena</i>, under
+the name of Saracenic millet, as a
+thing which came from India, and was
+first brought into Italy in his own
+time. Herodotus speaks of its cultivation
+by the Babylonians. The
+Saracens used it in the fourteenth
+century for making bread, as do the
+Lucchese to this day; it is, however,
+lightly esteemed, and not used at all
+when other corn abounds, but thrown
+into the hencoop to fatten poultry.
+It is a beautiful thing to see the high
+jungle of this most elastic plant bending
+to the breeze, and displaying, as
+it moves, its beaded top, looking at a
+distance like so many flowers; but,
+when seen nearer, exhibiting <i>racemes</i>
+(on highly polished stems) of small
+pedunculated berries, in mitre-looking
+capsules. When the seed has been
+shaken from the plant, the tops are
+brought together, and form those excellent
+besoms which, throughout southern
+Europe, supply the place of birch-broom,
+than which they are more elastic,
+not so brittle, and much cleaner.
+The ultimate fibrils of this plant are
+sometimes sold in little bundles for the
+purpose of being slit, and receiving
+the small Neapolitan firework called
+<i>gera foletti</i>, which scintillates like a
+fire-fly. Other kinds of millet and
+pannick are also grown here; care being
+taken to plant them far from the vine
+and mulberry, as they make considerable
+demands on the soil. Rice is
+said to have constituted the sole aliment
+of the republicans of early
+Rome, and it is still largely cultivated
+in many parts of Italy. In the low-land
+about Viareggio, it monopolizes
+the ground almost as much as the
+Grand Turk in the more interior parts
+of the country.</p>
+
+
+<h2><span class="smcap">Lupins</span></h2>
+
+<p>Lupins are largely cultivated, both
+for their own intrinsic value, and to
+induce the growth of other plants.
+"We are bitter," say the Lupins in
+an Italian work on agriculture; "but
+we enrich the earth which lacks other
+manure, and by our bitterness kill
+those insects which, if not destroyed,
+would destroy our successors in the
+soil. You owe much, O husbandmen!
+to us Lupins."</p>
+
+
+<h2><span class="smcap">Hemp.</span></h2>
+
+<p>Invaluable plant&mdash;pride of intelligent
+agriculture&mdash;that tendest thine
+own fibre&mdash;and strength to him that
+rightly cultivates thee&mdash;and constitutest
+the greatest element of mechanical
+power! What does not England&mdash;the
+world itself&mdash;owe to that growth
+which we now contemplate! Armies
+are encamped within thy walls&mdash;thou
+towest forth the ship of discovery on
+her venturous way, and carriest man
+and his merchandise to the Equator
+and to the Pole! Vain were the auspicious
+breeze unless it blew upon thy
+opening sails; and what were the
+sheet-anchor, but for that cable of
+thine which connects it with the ship.
+Vegetable iron! incomparable hemp!
+Extemporaneous memory can scarcely
+follow thy services. Talk of the
+battering-ram&mdash;but what propelled it
+forward? The shot, whizzing in the<!-- Page 621 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_621" id="Page_621">[Pg 621]</a></span>
+teeth of adverse winds, carries thy <i>coil</i>
+to snatch the sailor from the rock
+where he stands helpless and beyond
+aid from all the powers or productions
+of man and nature but thine! Thy ladder,
+and thine alone, can rescue from the
+house on fire! Look at the fisheries
+all over the world&mdash;the herrings of
+Scotland and the cod of the Baltic
+might defy us but for thee. What
+were wells and windlasses without
+thee? useless as corkscrews to empty
+bottles. Thou art the strong arm of
+the pulley and the crane. Gravitation
+itself, that universal tyrant, had
+bound all things to the earth but for
+thy opposition. The scaffolds were
+thine from which grew the <i>Colosseum</i>,
+and the Pyramids have arisen in thine
+arms. The kite of science, which
+went cruising among thunder-clouds
+to bring down to a modern Prometheus
+the spark which ignites the
+storm, was held by fibres of thine.
+The <i>diver</i> and the <i>miner</i> cling to thee
+for safety, and they that hunt the
+wild-bird's egg on the sea-shaken
+cliff, as they swing over the frightful
+abyss. With the lasso the bold
+Matador, like the <i>Retiarius</i> of the
+ancient arena, makes the cast that
+is for life. Then the fine arts!&mdash;Carrara
+sends her block for the
+Laocoon by aid of thine; and what
+were all the galleries in Europe but a
+collection of gilt frames, but for
+thy backing and support. By thy
+subserviency alone (for what were
+<i>panel</i> or <i>laminated copper</i> for such
+gigantic works?) did Raffaelle bequeath
+so many legacies of his immortal
+genius. It is the strength of thy
+fibres that is the strength of the loaded
+supper-tables of Paul Veronese;
+and the velvets, the furs, the satins
+of Titian and Vandyke, are quilted
+upon thee. Nor disdainest thou to
+render to man, who bruises thee to
+try thy virtue, a thousand humbler
+services. Thou preservest our horses
+from flies, our fruit from birds; and
+who has not felt how thou cheerest
+the weary length of continental travelling,
+by the crack of thy whipcord
+at the approach of a new relay?</p>
+
+<p>Here our friend <i>Anamnesis</i> seemed
+fatigued, as if he thought he had spun
+a sufficiently <i>long yarn</i> on the subject;
+so we prevailed on him to
+prosecute the walk, as evening was
+beginning to close in&mdash;not, indeed,
+without apprehension that he would
+make a stand at several other interesting
+plants on which it might suit
+him to prelect!</p>
+
+<p>Hemp, when cut, is left to dry for
+a week; it is then immersed for an
+other week in water; after which it is
+flayed of its skin&mdash;a process which is
+conducted either by the hand, leaving
+the stem in this case entire; or by subjecting
+the whole plant to a bruising
+process, conducted by a machine.</p>
+
+<p>Besides the above-mentioned grain,
+the ground produces plenty of vegetables,
+but of an inferior quality, as
+are all Italian fruits, and most of the
+leguminous productions also, from
+want of care. Even as to flowers, you
+would find it difficult to make up a
+bouquet, unless of ferns, which here
+abound. The only cultivated flower,
+except a few dahlias and sunflowers,
+are the yellow petals of the lucchini, a
+kind of vegetable marrow, which creeps
+and creeps till its twisted tendrils and
+broad leaves occupy, by continual encroachment,
+the whole field where
+they germinate. Besides the <i>fruit</i>
+of this plant, which we begin to be
+supplied with about August, its young
+leaf and stalk are boiled like kail for
+common greens; and its yellow flower,
+a little later, makes a <i>frittura</i>, which
+is in request. Fruits are plentiful,
+and some of them good; but, for the
+greater part, of a very inferior quality.
+Strawberries, and particularly raspberries,
+(<i>lamp&oacute;ni</i>,) are found throughout
+the season; which, commencing
+with these, and a scanty supply of
+currants and gooseberries, (the latter
+very poor indeed, and the first quite
+inferior to our own,) brings us fine
+figs of many species and in vast quantities.
+Apples and pears have their
+kinds, and many distinctive names,
+but are without flavour. The great
+supply of the raspberry and small
+Alpine strawberry is about midsummer
+The next-door-hood of all the
+<i>Scotch</i> families is now fragrant, "on
+all lawful days," with the odour of
+boiling down fruit for jams and marmalades
+for winter consumption. As
+autumn comes on, heaps of watermelons,
+piled like cannon-balls under
+the chestnut-trees, display their promising
+purple flesh, and look cooling
+and desirable, but are not to be attempted<!-- Page 622 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_622" id="Page_622">[Pg 622]</a></span>
+twice under penalty of gastric
+inconvenience. Plums and nuts
+abound, and are followed by a second
+course of hard, unripe, and tasteless
+nectarines and peaches. The season
+is closing fast, for the prickly pods of
+the ripening chestnut now begin to
+gape, and the indifferent grapes of the
+district attain their imperfect maturity,
+and are gathered for the wine-press.
+September is in its last week,
+and in less than another month we
+must all migrate somewhere for the
+winter. The baths, on the 15th of
+October, are quite empty.</p>
+
+
+<h2><span class="smcap">Trees.</span></h2>
+
+
+<p>A good walnut-tree is as good to a
+poor man as a milk-cow. "I would
+not sell either of those walnut-trees in
+my garden for thirty scudi a-piece," said
+a peasant to us; and, observing that
+we looked as if we would not like to
+tempt him, asked us if we had seen
+the large walnut-tree of <i>Teraglia</i>, (we
+had, and had <i>pic-nicked</i> very nearly
+under it,) "because," added he, "the
+proprietor of <i>that</i> tree refused sixty
+<i>scudi</i> for it last week, <i>e ha ragione</i>, for
+it is a nonpareil. A good tree like those
+in my garden yields me eight <i>sacks of
+shelled fruit</i> on an average every year;
+and a sack of walnuts fetches from a
+scudo to ten pauls (four shillings and
+sixpence) in the market. So that my
+trees, between them, bring me in one
+hundred and sixty pauls (<i>i.e.</i> &pound;4 English)
+every year." Indeed! and the
+chestnut-trees opposite? Oh! in this
+land of chestnut-trees we don't pay
+<i>prezzi d'affezione</i> for them&mdash;a good tree
+standing in the <i>plain</i> may cost about
+eight or ten scudi, and may yield about
+four sacks of shelled fruit in a good
+year; but it is a capricious tree even
+in the <i>plain</i>; while those on the <i>mountain</i>,
+the roots of which derive a precarious
+subsistence from the uncertain
+soil, are liable to be blown down, and
+are made pollards of at an early age
+to prevent this mishap; also, they are
+frequently burned down by bonfires
+kindled under them to destroy the furze.
+The chestnut shoot is only four years
+old before it begins to bear. Three
+pounds of fresh chestnuts fetch about
+one penny&mdash;<i>dried</i>, or in flour, about
+double that price. The peasants bake
+a little cake of the chestnut flour called
+"<i>netche</i>," about the thickness of a
+crimpet, and having much the flavour
+and appearance of potato scones.
+This paste they bake between two hot
+stones, with a couple of the leaves of
+the chestnut (dried for the purpose by
+the peasants) interposed. The baking
+takes scarcely a minute, and the cakes
+are then piled and packed, and sent
+far and wide. The arms and the tops
+of the chestnuts are made into charcoal,
+so that no part of this important
+tree is lost. We are here in the very
+midst of forests of chestnut only&mdash;far
+as the eye can reach in every direction,
+and as far as vegetation will go
+up every mountain side, its grateful
+green forms a pleasing contrast to
+those gloomy frequenters and favourites
+of the mountain, the sombre pine
+and dusky olive.</p>
+
+<p>Several fine-sized olive-trees were
+shown to us for sale, and said to be
+good fruit-bearers, (no olive bears fruit
+under ten years,) for twenty-five scudi
+per tree. These trees were computed to
+yield about two and a quarter to three
+sacks of berries; whereof every sack
+yielded a profit of three scudi for one
+hundred to one hundred and ten pounds
+of oil, which represents about the
+quantity generally expressed. In retail,
+Lucca oil, at the present moment,
+is about one paul, and olives
+about three farthings per pound.</p>
+
+
+<h2><span class="smcap">Oaks.</span></h2>
+
+<p>We observe three kinds of oaks which
+here both flourish and abound. The
+<i>Farnia</i>, the <i>Querci</i>, and the <i>Leccio</i>&mdash;the
+last evidently a corruption of
+Ilex. The first kind grows with
+amazing rapidity; in twenty years it is
+a head and shoulders above all the
+other trees which began life with it.
+It has very long acorns, which are less
+astringent than those of either of the
+other trees, and very much preferred
+by pigs. A common oak felled for
+ship timber costs, where it stands,
+from ten to fourteen scudi, and they
+are in great request for the Leghorn
+market.<!-- Page 623 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_623" id="Page_623">[Pg 623]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><span class="smcap">Insects.</span></h2>
+
+<p>Insects do not greatly abound in
+the neighbourhood about Lucca.
+Even the mosquito winds his horn
+less frequently in our valley, than his
+universality elsewhere would lead you
+to expect. Our beds are free from
+bugs, and fleas are not very troublesome.
+Of the out-of-doors insects,
+those which live upon the vegetable
+kingdom are not very numerous, nor
+of much variety. The <i>Cassida</i>, who
+rejoices in lettuce, brings up his
+family in other districts where the
+lettuce abounds. Wanting the tamarisk,
+we miss our little <i>Curculio</i>, who
+thrives upon its leaves; and the
+<i>Bruchus pisi</i>, for want of peas, is frequently
+caught in the bean-tops.
+But the republican armies of ants are
+immense, and the realm of bees is uncircumscribed;
+as no birds of prey,
+neither the audacious robin, nor the
+woodpecker, tapping away on the hollow
+beech-tree, diminish their hordes.
+But if the fowls of the air be few, the
+nets of entomologists abound. <i>Slaters</i>
+of an immense kind, and spotted, and
+small mahogany-coloured <i>Blattid&aelig;</i>, are
+found under stones, which also conceal
+hordes of predatory <i>beetles</i> and
+<i>scorpions</i>, which bristle up at you as
+you expose them; and nests of tiny
+<i>snakes</i>, that coil and cuddle together,
+from the size of crowquills to the
+thickness of the little finger. During
+June and July, the monotonous
+<i>Cicad&aelig;</i> spring their rattles in the trees
+around, and one comes at last even to
+like their note, in spite of its sameness.
+A little later, flies and wasps
+send their buzzing progeny into our
+dining-rooms, to tease us over our
+dessert, like troublesome children: at
+the same period, some of the larger
+families of <i>Longicorns</i> abound, and
+one of them, <i>Hamaticherus moschatus</i>,
+musks your finger if you lay hold of
+him. In the July and August evenings,
+fire-flies scintillate on a thousand
+points around you, and swarm along
+the hedges, lighting each other to bed,
+till about midnight, which is their
+curfew; for you seldom meet one of
+these lantern-bearers later, though
+you may still, in returning from a late
+party, be stopped with momentary
+admiration at beholding a magnificent
+glow-worm burning her tail away at
+a great rate, and lighting up some
+dark recess unvisited by star or
+moon, herself a star, and giving sufficient
+light to enable you to read the
+small print of a newspaper a foot off!
+But who shall attempt to describe his
+first acquaintance with the fire-fly!
+We have seen birthday illuminations
+in London and in Paris; we have
+seen the cupola of St Peter's start
+into pale yellow light, as the deepening
+shadows of night shrouded all
+things around; we have seen the
+Corso, on <i>Moccoletti</i> night, a long
+fluctuating line of ever renewed light,
+from the street to the fourth story&mdash;an
+illumination <i>sui generis</i>, and "beautiful
+exceedingly;" but noise and confusion
+are around all these as you
+approach them. But, oh! to plunge
+suddenly into an atmosphere filled
+with <i>Lucciole</i> in the quiet gloaming of
+an Italian sky, amidst the olive
+groves and plantations of Indian corn,
+with no noise but the drowsy hum of
+the huge <i>stag beetle</i>, (the only patrole
+of the district,) or the yet fainter
+sounds of frogs complaining to each
+other of the sultriness of the night, or
+the monotonous hymn, at the peasant's
+door, addressed to the Virgin! Your
+first impression is unmixed delight&mdash;your
+next, a wish probably that you
+could introduce the fire-fly into England.
+Could one empty a few hatfuls
+along Pall-Mall or Bond Street,
+on opera nights, what an amazement
+would seize the people! We swept
+them up into the crown of our hat,
+and could not get enough of them;
+then we set them flying about our
+room, putting out the lights and shutting
+the shutters; and then we caught
+them, and began to look more closely
+at the sources of our delight, and to
+examine the acts and deeds of these
+wonderful little creatures. As to the
+light itself, we soon perceived that, in
+reality, the fire-fly emitted it from <i>two
+sources</i>; for, besides his <i>steady</i> light,
+which never varied, there came, we
+saw, at intervals, flicks or sparks
+of far greater brilliancy, like the
+revolving light of the beacon on the
+sea-shore, only that the light here
+was never wholly eclipsed, but merely<!-- Page 624 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_624" id="Page_624">[Pg 624]</a></span>
+much abated. We soon perceived,
+too, that those sudden jets of light
+came and went at vastly <span class="smcap">irregular</span>
+intervals; sometimes in very quick
+succession, sometimes less frequently&mdash;from
+which observation, we concluded
+that this dispensation of his
+rich endowment did not proceed from
+any motion of the <i>fluids</i> in the animal
+economy, analogous to our own circulation&mdash;it
+being far too irregular and
+inconstant to depend on any such
+regulated movement. On removing
+the head of a <i>Lucciola</i>, this intermitting
+light <i>immediately</i> ceased; but the
+other&mdash;the permanent, steady, and
+equable light&mdash;remained unchanged,
+and was not extinguished for from
+<i>sixty to seventy hours after the
+death of the insect</i>, unless the body
+was immersed in oil or alcohol, which
+extinguished it presently. We found,
+that though oil and alcohol quickly
+extinguished the light, it became suddenly
+much brighter when fading,
+by plunging the insect into hot water;
+but we did not find that it could be
+restored when it had once <i>entirely</i>
+ceased, by this or any other means,
+as some French naturalists have affirmed;
+and as to its exploding a jar
+of hydrogen, as others have written,
+we disbelieve it, because the temperature
+of the insect is far too low. We
+think, then, for the present, that there
+are two distinct repositories, or two
+different sources, of light in the fire-fly;
+and that while <i>one</i> depends on
+the <i>head</i>, and is a strictly <i>vital phenomenon</i>,
+the other is altogether independent
+of any physiological law of
+the nervous or circulating system.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>We have a great respect for <i>ants</i>;
+but we do not go the length of some
+of their historians, or believe them to
+be, any more than ourselves, <i>infallible</i>.
+We have seen a laborious ant
+(<i>magni Formica laboris</i>) tugging a
+snail-shell (for some reason only
+known to himself) up a hill, stopping
+to take breath, and going cheerily to
+work again till he had nearly accomplished
+his ascent, and found himself
+on the very edge of its summit. Here
+he has been surrounded by friends,
+officious busy-bodies, who, <i>intending</i> no
+doubt to help him, have got <i>into</i> the
+shell, in place of lending him a hand,
+till their added load was too much,
+and the unfortunate ant has been
+obliged to loose its hold and let them
+go, shell and all! Then off they
+would send, very much frightened no
+doubt at the overturn; while he, having
+remained stationary a moment as
+if to watch its results, takes his resolution,
+and proceeds on his journey
+without his load. In brushing the
+grass for insects, we have constantly
+found that the ants, <i>with their mouths
+full</i>, fight with each other, or with
+their brother captives, and are quite
+unaware of their bondage. For while
+most other insects, on opening the
+net, are glad to escape by flying or
+leaping, these will remain as if to
+secure their booty, and turn even
+misfortunes to account. Often have
+we watched their battles, which are
+battles indeed!&mdash;battles, in which
+every man of them seems to think the
+day depends on his own courage and
+activity. We have never been able
+to make out which were the best battalions
+of these variously coloured
+troops; for all of them fight to the
+death, and <i>show no quarter</i>. We have
+seen on some large tree the ants running
+up and down, and picking off
+individual enemies from a horde of
+smaller kind and reddish colour below.
+We have occasionally knocked
+off one or two of the giants, who, falling
+alive into the midst of their enemies,
+were surrounded, spread-eagled,
+trampled upon, and either lacerated
+to death, or killed by their own <i>formic
+acid</i>, in a very short space of time indeed.
+We have seen all this and marvelled;
+but we were never sufficiently
+in the confidence of either the invaders
+or the invaded to know their motives
+for fighting. It could not be for territory,
+for they had all the world before
+them; it could not be for food,
+for they were full.</p>
+
+<p>We never could make out why flies
+seem <i>fond of walking over dead spiders</i>;
+for we will not impute to them our
+unworthy feelings of enduring hatred
+and hostility. That insects had no
+brains in their heads to direct and
+guide their progressive movements,
+or form focuses for their passions,
+had long ago to us been plain. Besides
+all that we once committed ourselves
+by writing on the subject, we<!-- Page 625 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_625" id="Page_625">[Pg 625]</a></span>
+have done many other cruel things;
+such as dividing insects, (whether at
+the union of the head with corselet, or of
+the corselet with the abdomen,) and
+we have found that the segments to
+which the members were articulated
+carried on their functions <i>without the
+head</i>. The Elytra would open the
+wings, and the legs would move, as
+by association they had moved in the
+perfect insect. The guidance of the
+head was destroyed, yet the legs
+pushed the abdomen and corselet on;
+so that a disapproving friend had to
+<i>divide</i> his sympathy, and to <i>feel for
+each of the pieces</i>. And what appeared
+to us worthy of remark was, that
+whereas, when a snake was decollated,
+it was only the tail that continued to
+wriggle&mdash;when a <i>worm</i> was divided,
+<i>all</i> the segments writhed in the same
+way, and manifested an equal irritability;
+showing the difference between
+creatures of annulated structure,
+according as they have or have
+not a <i>brain</i>. A new argument against
+the brain as the organ of sensation,
+was afforded to us by the conduct of
+many insects of voracious propensities.
+We took <i>locusts</i> and <i>grilli</i>; we
+held them by their wings, and we
+presented them <i>with their own legs</i>
+for dinner; and on our veracity we
+can affirm, that on no single occasion
+did the animal fail to seize his foot;
+and having demolished the toes and
+the tibia, with all the meat upon it,
+proceed to demolish up to the very
+end of the <i>trochanter</i>! Nor were
+they more tender of their own <i>antenn&aelig;</i>,
+of which, when we had duly
+convinced a sceptical friend, he exclaimed&mdash;It
+<i>seems impossible</i>; but
+<i>there is no doubting the fact</i>!</p>
+
+<p>Insects (who would have thought
+it?) lose a great deal by insensible
+transpiration; from one-tenth to one-quarter
+of their whole weight, as we
+have abundantly ascertained by
+series of experiments, for which we
+have the tables to show. A very interesting
+fact respecting the difference
+of irritability of insects from that of
+the higher animals, is this: the temperature
+of man and the mammalia is
+in health always the same, and varies
+very inconsiderably in disease. <i>External</i>
+heat and <i>external</i> cold do not produce
+a blood, in man, warmer at the
+equator than at the pole. This is not the
+case with insects, whose mean temperature
+may be about 80&deg;; but the
+thermometer inserted into their bodies
+may be made to <i>rise</i> or <i>fall</i> by bringing
+any cold or warm body in contact
+with their external surface. You may
+thus sink the temperature of an insect
+to 50&deg; or raise it to 100&deg;, and the
+insect continue alive. This is a very
+curious fact, and shows the inaccuracy
+of Hunter's description or definition of
+<i>life</i>&mdash;"That it was <i>that</i> which <i>resisted</i>
+the physical agency of cold and heat."
+Insectorum duorum (e genere Cantharidum)
+in coitu deprehensorum, extincto
+a nobis uno, alterum per dies
+plures, nullo alio qu&agrave;m organorum
+sexus vinculo sibi adstrictum, amic&aelig;
+su&aelig; corpus sursum et deorsum trahentem,
+mirantes vidimus!&mdash;<i>Spanish</i> flies,
+you exclaim!&mdash;as if he had not taken
+a dose of his own powder; but after
+the joke is over, we think this is
+another <i>poser</i> for the advocates of
+insect intelligence. We found that
+if either of two insects was destroyed
+in coition, that state was not
+interrupted for two or three days.
+The insects on which are observed
+this remarkable circumstance, were
+the <i>Cantharis oclemero</i>, and some
+others. Spanish flies, you will say?
+That accounts for it; but at present
+we are not mystifying our indulgent
+readers.</p>
+
+<h2><span class="smcap">Shooting Fish.</span></h2>
+
+<p>Long before the middle of September
+we are frequently startled, before
+we have proceeded a hundred yards,
+by the popping of guns amongst the
+vineyards and chestnut woods, but
+more frequently in the direction of
+the stream that winds along our valley&mdash;and
+the sight of one or two
+of the chasseurs on the road may well
+surprise any not accustomed to the
+sports of the Lucchese.&mdash;Here are two
+of them, each with a gun on his
+shoulder, coming up the stream. One
+has shot three four-ounce dace, which
+dangle by his side; the other has a bag
+full of <i>small fry</i>, shot as they frisked
+about in shoals near the water's edge!
+an ounce of <i>sand</i> exploded to receive<!-- Page 626 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_626" id="Page_626">[Pg 626]</a></span>
+about the same amount of fish! The
+man who has shot the dace is proud
+of his exploit, and keeps turning them
+round and round to gauge their dimensions,
+as if they were partridges!
+Don't think, however, they have
+killed off all the fish of the stream.
+Besides that string of four-ounce dace,
+we have every now and then a sample
+of barbel and trout. One man
+has purchased the monopoly of the
+fishery within two miles, and for
+which he pays twelve crowns by
+the year. He sells his trout at two,
+and two and a half, pauls per pound,
+and we should have thought that he
+made a good thing of it; but they lose
+their fish: the torrents come and empty
+the holes, and they have nothing for
+it but to stock them again&mdash;an event
+which, he assured me, frequently took
+place. Besides, fly-rods and flies
+have been introduced by an English
+shopkeeper, and there is no legal provision
+against them.</p>
+
+
+<h2><span class="smcap">Owls.</span></h2>
+
+<p>There comes a man with an owl in
+a basket and another tied by the leg
+on a pole covered with red cloth;
+another accompanies him with a bundle
+of reeds, through which a rod runs,
+smeared all the way down with birdlime.
+This apparatus he disposes on
+a hedge or cover of any kind&mdash;the
+little owl (<i>Civetta</i>) sits opposite on his
+pole&mdash;the birds come to tease him,
+and fly on the birdlime twig, when, if
+it be a sparrow, he is effectually detained
+by the viscus only&mdash;if a blackbird,
+pop at him goes an old rusty
+gun. "We sometimes catch twenty
+tomtits before breakfast," said a modest-looking
+sportsman, modestly,
+but not shamefacedly, showing us one
+thrush and one linnet.</p>
+
+<p>An image-man told me to-day, that
+after the trade for classical models&mdash;Apollos
+and Venuses&mdash;had gone out,
+and nobody would buy, <i>Tam o' Shanter</i>
+and <i>Souter Johnny</i> operated a good
+<i>revival</i> of the fine arts for several
+months. How much, then, the models
+from the antique, do towards improving
+our taste! and how absurd to set
+up institutions with the expectation
+of making the populace other than the
+gross, unideal, matter-of-fact thing it
+is, and always was, no doubt, even in
+Athens itself!</p>
+
+
+<h2><span class="smcap">The Improvisatore.</span></h2>
+
+<p>We heard one of these monsters last
+night. The arena for his exhibition
+might, but for the known liberality of
+society, be thought objectionable&mdash;being
+none other than the English
+place of worship. But <i>tout est sain
+aux sains</i>&mdash;or <i>aux saints</i>, if you please.
+Charity covereth many sins; and if
+there be a place upon earth where
+charity reigns, it is at what you call
+<i>watering-places</i>. Pindar was right,
+<span title="Greek: ariston men hudôz">&alpha;&rho;&iota;&sigma;&tau;&omicron;&nu; &mu;&epsilon;&nu;
+&upsilon;&delta;&omega;&zeta;</span>. If we were enquired
+of, and propitiated by a fee, as to the
+effects of the waters here, we should
+give it as our opinion that they act
+directly on the <i>picrochole</i>, or bitter
+principle of bile, and carry it, soft as
+milk, through the duodenal passages.
+Our Improvisatore has, we understand,
+been six times <i>painted</i>, (we
+know not what saloons are so fortunate
+as to possess his portrait,) but we
+believe he has not been described.
+When we saw him, his hair danced
+wildly over his shoulders, as if electrified:
+he had a quick eye, and wore
+enviably well-fitting ducks: his neck,
+besides supporting his head and all its
+contents, supported an inextricable
+labyrinth of gold chains; from every
+buttonhole of his waistcoat the chains
+they came in, and the chains they
+came out, like the peripatetic man on
+the Boulevards who sells them: his
+gloves, well-fitting, and buttoning at
+the wrist, were of the whitest kid,
+and grasped a yet whiter and highly-scented
+cambric: his boots shone
+bright with varnish, and his face with
+self-complacency. As the room filled,
+he went round, giving the girls permission
+to write <i>subjects</i> on bits of
+waste (wasted!) paper, which set them
+<i>thinking</i> at a great rate. Presently, a
+second circuit round the room, to collect
+the orders payable at sight&mdash;a
+title such as the <i>Lucciola</i>, <i>Italia</i>, <i>The
+Exile</i>, <i>Woman's Love</i>, <i>Man's Ingratitude</i>;<!-- Page 627 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_627" id="Page_627">[Pg 627]</a></span>
+after which he proceeds to fold
+up and puts them into a large glass
+vessel. Presently a small hand, properly
+incited, dives down for a second
+into the interior of the vase, and
+brings up, between two of its fair,
+round, turquoise-encircled fingers, the
+scrap of paper. Its pretty owner
+blushes, and timidly announces, "Bellini's
+Tomb;" <i>Bellini's Tomb</i> is buzzed
+about the room. At this juncture the
+Duke, who has been <i>expected</i>, sends a
+messenger to announce that we are
+not to wait for him&mdash;a sly fellow the
+Duke! The bard now concentrates
+himself for inspiration, but begs us to
+talk on, and not mind him. While he
+waits for the <i>afflatus divinus</i>, and consults
+the muses&mdash;and in fact his eyes
+soon begin to betray <i>possession</i>&mdash;he
+passes his hand over his parturient
+forehead, while the <i>os magno sonaturum</i>
+is getting ready; the labour-pains
+are evidently on him; he hurls back
+his hair, and fixes his eyes upon the
+moon, (who has been looking at <i>him</i>
+for several minutes through the window
+opposite.) Full of her influence,
+and not knowing there is such a place
+as Bedlam in the world, he starts upon
+his legs, makes two or three rapid strides
+up and down the room, like a lion taking
+exercise, or a lord of council and
+session in Scotland preparing to pronounce
+sentence, and means to be delivered
+(mercy on us!) exactly opposite
+our chair! All are attentive to
+the godlike man; you might hear a
+pin drop: the subject is announced
+once and again in a very audible
+voice; the touch-paper is ignited, the
+magazine will blow up presently! Incontinently
+we are rapt off to <i>P&egrave;re la
+Chaise</i>, where the great composer lies
+buried, and a form of communication
+is made to us on this suitable spot,
+that Bellini is <i>dead</i>; then comes, in
+episode, a catalogue of all the operas
+he ever wrote, with allusions to each,
+and not a little vapouring and pathos,
+while a host of heroes and heroines
+we never before heard of, is let loose
+upon us; presently, a marked pause,
+and some by-play, makes it evident
+that he sees something, and cannot
+see what the thing is; he shortly,
+however, imparts to us in confidence,
+though in a very low tone, for fear of
+disturbing it&mdash;he sees, he assures
+us, a female form stealing to the
+young man's tomb&mdash;the form of a
+widowed lady&mdash;who is she? <i>e la sua
+madre!</i> This was startling, no doubt;
+though we, or many of us, were like
+the cat in Florian, to whom the monkey
+was showing a magic lantern
+<i>without a light</i>, and describing what
+she ought to have seen. Believing
+her, however, to be there on such
+good authority, we were getting very
+sorry for Bellini's mother, when we
+were unexpectedly relieved, by finding
+it was only a bit of make-believe;
+for it was now divulged, <i>che questa
+madre che piangea il suo figlio</i>, was
+not in fact his personal mother, but
+"<i>Italy</i>" dressed up <i>like</i> his mother,
+and gone to Paris on purpose to weep
+and put garlands on the composer's
+tomb, amaranth and crocus, and whatever
+else was in season. Thunders of
+applause&mdash;we hope the new chapel is
+insured!-for the <i>assiduo rupt&aelig; lectore
+column&aelig;</i> is as old as earthquake in
+Italy. He now mopped his forehead,
+and prepared for a new effort. The
+English girls are already in raptures,
+and their Italian masters, sitting by,
+"ride on the whirlwind and direct the
+storm." The next subject which destiny
+assigned to him, and inflicted on
+us, was <i>The Exile</i>. A nicely manured
+field or common place to sow and
+reap on&mdash;and what a harvest it yielded
+accordingly!&mdash;the dear friends! the
+dear native hill! the honour of suffering
+for the truth! (political martyrdom!)
+the mother that bore him&mdash;(and
+a good deal besides)&mdash;his helpless
+children! (a proper number for
+the occasion,)&mdash;all these fascinating
+themes were dwelt on, one by one,
+till, moved apparently at our emotion,
+he dropt his menacing attitude, and,
+mitigating his voice, assumed a resigned
+demeanour, of which many of
+his audience had long since set him
+the example. He began to look down
+mournfully, whereas he had a minute
+ago looked up fiercely&mdash;a smile, to the
+relief of the young ladies, stole over
+his countenance, and having thrice
+shaken his head to dispel whatever
+gloomy thoughts might still be lingering
+there, he carried us to the Exile's
+return, which brought of course the
+natal soil and a second service of the
+mother, sire, and son, with the addition
+of a dog, a clump of trees, a church,
+and a steeple. He compresses between<!-- Page 628 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_628" id="Page_628">[Pg 628]</a></span>
+his hands the yielding cambric
+into a very small space, his body is
+fixed, his legs are slightly apart, his
+head wags, like a wooden mandarin's,
+with thoughts too big for utterance,
+till the moment arrives for the critical
+start, then, "<i>Duplices tendens ad
+sidera palmas</i>," he becomes quite Virgilian.
+The unfurled cambric flutters
+to the breeze of his own creation, and
+coruscations of white kid and other
+white materials pass and repass before
+our eyes. He gives vent to his emotions
+in tears, after a reasonable indulgence
+in which, as he cannot (as
+Tilburina's <i>confidante</i> very properly
+observes) stay crying there all night,
+he gradually comes right again. Besides
+all which, it is eight o'clock, and
+he has still to <i>do</i>, and we to <i>suffer</i>,
+<i>Napoleon</i>&mdash;whose ashes were just then
+being carried to Paris, as we had read
+in all the papers of last week. Glad
+were we when they reached the <i>Octroi</i>,
+and when the indulgent <i>Barri&egrave;re</i>
+passed them with all the honours of
+the <i>Douane</i>. An old lady has twice
+yawned, and many would follow her
+example, but that the performer fascinates
+his audience by staring at
+them&mdash;like the boa at the poor bird
+in the wood&mdash;and frightens them to
+their seats for a few minutes longer.
+At length one <i>resolute</i> chair moves;
+two others are out of the ranks; new
+centres of movement are establishing;
+several shawls are seen advancing to
+the door. The rout is complete, there
+will be no rally, and the efforts of the
+artist have been <i>crowned</i> (one hundred
+and fifty scudi) with success. We
+meet him every where. He honours
+our table-d'h&ocirc;te daily, where he
+stays an hour and a half to bait&mdash;after
+which we see him lounging in
+the carriage of some fair <i>compatriote</i>
+with herself and daughters. If we
+are paying a morning visit, in he comes,
+"glissarding it" into the drawing-room,
+and bowing like a dancing-master;
+nor does he disdain to produce
+a small book of testimonials,
+in which the subscribers have agreed
+to give him a poetic <i>character</i>, and
+compare him to a torrent, to a nightingale,
+to an eagle, to an avalanche.
+They who love flattery as a bee loves
+honey, are all captivated, and almost
+make love to him. Their albums are
+rich in the spoils of his poetry, and
+she is happy who, by her blandishment,
+can detain him in conversation
+for five minutes. Yet they own they
+understand less than half of what he
+says. Vexed with <i>one</i> to whom we
+were talking, we thought rationally,
+for permitting herself to be "so pestered
+by a popinjay,"&mdash;"He <i>is</i> so
+clever," was the reply; "such an odd
+creature, too. I wish you knew him. He
+is in such a strange humour to-night.
+Do you know he tells me he wishes
+to marry an English girl? See! he is
+gone into the balcony yonder to look
+at the moon." To be sure he was.
+He came back looking somewhat wild,
+and, walking in like a modern Prometheus,
+down he sits, and the new inspiration
+is presently bespoken for the
+fly page of virgin scrap-book. Smoothly
+flows the immortal verse, without
+care, correction, or halt, for the lines
+are the result of power that works
+unerringly, (Pope <i>blotted</i> most disgracefully,)
+and goes right <i>ahead</i>.
+The precious <i>morceau</i> is concluded,
+and the improvisatore's name appears
+in a constellation of zig-zags.</p>
+
+
+<h2><span class="smcap">Tables D'h&ocirc;tes&mdash;Mr Snapley.</span></h2>
+
+<p>Did you never meet Mr Snapley?&mdash;Mr
+Snapley was the greatest of
+bores&mdash;he bored holes in your self-complacency,
+and riddled your
+patience through and through; to put
+up with him was hard, to put him
+down was impossible, (your long
+tolerated nuisance of fifty is always
+incorrigible.) His bore was surprising
+considering the smallness of his
+calibre; like a meagre gimlet, he would
+drill a small hole in some unimportant
+statement, and then gather up
+his <i>opima spolia</i>, and march off to the
+sound of his own trumpet. For instance,
+on convicting you of assigning
+a fine picture to a wrong church or
+gallery, he denied all your pretensions
+to judge of the picture itself. He
+had a reindeer's length of tongue, (how
+often did we wish it salted and dried!)
+and the splutter of words it sent forth,
+took off, as often happens, sufficient
+observation of the miserably small
+stock of ideas that he had to work
+upon. He enjoyed, as we all do, the<!-- Page 629 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_629" id="Page_629">[Pg 629]</a></span>
+blameless pleasure of dining out as
+often as he could; when, though he
+did not consume all the provisions,
+he would willingly have taken possession
+of the whole of the talk, (<i>that</i>
+being his notion of a conversation.)
+When one had to dine at the same
+table with him, one contrived to take
+up a position as remote as possible
+from the interruption of his thin, wiry,
+ill-modulated voice&mdash;the <i>false</i> suavity
+of which in saying impertinent things
+was really so disagreeable, that one
+would have renounced the society of
+wit or beauty on the right hand, rather
+than have been flanked by Mr Snapley
+on the <i>left</i>, and thankfully have
+accepted the companionship, <i>pro hac
+vice</i>, of the plainest woman or the
+dullest man of the party, to be only
+completely out of his reach. Your
+<i>soup</i> you <i>might</i> take in peace, for he
+was at this time studying the composition
+of the party, and the chances
+of endurance or resistance inscribed
+on the countenance of the guests; but
+the moment an opportunity occurred
+of correcting or cavilling with any of
+those unprecise and generally unchallenged
+observations, the interruption
+of which is at the cost of the
+quietness of the repast, Mr Snapley's
+voice was heard! You were too glad,
+of course, to give up the trifling point
+out of which he had raised a discussion;
+but the earliest concession never
+saved you, nor did you ever afterwards
+escape the consciousness that
+he was still hovering like a harpy
+over the tablecloth, and ready to fall
+foul of you again. Let the subject be
+what it might, you had only to make
+a remark in his presence, and without
+his permission, to <i>insure</i> its contradiction.
+"What a needless annoyance
+in travelling it is for a family to
+be stopped by douaniers, only to
+extort money for <i>not</i> doing a duty
+which would be absurd if <i>done</i>!"
+"Why, really I don't see that," &amp;c.
+&amp;c. "What a plague it is to send
+your servant (a whole morning's
+work) from one subaltern with a
+queer name, to another, for a lady's
+ticket to witness any of the functions
+at the Sistine!" Well, it did appear
+to him the simplest thing in the world;
+it was ten times more troublesome
+to see any thing in London! "What
+a nuisance it is on quitting an Italian
+city, to find the passport which has
+already given you so much trouble
+only available for <i>three</i> days, leaving
+you liable to be stopped at the gate,
+if sickness or accident have made you
+transgress even <i>by an hour</i>!" "Why,
+it is <i>your own fault</i>, it is <i>so easy</i> to get
+it <i>vis&eacute;d again</i> overnight." All these
+impertinencies were only <span title="Greek: pidakos ex hier&ecirc;s olig&ecirc; libas">&pi;&iota;&delta;&alpha;&kappa;&omicron;&sigmaf;
+&epsilon;&xi; &iota;&epsilon;&rho;&eta;&sigmaf; &omicron;&lambda;&iota;&gamma;&eta; &lambda;&iota;&beta;&alpha;&sigmaf;</span>. Besides all this,
+Mr Snapley was a miserable monopolizer
+of pompously advanced nothings.
+He would not willingly suffer
+any other man's goose to feed upon
+the common&mdash;he cared for nobody but
+himself, and every thing that was or
+he esteemed to be <i>his</i>&mdash;his very joints
+were worked unlike those of another
+man&mdash;he must have had a set of
+<i>adductors</i> and <i>abductors</i>, of <i>flexors</i> and
+<i>extensors</i>, on purpose. He was stiff,
+priggish, precise, when he addressed
+any gentleman with light hair and an
+<i>English complexion</i>; but let him approach
+any foreign buttonhole with a
+bit of riband in it, then worked he
+the muscles of his face into most grotesque
+expression of interest or pleasure&mdash;(<i>Tunc
+immensa cavi spirant
+mendacia folles!</i>)&mdash;and you had a
+famous display of grimace and deferential
+civility, in bad French or
+worse Italian. We have seen him
+sneering and leering as he made his
+way round a drawing-room at an
+evening party, and bowing like a
+French perruquier to some absurd
+fool of a foreigner; and we have seen
+him, a minute after, holding up his
+head and cocking his chin in defiance,
+if an English voice approached. When
+any of us ventured to criticise <i>any
+thing foreign</i>, he was up in arms, and
+cock-a-hoop for the climate, the customs,
+the constitution! He sneered
+awfully at a simple <i>gaucherie</i>, but, to
+make amends, had ever an approving
+wink for the meanest <i>irreverence</i>;
+any intellect, however feeble, being
+secure of his praise if it only tried to
+thwart the end for which it was given.
+When not <i>talking</i> about himself,
+which was seldom, he was evidently
+<i>occupied</i> about his <i>personel</i>, with
+which he was obviously satisfied. If
+you talked of books, he settled for
+you, in laconic sentences, works of
+acknowledged merit&mdash;put down men of
+uncontested superiority&mdash;but women
+of title and tainted reputation, if they<!-- Page 630 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_630" id="Page_630">[Pg 630]</a></span>
+would but ask him to their parties,
+became at once his favourites and his
+oracles. He cunningly contrives to
+get a good artist's opinion on works of
+art, and debits it as his own&mdash;a proceeding
+which makes Mr Snapley
+<i>sometimes</i> formidable in sculpture and
+in painting. As to other topics, on
+which educated men and accomplished
+women converse, he would fain be as
+profound as <i>Locke</i> with the one, and
+as gallant as <i>Fontenelle</i> with the
+other. For ourselves, who meet him
+but too often, we would as soon approach
+without necessity a huxter's
+mongrel growling under his master's
+cart, as venture near enough to examine
+all the small-wares of one who
+"hates coxcombs," and is the very
+prince of fops; laughs at pedants, and
+only wants a <i>little more learning</i> to
+attempt the character; with whom no
+repetition of familiar acts can reconcile
+you, and to whom no number of dinners
+can conquer your repugnance.&mdash;&mdash;<i>Did</i>
+you ever meet Mr Snapley? We
+are sure you must&mdash;the Snapleys are
+a very old family&mdash;you may generally
+know them by the <i>nez retrouss&eacute;</i>,
+(which our acquaintance, however,
+had not.) We never knew but <i>one</i>
+good-natured man with a <i>nez retrouss&eacute;</i>,
+and he was, if ever man was&mdash;a philanthropist.
+Generally, however, <i>beware</i>
+of the <i>nez retrouss&eacute;</i> except in
+women&mdash;you know its interpretation
+<i>chez elles</i>;&mdash;and if you do, (on second
+thoughts,) still beware.</p>
+
+
+<h2><span class="smcap">Hints For Doctors.</span></h2>
+<h3><span class="center"><i>Esquilias</i>, dictumque petunt a <i>Vimine</i> collem&mdash;<span class="smcap">Juv.</span></span>
+</h3>
+<p>* * * "I observed a gentleman in
+black," said our informant, "who
+seemed to fix me across the table-d'h&ocirc;te,
+at dinner, in a way which soon
+showed me I was an object of interest
+to him. It was very odd! We were
+not in Austria! I could not have offended
+the police&mdash;nor in Spain, the
+Inquisition. If I <i>took</i> of a particular
+dish, his eye was on me again. They
+<i>did</i> use to <i>poison</i> people in Italy, but
+it was in the fifteenth century, and all
+the Borgias were gone! What could
+it mean? The very waiters seemed to
+watch the man in black, and signals
+of intelligence seemed to pass between
+them as they went their rounds with
+the dishes. After thus meeting the
+eye of the unknown at intervals for
+more than an hour, when the table
+was beginning to clear, I rose, and
+limped out of the room as well as my
+complaints would let me, and was
+sauntering a few steps from the door,
+when judge of my terror on turning
+round, to find him of the black coat at
+my elbow! "In pain, sir, I see." All
+my alarm ceased in a moment. It was
+pure philanthropy which had made me
+an object of so much interest. "Yes,
+sir, in great pain." "<i>You should take
+care of yourself, sir.</i> Rheumatic, are
+you not?" "Very rheumatic." "Well,
+sir, you have come to the best place in
+the world for rheumatism. The air,
+the water, and proper treatment, will
+soon set you up." "Your report is
+encouraging; but I have suffered too
+long to hope much." "Well, at any
+rate, sir, let us not talk over your interesting
+case in this heat. Come and
+put your feet up on a chair in my
+rooms, and we will drink a glass of soda-water
+to your better health." What
+a kind-hearted man I had met with,
+and how kind Providence is to us! I
+now ventured to ask him his name.
+"My name is Dr &mdash;&mdash;; and now, my
+dear friend, just tell me your whole
+case from the very beginning down to
+now, for I am really interested in you."
+I told my case. "Put out your
+tongue." "Brown," we thought we
+heard him say. "Wrist&mdash;pulse
+not amiss&mdash;but you <i>require care, sir!
+you require care!</i> Clear case for the
+medicine I gave so successfully last
+week." Finding myself thus fallen
+into professional hands <i>without intending
+it</i>, I said something introductory to
+the mention of a fee. "True, I was
+<i>forgetting</i> that; when one takes a
+proper interest in one's case, and hopes
+to do good, fees are the last thing one
+thinks of&mdash;two scudi if you please."
+So I found myself immediately booked
+in a small memorandum-book, and
+constituted his patient. Now came
+civil promises to introduce me, &amp;c.
+&amp;c. &amp;c., and I took my leave delighted.
+It is almost needless to say, that
+in a very short time I found that my<!-- Page 631 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_631" id="Page_631">[Pg 631]</a></span>
+acquaintance had, like so many more,
+commenced physician on the soil of
+Italy. What will become of London
+if all her apothecaries desert her at
+this rate? For ourselves, reflecting on
+the accomplishments of many of these
+patriotic men, their learning, their
+modesty, their disinterestedness, we
+have often had a twinge of the philanthropic
+extorted by the loss inflicted
+on our native city&mdash;she may come
+to want a doze of julap, and have
+nobody to mix it!&mdash;and have said to
+ourselves, as we have looked more
+than one of these worthies in the face,
+<span title="Greek: &Ocirc; alein Ath&ecirc;nai, Pallados th'&ocirc;rismata,
+Oion ster&ecirc;sesth andros!">&Omega; &alpha;&lambda;&epsilon;&iota;&nu; &Alpha;&theta;&eta;&nu;&alpha;&iota;,
+&Pi;&alpha;&lambda;&lambda;&alpha;&delta;&omicron;&sigmaf; &theta;'&omega;&rho;&iota;&sigma;&mu;&alpha;&tau;&alpha;,
+&Omicron;&iota;&omicron;&nu; &sigma;&tau;&epsilon;&rho;&eta;&sigma;&epsilon;&sigma;&theta; &alpha;&nu;&delta;&rho;&omicron;&sigmaf;!</span></p>
+
+<p>One day after dinner a little bit of
+gold rolled over the table to the
+doctor, from a bluff-looking gentleman
+opposite&mdash;it was well aimed&mdash;"There,
+doctor! <i>there's your fee</i>; but don't you
+begin again prating a parcel of stuff
+to my wife about her complaints&mdash;she
+is quite well&mdash;and if you frighten her
+into illness, take notice, you will get
+a different sort of fee next time!" All
+this, half joke, half earnestly, must
+have been very agreeable to the guests.</p>
+
+
+<h2><span class="smcap">Private Music Party</span>.</h2>
+
+<p>Let us try to describe the last
+musical party at which we assisted.
+A scramble amid piles of unbound
+music; the right <i>cahier</i> found, snatched
+up, and opened at the well-thumbed
+solo with which she has already contended
+for many a long hour, and now
+hopes to execute for our applause.
+Alas! the piano sounds as if it had
+the pip; the paralytic keys halt, and
+stammer, and tremble, or else run into
+each other like ink upon blotting
+paper, and the pedals are the only
+part of the instrument which do the
+work for which they were intended.
+We should be sorry that our favourite
+dog had his paw between them and
+the lady's slipper. The dust which
+succeeds the concerto proves satisfactorily
+that it is possible to be frisky
+without being lively; its vulgarity is
+so pronounced that it offends you like
+low conversation. Another concerto
+follows&mdash;ten folio pages! whew!!&mdash;&mdash;Oh,
+ye ebony and ivory devils! oh, for
+an exorcist to put you to flight!
+Cramped fingers are crossing each
+other at a great rate; we really tremble
+for the glue, and the pegs, and the
+wires, and the whole economy of the
+instrument, at that critical juncture
+when the performers arrive at a piece
+of mysterious notation, where a great
+many tadpole-looking figures are
+huddled together under a black rainbow.
+At such a "passage" as this, it
+seems one would think the house were
+on fire, and no time to be lost; the
+black mittens and the white now
+<i>Rob-Royishly</i> invade each other's territory;
+each snatches up something and
+carries it off, like the old marauders
+of the Border country; and reprisals
+are made, and lines of discord and
+dissonance are establishing, which require
+the police, the magistrate, and
+the riot act. Bravo! bravo! bravo!
+and the battle ceases, and the <i>babble</i>
+commences. Place for the foreign train,
+the performers <i>par m&eacute;tier!</i> Full of confidence
+are they; amidst all their
+smiles and obsequiousness, there is a
+business air about the thing. As soon
+as the pianist has asked the piano
+how it finds itself, and the piano has
+intimated that it is pretty well, but
+somewhat out of tune, a collateral
+fiddler and a violoncello brace up
+their respective nerves, compare notes,
+and when their drawlings and crookings
+are in unison, a third piece of
+music of indefinite duration, and as it
+seems to us all about nothing, begins.
+Our violinist is evidently not long
+come out, and has little to recommend
+him&mdash;he employs but a second-rate
+tailor, wears no collar, dirty mustaches,
+and a tight coat; he is ill at
+ease, poor man, wincing, pulling down
+his coat-sleeves, or pulling up his
+braces over their respective shoulders.
+His strings soon become moist with
+the finger dew of exertion and trepidation;
+his bow draws out nothing
+but groans or squeals; and so, in order
+to correct these visceral complaints, a
+piece of rosin is awkwardly produced
+from his trousers' pocket, and applied
+to the rheumatic member, with some
+half-dozen brisk rubs in a parenthesis
+of music. The effect is painfully ludicrous!&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>I am <i>sleepy</i>, <i>sleepy</i>, begins the
+piano! Sleepy, sleepy, <i>mews</i> Mr
+Violin&mdash;very, very, very sleepy, dron<!-- Page 632 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_632" id="Page_632">[Pg 632]</a></span>es
+the drowsy four-stringed leviathan.
+Oh, do try if you can't say something,
+something, something to enliven one
+a bit! On this hint, the little violin
+first got excited upon one string, and
+then upon another, and then the bow
+rode a hand-gallop over two at once;
+then saw we four fingers flying as far
+up the finger-board as they could go,
+without falling overboard, near the
+<i>bridge</i>&mdash;a dangerous place at all times
+from the currents and eddies&mdash;and
+there provoking a series of sounds, as
+if the performer were pinching the
+tails of a dozen mice, that squeaked
+and squealed as he made the experiment.
+The bow (like the funambulist
+with the soles of his slippers fresh
+chalked) kept glancing on and off,
+till we hoped he would be off altogether
+and break his neck; and now
+the least harsh and grating of the
+cords snaps up in the fiddler's face,
+and a crude one is to be applied; and
+now&mdash;but what is the use of pursuing
+the description? Let us leave the
+old bass to snore away his lethargic
+accompaniment for ten minutes more,
+and the affair will end. The pianist,
+the Octavius of the triumvirs, thinks
+it necessary to excuse Signor &mdash;&mdash;,
+telling us, "He has bad violin, he play
+like one angel on good one"&mdash;but
+hisht, hisht! the evening-star is rising,
+and we are to be repaid, they say, for
+all we have gone through! Signor * * *
+is going to play. The <i>maestro</i>
+advances with perfect consciousness
+of his own powers; his gait is lounging,
+he does not mean to hurry himself,
+not he&mdash;his power of abstraction (from
+the company) is perfect; he is going
+to play in solitude before fifty people,
+and only for his own amusement. He
+placed himself at least a foot from the
+piano, his knees touching the board,
+his body rises perpendicularly from
+the music-stool, his head turns for a
+moment to either shoulder as if he
+were glancing at epaulettes thereon,
+and then he looks right ahead; he
+neither has nor needs a book; with the
+wide-extended fingers of both hands,
+down he pounces, like a falcon, on the
+sleeping keys, which, caught by surprise,
+now speak out and exert all
+their energies. Those keys, which a
+few minutes ago vibrated so feebly,
+and spoke so inarticulately, now pour
+forth a continuous swell of the richest
+melody and distinctest utterance. The
+little wooden parallelograms at first
+seem to be keeping out of their ranks
+just to see what is going on, till, the
+affair becoming warm, they can no
+longer stand it, but grow excited and
+take part in the general action. Relying
+fully on the perfect obedience of
+his light troops, and relaxing a little
+from his erect attitude of command,
+he gently inclines his body to the left,
+leads his disposable force rapidly upwards
+in that direction, where, having
+surprised the post against which
+they were dispatched, he recovers his
+swerve, and they retrace with equal
+precision and rapidity their course
+from the wings to the centre.</p>
+
+<p>Come, <i>this</i> is playing! This is
+worth coming to; the instrument
+seems but the organ of the man's own
+feelings; its mournful tones are only
+a paraphrase of his sighs; its brilliant
+arabesques are but the playful expression
+of his own delight with every
+thing and every body! His cheek is
+warm, his eyes sparkle, his hands detonate
+thunder and lightnings from
+the keys, and he concludes as suddenly
+as he began; the very silence is
+felt, and the breathless guests, who
+have watched the fingers and been
+rapt by the tones, now burst forth
+simultaneously in expressions of delight
+and applause.</p>
+<p><!-- Page 633 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_633" id="Page_633">[Pg 633]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="biggap">
+<h2><a name="THE_RAILWAYS" id="THE_RAILWAYS"></a>THE RAILWAYS.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>We read, no later than yesterday,
+two very pungent leading articles in the
+London daily journals, on the present
+all-absorbing subject of railway speculation.
+Both writers are evidently
+well versed in the details of the novel
+system; both possess some smattering
+of political economy, sufficient at
+least to enable them to form a judgment;
+and both consistent in their
+data and statistical information. Yet,
+agreeing in these points, it is somewhat
+singular to find that the <i>Coryph&aelig;i</i>
+have arrived at diametrically
+opposite conclusions. One of them
+is quite clear, that if the present railway
+<i>mania</i> (as he calls it) is permitted
+to go on unchecked for a short
+time further, the country will not only
+be on the verge of bankruptcy, but a
+general crash will be inevitable; that,
+vast as the resources of Britain undoubtedly
+are, she cannot, by any
+exertion short of crippling her staple
+commercial relations, furnish capital
+enough for the fulfilment of a moiety
+of the schemes already announced, and
+thrown into the public market; that
+the fact, which is incontestable, that a
+large proportion of these shares were
+originally, and are presently, held by
+parties who have no means of paying
+up the calls, but who are solely speculating
+for the rise, must very soon
+produce a reaction, and that such reaction
+will be of the absolute nature
+of a panic. Such are the opinions of
+this writer, who is clearly of the restrictive
+school. He holds, that the
+government is bound, in such a crisis
+as that which he rather states than
+prophesies, to interfere at once with
+an arbitrary order, and to prevent the
+issue of any new schemes until those
+already before the public are either
+disposed of or exhausted.</p>
+
+<p>How this is to be effected, the
+writer does not sufficiently explain.
+He points to immediate interference,
+from which expression we are led to
+believe he points at some such proceeding
+as an Order in Council, to be
+pronounced during the recess of Parliament.
+If so, we may dismiss this
+gentleman and his remedy in a very
+summary manner. Such an Order in
+Council would be worse than useless,
+because it would be a manifest breach
+of the constitution. As well might an
+Order be issued to close our manufactories,
+to restrict the amount of any
+branch of produce, or to prevent parties
+from forming themselves into
+companies for the most blameless and
+legitimate purpose. It is a strange
+symptom of the credulousness of the
+age, or rather of the ignorance of the
+people in all matters relating to the
+science of government, that, towards
+the close of September last, some such
+rumour was actually circulated and
+believed, though its father was manifestly
+<i>a bear</i>, and its birthplace the
+Stock Exchange. But if this merely is
+meant, that there lies with the Imperial
+Parliament a controlling and interferential
+power, and that the great
+estates of the realm may be called
+upon to use it, we do not question the
+proposition. Whether, however, it
+would be wise to use that power so
+sweepingly as the journalist recommends,
+or whether, practically, it could
+be possible, are very serious considerations
+indeed.</p>
+
+<p>But the existence of any evil is denied
+<i>in toto</i> by the other journalist.
+In the crowded columns of the morning
+prints, driven to supplement and even
+extra-supplement by the overwhelming
+mass of railway advertisements,
+he can see no topic of alarm, but
+"matter for high exultation, and almost
+boundless hope." His belief in
+superabundance of capital, and its
+annual enormous increment, is fixed
+and steadfast. He considers the railways
+as the most legitimate channel
+ever yet afforded for the employment
+of that capital, and the most fortunate
+in result for the ultimate destinies
+of the country. He compares&mdash;and
+very aptly too&mdash;the essential difference
+between the nature of the schemes
+in which the public are now embarking
+and those which led to the disastrous
+results of 1825. His sole regret is,
+that he must regard the present direction
+of enterprise, "as an opportunity,
+that is, facility of investment,
+that from its nature can be but temporary,
+though the profit of the investment
+must, from the nature of<!-- Page 634 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_634" id="Page_634">[Pg 634]</a></span>
+things, be perpetual, and though even
+the temporary facility may, and probably
+will, last for some years." This
+is a hopeful, sunny-minded fellow,
+with whose aspirations, did our conscience
+permit us, we should be
+thoroughly delighted to concur.</p>
+
+<p>These writers may be taken as
+examples of two numerous classes.
+They are, in fact, the Trois Eschelles'
+and Petit Andr&eacute;s of the railroads.
+The first consider every commercial
+exertion consequent on a new discovery,
+or the opening of a new channel
+for investment, doubtful in itself, and
+highly dangerous if hurriedly and unhesitatingly
+adopted. The social system,
+in their view, may suffer quite as
+much from plethora as from inanition.
+Too much blood is as unwholesome as
+too little, notwithstanding of any
+extraneous means to work it off.
+"Slow and sure," is their motto&mdash;"Carpe
+diem," essentially that of
+their antagonists. And yet in one
+thing, we believe, most individuals
+holding these opposite opinions will
+be found to concur. They all speculate.
+Heraclitus signs his contract
+with a shudder, and trembles as he
+places his realized premium in the
+bank. Democritus laughingly subscribes
+his name to thousands, and
+chuckles as he beholds his favourite
+stock ascending in the thermometer of
+the share-market. Heraclitus sells&mdash;Democritus
+holds; and thus the great
+point of wisdom at issue between them,
+is reduced to a mere question of time.</p>
+
+<p>But it is with their opinions, not
+their practice, that we have to deal. As
+usual, truth will be found to lie somewhere
+between two opposite extremes.
+We neither entertain the timid fear of
+the one writer, nor the fearless enthusiasm
+of the other. The present state
+of matters presents, in a double sense,
+a vast field of speculation, through
+which we think it necessary to see our
+way a little more clearly. Rash interference
+may be as dangerous as the
+principle of "<i>laissez faire</i>," which in
+fact is no principle at all, but a blind
+abandonment to chance. Let us,
+therefore, endeavour to borrow some
+light from the experience of the past.</p>
+
+<p>The desire of growing rapidly rich is
+a very old epidemic in this country. It
+is a disease which infests the nation
+whenever capital, in consequence of
+the success of trade and prosperous
+harvests, becomes abundant; nor can
+it, in the nature of things, be otherwise.
+Capital will not remain unemployed.
+If no natural channel is
+presented, the accumulated weight of
+riches is sure to make an outlet for
+itself; and the wisdom or folly of the
+irruption depends solely upon the
+course which the stream may take.
+Of false channels which have conducted
+our British Pactolus directly
+to a Dead Sea, from which there is no
+return&mdash;we or our fathers have witnessed
+many. For example, there
+were the South American and Mexican
+mining companies, founded on
+the most absurd reports, and miserably
+mismanaged, in which many millions
+of the capital of this country were
+sunk. Again, Mr Porter writes so
+late as 1843&mdash;"A very large amount
+of capital belonging to individuals in
+this country, the result of their savings,
+has of late years sought profitable
+investments in other lands. It
+has been computed that the United
+States of America have, <i>during the
+last five years</i>, absorbed in this manner
+more than <span class="smcap">twenty-five millions</span>
+of English capital, which sum has
+been invested in various public
+undertakings, such as canals, <i>railroads</i>,
+and banks in that country.
+Large sums have also been, from time
+to time, invested in the public securities
+of that and other foreign governments,
+not always, indeed, with a
+profitable result." We need hardly
+remind our readers of the poignant
+testimony of the Rev. Sydney Smith
+as to the profit derived from such investments,
+or the probable fate of the
+actual capital under a repudiating
+system.</p>
+
+<p>These may be taken as two great
+instances of the danger of foreign
+speculation. The capital of the mining
+companies was squandered with
+no other effect than that of providing
+employment, for a certain number of
+years, to the lowest of the Mexican
+peasantry; whereas the same amount,
+applied to a similar purpose in this
+country, would not only have produced
+a handsome return to the invester,
+but would have afforded work
+and wages to a considerable portion
+of the community. There is a reciprocity
+between labour and capital which<!-- Page 635 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_635" id="Page_635">[Pg 635]</a></span>
+never ought to be forgotten. Labour
+is the parent of all capital, and capital,
+therefore, should be used for the fostering
+and assistance of the power by
+which it is produced. Here, however,
+it was removed, and became, to all
+intents and purposes, as useless and
+irrecoverable as the bullion on board
+of a vessel which has foundered at sea.
+This, therefore, may be regarded
+as so much lost capital; but what
+shall we say to the other instance?
+Simply this&mdash;that whoever has lost
+by the failure of American banks, by
+repudiation, or by stoppages of dividends,
+need not claim one single iota
+of our compassion. With British
+money has the acute Columbian united
+state to state by more enduring
+ties than can be framed within the
+walls of Congress&mdash;with it, he has
+overcome the gigantic difficulties of
+nature&mdash;formed a level for the western
+waters where none existed before&mdash;pierced
+the interminable forests with
+his railroads, and made such a rapid
+stride in civilization as the world has
+never yet witnessed. What of all
+this could he have done on his own
+resources? Something, we must allow&mdash;because
+his spirit of enterprise
+is great, even to recklessness, and a
+young and forming country can afford
+to run risks which are impossible for
+an older state&mdash;but a very small part,
+unquestionably, without the use of
+British capital. We cannot, and we
+will not, believe that any considerable
+portion of these loans will be ultimately
+lost to this country. Great
+allowance must be made for the anger
+and vexation of the prospective sufferers
+at the first apparent breach of
+international faith, and it is no wonder
+if their lament was both loud, and
+long, and heavy. But we think it is
+but a fair construction to suppose that
+our Transatlantic brethren, in the
+very rapidity of their "slickness,"
+have carried improvement too far,
+given way to a false system of
+credit among themselves, and so,
+having outrun the national constable,
+have found themselves compelled to
+suspend payment for an interval,
+which, in the present course of their
+prosperity, cannot be of long continuance.
+So at least we, having lent the
+American neither plack nor penny, do
+in perfect charity presume; but in the
+mean time he has our capital&mdash;say now
+some thirty millions&mdash;he has used it
+most thoroughly and judiciously for
+himself, and even supposing that we
+shall not ultimately suffer, what gain
+can we qualify thereby?</p>
+
+<p>If John Doe hath an estate of some
+twenty thousand acres in tolerable
+cultivation, which, nevertheless, in
+order to bring it to a perfect state of
+production, requires the accessaries of
+tile-draining, planting, fencing, and
+the accommodation of roads, it is
+quite evident that his extra thousand
+pounds of capital will be more profitably
+expended on such purposes than
+on lending it to Richard Roe, who
+has double the quantity of land in a
+state of nature. For Richard, though
+with the best intentions, may not find
+his agricultural returns quite so speedy
+as he expected, may shake his head
+negatively at the hint of repayment
+of the principal, and even be rather
+tardy with tender of interest at the
+term. John, moreover, has a population
+on his land whom he cannot
+get rid of, who must be clothed and
+fed at his expense, whether he can
+find work for them or no. This latter
+consideration, indeed, is, in political
+economy, paramount&mdash;give work to
+your own people, and ample work if
+possible, before you commit in loan
+to your neighbour that capital which
+constitutes the sinews alike of peace
+and of war.</p>
+
+<p>We believe there are few thinking
+persons in this country who will dispute
+the truth of this position. Indeed,
+the general results of foreign speculation
+have been unprofitable altogether,
+as is shown by the testimony of
+our ablest commercial writers. One
+of them gives the following summary:&mdash;"Large
+sums have, from time to
+time, been lent to various foreign
+states by English capitalists, whose
+money has been put to great hazard,
+and, in some cases, lost. On the
+other hand, many foreign loans have
+been contracted by our merchants,
+which have proved highly profitable,
+through the progressive sale of the
+stock in foreign countries at higher
+than the contract prices. It is evidently
+impossible to form any correct
+estimate of the profit or loss which
+has resulted to the country from these
+various operations; the general impres<!-- Page 636 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_636" id="Page_636">[Pg 636]</a></span>sion
+is, that hitherto the losses
+have much exceeded the gains." In
+that general impression we most cordially
+concur&mdash;indeed, we never heard
+any man whose opinion was worth
+having, say otherwise.</p>
+
+<p>But in the absence of home speculation
+it is little wonder that, for the
+chance of unfrequent gain, men should
+choose, rather than leave their capital
+unemployed, to run the risk of the
+frequent loss. It does not, however,
+follow, as a matter of course, that
+home speculation shall always prove
+profitable either to the invester or to
+the nation at large. We have said
+already, that the proper function of
+capital is to foster and encourage
+labour; but this may be carried too
+far. For example, it is just twenty
+years ago, when, at a time of great
+prosperity in trade&mdash;the regular products
+of this country being as nearly
+as possible equal to the demand&mdash;a
+large body of capitalists, finding no
+other outlet for their savings, gave an
+unnatural stimulus to production, by
+buying up and storing immense
+quantities of our home manufactures.
+This they must have done upon some
+abstruse but utterly false calculation
+of augmented demand from abroad,
+making no allowance for change of
+season, foreign fluctuation, or any
+other of the occult causes which influence
+the markets of the world.
+The result, as is well known, was most
+disastrous. Trade on a sudden grew
+slack. The capitalists, in alarm, threw
+open the whole of their accumulated
+stock at greatly depreciated prices.
+There was no further demand for manufacturing
+labour, because the world
+was glutted with the supply, and hence
+arose strikes, panic, bankruptcy, and
+a period of almost unexampled hardship
+to the workman, and of serious
+and permanent loss to the master
+manufacturer. Speculation, therefore,
+in an old branch of industry, is perilous
+not only to the invester but to the
+prosperity of the branch itself. The
+case, however, is widely different when
+a new and important source of industry
+and income is suddenly developed
+in the country.</p>
+
+<p>We shall look back in vain over our
+past history to find any parallel at all
+approaching to the present state and
+prospects of the railway system.
+Forty-four years have elapsed since
+the first public railway in Great Britain
+(the Wandsworth and Croydon)
+received the sanction of the legislature.
+Twenty-five years afterwards,
+at the close of 1826, when the Manchester
+and Liverpool bill was passed,
+the whole number of railroad acts
+amounted to thirty-five: in 1838 it had
+increased to one hundred and forty-two.
+The capital of these railways,
+with the sums which the proprietors
+were authorized to borrow, cannot be
+taken at less than <span class="smcap">Sixty Millions
+Sterling</span>.</p>
+
+<p>Now, it is very instructive to remark,
+that until the opening of the
+Liverpool and Manchester line in
+September 1830, not one single railway
+was constructed with a view to the
+conveyance of passengers. The first
+intention of the railway was to provide
+for the carriage of goods at a
+cheaper rate than could be effected by
+means of the canals, and for the accommodation
+of the great coal-fields
+and mineral districts of England. In
+the Liverpool and Manchester prospectus&mdash;a
+species of document not
+usually remarkable for modesty or
+shyness of assumption&mdash;the estimate
+of the number of passengers between
+these two great towns was taken at
+the rate of one half of those who
+availed themselves of coach conveyance.
+Cotton bales, manufactures,
+cattle, coals, and iron, were relied on
+as the staple sources of revenue. Had
+it not been for the introduction of the
+locomotive engine, and the vast improvements
+it has received, by means
+of which we are now whirled from
+place to place with almost magical
+rapidity, there can be no doubt that
+the railways would, in most instances,
+have proved an utter failure. The
+fact is singular, but it is perfectly ascertained,
+that the railroads have not
+hitherto materially interfered with the
+canals in the article of transmission of
+goods. The cost of railway construction
+is incomparably greater than that
+attendant on the cutting of canals, and
+therefore the land carriage can very
+seldom, when speed is not required,
+compete with the water conveyance.
+But for passengers, speed is all in all.
+The facility and shortness of transit
+creates travellers at a ratio of which
+we probably have as yet no very<!-- Page 637 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_637" id="Page_637">[Pg 637]</a></span>
+accurate idea. Wherever the system
+has had a fair trial, the number of passengers
+has been quadrupled&mdash;in some
+cases quintupled, and even more; and
+every month is adding to their numbers.</p>
+
+<p>But 1838, though prolific in railways,
+was still a mere Rachel when
+compared with the seven Leahs that
+have succeeded it. The principle of
+trunk lines, then first recognised, has
+since been carried into effect throughout
+England, and adopted in Scotland,
+though here the system has not yet
+had full time for development. The
+statistics of the railways already completed,
+have fully and satisfactorily
+demonstrated the immense amount
+of revenue which in future will be
+drawn from these great national undertakings,
+the increase on the last
+year alone having amounted to upwards
+of a million sterling. That
+revenue is the interest of the new
+property so created; and, therefore,
+we are making no extravagant calculation
+when we estimate the increased
+value of these railways at twenty
+millions in the course of a single year.
