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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Continental Monthly, Vol. 4, No. 2,
+August, 1863, by Various
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Continental Monthly, Vol. 4, No. 2, August, 1863
+       Devoted to Literature and National Policy
+
+Author: Various
+
+Release Date: August 23, 2009 [EBook #29767]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CONTINENTAL MONTHLY, AUGUST 1863 ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Joshua Hutchinson, Josephine Paolucci and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net.
+(This file was produced from images generously made
+available by Cornell University Digital Collections.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE
+
+CONTINENTAL MONTHLY:
+
+DEVOTED TO
+
+LITERATURE AND NATIONAL POLICY.
+
+
+VOL. IV.--AUGUST, 1863.--No. II.
+
+
+
+
+OUR FUTURE.
+
+
+In these exciting times, when our country is enduring the throes of
+political convulsion, and every time-honored institution, every
+well-regulated law of society seems tottering from the broad foundation
+of the past, how few are there who ask themselves the question, What is
+to be our future? For the past two years we have lived in a state of
+extraordinary and unnatural excitement, beside which the jog-trot
+existence of the former days, with all its periodical excitements, its
+hebdomadal heavings of the waves of society, pales into insignificance.
+Like the grave, with its eternal 'Give! give!' our appetites, stimulated
+to a morbid degree by their daily food of marvels, cry constantly for
+more; and a lull of but a few brief months in the storm whose angry
+pinions are constantly bringing new wonders to our view, begets an
+almost insupportable _ennui_ in the public mind, and a restlessness
+among the masses, such as our history has never before shown. Nor will
+the craving be satiated so long as the war shall last; for the stirring
+events, following so closely upon each other, and filling every hour of
+our national life, will keep up the unnatural excitement, even as the
+stimulating effect of alcoholic drinks is prolonged by repeated
+draughts. Only when the source is entirely cut off will the stimulus
+pass away; and then, when peace is established, and we drop again into
+the ruts and grooves of the olden days, the reaction will set in, and
+happy shall we be if it is not followed by a political _delirium
+tremens_.
+
+To-day we are living in and for the present alone. Men's minds are so
+completely absorbed in the wonderful events that are constantly passing
+around them, in the startling _denouements_ that each day brings forth,
+that their attention is entirely distracted from that future to which we
+are inevitably tending. And this not because that future is of little
+importance, but because nearer and more vital interests are staring us
+in the face, in which it is involved, and upon which it depends--a
+nearer and more portentous future, which we must ourselves control and
+shape, else the farther state will be utterly beyond our influence,
+fixed in the channel of a malignant and ever-grovelling fate. The great
+question now is, how soonest to end the war prosperously to ourselves;
+and until this problem, involving our very existence, is solved, the
+future, with all its prospects, good or bad, is left to take care of
+itself, and rightly, too; for in the event of our present success, our
+future will be in our own hands, while, if we fail, it will be fixed and
+irrevocable, without the slightest reference to our interests or our
+exertions. And yet, natural as this fact may seem, it is a little
+singular that, while thousands of minds are eagerly searching for light
+upon the question of the future of the American negro, few are found to
+inquire what is to be our own. Strange that one exciting topic should so
+fill men's minds and monopolize their sympathies as to entirely exclude
+other questions of greater importance, and bearing more directly upon
+our present and vital interests. Yet so it is, and so it has been in all
+ages of the world, though, happily, the hallucination does not last for
+any very extended period; for there is a compensation in human as well
+as in inanimate nature, which, in its own good time, brings mind to its
+proper balance by the harsh remedy of severe and present necessity, and
+so retrieves the errors of a blind past.
+
+Yet, absorbed as is the popular mind in the stirring events of the war,
+and dull as all other themes may seem in comparison, it may not be
+without interest to examine, in connection with our future, some of
+those facts which are now floating about at random on the surface of
+society, waiting for some hand to gather and arrange them in the
+treasure house of prophecy. And in so doing, let it be premised that we
+proceed entirely upon the hypothesis--which to every truly loyal mind is
+already an established truth--of the ultimate success and complete
+triumph of the North in the present contest. For in any other event all
+these facts are dumb, and the inferences to be drawn from them vague and
+unsatisfactory, absolutely no better than mere random conjecture. And as
+the war has now become the great fact in our history, and its effects
+must modify our whole social life for many years to come, its results
+must not be neglected in an investigation of this kind, but, on the
+contrary, claim our first attention.
+
+First and foremost, then, among the lasting results of the war, will be
+the _arousing of our nationality_. To the majority of readers it will
+seem the climax of heresy to assert that hitherto we have not known a
+pure and lofty nationality. What! you will ask, did not our ancestors,
+by their sufferings and strivings in that war which first made our land
+famous throughout the civilized world, bestow upon us a separate, true,
+and noble national existence? Have we not twice humbled the pride of the
+most powerful nation upon earth? Have we not covered the seas with our
+commerce, and brought all nations to pay tribute to our great staples?
+Have we not taken the lead in all adventurous and eminently practical
+enterprises, and is not our land the home of invention and the foster
+mother of the useful arts? Has not the whole world gazed with admiring
+wonder at our miraculous advancement in the scale of national existence?
+In a word, have we not long since become a great, established fact, as
+well in physical history as in the sublime record of that intellectual
+progress whereby humanity draws constantly nearer to the divine? And as
+for patriotic feeling, do we not yearly burn tons of powder on the
+all-glorious Fourth of July, and crack our throats with huzzas for the
+'star-spangled banner' and the American eagle? And a caviller might
+perhaps go farther, and ask the significant question, Are we not known
+all over the world as a race of arrant braggarts?
+
+Grant all these things, and we are yet as far from that true, firm,
+self-relying, high-toned nationality which alone is worthy of the name,
+as when the Pilgrims landed upon Plymouth rock. Our patriotism has
+hitherto been too utterly heartless--too much a thing of sounding words
+and meaningless phrases--too much of the 'sounding brass and tinkling
+cymbal.' We have built too much upon the exploits of our ancestors,
+reposed too long upon their laurels, forgetting that their efforts were
+but the initiatory step in the great contest that was to be carried on
+by succeeding generations; forgetting that we have still a destiny to
+work out for ourselves, a niche to secure in the great temple of
+humanity, obstacles to surmount, difficulties to overcome, bitter and
+deadly foes to vanquish. And how totally devoid of heart have been even
+our celebrations of our great national birthday and holiday! While we
+have amused ourselves with the explosion of crackers and blowing off of
+our neighbors' arms by premature discharges of rusty cannon, while we
+have rent the air with squibs, shouts, and exclamations, and listened to
+the periodical and hackneyed outbursts of oratorical gas, how few of us
+have remembered the deep significance of the day, and felt our hearts
+swell with genuine patriotic emotion! How few of us have realized that
+we were celebrating not merely the establishing of a form of government,
+the severing of galling bonds which bound us to the servitude of the old
+world, not merely the birthday of independence and of a nation, but the
+birthday of an immortal principle, whose beneficent effects were not
+more for us than for the generations of all succeeding time! The masses
+saw in that day but an universal _fete_, a day of national relaxation
+and enjoyment, and neither thought or cared much about its deep meaning;
+while to the few, the thinking men alone, appeared the principle which
+underlay all this festivity and vociferation. Henceforth this will not
+be so. We have lived so long and so undisturbed in the enjoyment of our
+political blessings, that we have not appreciated our favored lot; but
+now, when for the first time in our history treason has boldly lifted
+its head, and traitors have endeavored to deprive us of all our most
+cherished blessings--to strike at the very root of all that is good and
+pure in our political system--now for the first time do we see those
+blessings in their true light, and realize their inestimable value. Now
+that the prestige of our greatness threatens to depart from us, do we
+first see the glorious destiny which the great God of nature has marked
+out for us. Now for the first time do we realize that we have a purpose
+in life--that we are the exponents of one of the great truths of the
+universe itself, and appreciate the awful responsibility that rests upon
+us in the development of our great principle, as well as in protecting
+it from the inroads of error and corruption. And herein lies the great
+secret of all true national life. For no nation was ever yet truly great
+that had not constantly before it some lofty and ennobling object to
+direct all its strivings, some great central truths at its very core,
+continually working outward through all the great arterial ramifications
+of society, keeping up a brisk and healthy circulation by the force of
+its own eternal energy. Lack of a noble purpose, in nations as well as
+individuals, begets a vacillating policy, which is inevitably followed
+by degeneration and corruption. The soldier, who has passed many a weary
+month in the monotony of the camp, enduring all the hardships of
+rigorous winters and scorching summers, of fatigue and privation, and
+who has shed his blood upon many a hard-fought field, will learn to
+appreciate as he never has before the true value of that Government for
+which he has suffered so much, and, with the return of our armies to
+their homes, this sentiment will be diffused among the masses, and the
+lessons they have learned will be taught to their fellows: and this,
+together with the recognition of our true end and aim in existence--of
+the part which our country is destined to play in the great drama of
+life, will beget a noble, self-relying national pride, the very opposite
+pole to that senseless, loud-mouthed self-laudation which has too much
+characterized us in the days gone by. The boaster betrays the
+consciousness of the very weakness he wishes to conceal; while 'still
+waters run deep,' and the man of true courage and strength is the man of
+few words and great deeds. So that arrant bragging which has hitherto
+been our besetting sin, and which, so long as our real importance in the
+affairs of the world was unacknowledged, was somewhat excusable, and
+perhaps even necessary to sustain a yet unestablished cause, will be
+necessary no longer when we have proved ourselves worthy of the position
+we claim, and will, with the newborn consciousness of our power and
+strength, pass away forever, and we shall work steadily on in our
+appointed course, leaving it to others to recognize and proclaim our
+worth, to sound the trumpet which we have so long been industriously
+blowing for ourselves, content to let our reputation bide its time and
+rest upon sterling deeds rather than upon pompous declamations and empty
+oratorical phrases. The deeds of our ancestors were great indeed, and
+their patriotism and self-sacrificing devotion to a noble cause beyond a
+parallel: but even those will pale beside the present struggle of a
+full-grown nation at the very crisis of its fate; and the results which
+followed their efforts will be as nothing to those which shall flow from
+our battle of to-day. For while it was theirs to initiate, it is ours to
+develop and firmly establish; theirs to deliver the nation from the womb
+of centuries, ours to educate, to guard from danger through childhood
+and youth, to nurse through disease, to tone down the crudities of
+national hobble-de-hoy-dom, to fix and strengthen by judicious training
+the iron constitution, both mental and physical, which shall resist the
+ravages of disease and error for all time to come. How much more
+important, then, appears our mission than theirs! how much greater the
+responsibility which rests upon us to faithfully fulfil that mission!
+And this will be the feeling of every true American. This will be the
+knowledge, gained by the bitterest experience, which will give us that
+nationality we have so long lacked.
+
+And not a little conducive to the development of that new-found
+nationality will be the respect and admiration, not to say applause,
+which the display of our latent power and resources, the prosperous
+conduct and successful close of this the most gigantic struggle of
+history, will win for us from the nations of the Old World. And this
+brings me to the second beneficial effect of this war upon our future,
+namely, the establishment of our position among the great powers of the
+earth, and our relief from all future aggressions, encroachments, and
+annoyances of the mother country. From the day when our independence was
+declared, America has been an eyesore to all the leading Governments of
+Europe--the object of detraction and bitter hostility, of envy, hatred,
+and malice, and all uncharitableness. And though these feelings have
+been partially concealed under the cloak of studied politeness and
+false, hollow-hearted friendship, occasions enough have been given for
+them to break forth in sufficient intensity to establish beyond a
+question the fact of their existence. The apostles of despotic power
+have suffered no opportunity to escape of dealing a blow at our national
+existence: even the low and disreputable weapon of slander has been
+brought to bear against us, and we have been held up to mankind as a
+race of visionaries, of fanatical reformers, whose efforts have ever
+been to destroy all the honored landmarks of the past, and lead humanity
+back over the track of ages to the socialism of primitive existence. And
+it was but natural for us to expect little sympathy from their hands,
+for in our success lay the triumph of a principle which was deadly to
+all their cherished institutions--a principle which, once firmly
+established, must in time inevitably spread beyond the waters, to the
+utter and eternal downfall of aristocracies and dynasties, since it is
+founded in one of the very first truths of universal human nature--in
+the recognition of the rights of the individual, and of the total
+dependence of the governing upon the governed. And yet they could not
+withhold their admiration of the indomitable energy and perseverance of
+the American race, and their wonder at our miraculous growth in
+enlightenment and power. Taught wisdom by the past, they dared not
+combine to crush us by brute force, and so they have waited and hoped
+for the downfall which they sincerely believed would, sooner or later,
+overtake us. England and France have ever hung about us like hungry
+wolves around the dying buffalo, waiting patiently for the hour when
+they might safely step in and claim the lion's share of the spoil. The
+crisis of our fate which they have so long awaited, they now fondly
+believe to be upon us; and old England, false, treacherous, cowardly,
+piratical England, fearful lest our native resources may enable us to
+weather the storm, has at last dropped the mask of a century, and openly
+encourages and abets the rebels and traitors who are desperately
+striving for our dismemberment, even furnishing them with the very bone
+and sinews of war, that they may compass their unholy ends, and effect
+the ruin which will give to her another fat colonial province. While the
+more wily French emperor, looking to our possible success, and anxious
+for a subterfuge beneath which he may skulk in that event, and so escape
+the retribution which will assuredly fall upon his head, has really
+outwitted his island rival, in his Mexican expedition, whereby he hoped
+to 'kill two birds with one stone,' securing, in either event, the
+richest portion of the American continent, and thereby establishing a
+foothold, that, in case of our ruin, he may be first 'in at the death,'
+and carry off the larger share of the booty. And what will be the
+result? Checked, defeated, disgraced on the very threshold of his
+undertaking, his chosen and hitherto invincible legions, furnished with
+all the appliances of warlike invention, and perfected in the boasted
+French skill and discipline, baffled and routed by the half-civilized
+Mexicans, to whose very capital our own raw volunteers marched in a
+single season, he will be by no means anxious to measure his strength
+with ours when we shall have emerged from a war in which the lessons of
+military science, learned by hard experience, have been widely diffused
+among our hitherto peaceful people, and when we shall have nearly a
+million of trained troops ready to spring to arms at an hour's call;
+troops who will fight a foreign foe with double the courage and
+desperation which has characterized the present war. If he cannot subdue
+the rude Mexicans, can he conquer us?
+
+The development of those latent resources of which even ourselves were
+ignorant, the display of wealth and power at which we are astonished no
+less than foreign nations, the energetic prosecution of more than two
+years of war on such a magnificently extended and expensive scale,
+without even feeling the drain upon either our population or treasure,
+have taught Great Britain a lesson which she will not soon forget, and
+of which she will not fail to avail herself. What nation ever before,
+without even the nucleus of a standing army, raised, equipped, and put
+into the field, within a brief six months, an army of half a million of
+men, and supported it for such a length of time, at the cost of a
+million dollars per day, while scarcely increasing the burden of
+taxation upon the people? And yet this was done by a portion only of our
+country--the Northern States; and that, too, by a people totally of and
+hitherto unaccustomed to warlike pursuits. If such are our strength and
+resources when divided, what will they be united and against a foreign
+foe? England cannot fail to see the question in this light, and in the
+future she will find her interest in courting our friendship and
+alliance, rather than in continual encroachment and exasperation. We
+shall hear no more of Bay Islands or northwestern boundaries, of San
+Juan or rights of search; and the Monroe doctrine will perforce receive
+from her a recognition which she has never yet accorded to it. She will
+recognize as the fiat of destiny our supremacy on the western
+hemisphere. Foreign nations have respected us in the past; they must
+fear us in the future. And while they will have no cause to dread our
+interference with the affairs of the Old World, they will be cautious of
+tampering with a power which has proved itself one of the first, if not
+the very first, on the face of the earth.
+
+For--and this is another effect of the war which may be noticed in this
+connection--for many years to come we shall be a military nation. The
+necessity of guarding against a similar outbreak in the future will
+prompt the increase of our standing army; while the same cause, as well
+as the taste for military pursuits which our people will have acquired
+during this war, will keep the great mass of the people prepared to
+respond to the first call in the hour of danger. The militia laws will
+be revived, revised, and established on a firmer basis than ever before,
+and the antiquated militia musters and 'June trainings' will again
+become our most cherished holidays. Independent military organizations
+will spring up and flourish all over the land, and he who aforetime wore
+his gorgeous uniform at the heavy cost of running the gauntlet of his
+neighbors' sneers and gibes as a holiday soldier, will now be honored in
+enrolling his name among the 'Independent Rifles' of his native village.
+The youth will labor to acquire the elements of military knowledge and
+reduce them to practice, not with a view to holiday parades, but with an
+eye to the possible exigencies of the future, knowing that when the hour
+of trial shall come, the post of honor and of fame will be open to all,
+and that he who has most cultivated the military art in time of peace
+will bid fair to win in the race for preferment. Military schools will
+derive a new importance in our country; they will be patronized by high
+and low, and most of our institutions of learning will, ere many years,
+have a military as well as a scientific and classical department. And
+thus will the knowledge of the art of war become so universally diffused
+among the people, that in the event of another great struggle, we shall
+not be left, as heretofore, to depend upon raw and undisciplined
+volunteers, but an army of well-trained troops will spring like magic to
+the field, ready to march at once to victory, without the necessity of
+'camps of instruction' and twelve months' delays. And when that day does
+come, woe to that potentate who shall have the temerity to provoke a war
+with our race of soldiers: his legions will be swept away like chaff
+before the whirlwind, and only defeat and disgrace will settle upon his
+banners.
+
+Again, the stimulus which this contest has applied to warlike invention
+has already placed us in that respect far ahead of the most warlike
+nation on earth. France has hitherto been known as the great originator
+in all military science: probably she will yet, for many years, retain
+the palm in the province of tactics and executive skill. But as an
+originator and perfecter of the engines and defences of war, America has
+already robbed her of her crown, and stands to-day unsurpassed. No
+greater proof is needed of our superiority in this respect than the fact
+that in two short years of civil strife we have revolutionized the whole
+art of war as it has existed for ages, rendering absurd the maxims and
+useless the experience of the olden days, while filling their places
+with systems and theories whose practical results are so clear as to
+overwhelmingly sustain the new order of things, and compel not only the
+admiration but the support and adoption of the onlooking world. The
+antiquated weapons of warfare are harmless to-day, and their places are
+supplied by new and more destructive engines, which Europe must perforce
+adopt in self-defence, and thus bow to the genius of American invention,
+whereby the old is so entirely and radically supplanted by the new, that
+the Napoleons and Wellingtons of a past age would be but tyros in our
+battles of to-day. The lesson of the Monitors is not the only one Europe
+has learned from us within the last two years. And we have more to teach
+her yet, more marvels yet to be evolved from that inexhaustible mine of
+invention--the Yankee brain. For as long as the war shall last,
+furnishing not only a promise of a golden harvest in the future, but a
+present and substantial support to inventive genius, at the same time
+that a new stimulus is being constantly supplied by the events and
+experience of each succeeding day, the work will go on, and weapon after
+weapon, engine after engine, will be thrown into the world's great
+market, constantly approaching nearer to the perfection of destructive
+power. And as there is no poison without its antidote, so the
+originating faculties of the American mind will be as fully exerted in
+the creation of defences against those very engines of destruction.
+Armed thus at all points, and containing within ourselves not only a
+source of future supply, but even the very fount of originating faculty
+in this speciality, we shall be a power with which it is dangerous to
+trifle--a power with which others will not care to come in collision in
+any other form than that of an overwhelming combination, which, thank
+God! has become in these days one of the impossibilities of political
+manoeuvring. Nor will they be anxious, on any slight provocation, to
+again arouse that inventive faculty which furnishes us with material of
+war far in advance of the rest of the world. We have within ourselves
+every element of strength, every quality necessary to inspire and compel
+respect from all nations. In our own God-given faculties lie both the
+'_Procul, procul, este profani!_' and the 'Tread not on me, or I bite,'
+which in all ages have constituted so-called national honor and pride,
+and which will be to us the broad aegis of protection when the
+storm-cloud of war darkens the horizon of the world. If this fail, the
+fault will be our own; we shall be unworthy custodians of the treasure;
+our downfall will be merited as it is sudden and sure, and few will be
+found to mourn over us.
+
+As the effervescence of new wine brings all impurities to the surface,
+casting off those noxious superfluities whose presence is pollution to
+the liquid and disease and death to the partaker, so the present war is
+but the effervescence of our as yet new and unpurified political system,
+whereby all errors and impurities are thrown to the surface of society,
+ready to be skimmed off by the hand of the people, who are themselves
+the vintners and the rectifiers. No system of government is without
+radical defects, and it was not to be expected that our own would be
+free from error, founded as it is upon a principle new to the world, or
+only known as having totally failed in the past through the clumsiness
+of its originators and subsequent custodians--a system which had little
+aid from the experiences of the past, and must necessarily grope in the
+darkness which surrounds all new experiments of this kind, lighted only
+by the few, meagre, _a priori_ truths of deductive reasoning. Our
+ancestors, hampered as they were by the lack of this great experience of
+social life, legislated for the men and circumstances of their time; and
+though they had ever an eye to the future, yet, conscious of the
+fallibility of human wisdom and foresight, they themselves did not
+expect their work to stand unchanged for all time. New circumstances
+would arise--the people themselves would change with time, and with them
+must necessarily change the laws that govern their actions. Law and
+government must keep pace with the progress of humanity, else the nation
+itself becomes effete, superannuated, deteriorated. Many errors there
+doubtless are in our system, taking their rise as well in the very
+commencement of our existence as from the fluctuations of society. Of
+these, some have hitherto lain inert and concealed, from the very lack
+of circumstances to induce their development, and from the lack of a
+field of action. Others have worked so slowly and insidiously as to have
+remained totally concealed from our view, as well from the fact of their
+never having as yet been productive of any decided and palpable evil
+effect, as from our becoming gradually accustomed to them and their
+workings, and from the preoccupation of the public mind with more
+exciting questions. But in all times of popular excitement and tumult,
+of revolutionary ideas and attempted violent reform, errors spring forth
+in dazzling brightness from the darkness of the past, like Minerva from
+the brain of Jove, armed with the full panoply of destructive war,
+clothed in the garb of maturity, and endowed with gigantic strength.
+Such has been the case in our day. As the early spring sun, warming the
+long-frozen soil and heating the foul moistures of the earth, brings to
+life and to the surface of the ground swarming myriads of noxious
+insects and reptiles, who, during the long winter months, have slept
+silent and torpid far down within the oozy depths, and hatches the
+thrice-told myriads of eggs deposited in seasons passed away, and which
+have long waited for his life-giving influence to pour forth their
+swarming millions to the upper air; even so this war has hatched the
+eggs of error, and brought forth the torpid defects of long gone-by
+decades, affording them a broad field of operation in their work of
+destruction; while it has at the same time torn away the veil which has
+hitherto blinded our eyes, and shown us, in the disasters of to-day, the
+culmination of the evil effects of causes which have for long years been
+working secretly at the very core of the body politic. But not alone has
+it brought forth error and corruption; for the same harsh influence has
+also revivified the seeds of virtue and awakened the sleeping lion of
+justice, uprightness, and national honor, which shall act as healthful
+counterbalances to all the evil, and supplant the monsters of
+destructive error.
+
+For in the [Greek: gnothi seauton] of the Greek philosopher lies the
+secret of all reform. To know one's faults is already one half the
+battle to correct them. He who becomes conscious that health of body and
+mind are steadily yielding to the inroads of an insidious foe, is worse
+than a fool if he do not at once apply the knife to the seat of disease,
+however painful may be the operation. And though to-day we hear but
+little of reform, and all parties seem striving which shall display the
+most devotion to the cause of the past, the most affection for the
+unchanged and unchangeable _status quo ante bellum_ in all things, yet
+is the popular mind not the less earnestly though silently working.
+To-day we have a task which occupies all our attention, absorbs all our
+powers and resources, and there is no time for reform: the all-absorbing
+and vital question being the establishing of things upon the old
+footing. But, peace restored, and the deathblow given to treason, the
+work of reform will commence. Then will become manifest the workings of
+the great mind of the nation during all this trying and bloody war. To
+acknowledge our defects and miscomings now, is but to give a handle to
+the enemies of our cause: but, this danger removed, the axe will at once
+be laid at the root of those evils which have come nigh to working our
+destruction; all the unsightly excrescences which have for years been
+accumulating upon the trunk of our goodly tree will be carefully pruned
+away, and the result will be a healthier and more abundant fruit in the
+days to come. And these reforms will be brought about quietly, yet with
+a firm and vigorous hand, and in a manner that will show to the world
+our determination henceforth to leave no loophole for the entrance of
+the destroyer.
+
+No race of _thinkers_ can ever be enslaved. Hitherto we have been too
+unreflecting, too much governed by momentary impulses, too much carried
+away by party cries and unhealthy enthusiasm, and hence completely
+beneath the sway of designing demagogues. We have left the politicians
+to do our thinking for us, and accepted too unhesitatingly their
+interested dicta as our rules of political action. The press has
+hitherto led the people, and so mighty an engine of political power has
+been eagerly seized and controlled by party leaders as a means of
+accomplishing their ends. All this will be done away with. We shall do
+our thinking for ourselves, and those who shall hereafter be put forward
+as the prominent actors upon the great stage of politics will become,
+what they have never before been save in name, the servants of the
+people. The press of America, like that of England, must hereafter
+follow, not lead, the sentiments of the nation. And while true 'freedom
+of the press' will be religiously conserved, that unrestrained license
+which has always too much characterized it will be restrained and
+brought within its true limits, not by statutes or brute force, but by
+the much more powerful agency of public opinion--by the danger of
+tampering with the cherished and elevated sentiments of the reading
+masses.
+
+And as a result of this newborn faculty of thought, we shall see the
+disappearance of extreme views and the birth of charity in our midst.
+Men will give due weight to the opinions and respect more the natural
+prejudices of their fellows. While ultra conservatism is the rust which
+eats away the nation's life, radicalism is the oxygen in which it
+consumes itself too rapidly away. Or perhaps, a better simile would be
+found in the components of atmospheric air--nitrogen and oxygen; the one
+a non-supporter of combustion, the other giving it a too dazzling
+brilliancy at the expense of the material upon which it feeds; yet both,
+properly combined, so as in a measure to neutralize each other,
+supporting the steady and enduring flame which gives forth a mild and
+cheering light and heat, neither dazzling nor scorching. So conservatism
+and radicalism, properly intermingled and exercising a restraining
+influence upon each other, are the very life of a great and free people.
+And never, in the history of the world, have these principles been more
+thoroughly demonstrated, more clearly manifested to the eyes of even the
+unlearned and humble, than in the present war, in which one or the other
+of these two great mental phases has been the originator of every great
+movement, to make no mention of the palpable effect, now appearing upon
+the face of society, of their action in the past. And hence, in the
+future, we shall see in a noble, far-reaching, broadly spreading,
+heaven-aspiring _conservative radicalism_ the prevailing characteristic
+of American life and progress.
+
+Hitherto the very prime principle of self-government, an intelligent
+cognizance of public affairs and a reflective insight into the
+fundamental principles of liberty, has been totally neglected in our
+land. And if the events of these years shall really teach our people to
+think--I care not how erroneously at first, for the very exercise of the
+God-given faculty will soon teach us to discriminate between true and
+false deductions, and restore Thought to her native empire,--then the
+blood and treasure we have so lavishly poured out, the trembling and the
+mourning, the trials, the toils, and the privations we have suffered,
+even the mighty shock which the society of the whole civilized world has
+received, will be but a small price to pay for the blessing we shall
+have gained, and our future prosperity will have been easily purchased
+even at so tremendous a cost. God grant it may be so.
+
+There is no land on earth where treason may work with such impunity as
+in our own. And this is owing as well to the greater latitude conceded
+to political speculations by the very nature of our system, as to the
+fact that our ancestors, having, as they thought, effectually destroyed
+all those incentives to treason which exist in more despotic lands, and
+little anticipating the new motives which might with changing men and
+times spring up in our midst, neglected to ordain the preventives and
+remedies for a disease which they imagined could never flourish in our
+healthy atmosphere. And while they imposed an inadequate penalty, they
+at the same time made so difficult the proof of this the greatest of
+crimes, that when at last the monster reared its head and stalked boldly
+through the land, there was no power to check or destroy it. It will be
+ours to see, in the future, that this impunity is taken away from this
+worse than parricide, and that, while a more awful penalty is affixed to
+the crime, the plotter shall be as amenable to the law and as easy to be
+convicted as he who takes the murderous weapon in his hands.
+
+And for the accomplishment of this and similar ends, doubtless greater
+power will be conceded by the States to the Federal Government. The day
+has gone by when the people were frightened at the bare idea of giving
+to the central Government the necessary power to maintain its own
+integrity. The pernicious doctrine of State sovereignty as paramount to
+the national, has in this war received its deathblow at the hands of
+those who have always been its most zealous supporters. The South,
+starting out upon the very basis of this greatest political heresy of
+our age, had no sooner taken the initiatory step in severing completely
+all the ties and bonds which held them to the Union, than they discarded
+the very doctrine which had been their strongest weapon in forcing their
+people to revolt: well knowing that no government founded upon such a
+basis could stand for a single year; that the upholding of such a
+principle was neither more nor less than political suicide. And though
+at the commencement of our struggle there were many at the North in
+whose minds the dogma had taken deep root, few are found to-day to
+uphold the pernicious doctrine, and those few men of more than
+questionable loyalty. And not this principle only, but every other which
+is inconsistent with republican ideas, antagonistic to the growth of the
+giant plant of human freedom, has come to its death at the hands of the
+god of war. Great commotions are the test of great ideas, and that
+principle either of government or of human action which can withstand
+the shock of such an upheaving as the present, and come unharmed through
+the war of such conflicting elements, may well claim our support as
+founded in eternal truth. The penetrating glance of human intellect,
+sharpened by the perilous exigencies of the times, and by the quick
+succession of startling events, even as the inventive faculties are said
+to be rendered more acute by the presence of danger, at such times sees
+clearly the fallacies which perhaps have blinded mankind for years, and
+recognizes, with unerring certainty, the misfortunes and disasters of
+to-day as the evil effects of theories which aforetime were only
+considered capable of good.
+
+And with these theories must inevitably fall their supporters and
+promulgators. The men who have persistently misled the public mind and
+falsified the experience of the past as well as the deductions of
+abstract reasoning, and who, consequently, if not the originators, are
+at least the aggravators, of all our misfortunes, need expect no mercy
+at the hands of the people. They must share the fate of their doctrines,
+and consent to be quietly shelved, buried beyond the hope of a
+resurrection: and it is to be hoped that their places will be filled by
+good, earnest, and true men, who have proved themselves devoted to the
+cause of our country's advancement rather than to that of personal
+preferment. In this war, the men of the future must make their record,
+and whenever they shall come before the people for the posts of honor
+and distinction, they will be judged according as they have to-day
+sacrificed personal prejudices and partisan feeling upon the altar of
+unity and freedom. For years to come the first question concerning a
+candidate will be, Was he loyal in the troublous times? was he earnest
+and true? There will be no distinction between the truly loyal Democrat
+and the earnest Republican. Those who have to-day stood shoulder to
+shoulder in the common cause will, whatever may be their difference in
+shades of opinion, be sworn friends in the future; while he who has in
+these times been only noted for a carping, cavilling spirit, for
+activity in endeavors to hamper and thwart the constituted authorities
+in their efforts to restore and maintain the integrity of the
+Government, will to their dying day wear the damning mark of Cain upon
+their brows: their record will bear a stain which no subsequent effort
+can wipe away. And though in the days to come other exciting questions
+will arise to divide the people into strongly opposing parties, which,
+indeed, are necessary to all true national life, preserving the balance
+of political power, acting as a check upon injudicious and interested
+legislation, and, above all, evolving truths by the very attrition of
+conflicting ideas, yet the intimate association of the past, bringing
+about a thorough acquaintance with the virtues and patriotism of the
+great mass of those who profess radically different ideas and opinions,
+as well as the wearing off of the sharp corners of those ideas
+themselves by a closer and more impartial observation, will tend to
+smooth away the asperities of partisan conflict, and beget greater
+charity and more respect for the opposing opinions of others, based upon
+a knowledge of the purity of intention and loftiness of purpose of
+political opponents. The evils of sectional feeling and sectional
+legislation, so clearly manifested in present events, will be avoided in
+the future, as the Maelstrom current which sucks in the stoutest bark to
+inevitable destruction: and while we shall still retain that natural
+love of home which binds us most closely to the place of our abode, the
+principle will be recognized that the well-being of the whole can only
+lie in the soundness and prosperity of each particular part, and we
+shall know no dividing lines in our love of country, but all become
+members of one great brotherhood, citizens of one common and united
+country. The experience of the past will teach us to religiously avoid
+the snares and pitfalls that beset our path, the hidden rocks and shoals
+upon which our bark had wellnigh stranded; and the science of politics
+will henceforward have a broader sweep, a loftier appreciation of
+national responsibility, a purer benevolence, a sublimer philanthropy.
+
+Among the influences which will greatly modify the future of American
+politics, not the least is the lately enacted banking law. Hitherto we
+have been divided in our finances as no nation ever was before. Every
+individual State has had not only its own system of banking, but its own
+separate and distinct currency; a currency oftentimes based upon an
+insufficient security, and possessing only a local par value. The
+traveller who would journey from one portion of the country to another
+was driven to the alternative of converting his funds into bills of
+exchange, or of shopping from broker to broker to procure the currency
+of the particular localities which he proposed to visit. Not to mention
+the inconvenience of such a state of things, it is productive of many
+dire evils, which it is not my purpose to enumerate, since they are
+already familiar to the majority of my readers. Suffice it to say that
+such a diversity in a point so vital to all enlightened nations, is
+antagonistic to the very spirit of our institutions, under a government
+whose existence depends upon the principle of unity, in a land whose
+prosperity depends upon the consolidation of all its constituent parts
+into one homogeneous whole. Not only is this diversity in the money
+market forever destroyed by the establishment of a uniform currency, but
+from the peculiar nature of the law, the stability of the Government is
+made a matter of direct self-interest to every individual citizen, than
+which no surer or more enduring bond of union can be devised. For
+self-interest, the Archimedean lever that moves the world, loses no jot
+of its influence when even honor and patriotism have withered away.
+Every dollar of the security upon which the currency is based must be
+deposited in the treasury vaults: in other words, the wealth of every
+individual citizen is under Government lock and key. Should, then, in
+the future, any misguided portion of our people see fit to withdraw from
+our communion, irretrievable ruin not only stares them in the face, but
+is actually upon them from the moment the bond is severed. On the one
+side is devotion to the country, and a firm, secure currency, which at
+any moment will bring its full value in gold; on the other, secession,
+with the inevitable attendant of a circulation, not depreciated, but
+utterly worthless, and that, too, with no other to fill its place, since
+the operation of the law must soon drive out of existence every dollar
+of the present local bank circulation: patriotism and prosperity arrayed
+against rebellion and ruin. The business men all see this, and in the
+event of any threatened disruption, they, the most influential part of
+community, because controlling that which is the representative of all
+value, will be found firm and unwavering on the side of the duly
+constituted authority. Thus we shall have all the benefits of a funded
+national debt, with none of its attendant evils. And what a bond of
+union is this!--a bond which involves our very meat and drink, a bond
+which there can be no possible motive to sever so powerful as the
+incentive to union and mutual cooperation.
+
+Again, the financial crises with which our country has been afflicted at
+regular periods of her existence, lowering thousands at one moment from
+a condition of ease and comfort to one of the most pinching want,
+changing merchant princes to beggars, and spreading ruin far and wide,
+have owed their origin, not to a wild spirit of speculation, but to the
+over inflation of bank issues, which is itself the cause of that
+reckless speculation. This evil, too, will be done away with in the
+future, for the issue must and will be regulated by the demands of the
+community. The Government, in whose hands are the securities, and who
+furnish the circulation based thereon, will control this matter and
+restrain the issue to its proper bounds. And even if it should run
+beyond that point, there will be less danger, since there can be no
+spurious basis, every dollar being secured by a tangible deposit in the
+Government vaults. The only escape from this view is in open and
+barefaced fraud, which will be easy of conviction, and no more to be
+feared than the ordinary operations of counterfeiters, and which will be
+effectually provided against. So carefully drawn are the provisions of
+the bill that no loophole is left for speculation; and he who shall
+hereafter succeed in flooding the country with a 'wildcat' currency,
+will be a shrewder financier and a more accomplished villain than the
+world has yet seen. The people, too, will repose such a confidence in
+the banks as they have never done before. We shall hear little hereafter
+of 'runs upon the banks;' for the currency holders, well knowing that
+the Government holds in its hands the wherewithal to redeem the greater
+portion of the circulation of every bank in the land in the event of the
+closing of its doors, the only 'runs' will be upon the deposits, and
+this only in cases of the grossest and most patent fraud and
+mismanagement on the part of the banks themselves. Hence, in times of
+financial peril we shall see the people combining to sustain the banks
+of their own locality, rather than, as is the case to-day, hastening to
+accelerate the ruin of perfectly solvent institutions which, but for
+their ill-timed fright, might weather the storm. Again I say, there
+could be no greater element of union and strength than this, which has
+grown out of our necessities and tribulations. In spite of all the
+confusion and ruin and bloodshed, in spite of all the mourning, and
+suffering, and sundering of ties, and upheaving of the very foundations
+and apparent total disruption of American society, no greater blessing
+could have befallen us than this same war, which has roused us to a new
+life, to the consciousness of defects and determination of reform,
+thereby planting us firmly on the true road to prosperity and happiness
+and power.
+
+The wonderful display of our power and resources has given a
+reputation--call it notoriety, if you will--among the middle and lower
+classes of the old world, which in long years of peace we could not have
+attained. And our success in withstanding the terrible tempest which has
+assailed us, in maintaining the integrity of our political system, will
+spread that reputation far and wide, and give us a prestige whose effect
+will be seen in the increased tide of immigration that will flow in upon
+us upon the reestablishment of peace. The teeming soil and salubrious
+climate of the far West, together with the prospect it affords, not only
+of wealth, but of social advancement, both of which are forever denied
+them in their own country, and extremely difficult of attainment even in
+our own Eastern States, where the population is dense and every branch
+of industry crowded to repletion, will allure the hardy laborers of
+Europe by thousands and tens of thousands to the prairie land. In the
+immense unsettled tracts west of the Mississippi there is room for the
+action of men inured to toil, and promise of quick and abundant returns
+for their labor. There they will be free from the disastrous competition
+of their superiors in education and enlightenment, and have
+opportunities such as no other portion of the earth presents, for the
+founding of communities of their own, and the practical realization of
+their own ideas of social progress. Comparatively few years will pass
+after the restoration of peace before the West will be peopled by the
+very bone and sinew of all civilized nations. And these men will come to
+our shores imbued with the bitterest hatred of monarchical institutions,
+and an unbounded admiration and love of our own. Hence the new country
+will be intensely republican in its tendencies, and this will be another
+strong bond of union--another mighty element of strength and perpetuity
+to republicanism. For, as the movement goes steadily on, in time the
+balance of political power will rest with them. And it will be ours to
+see that the strong bias in favor of antiquated customs, laws, and
+usages, the result of centuries of unopposed tyranny, is eradicated from
+the minds of these men. They must be properly instructed in the
+principles of true liberty and self-government. They must be
+familiarized with the workings of free institutions and put to school in
+the experience of our century of experiment. Our very safety requires
+it; for so great is the field and so quickly will it be filled, that if
+we are not alive to the work, a mighty nation will soon have sprung up
+on our borders, and almost in our midst, which will be entirely beyond
+our control, and threaten the very existence of our race, and of the
+principles we most cherish. For the danger is that, suddenly released
+from all the restrictions of their own feudal climes, they will fly to
+the other extreme, and become lawless, reckless, and turbulent. For many
+years to come all legislation must have an eye to the possible and
+probable capacities and immense importance of the yet unsettled West,
+and to the exigencies arising from causes which at present we know not
+of save by conjecture. We have a future before us such as the past has
+never known, and an incentive, nay, rather a necessity, for more
+vigorous action than we have yet been called upon to display, and for a
+deeper and more far-sighted wisdom than has ever yet pervaded our
+councils.
+
+The religious future of this portion of our country is veiled in the
+deepest obscurity. Here we shall have the free-thinking German, the
+bigoted Roman Catholic, the atheistic Frenchman, and the latitudinarian
+Yankee, in one grand heterogeneous conglomeration of nations and ideas
+such as the world has never seen. Whether these diverse peculiarities
+will by close contact and mutual attrition, by the advancing light of
+education and refinement as well as by the progress of intellect, be in
+time softened down, assimilated, and fused into a pure, elevating
+religion, or aggravated till they result in a godless, materialistic
+race, God only knows. For no man was ever yet able to prognosticate of
+religion, or prophecy with the remotest degree of its future action. For
+it is a thing of God, under his exclusive care, and subject to none of
+the influences of human action. In His hands we must leave it, in the
+earnest hope and belief that He will not suffer His divine purposes to
+be thwarted, and this people, to whom He has intrusted the task of the
+world's regeneration, to forget and deny their God, who has led them on
+to power and prosperity and happiness, to go back upon the scale of the
+soul's eternal progress, and become a race of wicked, corrupt, and
+God-defying sensualists.
+
+Yet there is no maxim more true than that 'the gods help those who help
+themselves,' and in this great work of religious advancement we have
+nevertheless a part to act, a duty to perform. And the day is not far
+distant when the work of the missionary in our own land will overshadow
+that of the teacher in African climes. Here will be an ample field for
+all our exertions, all our contributions; and if we do our duty by our
+own people, we shall be forced, for a time at least, to leave the task
+of instructing the heathen of foreign lands to the Christian nations of
+the Old World. Our greatest responsibility is here, and it behooves us
+to look well to the religious culture of our own rapidly increasing
+population, that in after times they may be fitted for the task of
+Christianizing the world.
+
+Every nation has its crisis, when its existence trembles in the balance,
+and through which it must safely pass before it can be firmly
+established as a great fact in history, a tangible landmark of progress,
+a controlling influence in the affairs of humanity. Nor is this crisis
+ever a mere fortuitous circumstance, but the necessary consequence of
+conflicting ideas and of untried systems. It is that point in the great
+process of assimilation when different and hitherto almost discordant
+elements tremble on the verge either of a harmonious blending for all
+time, or of flying off into eternal divergence and hostility. Hence it
+was not to be imagined that we could escape the common lot: our crisis
+was to be expected, and now that it has come upon us it is to be
+manfully met, and so controlled by an iron will, a loftiness of
+determination, and a purity of aim, that it leave us not stranded among
+the breakers of disunion and political death. And if we shall succeed in
+so controlling the mighty current of affairs, we may rest assured that
+we shall be purified by the trial, and shall have established a position
+on earth that no subsequent events can shake, until God, in His own good
+time, shall bid us give way to some higher development of mankind, if
+such shall be His will. With a noble and worthy nationality; with an
+incontestable position of strength and political influence, a widely
+diffused skill and experience in military affairs, a fund of warlike
+invention, and unbounded physical resources, which shall free us from
+all annoyances and intermeddlings at the hands of foreign nations; with
+a purification from the errors of the past, and a deeper insight into
+the capabilities as well as the exigencies of the present and the
+future; with a regenerated and higher-toned press; with an _anathema
+maranatha_ for treason, in whatever shape it may assume; with a purer
+charity for the opinions of others, and a more graceful yielding of the
+obnoxious characteristics of our own; with a firmly established and
+health-giving system of finance; with a rapidly increasing population,
+bringing with it an increase of responsibility, and furnishing a broader
+field for the development of our energies and resources; with a glorious
+past behind and a golden future before us, we shall sweep majestically
+on upon the waves of time, an object of admiration to the world and of
+justifiable pride to ourselves--a great, and glorious, and, above all, a
+free, happy, united, and prosperous people. God grant it may be so! God
+grant that we may be true to the trust reposed in us, and that the
+glorious cause of human liberty--the cause in which are bound up the
+hopes of the whole world--may not again fall to the earth through the
+blindness and weakness and incompetence of us, who are to-day its only
+exponents. May we of this day and generation live to see the crowning of
+all these hopes; and when our sun goes down in the shadows of eternity,
+may we be able to look back and thank God for the trials and sufferings
+and losses and mournings of to-day, as the refining fire through which
+we have come strong and bright, the sharp knife whereby the gnawing
+worms of error, and corruption and inevitable death have been cut from
+the heart of our goodly tree.
+
+
+
+
+GOD'S HARP.
+
+FROM AN UNWRITTEN POEM.
+
+
+    God struck the heavens' holy Harp,
+      While sang the grand celestial choir.
+    Earth heard the awful sound, and saw
+      The trembling of the golden wire.
+    'Twas thunder to the stranger ear,
+      And to the eye the lightning's fire.