+That is an enormous national gain,
+and quite beyond precedent. Indeed,
+if the following paragraph, which we
+have extracted from a late railway
+periodical, be true, our estimate is
+much within the mark. "The improvement
+in the incomes of existing
+railways still continues, and during
+the last two months has amounted to
+upwards of &pound;200,000 in comparison
+with the corresponding two months
+of 1844. The lines which have reduced
+their fares most liberally, are
+the greatest gainers. At this rate of
+increase of income, the value of the
+railway property of the country is
+becoming greater by upwards of
+&pound;2,000,000 sterling per month." It is,
+therefore, by no means wonderful that
+as much of the available capital of the
+country as can be withdrawn from
+its staple sources of income should be
+eagerly invested in the railways, since
+no other field can afford the prospect
+of so certain and increasing a return.</p>
+
+<p>The question has been often mooted,
+whether government ought not in the
+first instance to have taken the management
+of the railways into its own
+hands. Much may be said upon one
+or other side, and the success of the
+experiment is, of course, a very different
+thing from the mere prospect of
+success. Our opinion is quite decided,
+that, as great public works, the government
+ought most certainly to
+have made the trunk railways or, as
+in France, to have leased them to
+companies who would undertake the
+construction of them for a certain
+term of years, at the expiry of which
+the works themselves would have
+become the property of the nation.
+Never was there such a prospect afforded
+to a statesman of relieving the
+country, by its own internal resources,
+of a great part of the national debt.
+Public works are not unknown or
+without precedent in this country; but
+somehow or other they are always
+unprofitable. At the cost of upwards
+of a million, government constructed
+the Caledonian Canal, the revenue
+drawn from which does not at the
+present moment defray its own expenses,
+much less return a farthing of
+interest on this large expenditure of
+capital. Now it is very difficult to see
+why government, if it has power to
+undertake a losing concern, should not
+likewise be entitled, for the benefit of
+the nation at large, to undertake even
+greater works, which not only assist
+the commerce of the nation, but might
+in a very short period, comparatively
+speaking, have almost extinguished
+its taxation. It is now, of course, far
+too late for any idea of the kind.
+The golden opportunity presented
+itself for a very short period of time,
+and to the hands of men far too timid
+to grasp it, even if they could have
+comprehended its advantages. Finance
+never was, and probably never
+will be, a branch of Whig education,
+as even Joseph Hume has been compelled
+a thousand times piteously
+and with wringing of the hands to
+admit&mdash;and whose arithmetic could
+we expect them even to know, if they
+admitted and knew not Joseph's?
+But this at least they might have done,
+when the progress of railroads throughout
+the kingdom became a matter of
+absolute certainty. The whole subject
+should have been brought under the
+consideration of a board, to determine
+what railways were most necessary
+throughout the kingdom, and what
+line would be cheapest and most advantageous
+to the public; and when these
+points had once been ascertained, no
+competition whatever should have been
+allowed. The functions of the Board<!-- Page 638 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_638" id="Page_638">[Pg 638]</a></span>
+of Trade were not nearly so extensive;
+they had no report of government engineers,
+and no <i>data</i> to go upon save
+the contradictory statements of the
+rival companies. Hence their decision,
+in almost every instance, was
+condemned by the parties interested,
+who, having a further tribunal in
+Parliament, where a thousand interests
+unknown to the Board of Trade could
+be appealed to, rushed into a protracted
+contest, at an expenditure
+which this year is understood to have
+exceeded all precedent. We have
+no means of ascertaining the expenses
+of such a line as the London and York,
+which was fought inch by inch through
+the Committees of both Houses with
+unexampled acrimony and perseverance.
+We know, however, that the
+expenses connected with the Great
+Western, and the London and Birmingham
+bills, amounted respectively
+to &pound;88,710 and &pound;72,868, exclusive
+altogether of the costs incurred by the
+different parties who opposed these
+lines in Parliament. It has been
+stated in a former number of this
+Magazine&mdash;and we believe it&mdash;that
+the parliamentary costs incurred for
+the Scottish private and railway bills,
+during the last session alone, amounted
+to a million and a half.</p>
+
+<p>Now, though a great part of the
+money thus expended is immediately
+returned to circulation, still it is a
+severe tax upon the provinces, and
+might very easily have been avoided
+by the adoption of some such plan
+as that which we have intimated
+above; and we shall presently venture
+to offer a few practical remarks
+as to the course which we think is
+still open to the government for
+checking an evil which is by no means
+inseparable from the system.</p>
+
+<p>But, first, we are bound to state
+that, <i>as yet</i>, we can see no grounds
+for believing that the nominal amount
+of capital invested in the railways
+which have obtained the sanction of
+Parliament is beyond, or any thing
+approaching to, the surplus means of
+the country. Foreign speculation,
+except in so far as regards railroads,
+(and these are neither so safe nor so
+profitable an investment as at home,)
+seems for the present entirely to have
+ceased. The last three years of almost
+unequalled prosperity have accumulated
+in the country a prodigious deal of
+capital, which is this way finding an
+outlet; and though it may be true
+that the parties who originally subscribed
+to these undertakings may
+not, in the aggregate, be possessed of
+capital enough to carry them successfully
+to an end, still there has been
+no want of capitalists to purchase the
+shares at a premium&mdash;not, as we verily
+believe, for a mere gambling transaction,
+but for the purposes of solid investment.
+We base our calculations
+very much upon the steadily maintained
+prices of the railways which
+passed in 1844, and which are now
+making. Now, these afford no immediate
+return&mdash;on the contrary, a
+considerable amount of calls is still
+due upon most of them, and the
+earliest will probably not be opened
+until the expiry of ten months from
+the present date. It is quite obvious
+that, in this kind of stock, there can
+be no incentive to gambling, because
+the chances are, that any new lines
+which may be started in the vicinity
+of them shall be rivals rather than
+feeders; and if capital were so scarce
+as in some quarters it is represented
+to be, it is scarce possible that these
+lines could have remained so firmly
+held. Let us take the prices of the
+principal of these from the Liverpool
+share-lists as on 27th September.</p>
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align='center'>Share.</td><td align='center'>Paid.</td><td align='center'></td><td align='center'>Selling Price.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='center'>25</td><td align='center'>10</td><td align='center'><span class="smcap">Blackburn and Preston</span>,</td><td align='center'>19&frac34; to 20&frac14;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='center'>50</td><td align='center'>15</td><td align='center'><span class="smcap">Chester and Holyhead</span>,</td><td align='center'>20 to 20&frac12;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='center'>50</td><td align='center'>25</td><td align='center'><span class="smcap">Lancaster and Carlisle</span>,</td><td align='center'>53&frac12; to 54&frac12;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='center'>50</td><td align='center'>15</td><td align='center'><span class="smcap">Leeds and Bradford</span>,</td><td align='center'>61 to 63</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='center'>25</td><td align='center'>12&frac12;</td><td align='center'><span class="smcap">East Lancashire</span>,</td><td align='center'>22 to 22&frac12;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='center'>20</td><td align='center'>9</td><td align='center'><span class="smcap">North Wales Mineral</span>,</td><td align='center'>14&frac34; to &frac14;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='center'>10</td><td align='center'>1</td><td align='center'><span class="smcap">North Wales Mineral New</span>,</td><td align='center'>5&frac14; to 5&frac12;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='center'>25</td><td align='center'>15</td><td align='center'><span class="smcap">North British</span>,</td><td align='center'>25 to 26</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='center'>50</td><td align='center'>20</td><td align='center'><span class="smcap">South Devon</span>,</td><td align='center'>34 to 36</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<p>These lines have, in the language
+of the Stock Exchange, passed out of
+the hands of the jobbers, and most of
+them are now too heavy in amount
+for the operations of the smalle<!-- Page 639 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_639" id="Page_639">[Pg 639]</a></span>r
+speculators. We therefore look upon
+their steadiness as a high proof, not
+only of their ultimate value, but of the
+general abundance of capital.</p>
+
+<p>It is hardly possible as yet to draw
+any such deduction from the present
+prices of the lines which were passed
+in the course of last session. Upon
+many of these no calls have yet been
+made, and consequently they are still
+open to every kind of fluctuation. It
+cannot, therefore, be said that they
+have settled down to their true estimated
+value, and, in all probability,
+erelong some may decline to a certain
+degree. Still it is very remarkable,
+and certainly corroborative of our
+view, that the amazing influx of new
+schemes during the last few months&mdash;which,
+time and circumstance considered,
+may be fairly denominated a
+craze&mdash;has as yet had no effect in
+lowering them; more especially when
+we recollect, that the amount of deposit
+now required upon new railways
+is ten per cent on the whole capital,
+or exactly double of the ratio of the
+former deposits. We give these facts
+to the terrorists who opine that our
+surplus capital is ere now exhausted,
+and that deep inroads have been made
+upon the illegitimate stores of credit;
+and we ask them for an explanation
+consistent with their timorous theory.</p>
+
+<p>At the same time, we would by no
+means scoff at the counsel of our
+Ahitophels. A glance at the newspapers
+of last month, and their interminable
+advertising columns, is quite
+enough to convince us that the thing
+may be overdone. True, not one out
+of five&mdash;nay, perhaps, not one out of
+fifteen&mdash;of these swarming schemes,
+has the chance of obtaining the sanction
+of Parliament for years to come;
+still, it is not only a pity, but a great
+waste and national grievance, that so
+large a sum as the deposits which are
+paid on these railways should be
+withdrawn&mdash;it matters not how long&mdash;from
+practical use, and locked up to
+await the explosion of each particular
+bubble. We do think, therefore,
+that it is high time for the legislature
+to interfere, not for any purpose of
+opposing the progress of railways,
+but either by establishing a peremptory
+board of supervision, or portioning
+out the different localities with
+respect to time, on some new and
+compendious method.</p>
+
+<p>Last session the committees, though
+they performed their duties with much
+zeal and assiduity, were hardly able
+to overtake the amount of business
+before them. It was not without
+much flattery and coaxing that the
+adroit Premier, of all men best formed
+for a general leader of the House of
+Commons, could persuade the unfortunate
+members that an unfaltering
+attendance of some six hours a-day
+in a sweltering and ill-ventilated room,
+where their ears were regaled with a
+constant repetition of the jargon connected
+with curves, gradients, and
+traffic-tables, was their great and
+primary duty to the commonwealth.
+Most marvellous to say, he succeeded
+in overcoming their stubborn will.
+Every morning, by times, the knight
+of the shire, albeit exhausted from the
+endurance of the over-night's debate,
+rose up from his neglected breakfast,
+and posted down to his daily cell in
+the Cloisters. Prometheus under the
+beak of the vulture could not have
+shown more patience than most of
+those unhappy gentlemen under the
+infliction of the lawyer's tongue; and
+their stoicism was the more praiseworthy,
+because in many instances
+there seemed no prospect, however
+remote, of the advent of a Hercules
+to deliver them. The only men who
+behaved unhandsomely on the occasion
+were some of the Irish members,
+advocates of Repeal, who, with more
+than national brass, grounded their
+declinature on the galling yoke of the
+Saxon, and retreated to Connemara,
+doubtless exulting that in this instance
+at least they had freed themselves
+from "hereditary bonds." It
+may be doubted, however, whether
+the tone of the committees was materially
+deteriorated by their absence.
+Now, we have a great regard for the
+members of the House of Commons
+collectively; and, were it on no other
+account save theirs, we cannot help
+regarding the enormous accumulation
+of railway bills for next session with
+feelings of peculiar abhorrence. Last
+spring every exertion of the whole
+combined pitchforks was required to
+cleanse that Augean stable: can Sir
+Robert Peel have the inhumanity
+next year to request them to buckle
+to a tenfold augmented task? In our<!-- Page 640 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_640" id="Page_640">[Pg 640]</a></span>
+humble opinion, (and we know something
+of the matter,) flesh and blood
+are unable to stand it. The private
+business of this country, if conducted
+on the ancient plan, must utterly
+swamp the consideration of public
+affairs, and the member of Parliament
+dwindle into a mere arbiter between
+hostile surveyors; whilst the ministry,
+delighted at the abstraction of both
+friend and foe, have the great game
+of politics unchecked and unquestioned
+to themselves. The surest way to
+gag a conscientious opponent, or to
+stop the mouth of an imprudent ally,
+is to get him placed upon some such
+committee as that before which the
+cases of the London and York, and
+Direct Northern lines were discussed.
+If, after three days' patient hearing of
+the witnesses and lawyers, he has one
+tangible idea floating in his head, he
+is either an Alcibiades or a Bavius&mdash;a
+heaven-born genius or the mere
+incarnation of a fool!</p>
+
+<p>Let it be granted that the present
+system pursued by Parliament, more
+especially when its immediate prospects
+are considered, is an evil&mdash;and
+we believe there are few who will be
+bold enough to deny it&mdash;it still remains
+that we seek out a remedy.
+This is no easy task. The detection
+of an error is always a slight matter
+compared with its emendation, and
+we profess to have neither the aptitude
+nor the experience of a Solon.
+But as we are sanguine that wherever
+an evil exists a remedy also may
+be found, we shall venture to offer
+our own crude ideas, in the hope that
+some better workman, whose appetite
+for business has been a little allayed
+by the copious surfeit of last year, may
+elaborate them into shape, and emancipate
+one of the most deserving, as
+well as the worst used, classes of her
+Majesty's faithful lieges. And first,
+we would say this&mdash;Do not any longer
+degrade the honourable House of
+Commons, by forcing on its attention
+matters and details which ought to
+fall beneath the province of a lower
+tribunal: do not leave it in the power
+of any fool or knave&mdash;and there are
+many such actively employed at this
+time&mdash;who can persuade half a dozen
+of the same class with himself into
+gross delusion of the public, to occupy
+the time, and monopolize the nobler
+functions of the legislature, in the consideration
+of some miserable scheme,
+which never can be carried into effect,
+and which is protracted beyond endurance
+simply for the benefit of its
+promoters. We do not mean that Parliament
+should abandon its controlling
+power, or even delegate it altogether.
+We only wish that the initiative&mdash;the
+question whether any particular
+project is likely to tend to the public
+benefit, and, if so, whether this is a
+fit and proper time to bring it forward&mdash;should
+be discussed elsewhere. A
+recommendation of the Board of Trade,
+which still leaves the matter open,
+is plainly useless and inoperative.
+It has been overleaped, derided, despised,
+and will be so again&mdash;we
+scarcely dare to say unjustly; for no
+body of five men, however intelligent,
+could by possibility be expected to
+form an accurate judgment upon such
+an enormous mass of materials and
+conflicting statements as were laid
+before them. And yet, preliminary
+enquiry there must be. The movement
+is far too great, and charged
+with too important interests, to permit
+its march unchecked. Of all tyrannical
+bodies, a railway company
+is the most tyrannical. It asks to be
+armed with powers which the common
+law denies to the Sovereign herself.
+It seeks, without your leave, to
+usurp your property, and will not buy
+it from you at your own price. It
+levels your house, be it grange or
+cottage, lays down its rails in your
+gardens, cuts through your policy, and
+fells down unmercifully the oaks which
+your Norman ancestor planted in the
+days of William Rufus. All this you
+must submit to, for the public benefit
+is paramount to your private feelings;
+but it would be an intolerable grievance
+were you called upon to submit
+to this, not for the public benefit, but
+for the mere temporary emolument of
+a handful of unprincipled jobbers.
+Therefore there must be enquiry,
+even though Parliament, strangled
+with a multitude of projects, should
+delegate a portion of its powers elsewhere.</p>
+
+<p>And why not? It required no great
+acuteness of vision to see, that, even
+had the railway mania not risen to
+this singular height, some such step
+must erelong have been rendered<!-- Page 641 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_641" id="Page_641">[Pg 641]</a></span>
+imperative by the growing necessities
+and altered circumstances of the
+country. The leading feature of our
+age is the institution of joint-stock
+societies. We have taken up very
+lately the views which &AElig;sop hinted
+at some thousands of years ago, in
+his quaint parabolic manner, and
+which Defoe, who lived a century and
+a half before his time, most clearly
+enunciated and described. We have
+found the way, at last, to make small
+capitals effect the most gigantic results,
+by encircling them with the
+magic ties of combination. No matter
+when it was discovered; the principle
+has never yet been thoroughly
+acted upon until now, and we know
+not how far it may be carried. Our
+fathers, for want of this principle,
+ruined themselves by isolated attempts&mdash;we
+are in no such danger, if we do
+not yield ourselves to the madness of
+extravagant daring. Put railways
+aside altogether, and the number of
+private bills which are now brought
+before Parliament is perfectly astounding.
+Twenty years ago, such an influx
+would have daunted the heart of the
+stoutest legislator; and yet, with all
+this remarkable increase, we have
+clung pertinaciously to the same machinery,
+and expect it to work as well
+as when it had not one tithe of the
+labour to perform.</p>
+
+<p>We have always been, and we shall
+always continue to be, the strenuous
+advocates of <span class="smcap">local boards</span>, as by far
+the soundest, cheapest, and most natural
+method of administering local
+affairs. We can recognise no principle
+in the system by which a Scottish
+bill is entrusted to the judgment
+of a committee consisting of strangers,
+who are utterly ignorant of
+locality, vested interest, popular feeling,
+and every other point which ought
+to influence the consideration of such
+a matter. One would think, by the
+care which is invariably taken to exclude
+from the committee every man
+whose local knowledge can qualify
+him to form an opinion, that in ignorance
+alone is there safety from venality
+and prejudice&mdash;a supposition
+which, to say the least, conveys no
+compliment to the character or understanding
+of the British statesman.
+And yet this is the system which has
+hitherto been most rigidly adopted.
+We have judges in our law courts
+whose impartiality is beyond all suspicion.
+They are placed on a high, conspicuous
+pinnacle in the sight of the
+nation, to do justice between man and
+man; they are fenced and fortified by
+the high dignity, almost sanctity, of
+their calling, against clamour, idle
+rumour, private interest, or any other
+element that might disturb the course
+of equity, and therefore their decisions
+are received on all sides with reverential
+acquiescence. Why should not
+the private business of the country be
+placed upon the same footing? Let
+there be three commissions issued&mdash;three
+permanent local boards established
+in England, Scotland, and Ireland,
+under the superintendence, if necessary,
+of the Board of Trade; let Parliament
+lay down rules for their guidance,
+and let every measure which at present
+would be launched <i>de plano</i> into the
+House of Commons, be first submitted
+to their consideration; and let
+their determination to reject or postpone
+be final, unless the legislature
+shall see fit, by a solemn vote, to reverse
+that portion of their report. In
+this way a multitude of loose and undigested
+schemes would be thrown
+back upon the hands of their promoters,
+without clogging the wheels of
+Parliament; and such only as bear <i>ex
+facie</i> to be for the public advantage,
+would be allowed to undergo the more
+searching ordeal of a committee.
+These boards would literally cost the
+country nothing, even although the
+constituent members of them were
+paid, as they ought to be for the performance
+of such a duty, very highly.
+Each company applying for a bill might
+be assessed to a certain amount, corresponding
+to the value of its stock;
+as it is but fair that the parties who
+have created the exigency, and whose
+avowed object is profit, should defray
+the attendant expense.</p>
+
+<p>Supposing that the principle of these
+boards were admitted, it seems to us
+that Parliament has still to exercise
+a great and serious duty in laying
+down rules for their guidance. This
+is perhaps the most difficult subject
+connected with the railway system;
+and we approach it with diffidence,
+as it is inseparable, nay, must be
+based upon the two grand considerations
+of <span class="smcap">capital</span> and <span class="smcap">labour</span><!-- Page 642 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_642" id="Page_642">[Pg 642]</a></span>. We
+shall endeavour to explain our meaning
+a little more minutely.</p>
+
+<p>The reader will gather from what
+we have written above, that we entertain
+no fear that the nominal capital
+invested in the railways <i>which have
+already received the sanction of Parliament</i>,
+is now more than the surplus
+capital floating in the country which
+can be applied to such a purpose
+without injuring any portion of our
+staple manufactures or commerce.
+On the contrary, we think that it is
+very greatly below that mark, and
+therefore that it matters little, in
+a general point of view, by whom the
+stock is presently held. Sooner or
+later it must find its way into the
+hands of the capitalists, a class whose
+numbers are notoriously every day on
+the increase. Even were this not the
+case, and the balance otherwise, it
+must be recollected that the investment
+of that capital is not the thing
+of a moment. Four years, probably,
+may elapse before all the railways
+<i>which have obtained bills</i> can be completed,
+and during that time the calls
+are gradual. Unless, therefore, there
+shall occur some untoward and unforeseen
+cause, such as a continental war
+or a general stoppage of trade, the
+accumulation of capital in this country
+will be at least equally progressive.
+There is thus a future increment corresponding
+to the period of the completion
+of these public works, which may very
+fairly be taken into consideration, at
+least, as a kind of security that we have
+not hitherto advanced with too rash or
+hasty steps. But with the unchecked
+influx of new schemes, this security,
+which at best is but contingent, must
+disappear, and a further enormous absorption
+of capital, the existence of
+which is not satisfactorily proved, be
+called for. In such a state of things, it
+is unquestionably the duty of government
+to use its controlling power. The
+payment of ten per cent deposit is no
+guarantee at all. Whilst new stocks
+are at premium, a hundred pounds,
+in the hands of an enterprising speculator,
+may figure as the representative
+of many thousands in twenty different
+railway schemes. The limit of
+disposable capital in the country must&mdash;if
+all the new projects are permitted
+to go on&mdash;be reached, and that erelong;
+then comes a period of gambling
+whilst money is cheap and credit
+plentiful&mdash;a sudden contraction of
+currency&mdash;and a crash.</p>
+
+<p>It has been found utterly impossible
+to ascertain the amount of capital at
+any time floating in Great Britain.
+We can, therefore, only guess from
+certain commercial symptoms when it
+is nearly exhausted. On this point the
+money articles in the London journals
+have of late contained many significant
+hints. The settlements on the Stock
+Exchange are weekly becoming more
+difficult, and an enormous per centage
+is said to be paid at present for temporary
+accommodation. It is understood,
+also, that the banks are about
+to raise the rate of discount; from
+which we infer that their deposits are
+being gradually withdrawn, since
+there is no other circumstance whatever
+that ought to operate a change.<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a>
+But really it requires no calculation
+and no foresight to see, that the mere
+amount of deposits required for the
+new schemes must erelong lock up
+the whole available capital of Great
+Britain. Let those who think this is
+a bold assertion on our part, attend
+to the following fact. We have
+taken from <i>The Railway Record</i>, the
+amount of <i>new railway schemes</i> advertised
+<i>in a single week</i>, at the beginning
+of October. The number of the
+schemes is <span class="smcap">forty</span>; and they comprehend
+the ephemera of England and
+Ireland only&mdash;Scotland, which, during
+that period, was most emulously at
+work, seems, by some unaccountable
+accident, to have been overlooked.
+Of the amount of capital to be invested
+in no less than <span class="smcap">eleven</span> of these,
+we have no statement. The promoters
+apparently have no time to attend<!-- Page 643 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_643" id="Page_643">[Pg 643]</a></span>
+to such trifling details; and, doubtless,
+it will be early enough to announce
+the capital when they have playfully
+pounced upon the deposits. But there
+is some candour in <span class="smcap">twenty-nine</span>
+provisional committees, and their accumulated
+nominal capital proves to
+be&mdash;how much, think you, gifted
+reader, and confident dabbler in new
+stock? Why, merely this&mdash;<span class="smcap">twenty-five
+millions eight hundred and
+thirty thousand pounds</span>!!! Now&mdash;for
+we wish always to speak and
+write within the mark&mdash;let us calculate
+the eleven Harpocrates Companies
+and the Northern Schemes, (which
+are more than eleven,) at fourteen or
+fifteen additional millions; and you
+thus have parties engaged, <i>in the
+course of a single week</i>, for <span class="smcap">forty
+millions sterling</span>, or <i>about one-twentieth
+part of the whole national
+debt</i>; which, according to this rate of
+subscription, may be extinguished by
+our surplus capital in the short space
+of five months. And this is the
+country, where, three years ago, the
+manufacturer and miner were starving,
+Manchester almost in a state of
+siege, and Staley-bridge in absolute
+insurrection! Happy Britain, where
+every man has discovered the philosopher's
+stone!</p>
+
+<p>After this, need we say any thing
+more upon the great topic of capital?
+Were the nation now in its sober
+senses, the facts which we have stated,
+and for the accuracy of which we
+pledge ourselves, would surely be
+enough to awaken it to a true conception
+of the vortex into which it is
+plunging. But as every man will no
+doubt think&mdash;with the ordinary self-delusion
+of our kind&mdash;that the scheme
+in which he is individually embarked
+is an exception from the common
+rule; let us ask each speculator candidly
+to make answer, whether he has
+minutely examined the merits of the
+line which he has adopted, or whether
+he has thrown himself into it upon the
+assurances of others, and the mere
+expectations of a premium? If the
+former, let him hold. We war with
+no man's deliberate judgment; and
+that there are many projected lines in
+Great Britain which must ultimately
+be carried, and which will prove most
+profitable to the shareholders, is beyond
+all manner of doubt. Whether
+they may receive the sanction of the
+legislature so soon as the proprietor
+expects, is a very different question.
+But if the latter, his case is far otherwise.
+We have seen the prospectus
+of several of the most gigantic
+schemes now in the market, by means
+of which the whole length of England
+is to be traversed, and these have
+undergone no further survey than the
+application of a ruler to a lithographic
+map, and a trifling transplantation of
+the principal towns, so as to coincide
+with the direct and undeviating rail.
+There is hardly a sharebroker in the
+kingdom who is not cognisant of this
+most flagrant fact; and by many of
+them the impudent impositions have
+been returned with the scorn which
+such conduct demands. It is hardly
+possible to conceive that these schemes
+were ever intended to meet the eye of
+Parliament; but, if not, why were
+they ever started? The reflection is
+a very serious one for those who have
+deposited their money.</p>
+
+<p>Such projects, of course, are the
+exceptions, and not the rule. Still,
+their existence, and the support which
+they have unthinkingly obtained, are
+very lamentable symptoms of the
+recklessness which characterises the
+present impulse. Were the tone of
+commercial enterprise healthy, and
+kept within due bounds, there would
+be nothing of this; neither should we
+hear, as we do every day, of shares
+which, immediately after their allocation,
+attain an enormous premium,
+and, after having fluctuated for a week
+or two, subside to something like
+their real value.</p>
+
+<p>Are we then justified or not in saying,
+that it is the imperative duty of
+the legislature to look to this question
+of capital; that it is bound to see
+that the country does not pledge itself
+so utterly beyond its means; and that
+the advance of the railway system
+must be made slow and steady, in
+order to render its basis secure?</p>
+
+<p>But there is another point beyond
+this. Supposing that all our remarks
+on the subject of capital were erroneous,
+and that our financial views
+were as puerile as we believe them to
+be strictly sound&mdash;we fall back upon
+an element which is more easily ascertained,
+and that is, <span class="smcap">Labour</span>. We
+hold it to be a clear economical<!-- Page 644 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_644" id="Page_644">[Pg 644]</a></span>
+maxim, that beyond a certain point,
+at all events within a given time, capital,
+however abundant it may be,
+cannot <i>create</i> labour. It has passed
+into a sort of truism that there is nothing
+which money cannot accomplish&mdash;analyse
+it, and you will find that it
+is not a truism but a popular fallacy.
+There are many, many things which
+money cannot accomplish. It has no
+power to clear the social atmosphere
+from crime; it may mar the morals of
+a people, but it cannot make them;
+and still less can it usurp the stupendous
+functions of the Deity. It may
+rear labour, but it cannot by any possibility
+create it, after such a fashion
+as the crop that sprang from the sowing
+of the Cadmean teeth. Let us
+illustrate this a little.</p>
+
+<p>Probably&mdash;nay, certainly&mdash;there
+never was a country in which labour
+has been so accurately balanced as in
+Great Britain. Our population has
+been for a number of years upon the
+increment; but the increase has been
+of the nature of supply, consequent
+and almost dependent upon the demand.
+The wages paid to the children
+in manufacturing districts have
+swelled that portion of our population
+to a great degree, though probably
+not more than is indispensable
+from the fluctuating nature of commerce.
+But, so far as we can learn
+from statistical tables, the number of
+agricultural labourers&mdash;that is, those
+who are strictly employed in the cultivation
+of the land, and who cannot
+be spared from that most necessary
+task&mdash;has been rather on the decrease.
+Our business, however, is neither
+with manufacturer nor with agriculturist,
+but with a different class&mdash;those,
+namely, who are engaged in
+the public works of the country. Let
+us take Mr Porter's estimate, according
+to the census of 1831.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The summary of the returns of
+1831, respecting the occupations of
+males twenty years of age and upwards,
+throws considerable light upon the subject,
+by exhibiting them under several
+subdivisions. The males belonging to
+the families included in the non-agricultural
+and non-manufacturing classes,
+were given at the last census under four
+distinct heads of description, viz.:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Capitalists, Bankers, Professional, and
+other educated men.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Labourers employed in labour, not
+Agricultural.</i></p>
+
+<p>"Other males, twenty years of age,
+except servants.</p>
+
+<p>"Male servants, twenty years of age.</p>
+
+<p>"The whole number of males included
+under these heads, amounts to 1,137,270.
+Of <i>these</i>, 608,712 were actually employed
+in labour, which although, usually
+speaking, it was neither manufacturing
+nor trading, was yet necessary
+in the successful prosecution of some
+branch of trade or manufactures, <i>such
+as mining, road-making, canal-digging,
+inland navigation, &amp;c.</i>"</p></div>
+
+<p>Of these 600,000, now probably
+augmented by a tenth, how many can
+be spared from their several employments
+for the construction of the railways,
+and how many are at this moment
+so employed, with their labour
+mortgaged for years? This is a question
+which Parliament ought most certainly&mdash;if
+it can be done&mdash;to get answered
+in a satisfactory manner. It
+must be remarked, that in this class
+are included the miners, who certainly
+cannot be withdrawn from their present
+work, which in fact is indispensable
+for the completion of the railways.
+If possible, their numbers must
+be augmented. The stored iron of the
+country is now exhausted, and the
+masters are using every diligence in
+their power to facilitate the supply,
+which still, as the advancing price of
+that great commodity will testify, is
+short of, and insufficient for the demand.
+From the agricultural labourers
+you cannot receive any material
+number of recruits. The land, above all
+things, must be tilled; and&mdash;notwithstanding
+the trashy assertions of popular
+slip-slop authors and Cockney sentimentalists,
+who have favored us
+with pictures of the Will Ferns of the
+kingdom, as unlike the reality as may
+be&mdash;the condition of those who cultivate
+the soil of Britain is superior to
+that of the peasantry in every other
+country of Europe. The inevitable
+increase of demand for labour will
+even better their condition, according
+to the operation of a law apparent to
+every man of common sense, but
+which is hopelessly concealed from
+the eyes of these spurious regenerators
+of the times. It is impossible
+to transform the manufacturer, even
+were that trade slack, into a railway
+labourer; the habits and constitution of
+the two classes being essentially differ<!-- Page 645 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_645" id="Page_645">[Pg 645]</a></span>ent
+and distinct. Indeed, as the writer
+we have already quoted well remarks&mdash;"Experience
+has shown that uneducated
+men pass with difficulty, and
+unwillingly, from occupations to which
+they have been long accustomed," and
+nothing, consequently, is more difficult
+than to augment materially and
+suddenly the numbers of any industrial
+class, when an unexpected demand
+arises. To us, therefore, it
+seems perfectly clear, that even if the
+capital were forthcoming, there is not
+labour enough in the country for the
+simultaneous construction of a tithe of
+the projected schemes.</p>
+
+<p>There are considerations connected
+with this matter which entail a great
+responsibility upon the government.
+The capitalists are, in fact, putting at
+its disposal the means of maintaining
+a great portion of the poorer population
+for many years to cone. If this
+be properly attended to, emigration,
+which principally benefits the labourer,
+may be discontinued. We have now
+arrived at a pass when the absence of
+those who have already emigrated
+becomes a matter of regret. There is
+work to be had nearer than the Canadian
+woods or the waterless prairies
+of Australia&mdash;work, too, that in its
+results must be of incalculable benefit
+to the community. But the government
+is bound to regulate it so, that,
+amidst superabundance of wealth, due
+regard is paid to the <span class="smcap">Economy of
+Labour</span>. It is rumoured that some
+railway directors, fully aware of the
+facts which we have stated, are meditating,
+in their exuberant haste for
+dividends, the introduction of foreign
+labourers. We doubt whether, under
+any circumstances, such a scheme is
+practicable; but of this we entertain
+no doubt, that it is as mischievous a
+device as ever was forged in the
+cabinet of Mammon! Some years
+ago the cuckoo cry of the political
+quacks was over-population. Now it
+seems there is a scarcity of hands, and
+in order to supply the want&mdash;for we
+have drained the Highlands&mdash;we are
+to have an importation from Baden or
+Bavaria, without even the protecting
+solemnity of a tariff. If this be true,
+it seems to us that government is
+bound to interpose by the most stringent
+measures. It is monstrous to
+think, that whereas, for many years
+past, for mere slackness of labour, we
+have been encouraging emigration
+among the productive classes of our
+countrymen to a very great degree;
+draining, as it were, the mother
+country to found the colonies, and
+therein resorting to the last step
+which a paternal government, even
+in times of the greatest necessity,
+should adopt&mdash;now, when a new experiment,
+or social crisis&mdash;call it which
+you will&mdash;has arisen, when labour has
+again reached the point where the demand
+exceeds the supply, we are to
+admit an influx of strangers amongst
+us, and thereby entail upon ourselves
+and posterity the evils of prospective
+pauperism. We have been already
+too prone, in matters relating rather
+to the luxuries than the necessities of
+our social system, to give undue preference
+to the foreigner. British art
+has, in many branches, been thereby
+crippled and discouraged, and a cry,
+not unnatural surely, has ere now
+been raised against the practice. But
+how incomparably more dangerous it
+would be to inundate the country with
+an alien population, whose mere brute
+strength, without a particle of productive
+skill, is their only passport
+and certificate! This too, be it
+observed, is not for the purpose of
+establishing or furthering a branch of
+industry which can furnish permanent
+employment, but merely for carrying
+out a system of great change certainly,
+but of limited endurance. If labour
+required to be forced, it would
+certainly be more for our advantage to
+revise our penal institutions, and to
+consider seriously whether those who
+have committed offences against our
+social laws, might not be more profitably
+employed in the great works of
+the kingdom, than by transplanting
+them as at present to the Antipodes at
+a fearful expense, the diminution of
+which appears, in all human probability,
+impossible.</p>
+
+<p>If, then, we are right in our premises,
+the two leading points which
+Parliament must steadily regard in
+forming its decisions connected with
+the new schemes, are the sufficiency
+of unfettered capital and the adequate
+supply of labour. Our conviction is,
+that neither exist to any thing like the
+extent which would be required were
+the present mania allowed to run it<!-- Page 646 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_646" id="Page_646">[Pg 646]</a></span>s
+course unchecked. But, on the other
+hand, a total stoppage of improvement
+might be equally dangerous; and it
+will therefore be necessary to steer a
+middle course, and to regulate the
+movement according to certain principles.
+Let us, then, first consider
+what lines ought <i>not</i> to be granted.</p>
+
+<p>At the head of these we should
+place the whole bundle of rival companies
+to railways already completed
+or in progress. We are not of the
+number of those who stand up for exclusive
+commercial monopoly; but we
+do think that there is a tacit or implied
+contract between the state and
+the proprietors of the sanctioned lines,
+which ought to shield the latter against
+rash and invidious competition. The
+older railways are the parents of the
+system; without them, it never could
+have been discovered what gradients
+were requisite, what works indispensable,
+what savings practicable. The
+expense of their construction we know
+to have been, in many instances, far
+greater than is contained in the modern
+estimates, and the land which
+they required to occupy was procured
+at extravagant prices. Now it does
+seem to us in the highest degree unfair,
+that the interest of these companies
+should be sacrificed for the sake
+of what is called the "direct" principle.
+A saving of twenty or thirty miles between
+Newcastle and London, is now
+thought to be a matter of so much importance
+as to justify one or more independent
+lines, which, despising intermediate
+cities and their traffic, still hold
+their even course as the crow flies, from
+point to point, and thereby shorten
+the transit from the south to the
+north of England by&mdash;it may be&mdash;the
+matter of an hour. We did not use
+to be quite so chary of our minutes:
+nor, though fully aware of the value
+of time, did we ever bestow the same
+regard upon the fractional portions of
+our existence. What the nation requires
+is a safe, commodious, and
+speedy mode of conveyance, and we
+defy the veriest streak-of-lightning
+man to say, that the present companies
+in operation do not afford
+us that to our heart's content. It
+is but a very few years ago since
+we used to glorify ourselves in the
+rapidity of the mail-coach, doing its
+ten miles an hour with the punctuality
+of clockwork. Now we have
+arrived at the ratio of forty within
+the same period, and yet we are not
+content. Next year, within fourteen
+hours we shall be transported from
+Edinburgh to London. That, it
+seems, is not enough. A company
+offers to transport us by a straighter
+line in thirteen; and for that purpose
+they ask leave of the legislature to
+construct a rival line at the expense
+of a few millions! Now, keeping in
+mind what we have said as to capital,
+is not this, in the present state of
+things, most wanton prodigality? The
+same "few millions"&mdash;and we rather
+suspect they are fewer than is commonly
+supposed&mdash;would open up
+counties hitherto untouched by the
+railway system&mdash;would give us communication
+through the heart of the
+Highlands, through the remoter districts
+of Wales, through the unvisited
+nooks of Ireland, and, in so doing,
+would minister not only to the wants
+of the community, but in an inconceivable
+degree to the social improvement
+of the people. Among the list
+of proposed schemes for next session,
+there are many such; and surely our
+government, if its functions correspond
+to the name, is bound, in the
+first instance, to give a preference to
+these; and&mdash;since all cannot be accomplished
+at once&mdash;to assist the
+schemes which volunteer the opening
+of a new district, rather than the
+competition of mushroom companies
+where the field is already occupied.</p>
+
+<p>There is also a filching spirit
+abroad, which ought decidedly to be
+checked. Scarce a main line has been
+established from which it has not
+been found necessary, for the purposes
+of accommodation, to run several
+branches. Until about a year ago,
+it was generally understood that these
+adjuncts ought to be left in the hands
+of the original companies, who, for
+their own sakes, were always ready
+to augment their traffic by such feeders.
+Now it is widely different.
+Four or five miles of cross country is
+reckoned a sufficient justification for
+the establishment of an independent
+company, who, without any consultation
+with the proprietors of the main
+line, or enquiry as to their ultimate
+intentions, seize upon the vacant
+ground as a waif, and throw thems<!-- Page 647 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_647" id="Page_647">[Pg 647]</a></span>elves
+confidently upon the public.
+If the matter does not end in a lease,
+the unfortunate public will be the
+losers, since it is manifestly impossible
+that a little Lilliput line can be
+cheaply worked, independent of the
+larger trunk. This class of schemes
+also should receive their speedy
+<i>quietus</i>; for what would be the use of
+permitting the promoters to attempt
+the proof of an impossible case?</p>
+
+<p>England has already made a great
+portion of her railroads, but neither
+Scotland nor Ireland as yet have attained
+the same point. Now, in a
+general point of view, it will hardly
+be denied, that it is of far greater importance
+to have the country thoroughly
+opened up, throughout its
+length and breadth, than to have an
+accumulation of cross and intersecting
+railways in one particular district.
+We are asking no favouritism, for it
+has become a mere matter of choice
+between companies, as to which shall
+have the earlier preference. In point
+of policy, the legislature ought certainly
+to extend every possible favour
+to the Irish lines. It may be that in
+this railway system&mdash;for Providence
+works with strange agents&mdash;there lies
+the germ of a better understanding between
+us, and the dawn of a happier
+day for Ireland. At any rate, to its
+pauper population, the employment
+afforded by companies, where no absenteeism
+can exist, is a great and
+timely boon, and may work more
+social wonders than any scheme of
+conciliation which the statesman has
+as yet devised. Idleness and lack of
+employment are the most fertile sources
+of agitation; let these be removed,
+and we may look, if not with confidence,
+at least with hope, for a cessation of
+the stormy evil. By all means, then,
+let Ireland have the precedence. She
+needs it more than the other countries
+do, and to her claims we are all disposed
+to yield.</p>
+
+<p>But England owes Scotland something
+also. For a long series of
+years, amidst great political changes,
+through good and through evil report,
+this Magazine has been the consistent
+champion of our national interests;
+and, whether the blow was
+aimed at our country by seeming
+friend or open foe, we have never
+hesitated to speak out boldly. More
+than twenty years ago, a measure was
+passed by the United Parliament,
+which literally brought down ruin
+upon the Highlands of Scotland, and
+from the effects of which many of the
+districts have never recovered. Along
+all the western coast and throughout
+the islands, the manufacture of kelp
+was the only branch of industry within
+the reach of a poor and extended population,
+who, from their very poverty,
+were entitled to the most kindly regard
+of government. But, as it is believed,
+at the instigation of one member of
+the cabinet, himself largely connected
+with foreign trade, without enquiry
+and without warning, the market was
+thrown open to competition from
+without, barilla imported, and the
+staple product of the north of Scotland
+annihilated. To this fatal, and, we
+hesitate not to say, most wanton measure,
+we attribute the periods of distress,
+and the long-continued depression,
+which, in very many lamentable
+instances, have been the ruin of our
+ancient families, and in consequence
+of which the Highland glens have
+been depopulated. It was a cruel
+thing to do, under any circumstances&mdash;a
+wicked thing, when we remember
+the interest by which it was carried.
+There is now a great opportunity of
+giving us a reasonable compensation.
+From the introduction of the railway
+system, we anticipate a new era of
+prosperity to Scotland&mdash;a time when
+we shall not have to devote ourselves
+to the melancholy task of decreasing
+the population by a harsh or inhuman
+exile&mdash;when the crofts of the valleys
+shall again be tilled, and the household
+fires shall be lighted on the now
+deserted hearthstone. Therefore, in
+the event of a restriction, we so far
+claim precedence. Let the work,
+however, be impartially distributed
+throughout the kingdoms, and there
+can be no ground any where for complaint.
+Only let our haste be tempered
+with prudence, and our enthusiasm
+moderated down to a just coincidence
+with our means.</p>
+
+<p>During all this torrent of speculation,
+what is the Currency doing? No
+man seems to know. The nation has
+found a paper of its own quite as effective
+as that which is doled out by
+the chartered bank. The brokers are,
+in fact, becoming bankers, and payme<!-- Page 648 --><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_648" id="Page_648">[Pg 648]</a></span>nts
+of all kinds are readily made in
+scrip. This is an instructive fact, and
+may somewhat tend to disturb the
+triumph of the theorists who uphold
+the doctrine of a restrictive trade in
+money. We do not rely on the safety
+of the system, but we look upon it as
+a strong proof that our monetary regulations
+are wrong, and that there
+is not only a wish, but several practical
+ways, effectually to evade its fetters.
+We are not, however, going
+into that question, though it is by no
+means unconnected with our present
+subject. At the same time we should
+like to see this same article of scrip,
+which is fast approximating to notes,
+a little more protected. Has it never
+occurred to the mind of the Chancellor
+of the Exchequer, or to the Premier,
+who has a most searching eye, that a
+very profitable source of revenue to
+the public, and one which would hardly
+be grudged, might be derived from
+the simple expedient of requiring that
+<i>all scrip should be stamped</i>? There is
+no practical difficulty in the matter.
+Companies already formed, if they do
+not desire the benefit of a stamp&mdash;the
+best, and indeed at present the only
+security against the forger&mdash;may be
+called upon to pay their quota, corresponding
+to the number of their shares,
+from the fund of their Parliamentary
+deposit. New companies, again, might
+be imperatively required to issue
+stamps; and we confidently believe
+that no tax whatever would be more
+cheerfully assented to. Let the currency
+doctors do what they will, they
+never can drive scrip from the market.
+Would it not, then, be a measure of
+good policy to enlist it as a serviceable
+ally?</p>
+
+<p>Whether these observations of
+ours may stand the test of another
+year's experience, is certainly matter
+of doubt. The period of a single
+month makes wild changes in the
+prospects of the system, and involves
+us not only in new calculations but in
+a newer phase of things. At any rate
+it can do no harm, in the present period
+of excitement, to preach a little moderation,
+even though our voice should
+be as inaudible as the chirp of a sparrow
+on the house-top. The speculative
+spirit of the age may be checked
+and controlled, but it cannot be put
+down, nor would we wish to see it
+pass away. All great improvement
+is the fruit of speculation, upon which,
+indeed, commerce itself is based. We
+have, therefore, no sympathy for that
+numerous class of gentlemen who profess
+a pious horror for every venture
+of the kind, who croak prophetical
+bankruptcies, and would disinherit
+their sons without scruple, if by any
+accident they detected them in dalliance
+with scrip. A worthier, but a
+more contracted, section of the human
+race does not exist. They are the
+genuine descendants of the Picts;
+and, had they lived in remoter days,
+would have been the first to protest
+against the abolition of ochre as an
+ornament, or the substitution of broadcloth
+for the untanned buffalo hide.
+The nation must progress, and the
+true Conservative policy is to lay
+down a proper plan for the steadiness
+and endurance of its march. The
+Roman state was once saved by the
+judicious dispositions of a Fabius, and,
+in our mind, Sir Robert Peel cannot
+do the public a greater service than
+to imitate the example of the <i>Cunctator</i>.
+He has the power, and, more
+than any living statesman, the practical
+ability, to grapple with such a
+subject in all its details. That Parliament
+must do something, is apparent
+to every reflecting man. The machinery
+of it cannot dispose, as heretofore,
+of the superabundant material.
+It must devise some method of regulation,
+and that method must be clear
+and decisive. A question more important
+can hardly be conceived, and
+so with the legislature we leave it.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3>
+
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> Since this article was sent to press, the Bank of England has raised its rates
+of discount one-half per cent. Our prognostication, therefore, has been verified
+sooner than we expected, and we are not sorry to find that great establishment
+thus early indicating its opinion that speculation has been pushed too far. We see
+no ground of alarm in the rise, but rather a security for a more healthy and moderate
+market.</p></div></div>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<h3><i>Edinburgh: Printed by Ballantyne &amp; Hughes, Paul's Work.</i>
+</h3>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume
+62, Number 361, November, 1845., by Various
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+</body>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 62,
+Number 361, November, 1845., 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: Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 62, Number 361, November, 1845.
+
+Author: Various
+
+Release Date: December 25, 2008 [EBook #27611]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE, NOV. 1845 ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Brendan OConnor, Erica Hills, Jonathan Ingram
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images
+generously made available by The Internet Library of Early
+Journals.)
+
+
+
+
+
+TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: Spellings are sometimes erratic. A few obvious
+misprints have been corrected, but in general the original spelling
+and typesetting conventions (e.g. ellipses as * * *) have been retained.
+Accents in foreign language phrases are inconsistent, and have not been
+standardised.
+
+
+
+
+BLACKWOOD'S
+EDINBURGH MAGAZINE.
+
+
+NO. CCCLXI. NOVEMBER, 1845. VOL. LVIII.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+THE STUDENT OF SALAMANCA. PART I.,                   521
+
+HUMBOLDT,                                            541
+
+HAKEM THE SLAVE,                                     560
+
+THE LAY OF STARKATHER,                               570
+
+MOZART,                                              572
+
+ACCOUNT OF A VISIT TO THE VOLCANO OF KIRAUEA,        591
+
+THE DAYS OF THE FRONDE,                              596
+
+THE GRAND GENERAL JUNCTION AND INDEFINITE
+      EXTENSION RAILWAY RHAPSODY,                    614
+
+SKETCHES OF ITALY--LUCCA,                            617
+
+THE RAILWAYS,                                        633
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+EDINBURGH:
+WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, 45, GEORGE STREET;
+AND 37, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON.
+
+_To whom all Communications (post paid) must be addressed._
+
+SOLD BY ALL THE BOOKSELLERS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.
+PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE AND HUGHES, EDINBURGH.
+
+
+BLACKWOOD'S EDINBURGH MAGAZINE.
+
+
+No. CCCLXI. NOVEMBER, 1845. VOL. LVIII.
+
+
+
+
+THE STUDENT OF SALAMANCA.
+
+PART I.
+
+
+    "Espana de la guerra
+    Tremola la pendon."
+          _Cancion Patriotica._
+
+It wanted about an hour of sunset on the last day of September 1833,
+when two young men, whose respective ages did not much exceed twenty
+years, emerged from a country lane upon the high-road from Tarazona to
+Tudela, in that small district of Navarre which lies south of the
+river Ebro.
+
+The equipments of the travellers--for such the dusty state of their
+apparel, and the knapsacks upon their shoulders, indicated them to
+be--were exactly similar, and well calculated for a pedestrian journey
+across the steep sierras and neglected roads of Spain. They consisted,
+with little variation, of the national Spanish dress--short jackets of
+dark cloth, somewhat braided and embroidered, knee-breeches of the
+same material, and broad-brimmed hats, surrounded by velvet bands.
+Only, instead of the tight-fitting stockings and neat pumps, which
+should have completed the costume, long leathern gamashes extended
+from knee to ankle, and were met below the latter by stout
+high-quartered shoes. Each of the young men carried a stick in his
+hand, rather, as it appeared, from habit, or for purposes of defence,
+than as a support, and each of them had a cloak of coarse black serge
+folded and strapped upon his otter-skin knapsack. With their costume,
+however, the similarity in their appearance ceased; nothing could be
+more widely different than their style of person and countenance. The
+taller of the two, who was also apparently the elder, was of a
+slender, active figure, with well-moulded limbs, and a handsome,
+intelligent countenance, in which energy and decision of character
+were strongly marked. His complexion was dark olive; his eyes and
+short curling hair were of a coal black; what little beard he had was
+closely shaven, excepting upon the upper lip, which was fringed by a
+well-defined mustache, as gracefully curved and delicately penciled as
+any that Vandyke ever painted. At this time, however, there was a
+shade over his countenance other than that cast by the broad leaf of
+his sombrero; it was the look of mingled hope, anxiety, and suspense,
+sometimes worn by persons who are drawing near to a goal, their
+attainment of which is still doubtful, and at which, even when
+attained, it is not quite certain whether pleasure or pain awaits
+them.
+
+No such thoughts or anxieties were to be read upon the joyous,
+careless countenance of the second traveller--a stout, square-built
+young man, whose ruddy complexion and light-brown hair contrasted as
+strongly with the dark locks and olive skin of his companion as they
+differed from the generally received notions of Spanish physiognomy.
+The face wore no particular expression, excepting that of
+good-humoured _insouciance_; his hazel eye had a merry twinkle, and a
+slight fulness of lip and chin seemed to denote a reasonable degree of
+addiction to the good things of this life. Altogether, and to judge
+them by their physiognomies only, one would have chosen the first for
+a friend, the latter for a pleasant and jovial boon-companion.
+
+On leaving the cross-road, the two pedestrians took a northerly
+direction, in which they proceeded for nearly a quarter of an hour
+without exchanging a syllable, the one absorbed in meditations which
+the other was apparently unwilling to disturb. At the end of that time
+they paused, as if by preconcerted arrangement, in front of a small
+_venta_, or country inn, less remarkable for the accommodation it
+afforded, than for its pleasant situation and aspect. It stood a
+little back from the road, in a nook formed by the recession of a line
+of wooded hills which there skirt the highway. The front of the house,
+composed of rough blocks of grey stone, was overgrown by the twisted
+branches of a venerable vine, the age of which did not prevent it from
+becoming covered each spring with leaves and tendrils, nor from
+yielding in the autumn an abundant supply of delicious gold-coloured
+grapes. At a short distance in front of the door, which opened into
+the stable, whence a wooden step-ladder led to the upper floor, there
+stood a huge oak, throwing its broad shadow over a table and some
+benches placed beneath it for the accommodation of guests. On one side
+of the venta, and detached from it, but in a right line with its
+front, was a massive fragment of wall, which had probably, at no very
+remote period, formed part of a chapel or convent. Its summit, which
+was broken and irregular, rose full thirty feet from the ground
+throughout more than double that length, and along the wall, at about
+two-thirds of a man's height, ran a horizontal black line, indicating,
+as did also the numerous marks and bruises upon the whitewashed
+surface, that this ancient piece of masonry enabled the frequenters of
+the venta to indulge in the favourite _juego de pelota_, or a game at
+ball, to which the Navarrese and the northern Spaniards generally are
+much addicted, and at which most of them excel.
+
+On the arrival of our travellers, the benches in front of the venta
+had already two occupants, belonging to classes of men which may rank
+amongst the chief supporters of Spanish roadside inns. One of them was
+a corporal of dragoons, returning to his garrison at Tudela, whence he
+had probably been sent with a despatch, or on some similar mission. He
+was a strapping, powerful fellow, well set up, as the phrase goes, and
+whose broad shoulders and soldierly figure showed to advantage in his
+dark-green uniform. His horse--a high-crested, fine-legged Andalusian,
+whose jetty coat looked yet blacker by contrast with the white
+sheep-skin that covered the saddle, and the flakes of foam with which
+his impatient champings had covered his broad chest--was tied up near
+the stable door, the bridle removed, finishing out of a nose-bag a
+plentiful feed of maize. The dragoon's sabre and his brass and
+leopard-skin helmet were hanging at the saddle-bow, their owner having
+temporarily covered his head with a smart foraging-cap of green and
+scarlet cloth, which set off to great advantage his bearded and
+martial countenance. Having provided for his horse, the trooper was
+now attending to the calls of his own appetite, and doing immense
+execution on some goat's-milk cheese and excellent white bread, which
+he moistened by copious draughts of the thick black wine of Navarre.
+
+Seated opposite to the soldier, and similarly employed, was a
+hardy-looking man, who had arrived in company with two mules, which
+were also tethered to a ring in the venta wall, but at a respectful
+distance from the dragoon's charger. A heap of chopped straw and
+Indian corn leaves was lying before them, at which they assiduously
+munched--not, however, without occasionally casting wistful glances
+at the more luxurious repast of their neighbour. The soldier and the
+muleteer had apparently met before; and when the new-comers approached
+them, they were discussing with great animation the merits of the
+various players in a ball-match which they had recently witnessed near
+Tudela. Thence they glided into a discussion concerning ball-players
+in general; the muleteer, who was a Navarrese, asserting the
+invincibility of his country at the game of pelota, whilst the
+corporal, who came from the neighbourhood of Oviedo, was equally
+confident of the superiority of the Asturians.
+
+Whilst the younger of the travellers was ascertaining from the
+_patrona_ the state of the larder, which, as is usual enough in
+Spanish inns, was but meagrely provided, his companion sought out the
+landlord of the venta, whom he found in the chimney-corner, enjoying a
+supplementary siesta amidst a cloud of wood smoke.
+
+"The Conde de Villabuena," enquired the young man, when he had shaken
+the drowsy host out of his slumbers--"is he still at his house between
+this and Tudela?"
+
+The _ventero_, a greasy, ill-conditioned Valencian, rubbed his eyes,
+muttered a coarse oath, and seemed half disposed, instead of replying,
+to pick a quarrel with his interrogator; but a glance at the athletic
+figure and resolute countenance of the latter, dissipated the
+inclination, and he answered by a surly affirmative.
+
+"And his daughter also?" continued the stranger in a lower tone.
+
+"Dona Rita? To be sure she is, or was yesterday; for I saw her ride by
+with her father and some other cavaliers. What eyes the little beauty
+has; and what a foot! It was peeping from under her habit as she
+passed. Sant'Antonio, what a foot!"
+
+And now thoroughly awakened, the ventero launched out into a panegyric
+on the lady's beauty, interlarded by appeals to various saints as to
+the justice of his praise, which was continued, in the manner of a
+soliloquy, for some time after the stranger had turned his back upon
+him and descended the stairs.
+
+At the door of the venta the young man encountered his companion, who
+was issuing forth with a jug of wine in his hand.
+
+"Well, Luis," said the latter, "have you ascertained it? Is she still
+here, or has our journey been in vain?"
+
+"She is here," was the reply.
+
+"Good. Then I hope you will put aside your melancholy, and eat and
+drink with better appetite than you have lately done. We have plenty
+of time; it will not be dark for the next two hours. So let us to
+supper, such as it is; ham as rancid as an old oil-cask, eggs that
+would have been chickens to-morrow, and wine--but the wine may atone
+for the rest--it is old Peralta, or the patrona is perjured. I have
+had the table spread under the tree, in hopes that fresh air may
+sweeten musty viands, and in order that we may see the ball-play of
+yonder soldier and muleteer."
+
+The young man who had been addressed by the name of Luis, glanced in
+the direction of the ball-court, where the two men to whom his
+companion referred were preparing for a match. The discussion as to
+the superiority of Navarrese or Asturian ball-players had increased in
+warmth, until the disputants, each obstinate in his opinion, finding
+themselves, perhaps, at a loss for verbal arguments, had agreed to
+refer the matter to a trial of individual skill. The challenge came
+from the dragoon, who, as soon as he heard it accepted, proceeded to
+lighten himself for his task. With great alacrity he threw aside his
+foraging-cap, stripped off his pouch-belt and uniform coat, and
+unfastened his spurs. The preparations of the muleteer were even more
+rapidly completed. When he had thrown off his jacket--the back of
+which was adorned, according to the custom of his class, with flowers
+and various quaint devices, cut out in cloth of many colours, and sewn
+upon the brown material of which the garment was composed--he stood in
+his shirt and trousers of unbleached linen, with light sandals of
+plaited hemp upon his feet. In this latter respect he had the
+advantage of the soldier, who, not choosing to play barefooted, was
+obliged to retain his heavy boots. In apparent activity, too, the
+advantage was greatly on the side of the Navarrese, who was spare and
+sinewy, without an ounce of superfluous flesh about him, but with
+muscles like iron, and limbs as elastic and springy as whalebone. His
+very face partook of the hard, wiry character of his person; the
+cheekbones were slightly prominent, and, although he evidently wanted
+some years of thirty, two deep furrows or lines, such as are rarely
+seen on the countenance of so young a man, curved outwards from either
+nostril to considerably below the mouth, increasing in depth when he
+talked or smiled, and giving, in conjunction with a quick grey eye,
+considerable character to his frank, and by no means disagreeable
+countenance.
+
+The game began with great spirit, and with much appearance of equality
+between the players, who would both have been deemed first-rate in any
+ball-court in Europe. The great strength of the dragoon seemed at
+first to give him the advantage; the tremendous blows he delivered
+sent the ball against the wall with as much seeming force as if it had
+been driven out of a cannon, and caused it to rebound to an immense
+distance, keeping the muleteer continually at the very top of his
+speed. The match was to be the best two out of three games. The first
+of the three was won by the muleteer, after the victory had been long
+and well contested.
+
+"_Bien!_" said the dragoon, as he wiped the perspiration from his
+face, and took a deep draught out of a jug of wine which the ventero
+presented to him. "_Bien_--that is one for you; the next may go
+differently. I only missed the ball through my foot slipping. Curse
+boots for playing ball in, say I! Hola, Valenciano! have you never a
+pair of shoes or espadrillas to lend me?"
+
+The landlord, who acted as umpire, and who, as well as his wife and
+two or three loitering peasants, was taking an intense interest in the
+game, ran into the house and brought out a pair of sandals. These the
+soldier tied upon his feet, in lieu of the boots to which he
+attributed his defeat. Then, with renewed confidence, he took his
+place opposite the wall, where the muleteer was waiting for him.
+
+But if, as the dragoon said, an accident had lost him the first game,
+it soon became evident that the superior activity and endurance of his
+antagonist were equally certain to make him lose the second. The
+idleness of a garrison life, fat feeding, and soft lying, had
+disqualified the soldier to compete for any length of time with a man
+like the Navarrese, accustomed to the severest hardships, whose most
+luxurious meal was a handful of boiled beans, his softest couch a
+bundle of straw or the packsaddles of his mules. Constant exposure and
+unceasing toil had given the muleteer the same insensibility to
+fatigue attributed to certain savage tribes. Whilst his antagonist,
+with inflamed features and short-drawn breath, and reeking with
+perspiration, was toiling after the ball, the Navarrese went through
+the same, or a greater amount of exertion, without the least
+appearance of distress. Not a bead of moisture upon his face, nor a
+pant from his broad, well-opened chest, gave token of the slightest
+inconvenience from the violent exercise he was going through. On the
+contrary, as he went on and got warm in the harness, he seemed to play
+better, to run faster, to catch the ball with greater address, and
+strike it with more force. Sometimes he would be standing close to the
+wall, when a mighty blow from the strong arm of the dragoon sent the
+ball scores of yards in his rear. It seemed impossible that he should
+arrive soon enough to strike it. But before it had time to rebound, he
+was behind it, and by a blow of his horny palm, less forcible perhaps,
+but more dexterously applied than the one his opponent had given, he
+sent it careering back to the wall with greater swiftness than it had
+left it. He rarely struck the ball in the air, even when the
+opportunity offered, but allowed it to rebound--a less dashing, but a
+surer game than he would perhaps have played, had he not considered
+the honour of "Navarra la bella" to be at stake, represented in his
+person. Again, when the ball fell near the wall, he would sometimes
+swing his arm as though about to strike it a violent blow, and, whilst
+the dragoon was already beginning to retire in the direction he
+expected it to take, he would change his apparent intention, and drop
+it gently just above the line, so that his opponent, although rushing
+up in desperate haste, could scarcely arrive in time to avoid being
+put out. It was by a feint of this description that the second game
+was decided in favour of the Navarrese.
+
+"_Viva la Navarra!_" shouted the winner, bounding like a startled
+roebuck three or four feet from the ground, in front of the
+discomfited soldier.
+
+"_Viva el demonio!_" growled the latter in reply. "Do you think that
+because you have beaten me to-day, thanks to your herring guts and
+dog's hide, that you could do the same if I were in training, or had a
+month's practice? You would find it very different, Master Paco."
+
+"Viva la Navarra!" repeated Paco, chucking the small hard ball up into
+the air, to a height at which it appeared scarcely bigger than a
+bullet. Then replying to the words of the dragoon; "At your orders,
+Senor Velasquez," said he, "I shall pass through Tudela some time next
+month, and shall be ready to give you your revenge."
+
+And catching the ball as it fell, the Navarrese, whom victory had put
+into extravagant spirits, began tossing it from one hand to the other,
+catching it behind his back, and performing various other small feats
+of address, looking the while at the corporal with a sort of jeering
+smile, which greatly aggravated the irritation of the latter.
+
+"_Pues_," said Velasquez at last, after gazing at Paco for the space
+of a minute with a stern look, which was insufficient, however, to
+make the other lower his eyes, or alter the expression of his
+countenance; "Well, what do you stare at? Oh! I forgot--you may well
+stare. It is the first time that you have seen an Asturian caballero
+beaten at any thing by a cur of a Navarrese."
+
+"Not at all," replied the muleteer coolly; "your Senoria is mistaken.
+It is only the first time that I have seen an Asturian _caballero_
+with a pipeclayed belt over his shoulder, and a corporal's bars upon
+his arm."
+
+And he broke out into one of those wild shrill laughs of scorn and
+defiance with which the peasant soldiers of Navarre have so often,
+during recent Spanish wars, caused the rocks and ravines of their
+native province to ring again.
+
+"_Hijo de zorra!_" muttered the soldier, enraged beyond endurance by
+this last taunt; and drawing back his right arm, he dealt so heavy and
+unexpected a blow upon the breast of the muleteer that the latter
+reeled a couple of paces backwards, and then fell headlong and with
+considerable violence to the ground. The dragoon gazed for an instant
+at the fallen man, as if expecting him to rise and attack him in turn;
+but, seeing that he did not do so, he turned round and walked slowly
+in the direction of his charger.
+
+He had taken but a few steps when the Navarrese sprang to his feet,
+and thrust his hand into the red sash which girded his waist, as
+though seeking a weapon. He found none, and, instantly darting
+forward, he passed the soldier, and reached his mules a moment sooner
+than the former did his horse. The next instant a long brown barrel
+was projected across the packsaddles, and behind it was seen the blue
+cap and pale countenance of Paco, who, with glittering eye and face
+livid from fury, was taking a deadly aim at the soldier, now standing
+beside the shoulder of his charger. Without a moment's hesitation the
+Navarrese pulled the trigger. As he did so, the dragoon, suddenly
+aware of his danger, threw himself on one side, and at the same time
+his horse, either startled by the movement or tormented by a fly,
+tossed his head violently up and backwards. The muleteer's bullet,
+intended for the rider, entered the brain of the steed. There was a
+convulsive quivering of the animal's whole frame, and then, before the
+smoke cleared away, the horse fell over so heavily and suddenly that
+he bore down Velasquez under him. The soldier lay with the whole
+weight of the expiring animal resting upon his legs and thighs; and,
+before he could make an attempt to extricate himself, the Navarrese,
+with a large dagger-shaped knife gleaming in his hand, sprang across
+the space that separated him from his antagonist. The fate of the
+latter would speedily have been decided, had not the innkeeper, his
+wife, and the two young men, who had been observing with much
+interest these rapidly occurring incidents, thrown themselves between
+Paco and the object of his wrath.
+
+"Out of the way!" roared the infuriated muleteer. "He has struck me,
+and by the Holy Trinity I will have his blood. He has struck _me_, a
+free Navarrese!" repeated he, striking his own breast with the points
+of his fingers, one of the expressive and customary gestures of his
+countrymen.
+
+"Let him be, Senor Don Paco!" yelled the ventero and his wife, greatly
+alarmed at the prospect of a murder in broad daylight and at their
+very threshold. "You have done enough already to send you to the
+galleys. Get on your mules, and ride away before worse comes of it."
+
+"_A los infiernos!_" shouted Paco. "As the horse now is, so shall be
+the rider." And he gave a long sweep of his arm, making the bright
+blade of his knife flash in the last red sun-rays like a curved line
+of burnished gold. The point of the weapon passed within an inch or
+two of the face of the innkeeper, who started back with a cry of
+alarm. At the same moment the wrist of the Navarrese was caught in a
+firm grasp by the elder of the two travellers, and the knife was
+wrested from his hand. The muleteer turned like a madman upon his new
+antagonist. The latter had laid aside the hat which shaded his face,
+and now fixed his eyes upon the angry countenance of the Navarrese.
+
+"Do you not know me, Paco?" said he, repulsing the first furious onset
+of the muleteer.
+
+Paco stared at him for a moment with a look of doubt and astonishment.
+
+"Don Luis!" he at last exclaimed.
+
+"The same," replied the stranger. "You have been too hasty, Paco, and
+we expose ourselves to blame by not detaining you to answer for your
+attempt on yonder soldier's life, and for the death of his horse. But
+you had some provocation, and I, for one, am willing to take the risk.
+Begone, and that immediately."
+
+"I shall do your bidding, Senorito," said Paco, "were it only for old
+acquaintance sake. But let that cowardly Asturian beware how he meets
+me in the mountains. I have missed him once, but will answer for not
+doing so again."
+
+"And you," retorted the soldier, whom the innkeeper and a peasant had
+dragged from under the dead horse, and placed upon a bench, where he
+sat rubbing his legs, which were numbed and bruised by the weight that
+had fallen upon them--"and you, have a care how you show yourself in
+Tudela. If there is a stirrup-leather or sword-scabbard in the
+garrison, I promise you as sound a beating as you ever yet received."
+
+The Navarrese, who had returned to his mules and was busied reloading
+his gun, snapped his fingers scornfully at this menace. Don Luis
+walked up to him.
+
+"Listen, Paco," said he, in a low voice, "take my advice, and avoid
+this neighbourhood for a while. Are you still in the service of Count
+Villabuena?"
+
+"No, Senor," replied the man, "I have left his Senoria, and the mules
+are my own. I shall be passing near the count's house to-morrow, if
+you have any thing to send."
+
+"I have nothing," answered Don Luis. "Should you by chance see any of
+the family, it is unnecessary to mention our meeting."
+
+Paco nodded his head significantly, seated himself sideways on one of
+his mules, his gun across his knees, and, leading the other by the
+bridle, trotted off at a brisk pace down a mountain path nearly
+opposite to the venta. Ten minutes later the dragoon, having regained,
+in some degree, the use of his legs, resumed his boots, took his
+saddle and valise on his shoulders, and set out on foot for his
+garrison.
+
+The sun had set, and the twilight passed away, the night was clear and
+starlight, but moonless, when Luis and his companion left the venta
+and resumed their progress northwards. After following the highway for
+a short league, they took a cross-road, on either side of which the
+richly cultivated plain was sprinkled with farmhouses, and with a few
+country villas. In spite of the darkness, which was increased by the
+overhanging foliage of the fruit-trees that on either hand bordered
+the road, Luis moved rapidly and confidently forward, in the manner
+of one perfectly acquainted with the ground; and presently, leaving
+the beaten track, he passed through a plantation of young trees,
+crossed a field, and arrived with his companion at a low hedge
+surrounding a spacious garden. Jumping over this boundary, the young
+men penetrated some distance into the enclosure, and soon found
+themselves within fifty yards of a house, of which the white walls
+were partially visible, rising out of a thick garland of trees and
+bushes in which the building was embowered. Several of the windows
+were lighted up, and the sound of music reached the ears of Luis and
+his companion.
+
+"This is far enough, Mariano," said the former. "To the right, amongst
+the trees, you will find an old moss-grown bench, upon which I have
+often sat in happier days than these. There await my return."
+
+"Let me accompany you further," replied Mariano. "There is no saying
+what reception the count may give you."
+
+"I shall not see the count," answered Luis; "and if by chance I
+should, there is nothing to apprehend. But my plan, as I have already
+explained to you, is only to seek one moment's interview with Rita. I
+am well acquainted with the arrangements of the house, and you may
+depend that I shall be seen by no one whom I wish to avoid."
+
+Mariano turned into the shrubbery, and Luis, with rapid but silent
+step, advanced towards the villa, favoured in his clandestine approach
+by the darkness of the night and the trees of the thickly-planted
+garden.
+
+The house was a square edifice, without balconies, and the windows
+that were lighted up were those of the first floor. On the side on
+which Luis first approached the building, the windows were closed,
+but, upon moving noiselessly round to the front, he perceived one
+which the fineness of the weather, still mild and genial although at
+the end of September, had induced the occupants of the room to leave
+open. The sound of laughter and merriment issued from it; but this was
+presently hushed, and two voices, accompanied by guitars, began to
+sing a lively _seguidilla_, of which, at the end of each piquant
+couplet, the listeners testified their approbation by a hum of
+mirthful applause. Before the song was over, Luis had sought and found
+a means of observing what was passing within doors. Grasping the lower
+branch of a tree which grew within a few feet of the corner of the
+house, he swung himself up amongst the foliage. A large bough extended
+horizontally below the open window, and by climbing along this, he was
+enabled to look completely into the apartment; whilst, owing to the
+thickness of the leafage and the dark colour of his dress, there was
+scarcely a possibility of his being discovered.
+
+The room was occupied by about twenty persons, the majority of whom
+were visitors, inhabitants of Tudela or of neighbouring
+country-houses. With four or five exceptions, the party consisted of
+men, for the most part elderly or middle-aged. One of the ladies and a
+young officer of the royal guard were the singers, and their
+performance seemed partially to interrupt the conversation of a group
+of the seniors who were seated round a card-table at the further end
+of the apartment. The cards, however, if they had been used at all,
+had long been thrown aside, and replaced by a discussion carried on in
+low tones, and with an earnestness of countenance and gesture, which
+gave to those engaged in it the appearance rather of conspirators than
+of friends met together for the enjoyment of each other's society. The
+ladies, and a few of the younger men, did not appear disposed to let
+the gravity of their elders interfere with their own pleasures. The
+song and the dance, the pointed epigram and witty repartee, all the
+varied resourccs which Spaniards know so well how to bring into play,
+and which render a Spanish _tertulia_ so agreeable, had been in turn
+resorted to. When the seguidilla--during the continuance of which Luis
+had gained his post of observation--was brought to a close, there
+seemed to ensue a sort of break in the amusements of the evening. The
+younger members of the company, whose conversation had previously been
+general, separated into groups of two or three persons; and in more
+than one of those composed of the former number, the flashing eye,
+coquettish smile, and rapidly significant motions of the fan, bespoke
+the existence of an animated flirtation.
+
+Two ladies, neither of whom could have seen more than eighteen
+summers, now left the sofa upon which they had been sitting, and, with
+arms intertwined, approached the open window. Luis remained motionless
+as the leaves that surrounded him, and which were undisturbed by a
+breath of wind. The ladies leaned forward over the window-sill,
+enjoying the freshness of the night; and one of them, the lively
+brunette who had taken a part in the seguidilla, plucked some sprays
+of jasmine which reared their pointed leaves and white blossoms in
+front of the window, and began to entwine them in the hair of her
+companion--a pale and somewhat pensive beauty, in whose golden locks
+and blue eyes the Gothic blood of old Spain was yet to be traced.
+Presently she was interrupted in this fanciful occupation by a voice
+within the room calling upon her to sing. She obeyed the summons, and
+her friend remained alone at the window.
+
+No sooner was this the case than a slight rustling occurred amongst
+the branches of the tree, and the name of "Rita" was uttered in a
+cautious whisper. The lady started, and but half suppressed a cry of
+terror. The next instant the leaves were put aside, and the light from
+the apartment fell upon the countenance of Luis, who, with uplifted
+finger, warned the agitated girl to restrain her emotion.
+
+"Santa Virgen!" she exclaimed, leaning far out of the window, and
+speaking in a hurried whisper, "this is madness, Luis. My father is
+unchanged in his sentiments, and I dread his anger should he find you
+here."
+
+"I will instantly depart," replied Luis, "if you promise me an
+interview. I am about to leave Spain--perhaps for ever; but I cannot
+go without bidding you farewell. You will not refuse me a meeting
+which may probably be our last."
+
+"What mean you?" exclaimed the lady. "Why do you leave Spain, and
+when? But we shall be overheard. To-morrow my father goes to Tudela.
+Be here at mid-day. Brigida will admit you."
+
+She held out her hand, which Luis pressed to his lips. At that moment
+the clatter of a horse's hoofs, rapidly approaching, was heard upon
+the hard ground of the avenue. The lady hastily withdrew her land and
+left the window, whilst Luis again concealed himself behind the screen
+of foliage. Scarcely had he done so, when a horseman dashed up to the
+house, forced his steed up the three or four broad steps leading to
+the door, and, without dismounting or looking for a bell or other
+means of announcing his arrival, struck several blows upon the oaken
+panels with the butt of his heavy riding-whip. Whilst the party
+above-stairs hurried to the windows, and endeavoured to discern who it
+was that disturbed them in so unceremonious a manner, a servant opened
+the small grated wicket in the centre of the door, and enquired the
+stranger's pleasure.
+
+"Is the Conde de Villabuena at home?" demanded the horseman. "I must
+see him instantly."
+
+"The name of your Senoria," enquired the domestic.
+
+"It is unnecessary. Say that I have a message to him from friends at
+Madrid."
+
+The servant disappeared, and in another moment his place was occupied
+by a grave, stern-looking man, between fifty and sixty years of age.
+
+"I am Count Villabuena," said he; "what is your business?"
+
+The stranger bent forward over his horse's mane, so as to bring his
+face close to the wicket, and uttered three words in a tone audible
+only to the count, who replied to them by an exclamation of surprise.
+The door was immediately opened, and Villabuena stood beside the
+horseman.
+
+"When?" said he.
+
+"Yesterday. I have ridden night and day to bring you the intelligence,
+and shall now push on to the interior of Navarre. At the same time as
+myself, others of our friends started, north and south, east and west.
+Early this morning, Santos Ladron heard it at Valladolid, and Merino
+in Castile. To-day the news has reached Vittoria; this night they will
+be at Bilboa and Tolosa. It is from the northern provinces that most
+is expected; but 'El Rey y la Religion' is a rallying-cry that will
+rouse all Spaniards worthy of the name. You are prepared for the
+event, and know what to do. Farewell, and success attend us!"
+
+The stranger set spurs to his horse, and galloped down the avenue at
+the same rapid pace at which he had arrived. The count re-entered the
+house; and, as soon as he had done so, Luis dropped from his tree, and
+hurried to rejoin Mariano. In another hour they had returned to the
+venta.
+
+Luis Herrera was the son of a Castilian gentleman, who had suffered
+much, both in person and property, for his steady adherence to the
+constitutional cause in Spain. Severely wounded whilst fighting
+against the Royalists and their French allies in 1823, Don Manuel
+Herrera with difficulty escaped to England, taking with him his only
+son, then a boy of eleven years of age. In 1830 he changed his
+residence to the south of France, and thence, taking advantage of his
+proximity to the frontier, and wishing his son's education to be
+completed in Spain, he dispatched Luis to Madrid, with a
+recommendation to the Conde de Villabuena, who, notwithstanding that
+his political principles were diametrically opposed to those of Don
+Manuel, was one of the oldest friends of the latter. The count
+welcomed Luis kindly, and received him into his house, where for some
+months he prosecuted his studies in company with the young
+Villabuenas, and, at the end of that time, went with them to the
+university of Salamanca. The vacations were passed by the young men
+either at the count's house at Madrid, or at a country residence near
+Tudela, north of which, in the central valleys of his native province
+of Navarre, the Conde de Villabuena owned extensive estates. The count
+was a widower, and, besides his two sons, had an only daughter, who,
+at the time of Luis's arrival was in her sixteenth year, and who added
+to great personal attractions a share of accomplishment and
+instruction larger than is usually found even amongst the higher
+classes of Spanish women. During the first sojourn of Luis at the
+count's house, he was naturally thrown a great deal into Dona Rita's
+society, and a reciprocal attachment grew up between them, which, if
+it occasionally afforded the young Villabuenas a subject of
+good-humoured raillery, on the other hand was unobserved or uncared
+for by the count--a stern silent man, whose thoughts and time were
+engrossed by political intrigues. When Luis went to Salamanca, his
+attachment to Rita, instead of becoming weakened or obliterated,
+appeared to acquire strength from absence; and she, on her part, as
+each vacation approached, unconsciously looked forward with far more
+eagerness to the return of Herrera than to that of her brothers.
+
+The autumn of 1832 arrived, and the count and his family, including
+Luis, were assembled at the villa near Tudela. The attachment existing
+between Rita and Luis had become evident to all who knew them; and
+even the count himself seemed occasionally, by a quiet glance and
+grave smile, to recognise and sanction its existence. Nor was there
+any very obvious or strong reason for disapproval. The family of
+Herrera was ancient and honourable; and, although Don Manuel's estates
+had been confiscated when he fled the country, he had previously
+remitted to England a sum that secured him a moderate independence.
+The state of things in Spain was daily becoming more favourable to the
+hopes of political exiles. The declining health of Ferdinand had
+thrown the reins of government almost entirely into the hands of Queen
+Christina, who, in order to increase the number of her adherents, and
+ensure her daughter's succession to the throne, favoured the return to
+Spain of the Liberal party. Although Don Manuel, who was known to be
+obstinate and violent in his political views, had not yet been
+included in the amnesties published, it was thought that he speedily
+would be so; and then time and importunity, and an adherence to the
+established order of things, might perhaps procure him the restitution
+of some part of his confiscated property.
+
+It chanced, that on the fourth day after the arrival of Luis and the
+Villabuenas from Salamanca, the two latter rode over to the Ebro,
+below Tudela, for the purpose of bathing. They were not good swimmers,
+and were moreover unaccustomed to bathe in so rapid and powerful a
+stream. A peasant, who observed two horses tied to a tree, and some
+clothes upon the grass by the river side, but who could see nothing of
+the owners, suspected an accident, and gave the alarm. A search was
+instituted, and the dead bodies of the unfortunate young men were
+found upon the sandy shore of an island some distance down the river.
+
+This melancholy event was destined to have an important influence on
+the position of Luis Herrera in the family of Count Villabuena, and on
+his future fortunes. Mingled with the natural grief felt by the count
+at the untimely death of his children, were the pangs of disappointed
+pride and ambition. He had reckoned upon the gallant and promising
+young men, thus prematurely snatched away, for the continuance and
+aggrandizement of his ancient name. Upon his daughter he had hitherto
+scarcely bestowed a thought. She would marry--honourably of course,
+richly if possible; but even in this last respect he would not be
+inflexible, for where his pride of birth did not interfere, Villabuena
+was not an unkind father. But the death of his sons brought about
+great changes. The next heir to his title and estates was a distant
+and unmarried cousin, and to him the count determined to marry his
+daughter, whose beauty and large fortune in money and unentailed
+estates, rendered any objection to the match on the part of her
+kinsman a most improbable occurrence. As a first step towards the
+accomplishment of this scheme, the count resolved to put an end at
+once to what he considered the childish attachment existing between
+Rita and Luis. Within a week after the death of his sons, he had a
+conversation with young Herrera, in which he informed him of his
+intentions with regard to his daughter, and pointed out to him the
+necessity of forgetting her. In vain did Luis declare this to be
+impossible, and plead the strength which his attachment had acquired
+by his long permitted intercourse with Rita. The count cared little
+for such lover-like arguments; he assured Luis that he was mistaken,
+that time and absence brought oblivion in their train, and that after
+a few months, perhaps weeks, of separation, he would wonder at the
+change in his sentiments, and laugh at the importance he had attached
+to a mere boyish fancy. It so happened, that on the day preceding the
+one upon which this conversation took place, a letter had been
+received from Don Manuel Herrera, announcing his speedy return to
+Spain, the much-desired permission having at length been obtained. In
+order to give Luis an opportunity of speedily testing the effects of
+absence, the count proposed that he should at once set out for the
+French frontier to meet his father. Under the existing circumstances,
+he said, it was undesirable that he should remain under the same roof
+with his daughter longer than could be avoided.
+
+Although bitterly deploring the prospect of an immediate and lasting
+separation from Rita, Luis had no choice but to adopt the course
+proposed; nor would his pride have allowed him to remain in the
+count's house an instant longer than his presence there was
+acceptable. He feared that the count would prevent his having a last
+interview with Rita; but this Villabuena did not think it worth while
+to do, contenting himself with repeating to his daughter the
+communication he had already made to Luis. When the latter sought his
+mistress, he found her in tears and great affliction. The blow was so
+sudden and unexpected, that she could scarcely believe in its reality,
+and still less could she bring herself to think that the count would
+persist in his cruel resolution. "He will surely relent," she said,
+"when he sees how unhappy his decision makes me; but should he not do
+so, rest assured, Luis, that I will never be forced into this odious
+marriage. Sooner than submit to it, a convent shall receive me." And
+once more repeating the vows of constancy which they had so often
+interchanged, the lovers separated. At daybreak upon the following
+morning, Luis set out for Bayonne.
+
+The joy experienced by Don Manuel Herrera upon once more treading his
+native soil, did not so engross him as to prevent his observing the
+melancholy of his son. In reply to his father's enquiries, Luis
+informed him of his attachment to Rita, and of the interdict which
+the count had put upon its continuance. Don Manuel was indignant at
+what he termed the selfish and unfeeling conduct of Villabuena, who
+would thus sacrifice his daughter's happiness to his own pride and
+ambition. He then endeavoured to rouse the pride of Luis, and to
+convert his regrets into indignation; but, finding himself
+unsuccessful, he resolved to try the effect of change of scene and
+constant occupation. He set out with his son for Old Castile, of which
+he was a native, and undertook various journeys through the province
+in search of a small estate, such as his means would permit him to
+purchase, and upon which he might in future reside. This he at last
+found, a few leagues to the south of Burgos. The purchase completed,
+there were still many arrangements to make before Don Manuel could
+settle down and enjoy the peaceful country life which he had planned
+for himself, and in making these arrangements he took care to find his
+son abundant and varied employment. But all his well-meant efforts
+were in vain. Luis could not detach his thoughts from one
+all-engrossing subject; and at last, although Count Villabuena had
+expressly forbidden any correspondence between his daughter and young
+Herrera, the latter, after some weeks' absence, unable to resist any
+longer his desire to hear from Rita, ventured to write to her. The
+letter was intercepted by the count, and returned unopened, with a few
+haughty lines expressive of his indignation at the ingratitude of
+Luis, who was requiting the kindness he had received at his hands by
+endeavouring to thwart his plans and seduce the affections of his
+daughter. The terms in which this letter was couched roused the ire of
+Don Manuel, who in his turn forbade his son to expose himself to a
+repetition of similar insults by any communication with the count or
+his daughter. Shortly afterwards Luis returned to Salamanca to
+complete his studies.
+
+The profession of the law, to which young Herrera was destined, had
+never had any charms for him. His own inclinations pointed to a
+military career, which he had on various occasions urged his father to
+allow him to adopt; but Don Manuel had invariably refused his request,
+alleging the poor prospect of advancement in time of peace, and in a
+service in which nearly all promotion was gained by interest and
+court-favour. Nevertheless, from his earliest youth Luis had devoted
+his leisure hours to the attainment of accomplishments qualifying him
+for the trade of war. He was the boldest horseman, most skilful
+swordsman, and best shot in the University of Salamanca. His
+superiority in these respects, his decided character, and agreeable
+manners, had gained him considerable popularity amongst his
+fellow-students, who frequently expressed their surprise, that one
+whose vocation was evidently military should abide by the dusty folios
+and dry intricacies of the law.
+
+More insupportable than ever did his studies now appear to Luis, who
+nevertheless persevered in them for several months after his father's
+return to Spain, endeavouring by strenuous application to divert his
+thoughts from his hopeless attachment. Weary at length of the effort,
+he determined to abandon a pursuit so uncongenial to his tastes, and
+to seek a more active course of life, and one for which he felt he was
+better suited. His plan was to repair to Africa, and endeavour to
+obtain a commission in one of the foreign corps which the French were
+raising for their campaign against the Bedouins. Should he fail in
+this, he would serve as a volunteer, and trust to his courage and
+merits for procuring him advancement. Previously, however, to the
+execution of this scheme, he resolved to see Rita once more, ascertain
+from her own lips whether there was a chance of the count's relenting,
+and, should there be none, bid her a last farewell. He would then
+return to his father's house, and obtain Don Manuel's sanction to his
+project.
+
+Since the unfortunate death of the young Villabuenas, Herrera's chief
+intimate at the University had been Mariano Torres, a hot-headed,
+warm-hearted Arragonese, entirely devoted to Luis, to whom he looked
+up as a model of perfection. To this young man Luis had confided his
+love for Rita, and her father's opposition, and to him he now
+communicated his new plans. To his infinite surprise, scarcely had he
+done so when Mariano, instead of expressing regret at his approaching
+departure, threw his three-cornered student's hat to the ceiling, tore
+off his gown, and declared his intention of accompanying his friend to
+Africa, or to any other part of the world to which he chose to betake
+himself. Luis tried to persuade him to abandon so mad a resolution;
+but Torres persisted in it, protesting that it would suit his taste
+much better to fight against Bedouins than to become a bachelor of
+arts, and that he had always intended to leave the University with his
+friend, and to accompany him wherever he might go. Trusting that, by
+the time they should reach Navarre, Mariano's enthusiasm would cool
+down, and his resolution change, Luis at length yielded, and the two
+friends left Salamanca together. Travelling by the public conveyances,
+they reached Valladolid, and subsequently the town of Soria, whence
+they had still nearly twenty leagues of high-road to Tudela. The path
+across the mountains being considerably shorter, and in order to
+diminish the risk of being seen by persons who might inform the count
+of his arrival, Luis resolved to complete the journey on foot; and
+after two short days' march, the young men reached the neighbourhood
+of Count Villabuena's residence.
+
+The church and convent clocks of the right Catholic city of Tudela had
+not yet chimed out the hour of noon, when Luis, impatient for the
+interview promised by Rita, entered the count's domain by the same
+path as on the previous evening. Before he came in sight of the house,
+he was met at an angle of the shrubbery by Rita herself.
+
+"I was sure you would take this path," said she, with a smile in which
+melancholy was mingled with the pleasure she felt at seeing her lover;
+"it was your favourite in days gone by. Our interview must be very
+brief. My father was to have remained at Tudela till evening, but
+something has occurred to derange his plans. He sat up the whole night
+in close conference with some gentlemen. At daybreak two couriers were
+dispatched, and the count rode away with his friends without having
+been in bed. He may return at any moment."
+
+Luis drew the arm of his mistress through his own, and they slowly
+walked down one of the alleys of the garden. Rita had little to tell
+him favourable to the hopes which he still, in spite of himself,
+continued to cherish. The appeals which she had ventured to make to
+her father's affection, and to his regard for her happiness, had been
+met by severe reproof. Her evident depression and melancholy remained
+unnoticed, or at least unadverted to, by the count. All that she said
+only confirmed Luis in his resolution of seeking high distinction or
+an honourable death in a foreign service. He was deliberating, with
+eyes fixed upon the ground, on the best manner of breaking his
+intentions to Rita, when an exclamation of alarm from her lips caused
+him to look up, and he saw Villabuena crossing on horseback the end of
+the walk along which they were advancing. The count's head was turned
+towards them, and he had without doubt seen and recognised them.
+
+Herrera's resolution was instantly taken. He would seek the count's
+presence, take upon himself the whole blame of his clandestine meeting
+with Rita, and appease her father's anger by informing him of his
+proposed self-banishment. Before, however, he had succeeded in calming
+Rita's fears, he again perceived the count, who had left his horse,
+and was advancing slowly towards them, with a grave, but not an angry
+countenance. On his near approach, Luis was about to address him; but
+by a wave of his hand Villabuena enjoined silence.
+
+"Return to the house, Rita," said he in a calm voice: "and, you, Senor
+de Herrera, remain here; I would speak a few words with you."
+
+Tremblingly, and with one last lingering look at Luis, Rita withdrew.
+
+"We will walk, sir, if you please," said the count; and the two men
+walked for some distance side by side and in silence; Villabuena
+apparently plunged in reflection, Luis wondering at his forbearance,
+and impatient for its explanation.
+
+"You are surprised," said the count at last, "after all that has
+passed, that I show so little resentment at your uninvited presence
+here, and at Rita's infringement of my positive commands."
+
+Luis would have spoken, but Villabuena resumed.
+
+"You will be still more astonished to learn, that there is a
+possibility of your attachment receiving my sanction."
+
+Herrera started, and his face was lighted up with sudden rapture.
+
+"You will of course have heard," continued the count, "of the
+important intelligence received here last night, and with which this
+morning all the country is ringing. I allude to the death of Ferdinand
+VII."
+
+"I had not heard of it," replied Luis, much surprised; for, although
+the desperate state of the king's health was well known, his malady
+had lasted so long that men had almost left off expecting his death.
+
+"I know I can depend upon your honour, Luis," said the count; "and I
+am therefore about to speak to you with a confidence which I should
+repose in few so young and inexperienced."
+
+Luis bowed.
+
+"Although," resumed Villabuena, "his Majesty Charles the Fifth is at
+this moment absent from Spain, his faithful subjects will not allow
+that absence to be prejudicial to him. They intend to vindicate his
+just rights, and to overturn the contemptible faction which, headed by
+an intriguing woman, supports the unfounded claims of a sickly infant.
+In anticipation of Ferdinand's death, all necessary measures have been
+taken; and, before three days elapse, you will see a flame lighted up
+through the land, which will speedily consume and destroy the enemies
+of Spain, and of her rightful monarch. Navarre and Biscay, Valentia
+and Arragon, Catalonia and Castile, will rise almost to a man in
+defence of their king; the other provinces must follow their example,
+or be compelled to submission. Although confident of success, it yet
+behoves us to neglect no means of securing it; nor are we so blinded
+as to think that the faction which at present holds the reins of
+government will resign them without a struggle. Avoiding
+overconfidence, therefore, which so often leads to failure, each man
+must put his shoulder to the wheel, and contribute his best efforts to
+the one great end, regardless of private sacrifices. What I have to
+propose to you is this. Time was when our universities were the
+strongholds of loyalty and religion; but that time is unfortunately
+past, and the baneful doctrines of republicanism and equality have
+found their way even into those nurseries of our priesthood and
+statesmen. We are well informed that at Salamanca especially, many of
+the students, even of the better class, incline to the self-styled
+Liberal party. You, Luis, are ready of speech, bold and prompt in
+action, and, moreover, you are known to have great influence amongst
+your fellow-students. Return, then, to Salamanca, and exert that
+influence to bring back into the right path those who have been led
+astray. Urge the just claims of Charles V., hold out the prospect of
+military glory and distinction, and of the gratitude of an admiring
+country. Let your efforts be chiefly directed to gain over young men
+of wealthy and influential families, and to induce them to take up
+arms for the king. Form them into a squadron, of which you shall have
+the command, and the private soldiers of which shall rank as officers
+in the army, and subsequently be transferred to other corps to act as
+such. Appoint a place of rendezvous; and, when your men are assembled
+there, march them to join the nearest division of the Royalist army. I
+guarantee to you a captain's commission; and as soon as the king, with
+whom I have some influence, arrives in Spain, I will strongly
+recommend you to his favour. Our campaign, however brief, must afford
+opportunities of distinction to brave men who seek them. With your
+energy, and with the natural military talents which I am persuaded you
+possess, high rank, honours, and riches may speedily be yours. And
+when Charles V., firmly seated on the throne of Spain, points you out
+to me as one of those to whom he owes his crown, and as a man whom he
+delights to honour, I will no longer refuse to you my daughter's
+hand."
+
+However distant the perspective of happiness thus offered to his view,
+and although the avenue leading to it was beset with dangers and
+uncertainties, it promised to realize the ardent hopes which Luis
+Herrera had once ventured to indulge. Sanguine and confident, he would
+at once have caught at the count's proposal, but for one consideration
+that flashed across his mind. He was himself wedded to no political
+creed, and had as yet scarcely bestowed a thought upon the different
+parties into which his countrymen were split. But his father, who had
+so strenuously adhered to the Liberal side, who had poured out his
+blood with Mina, fought side by side with Riego, sacrificed his
+property, and endured a long and wearisome exile for conscience and
+his opinions' sake--what would be his feelings if he saw his only son
+range himself beneath the banner of absolutism? The struggle in the
+mind of Luis, between love on the one hand and filial duty and
+affection on the other, was too severe and too equally balanced to be
+instantly decided. He remained silent, and the count, mistaking the
+cause of his hesitation, resumed.
+
+"You are surprised," said he, "to find me so willing to abandon my
+dearest projects for the sake of a remote advantage to the king's
+cause. But remember that I promise nothing--all is contingent on your
+own conduct and success. And although you may have thought me
+unfeeling and severe, I shall gladly, if possible, indulge the
+inclinations of my only surviving child."
+
+It required all Herrera's firmness and sense of duty to prevent him
+from yielding to the temptation held out, and pledging himself at once
+to the cause of Charles V.
+
+"You will not expect me, Senor Conde," said he, "to give an immediate
+answer to a proposal of such importance. I feel sincerely grateful to
+you, but must crave a short delay for consideration."
+
+"Let that delay be as brief as possible," said Villabuena. "In the
+present circumstances, the value of assistance will be doubled by its
+promptness. When love and loyalty are both in one scale," added he,
+with a slight smile, "methinks a decision were easy."
+
+They had now approached the gate of the garden, and Luis, desirous of
+finding himself alone, to arrange his thoughts and reflect on his
+future conduct, took his leave. The count held out his hand with some
+of his former cordiality.
+
+"You will write to me from Salamanca?" said he.
+
+Herrera bowed his head, and then, fearful lest his assent should be
+misconstrued, he replied--
+
+"From Salamanca, or from elsewhere, you shall certainly hear from me,
+Senor Conde, and that with all speed."
+
+The count nodded and turned towards the house, whilst Luis retook the
+road to the venta.
+
+He found Mariano impatiently waiting his return, and eager to learn
+the result of his interview with Rita. Upon being informed of the
+proposal that had been made to Luis, Torres, seeing in it only a means
+of happiness for his friend, strongly urged him to accept it. To this,
+however, Luis could not make up his mind; and finally, after some
+deliberation, he resolved to proceed to Old Castile, and endeavour to
+obtain his father's consent to his joining the party of Don Carlos.
+Should he succeed in this, of which he could not help entertaining a
+doubt, he would no longer hesitate, but at once inform the count of
+his decision, and hasten to Salamanca to put his instructions into
+execution. Without further delay the two friends set out for Tarazona,
+where they trusted to find some means of speedy conveyance to the
+residence of Don Manuel.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the kingdom of Old Castile, and more especially in its mountainous
+portions and the districts adjacent to the Ebro, an extraordinary
+bustle and agitation were observable during the first days of October
+1833. There was great furbishing of rusty muskets, an eager search
+for cartridges, much dusting of old uniforms that had long served but
+as hiding-places for moths, and which were now donned by men, many of
+whom seemed but ill at ease in their military equipments. For ten
+years Spain had been tranquil, if not happy; but now, as if even this
+short period of repose were too long for the restless spirit of her
+sons, a new pretext for discord had been found, and an ominous stir,
+the forerunner of civil strife, was perceptible through the land.
+Whilst Santos Ladron, an officer of merit, who had served through the
+whole of the war against Napoleon, raised the standard of Charles V.
+in Navarre, various partisans did the same in the country south of the
+Ebro. In the northeastern corner of Castile, known as the Rioja,
+Basilio Garcia, agent for the Pope's bulls in the province of Soria--a
+man destitute of military knowledge, and remarkable only for his
+repulsive exterior and cold-blooded ferocity--collected and headed a
+small body of insurgents; whilst, in other districts of the same
+province, several battalions of the old Royalist volunteers--a loose,
+ill-disciplined militia, as motely and unsoldierlike in appearance as
+they were unsteady and inefficient in the field--ranged themselves
+under the orders of a general-officer named Cuevillas, and of the
+veteran Merino. To these soon joined themselves various individuals of
+the half-soldier half-bandit class, so numerous in Spain--men who had
+served in former wars, and asked no better than again to enact the
+scenes of bloodshed and pillage which were their element. The
+popularity and acknowledged skill of Merino as a guerilla-leader,
+secured to him the services of many of these daring and desperate
+ruffians, who flocked joyously to the banner of the soldier-priest,
+under whose orders some of them had already fought.
+
+Through a tract of champaign country in the province of Burgos, a
+column of these newly-assembled troops was seen marching early upon
+the third morning after the interview between Luis Herrera and Count
+Villabuena. It consisted of a battalion of the Realista militia, for
+the most part middle-aged citizens, who, although they had felt
+themselves bound to obey the call to arms, seemed but indifferently
+pleased at having left their families and occupations. Their equipment
+was various: few had complete uniform, although most of them displayed
+some part of one; but all had belts and cartridge-box, musket and
+bayonet. Although they had as yet gone but a short distance, many of
+them appeared footsore and weary; and it was pretty evident that, in
+the event of a campaign, their ranks would be thinned nearly as much
+by the fatigues of the march as by the fire of the enemy. In front and
+rear of the battalion marched a squadron of cavalry, of a far more
+soldierly aspect than the foot-soldiers, although even amongst them
+but little uniformity of costume was found. The bronzed and bearded
+physiognomy, athletic form and upright carriage, which bespeak the
+veteran soldier, were not wanting in their ranks; their horses were
+active and hardy, their arms clean and serviceable.
+
+At the head of the column, a few paces in advance, rode a small group
+of officers, the chief amongst whom was only to be distinguished by
+the deference shown to him by his companions. Insignia of rank he had
+none, nor any indications of his military profession, excepting the
+heavy sabre that dangled against the flank of his powerful black
+charger. His dress was entirely civilian, consisting of a long surtout
+something the worse for wear, and a round hat. Heavy spurs upon his
+heels, and an ample cloak, now strapped across his holsters, completed
+the equipment of the cura Merino, in whose hard and rigid features,
+and wiry person, scarcely a sign of decay or infirmity was visible
+after more than sixty years of life, a large portion of which had been
+passed amidst the fatigues and hardships of incessant campaigning.
+
+As if infected by the sombre and taciturn character of their leader,
+the party of officers had been riding for some time in silence, when
+they came in sight of a house situated at a short distance from the
+road, and of a superior description to the _caserias_ and peasants'
+cottages which they had hitherto passed. It was a building of moderate
+size, with an appearance of greater comfort and neatness about it than
+is usually found in Spanish houses. Stables adjoined it, and, at some
+distance in its rear, a range of barns and outhouses served to store
+the crops produced by the extensive tract of well-cultivated land in
+the centre of which the dwelling was situated. The front of the house
+was partially masked from the road by an orchard, and behind it a
+similar growth of fruit trees seemed intended to intercept the keen
+blasts from a line of mountains which rose, grey and gloomy, at the
+distance of a few miles.
+
+"Who lives yonder?" abruptly enquired Merino, pointing to the house,
+which he had been gazing at for some time from under his bushy
+eyebrows. The officer to whom the question was addressed referred to
+another of the party, a native of that part of the country.
+
+"Senor de Herrera," was the answer. "We have been riding for some
+minutes through his property. He purchased the estate about a year
+ago, on his return from France."
+
+"What had he been doing in France?"
+
+"Living there, which he could not have done here unless he had been
+bullet-proof, or had a neck harder than the iron collar of the
+garrote."
+
+"Herrera!" repeated the cura musingly--"I know the name, but there are
+many who bear it. There was a Manuel Herrera who sat in the Cortes in
+the days of the constitutionalists, and afterwards commanded a
+battalion of their rabble. You do not mean him?"
+
+"The same, general," replied the officer, addressing Merino by the
+rank which he held in the Spanish army since the war of Independence.
+A most unpriestly ejaculation escaped the lips of the cura.
+
+"Manuel Herrera," he repeated; "the dog, the _negro_,[1] the friend of
+the scoundrel Riego! I will hang him up at his own door!"
+
+All the old hatreds and bitter party animosities of Merino seemed
+wakened into new life by the name of one of his former opponents. His
+eyes flashed, his lips quivered with rage, and he half turned his
+horse, as if about to proceed to Herrera's house and put his threat
+into execution. The impulse, however, was checked almost as soon as
+felt.
+
+"Another time will do," said he, with a grin smile. "Let us once get
+Charles V. at Madrid, and we will make short work of the Senor Herrera
+and of all who resemble him." And the cura continued his march, silent
+as before.
+
+He had proceeded but a short half mile when the officer commanding the
+cavalry rode up beside him.
+
+"We have no forage, general," said he--"not a blade of straw, or a
+grain in our corn-sacks. Shall I send on an orderly, that we may find
+it ready on reaching the halting-place?"
+
+"No!" replied Merino. "Send a party to that house on the left of the
+road which we passed ten minutes ago. Let them press all the carts
+they find there, load them with corn, and bring them after us."
+
+The officer fell back to his squadron, and the next minute a subaltern
+and twenty men detached themselves from the column, and, at a brisk
+trot, began retracing their steps along the road. Upon arriving in
+sight of the house to which they were proceeding, they leaped their
+horses over a narrow ditch dividing the road from the fields and
+struck across the latter in a straight line, compelled, however, by
+the heaviness of the ground to slacken their pace to a walk. They had
+not got over more than half the distance which they had to traverse,
+when they heard the clang of a bell, continuously rung; and this was
+followed by the appearance of two men, who issued from the stables and
+out-buildings, and hurried to the house. Scarcely had they entered
+when the shutters of the lower windows were pushed to, and the heavy
+door closed and barred. The soldiers were now within a hundred yards
+of the dwelling.
+
+"Hallo!" cried the officer contemptuously, "they will not stand a
+siege, will they? The old don is a black-hearted rebel, I know; but he
+will hardly be fool enough to resist us."
+
+The trooper was mistaken. The courage of Don Manuel Herrera was of
+that obstinate and uncalculating character which would have induced
+him to defend his house, single-handed, against a much larger force
+than that now brought against it. When he had learned, three days
+previously, that risings were taking place in his own neighbourhood in
+the name of Charles V., he had attached very little importance to the
+intelligence. An old soldier himself, he entertained the most
+unmitigated contempt for the Realista volunteers, whom he looked upon
+as a set of tailors, whose muskets would rather encumber them than
+injure any body else; and who, on the first appearance of regular
+troops, would infallibly throw down their arms, and betake themselves
+to their homes. As to the parties of insurgent guerillas which he was
+informed were beginning to show themselves at various points of the
+vicinity, he considered them as mere bandits, availing themselves of
+the stir and excitement in the country to exercise their nefarious
+profession; and, should any such parties attempt to molest him, he was
+fully determined to resist their attacks. In this resolution he now
+persevered, although he rightly conjectured that the horsemen
+approaching his house were either the rearguard or a detachment of the
+disorderly-looking column of which he had a short time previously
+observed the passage.
+
+"Hola! Don Manolo!" shouted the officer, as he halted his party in
+front of the house; "what scurvy hospitality is this? What are you
+fastening doors and ringing alarm-bells for, as if there were more
+thieves than honest men in the land? We come to pay you a friendly
+visit, and, instead of welcome and the wine-skin, you shut the door in
+our faces. Devilish unfriendly, that, Don Manolito!"
+
+The speaker, who, like many of Merino's followers, was an inhabitant
+of the neighbouring country, knew Don Manuel well by name and
+reputation, and was also known to him as a deserter from the
+Constitutionalists in 1823, and as one of the most desperate smugglers
+and outlaws in the province.
+
+"What do you want with me, Pedro Rufin?" demanded Don Manuel, who now
+showed himself at one of the upper windows; "and what is the meaning
+of this assemblage of armed men?"
+
+"The meaning is," replied Rufin, "that I have been detached from the
+division of his Excellency General Merino, to demand from you a
+certain quantity of maize or barley, or both, for the service of his
+Majesty King Charles V."
+
+"I know no such persons," retorted Don Manuel, "as General Merino or
+King Charles V. But I know you well, Rufin, and the advice I give you
+is to begone, yourself and your companions. We shall have troops here
+to-day or to-morrow, and you will find the country too hot to hold
+you."
+
+The officer laughed.
+
+"Troops are here already," he said; "you may have seen our column
+march by not half an hour ago. But we have no time to lose. Once more,
+Senor Herrera, open the door, and that quickly."
+
+"My door does not open at your bidding," replied Don Manuel. "I give
+you two minutes to draw off your followers, and, if you are not gone
+by that time, you shall be fired upon."
+
+"Morral," said the officer to one of his men, "your horse is a kicker,
+I believe. Try the strength of the door."
+
+The soldier left the ranks, and turning his rawboned, vicious-looking
+chestnut horse with its tail to the house-door, he pressed his
+knuckles sharply upon the animal's loins, just behind the saddle. The
+horse lashed out furiously, each kick of his iron-shod heels making
+the door crack and rattle, and striking out white splinters from the
+dark surface of the oak of which it was composed. At the first kick
+Don Manuel left the window. The soldiers stood looking on, laughing
+till they rolled in their saddles at this novel species of
+sledge-hammer. Owing, however, to the great solidity of the door, and
+the numerous fastenings with which it was provided on the other side,
+the kicks of the horse, although several times repeated, failed to
+burst it open; and at last the animal, as if wearied by the resistance
+it met with, relaxed the vigour of its applications.
+
+"Famous horse that of yours, Morral!" said the officer; "as good as a
+locksmith or a six-pounder. Try it again, my boy. You have made some
+ugly marks already. Another round of kicks, and the way is open."
+
+"And if another blow is struck upon my door," said Don Manuel,
+suddenly reappearing at the window, to the soldier, "your horse will
+go home with an empty saddle."
+
+"Silence! you old rebel," shouted Rufin, drawing a pistol from his
+holster. "And you, Morral, never fear. At it again, man."
+
+The soldier again applied his knuckles to his horse's back, and the
+animal gave a tremendous kick. At the same instant a puff of smoke
+issued from the window at which Don Manuel had stationed himself, the
+report of a musket was heard, and the unlucky Morral, shot through the
+body, fell headlong to the ground.
+
+"Damnation!" roared the officer, firing his pistol at the window
+whence the shot had proceeded; and immediately his men, without
+waiting for orders, commenced an irregular fire of carbines and
+pistols against the house. It was replied to with effect from three of
+the windows. A man fell mortally wounded, and two of the horses were
+hit. Rufin, alarmed at the loss the party had experienced, drew his
+men back under shelter of some trees, till he could decide on what was
+best to be done. It seemed at first by no means improbable that the
+Carlists would have to beat a retreat, or at any rate wait the arrival
+of infantry, which it was not improbable Merino might have sent to
+their assistance when the sound of the firing reached his ears. The
+lower windows of the house were protected by strong iron bars; and,
+although the defenders were so few in number, their muskets, and the
+shelter behind which they fought, gave them a great advantage over the
+assailants, whose carbines would not carry far, and who had no cover
+from the fire of their opponents. At last a plan was devised which
+offered some chance of success. The party dismounted; and whilst four
+men, making a circuit, and concealing themselves as much as possible
+behind trees and hedges, endeavoured to get in rear of the building,
+the others, with the exception of two or three who remained with the
+horses, advanced towards the front of the house, firing as rapidly as
+they could, in order, by the smoke and by attracting the attention of
+the besieged, to cover the manoeuvre of their comrades. The
+stratagem was completely successful. Whilst Don Manuel and his
+servants were answering the fire of their assailants with some effect,
+the four men got round the house, climbed over a wall, found a ladder
+in an out-building, and applied it to one of the back-windows, which
+they burst open. A shout of triumph, and the report of their pistols,
+informed their companions of their entrance, and the next moment one
+of them threw open the front door, and the guerillas rushed
+tumultuously into the house.
+
+It was about two hours after these occurrences, that Luis Herrera and
+Mariano Torres arrived at Don Manuel's residence. They had been
+delayed upon the road by the disturbed state of the country, which
+rendered it difficult to procure conveyances, and had at last been
+compelled to hire a couple of indifferent horses, upon which,
+accompanied by a muleteer, they had made but slow progress across the
+mountainous district they had to traverse. The news of the Carlist
+insurrection had inspired Luis with some alarm on account of his
+father, whom he knew to be in the highest degree obnoxious to many of
+that party. At the same time he had not yet heard of the perpetration
+of any acts of violence, and was far from anticipating the spectacle
+which met his eyes when he at last came in view of the Casa Herrera.
+With an exclamation of horror he forced his horse, up a bank
+bordering the road, and, followed by Mariano, galloped towards the
+house.
+
+Of the dwelling, so lately a model of rural ease and comfort, the four
+walls alone were now standing. The roof had fallen in, and the tongues
+of flame which licked and flickered round the apertures where windows
+had been, showed that the devouring element was busy completing its
+work. The adjoining stables, owing to their slighter construction, and
+to the combustibles they contained, had been still more rapidly
+consumed. Of them, a heap of smoking ashes and a few charred beams and
+blackened bricks were all that remained. The paling of the tastefully
+distributed garden was broken down in several places; the parterres
+and melon-beds were trampled and destroyed by the hoofs of the Carlist
+horses, which had seemingly been turned in there to feed, or perhaps
+been ridden through it in utter wantonness by their brutal owners. The
+ground in front of the house was strewed with broken furniture, and
+with articles of wearing apparel, the latter of which appeared to have
+belonged to the Carlists, and to have been exchanged by them for
+others of a better description found in the house. Empty bottles,
+fragments of food, and a couple of wine-skins, of which the greater
+part of the contents had been poured out upon the ground, lay
+scattered about near the carcass of a horse and three human corpses,
+two of the latter being those of Carlists, and the third that of one
+of the defenders of the house. A few peasants stood by, looking on in
+open-mouthed stupefaction; and above the whole scene of desolation, a
+thick cloud of black smoke floated like a funereal pall.
+
+In an agony of suspense Luis enquired for his father. The peasant to
+whom he addressed the question, pointed to the buildings in rear of
+the house, which the Carlists, weary perhaps of the work of
+destruction, had left uninjured.
+
+"Don Manuel is there," said he, "if he still lives."
+
+The latter part of the sentence was drowned in the noise of the
+horse's feet, as Luis spurred furiously towards the buildings
+indicated, which consisted of barns, and of a small dwelling-house
+inhabited by his father's steward. On entering the latter, his worst
+fears were realized.
+
+Upon a bed in a room on the ground floor, Don Manuel Herrera was
+lying, apparently insensible. His face was overspread with an ashy
+paleness, his eyes were closed, his lips blue and pinched. He was
+partially undressed, and his linen, and the bed upon which he lay,
+were stained with blood. A priest stood beside him, a crucifix in one
+hand and a cordial in the other; whilst an elderly peasant woman held
+a linen cloth to a wound in the breast of the expiring man. In an
+adjacent room were heard the sobbings and lamentations of women and
+children. With a heart swollen almost to bursting, Luis approached the
+bed.
+
+"Father!" he exclaimed as he took Don Manuel's hand, which hung
+powerless over the side of the couch--"Father, is it thus I find you!"
+
+The voice of his son seemed to rouse the sufferer from the swoon or
+lethargy in which he lay. He opened his eyes, a faint smile of
+recognition and affection came over his features, and his feeble
+fingers strove to press those of Luis. The priest made a sign to the
+woman, and, whilst she gently raised Don Manuel's head, he held the
+cordial to his lips. The effect of the draught was instantaneous and
+reviving.
+
+"This is a sad welcome for you, Luis," said Don Manuel. "Your home
+destroyed, and your father dying. God be thanked for sending you now,
+and no sooner! I can die happy since you are here to close my eyes."
+
+He paused, exhausted by the exertion of speaking. A slight red foam
+stood upon his lips, which the priest wiped away, and another draught
+of the cordial enabled him to proceed.
+
+"My son," said he, "my minutes are numbered. Mark my last words, and
+attend to them as you value my blessing, and your own repose. I
+foresee that this country is on the eve of a long and bloody struggle.
+How it may end, and whether it is to be the last that shall rend
+unhappy Spain, who can tell? But your course is plain before you. By
+the memory of your sainted mother, and the love you bear to me, be
+stanch to the cause I have ever defended. You are young, and strong,
+and brave; your arm and your heart's best blood are due to the cause
+of Spanish freedom. My son, swear that you will defend it!"
+
+No selfish thought of his own happiness, which would be marred by the
+oath he was required to take, nor any but the one absorbing idea of
+smoothing his dying father's pillow by a prompt and willing compliance
+with his wishes, crossed the mind of Luis as he took the crucifix from
+the hand of the priest, and, kneeling by the bedside, swore on the
+sacred emblem to obey Don Manuel's injunctions both in letter and
+spirit, and to resist to his latest breath the traitors who would
+enslave his country. His father listened to the fervent vow with a
+well-pleased smile. By a last effort he raised himself in his bed, and
+laid his hand upon the head of his kneeling son.
+
+"May God and his saints prosper thee, Luis," said he, "as thou
+observest this oath!"
+
+He sank back, his features convulsed by the pain which the movement
+occasioned him.
+
+"Mother of God!" exclaimed the woman, who was still holding the
+bandage to the wound. The bleeding, which had nearly ceased, had
+recommenced with redoubled violence, and a crimson stream was flowing
+over the bed. The death-rattle was in Don Manuel's throat, but his
+eyes were still fixed upon his son, and he seemed to make an effort to
+extend his arms towards him. With feelings of unutterable agony, Luis
+bent forward and kissed his father's cheek. It was that of a corpse.
+
+For the space of a minute did the bereaved son gaze at the rigid
+features before him, as if unable to comprehend that one so dear was
+gone from him for ever. At last the sad truth forced itself upon his
+mind; he bowed his face upon the pillow of his murdered parent, and
+his overcharged feelings found relief in a passion of tears. The
+priest and the woman left the apartment. Mariano Torres remained
+standing behind his friend, and after a time made an effort to lead
+him from the room. But Luis motioned him away. His grief was of those
+that know not human consolation.
+
+It was evening when Mariano, who had been watching near the chamber of
+death, without venturing to intrude upon his friend's sorrow, saw the
+door open and Luis come forth. Torres started at seeing him, so great
+was the change that had taken place in his aspect. His cheeks were
+pale and his eyes inflamed with weeping, but the expression of his
+countenance was no longer sorrowful; it was stern even to fierceness,
+and his look was that of an avenger rather than a mourner. Taking
+Mariano's arm, he led him out of the house, and, entering the stable,
+began to saddle his horse with his own hands. Torres followed his
+example in silence, and then both mounted and rode off in the
+direction of the high-road. Upon reaching it, Mariano first ventured
+to address a question to his friend.
+
+"What are your plans, Luis?" said he. "Whither do we now proceed?"
+
+"To provide for my father's funeral," was the reply.
+
+"And afterwards?" said his friend, with some hesitation.
+
+"To revenge his death!" hoarsely shouted Herrera, as he spurred his
+horse to its utmost speed along the rough road that led to the nearest
+village.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] _Negro_, or black, was the term commonly applied to the Liberals
+by their antagonists.
+
+
+
+
+HUMBOLDT.
+
+
+We hear much, and much that is true, of the ephemeral character of a
+large part of our literature; but to no branch of it are the
+observations more truly applicable, than to the greater number of
+travels which now issue from the British press. It may safely be
+affirmed that our writers of travels, both male and female, have of
+late years arrived at a pitch of weakness, trifling, and emptiness,
+which is unparalleled in the previous history of literature in this or
+perhaps any other country. When we see two post octavos of travels
+newly done up by the binder, we are prepared for a series of useless
+remarks, weak attempts at jokes, disquisitions on dishes, complaints
+of inns, stale anecdotes and vain flourishes, which almost make us
+blush for our country, and the cause of intelligence over the world.
+The Russian Emperor, who unquestionably has the power of licensing or
+prohibiting any of his subjects to travel at his own pleasure, is said
+to concede the liberty only to the men of intelligence and ability in
+his dominions; the fools are all obliged to remain at home. Hence the
+high reputation which the Muscovites enjoy abroad and the frequent
+disappointment which is felt by travellers of other nations, when they
+visit their own country. It is evident, from the character of the
+books of travels which every spring issue from the London press, with
+a few honourable exceptions, that no such restraining power exists in
+the British dominions. We have no individuals or particular works in
+view in these observations. We speak of things in general. If any one
+doubts their truth, let him enquire how many of the numberless travels
+which annually issue from the British press are ever sought after, or
+heard of, five years after their publication.
+
+Our annual supply of ephemeral travels is far inferior in point of
+merit to the annual supply of novels. This is the more remarkable,
+because travels, if written in the right spirit, and by persons of
+capacity and taste, are among the most delightful, and withal
+instructive, species of composition of which literature can boast.
+They are so, because by their very nature they take the reader, as
+well as the writer, out of the sphere of every-day observation and
+commonplace remark. This is an immense advantage: so great indeed,
+that, if made use of with tolerable capacity, it should give works of
+this sort a decided superiority in point of interest and utility over
+all others, excepting History and the higher species of Romance.
+Commonplace is the bane of literature, especially in an old and
+civilized state; monotony--the thing to be principally dreaded. The
+very air is filled with ordinary ideas. General education, universal
+reading, unhappily make matters worse; they tend only to multiply the
+echoes of the original report--a new one has scarce any chance of
+being heard amidst the ceaseless reverberation of the old. The more
+ancient a nation is, the more liable is it to be overwhelmed by this
+dreadful evil. The Byzantine empire, during a thousand years of
+civilisation and opulence, did not produce one work of original
+thought; five hundred years after the light of Athenian genius had
+been extinguished, the schools of Greece were still pursuing the
+beaten paths, and teaching the doctrines of Plato and Aristotle. It is
+the peculiar and prodigious advantage of travelling, that it
+counteracts this woful and degrading tendency, and by directing men's
+thoughts, as well as their steps, into foreign lands, has a tendency
+to induce into their ideas a portion of the variety and freshness
+which characterize the works of nature. Every person knows how great
+an advantage this proves in society. All must have felt what a relief
+it is to escape from the eternal round of local concerns or county
+politics, of parish grievances or neighbouring railroads, with which
+in every-day life we are beset, to the conversation of a person of
+intelligence who has visited foreign lands, and can give to the
+inquisitive at home a portion of the new ideas, images, and
+recollections with which his mind is stored. How, then, has it
+happened, that the same acquaintance with foreign and distant
+countries, which is universally felt to be such an advantage in
+conversation, is attended with such opposite effects in literature;
+and that, while our travellers are often the most agreeable men in
+company, they are beyond all question the dullest in composition?
+
+Much of this extraordinary and woful deficiency, we are persuaded, is
+owing to the limited range of objects to which the education of the
+young of the higher classes is so exclusively directed in Oxford and
+Cambridge. Greek and Latin, Aristotle's logic and classical
+versification, quadratic equations, conic sections, the differential
+calculus, are very good things, and we are well aware that it is by
+excellence in them that the highest honours in these seminaries of
+learning can alone be attained. They are essential to the fame of a
+Parr or a Porson, a Herschel or a Whewell. But a very different
+species of mental training is required for advantageous travelling.
+Men will soon find that neither Greek prose nor Latin prose, Greek
+verse nor Latin verse, will avail them when they come to traverse the
+present states of the world. The most thorough master of the higher
+mathematics will find his knowledge of scarce any avail in Italy or
+Egypt, the Alps or the Andes. These acquisitions are doubtless among
+the greatest triumphs of the human understanding, and they are
+calculated to raise a few, perhaps one in a hundred, to distinction in
+classical or scientific pursuits; but upon the minds of the remaining
+ninety-nine, they produce no sort of impression. Nature simply rejects
+them; they are not the food which she requires. They do not do much
+mischief to such persons in themselves; but they are of incalculable
+detriment by the time and the industry which they absorb to no
+available purpose. Ten years of youth--the most valuable and important
+period of life--are wasted in studies which, to nineteen-twentieths of
+the persons engaged in them, are of no use whatever in future years.
+Thus our young men, of the highest rank and best connexions, are sent
+out into the world without any ideas or information which can enable
+them to visit foreign countries with advantage. Need we wonder that,
+when they come to write and publish their travels, they produce such a
+woful brood of ephemeral bantlings?[2]
+
+The reaction against this enormous evil in a different class of
+society, has produced another set of errors in education--of an
+opposite description, but perhaps still more fatal to the formation of
+the mental character, which is essential to the useful or elevating
+observation of foreign countries. The commercial and middle classes of
+society, educated at the London university, or any of the numerous
+academies which have sprung up in all parts of the country, have gone
+into the other extreme. Struck with the uselessness, to the great bulk
+of students, of the classical minutiae required at one of the
+universities, and the mathematical depth deemed indispensable at the
+other, they have turned education into an entirely different channel.
+Nothing was deemed worthy of serious attention, except what led to
+some practical object in life. Education was considered by their
+founders as merely a step to making money. Science became a trade--a
+mere handmaid to art. Mammon was all in all. Their instruction was
+entirely utilitarian. Mechanics and Medicine, Hydraulics and
+Chemistry, Pneumatics and Hydrostatics, Anatomy and Physiology,
+constituted the grand staples of their education. What they taught was
+adapted only for professional students. One would suppose, from
+examining their course of study, that all men were to be either
+doctors or surgeons, apothecaries or druggists, mechanics,
+shipwrights, or civil-engineers. No doubt we must have such
+persons--no doubt it is indispensable that places of instruction
+should exist in which they can learn their various and highly
+important avocations; but is that the school in which the enlarged
+mind is to be formed, the varied information acquired, the
+appreciation of the grand and the beautiful imbibed, which are
+essential to an accomplished and really useful writer of travels?
+Sulphuric acid and Optics, Anatomy and Mechanics, will do many things;
+but they will never make an observer of Nature, a friend of Man, a fit
+commentator on the world of God.
+
+Persons of really cultivated minds and enlarged views will probably
+find it difficult to determine which of these opposite systems of
+education is the best calculated to attain what seems the grand object
+of modern instruction, the cramping and limiting the human mind. But
+without entering upon this much-disputed point--upon which much is to
+be said on both sides, and in which each party will perhaps be found
+to be in the right when they assail their opponents, and in the wrong
+when they defend themselves--it is more material to our present
+purpose to observe, that both are equally fatal to the acquisition of
+the varied information, and the imbibing of the refined and elegant
+taste, which are essential to an accomplished writer of travels. Only
+think what mental qualifications are required to form such a
+character! An eye for the Sublime and the Beautiful, the power of
+graphically describing natural scenery, a vivid perception of the
+peculiarities of national manners, habits, and institutions, will at
+once be acknowledged to be the first requisites. But, in addition to
+this, how much is necessary to make a work which shall really stand
+the test of time, in the delineation of the present countries of the
+world, and the existing state of their inhabitants? How many branches
+of knowledge are called for, how many sources of information required,
+how many enthusiastic pursuits necessary, to enable the traveller
+worthily to discharge his mission? Eyes and no Eyes are nowhere more
+conspicuous in human affairs; and, unhappily, eyes are never given but
+to the mind which has already seen and learned much.
+
+An acquaintance with the history of the country and the leading
+characters in its annals, is indispensable to enable the traveller to
+appreciate the historical associations connected with the scenes; a
+certain degree of familiarity with its principal authors, to render
+him alive to that noblest of interests--that arising from the
+recollection of Genius and intellectual Achievement. Without an
+acquaintance with political economy and the science of government, he
+will be unable to give any useful account of the social state of the
+country, or furnish the most valuable of all information--that
+relating to the institutions, the welfare, and the happiness of man.
+Statistics form almost an indispensable part of every book of travels
+which professes to communicate information; but mere statistics are
+little better than unmeaning figures, if the generalizing and
+philosophical mind is wanting, which, from previous acquaintance with
+the subjects on which they bear, and the conclusions which it is of
+importance to deduce from them, knows what is to be selected and what
+laid aside from the mass. Science, to the highest class of travellers,
+is an addition of the utmost moment; as it alone can render their
+observations of use to that most exalted of all objects, an extension
+of the boundaries of knowledge, and an enlarged acquaintance with the
+laws of nature. The soul of a poet is indispensable to form the most
+interesting species of travels--a mind, and still more a heart,
+capable of appreciating the grand and the beautiful in Art and in
+Nature. The eye of a painter and the hand of a draughtsman are equally
+important to enable him to observe with accuracy the really
+interesting features of external things, and convey, by faithful and
+graphic description, a correct impression of what he has seen, to the
+mind of the reader. Such are the qualifications necessary for a really
+great traveller. It may be too much to hope to find these ever united
+in one individual; but the combination of the majority of them is
+indispensable to distinction or lasting fame in this branch of
+literature.
+
+Compare these necessary and indispensable qualifications for a great
+traveller, with those which really belong to our young men who are
+sent forth from our universities or academies into the world, and take
+upon themselves to communicate what they have seen to others. Does the
+youth come from Oxford? His head is full of Homer and Virgil, Horace
+and AEschylus: he could tell you all the amours of Mars and Venus, of
+Jupiter and Leda; he could rival, Orpheus or Pindar in the melody of
+his Greek verses, and Cicero or Livy in the correctness of his Latin
+prose; but as, unfortunately, he has to write neither about gods nor
+goddesses, but mere mortals, and neither in Greek verse nor Latin
+verse, but good English prose, he is utterly at a loss alike for
+thought and expression. He neither knows what to communicate, nor is
+he master of the language in which it is to be conveyed. Hence his
+recorded travels dwindle away into a mere scrap-book of classical
+quotations--a transcript of immaterial Latin inscriptions, destitute
+of either energy, information, or eloquence. Does he come from
+Cambridge? He could solve cubic equations as well as Cardan, is a more
+perfect master of logarithms than Napier, could explain the laws of
+physical astronomy better than Newton, and rival La Grange in the
+management of the differential calculus. But as, unluckily, the world
+which he visits, and in which we live, is neither a geometric world
+nor an algebraic world, a world of conic sections or fluxions; but a
+world of plains and mountains, of lakes and rivers, of men and women,
+flesh and blood--he finds his knowledge of little or no avail. He
+takes scarce any interest in the sublunary or contemptible objects
+which engross the herd of ordinary mortals, associates only with the
+learned and the recluse in a few universities, and of course comes
+back without having a word to utter, or a sentence to write, which can
+interest the bulk of readers. Does he come from the London University,
+or any of the provincial academies? He is thinking only of railroads
+or mechanics, of chemistry or canals, of medicine or surgery. He could
+descant without end on sulphuric acid or decrepitating salts, on
+capacity for caloric or galvanic batteries, on steam-engines and
+hydraulic machines, on the discoveries of Davy or the conclusions of
+Berzelius, of the systems of Hutton or Werner, of Liebig or Cuvier.
+But although an acquaintance with these different branches of
+practical knowledge is an indispensable preliminary to a traveller in
+foreign countries making himself acquainted with the improvements they
+have respectively made in the useful or practical arts, they will
+never qualify for the composition of a great or lasting book of
+travels. They would make an admirable course of instruction for the
+overseer of a manufactory, of a canal or railway company, of an
+hospital or an infirmary, who was to visit foreign countries in order
+to pick up the latest improvements in practical mechanics, chemistry,
+or medicine; but have we really become a race of shopkeepers or
+doctors, and is Science sunk to be the mere handmaid of Art?
+
+We despair therefore, as long as the present system of education
+prevails in England, (and Scotland of course follows in the wake of
+its great neighbour,) of seeing any traveller arise of lasting
+celebrity, or book of travels written which shall attain to durable
+fame. The native vigour and courage, indeed, of the Anglo-Saxon race,
+is perpetually impelling numbers of energetic young men into the most
+distant parts of the earth, and immense is the addition which they are
+annually making to the sum-total of _geographical_ knowledge. We have
+only to look at one of our recent maps, as compared to those which
+were published fifty years ago, to see how much we owe to the courage
+and enterprise of Parry and Franklin, Park and Horneman, of Burckhardt
+and Lander. But giving all due credit--and none give it more sincerely
+than we do--to the vigour and courage of these very eminent men, it is
+impossible not to feel that, however well fitted they were to explore
+unknown and desert regions, and carry the torch of civilization into
+the wilderness of nature, they had not the mental training, or varied
+information, or powers of composition, necessary to form a great
+_writer of travels_. Clarke and Bishop Heber are most favourable
+specimens of English travellers, and do honour to the great
+universities of which they were such distinguished ornaments; but they
+did not possess the varied accomplishments and information of the
+continental travellers. Their education, and very eminence in their
+peculiar and exclusive lines, precluded it. What is wanting in that
+character above every thing, is an acquaintance with, and interest in,
+a _great many and different branches of knowledge_, joined to
+considerable power of composition, and unconquerable energy of mind;
+and that is precisely what our present system of education in England
+renders it almost impossible for any one to acquire. The system
+pursued in the Scottish universities, undoubtedly, is more likely to
+form men capable of rising to eminence in this department; and the
+names of Park and Bruce show what travellers they are capable of
+sending forth. But the attractions of rank, connexion, and fashion,
+joined to the advantage of speaking correct English, are fast drawing
+a greater proportion of the youth of the higher ranks in Scotland to
+the English universities; and the education pursued at home,
+therefore, is daily running more and more into merely utilitarian and
+professional channels. That system is by no means the one calculated
+to form an accomplished and interesting writer of travels.
+
+In this deficiency of materials for the formation of a great body of
+male travellers, the ladies have kindly stepped in to supply the
+deficiency; and numerous works have issued from the press, from the
+pens of the most accomplished and distinguished of our aristocratic
+beauties. But alas! there is no royal road to literature, any more
+than geometry. Almack's and the exclusives, the opera and ducal
+houses, the lordlings and the guards, form an admirable school for
+manners, and are an indispensable preliminary to success at courts and
+coronations, in ball-rooms and palaces. But the world is not made up
+of courts or palaces, of kings or princes, of dukes or marquesses. Men
+have something more to think of than the reception which the great
+world of one country gives to the great world of another--of the balls
+to which they are invited, or the fetes which they grace by their
+charms--or the privations to which elegant females, nursed in the lap
+of luxury, are exposed in roughing it amidst the snows of the North or
+the deserts of the South. We are grateful to the lady travellers for
+the brilliant and interesting pictures they have given us of capitals
+and manners,[3] of costume and dress, and of many eminent men and
+women, whom their rank and sex gave them peculiar opportunities of
+portraying. But we can scarcely congratulate the country upon having
+found in them a substitute for learned and accomplished travellers of
+the other sex; or formed a set-off on the part of Great Britain, to
+the Humboldts, the Chateaubriands, and Lamartines of continental
+Europe.
+
+It is impossible to contemplate the works of these great men without
+arriving at the conclusion, that it is in the varied and discursive
+education of the Continent, that a foundation has been laid for the
+extraordinary eminence which its travellers have attained. It is the
+vast number of subjects with which the young men are in some degree
+made acquainted at the German universities, which has rendered them so
+capable in after life of travelling with advantage in any quarter of
+the globe, and writing their travels with effect. This advantage is in
+a peculiar manner conspicuous in HUMBOLDT, whose mind, naturally
+ardent and capacious, had been surprisingly enlarged and extended by
+early and various study in the most celebrated German universities. He
+acquired, in consequence, so extraordinary a command of almost every
+department of physical and political science, that there is hardly any
+branch of it in which facts of importance may not be found in his
+travels. He combined, in a degree perhaps never before equalled in one
+individual, the most opposite and generally deemed irreconcilable
+mental qualities. To an ardent poetical temperament, and an eye alive
+to the most vivid impressions of external things, he united a power of
+eloquence rarely given to the most gifted orators, and the habit of
+close and accurate reasoning which belongs to the intellectual powers
+adapted for the highest branches of the exact sciences. An able
+mathematician, a profound natural philosopher, an exact observer of
+nature, he was at the same time a learned statistician, an
+indefatigable social observer, an unwearied philanthropist, and the
+most powerful describer of nature that perhaps ever undertook to
+portray her great and glorious features. It is this extraordinary
+combination of qualities that render his works so surprising and
+valuable. The intellectual and imaginative powers rarely coexist in
+remarkable vigour in the same individual; but when they do, they
+produce the utmost triumphs of the human mind. Leonardo da Vinci,
+Johnson, Burke, and Humboldt, do not resemble single men, how great
+soever, but rather clusters of separate persons, each supremely
+eminent in his peculiar sphere.
+
+Frederick Henry Alexander, Baron of Humboldt, brother of the
+celebrated Prussian statesman of the same name, was born at Berlin on
+the 14th September 1769, the same year with Napoleon, Wellington,
+Goethe, Marshal Ney, and many other illustrious men. He received an
+excellent and extensive education at the university of Gottingeu, and
+at an academy at Frankfort on the Oder. His first step into the
+business of life was as a clerk in the mercantile house of Buch, at
+Hamburg, where he soon made himself master of accounts and
+bookkeeping, and acquired that perfect command of arithmetic, and
+habit of bringing every thing, where it is possible, to the test of
+figures, by which his political and scientific writings are so
+pre-eminently distinguished. But his disposition was too strongly bent
+on scientific and physical pursuits, to admit of his remaining long in
+the comparatively obscure and uninviting paths of commerce. His thirst
+for travelling was from his earliest years unbounded, and it erelong
+received ample gratification. His first considerable journey was with
+two naturalists of distinction, Messrs Fontu and Genns, with whom he
+travelled in Germany, Holland, and England, in the course of which his
+attention was chiefly directed to mineralogical pursuits. The fruit of
+his observations appeared in a work, the first he ever published,
+which was printed at Brunswick in 1790, when he was only twenty-one
+years of age, entitled _Observations sur les Basaltes du Rhin_.
+
+To extend his information, already very considerable, on mineralogical
+science, Humboldt in 1791 repaired to Freyburg, to profit by the
+instructions of the celebrated Werner; and, when there, he devoted
+himself, with the characteristic ardour of his disposition, to make
+himself master of geology and botany, and prosecuted in an especial
+manner the study of the fossil remains of plants in the rocks around
+that place. In 1792, he published at Berlin a learned treatise,
+entitled _Specimen Florae, Friebergensis Subterraniae_; which procured
+for him such celebrity, that he was soon after appointed
+director-general of the mines in the principalities of Anspach and
+Bayreuth, in Franconia. His ardent and philanthropic disposition there
+exerted itself for several years in promoting, to the utmost of his
+power, various establishments of public utility; among others, the
+public school of Streben, from which has already issued many
+distinguished scholars. Charmed by the recent and brilliant
+discoveries of M. Galvani in electricity, he next entered with ardour
+into that new branch of science; and, not content with studying it in
+the abstract, he made a great variety of curious experiments on the
+effects of galvanism on his own person, and published the result in
+two octavos, at Berlin, in 1796, enriched by the notes of the
+celebrated naturalist Bluemenbach. This work was translated into French
+by J. F. Jadelot, and published at Paris in 1799. Meanwhile Humboldt,
+consumed with an insatiable desire for travelling, resumed his
+wanderings, and roamed over Switzerland and Italy, after which he
+returned to Paris in 1797, and formed an intimacy with a congenial
+spirit, M. Aime Bonpland; who afterwards became the companion of his
+South American travels. At this time he formed the design of joining
+the expedition of Captain Baudin, who was destined to circumnavigate
+the globe; but the continuance of hostilities prevented him from
+carrying that design into effect. Baffled in that project, upon which
+his heart was much set, Humboldt went to Marseilles with the intention
+of embarking on board a Swedish frigate for Algiers, from whence he
+hoped to join Napoleon's expedition to Egypt, and cross from the banks
+of the Nile to the Persian Gulf and the vast regions of the East. This
+was the turning point of his destiny. The Swedish frigate never
+arrived; the English cruisers rendered it impossible to cross the
+Mediterranean, except in a neutral vessel; and after waiting with
+impatience for about two months, he set out for Madrid, in the hope of
+finding means in the Peninsula of passing into Africa from the
+opposite shores of Andalusia.
+
+Upon his arrival in the Spanish capital, the German philosopher was
+received with all the distinction which his scientific reputation
+deserved; and he obtained from the government the extraordinary and
+unlooked-for boon of a formal leave to travel over the whole South
+American colonies of the monarchy. This immediately determined
+Humboldt. He entered with ardour into the new prospects thus opened to
+him; wrote to his friend Aime Bonpland to propose that he should join
+him in the contemplated expedition--an offer which was gladly
+accepted; and soon the visions of Arabia and the Himalaya were
+supplanted by those of the Pampas of Buenos Ayres and the Cordilleras
+of Peru. The two friends embarked at Corunna on board a Spanish
+vessel, and after a prosperous voyage, reached Cumana, in the New
+World, in July 1799. From that city they made their first expedition
+in Spanish America, during which they travelled over Spanish Guiana,
+New Andalusia, and the Missions of the Caribbees, from whence they
+returned to Cumana in 1800. There they embarked for the Havannah; and
+the whole of the summer of that year was spent in traversing that
+great and interesting island, on which he collected much important and
+valuable information. In September 1801, he set out for Quito, where
+he arrived in January of the succeeding year, and was received with
+the most flattering distinction. Having reposed for some months from
+their fatigues, Humboldt and Bonpland proceeded, in the first
+instance, to survey the country which had been devastated in 1797 by
+the dreadful earthquake, so frequent in those regions, and which
+swallowed up in a minute forty thousand persons. Then he set out, in
+June 1802, to visit the volcano of Tungaragno and the summit of
+Chimborazo. They ascended to the height of 19,500 feet on the latter
+mountain; but were prevented from reaching the top by impassable
+ravines. Perched on one of the summits, however, of this giant of
+mountains, amidst ice and snow, far above the abode of any living
+creature except the condor, they made a great variety of most
+interesting observations, which have proved of essential service to
+the cause of science. They were 3485 feet above the most elevated
+point which the learned Condamine, who had hitherto ascended highest,
+reached in 1745, but were still 2140 feet below the loftiest summit of
+the mountain. They determined, by a series of strict trigonometrical
+observations, the height of the chief peaks of that celebrated ridge--
+
+    "Where Andes, giant of the western star,
+    Looks from his throne of clouds o'er half the world."
+
+Having returned, after this fatiguing and dangerous mountain
+expedition, to Lima, Humboldt remained several months enjoying the
+hospitality of its kind-hearted inhabitants, whose warm feelings and
+excellent qualities excited in him the warmest admiration. In the
+neighbouring harbour of Callao, he was fortunate enough to see the
+passage of the planet Mercury over the disk of the sun, of which
+transit he made very important observations; and from thence passed
+into the province of New Spain, where he remained an entire year,
+sedulously engaged in agricultural, political, and statistical, as
+well as physical enquiries, the fruits of which added much to the
+value of his published travels. In April 1803, he proceeded to Mexico,
+where he was so fortunate as to discover the only specimen known to
+exist of the tree called _Cheirostomon Platanoides_, of the highest
+antiquity and gigantic dimensions. During the remainder of that year,
+he made several excursions over the mountains and valleys of Mexico,
+inferior to none in the world in interest and beauty; and in autumn
+1804, embarked for the Havannah, from whence he passed into
+Philadelphia, and traversed a considerable part of the United States.
+At length, in 1805, he returned to Europe, and arrived safe at Paris
+in November of that year, bringing with him, in addition to the
+observations he had made, and recollections with which his mind was
+fraught, the most extensive and varied collection of specimens of
+plants and minerals that ever was brought from the New World. His
+herbarium consisted of four thousand different plants, many of them of
+extreme rarity even in South America, and great part of which were
+previously unknown in Europe. His mineralogical collection was of
+equal extent and value. But by far the most important additions he has
+made to the cause of science, consist in the vast series of
+observations he has made in the New World, which have set at rest a
+great many disputed points in geography, mineralogy, and zoology,
+concerning that interesting and, in a great degree, unknown part of
+the world, and extended in a proportional degree the boundaries of
+knowledge regarding it. Nor have his labours been less important in
+collecting the most valuable statistical information regarding the
+Spanish provinces of those vast regions, especially the condition of
+the Indian, negro, and mulatto race which exist within them, and the
+amount of the precious metals annually raised from their mines;
+subjects of vast importance to Great Britain, and especially its
+colonial and commercial interests, but which have hitherto been in an
+unaccountable manner neglected, even by those whose interests and
+fortunes were entirely wound up in the changes connected with these
+vital subjects.