+
+
+
+
+AUTUMN LEAVES.
+
+                       'O Heaven! were man
+    But constant, he were perfect; that one error
+    Fills him with faults, makes him run through all sins.'
+
+                            _Two Gentlemen of Verona_
+
+
+    Are they truly dying,
+      All the summer leaves?
+    Will the blasts of autumn
+      Strip the happy trees?
+    Bright the glowing foliage
+      Paints the misty air--
+    Crimson, purple, golden--
+      Must they die--so fair?
+
+    Where has flown the sunshine
+      Wooed them to their birth,
+    Tempting them to flutter
+      Far above the earth?
+    Ruthless did it leave them
+      In their hour of bloom,
+    Let the chill blasts whisper
+      Tales of death and doom?
+
+    Rapidly they robed them
+      In each varied hue,
+    Hoping thus the sunshine
+      To attract anew;
+    But the fickle glitter
+      Looked in anger down,
+    Freezing up the life-pulse
+      With an icy frown.
+
+    Then the happy radiance
+      Sinks to rise no more;
+    Leaves of gold and crimson
+      Strew earth's gloomy floor.
+    Gone their summer glory,
+      Lifeless, lost, they lie;
+    Wilted, withered, drifting
+      As winds will, they fly.
+
+    Thus in woman's bosom
+      Love wakes bud and bloom,
+    'Neath his glowing sunshine
+      Thinking not of doom;
+    Covering soft life's desert
+      Spread the branches green,
+    Hope's bright birds sing through them--
+      Close the leafy screen.
+
+    Through the quivering foliage
+      Falls a sudden fear!
+    Leaves are rustling, trembling--
+      Feel _change_ drawing near!
+    Brighter then they robe them,
+      Call on every hue,
+    Color every fibre--
+      Love to win anew.
+
+    Summon gold and crimson,
+      Bright as dyed in blood;
+    Hectic fever flushes
+      Pour in anguished flood!
+    Gone the healthful quiet
+      Of the summer green;
+    Hope-birds turn to ravens,
+      Sighs the leafy screen.
+
+    Love looks down in anger
+      On the wildering show;
+    Freezing follows change-frost--
+      Love heaps ice and snow!
+    Then the fevered radiance
+      Fades from life's doomed tree;
+    Wilted, withered, drifting,
+      Bud, bloom, leaves we see.
+
+    Love looks down upon them,
+      Wonders how it came--
+    Thinks through all his changing
+      They should bloom the same:
+    Did not know his change-frost
+      Had the power to kill;
+    Did not deem his frowning
+      Life's quick pulse could still!
+
+    Gone the fickle sunshine!
+      Gone the rosy hours!
+    Gone love's early wooing!
+      Gone the healthful powers!
+    Come and cool the hectic,
+      Chill the fevered glow,
+    Pale the crimson flushing,
+      Death, beneath thy snow!
+
+
+
+
+ACROSS MAINE IN MID-WINTER.
+
+
+A journey by stage coach in these days, when railroads are fast
+penetrating to the remotest corners of our country, has already become a
+somewhat novel experience. In the course of comparatively few years,
+even the 'air line' will have given place to an international railway,
+connecting us immediately with New Brunswick, and the stage coaches of
+this region will be among the reminiscences of the past.
+
+The circumstances under which this journey of mine was performed were
+most painful. Still, through that remarkable power of the human mind,
+which seems to act independently of volition, that mysterious duality of
+being which observes, discriminates, and remembers, while at the same
+time preoccupied by an overwhelming grief, I was enabled to note each
+little incident with more than usual intensity.
+
+Was it that they stood out in bolder, more sharply cut relief, because
+of the dark background of emotion behind?
+
+There had been little, if any, snow on the island all the winter, and
+the morning of the 26th of January was bright and mild as April. Indeed,
+it was difficult to imagine it winter.
+
+'Come, Fred,' said I to my second little boy, 'We must take a walk to
+the batteries this fine morning.'
+
+As I stood upon the height, while the little fellow frisked about among
+the rocks, I stretched my eyes westward toward the hills and forests of
+the mainland, and thought of my father and mother, and of the letter
+which I almost knew was on its way to me then. Ah! little did I dream
+that at that very moment the gaunt sentinels of the telegraph were
+tossing from one to another, with lightning speed, a message of woe for
+me. Its long journey of four hundred miles was accomplished in less time
+than my short walk. I had just returned when it arrived.
+
+I saw by my husband's countenance as he read it, and by his extreme
+tenderness of manner toward me, that a great misfortune had befallen me.
+I sank down on the floor beside him, trembling with apprehension, yet
+longing to know the worst. 'Is it mother?' I gasped. He handed me the
+telegram, which was directed to him:
+
+'Your father-in-law died this morning. Can Elsie come to the funeral? If
+so, what day? Telegraph immediately.'
+
+And this was all. My father was _dead_! How long he had been ill, or
+what was his disease, I knew not. 'Why did they not send for me sooner,
+that I might have seen him alive once more?' I asked, in the first
+unreasoning agony of grief. But he was _dead_. All I could do for him
+now was to yield him my last tribute of reverence and affection.
+
+'Can Elsie come to the funeral?' Yes, I could go. It was all I could do
+for my father now; I knew that. My family would be well cared for in my
+absence. My husband did not oppose me, though he could not approve. But
+he exerted himself in every way to further my plans.
+
+There were difficulties at the outset. The regular morning stage had
+already left. The 'air line,' as it is called, was the only route
+remaining to me. Now this 'air line' started from a point thirty miles
+north of us, and lay through ninety miles of wilderness. I had heard of
+it before I ever came to the island, and had been told a wild story
+about a stage coach having been chased by a pack of wolves for several
+miles on this route a few years before. The innkeeper, too, spoke very
+dubiously about it to my husband. But what were the hundred and twenty
+miles between me and the cars--the four hundred between me and my
+father, then! Should these few miles of earth detain me? No! It was
+possible for me to go, and go I must.
+
+My preparations were soon made; but I found, to my dismay, on applying
+for a passage in the stage to C----(where the journey proper would
+begin) that all the seats were taken. The innkeeper sent me word,
+however, that he would furnish me a private conveyance, if I _must_ go.
+So at two o'clock, P.M., an open, low-backed buggy appeared at my gate.
+I kissed my little ones, who gathered wonderingly around to 'see mamma
+go away,' and wrapping my old plaided cloak about me (the cloak I wore
+when a child), I seated myself beside the buffalo-bundled driver, and
+was soon whirling out of town.
+
+The air was soft and mild, and no snow was to be seen except a little
+here and there by the roadside as we advanced northward. The sky had
+become overcast, and showed signs of an approaching storm. The scenery
+was generally bare and uninteresting. We followed the St. Croix river in
+its course. Opposite St. Andrews it widens into a broad bay. It was then
+near sunset, and the clouds broke away a little and gave a cheery, rosy
+flush to the calm water.
+
+Night soon settled down upon us. It was dark when we arrived at the ----
+Hotel, after a drive of five hours. I had never been in C----, and this
+was my first experience in hotel life alone.
+
+I was ushered into a large, lonesome room, in total darkness except for
+the light from the hall burner, which streamed dismally into its depths.
+A tall, black shadow soon announced himself as the landlord, to whom I
+made known my wants. His wife, a kind-hearted, energetic woman, took
+compassion on me, and showed me into her own private parlor to get
+warmed, for I was very chilly. Here the good lady's curiosity was piqued
+somewhat to find that the young man who accompanied me was _not_ my
+husband, and that I proposed to go on the next morning to Bangor alone.
+I shuddered when she told me the journey was usually made in an open
+conveyance. Think of riding all day and all night on a board slung
+across an open wagon! And what if it should _rain_!
+
+I bethought myself of two friends of mine who were visiting in C----,
+and to them I despatched my cards. After tea, when I was seated quietly
+in my room, Aunt Carter came. She is one of those good, kind souls who
+are always aunts to everybody. She came to me with hearty sympathy. The
+evening passed pleasantly away, for her simple words of faith and hope
+cheered and consoled me.
+
+I slept but little that night. I lay thinking of my father, and of the
+morrow's journey, and listening to every sound. I fancied I heard it
+raining. At last I was almost sure of it. When I peeped out of the
+window in the gray of the dawn, the ground was white, and it was snowing
+fast.
+
+Soon after breakfast my kind friends appeared, and the good clergyman
+also, who went down to make some inquiries about the stage coach for me,
+and, returning soon, announced with a very grave countenance that it had
+not connected with the cars at Bangor for nearly a week. In fact, that
+it was unusual for it to do so at this season.
+
+'It seems to have set in for a storm,' said he. 'All our storms this
+winter have terminated in rain. There is a uniformity in storms,' he
+added, lugubriously, 'and if this should turn to rain, you cannot
+possibly get through.'
+
+For a few moments my purpose was shaken. If I did not succeed in
+reaching the cars the next morning, I would be too late for my father's
+funeral, and my journey would be all but in vain. There was my mother,
+to be sure, but my whole heart turned to my father now. Could I, ought I
+to run this risk?
+
+But, on the other hand, how could I relinquish my object when thus far
+on the way to it?
+
+Blessings on Aunt Carter! She came to the rescue.
+
+'Now,' said she, 'I have found that a good Providence always took care
+of me, and _I_ believe He will take care of you. You've begun your
+journey and got thus far safely, and _I_ believe you'll get through to
+Bangor in time. At any rate, if you don't, you will have the
+satisfaction of comforting your mother. I've been about the world
+considerable,' she continued, 'and I've always found a _man_ to take
+care of me. Now you shall have _my man_ to take care of you.'
+
+Reassured by her hopeful words, I exclaimed:
+
+'Enough, I will go! If there be any power in will, or any speed in
+horses, I will get there!'
+
+The minister sighed, but I commenced putting on my cloak. Just then, the
+young man who had driven me up from the island the day before, came to
+take my parting commands.
+
+'Tell Mr. K.,' said I, 'that I start under favorable auspices. Is any
+one going through?'
+
+'Two passengers, but no ladies,' he replied.
+
+'Who are they?' I inquired.
+
+'They are both strangers, from the 'other side''--(the Maine cognomen
+for the neighboring British provinces).
+
+'What do they look like?'
+
+'Well, they _look_ like gentlemen, and we _hope_ they are so,' he
+replied, with dubious emphasis.
+
+And these were my favorable auspices! A doubtful snowstorm and two
+doubtful gentlemen! Nevertheless I spoke the truth.
+
+At length I was all ready, and the landlady, who was quite interested in
+me by that time, took me once more into her parlor with my friends,
+while waiting for the stage. Again the thought of my travelling
+companions occurred to me. I inquired if the landlady knew aught of
+them.
+
+'Nothing but their names,' said she. 'Neither of them was ever here
+before. They look a little rough, but you cannot always tell about these
+province people, they dress so differently from our folks. I dare say
+they are real gentlemen.'
+
+It was decided, with the concurrence of my friends, to request an
+introduction to one of them through the landlord, as I was travelling
+alone, and might need some aid. If they were as it was 'hoped,' this
+would be an advantage; and if they were not, the formality might be some
+protection.
+
+I confess I was not strongly prepossessed in their favor when I
+confronted them at the door of the hotel; the one a short, fat figure in
+a coarse blue coat, with a hood of the same, lined with scarlet; a flat
+cloth cap, and long heavy boots, reaching above the knee. An ugly
+red-and-green woollen scarf tied around the waist enhanced the oddity of
+his appearance. The other was taller and more slenderly built. His
+complexion was decidedly 'sandy,' with short, curling hair and a
+prodigious mustache. His countenance, like his dress, was grave, the
+latter being an iron-gray travelling suit.
+
+With a low bow the landlord presented me to the former. It was a kindly
+voice that said, 'Excuse my mitten,' as, instinctively drawing off my
+own, my hand rested a moment in his big, shaggy palm. There was
+good-nature in the face too, from the roguish dark eyes to the genial,
+laughter-loving mouth.
+
+I trembled, though, as, bidding farewell to my friends, I stepped into
+the coach.
+
+'Take good care of this lady, driver,' said Aunt Carter, 'for she's a
+precious charge.'
+
+My good friend the clergyman was the last one to bid me good-by. He
+reached into the coach and shook hands with me, wishing me a prosperous
+journey.
+
+At last we were off. The snow fell thick and fast and moist. What if it
+should turn to rain? But it was not cold, and I at least was
+uncomfortably warm, for my kind friends had provided me with a
+well-heated plank for my feet, and a brick for my hands. It was heavy
+sleighing, and we dragged along at the rate of four miles an hour for
+the first twelve or fifteen miles. Occasionally the object of my journey
+and the novelty of my situation would come over me like a dream; but I
+resolutely buried my grief away down in my heart, and lived on the
+surface.
+
+I entered into conversation with my travelling companions, whom I
+scrutinized narrowly.
+
+We had not gone very far before the Englishman unbuttoned his overcoat
+and produced what is technically called a 'pocket pistol.' It was a flat
+flask of generous proportions, encased in leather, fitting into a silver
+drinking cup below, and with a stopper of the same screwing on the top.
+At any rate, however questionable its contents might be, its appearance
+outwardly was highly respectable.
+
+'By your permission, madam,' said he, pouring a portion into the cup.
+
+'Certainly,' said I, significantly, 'within reasonable limits.'
+
+'Of course,' said he, pleasantly, as he offered it to the other
+gentleman, since I declined it. I learned to bless them both, and the
+brandy flask into the bargain, before I got to the end of my journey.
+But I will not anticipate.
+
+They were intelligent and well-educated. Occasionally the conversation
+took a solemn and earnest tone. We touched on many topics. We discussed
+the Queen and royal family; the Prince of Wales; his visit to this
+country; his intended marriage, &c.; the prospect of Prince Alfred
+becoming King of Greece; the condition of these United States; the
+rebellion, &c., &c.
+
+I was sorry to find that the young Englishman was strongly tinctured
+with the prejudices now so prevalent in the provinces against
+emancipation. He frankly acknowledged that at the time of the 'Trent
+affair' his sympathies turned toward the South, but that since he had
+read more and thought more on the subject, he had become decidedly in
+favor of the North.
+
+The other gentleman was a Scotchman, born and brought up near Gretna
+Green. His recollections of the renowned blacksmith and the runaway
+couples he had often seen riding posthaste to the smithy, with pursuers
+close behind perhaps, were very interesting. He was recently from New
+Orleans, where he had resided for several years. He was there through
+the blockade, and served in the city troops several months, though,
+being a foreigner, he could not be impressed into the regular army on
+either side. He was reserved, of course, concerning his opinions, but it
+was easy to see that he regarded General Butler, whom I lauded highly,
+with no friendly eye.
+
+At one o'clock we stopped at a dingy little cottage to dine. Here the
+Englishman took me under his special charge, assisting me into the
+house, while the Scotchman followed after with my plank and brick, which
+were duly set up before the blazing open fire to warm for the next
+stage. Here I first saw the Frenchman, who had ridden outside in order
+to enjoy his pipe. He was sitting by the fire wringing the moisture from
+his long black hair, and wondering if he could get any 'rum.' On seeing
+the lady he courteously made way, and, after, laying aside my wrappings,
+I seated myself before the fire, while waiting for dinner. It was a dim
+little room, uncarpeted, and poorly furnished with a looking glass, a
+map, and a few wooden chairs, and ornamented by a 'mourning piece,'
+which hung over the mantel, representing a bareheaded lady with a
+handkerchief at her eyes, standing beside a monument under a weeping
+willow.
+
+But the open fire was a sight worth seeing in those days. How it roared
+and blazed and crackled and hissed and diffused its hospitable warmth
+and ruddy glow all over the little brown room! How cheerfully it
+contrasted with the storm without!
+
+Dinner was soon announced, and as Mr. K.'s last injunction had been to
+'be sure to eat, whether I wished to or not,' I prepared to pass through
+the first ordeal of eating against my inclination. There was little to
+excite appetite. The room was browner and dimmer than the one we had
+just left; the table was spread with a coarse brown cloth; the bread was
+brown, not honest 'rye and Indian,' but tawny-colored wheat, and sour at
+that; the thick uncomely slices of corned beef were brown too, and the
+dishes and plates were all brown. The Englishman looked despondingly on
+the repast, and ventured to inquire if the landlady, a quiet body in a
+brown dress, had any eggs.
+
+'Yes,' she replied, with a strong nasal twang, 'but they ain't very
+fresh. I shud be 'fraid to resk b'ilin' 'em. I could fry some, ef yer
+liked.'
+
+'It's of no consequence, madam,' said the Englishman; but the good
+woman, bent on being accommodating, and observing, ''Twouldn't take but
+a minute to do 'em,' disappeared into the kitchen, and returned in an
+incredibly short space of time with a plate of eggs swimming in grease.
+I did the best I could to obey my husband's orders, but with poor
+success.
+
+We were soon on our way again. At every solitary house along the road we
+stopped to leave a mailbag. Whom could the letters be for? we wondered.
+
+At one place a pretty girl ran out bareheaded through the snow to take
+the mail. She was neatly dressed, and wore a pretty, bright-colored
+'Sontag' over her shoulders, but she spoiled her good looks by chewing
+vigorously a mouthful of spruce gum, a custom which prevails in this
+region, probably borrowed from the Indians.
+
+Here we met the 'return stage' from Bangor--a rough, uncovered sleigh.
+There were two or three province men in it, whom the Englishman
+recognized.
+
+'I say,' cried he, 'if you see any of my people, tell them you saw me
+about three days out from Bangor.'
+
+We passed on, and met nothing more the rest of the journey. The snow
+shut off the distant views from us, but, clinging to every twig and rock
+and stump, gave a fairy-like beauty to the otherwise dreary scene. The
+alder bushes were particularly beautiful, filled as they were with balls
+of snow, resembling large bunches of white flowers.
+
+The forest was mostly small second growth. Much of the country was
+partially cleared, and long logs lay by the roadside, some of which we
+were several minutes in passing. The stumps had been left three or four
+feet high. These, blackened by fire or storms, and crowned with snow,
+inclined their square heads forward, as if seeking to catch a glimpse of
+us as we passed.
+
+The way grew more lonesome and dreary every mile, and the snow more fine
+and moist. Would it turn to rain? There were no bells on the horses, and
+the driver, a surly, silent fellow, had not even an encouraging
+'chirrup' for them, while the muffled crunching of the soft snow by the
+runners seemed to have a somnolent influence upon them, judging from our
+progress. Occasionally the gentlemen would get out and run up the hills,
+and once the Englishman fell full length, and jumped in again, his blue
+coat and peaked hood well frosted with snow, looking, were it not for
+his youthful face, the very impersonation of Santa Claus. He had a
+powerful physique, and was full of vitality. These runs in the snow
+seemed to refresh him greatly, while they exhausted the more delicate
+Scotchman.
+
+In vain we looked for the wolves. We half wished they might appear, that
+the horses might quicken their paces. Not a sign of life was anywhere to
+be seen, except one flock of snow-birds on the top of a hill.
+
+Conversation still went on, but the intervals of silence were longer and
+more frequent, and the burden of my sudden grief would press upon me
+heavily at times. My anxiety and excitement, too, lest I should not make
+the connection with the cars, increased as the day advanced. At last the
+monotonous motion of the stage coach, added to the agitated state of my
+nerves, began to affect me like the rolling of the sea. The trees of the
+forest seemed to waltz around me in mazy circles. Faster and faster they
+whirled, till my sight grew dim and I could scarcely distinguish them at
+all. My senses were winding up. I felt them slipping from me in spite of
+the strongest effort of my will to hold them. A confused sound filled my
+ears; my strength failed me; I drooped heavily; but Aunt Carter's 'man'
+was by me, sure enough. His protecting arm supported me, and his calm
+and steady voice penetrated even my deadened hearing, as he asked my
+permission to apply some snow to my forehead. I uttered an almost
+inarticulate assent. There was one blank moment, and then the refreshing
+coolness on my brow and on my hands revived me. I apologized for the
+trouble I had given. 'We all have mothers and sisters,' he replied,
+quietly, as he poured a draught from his travelling flask for me. My
+distrust of him and his 'pocket pistol,' too, had vanished.
+
+The Scotchman also was unwearied in his attention to my comfort. Did the
+snow blow in upon me? He would lower the curtain. Did I wish more air?
+he would raise it again. Were my feet becoming chilled? He would tuck in
+the buffalo. Between the two I fared certainly as comfortably as
+circumstances would permit.
+
+The weather was still mild, though colder than before. As the day wore
+on, the wind began to rise, and I observed frequent eddies and
+whirlwinds of snow and ominous grooves around every wayside stone. Would
+the storm increase and drift? In that case my chance of getting to
+Bangor in time was doubtful enough.
+
+We reached our next stopping place at half past four, P.M. It was a
+weather-stained house, which we must have entered by the back door, for
+we passed into the kitchen at once, where were a stout, pleasant-faced
+woman, with two stout, pleasant-faced daughters, and a big fat yellow
+dog, who sat up in a chair beside them at the window, as though he were
+indeed a part of the family. We were ushered into a small room beyond,
+which rejoiced in another glorious wood fire, before which the
+Englishman duly planted me, and the Scotchman my plank and brick. Over
+the mantel was another version of the sepulchral monument with the
+weeping woman and willow, in whimsical contrast with the jolly,
+rollicking fire beneath, which gave us such a hearty welcome.
+
+As we sat luxuriating in the warmth, the two fat girls in the kitchen
+began to vocalize with low sweet voices that harmonized pleasantly, 'Do,
+re, mi, si, la, si, do.' Evidently there had been a singing school in
+the neighborhood. Presently they struck into 'Marching Along,' which
+they sang with considerable spirit.
+
+In the mean time, an overgrown youth, apparently belonging to the house,
+who sat in one corner, tilting his chair, said, addressing all of us at
+once, 'Wal, you've got the wust half the road before yer now. Thur's a
+hill a mile an' a half long, jest out here a little ways. You'll have to
+break yer own roads, I reckon; there's nothin' else goin' along to-day.
+Storm's gittin' wuss.'
+
+We looked dubiously at each other, and he, probably observing my anxious
+countenance, endeavored to reassure us by saying, in an uncertain tone,
+'But I _rayther_ guess you'll git through.'
+
+We were soon off again on the next stage, which was to be twenty-four
+miles, without any stopping-place or village between. We ascended many
+hills, in fact there seemed to be no going down to any of them; but when
+the horses came to a dead halt, and the coach began to slip backward,
+and the driver called out, 'I guess, gentlemen, you'll hev to git out
+here for a spell,' we knew we had come to the hill 'a mile an' a half
+long.' I kept my place, for my weight was too inconsiderable to make
+much difference. The Englishman, taking hold of the coach, helped the
+horses to start again with a vigorous push, and then the three
+passengers went plunging through the snow till the driver stopped and
+took them in again, quite out of breath.
+
+We were now in the depths of the forest, many miles from any house.
+Occasionally we passed a deserted lumberman's hut by the wayside, and
+discussed the liability of a breakdown or an overturn in that wild
+region.
+
+The white-headed, square-faced stumps which abounded in the partially
+cleared tracts, peered in upon us for mile after mile with haunting
+repetition.
+
+The trees were heavily laden with snow, which they shook down upon us as
+we brushed along beneath their low-bending branches. In the dim twilight
+they assumed every variety of fanciful form. There were gaunt old trees,
+with gnarled and twisted branches, outstretched like arms in deadly
+Laocoon-like struggle with the writhing winds and storms; there were
+delicate birches, each slender twig bearing its feathery burden; and
+there were spruces and hemlocks, regal in snowy splendor. It lay upon
+them in heavy masses, and gave their bending boughs a still more
+graceful dip. There was something which harmonized with my grief in the
+silent snow and the drooping trees. They sank beneath the snow as the
+human heart sinks beneath its burden of sorrow. Yet it fell gently and
+beautifully upon them, as affliction falls from the hand of our Father,
+'who chasteneth whom he loveth.' One tree, which bent completely over in
+a perfect abandonment of grief, particularly impressed me. There was
+something in the sweep of the branches which suggested the utter
+prostration of the heart beneath the first shock of a great affliction.
+
+How still it was! It was not dark, for the moon had risen, and the
+clouds were thin. The snow, too, made it lighter.
+
+It was at this solemn, awe-inspiring hour that my companions first
+learned the object of my journey. The sympathy with which they met me
+did honor to human nature.
+
+'I thought,' said the Englishman, 'that the urgency of my own journey
+was great, but it is nothing compared to yours.'
+
+He apologized for any light or careless conversation in which they had
+indulged, not knowing the circumstances of my journey, and entered fully
+into the sentiment which had prompted me to undertake it. He assured me
+that he would see that I got through in time for the cars the next
+morning, and begged me to feel no further uneasiness about it.
+
+From that moment, both my companions were more assiduously devoted to my
+comfort than ever. Their interest was increased on finding that my
+father was the son of a well-known inventor.
+
+His history was soon told. He had inherited his father's business (now
+passed out of the family) with something of his mechanical talent. Of a
+confiding disposition, he had been wronged by those whom he had
+intrusted most extensively, and, property gone and strength failing, his
+misfortunes, which he had at all times borne with exemplary patience and
+fortitude, had culminated in the loss of his old home, the home of his
+father before him, by the hand of the incendiary. He had left me a
+precious legacy in his memory, to which my present journey was an
+inadequate tribute.
+
+The hours wore on. It did not grow much darker, but oh, it was so still!
+You could hear the stillness when the coach stopped, as occasionally it
+did.
+
+It was there, in the depths of this remote wilderness, that our subdued
+voices mingled in those grand old chorals which belong to the church
+universal, and in which, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Unitarian as we
+were, we could all heartily join: 'Old Hundred,' so full of worship;
+'Dundee,' with its plaintive melody; and 'America,' breathing the soul
+of loyalty, whether sung to 'God save the Queen,' or 'Our country, 'tis
+of thee.'
+
+My voice was feeble, and soon gave out. I had come near fainting
+repeatedly, and had only been resuscitated by the snow and the
+Englishman's brandy. I was now nearly exhausted.
+
+'You had better make use of my shoulder as a pillow,' he said,
+perceiving my condition.
+
+'You had better, by all means,' chimed in the Scotchman.
+
+I hesitated a moment. What would Mrs. Grundy say--and my husband? I was
+too tired to care for the former, and the latter, I knew, would be only
+grateful to my compassionate friends.
+
+'Circumstances must dispense with ceremony,' I observed, suiting the
+action to the word.
+
+'Madam,' rejoined the Englishman, with warmth, 'I hope you will find,
+before you get to the end of your journey, that you are in honorable
+company.'
+
+'I have found it out already,' I murmured, and then, committing myself
+to the care and keeping of the Good Father, my last shadow of distrust
+vanished.
+
+I was too weary to hold my eyelids open, and too much excited to sleep.
+At length I was aroused by a sudden stop. The 'whippletree' had broken.
+In a few minutes we proceeded, the 'leader' being still driven loosely,
+as before.
+
+Again we came to a pause--this time to water the horses at a wayside
+spring. While the others were refreshing themselves, the 'leader'
+quietly walked off, to the great indignation of the driver, who began to
+swear as he chased him through the snow. He was captured at last, and we
+continued on our way.
+
+The poor Frenchman had by this time become so chilled that he was glad
+to come inside, though by so doing he felt obliged to give up the luxury
+of his pipe.
+
+All at once the striking difference in our nationalities occurred to me,
+and I exclaimed, on the impulse of the moment:
+
+'See, do we not represent the four leading nations of the
+earth--England, France, Scotland, and America?'
+
+'Yes,' replied the Englishman, with some hesitation in his manner;
+'England is surely one of the leading nations; so is France;'--(here the
+Frenchman broke in with some inarticulate jargon to the glory of
+France)--'but Scotland--I don't know about that being a 'leading
+nation.''
+
+This roused the Scotchman. 'Scotland _has_ been a glorious nation! She
+has proud memories for her sons!' he cried, with a fire of enthusiasm,
+not without pathos, in its unavoidable admission that the glory of his
+country as an individual power in the world was past.
+
+'That is right,' said I, admiring his sudden warmth; 'cling to your own
+country before all others, come what may.'
+
+The Englishman then reverted to the present lamentable condition of
+these United States, and with characteristic complacency pointed to the
+stability and grandeur of his own Government.
+
+It was in vain that I spoke of the future of our country, and
+represented our present troubles to be, as I firmly believe, the means
+of our regeneration into a nobler and truer national existence. His
+English prejudices were not to be shaken. England was, and would remain
+_the leading_ nation of the earth.
+
+How much longer the discussion would have continued I know not, had we
+not caught sight of lights, and driven up to a more pretentious mansion
+than we had yet seen on our way.
+
+Scarcely able to stand, I alighted, and the landlord, seeing the lady,
+ushered us into the parlor, which showed signs of approaching
+civilization in the large-figured Kiddermister carpet and the
+'air-tight' stove.
+
+A fine-looking young man, whom they called 'Doctor,' in a gray suit with
+deep fur cuffs, sat at a table, looking over a volume of house plans
+with a pretty young lady. Apparently the occupation had been of
+absorbing interest, for the fire was nearly out, and the room was quite
+cold, and the look with which they greeted our entrance betokened
+surprise rather than pleasure.
+
+The Englishman made himself at home, and, not waiting to call a servant,
+procured three or four sticks of wood from some unknown quarter, and
+began piling them into the stove. They burned feebly, for the fire was
+very low indeed, and I still shivered; so, catching up the rocking
+chair, he ran off with it into the other room.
+
+'There's a good open fire out here,' said he; 'it doesn't look quite as
+tidy, perhaps, but I guess you'll get warm.'
+
+That was the main thing, to be sure; so I followed on. Here the fire was
+not so good as it might have been, but by dint of a little bluster, a
+quantity of 'light-stuff' and more solid fuel was soon forthcoming, and
+we shortly had a blaze almost strong enough to set the chimney and my
+inevitable plank on fire. Here we wound our watches. After a little
+delay supper was announced--fried beefsteaks, potatoes, and doughnuts.
+
+This was the place where we were to exchange drivers, and where a delay
+of several hours frequently occurred.
+
+When we were about half through supper, which my travelling companions
+discussed with enviable zeal, a short, stoutly built, sharp-visaged man
+appeared in the doorway, and cried out, 'All ready!'
+
+'Well, I'm not,' said the Englishman, looking up good-humoredly. With a
+muttered threat about going on and leaving us, the new driver turned
+away, and we thought the prospect of getting to Bangor in time had
+decidedly improved. Still, there were more than forty miles between.
+
+'I will take one of your doughnuts, madam,' said I, putting it into my
+pocket, for I had been able to eat but little.
+
+'Certainly,' said the landlady; 'take as many as you wish.'
+
+There was something in her kindly tone that did me good. It cheered and
+helped me more than she could know.
+
+We were to pay our passage here to the returning driver. I had secured a
+'through ticket' at C----, but my companions, having only English gold
+with them, had not done so, having been assured by this same man that
+they could just as well pay at Bangor, where they would obtain a higher
+premium on their money. Now, however, he demanded his pay, and at first
+was not disposed to allow any premium for the gold. This, of course,
+excited their indignation, and some high words passed. However, the
+matter was compromised by the driver giving them twenty per cent., when
+gold was at that moment worth fifty at Bangor.
+
+I had stolen from the room, and was hastily putting on my numerous
+wrappings, when the Englishman came to me with what he called a 'dose,
+which he thought would do me good.'
+
+I took part of it, and then hesitated, for it contained strong
+reminiscences of the 'pocket pistol.'
+
+'Would you really advise me to take the rest?' said I gravely.
+
+'I certainly would,' he replied, with conclusive solemnity. So I took
+it, and I think it did 'do me good.'
+
+'This is a hard journey for you,' said the landlady, compassionately
+regarding my diminutive stature and frail aspect.
+
+The driver was very impatient. She half apologized for him, saying, 'He
+is very anxious to get through to-night. He doesn't like to go through
+in the night always, for there are many dangerous places along the road;
+but it is sleighing to-night, and not very dark, so he thinks he can do
+very well.'
+
+The urgency of my case, which the Englishman had represented to him,
+with what other inducements I can only imagine, occasioned his unwonted
+haste.
+
+When we entered the coach once more for the long night ride, one of the
+buffaloes was missing.
+
+'It's over to the other stable,' said the driver, carelessly; 'twas left
+over there by mistake. You shall have it when we get there.'
+
+You would have thought, from his manner of speaking, that the 'other
+stable' was just across the road, instead of being twenty miles away. As
+we drove away, I observed, 'I have a doughnut in my pocket; the first
+one hungry shall have it.'
+
+The curtains were now buttoned closely down for the first time, and we
+were in total darkness. We rode in silence for some time, each
+resolutely trying to go to sleep. The Frenchman succeeded best. He had
+served as a soldier on the Continent, and was evidently accustomed to
+hardship. He slept as soundly as though he were on a down bed, instead
+of riding backward in a stage coach.
+
+Again insensibility threatened me. I could not speak, but my labored
+breathing aroused my companions just in time to save me from entire
+unconsciousness. The faithful Scotchman had raised the curtain, and the
+air rushed in freshly upon me. It was very chilly, and much colder than
+it had been. It had ceased snowing, and the moon was shining feebly
+through the breaking clouds. We were going at a goodly rate of speed. By
+and by I thought of my doughnut, and inquired who was hungry. The
+Scotchman was not; the Englishman was not; the Frenchman still slept.
+
+'Give it to me, if you please,' said the Englishman, a sudden idea
+seeming to strike him.
+
+'Here,' said he, making a thrust at the Frenchman; 'wake up! here's a
+doughnut for you.' The old soldier muttered something drowsily. He was
+not hungry. 'Won't you take it for the lady?' said the former, with a
+dash of sentiment.
+
+'I only eat for the satisfacti-on of mine appetit!' he exclaimed,
+sulkily, settling himself back again to sleep.
+
+The night wore on, interrupted only by frequent stoppages, when the
+driver dismounted to apply the 'drags' in going down the hills. Before
+this, we had seemed to be going up all the hills; now there seemed to be
+a continual descent.
+
+I was too weary to sleep. Let me change my position as I might, I could
+not be comfortable. My mind was constantly busy, and, since outward
+objects could no longer engage my attention, I could no longer escape my
+thoughts. At one time I would think of my husband and my five little
+ones at home, all sleeping quietly in their beds. I wondered if they had
+all said their prayers to their father, and if he had tucked them all up
+warmly. Then I would think of my mother. Was she expecting me? I
+wondered. My poor mother! what a sad meeting that would be! And then my
+dead father would come to mind. How sad, how strange it would seem, to
+receive no warm greeting from him!
+
+It was about two o'clock in the morning, when we stopped for our last
+change of horses. The house stood black and sombre as a tomb in the dim
+moonlight. The family had evidently retired to rest. At length we were
+admitted into a dimly lighted room, where a table was spread with
+substantial food. The old gentleman, whose slumbers we had so ruthlessly
+disturbed, fumbled among a pile of letters and papers, which he
+distributed in three monstrous mailbags, that flapped about on the floor
+like so many whales out of water. His toilet had evidently been hastily
+made, and he shuffled the letters and papers about with the manner of a
+person half asleep. His hair, which was white and very abundant, stood
+erect all over his head, and contrasted queerly with his nut-brown face,
+which was strongly marked and deeply wrinkled.
+
+We were all sleepy and stupid enough by this time, and, had the
+Scotchman been a less chivalrous knight than he had proved himself, I
+doubt not he would have experienced some satisfaction in placing my
+plank and brick before the fire to heat for the last time.
+
+We were none of us hungry but the sharp-visaged driver, who devoured his
+supper, or breakfast, whichever it might be called, with the air of a
+man who was determined to get through to Bangor before morning.
+
+The Frenchman, who had been completely cowed down by the old gentleman's
+indignant 'No, _sir!_ we don't keep no sich stuff abaout these
+premises!' in reply to his demand for 'rum,' meekly took refuge in a cup
+of coffee.
+
+In the mean time a baby in the adjoining room, awakened by our
+movements, began to cry. It was quite a young cry. It could not be more
+than three or four months old, I thought, as I compared it mentally with
+the efforts of my own youngest in that direction. But the baby shoe
+which hung by the fireplace betokened an older child. It must have been
+the old gentleman's grandchild. I pitied its mother, for it might lie
+awake until morning.
+
+Once more our resolute driver, with an authoritative 'All ready!'
+summoned us to depart.
+
+'Amaziah, bring the light around here!' cried the Englishman, who seemed
+to know the names of every one at these stopping places by a sort of
+intuition.
+
+'Amaziah' promptly obeyed, and by the aid of his lantern I settled
+myself for the last stage of my journey. To the Scotchman's comfort, the
+missing buffalo was produced here, according to the driver's promise.
+
+The Frenchman, who had been over the 'line' before, had hinted that four
+gray horses were to take us into Bangor; but it seemed to be the fate of
+three only.
+
+It was then not far from three o'clock, and we had more than twenty
+miles before us. As the distance lessened, my excitement increased. I
+became so feverish that I could no longer bear my mittens on my hands.
+Anxiety and fatigue produced a nervous exhaustion, and the harsh grating
+of the 'drags' as we descended the oft-recurring hills, threw me into an
+uncontrollable tremor. I was too tired to sleep--too tired, almost, to
+think. Strength, sense, hope seemed to lose themselves in my utter
+weariness. It seemed at times to become a question whether I should even
+live to reach my destination.
+
+My companions cheered and comforted me as best they could, with
+never-to-be-forgotten kindness. We stopped once to throw out a mailbag,
+and I thought, from the appearance of the place as well as I could see
+it, that we were already on the outskirts of Bangor.
+
+'What place is this?' the Englishman inquired.
+
+'Eddington Bend,' replied the driver.
+
+'How far from Bangor?'
+
+'Sixteen miles.'
+
+Toward dawn we all lost ourselves for a few minutes. I first aroused,
+and, through the interstices beside the curtains, perceived the gray
+light of morning. It was six o'clock, and we were but four miles from
+Bangor, the driver informed us.
+
+Only four miles! but how long they seemed! The cars left at half past
+seven o'clock, and the daylight was fast advancing.
+
+'Shall we after all get there in time?' said I.
+
+'Not in time for breakfast, I imagine,' replied the Englishman,
+resignedly.
+
+At last came the welcome announcement, 'Bangor! There is Bangor!'
+
+'Where is it? I do not see it,' said I, looking eagerly out into the
+gray morning mist.
+
+'Why, there, to be sure! Don't you see that steeple? There's another!
+and there's another!'
+
+Yes, surely there was Bangor at last, welcome to me as ever the Holy
+City to the penance-worn pilgrim.
+
+In my gratitude, I overflowed with benignity to all the world, and even
+granted the poor Frenchman permission to enjoy his pipe, a privilege of
+which he made haste to avail himself. It was an ill-timed charity, to be
+sure, but I could well afford to submit to the temporary discomfort in
+the fulness of my satisfaction.
+
+The driver hastened the horses. With ever-increasing speed we passed the
+lowly cottages in the suburbs, where people were getting up and
+preparing breakfast by candle light, and at last the 'three grays'
+cantered triumphantly to the ---- Hotel--in time for breakfast, too!
+
+There was not a moment to spare, however, and so, without waiting even
+to make my toilet, we hurried to the train.
+
+The relief I experienced when fairly seated in the car, the excitement
+of finding myself in the world once more, among bustling, wide-awake
+people, stimulated me, and for some time I was unconscious of my
+fatigue.
+
+The Englishman was to leave me at a station a few miles beyond Bangor,
+as his journey lay in a different direction. We exchanged cards, and I
+could not help saying, as we parted:
+
+'I met you a stranger, but I have found in you a friend and a
+brother.'[A]
+
+The Scotchman continued on to Boston with me.
+
+His chivalrous and thoughtful consideration remained undiminished.
+
+At last, after many intervals of lassitude and reanimation, I broke down
+altogether. My strength left me. Over-powered with grief and fatigue, I
+was glad to rest my weary head on my old plaid cloak, which the
+Scotchman rolled into a pillow for me in the saloon of the car, where I
+lay for the last six hours until we reached Boston.
+
+Kind friends were there to meet me, and the Scotchman gave me into their
+charge, a poor, exhausted creature.
+
+But I was in _time_--and that was enough.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[A] The accomplished author of 'Intuitive Morals,' in an article in
+_Fraser's Magazine_, entitled 'A Day at the Dead Sea,' takes occasion to
+render a high tribute to the courtesy of our countrymen. She writes:
+
+     'If at any time I needed to find a gentleman who should aid me
+     in any little difficulties of travel, or show me a kindness,
+     with that consideration for a woman, _as a woman_, which is the
+     true tone of manly courtesy, then I should desire to find a
+     North American gentleman.... They are simply the most kind and
+     courteous of any people.'
+
+It is with heartfelt pleasure that I return this compliment, in this
+account of my winter journey, which, but for the constant and delicate
+kindness of her countrymen, would have proved wellnigh insupportable.
+
+
+
+
+DIARY OF FRANCES KRASINSKA;
+
+OR, LIFE IN POLAND DURING THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.
+
+
+_January 3d._
+
+Yesterday, amid the drinking of toasts, the peals of joyous music, and
+the volleys of musketry from our dragoons in honor of the investiture of
+the Duke of Courland, the chamberlain despatched to Warsaw returned,
+with letters announcing that the ceremony had been delayed, on account
+of the king's illness: it has been postponed until the eighth of
+January. Our little Matthias says it is a bad omen, and that as the
+ducal crown eludes his grasp, so will a royal one. I felt quite
+uneasy,... but then there came several visitors, and they distracted my
+thoughts. After dinner came Madame Dembinska, wife of the king's
+cupbearer, with her sons and daughters; the pantler Jordan, with his
+wife and son, and M. Swidinski, Palatine of Braclaw, with his nephew,
+the Abbe Vincent. The latter gentleman has been several times at
+Maleszow; he is a very pious man; my parents love and esteem him very
+much. Although he is quite young, we kiss his hands as a minister of
+God. Barbara has completely won his good opinion; he has given her a
+rosary, and the 'Christian's Daily Manual.' He was seated next to her at
+supper, and even addressed his conversation to her twice. This is not at
+all astonishing, for Barbara is so good; besides, she is the eldest, and
+hence entitled to more politeness than the rest of us.
+
+
+_Friday, January 5th._
+
+The palatine and his nephew are still with us, and we are daily
+expecting other guests. The eldest of the palatine's sons is Starost of
+Radom, and the younger is a colonel in the king's army. The palatine,
+who has been a widower several years, has also two daughters, one
+married to Granowski, Palatine of Rawa, and the other recently wedded to
+Lauckorouski, Castellan of Polaniec. I am very curious to see the
+palatine's sons; they were educated at Luneville, in France; they must
+have an air and manner different from those of our young Poles.
+
+The good King Stanislaus, though he dwells in a foreign land, is always
+seeking to be useful to his compatriots; several young Polish gentlemen
+are maintained and educated by him at Luneville. They receive the best
+instruction, and the sons of our first families strive for the honor,
+using the pretext of relationship, however distant, to obtain their
+desires. Indeed, they are quite right, for when one can say of a young
+man, He has studied at Luneville, and has been to Paris, he has
+certainly an excellent foundation for the beginning of his career. Every
+one feels quite sure that his manners will be irreproachable, that he
+can speak French, and dance the minuet and quadrilles. All the gentlemen
+who have been in France are very successful in society, and very
+pleasing to ladies.... Really, I am exceedingly curious to see the
+palatine's two sons!
+
+
+Saturday, _January 6th._
+
+They finally arrived yesterday afternoon, and do not in the least
+correspond to the idea I had formed of them, the starost less than his
+brother. I thought I should see a young, lively, and agreeable man, in
+short, a young man like Prince Cherry, in Madame de Beaumont's tales,
+who would speak French all the time; but I was quite mistaken. The
+starost is no longer young; he is thirty years old, and quite stout; he
+is not fond of dancing, and never speaks a single word of French. Every
+now and then he puts in a word or two of Latin, like my father. I am
+much better pleased with the colonel; he wears a uniform, is young, and
+says at least a few words in French.
+
+To-day is Twelfth day, and Michael Chronowski will be emancipated before
+nightfall. They are baking a great cake in the kitchen, with a bean in
+it. Who will be king? Heavens, if I were to be queen! I should wear a
+crown on my head during the whole evening, and should bear absolute sway
+in the castle.... There would be plenty of dancing then, I'll answer for
+it!... But whether I command it or not, there must be dancing, I am
+sure, for a crowd of visitors has been pouring in ever since morning;
+the servants are grumbling, and the keeper of the table service is quite
+provoked. When he sees all the carriages standing on the square facing
+the church of Piotrkowice, he says there is no end to work for him. As
+for me, I jump with joy; and so it is in this world, where some are
+happy from the very cause which makes the torment of others.
+
+
+Sunday, _January 7th_.