+
+The remainder of Baron Humboldt's life has been chiefly devoted to the
+various and important publications, in which he has embodied the fruit
+of his vast and extensive researches in the New World. In many of
+these he has been assisted by M. Aime Bonpland, who, his companion in
+literary labour as in the danger and fatigues of travelling, has, with
+the generosity of a really great mind, been content to diminish,
+perhaps destroy, his prospect of individual celebrity, by associating
+himself with the labours Of his illustrious friend. Pursued even in
+mature years by the desire of fame, the thirst for still greater
+achievements, which belongs to minds of the heroic cast, whether in
+war or science, he conceived, at a subsequent period, the design of
+visiting the upper provinces of India and the Himalaya range. After
+having ascended higher than man had yet done on the elevated ridges of
+the New World, he was consumed with a thirst to surmount the still
+more lofty summits of the Old, which have remained in solitary and
+unapproachable grandeur since the waves of the Deluge first receded
+from their sides. But the East India Company, within whose dominions,
+or at least beneath whose influence, the highest ridges of the
+Himalaya are situated, gave no countenance to the design, and even, it
+is said, refused liberty to the immortal Naturalist to visit their
+extensive territories. Whatever opinion we may form on the liberality
+or wisdom of this resolution, considered with reference to the
+interests, physical, moral, and political, of British India, it is not
+to be regretted, for the cause of science and literature over the
+world, that the great traveller has been prevented from setting out
+late in life to a fresh region of discovery. It has left the remainder
+of his life, and his yet undiminished powers, to illustrate and
+explain what he has already seen. To do that, was enough for the
+ordinary span of human life.
+
+Humboldt's works relating to the New World are very numerous. I. He
+first published, in 1805, at Paris, in four volumes quarto, the
+_Personal Narrative_ of his travels from 1799 to 1804. Of this
+splendid and interesting work, several editions have since been
+published in French, in twelve volumes octavo. It is upon it that his
+fame with the generality of readers mainly rests. II. _Vues des
+Cordilleras et Monumens des Peuples Indigenes de l'Amerique_--two
+volumes folio: Paris, 1811. This magnificent work, the cost of which
+is now L130, contains by far the finest views of the Andes in
+existence. Its great price renders it very scarce, and not more than a
+few copies are to be met with in Great Britain; but a cheap edition,
+without the great plates, was published at Paris in 1817. III.
+_Recueil d'Observations Astronomiques, et de Mesures executees dans le
+Nouveau Continent_: two volumes quarto. This learned work contains the
+result of Humboldt's astronomical and trigonometrical observations on
+the lunar distances, the eclipses of the satellites of Jupiter, the
+transit of Mercury, and upwards of five hundred elevated points in the
+New World, taken from barometrical observations, with all the
+requisite allowances and calculations carefully made. IV. _Essai sur
+la Geographie des Plantes, ou Tableau Physique des Regions
+Equinoxiales_: in quarto, with a great map. V. _Plantes Equinoxiales
+recueillies au Mexique, dans l'Ile de Cuba, dans les Provinces de
+Caraccas, &c._: two volumes folio. A splendid and very costly work.
+VI. _Monographie des Melastomes_: two volumes folio. A most curious
+and interesting work on a most interesting subject. VII. _Nova Genera
+et Species Plantarum_: three volumes folio. Containing an account of
+the botanical treasures collected by him in the New World, and brought
+home in his magnificent herbarium. VIII. _Recueil des Observations de
+Zoologie et d'Anatomie comparee faites dans un Voyage aux Tropiques_:
+two volumes quarto. IX. _Essai Politique sur la Nouvelle Espagne._
+1811: two volumes quarto. Of this admirable work a subsequent edition
+has been published in 1822, in four volumes octavo. It contains an
+astonishing collection of important statistical facts, arranged and
+digested with the utmost ability, and interspersed with political and
+philosophical reflections on the state of the human race, and the
+relation of society in the New World. X. _Ansichten der Natur._
+Tubingen, 1808: in octavo. It is remarkable that this is the only one
+of the learned author's works on Spanish America which originally
+appeared in his own language; but it was soon translated into French
+under the title of _Tableaux de la Nature_. Paris: 1808. It contains a
+series of descriptions of the different styles of scenery and
+remarkable objects in the vast regions he had visited, portrayed with
+all the vigour and accuracy for which the author is distinguished. XI.
+_De Distributione Geographica Plantarum secundum Coeli Temperiem et
+Altitudinem Montium, Prolegomena_. In octavo. Paris: 1817. The title
+of this work explains its object and its importance, in describing a
+portion of the globe consisting of such lofty and successive ridges
+and table-lands as rise from the level of the sea to the summits of
+the Cordilleras of Mexico and Peru. XII. _Sur l'Elevation des
+Montagnes de l'Inde._ Octavo. Paris: 1818. A work prepared when the
+author was contemplating a journey to the Himalaya and mountains of
+Thibet. XIII. _Carte du Fleuve Orenoque._ Presented to the Academy of
+Sciences in 1817. M. Humboldt has there demonstrated the singular fact
+of the junction of the great rivers Orinoco and of the Amazon by the
+intermediate waters of the Rio Negro; a fact which the sagacity of
+D'Anville had long ago led him to suspect, but which the travels of
+the indefatigable German has established beyond a doubt. XIV. _Examen
+Critique de l'Histoire de la Geographie du Nouveau Continent, et du
+Progres de l'Astronomie Nautique aux 15me et 16me siecles._ Paris:
+1837. XV. "_Cosmos:_" in German--a "Scheme of a Physical Description
+of the Universe." This last work embraces a much wider sphere of
+learning and speculation than any of the preceding, and is more
+characteristic of the vast erudition and ardent genius of the author.
+
+From the brief account which has now been given of the published works
+of this indefatigable traveller and author, the reader will be able to
+appreciate the extent and variety of his scientific and political
+attainments. We shall now present him under a different aspect, as an
+eloquent and almost unrivalled describer of nature. It need hardly be
+said that it is on these splendid pictures, more even than the
+numerous and valuable additions he has made to the treasures of
+science, that his reputation with the world in general is founded.
+
+The rapids of the Orinoco--one of the most striking scenes in
+America--are thus described by our author:[4]--
+
+    "When we arrived at the top of the Cliff of Marimi, the first
+    object which caught our eye was a sheet of foam, above a mile in
+    length and half a mile in breadth. Enormous masses of black rock,
+    of an iron hue, started up here and there out of its snowy
+    surface. Some resembled huge basaltic cliffs resting on each
+    other; many, castles in ruins, with detached towers and
+    fortalices, guarding their approach from a distance. Their sombre
+    colour formed a contrast with the dazzling whiteness of the foam.
+    Every rock, every island, was covered with flourishing trees, the
+    foliage of which is often united above the foaming gulf by
+    creepers hanging in festoons from their opposite branches. The
+    base of the rocks and islands, as far as the eye can reach, is
+    lost in the volumes of white smoke, which boil above the surface
+    of the river; but above these snowy clouds, noble palms, from
+    eighty to an hundred feet high, rise aloft, stretching their
+    summits of dazzling green towards the clear azure of heaven. With
+    the changes of the day these rocks and palm-trees are alternately
+    illuminated by the brightest sunshine, or projected in deep shadow
+    on the surrounding surge. Never does a breath of wind agitate the
+    foliage, never a cloud obscure the vault of heaven. A dazzling
+    light is ever shed through the air, over the earth enameled with
+    the loveliest flowers, over the foaming stream stretching as far
+    as the eye can reach; the spray, glittering in the sunbeams, forms
+    a thousand rainbows, ever changing, yet ever bright, beneath whose
+    arches, islands of flowers, rivalling the very hues of heaven,
+    flourish in perpetual bloom. There is nothing austere or sombre,
+    as in northern climates, even in this scene of elemental strife;
+    tranquillity and repose seem to sleep on the very edge of the
+    abyss of waters. Neither time, nor the sight of the Cordilleras,
+    nor a long abode in the charming valleys of Mexico, have been able
+    to efface from my recollection the impression made by these
+    cataracts. When I read the description of similar scenes in the
+    East, my mind sees again in clear vision the sea of foam, the
+    islands of flowers, the palm-trees surmounting the snowy vapours.
+    Such recollections, like the memory of the sublimest works of
+    poetry and the arts, leave an impression which is never to be
+    effaced, and which, through the whole of life, is associated with
+    every sentiment of the grand and the beautiful."--(Vol. vii.
+    171-172.)
+
+Such is a specimen of the descriptive powers of the great German
+natural philosopher, geographer, botanist, and traveller. When our
+senior wranglers from Cambridge, our high-honoured men from Oxford, or
+lady travellers from London, produce a parallel to it, we shall hope
+that England is about to compete with the continental nations in the
+race of illustrious travellers--but not till then.
+
+As a contrast to this, we cannot resist the pleasure of laying before
+our readers the following striking description of night on the
+Orinoco, in the placid part of its course, amidst the vast forests of
+the tropical regions:--
+
+    "The night was calm and serene, and a beautiful moon shed a
+    radiance over the scene. The crocodiles lay extended on the sand;
+    placed in such a manner that they could watch our fire, from which
+    they never turned aside their eyes. Its dazzling evidently
+    attracted them, as it does fish, crabs, and the other inhabitants
+    of the waters. The Indians pointed out to us in the sand the
+    recent marks of the feet of three tigers, a mother and two young,
+    which had crossed the open space between the forest and the water.
+    Finding no tree upon the shore, we sank the end of our oars into
+    the sand, in order to form poles for our tents. Every thing
+    remained quiet till eleven at night, when suddenly there arose, in
+    the neighbouring forest, a noise so frightful that it became
+    impossible to shut our eyes. Amidst the voice of so many savage
+    animals, which all roared or cried at once, our Indians could only
+    distinguish the howling of the jaguar, the yell of the tiger, the
+    roar of the cougar, or American lion, and the screams of some
+    birds of prey. When the jaguars approached near to the edge of the
+    forest, our dogs, which to that moment had never ceased to bark,
+    suddenly housed; and, crouching, sought refuge under the shelter
+    of our hammocks. Sometimes, after an interval of silence, the
+    growl of the tiger was heard from the top of the trees, followed
+    immediately by the cries of the monkey tenants of their branches,
+    which fled the danger by which they were menaced.
+
+    "I have painted, feature by feature, these nocturnal scenes on the
+    Orinoco, because, having but lately embarked on it, we were as yet
+    unaccustomed to their wildness. They were repeated for months
+    together, every night that the forest approached the edge of the
+    river. Despite the evident danger by which one is surrounded, the
+    security which the Indian feels comes to communicate itself to
+    your mind; you become persuaded with him, that all the tigers fear
+    the light of fire, and will not attack a man when lying in his
+    hammock. In truth, the instances of attacks on persons in hammocks
+    are extremely rare; and during a long residence in South America,
+    I can only call to mind one instance of a Llanero, who was found
+    torn in pieces in his hammock opposite the island of Uhagua.
+
+    "When one asks the Indians what is the cause of this tremendous
+    noise, which at a certain hour of the night the animals of the
+    forest make, they answer gaily, 'They are saluting the full moon.'
+    I suspect the cause in general is some quarrel or combat which has
+    arisen in the interior of the forest. The jaguars, for example,
+    pursue the pecaris and tapirs, which, having no means of defence
+    but their numbers, fly in dense bodies, and press, in all the
+    agony of terror, through the thickets which lie in their way.
+    Terrified at this strife, and the crashing of boughs or rustling
+    of thickets which they hear beneath them, the monkeys on the
+    highest branches set up discordant cries of terror on every side.
+    The din soon wakens the parrots and other birds which fill the
+    woods, they instantly scream in the most violent way, and erelong
+    the whole forest is in an uproar. We soon found that it is not so
+    much during a full moon, as on the approach of a whirlwind or a
+    storm, that this frightful concert arises among the wild beasts.
+    'May heaven give us a peaceable night and rest, like other
+    mortals!' was the exclamation of the monk who had accompanied us
+    from the Rio Negro, as he lay down to repose in our bivouac. It is
+    a singular circumstance to be reduced to such a petition in the
+    midst of the solitude of the woods. In the hotels of Spain, the
+    traveller fears the sound of the guitar from the neighbouring
+    apartment: in the bivouacs of the Orinoco, which are spread on the
+    open sand, or under the shade of a single tree, what you have to
+    dread is, the infernal cries which issue from the adjoining
+    forest."--(Vol. vi., 222-3.)
+
+One of the most remarkable of the many remarkable features of Nature
+in South America, is the prodigious plains which, under the name of
+Llanos and Pampas, stretch from the shores of the Atlantic to the foot
+of the Andes, over a space from fifteen hundred to two thousand miles
+in breadth. Humboldt traversed them more than once in their full
+extent, and has given the following striking description of their
+remarkable peculiarities.
+
+    "In many geographical works, the savannahs of South America are
+    termed _prairies_. That word, however, seems not properly
+    applicable to plains of pasturage, often exclusively dry, though
+    covered with grass four or five feet high. The Llanos and Pampas
+    of South America are true _steppes_: they present a rich covering
+    of verdure during the rainy season; but in the months of drought,
+    the earth assumes the appearance of a desert. The turf is then
+    reduced to powder, the earth gapes in huge cracks; the crocodiles
+    and great serpents lie in a dormant state in the dried mud, till
+    the return of rains, and the rise of the waters in the great
+    rivers, which flood the vast expanse of level surface, awaken them
+    from their long slumber. These appearances are often exhibited
+    over an arid surface of fifty or sixty leagues square--every
+    where, in short, where the savannah is not traversed by any of the
+    great rivers. On the borders, on the other hand, of the streams,
+    and around the lakes, which in the dry season retain a little
+    brackish water, the traveller meets from time to time, even in the
+    most extreme drought, groves of Mauritia, a species of palm, the
+    leaves of which, spreading out like a fan, preserve amidst the
+    surrounding sterility a brilliant verdure.
+
+    "The steppes of Asia are all out of the region of the tropics, and
+    form in general the summit of very elevated plateaux. America also
+    presents, on the reverse of the mountains of Mexico, of Peru, and
+    of Quito, steppes of considerable extent. But the greatest
+    steppes, the Llanos of Cumana, of Caraccas, and of Meta, all
+    belong to the equinoctial zone, and are very little elevated above
+    the level of the ocean. It is this which gives them their peculiar
+    characters. They do not contain, like the steppes of Southern
+    Asia, and the deserts of Persia, those lakes without issue, or
+    rivers which lose themselves in the sand or in subterraneous
+    filtrations. The Llanos of South America incline towards the east
+    and the south; their waters are tributary to the Orinoco, the
+    Amazon, or the Rio de la Plata.
+
+    "What most strongly characterizes the savannahs or steppes of
+    South America, is the entire absence of hills, or inequalities of
+    any kind. The soil, for hundreds of miles together, is perfectly
+    flat, without even a hillock. For this reason, the Castilian
+    conquerors, who penetrated first from Coro to the banks of the
+    Apure, named the regions to which they came, neither deserts, nor
+    savannahs, nor meadows, but _plains--los Llanos_. Over an extent
+    of thirty leagues square, you will often not meet with an eminence
+    a foot high. The resemblance to the sea which these immense plains
+    bear, strikes the imagination the more forcibly in those places,
+    often as extensive as half of France, where the surface is
+    absolutely destitute of palms, or any species of trees, and where
+    the distance is so great from the mountains, or the forests on the
+    shores of the Orinoco, as to render neither visible. The uniform
+    appearance which the Llanos exhibit, the extreme rarity of any
+    habitations, the fatigues of a journey under a burning sun, and in
+    an atmosphere perpetually clouded with dust, the prospect of a
+    round girdle of an horizon, which appears constantly to recede
+    before the traveller, the isolated stems of the palm-tree, all
+    precisely of the same form, and which he despairs to reach,
+    because he confounds them with other seemingly identical trunks
+    which appear in the distant parts of the horizon: all these causes
+    combine to make these steppes appear even more vast than they
+    really are.
+
+    "Yet are their actual dimensions so prodigious, that it is hard to
+    outstrip them, even by the wildest flights of the imagination. The
+    colonists, who inhabit the slopes of the mountains which form
+    their extreme boundary on the west and north, see the steppes
+    stretch away to the south and east, as far as the eye can reach,
+    an interminable ocean of verdure. Well may they deem it boundless!
+    They know that from the Delta of the Orinoco, crossing the
+    province of Vannos, and from thence by the shores of the Meta, the
+    Guaviare, and the Caguan, you may advance in the plains, at first
+    from east to west, then from north-east, to south-east, three
+    hundred and eighty leagues--a distance as great as from Tombuctoo
+    to the northern coast of Africa. They know, by the report of
+    travellers, that the Pampas of Buenos Ayres--which are also
+    Llanos, destitute of trees, covered with rich grass, filled with
+    cattle and wild horses--are equally extensive. They imagine,
+    according to the greater part of maps, that this huge continent
+    has but one chain of mountains, the Andes, which forms its western
+    boundary; and they form a vague idea of the boundless sea of
+    verdure, stretching the whole way from the foot of this gigantic
+    wall of rock, from the Orinoco and the Apure, to the Rio de la
+    Plata and the Straits of Magellan. Imagination itself can hardly
+    form an idea of the extent of these plains. The Llanos, from the
+    Caqueta to the Apure, and from thence to the Delta of the Orinoco,
+    contain 17,000 square marine leagues--a space nearly equal to the
+    area of France; that which stretches to the north and south is of
+    nearly double the extent, or considerably larger than the surface
+    of Germany; and the Pampas of Buenos Ayres, which extend from
+    thence towards Cape Horn, are of such extent, that while one end
+    is shaded by the palm-trees of the tropics, the other, equally
+    flat, is charged with the snows of the antarctic circle."--(Vol.
+    vi. 52, 67.)
+
+These prodigious plains have been overspread with the horses and
+cattle of the Old World, which, originally introduced by the Spanish
+settlers, have strayed from the enclosures of their masters, and
+multiplied without end in the vast savannahs which nature had spread
+out for their reception.
+
+    "It is impossible," says Humboldt, "to form an exact enumeration
+    of the cattle in the Pampas, or even to give an approximation to
+    it, so immensely have they augmented during the three centuries
+    which have elapsed since they were first introduced; but some idea
+    of their number may be formed from the following facts in regard
+    to such portions of these vast herds as are capable of being
+    counted. It is calculated that in the plains from the mouths of
+    the Orinoco to the lake Maracaybo, there are 1,200,000 head of
+    cattle, 180,000 horses, and 90,000 mules, which belong to
+    individual proprietors. In the Pampas of Buenos Ayres there are
+    12,000,000 cows and 3,000,000 horses belonging to private persons,
+    besides the far greater multitude which are wild, and wander
+    altogether beyond the reach of man. Considerable revenues are
+    realized from the sale of the skins of these animals, for they are
+    so common that the carcasses are of scarcely any value. They are
+    at the pains only to look after the young of their herds, which
+    are marked once a-year with the initial letter of the owner.
+    Fourteen or fifteen thousand are marked by the greater proprietors
+    every year, of which five or six thousand are annually
+    sold."--(Vol. vi. 97.)
+
+The enormous number of beasts of prey which multiply with this vast
+accumulation of animals to be devoured, as well those introduced by
+man as those furnished by the hand of nature, renders the life of many
+of the inhabitants of these regions little else than a constant
+struggle with wild animals. Many hairbreadth escapes and heroic
+adventures are recounted by the natives, which would pass for fabulous
+if not stated on such unquestionable authority as that of M. Humboldt,
+and supported by the concurring testimony of other travellers. The
+number of alligators, in particular, on the Orinoco, the Rio Apure,
+and their tributary streams, is prodigious; and contests with them
+constitute a large portion of the legendary tales of the Indian and
+European settlers in the forest.
+
+    "The numerous wild animals," says Humboldt, "which inhabit the
+    forests on the shores of the Orinoco, have made apertures for
+    themselves in the wall of vegetation and foliage by which the
+    woods are bounded, out of which they come forth to drink in the
+    river. Tigers, tapirs, jaguars, boars, besides numberless lesser
+    quadrupeds, issue out of these dark arches in the green
+    wilderness, and cross the strip of sand which generally lies
+    between it and the edge of the water, formed by the large space
+    which is annually devastated and covered with shingle or mud,
+    during the rise of the water in the rainy season. These singular
+    scenes have always possessed a great attraction for me. The
+    pleasure experienced was not merely that of a naturalist in the
+    objects of his study; it belongs to all men who have been educated
+    in the habits of civilization. You find yourself in contact with a
+    new world, with savage and unconquered Nature. Sometimes it is the
+    jaguar, the beautiful panther of America, which issues from its
+    dark retreat; at others the hosco, with its dark plumes and curved
+    head, which traverses the _sauso_, as the band of yellow sand is
+    called. Animals of the most various kinds and opposite
+    descriptions succeed each other without intermission. 'Es como en
+    el Paraiso,' (It is as in Paradise,) said our pilot, an old Indian
+    of the Missions. In truth, every thing here recalls that primitive
+    world of which the traditions of all nations have preserved the
+    recollection, the innocence, and happiness; but on observing the
+    habits of the animals towards each other, it is evident that the
+    age of gold has ceased to them as well as to the human race; they
+    mutually fear and avoid each other, and in the lonely American
+    forests, as elsewhere, long experience has taught all living
+    beings that gentleness is rarely united to force."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    "When the sands on the river side are of considerable breadth, the
+    sauso often stretches to a considerable distance from the water's
+    edge. It is on this intermediate space that you see the
+    crocodiles, often to the number of eight or ten, stretched on the
+    sand. Motionless, their huge jaws opened at right angles, they lie
+    without giving any of those marks of affection which are
+    observable in other animals which live in society. The troop
+    separate when they leave the coast; they are probably composed of
+    several females and one male. The former are much more numerous
+    than the latter, from the number of males which are killed in
+    fighting during the time of their amours. These monstrous reptiles
+    have multiplied to such a degree, that there was hardly an instant
+    during our voyage along the whole course of the river that we had
+    not five or six in view. We measured one dead which was lying on
+    the sand; it was sixteen feet nine inches long. Soon after, Mr
+    Bonpland found a dead male on the shore, measuring twenty-two
+    feet three inches. Under every zone--in America as in Egypt--this
+    animal attains the same dimensions. The Indians told us, that at
+    San Fernando scarce a year passes without two or three grown up
+    persons, usually women, who are drawing from the river, being
+    devoured by these carnivorous lizards.
+
+    "They related to us an interesting story of a young daughter of
+    Urituen, who, by extraordinary intrepidity and presence of mind,
+    succeeded in extricating herself from the very jaws of a
+    crocodile. When she felt herself seized by the voracious animal in
+    the water, she felt for its eyes, and thrust her fingers into them
+    with such violence that she forced the animal to let go, but not
+    before he had torn off the lower part of her left arm. The Indian
+    girl, notwithstanding the enormous quantity of blood which she
+    lost, succeeded in swimming to shore with the hand which was left,
+    and escaped without further injury. In those desert regions, where
+    man is constantly in strife with animated or inanimated nature,
+    they daily speak of similar or corresponding means by which it is
+    possible to escape from a tiger, a great boa, or a crocodile.
+    Every one prepares himself against a danger which may any day
+    befall him, 'I knew,' said the young girl calmly, when praised for
+    her presence of mind, 'that the crocodile lets go his hold when
+    you plunge your fingers in his eyes.' Long after my return to
+    Europe, I learned that the negroes in the interior of Africa make
+    use of the same method to escape from the alligators in the Niger.
+    Who does not recollect with warm interest, that Isaaco the guide,
+    in his last journey of the unfortunate Mungo Park, was seized
+    twice near Boulinkombro, and that he escaped from the throat of
+    the monster solely by thrusting his fingers into his two eyes?[5]
+    The African Isaaco and the young American girl owed their safety
+    to the same presence of mind, and the same combination of
+    ideas."--(Vol. vi. 203, 205.)
+
+If there is any one fact more than another demonstrated by the
+concurring testimony of travellers, historians, and statistical
+observers, in all ages and quarters of the world, it is, that the
+possession of _property in land_ is the first step in social
+improvement, and the only effectual humanizer of Savage Man.
+Rousseau's famous paradox, "The first Man who enclosed a field, and
+called it mine, is the author of all the social ills which followed,"
+is not only false but decidedly the reverse of the truth. He was the
+first and greatest benefactor of his species. Subsequent ills have
+arisen, not from following but forgetting his example; and preferring
+to the simplicity of country life the seductions and vices of urban
+society. Humboldt adds his important testimony to the noble army of
+witnesses in all ages, and from all parts of the world, on this all
+important subject.
+
+    "The Guamos are a race of Indians whom it is extremely difficult
+    to fix down to the soil. Like other wandering savages, they are
+    distinguished by their dirt, revengeful spirit, and fondness for
+    wandering. The greater part of them live by fishing and the chase,
+    in the plains often flooded by the Apure, the Meta, and the
+    Guaviare. The nature of those regions, their vast extent, and
+    entire want of any limit or distinguishing mark, seems to invite
+    their inhabitants to a wandering life. On entering, again, the
+    mountains which adjoin the cataracts of the Orinoco, you find
+    among the Piroas, the Macos, and the Macquiritares, milder
+    manners, a love of agriculture, and remarkable cleanliness in the
+    interior of their cabins. On the ridges of mountains, amidst
+    impenetrable forests, man is forced to fix himself, to clear and
+    cultivate a corner of the earth. That culture demands little care,
+    and is richly rewarded: while the life of a hunter is painful and
+    difficult. The Guamos of the Mission of Santa Barbara are kind and
+    hospitable; whenever we entered their cottages, they offered us
+    dried fish and water."--(Vol. vi. 219.)
+
+No spectacle in nature can exceed, few equal, the sublimity and
+magnificence of the scenery presented by the vast chain of mountains
+which, under the name of Cordilleras, Andes, and Rocky Mountains,
+traverses the whole continent of America, both north and south, in the
+neighbourhood of the Pacific Ocean. Of this prodigious pile of rocks
+and precipices, Humboldt, in another of his works, has given the
+following admirable account:--
+
+    "The immense chain of the Andes, traversing its whole extent near
+    the Pacific Ocean, has stamped a character upon South American
+    nature which belongs to no other country. The peculiarity which
+    distinguishes the regions which belong to this immense chain, are
+    the successive plateaux, like so many huge natural terraces, which
+    rise one above another, before arriving at the great central
+    chain, where the highest summits are to be found. Such is the
+    elevation of some of these plains that they often exceed eight and
+    nine, and sometimes reach that of twelve thousand feet above the
+    level of the sea. The lowest of these plateaux is higher than the
+    summit of the Pass of the Great St Bernard, the highest inhabited
+    ground in Europe, which is 7545 feet above the level of the sea.
+    But such is the benignity of the climate, that at these prodigious
+    elevations, which even in the south of Europe are above the line
+    of perpetual snow, are to be found cities and towns, corn-fields
+    and orchards, and all the symptoms of rural felicity. The town of
+    Quito itself, the capital of a province of the same name, is
+    situated on a plateau, or elevated valley, in the centre of the
+    Andes, nearly 9000 feet above the level of the sea. Yet there are
+    found concentrated a numerous population, and it contains cities
+    with thirty, forty, and even fifty thousand inhabitants. After
+    living some months on this elevated ground, you experience an
+    extraordinary illusion. Finding yourself surrounded with pasture
+    and corn-fields, flocks and herds, smiling orchards and golden
+    harvests, the sheep and the lama, the fruits of Europe and those
+    of America, you forget that you are as it were suspended between
+    heaven and earth, and elevated to a height exceeding that by which
+    the European traveller makes his way from France into Italy, and
+    double that of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Great Britain.
+
+    "The different gradations of vegetation, as might be expected in a
+    country where the earth rises from the torrid zone by a few steep
+    ascents to the regions of eternal congelation, exhibit one of the
+    most remarkable features in this land of wonders. From the borders
+    of the sea to the height of two thousand feet, are to be seen the
+    magnificent palm-tree, the musa, the heleconia, the balms of Tolu,
+    the large flowering jasmin, the date-tree, and all the productions
+    of tropical climates. On the arid and burning shores of the ocean,
+    flourish, in addition to these, the cotton-tree, the magnolias,
+    the cactus, the sugar-cane, and all the luscious fruits which
+    ripen under the genial sun, and amidst the balmy breezes of the
+    West India Islands. One only of these tropical children of nature,
+    the _Carosylou Andicola_, is met with far in advance of the rest
+    of its tribe, tossed by the winds at the height of seven and eight
+    thousand feet above the sea, on the middle ridges of the
+    Cordillera range. In this lower region, as nature exhibits the
+    riches, so she has spread the pestilence, of tropical climates.
+    The humidity of the atmosphere, and the damp heats which are
+    nourished amidst its intricate thickets, produce violent fevers,
+    which often prove extremely destructive, especially to European
+    constitutions. But if the patient survives the first attack, the
+    remedy is at hand; a journey to the temperate climate of the
+    elevated plateau soon restores health; and the sufferer is as much
+    revived by the gales of the Andes, as the Indian valetudinarian is
+    by a return to Europe.
+
+    "Above the region of the palms commences the temperate zone. It is
+    there that vegetation appears in its most delightful form,
+    luxuriant without being rank, majestic yet not impervious; it
+    combines all that nature has given of the grand, with all that the
+    poets have figured of the beautiful. The bark-tree, which she has
+    provided as the only effectual febrifuge in the deadly heats of
+    the inferior region; the cyprus and melastoma, with their superb
+    violet blossoms; gigantic fuchsias of every possible variety, and
+    evergreen trees of lofty stature, covered with flowers, adorn that
+    delightful zone. The turf is enamelled by never-fading flowers;
+    mosses of dazzling beauty, fed by the frequent rains attracted by
+    the mountains, cover the rocks; and the trembling branches of the
+    mimosa, and others of the sensitive tribe, hang in graceful
+    pendants over every declivity. Almost all the flowering shrubs
+    which adorn our conservatories, are to be found there in primeval
+    beauty, and what to Europeans appears a gigantic scale;
+    magnificent arums of many different kinds spread their ample snowy
+    petals above the surrounding thickets; and innumerable creepers,
+    adorned by splendid blossoms, mount even to the summit of the
+    highest trees, and diffuse a perennial fragrance around.
+
+    "The oaks and trees of Europe are not found in those parts of the
+    Andes which lie in the torrid zone, till you arrive at the height
+    of five thousand feet above the sea. It is there you first begin
+    to see the leaves fall in winter, and bud in spring, as in
+    European climates: below that level the foliage is perpetual.
+    Nowhere are the trees so large as in this region: not unfrequently
+    they are found of the height of a hundred and eighty or two
+    hundred feet; their stems are from eight to fifteen feet across at
+    their base, and sometimes rise a hundred feet without a single
+    cross branch. When so great an elevation as the plains of Quito,
+    however, which is 9515 above the sea, is reached, they become less
+    considerable, and not larger than those usually found in the
+    forests of Europe. If the traveller ascends two thousand feet
+    higher, to an elevation of eleven or twelve thousand feet, trees
+    almost entirely disappear; but the frequent humidity nourishes a
+    thick covering of arbutus and other evergreens, shrubs three or
+    four feet high, covered with flowers generally of a bright yellow,
+    which form a striking contrast to the dark evergreen foliage with
+    which they are surrounded. Still higher, at the height of thirteen
+    thousand feet, near the summit of the lower ranges of the
+    Cordilleras, almost constant rains overspread the earth with a
+    verdant and slippery coating of moss; amidst which a few stunted
+    specimens of the melastoma still exhibit their purple blossoms. A
+    broad zone succeeds, covered entirely with Alpine plants, which,
+    as in the mountains of Switzerland, nestle in the crevices of
+    rocks, or push their flowers, generally of yellow or dark blue,
+    through the now frequent snow. Higher still, grass alone is to be
+    met with, mixed with the grey moss which conducts the wearied
+    traveller to the region of perpetual snow, which in those warm
+    latitudes is general only at an elevation of fifteen thousand
+    feet. Above that level no animated being is found, except the huge
+    condor, the largest bird that exists, which there, amidst ice and
+    clouds, has fixed its gloomy abode."--(_Tableau de la Nature dans
+    les Regions Equatoriales_, 59, 140-144.)
+
+In the rhythm of prose these are the colours of poetry; but it is of
+poetry chastened and directed by the observation of reality, and
+possessing the inimitable charm of being drawn from real life, and
+sharing the freshness and variety which characterize the works of
+nature, and distinguish them from the brightest conceptions of human
+fancy. As we have set out in this article with placing Humboldt at the
+head of modern travellers, and much above any that Great Britain has
+produced, and assigned as the main reason of this superiority the
+exclusive and limited range of objects on which the attention of our
+youth is fixed at our great universities, we shall, in justice to
+Oxford and Cambridge, present the reader with a specimen of the finest
+passages from Clarke and Bishop Heber, that he may judge for himself
+on their merit, great as it often is, when compared with that of the
+ardent and yet learned German.
+
+Clarke, on leaving Greece, gives the following brilliant summary of
+the leading features of that classic land:--
+
+    "The last moments of this day were employed in taking once more a
+    view of the superb scenery exhibited by the mountains Olympus and
+    Ossa. They appeared upon this occasion in more than usual
+    splendour; like one of those imaginary Alpine regions suggested by
+    viewing a boundary of clouds when they terminate the horizon in a
+    still evening, and are gathered into heaps, with many a towering
+    top shining in fleecy whiteness. The great Olympian chain forms a
+    line which is exactly opposite to Salonica; and even the chasm
+    between Olympus and Ossa, constituting the defile of Tempe, is
+    here visible. Directing the eye towards that chain, there is
+    comprehended in one view the whole of Pieria and Bottiaea; and with
+    the vivid impressions which remain after leaving the country,
+    memory easily recalled into one mental picture the whole of
+    Greece. Every reader may not duly comprehend what is meant by
+    this: but every traveller who has beheld the scenes to which
+    allusion is made, will readily admit its truth; he will be aware
+    that, whenever his thoughts were directed to that country, the
+    whole of it recurred to his imagination, as if he were actually
+    indulged with a view of it.
+
+    "In such an imaginary flight he enters, for example, the defile of
+    Tempe; and as the gorge opens to the south, he beholds all the
+    Larissian plain. This conducts him to the fields of Pharsalia,
+    whence he ascends the mountains south of Pharsalus; then, crossing
+    the bleak and still more elevated region extending from these
+    mountains towards Lamia, he views Mount Pindus far before him, and
+    descending into the plain of the Sperchius, passes the straits of
+    Thermopylae. Afterwards, ascending, Mount Oeta, he beholds
+    opposite to him the snowy point of Lycorea, with the rest of
+    Parnassus, and the villages and towns lying at its base: the whole
+    plain of Elataia lying at his feet, with the course of the
+    Cephissus to the sea. Passing to the summit of Parnassus, he looks
+    down upon all the other mountains, plains, islands, and gulfs of
+    Greece; but especially surveys the broad bosom of Cithaeron,
+    Helicon, and Hymettus. Thence, roaming into the depths and over
+    all the heights of Euboea and Peloponnesus, he has their inmost
+    recesses again submitted to his contemplation. Next, resting upon
+    Hymettus, he examines, even in the minutest detail, the whole of
+    Attica, to the Sunian promontory; for he sees it all--and all the
+    shores of Argos, Sicyon, Corinth, Megara, Eleusis, and Athens.
+    Thus, although not in all the freshness of its living colours, yet
+    in all its grandeur, doth GREECE actually present itself to the
+    mind's eye--and may the impression never be obliterated! In the
+    eve of bidding it farewell for ever, as the hope of visiting this
+    delightful country constituted the earliest and warmest wish of
+    his youth, the author found it to be some alleviation of his
+    regret excited by a consciousness of never returning, that he
+    could thus summon to his recollection the scenes over which he had
+    passed."--(_Clarke's Travels_, Vol. vii. pp. 476-478.)
+
+So far Clarke--the accomplished and famed traveller of Cambridge. We
+now give a favourable specimen of Bishop Heber--his companion in
+traversing Russia--the celebrated author, in early life at Oxford, of
+_Palestine_, the amiable and upright Bishop of Calcutta, whose life,
+if ever that could be said of mortal, was literally spent in doing
+good. This accomplished and excellent prelate thus describes the first
+view of the Himalaya range and the summits of Nundidevi, the highest
+mountain in the world, neatly 5000 feet above the loftiest peak of
+Chimborazo.
+
+    "After coasting the lake for a mile, we ascended for thirteen more
+    by a most steep and rugged road over the neck of Mount Gaughur,
+    through a succession of glens, forests, and views of the most
+    sublime and beautiful description. I never saw such prospects
+    before, and had formed no adequate idea of such. My attention was
+    completely strained, and my eyes filled with tears; every thing
+    around was so wild and magnificent that man appeared as nothing,
+    and I felt myself as if climbing the steps of the altar of the
+    great temple of God. The trees, as we advanced, were in a large
+    proportion fir and cedar; but many were ilex, and to my surprise I
+    still saw, even in these wild Alpine tracts, many venerable Peepul
+    trees, on which the white monkeys were playing their gambols.
+    Tigers used to be very common and mischievous; but since the
+    English have begun to frequent the country, they have become very
+    scarce. There are many wolves and bears, and some chamois, two of
+    which passed near us. After wending up
+
+    'A wild romantic chasm, that slanted
+      Down the steep hill athwart a cedar cover--
+    A savage place, as holy and enchanted
+    As e'er beneath the waning moon was haunted
+      By woman's wailing for her demon lover,'
+
+    we arrived at the gorge of the Pass, in an indent between the two
+    principal summits of Mount Gaughur, near 8600 feet above the sea.
+    And now the snowy mountains, which had been so long eclipsed,
+    opened upon us in full magnificence. To describe a view of this
+    kind is only lost labour: and I found it nearly as impossible to
+    make a sketch of it. Nundidevi was immediately opposite, Kedar
+    Nath was not visible, but Marvo was visible as a distant peak. The
+    eastern mountains, for whom I could procure no name, rose into
+    great consequence, and were very glorious objects as we wound down
+    the hill on the other side. The guides could only tell us they
+    were a great way off, and on the borders of the Chinese empire.
+    Nundidevi, the highest peak in the world, is 25,689 feet above the
+    sea, 4000 higher than Chimborazo. Bhadinath and Kedernath, which
+    are merely summits of it, are 22,300 feet high. They are all in
+    the British dominions."--(_Heber's India_, Vol. ii. pp. 193-194,
+    209.)
+
+On comparing the descriptions of the most interesting objects in
+Europe and Asia--Greece and the Himalaya range--by these two
+distinguished British travellers, with the pictures given by Humboldt
+of the Andes, the falls of the Orinoco, the forests of the same river,
+and the expanse of the Pampas in South America, every one must admit
+the great superiority of the German's powers of painting Nature.
+Neither Clarke nor Heber appear to attempt it. They tell you, indeed,
+that certain scenes were grand and beautiful, certain rocks wild,
+certain glens steep; but they make no attempt to portray their
+features, or convey to the reader's mind the pictures which they tell
+you are for ever engraven on their own. This is a very great defect,
+so great indeed that it will probably prevent their works, how
+valuable soever as books of authority or reference, from ever
+acquiring lasting fame. It is a total mistake to say that it is in
+vain to attempt describing such scenes; that is the same mistake as
+was formerly committed by pacific academical historians, who said it
+was useless to attempt painting a battle, for they were all like each
+other. How like they really are to each other, has been shown by
+Colonel Napier and many other modern historians. We question if even
+the sight of the rapids of the Orinoco would make so vivid an
+impression on the imagination, as Humboldt's inimitable description;
+or a journey over the Pampas or the Andes, convey a clearer or more
+distinct idea of their opposite features than what has been derived
+from his brilliant pencil. It is the same with all the other scenes in
+nature. Description, if done by a masterly hand, can, to an
+intelligent mind, convey as vivid an idea as reality. What is wanting
+is the enthusiasm which warms at the perception of the sublime and the
+beautiful, the poetic mind which seizes as by inspiration its
+characteristic features, and the pictorial eye which discerns the
+appearances they exhibit, and by referring to images known to all,
+succeeds in causing them to be generally felt by the readers.
+
+With all Humboldt's great and transcendent merits, he is a child of
+Adam, and therefore not without his faults. The principal of these is
+the want of arrangement. His travels are put together without any
+proper method; there is a great want of indexes and tables of
+contents; it is scarcely possible, except by looking over the whole,
+to find any passage you want. This is a fault which, in a person of
+his accurate and scientific mind, is very surprising, and the more
+inexcusable that it could so easily be remedied by mechanical
+industry, or the aid of compilers and index-makers. But akin to this,
+is another fault of a more irremediable kind, as it originates in the
+varied excellences of the author, and the vast store of information on
+many different subjects which he brings to bear on the subject of his
+travels. He has so many topics of which he is master himself, that he
+forgets with how few, comparatively, his readers are familiar; he sees
+so many objects of enquiry--physical, moral, and political--in the
+countries which he visits, that he becomes insensible to the fact,
+that though each probably possesses a certain degree of interest to
+each reader, yet it is scarcely possible to find one to whom, as to
+himself, they are _all alike_ the object of eager solicitude and
+anxious investigation. Hence, notwithstanding his attempt to detail
+his personal narrative from the learned works which contain the result
+of his scientific researches, he has by no means succeeded in
+effecting their separation. The ordinary reader, who has been
+fascinated by his glowing description of tropical scenery, or his
+graphic picture of savage manners, is, a few pages on, chilled by
+disquisitions on the height of the barometer, the disk of the sun, or
+the electricity of the atmosphere; while the scientific student, who
+turns to his works for information on his favourite objects of study,
+deems them strangely interspersed with rhapsodies on glowing sunsets,
+silent forests, and sounding cataracts. It is scarcely possible to
+find a reader to whom all these objects are equally interesting; and
+therefore it is scarcely to be expected that his travels, unrivalled
+as their genius and learning are, will ever be the object of general
+popularity.
+
+In truth, here, as in all the other branches of human thought, it will
+be found that the rules of composition are the same, and that a
+certain _unity of design_ is essential to general success or durable
+fame. If an author has many different and opposite subjects of
+interest in his head, which is not unfrequently the case with persons
+of the higher order of intellect, and he can discant on all with equal
+facility, or investigate all with equal eagerness, he will do well to
+recollect that the minds of his readers are not likely to be equally
+discursive, and that he is apt to destroy the influence, or mar the
+effect of each, if he blends them together; separation of works is the
+one thing needful there. A mathematical proposition, a passage of
+poetry, a page of history, are all admirable things in their way, and
+each may be part of a work destined to durable celebrity; but what
+should we say to a composition which should present us, page about,
+with a theorem of Euclid, a scene from Shakspeare, and a section from
+Gibbon? Unity of effect, identity of train of thought, similarity of
+ideas, are as necessary in a book of travels as in an epic poem, a
+tragedy, or a painting. There is no such thing as one set of rules for
+the fine arts, and another for works of thought or reflection. The
+_Iliad_ is constructed on the same principles as the _Principia_ of
+Newton, or the history of Thucydides.
+
+What makes ordinary books of travels so uninteresting, and, in
+general, so shortlived, is the want of any idea of composition, or
+unity of effect, in the minds of their authors. Men and women seem to
+think that there is nothing more to do to make a book of travels, than
+to give a transcript of their journals, in which every thing is put
+down of _whatever_ importance, provided only it really occurred.
+Scenes and adventures, broken wheels and rugged rocks, cataracts and
+omelets, lakes and damp beds, thunderstorms and waiters, are huddled
+together, without any other thread of connexion than the accidental
+and fortuitous one of their having successively come under the notice
+of the traveller. What should we say to any other work composed on the
+same principle? What if Milton, after the speech of Satan in _Paradise
+Lost_, were to treat us to an account of his last dinner; or
+Shakspeare, after the scene of the bones in Juliet, were to tell us of
+the damp sheets in which he slept last night; or Gibbon, after working
+up the enthusiasm of his readers by the account of the storming of
+Constantinople by the Crusaders, was to favour us with a digression on
+the insolence of the postilions in Roumelia? All the world would see
+the folly of this: and yet this is precisely what is constantly done
+by travellers, and tolerated by the public, because it is founded on
+nature. Founded on nature! Is every thing that is actually true, or
+real, fit to be recorded, or worthy of being recounted? Sketches from
+nature are admirable things, and are the only foundation for correct
+and lasting pictures; but no man would think of interposing a gallery
+of paintings with chalk drawings or studies of trees. Correctness,
+fidelity, truth, are the only secure bases of eminence in all the arts
+of imitation; but the light of genius, the skilful arrangement, the
+principles of composition, the selection of topics, are as necessary
+in the writer of travels, as in the landscape painter, the historian,
+or the epic poet.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[2] We lately heard of a young man, who had gone through the
+examination at Cambridge with distinction, enquiring, "whether the
+Greek church _were Christians?_" What sort of a traveller would he
+make in the East or Russia?
+
+[3] Lady Londonderry's description of Moscow is the best in the
+English language.
+
+[4] We have translated all the passages ourselves. A very good
+translation of Humboldt's _Personal Narrative_ was published many
+years ago, by Miss H. Williams; but we could not resist the pleasure
+of trying to transfer to English such noble specimens of descriptive
+eloquence.
+
+[5] Park's _Last Mission to Africa_, 1815, p. 89.
+
+
+
+
+HAKEM THE SLAVE.
+
+A TALE EXTRACTED FROM THE HISTORY OF POLAND.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+
+Albert Glinksi, the powerful, ostentatious, and intriguing Duke of
+Lithuania, was passing, distinguished by his glancing plume and
+gorgeous mantle, through one of the more retired streets of the city
+of Cracow, at this time (A.D. 1530) the capital of Poland, when a
+domestic wearing the livery of the palace deferentially accosted him.
+
+"Her Majesty," he said, "commands me to deliver these tablets into
+your hands; you dropped them in the palace."
+
+"I dropped no tablets," replied the duke; but instantly added, "Yes,
+they are mine--Give them me."
+
+He took from the hands of the domestic certain tablets of ivory, which
+folded into a case of gold exquisitely wrought by one of the most
+skilful artists of Italy, and dismissed the bearer with a liberal
+gratuity for his services.
+
+"Ha! my excellent Bona! youthful bride of our too aged monarch
+Sigismund!" said the duke to himself when he was left alone. "Each day
+some new device. What have we in these tablets? Here, in the corner of
+each leaf, I see a solitary figure finely pencilled in, which to any
+other eye than mine would mean nothing, but which tells me that at
+eight o'clock this evening you will receive your favoured duke. So,
+so! But, charming Bona! it is not love--loveable as you are--it is not
+love--it is ambition gives its zest, and must bring the recompense to
+this perilous intrigue. The Duke of Lithuania is no hot-brained youth
+to be entangled and destroyed by a woman's smiles. To have a month's
+_happiness_, as men phrase it, and then the midnight dagger of a
+jealous monarch--I seek no such adventures. It is the crown of
+Poland--yes, the crown--that you must help me to, fair lady."
+
+As he stood reflecting on his ambitious schemes, his rival in the
+state, Count Laski, minister and chancellor of the king, passed by him
+on his way to the palace. The duke, assuming a frank and cordial
+manner, called to him. Laski paused. "What would the Duke of
+Lithuania?" he asked in his usual calm and reserved manner.
+
+"Peace!" replied the duke--"amicable terms. Political opponents it
+seems we are destined to be. The world gives us out as the selected
+champions of two hostile factions. You affect the commons, I side with
+the nobility. Be it so. But there exists between us, I hope, a mutual
+respect; and it would be my greatest boast if, in spite of this
+political antagonism, I might reckon Count Laski amongst my personal
+friends."
+
+A derisive smile played upon the countenance of the chancellor as he
+replied--"Such friendship, my lord, as is consistent with perpetual
+strife--open and concealed--shall, if it please you, subsist between
+us. Pardon me, but we prate a silly jargon when we talk of private
+friendship and public hostility."
+
+"At all events," rejoined the duke, "political rivalry does not
+exclude the practice of the courtesies of life. It has been reported
+to me that you admire the marble statue of a nymph which an Italian
+sculptor has lately wrought for me. I, on my part, have envied you the
+possession of a certain Arab slave, a living statue, a moving bronze,
+that you have amongst your retainers. Let us, like Homeric heroes,
+make an exchange. Give me your statue-man, your swart Apollo, and
+accept from me what many have been pleased to call the living statue."
+
+Glinski had a secret motive for the acquisition of this slave: his
+known fidelity, his surprising address and power, had protected the
+life of the minister against more than one scheme of assassination.
+
+"The exchange," replied Laski, "is too much in my favour. Your Italian
+marble would purchase a hundred slaves. It would be a present in
+disguise; and you know my rule--even from his Majesty himself I never
+_receive_."
+
+"Yes, we know your tyrannous munificence; but this," said the duke
+with a smile, "shall be pure barter."
+
+"What say you, then," said the count, "to those golden tablets which
+you hold in your hand? Give me leave to look at them. They might suit
+my pedantic way of life. But," added he, as he examined their delicate
+workmanship, "came you honestly by this toy, my lord? What fair
+frailty have you cheated of this knack, that never, I will be sworn,
+was a man's marketing?"
+
+"I am glad to hear so grave a gentleman indulge so pleasant a view,"
+said the duke.
+
+As Count Laski was handling the tablets, he touched, whether by
+accident or design, a spring that had not been observed by him to whom
+the present had been sent. The outer case flew back, and disclosed a
+miniature of the queen!
+
+"I have been indiscreet," said the count, and immediately folded up
+and returned the tablets. "This is perilous ware to deal in, Duke of
+Lithuania. Have you aught else in the way of honest barter to
+propose?"
+
+"What you may infer," said the duke, reddening with anger, and
+grievously embarrassed at his discovery--"What you may infer from this
+silly bauble I shall not be at the pains to enquire. I addressed you,
+my lord, in courteous and amicable terms; you have ill responded to
+them; our conversation had better close here."
+
+"As you will," said the chancellor, bowing; and he continued his way
+towards the palace, with the same deliberate step with which he was
+proceeding when accosted by the duke.
+
+"He is master of our secret," muttered the duke. "He or I"----
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+
+In an apartment of the palace fitted up with every luxury her native
+Italy could supply, sat Bona, the young and beautiful queen of Poland.
+She is known to have transplanted into that northern clime, not only
+the arts and civilization of her own genial soil, but also the
+intrigue and voluptuousness, and the still darker crimes for which it
+was celebrated. Daughter of the crafty Sforza, Duke of Milan, educated
+in a city and at a court where pleasure reigned predominant, married
+out of policy to a monarch many years older than her own father, it
+was almost to be expected that she should seek, in the society of some
+gay cavalier, a compensation for this banishment to a northern
+country, and a sexagenarian spouse. Nor had she hesitated long in her
+choice. Albert Glinski, Duke of Lithuania, who, though he was the
+father of a son ripening into manhood, was still in the vigour of
+life, and surpassed all his younger rivals in grace of manner and
+charm of conversation, had soon fixed her regard, and won whatever of
+affection or love the luxurious princess had to bestow.
+
+She now sat waiting his arrival. Punctually at the hour of eight he
+entered. If any observer could have watched the duke as he traversed
+the corridor which led to the queen's apartment, he would have had
+great difficulty in believing that it was a favoured lover that was
+passing before him; so serious a brow did he wear, and so deep an air
+of abstraction was there on his countenance. No sooner, however, did
+he enter that apartment, than, by a sudden effort, his countenance lit
+up; his manner grew free and unrestrained, and he assumed that mingled
+tone of gaiety and pathos so effective with the fair sex. Never had
+the queen felt more entirely convinced of the merits of her cavalier;
+never had she more thoroughly approved of the choice she had made.
+
+When this favourable disposition was at its height, the duke, adopting
+gradually a more serious tone of conversation, said--
+
+"Has it never occurred to you, charming Bona, that the most exalted of
+your sex share with the humblest this one privilege--love alone must
+be the motive which brings a suitor to their feet. That passion must
+be genuine, must be fever-high, which makes a subject quite forget his
+Queen in the lovely woman before him, and tempts him to dare the
+vengeance of a Monarch, as well as of a husband."
+
+"True, there is danger--perhaps to both of us," she replied, "but it
+daunts us not."
+
+"No;--but it is at hand."
+
+"What mean you, Glinski?"
+
+"We are betrayed."
+
+"How?--by whom?"
+
+"How, or by whom, it matters little; but that subtle demon, Count
+Laski, knows that which in his hands is a warrant for our
+destruction."
+
+"What is to be done? We will bribe him. All my jewels, all my hoards
+shall go to purchase his silence."
+
+"Bribe Laski! bribe the north wind! bribe destiny itself, whose nature
+it is to distribute good and ill, but to feel neither. No, but I would
+have a dagger in his throat before the night were passed, but that his
+short light slumbers are guarded by a slave of singular power, whom
+the villains fear to attack. I had meant to beg or buy of him this
+same fierce automaton, but something broke off the treaty."
+
+"We will poison the mind of the king against him: he shall be
+dismissed from all his offices."
+
+"That poison is too slow. Besides, if he once communicate his
+suspicions to the king--which at this very moment he may be doing--see
+you not, that it is no longer the minister, but the jealous monarch
+that we have to guard against. Hear me, Bona, one of two fates must
+now be mine. Death--or thy hand, and with it the crown of Poland. Do
+not start. There is for _me_ no middle station. You may be safe. A few
+tears, a few smiles, and the old king will lapse into his dotage."
+
+"You speak in riddles, Glinski; I comprehend nothing of all this."
+
+"Yet it is clear enough. Thus it stands: the Duke of Lithuania loved
+the wife of Sigismund, king of Poland. Love!--I call to witness all
+the saints in heaven!--love alone prompted his daring suit. But now
+that fortune has first favoured and then betrayed him, where think you
+does his safety lie? Where, but in the bold enterprises of ambition?
+His only place of refuge is a throne. He who has won a queen must
+protect her with a sceptre. You must be mine--my very queen--you must
+extend your hand and raise me to the royalty of Poland, or see my
+blood flow ignominiously upon the scaffold."
+
+"I extend my hand!" exclaimed the agitated queen, "how can a feeble
+woman give or take away the crown of Poland?"
+
+"Him who wears the crown--she can take away."
+
+"Murder the king!" shrieked Bona.
+
+"Or sentence me," replied the duke.
+
+It was no affected horror that the queen here displayed. Though at a
+subsequent period of her life, if history speaks true, her imagination
+had grown familiar with deeds of this very nature, and she had become
+skilful in the art of poisoning, she was at this time young, and
+unpractised in crime, and received its first suggestions with the
+horror which it naturally inspires. She had sought for pleasure only
+in the society of Glinski; it was a cruel disappointment, it was a
+frightful surprise, to find herself thrust suddenly, with unsandaled
+feet, on the thorny path of ambition. She sank back on the couch where
+they had both been sitting, and, hiding her face in both her hands,
+remained in that position while the duke continued to unfold his
+schemes at greater length.
+
+He represented to her that the possession of the duchy of Lithuania,
+the inhabitants of which were distinguished by their bravery and their
+turbulence, would enable him--should the king opportunely die--to
+seize upon the vacant throne of Poland;--that he had numerous and
+powerful friends among the nobility;--that he had already drawn
+together his Lithuanians, under pretence of protecting the frontier
+from the incursion of predatory bands;--that he intended immediately
+to place himself at their head, and march towards Cracow. Now, if at
+this moment the throne should suddenly become vacant, what power on
+earth could prevent him from ascending it, and claiming the hand of
+his then veritable queen? And then he expatiated on the happiness they
+should enjoy, when they should live in fearless union,
+
+    "Like gods together, careless of mankind."
+
+"What is this," exclaimed Bona, suddenly starting up--"what is this
+you would tempt me to? You dare not even _name_ the horrid deed you
+would have me _commit_. Avaunt! you are a devil, Albert Glinski!--you
+would drag me to perdition." Then, falling in tears upon his neck, she
+implored him not to tempt her further. "Oh, Albert! Albert!" she
+cried, "I beseech you, plunge me not into this pit of guilt. You
+_can_! I feel you can. Have mercy! I implore you, I charge you on your
+soul, convert me not into this demon. Spare me this crime!"
+
+"Is it I alone," said the duke, who strove the while by his caresses
+to soothe and pacify her--"Is it I alone who have brought down upon us
+this distressful alternative? Neither of us, while love decoyed us on
+step by step, dreamed of the terrible necessity towards which it was
+hourly conducting us. But here we _are_--half-way up, and the
+precipice below. We must rush still upwards. There is safety only on
+the summit. Pause, and we fall. Oh, did you think that you, a queen,
+could play as securely as some burgher's wife the pleasant comedy of
+an amorous intrigue? No, no; you must queen it even in crime. High
+station and bold deed become each other. We are committed, Bona. It is
+choice of life or death. His death or _ours_. For--scarcely dare I
+breathe the thought--the sudden revenge of your monarch husband, whose
+jealousy at least, age has not tamed, _may_ execute its purpose before
+his dotage has had time to return."
+
+"Where do you lead me? What shall I become?" cried the bewildered
+queen. "I have loved thee, Albert, but I hate not him."
+
+"I ask thee not to _hate_"----
+
+"They married me to Sigismund out of state policy. You I have chosen
+for the partner of my heart, and I will protect you to the uttermost.
+Let things rest there--'tis well enough."
+
+"We will consult further of our plans, sweet Bona," said the duke,
+and, circling her with his arm, he led the weeping queen into an
+adjoining room.
+
+The victory, he felt, was his.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+
+The scene changes to an apartment of a very different style. We enter
+the house of the chancellor; but it is not the chancellor himself who
+is first presented to our view. In an antique Gothic chamber, in the
+decoration and structure of which the most costly material had been
+studiously united with the severest simplicity of taste, sat Maria,
+the only daughter and child of Count Laski. She sat at her embroidery.
+The embroidery, however, had fallen upon her lap; she leaned back,
+resigned to her meditations, in a massive arm-chair covered with
+purple velvet, which it is impossible not to think must have felt
+something like pride and pleasure as her slight and lovely form sank
+into it. It was a long reverie.
+
+In an angle of this lofty room, at some distance, but not out of the
+range of clear vision, stood, motionless as a statue, the slave Hakem.
+His arms were folded on his breast, his eye rested, without, as it
+seemed, a power to withdraw it, on the beautiful figure of the young
+girl before him. It was one of those long intense looks which show
+that the person on whom it is fixed is still more the object of
+meditation than of vision--where it is the soul that looks. Hakem
+gazed like a devotee upon the sacred image of his saint.
+
+Maria, quite unconscious of this gaze, pursued her meditations. Her
+eye caught the hour-glass that stood on a small table beside her.
+"Sand after sand," said she, musing to herself--"Sand after sand,
+thought after thought. The same sand ever trickling there; the same
+thought ever coursing through my mind. Oh, love! love! They say it
+enlarges the heart; I think it contracts it to a single point."
+
+"Hakem," she said, after a pause, and turning towards the slave, "you
+are true to my father, will you be true also to me?"
+
+"To her father!" he murmured to himself, "as if"----And then,
+checking himself and speaking aloud, he answered--"The Christians are
+not so true to your sweet namesake, the Holy Virgin, whom they adore,
+as I will be to you."
+
+"A simple promise will suffice," said Maria. "You have, Hakem--let me
+say it without offence--a style of language--Eastern, I
+suppose--hyperbolical--which either I must learn to pardon, or you
+must labour to reform. It does not suit our northern clime."
+
+"I am mute. Yet, lady, you have sometimes chid me for my long
+silence."
+
+"And is it for your _much_ speaking that I chide you now?" said the
+maiden, with a smile. "You will stand half the day like a statue
+there; and, when spoken to, answer with a gesture only--so that many
+have thought you really dumb. Much speaking is certainly not thy
+fault."
+
+"I understand. The slave speaks as one who felt the indescribable
+charm of thy presence. It is a presumption worthy of death. Shall I
+inflict the punishment?"
+
+"Is this amendment of thy fault, good Hakem, or repetition of it?"
+
+"I await your commands. What service can Hakem render?"
+
+But Maria relapsed again into silence. She seemed to hesitate in
+making the communication she had designed. Meantime, the arrival of
+her father was announced, and the slave left the apartment.
+
+Never man felt more tender love for his daughter than did the proud,
+high-minded minister for this his beautiful Maria. His demeanour
+towards her, from childhood upwards, had been one of unalterable,
+uninterrupted fondness. He knew no other mood, no other tone, in which
+he could have addressed her. Did the grave chancellor, then--some one,
+who in his way, also, is very grave, may ask--did he, by constant
+fondness, _spoil_ his child? No. It is the fondness which is _not_
+constant that spoils. It is the half-love of weak and irritable
+natures, who are themselves children amongst their children, who can
+themselves be petulant, selfish, and capricious--it is this that mars
+a temper. But calm and unalterable love--oh, believe it not that such
+ever spoilt a child! Maria grew up under the eye of affection, and the
+ever-open hand of paternal love; and she herself seemed to have
+learned no other impulses but those of affection and generosity.
+
+Alas for fathers! when the child grows into the budding woman, and by
+her soft, intelligent companionship fills the house with gladness, and
+the heart with inappreciable content, then comes the gay, permitted
+spoiler--comes the lover with his suit--his honourable suit--and robs
+them of their treasure. The world feels only with the lover--with the
+youth, and the fair maiden that he wins. For the bereaved parent, not
+a thought! No one heeds the sigh that breaks from him, as, amidst
+festivities and mirth, and congratulatory acclamations, he sees his
+daughter, with all her prized affections, borne off from him, in
+triumph, for ever.
+
+There was, on this occasion, in the manner of Laski towards his child,
+an evident sadness. It was not that the political horizon was
+darkening; he had never permitted _that_ to throw its gloom over his
+companionship with his daughter. It was because he had grounds to
+believe that the events which threatened the tranquillity of Poland
+threatened also the peace of his daughter, whose affections he had
+divined were no longer exclusively his own.
+
+She, observing his emotion, and attributing it to some untoward event
+in the political world, could not refrain from expressing the wish
+that he would quit the harassing affairs of state, and live wholly in
+his home.
+
+"I would long since have done so," he replied, "if personal happiness
+had been the sole aim of my existence. But I have a taskwork to
+accomplish--one, I think, which God, by fitting me thereto, has
+pointed out as mine. Else it is indeed here, with thee beside me, that
+I find all that can bear the name of happiness. The rest of life is
+but sternest duty--strife, hostility, contempt. But away with this
+gloomy talk--what gossip is there stirring in your idle world, Maria?"
+
+"Pray, is there war forward?"
+
+"I hope not. Why do you ask?"
+
+"A maid of mine, who in the city gathers news as busily as bees, in
+the open fields, their honey"----
+
+"Your simile, I fear, would scarce hold good as to the _honey_."
+
+"No, in faith; and there is no honey in the news she brings. She tells
+me that a camp is forming in the frontiers between Poland and
+Lithuania, and that Augustus Glinski is sent there to command the
+troops. Is this true?"
+
+"It is; and she might have added that the duke himself secretly left
+the city last night, to place himself at their head."
+
+"Is it a dangerous service?"
+
+"The service on which the duke has entered, and into which he misleads
+his son, _is_ dangerous. You tremble, Maria. It was no maiden, nor the
+tattle of the town, that brought you this. When did you last see or
+hear from him--from Augustus Glinski?"
+
+"Believe me," said Maria, while a crimson blush suddenly spread over
+her countenance, "if I have concealed any thing from you, it was not
+from craft, nor subtlety, nor fear, but from"----
+
+"From a mere delicacy, a simple bashfulness," said the father, coming
+to her assistance. "I know it well. Had you a mother living, I would
+bid you confide these sentiments of your heart to her, and to her
+only; but, having no other parent, make me your confidant. Trust me,
+you shall not find a woman's heart more open to your griefs, your
+fears, your joys, than mine shall be. Make me your sole confidant--you
+love this young Augustus?"
+
+"When I was at my aunt's we met each other often--but to you, my
+father, I have ever referred him as our final arbiter. I need not say
+that the known political rivalry between his father and yourself has
+made him backward in addressing you."
+
+"All men speak well of Augustus Glinski. I blame you not, my child; I
+only tremble for you. The duke, his father, is a restless, bold
+ambitious man, who will lead him--honourable as he is, but too young
+to judge, or to resist his parent--into treasonable enterprises. Both
+father and son--if they will play the rebel, and bring down war on
+Poland--I stand prepared to meet. The sword of justice shall sweep
+them from the earth. But if thy heart, my child, is doomed to bleed in
+this encounter, the wound will not be more yours than mine. There
+shall be no secrets between us. I will protect thee all I can; and if
+I cannot prevent thy sorrows, I will at least share them."
+
+A low tap was here heard at the door, and a page made his appearance.
+On seeing the minister, the stripling was about to retire. Maria,
+however, called him in, and bade him deliver his message. "You come,"
+she said to the youth, who still hesitated to speak--"you come from
+the younger Glinski: speak openly--what is it he has commissioned you
+to say?"
+
+"This, my lady," answered the page, "that he has ridden in all haste
+from the camp--that he must quit the city again before nightfall, and
+craves an audience if only for one minute."
+
+Maria looked towards her father, and thus referred the answer to him.
+
+Count Laski was silent.
+
+"Will you not," said his daughter, "tell this messenger, whether his
+master may come here or not?"
+
+"My child, he _cannot!_ he is at this moment under my arrest. Return,
+sir page," and he motioned him from the room--"but return to the
+fortress of----; you will find your master there a prisoner, under
+charge of high treason."
+
+"Oh, spare him! spare him!" cried Maria, as she sank back almost
+senseless with terror and alarm.
+
+"My child! my child!" exclaimed the minister in heart-breaking
+anguish, as he bent over his weeping daughter.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+
+After having in some measure soothed the terrors of his daughter, the
+chancellor called to him his trusty Hakem. He briefly explained to him
+that the Duke of Lithuania was at that moment in open rebellion
+against his Majesty, and placed in his hands a warrant for his
+execution. "The law cannot reach him through its usual servants," he
+said; "it is a bold enterprise I propose to you--to decapitate a
+general at the head of his troops."
+
+If this was a measure which hardly another minister than Laski would
+have contemplated, it was one also which he would have hardly found
+another than Hakem to undertake and accomplish. The bravery of this
+man was all but miraculous, and was only rescued from madness by the
+extreme skill and address by which it was supported. In battle, he
+rushed on danger as a bold and delighted swimmer plunges in the waves,
+which to him are as innocuous as the breeze that is freshening them.
+Yet, when the excitement was passed, he relapsed into a state of
+apparent apathy. He had been taken captive in one of those
+engagements, at this time not unfrequent, between the Poles and the
+Turks, with the latter of whom he had served as a soldier of fortune.
+To say that he was taken prisoner, is hardly correct; for he was found
+lying half dead on the field of battle, and was brought home by the
+Poles, by some caprice of compassion, with their own sick and dying.
+Neither was it constraint that held him beneath the roof of Laski, or
+in the nominal condition of a slave, for at all times escape would
+have been easy to him. It was either attachment to those who lived
+beneath that roof, or an equal indifference to every thing without or
+beyond it, that retained him there.
+
+To propose to Hakem some bold and perilous enterprise, was to offer
+him one of the few pleasures to which he was open. He accepted,
+therefore, of the strange commission now entrusted to him without
+hesitation; stipulating, only, that he might take from the stables of
+the king a horse which was much celebrated for its amazing power and
+fleetness.
+
+Mounted upon this incomparable steed, he pursued his way to the camp
+of the Duke of Lithuania. On his journey he had made trial of its
+speed, and yet had husbanded its strength. Arrived at the plain where
+the insurgent army was encamped, he there lay in ambush for some time,
+till he saw where the duke, passing his troops in review, rode
+somewhat in advance of what in the language of modern warfare we
+should call his staff. Hakem set spurs to his horse, and rushed upon
+him with the velocity of lightning, his drawn cimeter flashing in the
+sun, and his loud cry of defiance calling the duke to his defence.
+Thus challenged, he put his lance in rest to meet his furious
+assailant. But the thrust of the lance was avoided, and the next
+moment the head of the duke was seen to roll upon the field. The Arab
+wheeled round, and, without quitting his steed, picked up the severed
+head, placed it on his saddle-bows, and darted off fleeter than the
+wind. A cry of horror and a shout of pursuit arose from the whole
+army, who were spectators of this scene. Every horse was in motion.
+But where the contest is one of speed, of what avail are numbers? In
+the whole camp there was not a steed which could compete with that on
+which the solitary fugitive was mounted, and was already seen scouring
+the plain at a distance. As he fled, a paper was observed to fall from
+his hands, which the wind bore amongst his innumerable pursuers; it
+was the judicial warrant that had been thus strangely executed.
+
+Meanwhile, at the palace, the royal mind of Sigismund was not a little
+disquieted and alarmed by this sudden rebellion of the powerful Duke
+of Lithuania. That alarm would not have been diminished had he been
+aware that this open rebellion was to be aided by a secret domestic
+treason, which, in his own palace, was lying in ambush for his life.
+The queen, whilst watching her opportunity to perform her part in this
+criminal enterprise, affected to throw all the blame of this
+formidable rebellion on the unpopularity of the minister Laski, whose
+measures, indeed, the duke proclaimed as the main motive of his
+conduct.
+
+Matters were in this condition when Count Laski, attended by his
+slave, entered the royal apartment. There were present, beside the
+queen, several of the nobility--all prepared, by the insinuations and
+address of the queen, to give but a cold greeting to the minister.
+
+"In good time," said the queen, "Count Laski makes his appearance. We
+wish to know how you will extricate his Majesty from the peril in
+which your unpopular counsels have thrust him. With what forces will
+you meet the Duke of Lithuania? Now, when there is need of the brave
+chivalry of Poland to defend the king from rebellion, we find the
+nobility alienated from the crown by your unwise, and arrogant, and
+plebeian policy. But let us hear what is the excellent advice, what is
+the good intelligence, that you now bring us?"
+
+"The Duke of Lithuania, madam," said the chancellor, slightly raising
+his voice, but preserving the same calm dignity as if he had been
+presiding in a high court of justice--"the Duke of Lithuania is in
+open, manifest rebellion; and rebellion is, in the laws of all
+nations, punished by death."
+
+"Punished!" said the queen scoffingly: "are you speaking of some
+trembling caitiff who holds up his naked hand at your bar of justice?
+Punished! you must conquer him."
+
+"Your Majesty will be pleased to hear," continued the chancellor with
+a look full of significance, "that Albert Glinski, Duke of Lithuania,
+whose treason was open and proclaimed, has been by the royal warrant
+sentenced"----
+
+Count Laski paused.
+
+"Sentenced!" exclaimed Bona, and repeated her scornful laugh, which
+this time but ill concealed a certain vague terror that was rising in
+her mind. "Is our chancellor mad, or does he sport with us? This
+rebel, whom you talk of sentencing--of condemning, we presume, to the
+block--stands at the head of a greater army than his Majesty can at
+this moment assemble."
+
+"And the sentence," pursued the minister, "has been executed!"
+
+As he pronounced these words, the slave Hakem advanced, and drawing
+aside his robe, which had hitherto concealed it, he held up by the
+hair the severed head of the Duke of Lithuania.