+
+How many people! The castle is so gay and lively! We amused ourselves
+finely. I was not queen, for Barbara got the bean, and when she saw it
+in her portion of the cake, she blushed to her very eyes. Madame, who
+was seated near her, announced the fact, and all the guests and
+attendants testified their satisfaction by loud shouts. Our little
+Matthias laughed and said: She who has the bean will marry Mr. Michael
+(kto dostal migdala dostanie Michala) a Polish proverb always repeated
+upon such occasions. It is also a common saying that when a young girl
+has it, she will be married before the end of the carnival. God grant
+that this prophecy may be verified, for then we shall have a wedding,
+and abundance of dancing!
+
+I cannot become accustomed to the starost; his gravity does not please
+me; he would dance nothing yesterday but Polish dances. He never
+mentions Paris or Luneville, and takes no notice of young people; he
+never addresses to us any of those little gallantries which are the
+small change of good society; he talks only to our parents, plays cards,
+and reads the newspapers. I still continue to think that his brother is
+worth more than he; at least he is more sociable, he talks about Paris
+and Luneville, and is not so old.
+
+But I am forgetting to relate the ceremonies accompanying Michael
+Chronowski's emancipation; I was quite diverted with them. When all the
+company had assembled in the great hall, my father took his place upon
+the highest seat; the folding doors were thrown open, and the steward,
+accompanied by several young courtiers, introduced the candidate for
+emancipation, very richly dressed in a full suit of new clothes. He
+knelt before my father, who touched his cheek lightly in sign of good
+will; he then fastened a sword at the young man's side, drank off a cup
+of wine, and presented him with a fine horse, accompanied by a groom,
+also well mounted and equipped. The two horses were in the castle court.
+
+My father asked Chronowski if he preferred trying his fortune in the
+world or remaining in his service. Michael replied, timidly, that he was
+very happy in the castle, but would like to see more of his country, and
+ventured to ask a recommendation to Prince Lubomirski, Palatine of
+Lublin, my father's brother-in-law. His request was granted, my father
+slipped a roll of twenty gold ducats into his hand, and invited him to
+remain with us during the carnival. Chronowski seemed delighted with
+this proposition, and after paying his homage to my father and mother,
+he kissed the hands of all the ladies present; from that moment he was
+admitted into our society, and danced his best in Mazurkas and
+Cracroviennes with Barbara. He certainly dances very well, and my sister
+is equally graceful; it was charming to see them!
+
+
+Monday, _January 8th._
+
+The prophecy has been really fulfilled! Barbara is to be married at the
+termination of the carnival, and she is to marry Mr. Michael, for such
+is the name of the Starost Swidzinski. He asked Barbara's hand of my
+mother yesterday, and to-morrow they will be betrothed! Poor Barbara was
+all in tears when she came to tell us the great news; she shrinks from
+the idea of marriage, and it will be very painful to her to leave her
+parents and her home. But it would have been very unadvisable to have
+refused the match, when my father and mother assure her that she will be
+very happy. The starost seems to me a very pious, gentle, and upright
+man; his family is noble, ancient, and wealthy. What more is necessary?
+
+The three brothers Swidzinski, Alexander, Michael, and Anthony, died as
+brave men should, near Chocim, under the command of the celebrated
+Chodkiewicz. This renown is a glory for those who still live. The
+starost's parents have already conferred upon him the entire ownership
+of the castle of Sulgostow. He holds, besides, a considerable starosty
+under the king's appointment, and expects soon to be a castellan. The
+Palatine Swidzinski and the Abbe Vincent have come to speed on the
+marriage; they desire it exceedingly. The palatine is charmed with
+Barbara, and I am sure he will love her dearly when he knows her better.
+The wedding will take place at the castle of Maleszow on the 25th of
+February. What fine balls and concerts we shall have! We will dance
+until we can scarcely stand. Barbara will be: Your ladyship the
+starostine. I shall be very sorry when I can no longer call her Barbara,
+dear Barbara.
+
+I really feel quite remorseful at having described the starost so ill in
+my journal; however, I do not think I have said anything very offensive.
+I hope Barbara may be happy, and I think she will be, for she has always
+told me she did not like very young people; the starost is reasonable,
+and in my mother's opinion such men make the best husbands. If my mother
+says so, it must be true; but for my part, I much prefer gay and
+agreeable young men. One is certainly entitled to one's own individual
+taste.
+
+I have not forgotten that this is the day selected for the investiture
+of the prince royal with the dukedom of Courland. The king's health is
+reestablished. Colonel Swidzinski speaks in the highest terms of Prince
+Charles, whom he knows very well; but the palatine and his eldest son do
+not wish him to succeed his father; they say that the crown should be
+placed upon the head of a compatriot.
+
+
+Wednesday, _January 10th._
+
+The betrothal took place yesterday. Dinner was served at the usual hour.
+When Barbara entered the saloon my mother gave her a ball of silk to
+untwist; she was red as fire, and her eyes were fixed on the ground. The
+starost did not leave her a moment. Our little Matthias laughed with his
+malicious air, and gave vent to a thousand pleasantries, which diverted
+every one exceedingly; all laughed aloud, and although I did not
+understand the meaning of his jests, I laughed more than any one else.
+After dinner, Barbara seated herself in the recess by the window; the
+starost approached her, and said, aloud:
+
+'Is it indeed true, mademoiselle, that you will oppose no obstacles to
+my happiness?'
+
+Barbara replied, in a low and trembling voice:
+
+'My parents' will has always been for me a sacred duty.'
+
+Here the conversation ended.
+
+When the chamberlains, attendants, and servants had retired, the
+palatine, followed by the Abbe Vincent, conducted the starost to my
+parents, who were seated on a sofa. The palatine addressed my father in
+the following words:
+
+     'My heart is penetrated with the sincerest affection and most
+     profound esteem for the illustrious house of the Corvini
+     Krasinski; I have always ardently desired that the modest arms
+     of Polkozie might be united with the glorious and illustrious
+     arms of Slepowron. My happiness is at its height on beholding
+     that your highnesses will deign to grant me this great honor.
+     Your daughter Barbara is a model of virtue and grace; my son
+     Michael is the glory and consolation of my life; deign, then,
+     to consent to the union of this young couple; deign to confirm
+     your promise on this very day. Behold the ring which I received
+     from my parents: I placed it upon the hand of my betrothed, who
+     is, alas! now no more, but who will live eternally in my heart.
+     Permit, then, that during a similar ceremony my son may offer
+     it to your daughter, as a token of his affection and
+     unalterable attachment.'
+
+As he said these words, he placed the ring upon a silver dish held by
+the Abbe Vincent. The abbe also made a discourse, but he put so much
+Latin into it that I could not understand it.
+
+My father replied to the two speeches in the following terms:
+
+     'I am most happy to confirm the promise I have made to you; I
+     consent to the marriage of my daughter with the starost; I give
+     her my blessing, and surrender to your honorable son all the
+     rights I possess over her.'
+
+     'I unite in the desires and intentions of my husband,' added my
+     mother. 'I give this ring to my daughter; it is the most
+     precious jewel of our house. My father, Stephen Humiecki,
+     received it from the hand of Augustus II, when he had
+     fortunately succeeded in concluding the peace of Carlowitz, by
+     which the Turks restored the fortress of Kamieniec-Podolski to
+     the Poles. With this ring, which recalls so many dear
+     remembrances, was I myself betrothed; I give it to my eldest
+     daughter, with my blessing, and the hope that she may be as
+     happy as I have been since my marriage.'
+
+Thus saying, she placed on the dish a ring set with superb diamonds,
+enclosing a miniature of Augustus II.
+
+'Barbara, come to me,' said my father; but the poor child was so
+confused, so agitated and trembling, that she could scarcely walk; I
+cannot understand how she moved even those few paces. At last, however,
+she placed herself at my father's side, and the Abbe Vincent gave them
+his benediction in Latin. One of the rings was given to the starost, and
+the other to my sister; her betrothed placed it upon the little finger
+of her left hand, called the heart finger (serdeczny). He then kissed
+Barbara's hand, and she in her turn presented her ring; but she was so
+much overcome that she found great difficulty in encircling the end of
+his finger with the glittering hoop. The starost again kissed her hand,
+after which he threw himself at my parents' feet, and swore to watch
+over the happiness of their beloved daughter.
+
+The palatine kissed Barbara on the forehead, while the colonel and the
+abbe made her a thousand compliments, each more beautiful than the last.
+My father filled a great goblet with old Hungarian wine; he toasted the
+new couple, and all who were present drank by turns out of the same cup.
+
+All this passed so solemnly and tenderly that I wept unrestrainedly.
+
+'Do not weep, little Frances,' said Matthias, who was present at this
+scene; 'a year hence it will be your turn.'
+
+A year would be too soon; but if it were in two years, I would not be
+sorry.
+
+The whole Swidzinski family are so kind and attentive to Barbara! and my
+parents for the first time kissed her face when she bade them good
+night. Since yesterday, every one in the castle treats her with the
+greatest respect; all congratulate her, and she is overwhelmed with
+homage and compliments. Each one would like to be employed in her
+establishment; my father has given 1,000 Holland ducats to my mother,
+recommending her to do all for her daughter that she may think
+necessary. They consulted a long time over the trousseau that should be
+given to her. To-morrow Miss Zawistowska will go to Warsaw with the
+commissary, to make purchases. This Miss Zawistowska is a very
+respectable person; she is about thirty, and has lived in the castle
+ever since she was a child. There are in the storeroom four large chests
+filled with silver, destined for our use. My father had Barbara's
+brought to him and examined it carefully; this chest will be sent to
+Warsaw, that the silver may be cleaned.
+
+The palatine and the starost leave us to-morrow. They go to Sulgostow,
+where they will make all the preparations necessary for Barbara's
+reception.
+
+My father has had the customary letters written to announce the
+marriage, and will send them by the chamberlains to the various parts of
+Poland. The most distinguished among our chamberlains, and an equerry
+richly equipped, will depart in two days to carry letters to the king,
+the princes his sons, the primate, and the principal senators. My father
+announces the marriage, and begs them to give it their benediction; if
+he does not exactly invite them, he gives them to understand that he
+would feel highly honored by their presence. Ah! if one of the princes
+were to come--the Duke of Courland, for example--what a lustre it would
+throw upon the wedding! But they will merely send their representatives,
+as is usual upon such occasions.
+
+The castle is in a state of constant activity; great preparations are
+making for the approaching festivities. The starost has displayed an
+unexampled generosity; he has made us all the most beautiful presents.
+He has given me a turquoise pin; Sophia has received a ruby cross; Mary,
+a Venetian chain, and even my parents have condescended to accept gifts
+from him. My father has a silver-gilt goblet, admirably chased; and my
+mother, a beautiful box made of mother-of-pearl mounted in gold. Even
+madame has not been forgotten, for she found a blonde mantle on her bed
+this morning; she praises the generosity of the Polish lords to the
+skies. But this is the only virtue she concedes to our nation, so that I
+cannot love madame; her injustice toward my countrymen repels me. We had
+yesterday a grand state supper; the orchestra played unceasingly, toasts
+were drunk in honor of the happy couple, and the dragoons fired
+numberless volleys of musketry; their captain gave them as their
+watchword for the day, 'Michael and Barbara.'
+
+Barbara begins to take courage; she only blushes now when she looks at
+her ring; she hides it as much as she can; but it is of no use, for
+every one sees it, and the brilliants sparkle like stars.
+
+This morning all the court went hunting, in accordance with the old
+custom, which renders this action of good omen to the wedded pair.
+Formerly before they set out, the betrothed was obliged to display her
+ankle to the hunters. God be praised that this custom no longer exists,
+for I am sure Barbara would have died of shame. But our little Matthias
+insisted upon the performance of this ceremony, saying that if it were
+omitted the chase would certainly be unfortunate. For once his prophecy
+failed; they killed a wild boar, two bucks, an elk, and many hares. The
+starost killed the wild boar with his own hand, and laid it at Barbara's
+feet.
+
+My father had all the horses brought out of his stables for the hunters
+to ride upon. Among them was one of exceeding beauty, but so
+unmanageable that the best groom had never yet been able to mount him.
+The starost was confident he could control him, and, notwithstanding
+the terror of the spectators, he leaped on his back and guided him three
+times round the castle of Maleszow. It was truly a noble sight. Barbara
+was very pale; she trembled for her betrothed; but when she saw him so
+firmly seated on the fiery animal, the bright color returned to her
+cheek. From that moment I felt reconciled to the starost. In truth, he
+is not so bad; he looks well on horseback, and possesses that dauntless
+courage so dear to the heart of a woman. I must then forgive his
+ignorance of the minuet and quadrilles. My father gave the starost the
+horse he had so well merited, completely caparisoned, and with a groom
+to take care of him.
+
+
+Sunday, _January 20th._
+
+I have neglected my journal during the past week; we have been so busy
+with the preparations for the marriage; there are such crowds of people
+at the castle; every one is occupied doing the honors; both mornings and
+afternoons are passed in company. Our studies are laid aside--the
+chronology, the French grammar, and even Madame de Beaumont lie quiet
+and undisturbed in their places. We are busily engaged with our needles,
+because each one of us desires to make a present to Barbara. I am
+embroidering a morning dress, which will be charming; I even steal some
+hours from my sleep that I may the sooner finish it. Mary is
+embroidering a straw-colored muslin, with shaded silks mingled with gold
+thread, and Sophia is making a lovely toilet cover.
+
+My mother is entirely occupied with the trousseau; she opens her
+wardrobes and chests, bringing out linen, cloth, furs, curtains, and
+tapestry. I help her as well as I can; she is sometimes good enough to
+ask my opinion; she is so scrupulous, so much afraid of not dividing our
+shares equally. She is so particular, that she even sends for the
+chaplain to judge of the exactness of the division. The tailors and
+lace-makers who have come from Warsaw to make up the trousseau will
+hardly be able to finish their work during the next month. The linen is
+all ready. The young ladies belonging to our suite have aided
+materially. They have been sewing at linen during the past two years,
+and now they are marking it with blue cotton. These poor girls will soon
+be very expert in making the letters B and K. The trousseau will be
+magnificent.
+
+Barbara cannot conceive what she will ever be able to do with so many
+dresses! Until now none of us have ever had more than four at a time:
+two brown woollen ones, with black aprons, for every-day wear, a white
+one for Sundays, and a more elegant one for grand occasions,
+ceremonials, etc. We always found them quite enough, but my mother says
+that her ladyship the starostine will need an entirely different
+toilette from that required by Miss Barbara; that what was proper for a
+young girl will not be sufficient for a married woman.
+
+I spoke of a ball of silk given to Barbara by my mother on the day of
+the betrothal; well, that was to make a purse for the starost. Barbara
+works at her purse from morning till night: the tangled silk was given
+her as a trial of her care and patience; for she must first wind the
+skeins without breaking them or dimming their lustre. She has succeeded
+admirably. Barbara may marry without doubt or fear; our little Matthias
+answers for her vocation.
+
+The chamberlains and the equerry have departed with their letters of
+announcement. Barbara is terrified at the thought that the princes and
+lords of the court may perhaps come from Warsaw. What a child she is! As
+for me, I should be delighted! But I just remember--the investiture of
+the prince royal took place on the eighth of this month. The evening
+before the ceremony, our cousin, Prince Lubomirska, Palatine of Lublin
+and the prince royal's marshal, gave a magnificent ball. The dinners,
+balls, and concerts are said to have lasted more than a week. The new
+Duke of Courland made a speech in Polish, which produced an excellent
+effect. He is now regarded as an independent prince, and has shown both
+dignity and greatness of mind throughout this whole affair.
+
+The _Polish Courier_ gave all the details of the ceremony. If I had had
+time I should have copied them, they interested me so deeply! But all
+these details are nothing to what I should have seen with my own eyes
+had I been there. What is description compared with one's own
+observation? I am really very glad of the final investiture of the
+prince; it is the only public matter which pleases and consoles me; all
+else seems to be in a most lamentable condition. While I am so
+diligently working at Barbara's morning dress I am forced to hear things
+which sadden me deeply. The chaplain reads the papers aloud to us, and I
+see that the republic loses daily in power and dignity; the neighboring
+powers invade it under divers pretexts; their troops pillage and
+devastate the country, while the Government refuses to interfere.... I
+dare not think of the future, but my father says we must enjoy the
+present. All speak in subdued tones of the woes which threaten Poland,
+and then dance and drink; the joyous festivals and banquets would
+deceive one into thinking the times must be prosperous. The Poles,
+perhaps, act like our little Matthias; when he is vexed he never lets
+the glass leave his hands, repeating always: He who pines, needs good
+wines (dobry trunek na frasunek); the sadder he is, the more he drinks.
+
+
+Friday, _January 25th, 1759._
+
+The starost arrived yesterday, and Barbara found on her table this
+morning two beautiful silver baskets filled with oranges and bonbons;
+she distributed them among us (her sisters) and the young ladies of the
+court; even the waiting women received their share. Our work is
+progressing; my morning dress is nearly finished.
+
+My mother gives Barbara a bedstead with all its furniture. We have long
+had our flocks of geese and swans. There is a poor creature in the
+castle who can do nothing but pick down; poor Marina is so stupid that
+she is incapable of comprehending anything more difficult, and passes
+her whole life in this occupation. Each of us has her share of the down;
+Barbara will have two large feather beds, eight large pillows of goose
+down, and two small ones of swans' down. The pillows are made of stuff
+spun in the castle, and are to be covered with crimson damask, besides
+which they will have an upper case of Holland cambric, trimmed with
+lace. The young ladies of our suite have put a great deal of work upon
+them.
+
+
+Saturday, _February 2d._
+
+The starost remained a week at the castle, and left us yesterday. When
+he again returns, it will be to carry Barbara away with him. I cannot
+imagine her going off alone with a stranger, it is truly inconceivable;
+I must see it with my own eyes before I can believe it.
+
+Barbara seems to feel daily more and more esteem and friendship toward
+the starost. He, however, rarely addresses her; all his conversation is
+directed to our parents--his cares and attentions are exclusively for
+them. I am told that this is the proper way for a well-bred man to make
+his court, and that he should win the heart of his betrothed by pleasing
+her family.
+
+In three weeks the wedding will take place. My sisters and I have each a
+new dress, presented to us by Barbara; she has given a dress to all the
+young girls in the castle.
+
+Nearly all the persons invited to the wedding have accepted; but the
+king and the princes, to my great regret, will merely send their
+representatives.
+
+I doubt whether the palatiness, Princess Lubomirska, can come; she will
+find difficulty in leaving Warsaw at the present time. She approves
+highly of Barbara's marriage, and has written her a charming letter of
+congratulation; my father is delighted.
+
+My morning dress will be finished in time; but then I have worked
+unceasingly, that is, as much as I could; for my mother is constantly
+calling upon me; she is so kind to me, and condescends to make use of my
+services in all her preparations. Until now, Barbara alone was consulted
+and had confidence placed in her, as being the eldest; this happiness
+was her right, but my good parents desire that I should now take her
+place. I have already been twice intrusted with the key of the little
+room where the cordials and sweet-meats are kept; that gives me
+importance. I have consequently assumed a graver air; every one must see
+that I have grown a year older. I will try to imitate Barbara, so that
+when the starost takes her away my parents may not feel her loss too
+deeply. I have plenty of good will, but shall I be able to satisfy them?
+
+
+Tuesday, _February 12th._
+
+It seems that the splendor and magnificence displayed at the investiture
+had never before been equalled. The Warsaw gazettes are never weary of
+dilating upon this subject.
+
+The guests begin to arrive; people are pouring in from the most distant
+quarters. Notwithstanding the number and size of the apartments, it will
+be impossible to lodge all in the castle; preparations have been made in
+the village, in the priest's house, and even in the better class of huts
+belonging to the peasants, to receive some of our guests.
+
+The cooks and confectioners are all busy; the laundry is in a state of
+unceasing activity; the trousseau is nearly finished; and the bedsteads,
+two cases filled with mattresses, pillows, and carpets, a box of silver,
+and a thousand other things, were sent off to Sulgostow this morning.
+The bedsteads are of iron and beautifully wrought; the curtains are of
+blue damask, and fastened to the four corners by bunches of ostrich
+plumes.
+
+Barbara ought to kiss both the feet and the hands of our parents, who
+have given her so many precious things. My father has inscribed an exact
+list of the trousseau in a large book, preceded by the words which I
+here copy, lest I should forget them:
+
+     'List of the trousseau which I, Stanislaus, of the Corvini
+     Krasinski, etc., etc., and my wife Angelica Humiecka, give to
+     our dear and well beloved daughter Barbara, on the occasion of
+     her marriage with His Excellency, Michael Swidinski, Starost of
+     Radom. We implore the blessing of Heaven upon our dear child,
+     and we bless her with parental affection in the name of the
+     Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.'
+
+I do not copy the list of the trousseau, for I have no time; I shall,
+besides, be one day obliged to do it upon my own account.
+
+
+Wednesday, _February 20th._
+
+Well! time flies, and the wedding will take place in five days. The
+starost arrived yesterday evening. Barbara trembled like a leaf in an
+autumn wind when he was announced by the chamberlain. We expect to-day
+the palatine, the colonel, the Abbe Vincent, and the Palatine Granowski,
+with the palatiness, the starost's sister. Madame Lanckoronska, the
+starost's second sister, cannot come to Maleszow; she is in Podolia with
+her husband. Barbara is really sorry, for she is very anxious to know
+her, every one speaks so highly of her. My sister is about entering into
+a good family; all the persons composing it are pious and honorable;
+they show her the most unbounded attention, and pay her homage as if she
+were a queen.
+
+The trousseau is entirely finished; all that could not be sent to
+Sulgostow has been deposited in chests, of which Miss Zawistowska keeps
+the keys. Barbara is very well pleased that she is to take Miss
+Zawistowska with her; she has been accustomed to see her ever since she
+was a child, and, when far away from her mother, will be very happy to
+have near her a careful person whom she can trust, and with whom such
+dear remembrances are linked.
+
+She will also be accompanied by several of our suite. She will have two
+chamberlains, two young girls (her god-daughters) who embroider
+beautifully, a waiting woman, and a young lady companion. The latter is
+of an excellent family, and is endowed with infinite wit and good sense;
+her name is Louisa Linowska: she has lived in the castle several years,
+and Barbara is passionately fond of her. There are several other young
+girls desirous of entering the service of the future lady starostine; if
+my parents would consent, she would soon have a dozen at least. When I
+marry, I will take a still larger number into my service; I have already
+promised three of our young girls that I will take them with me. One is
+the daughter of Hyacinth, keeper of the table furniture. The poor man
+made me a profound bow, and his brows unbent for the first time in his
+life.
+
+
+Sunday, _February 24th._
+
+To-morrow will be Barbara's wedding day. What a crowd there will be! The
+minister Borch, the king's representative, has arrived, as also
+Kochanowski, son of the Duke of Courland's castellan, and the duke's
+favorite. Kochanowski is a very accomplished young man; one may truly
+say: As the master, so the man (iaki pan taki kram).
+
+The invitations were issued for yesterday evening, and every one has
+been exact in coming. The arrival of the guests was magnificent;
+everything had been prepared for their reception; expresses announced
+their coming, and our dragoons, all ranged in battle array, presented
+arms to each lord as he appeared. The cannon were discharged, and the
+musketry kept up a rolling fire, while at intervals were heard joyous
+peals of music. I never witnessed any scene so beautiful, so animated,
+and imposing as that of the reception. One may well believe that the
+most especial honors had been reserved for the king's representative. My
+father awaited him with uncovered head upon the drawbridge, and before
+he reached the castle he was obliged to pass through a double file of
+courtiers, guests, and attendants. He received profound salutations from
+right and from left, and the hurrahs seemed never ending.
+
+The contract of marriage was signed to-day amid a large concourse of
+persons, and in presence of the appointed witnesses. I do not understand
+the forms of the document, but I do know that the young bride's presents
+are superb and in the best taste. The starost has given her three
+strings of Oriental pearls and a pair of diamond earrings with drops.
+The palatine's gifts are a diamond cross, an aigrette, and a diadem; the
+colonel, always amiable and gallant, has presented her with a charming
+watch and chain from Paris. The Abbe Vincent's gifts are worthy of
+himself, consisting of certain precious relics. She is indeed
+overwhelmed with kindness.
+
+Barbara has never worn any jewelry; until now, her only ornament has
+been a little ring bearing an image of the Blessed Virgin; she will
+certainly not lay that aside, notwithstanding all her pretty new things.
+
+But I must stop writing, for here comes my morning dress, all nicely
+bleached and ironed. The embroidery makes an excellent effect; I must
+put the last stitches into the dress and then carry it to Miss
+Zawistowska, that she may offer it to Barbara to-morrow when she
+dresses; how lovely she will look in the pretty white morning dress!
+
+
+
+
+THE SLEEPING PERI.
+
+LINES SUGGESTED BY PALMER'S STATUE.
+
+
+    Lo! upon the stone reposing,
+    Dewy sleep her eyelids closing,
+        Rests the Fay;
+    Wearily hath the exile wandered,
+    Sadly o'er her sorrow pondered,
+        All the day.
+
+    Flinty pathways, lone and dreary,
+    Quite unmeet for foot of Peri,
+        Soft and fair;--
+    Heavy air with vapors laden,
+    Shrinking, fragile wings from Aidenn
+        May not dare;--
+
+    Such the gifts our planet proffers,
+    Such the thorny home she offers
+        Spirits fine:
+    Artists, poets, earthward sent us,
+    Heavenly natures, briefly lent us,
+        Droop like thine!
+
+    Happy if, amid their dreaming,
+    They can feel the glories streaming
+        From above;--
+    See the light, and hear the flowing,
+    Gushing anthems--melting, glowing
+        Strains of love!
+
+    Happy Peri! faintly smiling;
+    Quivering lip, the sense beguiling,
+        Dimpled cheek,
+    Form ethereal, heavenly moulded,
+    Shadowing eyelids, soft wings folded
+        Rest to seek,--
+
+    All betray thee, young immortal,
+    Eden's child, without its portal
+        Doomed to roam!
+    Yet thy spirit sees the glory,
+    Hears entranced the rapturous story
+        Of thy home.
+
+    Who, O Fay, would dare to wake thee,
+    From ecstatic visions take thee
+        But to weep?
+    Softly dreaming, waking never
+    Till thy dreams are truths forever,
+        Sweetly sleep!
+
+
+
+
+MY LOST DARLING.
+
+
+The boom of cannon in the distance, flags floating gaily in the bright
+morning air, strains of martial music filling it, a waving of caps and
+handkerchiefs, shouts in the streets below, and the tramp of many feet.
+A regiment is passing! To a stern fate, that beckons darkly in the
+distance, these patriots are moving, with firm, determined tread--to
+long, exhausting marches, and fireless bivouac; to hunger and cold; to
+sufferings in varied forms; to wounds and imprisonment; _to death_! God
+knows when and how they are going;--and, amid the doomed throng slowly
+passing, the bright face of my darling smilingly upturned to mine. I
+wave my hand and kiss it; my handkerchief is wet through and through.
+
+He came to me but an hour since, decked in his uniform (a lamb decked
+for the slaughter). 'I'm a lieutenant now,' he said, tapping his
+shoulder gaily; 'I shall rival Sam Patch at a leap, and jump to the head
+at once. Three months is enough to make a colonel of me.' And so, with
+his young heart beating high and warm, upborne by wild hopes like these,
+he held me to his heart at parting, and went away quite joyously, my
+poor darling! shedding only a few tears in sympathy with mine. I watch
+his form until I lose it in the mass before me; then I watch the mass
+moving slowly, slowly on, bearing him away from me; till the heavy tramp
+dies out upon the air, and the dark mass, growing less and less, becomes
+a dim speck in the distance; and the music wanes, and wanes, and dies
+out also, and in the still air about me only the voice of the wind is
+heard: coming and going at long, lazy intervals, it speaks to my inner
+sense with a warning note, a low requiem sound. Why is it that it takes
+that weird tone always when sorrow is darkly waiting for me in the
+future? What prophet's voice speaks to me in it? What invisible thing
+without addresses its wild warning to the invisible within? As I
+listened, my soul grew chill and dark with the shadow of a coming gloom;
+my heart grew cold. God help me! How wildly, how almost despairingly I
+prayed for my darling's life!
+
+Alone in the world, we were all in all to each other. Mine was a wild,
+exclusive love. Heart and soul were bound up in him. Other girls had
+their lovers; my fond heart beat for him alone. What tie nearer and
+dearer than the tie of blood united us? What bond, sacred and invisible,
+bound our souls together? I know not; I only know that my heart and mind
+echoed always the thoughts and moods of his; that, no matter what dreary
+distance lay between us, our souls held communication still; that I
+rejoiced when he was glad; and wept when I said, 'He is sorrowful
+to-day.' He had gone away gay and hopeful, and had left me
+weeping--oppressed by vague fears and chill forebodings, my heart could
+not echo _now_ the happy mood of his. Wild and weird, all that dreary
+day, the wind moaned its warning; and the sad echo sounded through other
+dreary days that followed this; and dreary nights came also, when I
+prayed and wept, and covered the pictured face with tears and
+kisses--when I cried, 'God keep my precious one, and bring my darling
+back to me;' and that was all my prayer;--when I sank to fitful
+slumbers, and wildly dreamed of shell and cannon ball, and bullets thick
+as hail, of foes met in deadly fray, of shielding my darling's form with
+mine--there, where all was smoke and darkness and blood and horror--and
+dying gladly in his stead. Or the scene changed from horror to
+desolation, and, with a dreadful sense of isolation on me, alone in the
+darkness I wandered up and down, blindly searching for him I never
+found; or finding him, perhaps, covered with ghastly wounds, and dead,
+quite dead; and then starting broad awake with horror at the sight.
+
+God help us! us women, with our wild, inordinate affections, when Death
+waits in ambush for our darlings, whom we are powerless to save from the
+smallest of life's ills and perils! A letter came at last, eight dear
+pages, with all the margins filled. Long, confidential, loving, with
+just a thought of sadness in it; a slight, almost imperceptible shadow
+resting on the glowing hopes with which he left; yet bright withal,
+bright like himself. The charm of novelty was potent yet. How I read it
+o'er and o'er, this first dear message from him; how I kissed the
+senseless thing; how my tears fell upon it; how day and night I wore it
+on my heart, until another took its place!
+
+They came at stated intervals _now_, and as the time wore on, and their
+tone changed, little by little, I knew that the hard life he led began
+to tell upon him--that, petted, fondled, cherished as he had been,
+unfitted for hardship of any kind, they grew at times almost too great
+for calm endurance. He never complained, my grand, brave boy; he spoke
+of them lightly always, sometimes jestingly, but he could not deceive
+that fine interior sense. I knew there were times when he turned
+heartsick from the wild life that claimed him; I could see how his noble
+nature shrank from all that was coarse and revolting in it; how he
+longed for fireside joys and sweet domestic peace, and pined with dreary
+homesickness; how his heart cried out for me in the melancholy night.
+And then even this comfort, that had softened the dull, longing pain
+within, was denied me--no letters came. Mail after mail went and came,
+and I grew feverish with suspense. I imagined him beset by ghastly
+perils, and, with torturing uncertainty wearing my very life away, I
+watched and waited as women are wont to do. Then dark rumors were afloat
+of foes making a desperate advance, and of bloody battle pending. One
+night a horror fell upon my troubled sleep--an appalling gloom, a
+shuddering, suffocating sense of some impending doom. Battling fiercely
+and blindly with this dread, invisible something, I awoke in deadly
+fright, to find the terror no less clear to my perceptions, no less
+palpable and real, and to wrestle with it still. Some blind instinct in
+me called aloud for air; with difficulty mastering an almost
+overpowering impulse to rush out into the night, I flew to the window,
+raised it, and looked out. A fierce storm was raging--a storm of whose
+very existence I had until that moment been unconscious. The thunder
+rolled, and muttered, and broke in wild, fearful crashes. Sheets of
+lightning every instant lighted up the blackness, and made the sky
+terrific. Gushes of wind and rain wet and chilled me through and
+through. Unmindful of it, with that fine interior sense aroused, I
+listened with all my soul--not to the thunder's fearful voice, to the
+wild beating of the storm, or to the wind's melancholy moaning, but to
+_something_ on the tempestuous air, and yet a stranger to it.
+
+There came a lull in the storm at last, and then, O God! O God! through
+the sullen gloom, his voice was calling to me. Now faint and low, as if
+his life was ebbing; then raised in agony, wild with supplication and
+sharp with pain. I saw him covered with gaping wounds, on a hideous
+field, piled with slain and soaked with blood. I went mad, I think: I
+have a vague remembrance of rushing out into that fearful storm,
+undressed as I was, with wild resolve to follow the sound of the voice,
+to reach him somehow, or die in the mad attempt; of being brought back,
+shut up in my room, and a sort of guard placed over me; of making wild
+attempts to rush out again, and struggling ineffectually with those that
+held me back--of raving wildly; then of long and dreamless slumbers,
+when I had become exhausted, and the sharp agony was past; of rousing
+myself to go about in a listless, apathetic way, waiting with dulled
+sense for lists of killed and wounded; of the doctor bringing the paper
+to me and saying, with his face all light: 'He is not dead; you will
+find his name among the wounded;' of finding where he was, eluding their
+vigilance, and travelling night and day until I reached the place. All
+this seems vague and unreal, as a half-forgotten dream--too dim and
+lifeless for memory. Entire change of scene, new sights and faces, and,
+more than all, the conviction that the time had come for action _now_,
+and that _he_ would need me, roused me from this misty state a little.
+When I landed at the place, I think I recovered the clear consciousness
+of my surroundings, while standing in the provost-marshal's office (the
+city was under military rule) waiting my turn to speak.
+
+Then I thought for the first time what a mad thing it was in me to have
+come at all--at least, to have come in the way I had come; I, so
+unpractical, so wofully lacking in that sterling common sense, that
+potent weapon with which women battled successfully with the stern
+realities of life; and thinking, too, with a dull pain at my heart, that
+doubtless my darling would suffer by reason of my ignorance and
+inability. I studied the mass of strange faces about me, thinking to
+which I would turn for help, if help were needed. After reading them,
+one after another, and rejecting them, I turned at last to a group in
+front of me, and singled out one that was addressing the others, a man
+of consequence among them--at least a certain superiority of air and
+manner led to that conjecture. He had a fine open face, whose expression
+changed continually; and the more I studied the face, the more I placed
+a blind trust and reliance in it. Attracted by the magnetism of a fixed
+gaze, probably, his eyes wandered from the group about him, after a
+little while, wandered aimlessly about the room, and then met mine.
+Seeing that I was watching him, or observing, perhaps, that I was
+suffering, though, Heaven knows, the sight of misery of all kinds
+_there_ was common enough, he crossed the room and came to me. 'You may
+be obliged to wait some time longer yet,' he said, in a tone of hearty
+kindness; 'you look ill, madam. You had better sit down.' He found a
+chair and brought it to me. He was on the point of leaving, but I
+grasped his arm as he turned to go. 'If you have any influence here,' I
+said, in a half-distracted way, 'tell the clerk, tell somebody to let my
+turn come next. My brother is here and wounded; I have travelled night
+and day to get to him; it's dreadful to be so near, and yet to wait and
+wait.' He turned in grave surprise, and looked at me narrowly, fancying,
+from my incoherency, I was taking leave of my senses possibly. 'Your
+name, young lady?' he said, at last. I gave it, 'Margaret Dunn.' He
+started at the name, and a heavy shadow came over his face: 'And your
+brother,' he said, hurriedly, 'is Lieutenant Dunn, of the Fifty-fifth
+Illinois Volunteers, Company A? I am surgeon of the Fifty-fifth; I know
+him well. He was a brave fellow, and as fine, manly, and handsome a
+fellow as one need wish to see.' He ended with a sigh, and mingling with
+the shadow there came a look of pity in his face. The past tense, which
+I am sure he used unconsciously; the look of pity; the sigh but half
+suppressed, overpowered me with dread. 'He has not died of his wounds?'
+I gasped, grasping his arm convulsively, 'O God! he is not dead?' 'He is
+alive,' said the doctor, gravely. 'Father, I thank Thee, Thou hast heard
+my prayer!'
+
+The sudden transition from that mortal dread of death to the blessed
+certainty of life was too much; my joy was too great; forgetful of my
+surroundings, unmindful of his presence, I wept and sobbed aloud. When I
+had controlled my emotion in a measure, or at least their stormy outward
+manifestation, I found the doctor regarding me with the same grave face.
+'You should not have come here in your present weak, excited state,' he
+said, at last, 'or, rather, you should not have come at all. From sights
+and sounds of a hospital, even strong men turn with a shudder. It's no
+place for a delicate woman.' 'He is there,' I murmured, tremulously; 'I
+can suffer anything for those I love.' Regarding me in silence for a
+moment, he looked as if taking my measure. 'These women that _can_
+bear,' he said, with a sigh, 'sometimes overrate their powers of
+endurance.' 'Do you think I shall have to wait much longer? do you think
+I can go soon now?' I questioned, appealingly, breaking the silence that
+had fallen between us. 'No, you must wait your turn,' said the doctor,
+decidedly; 'besides, you are not calm enough yet; the surgeons are at
+work in the ward where we are going. They are taking off a man's
+limb--two or three of them, for that matter. I shan't take you there
+until the operations are finished.' Then first came the horrid thought
+that _he_ might be mutilated in the same way. Vague, indistinct,
+dreadful visions uprose before me, of all sorts and kinds of horrid
+disfigurement, and I grew sick and faint. 'Not _his_ limb!' I gasped,
+struggling with a deathly faintness. 'No, not his,' said the doctor,
+sorrowfully. The same cloud was still there that had settled on his face
+when he first spoke of him; the same pity for me shining through it.
+'There is a room here where the ladies go when they have long to wait.
+You had better go in there and rest yourself. I will bring you some tea
+and something light and palatable in the shape of food, and you must eat
+and drink. Confiscated property, you see,' he said, as he entered; 'a
+rebel family walked out, and we walked in; comfortable quarters.' I
+noticed then there was a carpet on the floor, sofa, mirrors, and other
+comforts. 'Sit down,' said the doctor. He had taken the tone of command
+with me--a tone I would have resented at any other time; now, nerveless
+and weak, relying on him solely, I obeyed him like a sick child. He
+brought the tea, watched me while I drank it, looked on while I choked
+down tears and food together. He ordered me to go to sleep, and left me.
+Doubtless even this command had its effect. Things grew dreamy and
+indistinct after a while; perhaps I slept a little; but the time seemed
+very, very long. At last his tap at the door roused me from this
+half-conscious state. 'Ready?' he briefly questioned, as he looked in, a
+moment after. I said yes, tremulously: now that the time had come, I
+trembled so I could scarcely keep my feet. He gave me his arm as we went
+out together. 'It's not far,' he said, encouragingly, 'just across
+here.' The fresh air did me good. Quite likely, the conversation he
+perseveringly maintained on indifferent subjects, in spite of my random
+replies, was also of service to me. I grew calmer as we went along. The
+distance was but short, and we soon reached the place of our
+destination--a large hotel, which had been hurriedly converted into a
+hospital.
+
+'Come,' said the doctor, pausing with his hand upon the door, and
+turning to me, 'cheer up! There is no misery, after all, but what is in
+the comparative degree. Things are never so bad but that they may have
+been worse. I dare say, on occasion you can be a brave little woman.'
+
+'I can,' I returned, eagerly, too grateful for his penetration, or at
+least his good opinion, and too sad and abstracted altogether, to notice
+that he was paying me a compliment. 'I can, indeed; indeed, you haven't
+seen the best part of me.'
+
+He smiled just the ghost of a smile in answer, as we went in. He led me
+through several rooms into what had been a large dining hall--a chill,
+bare, desolate place. Cots were ranged up and down the room, cots across
+it, cots filled up the centre, and all, _all_ filled with sick and
+wounded men. I thought if I was once in the room with my brother, some
+instinct would lead me to him; but I felt no drawing toward any one of
+those miserable bedsides, and a chill of disappointment fell upon me.
+'Take me to the ward where my brother is lying,' I said to the doctor,
+pleadingly, 'ah, pray do!' 'This _is_ the ward,' he replied, but he did
+not take me to him. He stopped at every cot we passed. Of my burning
+impatience, which he could not choose but see, of the urgent and almost
+passionate appeals I made to hasten his progress, he took no notice
+whatever. He stopped almost every moment; he felt the pulse of one
+patient, questioned another, dealt out medicine here and there--took his
+own time for everything. We stopped at last where, on the outside of the
+coverlet, lay a wounded soldier, half dressed; a poor, mutilated
+creature; a leg and an arm were gone. The face was turned toward the
+wall, away from us; not a muscle moved; he was sleeping, probably. 'Take
+me to my brother,' I piteously moaned, shuddering with horror as I
+turned from the unaccustomed sight. 'I have waited so long; do take me
+to my brother.' 'This is somebody's brother!' said the doctor, sharply.
+Something in the tone, not the sharpness of it--something half familiar
+in the broken outline of the form, caused a half-suffocating sense of a
+vague, unutterable horror. A deathly faintness seized me; I sank into a
+chair beside the bed. The doctor gave me water to drink--hastily and
+silently sprinkled some water upon my head and face. There was a
+movement of the poor maimed form upon the bed--he gave me a warning
+look--the face turned toward us. It was my darling's! 'My life!'
+Shivering and shuddering I threw myself upon the narrow bed beside him,
+clasped my poor darling in my arms, and held his stricken heart to mine.
+The hard, defiant look upon his features melted into one of
+tenderness--down the worn face the tears fell slowly. 'I didn't know as
+you would love me just the same,' he said. It was his right arm that was
+gone. Calling him by every endearing name with wild expressions of
+affection, I wiped the tears tenderly away, covering the dear face with
+kisses, while my own fell fast. The doctor left us together for a
+little--albeit used to scenes like this, wiping _his_ eyes as he went
+away.
+
+A gust of bitter passion swept over my darling. He started up. 'Rascally
+rebels!' he cried; 'cursed bullets! Why couldn't they have been aimed at
+my heart, and _killed_ me! I was willing to give my life--but to make a
+wreck, a broken hull of me! Look at me, Maggie, a poor, maimed wretch.
+What am I fit for? Who will care for me _now?_ To be an object of
+loathing!' he continued, between his set teeth; 'to be a sight of
+horror; to win, perhaps, after she gets used to the deformity, a little
+meagre love for charity's sake; to be scorned, and loathed, and pitied;
+if I could get only off from the face of the earth--out of the sight of
+men; if God would let me die!' Wounded sorely as he was, his boyish
+vanity in his really handsome person, his manly pride in its strength,
+was more sorely wounded still. Yes, strangers _would_ think him a sight
+to behold: had not even I turned shuddering from that disfigured form,
+before I knew it was my darling's? He _was_ ruined for life, and he was
+young too--only nineteen. He was very weak, and this passionate outbreak
+of feeling had exhausted him. It was but a flash of his old fire at
+best. His head sank back upon my arm again; he lay with his eyes closed,
+resting for a little; when he spoke again, his voice was low and
+wavering, tremulous with tears.
+
+'I wouldn't care so much, only----' He paused, hesitated, drew with
+difficulty a little locket from his bosom, and gazed upon it tearfully.
+A jealous pain shot through my heart. I had thought until that moment
+that I was all in all to him, first in his affections, as he was in
+mine; that no rival shared his heart. _This_ was the bitterest pang of
+all. I looked down at the beautiful face set in the locket, perfect as
+to form and color, with such a fierce hatred of its original as I hope
+in God's name I shall never feel again for any mortal breathing.
+
+'It's all over between us,' he sighed; 'even if I were ungenerous enough
+to ask it, she wouldn't receive me now.' My face spoke my scorn. 'Don't
+blame her,' he said, pathetically; 'it isn't natural she should, poor
+little thing! This for what she might have been to me.' Then, he kissed
+the pictured face, and sorrowfully laid it back again upon his heart. 'I
+thought to go back to her a colonel at least--a general, perhaps,' he
+went on, with a piteous smile; 'to be crowned with laurels, loaded with
+honors and proudly claim her as my bride: I little thought that this
+would be the end!' It was a man's grave comment on a boy's wild dream.
+He had buried his youth in those two weeks of anguish. It was a man's
+face that looked upon me, and I read in it a man's strong endurance and
+stern resolve. That, and the smile with which he said it, moved me more
+than any emotion, however hopeless or despairing, could have done. My
+grief burst forth anew.