+
+There ran a thrill of horror through the assembly. But, the next
+moment, a loud hysterical shriek drew the attention of all parties to
+the queen: she had fallen insensible at the feet of the king. The
+council was abruptly dismissed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+
+Thus far the cause of the chancellor had prospered. Poland had been
+preserved from the horrors of a civil war. The king's life had also
+been saved, and a great crime prevented; the career of assassination
+and of poisoning, into which the queen afterwards entered, was at all
+events postponed. As a public man, the minister was fully triumphant.
+But the minister was a father; at this side he was vulnerable; and
+fortune dealt her blow with cruel and unexpected severity.
+
+We have seen with what stern fidelity to his ministerial duty, and at
+how great a peril to his daughter's happiness, the chancellor had
+arrested Augustus Glinski. The rebellion quelled, the author of it
+punished and decapitated, there seemed no just motive for holding
+longer in imprisonment a youth who could not be accused of having any
+guilty participation in the crime of his father. He accordingly
+proposed his release. But the anger of the king against the late duke,
+who to his political offence had added that of personal ingratitude,
+(for it was Sigismund himself who had bestowed on him the powerful
+duchy of Lithuania,) was still unappeased, and he insisted upon
+including the son in the guilt and punishment of his parent. The
+representations of the minister were here unavailing; he would listen
+to nothing but the dictates of his own vindictive feelings.
+
+Count Laski detailed the manner of his arrest, and explained the
+singular interest he felt in the pardon and liberation of this youth;
+adding, that if Angustus Glinski died upon the scaffold, he feared the
+life of his daughter. But even this was unavailing. The old monarch
+thought he was displaying a great acuteness when he detected, as he
+imagined, in this plea of a daughter's happiness, a scheme of selfish
+aggrandizement. "Ha! ha!" said he, "so the wind sits in that quarter.
+A good match--duchess of Lithuania! I would rather you asked for the
+dukedom yourself, and married your daughter to another."
+
+It was in vain that the minister again repeated his simple and true
+statement; it was in vain that he limited his request to the life of
+the younger Glinski, consenting to the forfeiture of his title and
+estates; Sigismund was resolved this time not to be _overreached_ by
+his subtle minister. The language of entreaty was new to Laski; he
+had tried it, and had failed. It was new to Laski to endure tamely the
+misconstruction of his motives, or the least impeachment of his
+veracity. He had no other resource, no other response, left than the
+resignation of his ministerial office. But the obstinacy and anger of
+the king were proof against this also. The danger which threatened his
+reign had been dispelled. He could afford to be self-willed. He would
+not be controlled. In short, Count Laski left the royal presence--a
+discarded minister.
+
+In a monarchy uncontrolled and unaided by representative assemblies,
+the power which is secured perhaps to one of the weakest of men or
+women, perhaps to a child, has often struck the observer of human
+affairs as a strange anomaly. But the insecure and precarious
+foundation of the power of the great minister in such a monarchy, is
+scarcely less curious to contemplate. The sagacious counsellor, the
+long-experienced governor, who has for years wielded the powers of the
+state, may be reduced to obscurity and impotence by a word--a word of
+puerile passion, kindled perhaps by a silly intrigue. A great ruler is
+displaced at the caprice of a dotard. When Count Laski entered the
+presence of the king, he was in reality the governor of Poland; Europe
+acknowledged him amongst the controllers and directors of human
+affairs; his country expected many signal improvements at his hands;
+the individual happiness of thousands depended upon him; but this
+power, which had devised great schemes, and which was the rock of
+support to so many, could itself be shaken and overthrown in a moment,
+by the splenetic humour of an angry old man.
+
+Who shall describe the grief and despair of Maria when she heard of
+the cruel resolution which the king had taken, of the dreadful fate
+which threatened Augustus Glinski? As she sat this time in her Gothic
+chamber, and in her accustomed chair, what a mortal paleness had
+settled upon her countenance! Her eye glared out, and was fixed on the
+vacant wall, as if a spirit had arisen before her, and arrested her
+regard. There _was_ a spirit there. It was the form of the young
+Augustus, whom she saw withering and wasting in his dungeon; a dungeon
+which would deliver him up only to the scaffold. After the events
+which had occurred all idea of a union with Augustus, presuming that
+his life should be spared, had been resigned. How could he, on whom
+the maxims of that age especially imposed the duty of revenging his
+parent, ally himself to her? How could he choose for his second father
+the very man who had deprived him of his first and natural parent? If
+she could but hear that he had broken loose from imprisonment, that he
+was but safe--this was all that she felt entitled to wish or to pray
+for. It need hardly be added that it was additional bitterness to
+reflect, that but for his unhappy attachment to herself, his arrest
+and captivity would never have taken place.
+
+Again, in the same angle of the apartment, the Arab slave might have
+been seen standing, silent and motionless as before, regarding with
+deep interest and commiseration the beautiful daughter of Laski. The
+secret which she was about, on one occasion, to betray to Hakem, had
+now betrayed itself to his own observation. She loved--she loved the
+son of him whom he had assassinated, or executed. There was a profound
+sadness on the features of the slave.
+
+The silence of the room was suddenly broken by Maria, who, turning to
+the slave, exclaimed in a tone of anguish--"Hakem, you must save him!
+you must save him!" This was said in mere desperation, certainly not
+with any distinct hope that it was in the power of Hakem to obey.
+When, therefore, she heard his voice reply, in a calm but saddened
+tone, "I will!" she was almost as much surprised as if she had not
+addressed herself to him. She rose to be assured that it was he who
+spoke; to bid him repeat his consolatory promise; to question him on
+his means of fulfilling it: but Hakem was no longer there; he had
+suddenly quitted the apartment. It seemed as if some voice in the air
+had sported with her grief.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+
+But it was no voice that mocked at her grief. Hakem proceeded that
+very day to the palace, and sought an interview with the queen. The
+guard or sentinel to whom he addressed himself, laughed at his
+request. "Give her majesty this paper," said the slave, "and refuse to
+deliver it at your peril."
+
+The paper was forwarded to the queen--Hakem was immediately ushered
+into her presence.
+
+"You promise here," she said, pointing to the missive she had
+received, "to revenge the death of the Duke of Lithuania. I presume
+some private motive of revenge against the minister and your master,
+prompts your conduct, and you seek from me in additional recompense
+for an act which you have already resolved on, but which you think
+will be grateful to me. Is it not so?
+
+"Your Majesty is penetrating."
+
+"And this recompense, what is it?"
+
+"That which will cost you nothing, though you alone can accomplish
+it--the release and pardon of Augustus Glinski. Obtain this from the
+king--which to you will be easy--and with my own hand I will
+assassinate the assassin (for such you will doubtless deem him) of the
+Duke of Lithuania."
+
+"I will not ask what are your motives in all this, nor how you have
+divined my wishes, but revenge the death of the Duke of Lithuania, and
+far more than the liberation of the young Augustus shall be your
+reward."
+
+"I ask, and will accept no other. But his rescue must _first_ be
+obtained."
+
+The queen had no objection to urge against this condition; although
+she had hitherto, for reasons which may be easily surmised, avoided
+any appearance of interest in the fate of Augustus. She acquiesced,
+therefore, in Hakem's demand; surprised indeed that she should have
+obtained the gratification of her revenge at so slight a cost.
+
+What the influence and the reasonings of the minister could not
+effect, was very speedily brought about by the blandishments of the
+queen. Augustus Glinski was pardoned, and restored to a portion of his
+father's wealth and dignities.
+
+The warrant for the release of the prisoner was conveyed to the hand
+of Hakem, together with a message that he was now expected to perform
+his part of the engagement.
+
+Hakem, bearing this warrant, and accompanied by one of the officers of
+justice, proceeded to the prison of Augustus, and having liberated
+him, carried him forthwith to the house of the chancellor; the young
+man, who as yet hardly apprehended that he was master of his own
+movements, permitting himself without remonstrance to be led by his
+new conductor.
+
+The chancellor and his daughter sat together in the same apartment to
+which we have already twice introduced the reader. Had his daughter
+been happy, what a release for Laski had been his enfranchisement from
+public office! "Banishment from court!" he exclaimed to one who would
+have condoled with him--"make way there for a liberated prisoner!" But
+the grief of his daughter, who strove in vain to check her flowing
+tears, entirely pre-occupied his mind. These tears he never chid; her
+sadness he never rebuked; he shared it, and by renewed kindness strove
+to alleviate it. They sat in silence together, when Hakem, entering,
+made his obeisance, and presented Augustus to the astonished Maria.
+
+"I have saved him!" was all he said.
+
+The joy of Maria was extreme. It was soon, however, followed by a
+painful embarrassment. Amongst all parties there was a sad conflict of
+feeling. Augustus would have given worlds to have thrown himself at
+the feet of Maria; but if the memory of what had occurred had not been
+sufficient, there stood her father in person before him--the author of
+his own father's death.
+
+Hakem broke the silence. "Beautiful being!" he said, kneeling on one
+knee before Maria, "whom I have in secret worshipped, whom alone to
+worship I have lingered here in the guise and office of a slave--you
+bade me save _him_--and I have! Is there any thing further for thy
+happiness which the Arab can accomplish?"
+
+"No, Hakem, and I feel already overburdened with gratitude for this
+service you have rendered me--_how_ rendered I cannot as yet divine.
+There is no other service now I think that any one can render me." As
+she spoke, her eye had already turned to the spot where Augustus,
+hesitating to approach or to retreat, was still standing.
+
+"No other service! But, by the living God, there is!" cried Hakem,
+starting to his feet. His countenance flushed with sudden excitement;
+his eye kindled with some generous sentiment. "Hear me, gentle sir,"
+he said, addressing himself to Augustus. "Nature calls for
+vengeance--is it not so? Christian and Mahometan, we all resemble in
+this. Blood cries for blood. But the hand that slew your father--it
+was mine. I am the first and direct object of your resentment. Let now
+one victim suffice. Is the Arab too ignoble a victim? That Arab is the
+preserver of your life, at what cost you may one day learn. Let this
+enhance the value of the sacrifice. Over my blood let peace be made
+between you." Turning once more, and bowing with deep emotion before
+Maria, he then, with a movement quick as thought, plunged a poniard in
+his bosom, and fell to the ground. "Go, tell the queen," he said to
+the officer of justice, who had stood a mute spectator of this
+scene--"tell her what you have witnessed; and add, that my promise has
+been fulfilled. And you, Augustus Glinski--will not this suffice? The
+assassin of the duke lies here before you. Oh, take her by the hand!"
+Then, looking his last towards Maria, he murmured--"And I,
+too--loved!" and closed his eyes in death.
+
+The prayer of Hakem was granted. It was impossible to demand another
+sacrifice--impossible not to accept this as full atonement to the
+spirit of revenge. Over the body of Hakem, whom all lamented and
+admired, peace was made.
+
+The generous object of the slave was fully accomplished. His death
+procured the long happiness of Maria.
+
+
+
+
+THE LAY OF STARKATHER.
+
+
+    [The following lines are founded on the account given by
+    Saxo-Grammaticus (Lib. VIII.) of the guilt, penitence, and death
+    of Starkather, a fabulous Scandinavian hero, famous throughout the
+    North for his bodily strength and warlike achievements, as well as
+    for his poetical genius, of which traces are still to be found in
+    the metrical traditions and phraseology of his country. According
+    to the old legend, the existence of Starkather was prolonged for
+    three lifetimes, in each of which he was doomed to commit some act
+    of infamy; but this fiction has not here been followed out.
+    Oehlenschlaeger's drama, bearing the name of this hero, has many
+    beauties; but deviates widely from Saxo's story of his death.]
+
+    It was an aged man went forth with slow and tottering tread,
+    The frosts of many a Northland Yule lay thick upon his head;
+    A staff was in his outstretched hand, to lead him on his way,
+    And vainly rolled his faded eyes to find the light of day.
+
+    Yet in that ancient form was seen the pride of other years,
+    In ruined majesty and night the HERO there appears.
+    The awful brow, the ample breast, a shelter from the foe,
+    And there the massive weight of arm that dealt the deadly blow.
+
+    He stopped a passing stranger's steps, and thus his purpose told,--
+    "See here the twin swords by my side, and see this purse of gold;
+    Thy weapon choose to cope with One who should no longer live,
+    And by an easy slaughter earn the guerdon I would give.
+
+    "A hundred winters o'er my soul have shed their gathering gloom,
+    And still I seek, but seek in vain, an honourable tomb;
+    With friendly enmity consent to quench this lingering breath,
+    And give, to crown a warrior's life, one boon--a warrior's death.
+
+    "Of matchless might and fearless soul, with powers of song sublime,
+    I spread afar my name and fame in every Gothic clime;
+    Those godlike gifts were treasured long from blot and blemish clear,
+    But one dark act of fraudful guilt bedimmed my bright career.
+
+    "When Olo sat, the people's choice, in Sealand's kingly seat,
+    And trampled liegemen and the laws beneath his tyrant feet,
+    His nobles placed this glittering hoard within my yielding hand,
+    And bade me rid them of a rule that wide enslaved the land.
+
+    "I watched my royal victim well, I tracked his every path,
+    And found him with a faithless guard within the secret bath;
+    Yet rather had I faced an host fast rushing to the fight,
+    Than the eye of that unarmed man, there gleaming bold and bright.
+
+    "The fear of my defenceless foe awhile unnerved my arm,
+    But thoughts of glory or of gain dispelled the better charm;
+    The water reddened with his blood, I left the lifeless corse,
+    To meet myself a living death,--a lifetime of remorse.
+
+    "In every feud, in every fray, on every field of strife,
+    I since have fondly sought release from such a loathed life;
+    The foremost, who suborned my crime, have perished at my feet,
+    But none had heart or hand to strike the blow I longed to meet.
+
+    "Even as I am, I seek the fight, and offer as the prize
+    The untasted bait that bribed my soul, nor thou the boon despise;
+    Else, like some worn-out beast of prey, Starkather soon must lie,
+    Nor gain the bliss that Odin gives to men who nobly die."
+
+    "I know thee now," the stranger said, "I hear thy hated name,
+    I take thy gold, I take thy life, a forfeit to my claim;
+    My father fell beneath thy hand, his image haunts me still--
+    But the hour of his revenge is come, and he shall drink his fill."
+
+    He seized a sword; its sweeping edge soon laid the Hero low,
+    But not before his sinking arm was felt upon his foe:
+    "Thanks, youthful friend!" the Hero said; "now Odin's hall is won,
+    Its rays already greet my soul, its raptures are begun."
+
+
+
+
+MOZART.[6]
+
+
+The true position of the creative musical power in the scale of human
+genius is difficult to determine; and will be differently estimated by
+different minds. That it is a heavenly gift of a high order, admits of
+no doubt; that it exercises over men's minds a mighty, and, under due
+safeguards, a beneficent influence, is equally indisputable; and that
+its existence implies, and is closely connected with, the possession
+of other superior faculties, moral and intellectual, must also, we
+think, be clear upon reflection, though this last proposition is not
+so likely to be readily conceded. Yet the place which the great
+COMPOSER is generally allowed to occupy, in relation to the PAINTER or
+the POET, does not correspond either to the qualities or to the
+effects displayed in his art. Many would think it a disparagement to
+connect the names of Milton or Virgil, Raphael or Michael Angelo, with
+those of the greatest musical masters; and it may seem not easy to say
+whether this feeling is the result of injustice or accident, on the
+one hand; or, on the other, is founded on some deep and solid truth in
+the laws and elements of our nature.
+
+The mighty magic that lies in the highest manifestations of musical
+composition, must command the wonder and reverence of all who
+understand, or even observe, its operation. The power of giving birth
+to innumerable forms of exquisite melody, delighting the ear and
+stirring every emotion of the soul, agitating us with fear or horror,
+animating us with ardour and enthusiasm, filling us with joy, melting
+us with grief, now lulling us to repose amidst the luxurious calm of
+earthly contentment, now borrowing wings more ethereal than the
+lark's, and wafting us to the gate of heaven, where its notes seem to
+blend undistinguishably with the songs of superior beings--this is a
+faculty that bears no unequivocal mark of a divine descent, and that
+nothing but prejudice or pride can deem of trivial or inferior rank.
+But when to this is added a mastery over the mysterious combinations
+of harmony, a spirit that can make subservient to its one object
+immense masses of dissimilar and sometimes discordant, sounds; and,
+like the leader of a battle, can ride on the whirlwind and direct the
+storm, till it subdue the whole soul, taking captive all our feelings,
+corporeal and mental, and moulding them to its will--a power of this
+nature seems to equal in dignity the highest faculties of genius in
+any of its forms, as it undoubtedly surpasses all the others in the
+overwhelming and instantaneous efficacy of its agency while thus
+working its wonders. Tame is the triumph of the artist in the
+exhibition-room, dim and distant the echo which the poet receives of
+the public praise, compared with the unequivocal and irrepressible
+bursts of admiration which entrance the great composer in the crowded
+theatre, or even with that silent incense which is breathed in the
+stifled emotions of his audience in some more sacred place. The
+nearest approach to any such enthusiastic tribute, is that which
+sometimes awaits the successful tragic poet at the representation of
+his dramas; but, besides the lion's share of applause which the actor
+is apt to appropriate, what dramatic writer, in our own experience or
+history, has been greeted with such homage as that paid to Handel,
+when the king and people of England stood up in trembling awe to hear
+his _Hallelujah_ chorus?--that which hailed Mozart from the enraptured
+theatres of Prague when listening to his greatest operas?--that which
+fanned into new fire the dying embers of Haydn's spirit, when the
+_Creation_ was performed at Vienna, to delight his declining days,
+before an audience of 1500 of the Austrian nobility and gentry?
+
+The ancient poets felt the force of those emotions which musical sound
+produces, and shadowed out under its name the great principles of
+human harmony and social order. Societies were founded, cities built,
+and countries cultivated by Orpheus and Amphion, and men of analogous
+fame, who wielded at will this mythic power, and made all the
+susceptibilities of nature "sequacious of the lyre."
+
+In one respect the fame of the composer is less diffusible than that
+of the poet. He requires various mechanical means and appliances for
+his full success. His works must be performed in order to be felt. He
+cannot be read, like the poet, in the closet, or in the cottage, or on
+the street-stall, where the threadbare student steals from day to day,
+as he lingers at the spot, new draughts of delicious refreshment. Few
+can sit down and peruse a musical composition even for its melody; and
+very few, indeed, can gather from the silent notes the full effect of
+its splendid combinations. Yet even here the great master has
+analogous compensations. The idle amateur, the boarding-school girl,
+the street minstrel, and the barrel-organ, reflect his more palpable
+beauties; and, subjecting them to the severe test of incessant
+reiteration, make us wonder that "custom cannot stale" the infinite
+variety that is shut up even in his simplest creations.
+
+But the creative musician has an immeasurable advantage over both the
+painter and the poet in the absence of all local limitation to his
+popularity. Here, indeed, the painter is the least favoured by the
+nature of his art. The immediate presence of the prophet could only be
+felt at Mecca; the perfection of painting can only be seen at Rome.
+The poet has a wider range, and can be prized and appreciated wherever
+the language is known in which he writes. But the musician is still
+more highly privileged. He speaks with a tongue intelligible alike to
+every nation and class; he expresses himself in a universal character,
+which Bishop Wilkins would have died to possess; he needs no
+translation; he can suffer nothing by change of place; his works are
+equally and at once capable of being enjoyed at London and Naples,
+Paris and Prague, Vienna and St Petersburg. If the enjoyment received
+from his powers is not every where equally great, it is not from the
+want of a medium to make them understood, but from a difference in the
+minds to which they are presented.
+
+The creative art of the musician is not one of mere talent, or of a
+certain sensual refinement and dexterity. It involves deep systematic
+study, closely akin to that of the severer sciences. It has a sequence
+and logic of its own, and excellence in it is unattainable without
+good sense and strong intellect. It involves great moral and pathetic
+sensibility, and a ready sympathy with all the joys and sorrows of
+mankind. And finally, the lightest branch of it is beyond the reach of
+any but those who are lifted up by strong feelings of reverence and
+devotion. Handel was a man of sincere piety, who avowed it to be the
+object of his compositions not merely to please men, but "to make them
+better."
+
+    "The character of Handel," says Mr Hogarth, in his excellent
+    _Musical History_, "in all its great features, was exalted and
+    amiable. Throughout his life he had a deep sense of religion. He
+    used to express the great delight he felt in setting to music the
+    most sublime passages of Holy Writ; and the habitual study of the
+    Scriptures had constant influence on his sentiments and conduct.
+    For the last two or three years of his life, he regularly attended
+    divine service in his parish church of St George's, Hanover
+    Square, where his looks and gestures indicated the fervour of his
+    devotion. In his life he was pure and blameless."--(Vol. i. 209.)
+
+    "Haydn," in like manner, (we quote from the same biographer,) "was
+    a stranger to every evil and malignant passion; and, indeed, was
+    not much under the influence of passion of any sort. But his
+    disposition was cheerful and gentle, and his heart was brimful of
+    kindly affections. He was friendly and benevolent, open and candid
+    in the expression of his sentiments, always ready to acknowledge
+    and aid the claims of talent in his own art, and, in all his
+    actions, distinguished by the most spotless integrity. Such is the
+    account of him given by all those who knew him best; and they add,
+    as the most remarkable feature of his character, that strong and
+    deeply-rooted sense of religion, which is the only solid
+    foundation of moral excellence. Haydn's piety was not a mere
+    feeling, capable, as is often the case with worldly men, of being
+    excited for the moment by circumstances, and dying away when the
+    external influence is removed; it was an active principle, which
+    guided the whole tenor of his life and conduct. His sacred music
+    was exalted by the existence, in his mind, of those devout
+    sentiments which it is the object of sacred music to express.
+    'When I was engaged in composing _The Creation_,' he used to say,
+    'I felt myself so penetrated with religious feeling, that before I
+    sat down to write, I earnestly prayed to God that he would enable
+    me to praise him worthily.'"--(Vol. i. 304.)
+
+Similar feelings of strong piety, as well as of generous benevolence,
+animated and inspired the great and amiable man whose character is
+more immediately the subject of this article. It would be difficult,
+indeed, to think of an oratorio or requiem written by a scoffer or a
+sceptic.
+
+With such exalted requisites, so intense a power, and so extensive a
+range of influence, it is strange that the composer should not have
+taken the rank and relative dignity to which he seems entitled in the
+province of the arts. But honour and fame are chiefly dispensed by
+poets and literary men; and it is impossible not to feel that,
+generally speaking, the musician is treated by men of letters as an
+alien from their own lineage. Music may be praised in vague and
+evasive terms; but the individual composer is not deemed deserving of
+mention. All the great masters of the pencil have been cordially
+commended in immortal verse; but of the great composers' names scarce
+a notice is to be found. It is not wonderful that the poet should
+prize above all others his own form of art. Poetry, as the mouthpiece
+of practical wisdom, as the clearest interpreter of all instruction,
+must ever hold an undisputed pre-eminence. Painting, too, as nearest
+akin to poetry in the objects it presents and the effects it produces,
+may be allowed at least to contest the palm for the second rank. But
+that music in the person of her most inspired sons, should have been
+sternly excluded from a participation in the honours awarded to her
+sister arts, seems an injustice which can be defended on no pleadable
+grounds. The explanation of it seems to be, that most of our great
+poets--and this has certainly been the case in England--have had no
+love or knowledge, and no true appreciation, of high musical
+composition. Milton alone seems to have been an exception; and, we
+cannot doubt, that if he had lived in the same age with Handel, he
+would have given utterance to his admiration in strains worthy of them
+both. The rest of our _vates sacri_, on whom immortality is
+proverbially said to depend, seem, generally speaking, to have been
+ignorance itself in this department. Several of them, indeed, have
+written odes for St Cecilia's day, but this does not prove that they
+had a taste for more than rhythm. Pope had the tact to call Handel a
+giant, and speaks cleverly of his "hundred hands" as sure to be fatal
+to the reign of Dulness.
+
+    "Strong in new arms, lo! giant Handel stands,
+    Like bold Briareus, with his hundred hands,
+    To stir, to rouse, to shake the soul he comes,
+    And Jove's own thunders follow Mars's drums.
+    Arrest him, goddess! or you sleep no more."
+
+But no reference is made to the exquisite beauty of his compositions.
+The loudness is all that seems to be praised, and we suspect, that in
+private Pope was inclined to laugh with Swift in his disparaging
+comparison between Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Wordsworth has written
+on the "Power of Sound;" but the small part of it that touches on the
+musical art, does not impress us with the idea of his knowing or
+caring much about it, though in this, as in other things, he has the
+sense and philosophy to sacrifice a cock to Esculapius, and to bow
+down to what others worship, even where he does not himself feel the
+influence of a warm devotion. Collins and Moore, and perhaps a few
+others whom we have overlooked, ought to be excluded from this
+condemnation; but they have not been led to speak of individual
+musicians, or have not had courage to leave the beaten track.
+
+Thus neglected by those who would have been its most faithful
+depositaries and most effective champions, the fame of the musical
+composer has been left to the guardianship of the few sound and
+enlightened judges who thoroughly comprehend him, to the humble but
+honest admiration of professional performers, to the practice and
+imitation of effeminate amateurs, to the cant of criticism of the
+worthies on the free list, and to the instinctive applause of the
+popular voice. Even with these humbler hands to build up his monument,
+the great master of music has a perpetual possession within the hearts
+of men, that the poet and the painter may well envy. Every chord in
+the human frame that answers to his strains, every tear that rises at
+the bidding of his cadences, every sob that struggles for an outlet at
+his touches of despairing tenderness, or at the thunders of his
+massive harmony, is a tribute to his power and his memory, enough to
+console his spirit if it can still be conscious of them, or to have
+rewarded his living labours in their progress by a bright anticipation
+of their effects. If nobles, and even nations, do not contend for the
+possession of his works, or offer a ransom for their purchase, such as
+is daily given for the masterpieces of the painter's power; it is the
+pride of his genius that his compositions cannot be appropriated or
+possessed. An oratorio of Handel, or an opera of Mozart, cannot become
+property like a picture of Raphael or Guido. They belong to mankind at
+large, open to all, and enjoyable by all who have the faculty to
+perceive, and delight in, their beauties; and in every theatre and
+public place, in every church and in every chamber throughout
+Christendom, a portion of their divine and various influence, suited
+to the scene and occasion, is always within reach, to make men gentler
+and better, happier and holier, than they would otherwise be without
+such manifestations of their Maker's wondrous gifts.
+
+Nowhere can the views we have above suggested be better illustrated,
+than in the fate and character of the singular man who, if not the
+first, was yet only second to one other, among those on whom music has
+shed her fullest inspiration.
+
+It is not our intention to follow minutely the events of Mozart's
+life. They are generally well known; and to those who wish to have a
+clear, complete, and judicious view of them, we can safely recommend
+the book noticed at the outset of this article.
+
+Mozart was born at Salzburg in 1756, and died at Vienna in 1791, in
+his thirty-sixth year. But into that short space were compressed as
+many proofs and compositions of genius, as much joy and sorrow, as
+much triumph and humiliation, as would have crowded a much longer
+lifetime. His early indications of genius are well known, and were
+indeed wonderful, even as compared with those of other great
+composers--for Handel, Haydn, and Beethoven, all gave proofs of their
+musical powers in boyhood--though none of them as children showed that
+full maturity of mind which distinguished Mozart, and which only a few
+of those who witnessed it could fully appreciate. Mozart's
+organization was obviously of the finest and tenderest texture; but he
+had also many advantages in his nurture, and, among others, the
+inestimable blessing of a happy home, where harmony reigned in the
+hearts, as well as upon the lips and fingers of the inmates. His
+father was a man of sense and education, as well as of musical talent,
+and in all respects did his duty to his son throughout life, amidst
+many difficulties and disappointments, resulting partly from his own
+dependent situation at Salzburg, and partly from an over-estimate of
+the worldly prosperity which his son's genius should have commanded.
+His mother seems also to have been an excellent person; and from the
+remarkable letters which Mozart wrote from Paris to prepare his father
+for her death, after the event had happened, she appears to have been
+the object of the tenderest affection to her family. Mozart uniformly
+discharged towards his parents all the offices of pious devotion; and
+he was always affectionately attached to his sister, who was a few
+years older than himself, and whose early and distinguished skill as a
+performer must have been useful in assisting her brother's tastes. In
+1829 the Novello family saw this lady at Salzburg, a widow and in
+narrow circumstances.
+
+    "We found Madame Sonnenberg, lodged in a small but clean room,
+    bed-ridden and quite blind. Hers is a complete decay of nature;
+    suffering no pain, she lies like one awaiting the stroke of
+    death, and will probably expire in her sleep.... Her voice was
+    scarcely above a whisper, so that I was forced to lean my face
+    close to hers to catch the sound. In the sitting-room still
+    remained the old clavichord, on which the brother and sister had
+    frequently played duets together; and on its desk were some pieces
+    of his composition, which were the last things his sister had
+    played over previous to her illness."
+
+With becoming delicacy, the fruits of an English subscription were
+presented to her on her name-day, as a remembrance from some friends
+of her brother.
+
+The bane of Mozart's fortunes was the patronage on which he was
+dependent. His father had got into the trammels of the Archbishop of
+Salzburg--a sordid, arrogant, and ignorant man, who saw Mozart's value
+in the eyes of others, though he could not himself estimate it, and
+would neither pay him nor part with him. When in his twentieth year,
+and already a great composer and an efficient performer, Mozart was in
+the receipt, from this princely prelate, for the liberal use of his
+musical talents, of a salary equal in amount to about L1, 1s. English,
+per annum.
+
+    "Among a multitude of compositions that he wrote for the
+    archbishop's concerts, in 1775, are five concertos for the violin,
+    which he probably performed himself. His gentle disposition made
+    him easily comply with any proposal to augment pleasure, however
+    out of his usual course. During the following year, 1776, he seems
+    to have made his last great effort to awaken the archbishop to
+    some sense of his desert, and a due generosity of acknowledgment,
+    by producing masses, litanies, serenades, divertimentos for
+    instruments, clavier concertos, &c., too numerous for detail. But
+    in vain; and what aggravated the injury of this monstrous
+    appropriation of labour was, that the father, whose household
+    economy was now somewhat pinched, on applying for permission to
+    remedy these circumstances by a tour, was refused. From that hour
+    Wolfgang threw by his pen in disgust--at least as far as it
+    concerned voluntary labour."
+
+It was now resolved that Mozart should leave Salzburg with his mother,
+and try his fortune in the world. He was every where admired; but the
+wonder of his childhood had passed away, and empty praise was all that
+he could, for the most part, earn. After lingering, in the sickness of
+hope deferred, at several of the German courts, his destination was at
+last fixed for Paris. His chance of success as a courtier was probably
+diminished by the blunt though kindly frankness of his opinions, and
+by his inability to stoop to unworthy means of rising. He had also
+many rivals to encounter, particularly those of the more slender
+school of Italian melody; and few of the public had knowledge or
+independence enough to forsake the inferior favourites that were in
+vogue.
+
+In approaching Paris, Mozart became alarmed at the prospect of his
+being there compelled to resort to the drudgery of tuition for his
+support. "I am a composer," he said, "and the son of a kapell-meister,
+and I cannot consent to bury in teaching the talent for composition
+which God has so richly bestowed upon me." His father, more
+experienced in the world, and more prudential in his ideas,
+endeavoured to modify his alarm, and urge him to perseverance in any
+honourable course of employment. The father's letter at this time to
+his son, to apprize him of the true position of the family, and
+preserve him against the dangers in his path, is honourable to both,
+and worthy of perusal.
+
+    "This being in all probability the last letter that you will
+    receive from me at Mannheim, I address it to you alone. How deeply
+    the wider separation which is about to take place between us
+    affects me, you may partly conceive, though not feel it in the
+    same degree with which it oppresses my heart. If you reflect
+    seriously on what I have undergone with you two children in your
+    tender years, you will not accuse me of timidity, but, on the
+    contrary, do me the justice to own that I am, and ever have been,
+    a man with the heart to venture every thing, though indeed I
+    always employed the greatest circumspection and precaution.
+    Against accidents it is impossible to provide, for God only sees
+    into futurity. Up to this time we cannot be said to have been
+    either successful or unsuccessful; but, God be thanked, we have
+    steered between the two. Every thing has been attempted for your
+    success, and through you for our own. We have at least endeavoured
+    to settle you in some appointment on a secure footing; though fate
+    has hitherto decreed that we should fail in our object. This last
+    step of ours, however, makes my spirit sink within me. You may see
+    as clearly as the sun at noonday, that, through it, the future
+    condition of your aged parents, and of your affectionately
+    attached sister, entirely depends upon you. From the time of your
+    birth, and indeed earlier, ever since my marriage, I have found it
+    a hard task to support a wife, and, by degrees, a family of seven
+    children, two relatives by marriage, and the mother, on a certain
+    income of twenty-five florins a month, out of this to pay for
+    maintenance and the expenses of child-bed, deaths, and sicknesses;
+    which expenses, when you reflect upon them, will convince you that
+    I not only never devoted a kreutzer to my own private pleasure,
+    but that I could never, in spite of all my contrivances and care,
+    have managed to live free from debt without the especial favour of
+    God; and yet I never was in debt till now. I devoted all my time
+    to you two, in the hope and indeed reliance upon your care in
+    return; that you would procure for me a peaceful old age, in which
+    I might render account to God for the education of my children,
+    and, without any other concern than the salvation of my soul,
+    quietly await death. But Providence has so ordered, that I must
+    now afresh commence the ungrateful task of lesson-giving, and in a
+    place, too, where this dreary labour is so ill paid, that it will
+    not support one from one end of the year to the other; and yet it
+    is to be thought a matter of rejoicing if, after talking oneself
+    into a consumption, something or other is got by it.
+
+    "I am far, my dear Wolfgang, from having the least mistrust in
+    you--on the contrary, on your filial love I place all confidence
+    and every hope. Every thing now depends upon fortunate
+    circumstances, and the exercise of that sound understanding which
+    you certainly possess, if you will listen to it; the former are
+    uncontrollable--but that you will always take counsel of your
+    understanding I hope and pray....
+
+    "You are now a young man of twenty-two years of age; here is none
+    of that seriousness of years which may dissuade a youth, let his
+    condition be what it may--an adventurer, a libertine, a
+    deceiver--be he old or young, from courting your acquaintance, and
+    drawing you into his society and his plans. One may fall into this
+    danger unawares, and then not know how to recede. Of the other sex
+    I can hardly speak to you, for there the greatest reserve and
+    prudence are necessary, Nature herself being our enemy; but
+    whoever does not employ all his prudence and reserve in his
+    intercourse, will with difficulty extricate himself from the
+    labyrinth--_a misfortune that usually ends in death_. How blindly,
+    through inconsiderate jests, flattery, and play, one may fall into
+    errors at which the returning reason is ashamed, you may perhaps
+    have already a little experienced, and it is not my intention to
+    reproach you. I am persuaded that you do not only consider me as
+    your father, but as your truest and most faithful friend, and that
+    you know and see that our happiness or unhappiness--nay, more, my
+    long life or speedy death is, under God, so to speak, in your
+    hands. If I know you aright, I have nothing but pleasure to expect
+    in you, which thought must console me in your absence for the
+    paternal pleasure of seeing, hearing, and embracing you. Lead the
+    life of a good Catholic Christian; love and fear God; pray to him
+    with devotion and sincerity, and let your conduct be such, that
+    should I never see you more, the hour of my death may be free from
+    apprehension. From my heart I bless you."
+
+His reception at Paris was comparatively cold. The Parisians were
+scarcely done with the "faction fight" in which the rivalry of Gluck
+and Piccini had involved them; but none of the partisans were inclined
+to be enthusiastic about the new-comer. His only great admirer, and
+his best friend, seems to have been his acute and accomplished
+countryman Grimm, who prophesied that monarchs would dispute for the
+possession of Mozart. The prediction was fulfilled, but not in
+sufficient time to benefit the unhappy subject of their competition.
+
+    "Baron Grimm and myself often vent our indignation at the state of
+    music here, that is to say, between ourselves; but in public it is
+    always '_bravo! bravissimo!_' and clapping till the fingers burn.
+    What most displeases me is, that the French gentlemen have only
+    so far improved their taste as to be able to _endure_ good things;
+    but as for any perception that their music is bad--Heaven help
+    them!--and the singing--_oime!_"
+
+Again he writes--
+
+    "You advise me to visit a great deal, in order to make new
+    acquaintances, or to revive the old ones. That is, however,
+    impossible. The distance is too great, and the ways too miry to go
+    on foot; the muddy state of Paris being indescribable; and to take
+    a coach, one may soon drive away four or five livres, and all in
+    vain, for the people merely pay you compliments, and then it is
+    over. They ask me to come on this or that day--I play, and then
+    they say, '_O c'est un prodige, c'est inconcevable, c'est
+    etonnant_;' and then '_a Dieu_.'"
+
+    "All this, however," Mr Holmes observes, "might have been endured,
+    so far as mere superciliousness and _hauteur_ to the professional
+    musician were involved, if these people had possessed any real
+    feeling or love for music; but it was their total want of all
+    taste, their utter viciousness, that rendered them hateful to
+    Mozart. He was ready to make any sacrifice for his family, but
+    longed to escape from the artificial and heartless Parisians.
+
+    "If I were in a place," he writes, "where people had ears to hear,
+    hearts to feel, and some small degree of perception and taste, I
+    should laugh heartily over all these things--but really, as it
+    regards music, I am living among mere brute beasts. How can it be
+    otherwise? It is the same in all their passions, and, indeed, in
+    every transaction of life; no place in the world is like Paris. Do
+    not think that I exaggerate when I speak thus of the state of
+    music here--ask any one except a native Frenchman, and if he be
+    fit to answer the question, he will tell you the same. I must
+    endure out of love to you--but I shall thank God Almighty if I
+    leave this place with my healthful natural taste. It is my
+    constant prayer that I may be enabled to establish myself, that I
+    may do honour to the German nation, and make fame and money, and
+    so be the means of helping you out of your present narrow
+    circumstances, and of our all living together once more,
+    cheerfully and happily."
+
+Take the following vivid sketch of his task in teaching composition to
+a young lady:--
+
+    "Among these pupils one is daughter of the Duc de Guines, with
+    whom I am in high favour, and I give her two hours' instruction in
+    composition daily, for which I am very liberally paid. He plays
+    the flute incomparably, and she magnificently on the harp. She
+    possesses much talent and cleverness, and, in particular, a very
+    remarkable memory, which enables her to play all her pieces, of
+    which there are at least two hundred, without book. She is
+    doubtful whether she has genius for composition--particularly with
+    respect to thoughts or ideas; her father (who, between ourselves,
+    is a little too much in love with her) affirms that she certainly
+    has ideas, and that nothing but modesty and a want of confidence
+    in herself prevent their appearing. We shall now see. If she
+    really have no ideas, and I must say I have as yet seen no
+    indication of them, it will be all in vain, for God knows I can
+    give her none. It is not her father's intention to make any very
+    great composer of her. 'I do not wish her,' he says, 'to write any
+    operas, airs, concertos, or symphonies, but merely grand sonatas
+    for her instrument, as I do for mine.'
+
+    "I gave her the fourth lesson to-day, and, as far as the rules of
+    composition go, am tolerably satisfied with her; she put the bass
+    to the first minuet which I placed before her, very correctly. We
+    now commenced writing in three parts. She tried it, and fatigued
+    herself in attempts, but it was impossible to help her; nor can we
+    move on a step further, for it is too early, and in science one
+    must advance by the proper gradations. If she had genius--but
+    alas! there is none--she has no thoughts--nothing comes. I have
+    tried her in every imaginable way; among others it occurred to me
+    to place a very simple minuet before her, to see whether she could
+    make a variation upon it. That was all to no purpose. Now, thought
+    I, she does not know how to begin; so I varied the first bar for
+    her, and told her to continue the variation pursuing that idea;
+    and at length she got through tolerably well. I next requested her
+    to begin something herself--the first part only--a melody; but
+    after a quarter of an hour's cogitation nothing came. I then wrote
+    four bars of a minuet, and said, 'What a stupid fellow I am, I
+    have begun a minuet, and cannot finish the first part of it. Have
+    the goodness to do it for me.' She distrusted her ability, but at
+    last, with much labour, something came to light. I rejoiced that
+    we got something at last. She had now to complete the entire
+    minuet, that is to say, the melody only. On going away, I
+    recommended her to alter my four bars for something of her own; to
+    make another beginning even if she retained the same harmony, and
+    only altered the melody. I shall see to-morrow how she has
+    succeeded."
+
+In the midst of this irksome labour, Mozart's beloved mother expired
+at Paris in the summer of 1778, after a fortnight's illness. He then
+wrote to his father that she was "very ill," and to a family friend at
+Salzburg, desiring him to prepare his father and sister for the truth.
+The whole correspondence at this time is interesting. The letter to
+the Abbe Bullinger is in these words:--
+
+    "Sympathize with me on this the most wretched and melancholy day
+    of my life. I write at two o'clock in the morning to inform you
+    that my mother--my dearest mother--is no more! God has called her
+    to himself. I saw clearly that nothing could save her, and
+    resigned myself entirely to the will of God; he gave, and he can
+    take away. Picture to yourself the state of alarm, care, and
+    anxiety in which I have been kept for the last fortnight. She died
+    without being conscious of any thing--her life went out like a
+    taper. Three days ago she confessed, received the sacrament and
+    extreme unction; but since that time she has been constantly
+    delirious and rambling, until this afternoon at twenty-one minutes
+    after five, when she was seized with convulsions, and immediately
+    lost all perception and feeling. I pressed her hand and spoke to
+    her; but she neither saw me, heard me, nor seemed in the least
+    sensible; and in this state she lay for five hours, namely, till
+    twenty-one minutes past ten, when she departed, no one being
+    present but myself, M. Haine, a good friend of ours whom my father
+    knows, and the nurse.
+
+    "I cannot at present write you the whole particulars of the
+    illness; but my belief is, that she was to die--that it was the
+    will of God. Let me now beg the friendly service of you, to
+    prepare my poor father by gentle degrees for the melancholy
+    tidings. I wrote to him by the same post, but told him no more
+    than that she was very ill; and I now await his answer, by which I
+    shall be guided. May God support and strengthen him! Oh, my
+    friend! through the especial grace of God I have been enabled to
+    endure the whole with fortitude and resignation, and have long
+    since been consoled under this great loss. In her extremity I
+    prayed for two things: a blessed dying hour for my mother, and
+    courage and strength for myself; and the gracious God heard my
+    prayer, and richly bestowed those blessings upon me. Pray,
+    therefore, dear friend, support my father. Say what you can to
+    him, in order that when he knows the worst, he may not feel it too
+    bitterly. I commend my sister also to you from the bottom of my
+    heart. Call on both of them soon, but say no word of the
+    death--only prepare them. You can do and say what you will; but
+    let me be so far at ease as to have no new misfortune to expect.
+    Comfort my dear father and my dear sister, and pray send me a
+    speedy answer."
+
+The letter to his father is curiously circumstantial; but if on such
+occasion it is allowable to deceive at all, it is allowable to make
+the deception complete.
+
+    "The cause of my having left your letter of the 11th of June so
+    long unanswered is, that I have very unpleasant and melancholy
+    intelligence to communicate. My dear mother is very ill. At the
+    beginning of her illness she was, as usual, bled, and this seemed
+    to relieve and do her good; but in a few days she began to
+    complain of sudden chills and heats, which were accompanied by
+    headach and diarrhoea. We began now to use the remedy that we
+    employ at home--the antispasmodic powder. We wished that we had
+    brought the black, but had it not, and could not get it here,
+    where even its name, _pulvis epilepticus_, is unknown. But as she
+    got worse continually, spoke with difficulty, and so far lost her
+    hearing, that it was necessary to call out in speaking to her,
+    Baron Grimm sent us his physician. She is still very weak, and is
+    also feverish and delirious. They want to give me hope; but I have
+    not much. I have been long already--for days and nights
+    together--between hope and fear; but I have now entirely resigned
+    myself to the will of God, and I hope that you and my dear sister
+    will do the like. What are the means then to give us calm and
+    peace, in a degree, if not absolutely? I am resigned, let the end
+    be what it may, because I know that God, who, however mysteriously
+    he may proceed to human eyes, ordains every thing for the best, so
+    wills it; and I am not easily persuaded out of the belief, that
+    neither physician nor any other man, neither misfortune nor
+    accident, can either take or give life, but God alone, though
+    these are the means which he mostly employs; but even these not
+    always. We see people constantly sinking and dying around us; but
+    I do not say, on that account, that my mother must and will die,
+    or that we have lost all hope. She may recover, if it be the will
+    of God. I, however, find consolation in these reflections, after
+    praying to God as earnestly as I am able for my dear mother's
+    health and life; they strengthen, encourage, and console me, and
+    you must needs think I require them. Let us now change the
+    subject, and quit these melancholy thoughts. Let us hope, if not
+    much, and put our trust in God, consoling ourselves with the
+    reflection, that every thing is well ordered which the Almighty
+    orders, and that he best knows what is essential to our temporal
+    happiness and our eternal salvation."
+
+The elder Mozart had, in the mean time, without knowing of her
+illness, begun a letter to his wife, designed to reach her on her
+name-day; but, before its conclusion, he had received his son's
+letter, and seen the Abbe, and had thus learned not only her danger
+but its result.
+
+    "M. Bullinger found us, as every one else did, in deep affliction;
+    I handed him your letter without saying a word; he dissembled very
+    well; and having read it, enquired what I thought about it. I
+    said, that I firmly believed my dear wife was no more. He almost
+    feared the same thing, he told me--and then, like a true friend,
+    entered upon consolatory topics, and said to me every thing that I
+    had before said to myself. We finished our conversation, and our
+    friends gradually left us with much concern. M. Bullinger,
+    however, remained behind, and when we were alone, asked me whether
+    I believed that there was any ground for hope after such a
+    description of the illness as had been given. I replied, that I
+    not merely believed her dead by this time--but that she was
+    already so on the very day that the letter was written; that I had
+    resigned myself to the will of God, and must remember that I have
+    two children, who I hoped would love me, as I lived solely and
+    entirely for them; indeed, that I felt so certain, as to have
+    taken some pains to write to, and remind you of the consequences,
+    &c. Upon this he said, 'Yes, she is dead,' and in that instant the
+    scales fell from my eyes; for the suddenness of the accident had
+    prevented my perceiving, what I else should have suspected, as
+    soon as I had read your letter--namely, how probable it was that
+    you had privately communicated the real truth to M. Bullinger. In
+    fact, your letter stupified me--it at first was such a blow as to
+    render me incapable of reflection. I have now no more to say. Do
+    not be anxious on my account, I shall bear my sorrow like a man.
+    Remember what a tenderly loving mother you have had--now you will
+    be able to appreciate all her care--as in your mature years, after
+    my death, you will mine, with a constantly increasing affection.
+    If you love me, as I doubt not but you do, take care of your
+    health--on your life hangs mine, and the future support of your
+    affectionate sister. How incomprehensibly bitter a thing it is,
+    when death rends asunder a happy marriage--can only be known by
+    experience."
+
+In a few days, Mozart wrote to his father again:--
+
+    "I hope that you are now prepared to receive with firmness some
+    intelligence of a very melancholy and distressing character;
+    indeed, my last letter, of the 3d, will not have encouraged you to
+    expect any thing very favourable. On the evening of the same day
+    (the 3d,) at twenty-one minutes after ten at night, my mother fell
+    happily asleep in God, and was already experiencing the joys of
+    heaven at the very moment that I wrote to you. All was over--I
+    wrote to you in the night, and I trust that you and my sister will
+    pardon this slight but very necessary artifice;--for when, after
+    all the distress that I had suffered, I turned my thoughts towards
+    you, I could not possibly persuade myself to surprise you all at
+    once with the dreadful and fatal news. Now, however, I hope that
+    you have both prepared yourselves to hear the worst; and after
+    giving way to the reasonable and natural impulses of your grief,
+    to submit yourselves at last to the will of God, and to adore his
+    inscrutable, unfathomable, and all-wise providence.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    "I write this in the house of Madame d'Epinay and M. Baron de
+    Grimm, with whom I am now staying, and where I have a pretty
+    little room with a pleasant prospect, and am, as far as
+    circumstances will permit, happy. It would be a great additional
+    comfort were I to hear that my dear father and sister had resigned
+    themselves with fortitude and submission to the will of God;
+    trusting him entirely, in the full conviction that every thing is
+    ordered for our good. Dear father--be comforted! Dearest
+    sister--be comforted!--you know not the kind intentions of your
+    brother towards you; because hitherto they have not been in his
+    power to fulfil.
+
+    "I hope that you will both be careful of your health. Remember
+    that you have still a son--a brother--who will exert himself to
+    the utmost for your happiness, well knowing what sacrifices you
+    are both ready to make for him, and that when the time shall come,
+    neither of you will oppose the fulfilment of his honourable
+    wishes. Oh! then we will lead a life as peaceful and happy as is
+    attainable in this world; and at length, in God's time, meet all
+    together again in the enjoyment of that object for which we were
+    created."
+
+We have given these letters at some length, as we think they show the
+worth, affection, and right feeling of the whole family.
+
+The disconsolate state in which his father was thus left, decided
+Mozart, however reluctant, to return to the hated service of the
+Archbishop at Salzburg. The terms on which he was received back were
+somewhat improved, for his absence had rendered his value more
+perceptible; and a greater latitude was allowed him in visiting, and
+composing for other courts. In the winter of 1780-1, he made use of
+his leave of absence by writing and bringing out at Munich, with
+triumphant success, the splendid serious opera of _Idomeneo_, always
+so great a favourite with himself, and which is still regarded as a
+masterpiece.
+
+    "With this work, the most important in its influence on music,
+    Mozart crowned his twenty-fifth year. The score is still a picture
+    to the musician. It exhibits consummate knowledge of the theatre,
+    displayed in an opera of the first magnitude and complexity; which
+    unites to a great orchestra the effects of a double chorus on the
+    stage and behind the scenes; and introduces marches, processions,
+    and dances, to various accompaniments in the orchestra, behind the
+    scenes, or under the stage. This model opera, in which Mozart
+    rises on the wing from one beauty to another through long acts,
+    was completed, as we have seen, within a few weeks, and ever since
+    has defied the scrutiny of musicians to detect in it the slightest
+    negligence of style."
+
+In March 1781, Mozart followed the Salzburg court to Vienna, where he
+was subjected to such indignity by his patron, as finally to terminate
+their connexion. The author of _Idomeneo_ was required to take his
+meals at the same table with his grace's valets, confectioner, and
+cooks. This was too much, even for Mozart's good-nature; and,
+aggravated by the Archbishop's refusal to allow the display of his
+talents to the public, gave him courage to insist for his dismissal.
+
+    "The step, however, of resigning a pension, and of throwing
+    himself entirely upon the public for fame and support, was a more
+    important one than his sanguine imagination and excitement of
+    feeling permitted him at the time to contemplate. How far his
+    being an _unappointed_ composer may have hastened the production
+    of his immortal works, is open to question; but that his life was
+    sacrificed in struggling against the difficulties in which he was
+    thereby involved, is beyond a doubt.
+
+    "In the absence of any immediate design of a new dramatic
+    composition, and delighted at the effect which his public
+    performance on the pianoforte had created at Vienna, Mozart forgot
+    all the fears he had expressed previously to his journey to Paris;
+    thought no more that teaching would interfere with the higher
+    vocation of his muse; and was content to become the fashionable
+    performer, teacher, and pianoforte composer of the day. This mode
+    of life for a time had its temptations and its success; and he
+    hoped that he might still better assist his father at Vienna than
+    at Salzburg, as he was at intervals able to remit to him sums of
+    from ten to thirty ducats. But here commenced the precarious
+    existence which the composer was for the future destined to lead.
+    For, not only was the taste of Vienna then, as now, proverbially
+    variable and flippant--not only was concert-giving an uncertain
+    speculation, and teaching an inconstant source of income--but in a
+    man, who, like Mozart, had, from time to time, strong impulses to
+    write for the theatre, it frequently happened that the order and
+    regularity of his engagements were made to yield to the object
+    which engrossed him; and that the profits of his time were
+    sacrificed on the one hand, without any proportionate advantage on
+    the other."
+
+Let it be observed that Mozart's payment for teaching among the
+Austrian nobility, was, at the rate of five shillings a lesson!
+
+Mozart was distinguished for virtues which belong only to great or
+good men when labouring in the field of emulation--an absence of all
+envy and jealousy, of which he was himself too much the object, and a
+just and generous estimate of excellence in others. As observed by Mr
+Holmes, good music, not his own, was his best relaxation from his
+toils; and his predecessors and contemporaries were alike sure of that
+sincere admiration which sprang from an unselfish love of the art. His
+regard and respect for Haydn, who was greatly his inferior in genius
+and power, is a pleasing illustration of what we have said.
+
+    "At this time, Joseph Haydn was established as kapell-meister in
+    the service of Prince Nicholas Esterhazy, and enjoyed a very
+    extensive reputation, which, indeed, the native energy of his
+    genius, and the fortunate circumstances of his mature life,
+    enabled him to earn with ease in a variety of compositions. He was
+    frequently at Vienna, in the suite of his prince; and it was
+    natural that Mozart, who had long lived on terms of mutual esteem
+    with Michael Haydn, at Salzburg, should be predisposed to a regard
+    for his brother;--but the simplicity, benevolence, and sincerity
+    of Joseph Haydn's character, when united with the charming
+    qualities of his genius, offered more than the materials for an
+    ordinary friendship. The attachment of these two men remains
+    accordingly one of the most honourable monuments of the virtuous
+    love of art that musical history can produce. Haydn was at this
+    period about fifty years of age. His constant habit of writing
+    five hours a-day, had accumulated in a series of years a large
+    collection of quartets, pianoforte music, church music, and
+    symphonies, most of which were greatly admired for the spirit and
+    elegance of their style, and the clearness and originality of
+    their design. Mozart at once saw and acknowledged the excellence
+    of Haydn; and in his future intercourse with that master, took the
+    part which the difference of their age, if not of their genius,
+    rendered graceful--by deferring to his judgment with all the
+    meekness of a learner. To Haydn he submitted many of his
+    compositions before publication; delighting often to call him his
+    master and model in quartet writing, which he now began to
+    cultivate in earnest; and omitting no circumstance which could
+    gratify the veteran musician in possessing such an admirer. Haydn
+    on his part repaid all this devotion with becoming generosity.
+    However conscious that, in the universality of musical power, his
+    own genius must be placed at a disadvantage in comparison with
+    that of his friend, he harboured no envious or unworthy sentiment;
+    and death alone interrupted the kind relation in which each stood
+    to the other.
+
+    "At the musical parties which Mozart gave from time to time, when
+    he had new compositions to try, and leisure to indulge his
+    disposition for sociality, Haydn was a frequent guest, and no one
+    more profoundly enjoyed the extraordinary beauty and perfection of
+    Mozart's pianoforte playing. Years after, when those fingers, and
+    the soul which animated them, were sought for in vain, a few
+    touching words from Haydn spoke more feelingly to the imagination,
+    in the description of that beauty, than the most laboured and
+    minute criticism could have done. 'Mozart's playing,' said he, 'I
+    can never forget.'"
+
+Haydn's high estimate of his friend's superiority to himself, was
+always expressed with equal generosity. In a company of critics, who
+discovered that there were faults in Mozart's operas, Haydn, when
+appealed to, replied--"All I know is, that Mozart is the greatest
+composer now existing." When applied to in 1787, to write a comic
+opera, Haydn thought a new subject, or _libretto_, would be necessary,
+and adds--
+
+    "Even then it would be a bold attempt, as scarcely any one can
+    stand by the side of the great Mozart. For were it possible that
+    I could impress every friend of music, particularly among the
+    great, with that deep musical intelligence of the inimitable works
+    of Mozart--that emotion of the soul with which they affect me, and
+    in which I both comprehend and feel them, the nations would
+    contend together for the possession of such a gem. Prague ought to
+    retain him, and reward him well too; else the history of great
+    genius is melancholy, and offers posterity but slight
+    encouragement to exertion, which is the reason, alas! that many
+    hopeful and aspiring spirits are repressed. I feel indignant that
+    this _unique_ Mozart is not yet engaged at some royal or imperial
+    court. Forgive me if I stray from the subject--but I love the man
+    too much."
+
+Again, when engaged, along with Mozart, for Salomon's concerts in
+England--a plan which, so far as Mozart was concerned, was unhappily
+not carried out--Haydn's only stipulation was, that his compositions
+should precede those of his friend; and avowed, with unparalleled
+frankness, his feeling that he would otherwise have less chance of
+being heard with success.
+
+The celebrity of Mozart, and the applause which attended some of his
+new compositions, procured him the notice, and ultimately the
+patronage, of the Emperor Joseph--though somewhat unsteadily
+conferred, and divided with unworthy Italian rivals. The change,
+however, was tardy, and, when it came, did not much improve his
+external circumstances. The appointments he held made but a miserable
+sinecure, with a still more miserable salary; but the deficiency was
+supplied by soft words and familiar looks, which, with Mozart's kindly
+disposition, served to attach him to his imperial master, better than
+would have been done by a larger allowance ungraciously given.
+
+In the mean time, relying upon his position as a composer, and hoping
+for the best, Mozart had formed the connexion, as to which Mr Hogarth
+justly says, "that his fixing his affections on the admirable woman
+whom he married, was the wisest act, as it was the happiest event, of
+his life. Constance Weber was his guide--his monitress--his guardian
+angel. She regulated his domestic establishment--managed his
+affairs--was the cheerful companion of his happier hours--and his
+never-failing consolation in sickness and despondency. He passionately
+loved her, and evinced his feelings by the most tender and delicate
+attentions."
+
+It is remarkable that Mozart's attachment had at first been directed
+to his wife's elder sister, and seemed to be returned on her part. But
+after his absence in Paris, he was coldly received when they again
+met, and, fortunately for himself, he transferred his affections to
+Constance, who became his wife.
+
+Rich as this union was in affection, and in all the happiness that
+affection can bestow, it was soon checkered by distress and
+difficulty. The health of the wife became precarious; and Mozart's
+ignorance of the world, as well as his generous and joyous
+disposition, joined to the precarious and varying amount of his
+earnings, and the disappointment in his prospects of imperial favour,
+involved him in debt, which, by overtaxing his mind and body, led to
+the errors and excesses, such as they were, of his latter life, and
+ultimately undermined his constitution, and brought him to an untimely
+tomb.
+
+The "res angusta domi" stimulated the composer's pen, and the rapidity
+of his productions at this time is marvellous. The taste of Vienna,
+however, was capricious; and cabals among singers and critics
+succeeded in deadening the effect of his _Figaro_, when first brought
+out, and in thoroughly disgusting Mozart with the Viennese opera. How
+different the reception which it met from the true hearts and
+well-attuned ears of the Bohemian audiences! It was in February 1787,
+after parting with the Storaces, on their leaving for England, with a
+hope that the mighty master would soon be allured to follow them, that
+his Bohemian visit was paid.
+
+    "In the very same week that he parted from his English friends,
+    Mozart himself set out upon a journey to Prague, whither he had
+    been very cordially invited by a distinguished nobleman and
+    connoisseur, Count John Joseph Thun, who maintained in his service
+    an excellent private band. This was the first professional
+    expedition of any consequence in which he had engaged since his
+    settlement in Vienna; it was prosecuted under the most favourable
+    auspices, and with glowing anticipations of that pleasure for
+    which he so ardently longed, but so imperfectly realized at
+    home--the entire sympathy of the public. Nor was he disappointed.
+    On the same evening that he alighted at the castle of his noble
+    entertainer, his opera of 'Figaro' was given at the theatre, and
+    Mozart found himself for the first time in the midst of that
+    Bohemian audience of whose enthusiasm and taste he had heard so
+    much. The news of his presence in the theatre quickly ran through
+    the parterre, and the overture was no sooner ended than the whole
+    audience rose and gave him a general acclamation of welcome,
+    amidst deafening salvos of applause.
+
+    "The success of 'Le Nozze di Figaro,' so unsatisfactory at Vienna,
+    was unexampled at Prague, where it amounted to absolute
+    intoxication and frenzy. Having run through the whole previous
+    winter without interruption, and rescued the treasury of the
+    theatre from ruinous embarrassments, the opera was arranged in
+    every possible form; for the pianoforte, for wind-instruments
+    (garden music,) as violin quintets for the chamber, and German
+    dances; in short, the melodies of 'Figaro' re-echoed in every
+    street and every garden; nay, even the blind harper himself, at
+    the door of the beer-house, was obliged to strike up _Non piu
+    andrai_ if he wished to gain an audience, or earn a kreutzer. Such
+    was the effect of the popular parts of the opera on the public at
+    large; its more refined beauties exercised an equal influence on
+    musicians. The director of the orchestra, Strobach, under whose
+    superintendence 'Figaro' was executed at Prague, often declared
+    the excitement and emotion of the band in accompanying this work
+    to have been such, that there was not a man among them, himself
+    included, who, when the performance was finished, would not have
+    cheerfully recommenced and played the whole through again.
+
+    "Finding himself, at length, in a region of sympathy so genial and
+    delightful, a new era in the existence of the composer seemed to
+    open, and he abandoned himself without reserve to its pleasures.
+    In retracing a life so ill rewarded by contemporaries, and so
+    checkered by calamity, it is pleasant to dally awhile in the
+    primrose path, and enjoy the opening prospects of good fortune.
+
+    "In a few days he was called upon to give a grand concert at the
+    opera-house. This was in reality his first public appearance, and
+    many circumstances conspire to render it memorable; but chiefly
+    that every piece throughout the performance was of his own
+    composition. The concert ended by an improvisation on the
+    pianoforte. Having preluded and played a fantasia, which lasted a
+    good half-hour, Mozart rose; but the stormy and outrageous
+    applause of his Bohemian audience was not to be appeased, and he
+    again sat down. His second fantasia, which was of an entirely
+    different character, met with the same success; the applause was
+    without end, and long after he had retired to the
+    withdrawing-room, he heard the people in the theatre _thundering_
+    for his re-appearance. Inwardly delighted, he presented himself
+    for the third time. Just as he was about to begin, when every
+    noise was hushed, and the stillness of death reigned throughout
+    the theatre, a voice in the pit cried '_from Figaro_.' He took the
+    hint, and ended this triumphant display of skill by extemporising
+    a dozen of the most interesting and scientific variations upon the
+    air _Non piu andrai_. It is needless to mention the uproar that
+    followed. The concert was altogether found so delightful, that a
+    second, upon the same plan, soon followed. A sonnet was written in
+    his honour, and his performances brought him one thousand florins.
+    Wherever he appeared in public, it was to meet testimonies of
+    esteem and affection. His emotion at the reception of 'Figaro' in
+    Prague was so great, that he could not help saying to the manager,
+    Bondini, 'As the Bohemians understand me so well, I must write an
+    opera on purpose for them.' Bondini took him at his word, and
+    entered with him, on the spot, into a contract to furnish his
+    theatre with an opera for the ensuing winter. Thus was laid the
+    foundation of 'Il Don Giovanni.'"
+
+The greatest of Mozart's operas was composed at Prague, on a second
+visit thither in 1787, when he lived with a musical friend in the
+suburbs of the city. "Here, on an elevated site which commanded a view
+of the antique magnificence of Prague, its faded castles, ruined
+cloisters, and other majestic remains of feudal times, under the mild
+rays of an autumnal sun, and in the open air, _Don Giovanni_ was
+written." It was immediately brought out at Prague with the success
+it deserves, and was afterwards performed at Vienna, but was badly got
+up, and but indifferently received. "Don Giovanni," said its author,
+"was rather written for Prague than Vienna, but chiefly for myself and
+my friends." It is a disgraceful fact, that it was eclipsed in
+popularity among the Viennese by the "Tarrare" of Salieri, of which no
+one now knows any thing.
+
+In 1787 Mozart's father died at Salzburg, less happy, it is to be
+feared, than his own worth and his son's genius should have made him.
+But he was ignorant of the great truth, that fame, and often merely
+posthumous fame, is the chief external blessing that awaits men of
+extraordinary mental powers in the arts, and that the appropriate
+reward of genius, any more than of virtue, is not always--"bread." On
+hearing of his father's illness, Mozart had written him in
+affectionate terms--
+
+    "I have just received some news which has given me a sad blow; the
+    more so, as your last letter left me reason to suppose that you
+    were in perfect health. I now, however, learn that you are really
+    very ill. How anxiously I await and hope for some comforting
+    intelligence from you I need hardly say, although I have long
+    since accustomed myself in all things to expect the worst. As
+    death, rightly considered, fulfils the real design of our life, I
+    have for the last two years made myself so well acquainted with
+    this true friend of mankind, that his image has no longer any
+    terrors for me, but much that is peaceful and consoling; and I
+    thank God that he has given me the opportunity to know him as the
+    key to our true felicity. I never lie down in bed without
+    reflecting that, perhaps (young as I am), I may never see another
+    day; yet no one who knows me will say that I am gloomy or morose
+    in society. For this blessing I daily thank my Creator, and from
+    my heart wish it participated by my fellow-men."
+
+In the autumn of the same year, he lost a valued and valuable friend
+in Dr Barisani of Vienna, whose medical attentions had already been
+eminently useful to him, and might, if they had been continued, have
+saved him from those irregularities of alternate labour and indulgence
+which so soon afterwards began to affect his health. Mozart made, on
+this occasion, an affecting entry in his memorandum-book, under some
+lines which his friend had written for him.
+
+    "To-day, the 2d of September, I have had the misfortune to lose,
+    through an unexpected death, this honourable man, by best and
+    dearest friend, and the preserver of my life. He is happy!--but
+    I--we, and all who thoroughly knew him, cannot again be so--till
+    we have the felicity to meet him in a better world, never again to
+    separate."
+
+In 1789, Mozart visited Prussia, where he was well received by every
+one, and seems to have been happy. We may here insert part of a
+well-known letter, written about this time, to an amateur baron, which
+gives a curious picture of Mozart's character and habits, as well as
+of the mixed tone of good humour and good sense with which he seems to
+have both written and conversed. The baron had sent him some tolerable
+music, and some better wine.
+
+    "TO THE BARON V----.
+
+    "Herewith I return you, my good baron, your scores; and if you
+    perceive that in my hand there are more _nota benes_ than notes,
+    you will find from the sequel of this letter how that has
+    happened. Your symphony has pleased me, on account of its ideas,
+    more than the other pieces, and yet I think that it will produce
+    the least effect. It is too much crowded, and to hear it partially
+    or piecemeal (_stueckweise_) would be, by your permission, like
+    beholding an ant-hill (_Ameisen haufen_). I mean to say, that it is
+    as if Eppes, the devil, were in it.
+
+    "You must not snap your fingers at me, my dearest friend, for I
+    would not for all the world have spoken out so candidly if I could
+    have supposed that it would give you offence. Nor need you wonder
+    at this; for it is so with all composers who, without having from
+    their infancy, as it were, been trained by the whip and the curses
+    (_Donnerwetter_) of the maestro, pretend to do every thing with
+    natural talent alone. Some compose fairly enough, but with other
+    people's ideas, not possessing any themselves; others, who have
+    ideas of their own, do not understand how to treat and master
+    them. This last is your case. Only do not be angry, pray! for St
+    Cecilia's sake, not angry that I break out so abruptly. But your
+    song has a beautiful cantabile, and your dear _Fraenzl_ ought to
+    sing it very often to you, which I should like as much to see as
+    to hear. The minuet in the quartet is also pleasing enough,
+    particularly from the place I have marked. The _coda_, however,
+    may well clatter or tinkle, but it will never produce _music_;
+    _sapienti sat_, and also to the _nihil sapienti_, by whom I mean
+    myself. I am not very expert in writing on such subjects; I rather
+    show at once how it ought to be done.
+
+    "You cannot imagine with what joy I read your letter; only you
+    ought not to have praised me so much. We may get accustomed to the
+    hearing of such things, but to read them is not quite so well. You
+    good people make too much of me; I do not deserve it, nor my
+    compositions either. And what shall I say to your present, my
+    dearest baron, that came like a star in a dark night, or like a
+    flower in winter, or like a cordial in sickness? God knows how I
+    am obliged, at times, to toil and labour to gain a wretched
+    livelihood, and Staenerl, (Constance,) too, must get something.
+
+    "To him who has told you that I am growing idle, I request you
+    sincerely (and a baron may well do such a thing) to give him a
+    good box on the ear. How gladly would I work and work, if it were
+    only left me to write always such music as I please, and as I can
+    write; such, I mean to say, as I myself set some value upon. Thus
+    I composed three weeks ago an orchestral symphony, and by
+    to-morrow's post I write again to Hoffmeister (the music-seller)
+    to offer him three pianoforte quatuors, supposing that he is able
+    to pay. Oh heavens! were I a wealthy man, I would say, 'Mozart,
+    compose what you please, and as well as you can; but till you
+    offer me something finished, you shall not get a single kreutzer.
+    I'll buy of you every MS., and you shall not be obliged to go
+    about and offer it for sale like a hawker.' Good God! how sad all
+    this makes me, and then again how angry and savage, and it is in
+    such a state of mind that I do things which ought not to be done.
+    You see, my dear good friend, so it is, and not as stupid or vile
+    wretches (_lumpen_) may have told you. Let this, however, go _a
+    cassa del diavolo_.
+
+    "I now come to the most difficult part of your letter, which I
+    would willingly pass over in silence, for here my pen denies me
+    its service. Still I will try, even at the risk of being well
+    laughed at. You say, you should like to know my way of composing,
+    and what method I follow in writing works of some extent. I can
+    really say no more on this subject than the following; for I
+    myself know no more about it, and cannot account for it. When I
+    am, as it were, completely myself, entirely alone, and of good
+    cheer--say, travelling in a carriage, or walking after a good
+    meal, or during the night when I cannot sleep; it is on such
+    occasions that my ideas flow best and most abundantly. _Whence_
+    and _how_ they come, I know not; nor can I force them. Those ideas
+    that please me I retain in memory, and am accustomed, as I have
+    been told, to hum them to myself. If I continue in this way, it
+    soon occurs to me how I may turn this or that morsel to account,
+    so as to make a good dish of it; that is to say, agreeably to the
+    rules of counterpoint, to the peculiarities of the various
+    instruments, &c.
+
+    "All this fires my soul, and, provided I am not disturbed, my
+    subject enlarges itself, becomes methodized and defined, and the
+    whole, though it be long, stands almost complete and finished in
+    my mind, so that I can survey it, like a fine picture or a
+    beautiful statue, at a glance. Nor do I hear in my imagination the
+    parts _successively_, but I hear them, as it were, all at once
+    (_gleich alles zusammen_.) What a delight this is I cannot tell!
+    All this inventing, this producing, takes place in a pleasing
+    lively dream. Still the actual hearing of the _tout ensemble_ is
+    after all the best. What has been thus produced I do not easily
+    forget, and this is perhaps the best gift I have my Divine Maker
+    to thank for.
+
+    "When I proceed to write down my ideas, I take out of the bag of
+    my memory, if I may use that phrase, what has previously been
+    collected into it in the way I have mentioned. For this reason the
+    committing to paper is done quickly enough, for every thing is, as
+    I said before, already finished; and it rarely differs on paper
+    from what it was in my imagination. At this occupation, I can
+    therefore suffer myself to be disturbed; for whatever may be going
+    on around me, I write, and even talk, but only of fowls and geese,
+    or of Gretel or Baerbel, or some such matters. But why my
+    productions take from my hand that particular form and style that
+    makes them _Mozartish_, and different from the works of other
+    composers, is probably owing to the same cause which renders my
+    nose so or so large, so aquiline, or, in short, makes it Mozart's,
+    and different from those of other people. For I really do not
+    study or aim at any originality; I should, in fact, not be able to
+    describe in what mine consists, though I think it quite natural
+    that persons who have really an individual appearance of their
+    own, are also differently organized from others, both externally
+    and internally. At least I know that I have constituted myself
+    neither one way nor the other.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    "Here, my best friend and well-wisher, the pages are full, and the
+    bottle of your wine, which has done the duty of this day, is
+    nearly empty. But since the letter which I wrote to my
+    father-in-law, to request the hand of my wife, I hardly ever have
+    written such an enormously long one. Pray take nothing ill. In
+    speaking, as in writing, I must show myself as I am, or I must
+    hold my tongue, and throw my pen aside. My last word shall be--my
+    dearest friend, keep me in kind remembrance. Would to God I could
+    one day be the cause of so much joy to you as you have been to me.
+    Well! I drink to you in this glass: long live my good and
+    faithful ----."     "W. A. MOZART."
+
+
+Before he left Prussia, the King offered him an appointment and a
+liberal pension. "Can I leave my good Emperor?" said Mozart with
+emotion. The proposal, however, made its impression, and shortly
+afterwards probably encouraged him, at Vienna, on occasion of fresh
+intrigues against him, to tender his resignation of his paltry
+situation there. But a kind-like appeal from his imperial patron drove
+him at once from his intention, and fixed him where he was. It was
+afterwards hinted to him that he might, at least, have taken this
+opportunity to stipulate for a better provision for himself. "Satan
+himself," he replied, "would hardly have thought of bargaining at such
+a moment."
+
+The year 1789-90 seems to have been about the most disastrous in the
+situation of his affairs, and led to the most unhappy results.
+
+    "The music-shops, as a source of income, were almost closed to
+    him, as he could not submit his genius to the dictates of fashion.
+    Hoffmeister, the publisher, having once advised him to write in a
+    more _popular_ style, or he could not continue to purchase his
+    compositions, he answered with unusual bitterness, 'Then I can
+    make no more by my pen, and I had better starve, and go to
+    destruction at once.' The fits of dejection which he experienced
+    were partly the effect of bodily ailments, but more of a weariness
+    with the perplexity of affairs, and of a prospect which afforded
+    him but one object on which he could gaze with certainty of
+    relief, and that was--death. Constant disappointment introduced
+    him to indulgences which he had not before permitted himself.
+
+    "He became wild in the pursuit of pleasure; whatever changed the
+    scene was delightful to him, and the more extravagant the better.
+    His associates, and the frequent guests at his table, were
+    recommended by their animal spirits and capacity as boon
+    companions. They were stage-players and orchestral musicians, low
+    and unprincipled persons, whose acquaintance injured him still
+    more in reputation than in purse. Two of these men, Schickaneder,
+    the director of a theatre (for whom Mozart wrote the
+    'Zauberfloete,') and Stadler, a clarionet-player, are known to have
+    behaved with gross dishonesty towards the composer; and yet he
+    forgave them, and continued their benefactor. The society of
+    Schickaneder, a man of grotesque humour, often in difficulties,
+    but of inexhaustible cheerfulness and good-fellowship, had
+    attractions for Mozart, and led him into some excesses that
+    contributed to the disorder of his health, as he was obliged to
+    retrieve at night the hours lost in the day. A long-continued
+    irregularity of income, also, disposed him to make the most of any
+    favourable moment; and when a few rouleaus of gold brought the
+    means of enjoyment, the Champagne and Tokay began to flow. This
+    course is unhappily no novelty in the shifting life of genius,
+    overworked and ill-rewarded, and seeking to throw off its cares in
+    the pursuits and excitements of vulgar existence. It is necessary
+    to know the composer as a man of pleasure, in order to understand
+    certain allusions in the correspondence of his last years, when
+    his affairs were in the most embarrassed condition, and his
+    absence from Vienna frequently caused by the pressure of
+    creditors. He appears at this time to have experienced moments of
+    poignant self-reproach. His love of dancing, masquerades, masked
+    balls, &c., was so great, that he did not willingly forego an
+    opportunity of joining any one of those assemblies, whether public
+    or private. He dressed handsomely, and wished to make a favourable
+    impression in society independently of his music. He was sensitive
+    with regard to his figure, and was annoyed when he heard that the
+    Prussian ambassador had said to some one, 'You must not estimate
+    the genius of Mozart by the insignificance of his exterior.' The
+    extremity of his animal spirits may occasion surprise. He composed
+    pantomimes and ballets, and danced in them himself, and at the
+    carnival balls sometimes assumed a character. He was actually
+    incomparable in Arlequin and Pierrot. The public masquerades at
+    Vienna, during the carnival, were supported with all the vivacity
+    of Italy; the emperor occasionally mingled in them, and his
+    example was generally followed. We are not, therefore, to measure
+    these enjoyments by our colder northern notions."
+
+It should be added, what Mr Holmes tells us on good authority, that
+the vice of ebriety was not among Mozart's failings. "He drank to the
+point of exhilaration, but not beyond." His fondness for
+ballet-dancing may seem strange to us, who have almost a Roman
+repugnance to such exhibitions in men of good station. But it is
+possible that in some minds the love of graceful motion may be a
+refined passion and an exalted art; and it is singular that Mozart's
+wife told of him, that, in his own estimation, his taste lay in
+dancing rather than in music.
+
+    "That these scenes of extravagant delight seduced him into
+    occasional indulgences, which cannot be reconciled with the purity
+    of his earlier life, it would be the worst affectation in his
+    biographer to deny. Nor is it necessary to the vindication of
+    Mozart that such temporary errors should be suppressed by a
+    feeling of mistaken delicacy. Living such a round of excitements,
+    and tortured by perpetual misfortunes, there is nothing very
+    surprising in the fact, that he should sometimes have been drawn
+    into the dangerous vortex; but he redeemed the true nobility of
+    his nature by preserving, in the midst of his hasty inconstancies,
+    the most earnest and unfailing attachment to his home. It is a
+    curious illustration of his real character, that he always
+    confessed his transgressions to his wife, who had the wise
+    generosity to pardon them, from that confidence in his truth which
+    survived alike the troubles and temptations of their checkered
+    lives."
+
+Let none lightly dare either to condemn or to imitate the
+irregularities of life of such wondrous men as Mozart and our own
+Burns. Those who may be gifted with equally strong and exquisite
+sensibilities as they, as fine and flexible affections, as bright an
+imagination, beautifying every object on which its rainbow colours
+rest, and who have been equally tried by affliction and
+misconstruction, and equally tempted by brilliant opportunities of
+pleasure in the intervals of penury and pain--these, if they stand
+fast, may be allowed to speak, and they will seldom speak
+uncharitably, of their brethren who have fallen; or, if they fall,
+they may be heard to plead a somewhat similar excuse. But let ordinary
+men, and men less extraordinary than those we speak of, beware how
+they either refer to them as a reproach, or follow them as an example.
+
+The excesses of men of genius are always exaggerated by their enemies,
+and often overrated even by their friends and companions. With
+characteristic fervour they enter enthusiastically into every thing in
+which they engage; and, when they indulge in dissipation, delight to
+sport on the brink of all its terrors, and to outvie in levity and
+extravagance the most practised professors of their new art. Few that
+see or hear them think, that even in the midst of their revels their
+hearts are often far away, or are extracting good from the evil spread
+before them; and that all the waste of time and talent, so openly and
+ostentatiously exhibited, is compensated in secret by longer and
+intenser application to the true object of their pursuit, and by acts
+of atonement and self-denial, of which the conscious stars of heaven
+are the only created witnesses. The worst operation of dissolute
+indulgences on genius is not, perhaps, in producing depravity of
+heart or habits, for its pure plumes have a virtue about them that is
+a preservative against pollution; but in wearing out the frame,
+ruffling the temper, and depressing the spirits, and thus embittering
+as well as shortening a career that, even when most peaceful and
+placid, is often destined to be short and sad enough.
+
+The good-natured sympathy which Mozart always felt in the welfare of
+the very humblest of his brethren of the lyre, is highly creditable to
+him. But the extent to which he sacrificed his own interests to serve
+them, was often any thing but prudent. He was devoid of every sordid
+and avaricious feeling, and indeed carried his generosity to an
+excess.
+
+    "The extreme kindness of his nature was grossly abused by artful
+    performers, music-sellers, and managers of theatres. Whenever any
+    poor artists, strangers in Vienna, applied to him for assistance,
+    he offered them the use of his house and table, introduced them to
+    the persons whom he thought could be of use to them, and
+    frequently composed for their use concertos, of which he did not
+    even keep a copy, in order that they might have the exclusive
+    advantage of playing them. But, not content with this, they sold
+    these pieces to music-publishers; and thus repaid his kindness by
+    robbing him. He seldom received any recompense for his pianoforte
+    compositions, but generally wrote them for his friends, who were,
+    of course, anxious to possess some work of his for their own use,
+    and suited to their powers of playing. Artaria, a music-seller of
+    Vienna, and other members of the trade, contrived to get
+    possession of many of these pieces, and published them without
+    obtaining the author's consent, or making him any remuneration for
+    them. A Polish count, who was invited to a concert at Mozart's
+    house, heard a quintet performed for the first time, with which he
+    was so greatly delighted that he asked Mozart to compose for him a
+    trio for the flute. Mozart agreed, on condition that he should do
+    it at his own time. The count next day sent a polite note,
+    expressive of his thanks for the pleasure he had enjoyed, and,
+    along with it, one hundred gold demi-sovereigns (about L100
+    sterling.) Mozart immediately sent him the original score of the
+    quintet that had pleased him so much. The count returned to Vienna
+    a year afterwards, and, calling upon Mozart, enquired for the
+    trio. Mozart said that he had never found himself in a disposition
+    to write any thing worthy of his acceptance. "Perhaps, then," said
+    the count, "you may find yourself in a disposition to return me
+    the hundred demi-sovereigns I paid you beforehand." Mozart
+    instantly handed him the money, but the count said not a word
+    about the quintet; and the composer soon afterwards had the
+    satisfaction of seeing it published by Artaria, arranged as a
+    quartet, for the pianoforte, violin, tenor, and violoncello.
+    Mozart's quintets for wind instruments, published also as
+    pianoforte quartets, are among the most charming and popular of
+    his instrumental compositions for the chamber; and this anecdote
+    is a specimen of the manner in which he lost the benefit he ought
+    to have derived, even from his finest works. The opera of the
+    'Zauberfloete' was composed for the purpose of relieving the
+    distresses of a manager, who had been ruined by unsuccessful
+    speculations, and came to implore his assistance. Mozart gave him
+    the score without price, with full permission to perform it in his
+    own theatre, and for his own benefit; only stipulating that he was
+    not to give a copy to any one, in order that the author might
+    afterwards be enabled to dispose of the copyright. The manager
+    promised strict compliance with the condition. The opera was
+    brought out, filled his theatre and his pockets, and, some short
+    time afterwards, appeared at five or six different theatres, by
+    means of copies received from the grateful manager."
+
+Mozart's career, when hastening to its close, was illumined by gleams
+of prosperity that came but too late. On returning from Prague, in
+Nov. 1791, from bringing out the _Clemenza di Tito_, at the coronation
+of Leopold, the new Emperor--
+
+    "He found awaiting him the appointment of kapell-meister to the
+    cathedral church of St Stephen, with all its emoluments, besides
+    extensive commissions from Holland and Hungary for works to be
+    periodically delivered. This, with his engagements for the
+    theatres of Prague and Vienna, assured him of a competent income
+    for the future, exempt from all necessity for degrading
+    employment. But prospects of worldly happiness were now phantoms
+    that only came to mock his helplessness, and embitter his parting
+    hour."
+
+    "Now must I go," he would exclaim, "just as I should be able
+    to live in peace; now leave my art when, no longer the slave
+    of fashion, nor the tool of speculators, I could follow the
+    dictates of my own feeling, and write whatever my heart prompts. I
+    must leave my family--my poor children, at the very instant in
+    which I should have been able to provide for their welfare."
+
+The story of his composing the requiem for a mysterious stranger, and
+his melancholy forebodings during its composition, are too well known
+to require repetition here. The incident, to all appearance, was not
+extraordinary in itself, and owed its imposing character chiefly to
+the morbid state of Mozart's mind at the time.
+
+On the 5th of December 1791, the ill-defined disease under which he
+had for some time laboured, ended in his dissolution; and subsequent
+examination showed that inflammation of the brain had taken place. He
+felt that he was dying--"The taste of death," he said to his
+sister-in-law, "is already on my tongue--_I taste death_; and who will
+be near to support my Constance if you go away?"
+
+    "Suessmayer (an assistant) was standing by the bedside, and on the
+    counterpane lay the 'Requiem,' concerning which Mozart was still
+    speaking and giving directions. As he looked over its pages for
+    the last time, he said, with tears in his eyes, 'Did I not tell
+    you that I was writing this for myself?'"
+
+    It should be added that this "Suessmayer, who had obtained
+    possession of one transcript of the 'Requiem,' the other having
+    been delivered to the stranger immediately after Mozart's decease,
+    published the score some years afterwards, claiming to have
+    composed from the _Sanctus_ to the end. As there was no one to
+    contradict this extraordinary story, it found partial credit until
+    1839, when a full score of the 'Requiem' in Mozart's handwriting
+    was discovered."
+
+We have now done. The life and character that we have been
+considering, speak for themselves. Mozart is not perhaps the greatest
+composer that ever lived, but Handel only is greater than he; and to
+be second to Handel, seems now to us the highest conceivable praise.
+Yet, in some departments, Mozart was even greater than his
+predecessor. It is not our intention to characterise his excellences
+as a composer. The millions of mankind that he has delighted in one
+form or other, according to their opportunities and capacities, have
+spoken his best panegyric in the involuntary accents of open and
+enthusiastic admiration; and his name will for ever be sweet in the
+ear of every one who has music in his soul.
+
+Two remarks only we will make upon Mozart's taste and system as a
+master. The first is, that he invariably considered and proclaimed,
+that the great object of music was, not to astonish by its difficulty,
+but to delight by its beauty. Some of his own compositions are
+difficult as well as beautiful, and in some the beauty may be too
+transcendental for senses less exalted than his own. But the
+production of _pleasure_, in all its varied forms and degrees, was his
+uniform aim and effort; and no master has been more successful. Our
+next remark is, that, with all his genius, he was a laborious and
+learned musician; and the monument to his own fame which he has
+completed in his works, was built upon the most anxious, heartfelt,
+and humble study of all the works of excellence that then existed, and
+without knowing and understanding which, he truly felt that he could
+never have equalled or surpassed them.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[6] _The Life of Mozart, including his Correspondence._ By EDWARD
+HOLMES Author of "A Ramble among the Musicians of Germany." London:
+Chapman and Hall. 1845
+
+
+
+
+TO THE EDITOR OF BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE.
+
+    SIR,--The accompanying narrative was originally sent from the
+    Sandwich Islands in the shape of a letter. Since my return to
+    England, it has been suggested to me that it would suit your
+    pages. If you think so, I shall be happy to place it at your
+    disposal. The ground-plan annexed is intended merely to assist the
+    description: it has no pretensions to strict accuracy, the
+    distances have been estimated, not measured.--I remain, Sir, your
+    obedient servant,
+
+  AN OFFICER OF THE ROYAL NAVY.
+
+
+ACCOUNT OF A VISIT TO THE VOLCANO OF KIRAUEA, IN OWHYHEE, SANDWICH
+ISLANDS, IN SEPTEMBER 1844.
+
+The ship being about to proceed to Byron's Bay, (the Hilo of the
+natives,) on the N.E. side of Owhyhee, to water, the captain arranged,
+that to give all opportunity to all those who wished to visit the
+volcano, distant from the anchorage forty miles, the excursion should
+be made in two parties. Having anchored on Wednesday the 11th of
+September, he and several of the officers left Hilo early on the 12th;
+they travelled on horseback, and returned on the ensuing Monday,
+highly delighted with their trip, but giving a melancholy description
+of the road, which they pronounced to be in some places impassable to
+people on foot. This latter intelligence was disheartening to the
+second division, some of whom, and myself of the number, had intended
+to walk. These, notwithstanding, adhered to their resolution; and the
+second party, consisting of eight, left the ship at 6 A.M. on Tuesday.
+Some on horseback, and some on foot, we got away from the village
+about eight o'clock, attended by thirteen natives, to whose calabashes
+our prog and clothing had been transferred; these calabashes answer
+this purpose admirably; they are gourds of enormous size, cut through
+rather above their largest diameter, which is from eighteen inches to
+two feet; the half of another gourd forms the lid, and keeps all clean
+and dry within; when filled, they are hung by net-work to each end of
+a pole thrown across the shoulders of a native, who will thus travel
+with a load of fifty or sixty pounds about three miles an hour. The
+day was fine and bright, and we started in high spirits, the horsemen
+hardly able to conceal their exultation in their superiority over the
+walkers, whilst they cantered over the plain from which our ascent
+commenced; this, 4000 feet almost gradual in forty miles, is not
+fatiguing; and thus, although we found the path through a wood about
+three miles long, very deep, and the air oppressive, we all arrived
+together without distress at the "half-way house," by 1 P.M. Suppose a
+haystack hollowed out, and some holes cut for doors and windows, and
+you have a picture of the "half-way house," and the ordinary dwellings
+of the natives of these islands; it is kept by a respectable person,
+chiefly for the accommodation of travellers, and in it we found the
+comfort of a table, a piece of furniture by these people usually
+considered superfluous. Here we soon made ourselves snug, commencing
+by throwing ourselves on the mats, and allowing a dozen vigorous
+urchins to "rumi rumi" us. In this process of shampooing, every muscle
+is kneaded or beaten; the refreshing luxury it affords can only be
+perfectly appreciated by those who have, like us, walked twenty miles
+on a bad road, in a tropical climate. Here we were to stay the night,
+and our first object was to prepare dinner and then to eat it; all
+seemed disposed to assist in the last part of this operation, and
+where every one was anxious to please, and determined to be pleased,
+sociability could not be absent. After this we whiled away our time
+with books and conversation, till one by one dropping asleep, all
+became quiet, except a wretched child belonging to our hostess, who,
+from one corner of the hut, every now and then set up its shrill pipe
+to disturb our slumbers.
+
+[Illustration: Map of the Crater.]
+
+_Explanation of Plan:--_
+
+  A A The outer rim.
+  B B The inner rim.
+  C The active crater.
+  D D D D D The surface of the larger crater.
+  E E E E The dike.
+  F The house.
+  G The hut.
+  H H Track to and from crater.
+  I I Track of party on Wednesday night.
+  _o o o o o o_ Cones in large crater.
+
+We were on the march the next morning at six, the walkers more
+confident than the horsemen, some of whose beasts did not seem at all
+disposed for another day's work. Our road lay for the most part
+through immense seas of lava, in the crevices of which a variety of
+ferns had taken root, and, though relieving the otherwise _triste_
+appearance, in many places shut out our view of any thing besides. Two
+of the walkers, and some of the horsemen, came in at the journey's
+end, shortly after eleven o'clock; the remainder, some leaving their
+horses behind them, straggled in by two P.M. Here we were at the
+crater! Shall I confess that my first feeling was disappointment? The
+plan shows some distance between the outer and inner rims, immediately
+below the place where the house (F) is situated; this is filled up by
+another level, which shuts out a great part of the prospect; the
+remainder was too distant, and the sun's rays too powerful, to allow
+of our seeing more than a quantity of smoke, and an occasional fiery
+ebullition from the further extremity. It was not until we had walked
+to the hut (G) that we became sensible of the awful grandeur of the
+scene below; from this point we looked perpendicularly down on the
+blackened mass, and felt our insignificance. The path leads between
+many fissures in the ground, from which sulphurous vapour and steam
+issue; the latter, condensing on the surrounding bushes, and falling
+into holes in the compact lava, affords a supply of most excellent
+water. As evening set in, the active volcano assumed from the house
+the appearance of a city in flames; long intersecting lines of fire
+looked like streets in a blaze; and when here and there a more
+conspicuous burst took place, fancy pictured a church or some large
+building a prey to the element. Not contented with this distant view,
+three of our party started for the hut, whence in the afternoon we had
+so fine a prospect. When there, although our curiosity was highly
+gratified, it prompted us to see more; so, pressing a native into our
+service, we proceeded along the brink of the N.W. side, until, being
+nearly half-way round the outer circle of the crater, we had hoped to
+obtain almost a bird's-eye view of the active volcano; we were
+therefore extremely chagrined to find, that as we drew nearer our
+object, it was completely shut out by a ridge below the one on which
+we stood. Our walking had thus far been very difficult, if not
+dangerous, and this, with the fatigues of the morning, had nearly
+exhausted our perseverance. We determined, however, to make another
+effort before giving it up, and were repaid by the discovery of a spur
+which led us down, and thence through a short valley to the point
+where our track (I) terminates. We came in sight of the crater as we
+crested the hill; the view from hence was most brilliant. The crater
+appeared nearly circular, and was traversed in all directions by what
+seemed canals of fire intensely bright; several of these radiated from
+a centre near the N.E. edge, so as to form a star, from which a
+coruscation, as if of jets of burning gas, was emitted. In other parts
+were furnaces in terrible activity, and undergoing continual change,
+sometimes becoming comparatively dark, and then bursting forth,
+throwing up torrents of flame and molten lava. All around the edge it
+seemed exceedingly agitated, and noise like surf was audible;
+otherwise the stillness served to heighten the effect upon the senses,
+which it would be difficult to describe. The waning moon warned us to
+return, and reluctantly we retraced our steps; it required care to do
+this, so that we did not get back to the house before midnight. Worn
+out with the day's exertions, we threw ourselves on the ground and
+fell asleep, but not before I had revolved the possibility of standing
+at the brink of the active crater after nightfall. In the morning we
+matured the plan, which was to descend by daylight, so as to
+reconnoitre our road, to return to dinner, and then, if we thought it
+practicable, to leave the house about 5 P.M., and to remain in the
+large crater till after night set in. The only objection to this
+scheme (and it was a most serious one) was, that when we mentioned it
+to the guides, they appeared completely horror-struck at the notion of
+it. Here, as elsewhere in the neighbourhood of volcanic activity, the
+common people have a superstitious dread of a presiding deity; in this
+place, especially, where they are scarcely rescued from heathenism, we
+were not surprised to find it. This, and their personal fears, (no
+human being ever having, as the natives assured us, entered the crater
+in darkness,) we then found insuperable: all we could do was to take
+the best guides we were able to procure with us by daylight, so that
+they should refresh their memories as to the _locale_, and ascertain
+if any change had taken place since their last visit, and trust to
+being able during our walk to persuade one to return with us in the
+evening. Accordingly we all left the house after breakfast, following
+the track marked (H), which led us precipitously down, till we landed
+on the surface of the large crater, an immense sheet of scoriaceous
+lava cooled suddenly from a state of fusion; the upheaved waves and
+deep hollows evidencing that congelation has taken place before the
+mighty agitation has subsided. It is dotted with cones 60 or 70 feet
+high, and extensively intersected by deep cracks, from both of which
+sulphurous smoke ascends. It is surrounded by a wall about twelve
+miles in circumference, in most parts 1000 feet deep. I despair of
+conveying an idea of what our sensations were, when we first launched
+out on this fearful pit to cross to the active crater at the further
+end. With all the feeling of insecurity that attends treading on
+unsafe ice, was combined the utter sense of helplessness the
+desolation of the scene encouraged: it produced a sort of instinctive
+dread, such as brutes might be supposed to feel in such situations.
+This, however, soon left us, and attending our guides, who led us away
+to the right for about a mile, we turned abruptly to the left, and
+came upon a deep dike, which, running concentric with the sides,
+terminates near the active crater, with which I conceive its bottom is
+on a level. The lava had slipped into it where we crossed, and the
+loose blocks were difficult to scramble over. In the lowest part where
+these had not fallen, the fire appeared immediately beneath the
+surface. The guides here evinced great caution, trying with their
+poles before venturing their weight; the heat was intense, and made us
+glad to find ourselves again on _terra firma_, if that expression may
+be allowed where the walking was exceedingly disagreeable, owing to
+the hollowness of the lava, formed in great bubbles, that continually
+broke and let us in up to our knees. This dike has probably been
+formed by the drainage of the volcano by a lateral vent, as the part
+of the crater which it confines has sunk lower than that outside it,
+and the contraction caused by loss of heat may well account for its
+width, which varies from one to three hundred yards. In support of
+this opinion, I may mention, that in 1840 a molten river broke out,
+eight miles to the eastward, and, in some places six miles broad,
+rolled down to the sea, where it materially altered the line of coast.
+From where we crossed, there is a gradual rise until within 200 yards
+of the volcano, when the surface dips to its margin. Owing to this we
+came suddenly in view of it, and, lost in amazement, walked silently
+on to the brink. To the party who had made the excursion the previous
+evening, the surprise was not so great as to the others; moreover, a
+bright noonday sun, and a floating mirage which made it difficult to
+discern the real from the deceptive, robbed the scene of much of its
+brilliancy; still it was truly sublime, as a feeble attempt at
+description will show. This immense caldron, two and three quarter
+miles in circumference, is filled to within twenty feet of its brim
+with red molten lava, over which lies a thin scum resembling the slag
+on a smelting furnace. The whole surface was in fearful agitation.
+Great rollers followed each other to the side, and, breaking,
+disclosed deep edges of crimson. These were the canals of fire we had
+noticed the night before diverging from a common centre, and the
+furnaces in equal activity; while what had appeared to us like jets of
+gas, proved to be fitful spurts of lava, thrown up from all parts of
+the lake (though principally from the focus near the N.E. edge) a
+height of thirty feet. Most people probably would have been satisfied
+with having witnessed this magnificent spectacle; but our admiration
+was so little exhausted, that the idea continually suggested itself,
+"How grand would this be by night!" The party who had encountered the
+difficulties of the walk the night before, were convinced that no
+greater ones existed in that of to-day; and therefore, if it continued
+fine, and we could induce the guide to accompany us, the project was
+feasible. The avarice of one of these ultimately overcame his fears,
+and, under his direction, we again left the house at 5 P.M., and,
+returning by our old track, reached the hill above the crater about
+the time the sun set, though long after it had sunk below the edge of
+the pit. Here we halted, and smoking our cigars lit from the cracks
+(now red-hot) which we had passed unnoticed in the glare of the
+sunlight, waited until it became quite dark, when we moved on; and,
+great as had been our expectations, we found them faint compared with
+the awful sublimity of the scene before us. The slag now appeared
+semi-transparent, and so extensively perforated as to show one sheet
+of liquid fire, its waves rising high, and pouring over each other in
+magnificent confusion, forming a succession of cascades of unequalled
+grandeur; the canals, now incandescent, the restless activity of the
+numerous vents throwing out great volumes of molten lava, the terrible
+agitation, and the brilliancy of the jets, which, shooting high in the
+air, fell with an echoless, lead-like sound, breaking the otherwise
+impressive stillness; formed a picture that language (at least any
+that I know) is quite inadequate to describe. We felt this; for no one
+spoke except when betrayed into an involuntary burst of amazement. On
+our hands and knees we crawled to the brink, and lying at full length,
+and shading our faces with paper, looked down at the fiery breakers as
+they dashed against the side of the basin beneath. The excessive heat,
+and the fact that the spray was frequently dashed over the edge, put a
+stop to this fool-hardiness; but at a more rational distance we stood
+gazing, with our feelings of wonder and awe so intensely excited, that
+we paid no regard to the entreaties of our guide to quit the spot. He
+at last persuaded us of the necessity of doing so, by pointing to the
+moon, and her distance above the dense cloud which hung, a lurid
+canopy, above the crater. Taking a last look, we "fell in" in Indian
+file, and got back to the house, with no further accident than a few
+bruises, about ten o'clock. The walk had required caution, and it was
+long after I had closed my eyes ere the retina yielded the impressions
+that had been so nervously drawn on them. The next morning at nine, we
+started on our return to the ship, sauntering leisurely along, picking
+strawberries by the way, and enjoying all the satisfaction inherent to
+the successful accomplishment of an undertaking. With health and
+strength for any attempt we had been peculiarly favoured by the
+weather, and had thus done more than any who had preceded us. Our
+party, under these circumstances, was most joyous; so that,
+independent of the object, the relaxation itself was such as we
+creatures of habit and discipline seldom experience.
+
+To make this narrative more intelligible, it will be necessary to
+describe briefly the position and general features of this volcano,
+which does not, like most others, spring from a cone, but has
+excavated for itself a bed in the side of Mowna Roa, which rises
+14,000 feet above the level of the sea; it is about sixteen miles
+distant from the summit of the mountain, wherein is an enormous
+extinct crater, from which this is probably the outlet; it is 4000
+feet above the level of the sea, and twenty miles from the nearest
+coast line. Several distinct levels in the present crater prove that
+it has eaten its way to its present depth. On the most elevated of
+these large trees now grow, evidences of many years' tranquillity;
+lower down we come to shrubs, and lastly to the fern, apparently the
+most venturesome of the vegetable kingdom; it seems to require nothing
+but rest and water, for we found it shooting out of crevices where the
+lava appeared to have undergone no decomposition. Nowhere, I conceive,
+(not even in Iceland,) can be seen such stupendous volcanic efforts as
+in Owhyhee. The whole island, eighty-six miles long by seventy broad,
+and rising, as it does at Mowna Keah, more than 15,000 feet above the
+sea, would seem to have been formed by layers of lava imposed at
+different periods. Some of these have followed quickly on each other;
+while the thickness of soil, made up of vegetable mould and decomposed
+lava, indicates a long interval of repose between others. The present
+surface is comparatively recent, though there is no tradition of any
+but partial eruptions.
+
+"O Lord! how manifold are Thy works: in wisdom hast Thou made them
+all!"
+
+We reached the village the next day at 1 P.M., and after a refreshing
+bathe, returned on board to find the ship prepared for sea, to which
+we proceeded the following morning at four o'clock.
+
+
+
+
+THE DAYS OF THE FRONDE.
+
+
+At the beginning of the present year, and upon the authority of M.
+Alexandre Dumas, we laid before the readers of this Magazine a sketch
+of certain incidents in the lives of three French guardsmen, who, in
+company with a young cadet of Gascony, fought, drank, loved, and
+plotted under the reign of Louis the Thirteenth and the rule of
+Richelieu. The sketch was incomplete: contrary to established
+practice, M. Dumas neither married nor killed his heroes; but after
+exposing them to innumerable perils, out of all of which they came
+triumphant, although from none did they derive any important benefit,
+he left them nearly as he found them--with their fortunes still to
+make, and with little to rely upon save their good swords and their
+dauntless courage. He promised, however, a continuation of their
+history, and that promise he has kept, but with a difference. Passing
+over a score of years, he again introduces us to the guardsmen, whom
+he left in the heyday of youth, and who have now attained, most of
+them passed, the sober age of forty.
+
+Twenty years later, then, we find D'Artagnan, the young Gascon
+gentleman aforesaid, alone upon the scene. His three friends,
+influenced by various motives, have retired from the corps of
+mousquetaires: Athos to reside upon a small estate in Poitou, Porthos
+to marry a rich widow, Aramis to become an abbe. D'Artagnan alone,
+having no estate to retire to larger than a cabbage-garden, no widow
+to marry, or inclination for the church, has stuck to the service with
+credit, but with small profit to himself; and the lieutenancy bestowed
+upon him by the Cardinal-Duke in 1628, is still a lieutenancy in 1648,
+under Richelieu's less able, but equally ambitious successor, Cardinal
+Mazarine. Moreover, deprived, during the greater part of these twenty
+years, of the society of his three fiends, who had in some measure
+formed his character, and from the example of two of whom he had
+caught much of what chivalry and elegance he possessed--deprived also
+of opportunities of displaying those peculiar talents for bold
+intrigue, which had once enabled him to thwart the projects of
+Richelieu himself, D'Artagnan has degenerated into a mere trooper. His
+talents and shrewdness have not deserted him; on the contrary, the
+latter has increased with his experience of the world; but instead of
+being employed in the service of queens and princes, their exercise
+has been for some years confined to procuring their owner those
+physical and positive comforts which soldiers seek and prize--namely,
+a good table, comfortable quarters, and a complaisant hostess.
+
+Although thus making the best of his position, and only occasionally
+grumbling at the caprice of Dame Fortune, who seems entirely to have
+forgotten him, it is with a lively sensation of joy that D'Artagnan,
+one evening when on guard at the Palais Royal, hears himself summoned
+to the presence of Mazarine. It is at the commencement of the Fronde;
+the exactions of the cardinal have irritated the people, who show
+symptoms of open resistance; his enemies, already sufficiently
+numerous, are daily increasing and becoming more formidable. Mazarine
+trembles for his power, and looks around him for men of head and
+action, to aid him in breasting the storm and carrying out his
+schemes. He hears tell of the four guardsmen, whose fidelity and
+devotion had once saved the reputation of Anne of Austria, and baffled
+the most powerful minister France ever saw; these four men he resolves
+to make his own, and D'Artagnan is dispatched to find his three former
+companions, and induce them to espouse the cause of the cardinal. The
+mission is but partially successful. D'Artagnan finds Porthos, whose
+real name is Du Vallon, rich, flourishing, and a widower, but,
+notwithstanding all these advantages, perfectly unhappy because he has
+no title. Vanity was always the failing of Porthos. Aramis, otherwise
+the Chevalier--now the Abbe--d'Herblay, is up to the ears in intrigues
+of every description. Athos, Count de la Fere, has abandoned the
+wine-flask, formerly the deity of his adoration, and is busied in the
+education of a natural son, a youth of sixteen, of whom the beautiful
+Duchess of Chevreuse is the mother. By the promise of a barony,
+D'Artagnan easily induces Porthos to follow him to Paris; but with his
+other two friends he is less successful. Athos and Aramis put him off
+with excuses, for both have already pledged themselves to the cause of
+the Fronde and of the Duke of Beaufort.
+
+This prince, the grandson of Henry the Fourth, and of the celebrated
+Gabrielle D'Estrees, is a prisoner in the fortress of Vincennes, and a
+constant subject of uneasiness to Mazarine. Brave as steel, but of
+limited capacity, the idol of the people, who, by the use of his name,
+are easily roused to rebellion, the duke has beguiled his long
+captivity by abuse of the Facchino Mazarini, as he styles the
+cardinal, and by keeping up a constant petty warfare with the governor
+of Vincennes, Monsieur de Chavigny. On his way to prison, he boasted
+to his guards that he had at least forty plans of escape, some one of
+which would infallibly succeed. This was repeated to the cardinal; and
+so well is the duke guarded in consequence, that five years have
+elapsed and he is still at Vincennes. At last his friends find means
+of communicating with him, and Grimaud, the servant of the Count de la
+Fere, is introduced, in the capacity of an under jailer, into the
+fortress, where, by his taciturnity and apparent strictness, he gains
+the entire confidence of La Ramee, an official who, under M. de
+Chavigny, is appointed to the especial guardianship of the Duke of
+Beaufort. An attempt to escape is fixed for the day of the Pentecost.
+Upon the morning of that day, Monsieur de Chavigny starts upon a short
+journey, leaving the castle in charge of La Ramee, whom the duke
+invites to sup with him upon a famous pasty, that has been ordered for
+the occasion from a confectioner who has recently established himself
+at Vincennes. Here is what takes place at the repast.
+
+La Ramee, who, at the bottom of his heart, entertained a considerable
+degree of regard and affection for M. de Beaufort, made himself a
+great treat of this tete-a-tete supper. His chief foible was gluttony,
+and for this grand occasion the confectioner had promised to outdo
+himself. The pasty was to be of pheasants, the wine of the best
+vintage of Chambertin. By adding to the agreeable images which this
+promise called up in his mind, the society of the duke, who in the
+main was such an excellent fellow, who played Monsieur de Chavigny
+such capital tricks, and made such biting jokes against the cardinal,
+La Ramee had composed a picture of a perfectly delightful evening,
+which he looked forward to with proportionate jubilation, and with an
+impatience almost equalling that of the duke. His first visit that
+morning had been to the pastrycook, who had shown him the crust of a
+gigantic pasty, decorated at the top with the arms of Monsieur de
+Beaufort. The said crust was still empty, but beside it were a
+pheasant and two partridges, so minutely and closely larded, that each
+of them looked like a cushion stuck full of pins. La Ramee's mouth
+watered at the sight.
+
+Early in the day, M. de Beaufort went to play at ball with La Ramee; a
+sign from Grimaud warned him to pay attention to every thing. Grimaud
+walked before them, as if to point out the road that he and the duke
+would have to take that evening. The place where they were in the
+habit of playing was the smaller court of the fortress--a solitary
+enclosure, where sentinels were only stationed when the duke was
+there; even that precaution seeming unnecessary, on account of the
+great height of the ramparts. There were three doors to open before
+reaching this court, and each door was opened with a different key.
+All three keys were kept by La Ramee. When they reached the court,
+Grimaud seated himself negligently in one of the embrasures, his legs
+dangling outside the wall. The duke understood that the rope-ladder
+was to be fixed at that place. This, and other manoeuvres,
+comprehensible enough to M. de Beaufort, and carefully noted by him,
+had, of course, no intelligible meaning for La Ramee.
+
+The game began. M. de Beaufort was in play, and sent the balls
+wherever he liked; La Ramee could not win a game. When they had
+finished playing, the duke, whilst rallying La Ramee on his ill
+success, pulled out a couple of louis-d'ors, and offered them to his
+guards, who had followed him to the court to pick up the balls,
+telling them to go and drink his health. The guards asked La Ramee's
+permission, which he gave, but for the evening only. Up to that time
+he had various important matters to arrange, some of which would
+require him to absent himself from his prisoner, whom he did not wish
+to be lost sight of.
+
+Six o'clock came, and although the dinner-hour was fixed for seven,
+the table was already spread, and the enormous pie placed upon the
+side-board. Every body was impatient for something: the guards to go
+and drink, La Ramee to dine, and Monsieur de Beaufort to escape.
+Grimaud was the only one who seemed to be waiting for nothing, and to
+remain perfectly calm; and at times when the duke looked at his dull,
+immoveable countenance, he almost doubted whether that could be the
+man who was to aid his projected flight.
+
+At half-past six La Ramee dismissed the guards, the duke sat down at
+the table, and signed to his jailer to take a chair opposite to him.
+Grimaud served the soup, and stationed himself behind La Ramee. The
+most perfect enjoyment was depicted on the countenance of the latter,
+as he commenced the repast from which he had been anticipating so much
+pleasure. The duke looked at him with a smile.
+
+"Ventre St Gris! La Ramee," cried he, "if I were told that at this
+moment there is in all France a happier man than yourself, I would not
+believe it."
+
+"And you would be quite right not to do so, Monseigneur," said La
+Ramee. "I confess that, when I am hungry, I know no pleasure equal to
+that of sitting down to a good dinner; and when I remember that my
+Amphitryon is the grandson of Henry the Fourth, the pleasure is at
+least doubled by the honour done to me."
+
+The duke bowed. "My dear La Ramee," said he, "you are unequaled in the
+art of paying compliments."
+
+"It is no compliment, Monseigneur," said La Ramee; "I say exactly what
+I think."
+
+"You are really attached to me then?" said the duke.
+
+"Most sincerely," replied La Ramee; "and I should be inconsolable if
+your highness were to leave Vincennes."
+
+"A singular proof of affection that!" returned the duke.
+
+"But, Monseigneur," continued La Ramee, sipping at a glass of Madeira,
+"what would you do if you were set at liberty? You would only get into
+some new scrape, and be sent to the Bastile instead of to Vincennes."
+
+"Indeed!" said the duke, considerably amused at the turn the
+conversation was taking, and glancing at the clock, of which the
+hands, as he thought, advanced more slowly than usual.
+
+"M. de Chavigny is not very amiable," said La Ramee, "but M. de
+Tremblay is a great deal worse. You may depend, Monseigneur, that it
+was a real kindness to send you here, where you breathe a fine air,
+and have nothing to do but to eat and drink, and play at ball."
+
+"According to your account, La Ramee, I was very ungrateful ever to
+think of escaping."
+
+"Exceedingly so," replied La Ramee; "but your highness never did think
+seriously of it."
+
+"Indeed did I, though!" said the duke; "and what is more, folly though
+it may be, I sometimes think of it still."
+
+"Still by one of your forty plans, Monseigneur?"
+
+The duke nodded affirmatively.
+
+"Monseigneur," resumed La Ramee, "since you have so far honoured me
+with your confidence, I wish you would tell me one of the forty
+methods of escape which your highness had invented."
+
+"With pleasure," replied the duke. "Grimaud, give me the pasty."
+
+"I am all attention," said La Ramee, leaning back in his chair, and
+raising his glass so as to look at the setting sun through the liquid
+amber which it contained. The duke glanced at the clock. Ten minutes
+more and it would strike seven, the hour for which his escape was
+concerted. Grimaud placed the pie before M. de Beaufort, who took his
+silver-bladed knife--steel ones were not allowed him--to cut it; but
+La Ramee, unwilling to see so magnificent a pasty mangled by a dull
+knife, passed him his own, which was of steel.
+
+"Well, Monseigneur," said he, "and this famous plan?"
+
+"Do you wish me to tell you," said the duke, "the one on the success
+of which I most reckoned, and which I intended to try the first?"
+
+"By all means," said La Ramee.
+
+"Well," said M. de Beaufort, who was busy in the dissection of the
+pie, "in the first place I hoped to have for my guardian some honest
+fellow like yourself, Monsieur La Ramee."
+
+"Your hope was realized, Monseigneur. And then?"
+
+"I said to myself," continued the duke, "if once I have about me a
+good fellow like La Ramee, I will get a friend, whom he does not know
+to be my friend, to recommend to him a man devoted to my interests,
+and who will aid my escape."
+
+"Good!" said La Ramee. "No bad idea."
+
+"When I have accomplished this," said the duke, "if the man is
+skilful, and manages to gain the confidence of my jailer, I shall have
+no difficulty in keeping up a communication with my friends."
+
+"Indeed!" said La Ramee; "how so?"
+
+"Easily enough," replied M. de Beaufort; "in playing at ball, for
+instance."
+
+"In playing at ball!" repeated La Ramee, who was beginning to pay
+great attention to the duke's words.
+
+"Yes. I strike a ball into the moat; a man who is at hand, working in
+his garden, picks it up. The ball contains a letter. Instead of
+throwing back the same ball, he throws another, which contains a
+letter for me. My friends hear from me and I from them, without any
+one being the wiser."
+
+"The devil!" said La Ramee, scratching his head, "you do well to tell
+me this, Monseigneur. In future I will keep an eye on pickers up of
+balls. But, after all, that is only a means of correspondence."
+
+"Wait a little. I write to my friends--'On such a day and at such an
+hour, be in waiting on the other side of the moat with two led
+horses.'"
+
+"Well," said La Ramee, with some appearance of uneasiness, "but what
+then? Unless, indeed, the horses have wings, and can fly up the
+rampart to fetch you."
+
+"Or that I have means of flying down," said the duke, carelessly. "A
+rope-ladder, for instance."
+
+"Yes," said La Ramee, with a forced laugh; "but a rope ladder can
+hardly be sent in a tennis-ball, though a letter may."
+
+"No; but it may be sent in something else. Let us only suppose, for
+argument's sake, that my cook, Noirmont, has purchased the
+pastrycook's shop opposite the castle. La Ramee, who is a bit of an
+epicure, tries his pies, finds them excellent, and asks me if I would
+like to taste one. I accept the offer, on condition that he shall help
+me to eat it. To do so more at his ease, he sends away the guards, and
+only keeps Grimaud here to wait upon us. Grimaud is the man whom my
+friend has recommended, and who is ready to second me in all things.
+The moment of my escape is fixed for seven o'clock. At a few minutes
+to seven"----
+
+"At a few minutes to seven!" repeated La Ramee, perspiring with alarm.
+
+"At a few minutes to seven," continued the duke, suiting the action to
+the word, "I take the crust off the pie. Inside it, I find two
+poniards, a rope-ladder, and a gag. I put one of the poniards to La
+Ramee's breast, and I say to him--'My good friend, La Ramee, if you
+make a motion or utter a cry, you are a dead man!'"
+
+The duke, as we have already said, whilst uttering these last
+sentences, had acted in conformity. He was now standing close to La
+Ramee, to whom his tone of voice, and the sight of the dagger levelled
+at his heart, intimated plainly enough that M. de Beaufort would keep
+his word. Meanwhile Grimaud, silent as the grave, took out of the pie
+the second poniard, the rope-ladder, and the gag. La Ramee followed
+each of these objects with his eyes with a visibly increasing terror.
+
+"Oh, Monseigneur!" cried he, looking at the duke with an air of
+stupefaction, which at any other time would have made M. de Beaufort
+laugh heartily, "you would not have the heart to kill me?"
+
+"No, if you do not oppose my flight."
+
+"But, Monseigneur, if I let you escape, I am a ruined man."
+
+"I will pay you the value of your office."
+
+"And if I defend myself, or call out?"
+
+"By the honour of a gentleman, you die upon the spot!"
+
+At this moment the clock struck.
+
+"Seven o'clock," said Grimaud, who had not yet uttered a word.
+
+La Ramee made a movement. The duke frowned, and the unlucky jailer
+felt the point of the dagger penetrate his clothes, and press against
+his breast.
+
+"Enough, Monseigneur," cried he; "I will not stir. But I entreat you
+to tie my hands and feet, or I shall be taken for your accomplice."
+
+The duke took off his girdle, and gave it to Grimaud, who tied La
+Ramee's hands firmly behind his back. La Ramee then held out his legs;
+Grimaud tore a napkin into strips, and bound his ankles together.
+
+"And now the gag!" cried poor La Ramee; "the gag! I insist upon it; or
+they will hang me for not having given the alarm."
+
+In an instant La Ramee was gagged, and laid upon the ground; two or
+three chairs were overturned, to make it appear that there had been a
+struggle. Grimaud took from La Ramee's pockets all the keys that they
+contained, opened the room-door, shut and double-locked it when the
+duke and himself had passed out, and led the way to the court. This
+the fugitives reached without accident or encounter, and found it
+entirely deserted; no sentinels, nor any body at the windows that
+overlooked it. The duke hurried to the rampart, and saw upon the
+further side of the moat three horsemen and two led horses. He
+exchanged a sign with them; they were waiting for him. Meanwhile
+Grimaud was fastening the rope by which the descent was to be
+effected. It was not a ladder, but a silken cord rolled upon a stick,
+which was to be placed between the legs, and become unrolled by the
+weight of the person descending.
+
+"Go," said the duke.
+
+"First, Monseigneur?" asked Grimaud.
+
+"Certainly," was the reply; "if I am taken, a prison awaits me; if you
+are caught, you will be hung."
+
+"True," said Grimaud; and putting himself astride the stick, he
+commenced his perilous descent. The duke followed him anxiously with
+his eyes. About three quarters of the distance were accomplished, when
+the cord broke, and Grimaud fell into the moat. M. de Beaufort uttered
+a cry; but Grimaud said nothing, although he was evidently severely
+hurt, for he remained motionless upon the spot on which he had fallen.
+One of the three horsemen slid down into the moat, fastened the noose
+of a rope under the arms of Grimaud, and his two companions, who held
+the other end, pulled him up.
+
+"Come down, Monseigneur," cried the cavaliers; "the fall is only about
+fifteen feet, and the grass is soft."
+
+The duke was already descending. His task was difficult; for the stick
+was no longer there to sustain him, and he was obliged to lower
+himself along the slender rope from a height of fifty feet by sheer
+force of wrist. But his activity, strength, and coolness came to his
+aid; in less than five minutes he was at the end of the cord. He then
+let go his hold, and fell upon his feet without injury. Climbing out
+of the moat, he found himself in the company of Count Rochefort, and
+of two other gentlemen with whom he was unacquainted. Grimaud, whose
+senses had left him, was fastened upon a horse.
+
+"Gentlemen," said the duke, "I will thank you by and by; just now we
+have not an instant to lose. Forward then, and let who loves me
+follow."
+
+And springing upon his horse, he set off at full gallop, breathing as
+if a load were removed from his breast, and exclaiming in accents of
+inexpressible joy--
+
+"Free! Free! Free!"
+
+The two cavaliers who accompany the Duke and the Count de Rochefort,
+are Athos and Aramis. D'Artagnan and Porthos are sent in pursuit of
+the cardinal, and in the obscurity by night the four friends, who have
+so often fought side by side, find themselves at sword's point with
+each other. Fortunately a recognition ensues before any harm is done.
+A strong party of the Duke of Beaufort's adherents comes up, and
+D'Artagan and Porthos are taken prisoners, but immediately set at
+liberty by the duke.
+
+The readers of the _Three Mousquetaires_ will not have forgotten a
+certain Lady de Winter, having a _fleur-de-lis_ branded on her
+shoulder, who plays an important part in that romance, and who, after
+committing innumerable crimes, at last meets her death at the hands of
+a public executioner, but without form of trial. This latter, indeed,
+might be considered almost superfluous, so numerous and notorious were
+her offences; but nevertheless, D'Artagnan and his three friends, by
+whose order and in whose presence the execution took place, sometimes
+feel pangs of remorse for the deed, which none of the many lives they
+have taken in fair and open fight ever occasion them. Athos
+especially, the most reflecting and sensitive of the four, continually
+reproaches himself with the share he took in that act of illegal
+justice. This woman has left a son, who inherits all her vices, and
+who, having been proved illegitimate, has been deprived of Lord De
+Winter's estates, and passes by the name of Mordaunt. He is now
+brought upon the scene. Raoul, Viscount of Braguelonne, the son of
+Athos, is proceeding to Flanders, in company with the young Count de
+Guiche, to join the army under the Prince of Conde, when, on the last
+day of his journey, and whilst passing through a forest, he falls in
+with, and disperses a party of Spanish marauders who are robbing and
+ill-treating two travellers. Of these latter, one is dead, and the
+other, who is desperately wounded, implores the aid of a priest. Raoul
+and his friend order their attendants to form a litter of branches,
+and to convey the wounded man to a neighbouring forest inn, whilst
+they hasten on to the next village to procure him the spiritual
+consolation he is so urgent to obtain.
+
+The two young men had ridden more than a league, and were already in
+sight of the village of Greney, when they saw coming towards them,
+mounted upon a mule, a poor monk, whom, from his large hat and grey
+woollen gown, they took to be an Augustine friar. Chance seemed to
+have sent them exactly what they were seeking. Upon approaching the
+monk, they found him to be a man of two or three and twenty years of
+age, but who might have been taken for some years older, owing
+probably to long fasts and severe penances. His complexion was pale,
+not that clear white paleness which is agreeable to behold, but a
+bilious yellow; his hair was of a light colour, and his eyes, of a
+greenish grey, seemed devoid of all expression.
+
+"Sir," said Raoul, with his usual politeness, "have you taken orders?"
+
+"Why do you ask?" said the stranger, in a tone so abrupt as to be
+scarcely civil.
+
+"For our information," replied the Count de Guiche haughtily.
+
+The stranger touched his mule with his heel, and moved onwards. With a
+bound of his horse, De Guiche placed himself before him, blocking up
+the road. "Answer, sir" said he. "The question was polite put, and
+deserves a reply."
+
+"I am not obliged, I suppose, to inform the first comer who and what I
+am."
+
+With considerable difficulty De Guiche repressed a violent inclination
+to break the bones of the insolent monk.
+
+"In the first place," said he, "we will tell you who _we_ are. My
+friend here is the Viscount of Braguelonne, and I am the Count de
+Guiche. It is no mere caprice that induces us to question you; we are
+seeking spiritual aid for a dying man. If you are a priest, I call
+upon you in the name of humanity to afford him the assistance he
+implores; if, on the other hand, you are not in orders, I warn you to
+expect the chastisement which your impertinence merits."
+
+The monk's pale face became livid, and a smile of so strange an
+expression overspread it, that Raoul, whose eyes were fixed upon him,
+felt an involuntary and unaccountable uneasiness.
+
+"He is some spy of the Imperialists," said the viscount, putting his
+hand upon his pistols. A stern and menacing glance from the monk
+replied to the accusation.
+
+"Well, sir," said De Guiche, "will you answer?"
+
+"I am a priest," replied the young man, his face resuming its former
+calm inexpressiveness.
+
+"Then, holy father," said Raoul, letting his pistol fall back into the
+holster, and giving a tone of respect to his words, "since you are a
+priest, you have now an opportunity of exercising your sacred
+functions. A man wounded to death is at the little inn which you will
+soon find upon your road, and he implores the assistance of one of
+God's ministers."
+
+"I will go to him," said the monk calmly, setting his mule in motion.
+
+"If you do not, sir," said De Guiche, "remember that our horses will
+soon overtake your mule, that we possess sufficient influence to have
+you seized wherever you go, and that then your trial will be very
+short. A tree and a rope are to be found every where."
+
+The eyes of the monk emitted an angry spark, but he merely repeated
+the words, "I will go to him," and rode on.
+
+"Let us follow," said De Guiche; "it will be the surest plan."
+
+"I was about to propose it," said Raoul. And the young men followed
+the monk at pistol-shot distance.
+
+On arriving in sight of the roadside tavern, they saw their servants
+approaching it from the opposite direction, leading their horses, and
+carrying the wounded man. On perceiving the monk, an expression of joy
+illuminated the countenance of the sufferer.
+
+"And now," said Raoul, "we have done all we can for you, and must
+hasten onwards to join the prince's army. There is to be a battle
+to-morrow, it is said, and we would not miss it."
+
+The host had got everything ready, a bed, lint and bandages, and a
+messenger had been dispatched to Lens, which was the nearest town, to
+bring back a surgeon.
+
+"You will follow us," said Raoul to the servants, "as soon as you have
+conveyed this person to his room. A horseman will arrive here in the
+course of the afternoon," added he to the innkeeper, "and will
+probably enquire if the Viscount de Braguelonne has passed this way.
+He is one of my attendants, and his name is Grimaud. You will tell him
+that I have passed, and shall sleep at Cambrin."
+
+By this time the litter had reached the door of the inn. The monk got
+off his mule, ordered it to be put in the stable without unsaddling,
+and entered the house. The two young men rode away, followed by the
+benedictions of the wounded man.
+
+The litter was just being carried into the inn, when the hostess
+hurried forward to receive her guests. On catching sight of the
+sufferer, she seized her husband's arm with an exclamation of terror.
+
+"Well," said the host, "what is the matter?"
+
+"Do you not recognise him?" said the woman, pointing to the wounded
+man.
+
+"Recognise him! No--yet--surely I remember the face. Can it be?"----
+
+"The former headsman of Bethune," said his wife, completing the
+sentence.
+
+"The headsman of Bethune!" repeated the young monk, recoiling with a
+look and gesture of marked repugnance.
+
+The chief of Raoul's attendants perceived the disgust with which the
+monk heard the quality of his penitent.
+
+"Sir," he said, "although he may have been an executioner, or even if
+he still be so, it is no reason for refusing him the consolations of
+religion. Render him the service he claims at your hands, and you will
+have the more merit in the sight of God."
+
+The monk made no reply, but entered a room on the ground-floor, in
+which the servants were now placing the wounded man upon a bed. As he
+did so, every one left the apartment, and the penitent remained alone
+with his confessor. The presence of Raoul's and De Guiche's followers
+being no longer required, the latter remounted their horses, and set
+off at a sharp trot to rejoin their masters, who were already out of
+sight.
+
+They had been gone but a few minutes, when a single horseman rode up
+to the door of the inn.
+
+"What is your pleasure, sir?" said the host, still pale and aghast at
+the discovery his wife had made.
+
+"A feed for my horse, and a bottle of wine for myself," was the reply.
+"Have you seen a young gentleman pass by," continued the stranger,
+"mounted on a chestnut horse, and followed by two attendants."
+
+"The Viscount de Braguelonne?" said the innkeeper.
+
+"The same."
+
+"Then you are Monsieur Grimaud?"
+
+The traveller nodded assent.
+
+"Your master was here not half an hour ago," said the host. "He has
+ridden on, and will sleep at Cambrin."
+
+Grimaud sat down at a table, wiped the dust and perspiration from his
+face, poured out a glass of wine, and drank in silence. He was about
+to fill his glass a second time, when a loud shrill cry was heard,
+issuing from the apartment in which the monk and the patient were shut
+up together. Grimaud started to his feet.
+
+"What is that?" exclaimed he.
+
+"From the wounded man's room," replied the host.
+
+"What wounded man?"
+
+"The former headsman of Bethune, who has been set upon and sorely hurt
+by Spanish partisans. The Viscount de Braguelonne rescued and brought
+him hither, and he is now confessing himself to an Augustine friar. He
+seems to suffer terribly."
+
+"The headsman of Bethune," muttered Grimaud, apparently striving to
+recollect something. "A man of fifty-five or sixty years of age, tall
+and powerful; of dark complexion, with black hair and beard?"
+
+"The same; excepting that his beard has become grey, and his hair
+white. Do you know him?"
+
+"I have seen him once," replied Grimaud gloomily.
+
+At this moment another cry was heard, less loud than the first, but
+followed by a long deep groan. Grimaud and the innkeeper looked at
+each other.
+
+"It is like the cry of a man who is being murdered," said the latter.
+
+"We must see what it is," said Grimaud.
+
+Although slow to speak, Grimaud was prompt in action. He rushed to the
+door, and shook it violently; it was secured on the inner side.
+
+"Open the door instantly," cried he, "or I break it down."
+
+No answer was returned. Grimaud looked around him, and perceived a
+heavy crowbar standing in a corner of the passage. This he seized hold
+of, and before the host could interfere, the door was burst open. The
+room was inundated with blood, which was trickling from the mattrass;
+there was a hoarse rattling in the wounded man's throat; the monk had
+disappeared. Grimaud hurried to an open window which looked upon the
+court-yard.
+
+"He has escaped through this," said he.
+
+"Do you think so?" said the host. "Boy, see if the monk's mule is
+still in the stable."
+
+"It is gone," was the answer.
+
+Grimaud approached the bed, and gazed upon the harsh and strongly
+marked features of the wounded man.
+
+"Is he still alive?" said the host.
+
+Without replying, Grimaud opened the man's doublet to feel if his
+heart beat, and at the same time the innkeeper approached the bed.
+Suddenly both started back with an exclamation of horror. A poniard
+was buried to the hilt in the left breast of the headsman.
+
+What had passed between the priest and his penitent was as follows.
+
+It has been seen that the monk showed himself little disposed to delay
+his journey in order to receive the confession of the wounded man; so
+little, indeed, that he would probably have endeavoured to avoid it by
+flight, had not the menaces of the Count de Guiche, and afterwards the
+presence of the servants, or perhaps his own reflections, induced him
+to perform to the end the duties of his sacred office.
+
+On finding himself alone with the sufferer, he approached the pillow
+of the latter. The headsman examined him with one of those rapid,
+anxious looks peculiar to dying men, and made a movement of surprise.
+
+"You are very young, holy father," said he.
+
+"Those who wear my dress have no age," replied the monk severely.
+
+"Alas, good father, speak to me more kindly! I need a friend in these
+my last moments."
+
+"Do you suffer much?" asked the monk.
+
+"Yes, but in soul rather than in body."
+
+"We will save your soul," said the young man; "but, tell me, are you
+really the executioner of Bethune, as these people say?"
+
+"I was," replied the wounded man hurriedly, as though fearful that the
+acknowledgment of his degrading profession might deprive him of the
+assistance of which he stood in such imminent need. "I was, but I am
+so no longer; I gave up my office many years ago. I am still obliged
+to appear at executions, but I no longer officiate. Heaven forbid that
+I should!"
+
+"You have a horror of your profession, then?"
+
+The headsman groaned.
+
+"So long as I only struck in the name of the law and of justice," said
+he, "my conscience was at rest, and my sleep untroubled; but since
+that terrible night when I served as instrument of a private
+vengeance, and raised my sword with hatred against one of God's
+creatures--since that night"----
+
+The headsman paused, and shook his head despairingly.
+
+"Speak on," said the monk, who had seated himself on the edge of the
+bed, and began to take an interest in a confession that commenced so
+strangely.
+
+"Ah!" exclaimed the dying man, "what efforts have I not made to stifle
+my remorse by twenty years of good works! I have exposed my own
+existence to preserve that of others, and have saved human lives in
+exchange for the one I had unwarrantably taken. I frequented the
+churches, sought out the poor to console and relieve them; those who
+once avoided became accustomed to see me, and some have even loved me.
+But God has not pardoned me; for, do what I will, the memory of my
+crime pursues me, and each night in my dreams the spectre of that
+woman stands menacing before me."
+
+"A woman! Was it a woman, then, whom you assassinated?" cried the
+monk.
+
+"And you, too," exclaimed the headsman--"you, too, use that word,
+assassinated. It _was_ an assassination, then, not an execution, and I
+am a murderer!"
+
+He shut his eyes and uttered a hollow moan. The monk feared probably
+that he would die without completing his confession, for he hastened
+to console him.
+
+"Go on," said he. "I cannot yet know how far you are guilty. When I
+have heard all, I will decide. Tell me, then, how you came to commit
+this deed."
+
+"It was night," resumed the headsman, in faltering accents: "a man
+came to my house to seek me, and showed me an order. I followed him.
+Four other gentlemen were waiting for him; they put a mask upon my
+face, and led me with them. I was resolved to resist, if what they
+required me to do appeared unjust. We rode on for five or six leagues
+almost without uttering a word; at last we halted--and they showed me,
+through the window of a cottage, a woman seated at a table. 'That,'
+said they, 'is she whom you are to decapitate.'"
+
+"Horrible!" exclaimed the monk. "And you obeyed?"
+
+"Father, that woman was a monster; she had poisoned her husband, had
+tried to assassinate her brother-in-law, who was one of the men that
+now accompanied me; she had murdered a young girl whom she thought her
+rival; and, before leaving England, had instigated the assassination
+of the king's favourite."
+
+"Buckingham?" exclaimed the monk.
+
+"Yes, Buckingham--that was the name."
+
+"She was an Englishwoman, then?"
+
+"No--a Frenchwoman, but she had been married to an English nobleman."
+
+The monk grew pale, passed his hand across his forehead, and, rising
+from the bed, approached the door and bolted it. The headsman thought
+that he was leaving him, and implored him to return.
+
+"I am here," said the monk, resuming his seat. "Who were the five men
+who accompanied you?"
+
+"One was an Englishman; the other four were French, and wore the
+uniform of the mousquetaires."
+
+"Their names?" demanded the monk.
+
+"I do not know them. But the four Frenchmen called the Englishman 'My
+lord.'"
+
+"And the woman; was she young?"
+
+"Young and beautiful, most beautiful, as she kneeled before me
+imploring mercy. I have never been able to understand how I had the
+courage to strike off that pale and lovely head."
+
+The monk seemed to be under the influence of some violent emotion; his
+limbs trembled, and he appeared unable to speak. At last, mastering
+himself by a strong effort--"The name of this woman?" said he.
+
+"I do not know it. She had been married twice, once in France and once
+in England."
+
+"And you killed her!" said the monk, vehemently. "You served as
+instrument to those dastardly villains who dared not kill her
+themselves. You had no pity on her youth, her beauty, her weakness!
+You killed her!"
+
+"Alas! holy father," said the headsman, "this woman concealed, under
+the exterior of an angel, the vices of a demon; and when I saw her,
+when I remembered all that I had myself suffered from her"----
+
+"You? And what could she have done to you?"
+
+"She had seduced my brother, who was a priest, had fled with him from
+his convent, lost him both body and soul."
+
+"Your brother?"
+
+"Yes, my brother had been her first lover. Oh, my father! do not look
+at me thus. I am very guilty, then! You cannot pardon me!"
+
+The monk composed his features, which had assumed a terrible
+expression during the latter part of the dying man's confession.
+
+"I will pardon you," said he, "if you tell me all. Since your brother
+was her first lover, you must know her maiden name. Tell it me."
+
+"Oh, my God! my God!" exclaimed the headsman--"I am dying! Absolution,
+holy father! absolution!"
+
+"Her name," said the monk, "and I give it to you."
+
+The headsman, who was convulsed with agony, both physical and moral,
+seemed scarcely able to speak. The monk bent over him as if to catch
+the smallest sound he should utter.
+
+"Her name," said he, "or no absolution." The dying man seemed to
+collect all his strength.
+
+"Anne de Bueil," murmured he.
+
+"Anne de Bueil!" repeated the monk, rising to his feet and lifting his
+hands to heaven, "Anne de Bueil! Did you say Anne de Bueil?"
+
+"Yes, yes, that was her name; and now absolve me, for I am dying."
+
+"_I_ absolve you?" cried the monk, with a laugh that made the
+sufferer's hair stand on end; "_I_ absolve you? I am no priest!"
+
+"You are no priest!" cried the headsman; "but who and what are you,
+then?"
+
+"I will tell you, miscreant! I am John de Winter, and that woman"----
+
+"And that woman"----gasped the executioner.
+
+"Was my mother!"
+
+The headsman uttered a shriek, the long and terrible one which Grimaud
+and the innkeeper had heard.
+
+"Oh, pardon, pardon!" murmured he--"forgive me, if not in God's name,
+at least in your own. If not as a priest, as a son."
+
+"Pardon you!" replied the pretended monk; "pardon you! God may perhaps
+do it, but I never will. Die, wretch, die! unabsolved, despairing, and
+accursed." And, drawing a dagger from under his gown, he plunged it
+into the breast of the headsman. "Take that," said he, "for my
+absolution."
+
+It was then that the second cry, followed by a long moan, had been
+uttered. The headsman, who had partially raised himself, fell back
+upon the bed. The monk, without withdrawing his dagger from the wound,
+ran to the window, opened it, jumped out into the little flower-garden
+below, and hurried to the stable. Leading out his mule, he plunged
+into the thickest part of the adjacent forest, stripped off his monk's
+garb, took a horseman's dress out of his valise, and put it on. Then,
+making all haste to the nearest post-house, he took a horse, and
+continued with the utmost speed his journey to Paris.
+
+The headsman lives long enough to inform Grimaud of what has passed;
+and Grimaud, who was present at the decapitation of Lady de Winter,
+returns to Paris, to put Athos and his friends on their guard against
+the vengeance of her son. Mordaunt, _alias_ De Winter, is one of
+Cromwell's most devoted and unscrupulous agents, and is proceeding to
+the French capital to negotiate with Mazarine on the part of the
+Parliamentary general. Guided by what he has heard from the
+executioner of Bethune, he discovers who the men are by whose order
+his mother was beheaded, and he vows their destruction. The four
+friends soon afterwards meet in England, whither D'Artagnan and
+Porthos have been sent on a mission to Cromwell; whilst Athos and
+Aramis have repaired thither to strive to prop the falling fortunes of
+Charles the First. We cannot say much in favour of that portion of the
+book of which the scene is laid on English ground. M. Dumas is much
+happier in his delineations of Frondeurs and Mazarinists than of
+Puritans and Cavaliers; and his account of Charles the First, and of
+the scenes prior to his execution, is horribly Frenchified.
+
+After numerous narrow escapes from Mordaunt, who pursues them with
+unrelenting rancour, and succeeds in assassinating their friend and
+his uncle, Lord de Winter, the four guardsmen embark on board a small
+vessel to return to France. Mordaunt discovers this, gets the captain
+and crew out of the way, replaces them by one Groslow and other
+creatures of his own, and conceals himself on board. His plan is, so
+soon as the vessel is a short distance out at sea, to escape in a boat
+with his confederates, after firing a train communicating with some
+barrels of powder in the hold. There is some improbability in this
+part of the story; but gunpowder plots have special privilege of
+absurdity. The guardsmen, however, discover the mischief that is
+brewing against them, just in time to escape through the cabin
+windows, and swim off to the boat, which is towing astern.
+
+Scarcely had D'Artagnan cut the rope that attached the boat to the
+ship, when a shrill whistle was heard proceeding from the latter,
+which, as it moved on whilst the boat remained stationary, was already
+beginning to be lost to view in the darkness. At the same moment a
+lantern was brought upon deck, and lit up the figures of the crew.
+Suddenly a great outcry was heard; and just then the clouds that
+covered the heavens split and parted, and the silver light of the moon
+fell upon the white sails and dark rigging of the vessel. Persons were
+seen running about the deck in bewilderment and confusion; and
+Mordaunt himself, carrying a torch in his hand, appeared upon the
+poop.
+
+At the appointed hour, Groslow had collected his men, and Mordaunt,
+after listening at the door of the cabin, and concluding from the
+silence which reigned that his intended victims were buried in sleep,
+had hurried to the powder barrels and set fire to the train. Whilst he
+was doing this, Groslow and his sailors were preparing to leave the
+ship.
+
+"Haul in the rope," said the former, "and bring the boat along-side."
+
+One of the sailors seized the rope and pulled it. It came to him
+without resistance.
+
+"The cable is cut!" exclaimed the man; "the boat is gone."
+
+"The boat gone!" repeated Groslow; "impossible!"
+
+"It is nevertheless true," returned the sailor. "See here; nothing in
+our wake, and here is the end of the rope."
+
+It was then that Groslow uttered the cry which the guardsmen heard
+from their boat.
+
+"What is the matter?" demanded Mordaunt, emerging from the hatchway,
+his torch in his hand, and rushing towards the stern.
+
+"The matter is, that your enemies have escaped you. They have cut the
+rope, and saved themselves in the boat."
+
+With a single bound Mordaunt was at the cabin-door, which he burst
+open with his foot. It was empty.
+
+"We will follow them," said Groslow; "they cannot be far off. We will
+give them the stem; sail right over them."
+
+"Yes; but the powder--I have fired the train!"
+
+"Damnation!" roared Groslow, rushing to the hatchway. "Perhaps there
+is still time."
+
+A horrible laugh and a frightful blasphemy were Mordaunt's reply; and
+then, his features distorted by rage and disappointed hate rather than
+by fear, he hurled his torch into the sea, and precipitated himself
+after it. At the same moment, and before Groslow had reached the
+powder barrels, the ship opened like the crater of a volcano, a gush
+of fire rose from it with a noise like that of fifty pieces of
+artillery, and blazing fragments of the doomed vessel were seen
+careering through the air in every direction. It lasted but an
+instant; the red glow that had lit up the sea for miles around
+vanished; the burning fragments fell hissing into the water; and, with
+the exception of a vibration in the air, all was calm as before. The
+felucca had disappeared; Groslow and his men were annihilated.
+
+Our four guardsmen had witnessed this terrible spectacle with mute awe
+and horror, and when it was over, they remained for a moment downcast
+and silent. Porthos and D'Artagnan, who had each taken an oar, forgot
+to use them, and sat gazing at their companions, whilst the boat
+rocked to and fro at the will of the waves.