+
+Dearer, a thousand times dearer, now that love had left him, and
+youthful friends turned coldly away. Ah! thank God! bless God! There are
+none so dear to each other, so inexpressibly dear, as those whom sorrow
+joins; no tie that binds so closely as the sacred bond of suffering. I
+said so brokenly, sobbing out my love and sorrow, as I held him to my
+heart. His longing for home had been intense; now that he had seen me,
+it became wellnigh insupportable. To go away from this his place of
+suffering--from the myriad eyes bent upon him here, and creep back
+broken-hearted to that sacred sheltering haven, and hide his great grief
+there--this wish absorbed him quite. 'I want to go home, Maggie,' he
+said, in a broken-hearted whisper, clinging to me the while; 'I want to
+go home and die.' Die! I wouldn't hear the word; I stopped its
+half-formed utterance with tears and kisses. The doctor shook his head
+at the suggestion and counselled delay; but he was burning with
+impatience, and I was resolute. We started the very next day. We
+travelled by easy stages, but he grew weaker all the time: toward the
+last, with his head upon my breast, he would sleep for hours, peacefully
+as a little child. Reduced to almost infant weakness when we reached our
+journey's end, they took him in their arms tenderly as they would have
+taken an infant, and laid him on my bed. There, in that darkened room, I
+nursed him night and day, striving to win him back to thoughts of life,
+and love of it. 'It's too late, Maggie,' he would say, with placid
+resignation; 'life has nothing for me, dear; I want to go to sleep--to
+that long, dreamless sleep, where memory never wakes to haunt us!' But
+I couldn't bear it--I wouldn't have it so. I bade him think of how _my_
+heart would break if he, too, died and left me! In my earnest love, I
+called Heaven to witness that I was ready not only to die for him, if
+need be, but to do a better, nobler thing, God helping me--to live for
+him; eschewing other ties, to devote my life and heart to this one
+affection. We had wealth, thank God! (I never thanked God for that
+before.) We would go to far-off lands as soon as he was able--away from
+old sights and scenes, where no familiar object would recall the past,
+and where, cut off from all association, we could be all and all to each
+other; and, with ardent hope, I commenced immediate preparations for our
+voyage. I read him books of travel; showed him the half-finished
+garments intended for our journey; purchased all things needful, even to
+the books we would read upon the way--richly paid for toilsome endeavor,
+for days of patient waiting, if I but roused in him even a passing
+interest in the subject, won from him but the shadow of a smile. Ah!
+even those days had their gleams of sunshine. I was his only nurse, his
+sole dependence, his all; there was exquisite happiness in that! I said
+to myself, he is mine now, and always will be; and then I thought of the
+fair face so lovingly resting against the weary heart, and grew
+exultant, Heaven forgive me! and said, 'Nothing will take him from me
+now.' One day he rallied very suddenly. A portion of his old vigor
+seemed to animate his frame; something of the old look was in his face.
+He took my hand and laid it tenderly against his cheek; he smiled twice
+during the morning; I kissed him and said, 'We shall be able to start
+soon now, my darling!' The doctor gravely watched us both, but I would
+not let his gravity disturb me. He called me to him as he left the room.
+As I went out, the dear brown eyes were watching me. I turned to nod and
+smile to him, saying blithely, as I joined the doctor, 'Don't you think
+we shall be able to start in three weeks, doctor?' 'Shut the door, my
+dear,' he said; I had left it ajar. The tone startled me. There was
+compassion in it; and I noticed now that he was walking up and down the
+room in an agitated way. 'My dear,' he said again, 'you had better take
+a seat farther from the door.' His voice was hoarse this time--his tone,
+his air, his unwonted tenderness, were ominous. 'What is the matter?' I
+said, in sudden fear; 'can't we go as soon as we have intended?'
+
+He did not answer me at first; he walked to the window and looked out;
+he turned to me again after a little:
+
+'He is bound on a longer voyage,' he said, with a tremor in his voice;
+'he is going to a more distant country.'
+
+I did not start or cry; I did not comprehend the meaning of his words. I
+sat silent, looking at him. He came to me, took both my hands in his:
+'Hush!' he said; 'don't cry aloud--it would disturb him. But I must tell
+you the truth: he won't live three days.' I understood it all now--took
+in the _full_ meaning of his dreadful words. I did not cry or faint; I
+did not even weep; I thought my heart was bleeding--that the blood was
+actually oozing from it drop by drop. I clung to the doctor as I would
+to the strong arm of an earthly saviour with wild entreaty, with
+passionate appeal. I prayed him to save my darling, as if he held within
+his grasp the keys of life and death. I offered all my wealth; I made
+unheard-of vows--promised impossible things. In the anguish of my
+supplication, I fell at his very feet. 'My dear,' he said, as he raised
+me tenderly up again, 'even in this world there is a limit to wealth's
+potent power; it is always powerless in a time like this.' I had sunk
+into a chair, exhausted by emotion, and chill with dread, my face buried
+in my hands despairingly. He laid his hand upon my head in fatherly
+compassion: 'It's what we've all got to come to, sooner or later,' he
+went on, tremulously. 'As life goes on, our hopes die out one by one;
+and, one after another, death claims our treasures. Bow to what is
+inevitable; pray for resignation.'
+
+I couldn't--I wouldn't. I prayed for _his_ life, yet in a hopeless,
+despairing way. To the All-powerful my soul went out continually in one
+wild, desperate cry. I battled fiercely with that stern impending fate,
+yet I felt from the first how vainly. Around my poor, wounded, dying
+boy, night and day I hovered constantly--I would not leave him for an
+instant. Every hour was bearing him away from me--drifting him farther
+and farther out into an unknown sea. I crept to his side when I could do
+nothing more for him, and laid my head beside his on the pillow.
+Sometimes I slept there for very sorrow, grasping him instinctively the
+while, seeking even in sleep, with fierce, rebellious will, to stem the
+invisible tide of that dark river, and bear him back to life. 'He would
+not live three days,' the doctor had said: he _did_ live just _three
+days._ It was on the evening of the third, just as the day was fading,
+that he called me softly to him. I had opened the window and put back
+the curtain, to admit the air and the waning light.
+
+The wind rose as the twilight deepened, waking at intervals in the
+gloomy stillness, as if from sleep. It filled the room every now and
+then with a sad, sighing sound, then died out slowly, again to swell,
+again to fall, sad as the tolling of a funeral knell. He lay listening
+to it when I went to him, with parted lips and strange solemnity of
+face. Too heart-broken for speech, I knelt beside him with a stifled
+moan. 'Magsie,' (that was his pet name for me,) 'I thought it was your
+notion, dear, but there is a voice in the wind to-night, and it is
+calling me.' I made an effort to answer him, to speak; to tell him at
+the last how precious he had always been to me--how inexpressibly dear;
+to win from him some parting word of fond endearment that I might
+remember always; but the words died out in hoarse, inarticulate murmurs.
+'Yes, a voice _is_ calling to me, and it falls through miles and miles
+of air; then the wind takes it up and brings it to me. They want me up
+there, and I am going, Magsie; kiss me, dear.' The one arm stole around
+my neck; the chilled lips met mine in a lingering farewell pressure. He
+went on, feebly: 'I have been wild and wayward, Magsie, in the times
+gone by; I have grieved your great love sometimes, by giving you a cross
+word or look, not meaning it, dear, never meaning it, but because a
+perverse mood seized me. Forgive me, dear; don't remember it against me,
+sister!' Words came at last; they burst forth in a low moan of anguish:
+'My darling! my darling! you break my heart!' Then my poor boy crept
+closer to me, in a last fond effort at endearment, and laid his cold
+cheek close against my own. The gloom deepened. The form within my clasp
+grew cold, became a lifeless weight. I knew it, but I could not lay it
+down. I still chafed the pulseless hand, and kissed it, and still I
+pressed the poor, maimed, lifeless form closer and closer to my heart,
+till reason fled, and I remember nothing. They unwound the chilled arm
+from about my neck; they thought I, too, was dead.... With muffled
+drumbeat and martial music, with horrid pomp of war, they buried my
+darling as soldiers are buried that die at home; but on the grave over
+which was fired the parting volley there fell no kindred's tear: I, the
+only mourner, lay _raving_ in my room.
+
+Wintry winds have piled the dreary snow above that grave; spring has
+kissed it into bloom and verdure; summer skies have smiled above it; and
+the maimed form they laid there has melted into nothing _now!_ Time has
+softened the despair of my grief--the worst bitterness is past.
+
+Through the gloomy portals of that dark gate of suffering, an unseen
+Hand has led me out into a broader and a higher life; and the heart
+that held darling _only_, purged from its selfishness by the fierce fire
+of affliction, beats now for all humanity. Hearts whose love and
+gratitude God has given me the power to win, say, out of the fulness of
+their love for me, that a ministering angel is among them in woman's
+guise; that no hand is half so lavish in its gifts, no heart so full of
+sympathy, no watcher's form so constant beside the couch of pain. The
+sick follow me with murmured prayer and blessing; and wounded soldiers
+turn to kiss my shadow as I pass. Yet ever as the twilight falls I steal
+away to listen to the night wind's moaning, and ever in the gloom I feel
+an unseen presence--an arm about my neck--a cheek laid close to mine.
+Journeying on the lonely, rugged path of duty, 'following meekly where
+His footsteps lead,' I work and wait, and patiently abide my
+time--content if, when the welcome summons come, when life's day is
+fading, I may feel my darling's face pressed close to my own. He may not
+come to me, but I shall go to him, where he may wear his glorified body
+forever!
+
+
+
+
+REASON, RHYME, AND RHYTHM.
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.--UNITY.
+
+The Divine Attributes, the base of all true Art.
+
+Having already shown that the aspirations of man, made in the image of
+his God, are always directed toward that wondrous background from which
+all life projects--the Infinite, we now propose to make a few remarks
+upon the manifestation of some of the remaining attributes revealed to
+him, and which he is forever striving to incarnate in the works of art.
+
+Beauty, in its proper expression, must be allied to or suggest the
+Infinite, for in it alone can ceaseless _variety_ be united with
+absolute _unity_. Unity is an essential characteristic of life itself;
+variety resolving itself into unity, and unity expanding itself into
+variety, mark all that God has made. As a necessary consequence of the
+position we have assumed, viz.: 'That art is not a servile copy, but
+rather a creation of man in the Spirit of Nature,' _Variety and Unity_
+must characterize every great work of art, as they mark every work of
+the Creator. Let us take any of the humblest things which He has made, a
+flower, for example: Unity, Order, Proportion, and Symmetry are in all
+its fragile leaves--the Great Over-Soul seems to have lingered lovingly
+over the elaboration of its idea, and stamped upon its fragrant leaves,
+perishing and trivial as they may seem, the secrets of Infinity! With
+what variety it is marked! How many shades in the gradations of the
+color! What infinitesimal changes in the direction of the gentle
+curvature of the rounded lines! what richness in the details! what
+subtle and penetrating tenderness in the perfume! _Love_, _Infinity_,
+_Unity_, _Order_, _Proportion_, _Symmetry_, mark all the Divine Works:
+_Unity_, _Order_, _Proportion_, _Symmetry_, _Love_, as manifested in the
+careful rendering of the subject in hand, with the suggestion of that
+mystic Infinite in which all being is cradled, and from which all art is
+nurtured, should, on their lower level in their finite degree, mark
+every work of art. But to our subject: the divine attribute of unity,
+and its manifestation in and through the finite.
+
+All things, except God, receive externally some perfection from other
+things. We will not now consider the unity of His mystical Trinity, but
+rather dwell upon the necessity of His inherence in all things, without
+which no creature could retain existence for a moment. We speak of His
+comprehensive unity because it is an object of hope to men; it is that
+of which Christ thought when he said: 'Neither pray I for these alone,
+but for them also which shall believe on me through their word: that
+they may be all One, as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee.' There
+is no matter, no spirit, that is not capable of unity of some kind with
+other creatures, in which unity is found their several perfections, and
+which is a source of joy for all who see it. The Unity of Spirits is
+partly in their sympathy, partly in their giving and taking, and ever in
+their love, their inseparable dependency on each other and _always_ on
+their Maker--not like the cold peace of undisturbed stones and solitary
+mountains, but the living peace of trust, the living power of
+confidence, _of hands that hold each other and are still_! Who has not
+felt the strength of united love? In the sudden emotion common to
+humanity which we all experience at the sight of suffering, and which
+brought tears from the Holy One on the death of Lazarus, in the strange
+shivering which we feel pervade our souls at the shrill cry of anguish,
+do we not recognize more than a simple resemblance of nature--do we not
+feel that the _race_ is really _One_, that a common grief again unites
+it, that in this _oneness_ we are all justly partakers in the sin of
+Adam, that in this _oneness_ we may partake of the glory of the Brother
+who died to _unite_ the finite with the Infinite?
+
+It is to this essential _unity_ of the race that the dramatist owes much
+of his power; for let him but strike the common strings of grief and
+love, and the crowd at once show by their words, their gestures, their
+looks, and often by their tears, their earnest sympathy. Even at the
+spectacle of an imaginary grief their hearts are moved, the sorrow
+thrills through every soul; if the poet has been true to nature, they
+feel that his imaginary characters are but part and parcel of themselves
+in their woe. Thus the emotion excited by dramatic representations has
+its source in the very root of our being, the _unity_ of our common
+nature, in our common brotherhood; consequently, neither in the
+instincts of the body nor the caprices of the poetic fancy. If the poet
+would not break the bond, let him respect the _unities_ of nature,
+whatever view he may take of those of convention. It is to this
+wonderful unity with our common nature that the greatest of all
+uninspired writers, Shakspeare, owes his universal acknowledgment, his
+unequalled power.
+
+If, as we have labored to teach, matter always symbolizes mind, we
+should expect to find it also pervaded with the unity pertaining to its
+lower rank, and so indeed we find it. In its noblest form the unity of
+matter is that organization of it which builds it into living temples
+for the indwelling spirits, those houses not made with hands--the bodies
+of noble men, of fair and loving women.
+
+In a lower form, it gives that sweet and strange affinity which adds the
+glory of orderly arrangement to its elements, gifting them with the fair
+variety of change and assimilation that turns the dust into crystal, and
+separates the waters above the firmament from those below. It is the
+walking and clinging _together_ that gives power to the winds, weight to
+the waves, heat to the sunbeams, and stability to the mountains. It is
+the 'clinging together' which throws our syllables into words, gives
+metre to poetry, and melody and harmony to sound. Indeed, the clinging
+together of sounds, as seized by the ear in _time_, with the ever
+forming and living ebb and flow of widely different rhythms, exerting
+the most mysterious influences upon the soul, is not less remarkable
+than its more familiar history in space.
+
+Manifold, indeed, would be the generalizations of the different species
+of unity, for it is the secret link of all being.
+
+We have the unity of separate things subjected to one and the same
+influence, as the unity of clouds as they are driven by parallel winds,
+or ordered by electric currents: there is the unity of myriads of sea
+waves, of the bending and undulating of forest masses.
+
+In creatures capable of will, there would be the unity of acts
+controlled, in all their apparent variety, by its directing power; and
+the unity of emotions in the masses, when swayed by some common impulse.
+
+There is also the unity of the origin of things arising from one source,
+always suggesting their common brotherhood: in matter this is manifested
+in the unity of the branches of the trees, of the petals and starry rays
+of flowers, of the beams of light, of heat, &c., &c.; in spiritual
+creatures it is their filial relation to Him from whom they have their
+being.
+
+There is the unity of sequence, which is that of things which form links
+in chains, steps in ascent, and stages in journeys; this, in matter, is
+the unity of communicable forces in their continuance and propagation
+from one thing to another; it is the passing upward and downward of
+beneficent effects among all things; it is the melody of sounds; the
+beauty of continuous lines; and orderly successions of motions and
+times. In spiritual creatures, it is their own constant building up by
+true knowledge and consecutive efforts to higher perfection, and the
+singleness and straightforwardness of their tendencies to more complete
+union with God.
+
+There is the unity of membership, which is the union of things
+separately imperfect into a perfect whole; this is the great unity of
+which all other unities are but parts and means. In matter it is the
+consistency of bodies, the harmony of sounds;--with spiritual beings, it
+is their love, happiness, and life in God. But this unity cannot subsist
+between things _similar_ to each other. Two or more equal or like things
+cannot be members the one of the other, nor can they form one or a whole
+thing. _Two_ they must remain both in nature and in our conception
+unless they are united by a _third_. Thus the arms, which are like each
+other, remain always two arms in our conception, and could not be united
+by a third arm, but must be linked by something which is not an arm, and
+which, imperfect without them as they without it, will, with them, form
+one perfect body. Nor is unity even thus accomplished without a
+difference and opposition of direction in the setting on of members.
+Therefore, among things which are to have membership with each other,
+there must be difference or variety; and though it is possible that many
+like things may be made members of one body, yet it is very remarkable
+that this stricture appears rather characteristic of the lower creatures
+than the higher, as the many legs of the caterpillar, and the arms and
+suckers of Radiata seem to prove. As we rise in the order of being the
+number of similar members becomes less; their structure appearing based
+on the principle of two things united by a third;--a constant type even
+in matter of the Triune Existence.
+
+Out of the necessity of _unity_ arises that of _variety_, a necessity
+vividly felt, because it lies at the surface of things, and is assisted
+by our love of change and the power of contrast. It were a mistake to
+suppose that mere variety, without a linking principle of unity, is,
+necessarily, either agreeable or beautiful.
+
+        'All are needed by each one,
+        Nothing is fair or good alone.
+    I thought the sparrow's note from heaven,
+      Singing at dawn on the alder bough;
+    I brought him home in his nest at even;
+      He sings the song, but it pleases not now,
+    For I could not bring home the river and sky;--
+    He sang to my ear,--they sang to my eye.
+      The delicate shells lay on the shore;
+        The bubbles of the latest wave
+        Fresh pearls to their enamel gave;
+        And the bellowing of the savage sea
+        Greeted their safe escape to me.
+        I wiped away the weeds and foam,
+        I fetched my seaborn treasures home;
+      But the poor, unsightly, noisome things
+      Had left their beauty on the shore
+    With the sun, and the sand, and the wild uproar.'
+
+It is not mere unrelated variety which charms us, for a forest of all
+manner of trees is poor in its effect, while a mass of one species of
+trees is sublime;--the swan, with its purity of unbroken whiteness, is
+one of the most beautiful of creatures. It is, indeed, only harmonious
+and chordal variety, that variety which is necessary to secure and
+extend unity (for the greater the number of objects which by their
+differences become members of one another, the more extended and sublime
+is their unity), which is essentially beautiful. _Variety_ is never so
+conspicuous as when united with some intimation of _unity_. For example,
+the perpetual change of clouds is monotonous in its very dissimilarity,
+nor is difference ever striking where no connection is implied; but if
+through a range of barred clouds crossing half the heavens, all governed
+by the same forces, and falling into one general form, there be yet a
+marked and evident dissimilarity between each member of the great
+mass--one more finely drawn, the next more delicately moulded, the next
+more gracefully bent--each broken into differently modelled and
+variously numbered groups,--the _variety_ is doubly striking because
+contrasted with the perfect _unity_ and _symmetry_ of which it forms a
+part.
+
+Now, of that which is thus necessary to the perfection of things, all
+types and suggestions must be beautiful in whatever way they may suggest
+or manifest it. To the perfection of beauty in lines, colors, forms,
+masses, or multitudes, the appearance of unity is absolutely essential.
+Let the artist look to it, that our pictures may gain expression; our
+music cease to weary us through the unceasing dissimilarity of its
+parts, highly adorned arabesques running into each other, graceful, but
+without significance, without any perceptible principle of unity in the
+jarring '_motifs_;' and our poems have some certain theme, that their
+highly wrought details may not confuse and bewilder the spirit always in
+search of some central unity. Like the burning sands which, clinging not
+together in any sweet union of fellowship, blind and confuse us with
+their drifting masses, are all such essays in art; for an idea capable
+of quickening an artistic creation must be vitally One, and every great
+work, notwithstanding its variety and the manifold complexity of its
+parts, must form a Whole.
+
+The _association of ideas_, upon which is based the _unity_ of the
+continuous life of the individual, with the pervading sense of personal
+identity, has been aptly called the '_cohesion of the moral world_.' It
+is not less powerful, less irresistible, than that of the physical
+world. The association of ideas is a constituent and necessary phase of
+the _unity_ of our mental and moral being, the indispensable condition
+of all development, whether of mind or soul. Without the power of
+association, the intellect would strive in vain to construct consecutive
+trains of thought; it would indeed be condemned to eternal infancy,
+because, as it ascertained new relations, those already acquired would
+escape, and a labor constantly renewed would be requisite to regain
+them. Without association of ideas, no voluntary virtue would be
+possible; and at the end of long years of effort and self-restraint, we
+would have gained no additional control over the course of our impetuous
+passions.
+
+The fact that much of the difference in intellectual capacity so
+strongly characterizing different individuals arises from their various
+powers over the flow and logical association of ideas, has scarcely
+elicited the attention it so well deserves. It is of immense importance
+in the history of mental development. If an individual connects his
+ideas with difficulty, or can continue to chain them in rational
+sequence only with the most laborious efforts, he will have either a
+dull and heavy, or flighty and illogical, mind.
+
+If another has great trouble in modifying or arranging the association
+of ideas which arise spontaneously in the soul, he will suffer himself
+to be ruled by them, in place of exercising rational domination over
+them; he will pursue every chimera; he will trust every impulse; he will
+but dream, even when he tries to think; and will be of a weak and
+fickle, but obstinate and self-opinionated, intellect. His whole
+exhaustive logic will consist in clothing in exact and reiterated
+assertions the heterogeneous order in which ideas are arbitrarily,
+accidentally, and spontaneously associated in his own imagination.
+
+Another will associate his ideas in logical sequence, yet with startling
+rapidity; in a manner and through subtle relations quite unknown to
+common men, incapable of such vivid, rational, and consequential
+combinations; and will, in consequence, be a man of clear and vivid
+intellect.
+
+The wonderful faculty of improvisation so often seen in Italy, is an
+example of the power of appropriate and rapid association. There is no
+doubt that this power is susceptible of development and cultivation, and
+that much that is brilliant in intuition is lost through the want of it.
+In spite of this, no system has as yet been devised for its culture. Let
+him who would labor for the real improvement of humanity think of it,
+write for it, and aid us in its development: as the law of _internal
+unity_ with regard to the immense range of possible associations is so
+vital to our moral well being, so essential to our intellectual sanity,
+let our deepest thinkers devote themselves to its culture in the race!
+
+We may distinctly trace the intuitive strivings of the human spirit for
+_unity_ even in the theology of nations without revelation. In one of
+the ancient fragments of Greek poetry known as Orphic Hymns, we find
+them thus articulated:
+
+     'Jupiter is the First and Last; Jupiter is man and immortal
+     Virgin; Jupiter is the base of Earth and Heaven; Jupiter is the
+     living breath of all beings; Jupiter is the source of Fire; the
+     root of the Sea; Jupiter is the Sun and Moon; Jupiter is King
+     of the universe; He created all things; He is a Living Force; a
+     God; the Heart of all that is;--a supernal Body which embraces
+     all bodies, fire, water, earth, air, night, day, with Metis the
+     first Generatrix, and Love, full of magic. All that is, is
+     contained in the immense Body of Jupiter.'
+
+The reader will not fail to observe how much this Greek hymn resembles
+in its spirit the extract we have already given him from the Vedas; how
+closely it coincides with the transcendental philosophy of the Hindoos.
+
+But the idea of God, vague and indeterminate apart from revelation, soon
+lost its _pantheistic_ unity in the wildest _polytheistic_ variety. The
+primitive idea of unity, passing through the distorting prism of the
+fallen and corrupt human imagination, was divided, decomposed, clothed
+in a thousand colors and forms to allure and satisfy the senses. Thus
+there was no part of nature without its appropriate god, invested with
+supreme power over the class of being subjected to its care. No one had
+ever seen any one of these gods, but the people had no doubt of their
+existence. Names in close accordance with their separate functions were
+given them; these names became symbols destined to represent the
+different active principles of the physical world.
+
+Thus in their literary and sacred language they substituted the names of
+Jupiter, Hyades, Hamadryads, Apollo, for those of Air, Fountains,
+Forests, and Sun. Nature almost disappeared under this traditionary
+language, which, giving play to the lighter fancy, chilled the
+imagination, and singularly limited the view. Indeed, it so amused and
+allured the fancy by its diversity that the mind scarcely cared to rise
+from this fantastic and grotesque world to seek the sublime principles
+of Infinity, of Unity. If the ancients had regarded nature as a vast
+system of signs designed to manifest the ideas of the Great Artist; if
+they had at all understood the marvellous Unity of the Divine Works, it
+would have been worse than idle in them to have invented a language
+which thus lowered nature, robbing it of its solemn majesty, its august
+dignity. As all these divinities had the human figure, God was banished
+from His own universe, man everywhere substituting his own personality.
+Speaking of the great dearth of vivid descriptions of natural scenery
+among the ancients, Chateaubriand says: 'It must not be supposed that
+men as full of sensibility as the ancients wanted eyes to see nature, or
+talent to depict it, if some powerful cause had not blinded and misled
+them; this cause was their mythology, which, peopling the universe with
+graceful phantoms, robbed creation of its solemnity, of its sublime
+repose. Christianity came--and fauns, satyrs, and wanton nymphs
+disappeared; the grottos regained their holy silence; the dim woods
+their mystic reveries; the vast forests their vague and sublime
+melancholy; the streams overturned their petty urns to drink only from
+the mountain tops, to pour forth only the waters of the abyss. The true
+and One God, in reappearing in His own mystical works, again breathed
+through the voice of nature the secret thrill of His perfect Unity, His
+incomprehensible Infinity.'
+
+    'Earth outgrows the mythic fancies
+       Sung beside her in her youth;
+     And those debonaire romances
+       Sound but dull beside the truth.
+    Phoebus' chariot race is run!
+    Look up, poets, to the Sun!
+                     Pan, Pan is dead.
+
+    'Christ hath sent us down the angels;
+       And the whole earth and the skies
+     Are illumed by altar candles
+       Lit for blessed mysteries;
+     And a Priest's hand through creation
+     Waveth calm and consecration--
+                     And Pan is dead.
+
+    'O brave Poets, keep back nothing;
+       Mix not falsehood with the whole!
+     Look up Godward! speak the truth in
+       Worthy song from earnest soul!
+     Hold, in high poetic duty,
+     Truest truth, the fairest Beauty!
+                     Pan, Pan is dead.'
+
+As we have already intimated, Pantheism is the negation of the Divine
+Personality in order to arrive at Unity; Polytheism is the negation of
+the Divine Unity, which is fractioned and divided that its multitudinous
+action may be conceived. The light fancy was delighted with such
+divisions, resulting in varied gods and goddesses; but the soul could
+find no satisfaction for its deeper needs in such conceptions; urged on
+by its secret instincts, it sought to recompose the broken unity of the
+divine nature.
+
+All government requires a Head; and when an attempt was made to apply
+the heterogeneous qualities and contradictory powers of the gods to the
+regulation of society--when it was necessary to find in an Olympus
+filled with quarrels and scandals, a steady Power capable of directing
+the destinies of a great people toward a single aim--men were again
+forced to recompose the fractioned Unity, to form an idea of one God
+superior to those with whom they had peopled earth and heaven. They
+were thus forced upon the conception of a Being superior to Jupiter, who
+subjected all the gods to his inflexible laws; and giving wings to those
+instincts of dread always present in the soul of a fallen race, they
+invented an invisible Divinity who never manifested himself to men; who
+dwelt in inaccessible and dreadful regions, in which an inscrutable
+Horror forever reigned; and through this new Terror, Unity was again
+brought into the design of creation, for all beings were, in despite of
+themselves, forced to fulfil the decrees of its pitiless will. All
+struggle was vain, all effort useless, prayer was without avail, and
+human anguish utterly unheeded by this terrific phantom of irresistible
+and crushing Power without a heart!
+
+It is this dread idea which, pervading the pages of Eschylus, gives them
+that peculiar character of simplicity and grandeur, with which no other
+tragedies are marked in a like degree. Such was the source of the
+inspiration of classic tragedy, the spring of that stern and severe
+poetry which throws the lurid hues of a melancholy so profound upon the
+pallid and affrighted face of humanity. Man, struggling with all the
+gloomy energy of despair against this vague but formidable Horror, which
+no virtue or agony could conciliate--this dark Fate, the creation of his
+own misled and perverted intuitions--and vainly seeking to escape from
+the inflexible circle which he had traced around himself, is an object
+which cannot fail to awaken the deepest pity. He asks from his fellow
+men, from nature, from the gods, the meaning of the dire enigma of life.
+Alas! they leave him to struggle in the stony hands of an unbending
+Fate! no reply is ever given to his wild demand, and the 'veil of Isis
+is never raised!' The world quivered under some strange anathema; a
+mystic malediction wreathed its thorns round the anguished heads of men;
+even in the midst of their festivals, when seeming to drink deep of joy
+from the brimming cup of life, the invisible hand of a Gorgon Fate was
+forever felt tracing upon their walls the decrees of a dark,
+inscrutable, inflexible, and terrible destiny!
+
+Yet there are poets among us, who would willingly return to the days of
+Paganism, and resuscitate the gods of Greece!
+
+    'Get to dust as common mortals,
+      By a common doom and track!
+    Let no Schiller from the portals
+      Of that Hades call you back,
+    Or instruct us all to weep:
+    Everlasting be your sleep!
+                    Pan, Pan is dead!'
+
+    ''Twas the hour when one in Zion
+      Hung for Love's sake on a cross--
+    When His brow was chill with dying,
+      And His soul was faint with loss;
+    When His priestly blood dropped downward;
+    And His kingly eyes looked homeward--
+                    Then Pan was dead!'
+
+The Prometheus of the rock, the Tantalus of the fable, man, plunged in
+this world of woe with his lips thirsty for happiness, stretches out his
+hand to pluck the bitter Dead-Sea fruits of this earth. With his
+profound instincts of the Infinite, his craving for the Absolute, he
+seizes madly upon every object which suggests their image to him; the
+foul fiend, adapting his temptations to the nature of the tempted, still
+whispers, as into the ear of the mother of mankind: 'Ye shall be as
+gods;'--but the phenomenal flies before him, and he everywhere falls
+upon the thorns closely hedging in the narrow circle of the actual.
+Without Faith, the artist is among the most miserable of men, for
+through the illimitable horizons of the Infinite, genius catches secrets
+which it can never fully utter; symbolic signs, whose sense it cannot
+articulate; while the voice of the invisible Love loads every breeze.
+What profound and mournful aspirations for that _Unknown_ which the
+mortal may not see, surge through the soul of the imaginative!
+
+    'E'en the flowing azure air
+    Thou hast charmed for his despair.'
+
+While the artist strives to incorporate with the works which their
+presence shall render immortal, suggestions of Infinity, of Unity, let
+him hopefully turn to the Author of all Beauty for true inspiration and
+peace.
+
+As satisfaction and response to the longings of the spirit, the Gospel
+has brought Life and Immortality to light. The assurance that 'God is
+Love' responds to the inmost wish of the soul. The problem of antiquity,
+the possible Union of the finite with the Infinite, has been solved in
+the most marvellous manner. No longer are we oppressed with the loss of
+all personal identity, all moral responsibility, as in pantheism; nor
+confused by the debasing fractioning of the Divine Unity, as in
+polytheism; nor bound hand and foot under the crushing despotism of a
+pitiless Fate;--but in the Glorified Humanity of Christ these perplexing
+problems of the soul are answered, and the incomprehensible union of the
+Infinite and finite at last accomplished, He took our nature upon Him
+that Infinite Love might pass through all degrees of suffering, even to
+the last dying gasp of agony, to release us from the horrors of the
+'second death.' Every human feeling is known to Him, but in infinite
+purity; the Real and Ideal are in equal perfection. Far higher, indeed,
+than the most sublime conception that uninspired thought could ever have
+engendered; human, yet far above humanity; ruling all ages; winning all
+adoration; sublime in tender simplicity--behold the meek Lamb of God,
+the Holy Son of the Blessed Virgin!
+
+Oh, eternal, immaculate Beauty! if in this world Thou but sufferest us
+to divine Thy Perfections; if Thou hast given us ephemeral delights
+which always escape our eager grasp at the very moment we dream of their
+full enjoyment; if the flower fades so fast--the days of spring are so
+fleeting; if nature, like a thick veil thrown between this world and the
+next, suffers but a few rays of Thy glory to pierce its folds, while it
+keeps us from Thee even in kindling the flame of desires which it never
+satisfies--it is because Thou knowest that in the inexhaustible richness
+of Thy Being there are everlasting fountains to quench the insatiate
+thirst of the human soul, when in the bosom of infinite splendor we may
+contemplate and adore Thee forever and ever!
+
+'That they _all_ may be _One_, as Thou, Father, in me, and I in Thee:
+that they also may be _one_ in us.'
+
+Oh, inconceivable and glorious Unity! What wonder that thy types on
+earth are so full of meaning--so rich in delight!
+
+
+
+
+THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.
+
+
+II.
+
+A still more terrible name to the Spaniards, as a leader of the
+buccaneers, was Francis Lolonois, a Frenchman, who in his youth was
+transported as a slave to the Caribbean Islands. Passing thence to
+Tortuga, he became a common mariner, and conducted himself so well in
+several voyages as to win the confidence of the governor, M. de la
+Place, who gave him a ship in which to seek his fortune. The beginning
+of his career on his own account was favorable; but his cruelties toward
+the Spaniards were such as to make his name terrible throughout the
+Indies; and the Spanish mariner preferred death in any form to falling
+into his hands. Fortune, however, being ever inconstant, Lolonois did
+not escape reverses. Encountering a tempest on the coast of Campeachy,
+his ship was wrecked, and himself and crew cast on shore. Scarcely had
+he dried his dripping clothes when he was met by an armed force, and
+defeated in a severe battle. Being wounded, and concealing himself among
+the dead bodies of his companions, he escaped, and arrived at Campeachy
+in disguise, in time to take part in the thanksgiving and religious
+rejoicings of the Spaniards on account of his supposed death. Here he
+succeeded in enticing some slaves from their masters, with whom he again
+put to sea, with the design of ravaging the small town of De los Cayes,
+on the south side of Cuba. Divining his project, however, some fishermen
+conveyed information to the governor at Havana, who immediately
+despatched a vessel of war of ten guns in pursuit, with orders not to
+return until the pirates were captured, and every man executed except
+Lolonois himself, who was to be brought to Havana. This vessel entered
+the port of De los Cayes while the pirates were yet at sea; but they
+were advised of every particular of the pursuit, and concerted their
+measures accordingly.
+
+It was on a clear, starlight night, when the Spaniard lay quietly at
+anchor in the glassy waters of the bay,
+
+    'Secure that nought of evil could delight
+    To walk in such a scene on such a night,'
+
+that the pirates entered the harbor in two canoes. Stealing upon their
+intended prey so silently as to escape observation, they boarded her on
+both sides at once, and, after a sharp conflict, succeeded in her
+capture. Lolonois then informed the prisoners that he knew their orders,
+and it was his purpose to execute them upon those who were to have
+enforced them upon him. Supplications and entreaties were in vain. He
+successively struck off the heads of every one with his own
+hand--sucking, at each stroke, the drops of blood that trickled from his
+sabre. Only one person was saved, whom he sent back to the governor with
+a letter stating what he had done, and declaring his determination
+thenceforward to show no quarter to a Spaniard, adding: 'I have great
+hopes I shall execute on your own person the punishment I have upon
+those you sent against me. Thus have I retaliated the kindness you
+designed to me and my companions.' The governor was much troubled at the
+message, and declared that no quarter should ever again be granted to a
+pirate; but knowing who would have the advantage in such a war of
+retaliation, the inhabitants induced him to change his determination.
+
+Encouraged by his success, Lolonois forthwith set about organizing a
+force to make a descent upon the main, with a view of taking Maracaibo
+itself. While engaged in these preparations, he formed a connection with
+Michael de Basco, who, having retired from the sea, was living upon his
+gains. De Basco had served in the wars of Europe as an officer with
+distinguished gallantry; and he now engaged with Lolonois as the land
+commander. When the expedition sailed, it consisted of eight vessels and
+six hundred men. On their passage they fell in with a Spanish armed ship
+from Porto Rico for New Spain. Lolonois parted from the fleet and
+insisted on engaging the Spaniard alone. He did so, and carried the ship
+after an engagement of three hours. She mounted sixteen guns, carried a
+crew of sixty men, and was, moreover, richly laden with specie, jewels,
+and merchandise. Shortly after another vessel was taken, when on her
+voyage to Hispaniola to pay the troops. This was a valuable capture, the
+prize being laden with arms and ammunition as well as specie. The prize
+vessels were sent into Tortuga, where they were unladen; and one of them
+was immediately armed and sent back to join the main squadron as the
+flagship. Their marine thus augmented, they sailed first into the Bay of
+Venerada, the fort guarding the entrance to which was taken, the guns
+spiked, and the garrison, numbering two hundred and fifty men, put to
+the sword. The pirates next sailed into the Lake of Maracaibo, landed
+their forces, and proceeded at once to attack the castle that guarded
+the entrance to the harbor. The governor had made judicious dispositions
+for its defence, having formed an ambuscade for the purpose of bringing
+the pirates between two fires. His design, however, in this respect, was
+frustrated, for those forming the ambuscade, being discovered and
+routed, fled to the town, the inhabitants of which, remembering the
+former visitation of the pirates, deserted in wild consternation, and
+fell back upon Gibraltar, thirty leagues distant. Meantime the pirates,
+though armed with swords and pistols only, attacked the castle with such
+impetuosity as to compel its capitulation. The slaughter was great.
+After the surrender the guns were spiked, and the castle demolished. The
+next day the invaders advanced upon the town, which they found desolate.
+It was well stored with provisions, but all the valuables had been
+removed or buried. Lolonois demanded information of the prisoners where
+the plate, jewels, and money were concealed, and attempts were made to
+extort confessions by the rack, but to little purpose. He then hacked
+one of the prisoners to pieces with his sword, declaring that such
+should be the fate of all, unless the hidden treasures of the town
+should be forthcoming. But the poor wretches were unable to give the
+information, as the owners had fled as best they could, changing their
+own hiding places, and taking away their valuables. Having remained
+fifteen days in Maracaibo, and supposing that the people had carried
+their treasures with them to Gibraltar, Lolonois determined to sail to
+that town. The deputy governor, however, without the knowledge of the
+pirates, had made vigorous preparations for its defence; and
+accordingly, on their arrival in sight of the town, they unexpectedly
+discovered the royal standard floating from two strong batteries
+guarding a very narrow channel through which the pirate squadron must
+pass. A council of war was called, at which, after a spirited speech
+from Lolonois, it was agreed to land and carry the works by storm--the
+leader declaring that he would pistol any man who should flinch, with
+his own hand. The Spanish forces numbered eight hundred men, well
+appointed; but nothing could daunt the resolution of the pirates. The
+Spaniards conducted themselves bravely; and not until five hundred of
+their number had fallen did they yield. The buccaneers had eighty killed
+and wounded, not one of the latter recovering--an evidence of the
+desperation with which they fought. The town of Gibraltar, of course,
+fell into their hands; but it was a bootless conquest, inasmuch as
+during the time the pirates had wasted at Maracaibo, the people had
+secured their treasure by carrying it away. To save the town from the
+torch, however, the inhabitants paid a ransom of ten thousand pieces of
+eight, yet not until a portion of it had been burned. After spending two
+months on shore, the buccaneers reembarked, carrying away all the
+crosses, pictures, and bells of the churches, for the purpose, as they
+alleged, of erecting a chapel in the island of Tortuga, to which pious
+object a portion of the spoils was to be consecrated! The amount of
+their booty, during their expedition, was two hundred and sixty thousand
+pieces of eight, together with vast quantities of plate, jewels, and
+merchandise--most of which was soon dissipated, after their return, in
+debauchery, and other rude pleasures of such a ruffian race.
+
+The next exploit of Lolonois was the capture, in the mouth of the
+Guatemala river, of a Spanish ship, carrying forty-two guns, and manned
+by one hundred and thirty fighting men; the pirate carrying only
+twenty-two guns, and being attended by a single small vessel. The
+Spaniard made a good defence, and the pirate chief was at first
+repulsed. Yet afterward, under cover of a thick mist, rendered more
+dense by the smoke of the powder, the pirates boarded the Spaniard from
+their small craft, and bravely accomplished their purpose.
+
+The career of this desperado was soon to come to an end. Shortly after
+this last exploit, while cruising in the Bay of Honduras, his own ship
+was wrecked, and he, together with his crew, were thrown upon an island.
+Their next business was to build a boat from the remains of the broken
+ship--a work which occupied them six months, and when finished she would
+carry but half their number--the other half remaining behind by lot.
+Lolonois then directed his course for Carthagena; but venturing ashore
+at Darien, he was made prisoner by a wild tribe of Indians, who became
+the instruments of divine justice in avenging his many cruelties. They
+were not ignorant of his character, and, believing that no trace or
+memorial of such a wretch ought to remain upon earth, they tore him in
+pieces alive, throwing his body limb by limb into the fire, and
+afterward scattering his ashes to the winds. Fitting death for such a
+horrible monster!
+
+But the career of the most formidable chief in this bloody catalogue
+remains yet to be described. It was that of Henry Morgan, whose very
+name, as it has been justly remarked, 'spread such terror abroad, that
+with it the old women frightened their children asleep, and then lay
+awake themselves through fear.' Morgan was the son of a wealthy farmer
+in Wales, but not satisfied with his secluded condition, he sought a
+seaport, and sailed for Barbadoes, where he was sold for a term of years
+for his passage. The term of his service having expired, he repaired to
+Jamaica, where the temptations spread before him by the buccaneers of
+rapidly arriving at wealth and fame, induced him to join their
+community. In the course of several voyages, which were attended with
+great success, he evinced so much intrepidity, skill, prudence, and
+judgment, as to win the confidence of his companions, several of whom
+proposed the purchase of a ship on joint account, the command of which
+was conferred on him. About this time, also, Morgan became acquainted
+with Mausvelt, an old pirate, and who had now on foot an expedition
+destined for a descent upon the Spanish main. Mausvelt induced Morgan to
+join him as his vice-admiral, and they were shortly at sea with a fleet
+of fifteen sail, great and small, and five hundred men, chiefly French
+and Maroons. Their course was first directed against the two small
+islands, nearly contiguous, of St. Catharine's, on the coast of Costa
+Rica. These, though strongly fortified, were easily taken, by reason of
+the inefficiency both of the commander and his troops, superinduced by
+the terror inspired by the very name of the pirates. The design of
+Mausvelt in the acquisition of these islands, was to fortify and hold
+them as a place of rendezvous. Leaving, therefore, a garrison of one
+hundred men in the forts, Mausvelt and Morgan continued their course to
+the main; but as a knowledge of their intentions had preceded them, such
+preparations had been made by the Spaniards on the coast for their
+reception, as induced them to return to St. Catharine's. Thence they
+sailed back to Jamaica for recruits; but not being favored by the
+governor, Mausvelt repaired to Tortuga, where he died. The command now
+devolved upon Morgan, who endeavored to prosecute the designs of his
+predecessor; but the Spaniards having regained possession of St.
+Catharine's, his projects were for a time defeated. Not only had the
+Spaniards recovered the island, but a large English ship, despatched
+thither from Jamaica for the aid of the buccaneers, and well supplied
+with arms, men, provisions, and women, also fell into their hands. This
+was a severe disappointment to Morgan, who had made extensive
+arrangements for preserving St. Catharine's as a storehouse and place of
+refuge, and had opened a correspondence with Virginia and New England
+upon the subject. These events took place in 1665.
+
+But, far from relinquishing the profession he had chosen, Morgan had
+only just entered upon it. He soon succeeded in organizing another fleet
+of nine sail of different-sized vessels, manned by four hundred and
+fifty men. With these he made sail for Porto Bello, the third strongest
+post at that time in the American dominions of Spain. In order to secure
+secrecy, Morgan had communicated his purpose to no living soul, until he
+came almost in view of the town. Some of his bold spirits then faltered
+for a moment; but he had the power to dissipate their doubts of success,
+even against odds so great. Landing his forces in the night, Morgan
+arrived at the very citadel before he was discovered, having taken
+captive the sentinel so suddenly as to prevent the least alarm. The
+castle was summoned to surrender on pain of putting every man found
+therein to death. The summons being disregarded, the assault was begun,
+and bravely repelled for a time; but the fortress was at length
+compelled to yield to the impetuous assaults of the pirates. But there
+were yet other castles, and one of the strongest, to be subdued. With
+this latter Morgan was hotly engaged from daylight until noon--losing
+many of his men, and at times almost despairing himself of success. At
+length another of the lesser castles gave way, and Morgan was encouraged
+and strengthened by the return of the detachment that had been engaged
+against it. As a device, moreover, to compel the Spanish governor to
+yield the principal castle, the pirate chief caused its walls to be
+planted round with scaling ladders, upon which, in front of his own men,
+the religious prisoners in his hands, priests and nuns, were forced to
+ascend. But although these people called to the governor in the name of
+all their saints to yield and save their lives, his determination was
+inflexible. He declared he would yield only with his life, and that the
+castle should be defended to the last. Night approached, and the contest
+yet raged; but finally, after performing prodigies of valor, the
+assailants succeeded in scaling the walls, and the castle was entered
+sword in hand. The garrison thereupon submitted, all but the governor,
+who, deaf to the entreaties of his wife and daughter, fought on, killing
+several of the pirates with his own hand, and also some of his own
+soldiers for surrendering, until he was himself killed. The entire town
+was now in possession of the rapacious invaders; and all the treasures
+of the churches, having been placed in the castles for safety, of course
+fell into the hands of the victors, as also did a vast amount of money
+and plate.
+
+Amazed that a town so strongly fortified as Porto Bello, and so well
+garrisoned, should have been captured by so small a force, the president
+of Panama sent a message to Morgan, desiring a pattern of the arms by
+which he had performed so desperate an exploit. Morgan treated the
+messenger with courtesy, and returned to the president a pistol and
+several bullets, as a slender pattern of the arms he had used,
+requesting his Excellency to preserve them carefully for a twelvemonth,
+when he promised to come to Panama and bring them away. The president,
+however, sent the articles back again, to save the pirate chief the
+trouble of coming after them. He also sent him as a gift a gold ring,
+with a civil request that he would not trouble himself to come to Panama
+at the time mentioned, since he would not be likely to fare so well as
+he had at Porto Bello. Morgan, after having destroyed the military walls
+at Porto Bello, reembarked with his numbers greatly diminished by
+battle, debauchery, and disease, and returned to Jamaica.
+
+The fame of exploits like these caused the name of Morgan to resound
+throughout Europe; and large numbers of the English chivalry, men of
+family and rank, hastened to the New World, either to mend dilapidated
+fortunes, or to acquire new ones, and to participate in the unlawful
+glory which even the darkness of the deeds by which it was won could not
+eclipse. These recruits attached themselves to Morgan, and eagerly
+accepted commands under him. The bold rover gave them commissions in the
+name of the king of England, authorizing them to commit hostilities
+against the Spaniards, whom he declared to be the enemies of the British
+crown. To such an amazing extent did the buccaneering system increase,
+that more than four thousand men were now engaged in it, two thousand of
+whom were under Morgan, with a fleet of thirty-seven vessels, divided
+into squadrons, and appointed with all the formality of an independent
+sovereignty. Their place of rendezvous was between Tortuga and St.
+Domingo, the coast of the latter being plundered for provisions. A
+squadron of four sail was also sent to the region of the Rio de la Hacha
+upon the same errand, where a large ship was captured, the coast
+successfully ravaged, and many prisoners put to death, as in former
+instances, by the most exquisite tortures.
+
+All things being in readiness, the expedition sailed in December, 1670,
+the ultimate destination of which was to pay the promised visit to the
+governor of Panama--the richest city of Spanish America. Preliminary,
+however, to their landing upon the isthmus, a detachment of the fleet
+was sent against a fortress at the mouth of the Chagu--which river it
+was necessary to ascend before disembarking for Panama. This fortress
+was built upon a steep rock, against which the waves of the sea were
+continually breaking, and was defended by an officer of distinguished
+ability and courage, and by a garrison in all respects worthy of such a
+commander. For a time the contest was doubtful, but the fates favored
+the freebooters. The Spanish commander was slain, and, the fort taking
+fire, the position fell into the hands of the besiegers. The manner in
+which the fire was communicated to the fortress was very remarkable.
+During the fight, an arrow from the bow of one of the garrison was
+lodged in the eye of one of the pirates, standing near his chief.
+Extracting the barbed shaft from his head with his own hand, and binding
+some cotton around the missile, he set it on fire, and shot it back into
+the fortress from the barrel of his gun. The burning arrow fell upon the
+roof of a house thatched with palm leaves, which were dry, and a
+conflagration ensued, which the garrison strove in vain to resist. But
+for this untoward occurrence, it was believed that Brodley, the pirate
+vice-admiral, would have been repulsed.
+
+Brodley was now joined by the main fleet under Morgan himself; and the
+vessels, having been brought to anchor, were left with a sufficient
+guard, while the commander, with twelve hundred men, embarked in boats
+and canoes, and commenced the ascent of the river toward the capital,
+the sacking of which was to be the crowning act of his career of outrage
+and blood. They were compelled soon to leave their boats; and their
+march for nine days was one of the severest operations ever successfully
+encountered by man. The country was desolate, villages and plantations
+being alike deserted, and in the flight of the people nothing had been
+left behind that could possibly be converted into food, or in any wise
+minister to the cupidity of the invaders. The hardships they underwent
+in climbing mountains almost inaccessible, and traversing morasses
+nearly impassable, while in a state bordering upon starvation, exceed
+the power of language to describe. The carcass of an ass found by the
+way afforded an uncooked tempting meal; and such cats and dogs as did
+not flee with their owners, were considered delicious morsels.
+
+On the eighth day a narrow defile was feebly defended by a company of
+Indians, by whom ten of the pirates were killed, and fourteen others
+wounded. On the ninth, having gained the summit of a lofty mountain, to
+their infinite delight they came in view of the great Southern ocean,
+and saw beneath them the glittering spires of Panama, and the shipping
+in the harbor. The despondency which had been brooding over them for
+several days, was now lighted up by the most extravagant demonstrations
+of joy. They leaped, and sang, and threw up their hats, and blew their
+trumpets, and beat their arms, as though the prize were already their
+own without a struggle. Seemingly refreshed in strength by the sight of
+the object of their desires, the pirates rushed eagerly forward, and
+before nightfall encamped upon the great plain on which stood the city,
+dispersing with ease several strong reconnoitring parties who had thrown
+themselves in their way. The Spaniards had evidently been preparing for
+their reception, and they played their artillery upon the invaders all
+night, but with little effect; the pirates sleeping on the grass with
+great composure, anxious for the arrival of the day which was to reward
+their sufferings with untold riches.
+
+The invaders were early on foot on the morning of the tenth day, and in
+full march for the city. Arriving upon the summit of a little hill, they
+were brought to a pause by a force which they saw advancing to meet
+them. Their own numbers had been reduced on the march to less than a
+thousand effective men; and they now beheld an army consisting of two
+squadrons of horse, and four regiments of foot, led by the governor in
+person, and preceded by a large herd of wild bulls, the design of which
+singular description of light troops was to throw the buccaneers into
+confusion. Beyond these, in immediate proximity to the city, they
+discovered the people of Panama in arms, in yet greater numbers. The
+action with the advanced army, under the governor, soon commenced, the
+wild cattle being of no avail against the pirates, who shot them all
+down in a very brief space of time. But the Spaniards, especially the
+cavalry, fought bravely for more than two hours. The horse having at
+length been compelled to yield, the infantry fled, after a brief
+resistance. Six hundred Spaniards lay dead upon the field, and the
+buccaneers suffered so severely that they were forced to desist from an
+immediate pursuit, and obtain some rest. From a prisoner they
+ascertained that the city was defended by two thousand five hundred men,
+with a large number of heavy guns, planted at different points. But the
+buccaneers, though sadly diminished in numbers, were determined to
+finish the work they had begun on the same day; and taking an oath that
+they would stand by each other to the last, they again advanced, and a
+second fierce and bloody encounter took place at the very gates of the
+city, which, after a resistance of three hours, fell into the hands of
+the buccaneers. Neither party gave or received quarter, and after the
+conquest the pirates killed nearly all who fell into their hands,
+sparing neither ecclesiastics nor women.
+
+The city was at that time one of remarkable splendor, containing two
+thousand houses of great magnificence. The private dwellings were
+chiefly built of cedar, and embellished with hangings, paintings, and
+everything that luxury and taste could supply. It was the see of a
+bishop, with two large churches, and seven monasteries, all richly
+adorned with altar pieces, paintings, gold, silver, and precious stones.
+But the gorgeous palaces and solemn temples were doomed to the flames by
+the order of Morgan himself, although he afterward endeavored to fix the
+act of vandalism upon others. They were probably burned in revenge
+because found empty, for many of the inhabitants had sought refuge in
+flight, carrying away such of their valuables as they could. Still, by
+the horrible processes of torture, immense discoveries were made of
+treasures concealed in the wells and caves, and in the woods. Some
+valuable freights were taken from boats in the harbor, which had been
+left aground at low water; and rich deposits were frequently discovered
+in the earth, under the excruciating tortures of the rack.
+
+Morgan lingered at Panama for a considerable period, until, indeed, his
+men began to murmur at their protracted inactivity. The cause of this
+inaction will hardly be divined from the character thus far developed of
+this stupendous freebooter; but it was the tender passion! He had among
+his prisoners a beautiful Spanish lady, who attracted his particular
+attention. She was a native of Spain, and the wife of an opulent
+merchant, whose business had some time before called him to Peru.
+According to the historians of that day, she was still in the bloom of
+youth; 'Her cheeks, naturally ruddy, were heightened by a tropical sun
+into a warmer glow; and her fine black eyes, dazzling with uncommon
+lustre, gave animation to the noblest countenance that ever the hand of
+nature delineated, or poet's fancy conceived. The interest which her
+unhappy situation excited was heightened into admiration by her elevated
+mien; and her whole deportment indicated a soul incapable of being
+degraded from its native rank, by any reverse of condition, or any depth
+of misery.' Morgan, rude as he was, and unused to the melting mood, was
+nevertheless charmed with her conversation, and the admiration which he
+felt for her bearing was ere long changed into yet more tender emotions.
+He provided a house for her, and assigned to her service a retinue of
+domestics. Shortly afterward he attempted to open such a correspondence
+with her as might favor his desires, but failing in this, he proceeded
+to usurp some freedoms, at which her delicacy revolted. Her rebuke, firm
+and noble, drove him back abashed; but his impetuous temper could not
+well brook disappointment, and in the ardor of his passion he
+subsequently attempted to force her into compliance with his brutal
+desires. But with a virtue as exalted as that of the Roman matron, who
+resisted, but in vain, the advances of the son of Tarquin, and with a
+yet higher courage, she sprang from his attempted embrace, exclaiming,
+'Stop! Thinkest thou, then, that thou canst ravish mine honor from me,
+as thou hast wrested from me my fortune and my liberty? Be assured that
+I can die and be avenged!' Having said this, she drew from her bosom a
+poniard, which she would have plunged into his breast, had he not
+avoided the blow. From that moment she became an object not only of his
+hate, but of his cruelty, until at length she was ransomed by some of
+her friends. History has not preserved the name of this lofty specimen
+of female purity and honor; but, like that of Lucretia, it deserves the
+topmost niche in the temple of virtue.
+
+At length, in the month of February, Morgan took his departure from
+Panama, having one hundred and seventy-five beasts of burden laden with
+silver and gold, jewelry, and other precious things. He also took with
+him six hundred prisoners, men, women, and children, for the purpose of
+extorting enormous ransoms for them by the way; the cries of the women
+and children were pitiful to hear; but the freebooter's heart was
+steeled against every humane emotion. Returning down the river Chagre,
+he destroyed the castle at its entrance, and prepared to reembark for
+Jamaica. Before going on board, however, a division of the plunder was
+made, which gave great dissatisfaction. It seemed unaccountable to his
+men that so large an apparent amount of booty should yield only about
+two hundred pieces of eight _per capita_, and rumors of foul play were
+rife. Meantime he had richly laden his own ship with merchandise; and in
+the course of the following night, while his companions were in a deep
+sleep, he put to sea and escaped to Jamaica, and thence to England. Such
+an instance of treachery had never been before known among the
+buccaneers, and the rage and resentment that ensued cannot be described.
+His departure was the signal for the dispersion of the fleet. The French
+returned to Tortuga. Some of the English attempted to overtake the
+mighty robber and make him disgorge, but were unsuccessful. Others of
+the crews dispersed with their vessels to seek their fortunes as best
+they might. Morgan ultimately returned to England laden with wealth, and
+was well received. He afterward became a commander in the naval service
+of his country, and obtained the honor of knighthood from William III.
+
+The capture of Panama, however, was the last great land expedition
+successfully undertaken by the buccaneers. A few other land expeditions,
+it is true, were begun by chiefs of lesser note; but the indifferent
+success which attended these, induced the freebooters insensibly to
+confine their operations more exclusively to the water, and there was no
+sea left untraversed by them, from the Atlantic to the Indian ocean. The
+commerce of almost all nations was annoyed by them, although their
+depredations continued more particularly to be directed against the
+first objects of their hate, the Spaniards. It is a curious fact,
+illustrating the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church at that time,
+that in one of the Spanish ships captured while on her way to South
+America, by an Englishman named White, there were found no less than two
+millions of Papal bulls, granting indulgences to the Spaniards of the
+New World! These were a royal trade, and had been purchased by the king
+of Spain for three hundred thousand florins, _prime cost_, and by him
+were designed to be retailed for five millions. Thus, by their capture,
+his Catholic Majesty lost the benefit of a fine speculation. Had these
+indulgences been captured by Yankees, they would have contrived to
+barter them away at a profit; or had the captors been good Catholics,
+they might have ravaged the whole continent with very quiet consciences,
+having the Pope's pardon already in their pockets.[B]
+
+It is a curious fact, not, I believe, very extensively understood, that
+the great English circumnavigator Dampier was for a considerable period
+connected with the buccaneers after the flight of Morgan. Dampier found
+himself among them at first by accident, having gone ashore on the
+Spanish main in great distress to procure provisions. Falling in with a
+party of the marauders, he was induced to join them. He was at the
+taking of Porto Bello; and afterward crossed the Isthmus of Darien with
+Sawkins, Sharp, and others. Sawkins, the commander, was killed in an
+attack on Puebla Nova in 1679. Dampier, in his 'Voyages,' gives an
+interesting account of their subsequent course along the coasts, and
+among the islands of the Pacific, which was rather disastrous. A mutiny,
+however, occurring among those of the buccaneers engaged in the
+expedition, Dampier returned across the Isthmus and came to Virginia in
+July, 1682, where, after he and his companions had dissipated all their
+wealth, they fitted out another piratical expedition for the South seas,
+doubling Cape Horn in the spring of 1684. Proceeding northward to
+Panama, Dampier's party were joined by large numbers of buccaneers who
+had just crossed the Isthmus; and obtaining a number of additional
+vessels, they prepared to intercept the Plate fleet on its departure
+from Lima for Spain. After a few successes, and several disasters,
+Dampier and his companions sailed to the Philippine Islands in 1686; and
+subsequently visited most of the islands in the Pacific, sometimes
+rioting in luxury, and at others brought to the verge of starvation.
+Dampier quitted the buccaneers at the island of Nicoba, in the spring of
+1688. Subsequently, however, he again joined them, as the commander of a
+fine vessel; but the treachery of his officers and crew defeated the
+objects of the cruise. Returning from this bootless voyage, he was
+presented to Queen Anne, and well received. He subsequently made a
+fourth voyage to the Pacific, during which he discovered and took from
+the island of Juan Fernandez the celebrated Alexander Selkirk, the hero
+of De Foe's Robinson Crusoe--a story ever delightful and ever new to
+readers old and young. The actual experience of Selkirk, as related by
+Dampier, corresponds more closely with the narrative, probably, than has
+generally been supposed.
+
+The last great enterprise of this remarkable race of men was directed
+against Carthagena in 1697. It was planned in France, from one of the
+ports of which a squadron of twelve vessels sailed, under the command of
+Pointis. It was joined by twelve hundred buccaneers in the West Indies;
+and although Carthagena was then the strongest city in the New World,
+its forts and castles were carried by storm in rapid succession. The
+booty thus acquired by Pointis amounted to one million seven hundred and
+fifty thousand pounds sterling, with which he embarked and made sail.
+But they had not been long at sea before the buccaneers discovered that
+their rapacious commander was meditating how he should deprive them of
+their share of the plunder. Exasperated at this treatment, they at first
+determined to put him to death. This purpose, however, was diverted by a
+suggestion to return to Carthagena and demand a heavy ransom to save the
+city from destruction, that they might fill their pockets in that way.
+This project was carried into execution. Entering the city without
+resistance, the men were confined in the great church, and a ransom
+demanded of more than two hundred and eighteen thousand pounds sterling.
+A venerable priest ascended the pulpit, and by his eloquent address
+persuaded the people to comply with the demand, by surrendering all
+their remaining money and jewels. But the amount fell short of the
+demand, and the city was sacked a second time. Having amassed all the
+wealth they could find, the adventurers once more put to sea. But they
+did not long enjoy their ill-gotten riches. Meeting with a fleet of
+ships belonging to England and Holland, both of which nations were then
+in alliance with Spain, an engagement ensued, in which several of the
+pirates were taken and sunk, and among them were lost the treasure
+ships, so that the booty went to the bottom of the sea. This was the
+last memorable event in the history of the buccaneers of America,
+although a lower order of piracy prevailed, both in the Atlantic and
+Pacific oceans, for many years afterward.
+
+There had been for the most part a separation between the English and
+French buccaneers on the revolution of 1688, which brought William and
+Mary to the throne of England, and terminated the friendly relations
+between that nation and the Gauls. By the peace of Ryswick, moreover, in
+1697, peace was restored between France and Spain, and it then became
+the interest as well as the policy of Europe to put an end to the
+associated existence of the most extraordinary combination of men who
+ever trod the earth. History affords no parallel to the buccaneers.
+'Without any regular system, without laws, without any degree of
+subordination, and even without any fixed revenue, they became the
+astonishment of the age in which they lived, as they will be of
+posterity.' In their actions is to be found a mixture of the most
+opposite feelings and principles. They were at once undauntedly brave,
+and cowardly brutal; full of justice and honor to each other, and yet a
+lawless banditti. As an evidence of their feelings of honor,
+it is related that on a certain occasion a company of their
+fraternity--'Brothers of the Coast,' as they styled themselves--had
+stipulated, for a certain sum, to escort a Spanish ship richly laden.
+One of them ventured to propose to his companions to enrich themselves
+at once by taking the ship. Montauban, the commander of the troop, had
+no sooner heard the proposal, than he desired to resign his command and
+be set on shore. 'What!' replied the freebooters, 'would you then leave
+us? Is there one among us who approves of the treachery you abhor?' A
+council was thereupon called, and it was agreed that the person who had
+made the proposition should be thrown upon the first coast they should
+reach. 'The history of past times,' says a quaint writer, 'doth not
+offer, nor will that of future times produce, an example of such an
+association, almost as marvellous as the discovery of the New World.
+Their swords and their daring spirit, which they exercised with such
+terrible effect, were the only fortune they possessed in Europe. In
+America, being enemies of all mankind, and dreaded by all, perpetually
+exposed to the most extreme dangers, and considering every day as their
+last, their wealth was dissipated in the same manner in which it was
+acquired. They gave themselves up to all excesses of debauchery and
+profusion, and on returning from their expeditions, the intoxication of
+their victories accompanied them in their feasts: they would embrace
+their mistresses in their bloody arms and fall asleep for a while,
+lulled by voluptuous pleasures, from which they were aroused to proceed
+to fresh massacres. It was a matter of indifference to them whether they
+left their bodies upon the earth or beneath the waters, and they
+consequently looked upon life and death with the same composure.
+Ferocious in mind, misguided in conscience, destitute of connections, of
+relatives, of friends, of fellow citizens, of country, of an asylum;
+without any of those motives which moderate the ardor of bravery by the
+value which they attach to existence, they were ever ready to rush, as
+without sight, upon the most desperate attempts. Equally incapable of
+submitting to indigence or quiet; too proud to employ themselves in
+common labor; they would have been the scourge of the Old World, had
+they not been that of the New.'
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In closing this paper, it remains to glance for a moment at the real
+history of William Kidd, the buccaneer of the American colonies, whose
+name, as remarked in the former part of this article,[C] has for a
+hundred and fifty years stood at the head of the pirate legends of the
+North, but who, in reality, must have been one of the smallest members
+of the fraternity. I have not been able to ascertain the place of Kidd's
+nativity. He was, however, the captain of a merchant vessel, trading
+between New York and London, and was celebrated for his nautical skill
+and enterprise. The first mention of him, in our authentic criminal
+history, occurs in 1691, in which year, as we learn from the journals of
+the New York Assembly, much was allowed to be due him 'for the many good
+services done for the province in attending with his vessels.' But in
+what capacity, or for what object, he 'attended with his vessels,' does
+not appear. It was also declared that he ought to be suitably rewarded.
+Accordingly, in the same year, it was ordered by the Assembly 'that the
+sum of one hundred and fifty pounds be paid to Captain Kidd, as a
+suitable acknowledgement for the important benefits which the colony had
+derived from his services.' The presumption is, that those services were
+in some way connected with the protection of the colonial merchant ships
+from the attacks of the pirates, who were even yet hovering along the
+coasts of the Northern colonies. Indeed, the harbor of New York itself
+was no stranger to the pirate vessels, and the commerce between them and
+the 'people of figure' in the city was not inconsiderable. It was no
+secret that the pirates were freely supplied with provisions by the
+inhabitants of Long Island. Further yet, it was well known in the year
+1695, that the English pirates had fitted out the vessels in the harbor
+of New York. On the arrival of the pirate vessels from their cruises,
+their goods were openly sold in the city, and the conduct of the
+Colonial Government was such, that collusion, if not actual partnerships
+between them and the public authorities, was not doubted. Colonel
+Fletcher, a poor and profligate man, was governor at that time. He was
+beyond doubt concerned with the freebooters, as also was William Nicoll,
+a member of the privy council. Complaints upon this subject having
+reached England, Fletcher was succeeded, in 1695, by the Earl of
+Bellamont, the appointment being made in the belief that, from his rank
+and the wealth of his character, he would be able to retrieve the
+character of the Colonial Government.
+
+Justice, however, to the memory of Kidd requires it to be said that he
+was not at that period, so far as it is known, a pirate himself. Before
+Lord Bellamont sailed from England for his government, he met with
+Robert Livingston of New York--the ancestor of the Livingstons of
+Livingston's Manor--with whom he held a conversation respecting the
+pirates, and the best means that could be adopted to put them down. The
+project of employing a swift-sailing armed ship of thirty guns, and one
+hundred and fifty men, to cruise against them, was spoken of; and
+Livingston recommended his lordship to Kidd, as a man of integrity and
+courage, acquainted with the pirates and their places of rendezvous, and
+as one in all respects fit to be intrusted with the command of a vessel
+engaged in such a difficult service. He had, indeed, commanded a
+privateer, in regular commission, against the pirates in the West
+Indies, in which service he had acquitted himself as a brave and
+adventurous man. The project not being entertained by the Board of
+Admiralty, a private adventure against the pirates was suggested by Mr.
+Livingston, one fifth part of the stock of which he would take himself,
+besides becoming security for the good conduct of Kidd. The proposition
+was approved by the king, who became interested to the amount of one
+tenth; and the residue of the expense was supplied by Lord Chancellor
+Somers, the Duke of Shrewsbury, the Earls of Romney and Oxford, and Sir
+Edmund Harrison and others. The ship having been procured and equipped,
+Kidd sailed for New York under a regular commission, in April, 1696--the
+direction of the enterprise being committed to the Earl of Bellamont and
+himself. For a time he served faithfully and with advantage to the
+commerce of the colonies and mother country; for which services he
+received much public applause, and another grant from the colony of two
+hundred and fifty pounds. Tradition, moreover, says that, on visiting
+the government house, he was received with public honors, and invited to
+a seat with the speaker of the House of Assembly.
+
+On his next voyage, however, he stretched away to the Indian ocean, and
+turned pirate himself. Selecting the island of Madagascar as his
+principal place of rendezvous, and burning his own ship after having
+captured one that suited him better, his depredations upon the commerce
+of all nations were represented to have been great. It is said that he
+'ranged over the Indian coast from the Red sea to Malabar, and that his
+depredations extended from the Eastern ocean back along the Atlantic
+coast of South America, through the Bahamas, the whole of the West
+Indies, and the shores of Long Island.' But it will presently be seen
+that this statement must have been an exaggeration, as time was not
+afforded for operations so extensive before his arrest.
+
+It is beyond doubt true that Long Island contained several of his hiding
+places. 'Kidd's Rock' is well known at Manhasset, upon Long Island, to
+this day. Here he was supposed to have buried some of his treasures, and
+many have been the attempts of the credulous to find the hidden gold,
+but it could not be found. There is also no doubt that he was wont to
+hide himself and his vessel among those curious rocks in Sachem's Head
+Harbor, called the Thimble islands. There is also upon one of those
+rocks, sheltered from the view of the Sound, a beautiful artificial
+excavation of an oval form, holding perhaps the measure of a barrel,
+called 'Kidd's Punch Bowl.' It was here, according to the legend of the
+neighborhood, that he used to carouse with his crew. It is a fact,
+however, beyond controversy, that he was accustomed to anchor his vessel
+in Gardner's bay. On one occasion, in the night, he landed upon
+Gardner's island, and requested Mrs. Gardner to provide a supper for
+himself and his attendants. Knowing his desperate character, she dared
+not refuse, and fearing his displeasure, she took great pains,
+especially in roasting a pig. The pirate chief was so pleased with her
+culinary success, that, on going away, he presented her with a cradle
+blanket of gold cloth. On another occasion, also, when he landed at the
+island, he buried a small casket of gold, silver, and precious stones in
+presence of Mr. Gardner, but under the most solemn injunctions of
+secrecy.
+
+Repairing soon afterward to Boston, where Lord Bellamont happened to be
+at the time, he was summoned before his lordship, and directed to give a
+report of his proceedings in the service of his company. Refusing to
+comply with this demand, he was arrested on the third of July, 1699, on
+the charge of piracy. He appears to have disclosed the fact of having
+buried the treasure at Gardner's island, for the same was demanded by
+his lordship, and surrendered by Mr. Gardner. I have conversed with a
+gentleman who has seen the original receipt for the amount, with the
+different items of the deposit. The amount was by no means large, and
+affords evidence of no such mighty sweepings of the seas as have been
+told of in story and in song. Of gold, in coins, gold dust, and bars,
+there were seven hundred and fifty ounces. Of silver, five hundred and
+six ounces, and of precious stones about sixteen ounces.
+
+Lord Bellamont wrote home for a ship of war, to carry Kidd to England
+for trial. The 'Rochester' was despatched upon that service, but being
+obliged to put back, a general suspicion prevailed in England that there
+was collusion between the pirates and the ministers, and, in fact, that
+they dared not bring the sea robber home for trial, lest it should be
+discovered that the Lord Chancellor and his noble associates in the
+enterprise were confederates in the piracies also. Party spirit ran
+high, and the opponents of the ministers brought a resolution into the
+House of Commons for excluding from place all the partners of Kidd in
+the original enterprise. And although this resolution was voted down,
+yet the Tories contrived afterward to impeach the Whig lords upon the
+charge of having been concerned with Kidd. But the articles were not
+sustained. Meanwhile Kidd had been taken to England, tried on an
+indictment for piracy and murder, and hung in chains, with six of his
+crew. In addition to the indictment for piracy, he was indicted for the
+murder of one of his own subordinate officers, named Moore, whom he
+killed in a quarrel, by striking him over the head with a bucket. He was
+convicted upon both charges, but protested to the last that he was the
+victim of conspiracy and perjury.
+
+But, after all, suspicions were entertained by the public that the
+execution was a sham--that the Government dared not put him to death;
+and that, to avoid disclosures, a man of straw was hung in his place. In
+proof of this assertion, it was gravely and strongly alleged that Kidd
+had been seen alive and well, many years afterward, by those who could
+not be mistaken as to his identity. I think there is no doubt, however,
+of his having been honestly hung at 'Execution Dock,' in London, on the
+12th of May, 1701. Yet, when compared with the nobler villains, Lolonois
+and Morgan, Kidd must have been a pirate upon an insignificant scale--a
+mere bottle imp by the side of Satan, as portrayed in stupendous
+grandeur by Milton!
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[B] An indulgence was never granted in advance of any crime yet to be
+committed. It was simply a remission or commutation of a part of the
+temporal penalty attached to crime, after the sin itself had been
+repented, confessed, renounced, and forgiven. Two millions of Papal
+bulls!!!--_Ed._
+
+[C] See CONTINENTAL for June, 1863.
+
+
+
+
+UNDER THE PALMETTO.
+
+
+On Saturday, the 31st of January, 1863, the steamer 'S.R. Spaulding,'
+flagship of General Foster's fleet, left the harbor of Morehead City, N.
+C., on a supposed expedition to some point on the Southern coast. For
+two days we had watched from her deck the long procession of vessels
+moving slowly round Fort Macon, and then, with all sails set, or under
+full head of steam, passing proudly on in their southward course. Only
+those who have witnessed such scenes can realize the eager interest and
+intense excitement which attend the preparation for a naval expedition.
+Then, too, there were glories of the past to kindle hope and stimulate
+ambition. The successes of Burnside, Du Pont, and Farragut were fresh in
+memory, and why should not we win new laurels for the old flag, and
+place our commander's name high on the list of fame? And so, with
+feelings of pride and expectation, we gladly saw the shores of North
+Carolina with their forests of pines recede from sight, as, under a
+cloudless sky and over a waveless sea, we glided on toward the hated
+mother State of the rebellion.
+
+The sequel of the 'Foster Expedition' is well known. We anchored, on the
+2d of February, in the capacious harbor of Port Royal, and were flagship
+no longer. Fortunately, the long interval between our arrival and the
+final departure for Charleston under another commander, gave abundant
+opportunities for studying new phases of life and character, and for
+learning something of the 15,000 freedmen who compose the loyal
+population of the Sea islands.
+
+
+ON THE PLANTATIONS.
+
+A geographical description of these outlying islands of South Carolina
+is hardly necessary at a time when we are studying the map of the
+republic under the guidance of bayonets and rifled cannon; and the guns
+of Admiral Du Pont revealed more of Port Royal and its surroundings than
+we should ever have learned from our geographies. Previous to the
+rebellion these islands seem to have been rarely visited--so rarely,
+indeed, that the presence of one of our naval vessels in the Beaufort
+river, a few years ago, was the signal for a week's festivities and a
+general gathering of all the inhabitants to see the strangers--while
+the 'cotton lords' vied with each other in entertaining the
+distinguished guests. For the most part the islands are low, abounding
+in salt-water creeks and marshes, and covered, here and there, with
+forests of pine and live oak. The climate in winter is delightful, and
+the rapid advance of vegetation in March and April--the sudden bursting
+into bloom of a great variety of flowers and flowering shrubs--lends
+additional charms to the early spring. Sitting, on one of those
+delicious April days, in the upper piazza of an old plantation
+house--the eye resting on the long stretch of the cotton fields, now
+green with the growing plant--or tracing the windings of the creek
+through the numerous small islands, till it is lost in the haze which
+covers all the distance--or, again, watching the shadows as they pass
+over the groves of oak and pine--while over the whole scene there broods
+the stillness of a midsummer's noon--I could but wonder at the madness
+which had driven the former dwellers in such a fair land into the
+desperate hazards and unaccustomed privations of civil war.
+
+Those who visit these islands to-day, must not expect to realize, in the
+altered condition of affairs, their ideal of plantation life, however
+that ideal may have been formed. The change which has been wrought in
+little more than a year, is truly wonderful. The traces of slavery may
+indeed be found in an exhausted soil and an exhausted race, but all
+outward signs of the institution have been removed. 'The whip is lost,
+the handcuff broken,' the whipping post destroyed, and the cotton gins
+broken down. At the 'great house' you find, instead of the master and
+overseer, the superintendent and school teacher. In the field, the
+cotton tasks are comparatively small, but the garden patch in the rear
+of the cabin is large, well fenced in and well cultivated. If you see
+few indications of positive happiness, you find no appearances of
+overburdened misery. There is about the whole place something of the air
+of a New England farmstead, where labor, being honored, crowns even the
+humblest with dignity and peace. You take unspeakable comfort in the
+fact, that, open what door you may into the life of these people, there
+is no _skeleton_ of oppression to startle and haunt you. Go with me,
+then, on this calm, bright day of early March, to visit one of the
+plantations on Port Royal Island, a few miles out of Beaufort. The
+quartermaster kindly furnishes us with a carriage, somewhat shabby and
+rickety to be sure, but one of the best that 'Secesh' has left for our
+use. Our steeds, too, are only slow-moving Government mules, but there
+is one aristocratic feature of our establishment to remind us of the
+life that was, viz.: a negro coachman 'educated to drive,' under whose
+skilful guidance many a happy family party have been conveyed from
+plantation to plantation on social visits like ours to-day. Uncle Ned
+speaks kindly of his 'ole massa,' and says he 'would hab stayed wid 'um,
+ef massa hadn't run away from heself.'
+
+'But why didn't you _go_ with him, uncle?'
+
+'Oh, sah, I could nebber go to de Secesh.'
+
+Doubtless many more of the house slaves and body servants of the
+planters would have followed their masters, had they not been deterred
+by fear of the rebel soldiers and hard work in the trenches.
+
+'Use your whip, uncle,' and away we go at a respectable trot over the
+principal road on the island, which, from the fact of its having been
+made of oyster shells, is called the 'Shell road,' and extends ten miles
+to Port Royal Ferry, at the extreme western point of the island. Timely
+showers have laid the dust, and all the trees and bushes wear clean
+faces. In the yards there are peach trees in bloom, beautiful crimson
+japonicas, the jonquil and snowdrop; while everywhere by the roadside
+we see the ungainly form and coarse flower of the prickly pear. Passing
+the rifle pits and picket station, we soon turn off from the Shell road,
+and pass through what was formerly a handsome forest of pines, but which
+now has been cleared by the soldier's axe, and rejoices in the title of
+'pickpocket tract.' Few of the plantations lie on the main road, and
+many of them, like the one we are now seeking, are approached only by
+going over several cross roads and by lanes. Our last turn takes us into
+a handsome avenue of live oaks, whose overarching branches are adorned
+with long ringlets of the graceful Spanish moss. In the woods on either
+side of the drive way are dogwood and Pride-of-Asia trees in full
+blossom, wild honeysuckle, and the sweet yellow jasmine which fills the
+air with its delicious fragrance. As we drive into the yard, the
+plantation house suddenly appears to view, half hidden by the dense
+foliage of magnolia and orange trees. Although called one of the finest
+residences on the island, the house is inferior to many of our larger
+farmhouses in New England, and is a simple two-story structure of wood,
+resting on brick piles, with a veranda in front. Just beyond the path
+that leads by the house, is a handsome flower garden, while both in the
+rear of the 'great house' and beyond the flower garden are rows of negro
+huts. We are soon greeted by our hosts--one, a brave Vermonter, who
+served faithfully in the army till disabled, the other, a Quaker of
+Philadelphia, who has left family and friends to labor for the
+freedman--and ushered into the principal room of the house, where we are
+presented to a party of the neighboring superintendents and school
+teachers. Dinner is all ready, and we sit down to a right royal
+entertainment, the chief dishes of which are portions of an immense
+_drumfish_ cooked in various fashion. Few entertainers can prove more
+agreeable than Northern men with Southern hospitality, and we eat and
+make merry without even a thought of Colonel Barnwell, whose home we
+have thus 'invaded,' and who, perchance, is shivering in the cold, and
+suffering the privations of a rebel camp in Eastern Virginia. We must
+not omit the praise due to our cook, a woman taken from the 'field
+hands,' and whose only instructors have been our hosts, neither of whom
+can boast of much knowledge of the art of cooking. It would, however, be
+hardly safe to trust to an untutored field hand, as I once learned to my
+cost, when my contraband of the kitchen department called me to dinner
+by announcing that the eggs had been boiling for an hour, and the
+oysters stewing for twice that time!
+
+
+HOME LIFE OF THE FREEDMEN.
+
+After dinner we visit the negroes in their cabins. The _home life_ of
+the freedmen is at once the most noticeable and most interesting feature
+of their new condition. Even in former days, however often the sanctity
+of their homes may have been violated, with however weary limbs and
+suffering souls they may have gone to them, yet here they must have
+found their chiefest joy. Now, the humble cabins have become
+transfigured, and we find therein not only joy, but peace and comfort,
+and, indeed, in greater or less degree, every element of that domestic
+order which makes the home the corner stone of our free institutions. I
+have frequently, when conversing with the freedmen about the flight of
+their former masters, asked them why they did not accompany them, and
+have invariably received the reply, 'Oh, sah, we couldn't do dat. We
+belongs yere. _Dese are our homes._' This strong attachment to the soil,
+which has been made still stronger by the removal of everything which
+could in any way remind them of their former condition, has proved to be
+the great _lever_ to raise them into the dignity of free laborers. It is
+true their cabins are not yet free-holds; but the assurance that,
+unless the Government itself fails, no fault or misfortune of another
+can ever deprive them of their homes, puts them at once on their good
+behavior, that they may retain in their possession what they prize so
+dearly. The good results of this transformation of the home are seen in
+every direction. The marriage relation is observed with a constantly
+increasing strictness. Family ties are knitted more closely together.
+Parents take a deep interest in the education of their children, and the
+children become in turn teachers to the parents of much that is
+improving and civilizing. In the field there are generous rivalries
+between families to see which will cultivate the largest patches of corn
+and cotton. Greater neatness and order are observable about the
+dwellings, and wherever new cabins have been erected--always by negro
+carpenters--there has been marked improvement in the style and comfort
+of the buildings. Freedom has also created new wants, and the freedman
+purchases from time to time, as he has ability, articles of luxury and
+of ornament for his home.
+
+I must, however, acknowledge a feeling of disappointment at not finding
+the negroes more joyous in this new condition of freedom and progress.
+Those who know them best--the superintendents and teachers--testify to
+the happiness of their daily lives and their light-hearted enjoyment of
+all their blessings; but to the casual observer there seems to be a
+general absence among the freedmen of that cheerfulness and mirth which
+he naturally expects to find in their homes. A simple explanation of
+this fact may be found in the _sense of insecurity_ which the uncertain
+issue of the civil war that rages about them creates in their minds.
+They have seen one after another of those islands which have been in our
+possession given up to the reoccupation of the rebels; the disastrous
+battles of James's Island and Pocotaligo and the fruitless campaigns in
+Florida are fresh in their minds; while that wearisome waiting for
+something to be accomplished which spreads such a spirit of restlessness
+and discontent among our soldiers, is felt even more keenly by the
+freedmen. There is very much in the uncertainties of their present
+condition to justify the favorite allusion of their preachers, who often
+compare the freedmen to the children of Israel before they had fairly
+gained the promised land. Until a permanent peace shall give to these
+people that feeling of security, without which, though there may be
+contentment, there can be little joyousness, it is absurd for us to
+'require of them mirth,' or ask them to sing songs of gladness.
+
+
+FREE LABOR.
+
+Cochin, in his admirable work on the 'Results of Emancipation,' asserts
+of the negroes: 'This race of men, like all the human species, is
+divided into two classes, the diligent and the idle; freedom has nothing
+to do with the second, while it draws from the labor of the first a
+better yield than servitude.' Has this statement proved true on the Sea
+Islands? The prejudiced are ready with their negative answer, and point
+to the comparatively small amount of cotton raised during the past year.
+By such persons no allowance is made for the peculiarly unfavorable
+circumstances under which the experiment of free labor thus far has been
+tried, and they are only too happy to charge upon emancipation all the
+evils which labor has suffered from the presence of our soldiers and the
+continuance of the war. The causes of the smallness of the cotton crop
+produced last year, are obvious to the most careless observer. Owing to
+the late arrival of the first company of superintendents who were sent
+from the North, no preparations were made for planting till more than
+two months after the usual time. On many of the plantations the seed
+used was of a poor quality, while it was almost impossible to find any
+implements of culture or to obtain the necessary mules or horses. As a
+consequence of the late planting, the cotton was not sufficiently
+advanced to resist the attacks of the caterpillars in September, and for
+a month these insects held grand carnival on the yet immature plants,
+causing widespread damage to the crop. The low wages offered to the
+freedmen by Government were no offset to the attractions of trading with
+the army and navy, and all the negroes were ambitious to have some
+connection with camp life. As a natural result of this condition of
+things, both the industry and interest of the freedmen were drawn away
+from the cotton fields. Early in the season, also, when the young crops
+required constant attention, all the able-bodied men were drafted into
+General Hunter's regiments, and kept in camp till the fall. The
+influence of the draft upon those who remained at home, added to the
+delay and smallness of the Government payments, made the laborers
+discouraged at their prospects, disaffected toward the superintendents,
+and careless at their work.
+
+The obstacles in the way of successful agricultural operations, produced
+by the military occupation of the islands, are still further evident
+from the fact that both provision and cotton crops improved in
+proportion to the distance from the camps. Thus, on Port Royal and
+Hilton Head Islands, where most of the troops were encamped, very little
+cotton was raised, and so small a crop of provisions, that it became
+necessary for Government to ration many of the freedmen during a brief
+period. On Ladies' and St. Helena Islands, away from the immediate
+vicinity of the camps, very fair crops of cotton were raised, and nearly
+enough provision for the support of all the laborers. The rations
+furnished by Government, and which have given rise to so much unfriendly
+comment, were called for, either by the refugees from the mainland and
+adjacent islands, many of whom had at first no means of subsistence, or
+by the freedmen on those plantations so exposed to the camps and so
+harassed by the soldiers, that the crops which they were able to gather
+failed to last them through the year. In one district on St. Helena
+Island, including three plantations, which was under the care of a
+capable and judicious superintendent, of sufficient means to advance his
+private funds to the payment of the laborers, the total receipts from
+the sale of the cotton and the surplus provisions raised were more than
+double all the expenses incurred in wages, clothing, and
+superintendence.
+
+Such were the results of the first year's experiment. Early in the
+present year several of the plantations passed into the possession of
+private individuals, and thus an important change has been effected in
+the aspect of the free-labor problem. On the Government plantations,
+which are under the care of salaried superintendents as last year, a
+uniform system of labor has been adopted, embodying the results of
+previous experience. Under this system, the laborers agree as to the
+amount of cotton land which they will cultivate, and are then paid
+twenty-five cents a day for their work. At the end of the year they are
+to receive a bonus of two cents per pound of unginned cotton for
+picking. This additional reward at once stimulates them to exertion, and
+teaches them that steady and continued labor brings the best return. In
+addition to raising the amount of cotton agreed upon, each freedman is
+responsible for cultivating corn and potatoes enough for his own
+subsistence, and land is allotted for this purpose. The laborers are
+also required to produce corn enough for the subsistence of the
+plantation mules and horses, for the use of the superintendents, and for
+the subsistence of all the old and disabled persons for whom provision
+is not otherwise made. As regards payments, the Government theory is
+most excellent, inasmuch as it provides for partial payments while the
+work is going on, so as to furnish the freedman enough money for his
+immediate wants, and then, by the bonus which is paid at the end of the
+year, supplies him with an amount greater than his wages, to be laid up
+or put out at interest. Unfortunately the practice of the Government has
+been most injurious. The delay in the monthly payments during the past
+year, sometimes for as long a period as six months, caused the laborers
+to become discouraged, discontented, and suspicious. Unlike the soldier,
+the freedman is not clothed or fed by Government (except in the case of
+those who are utterly destitute), nor can he, like other laborers,
+obtain credit to the extent of the wages due him. Under these
+circumstances, the delay on the part of the Government in paying the
+freedman has been not only unjust to the laborers but disastrous to the
+workings of the free-labor system.
+
+On the purchased plantations we find a wholly different state of things,
+and, as might be expected, a great variety of systems of labor. Some of
+the best managers keep up the Government scale of prices, but pay the
+laborers more promptly, and increase their wages by many indirect means,
+such as giving them bacon and molasses in proportion to the amount of
+cotton land which they cultivate, providing a store for the plantation,
+where the freedmen can purchase articles at a much lower rate than
+elsewhere, keeping the cabins in good repair, building new ones, and
+having always on hand the necessary plantation implements for
+facilitating the culture of the cotton. Others pay higher wages, and
+also increase the bonus which is paid for picking the cotton. Some
+promise the freedmen so much per pound for the cotton which they shall
+raise, and see that all their wants are supplied till the crop is
+gathered; while still others, from lack of judgment or capital, offer
+the negroes a certain portion of the crop--in some cases as high as two
+thirds--in return for their labor. On all these plantations the freedmen
+are doing better than on those which are still retained by Government.
+The average amount of cotton land which has been planted this spring is
+from an acre and a half to two acres for each 'full hand.' Under slavery
+a full hand took care on an average of three acres, but it must be
+remembered that all the able-bodied negroes, excepting only a foreman to
+each plantation, have been drafted into the army, or are working in the
+Quartermaster's Department.
+
+At the present time all indications point to a successful season. Riding
+over many of the plantations, I have seen the negroes at work breaking
+up the ground or planting the seed, and everywhere found them laboring
+diligently, and even showing a manly emulation in their tasks. Yet it
+would be unreasonable to expect too much where so many obstacles beset
+the way. As one of the new planters writes: 'For success in an
+experiment of free hired labor among ignorant blacks just emancipated,
+conditions of peace and quiet are absolutely necessary. However, the
+difficulties in our way are purely natural workings, and merely show
+that black is more nearly white than is usually allowed.' Perhaps the
+greatest of these obstacles is the vicinity of the camps at Beaufort and
+Hilton Head, which tempts the freedmen to leave their regular
+employments and obtain an easy livelihood by the sale of eggs, chickens,
+fish, oysters, &c. Such markets affect the blacks on the plantations
+just as the California fever affected the laboring men of the North a
+few years ago; and it is a matter of surprise and congratulation that
+the presence of the soldiers has not produced a greater demoralization
+among the negroes than we find to be the case.