+
+"_Ma foi!_" said Aramis, who was the first to break the pause, "this
+time I think we are fairly rid of him."
+
+"Help, gentlemen, help!" just then cried a voice that came sweeping in
+piteous accents over the troubled surface of the sea. "Help! for
+heaven's sake, help!"
+
+The guardsmen looked at each other. Athos shuddered.
+
+"It is his voice!" said he.
+
+All recognised the voice, and strained their eyes in the direction in
+which the felucca had disappeared. Presently a man was seen swimming
+vigorously towards them. Athos extended his arm, pointing him out to
+his companions.
+
+"Yes, yes," said D'Artagnan; "I see him."
+
+"Will nothing kill him?" said Porthos.
+
+Aramis leaned forward and spoke in a whisper to D'Artagnan. Mordaunt
+advanced a few yards, and raised one hand out of the water in sign of
+distress.
+
+"Pity! gentlemen," cried he; "pity and mercy! My strength is leaving
+me, and I am about to sink."
+
+The tone of agony in which these words were spoken awakened a feeling
+of compassion in the breast of Athos.
+
+"Unhappy man!" he murmured.
+
+"Good!" said D'Artagnan. "I like to see you pity him. On my word, I
+think he is swimming towards us. Does he suppose we are going to take
+him in? Row, Porthos, row."
+
+And D'Artagnan plunged his oar into the water. Two or three long
+strokes placed twenty fathoms between the boat and the drowning man.
+
+"Oh! you will have mercy!" cried Mordaunt. "You will not let me
+perish!"
+
+"Aha! my fine fellow," said Porthos, "we have you now, I think,
+without a chance of escape."
+
+"Oh, Porthos!" murmured the Count de la Fere.
+
+"For heaven's sake, Athos," replied Porthos, "cease your eternal
+generosity, which is ridiculous under such circumstances. For my part
+I declare to you, that if he comes within my reach, I will split his
+skull with the oar."
+
+D'Artagnan, who had just finished his colloquy with Aramis, stood up
+in the boat.
+
+"Sir," said he to the swimmer, "be so good as to betake yourself in
+some other direction. The vessel which you intended for our coffin is
+scarcely yet at the bottom of the sea, and your present situation is a
+bed of roses compared to that in which you intended to put us."
+
+"Gentlemen!" said Mordaunt in despairing accents, "I swear to you that
+I sincerely repent. I am too young to die. I was led away by a
+natural resentment; I wished to revenge my mother. You would all have
+acted as I have done."
+
+"Pshaw!" said D'Artagnan, who saw that Athos was becoming more and
+more softened by Mordaunt's supplications. The swimmer was again
+within three or four fathoms of the boat. The approach of death seemed
+to give him supernatural strength.
+
+"Alas!" said he, "I am going to die, then. And yet I was right to
+avenge my mother. And besides, if it were a crime, I repent of it, and
+you ought to pardon me."
+
+A wave that passed over his head, interrupted his entreaties. He again
+emerged, and made a stroke in the direction of the boat. D'Artagnan
+took his oar in both hands. The unhappy wretch uttered a groan of
+despair. Athos could bear it no longer.
+
+"D'Artagnan!" cried he, "my son D'Artagnan, I entreat of you to spare
+his life. It is so horrible to let a man die when you can save him by
+stretching out your hand. I cannot witness such a deed; he _must_ be
+saved."
+
+"Mordieu!" replied D'Artagnan, "why do you not tie our hands and feet,
+and deliver us up to him at once? The thing would be sooner over. Ha!
+Count de la Fere, you wish to perish at his hands: well, I, whom you
+call your son--I will not suffer it."
+
+Aramis quietly drew his sword, which he had carried between his teeth
+when he swam off from the ship.
+
+"If he lays a hand upon the boat," said he, "I sever it from his body,
+like that of a regicide, as he is."
+
+"Wait a moment," said Porthos.
+
+"What are you going to do?" said Aramis.
+
+"Jump overboard and strangle him," replied the giant.
+
+"Oh, my friends!" said Athos, in a tone of entreaty that was
+irresistible; "remember that we are men and Christians! Grant me the
+life of this unhappy wretch!"
+
+D'Artagnan hung his head: Aramis lowered his sword: Porthos sat down.
+
+"Count de la Fere," exclaimed Mordaunt, now very near the boat, "it is
+you whom I implore. Have pity upon me, and that quickly, for my
+strength is exhausted. Count de la Fere, where are you?"
+
+"I am here, sir," replied Athos, with that noble and dignified air
+that was habitual to him. "Take my hand, and come into our boat."
+
+"I cannot bear to witness it," said D'Artagnan; "such weakness is
+really pitiable." And he turned towards his two remaining friends,
+who, on their part, recoiled to the other side of the boat, as if
+unwilling to touch the man to whom Athos alone did not fear to give
+his hand. Mordaunt made an effort, raised himself up, and seized the
+arm extended to him.
+
+"So," said Athos, leaning over the gunwale of the boat--"now place
+your other hand here;" and he offered him his shoulder as a support,
+so that his head nearly touched that of Mordaunt; and for a moment the
+two deadly foes seemed to embrace each other like brothers. Mordaunt
+grasped the count's collar with his cold and dripping fingers.
+
+"And now, sir, you are saved," said Athos; "compose yourself."
+
+"Ah, my mother!" exclaimed Mordaunt, with the look of a demon, and an
+accent of hatred impossible to render, "I can offer you but one
+victim, but it is the one you would yourself have chosen!"
+
+D'Artagnan uttered a cry; Porthos raised his oar; Aramis sprang
+forward, his naked sword in his hand. But it was too late. By a last
+effort, and with a yell of triumph, Mordaunt dragged Athos into the
+water, compressing his throat, and winding his limbs round him like
+the coils of a serpent. Without uttering a word, or calling for help,
+Athos strove for a moment to maintain himself on the surface of the
+water. But his movements were fettered, the weight that clung to him
+was too great to bear up against, and little by little he sank. Before
+his friends could get to his assistance, his head was under water, and
+only his long hair was seen floating; then all disappeared, and a
+circle of foam, which in its turn was rapidly obliterated, alone
+marked the spot where the two men had been engulfed. Struck dumb by
+horror, motionless, and almost suffocated with grief and indignation,
+the three guardsmen remained, with dilated eyes and extended arms,
+gazing down upon the dark waves that rolled over the body of their
+friend, the brave, the chivalrous, the noble-hearted Athos. Porthos
+was the first to recover his speech.
+
+"Oh, Athos!" said he, tearing his hair, and with an explosion of grief
+doubly affecting in a man of his gigantic frame and iron mould; "Oh,
+Athos! are you indeed gone from us?"
+
+At this moment, in the midst of the vast circle which the rays of the
+moon lit up, the agitation of the water which had accompanied the
+absorption of the two men, was renewed, and there appeared, first a
+quantity of fair hair, then a pallid human face, with eyes wide open,
+but fixed and glazed, then a body, which, after raising its bust out
+of the water, fell softly backwards, and floated upon the surface of
+the sea. In the breast of the corpse was buried a dagger, of which the
+golden hilt sparkled in the moonbeams.
+
+"Mordaunt! Mordaunt!" cried the three friends; "it is Mordaunt! But
+Athos! where is he?"
+
+Just then the boat gave a lurch, and Grimaud uttered an exclamation of
+joy. The guardsmen turned, and saw Athos, his face livid with
+exhaustion, supporting himself with a trembling hand upon the gunwale
+of the boat. In an instant he was lifted in, and clasped in the arms
+of his friends.
+
+"You are unhurt?" said D'Artagnan.
+
+"Yes," replied Athos. "And Mordaunt?"
+
+"Oh! thank God, he is dead at last. Look yonder."
+
+And D'Artagnan forced Athos to look in the direction he pointed out,
+where the body of Mordaunt, tossed upon the wave, seemed to pursue the
+friends with a look of insult and mortal hate. Athos gazed at it with
+an expression of mingled pity and melancholy.
+
+"Bravo! Athos," cried Aramis, with a degree of exultation which he
+rarely showed.
+
+"A good blow," exclaimed Porthos.
+
+"I have a son," said Athos, "and I wished to live. But it was not I
+who killed him. It was the hand of fate."
+
+Soon after the escape of Monsieur de Beaufort, the Parisians, stirred
+up by various influential malecontents--one of the chief of whom is
+the famous Jean de Gondy, Coadjutor of Paris, and afterwards Cardinal
+de Retz--break out into open insurrection. Mazarine's life is menaced;
+the queen-mother and the young king are virtually prisoners of the
+Frondeurs. The Prince of Conde, with the laurels he has gained on the
+battle-field of Lens yet fresh upon his brow, hurries to Paris to take
+part against the Fronde; the queen and Mazarine are anxious to escape
+from the capital in order to carry on the war in the open field
+instead of in the narrow streets, fighting in which latter, or from
+behind their barricades, the ill-disciplined troops of the insurgents
+are nearly as efficient as the most practised veterans. How to manage
+the escape is the difficulty. The gates of the city are guarded by
+armed citizens; there appears no possibility of egress. In this
+dilemma, Anne of Austria bethinks her of the man to whose address and
+courage she had, twenty years previously, been so deeply indebted;
+D'Artagnan is called in to her assistance. He succeeds in smuggling
+the cardinal out of Paris, and then returns to fetch Louis XIV. and
+the queen-mother.
+
+Instead of re-entering Paris by the gate of St Honore, D'Artagnan, who
+had time to spare, went round to that of Richelieu. The guard stopped
+him, and when they saw by his plumed hat and laced cloak that he was
+an officer of mousquetaires, they insisted upon his crying out, "Down
+with Mazarine." This he did with so good a grace, and in so sonorous a
+voice, that the most difficult were fully satisfied. He then walked
+down the Rue Richelieu, reflecting how he should manage the escape of
+the queen, for it would be impossible to take her away in one of the
+royal carriages, with the arms of France painted upon it. On passing
+before the hotel of Madame de Guemenee, who passed for the mistress of
+Monsieur de Gondy, he perceived a coach standing at the door. A sudden
+idea struck him.
+
+"Pardieu!" said he, "it would be an excellent manoeuvre." And,
+stepping up to the carriage, he examined the arms upon the panels,
+and the livery of the coachman, who was sleeping on the box.
+
+"It is the Coadjutor's carriage," said D'Artagnan to himself.
+"Providence is decidedly in our favour."
+
+He opened the door without noise, got into the coach, and pulled the
+check-string.
+
+"To the Palais Royal," cried he to the coachman.
+
+The man, waking in a fright, made no doubt that the order came from
+his master, and drove off at full speed to the palace. The gates of
+the court were just closing as he drove in. On pulling up at the
+steps, the coachman perceived that the footmen were not behind the
+carriage, and, supposing that M. de Gondy had sent them somewhere, he
+got off his box and opened the door. D'Artagnan jumped out, and just
+as the coachman, alarmed at seeing a stranger instead of his master,
+made a step backwards, he seized him by the collar with his left hand,
+and with his right put a pistol to his breast.
+
+"Not a word," said D'Artagnan, "or you are a dead man."
+
+The coachman saw that he had fallen into a snare. He remained silent,
+with open mouth and staring eyes. Two mousquetaires were walking up
+and down the court; D'Artagnan called them, handed over the coachman
+to one of them, with orders to keep him in safe custody, and desired
+the other to get on the box of the carriage, drive it round to the
+door of the private staircase leading out of the palace, and there to
+wait till he came. The coachman's livery coat and hat went with the
+carriage. These arrangements completed, D'Artagnan entered the palace,
+and knocked at the door of the queen's apartments. He was instantly
+admitted; Anne of Austria was waiting for him in her oratory.
+
+"Is every thing prepared?" said she.
+
+"Every thing, madam."
+
+"And the cardinal?"
+
+"He has left Paris without accident, and waits for your majesty at
+Cours la Reine."
+
+"Come with me to the king."
+
+D'Artagnan bowed and followed the queen. The young king was already
+dressed, with the exception of his shoes and doublet. He seemed
+greatly astonished at being thus roused in the middle of the night,
+and overwhelmed his valet-de-chambre, Laporte, with questions, to all
+of which the latter replied--"Sire, it is by order of her majesty."
+The bed-clothes were thrown back, and the sheets were seen worn
+threadbare and even into holes. This was one of the results of
+Mazarine's excessive parsimony. The queen entered, and D'Artagnan
+remained at the door of the apartment. As soon as the child saw his
+mother, he escaped from Laporte's hand and ran up to her. She signed
+to D'Artagnan to approach.
+
+"My son," said Anne of Austria, showing him the mousquetaire, who
+stood with his plumed hat in his hand, calm, grave, and collected,
+"this is M. D'Artagnan, who is brave as one of those knights of old
+whose histories you love to hear repeated. Look at him well, and
+remember his name, for he is about to render us a great service."
+
+Louis XIV. gazed at D'Artagnan with his large proud eyes; then, slowly
+lifting his little hand, he held it out to the officer, who bent his
+knee and kissed it.
+
+"Monsieur D'Artagnan," repeated the young king. "It is well, madam; I
+shall remember it."
+
+At this moment a loud murmuring noise was heard approaching the
+palace.
+
+"Ha!" said D'Artagnan, straining his ears to distinguish the
+sound--"The people are rising."
+
+"We must fly instantly," said the queen.
+
+"Madam," said D'Artagran, "you have deigned to give me the direction
+of this night's proceedings. Let your majesty remain and learn what
+the people want. I will answer for every thing."
+
+Nothing is more easily communicated than confidence. The queen,
+herself courageous and energetic, appreciated in the highest degree
+those two virtues in others.
+
+"Do as you please," said she. "I trust entirely to you."
+
+"Does your majesty authorize me to give orders in your name?"
+
+"I do, sir."
+
+D'Artagnan hurried from the room. The tumult was increasing; the mob
+seemed to surround the Palais Royal. On all sides were heard seditious
+cries and clamours. Presently M. de Comminges, who was on guard that
+night at the Palais Royal, craved admittance to the queen's presence.
+He had about two hundred men in the court-yard and stables, and he
+placed them at her majesty's disposal.
+
+"What do the people want?" said Anne of Austria to D'Artagnan, who
+just then re-appeared.
+
+"A report has been spread, madam, that your majesty has left the
+Palais Royal, taking the king with you. The mob demand a proof of the
+contrary, or threaten to demolish the palace."
+
+"Oh! this time it is too bad," said the queen. "I will soon show them
+that I am not gone."
+
+D'Artagnan saw by the expression of Anne's face, that she was about to
+give some violent order. He hastened to interfere.
+
+"Madam," said he, in a low voice, "have you still confidence in me?"
+
+"Entire confidence, sir," was the reply.
+
+"Then let your majesty send away M. de Comminges, and order him to
+shut himself up with his men in the guard-room and stables. The people
+wish to see the king, and the people must see him."
+
+"See him! But how? On the balcony?"
+
+"No, madam; here, in his bed, sleeping."
+
+The queen reflected a moment, and smiled. There as a degree of
+duplicity in the course proposed that chimed in with her humour.
+
+"Let it be as you will," said she.
+
+"Monsieur Laporte," said D'Artagnan; "go and announce to the people,
+that in five minutes they shall see the king in his bed. Say also that
+his majesty is sleeping, and that the queen requests them to be
+silent, in order not to awaken him."
+
+"But they cannot all come," said Anne. "A deputation of two or four
+persons."
+
+"All of them, madam."
+
+"But it will last till to-morrow morning."
+
+"In a quarter of hour it will be over. I know the mob, madam; it is a
+great baby that only wants flattery and caresses. Before the king,
+these noisy rioters will be mute and timid as lambs."
+
+"Go, Laporte," said the queen. The young king approached his mother.
+
+"Why do you do what these people ask?" said he.
+
+"It must be so, my son," said Anne of Austria.
+
+"But if they can tell me that it _must_ be so, I am no longer king."
+
+The queen remained silent.
+
+"Sire," said D'Artagnan, "will your majesty permit me to ask you a
+question?"
+
+"Yes, sir," replied Louis, after a moment's pause, occasioned by
+surprise at the guardsman's boldness.
+
+"Does our majesty remember, when playing in the park at
+Fontaine-bleau, or the gardens at Versailles, to have seen the heavens
+become clouded, and to have heard the thunder roll?"
+
+"Certainly I do," answered Louis.
+
+"Well, the noise of that thunder told your majesty, that, however
+disposed you might be to play, you _must_ go in-doors."
+
+"Certainly, sir; but I have been told that the voice of the thunder is
+the voice of God."
+
+"Well, sire, let your majesty listen to the voice of the people, and
+you will perceive that it greatly resembles that of the thunder."
+
+As he spoke, a low deep roar, proceeding from the multitude without,
+was borne upon the night breeze to the windows of the apartment. The
+next instant all was still and hushed.
+
+"Hark, sire," said D'Artagnan, "they have just told the people that
+you are sleeping. You see that you are still king."
+
+The queen looked with astonishment at the singular man, whose
+brilliant courage made him the equal of the bravest; whose keen and
+ready wit rendered him the equal of all. Laporte entered the room, and
+announced that the message he had taken to the people had acted like
+oil upon the waves, and that they were waiting in respectful silence,
+till the five minutes, at the expiration of which they were to see the
+king, should have elapsed. By the queen's order, Louis was put into
+bed, dressed as he was, and covered up to the throat with the sheets.
+His mother stooped over him, and kissed his forehead.
+
+"Pretend to sleep, Louis," said she.
+
+"Yes," said the king, "but not one of those men must touch me."
+
+"Sire," said D'Artagnan, "I am here; and if one of them had that
+audacity, he should pay for it with his life."
+
+The five minutes were over. Laporte went out to usher in the mob; the
+queen remained standing near the door; D'Artagnan concealed himself
+behind the curtains of the bed. Then was heard the march of a great
+multitude of men, striving to step lightly and noiselessly. The queen
+raised with her own hand the tapestry that covered the doorway, and
+placed her finger on her lips. On beholding her, the crowd paused,
+struck with respect.
+
+"Come in, gentlemen--come in," said the queen.
+
+There was apparent in the mob a degree of hesitation which resembled
+shame; they had expected resistance, had anticipated a contest with
+the guards, bloodshed and violence; instead of that, the gates had
+been peaceably opened, and the king, ostensibly at least, was
+unguarded save by his mother. The men in front of the throng stammered
+out an excuse, and attempted to retire.
+
+"Come in, gentlemen," said Laporte, "since the queen desires it."
+
+Upon this invitation, a man, bolder than the rest, entered the room,
+and advanced on tiptoe towards the bed. He was followed by others, and
+the chamber was rapidly filled, as silently as if the new-comers had
+been the most humble and obsequious courtiers. D'Artagnan saw every
+thing through a hole he had made in the curtain. In the man who had
+first entered, he recognised his former servant Planchet, who, since
+he had left his service, had been a sergeant in the regiment of
+Piedmont, and who was now a confectioner in the Rue des Lombards, and
+an active partisan of the Fronde.
+
+"Sir," said the queen, who saw that Planchet was a leader of the mob,
+"you wished to see the king, and the king is here. Approach, and look
+at him, and say if we resemble persons who are going to escape."
+
+"Certainly not, your majesty," said Planchet, a little astonished at
+the honour done to him.
+
+"You will tell my good and loyal Parisians," continued Anne of
+Austria, with a smile of which D'Artagnan well understood the meaning,
+"that you have seen the king in bed, and sleeping, and the queen about
+to go to bed also."
+
+"I will tell them so, madam, and those who accompany me will also bear
+witness to it, but"----
+
+"But what?" said the queen.
+
+"I beseech your majesty to pardon me," said Planchet "but is this
+really the king?"
+
+The queen trembled with suppressed anger.
+
+"Is there one amongst you who knows the king?" said she. "If so, let
+him approach, and say if this be his majesty or not."
+
+A man, muffled in a cloak, which he wore in such a manner as to
+conceal his face, drew near, and stooping over the bed, gazed at the
+features of Louis. For a moment D'Artagnan thought that this person
+had some evil design, and he placed his hand upon his sword; but as he
+did so, the cloak slipped partially from before the man's face, and
+the guardsman recognised the Coadjutor, De Gondy.
+
+"It is the king himself," said the man. "God bless his majesty!"
+
+"God bless his majesty!" murmured the crowd.
+
+"And now, my friends," said Planchet; "let us thank her majesty, and
+retire."
+
+The insurgents bowed their thanks, and left the room with the same
+caution and silence with which they had entered it. When the last had
+disappeared, followed by Laporte, the remaining actors in this strange
+scene remained for a moment looking at each other without uttering a
+word: the queen standing near the door; D'Artagnan half out of his
+hiding-place; the king leaning on his elbow, but ready to fall back
+upon his pillow at the least noise that should indicate the return of
+the mob. The noise of footsteps, however, grew rapidly more remote,
+and at last entirely ceased. The queen drew a deep breath of relief;
+D'Artagnan wiped the perspiration of anxiety from his brow; the king
+slid out of his bed.
+
+"Let us go," said Louis.
+
+Just then Laporte returned.
+
+"I have followed them to the gates, madam," said the valet-de-chambre;
+"they informed their companions that they had seen the king and spoken
+to the queen, and the mob has dispersed, perfectly satisfied."
+
+"The wretches!" murmured Anne of Austria; "they shall pay dearly for
+their insolence." Then, turning to D'Artagnan, "Sir," said she, "you
+have this night given me the best advice I ever received in my life.
+What is next to be done?"
+
+"We can set out when your majesty pleases. I shall be waiting at the
+foot of the private staircase."
+
+"Go, sir," said the queen. "We will follow you."
+
+D'Artagnan descended the stairs, and found the carriage at the
+appointed place, with the guardsman sitting on the box. He took the
+hat and coat of M. de Gondy's coachman, put them on himself, and took
+the guardsman's place. He had a brace of pistols in his belt, a
+musquetoon under his feet, his naked sword behind him. The queen
+appeared, accompanied by the king, and by his brother, the Duke of
+Anjou.
+
+"The Coadjutor's carriage!" exclaimed she, starting back in
+astonishment.
+
+"Yes, madam," said D'Artagnan "but be not alarmed. I shall drive you."
+
+The queen uttered a cry of surprise, and stepped into the coach. The
+king and his brother followed, and sat down beside her. By her
+command, Laporte also entered the vehicle. The mantelets of the
+windows were closed, and the horses set off at a gallop along the Rue
+Richelieu. On reaching the gate at the extremity of the street, the
+chief of the guard advanced at the head of a dozen men, and carrying a
+lantern in his hand. D'Artagnan made him a sign.
+
+"Do you recognise the carriage?" said he to the sergeant.
+
+"No," was the reply.
+
+"Look at the arms."
+
+The sergeant put his lantern close to the pannel.
+
+"They are those of M. le Coadjuteur," said he.
+
+"Hush!" said d'Artagnan. "Madam de Guemenee is with him."
+
+The sergeant laughed. "Open the gate," said he; "I know who it is."
+Then, approaching the mantelet--"Much pleasure, Monseigneur," said he.
+
+"Hold your tongue!" cried D'Artagnan, "or you will lose me my place."
+
+The gate creaked upon its hinges; D'Artagnan, seeing the gate open,
+flogged his horses, and set off at a rapid trot. In five minutes he
+had rejoined the cardinal's coach.
+
+"Mousqueton," cried D'Artagnan to M. du Vallon's servant, "open the
+door of his majesty's carriage."
+
+"It is he!" exclaimed Porthos, who was waiting for his friend.
+
+"In a coachman's livery!" cried Mazarine.
+
+"And with the Coadjutor's carriage," said the queen.
+
+"_Corpo di Dio_, Monsieur d'Artagnan!" said the cardinal, "you are
+worth your weight in gold!"
+
+We cannot attempt to give more than these slight glimpses of the eight
+volumes now lying before us, in which the extravagance and
+exaggeration of many of the incidents are only redeemed by the
+brilliant diction and animated narrative of their clever but
+unscrupulous author. It would be too lengthy to give even a sketch of
+the chain of incidents that succeeds those above detailed, or to show
+how, according to M. Dumas, D'Artagnan and his friends became
+instrumental to the conclusion of the treaty by which the hostilities
+between Frondeurs and Mazarinists are for the time brought to a close.
+The first act of the war of the Fronde is over; Louis XIV., now within
+a year of his majority, re-enters the capital with Anne of Austria and
+Mazarine, D'Artagnan, now captain of mousquetaires, riding on one side
+of his carriage, and Porthos, now Baron du Vallon, on the other. Baron
+Porthos goes back to his estates, happy and glorious; Aramis and Athos
+return to the seclusion whence the stirring times had called them
+forth, the latter leaving his son in charge of D'Artagnan, who is to
+take the young man with him to the Flemish wars. The restless spirit
+of the Gascon abhors the idea of repose.
+
+"Come, D'Artagnan," said Porthos, as he got upon his horse to depart,
+"take my advice; throw up your commission, hang up your sword, and
+accompany me to Du Vallon. We will grow old together, whilst talking
+of our past adventures."
+
+"Not so," replied D'Artagnan. "_Peste!_ the campaign is just opening,
+and I mean to make it. I hope to gain something by it."
+
+"And what do you hope to become?"
+
+"_Pardieu!_ who can tell? Marshal of France, perhaps."
+
+"Ah, ah!" said Porthos, looking at D'Artagnan, to whose gasconading he
+had never been able quite to accustom himself. And the two friends
+parted.
+
+"You will prepare your best apartment for me, Madeleine," said
+D'Artagnan to his handsome hostess, as he re-entered his hotel. "I
+must keep up appearances, now that I am Captain of Mousquetaires."
+
+
+
+
+THE GRAND GENERAL JUNCTION AND INDEFINITE EXTENSION RAILWAY RHAPSODY.
+
+BY A PROVISIONAL COMMITTEE OF CONTRIBUTORS.
+
+
+    Though the farmer's hope may perish,
+      While in floods the harvest lies,
+    Speculation let us cherish,
+      Let the Railway market rise!
+
+    Honest trader, whosoever,
+      Sick with losses, sad with cares,
+    Quit your burden now or never,
+      Cut the shop and deal in shares.
+
+    Spendthrift--short of drink and dinners,
+      Half-pay captain, younger son,
+    Boldly throw while all are winners,
+      Laugh henceforth at debt and dun.
+
+    Come, ye saints, whose skill in cavilling,
+      Shock'd at skittles, cards, or dice,
+    Thinks, except for Sunday travelling,
+      Railway gaming is no vice.
+
+    Hither haste, each black-leg fellow,
+      Quit the turf or loaded bone;
+    Like your brother-black Othello,
+      Own your occupation's gone.
+
+    Tribes that live by depredation--
+      "Bulls" and "Bears," and birds of prey,
+    See the coming spoliation,
+      Scent the premiums far away.
+
+    "Stags!" your rapid forms revealing,
+      Show awhile your front so bright,
+    Then from your pursuers stealing,
+      Vanish sudden out of sight.
+
+    Leave all meaner things, my St John,
+      For the locomotive race;
+    Post your tin upon the engine,
+      Go ahead, and keep the pace.
+
+    At a Railway Monarch's splendour
+      Envious squires and nobles stare;
+    Even the Hebrew gewgaw vender
+      Turns sharebroker in despair.
+
+    Now no more the Ragfair dealer
+      Hints with horrid breath, "Old Clo';"
+    Putting forth another feeler,
+      "Any shares?" he whispers low.
+
+    Every paper's a prospectus,
+      Nostrums, news, are at an end;
+    "Easy shaving" don't affect us,
+      Silent even "The Silent Friend."
+
+    Morison resigns his bubbling,
+      Lazenby has lost his zest;
+    Widow Welch has ceased from troubling,
+      Weary Moses is at rest.
+
+    Every station, age, and gender,
+      Deep within the torrent dip;
+    Even our children, young and tender,
+      Play at games of nursery scrip.
+
+    Over meadows, moors, and mosses,
+      Quagmires black, and mountains grey,
+    Careless where or how it crosses,
+      Speculation finds the way.
+
+    Every valley is exalted,
+      Every mountain is made low;
+    Where we once were roughly jolted,
+      Light and lively now we go.
+
+    Speed along with fire and fury!
+      Hark! the whistle shrilly shrieks!
+    Speed--but mark! we don't insure ye
+      'Gainst the boiler's frolic freaks.
+
+    But before a trip is ventured,
+      This precaution prudence begs:
+    When you've seen your luggage enter'd,
+      Also book your arms and legs.
+
+    Ask not if yon luckless stoker,
+      Blown into the air, survive--
+    These are trifles, while the broker
+      Quotes our shares at Ninety-five.
+
+    Vainly points some bleeding spectre
+      To his mangled remnants;--still
+    Calmly answers each Director,
+      "Charge the damage to the bill."
+
+    All the perils which environ
+      (As the poet _now_ would sing)
+    Him who meddles with _hot_ iron,
+      Seem to us a pleasant thing.
+
+    Countless lines, from Lewes to Lerwick,
+      Cross like nets the country soon;
+    Soon a railway (Atmospheric,)
+      Speeds our progress to the moon.
+
+    Traversing yon space between us,
+      Soon the rapid trains will bring
+    Ores from Mars and fires from Venus,
+      Lots of lead from Saturn's Ring;
+
+    Belts from Jupiter's own factory,
+      Mercury from Maia's Son;
+    And when summers look refractory,
+      Bottled sunbeams from the sun.
+
+    If too soaring, too seraphic,
+      Seems to some that heavenward track,
+    T'other way there's much more traffic,
+      Though not many travel back.
+
+    What a gradient through Avernus!
+      What a curve will Hades take!
+    When with joy the Shades discern us,
+      How Hell's terminus will shake!
+
+    How the Pandemonium Junction,
+      With the Central will combine,
+    Rattling both without compunction
+      Down the Tartarus incline!
+
+    Phlegethon no more need fright us,
+      For we've bridged its fiery way;
+    And the steamer on Cocytus
+      Long ago has ceased to pay.
+
+    Charon--under sequestration--
+      Does the Stygian bark resign,
+    Glad to find a situation
+      As policeman to the line.
+
+    Thoughts of penance need not haunt us;
+      Who remains our sins to snub?
+    Pluto, Minos, Rhadamanthus,
+      All have joined the "Railway Club."
+
+    Fortune's gifts, then, catch and cherish;
+      Follow where her currents flow;
+    Sure to prosper--or to perish,
+      Follow, though to Styx we go!
+
+
+
+
+SKETCHES OF ITALY--LUCCA.
+
+
+The records of travellers in the _Livre des Etrangers_ at Modena, had
+prepared us to expect nothing tolerable at the night halts in our
+journey through the Apennines to our projected place of _sejour_
+during the great heats of summer, the _Bagni di Lucca_. At the
+_mountain_ locandas, we were always prepared, not to say resigned, to
+encounter those various distresses which seem light evils at a
+distance--knowing that we could not starve as long as eggs and
+maccaroni were to be found, and even as to lodging we were too old
+travellers to flinch at trifles. The rural inn at Piave, which looked
+more inviting than the great one of the small place, was delighted to
+receive us, and gave us good trout, tolerable bread, and excellent
+honey: we were in the midst of a lovely country, we heard a limpid
+stream running within a few yards of our window; and what had we to
+fear? But night came, and with it more annoyances than one bargains
+for even in Italy. A floor of thin planks which had never fitted, and
+of which the joinings, which had never been of the kind called
+_callidae_, were now widened by time, was all that parted our small
+bedroom from that of the horses. Through these, and also through large
+rat-holes, there came up copious ammoniacal smells, which our mucous
+membrane resented from the first; and well it had fared with us had
+this been all. We had never been so near horses at night, and had no
+idea they made such an incessant noise. _One_ horse stabled and
+littered for the night were bad enough, but we had a whole stableful;
+and just as we were forgetting the fleas, and forgiving the mosquitos,
+and sleep led on by indigestion was heavy on our eyelids, a snort,
+loud as a lion's roar, made us start. Then there came a long
+succession of chump, chump, from the molar teeth, and a snort, snort,
+from the wakeful nostril of our mute companions, (_equo ne credite,
+Teucri!_)--one stinted quadruped was ransacking the manger for hay,
+another was cracking his beans to make him frisky to-morrow, and more
+than one seemed actually rubbing his moist nose just under our bed!
+This was not all; not a whisk of their tails escaped us, and when they
+coughed, which was often, the hoarse _roncione_ shook the very
+tressels of our bed; in short, we never suffered such real night_mare_
+before. We dreamt _stethoscopes_ and racks. But morning came, and,
+with it, morning freshness and morning sound. The wood-pigeons are
+cooing, the green hills just opposite seem to have come closer up to
+our window to wish us good-day; so we throw open our little casement,
+to let out the gaseous compounds from bed and stable. How elegantly do
+the dew-bedded vines take hold of the poplars and elms, and hang their
+festoons of ripening fruit from branch to branch! But the sun begins
+to break a brilliant pencil of rays over the hill-top, nor will he
+take long to leave the screen and uncover himself; indeed, in less
+than a quarter of an hour, he will have stared us quite out of
+countenance, and, long before the hour of his advent shall have been
+completed, the birds, which till now have been all activity, will
+become torpid, the pigeons will have given over their cooing, and the
+sparrow his chirp; so the fish that has not yet breakfasted had better
+make haste, for his are chariot-wheels which have been looked after
+overnight, and linchpins that never come out; nor has he had one
+break-down or overturn since he first set off on his _Macadamized_
+way. In haste to escape from the heat of the plains of Tuscany, we
+were not sorry when we saw the douaniers of _Pistoia_, the last of its
+cities. This town is dulness, not epitomized, but extended over a
+considerable space; its streets are many, long, and, what is not usual
+in Italy, wide. There is no population stirring; the very piazza is
+without activity; and, if you leave it, you may walk a mile between
+very large houses, churches, convents, and palaces, without meeting
+any one. Pistoia, in short, is an improvement on _Oxford_ in the long
+vacation--the place, however, has its ancient fame, has given birth to
+two or three distinguished literati, and figured in the civil wars.
+The fifteenth century records among others the name of _Cini_, whose
+epitaph we saw in the cathedral; and the author of the _Riciardetto_
+was, we believe, also one of its citizens. In its immediate vicinity
+fell _Catiline_. They say the Italian language is spoken here with
+great purity of _accent_, which is remarkable, as it is only twenty
+miles from the guttural and inharmonious speech of Florence. It was
+not our purpose to explore its decayed manufactures, if such there
+still exist at all, of fire-arms and organs; indeed, we know not if
+pistols and organ-pipes have any thing particular to do with it; so,
+after refreshment of the cattle, we passed on through a beautiful
+country at its most beautiful season, and thought we had seldom seen
+any thing more striking than the views from _Serravalle_, or those
+about _Pescia_ and _Monte Catino_. The high, almost the highest
+Apennines were right a-head; and could we have taken the wings of the
+bird, or of the morning, and lighted on any of those peaks at no great
+distance, we should have looked directly down on to the Mediterranean,
+and almost into the gulf of _La Spezzia_; we should have seen the long
+Ligurian promontory in the distant horizon to the right, and have
+embraced Leghorn, Elba, Gorgona, and the coast as far as _Piombino_,
+in the opposite direction. An imperceptible ascent conducts from the
+_town of Lucca_ towards its _baths_; and you may expect, in about
+three hours, to have accomplished its sixteen miles. The road follows
+the long windings and beautiful valleys of the _Serchio_, of which,
+harmless as it looks, we read on all the bridges records of its
+occasional violence, and of their repeated destruction. After a
+morning's ride, to which there are few equals even in Italy or
+Switzerland, we begin to get our books, and paper, and light luggage,
+out of the nets and pockets of the carriage--for there are the _Bagni
+Caldi_, about a mile before us. It is not our purpose to describe the
+humours of an Italian watering-place; but let it not be supposed that
+this retreat is the happy thought of our own restless population. The
+English have had nothing to do with bringing the baths of Lucca into
+notice or fashion, although they are at present among its principal
+inhabitants from June to September. Hither flock in summer the
+families who have established themselves in winter-quarters at
+Florence or Pisa; and here they soon get possession of all the cracked
+pianos, and strolling music-masters who come on speculation, and
+forthwith begin a series of screaming lessons, called singing,
+executed by English young women, studious of cheap accomplishments, to
+the infinite distress of all who pass by their open windows, at
+whatever hour! As the baths are frequented by the little court of
+Lucca, there is a _residenza_, a _casino_, and tables for play. There
+are two or three good hotels or _tables-d'hotes_, and there is a
+shabby little coffee-house, and a handful of _Balzacs and Paul de
+Kocks_ at one circulating library. There is one butcher and one baker
+at each of the villages, privileged dispensers of their respective
+commodities. There is a scarcity of poultry, of fresh butter, and
+vegetables; but there is abundance of maccaroni. There are two
+grocers, who both supply amateurs with English pickles, Harvey's
+sauce, Warren's blacking, Henry's magnesia, James's powder, and the
+other necessaries of life. The houses are generally let for the
+season, and the rent of the best is as high as L4 a-week. The
+furniture is old and bad, but tolerably clean. Ascend any of the
+hills, and you look down on roofs that have scarcely any chimneys.
+Whenever you ride or walk, you have a hill on the right and left of
+you, and a river making its way against the opposition of huge masses
+of stone, and angular impediments from the turns of the valley itself.
+On these hills, you have uniformly vines below; and when you get above
+the vines, you walk entirely among the chestnut-trees which constitute
+the real riches of the country. The best office, however, of the
+hills, is not the production of fruit-trees, but the screen they
+afford against the Italian sun. The early sunset here is worth all the
+wine of the territory, which is scarce and very bad. In the evenings
+of July and August, there is a turn-out of equipages that have figured
+on the Boulevards and in Hyde Park, which commonly make a halt
+opposite the little shabby coffee-house, to eat bad ices, and do the
+agreeable to each other--the rush-bottomed chairs at the door being
+occupied the while by a set of _intelligent_ young men, with mustache,
+who smoke bad cigars, and cultivate as elsewhere the charm of each
+others' classical conversation. Montaigne was here in the 15th
+century, and Fallopius, he of the trumpets, came here to be cured of
+deafness--which is one of the infirmities which the Latin inscription
+declares to have yielded to the use of the waters. Lorenzo di Medici
+came to talk platonism and the fine arts at a place which will never
+know either any more; and, from a Latin letter extant, was summoned
+from the Bagni to the death-bed of his wife. Ladies have often been
+recommended to the baths to be cured of sterility; and, from what we
+have seen, we think there are far more unpromising places. Doctors,
+whose names only are known, but who were probably men of learning,
+have written on these salutary springs, and modern flippancy has at
+present forborne them. We have no Quack to patronize them; the "_numen
+aquae_" is not violated in _print_ at least by jobbing apothecaries;
+but there is Gentile di Foligno, and Ugolino di Monte Catino, and
+Savonarola, and Bandinelli (1483,) and Fallopio (1569,) and Ducini
+(1711,) who have written books, of which the object, as they are in
+Latin, is not assuredly what there is too much reason to believe it
+_is_, when such books are now presented to the world. Of the waters,
+(which, like those of Bath, contain minute portions of silex and oxide
+of iron,) the temperature differs at the different establishments--and
+there are three; 43 deg. Reaumur is assigned as the highest, and 35 deg. 24'
+to two others.
+
+We were stranded at this pleasant place of endurable ennui for three
+long months, during which there was no going out from nine to five
+P.M. Our society afforded little resource, our reading less. When the
+weather permitted--that is, in the delicious, incomparable month of
+October--we made little excursions to Barga, Ponte Nero, &c. &c., and
+always returned delighted; nor were our walks of shorter distance
+unproductive of interest. The Lucchese are the most industrious people
+in the world, and their agriculture made us, _pro tempore_, amateurs
+of rural economy. We will not bore the reader with _Georgics_ such as
+ours; but if he will accept, in place of picture galleries and
+churches, the "_quid faciat laetas segetes_" of this far from miserable
+population, we will cheerfully take him with us in our walks.
+
+
+AGRICULTURE ROUND LUCCA.
+
+The _bearded_ wheat, or _triticum_, not the _siligo_, or common wheat
+of our English culture, was the plant which, whenever the attributes
+of Ceres were to be represented on ancient coins, was selected for
+that purpose; but the Lucchese territory, where the _Cerealia_ in
+general abound, offers few specimens of either kind. These productions
+seem afraid of their _ears_ in the neighbourhood of the _Great Turk_,
+who is the great tyrant here, and, together with the rice, monopolizes
+three-fourths of all the land devoted to the culture of grain; the
+_millet_ (_miglio_,) the _panixa_ (_panico_,) Indian wheat (_sagena_,)
+together with the lupins, and a variety of peas, beans, and lentiles,
+occupy the remainder. "The Great Turk is a great eater, is he not?"
+"Yes," replied the peasant who cultivated him, "_mangia come
+Cristiano_,"--he eats like a Christian all he can get out of the
+ground; only, the more he gets the better he looks for it--which is
+not always the case with Christians. There are two kinds of _Gran
+Turco_, or _maize_; that sown in May is of rather better quality than
+the other, and produces on an average 10 lbs. more per sack in weight
+than that which is sown afterwards in June. In order to secure a good
+crop, it is necessary that the ground should be well manured with
+lupins, which are either grown for this single purpose the year
+before, and left to rot, or boiled to prevent their germination, and
+then scattered over the field. The Grand Turk commonly carries but one
+head on his shoulders, but occasionally we have remarked two or more
+on the same stem. In the year 1817, the sack (160 lbs.) fetched
+fifty-eight pauls; while wheat was seventy-eight, and even the
+chestnut flour sold at fifty; so that, even in the Lucchese territory,
+they have their approach to famine in bad years.
+
+
+SAGENA.
+
+Pliny mentions the _Sagena_, under the name of Saracenic millet, as a
+thing which came from India, and was first brought into Italy in his
+own time. Herodotus speaks of its cultivation by the Babylonians. The
+Saracens used it in the fourteenth century for making bread, as do the
+Lucchese to this day; it is, however, lightly esteemed, and not used
+at all when other corn abounds, but thrown into the hencoop to fatten
+poultry. It is a beautiful thing to see the high jungle of this most
+elastic plant bending to the breeze, and displaying, as it moves, its
+beaded top, looking at a distance like so many flowers; but, when seen
+nearer, exhibiting _racemes_ (on highly polished stems) of small
+pedunculated berries, in mitre-looking capsules. When the seed has
+been shaken from the plant, the tops are brought together, and form
+those excellent besoms which, throughout southern Europe, supply the
+place of birch-broom, than which they are more elastic, not so
+brittle, and much cleaner. The ultimate fibrils of this plant are
+sometimes sold in little bundles for the purpose of being slit, and
+receiving the small Neapolitan firework called _gera foletti_, which
+scintillates like a fire-fly. Other kinds of millet and pannick are
+also grown here; care being taken to plant them far from the vine and
+mulberry, as they make considerable demands on the soil. Rice is said
+to have constituted the sole aliment of the republicans of early Rome,
+and it is still largely cultivated in many parts of Italy. In the
+low-land about Viareggio, it monopolizes the ground almost as much as
+the Grand Turk in the more interior parts of the country.
+
+
+LUPINS
+
+Lupins are largely cultivated, both for their own intrinsic value, and
+to induce the growth of other plants. "We are bitter," say the Lupins
+in an Italian work on agriculture; "but we enrich the earth which
+lacks other manure, and by our bitterness kill those insects which, if
+not destroyed, would destroy our successors in the soil. You owe much,
+O husbandmen! to us Lupins."
+
+
+HEMP.
+
+Invaluable plant--pride of intelligent agriculture--that tendest thine
+own fibre--and strength to him that rightly cultivates thee--and
+constitutest the greatest element of mechanical power! What does not
+England--the world itself--owe to that growth which we now
+contemplate! Armies are encamped within thy walls--thou towest forth
+the ship of discovery on her venturous way, and carriest man and his
+merchandise to the Equator and to the Pole! Vain were the auspicious
+breeze unless it blew upon thy opening sails; and what were the
+sheet-anchor, but for that cable of thine which connects it with the
+ship. Vegetable iron! incomparable hemp! Extemporaneous memory can
+scarcely follow thy services. Talk of the battering-ram--but what
+propelled it forward? The shot, whizzing in the teeth of adverse
+winds, carries thy _coil_ to snatch the sailor from the rock where he
+stands helpless and beyond aid from all the powers or productions of
+man and nature but thine! Thy ladder, and thine alone, can rescue from
+the house on fire! Look at the fisheries all over the world--the
+herrings of Scotland and the cod of the Baltic might defy us but for
+thee. What were wells and windlasses without thee? useless as
+corkscrews to empty bottles. Thou art the strong arm of the pulley and
+the crane. Gravitation itself, that universal tyrant, had bound all
+things to the earth but for thy opposition. The scaffolds were thine
+from which grew the _Colosseum_, and the Pyramids have arisen in thine
+arms. The kite of science, which went cruising among thunder-clouds to
+bring down to a modern Prometheus the spark which ignites the storm,
+was held by fibres of thine. The _diver_ and the _miner_ cling to thee
+for safety, and they that hunt the wild-bird's egg on the sea-shaken
+cliff, as they swing over the frightful abyss. With the lasso the bold
+Matador, like the _Retiarius_ of the ancient arena, makes the cast
+that is for life. Then the fine arts!--Carrara sends her block for the
+Laocoon by aid of thine; and what were all the galleries in Europe but
+a collection of gilt frames, but for thy backing and support. By thy
+subserviency alone (for what were _panel_ or _laminated copper_ for
+such gigantic works?) did Raffaelle bequeath so many legacies of his
+immortal genius. It is the strength of thy fibres that is the strength
+of the loaded supper-tables of Paul Veronese; and the velvets, the
+furs, the satins of Titian and Vandyke, are quilted upon thee. Nor
+disdainest thou to render to man, who bruises thee to try thy virtue,
+a thousand humbler services. Thou preservest our horses from flies,
+our fruit from birds; and who has not felt how thou cheerest the weary
+length of continental travelling, by the crack of thy whipcord at the
+approach of a new relay?
+
+Here our friend _Anamnesis_ seemed fatigued, as if he thought he had
+spun a sufficiently _long yarn_ on the subject; so we prevailed on him
+to prosecute the walk, as evening was beginning to close in--not,
+indeed, without apprehension that he would make a stand at several
+other interesting plants on which it might suit him to prelect!
+
+Hemp, when cut, is left to dry for a week; it is then immersed for an
+other week in water; after which it is flayed of its skin--a process
+which is conducted either by the hand, leaving the stem in this case
+entire; or by subjecting the whole plant to a bruising process,
+conducted by a machine.
+
+Besides the above-mentioned grain, the ground produces plenty of
+vegetables, but of an inferior quality, as are all Italian fruits, and
+most of the leguminous productions also, from want of care. Even as to
+flowers, you would find it difficult to make up a bouquet, unless of
+ferns, which here abound. The only cultivated flower, except a few
+dahlias and sunflowers, are the yellow petals of the lucchini, a kind
+of vegetable marrow, which creeps and creeps till its twisted tendrils
+and broad leaves occupy, by continual encroachment, the whole field
+where they germinate. Besides the _fruit_ of this plant, which we
+begin to be supplied with about August, its young leaf and stalk are
+boiled like kail for common greens; and its yellow flower, a little
+later, makes a _frittura_, which is in request. Fruits are plentiful,
+and some of them good; but, for the greater part, of a very inferior
+quality. Strawberries, and particularly raspberries, (_lamponi_,) are
+found throughout the season; which, commencing with these, and a
+scanty supply of currants and gooseberries, (the latter very poor
+indeed, and the first quite inferior to our own,) brings us fine figs
+of many species and in vast quantities. Apples and pears have their
+kinds, and many distinctive names, but are without flavour. The great
+supply of the raspberry and small Alpine strawberry is about midsummer
+The next-door-hood of all the _Scotch_ families is now fragrant, "on
+all lawful days," with the odour of boiling down fruit for jams and
+marmalades for winter consumption. As autumn comes on, heaps of
+watermelons, piled like cannon-balls under the chestnut-trees, display
+their promising purple flesh, and look cooling and desirable, but are
+not to be attempted twice under penalty of gastric inconvenience.
+Plums and nuts abound, and are followed by a second course of hard,
+unripe, and tasteless nectarines and peaches. The season is closing
+fast, for the prickly pods of the ripening chestnut now begin to gape,
+and the indifferent grapes of the district attain their imperfect
+maturity, and are gathered for the wine-press. September is in its
+last week, and in less than another month we must all migrate
+somewhere for the winter. The baths, on the 15th of October, are quite
+empty.
+
+
+TREES.
+
+A good walnut-tree is as good to a poor man as a milk-cow. "I would
+not sell either of those walnut-trees in my garden for thirty scudi
+a-piece," said a peasant to us; and, observing that we looked as if we
+would not like to tempt him, asked us if we had seen the large
+walnut-tree of _Teraglia_, (we had, and had _pic-nicked_ very nearly
+under it,) "because," added he, "the proprietor of _that_ tree refused
+sixty _scudi_ for it last week, _e ha ragione_, for it is a nonpareil.
+A good tree like those in my garden yields me eight _sacks of shelled
+fruit_ on an average every year; and a sack of walnuts fetches from a
+scudo to ten pauls (four shillings and sixpence) in the market. So
+that my trees, between them, bring me in one hundred and sixty pauls
+(_i.e._ L4 English) every year." Indeed! and the chestnut-trees
+opposite? Oh! in this land of chestnut-trees we don't pay _prezzi
+d'affezione_ for them--a good tree standing in the _plain_ may cost
+about eight or ten scudi, and may yield about four sacks of shelled
+fruit in a good year; but it is a capricious tree even in the _plain_;
+while those on the _mountain_, the roots of which derive a precarious
+subsistence from the uncertain soil, are liable to be blown down, and
+are made pollards of at an early age to prevent this mishap; also,
+they are frequently burned down by bonfires kindled under them to
+destroy the furze. The chestnut shoot is only four years old before it
+begins to bear. Three pounds of fresh chestnuts fetch about one
+penny--_dried_, or in flour, about double that price. The peasants
+bake a little cake of the chestnut flour called "_netche_," about the
+thickness of a crimpet, and having much the flavour and appearance of
+potato scones. This paste they bake between two hot stones, with a
+couple of the leaves of the chestnut (dried for the purpose by the
+peasants) interposed. The baking takes scarcely a minute, and the
+cakes are then piled and packed, and sent far and wide. The arms and
+the tops of the chestnuts are made into charcoal, so that no part of
+this important tree is lost. We are here in the very midst of forests
+of chestnut only--far as the eye can reach in every direction, and as
+far as vegetation will go up every mountain side, its grateful green
+forms a pleasing contrast to those gloomy frequenters and favourites
+of the mountain, the sombre pine and dusky olive.
+
+Several fine-sized olive-trees were shown to us for sale, and said to
+be good fruit-bearers, (no olive bears fruit under ten years,) for
+twenty-five scudi per tree. These trees were computed to yield about
+two and a quarter to three sacks of berries; whereof every sack
+yielded a profit of three scudi for one hundred to one hundred and ten
+pounds of oil, which represents about the quantity generally
+expressed. In retail, Lucca oil, at the present moment, is about one
+paul, and olives about three farthings per pound.
+
+
+OAKS.
+
+We observe three kinds of oaks which here both flourish and abound.
+The _Farnia_, the _Querci_, and the _Leccio_--the last evidently a
+corruption of Ilex. The first kind grows with amazing rapidity; in
+twenty years it is a head and shoulders above all the other trees
+which began life with it. It has very long acorns, which are less
+astringent than those of either of the other trees, and very much
+preferred by pigs. A common oak felled for ship timber costs, where it
+stands, from ten to fourteen scudi, and they are in great request for
+the Leghorn market.
+
+
+INSECTS.
+
+Insects do not greatly abound in the neighbourhood about Lucca. Even
+the mosquito winds his horn less frequently in our valley, than his
+universality elsewhere would lead you to expect. Our beds are free
+from bugs, and fleas are not very troublesome. Of the out-of-doors
+insects, those which live upon the vegetable kingdom are not very
+numerous, nor of much variety. The _Cassida_, who rejoices in lettuce,
+brings up his family in other districts where the lettuce abounds.
+Wanting the tamarisk, we miss our little _Curculio_, who thrives upon
+its leaves; and the _Bruchus pisi_, for want of peas, is frequently
+caught in the bean-tops. But the republican armies of ants are
+immense, and the realm of bees is uncircumscribed; as no birds of
+prey, neither the audacious robin, nor the woodpecker, tapping away on
+the hollow beech-tree, diminish their hordes. But if the fowls of the
+air be few, the nets of entomologists abound. _Slaters_ of an immense
+kind, and spotted, and small mahogany-coloured _Blattidae_, are found
+under stones, which also conceal hordes of predatory _beetles_ and
+_scorpions_, which bristle up at you as you expose them; and nests of
+tiny _snakes_, that coil and cuddle together, from the size of
+crowquills to the thickness of the little finger. During June and
+July, the monotonous _Cicadae_ spring their rattles in the trees
+around, and one comes at last even to like their note, in spite of its
+sameness. A little later, flies and wasps send their buzzing progeny
+into our dining-rooms, to tease us over our dessert, like troublesome
+children: at the same period, some of the larger families of
+_Longicorns_ abound, and one of them, _Hamaticherus moschatus_, musks
+your finger if you lay hold of him. In the July and August evenings,
+fire-flies scintillate on a thousand points around you, and swarm
+along the hedges, lighting each other to bed, till about midnight,
+which is their curfew; for you seldom meet one of these
+lantern-bearers later, though you may still, in returning from a late
+party, be stopped with momentary admiration at beholding a magnificent
+glow-worm burning her tail away at a great rate, and lighting up some
+dark recess unvisited by star or moon, herself a star, and giving
+sufficient light to enable you to read the small print of a newspaper
+a foot off! But who shall attempt to describe his first acquaintance
+with the fire-fly! We have seen birthday illuminations in London and
+in Paris; we have seen the cupola of St Peter's start into pale yellow
+light, as the deepening shadows of night shrouded all things around;
+we have seen the Corso, on _Moccoletti_ night, a long fluctuating line
+of ever renewed light, from the street to the fourth story--an
+illumination _sui generis_, and "beautiful exceedingly;" but noise and
+confusion are around all these as you approach them. But, oh! to
+plunge suddenly into an atmosphere filled with _Lucciole_ in the quiet
+gloaming of an Italian sky, amidst the olive groves and plantations of
+Indian corn, with no noise but the drowsy hum of the huge _stag
+beetle_, (the only patrole of the district,) or the yet fainter sounds
+of frogs complaining to each other of the sultriness of the night, or
+the monotonous hymn, at the peasant's door, addressed to the Virgin!
+Your first impression is unmixed delight--your next, a wish probably
+that you could introduce the fire-fly into England. Could one empty a
+few hatfuls along Pall-Mall or Bond Street, on opera nights, what an
+amazement would seize the people! We swept them up into the crown of
+our hat, and could not get enough of them; then we set them flying
+about our room, putting out the lights and shutting the shutters; and
+then we caught them, and began to look more closely at the sources of
+our delight, and to examine the acts and deeds of these wonderful
+little creatures. As to the light itself, we soon perceived that, in
+reality, the fire-fly emitted it from _two sources_; for, besides his
+_steady_ light, which never varied, there came, we saw, at intervals,
+flicks or sparks of far greater brilliancy, like the revolving light
+of the beacon on the sea-shore, only that the light here was never
+wholly eclipsed, but merely much abated. We soon perceived, too, that
+those sudden jets of light came and went at vastly IRREGULAR
+intervals; sometimes in very quick succession, sometimes less
+frequently--from which observation, we concluded that this
+dispensation of his rich endowment did not proceed from any motion of
+the _fluids_ in the animal economy, analogous to our own
+circulation--it being far too irregular and inconstant to depend on
+any such regulated movement. On removing the head of a _Lucciola_,
+this intermitting light _immediately_ ceased; but the other--the
+permanent, steady, and equable light--remained unchanged, and was not
+extinguished for from _sixty to seventy hours after the death of the
+insect_, unless the body was immersed in oil or alcohol, which
+extinguished it presently. We found, that though oil and alcohol
+quickly extinguished the light, it became suddenly much brighter when
+fading, by plunging the insect into hot water; but we did not find
+that it could be restored when it had once _entirely_ ceased, by this
+or any other means, as some French naturalists have affirmed; and as
+to its exploding a jar of hydrogen, as others have written, we
+disbelieve it, because the temperature of the insect is far too low.
+We think, then, for the present, that there are two distinct
+repositories, or two different sources, of light in the fire-fly; and
+that while _one_ depends on the _head_, and is a strictly _vital
+phenomenon_, the other is altogether independent of any physiological
+law of the nervous or circulating system.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+We have a great respect for _ants_; but we do not go the length of
+some of their historians, or believe them to be, any more than
+ourselves, _infallible_. We have seen a laborious ant (_magni Formica
+laboris_) tugging a snail-shell (for some reason only known to
+himself) up a hill, stopping to take breath, and going cheerily to
+work again till he had nearly accomplished his ascent, and found
+himself on the very edge of its summit. Here he has been surrounded by
+friends, officious busy-bodies, who, _intending_ no doubt to help him,
+have got _into_ the shell, in place of lending him a hand, till their
+added load was too much, and the unfortunate ant has been obliged to
+loose its hold and let them go, shell and all! Then off they would
+send, very much frightened no doubt at the overturn; while he, having
+remained stationary a moment as if to watch its results, takes his
+resolution, and proceeds on his journey without his load. In brushing
+the grass for insects, we have constantly found that the ants, _with
+their mouths full_, fight with each other, or with their brother
+captives, and are quite unaware of their bondage. For while most other
+insects, on opening the net, are glad to escape by flying or leaping,
+these will remain as if to secure their booty, and turn even
+misfortunes to account. Often have we watched their battles, which are
+battles indeed!--battles, in which every man of them seems to think
+the day depends on his own courage and activity. We have never been
+able to make out which were the best battalions of these variously
+coloured troops; for all of them fight to the death, and _show no
+quarter_. We have seen on some large tree the ants running up and
+down, and picking off individual enemies from a horde of smaller kind
+and reddish colour below. We have occasionally knocked off one or two
+of the giants, who, falling alive into the midst of their enemies,
+were surrounded, spread-eagled, trampled upon, and either lacerated to
+death, or killed by their own _formic acid_, in a very short space of
+time indeed. We have seen all this and marvelled; but we were never
+sufficiently in the confidence of either the invaders or the invaded
+to know their motives for fighting. It could not be for territory, for
+they had all the world before them; it could not be for food, for they
+were full.
+
+We never could make out why flies seem _fond of walking over dead
+spiders_; for we will not impute to them our unworthy feelings of
+enduring hatred and hostility. That insects had no brains in their
+heads to direct and guide their progressive movements, or form focuses
+for their passions, had long ago to us been plain. Besides all that we
+once committed ourselves by writing on the subject, we have done many
+other cruel things; such as dividing insects, (whether at the union of
+the head with corselet, or of the corselet with the abdomen,) and we
+have found that the segments to which the members were articulated
+carried on their functions _without the head_. The Elytra would open
+the wings, and the legs would move, as by association they had moved
+in the perfect insect. The guidance of the head was destroyed, yet the
+legs pushed the abdomen and corselet on; so that a disapproving friend
+had to _divide_ his sympathy, and to _feel for each of the pieces_.
+And what appeared to us worthy of remark was, that whereas, when a
+snake was decollated, it was only the tail that continued to
+wriggle--when a _worm_ was divided, _all_ the segments writhed in the
+same way, and manifested an equal irritability; showing the difference
+between creatures of annulated structure, according as they have or
+have not a _brain_. A new argument against the brain as the organ of
+sensation, was afforded to us by the conduct of many insects of
+voracious propensities. We took _locusts_ and _grilli_; we held them
+by their wings, and we presented them _with their own legs_ for
+dinner; and on our veracity we can affirm, that on no single occasion
+did the animal fail to seize his foot; and having demolished the toes
+and the tibia, with all the meat upon it, proceed to demolish up to
+the very end of the _trochanter_! Nor were they more tender of their
+own _antennae_, of which, when we had duly convinced a sceptical
+friend, he exclaimed--It _seems impossible_; but _there is no doubting
+the fact_!
+
+Insects (who would have thought it?) lose a great deal by insensible
+transpiration; from one-tenth to one-quarter of their whole weight, as
+we have abundantly ascertained by series of experiments, for which we
+have the tables to show. A very interesting fact respecting the
+difference of irritability of insects from that of the higher animals,
+is this: the temperature of man and the mammalia is in health always
+the same, and varies very inconsiderably in disease. _External_ heat
+and _external_ cold do not produce a blood, in man, warmer at the
+equator than at the pole. This is not the case with insects, whose
+mean temperature may be about 80 deg.; but the thermometer inserted into
+their bodies may be made to _rise_ or _fall_ by bringing any cold or
+warm body in contact with their external surface. You may thus sink
+the temperature of an insect to 50 deg. or raise it to 100 deg., and the
+insect continue alive. This is a very curious fact, and shows the
+inaccuracy of Hunter's description or definition of _life_--"That it
+was _that_ which _resisted_ the physical agency of cold and heat."
+Insectorum duorum (e genere Cantharidum) in coitu deprehensorum,
+extincto a nobis uno, alterum per dies plures, nullo alio quam
+organorum sexus vinculo sibi adstrictum, amicae suae corpus sursum et
+deorsum trahentem, mirantes vidimus!--_Spanish_ flies, you
+exclaim!--as if he had not taken a dose of his own powder; but after
+the joke is over, we think this is another _poser_ for the advocates
+of insect intelligence. We found that if either of two insects was
+destroyed in coition, that state was not interrupted for two or three
+days. The insects on which are observed this remarkable circumstance,
+were the _Cantharis oclemero_, and some others. Spanish flies, you
+will say? That accounts for it; but at present we are not mystifying
+our indulgent readers.
+
+
+SHOOTING FISH.
+
+Long before the middle of September we are frequently startled, before
+we have proceeded a hundred yards, by the popping of guns amongst the
+vineyards and chestnut woods, but more frequently in the direction of
+the stream that winds along our valley--and the sight of one or two of
+the chasseurs on the road may well surprise any not accustomed to the
+sports of the Lucchese.--Here are two of them, each with a gun on his
+shoulder, coming up the stream. One has shot three four-ounce dace,
+which dangle by his side; the other has a bag full of _small fry_,
+shot as they frisked about in shoals near the water's edge! an ounce
+of _sand_ exploded to receive about the same amount of fish! The man
+who has shot the dace is proud of his exploit, and keeps turning them
+round and round to gauge their dimensions, as if they were partridges!
+Don't think, however, they have killed off all the fish of the stream.
+Besides that string of four-ounce dace, we have every now and then a
+sample of barbel and trout. One man has purchased the monopoly of the
+fishery within two miles, and for which he pays twelve crowns by the
+year. He sells his trout at two, and two and a half, pauls per pound,
+and we should have thought that he made a good thing of it; but they
+lose their fish: the torrents come and empty the holes, and they have
+nothing for it but to stock them again--an event which, he assured me,
+frequently took place. Besides, fly-rods and flies have been
+introduced by an English shopkeeper, and there is no legal provision
+against them.
+
+
+OWLS.
+
+There comes a man with an owl in a basket and another tied by the leg
+on a pole covered with red cloth; another accompanies him with a
+bundle of reeds, through which a rod runs, smeared all the way down
+with birdlime. This apparatus he disposes on a hedge or cover of any
+kind--the little owl (_Civetta_) sits opposite on his pole--the birds
+come to tease him, and fly on the birdlime twig, when, if it be a
+sparrow, he is effectually detained by the viscus only--if a
+blackbird, pop at him goes an old rusty gun. "We sometimes catch
+twenty tomtits before breakfast," said a modest-looking sportsman,
+modestly, but not shamefacedly, showing us one thrush and one linnet.
+
+An image-man told me to-day, that after the trade for classical
+models--Apollos and Venuses--had gone out, and nobody would buy, _Tam
+o' Shanter_ and _Souter Johnny_ operated a good _revival_ of the fine
+arts for several months. How much, then, the models from the antique,
+do towards improving our taste! and how absurd to set up institutions
+with the expectation of making the populace other than the gross,
+unideal, matter-of-fact thing it is, and always was, no doubt, even in
+Athens itself!
+
+
+THE IMPROVISATORE.
+
+We heard one of these monsters last night. The arena for his
+exhibition might, but for the known liberality of society, be thought
+objectionable--being none other than the English place of worship. But
+_tout est sain aux sains_--or _aux saints_, if you please. Charity
+covereth many sins; and if there be a place upon earth where charity
+reigns, it is at what you call _watering-places_. Pindar was right,
+[Greek: ariston men hudoz]. If we were enquired of, and propitiated
+by a fee, as to the effects of the waters here, we should give it as
+our opinion that they act directly on the _picrochole_, or bitter
+principle of bile, and carry it, soft as milk, through the duodenal
+passages. Our Improvisatore has, we understand, been six times
+_painted_, (we know not what saloons are so fortunate as to possess
+his portrait,) but we believe he has not been described. When we saw
+him, his hair danced wildly over his shoulders, as if electrified: he
+had a quick eye, and wore enviably well-fitting ducks: his neck,
+besides supporting his head and all its contents, supported an
+inextricable labyrinth of gold chains; from every buttonhole of his
+waistcoat the chains they came in, and the chains they came out, like
+the peripatetic man on the Boulevards who sells them: his gloves,
+well-fitting, and buttoning at the wrist, were of the whitest kid, and
+grasped a yet whiter and highly-scented cambric: his boots shone
+bright with varnish, and his face with self-complacency. As the room
+filled, he went round, giving the girls permission to write _subjects_
+on bits of waste (wasted!) paper, which set them _thinking_ at a great
+rate. Presently, a second circuit round the room, to collect the
+orders payable at sight--a title such as the _Lucciola_, _Italia_,
+_The Exile_, _Woman's Love_, _Man's Ingratitude_; after which he
+proceeds to fold up and puts them into a large glass vessel. Presently
+a small hand, properly incited, dives down for a second into the
+interior of the vase, and brings up, between two of its fair, round,
+turquoise-encircled fingers, the scrap of paper. Its pretty owner
+blushes, and timidly announces, "Bellini's Tomb;" _Bellini's Tomb_ is
+buzzed about the room. At this juncture the Duke, who has been
+_expected_, sends a messenger to announce that we are not to wait for
+him--a sly fellow the Duke! The bard now concentrates himself for
+inspiration, but begs us to talk on, and not mind him. While he waits
+for the _afflatus divinus_, and consults the muses--and in fact his
+eyes soon begin to betray _possession_--he passes his hand over his
+parturient forehead, while the _os magno sonaturum_ is getting ready;
+the labour-pains are evidently on him; he hurls back his hair, and
+fixes his eyes upon the moon, (who has been looking at _him_ for
+several minutes through the window opposite.) Full of her influence,
+and not knowing there is such a place as Bedlam in the world, he
+starts upon his legs, makes two or three rapid strides up and down the
+room, like a lion taking exercise, or a lord of council and session in
+Scotland preparing to pronounce sentence, and means to be delivered
+(mercy on us!) exactly opposite our chair! All are attentive to the
+godlike man; you might hear a pin drop: the subject is announced once
+and again in a very audible voice; the touch-paper is ignited, the
+magazine will blow up presently! Incontinently we are rapt off to
+_Pere la Chaise_, where the great composer lies buried, and a form of
+communication is made to us on this suitable spot, that Bellini is
+_dead_; then comes, in episode, a catalogue of all the operas he ever
+wrote, with allusions to each, and not a little vapouring and pathos,
+while a host of heroes and heroines we never before heard of, is let
+loose upon us; presently, a marked pause, and some by-play, makes it
+evident that he sees something, and cannot see what the thing is; he
+shortly, however, imparts to us in confidence, though in a very low
+tone, for fear of disturbing it--he sees, he assures us, a female form
+stealing to the young man's tomb--the form of a widowed lady--who is
+she? _e la sua madre!_ This was startling, no doubt; though we, or
+many of us, were like the cat in Florian, to whom the monkey was
+showing a magic lantern _without a light_, and describing what she
+ought to have seen. Believing her, however, to be there on such good
+authority, we were getting very sorry for Bellini's mother, when we
+were unexpectedly relieved, by finding it was only a bit of
+make-believe; for it was now divulged, _che questa madre che piangea
+il suo figlio_, was not in fact his personal mother, but "_Italy_"
+dressed up _like_ his mother, and gone to Paris on purpose to weep and
+put garlands on the composer's tomb, amaranth and crocus, and whatever
+else was in season. Thunders of applause--we hope the new chapel is
+insured!-for the _assiduo ruptae lectore columnae_ is as old as
+earthquake in Italy. He now mopped his forehead, and prepared for a
+new effort. The English girls are already in raptures, and their
+Italian masters, sitting by, "ride on the whirlwind and direct the
+storm." The next subject which destiny assigned to him, and inflicted
+on us, was _The Exile_. A nicely manured field or common place to sow
+and reap on--and what a harvest it yielded accordingly!--the dear
+friends! the dear native hill! the honour of suffering for the truth!
+(political martyrdom!) the mother that bore him--(and a good deal
+besides)--his helpless children! (a proper number for the
+occasion,)--all these fascinating themes were dwelt on, one by one,
+till, moved apparently at our emotion, he dropt his menacing attitude,
+and, mitigating his voice, assumed a resigned demeanour, of which many
+of his audience had long since set him the example. He began to look
+down mournfully, whereas he had a minute ago looked up fiercely--a
+smile, to the relief of the young ladies, stole over his countenance,
+and having thrice shaken his head to dispel whatever gloomy thoughts
+might still be lingering there, he carried us to the Exile's return,
+which brought of course the natal soil and a second service of the
+mother, sire, and son, with the addition of a dog, a clump of trees, a
+church, and a steeple. He compresses between his hands the yielding
+cambric into a very small space, his body is fixed, his legs are
+slightly apart, his head wags, like a wooden mandarin's, with thoughts
+too big for utterance, till the moment arrives for the critical start,
+then, "_Duplices tendens ad sidera palmas_," he becomes quite
+Virgilian. The unfurled cambric flutters to the breeze of his own
+creation, and coruscations of white kid and other white materials pass
+and repass before our eyes. He gives vent to his emotions in tears,
+after a reasonable indulgence in which, as he cannot (as Tilburina's
+_confidante_ very properly observes) stay crying there all night, he
+gradually comes right again. Besides all which, it is eight o'clock,
+and he has still to _do_, and we to _suffer_, _Napoleon_--whose ashes
+were just then being carried to Paris, as we had read in all the
+papers of last week. Glad were we when they reached the _Octroi_, and
+when the indulgent _Barriere_ passed them with all the honours of the
+_Douane_. An old lady has twice yawned, and many would follow her
+example, but that the performer fascinates his audience by staring at
+them--like the boa at the poor bird in the wood--and frightens them to
+their seats for a few minutes longer. At length one _resolute_ chair
+moves; two others are out of the ranks; new centres of movement are
+establishing; several shawls are seen advancing to the door. The rout
+is complete, there will be no rally, and the efforts of the artist
+have been _crowned_ (one hundred and fifty scudi) with success. We
+meet him every where. He honours our table-d'hote daily, where he
+stays an hour and a half to bait--after which we see him lounging in
+the carriage of some fair _compatriote_ with herself and daughters. If
+we are paying a morning visit, in he comes, "glissarding it" into the
+drawing-room, and bowing like a dancing-master; nor does he disdain to
+produce a small book of testimonials, in which the subscribers have
+agreed to give him a poetic _character_, and compare him to a torrent,
+to a nightingale, to an eagle, to an avalanche. They who love flattery
+as a bee loves honey, are all captivated, and almost make love to him.