+
+Five of the plantations were bought by the freedmen themselves, who are
+now carrying them on as independent cultivators. Everywhere the
+freedmen, on hearing that the lands were to be sold, were eager to buy,
+and it was found in many cases that they had saved considerable sums of
+money from their earnings of the previous year. This almost universal
+desire of the negroes to become landowners, is a complete refutation of
+the charge that sudden emancipation from forced labor opens the door for
+the return of the blacks to barbarism.
+
+The conditions under which the trial of free labor is now carried on in
+South Carolina, are unparalleled in history. Those who are familiar with
+the results of emancipation in the French and English colonies, will
+find few points of comparison between those results and the present
+workings of freedom on the Sea Islands. Consider that at no previous
+time, and in no other country, has there ever been an immediate and
+unconditional abolition of slavery. France, in the frenzy of the
+Revolution, declared that slavery was abolished, but was forced to
+reestablish it under the Consulate; and, during the half century which
+followed before the complete and final emancipation of the slaves in
+1848, we find continually acts and measures adopted which gradually
+paved the way to this ultimate success. England, too, after the
+abolition of the slave trade, made repeated efforts to ameliorate the
+condition of the slave population of her colonies, and when, in 1833,
+the Act of Emancipation was passed, it was found that, while declaring
+all slaves on English soil to be instantly free, it made provisions for
+transforming them into apprenticed laborers. In South Carolina,
+emancipation, proclaimed by the guns of Admiral Du Pont, was instant,
+unlooked for, and without conditions. However ardently it may have been
+desired by the slaves themselves, they surely could not have expected
+it, at a time when the belief universally prevailed among the planters
+that the forts which defended their islands were impregnable.
+
+In the colonies of France and England, there was no civil war, bringing
+into the midst of the plantations the demoralizing influences of the
+camp, harassing the simple-minded freedmen with constant fear of
+reverses, which would consign them to a worse bondage than they had ever
+known, and tending, in the absence of all civil law and the restraints
+of a well-ordered society, to draw away the laborer from the cultivation
+of the soil. In South Carolina, moreover, no masters or overseers were
+left, as in the French and English colonies, to direct the negroes in
+their labor; and, in consequence, their guidance has been intrusted to a
+body of superintendents from the North, most of them young men, and all
+without experience, either in the management of the blacks or the
+culture of the cotton. This complete separation of the freedmen from
+their former masters, by reason of the flight and escape of all the
+planters, has been, in many respects, most favorable to their progress
+in liberty. Consider for a moment what would have been the result if, at
+any time during the past thirty years, it had been possible to effect
+the abolishment of slavery in these islands by an act of the General
+Government. Who can doubt that such an act, passed against the wills of
+the slaveholders, would have produced the most disastrous consequences,
+and that such an experiment of free labor as is now going on would have
+been utterly impossible? Those, at least, who have had opportunities for
+observing the bitter hate engendered toward the negroes, among those
+masters whom the proclamation of the 1st of January deprived of their
+former 'chattels,' cannot but regard with satisfaction such peaceful
+solutions of this fearful problem as that effected at Port Royal, where
+the shot and shell of our gunboats, in breaking the chains of the slave,
+at the same moment compelled the master to flight.
+
+
+RELIGION OF THE FREEDMEN.
+
+The religious condition of the South Carolina freedmen presents many
+peculiar and interesting features. Whether, like the negroes in the 'old
+North State,' they celebrated their new birth into freedom by services
+of praise and thanksgiving at the altar, I have been unable to learn;
+but certain it is, that the wonderful tranquillity of their sudden
+transition from bondage, and the good use which they have made of their
+liberty, are owing in great measure to their deep religious earnestness.
+This earnestness, it is evident, is not the result of conviction or
+enlightenment, so much as of the strong emotional nature of the blacks,
+intensified by sympathy, and kept alive to religious feeling by their
+frequent meetings for prayer and praise. Yet, to the careful observer,
+the blind and often superstitious worship of these people, which, as is
+now so plainly seen, was fostered by slavery, is one of the saddest
+results of the system. Those who are now permitted to watch over the
+religious progress of the freedmen, can bring new and abundant proof to
+the assertion of De Tocqueville, that 'Christianity is a religion of
+_freemen_.' The present opportunities for religious worship which the
+freedmen enjoy consist of their 'praise meetings'--similar in most
+respects to our prayer meetings--which are held two or three times a
+week on the plantations, and the Sunday services at the various churches
+scattered about the islands. These services are usually conducted by
+white preachers, and are attended not only by the negroes, but also by
+the superintendents, teachers, and many casual visitors from the camps.
+At Beaufort and Hilton Head large and flourishing Sunday schools are in
+operation. Most of the freedmen belong either to the Baptist or
+Methodist denomination, and the fervor and zeal of the preachers of the
+latter persuasion always find a response in the excitable and impulsive
+nature of the blacks. It is not a little singular that, while Cochin can
+write concerning the freedmen in the French colonies that 'the
+_Catholic_ worship has incomparable attractions for the blacks,' we find
+the negro in our own country everywhere attracted toward that sect of
+Protestants which has always been the most powerful antagonist to
+Romanism.
+
+On Sunday, the 15th of March, in company with a party of superintendents
+and teachers, I attended a service held for the freedmen on St. Helena's
+Island. Our ride from the plantation took us through field and wood,
+till we reached the main road on which the church is situated. It is a
+simple, unpretending structure of brick, shaded on all sides by handsome
+live oaks. Near by is the small cemetery, and the drooping moss from the
+oaks hangs in sombre beauty over the graves. Under the trees is a group
+of superintendents discussing the news and the last order of General
+Hunter. As we ride up, a party of officers comes galloping in from camp,
+while from the other direction is seen approaching a venerable carryall,
+conveying a party of lady teachers from a distant plantation. The
+service has already begun, and the church is crowded with the dusky
+auditors, while here and there may be seen a pew filled with 'white
+folks.' The day is warm, so we can stand by the open window and take in
+the whole scene at a single glance. No danger to-day of any
+manifestations of overwrought feelings; no groans nor excited shoutings
+of 'Amen.' The preacher has taken his text from the first chapter of
+Genesis, and he is describing the wonders of the creation. His sermon
+might properly be entitled a 'Disquisition upon the Universe.' It is
+evident that his colored hearers fail to see the 'beauty and mysterious
+order of the stellar world' which he is portraying, for most of them are
+already dozing, and the rest are nodding their heads as if in sleepy
+assent to the undoubted truth of the good man's words. He has
+overreached his mark, and hits neither the heads nor the hearts of his
+congregation. At length the discourse is ended, and all rise to join in
+the closing hymn, which is 'deaconed off' by the minister, and responded
+to by the negroes in a monotonous '_yah, yah_.' They have not recovered
+from the soporific effect of the sermon, and, besides, can hardly be
+blamed for not catching the feebly uttered words. But their time is
+coming. No sooner is the benediction pronounced, than one of the negro
+elders strikes up a well known hymn, and, suddenly rousing from their
+stupor, the whole congregation join in singing in clear and ringing
+tones verse after verse of the jubilant song. Then follow other hymns
+and chants peculiar to the negro worship, the crude expressions of their
+deep emotional feeling. As we leave the church, we are convinced that
+the religious teachers of the newly freed blacks are sadly at fault in
+repeating so much the kind of preaching to which the negroes were
+accustomed under the old system, and in neglecting to pour into their
+perceptive souls both the light and warmth of the Gospel. As an officer
+remarked who had stood at our side listening to the service: 'These
+people had enough of the Old Testament thrown at their heads under
+slavery. Now give them the glorious utterances and practical teachings
+of the Great Master.'
+
+At some of the meetings of the freedmen, they are addressed by negro
+preachers, who never fail to speak with great effect. In Alexandria,
+Va., I was told by the superintendent of the freedmen of an old negro
+teacher and exhorter, the self-elected pastor of all the blacks there,
+going about from house to house to minister to the wants of the sick and
+afflicted, teaching the young, and speaking in all the meetings. 'This
+old negro,' said the superintendent, 'has more influence over the
+blacks, and does more good among them, than all the missionaries and
+chaplains who have been sent here.' To the same effect is the testimony
+of all who have listened to the colored preacher at Port Royal, and who
+know the great power which the chief elders of their churches possess
+over the rest of the negroes. A verbatim report of an exhortation given,
+just before the expedition to Jacksonville, Fla., to the soldiers of
+Colonel Higginson's 1st South Carolina Volunteers, by one of these negro
+preachers, would be worthy a place in 'American Oratory.' I remember
+only one striking passage, where, in his appeal to the troops to fight
+bravely, he urged them to seek always the post of danger, since heaven
+would be the immediate reward of all who should be killed in battle;
+for, said he, as if moved by an oracle: 'What hab been, dat will be. He
+who is de fust man to get into de boat, and de fust to jump on shore,
+him, if he fall, will be de fust to get to heaben.' Then, as if standing
+already in the midst of the fight, and with all the feelings of his
+nature roused against his enemies, he added: 'An' when de battle
+comes--when you see de Kunn'l put his shoulder to de wheel, and hear de
+shot and shell flying all round like de rain drops, den remember dat
+ebery one ob dose shot is a bolt ob de Almighty God to send dem rebels
+to deir eberlasting damnation.' Such fervent utterances are not uncommon
+among the negro preachers, and are well calculated to produce a powerful
+effect upon the susceptible natures of their hearers, 'deep answering
+unto deep.'
+
+
+NEGRO 'SHOUTS' AND SHOUT SONGS.
+
+At the 'praise meetings' on the plantations, one of the elders usually
+presides, and conducts the exercises with great solemnity. Passages of
+Scripture are quoted from memory, and the hymns, which constitute the
+principal feature of the meeting, are deaconed off as at church.
+Sometimes the superintendent or one of the teachers attends these
+meetings, and is then expected to conduct the exercises and make an
+address. After the praise meeting is over, there usually follows the
+very singular and impressive performance of the '_Shout_,' or religious
+dance of the negroes. Three or four, standing still, clapping their
+hands and beating time with their feet, commence singing in unison one
+of the peculiar shout melodies, while the others walk round in a ring,
+in single file, joining also in the song. Soon those in the ring leave
+off their singing, the others keeping it up the while with increased
+vigor, and strike into the shout step, observing most accurate time with
+the music. This step is something halfway between a shuffle and a dance,
+as difficult for an uninitiated person to describe as to imitate. At the
+end of each stanza of the song the dancers stop short with a slight
+stamp on the last note, and then, putting the other foot forward,
+proceed through the next verse. They will often dance to the same song
+for twenty or thirty minutes, once or twice, perhaps, varying the
+monotony of their movement by walking for a little while and joining in
+the singing. The physical exertion, which is really very great, as the
+dance calls into play nearly every muscle of the body, seems never to
+weary them in the least, and they frequently keep up a shout for hours,
+resting only for brief intervals between the different songs. Yet, in
+trying to imitate them, I was completely tired out in a very short time.
+The children are the best dancers, and are allowed by their parents to
+have a shout at any time, though, with the adults, the shout always
+follows a religious meeting, and none but church members are expected to
+join. It is to one of these shouts of the negro children that Mr.
+Russell alludes in his Diary when describing a visit which he paid to a
+plantation near Charleston in April, 1861. He speaks of the children as
+a set of 'ragged, dirty, and shoeless urchins, who came in shyly,
+oftentimes running away till they were chased and captured, dressed into
+line with much difficulty, and, then, shuffling their flat feet,
+clapping their hands, and drawling out in a monotonous sort of chant
+something about the 'River Jawdam.'' Such a sketch conveys no idea of
+the shout as it may be witnessed to-day on any of the plantations among
+the Sea Islands. You will find the children clean, and, in general,
+neatly dressed, coming into the room when asked by the superintendent,
+rendering their impressive and oftentimes pleasing melodies in a manner
+seldom surpassed in our schools at the North, while their 'shouting'
+reveals a suppleness of limb and peculiar grace of motion beyond the
+power of our dancing masters to impart.
+
+There are many features of the negro shout which amuse us from their
+strangeness; some, also, that strike the observer as wholly absurd. Yet,
+viewed as a religious exercise--and in this light it is always
+considered by the older negroes--I cannot help regarding it, in spite of
+many of its characteristics, as both a natural and a rational expression
+of devotional feeling. The negroes never indulge in it when, for any
+reason, they feel downhearted or sad at their meetings. The shout is a
+simple outburst and manifestation of religious fervor--a 'rejoicing in
+the Lord'--making a 'joyful noise unto the God of their salvation.'
+
+The words of the shout songs are a singular medley of things sacred and
+profane, and are the natural outgrowth of the imperfect and fragmentary
+knowledge of the Scriptures which the negroes have picked up. The
+substitution for these crude productions of appropriate hymns, would
+remove from the shout that which is now the chief objection to it in
+intelligent minds, and would make of the dance, to which the negroes are
+so much attached, a useful auxiliary in their religious culture. The
+tunes to which these songs are sung, are some of them weird and
+wild--'barbaric madrigals'--while others are sweet and impressive
+melodies. The most striking of their barbaric airs it would be
+impossible to write out, but many of their more common melodies are
+easily caught upon being heard a few times. This music of the negro
+shout opens a new and rich field of melody--a mine in which there is
+much rough quartz, but also many veins of sparkling ore.
+
+What, for example, could be more animated, and at the same time more
+expressive of the thought conveyed in the verse than the following
+chorus?--the introduction to which is a sort of recitative or chant:
+
+    [music notation]
+
+    I'd a like to die as a Jesus die, An' he die wid a freely good will, He
+
+    [music notation]
+
+    lay in de grabe, An' he stretchy out he arms, O, Lord, remember me.
+
+    CHORUS. _Lively._
+
+    [music notation]
+
+    O, Lord, remember me,  Do, Lord, remember me;  Re-
+
+    [music notation]
+
+    member me when de year rolls round, O,  Lord, remember me.
+
+The words of the chant are evidently a very childlike expression of the
+wish to die with the same good will and spirit of forgiveness which were
+manifested in the Saviour's death.
+
+Of a very different character is the following verse, sung to the same
+recitative:
+
+    'O, Death he is a little man,
+    He goes from do' to do',
+    He kill some soul, an he wounded some,
+    An' he lef' some soul for to pray.'
+
+A most striking contrast between the recitative and chorus, is presented
+in the following:
+
+    RECITATIVE (_Sung to one note like a chant, with a cadence at the
+    end_):--
+
+    'I wonder why Satan do follow me so?
+    Satan hab noting 't all for to do, long 'wid me.'
+
+    CHORUS. _Slow and forcibly._
+
+    [music notation]
+
+    Hold your light, Hold your light, Hold your light on Canaan's shore.
+
+The next song presents a greater variety in melody, as well as in the
+different verses, which seem to have no connection whatever with each
+other. The 'Parson Fuller' referred to is the Rev. Dr. Fuller, of
+Baltimore, who owns a plantation on one of the islands:
+
+    [music notation]
+
+    Dar's a meetin' here to-night, Dar's a meetin' here to-night, Dar's a
+
+    [music notation]
+                                                    ( 1. Parson Fuller sittin'
+    on de
+    meetin' here to-night,  I hope to meet you dar. ( 2. Little children learn
+    to
+                                                    ( 3. Let no angry word or
+
+    [music notation]
+
+    Tree of Life, An' he heary when Jordan roll.)
+    fear de Lord, An'  let your days be long.   )  Roll, Jordan,  roll Jordan,
+    spiteful boast Be  heard up-on your tongue. )
+
+    [music notation]
+
+     Roll, Jor-dan, roll,  Roll, Jordan, roll, O roll, Jordan,  roll, O my
+
+    [music notation]
+
+    soul will rise to heab'n above, An' heary when Jordan roll.
+
+The following has evidently been composed since the negroes became free,
+and expresses very forcibly their feelings toward 'driber, massa, and
+missus':
+
+    [music notation]
+
+    Done wid driber's  dribin',   Done wid driber's dribin',
+
+    [music notation]
+
+    Done wid driber's  drib-in', Roll,  Jordan,  roll.
+
+    2. Done wid massa's hollerin',
+       Done wid massa's hollerin',
+       Done wid massa's hollerin',
+                  Roll, Jordan roll.
+
+    3. Done wid missus' scoldin',
+       Done wid missus' scoldin',
+       Done wid missus' scoldin',
+                  Roll, Jordan, roll.
+
+    4. Sins so heaby dat I cannot get along,
+       Sins so heaby dat I cannot get along,
+       Sins so heaby dat I cannot get along,
+                  Roll, Jordan, roll.
+
+    5. Cast my sins to de bottom ob de sea,
+       Cast my sins to de bottom ob de sea,
+       Cast my sins to de bottom ob de sea,
+                  Roll, Jordan, roll.
+
+Perhaps the best illustration of the Scriptural patchwork which
+characterizes many of the shout songs, is seen in the 'Lonesome Valley,'
+the music of which is very quaint and plaintive:
+
+    [music notation]
+
+    O brudder William, you want to get religion, Ri' down in de lonesome valley,
+
+    [music notation]
+
+    1. Down in de lonesome valley,  Go down in de lonesome valley, my Lord, Ri'
+    2. You feed on milk and honey,  You feed on milk and honey, my Lord, You
+
+    [music notation]
+
+    down in de lonesome valley,   You meet my Jesus  dere.
+    feed on milk and honey,       And meet my Jesus dere.
+
+The third and fourth stanzas are:
+
+    3. When Johnny brought a letter,
+       When Johnny brought a letter, my Lord,
+       When Johnny brought a letter,
+                   He meet my Jesus dere.
+
+    4. An' Mary and Marta read 'em,
+       An' Mary and Marta read 'em, my Lord,
+       An' Mary and Marta read 'em,
+                   Dey meet my Jesus dere.
+
+The example above given will convey a good idea of the general character
+of the shout songs. Apart from these religious songs, there is no music
+among the South Carolina freedmen, except the simple airs which are sung
+by the boatmen, as they row on the rivers and creeks. A tinge of sadness
+pervades all their melodies, which bear as little resemblance to the
+popular Ethiopian melodies of the day as twilight to noonday. The
+joyous, merry strains which have been associated in the minds of many
+with the Southern negro, are never heard on the Sea Islands. Indeed, by
+most of the negroes, such songs as 'Uncle Ned' and 'O Susanna' are
+considered as highly improper. In the schools, many of the best songs
+which are sung in our Sunday and public schools have been introduced,
+and are opening new sources of pleasure to a race so musical by their
+very nature as are the negroes of the South.
+
+While in Beaufort, I attended a concert given by a band of genuine
+'negro minstrels.' The company had taken the name of the 'Charleston
+Minstrels,' and was composed mainly of refugees from Charleston, who
+were then servants to various officers in General Saxton's Department.
+The concert was held in the Episcopal Church, and the proceeds devoted
+to the benefit of the sick and wounded of the First South Carolina
+Volunteers. The first view of the performers, as they sat round the
+stage, a dozen finely formed and good-looking negroes, caused the
+spectator to fancy himself in the presence of the famous band of
+Christy, or some other company of white Ethiopian serenaders. Soon, the
+opera glass revealed the amusing fact, that, although every minstrel was
+by nature as black as black could be, yet all the performers had given
+their faces a coating of burnt cork, in order that their resemblance to
+Yankee minstrels might be in every respect complete. There were
+excellent voices among the singers, and some of the players handled
+their instruments with surprising skill; but the presence of an audience
+composed entirely of white people, and including many of the highest
+officers in the Department, evidently caused great embarrassment to
+performers so unaccustomed to the stage. Not a single song which could
+be called comic was included in the programme; and, with the exception
+of a few patriotic airs, the songs were of the 'Lily Dale,'
+half-mournful sort. Between the pieces there was the customary telling
+of anecdotes and cracking of jokes, some of which were quite amusing,
+while others excited laughter from the manner in which they were told.
+As an imitation of our Northern minstrelsy given by a band of uneducated
+negro musicians, the performance was a wonderful success. Yet the
+general impression left upon the mind of the hearer was far from
+pleasing. One could not help feeling that a people, whose very natures
+are attuned to harmony, are capable of something better than even the
+most perfect imitation of those who have so grossly caricatured their
+race.
+
+
+SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION AMONG THE FREEDMEN.
+
+The education of the children of the freedmen was begun simultaneously
+with the work of employing the negroes as free laborers. Teachers, both
+men and women, from Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, accompanied the
+superintendents who were sent to Port Royal in March, 1862. The results
+of their labors during the past year have been most encouraging, in
+spite of the changes and confusion caused by the war and the numerous
+obstacles in the way of a steady and continued application on the part
+of the children. The teachers in their reports all unite to attest the
+'universal eagerness to learn,' which they have not found equalled in
+white persons, arising both from the desire for knowledge common to all,
+and the desire to raise their condition now so very strong among these
+people. The details of these reports present few points of special
+interest to the common reader. A common mistake, both of those who visit
+these schools for the first time, and of others who have merely heard of
+their existence, arises from comparing the negro schools, where children
+of all ages are to be seen, with our district schools in New England,
+where difference of age implies a corresponding difference in
+attainments. 'What are your most advanced classes studying?' is very
+often asked of the teachers, when a moment's reflection would convince
+the inquirer, that the Primer and First Reader are the only books which
+we expect to see in the hands of children who have but just learned
+their letters. Viewing the rapid progress which these colored children
+have made in learning to read during the past year--many of them being
+obliged to leave school and work in the field during a considerable
+portion of the time--the retentive memories which they have shown in
+their studies, and their great eagerness to learn, which requires no
+urging from parents or teachers, and which manifests itself in the
+punctual attendance even of those who are obliged to walk from long
+distances to the school house--we may well be satisfied with what has
+already been accomplished, and with the prospects for the future.
+
+As a general rule, the _adults_ are as eager to learn as the children,
+and the reading or spelling book is the almost invariable companion of
+the freedmen when off duty. On the wharves, in the intervals between
+labor--in the camp, whenever a leisure moment is found--on the
+plantations, when work is done--everywhere, you will see the negroes
+with book in hand, patiently poring over their lesson, picking the way
+along as best they can, or eagerly following the guidance of some kind
+friend who stops to teach them. Probably few of these adult students
+will ever advance beyond a simple knowledge of reading, and many,
+doubtless, will stop short of this, lacking the perseverance necessary
+to attain success. Most of the freedmen, however, are so earnest and
+determined in their pursuit of knowledge, so patient and untiring in
+their efforts to learn, and, withal, enjoy such keen pleasure in this
+awakening to consciousness of their mental powers, that they cannot fail
+to elevate themselves thereby, and also to feel an increased interest in
+the education of their children.
+
+
+IN CAMP.
+
+Negro soldiers on the Sea islands have long since ceased to be objects
+of wonder or curiosity, and may be seen to-day in camp, on picket, or on
+detached service, everywhere doing their work in a quiet, soldierly
+manner, and attracting no more attention than the white troops about
+them. Through many difficulties, and against great opposition, they have
+conquered their present honorable position in the Department of the
+South. The untimely draft of the freedmen made by General Hunter in May,
+1862, the violence and deception with which the order was enforced, as
+well as the refusal of the Government to receive these regiments into
+the service, causing the dispersion of the troops without pay and
+without honor, was enough to discourage all further enlistment. But
+when, last winter, General Saxton called for volunteers, an entire
+regiment was soon raised, and early in the present year, the 1st South
+Carolina Volunteers were ready to take the field. Fortunately for the
+regiment and for the country, the services of Thomas Wentworth
+Higginson, of Worcester, Mass., were secured as commander of this first
+regiment of Union soldiers raised in South Carolina. 'The right man in
+the right place' has not become so common a sight in our army, as to
+prevent our being thankful that so fit an appointment was made and
+accepted. Surely we are but just beginning to learn what heroes we have,
+when we see a man of high literary attainments, whose eloquent words,
+both spoken and written, have contributed so largely to the physical,
+mental, and moral culture of his countrymen, laying down the pen for the
+sword at the call of duty, and winning at once by his wisdom and skill
+the two highest objects of an officer's ambition, the devotion of his
+men, and the commendation of his superiors.
+
+Soon after arriving at Port Royal, I paid a visit to Colonel Higginson's
+regiment, then encamped about four miles from Beaufort. Setting out on
+horseback in company with one of the superintendents, our ride took us
+along the banks of the Beaufort river, past cotton plantations, and
+through pleasant woods bright with the golden blossoms of the pines.
+Although it was early in February, we saw the negroes at work in the
+fields, 'listing' the ground--a process of breaking up the soil with
+hoes--while here and there a solitary palmetto stood, like a scarecrow,
+as if to warn away all invaders. We soon reached 'Camp Saxton,' which we
+found pleasantly situated near a large and magnificent grove of live
+oaks, just at the bend of the river, where a fine view is given of the
+winding stream, the harbor of Port Royal, and the low-lying islands in
+the distance. The grove, which is the handsomest on the islands, was
+formerly part of a plantation belonging to a master well known by his
+cruelty toward his slaves, and the tree which served as the whipping
+post is still pointed out. A short distance from the camp, by the river
+side, may be seen the remains of an old Spanish fort, built of oyster
+shells, and said to have been erected in the year 1637.
+
+To one accustomed to notice the sanitary appearance of camps, the
+neatness observable both in the streets and tents of 'Camp Saxton' was
+an agreeable surprise. Few camps in any department of the army are
+better policed, or present to the visitor such a general air of order
+and cleanliness as this first encampment of Colonel Higginson's
+regiment. As we enter one of the streets a company inspection of arms is
+going on, which displays to good advantage the proficiency of the
+colored soldier in the minutiae of his work. Soon after, we are summoned
+to witness a battalion drill, and my companion, who has been both an
+army officer and a 'Democrat,' is extravagant in his praise of the
+movements and evolutions of the troops. Before leaving the camp we visit
+the snug and comfortable hospital into which Yankee ingenuity has
+metamorphosed the upper story of an old ginhouse. The surgeon informs us
+that the most common disease in the regiment is _pneumonia_, and that,
+in order to guard as far as possible against this, he has the middle
+board of the tent floor taken up just at night, and a fire built on the
+ground, to remove the dampness.
+
+We are careful to make our exit at the proper place, as negro soldiers
+on guard observe unwonted strictness, and we hear of their having
+threatened to shoot the commanding general himself for attempting to
+pass out at some other than the regular passage way.
+
+I have seen the soldiers of Colonel Higginson's regiment on several
+other occasions than the one above described, and have always found them
+displaying the same soldierly qualities. Their picketing of Port Royal
+island has not been surpassed by any white regiment for the rigor and
+watchfulness with which it was enforced. 'Will they fight?' is a
+question which the events of the war are fast answering in the
+affirmative. The South Carolina volunteers have not as yet met the
+rebels in close conflict; but, in holding captured places against large
+numbers of the enemy, in passing rebel batteries on the Florida rivers,
+and in hazardous excursions into the heart of the enemy's country, where
+they have been constantly exposed to the fire of sharp-shooters and
+guerillas, they have behaved as bravely as any other regiments in the
+service; while they have united to their ready obedience and prompt
+execution of orders, a dash and fierceness such as might have been
+expected from their excitable nature when under the stimulus of actual
+warfare. In view, therefore, of the admirable manner in which these
+freedmen have performed all the duties of a soldier's life which have
+thus far been required of them, it is fair to presume that in the fierce
+shock of open battle, they will acquit themselves like men. A striking
+illustration of the wide difference between the theories of those who
+oppose the use of the negro as a soldier, and the facts which the war is
+constantly revealing, was furnished on our passage from North Carolina
+to Port Royal. 'Will the negro troops be clean?' was asked of an officer
+of the regular army, and his reply was a highly wrought and imaginary
+description of the horrible condition of the garrisons, and the fearful
+epidemics, which would be occasioned by placing black soldiers in the
+forts on our Southern coast. The facts of the case in reference to the
+comparative cleanliness of white and black troops showed that, while the
+companies of regulars under this officer's care habitually neglected on
+ship-board the simplest sanitary regulations, such as sweeping and
+washing the decks, the negro soldiers who had been taken on our
+Government transports to various points on the Florida coast, daily
+observed these important rules, gaining thereby the commendation of the
+ship's officers, and promoting at the same time their own health and
+comfort. The explanation of this fact is found in the prompt and
+unquestioning obedience of the black soldier, the peculiar
+characteristic of those who have been accustomed in a state of servitude
+to execute the commands of those who were over them.
+
+The tide of public opinion is setting so strongly in favor of the use of
+negroes as soldiers, that the present danger seems to lie in the
+direction of our indulging in too extravagant expectations of their
+efficiency. We must not overlook the fact that, in the case of the
+former slaves, as much depends upon the character of their officers as
+upon the valor of the men. Nor should it be forgotten that among the
+freedmen who come within our lines, there is only a small proportion of
+able-bodied men capable of enduring the hardships of the service. In too
+many instances slavery has sapped the vigor of their lives, and the
+examinations of our surgeons have revealed an extent of physical
+weakness which is truly surprising. There can, however, no longer be any
+doubt in the minds of candid and loyal men, that the freedmen who are
+able to bear arms will prove themselves valiant soldiers, jealous
+defenders of their own and their country's liberties, and a terror to
+their enemies, who have so madly attempted to destroy both 'Liberty and
+Union.'
+
+
+
+
+A SPIRIT'S REPROACH.
+
+
+    I stood beside the altar with a friend,
+    To hear him plight his faith to a young bride,
+    A rosy child of simple heart and mind.
+    Yet two short years before, on that same spot,
+    I heard the funeral chant above the bier
+    Of a first wife--a woman bright as fair,
+    Or blessed or cursed with genius, full of fire--
+    Who loved him with a passion high and rare;
+    Whom he had won from paths of fame and art
+    To walk unknown life's quiet ways with him.
+    My mind was with the past, when the loud swell
+    Of music rose to greet the childlike bride,
+    The organ quivering as with solemn joy:
+    Alas! another voice breathed through it all,
+    Reproachful, haughty, wild, but very sad;
+    Near, though its tones fell from that farthest shore,
+    Where the eternal surge beats time no more!
+    Sadly I gazed upon my friend, to mark
+    If his new joys were quelled by the weird strains:
+    He heard it not--he only saw the face,
+    Blushing and girlish, 'neath its bridal veil;
+    Saw not the stronger spirit standing by,
+    With immortelles upon its massive front,
+    And drooping wings adown its snowy shroud,
+    And sense of wrong dewing its starry eye;
+    Nor heard the chant of agony, reproach,
+    Chilling the naive joy of the marriage song.
+
+       *   *   *   *
+
+    'Say, canst thou woo another for thy bride,
+    Whilst I am living--ever near thee still!
+    Renounce the faith so often pledged to me,
+    Forget me, while I dream of thee in heaven!
+    When the word _love_ first fell upon my ear,
+    I was a dreamer wrapped in pleasant thoughts,
+    Dwelling in themes apart from common life,
+    Nor needed aught for bliss save my still hours,
+    My studies, and the poet's golden lyre.
+    The stars revealed to me their trackless paths,
+    The flowers whispered me their secrets sweet,
+    And science oped her ways of calm and light.
+    Yet love, like ancient scroll, was closely rolled;
+    I had no wish to read its mystic page;
+    Its wooing wakened in me wondering scorn,
+    Its homage insult to my virgin pride;
+    If lovers knelt, 'twas but to be denied.
+
+    And yet it pleased to know myself so fair,
+    Because I loved the Beautiful. We met!
+    Dark, fierce, and full of power thy features were,
+    Yet finely cut, chiselled and sculptured well,
+    Reminding me of antique demigod.
+    The dream of the wild Greek, maddened with light
+    From Beauty's sun, before me living stood.
+    Ah! not of marble were thy features pale!
+    Like summer's lightning, lights and shadows danced
+    As feelings surged within thy stormful soul.
+    Full of high thoughts and poetry wert thou:
+    I left the paths of thought to hear thee speak
+    Of love and its devotion, endless truth.
+    All nature glowed with sudden, roseate light;
+    The waves of ocean, mountains, forests dim,
+    The waterfall, the flower, the clinging moss,
+    Were woven in types of purity and peace,
+    To etherealize and beautify thy love.
+    Marriage of souls, eternal constancy,
+    Gave wildering love new worth and dignity.
+    My maiden pride was soothed, and if I felt
+    Repelled by human passion, still I joyed
+    In sacrifice that made me wholly thine.
+    We wedded--and I rested on thy heart,
+    Counted its throbs, and when I sadly thought
+    They measured out the fleeting sands of life,
+    I smiled at Time--_Love lives eternally!_
+    I was not blind to my advantages,
+    Yet I became a humble household dove,
+    Smoothing to thy caress the eager wings
+    Which might have borne me through the universe.
+    All wealth seemed naught; had stars been in my gift,
+    I would have thrown them reckless all to thee!
+    Two happy years--how swift they fleeted by!--
+    And then I felt a fluttering, restless life
+    Throbbing beneath my heart; and with it knew
+    (I ne'er could tell you how such knowledge came)
+    That I must die! A moment's dread and pang
+    O'ercame me--then the bitter thought grew sweet:
+    My passing agony would win the boon
+    Of life immortal for _our_ infant's soul;
+    The innocent being, through whose veins would flow
+    Our mingling hearts for ever--ever--one!
+    We spoke of death, and of eternal life;
+    Many and fond the vows then pledged to me:
+    'If cruel death must sever us on earth,
+    Rest calmly on my never-changing love;
+    Now and forever it is solely thine!
+    _Thou art my soul's elect--my Bride in Heaven!_'
+
+    So deeply did I trust thy plighted faith,
+    I nerved my ardent soul to bear it all,
+    And calmly saw the fated hour approach,
+    Nor quailed before the pangs of death to give
+    Our living love to a fond father's kiss:
+    Smiling I placed him in thy arms--then died.
+    The songs of angels wooed me high above,
+    But my firm soul refused to leave its loves!
+    I won the boon from heaven to hover near,
+    To count the palpitations of thy heart,
+    And speak, unseen, to thee in varied ways.
+    I breathed to thee in music's plaintive tones,
+    I floated round thee in the breath of flowers,
+    I wooed thee in the poet's tender page,
+    And through the blue eyes of our orphaned child
+    I gazed upon thee with the buried love
+    So fraught with faith and haunting memories.
+    With spirit power I ranged the world of thought
+    To twine thee with the blue 'Forget me not!'
+
+       *   *   *   *
+
+    Oh, God! thine eye seeks now a fresher face,
+    Thy voice has won another's earnest love,
+    Her head rests on the heart once pledged to me,
+    And I have poured my worship on the dust!
+    He loves again, and yet I gave him all--
+    Been proud--is this 'the worm that never dies?'
+    Ah, what am I?--a ruined wreck adrift
+    Upon a surging sea of endless pain!
+    Are human hearts all fickle, faithless, base?
+    Does levity brand all of mortal race?
+    When we shall meet within the Spirit's land,
+    How wilt thou bear my sorrow, my despair?
+    Wilt strive to teach me there thy new-found lore--
+    Forgetfulness? I could not learn the task!
+    Wilt seek to link again our broken ties?
+    Away! I would not stoop my haughty brow
+    To thing so false as thou! I love--yet scorn!
+    We give ourselves with purity but once;
+    The love of soul yields not to change of state;
+    Heaven's life news the broken ties of earth;
+    There is no death! all that has _truly_ lived,
+    Lives ever; feeling cannot die; it blooms
+    Immortal as the soul from which it springs!
+    Why do I shrink to own the bitter truth?
+    _I never have been loved--'twas mockery all!_'
+
+       *   *   *   *
+
+    Thus sang the tortured spirit, while the chant
+    Of the new bridal filled the quivering air.
+    The ring of gold upon the finger placed,
+    The girlish blushes, the groom's joyous smile,
+    Told all was over, and the crowd dispersed:
+    But the high face of the wrung spirit pressed
+    Upon my heart, haunting me with its woe.
+    What was her doom? Was she midst penal fires,
+    Whose flames must burn away the sins of life,
+    The hay and stubble of idolatrous love?
+    Ah, even in its root crime germs with doom!
+    Must suffering consume our earthly dross?
+    Is't pain alone can bind us to the Cross?
+    She worshipped _man_; true to his nature, he
+    Remained as ever fickle, sensuous, weak.
+    'Love is eternal!' True, but God alone
+    Can fill the longings of an immortal soul:
+    _The finite thirst is for the Infinite!_
+
+
+
+
+JEFFERSON DAVIS AND REPUDIATION.
+
+LETTER OF HON. ROBERT J. WALKER.
+
+
+    LONDON, 10, Half Moon Street, Piccadilly,
+
+                                    _June 30th, 1863._
+
+Soon after my arrival in London from New York, my attention was called,
+by some English, as well as American friends, to an article which had
+appeared more than a month previously in the London _Times_ of the 23d
+of March last. In the money article of that date is the following letter
+from the Hon. John Slidell, the Minister of Jefferson Davis at Paris.
+
+     'MY DEAR SIR:
+
+     I have yours of yesterday. I am inclined to think the people of
+     London confound Mr. Reuben Davis, whom I have always understood
+     to have taken the lead on the question of repudiation, with
+     President Jefferson Davis. I am not aware that the latter was
+     in any way identified with that question. I am very confident
+     that it was not agitated during his canvass for Governor, or
+     during his administration. The Union Bank bonds were issued in
+     direct violation of an express constitutional provision. There
+     is a wide difference between these bonds, and those of the
+     Planters' Bank, for the repudiation of which, neither excuse
+     nor palliation can be offered. I feel confident that Jefferson
+     Davis never approved or justified that repudiation. What may
+     have been his private opinions of the refusal to consider the
+     State of Mississippi bound to provide for the payment of the
+     Union Bank bonds, I do not know.
+
+                                        Yours truly,
+
+                                          'JOHN SLIDELL.'
+
+It is due to the editor of the _Times_ here to state, that, in his money
+article of the 23d March last, he refers to the controversy of that
+press with Jefferson Davis on that question in 1849, and, as regards the
+suggestion of Mr. Slidell, that it might have been Reuben Davis who was
+the repudiator in 1849, instead of Jefferson Davis, the editor remarked,
+'it is to be feared that the proof in the other direction is too
+strong.' Indeed, the editor might well be astonished at the supposition
+that Jefferson Davis, who subscribed the repudiation letter in question
+of the 25th May, 1849, as well as a still stronger communication of the
+29th August, 1849, should have been confounded, during a period of near
+fourteen years, by the press of Europe and America, with Reuben Davis,
+and that the supposed mistake should just now be discovered, especially
+as Reuben Davis never was a Senator of the United States from
+Mississippi, or from any other State.
+
+I was asked if it really was Reuben or Jefferson Davis who was the
+author of the letter in question advocating the repudiation of the Union
+Bank bonds of Mississippi, their recollection being, that it was the
+latter. I said that the repudiation letter in question of the 25th May,
+1849, was subscribed and published at its date in the Washington
+_Union_, by Jefferson Davis, as a Senator of the United States from
+Mississippi, which position he then held, that he was personally well
+known to me for nearly a fourth of a century, as was also Reuben Davis,
+and that the latter never had been a Senator of the United States from
+Mississippi, or any other State, as was well known to me, and would be
+shown by reference to the Journals of the United States Senate. I
+stated, that I had represented the State of Mississippi in the Senate of
+the United States from January, 1836, until March, 1845, when, having
+resigned that office, I was called to the Cabinet of President Polk, as
+Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, and remained in that
+position until the close of that administration in March, 1849. I added,
+that I was in Washington City, the capital of the Union, and residing
+there as a counsellor at law in the Supreme Court of the United States,
+when the first repudiation letter of Jefferson Davis, communicated by
+him to the editor of the _Union_ (a newspaper of that city), was
+published, on the 25th May, 1849, in that print, and very generally
+throughout the United States. It was remarked by me, that it was well
+known to myself personally, and I believed to every prominent public man
+of that date, especially those then in Washington, that Mr. Jefferson
+Davis was the author of that letter then published over his signature,
+and that he defended its doctrines, with all that earnestness and
+ability for which he was so distinguished. I was also residing in
+Washington, when Mr. Jefferson Davis published, over his signature, as a
+Senator of the United States from Mississippi, his well-known second
+repudiation letter, dated at his _residence_, 'Brierfield, Miss.,'
+August 29, 1849. This letter was addressed to the editors of the
+_Mississippian_, a newspaper published at Jackson, Mississippi, and was
+received by me in due course of mail. This letter extended over several
+columns, and was an elaborate defence of the repudiation of Mississippi.
+This letter also was generally republished throughout the United States.
+These views of Mr. Jefferson Davis attracted my most earnest attention,
+because, after a brief interval, he was one of my successors in the
+Senate of the United States, from Mississippi. I had always earnestly
+opposed the doctrine of repudiation in Mississippi, and the Legislature
+of 1840-'41, by which I was re-elected, passed resolutions by
+overwhelming majorities (hereafter quoted), denouncing the repudiation
+either of the Union Bank, or Planters' Bank bonds.
+
+At the period of the conversations before referred to, late in April or
+early in May last, I was, on this recital of the facts, strongly urged
+to make them known in Europe, to which my consent was given.
+
+After some investigation, however, the necessary documents fully to
+elucidate the whole subject could not be obtained here. It was
+necessary, therefore, to write home and procure them. This has been
+done, and I now proceed to a narrative of these transactions from the
+authentic historical public documents.
+
+The first letter of Mr. Jefferson Davis before referred to, of the 25th
+of May, 1849, was published by him as a Senator of the United States
+from Mississippi, over his signature, in the _Union_, a newspaper
+published at Washington City. That letter is in these words:
+
+     'DAILY UNION, WASHINGTON CITY, _May 25th, 1849_.
+
+    '_Statement furnished by Jefferson Davis,
+      Esq., Senator of the United States._
+
+     'The State of Mississippi has no other question with
+     bondholders than that of debt or no debt. When the United
+     States Bank of Pennsylvania purchased what are known as the
+     Union Bank bonds, it was within the power of any stock dealer
+     to learn that they had been issued in disregard of the
+     Constitution of the State whose faith they assumed to pledge.
+     By the Constitution and laws of Mississippi, any creditor of
+     the State may bring suit against the State, and test his claim,
+     as against an individual. To this the bondholders have been
+     invited; but conscious that they have no valid claim, have not
+     sought their remedy. Relying upon empty (because false)
+     denunciation, they have made it a point of honor to show what
+     can be shown by judicial investigation; i. e., that there being
+     no debt, there has been no default. The crocodile tears which
+     have been shed over ruined creditors, are on a par with the
+     baseless denunciations which have been heaped upon the State.
+     Those bonds were purchased by a bank then tottering to its
+     fall--purchased in violation of the charter of the bank, or
+     fraudulently, by concealing the transaction under the name of
+     an individual, as may best suit those concerned--purchased in
+     violation of the terms of the law under which the bonds were
+     issued, and in disregard of the Constitution of Mississippi, of
+     which the law was an infraction. To sustain the credit of that
+     rickety bank, the bonds were hypothecated abroad for interest
+     on loans which could not be met as they became due.
+
+     'A smaller amount is due for what are termed Planters' Bank
+     bonds of Mississippi. These evidences of debt, as well as the
+     coupons issued to cover accruing interest, are receivable for
+     State lands; and no one has a right to assume they will not be
+     provided for otherwise, by or before the date at which the
+     whole debt becomes due.
+
+                                      'JEFFERSON DAVIS.'
+
+To this letter the London _Times_, in its money article, of the 13th
+July, 1849, replied as follows:
+
+     'The case of Mississippi stands thus: In 1838 the State issued
+     bonds for five millions of dollars, to establish the Union
+     Bank. These bonds were dated June, 1838, bearing five per cent.
+     interest from date, and it was stipulated with the bank that
+     they should not be sold under their par value. On the 18th
+     August following, the bank sold all these bonds to the United
+     States Bank for five millions of dollars, payable in five equal
+     instalments in November, January, March, May, and July, but
+     without interest. The money was punctually paid to the
+     Mississippi Bank, and the Legislature of Mississippi, on the
+     terms of the sale being communicated to them, resolved, _'That
+     the sale of the bonds was highly advantageous to the State, and
+     in accordance with the injunctions of the charter, reflecting
+     the highest credit on the Commissioners, and bringing timely
+     aid to an embarrassed community.'_ In little more than two
+     years, however, the Mississippi Bank became totally insolvent,
+     having lost the entire five millions invested in it by the
+     State. Immediately on this having transpired, the Governor of
+     the State sent a message to the Legislature recommending them
+     to _repudiate_ (this was the first time the word was used)
+     their obligations, being founded on the plea, that as the bonds
+     were issued with interest payable from the date, and they had
+     been sold to the United States Bank for their nominal amount
+     only, the stipulation that they should not be disposed of below
+     their par value had been departed from. He further urged that
+     although the bonds had been sold ostensibly to Mr. Biddle, the
+     president of the United States Bank, the sale was actually to
+     the bank itself, which, by its charter, could not legally
+     purchase them. Hence, although Mississippi had received the
+     money for the bonds, it was thus proposed to refuse to repay
+     it, on the ground that the purchaser had no right to buy them.
+     The Legislature, however, was not quite prepared for this, and
+     accordingly, in responding to the Governor's message, they
+     resolved: '1st. That the State of Mississippi is bound to the
+     holders of the bonds of the State sold on account of the bank
+     for the amount of principal and interest. 2d. That the State of
+     Mississippi will pay her bonds, and preserve her faith
+     inviolate. 3d. That the insinuation that the State of
+     Mississippi would repudiate her bonds and violate her plighted
+     faith, is a calumny upon the justice, honor, and dignity of the
+     State.' But after this, the pecuniary condition of the State
+     became rapidly worse, and the disposition to pay diminished in
+     proportion. Accordingly a joint committee of the Legislature
+     appointed in 1842, reported that the State was not bound to pay
+     the bonds, advancing the reasons before mentioned, and also
+     another, namely, that the bonds had not been sanctioned in the
+     manner required by the Constitution, since, although the
+     provision that no loan should be raised, unless sanctioned by a
+     law passed through two successive Legislatures, had been
+     complied with, and the bonds had been legally authorized, the
+     act also prescribed certain conditions regarding the Bank of
+     Mississippi, which conditions had been altered by a subsequent
+     act, that had only passed through one Legislature.
+
+     'In addition to the five millions thus repudiated, Mississippi
+     owes two millions which she recognizes. It has always, however,
+     been a difference without distinction, since she pays no
+     dividends on either. From the period of repudiation up to the
+     present moment, all representations of the bondholders have
+     been treated with disregard. About a year and a half back,
+     however, one of the citizens of Mississippi, a Mr. Robbins,
+     admitted the moral liability of the State, and proposed that
+     the people should discharge it by voluntary contributions.
+
+     'The next step is the appearance of the letter from Mr.
+     Jefferson Davis, with whom we are now called upon to deal. This
+     statement, which was transmitted by him to the Washington
+     _Union_, in reply to our remarks of the 23d February last, runs
+     as follows.'
+
+Here the _Times_ inserts Mr. Jefferson Davis's repudiation letter before
+quoted.
+
+     'The assurance in this statement that the Planters' Bank, or
+     non-repudiated bonds, are receivable for State lands, requires
+     this addition, which Mr. Jefferson Davis has omitted, that they
+     are only so receivable upon lands being taken at three times
+     its current value. The affirmation afterward, that no one has a
+     right to assume that these bonds will not be fully provided for
+     before the date at which the principal falls due, is simply to
+     be met by the fact that portions of them fell due in 1841 and
+     1846, and that on these, as well as on all the rest, both
+     principal and interest remain wholly unpaid.
+
+     'Regarding the first part of the statement no comment could be
+     made which would not weaken its effect. Taking its principle
+     and its tone together, it is a doctrine which has never been
+     paralleled. Let it circulate throughout Europe, that a member
+     of the United States Senate in 1849, has openly proclaimed that
+     at a recent period the Governor and Legislative Assemblies of
+     his own State deliberately issued fraudulent bonds for five
+     millions of dollars to 'sustain the credit of a rickety bank;'
+     that the bonds in question, having been hypothecated abroad to
+     innocent holders, such holders had not only no claim against
+     the community by whose executive and representatives this act
+     was omitted, but that they are to be taunted for appealing to
+     the verdict of the civilized world, rather than to the judgment
+     of the legal officers of the State by whose functionaries they
+     have been already robbed; and that the ruin of toilworn men, of
+     women, of widows, and of children, and the 'crocodile tears'
+     which that ruin has occasioned, is a subject of jest on the
+     part of those by whom it has been accomplished; and then let it
+     be asked if any foreigner ever penned a libel on the American
+     character equal to that against the people of Mississippi by
+     their own Senator.'
+
+To this reply of the London _Times_, which (except in portions of
+Mississippi) was generally approved throughout the Union, Mr. Jefferson
+Davis responded in a very long letter, dated from his residence,
+Brierfield, Mississippi, August 29, 1849, addressed to the editors of
+the _Mississippian_. He begins as follows:
+
+     'The London _Times_ of July 13, 1849, contains an article which
+     most unjustly and unfairly attacks the State of Mississippi and
+     myself, because of a statement I made in refutation of a
+     former calumny against her, which was published in the same
+     paper.'
+
+This article of the London _Times_ Mr. Davis denounces as 'a
+_foreigner's slander_ against the government, the judiciary, and people
+of Mississippi;' 'very well for the high Tory paper as an attack upon
+our republican government;' as 'untrue;' 'the hypocritical cant of
+stockjobbers and _pensioned presses_' 'reckless of reputation;' 'hired
+advocates of the _innocent_ stock dealers of London 'Change;' 'a
+calumnious imputation.' These are pleasant epithets which Mr. Jefferson
+Davis applied to the London _Times_ and the London 'Change. But Mr.
+Jefferson Davis was very indignant, not only with London, but with all
+England; for he says,
+
+     'With far more propriety might _repudiation_ be charged on the
+     _English Government_, for the reduction of interest on her
+     loans when she consolidated her debts; for the income tax,
+     which compels fundholders to return part of the interest they
+     receive on their evidences of public debt, for the support of
+     the Government which is their debtor.'
+
+According, then, to Mr. Jefferson Davis, the London _Times_ and the
+London 'Change are great reprobates, and it is not Mississippi, but 'THE
+ENGLISH GOVERNMENT' which has repudiated their own public debt.
+
+From such angry epithets and fierce denunciation, the reader will be
+prepared to find very little argument in Mr. Jefferson Davis' second
+letter. He denies that Mississippi received the money. But a bank, of
+which she was the sole stockholder, and whose directory was all
+appointed by her, received it. They received it also for her exclusive
+benefit, for she, _as a State_, was to derive large profits on the stock
+of the bank, which was hers exclusively, and was paid for entirely by
+the proceeds of these bonds. Mississippi then, as a State, through her
+agents appointed by her, received this money. All governments must act
+through human agency, and the agency in this case, which received the
+money, was appointed entirely by the State. But this is not all. The
+Bank, which was exclusively a State bank, and based entirely on the
+proceeds of these State bonds, with no other stockholders, was directed
+by the charter to loan this money, the proceeds of these bonds, only to
+'the citizens of the State,' sec. 46, and so the loans were made. The
+State, then, through an agency appointed exclusively by itself, received
+this money, the proceeds of the State bonds, and the State, through this
+same agency, loaned this money to 'the citizens of the State,' who never
+repaid the loans. The State then received the money and loaned it out to
+its own citizens, who still hold it; and yet this money, obtained on the
+solemn pledge of the faith of the State, her citizens still hold, and
+the State repudiates her bonds on which the money was received, and Mr.
+Jefferson Davis sustains, indorses, and eulogizes this proceeding. Never
+was there a stronger case.
+
+Mr. Jefferson Davis reiterates in this letter his arguments contained in
+his previous communication of the 25th May, 1849, so fully answered by
+the editors of the London _Times_ in their money article before quoted
+of the 13th July, 1849. He elaborates, particularly, the legal position,
+that the bonds were invalid, because he says not sanctioned by two
+successive Legislatures as required by the Constitution of Mississippi.
+This statement is erroneous, because the loan, in the precise form in
+which the bonds were issued, was sanctioned by two successive
+Legislatures in perfect conformity with the Constitution. This is shown,
+as will be proved hereafter, by reference to the laws passed by the
+State, and such was the decision on this very point by the highest
+judicial tribunal of Mississippi, in 1842 and 1853. But let us suppose
+that there was some technical legal informality as to the law, would
+that justify the repudiation of these bonds? The Legislature had passed
+laws in 1837 and 1838 authorizing the issue and sale of these bonds,
+those acts had been all signed and approved by the Governor of the
+State, the bonds had been signed by the Governor and Treasurer of the
+State, the broad seal of the State had been affixed to them by the
+Governor, they were placed in the hands of the authorities of the State
+for sale, they were sold by them, and the full amount paid over to the
+agency appointed by the State, and by that agency the money was loaned
+to the 'citizens of the State' and still retained by them. When the sale
+of these State bonds in August, 1838, together with all the facts and
+documents, were placed by the Governor before the Legislature in 1839,
+they ratified and highly approved the sale, as before quoted by the
+_Times_, and again still more decidedly in 1841. And yet the State, on
+the technical grounds stated by Mr. Davis, repudiated their bonds. It
+was unconstitutional to return the money which they had borrowed and
+used! Could anything be more absurd or dishonorable than this? The law
+says, if a man borrows money without certain legal authentications, he
+shall not be forced to repay; but if he receives and uses the money, and
+then interposes such technical pleas, he is justly deemed infamous. He
+has violated his honor. And is the honor of an individual more sacred
+than that of a state or nation? State and national debts rest upon
+faith, they repose upon honor, the obligation is sacred, and must be
+fulfilled. It can never he illegal or unconstitutional to _pay a debt_,
+where the money has been received by a state or a nation. And, where a
+State, acting through its supreme Executive and Legislature, has issued
+its bonds and affixed its seal, and they have passed into the hands of
+_bona fide_ holders, the obligation must be fulfilled. For a state or
+nation, having issued its bonds under its highest legislative and
+executive sanction, to say, that their own functionaries mistook some of
+the formalities of the law, and refuse payments, is a fraud upon the
+_bona fide_ holders, and can never be sustained before the tribunal of
+the world. But when, besides the Legislature and Executive of the State,
+its highest judicial tribunals have declared the bonds perfectly
+constitutional and valid, and to have been sold in accordance with the
+terms of the law, for such repudiation of such bonds it is difficult to
+find any language sufficiently strong to mark the infamy of such a
+transaction.
+
+If indeed the formalities of the Constitution had not been complied
+with, and this were not a mere pretext, how easy would it have been to
+have passed a new act in conformity with the constitutional formalities,
+assuming the debt, or providing for the issue of new bonds to be
+delivered to the holders on the return of those alleged to be informal.
+But the truth is, this alleged unconstitutionality was a mere pretext
+for repudiating a just debt: it never occurred to the Legislatures which
+passed these laws in 1837 and 1838, or to the Governor, who signed them,
+and was rejected by the Legislature in 1839, and again, in the most
+solemn form, in 1841.
+
+And now let me trace the history of this transaction chronologically.
+The original act chartering the bank, with the 5th section authorizing
+the loan, was passed by the Legislature January 21st, 1837, and again,
+in strict compliance with the provisions of the Constitution, reenacted
+in the same words on the 5th of February, 1838. Now the bonds issued are
+in strict conformity with this law, and an exact copy of the form of the
+bonds prescribed by the law. If then, the supplemental act of the 15th
+February, 1838, was unconstitutional, null, and void, as contended by
+the repudiators, then the whole original act remained in full force, and
+the bonds were valid under that law, and such was the unanimous decision
+of the High Court of Errors and Appeals of Mississippi, as will be shown
+hereafter. It was contended before the court (and by Mr. Davis in his
+last letter) that, under the original law, certain acts were to be
+performed before the bonds could issue. But here again, it is plain on
+the face of the law, and so the High Court of Errors and Appeals of
+Mississippi unanimously decided, that these acts were not required to be
+performed as _conditions precedent_ to the issue of the bonds, and that
+the issue and sale of the bonds were perfectly valid before these acts
+had been performed. The bonds then are in exact conformity with a law,
+which was passed by two successive Legislatures, precisely as provided
+by the Constitution.
+
+In 1836 there was a great pecuniary embarrassment in Mississippi,
+attributed by many to what was called the _specie circular_, and soon
+followed a suspension of the banks. Under these circumstances there was
+an almost universal demand in Mississippi for relief measures. As a
+consequence, the attention of the Legislature was absorbed almost
+exclusively in the consideration of remedies for the existing
+embarrassments. The result was the enactment, on the 21st January, 1837,
+of the law, creating the Union Bank of Mississippi. This bank was based
+upon loans to be obtained upon bonds of the State, the proceeds of
+which, when sold, were to constitute the capital of the bank, which
+money, by the terms of the charter, was to be loaned to the '_citizens
+of the State_,' to relieve the existing embarrassments.
+
+The fifth section of the act was the only one in which any authority was
+given for a loan by the State, and any power to pledge its faith. That
+section, entire, was as follows:
+
+     'That, in order to facilitate the said Union Bank for the said
+     loan of fifteen millions five hundred thousand dollars, the
+     faith of this State be, and is hereby pledged, both for the
+     security of the capital and interest, and that 7,500 bonds of
+     $1,000 each, to wit: 1,875 payable in twelve years; 1,875 in
+     fifteen years; 1,875 in eighteen years; and 1,875 in twenty
+     years, and bearing interest at the rate of five per cent. per
+     annum, shall be signed by the Governor of the State to the
+     order of the Mississippi Bank, countersigned by the State
+     Treasurer, and under the seal of the State; said bonds to be in
+     the following words, viz.:
+
+     '$2,000. Know all men by these presents, that the State of
+     Mississippi _acknowledges to be indebted_ to the Mississippi
+     Union Bank in the sum of two thousand dollars, which sum the
+     said State of Mississippi _promises to pay_ in current money of
+     the United States to the order of the President, Directors, and
+     Company in the ---- year ----with interest at the rate of five
+     per cent. per annum, payable half yearly, at the place named in
+     the indorsement hereto, viz.: ---- on the ---- of every year
+     until the payment of the said principal sum: in testimony
+     whereof the Governor of the State of Mississippi has signed,
+     and the Treasurer of the State has countersigned these
+     presents, and caused the seal of the State to be affixed
+     thereto, at Jackson, this ---- in the ---- year of our Lord.
+
+                                             '_Governor._
+
+                                             '_Treasurer._'
+
+The whole act, of which this section was a part, was passed by the
+Legislature and approved by the Governor in 1837, and the entire section
+as to the loan as required by the provision of the Constitution of the
+State, was referred to the action of the next succeeding Legislature.
+That succeeding Legislature was chosen in November, 1837, and assembled,
+at its regular session, in January, 1838. After full discussion in both
+houses, this act of 1837 was passed by large majorities in both branches
+of the Legislature, and approved by the new Governor, A. G. McNutt, on
+the 5th of February, 1838. The act of 1837, including the 5th section,
+before quoted, was thus reenacted by the succeeding Legislature, without
+any change whatever. There was then a full, complete, and undisputed
+compliance with the requirements of the Constitution, and, under this
+act, thus sanctioned by two successive Legislatures, it is conceded that
+the faith of the State was pledged, and that the bonds might be issued
+and sold. But it is contended by Mr. Jefferson Davis in his first, as
+well as his second letter, before quoted, that the bonds are invalid,
+because of the supplemental act of the 15th of February, 1838. Now, it
+will be observed, that no change whatever was made by this supplemental
+act, in this 5th section of the original act, before quoted, by which
+alone the faith of the State was pledged for the payment of these bonds,
+and which section alone, as required by the Constitution, had been
+referred to the action of the succeeding Legislature. No change whatever
+was made by the supplemental act in that section of the original act,
+the bonds were issued and sold in precise conformity with its
+provisions, and, indeed, these bonds, thus actually issued and sold, are
+a precise and literal copy of the form of the bonds as given in the
+original act, as before quoted. The supplemental act changed only some
+of the '_details_' of the charter of the Bank, but made no alteration
+whatever in the 5th section. This supplemental act, which is now
+denounced by Jefferson Davis as unconstitutional, was passed, after the
+fullest investigation of this question, as to the power of the
+Legislature, with favorable reports as to the constitutional power by
+the joint Committee of both Houses. The Committee reported to the
+Senate, that, by a 'supplemental bill' 'it is competent for this
+Legislature to alter and amend the details of the bill, incorporating
+the subscribers to the Mississippi Union Bank, passed at the last
+session of the Legislature of this State.' (Senate Journal, 103.)
+
+The report of the Committee to the House was as follows: 'The said
+Committee are of the opinion, that it is within the province of the
+Legislature to amend or change the details of the said Mississippi Union
+Bank Charter,' &c. (House Journal, p. 117.) Such was the opinion of the
+joint Committee of both Houses of the Legislature, which reported this
+supplemental act, which act was passed by the vote of 22 to 3 in the
+Senate (Journal, 320), and 55 to 22 in the House. (Journal, 329-30.) It
+would appear, then, that in the opinion of an overwhelming majority of
+both branches of the Legislature of Mississippi, the supplemental act
+was constitutional; and the act was approved by A. G. McNutt, the
+Governor of the State, and thus became a law on the 15th of February,
+1838. Indeed, the idea that a subsequent Legislature could change none
+of the details of a bank charter, because there was embodied in the act
+a separate and distinct section authorizing a loan of money by the
+State, seemed to me never to rise to the dignity of a question. Such, we
+have seen, was the view of the Legislatures of 1838, 1839, and 1841, and
+such was the unanimous decision, hereafter quoted, of the Chancellor and
+Circuit Judge of Mississippi, and of the supreme judicial tribunal, the
+High Court of Errors and Appeals of the State, in two decisions, on this
+very point, and in favor of the constitutionality of this law. One of
+these decisions was made in January, 1842, and the other in April, 1853.
+These decisions were conclusive against the State, and binding upon the
+Legislature, the Governor, and the people, for the following reasons.
+The Constitution of the State of Mississippi contains the following
+clause:
+
+     'ARTICLE II. _Distribution of Powers._
+
+     'Sec. 1. The powers of the Government of the State of
+     Mississippi shall be divided into three distinct departments,
+     and each of them confided to a separate body of magistracy; to
+     wit, those which are legislative to one, those which are
+     judicial to another, and those which are executive to another.
+
+     'Sec. 2. No person or collection of persons, being of one of
+     these departments, shall exercise any power properly belonging
+     to either of the others, except in the instances hereinafter
+     expressly directed or permitted.'
+
+It is not pretended that any exception was made for this case. The
+contrary has always been held by the courts of Mississippi. Indeed, as
+late as October term, 1858, this very question was decided by the High
+Court of Errors and Appeals of Mississippi, when it was ruled by the
+court that 'the Legislature may not, therefore, exercise powers which in
+their nature are judicial.' (Isom. _v._ Missis. R. R. Co., 7 George
+314.)
+
+In the 9th section of the 7th article of the Constitution of Mississippi
+is found the provision on which Mr. Jefferson Davis relies requiring the
+assent of two successive Legislatures to pledge the faith of the State.
+Immediately succeeding this provision is the following: 'The Legislature
+_shall direct_ by law in what courts suits may be brought against the
+State.'
+
+These two consecutive sections of the _same article_ of the
+Constitution, being in _pari materia_, are to be construed together.
+Indeed, it is a well known historical fact, that this 9th section, as
+regards the pledge of the faith of the State, which is now perverted to
+a wholly different purpose, was intended to give greater solemnity and a
+higher credit to the bonds of the State, as was likewise the provision
+in the same Constitution of 1832, sanctioning by name the Planters' Bank
+bonds of the State (now unpaid), in consequence of which, they were sold
+at a premium of thirteen and a half per cent. In pursuance of the
+provision of the Constitution before quoted, the Legislature of
+Mississippi, in 1833, passed an act, designating the Court of Chancery
+as the one in which suits might be brought against the State, with the
+right of appeal by either party to the High Court of Errors and Appeals.
+That act was passed in 1833, in pursuance of this _mandatory_ provision
+of the Constitution before quoted. That act provided, that, if the
+decree of the court should be against the State, the Governor _shall
+issue_ his mandate to the Auditor to draw on the Treasurer to pay the
+decree, but 'no execution whatever shall ever issue on any decree in
+chancery against the State of Mississippi, whereby the State may be
+dispossessed of lands, tenements, goods and chattels.' (Howard's Dig.
+523, 524.)
+
+Here, then, are the two consecutive provisions of the Constitution in
+_pari materia_, the one designating the mode by which the bonds of the
+State might be issued, and the other the judicial tribunals in which all
+disputes as to such bonds might be _definitively_ settled, and payment
+made, if the decree were against the State. That Constitution vested the
+_whole judicial power of the State_ in the courts, it vested nothing but
+'legislative power' in the Legislature, and it prohibited the
+Legislature and Executive from exercising judicial power; it adopted the
+great fundamental principle of constitutional government, separating the
+executive, legislative, and judicial power. Indeed, it is the great
+doctrine of American law, that the concentration of any of these two
+powers, in any one body or functionary, is dangerous to liberty, and
+that the _consolidation_ of all of these powers creates a despotism. The
+interpretation of a law, and particularly of a constitution, which is
+made the 'supreme law,' the _lex legum_, has uniformly been regarded as
+exclusively a judicial, and not an executive or legislative function. In
+this case, however, it has been made clear by an express provision of
+the Constitution separating these functions, and designating, under its
+mandate, the _courts_ in which _suits_ shall be brought against the
+State, and the form of the decree to be rendered, and requiring payment
+to be at once made. A suit is a judicial act, and so is the decree of a
+court. Well, then, the highest judicial tribunals of Mississippi have
+twice decided this question; they have declared this supplemental act
+constitutional, these bonds valid, and the sale of them to be in
+conformity with the law; and, in a suit on one of these very bonds,
+after the fullest argument, the court entered a decree of payment,
+overruling every point made by Jefferson Davis; and yet the State still
+repudiates, as well after the first decision in 1842, as the second in
+1853. It is difficult to imagine a more palpable infraction of the
+Constitution, or a clearer violation of every principle of justice than
+this.
+
+The State prescribes certain forms under which her bonds may issue; she
+adds to this, in the very _next section_, a provision _commanding_ the
+Legislature to designate the judicial tribunals in which suit may be
+brought on such bonds against the State; those tribunals are designated
+by the Legislature, namely, the Court of Chancery, with appeal to the
+High Court of Errors and Appeals of the State; both those tribunals
+(including the Chancellor) have unanimously decided against the State,
+and a decree is entered for payment of the bonds. And yet the State
+persists in repudiation, and Jefferson Davis defends her course. When
+the High Court of Errors and Appeals of Mississippi first decided this
+question, it was composed of Chief Justice Sharkey, and Justices Turner
+and Trotter (one of the framers of the Constitution). When, again, in
+1851, suit was brought against the State on one of these repudiated
+Union Bank bonds, and a decree for its payment rendered by the
+Chancellor, that decree, on full argument on appeal, was unanimously
+confirmed by the highest judicial tribunal of the State, composed
+entirely of different judges, namely, Chief Justice Smith, and Justices
+Yerger and Fisher. Here, then, are eight judges, all chosen by the
+people of Mississippi, concurring in 1842, as well as in 1853, as to the
+validity of these bonds; and yet Jefferson Davis justifies their
+repudiation. The judges of Mississippi all take an oath to support the
+Constitution, and it is made their duty to interpret it, and especially
+this very clause: the Legislature is confined to law making, and
+forbidden to exercise any judicial power; the expounding this
+supplemental law, and the provisions under which it was enacted, is
+exclusively a judicial power, and yet the Legislature _usurps_ this
+power, repudiates the bonds of the State, and the acts of three
+preceding Legislatures, and the decision of the highest tribunals of the
+State: Jefferson Davis sustains this repudiation, and the British public
+are asked to take new Confederate bonds, issued by the same Jefferson
+Davis, and thus to sanction, and encourage, and offer a premium for
+repudiation. These so-called Confederate bonds are issued in open
+violation of the Constitution of the United States; they are absolute
+nullities, they are tainted with treason, they never can or will be
+paid, and yet they are to be thrust on the British public under the
+sanction of the same great repudiator, Jefferson Davis, who applauds the
+non-payment of the Mississippi bonds, and thus condemns hundreds of
+innocent holders, including widows and orphans, to want and misery. Talk
+about _faith_, about _honor_, about _justice_, and the _sanctity of
+contracts_. Why, if such flagrant outrages, such atrocious crimes, can
+be sustained by the great public of any nation, small indeed must be the
+value of their bonds, which rests exclusively on good faith.
+
+Suppose some astute lawyer could find some informality in the law
+authorizing the issue and sale of the bonds representing the British
+consols; would any member of either House propose in Parliament to
+repudiate such bonds, and would not such a motion cause his immediate
+expulsion? Yet, this is what the Legislature of Mississippi has done,
+what Jefferson Davis approves and applauds, and what, _he says_, the
+'English Government' _has done_.
+
+The London _Times_ has heretofore quoted the proceedings of the
+Legislature of Mississippi in 1839, approving the sale of these bonds
+and eulogizing the transaction. It has also referred to the Message of
+Governor McNutt, of 1841, nearly three years after the sale of the
+bonds, first recommending their repudiation, and to the resolutions of
+the Legislature of Mississippi of that date, affirming the legality of
+these bonds and the duty of the State to pay them. As these resolutions
+are of great importance, and ought to have closed the whole controversy,
+I will state, what is shown by the Journals of the Senate and the House,
+that they passed both Houses, in great part _unanimously_, and for the
+remainder, by large majorities. (Sen. Jour. p. 312; House Jour. pp.
+416-417, 249, 324-329.)
+
+The objections made by Governor McNutt in 1841, were as follows:
+
+     '1st. The Bank of the United States is prohibited by its
+     charter from purchasing such stock, either directly or
+     indirectly.
+
+     '2d. It was fraudulent on the part of the bank, inasmuch as the
+     contract was made in the name of an individual, when, in fact,
+     it was for the benefit of the bank, and payment was made with
+     its funds.
+
+     '3d. The sale was illegal, inasmuch as the bonds were sold on a
+     credit.
+
+     '4th. Interest to the amount of about $170,000 having accrued
+     on those bonds before the purchase money was stipulated to be
+     all paid, the bonds were, in fact, sold at less than their par
+     value, in direct violation of the charter of the bank.' (House
+     Journal, p. 25).
+
+It will here be remarked, that the great objection now urged by
+Jefferson Davis against these bonds, namely, that the act under which
+they were alleged to have been issued was unconstitutional, is _not
+enumerated_ by Governor McNutt. Surely if such an objection existed to
+the payment of the bonds, it must have found a place in this celebrated
+message. Is not this conclusive proof that this constitutional objection
+was a mere afterthought and pretext of Jefferson Davis and his associate
+repudiators?
+
+Let us examine the Governor's objections. As to the 1st and 2d--the bank
+did not make the purchase; the contract was made by an individual,
+although the performance was guaranteed by the bank. As this is a mere
+technical objection, surely the Bank guarantee, even if void, could not
+affect the contract itself. 2d. The purchase, even if made by the bank,
+was not of _stock_, but a _loan_ made upon _bonds_. 3d. The right of the
+bank to make the purchase is immaterial, if the money was paid, as in
+this case, the bonds received, payable to bearer, and passed for value,
+into the hands of _bona fide_ holders. What an objection to the
+refunding the money--that, although it was received, the purchaser of
+the bonds had no right to buy them, and therefore the _bona fide_
+holders should lose the money. It might have been in violation of its
+charter for the bank to purchase the bonds, but it was '_fraudulent_,'
+when the money was received by the State, to retain it, on the
+allegation, that the bank could not legally make the purchase,
+especially when the bonds, in the mean time, had passed into the hands
+of _bona fide_ holders. As to the 3d objection--as the money was paid
+before the objection was made, and the Union Bank authorized to draw _at
+once_ for the amount, at a point beyond the limits of the State, which
+it did do, and realized a large premium on the exchange, and profit on
+the transaction, the objection is as unfounded in law as it is in morals
+or good faith; especially as the bonds were payable to bearer, upon
+their face, in exact conformity to the law, and had passed, for value,
+into the hands of _bona fide_ holders. Besides, there was no such
+restriction in the charter. The only restriction in the supplement was,
+that they should not be sold _below par_. Suppose the bonds for five
+millions of dollars had been sold for five millions and a half, payable
+in sixty days, and the money paid at the time, it is equally absurd and
+fraudulent to contend, that for such a reason, the whole money could be
+retained, and bonds repudiated. As to the 4th objection, the original
+5th section which passed two successive Legislatures, did not require
+that the bonds should not be sold for 'less than their par value.' If,
+then, as contended by Jefferson Davis, the supplemental act containing
+this provision, was unconstitutional, null and void, then no such
+restriction existed, and the sale was valid under the original act. But
+the truth is, the bonds were not sold _below par_, but _above par_, as
+shown by the High Court of Errors and Appeals of Mississippi, in the
+decision hereafter quoted by me. Indeed, all these four objections of
+the Governor, as well as those of Jefferson Davis, are shown in that
+decision to be as unfounded in fact, as they were in law or morals.
+
+But suppose the bonds were sold below par, that is, that the State had
+lost $170,000, or less than four per cent., on bonds for five millions
+of dollars. Was that a just or valid ground for repudiating the whole,
+principal and interest? The plea of _usury_ is always disgraceful, even
+if true, especially where the security was negotiable to bearer and had
+passed, for full value, into the hands of _bona fide_ holders. But if
+such a plea is disgraceful to individuals, what shall be said when it is
+made on behalf of a State? And what shall be thought of those who make
+such an objection? What of a Governor, or of a United States Senator,
+who urges such objections on behalf of a State? Do we not feel as if the
+State were some miserable culprit on trial, and some pettifogging lawyer
+was endeavoring to screen him from punishment, by picking a flaw in the
+indictment. Yet such are the pleas on behalf of a State, urged by
+Governor McNutt and Senator Jefferson Davis. On reference to the letter
+before referred to, of Jefferson Davis, it will be found that he does
+not confine himself to the constitutional objections. In his first
+letter, before quoted, of 25th May, 1849, Mr. Jefferson Davis says,
+'Those bonds were purchased by a bank then tottering to its
+fall--purchased in violation of the charter of the bank, or
+fraudulently, by concealing the transaction under the name of an
+individual, as may best suit those concerned, purchased in violation of
+the terms of the law under which the bonds were issued, and in disregard
+of the Constitution of Mississippi, of which the law was an infraction.'
+These positions are deliberately repeated by Jefferson Davis, in his
+second letter, before referred to, of the 29th August, 1849. That is,
+the State should pay _none_ of the money received, because the
+purchaser, as alleged, had no right to buy the bonds--and because the
+sale was, as erroneously stated, an infraction of the law, that is
+_usurious_, or a sale below par. He insists the money was not received
+by the State, because, he says, 'Mississippi had no bank, and could not
+have a bank of issue, because forbidden by the tenth section of the
+first article of the United States Constitution--'no State shall emit
+bills of credit.'' Surely Mr. Davis must have known, that in the case of
+the Bank of Kentucky, a State bank of issue owned exclusively by the
+State, it was decided by the Supreme Court of the United States, that
+such a bank was constitutional, and no politician of the secession
+school can object to that decision. (2 Peters 257.) But however this
+might be, what kind of a plea is this? Why, if, as alleged by Mr. Davis,
+Mississippi had violated the Federal Constitution, by establishing a
+bank of circulation, that therefore the _bonds_ of the State should be
+repudiated. Is it not incredible that a Senator should assume such a
+position on behalf of his State? But, if this be sound, it clearly
+follows, that, inasmuch as the Confederate bonds are issued in plain
+violation of the Constitution of the United States, those bonds should
+be repudiated; so also if they were sold below par, or if there be any
+other technical objection. Nor will it avail that the bonds may have
+passed into the hands of _bona fide_ holders, for, Mr. Jefferson Davis
+says, in his letter of the 29th August, 1849, 'If the bonds have passed
+into the hands of innocent holders, the fact does not vary the legal
+question, as the purchaser could not acquire more than the seller had to
+dispose of.' And again, he says, referring to the alleged inability of
+the first purchaser to buy the bonds, 'The claim of foreign holders is
+as good, but no better, than that of the first purchaser.' It is
+difficult to say which is most astounding, the law or the morals of this
+position. At all events, 'the foreign holders' of Confederate bonds are
+informed by Jefferson Davis, that this is the law. Indeed it is a
+singular coincidence, that one of the objections made to the payment of
+the Union Bank bonds by the Governor, was, as he alleged, 'the monstrous
+assumption of power on the part of the bank, in seeking to monopolize
+the _cotton crop_ of the State, and becoming a _factor_ and _shipper_ of
+our great staple.' (Senate Journals, 29.) Why, this is what is being
+attempted by these Confederate cotton bonds, although the State-rights
+strict constructionists of slavedom would in vain look for any clause in
+their so-called constitution, authorizing any such transactions in
+cotton. And here, let me say, that the objection of a Senator from
+Mississippi to the payment of her bonds, that, in issuing them, her
+Governor and Legislature had violated _their own Constitution_, proposes
+to cure one fraud, by committing another far more stupendous. The bonds
+were issued by the highest legislative and executive functionaries of
+the State, the broad seal of the State attached, the bonds sold, and the
+money received. In such a case, there is a legal, as well as a moral
+estoppel, forbidding such a plea, for, by the English, as well as by the
+American doctrine, an estoppel excludes the truth, whenever such proof
+would enable the party, who obtained money on false pretences, to commit
+a fraud on third persons, by disproving his own averment. This is not a
+mere technical rule, but one which is based upon experience, and
+sustained by the most exalted morality.
+
+I have given the several objections made by Governor McNutt and Senator
+Davis to the payment of these bonds, with one exception. This will be
+found in the following extract from the executive message of Governor
+McNutt, (p. 502): 'The bank, I have been informed, has hypothecated
+these bonds, and borrowed money upon them of the Baron Rothschild; the
+blood of Judas and Shylock flows in his veins, and he unites the
+qualities of both his countrymen. He has mortgages on the silver mines
+of Mexico and the quicksilver mines of Spain. He has advanced money to
+the Sublime Porte, and taken as security a mortgage upon the holy city
+of Jerusalem, and the sepulchre of our Saviour. It is for the people to
+say, whether he shall have a mortgage upon our cotton fields and make
+serfs of our children.' I trust the baron will have the good sense to
+smile at such folly, and realize how universally, at least throughout
+the North, the malice and dishonesty of these suggestions was condemned
+and repudiated. We have no such prejudices, worthy only of the dark
+ages, against 'God's chosen people,' 'the descendants of the patriarchs
+and prophets,' and the 'countrywomen of the mother of our Lord.'
+
+But this whole question has been twice unanimously decided by the
+highest judicial tribunal of Mississippi against the State, and every
+point made by Governor McNutt and Jefferson Davis overruled by the
+court. One of these decisions was in January term, 1842, more than seven
+years before the date of Jefferson Davis's letters, and the other was at
+April term, 1853, nearly four years subsequently.
+
+The first decision, at January term, 1842, is in the case of Campbell et
+al. _v._ Mississippi Union Bank (6 Howard 625 to 683). In this case it
+was pleaded 'that the charter of the Mississippi Union Bank was not
+enacted and passed by the Legislature in compliance with the provisions
+of the Constitution of the State, in this, that the supplemental act of
+15th February, 1838, the same being a law to raise a loan of money on
+the credit of the State, was not published and submitted to the
+succeeding Legislature, according to the provisions of the Constitution
+in 9th section, 7th article.' Here the direct constitutional question
+was presented, requiring the decision of the Court. The case was most
+elaborately argued on both sides. The able and upright circuit judge,
+Hon. B. Harris, had decided that the supplemental act was
+constitutional, and the bonds valid, and the High Court of Errors and
+Appeals of Mississippi, after full argument on both sides, unanimously
+affirmed that decision. In delivering the opinion of this highest
+judicial tribunal of the State, and the one designated by the
+Legislature in 1833, under the _mandatory_ clause of the Constitution,
+Chief Justice Sharkey said:
+
+     'The second plea is, in substance, that the act supplemental to
+     the charter of the Union Bank, was not agreed to by a majority
+     of each House of the Legislature, and entered on the journals
+     with the yeas and nays, and referred to the next succeeding
+     Legislature, after publication in the newspapers, according to
+     the provisions of the 9th section of the 7th article of the
+     Constitution; but the said supplemental act made material
+     alterations in the original act, and was only passed by one
+     Legislature, and that no loan of money can be made on the faith
+     of the State without the assent of two Legislatures, given in
+     the manner prescribed by the Constitution.'--'I shall then
+     proceed to notice the constitutional provision, and to inquire,
+     by an application of it to the bank charter, whether the
+     position can be sustained. The 9th section of the 7th article
+     (of the Constitution) is in these words: 'No law shall ever be
+     passed to raise a loan of money on the credit of the State, for
+     the payment or redemption of any loan or debt, unless such law
+     be proposed in the Senate or House of Representatives, and be
+     agreed to by a majority of the members of each House, and
+     entered on their journals, with the yeas and nays taken
+     thereon, and be referred to the next succeeding Legislature,
+     and published for three months previous to the next regular
+     election, in three newspapers of the State, and unless a
+     majority of each branch of the Legislature, so elected after
+     such publication, shall agree to pass such law, and in such
+     case, the yeas and nays shall be taken, and entered on the
+     journals of each House.'
+
+     'The 5th section of the original act provides--'That in order
+     to facilitate the said Union Bank for the said loan of fifteen
+     million five hundred thousand dollars, the faith of this State
+     be and is hereby pledged, both for the security of the capital
+     and interest,' &c. It appears that the original charter in
+     which this provision is contained, was passed in accordance
+     with the provision in the Constitution. The supplemental act
+     makes no alteration whatever in regard to this section. It
+     changes in some respects the mere details of the original
+     charter, in the mode of carrying the corporation into
+     successful operation, and authorizes the Governor to subscribe
+     for the stock on the part of the State. The object of the
+     pledge is not changed; on the contrary, the supplemental act
+     was passed in aid of the original design. In applying the
+     constitutional test to the 5th section, I am not able to
+     perceive any reason which to me seems sufficient to justify the
+     conclusion that it is unconstitutional.'
+
+     'The plea presents no bar to the action.'
+
+Justices Turner and Trotter concurred.
+
+Mr. Howard, the distinguished State reporter, gives, in the heading of
+the case, the following as the decision of the court. 'The act
+supplemental to the charter of the Union Bank, being in aid of the
+charter, and changing the same only in some of the mere details, is a
+constitutional act.'
+
+Surely this decision should have settled the question. But it did not.
+The Governor, A. G. McNutt, who had signed the laws authorizing these
+bonds, and the bonds themselves, anticipating the decision of the court
+(as he indicates in his message) in favor of 'the holders of certain
+bonds heretofore issued to the Planters' and Union Bank,' recommends the
+Legislature, in his message of January, 1842, to create a 'revenue
+court,' the judge of which shall be appointed 'by the Executive or
+Legislature,' to which such cases should be transferred. (Sen. Jour. p.
+22.) Thus the case, on the bonds, was to be taken from the high tribunal
+(where it was then pending) created by the Constitution, and chosen by
+the people, and transferred to a revenue judge to be appointed by the
+repudiating Governor and Legislature of 1842, of course a mere executive
+parasite, or legislative minion, placed on the bench to repudiate the
+bonds. Fortunately, such an appointment was forbidden expressly by the
+Constitution, and would have been disregarded by the court; so this
+attempted usurpation failed.
+
+The Governor says in that message:
+
+     'It never was intended by the framers of the Constitution, that
+     every public creditor should be permitted to harass the State
+     at pleasure by vexatious suits. Neither the judgment of a court
+     nor the decree of the Chancellor _can be obligatory on the
+     Legislature_,' &c. (P. 17.)
+
+In conformity with this recommendation of the Governor, the Legislature
+passed a series of resolutions declaring that 'the Legislature is the
+exclusive judge of the objects for which money shall be raised and
+appropriated by its authority,' &c.; that the Legislature has no right
+to 'levy or appropriate money for the purpose of executing the object of
+a law, by them deemed repugnant to, or unauthorized by the
+Constitution;' that the 'Supplemental (Union Bank) Bill is
+unconstitutional;' that 'the bonds delivered by said bank, and by it
+sold to Nicholas Biddle on the 18th August, 1838, are not binding upon
+the State,' &c. (Acts of 1842, ch. 127.) But, unfortunately for these
+positions, the Constitution of the State had deprived the Legislature of
+all 'judicial power;' it had vested this power exclusively in 'the
+courts;' it had, in the very case of all bonds of the State, required
+and commanded the Legislature to designate the _courts_ in which such
+cases should be decided; it had, by the act of 1833, passed in obedience
+to the imperative mandate of the Constitution, referred all such cases
+to the decision of the Court of Chancery, with appeal to the High Court
+of Errors and Appeals; it had made their decision conclusive; it had
+already appropriated the money, to pay _all such decrees_, and made it
+the _duty_ of the Governor to command the Auditor to draw his warrant on
+the Treasurer for payment: this was the constitution of the law when
+these bonds were issued and sold in 1838--such was the _contract_ of the
+State, in regard to which the Federal Constitution declares, 'no State
+shall pass any law impairing the obligation of contracts'--which clause
+has been uniformly held by all the Federal as well as State Courts, to
+apply to contracts of a State--and yet, in flagrant defiance of the
+highest duties and the most sacred obligations, the Legislature passed
+these resolutions, to nullify the anticipated decisions of the court. We
+have seen, however, that this executive and legislative usurpation
+was ineffectual. The court stood firm, not a single judge
+wavered, and, by a unanimous decree, reversed the legislative and
+executive repudiation--vindicated the majesty of the law and the
+Constitution--upheld the sacred cause of truth and justice--resisted the
+popular frenzy, and defied the unprincipled demagogues by whom the
+people of the State had been deceived and deluded. It was a noble
+spectacle, when those three upright and fearless Judges, Sharkey,
+Turner, and Trotter, entered the temple of justice, and declared to the
+people, by whose ballots they were chosen, that the State was bound to
+pay these bonds, and decreed accordingly. The same sublime scene was
+reenacted by a similar decree, in a suit against the State, on one of
+these bonds, by the same court, in 1853, then composed of different
+judges--Smith, Yerger, and Fisher. And not one judge or chancellor of
+the State ever wavered. Amid all this heaven-daring iniquity, thank
+God! the judicial ermine was unstained. Whilst constrained to denounce
+the repudiating Legislature, Governor, and _Senator_ of Mississippi, let
+me point to another green spot amid the moral waste and desolation of
+that dreadful period.
+
+With scarcely an exception, the _Bar of Mississippi_ was true to the
+cause of honor, law, and justice. They knew the objections of McNutt and
+Davis were wretched pretexts, and they vindicated the reputation of that
+noble profession, which, in all ages, has been the champion of
+constitutional liberty. They were men of the same stamp as their
+illustrious English ancestry, Hampden, Sidney, and Russell, whose names
+cover the map of my country, and whose deeds have exalted the character
+of man; and although the blood of our anti-repudiating heroes did not
+flow like that of the British martyrs, as a sacrificial offering on the
+altar of freedom, they sacrificed ease, and affluence, and ambition, and
+political preferment, and endured obloquy and reproach. I rejoice in the
+recollection, that, during this contest they should have selected a
+sentence from my address against repudiation, and placed it on their
+banners, and at the head of their presses, in these words: 'The honor of
+the nation and of every State is the birthright of every American--it is
+the stainless and priceless jewel of popular sovereignty--it has been
+preserved unsullied, in all times that are past, through every sacrifice
+of blood and treasure, and it must be maintained.' Ay! and it will yet
+be maintained. The time will come, when repudiation will be repudiated
+by Mississippi--when her wretched secession leaders, the true authors of
+her disgrace and ruin, will be discarded--when her insolent slaveholding
+oligarchy will be overthrown, when the people will break the chains of
+their imperious masters, and labor, without regard to color, will be
+emancipated. _Secession_, _repudiation_, and _slavery_ are the same in
+principle and had the same leaders. Jefferson Davis carried the
+repudiation banner in 1849, as he now does that of secession and
+slavery. Secession is a repudiation of law, of constitution, of country,
+of the flag of our forefathers, and of the Union purchased by their
+blood. Driven at home within a circle of fire, which narrows every day,
+it is crouching before foreign rulers, and imploring their aid to
+accomplish the ruin of our country. It appeals to their ambition, their
+avarice, their fears, their hatred of free institutions and of
+constitutional government. It summons them to these English shores, it
+unsheathes the imperial sceptre in the House of Commons, denounces the
+Ministry of England, and dictates the vote of Parliament on the most
+momentous question in the history of the world. Why, when these
+sentiments were uttered, I almost expected to see the shades of Burke
+and Fox, and Pitt and Chatham, and Peel and Wellington, rise in the
+midst and denounce the degenerate bearer of such a message. What! the
+British Commons become the supple tools, the obsequious minions, the
+obedient parasites, to do the bidding of a foreign master, and tremble
+when his envoy should stamp his foot and wave the imperial banner in the
+halls of Parliament. From whom was this message, and to whom? Was it to
+the England of Trafalgar and the Nile? Was it to the descendants of the
+men who conquered at Agincourt and Cressy, and changed for ages at
+Waterloo the destiny of the world? Why, Nelson would speak from his
+monument, and the Iron Duke from his equestrian statue, and forbid the
+degradation of their country. But there stood the Confederate messenger,
+delivering the mandate of a foreign power to the House of Commons,
+describing England as a crawling reptile, exalting the Government he
+professed to represent, as controlling the Continent, and fearing lest
+the Imperial Eagle alone should swoop down upon his prey. And such
+language, such sentiments! Was I in Billingsgate, that ancient and
+illustrious institution, so near the House of Parliament? Why, the whole
+code of morals and of international law was repudiated in a sentence,
+and our demagogues distanced in the race. Did the envoy echo the voice
+of his master, when he announced that the American Union must be
+dissolved by foreign intervention, because, if reunited, it would be too
+strong, and bully the world--therefore France and England combined must
+strike us when we were supposed to be weak and divided. It is not the
+author of such atrocious and dastard sentiments that would lead the
+banner of France or of England anywhere except to humiliation and
+disgrace. 'Non talis auxilii, nec defensoribus ipsis.' No, when England
+seeks leaders, it will not be the sycophants of power, those who worship
+alternately democracy and autocracy, who slaver over despotism one day
+with their venom, and the next with their still more loathsome
+adulation.