+Their albums are rich in the spoils of his poetry, and she is happy
+who, by her blandishment, can detain him in conversation for five
+minutes. Yet they own they understand less than half of what he says.
+Vexed with _one_ to whom we were talking, we thought rationally, for
+permitting herself to be "so pestered by a popinjay,"--"He _is_ so
+clever," was the reply; "such an odd creature, too. I wish you knew
+him. He is in such a strange humour to-night. Do you know he tells me
+he wishes to marry an English girl? See! he is gone into the balcony
+yonder to look at the moon." To be sure he was. He came back looking
+somewhat wild, and, walking in like a modern Prometheus, down he sits,
+and the new inspiration is presently bespoken for the fly page of
+virgin scrap-book. Smoothly flows the immortal verse, without care,
+correction, or halt, for the lines are the result of power that works
+unerringly, (Pope _blotted_ most disgracefully,) and goes right
+_ahead_. The precious _morceau_ is concluded, and the improvisatore's
+name appears in a constellation of zig-zags.
+
+
+TABLES D'HOTES--MR SNAPLEY.
+
+Did you never meet Mr Snapley?--Mr Snapley was the greatest of
+bores--he bored holes in your self-complacency, and riddled your
+patience through and through; to put up with him was hard, to put him
+down was impossible, (your long tolerated nuisance of fifty is always
+incorrigible.) His bore was surprising considering the smallness of
+his calibre; like a meagre gimlet, he would drill a small hole in some
+unimportant statement, and then gather up his _opima spolia_, and
+march off to the sound of his own trumpet. For instance, on convicting
+you of assigning a fine picture to a wrong church or gallery, he
+denied all your pretensions to judge of the picture itself. He had a
+reindeer's length of tongue, (how often did we wish it salted and
+dried!) and the splutter of words it sent forth, took off, as often
+happens, sufficient observation of the miserably small stock of ideas
+that he had to work upon. He enjoyed, as we all do, the blameless
+pleasure of dining out as often as he could; when, though he did not
+consume all the provisions, he would willingly have taken possession
+of the whole of the talk, (_that_ being his notion of a conversation.)
+When one had to dine at the same table with him, one contrived to take
+up a position as remote as possible from the interruption of his thin,
+wiry, ill-modulated voice--the _false_ suavity of which in saying
+impertinent things was really so disagreeable, that one would have
+renounced the society of wit or beauty on the right hand, rather than
+have been flanked by Mr Snapley on the _left_, and thankfully have
+accepted the companionship, _pro hac vice_, of the plainest woman or
+the dullest man of the party, to be only completely out of his reach.
+Your _soup_ you _might_ take in peace, for he was at this time
+studying the composition of the party, and the chances of endurance or
+resistance inscribed on the countenance of the guests; but the moment
+an opportunity occurred of correcting or cavilling with any of those
+unprecise and generally unchallenged observations, the interruption of
+which is at the cost of the quietness of the repast, Mr Snapley's
+voice was heard! You were too glad, of course, to give up the trifling
+point out of which he had raised a discussion; but the earliest
+concession never saved you, nor did you ever afterwards escape the
+consciousness that he was still hovering like a harpy over the
+tablecloth, and ready to fall foul of you again. Let the subject be
+what it might, you had only to make a remark in his presence, and
+without his permission, to _insure_ its contradiction. "What a
+needless annoyance in travelling it is for a family to be stopped by
+douaniers, only to extort money for _not_ doing a duty which would be
+absurd if _done_!" "Why, really I don't see that," &c. &c. "What a
+plague it is to send your servant (a whole morning's work) from one
+subaltern with a queer name, to another, for a lady's ticket to
+witness any of the functions at the Sistine!" Well, it did appear to
+him the simplest thing in the world; it was ten times more troublesome
+to see any thing in London! "What a nuisance it is on quitting an
+Italian city, to find the passport which has already given you so much
+trouble only available for _three_ days, leaving you liable to be
+stopped at the gate, if sickness or accident have made you transgress
+even _by an hour_!" "Why, it is _your own fault_, it is _so easy_ to
+get it _vised again_ overnight." All these impertinencies were only
+[Greek: pidakos ex hieres olige libas]. Besides all this, Mr Snapley
+was a miserable monopolizer of pompously advanced nothings. He would
+not willingly suffer any other man's goose to feed upon the common--he
+cared for nobody but himself, and every thing that was or he esteemed
+to be _his_--his very joints were worked unlike those of another
+man--he must have had a set of _adductors_ and _abductors_, of
+_flexors_ and _extensors_, on purpose. He was stiff, priggish,
+precise, when he addressed any gentleman with light hair and an
+_English complexion_; but let him approach any foreign buttonhole with
+a bit of riband in it, then worked he the muscles of his face into
+most grotesque expression of interest or pleasure--(_Tunc immensa cavi
+spirant mendacia folles!_)--and you had a famous display of grimace
+and deferential civility, in bad French or worse Italian. We have seen
+him sneering and leering as he made his way round a drawing-room at an
+evening party, and bowing like a French perruquier to some absurd fool
+of a foreigner; and we have seen him, a minute after, holding up his
+head and cocking his chin in defiance, if an English voice approached.
+When any of us ventured to criticise _any thing foreign_, he was up in
+arms, and cock-a-hoop for the climate, the customs, the constitution!
+He sneered awfully at a simple _gaucherie_, but, to make amends, had
+ever an approving wink for the meanest _irreverence_; any intellect,
+however feeble, being secure of his praise if it only tried to thwart
+the end for which it was given. When not _talking_ about himself,
+which was seldom, he was evidently _occupied_ about his _personel_,
+with which he was obviously satisfied. If you talked of books, he
+settled for you, in laconic sentences, works of acknowledged
+merit--put down men of uncontested superiority--but women of title and
+tainted reputation, if they would but ask him to their parties,
+became at once his favourites and his oracles. He cunningly contrives
+to get a good artist's opinion on works of art, and debits it as his
+own--a proceeding which makes Mr Snapley _sometimes_ formidable in
+sculpture and in painting. As to other topics, on which educated men
+and accomplished women converse, he would fain be as profound as
+_Locke_ with the one, and as gallant as _Fontenelle_ with the other.
+For ourselves, who meet him but too often, we would as soon approach
+without necessity a huxter's mongrel growling under his master's cart,
+as venture near enough to examine all the small-wares of one who
+"hates coxcombs," and is the very prince of fops; laughs at pedants,
+and only wants a _little more learning_ to attempt the character; with
+whom no repetition of familiar acts can reconcile you, and to whom no
+number of dinners can conquer your repugnance.----_Did_ you ever meet
+Mr Snapley? We are sure you must--the Snapleys are a very old
+family--you may generally know them by the _nez retrousse_, (which our
+acquaintance, however, had not.) We never knew but _one_ good-natured
+man with a _nez retrousse_, and he was, if ever man was--a
+philanthropist. Generally, however, _beware_ of the _nez retrousse_
+except in women--you know its interpretation _chez elles_;--and if you
+do, (on second thoughts,) still beware.
+
+
+HINTS FOR DOCTORS.
+
+_Esquilias_, dictumque petunt a _Vimine_ collem--JUV.
+
+* * * "I observed a gentleman in black," said our informant, "who
+seemed to fix me across the table-d'hote, at dinner, in a way which
+soon showed me I was an object of interest to him. It was very odd! We
+were not in Austria! I could not have offended the police--nor in
+Spain, the Inquisition. If I _took_ of a particular dish, his eye was
+on me again. They _did_ use to _poison_ people in Italy, but it was in
+the fifteenth century, and all the Borgias were gone! What could it
+mean? The very waiters seemed to watch the man in black, and signals
+of intelligence seemed to pass between them as they went their rounds
+with the dishes. After thus meeting the eye of the unknown at
+intervals for more than an hour, when the table was beginning to
+clear, I rose, and limped out of the room as well as my complaints
+would let me, and was sauntering a few steps from the door, when judge
+of my terror on turning round, to find him of the black coat at my
+elbow! "In pain, sir, I see." All my alarm ceased in a moment. It was
+pure philanthropy which had made me an object of so much interest.
+"Yes, sir, in great pain." "_You should take care of yourself, sir._
+Rheumatic, are you not?" "Very rheumatic." "Well, sir, you have come
+to the best place in the world for rheumatism. The air, the water, and
+proper treatment, will soon set you up." "Your report is encouraging;
+but I have suffered too long to hope much." "Well, at any rate, sir,
+let us not talk over your interesting case in this heat. Come and put
+your feet up on a chair in my rooms, and we will drink a glass of
+soda-water to your better health." What a kind-hearted man I had met
+with, and how kind Providence is to us! I now ventured to ask him his
+name. "My name is Dr ----; and now, my dear friend, just tell me your
+whole case from the very beginning down to now, for I am really
+interested in you." I told my case. "Put out your tongue." "Brown," we
+thought we heard him say. "Wrist--pulse not amiss--but you _require
+care, sir! you require care!_ Clear case for the medicine I gave so
+successfully last week." Finding myself thus fallen into professional
+hands _without intending it_, I said something introductory to the
+mention of a fee. "True, I was _forgetting_ that; when one takes a
+proper interest in one's case, and hopes to do good, fees are the last
+thing one thinks of--two scudi if you please." So I found myself
+immediately booked in a small memorandum-book, and constituted his
+patient. Now came civil promises to introduce me, &c. &c. &c., and I
+took my leave delighted. It is almost needless to say, that in a very
+short time I found that my acquaintance had, like so many more,
+commenced physician on the soil of Italy. What will become of London
+if all her apothecaries desert her at this rate? For ourselves,
+reflecting on the accomplishments of many of these patriotic men,
+their learning, their modesty, their disinterestedness, we have often
+had a twinge of the philanthropic extorted by the loss inflicted on
+our native city--she may come to want a doze of julap, and have nobody
+to mix it!--and have said to ourselves, as we have looked more than
+one of these worthies in the face, [Greek: O alein Athenai, Pallados
+th'orismata, Oion steresesth andros]!
+
+One day after dinner a little bit of gold rolled over the table to the
+doctor, from a bluff-looking gentleman opposite--it was well
+aimed--"There, doctor! _there's your fee_; but don't you begin again
+prating a parcel of stuff to my wife about her complaints--she is
+quite well--and if you frighten her into illness, take notice, you
+will get a different sort of fee next time!" All this, half joke, half
+earnestly, must have been very agreeable to the guests."
+
+
+PRIVATE MUSIC PARTY.
+
+Let us try to describe the last musical party at which we assisted. A
+scramble amid piles of unbound music; the right _cahier_ found,
+snatched up, and opened at the well-thumbed solo with which she has
+already contended for many a long hour, and now hopes to execute for
+our applause. Alas! the piano sounds as if it had the pip; the
+paralytic keys halt, and stammer, and tremble, or else run into each
+other like ink upon blotting paper, and the pedals are the only part
+of the instrument which do the work for which they were intended. We
+should be sorry that our favourite dog had his paw between them and
+the lady's slipper. The dust which succeeds the concerto proves
+satisfactorily that it is possible to be frisky without being lively;
+its vulgarity is so pronounced that it offends you like low
+conversation. Another concerto follows--ten folio pages! whew!!----Oh,
+ye ebony and ivory devils! oh, for an exorcist to put you to
+flight! Cramped fingers are crossing each other at a great rate; we
+really tremble for the glue, and the pegs, and the wires, and the
+whole economy of the instrument, at that critical juncture when the
+performers arrive at a piece of mysterious notation, where a great
+many tadpole-looking figures are huddled together under a black
+rainbow. At such a "passage" as this, it seems one would think the
+house were on fire, and no time to be lost; the black mittens and the
+white now _Rob-Royishly_ invade each other's territory; each snatches
+up something and carries it off, like the old marauders of the Border
+country; and reprisals are made, and lines of discord and dissonance
+are establishing, which require the police, the magistrate, and the
+riot act. Bravo! bravo! bravo! and the battle ceases, and the _babble_
+commences. Place for the foreign train, the performers _par metier!_
+Full of confidence are they; amidst all their smiles and
+obsequiousness, there is a business air about the thing. As soon as
+the pianist has asked the piano how it finds itself, and the piano has
+intimated that it is pretty well, but somewhat out of tune, a
+collateral fiddler and a violoncello brace up their respective nerves,
+compare notes, and when their drawlings and crookings are in unison, a
+third piece of music of indefinite duration, and as it seems to us all
+about nothing, begins. Our violinist is evidently not long come out,
+and has little to recommend him--he employs but a second-rate tailor,
+wears no collar, dirty mustaches, and a tight coat; he is ill at ease,
+poor man, wincing, pulling down his coat-sleeves, or pulling up his
+braces over their respective shoulders. His strings soon become moist
+with the finger dew of exertion and trepidation; his bow draws out
+nothing but groans or squeals; and so, in order to correct these
+visceral complaints, a piece of rosin is awkwardly produced from his
+trousers' pocket, and applied to the rheumatic member, with some
+half-dozen brisk rubs in a parenthesis of music. The effect is
+painfully ludicrous!----
+
+I am _sleepy_, _sleepy_, begins the piano! Sleepy, sleepy, _mews_ Mr
+Violin--very, very, very sleepy, drones the drowsy four-stringed
+leviathan. Oh, do try if you can't say something, something, something
+to enliven one a bit! On this hint, the little violin first got
+excited upon one string, and then upon another, and then the bow rode
+a hand-gallop over two at once; then saw we four fingers flying as far
+up the finger-board as they could go, without falling overboard, near
+the _bridge_--a dangerous place at all times from the currents and
+eddies--and there provoking a series of sounds, as if the performer
+were pinching the tails of a dozen mice, that squeaked and squealed as
+he made the experiment. The bow (like the funambulist with the soles
+of his slippers fresh chalked) kept glancing on and off, till we hoped
+he would be off altogether and break his neck; and now the least harsh
+and grating of the cords snaps up in the fiddler's face, and a crude
+one is to be applied; and now--but what is the use of pursuing the
+description? Let us leave the old bass to snore away his lethargic
+accompaniment for ten minutes more, and the affair will end. The
+pianist, the Octavius of the triumvirs, thinks it necessary to excuse
+Signor ----, telling us, "He has bad violin, he play like one angel on
+good one"--but hisht, hisht! the evening-star is rising, and we are to
+be repaid, they say, for all we have gone through! Signor * * * is going
+to play. The _maestro_ advances with perfect consciousness of his own
+powers; his gait is lounging, he does not mean to hurry himself, not
+he--his power of abstraction (from the company) is perfect; he is
+going to play in solitude before fifty people, and only for his own
+amusement. He placed himself at least a foot from the piano, his knees
+touching the board, his body rises perpendicularly from the
+music-stool, his head turns for a moment to either shoulder as if he
+were glancing at epaulettes thereon, and then he looks right ahead; he
+neither has nor needs a book; with the wide-extended fingers of both
+hands, down he pounces, like a falcon, on the sleeping keys, which,
+caught by surprise, now speak out and exert all their energies. Those
+keys, which a few minutes ago vibrated so feebly, and spoke so
+inarticulately, now pour forth a continuous swell of the richest
+melody and distinctest utterance. The little wooden parallelograms at
+first seem to be keeping out of their ranks just to see what is going
+on, till, the affair becoming warm, they can no longer stand it, but
+grow excited and take part in the general action. Relying fully on the
+perfect obedience of his light troops, and relaxing a little from his
+erect attitude of command, he gently inclines his body to the left,
+leads his disposable force rapidly upwards in that direction, where,
+having surprised the post against which they were dispatched, he
+recovers his swerve, and they retrace with equal precision and
+rapidity their course from the wings to the centre.
+
+Come, _this_ is playing! This is worth coming to; the instrument seems
+but the organ of the man's own feelings; its mournful tones are only a
+paraphrase of his sighs; its brilliant arabesques are but the playful
+expression of his own delight with every thing and every body! His
+cheek is warm, his eyes sparkle, his hands detonate thunder and
+lightnings from the keys, and he concludes as suddenly as he began;
+the very silence is felt, and the breathless guests, who have watched
+the fingers and been rapt by the tones, now burst forth simultaneously
+in expressions of delight and applause.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+THE RAILWAYS.
+
+
+We read, no later than yesterday, two very pungent leading articles in
+the London daily journals, on the present all-absorbing subject of
+railway speculation. Both writers are evidently well versed in the
+details of the novel system; both possess some smattering of political
+economy, sufficient at least to enable them to form a judgment; and
+both consistent in their data and statistical information. Yet,
+agreeing in these points, it is somewhat singular to find that the
+_Coryphaei_ have arrived at diametrically opposite conclusions. One of
+them is quite clear, that if the present railway _mania_ (as he calls
+it) is permitted to go on unchecked for a short time further, the
+country will not only be on the verge of bankruptcy, but a general
+crash will be inevitable; that, vast as the resources of Britain
+undoubtedly are, she cannot, by any exertion short of crippling her
+staple commercial relations, furnish capital enough for the fulfilment
+of a moiety of the schemes already announced, and thrown into the
+public market; that the fact, which is incontestable, that a large
+proportion of these shares were originally, and are presently, held by
+parties who have no means of paying up the calls, but who are solely
+speculating for the rise, must very soon produce a reaction, and that
+such reaction will be of the absolute nature of a panic. Such are the
+opinions of this writer, who is clearly of the restrictive school. He
+holds, that the government is bound, in such a crisis as that which he
+rather states than prophesies, to interfere at once with an arbitrary
+order, and to prevent the issue of any new schemes until those already
+before the public are either disposed of or exhausted.
+
+How this is to be effected, the writer does not sufficiently explain.
+He points to immediate interference, from which expression we are led
+to believe he points at some such proceeding as an Order in Council,
+to be pronounced during the recess of Parliament. If so, we may
+dismiss this gentleman and his remedy in a very summary manner. Such
+an Order in Council would be worse than useless, because it would be a
+manifest breach of the constitution. As well might an Order be issued
+to close our manufactories, to restrict the amount of any branch of
+produce, or to prevent parties from forming themselves into companies
+for the most blameless and legitimate purpose. It is a strange symptom
+of the credulousness of the age, or rather of the ignorance of the
+people in all matters relating to the science of government, that,
+towards the close of September last, some such rumour was actually
+circulated and believed, though its father was manifestly _a bear_,
+and its birthplace the Stock Exchange. But if this merely is meant,
+that there lies with the Imperial Parliament a controlling and
+interferential power, and that the great estates of the realm may be
+called upon to use it, we do not question the proposition. Whether,
+however, it would be wise to use that power so sweepingly as the
+journalist recommends, or whether, practically, it could be possible,
+are very serious considerations indeed.
+
+But the existence of any evil is denied _in toto_ by the other
+journalist. In the crowded columns of the morning prints, driven to
+supplement and even extra-supplement by the overwhelming mass of
+railway advertisements, he can see no topic of alarm, but "matter for
+high exultation, and almost boundless hope." His belief in
+superabundance of capital, and its annual enormous increment, is fixed
+and steadfast. He considers the railways as the most legitimate
+channel ever yet afforded for the employment of that capital, and the
+most fortunate in result for the ultimate destinies of the country. He
+compares--and very aptly too--the essential difference between the
+nature of the schemes in which the public are now embarking and those
+which led to the disastrous results of 1825. His sole regret is, that
+he must regard the present direction of enterprise, "as an
+opportunity, that is, facility of investment, that from its nature can
+be but temporary, though the profit of the investment must, from the
+nature of things, be perpetual, and though even the temporary facility
+may, and probably will, last for some years." This is a hopeful,
+sunny-minded fellow, with whose aspirations, did our conscience permit
+us, we should be thoroughly delighted to concur.
+
+These writers may be taken as examples of two numerous classes. They
+are, in fact, the Trois Eschelles' and Petit Andres of the railroads.
+The first consider every commercial exertion consequent on a new
+discovery, or the opening of a new channel for investment, doubtful in
+itself, and highly dangerous if hurriedly and unhesitatingly adopted.
+The social system, in their view, may suffer quite as much from
+plethora as from inanition. Too much blood is as unwholesome as too
+little, notwithstanding of any extraneous means to work it off. "Slow
+and sure," is their motto--"Carpe diem," essentially that of their
+antagonists. And yet in one thing, we believe, most individuals
+holding these opposite opinions will be found to concur. They all
+speculate. Heraclitus signs his contract with a shudder, and trembles
+as he places his realized premium in the bank. Democritus laughingly
+subscribes his name to thousands, and chuckles as he beholds his
+favourite stock ascending in the thermometer of the share-market.
+Heraclitus sells--Democritus holds; and thus the great point of wisdom
+at issue between them, is reduced to a mere question of time.
+
+But it is with their opinions, not their practice, that we have to
+deal. As usual, truth will be found to lie somewhere between two
+opposite extremes. We neither entertain the timid fear of the one
+writer, nor the fearless enthusiasm of the other. The present state of
+matters presents, in a double sense, a vast field of speculation,
+through which we think it necessary to see our way a little more
+clearly. Rash interference may be as dangerous as the principle of
+"_laissez faire_," which in fact is no principle at all, but a blind
+abandonment to chance. Let us, therefore, endeavour to borrow some
+light from the experience of the past.
+
+The desire of growing rapidly rich is a very old epidemic in this
+country. It is a disease which infests the nation whenever capital, in
+consequence of the success of trade and prosperous harvests, becomes
+abundant; nor can it, in the nature of things, be otherwise. Capital
+will not remain unemployed. If no natural channel is presented, the
+accumulated weight of riches is sure to make an outlet for itself; and
+the wisdom or folly of the irruption depends solely upon the course
+which the stream may take. Of false channels which have conducted our
+British Pactolus directly to a Dead Sea, from which there is no
+return--we or our fathers have witnessed many. For example, there were
+the South American and Mexican mining companies, founded on the most
+absurd reports, and miserably mismanaged, in which many millions of
+the capital of this country were sunk. Again, Mr Porter writes so late
+as 1843--"A very large amount of capital belonging to individuals in
+this country, the result of their savings, has of late years sought
+profitable investments in other lands. It has been computed that the
+United States of America have, _during the last five years_, absorbed
+in this manner more than TWENTY-FIVE MILLIONS of English capital,
+which sum has been invested in various public undertakings, such as
+canals, _railroads_, and banks in that country. Large sums have also
+been, from time to time, invested in the public securities of that and
+other foreign governments, not always, indeed, with a profitable
+result." We need hardly remind our readers of the poignant testimony
+of the Rev. Sydney Smith as to the profit derived from such
+investments, or the probable fate of the actual capital under a
+repudiating system.
+
+These may be taken as two great instances of the danger of foreign
+speculation. The capital of the mining companies was squandered with
+no other effect than that of providing employment, for a certain
+number of years, to the lowest of the Mexican peasantry; whereas the
+same amount, applied to a similar purpose in this country, would not
+only have produced a handsome return to the invester, but would have
+afforded work and wages to a considerable portion of the community.
+There is a reciprocity between labour and capital which never ought
+to be forgotten. Labour is the parent of all capital, and capital,
+therefore, should be used for the fostering and assistance of the
+power by which it is produced. Here, however, it was removed, and
+became, to all intents and purposes, as useless and irrecoverable as
+the bullion on board of a vessel which has foundered at sea. This,
+therefore, may be regarded as so much lost capital; but what shall we
+say to the other instance? Simply this--that whoever has lost by the
+failure of American banks, by repudiation, or by stoppages of
+dividends, need not claim one single iota of our compassion. With
+British money has the acute Columbian united state to state by more
+enduring ties than can be framed within the walls of Congress--with
+it, he has overcome the gigantic difficulties of nature--formed a
+level for the western waters where none existed before--pierced the
+interminable forests with his railroads, and made such a rapid stride
+in civilization as the world has never yet witnessed. What of all this
+could he have done on his own resources? Something, we must
+allow--because his spirit of enterprise is great, even to
+recklessness, and a young and forming country can afford to run risks
+which are impossible for an older state--but a very small part,
+unquestionably, without the use of British capital. We cannot, and we
+will not, believe that any considerable portion of these loans will be
+ultimately lost to this country. Great allowance must be made for the
+anger and vexation of the prospective sufferers at the first apparent
+breach of international faith, and it is no wonder if their lament was
+both loud, and long, and heavy. But we think it is but a fair
+construction to suppose that our Transatlantic brethren, in the very
+rapidity of their "slickness," have carried improvement too far, given
+way to a false system of credit among themselves, and so, having
+outrun the national constable, have found themselves compelled to
+suspend payment for an interval, which, in the present course of their
+prosperity, cannot be of long continuance. So at least we, having lent
+the American neither plack nor penny, do in perfect charity presume;
+but in the mean time he has our capital--say now some thirty
+millions--he has used it most thoroughly and judiciously for himself,
+and even supposing that we shall not ultimately suffer, what gain can
+we qualify thereby?
+
+If John Doe hath an estate of some twenty thousand acres in tolerable
+cultivation, which, nevertheless, in order to bring it to a perfect
+state of production, requires the accessaries of tile-draining,
+planting, fencing, and the accommodation of roads, it is quite evident
+that his extra thousand pounds of capital will be more profitably
+expended on such purposes than on lending it to Richard Roe, who has
+double the quantity of land in a state of nature. For Richard, though
+with the best intentions, may not find his agricultural returns quite
+so speedy as he expected, may shake his head negatively at the hint of
+repayment of the principal, and even be rather tardy with tender of
+interest at the term. John, moreover, has a population on his land
+whom he cannot get rid of, who must be clothed and fed at his expense,
+whether he can find work for them or no. This latter consideration,
+indeed, is, in political economy, paramount--give work to your own
+people, and ample work if possible, before you commit in loan to your
+neighbour that capital which constitutes the sinews alike of peace and
+of war.
+
+We believe there are few thinking persons in this country who will
+dispute the truth of this position. Indeed, the general results of
+foreign speculation have been unprofitable altogether, as is shown by
+the testimony of our ablest commercial writers. One of them gives the
+following summary:--"Large sums have, from time to time, been lent to
+various foreign states by English capitalists, whose money has been
+put to great hazard, and, in some cases, lost. On the other hand, many
+foreign loans have been contracted by our merchants, which have proved
+highly profitable, through the progressive sale of the stock in
+foreign countries at higher than the contract prices. It is evidently
+impossible to form any correct estimate of the profit or loss which
+has resulted to the country from these various operations; the
+general impression is, that hitherto the losses have much exceeded the
+gains." In that general impression we most cordially concur--indeed,
+we never heard any man whose opinion was worth having, say otherwise.
+
+But in the absence of home speculation it is little wonder that, for
+the chance of unfrequent gain, men should choose, rather than leave
+their capital unemployed, to run the risk of the frequent loss. It
+does not, however, follow, as a matter of course, that home
+speculation shall always prove profitable either to the invester or to
+the nation at large. We have said already, that the proper function of
+capital is to foster and encourage labour; but this may be carried too
+far. For example, it is just twenty years ago, when, at a time of
+great prosperity in trade--the regular products of this country being
+as nearly as possible equal to the demand--a large body of
+capitalists, finding no other outlet for their savings, gave an
+unnatural stimulus to production, by buying up and storing immense
+quantities of our home manufactures. This they must have done upon
+some abstruse but utterly false calculation of augmented demand from
+abroad, making no allowance for change of season, foreign fluctuation,
+or any other of the occult causes which influence the markets of the
+world. The result, as is well known, was most disastrous. Trade on a
+sudden grew slack. The capitalists, in alarm, threw open the whole of
+their accumulated stock at greatly depreciated prices. There was no
+further demand for manufacturing labour, because the world was glutted
+with the supply, and hence arose strikes, panic, bankruptcy, and a
+period of almost unexampled hardship to the workman, and of serious
+and permanent loss to the master manufacturer. Speculation, therefore,
+in an old branch of industry, is perilous not only to the invester but
+to the prosperity of the branch itself. The case, however, is widely
+different when a new and important source of industry and income is
+suddenly developed in the country.
+
+We shall look back in vain over our past history to find any parallel
+at all approaching to the present state and prospects of the railway
+system. Forty-four years have elapsed since the first public railway
+in Great Britain (the Wandsworth and Croydon) received the sanction of
+the legislature. Twenty-five years afterwards, at the close of 1826,
+when the Manchester and Liverpool bill was passed, the whole number of
+railroad acts amounted to thirty-five: in 1838 it had increased to one
+hundred and forty-two. The capital of these railways, with the sums
+which the proprietors were authorized to borrow, cannot be taken at
+less than SIXTY MILLIONS STERLING.
+
+Now, it is very instructive to remark, that until the opening of the
+Liverpool and Manchester line in September 1830, not one single
+railway was constructed with a view to the conveyance of passengers.
+The first intention of the railway was to provide for the carriage of
+goods at a cheaper rate than could be effected by means of the canals,
+and for the accommodation of the great coal-fields and mineral
+districts of England. In the Liverpool and Manchester prospectus--a
+species of document not usually remarkable for modesty or shyness of
+assumption--the estimate of the number of passengers between these two
+great towns was taken at the rate of one half of those who availed
+themselves of coach conveyance. Cotton bales, manufactures, cattle,
+coals, and iron, were relied on as the staple sources of revenue. Had
+it not been for the introduction of the locomotive engine, and the
+vast improvements it has received, by means of which we are now
+whirled from place to place with almost magical rapidity, there can be
+no doubt that the railways would, in most instances, have proved an
+utter failure. The fact is singular, but it is perfectly ascertained,
+that the railroads have not hitherto materially interfered with the
+canals in the article of transmission of goods. The cost of railway
+construction is incomparably greater than that attendant on the
+cutting of canals, and therefore the land carriage can very seldom,
+when speed is not required, compete with the water conveyance. But for
+passengers, speed is all in all. The facility and shortness of transit
+creates travellers at a ratio of which we probably have as yet no
+very accurate idea. Wherever the system has had a fair trial, the
+number of passengers has been quadrupled--in some cases quintupled,
+and even more; and every month is adding to their numbers.
+
+But 1838, though prolific in railways, was still a mere Rachel when
+compared with the seven Leahs that have succeeded it. The principle of
+trunk lines, then first recognised, has since been carried into effect
+throughout England, and adopted in Scotland, though here the system
+has not yet had full time for development. The statistics of the
+railways already completed, have fully and satisfactorily demonstrated
+the immense amount of revenue which in future will be drawn from these
+great national undertakings, the increase on the last year alone
+having amounted to upwards of a million sterling. That revenue is the
+interest of the new property so created; and, therefore, we are making
+no extravagant calculation when we estimate the increased value of
+these railways at twenty millions in the course of a single year. That
+is an enormous national gain, and quite beyond precedent. Indeed, if
+the following paragraph, which we have extracted from a late railway
+periodical, be true, our estimate is much within the mark. "The
+improvement in the incomes of existing railways still continues, and
+during the last two months has amounted to upwards of L200,000 in
+comparison with the corresponding two months of 1844. The lines which
+have reduced their fares most liberally, are the greatest gainers. At
+this rate of increase of income, the value of the railway property of
+the country is becoming greater by upwards of L2,000,000 sterling per
+month." It is, therefore, by no means wonderful that as much of the
+available capital of the country as can be withdrawn from its staple
+sources of income should be eagerly invested in the railways, since no
+other field can afford the prospect of so certain and increasing a
+return.
+
+The question has been often mooted, whether government ought not in
+the first instance to have taken the management of the railways into
+its own hands. Much may be said upon one or other side, and the
+success of the experiment is, of course, a very different thing from
+the mere prospect of success. Our opinion is quite decided, that, as
+great public works, the government ought most certainly to have made
+the trunk railways or, as in France, to have leased them to companies
+who would undertake the construction of them for a certain term of
+years, at the expiry of which the works themselves would have become
+the property of the nation. Never was there such a prospect afforded
+to a statesman of relieving the country, by its own internal
+resources, of a great part of the national debt. Public works are not
+unknown or without precedent in this country; but somehow or other
+they are always unprofitable. At the cost of upwards of a million,
+government constructed the Caledonian Canal, the revenue drawn from
+which does not at the present moment defray its own expenses, much
+less return a farthing of interest on this large expenditure of
+capital. Now it is very difficult to see why government, if it has
+power to undertake a losing concern, should not likewise be entitled,
+for the benefit of the nation at large, to undertake even greater
+works, which not only assist the commerce of the nation, but might in
+a very short period, comparatively speaking, have almost extinguished
+its taxation. It is now, of course, far too late for any idea of the
+kind. The golden opportunity presented itself for a very short period
+of time, and to the hands of men far too timid to grasp it, even if
+they could have comprehended its advantages. Finance never was, and
+probably never will be, a branch of Whig education, as even Joseph
+Hume has been compelled a thousand times piteously and with wringing
+of the hands to admit--and whose arithmetic could we expect them even
+to know, if they admitted and knew not Joseph's? But this at least
+they might have done, when the progress of railroads throughout the
+kingdom became a matter of absolute certainty. The whole subject
+should have been brought under the consideration of a board, to
+determine what railways were most necessary throughout the kingdom,
+and what line would be cheapest and most advantageous to the public;
+and when these points had once been ascertained, no competition
+whatever should have been allowed. The functions of the Board of
+Trade were not nearly so extensive; they had no report of government
+engineers, and no _data_ to go upon save the contradictory statements
+of the rival companies. Hence their decision, in almost every
+instance, was condemned by the parties interested, who, having a
+further tribunal in Parliament, where a thousand interests unknown to
+the Board of Trade could be appealed to, rushed into a protracted
+contest, at an expenditure which this year is understood to have
+exceeded all precedent. We have no means of ascertaining the expenses
+of such a line as the London and York, which was fought inch by inch
+through the Committees of both Houses with unexampled acrimony and
+perseverance. We know, however, that the expenses connected with the
+Great Western, and the London and Birmingham bills, amounted
+respectively to L88,710 and L72,868, exclusive altogether of the costs
+incurred by the different parties who opposed these lines in
+Parliament. It has been stated in a former number of this
+Magazine--and we believe it--that the parliamentary costs incurred for
+the Scottish private and railway bills, during the last session alone,
+amounted to a million and a half.
+
+Now, though a great part of the money thus expended is immediately
+returned to circulation, still it is a severe tax upon the provinces,
+and might very easily have been avoided by the adoption of some such
+plan as that which we have intimated above; and we shall presently
+venture to offer a few practical remarks as to the course which we
+think is still open to the government for checking an evil which is by
+no means inseparable from the system.
+
+But, first, we are bound to state that, _as yet_, we can see no
+grounds for believing that the nominal amount of capital invested in
+the railways which have obtained the sanction of Parliament is beyond,
+or any thing approaching to, the surplus means of the country. Foreign
+speculation, except in so far as regards railroads, (and these are
+neither so safe nor so profitable an investment as at home,) seems for
+the present entirely to have ceased. The last three years of almost
+unequalled prosperity have accumulated in the country a prodigious
+deal of capital, which is this way finding an outlet; and though it
+may be true that the parties who originally subscribed to these
+undertakings may not, in the aggregate, be possessed of capital enough
+to carry them successfully to an end, still there has been no want of
+capitalists to purchase the shares at a premium--not, as we verily
+believe, for a mere gambling transaction, but for the purposes of
+solid investment. We base our calculations very much upon the steadily
+maintained prices of the railways which passed in 1844, and which are
+now making. Now, these afford no immediate return--on the contrary, a
+considerable amount of calls is still due upon most of them, and the
+earliest will probably not be opened until the expiry of ten months
+from the present date. It is quite obvious that, in this kind of
+stock, there can be no incentive to gambling, because the chances are,
+that any new lines which may be started in the vicinity of them shall
+be rivals rather than feeders; and if capital were so scarce as in
+some quarters it is represented to be, it is scarce possible that
+these lines could have remained so firmly held. Let us take the prices
+of the principal of these from the Liverpool share-lists as on 27th
+September.
+
+ Share.  Paid.                              Selling Price.
+  25      10      BLACKBURN AND PRESTON,   19-3/4 to 20-1/4
+  50      15      CHESTER AND HOLYHEAD,        20 to 20-1/2
+  50      25      LANCASTER AND CARLISLE,  53-1/2 to 54-1/2
+  50      15      LEEDS AND BRADFORD,          61 to 63
+  25     12-1/2   EAST LANCASHIRE,             22 to 22-1/2
+  20       9      NORTH WALES MINERAL,     14-3/4 to 15-1/4
+  10       1        DO. NEW,                5-1/4 to 5-1/2
+  25      15      NORTH BRITISH,               25 to 26
+  50      20      SOUTH DEVON,                 34 to 36
+
+These lines have, in the language of the Stock Exchange, passed out of
+the hands of the jobbers, and most of them are now too heavy in
+amount for the operations of the smaller speculators. We therefore
+look upon their steadiness as a high proof, not only of their ultimate
+value, but of the general abundance of capital.
+
+It is hardly possible as yet to draw any such deduction from the
+present prices of the lines which were passed in the course of last
+session. Upon many of these no calls have yet been made, and
+consequently they are still open to every kind of fluctuation. It
+cannot, therefore, be said that they have settled down to their true
+estimated value, and, in all probability, erelong some may decline to
+a certain degree. Still it is very remarkable, and certainly
+corroborative of our view, that the amazing influx of new schemes
+during the last few months--which, time and circumstance considered,
+may be fairly denominated a craze--has as yet had no effect in
+lowering them; more especially when we recollect, that the amount of
+deposit now required upon new railways is ten per cent on the whole
+capital, or exactly double of the ratio of the former deposits. We
+give these facts to the terrorists who opine that our surplus capital
+is ere now exhausted, and that deep inroads have been made upon the
+illegitimate stores of credit; and we ask them for an explanation
+consistent with their timorous theory.
+
+At the same time, we would by no means scoff at the counsel of our
+Ahitophels. A glance at the newspapers of last month, and their
+interminable advertising columns, is quite enough to convince us that
+the thing may be overdone. True, not one out of five--nay, perhaps,
+not one out of fifteen--of these swarming schemes, has the chance of
+obtaining the sanction of Parliament for years to come; still, it is
+not only a pity, but a great waste and national grievance, that so
+large a sum as the deposits which are paid on these railways should be
+withdrawn--it matters not how long--from practical use, and locked up
+to await the explosion of each particular bubble. We do think,
+therefore, that it is high time for the legislature to interfere, not
+for any purpose of opposing the progress of railways, but either by
+establishing a peremptory board of supervision, or portioning out the
+different localities with respect to time, on some new and compendious
+method.
+
+Last session the committees, though they performed their duties with
+much zeal and assiduity, were hardly able to overtake the amount of
+business before them. It was not without much flattery and coaxing
+that the adroit Premier, of all men best formed for a general leader
+of the House of Commons, could persuade the unfortunate members that
+an unfaltering attendance of some six hours a-day in a sweltering and
+ill-ventilated room, where their ears were regaled with a constant
+repetition of the jargon connected with curves, gradients, and
+traffic-tables, was their great and primary duty to the commonwealth.
+Most marvellous to say, he succeeded in overcoming their stubborn
+will. Every morning, by times, the knight of the shire, albeit
+exhausted from the endurance of the over-night's debate, rose up from
+his neglected breakfast, and posted down to his daily cell in the
+Cloisters. Prometheus under the beak of the vulture could not have
+shown more patience than most of those unhappy gentlemen under the
+infliction of the lawyer's tongue; and their stoicism was the more
+praiseworthy, because in many instances there seemed no prospect,
+however remote, of the advent of a Hercules to deliver them. The only
+men who behaved unhandsomely on the occasion were some of the Irish
+members, advocates of Repeal, who, with more than national brass,
+grounded their declinature on the galling yoke of the Saxon, and
+retreated to Connemara, doubtless exulting that in this instance at
+least they had freed themselves from "hereditary bonds." It may be
+doubted, however, whether the tone of the committees was materially
+deteriorated by their absence. Now, we have a great regard for the
+members of the House of Commons collectively; and, were it on no other
+account save theirs, we cannot help regarding the enormous
+accumulation of railway bills for next session with feelings of
+peculiar abhorrence. Last spring every exertion of the whole combined
+pitchforks was required to cleanse that Augean stable: can Sir Robert
+Peel have the inhumanity next year to request them to buckle to a
+tenfold augmented task? In our humble opinion, (and we know something
+of the matter,) flesh and blood are unable to stand it. The private
+business of this country, if conducted on the ancient plan, must
+utterly swamp the consideration of public affairs, and the member of
+Parliament dwindle into a mere arbiter between hostile surveyors;
+whilst the ministry, delighted at the abstraction of both friend and
+foe, have the great game of politics unchecked and unquestioned to
+themselves. The surest way to gag a conscientious opponent, or to stop
+the mouth of an imprudent ally, is to get him placed upon some such
+committee as that before which the cases of the London and York, and
+Direct Northern lines were discussed. If, after three days' patient
+hearing of the witnesses and lawyers, he has one tangible idea
+floating in his head, he is either an Alcibiades or a Bavius--a
+heaven-born genius or the mere incarnation of a fool!
+
+Let it be granted that the present system pursued by Parliament, more
+especially when its immediate prospects are considered, is an
+evil--and we believe there are few who will be bold enough to deny
+it--it still remains that we seek out a remedy. This is no easy task.
+The detection of an error is always a slight matter compared with its
+emendation, and we profess to have neither the aptitude nor the
+experience of a Solon. But as we are sanguine that wherever an evil
+exists a remedy also may be found, we shall venture to offer our own
+crude ideas, in the hope that some better workman, whose appetite for
+business has been a little allayed by the copious surfeit of last
+year, may elaborate them into shape, and emancipate one of the most
+deserving, as well as the worst used, classes of her Majesty's
+faithful lieges. And first, we would say this--Do not any longer
+degrade the honourable House of Commons, by forcing on its attention
+matters and details which ought to fall beneath the province of a
+lower tribunal: do not leave it in the power of any fool or knave--and
+there are many such actively employed at this time--who can persuade
+half a dozen of the same class with himself into gross delusion of the
+public, to occupy the time, and monopolize the nobler functions of the
+legislature, in the consideration of some miserable scheme, which
+never can be carried into effect, and which is protracted beyond
+endurance simply for the benefit of its promoters. We do not mean that
+Parliament should abandon its controlling power, or even delegate it
+altogether. We only wish that the initiative--the question whether any
+particular project is likely to tend to the public benefit, and, if
+so, whether this is a fit and proper time to bring it forward--should
+be discussed elsewhere. A recommendation of the Board of Trade, which
+still leaves the matter open, is plainly useless and inoperative. It
+has been overleaped, derided, despised, and will be so again--we
+scarcely dare to say unjustly; for no body of five men, however
+intelligent, could by possibility be expected to form an accurate
+judgment upon such an enormous mass of materials and conflicting
+statements as were laid before them. And yet, preliminary enquiry
+there must be. The movement is far too great, and charged with too
+important interests, to permit its march unchecked. Of all tyrannical
+bodies, a railway company is the most tyrannical. It asks to be armed
+with powers which the common law denies to the Sovereign herself. It
+seeks, without your leave, to usurp your property, and will not buy it
+from you at your own price. It levels your house, be it grange or
+cottage, lays down its rails in your gardens, cuts through your
+policy, and fells down unmercifully the oaks which your Norman
+ancestor planted in the days of William Rufus. All this you must
+submit to, for the public benefit is paramount to your private
+feelings; but it would be an intolerable grievance were you called
+upon to submit to this, not for the public benefit, but for the mere
+temporary emolument of a handful of unprincipled jobbers. Therefore
+there must be enquiry, even though Parliament, strangled with a
+multitude of projects, should delegate a portion of its powers
+elsewhere.
+
+And why not? It required no great acuteness of vision to see, that,
+even had the railway mania not risen to this singular height, some
+such step must erelong have been rendered imperative by the growing
+necessities and altered circumstances of the country. The leading
+feature of our age is the institution of joint-stock societies. We
+have taken up very lately the views which AEsop hinted at some
+thousands of years ago, in his quaint parabolic manner, and which
+Defoe, who lived a century and a half before his time, most clearly
+enunciated and described. We have found the way, at last, to make
+small capitals effect the most gigantic results, by encircling them
+with the magic ties of combination. No matter when it was discovered;
+the principle has never yet been thoroughly acted upon until now, and
+we know not how far it may be carried. Our fathers, for want of this
+principle, ruined themselves by isolated attempts--we are in no such
+danger, if we do not yield ourselves to the madness of extravagant
+daring. Put railways aside altogether, and the number of private bills
+which are now brought before Parliament is perfectly astounding.
+Twenty years ago, such an influx would have daunted the heart of the
+stoutest legislator; and yet, with all this remarkable increase, we
+have clung pertinaciously to the same machinery, and expect it to work
+as well as when it had not one tithe of the labour to perform.
+
+We have always been, and we shall always continue to be, the strenuous
+advocates of LOCAL BOARDS, as by far the soundest, cheapest, and most
+natural method of administering local affairs. We can recognise no
+principle in the system by which a Scottish bill is entrusted to the
+judgment of a committee consisting of strangers, who are utterly
+ignorant of locality, vested interest, popular feeling, and every
+other point which ought to influence the consideration of such a
+matter. One would think, by the care which is invariably taken to
+exclude from the committee every man whose local knowledge can qualify
+him to form an opinion, that in ignorance alone is there safety from
+venality and prejudice--a supposition which, to say the least, conveys
+no compliment to the character or understanding of the British
+statesman. And yet this is the system which has hitherto been most
+rigidly adopted. We have judges in our law courts whose impartiality
+is beyond all suspicion. They are placed on a high, conspicuous
+pinnacle in the sight of the nation, to do justice between man and
+man; they are fenced and fortified by the high dignity, almost
+sanctity, of their calling, against clamour, idle rumour, private
+interest, or any other element that might disturb the course of
+equity, and therefore their decisions are received on all sides with
+reverential acquiescence. Why should not the private business of the
+country be placed upon the same footing? Let there be three
+commissions issued--three permanent local boards established in
+England, Scotland, and Ireland, under the superintendence, if
+necessary, of the Board of Trade; let Parliament lay down rules for
+their guidance, and let every measure which at present would be
+launched _de plano_ into the House of Commons, be first submitted to
+their consideration; and let their determination to reject or postpone
+be final, unless the legislature shall see fit, by a solemn vote, to
+reverse that portion of their report. In this way a multitude of loose
+and undigested schemes would be thrown back upon the hands of their
+promoters, without clogging the wheels of Parliament; and such only as
+bear _ex facie_ to be for the public advantage, would be allowed to
+undergo the more searching ordeal of a committee. These boards would
+literally cost the country nothing, even although the constituent
+members of them were paid, as they ought to be for the performance of
+such a duty, very highly. Each company applying for a bill might be
+assessed to a certain amount, corresponding to the value of its stock;
+as it is but fair that the parties who have created the exigency, and
+whose avowed object is profit, should defray the attendant expense.
+
+Supposing that the principle of these boards were admitted, it seems
+to us that Parliament has still to exercise a great and serious duty
+in laying down rules for their guidance. This is perhaps the most
+difficult subject connected with the railway system; and we approach
+it with diffidence, as it is inseparable, nay, must be based upon the
+two grand considerations of CAPITAL and LABOUR. We shall endeavour to
+explain our meaning a little more minutely.
+
+The reader will gather from what we have written above, that we
+entertain no fear that the nominal capital invested in the railways
+_which have already received the sanction of Parliament_, is now more
+than the surplus capital floating in the country which can be applied
+to such a purpose without injuring any portion of our staple
+manufactures or commerce. On the contrary, we think that it is very
+greatly below that mark, and therefore that it matters little, in a
+general point of view, by whom the stock is presently held. Sooner or
+later it must find its way into the hands of the capitalists, a class
+whose numbers are notoriously every day on the increase. Even were
+this not the case, and the balance otherwise, it must be recollected
+that the investment of that capital is not the thing of a moment. Four
+years, probably, may elapse before all the railways _which have
+obtained bills_ can be completed, and during that time the calls are
+gradual. Unless, therefore, there shall occur some untoward and
+unforeseen cause, such as a continental war or a general stoppage of
+trade, the accumulation of capital in this country will be at least
+equally progressive. There is thus a future increment corresponding to
+the period of the completion of these public works, which may very
+fairly be taken into consideration, at least, as a kind of security
+that we have not hitherto advanced with too rash or hasty steps. But
+with the unchecked influx of new schemes, this security, which at best
+is but contingent, must disappear, and a further enormous absorption
+of capital, the existence of which is not satisfactorily proved, be
+called for. In such a state of things, it is unquestionably the duty
+of government to use its controlling power. The payment of ten per
+cent deposit is no guarantee at all. Whilst new stocks are at premium,
+a hundred pounds, in the hands of an enterprising speculator, may
+figure as the representative of many thousands in twenty different
+railway schemes. The limit of disposable capital in the country
+must--if all the new projects are permitted to go on--be reached, and
+that erelong; then comes a period of gambling whilst money is cheap
+and credit plentiful--a sudden contraction of currency--and a crash.
+
+It has been found utterly impossible to ascertain the amount of
+capital at any time floating in Great Britain. We can, therefore, only
+guess from certain commercial symptoms when it is nearly exhausted. On
+this point the money articles in the London journals have of late
+contained many significant hints. The settlements on the Stock
+Exchange are weekly becoming more difficult, and an enormous per
+centage is said to be paid at present for temporary accommodation. It
+is understood, also, that the banks are about to raise the rate of
+discount; from which we infer that their deposits are being gradually
+withdrawn, since there is no other circumstance whatever that ought to
+operate a change.[7] But really it requires no calculation and no
+foresight to see, that the mere amount of deposits required for the
+new schemes must erelong lock up the whole available capital of Great
+Britain. Let those who think this is a bold assertion on our part,
+attend to the following fact. We have taken from _The Railway Record_,
+the amount of _new railway schemes_ advertised _in a single week_, at
+the beginning of October. The number of the schemes is FORTY; and they
+comprehend the ephemera of England and Ireland only--Scotland, which,
+during that period, was most emulously at work, seems, by some
+unaccountable accident, to have been overlooked. Of the amount of
+capital to be invested in no less than ELEVEN of these, we have no
+statement. The promoters apparently have no time to attend to such
+trifling details; and, doubtless, it will be early enough to announce
+the capital when they have playfully pounced upon the deposits. But
+there is some candour in TWENTY-NINE provisional committees, and their
+accumulated nominal capital proves to be--how much, think you, gifted
+reader, and confident dabbler in new stock? Why, merely
+this--TWENTY-FIVE MILLIONS EIGHT HUNDRED AND THIRTY THOUSAND POUNDS!!!
+Now--for we wish always to speak and write within the mark--let us
+calculate the eleven Harpocrates Companies and the Northern Schemes,
+(which are more than eleven,) at fourteen or fifteen additional
+millions; and you thus have parties engaged, _in the course of a
+single week_, for FORTY MILLIONS STERLING, or _about one-twentieth
+part of the whole national debt_; which, according to this rate of
+subscription, may be extinguished by our surplus capital in the short
+space of five months. And this is the country, where, three years ago,
+the manufacturer and miner were starving, Manchester almost in a state
+of siege, and Staley-bridge in absolute insurrection! Happy Britain,
+where every man has discovered the philosopher's stone!
+
+After this, need we say any thing more upon the great topic of
+capital? Were the nation now in its sober senses, the facts which we
+have stated, and for the accuracy of which we pledge ourselves, would
+surely be enough to awaken it to a true conception of the vortex into
+which it is plunging. But as every man will no doubt think--with the
+ordinary self-delusion of our kind--that the scheme in which he is
+individually embarked is an exception from the common rule; let us ask
+each speculator candidly to make answer, whether he has minutely
+examined the merits of the line which he has adopted, or whether he
+has thrown himself into it upon the assurances of others, and the mere
+expectations of a premium? If the former, let him hold. We war with no
+man's deliberate judgment; and that there are many projected lines in
+Great Britain which must ultimately be carried, and which will prove
+most profitable to the shareholders, is beyond all manner of doubt.
+Whether they may receive the sanction of the legislature so soon as
+the proprietor expects, is a very different question. But if the
+latter, his case is far otherwise. We have seen the prospectus of
+several of the most gigantic schemes now in the market, by means of
+which the whole length of England is to be traversed, and these have
+undergone no further survey than the application of a ruler to a
+lithographic map, and a trifling transplantation of the principal
+towns, so as to coincide with the direct and undeviating rail. There
+is hardly a sharebroker in the kingdom who is not cognisant of this
+most flagrant fact; and by many of them the impudent impositions have
+been returned with the scorn which such conduct demands. It is hardly
+possible to conceive that these schemes were ever intended to meet the
+eye of Parliament; but, if not, why were they ever started? The
+reflection is a very serious one for those who have deposited their
+money.
+
+Such projects, of course, are the exceptions, and not the rule. Still,
+their existence, and the support which they have unthinkingly
+obtained, are very lamentable symptoms of the recklessness which
+characterises the present impulse. Were the tone of commercial
+enterprise healthy, and kept within due bounds, there would be nothing
+of this; neither should we hear, as we do every day, of shares which,
+immediately after their allocation, attain an enormous premium, and,
+after having fluctuated for a week or two, subside to something like
+their real value.
+
+Are we then justified or not in saying, that it is the imperative duty
+of the legislature to look to this question of capital; that it is
+bound to see that the country does not pledge itself so utterly beyond
+its means; and that the advance of the railway system must be made
+slow and steady, in order to render its basis secure?
+
+But there is another point beyond this. Supposing that all our remarks
+on the subject of capital were erroneous, and that our financial views
+were as puerile as we believe them to be strictly sound--we fall back
+upon an element which is more easily ascertained, and that is, LABOUR.
+We hold it to be a clear economical maxim, that beyond a certain
+point, at all events within a given time, capital, however abundant it
+may be, cannot _create_ labour. It has passed into a sort of truism
+that there is nothing which money cannot accomplish--analyse it, and
+you will find that it is not a truism but a popular fallacy. There are
+many, many things which money cannot accomplish. It has no power to
+clear the social atmosphere from crime; it may mar the morals of a
+people, but it cannot make them; and still less can it usurp the
+stupendous functions of the Deity. It may rear labour, but it cannot
+by any possibility create it, after such a fashion as the crop that
+sprang from the sowing of the Cadmean teeth. Let us illustrate this a
+little.
+
+Probably--nay, certainly--there never was a country in which labour
+has been so accurately balanced as in Great Britain. Our population
+has been for a number of years upon the increment; but the increase
+has been of the nature of supply, consequent and almost dependent upon
+the demand. The wages paid to the children in manufacturing districts
+have swelled that portion of our population to a great degree, though
+probably not more than is indispensable from the fluctuating nature of
+commerce. But, so far as we can learn from statistical tables, the
+number of agricultural labourers--that is, those who are strictly
+employed in the cultivation of the land, and who cannot be spared from
+that most necessary task--has been rather on the decrease. Our
+business, however, is neither with manufacturer nor with
+agriculturist, but with a different class--those, namely, who are
+engaged in the public works of the country. Let us take Mr Porter's
+estimate, according to the census of 1831.
+
+    "The summary of the returns of 1831, respecting the occupations of
+    males twenty years of age and upwards, throws considerable light
+    upon the subject, by exhibiting them under several subdivisions.
+    The males belonging to the families included in the
+    non-agricultural and non-manufacturing classes, were given at the
+    last census under four distinct heads of description, viz.:--
+
+    "Capitalists, Bankers, Professional, and other educated men.
+
+    "_Labourers employed in labour, not Agricultural._
+
+    "Other males, twenty years of age, except servants.
+
+    "Male servants, twenty years of age.
+
+    "The whole number of males included under these heads, amounts to
+    1,137,270. Of _these_, 608,712 were actually employed in labour,
+    which although, usually speaking, it was neither manufacturing nor
+    trading, was yet necessary in the successful prosecution of some
+    branch of trade or manufactures, _such as mining, road-making,
+    canal-digging, inland navigation, &c._"
+
+Of these 600,000, now probably augmented by a tenth, how many can be
+spared from their several employments for the construction of the
+railways, and how many are at this moment so employed, with their
+labour mortgaged for years? This is a question which Parliament ought
+most certainly--if it can be done--to get answered in a satisfactory
+manner. It must be remarked, that in this class are included the
+miners, who certainly cannot be withdrawn from their present work,
+which in fact is indispensable for the completion of the railways. If
+possible, their numbers must be augmented. The stored iron of the
+country is now exhausted, and the masters are using every diligence in
+their power to facilitate the supply, which still, as the advancing
+price of that great commodity will testify, is short of, and
+insufficient for the demand. From the agricultural labourers you
+cannot receive any material number of recruits. The land, above all
+things, must be tilled; and--notwithstanding the trashy assertions of
+popular slip-slop authors and Cockney sentimentalists, who have
+favored us with pictures of the Will Ferns of the kingdom, as unlike
+the reality as may be--the condition of those who cultivate the soil
+of Britain is superior to that of the peasantry in every other country
+of Europe. The inevitable increase of demand for labour will even
+better their condition, according to the operation of a law apparent
+to every man of common sense, but which is hopelessly concealed from
+the eyes of these spurious regenerators of the times. It is impossible
+to transform the manufacturer, even were that trade slack, into a
+railway labourer; the habits and constitution of the two classes
+being essentially different and distinct. Indeed, as the writer we
+have already quoted well remarks--"Experience has shown that
+uneducated men pass with difficulty, and unwillingly, from occupations
+to which they have been long accustomed," and nothing, consequently,
+is more difficult than to augment materially and suddenly the numbers
+of any industrial class, when an unexpected demand arises. To us,
+therefore, it seems perfectly clear, that even if the capital were
+forthcoming, there is not labour enough in the country for the
+simultaneous construction of a tithe of the projected schemes.
+
+There are considerations connected with this matter which entail a
+great responsibility upon the government. The capitalists are, in
+fact, putting at its disposal the means of maintaining a great portion
+of the poorer population for many years to cone. If this be properly
+attended to, emigration, which principally benefits the labourer, may
+be discontinued. We have now arrived at a pass when the absence of
+those who have already emigrated becomes a matter of regret. There is
+work to be had nearer than the Canadian woods or the waterless
+prairies of Australia--work, too, that in its results must be of
+incalculable benefit to the community. But the government is bound to
+regulate it so, that, amidst superabundance of wealth, due regard is
+paid to the ECONOMY OF LABOUR. It is rumoured that some railway
+directors, fully aware of the facts which we have stated, are
+meditating, in their exuberant haste for dividends, the introduction
+of foreign labourers. We doubt whether, under any circumstances, such
+a scheme is practicable; but of this we entertain no doubt, that it is
+as mischievous a device as ever was forged in the cabinet of Mammon!
+Some years ago the cuckoo cry of the political quacks was
+over-population. Now it seems there is a scarcity of hands, and in
+order to supply the want--for we have drained the Highlands--we are to
+have an importation from Baden or Bavaria, without even the protecting
+solemnity of a tariff. If this be true, it seems to us that government
+is bound to interpose by the most stringent measures. It is monstrous
+to think, that whereas, for many years past, for mere slackness of
+labour, we have been encouraging emigration among the productive
+classes of our countrymen to a very great degree; draining, as it
+were, the mother country to found the colonies, and therein resorting
+to the last step which a paternal government, even in times of the
+greatest necessity, should adopt--now, when a new experiment, or
+social crisis--call it which you will--has arisen, when labour has
+again reached the point where the demand exceeds the supply, we are to
+admit an influx of strangers amongst us, and thereby entail upon
+ourselves and posterity the evils of prospective pauperism. We have
+been already too prone, in matters relating rather to the luxuries
+than the necessities of our social system, to give undue preference to
+the foreigner. British art has, in many branches, been thereby
+crippled and discouraged, and a cry, not unnatural surely, has ere now
+been raised against the practice. But how incomparably more dangerous
+it would be to inundate the country with an alien population, whose
+mere brute strength, without a particle of productive skill, is their
+only passport and certificate! This too, be it observed, is not for
+the purpose of establishing or furthering a branch of industry which
+can furnish permanent employment, but merely for carrying out a system
+of great change certainly, but of limited endurance. If labour
+required to be forced, it would certainly be more for our advantage to
+revise our penal institutions, and to consider seriously whether those
+who have committed offences against our social laws, might not be more
+profitably employed in the great works of the kingdom, than by
+transplanting them as at present to the Antipodes at a fearful
+expense, the diminution of which appears, in all human probability,
+impossible.
+
+If, then, we are right in our premises, the two leading points which
+Parliament must steadily regard in forming its decisions connected
+with the new schemes, are the sufficiency of unfettered capital and
+the adequate supply of labour. Our conviction is, that neither exist
+to any thing like the extent which would be required were the present
+mania allowed to run its course unchecked. But, on the other hand, a
+total stoppage of improvement might be equally dangerous; and it will
+therefore be necessary to steer a middle course, and to regulate the
+movement according to certain principles. Let us, then, first consider
+what lines ought _not_ to be granted.
+
+At the head of these we should place the whole bundle of rival
+companies to railways already completed or in progress. We are not of
+the number of those who stand up for exclusive commercial monopoly;
+but we do think that there is a tacit or implied contract between the
+state and the proprietors of the sanctioned lines, which ought to
+shield the latter against rash and invidious competition. The older
+railways are the parents of the system; without them, it never could
+have been discovered what gradients were requisite, what works
+indispensable, what savings practicable. The expense of their
+construction we know to have been, in many instances, far greater than
+is contained in the modern estimates, and the land which they required
+to occupy was procured at extravagant prices. Now it does seem to us
+in the highest degree unfair, that the interest of these companies
+should be sacrificed for the sake of what is called the "direct"
+principle. A saving of twenty or thirty miles between Newcastle and
+London, is now thought to be a matter of so much importance as to
+justify one or more independent lines, which, despising intermediate
+cities and their traffic, still hold their even course as the crow
+flies, from point to point, and thereby shorten the transit from the
+south to the north of England by--it may be--the matter of an hour. We
+did not use to be quite so chary of our minutes: nor, though fully
+aware of the value of time, did we ever bestow the same regard upon
+the fractional portions of our existence. What the nation requires is
+a safe, commodious, and speedy mode of conveyance, and we defy the
+veriest streak-of-lightning man to say, that the present companies in
+operation do not afford us that to our heart's content. It is but a
+very few years ago since we used to glorify ourselves in the rapidity
+of the mail-coach, doing its ten miles an hour with the punctuality of
+clockwork. Now we have arrived at the ratio of forty within the same
+period, and yet we are not content. Next year, within fourteen hours
+we shall be transported from Edinburgh to London. That, it seems, is
+not enough. A company offers to transport us by a straighter line in
+thirteen; and for that purpose they ask leave of the legislature to
+construct a rival line at the expense of a few millions! Now, keeping
+in mind what we have said as to capital, is not this, in the present
+state of things, most wanton prodigality? The same "few millions"--and
+we rather suspect they are fewer than is commonly supposed--would open
+up counties hitherto untouched by the railway system--would give us
+communication through the heart of the Highlands, through the remoter
+districts of Wales, through the unvisited nooks of Ireland, and, in so
+doing, would minister not only to the wants of the community, but in
+an inconceivable degree to the social improvement of the people. Among
+the list of proposed schemes for next session, there are many such;
+and surely our government, if its functions correspond to the name, is
+bound, in the first instance, to give a preference to these;
+and--since all cannot be accomplished at once--to assist the schemes
+which volunteer the opening of a new district, rather than the
+competition of mushroom companies where the field is already occupied.
+
+There is also a filching spirit abroad, which ought decidedly to be
+checked. Scarce a main line has been established from which it has not
+been found necessary, for the purposes of accommodation, to run
+several branches. Until about a year ago, it was generally understood
+that these adjuncts ought to be left in the hands of the original
+companies, who, for their own sakes, were always ready to augment
+their traffic by such feeders. Now it is widely different. Four or
+five miles of cross country is reckoned a sufficient justification for
+the establishment of an independent company, who, without any
+consultation with the proprietors of the main line, or enquiry as to
+their ultimate intentions, seize upon the vacant ground as a waif,
+and throw themselves confidently upon the public. If the matter does
+not end in a lease, the unfortunate public will be the losers, since
+it is manifestly impossible that a little Lilliput line can be cheaply
+worked, independent of the larger trunk. This class of schemes also
+should receive their speedy _quietus_; for what would be the use of
+permitting the promoters to attempt the proof of an impossible case?
+
+England has already made a great portion of her railroads, but neither
+Scotland nor Ireland as yet have attained the same point. Now, in a
+general point of view, it will hardly be denied, that it is of far
+greater importance to have the country thoroughly opened up,
+throughout its length and breadth, than to have an accumulation of
+cross and intersecting railways in one particular district. We are
+asking no favouritism, for it has become a mere matter of choice
+between companies, as to which shall have the earlier preference. In
+point of policy, the legislature ought certainly to extend every
+possible favour to the Irish lines. It may be that in this railway
+system--for Providence works with strange agents--there lies the germ
+of a better understanding between us, and the dawn of a happier day
+for Ireland. At any rate, to its pauper population, the employment
+afforded by companies, where no absenteeism can exist, is a great and
+timely boon, and may work more social wonders than any scheme of
+conciliation which the statesman has as yet devised. Idleness and lack
+of employment are the most fertile sources of agitation; let these be
+removed, and we may look, if not with confidence, at least with hope,
+for a cessation of the stormy evil. By all means, then, let Ireland
+have the precedence. She needs it more than the other countries do,
+and to her claims we are all disposed to yield.
+
+But England owes Scotland something also. For a long series of years,
+amidst great political changes, through good and through evil report,
+this Magazine has been the consistent champion of our national
+interests; and, whether the blow was aimed at our country by seeming
+friend or open foe, we have never hesitated to speak out boldly. More
+than twenty years ago, a measure was passed by the United Parliament,
+which literally brought down ruin upon the Highlands of Scotland, and
+from the effects of which many of the districts have never recovered.
+Along all the western coast and throughout the islands, the
+manufacture of kelp was the only branch of industry within the reach
+of a poor and extended population, who, from their very poverty, were
+entitled to the most kindly regard of government. But, as it is
+believed, at the instigation of one member of the cabinet, himself
+largely connected with foreign trade, without enquiry and without
+warning, the market was thrown open to competition from without,
+barilla imported, and the staple product of the north of Scotland
+annihilated. To this fatal, and, we hesitate not to say, most wanton
+measure, we attribute the periods of distress, and the long-continued
+depression, which, in very many lamentable instances, have been the
+ruin of our ancient families, and in consequence of which the Highland
+glens have been depopulated. It was a cruel thing to do, under any
+circumstances--a wicked thing, when we remember the interest by which
+it was carried. There is now a great opportunity of giving us a
+reasonable compensation. From the introduction of the railway system,
+we anticipate a new era of prosperity to Scotland--a time when we
+shall not have to devote ourselves to the melancholy task of
+decreasing the population by a harsh or inhuman exile--when the crofts
+of the valleys shall again be tilled, and the household fires shall be
+lighted on the now deserted hearthstone. Therefore, in the event of a
+restriction, we so far claim precedence. Let the work, however, be
+impartially distributed throughout the kingdoms, and there can be no
+ground any where for complaint. Only let our haste be tempered with
+prudence, and our enthusiasm moderated down to a just coincidence with
+our means.
+
+During all this torrent of speculation, what is the Currency doing? No
+man seems to know. The nation has found a paper of its own quite as
+effective as that which is doled out by the chartered bank. The
+brokers are, in fact, becoming bankers, and payments of all kinds are
+readily made in scrip. This is an instructive fact, and may somewhat
+tend to disturb the triumph of the theorists who uphold the doctrine
+of a restrictive trade in money. We do not rely on the safety of the
+system, but we look upon it as a strong proof that our monetary
+regulations are wrong, and that there is not only a wish, but several
+practical ways, effectually to evade its fetters. We are not, however,
+going into that question, though it is by no means unconnected with
+our present subject. At the same time we should like to see this same
+article of scrip, which is fast approximating to notes, a little more
+protected. Has it never occurred to the mind of the Chancellor of the
+Exchequer, or to the Premier, who has a most searching eye, that a
+very profitable source of revenue to the public, and one which would
+hardly be grudged, might be derived from the simple expedient of
+requiring that _all scrip should be stamped_? There is no practical
+difficulty in the matter. Companies already formed, if they do not
+desire the benefit of a stamp--the best, and indeed at present the
+only security against the forger--may be called upon to pay their
+quota, corresponding to the number of their shares, from the fund of
+their Parliamentary deposit. New companies, again, might be
+imperatively required to issue stamps; and we confidently believe that
+no tax whatever would be more cheerfully assented to. Let the currency
+doctors do what they will, they never can drive scrip from the market.
+Would it not, then, be a measure of good policy to enlist it as a
+serviceable ally?
+
+Whether these observations of ours may stand the test of another
+year's experience, is certainly matter of doubt. The period of a
+single month makes wild changes in the prospects of the system, and
+involves us not only in new calculations but in a newer phase of
+things. At any rate it can do no harm, in the present period of
+excitement, to preach a little moderation, even though our voice
+should be as inaudible as the chirp of a sparrow on the house-top. The
+speculative spirit of the age may be checked and controlled, but it
+cannot be put down, nor would we wish to see it pass away. All great
+improvement is the fruit of speculation, upon which, indeed, commerce
+itself is based. We have, therefore, no sympathy for that numerous
+class of gentlemen who profess a pious horror for every venture of the
+kind, who croak prophetical bankruptcies, and would disinherit their
+sons without scruple, if by any accident they detected them in
+dalliance with scrip. A worthier, but a more contracted, section of
+the human race does not exist. They are the genuine descendants of the
+Picts; and, had they lived in remoter days, would have been the first
+to protest against the abolition of ochre as an ornament, or the
+substitution of broadcloth for the untanned buffalo hide. The nation
+must progress, and the true Conservative policy is to lay down a
+proper plan for the steadiness and endurance of its march. The Roman
+state was once saved by the judicious dispositions of a Fabius, and,
+in our mind, Sir Robert Peel cannot do the public a greater service
+than to imitate the example of the _Cunctator_. He has the power, and,
+more than any living statesman, the practical ability, to grapple with
+such a subject in all its details. That Parliament must do something,
+is apparent to every reflecting man. The machinery of it cannot
+dispose, as heretofore, of the superabundant material. It must devise
+some method of regulation, and that method must be clear and decisive.
+A question more important can hardly be conceived, and so with the
+legislature we leave it.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[7] Since this article was sent to press, the Bank of England has
+raised its rates of discount one-half per cent. Our prognostication,
+therefore, has been verified sooner than we expected, and we are not
+sorry to find that great establishment thus early indicating its
+opinion that speculation has been pushed too far. We see no ground of
+alarm in the rise, but rather a security for a more healthy and
+moderate market.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Edinburgh: Printed by Ballantyne & Hughes, Paul's Work._
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume
+62, Number 361, November, 1845., by Various
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE, NOV. 1845 ***
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