+
+But there was a change. The Ministry, and one of an order supposed to be
+our most deadly foes, spoke. There were some opinions as to the results
+in which no American could concur--there was deep devotion to
+England--but there was also the voice of reason, of justice, of
+international law: it was not so cosmopolitan as I expected, but the
+argument of felon force and robber violence was discarded. The scholar,
+the statesman, the gentleman, the philanthropist addressed the English
+Commons. Yes, and the nobility of nature also spoke, one who could rise
+above the reputed prejudices of his order, and do justice to a kindred
+race of simple republicans, though they may know neither diadems nor
+coronets. Such examples exalt and dignify the character of man. They
+teach us republicans a useful lesson--that those who differ from us as
+to some of the forms of government, may most sincerely support that
+system which in their judgment will best promote the welfare and
+happiness of the people. That indeed is the only question. Let England
+and America work out the problem in peaceful and friendly rivalry. Time
+and experience will decide the question. If, when slavery is
+extinguished in our Union, and the only aggressive element of our system
+is extirpated, we should run a grand and peaceful career of honor and
+glory and prosperity, we will want no other argument than the results.
+The blasphemous doctrine of the divine rights of kings was discarded by
+England in the revolution of 1688. The British throne reposes now on the
+alleged basis of the welfare and happiness of the people. What form of
+government will best promote that end--this is the only question. I
+believe it is ours--but only with slavery extinguished, and universal
+education--schools--_schools_--SCHOOLS--common schools--_high schools_
+for all. Education the criterion of the right of suffrage, not property.
+I do not believe in a government of ignorance, whether by the many or
+the few. With the constant and terrible opposing element of slavery, we
+have certainly achieved stupendous results in three fourths of a
+century, and to say that our system has failed, because slavery now
+makes war upon it, is amazing folly. Why predict, that, when reunited,
+and with slavery extinguished, we would _bully the world_. Who were our
+bullies? Who struck down Charles Sumner, the Senator of Massachusetts,
+the eminent scholar and orator, on the floor of the Senate, for
+denouncing the horrors of slavery? A South Carolinian, whilst all
+slavedom approved the deed. Who endeavored to force slavery on Kansas by
+murder and rapine, and the forgery of a constitution? Who repealed the
+Missouri Compromise, in order to force slavery upon all the Territories
+of the United States? Who are endeavoring now to dissolve the Union, and
+spread slavery over all this wide domain? There is a plain answer to
+all these questions. It is the lords of the whip and the chain and the
+branding iron, who are our bullies--who insist upon forced labor, and
+repudiate all compensation to the toiling millions of slaves--who
+repudiate, among slaves, the marital and parental relation, and class
+them by law as chattels--who forbid emancipation--who make it a crime to
+teach slaves to read or write--ay, even the Bible--who keep open the
+interstate slave-trade (more horrible than the African, making Virginia
+a human stock farm), tearing husband from wife, and parents from
+children--founding a government boldly announcing the doctrine of
+_property_ in man, based avowedly on the divinity, extension, and
+perpetuity of slavery--these are our bullies; and when they are
+overthrown, we shall commence a new career of peaceful progress and
+advanced civilization. And why sow the seeds of international hatred
+between England and America? Is war really desired between the two
+countries, or is it supposed that we will yield to foreign intervention
+without a struggle? No, the North will rise up as one man, and thousands
+even from the South will join them. The country will become a camp, and
+the ocean will swarm with our privateers. Rather than submit to
+dismemberment or secession, which is anarchy and ruin, we will, we must
+fight, until the last man has fallen. The Almighty can never prosper
+such a war upon us. If the views of a foreign power have been truly
+represented in Parliament, and such an aggression upon us is
+contemplated, let him beware, for in such a contest, the political
+pyramid resting upon its apex, the power of one man, is much more likely
+to fall, than that which reposes on the broad basis of the will of the
+people.
+
+Returning from this episode, I resume the narrative.
+
+We have seen the repudiating Executive message and repudiating
+legislative resolutions of January, 1842, and their failure to influence
+the decision of the court. And now, we approach another act in the
+drama. The court having affirmed the constitutionality of the Union Bank
+bonds, and as the act of 1833 directed their payment, the Legislature of
+1844 enacted a new law, in these words: 'That hereafter, no judgment or
+decree of any court of law or equity having jurisdiction of suits
+against the State, shall be paid by warrants on the Treasurer, or
+otherwise, without an appropriation by law, any former law or usage to
+the contrary notwithstanding.' The 'law and usage' were plain, to pay
+such decrees, as required by the law and Constitution; but both were
+disregarded, and the act of 1833, for all practical purposes, repealed.
+It remained in part, on the statute book, only to invite to the
+gambler's game of 'odd I win, even you lose'--that is, if, under the act
+of 1833, there should be a decision in any case in favor of the State,
+it should be conclusive, but if against the State, the money should not
+be paid, where (as in the case of these bonds) the Legislature differed
+from the court, and had already repudiated its decision. Such was the
+action of the Legislature in 1842 and 1844. In 1842, it repudiated, in
+advance, the decision of the court on these bonds, and, after that
+decision, repealed so much of the law as required the payment of the
+decrees of the court. Now, with a full knowledge of these facts, is it
+not amazing, incredible, that, several years subsequently, Mr. Jefferson
+Davis should have declared, in his first letter of 1849, 'By the
+Constitution and laws of Mississippi, any creditor of the State may
+bring suit against the State, and test his claim as against an
+individual; but, conscious that they have no valid claim, they have not
+sought the remedy;' and he repeats this averment, substantially, in his
+second letter. Now, who would have supposed, that more than five years
+before the date of Mr. Davis's letters, the highest judicial tribunal
+of the State, the one designated by the law and the Constitution, had
+already unanimously decided that these bonds were valid, and that the
+State Legislature, instead of paying the money, had _repealed the
+appropriation_. But there came a new court, all chosen by the people,
+under the wretched system, in many of the States, of an elective
+judiciary, but unknown to the independent Federal judicial system. A
+suit was brought in 1851, under the act of 1833, on one of the Union
+Bank State bonds and coupons before the Chancellor. After elaborate
+argument, the Chancellor decided against the State, and entered a decree
+for the payment of the money. The State, as authorized by the law,
+appealed from this decision to its own High Court of Errors and Appeals,
+elected by the people.
+
+Surely, it was supposed, that this new court, so recently chosen by the
+people, after the legislative repudiation, would be governed by '_a
+proper regard for the public interest and public opinion_.' Before the
+Chancellor, as well as the High Court, all the objections made by
+Governor McNutt and Senator Davis were earnestly pressed by the
+Attorney-General of the State and associate counsel, but in vain; the
+decision of the Chancellor was against the State, and it was unanimously
+affirmed by the High Court. This case will be found reported by the
+State reporter, Johnson _v._ The State, April term, 1853. (3 Cushman,
+625 to 882,--257 pages.)
+
+In this case, the bond sued on is given in the record, and will be found
+an exact copy of that (heretofore quoted) under the original act, which
+had passed two successive Legislatures, the principal as well as coupons
+being payable in Federal currency.
+
+On the reverse side of the bond is the following:
+
+     'L450 sterling. The President, Directors, and Co. of the
+     Mississippi Union Bank, do hereby designate the agency of the
+     Bank of the United States in London, as the place of payment of
+     the within bond and interest, and hereby assign and transfer
+     the same for value received to the bearer, principal equal to
+     L450 sterling, and guarantee the payment of the same at the
+     place designated.
+
+                                 'S. GWIN, _Cashier_.
+
+                                 'H. G. RUNNELLS, _President_.
+
+     'Mississippi State Bond, No. 91. 'Redeemable February 25th,
+     1850.'
+
+As to the place where the bond was made payable, there could be no
+objection, for the original, as well as the supplemental act, gave full
+authority to make the bonds payable abroad. But as to the objection that
+they were said to be payable in sterling, at the rate of four shillings
+and sixpence to the pound, the answer was, as shown: 1st. That this was
+the true rate of exchange. 2d. That the bond was payable in Federal
+currency, and this was all the bondholder ever asked from the State. As
+to the allegation that the bonds were sold below par, the court showed
+most conclusively from the facts and agreed case, that they were sold
+above par, and their constitutionality was fully affirmed.
+
+The argument of the Attorney-General (Glenn) for the State, embraced 32
+printed pages; in addition to which was an elaborate argument by his
+associate, Mr. Stearns. The opinion of Chief Justice Smith embraced 45
+pages, the concurring opinion of Justice Yerger, 27 pages, and Justice
+Fisher concurred. The State was not satisfied, but moved for a
+reargument, that of Wharton for the State, embracing 54 pages, and that
+of Mays, on the same side, 32 pages; but the court adhered to their
+decision, and unanimously affirmed the decree of the Chancellor against
+the State. The decision of the court, in the heading of the case, is
+thus given by the reporter.
+
+     'The bonds might have been legally issued to the bank, by the
+     Governor, on the 5th June, 1838, pursuant to the provision of
+     the original charter of the bank, and the faith of the State
+     pledged for the purpose of raising the capital.' 'The
+     supplement was not void in consequence of not having been
+     passed in conformity with the provisions of the Constitution
+     contained in the 7th article, 9th section of that instrument.'
+     'The object of the original pledge of the faith of the State,
+     was not changed by the supplemental charter, but it was passed
+     in aid of the original charter.' 'Campbell _v._ Union Bank (6
+     Howard 625) _cited and confirmed_.' 'The liability of the
+     State, under the operation of the charter of the bank, attached
+     so soon or whenever the bonds were legally executed to the
+     bank, and the execution of the mortgages was neither a
+     condition precedent to the pledge of the faith of the State,
+     nor the condition on which the State bonds were to be executed
+     and delivered.' 'It does not appear from the facts that the
+     bonds were sold for less than their par value. Held that the
+     sale was neither illegal nor void.' 'If the commissioners in
+     the sale of the bonds received 'sterling money of Great
+     Britain' at the rate of four shillings and sixpence to the
+     pound, that is not such an act on their part as would avoid the
+     bonds.'
+
+Here, then, the whole case was again fully decided in 1853, by the very
+tribunal to which Jefferson Davis, in 1849, invited the bondholders. And
+did he or the State then yield or pay the obligations. Not at all, but
+they adhered to the repudiation of these bonds, disregarded and defied
+the decision of the court, and have never paid one dollar of principal
+or interest, and never will, so long as slavery exists in Mississippi.
+
+And now, after the almost unanimous passage of the supplemental act in
+1838, the sanction of the Legislature in 1839 and 1841, the decision of
+the Circuit Court and Chancellor, and of the High Court of Errors and
+Appeals, how strange is the assertion of Mr. Slidell, that 'The Union
+Bank bonds were issued in direct violation of an express constitutional
+provision.' It is a well settled principle of American law, so
+adjudicated by the State Courts, as well as by the Supreme Court of the
+United States, that, 1st, To authorize the court to decide that a law is
+unconstitutional, the repugnance to the Constitution must be '_plain and
+palpable_.' 2d., That the interpretation given by the _highest court of
+a State_, to a State law, or constitution, '_is conclusive_.' But the
+truth is, as is proved by Mr. Slidell's own letter (having never resided
+in the State), he knew nothing of the subject, or he never would have
+spoken of Jefferson Davis as 'Governor,' or alluded to 'his
+administration,' when he never held that office. But it is of some
+moment, at least to the unfortunate bondholders, that the minister of
+Jefferson Davis at Paris, _avers now_ that these bonds are
+_unconstitutional_.
+
+But, Mr. Slidell says, 'There is a wide difference between these bonds
+and those of the Planters' Bank, for the repudiation of which, neither
+excuse nor palliation can be offered.'
+
+Now, in a subsequent letter, I will prove conclusively, from authentic
+documents, that the State of Mississippi has, _most effectually_,
+repudiated those bonds also, and that Jefferson Davis has sustained that
+repudiation.
+
+In the case, also, of another slaveholding State, I will prove, from the
+public documents, that Jefferson Davis volunteered to sustain her in the
+repudiation of her State bonds, in a case more atrocious, if possible,
+than that of Mississippi. As Jefferson Davis is now at the head of a
+slaveholding conspiracy, endeavoring to destroy the Government of my
+country, and is now also engaged in selling worthless Confederate bonds
+in this market, I have deemed it my duty to make this publication.
+
+                                                    R. J. WALKER.
+
+NOTE.--Since this was written, the supposed menacing message from the
+Continent has been officially contradicted. Surely, however, I had a
+right to conclude, after such solemn assurances from a member to the
+House, that, although acting in the character of a Confederate
+messenger, and avowing such atrocious sentiments, he at least spoke the
+truth on that point.
+
+                                                    R. J. W.
+
+
+
+
+EVERGREEN BEAUTY.
+
+
+Perhaps if my early home had stood upon an island of evergreens, or if I
+had dreamed my first bright dreams among pine hills and cliffs of
+laurel, I should have loved their changeless beauty less. But through
+all my early years I saw but little of our native evergreens, and none
+of cultured, save a stunted cedar, that grew, or, rather, refused to
+grow, in our front yard at home; and thus they have ever attracted me
+exceedingly--the charm of rarity and novelty being added for me to their
+exceeding beauty.
+
+And yet, if brought up among them, I might but have loved them more. For
+all I know of philosophy, if I had been earlier familiar with shrubs,
+hedges, groups, cedared cliffs, and tall forests of evergreens, they
+might have brought me still nobler conceptions, a more exquisite sense
+of beauty, than they now do.
+
+Be that as it may, two years 'among the pines' of Virginia and her piny
+mountains, have enriched my mind with rare pictures of scenic beauty
+that shall keep fresh and green in memory while memory endures! I am no
+botanist, I have made no studies of the evergreens, nor shall I attempt
+to write of them as scholar or critic, but only as a fascinated
+observer. I neither care to know or tell whether the shrubs and trees in
+my evergreen pictures are angiosperms or gymnosperms; we have no
+'transportation' for text books for students! During these two years,
+however, I have been charmed with a thousand views of landscape scenery,
+embracing every form, hue, and combination of our lovely native
+evergreens, whether on mountain, hill, or plain. I have seen them along
+winding streams, with backgrounds of bold, rocky bluffs; sweeping across
+undulating plains; rising with the uplifting mountains; peering into and
+over romantic mountain gorges; and growing up through the interstices of
+bowldered cascades. Or, standing on the mountain peaks, I have seen them
+sweep away into the vastness and grandeur of mighty, varied, and almost
+boundless expanse. These are but parts of my evergreen pictures. I have
+looked upon a simple holly bush when the wind of winter was upon it,
+scattering in lovely fragments its pure white robe of snow, revealing
+the gleaming of the rich green leaves, and the half-hidden clusters of
+the carmine berries. Three distinct colors thrown carelessly together,
+but no want of harmony--only pure and exquisite beauty!
+
+In the summer months our evergreens are greatly less noticeable. They
+are overshadowed and eclipsed by the rich and exuberant foliage of our
+common but noble forest trees; but their beauty is not, even then, lost.
+They give variety of hues to the forests which they fringe or help to
+form; variety of shapes, and always exquisite, spicy, and healthful
+odors. But when the autumn comes, with its infinitely varied tintings of
+orange and vermilion; when the frost works its wonders, and the wooded
+hills are clothed with splendor--then the rich groups of our native
+evergreens rise in their immortality of freshness. How exquisitely their
+bright unfading green sets off and contrasts with the rich golds,
+glowing scarlets, russet browns, purples, and crimsons, in all their
+delicate shades and evanescent hues! The forest leaves grow sere and
+fall from their stems, sailing down singly or in groups, like bevies of
+frightened birds, until the hickory, oak, maple, and elm stand
+uncrowned, disrobed, lifting their bare arms to the winter skies; then
+higher and ever higher rises, as the gloom of winter deepens, the glory
+of evergreen shrub and tree.
+
+The fields are dull russet, the forests are black, each tree seems a
+skeleton; all nature, save the evergreen, looks dead. But our mountains
+of firs, our hills of pine, our groves of cedar, our thickets of holly,
+our cliffs crowned with laurel, full of life, and covered with
+unchangeable verdure, keep eternally fresh and beautiful. Then come the
+great white silent snowflakes, sailing round and falling gently down,
+alighting on trunk, branch, and leaf, and covering and draping the
+hills, until they are pure and fair as the hills of Beulah. There is a
+dreamlike beauty in an evergreen forest mantled with snow. What words
+could tell the purity of coloring, the gracefulness of form of the pine
+boughs bending under their white burden of feathery crystals? Especially
+is this true of the young and pliant trees in hedgerows and thickets,
+and such as are everywhere springing up over the waste and wornout lands
+of Virginia.
+
+The old monarch pine stands out like a sculptured column of ebony
+against the blue sky. Its umbel top, crowned with white, makes a fitting
+capital for a shaft so noble. It is a picture, in and of itself. The
+shrubs and young trees, so rich in leaves and verdure, so pliant to the
+lines and curves of grace, when happily and picturesquely grouped, are
+almost bewilderingly beautiful. Yet perhaps that which contains in
+itself the greatest number of the elements of beauty, is the
+medium-sized pyramidal tree, be it of spruce, Norway pine, or balsam
+fir. It unites at once, in its pyramidal shape, the strength and majesty
+of the old, and in its gracefully curved limbs and abundant leaves, the
+beauty and freshness of the young tree. When loaded down with a spotless
+burden of snow until its limbs are almost ready to break, no pyramid of
+art, no monument chiselled by human hands, can hope to approach its pure
+and model beauty.
+
+The evergreen itself, however, seems to know no season but spring. In
+none other does it appear to change, and even then it casts not off the
+old--it only puts on the new in tenderer and fresher beauty! The new
+growth of the spruce and fir, the pale yellowish-green tips set in the
+dark old background, are exquisitely lovely; nor are the light green
+shoots of the white, yellow, and pitch pine much, less beautiful.
+
+Later comes the glory of the laurel bloom, the most beautiful woodflower
+in our climate. As the other trees put on their leaves successively, the
+tinting of light, dark, and yellowish green are infinitely varied and
+pleasing.
+
+Nor must I pass over, in my picture of evergreen, the mosses and ferns
+of the mountains of Virginia. More fragile than the trees and shrubs,
+they cannot be considered less beautiful. Indeed, the mosses of Cheat
+Mountain are the most luxuriant, exquisite, delicate, and richly
+beautiful things in nature. No dream of fairyland could, to my
+imagination, be lovelier than are the evergreen heights of these
+mountains, covered, matted, fringed, heaped, piled as they are with the
+greatest variety of mosses of the most delicate texture, feathery forms,
+and wondrously beautiful combinations. No one who has not seen them can
+have any just conception of mountain mosses, nor of the marvellous
+luxuriance of beauty with which they clothe rock, and tree, and earth,
+and everything upon these lone wild slopes and summits. Over the rocks,
+amid the mosses, hang the long pendent ferns, in richer, darker green.
+And with the grand old pine and fir trees lifting their heads to the
+heavens, and the thick tanglewood of shrub and underbrush, there is
+grandeur, grace, and beauty in bewildering, changeful, and ravishing
+confusion.
+
+How I have loved, in leisure hours, to turn aside from the stern duties
+of the field, or the dull monotony of the camp, to gallop under the
+great pines, or wind through pathless thickets and native parks of
+evergreen, feasting my very soul on their eternal freshness and glory!
+How I have loved to see 'Black Hawk' crush with his feet, and sink up to
+his fetlocks, in the tender and fairy-like mosses that drape the
+mountains! How I have delighted to weave the trailing evergreens into
+wreaths, trellises, and bowers in front of my white tent! And, alas!
+with hushed and solemn pride, I have planted the holly and the pine on
+the graves of my dead comrades, hoping they might live in all their
+wondrous beauty over the quiet mound, and keep green the memory of the
+brave forever!
+
+
+
+
+DYING IN THE HOSPITAL.
+
+
+    I am dying, mother, dying, in the hospital alone;
+    With a hundred faces round me, not a single one is known;
+    And the human heart within me, like a fluttering, wounded dove,
+    Hungers with a ceaseless yearning for one answering word of love.
+
+    Oh, 'tis hard, 'tis hard, my mother, thus to linger day by day,
+    Dying here, without the music of the battle's fierce array;--
+    Dying, far from home and kindred, robbed of all life's dearest ties,
+    With the eager eyes out-gazing but to meet with stranger eyes.
+
+    It were sweet to fall, my mother, with the battle raging round,
+    And to leap from earth to heaven at a single patriot-bound;
+    It were sweet to feel that glory would check the tears of woe--
+    That o'er hearts whose griefs were deepest a gush of pride would flow.
+
+    But to lie at night, dear mother, and to list the warder's tread,
+    As it falls upon my heart, I seem a prisoner with the dead;
+    And I long to lose my sense of pain, to find a calm release,
+    And to sink each vain, vain longing, in a silent sea of peace.
+
+    Oh, could I see, dear mother, the dog that guards our door,
+    It would make each life throb at my heart beat quicker than before;
+    And the nursing of your own dear hands, the breath of our old hills,
+    Would send a flood of fresh life back through all these draining rills.
+
+    But it may not be, loved mother: I must die here, all alone;
+    Where, a hundred faces round me, not a single one is known;
+    With the human heart within me hungering, like a wounded dove,
+    For the soft glance of my mother, and her dear home-words of love.
+
+    Oh, the heart of man, loved mother, is as dauntless as a rock
+    In a time of mortal danger--in the battle's deadly shock;
+    But alone--alone and dying, how he craves affection's ties--
+    Craves a woman's strength in weakness, and the lovelight in her eyes!
+
+    Oh, the dreams, the dreams, my mother, that have vanished from my sky,
+    Like the misty mountain vapors that before the sunlight fly--
+    All the golden dreams of glory, with their rainbow tints of fame,
+    That would link with deeds of valor my bright, my deathless name!
+
+    Where are they now, dear mother? Like a mirage of the plain,
+    Like a bubble on the ocean, like a jewel on the main,
+    Like the sweetest flowers of autumn, when they feel the biting frost,
+    All those glorious aspirations--they are lost, forever lost!
+
+    Yet if I could live, my mother, I know I still should go
+    And help to rid our country of her fratricidal foe;
+    For you have taught me, long ago, that he was no true man
+    Who would not, in a time like this, step forward with the van.
+
+    And though I leave, my mother, no laurel crown of fame,
+    There is not linked with my past life a single breath of shame;
+    And though I ne'er shall see your face, I will no more complain,
+    For I know that not a sparrow falleth to the ground in vain.
+
+    But another dawn, sweet mother, is breaking o'er me now;
+    When to-morrow's sunlight beameth, it will find a calm, cold brow;
+    And another rough, rude coffin will be taken from the door:
+    God bless you, dearest mother, and good-by forevermore!
+
+
+
+
+LITERARY NOTICES.
+
+
+     WEAK LUNGS, AND HOW TO MAKE THEM STRONG; or, Diseases of the
+     Organs of the Chest, with their Home Treatment by the Movement
+     Cure. By DIO LEWIS, M. D. Profusely illustrated. Ticknor &
+     Fields, Boston, 1863.
+
+Diet, air, sunshine, dress, exercise, and water, are all indispensable
+hygienic agents, but considerable knowledge and experience are necessary
+for their proper adaptation to particular cases. Dr. Lewis's work is
+designed (to a certain degree) to impart such knowledge, and, while the
+general rules he gives cannot fail to be useful to all, we doubt not
+there are many instances of the especial malady under consideration in
+which the proposed mode of treatment would prove entirely efficacious.
+The numerous and carefully elaborated illustrations contained in the
+book render the application of the text simple and easy. The feature
+which especially pleases us is, that arrangements are made for home
+treatment, for, if there is anything depressing to the human spirit, it
+is an association of invalids. We do not mean a regular hospital, where
+people are suffering from acute forms of disease, and are learning and
+teaching the grand lessons of patience, endurance, and fortitude so
+necessary to humanity, but a community of individuals, able to walk
+about, talk to one another, and be generally engrossed with one idea,
+the pursuit of health. We once spent thirty days in a water-cure
+establishment, and can truly say that it was one of the most miserable
+months we ever passed. The totally physical atmosphere, the selfish,
+material countenances surrounding us, weighed upon our spirit until our
+nerves gave way, and we wondered which were on the broad road to
+insanity, our companions or ourselves. We examined narrowly, and found
+(in the generality of cases) that the angels within the bodies of those
+men and women had had their wings cut away until nothing remained but
+the senses and the limited knowledge they are capable of conveying.
+
+Our experience may have been peculiarly unfortunate, but it has rendered
+us always happy to welcome a rational treatment of disease that may be
+pursued at home. Self-denial and activity are the two principal lessons
+inculcated in the work; and if we be careful to lift them from the body
+to the soul, we need not fear the slight tinge of materialism that seems
+almost inseparable from essays on bodily health. We repeat that Dr.
+Lewis's book abounds in excellent suggestions, essential to all, and its
+wide circulation will doubtless tend to the improvement of the general
+health of our people. Those even who, in some points, fail to agree with
+the author, must acknowledge the usefulness and practicability of the
+general ideas advanced, together with the simplicity of their
+application.
+
+
+     LIFE OF CHOPIN, by F. LISZT. Translated from the French by
+     MARTHA WALKER COOK. 12mo, pp. 202. Philadelphia: F. Leypoldt.
+     New York: F. W. Christern and James Miller. 2d Edition.
+
+We are glad to see that this little work has already gone into its
+second edition. It gives evidence that, in spite of our domestic
+afflictions, more interest is felt in this country for art, than is
+generally believed to be the case, even by the most astute publishers
+among us. In calling the attention of our readers to this second edition
+of Liszt's 'Chopin,' we do not think we can do better than place before
+them the following extracts from a critique which appeared in the New
+York _Daily Tribune_ of June 11th, 1863.
+
+'The lovers of musical art may justly be congratulated on the appearance
+of this extraordinary biographical study in an appropriate English
+dress. It is the enthusiastic tribute of a man of noble genius to a
+kindred spirit, whose mastership he acknowledged, and with whom he
+cherished a deep and tender friendship, beyond the vitiating touch of
+personal or artistic rivalry. The volume, indeed, affords a no less
+admirable illustration of the impulsive, generous, unworldly character
+of the author, than of the rare and wonderful gifts of its unique
+subject. It is the product of the heart rather than the head, and its
+frequent passages of childlike _naivete_, its transparent revelations of
+the inmost soul of the writer, and the radiant atmosphere of spiritual
+beauty in which thoughts and images are melted together with a magic
+spell, transport it from the sphere of prose composition to that of high
+poetry. In spite of the trammels of words, it gives expression to the
+same subtle and ethereal conceptions which inspired the genius of Liszt
+as a musical artist. As a sketch of the life of the great composer, it
+possesses an interest with which few biographical works can compare; but
+no details of incident could imprison the soul of the author; and a fine
+aesthetic aroma breathes from every page, fragrant with the blossoming
+out of a rich, original nature, as well as with an exquisite sense of
+art.
+
+'Chopin was born in Poland, near Warsaw, in the year 1810. His boyhood
+was marked by no events that gave promise of the greatness of his future
+career. He early became the victim of ill health, which was almost the
+perpetual torment of his after life. He grew up in simple and quiet
+habits, surrounded by the purest influences, conversant with bright
+examples of piety, modesty, and integrity, which gave to his imagination
+'the velvety tenderness that characterizes the plants which have never
+been exposed to the dust of the beaten highways.' Commencing the study
+of music when he was but nine years old, he was soon after confided to a
+passionate disciple of Sebastian Bach, who for many years directed his
+studies in accordance with the prevailing classic models. Through the
+liberality of a distinguished patron of art, Prince Radziwill, he was
+placed in one of the first colleges in Warsaw, where he received a
+finished education in every branch of learning. The following picture,
+although partaking of the nature of a fancy piece, is introduced by
+Liszt, from the pen of one of the greatest living writers of fiction, as
+a just representation of the youthful artist at this period of his life.
+
+     'Gentle, sensitive, and very lovely, at fifteen years of age he
+     united the charms of adolescence with the gravity of a more
+     mature age. He was delicate both in body and in mind. Through
+     the want of muscular development he retained a peculiar beauty,
+     an exceptional physiognomy, which had, if we may venture so to
+     speak, neither age nor sex. It was not the bold and masculine
+     air of a descendant of a race of magnates, who know nothing but
+     drinking, hunting, and making war; neither was it the
+     effeminate loveliness of a cherub _couleur de rose_. It was
+     more like the ideal creations with which the poetry of the
+     Middle Ages adorned the Christian temples: a beautiful angel,
+     with a form pure and slight as a young god of Olympus, with a
+     face like that of a majestic woman filled with a divine sorrow,
+     and as the crown of all, an expression at the same time tender
+     and severe, chaste and impassioned.
+
+     'This expression revealed the depths of his being. Nothing
+     could be purer, more exalted than his thoughts; nothing more
+     tenacious, more exclusive, more intensely devoted, than his
+     affections.... But he could only understand that which closely
+     resembled himself.... Everything else only existed for him as a
+     kind of annoying dream which he tried to shake off while living
+     with the rest of the world. Always plunged in reveries,
+     realities displeased him. As a child, he could never touch a
+     sharp instrument without injuring himself with it; as a man, he
+     never found himself face to face with a being different from
+     himself without being wounded by the living contradiction....
+
+     'He was preserved from a constant antagonism by a voluntary and
+     almost inveterate habit of never seeing or hearing anything
+     which was disagreeable to him, unless it touched upon his
+     personal affections. The beings who did not think as he did,
+     were only phantoms in his eyes. As his manners were polished
+     and graceful, it was easy to mistake his cold disdain or
+     insurmountable aversion for benevolent courtesy....
+
+     'He never spent an hour in open-hearted expansiveness, without
+     compensating for it by a season of reserve. The moral causes
+     which induced such reserve were too slight, too subtle, to be
+     discovered by the naked eye. It was necessary to use the
+     microscope to read his soul, into which so little of the light
+     of the living ever penetrated....
+
+     'With such a character, it seems strange he should have had
+     friends: yet he had them, not only the friends of his mother,
+     who esteemed him as the noble son of a noble mother, but
+     friends of his own age, who loved him ardently, and who were
+     loved by him in return.... He had formed a high ideal of
+     friendship; in the age of early illusions he loved to think
+     that his friends and himself, brought up nearly in the same
+     manner, with the same principles, would never change their
+     opinions, and that no formal disagreement could ever occur
+     between them....
+
+     'He was externally so affectionate, his education had been so
+     finished, and he possessed so much natural grace, that he had
+     the gift of pleasing even where he was not personally known.
+     His exceeding loveliness was immediately prepossessing, the
+     delicacy of his constitution rendered him interesting in the
+     eyes of women, the full yet graceful cultivation of his mind,
+     the sweet and captivating originality of his conversation,
+     gained for him the attention of the most enlightened men. Men
+     less highly cultivated, liked him for his exquisite courtesy of
+     manner. They were so much the more pleased with this, because,
+     in their simplicity, they never imagined it was the graceful
+     fulfilment of a duty into which no real sympathy entered.
+
+     'Could such people have divined the secrets of his mystic
+     character, they would have said he was more amiable than
+     loving--and with respect to them, this would have been true.
+     But how could they have known that his real, though rare
+     attachments, were so vivid, so profound, so undying?...
+
+     'Association with him in the details of life was delightful. He
+     filled all the forms of friendship with an unaccustomed charm,
+     and when he expressed his gratitude, it was with that deep
+     emotion which recompenses kindness with usury. He willingly
+     imagined that he felt himself every day dying; he accepted the
+     cares of a friend, hiding from him, lest it should render him
+     unhappy, the little time he expected to profit by them. He
+     possessed great physical courage, and if he did not accept with
+     the heroic recklessness of youth the idea of approaching death,
+     at least he cherished the expectation of it with a kind of
+     bitter pleasure.'...
+
+'After completing his studies in harmony with a celebrated master, he
+complied with the wishes of his parents, who desired that he should
+travel, in order that he should become familiar with the best musical
+productions under the advantage of their perfect execution. For this
+purpose he visited many of the German cities, and was absent from Warsaw
+on one of his excursions when the revolution broke out in the autumn of
+1830. He was thus forced to remain in Vienna, and was heard there in
+some concerts, but failed to receive the appreciation from the artistic
+public of that city which he had a right to anticipate. Leaving Vienna,
+he repaired to Paris, which was henceforth to be the scene of his
+brilliant triumphs. His constitution, being frail and delicate, could
+not long sustain the rude shocks of life unscathed, and we accordingly
+find Chopin at the age of thirty with rapidly declining health; and for
+the next decade, his existence was only a continued succession of the
+alternations of disease. At last, he began to fail so rapidly that the
+fears of his friends assumed the shape of despair. He scarcely ever left
+his bed, and spoke but rarely.
+
+     'His sister, upon receiving this intelligence, came from Warsaw
+     to take her place at his pillow, which she left no more. He
+     witnessed the anguish, the presentiments, the redoubled sadness
+     around him, without showing what impression they made upon him.
+     He thought of death with Christian calm and resignation, yet he
+     did not cease to prepare for the morrow. From week to week and
+     soon from day to day, the cold shadow of death gained upon him.
+     His end was rapidly approaching; his sufferings became more and
+     more intense; his crises grew more frequent, and at each
+     accelerated occurrence resembled more and more a mortal agony.
+     He retained his presence of mind, his vivid will upon their
+     intermission, until the last; neither losing the precision of
+     his ideas, nor the clear perception of his intentions. The
+     wishes which he expressed in his short moments of respite,
+     evinced the calm solemnity with which he contemplated the
+     approach of death.'
+
+'The inevitable hour came finally not without a certain strange,
+romantic beauty in its solemn aspects.
+
+     'The parlor adjoining the chamber of Chopin was constantly
+     occupied by some of his friends, who, one by one, in turn,
+     approached him to receive a sign of recognition, a look of
+     affection, when he was no longer able to address them in words.
+     On Sunday, the 15th of October, his attacks were more violent
+     and more frequent--lasting for several hours in succession. He
+     endured them with patience and great strength of mind. The
+     Countess Delphine Potocka, who was present, was much
+     distressed; her tears were flowing fast when he observed her
+     standing at the foot of his bed; tall, slight, draped in white,
+     resembling the beautiful angels created by the imagination of
+     the most devout among the painters. Without doubt, he supposed
+     her to be a celestial apparition; and when the crisis left him
+     a moment in repose, he requested her to sing; they deemed him
+     at first seized with delirium, but he eagerly repeated his
+     request. Who could have ventured to oppose his wish? The piano
+     was rolled from his parlor to the door of his chamber, while,
+     with sobs in her voice, and tears streaming down her cheeks,
+     his gifted countrywoman sang. Certainly, this delightful voice
+     had never before attained an expression so full of profound
+     pathos. He seemed to suffer less as he listened. She sang that
+     famous Canticle to the Virgin, which, it is said, once saved
+     the life of Siradella. 'How beautiful it is!' he exclaimed. 'My
+     God, how very beautiful! Again--again!' Though overwhelmed with
+     emotion, the Countess had the noble courage to comply with the
+     last wish of a friend, a compatriot; she again took a seat at
+     the piano, and sang a hymn from Marcello. Chopin again feeling
+     worse, everybody was seized with fright--by a spontaneous
+     impulse all who were present threw themselves upon their
+     knees--no one ventured to speak; the sacred silence was only
+     broken by the voice of the Countess, floating, like a melody
+     from heaven, above the sighs and sobs which formed its heavy
+     and mournful earth accompaniment. It was the haunted hour of
+     twilight; a dying light lent its mysterious shadows to this sad
+     scene--the sister of Chopin, prostrated near his bed, wept and
+     prayed--and never quitted this attitude of supplication while
+     the life of the brother she had so cherished lasted.
+
+     'His condition altered for the worse during the night, but he
+     felt more tranquil upon Monday morning, and as if he had known
+     in advance the appointed and propitious moment, he asked to
+     receive immediately the last sacraments. In the absence of the
+     Abbe ----, with whom he had been very intimate since their
+     common expatriation, he requested that the Abbe Jelowicki, one
+     of the most distinguished men of the Polish emigration, should
+     be sent for. When the holy Viaticum was administered to him, he
+     received it, surrounded by those who loved him, with great
+     devotion. He called his friends a short time afterward, one by
+     one, to his bedside, to give each of them his last earnest
+     blessing; calling down the grace of God fervently upon
+     themselves, their affections, and their hopes--every knee
+     bent--every head bowed--all eyes were heavy with tears--every
+     heart was sad and oppressed--every soul elevated.
+
+     'Attacks, more and more painful, returned and continued during
+     the day; from Monday night until Tuesday, he did not utter a
+     single word. He did not seem able to distinguish the persons
+     who were around him. About eleven o'clock on Tuesday evening he
+     appeared to revive a little. The Abbe Jelowicki had never left
+     him. Hardly had he recovered the power of speech, than he
+     requested him to recite with him the prayers and litanies for
+     the dying. He was able to accompany the Abbe in an audible and
+     intelligible voice. From this moment until his death, he held
+     his head constantly supported upon the shoulder of M. Gutman,
+     who, during the whole course of this sickness, had devoted his
+     days and nights to him.
+
+     'A convulsive sleep lasted until the 17th of October, 1849. The
+     final agony commenced about two o'clock; a cold sweat ran
+     profusely from his brow; after a short drowsiness, he assessed
+     in a voice scarcely audible: 'Who is near me?' Being answered;
+     he bent his head to kiss the hand of M. Gutman, who still
+     supported it--while giving this last tender proof of love and
+     gratitude, the soul of the artist left its fragile clay. He
+     died as he had lived--in loving.
+
+     'His love for flowers being well known, they were brought in
+     such quantities the next day, that the bed in which they had
+     placed them, and indeed the whole room, almost disappeared,
+     hidden by their varied and brilliant hues. He seemed to repose
+     in a garden of roses. His face regained its early beauty, its
+     purity of expression, its long unwonted serenity. Calmly--with
+     his youthful loveliness, so long dimmed by bitter suffering,
+     restored by death--he slept among the flowers he loved, the
+     last long and dreamless sleep!'
+
+'We must not forget to thank the intelligent translator of this volume
+for the fidelity with which she has executed her by no means easy task.
+The elevated, almost aerial conceptions of Liszt, often seeming as if
+they disdained the bonds of language, are presented in lucid, idiomatic
+English, which derives a certain vital force more from warmth of
+sympathy with the original than from the use of any of the arts of
+vigorous expression.'
+
+
+     ROCKFORD; or, Sunshine and Storm. By Mrs. LILLIE DEVEREUX
+     UMSTED. Author of Southwold. Carleton, publisher, 413 Broadway,
+     New York.
+
+A novel of considerable ability. The characters are well drawn, and the
+moral unexceptionable. The scenes occur in fashionable life; the
+descriptions are vivid, the conversations (in which it abounds) are easy
+and sparkling, and the pictures of social life varied and interesting.
+
+
+     GOOD THOUGHTS IN BAD TIMES, AND OTHER PAPERS. By THOMAS FULLER,
+     D. D. Price, $1.50. Ticknor & Fields, Boston.
+
+Coleridge says of Fuller: 'Next to Shakespeare, I am not certain whether
+he, beyond all other writers, does not excite in me the sense and
+emotion of the marvellous.'
+
+Thomas Fuller was born in 1608, was a chaplain in the army during the
+great civil war in England, and died in 1661, so that much of his
+fifty-four years of life was spent among no very peaceful scenes. He
+followed the army with a loyal heart and courageous spirit, and wrought
+earnestly to mitigate the violence of hostile parties. One of the wisest
+and wittiest divines who have ever ascended the pulpit, he has left
+behind him a fame second to none who have labored to elevate and make
+their fellow creatures better. 'Untiring humor seemed the ruling passion
+of his soul. With a heart open to all innocent pleasures, purged from
+the leaven of malice and uncharitableness, it was as natural that he
+should be full of mirth as it is for the grasshopper to chirp or bee to
+hum, or the birds to warble in the spring breeze and bright sunshine.'
+
+His good thoughts are clothed in pure and beautiful language, are wise,
+quaint, genial, and witty. Being collected and matured during his
+marches and countermarches through the country at the time of the great
+civil war, we look upon their present publication as very timely and
+judicious, considering the disturbed state of our own suffering country.
+
+
+     THE GENTLEMAN. By GEORGE H. CALVERT. Ticknor & Fields. Boston.
+     Price, 75 cts.
+
+A book which we hope will have a wide circulation, and exercise a
+beneficial influence in this country. It is no superficial essay on
+external matters of etiquette, or even of mere aesthetic culture: it goes
+to the very heart of the meaning of the abused word, Gentleman, and
+proves its root to be _unselfishness_. The author says: 'It is the
+_moral_ element which, in my conception of the gentleman, is pivotal.
+Dealing with the highest type, I conceive that in that type not only are
+morals primary, but that manners result from them; so that where there
+is not a solid substratum of pure, elevated feeling there cannot be a
+clean, high, and unaffected demeanor.' 'The true gentleman is a
+Christian product.
+
+              'The best of men
+    That e'er wore earth about him was a sufferer,
+    A soft, meek, patient, humble, tranquil spirit,
+    The first true gentleman that ever breathed.''
+
+These views are illustrated with genius and scholarship. Their
+dissemination among ourselves is especially important, because our ideas
+of what is requisite to form a gentleman are essentially vague, crude,
+unformed, and often false.
+
+It is no dull book of commonplace thoughts, but a high and noble essay
+on an important subject, and we commend it to the attention of our
+readers. Let him who would look upon the reverse of the gentleman, turn
+to the Editor's Table of the July issue of THE CONTINENTAL, and regard
+the repulsive sketch of the 'Southern Colonel,' whose ideal seems to be
+'Brandy Smash and Cocktails.' Alas! that such ideals too frequently
+occur among ourselves. Bayard and Sir Philip Sydney are valuable studies
+for our own young and gallant soldiers.
+
+
+     POINT OF HONOR. By the Author of the 'Morals of May Fair,'
+     'Creeds,' &c., &c. Harper & Brothers, publishers, Franklin
+     Square, New York.
+
+This is no sensational tale. Its interest is not derived from intricacy
+of plot or mysterious developments; it presents us with admirable
+studies of male and female character, the traits of which are manifested
+in the progress of the plot. The portraits are detailed, natural, and
+living; the heroine feminine and lovely. The moral is good, and the
+'Point of Honor' ably displayed.
+
+
+     SCIENCE FOR THE SCHOOL AND FAMILY. Part I. Natural Philosophy.
+     By WORTHINGTON HOOKER, M. D., Professor of the Theory and
+     Practice of Medicine in Yale College, Author of 'Human
+     Physiology,' 'Child's Book of Nature,' 'Natural History,' &c.,
+     Illustrated by nearly 300 engravings. Harper & Brothers,
+     publishers, Franklin Square, New York.
+
+A valuable offering to teachers and pupils.
+
+Professor Hooker has published a graduated series of books, carefully
+adapted to the different periods of the course of study; exceedingly
+simple for the beginner, stepping carefully from the known to the
+unknown, and widening their range with the increasing knowledge and
+mental growth of the student. The first in the graduated series is the
+'Child's Book of Common Things.' Next, the 'Child's Book of Nature,' in
+three Parts, viz.: 'Plants,' 'Animals,' 'Air, Water, Light, Heat,'--then
+follow the 'First Book in Chemistry' and 'First Book in Physiology.' The
+next step in the gradation brings us to three books under one title:
+'Science for the School and the Family;' Part I, Natural Philosophy;
+Part II, Chemistry; Part III, Mineralogy and Geology.
+
+Our author says: 'One grand essential for giving interest to any study
+is the presentation of the various points in the _natural order_ in
+which they should enter the mind. _They should be so presented that each
+portion of a book shall make the following portions more interesting and
+more easily understood._ This principle I have endeavored to observe
+strictly in the preparation of my volumes.' We believe Professor Hooker
+has succeeded in the observation of this principle, and that its
+observation must insure success.
+
+
+     THE STORY OF THE GUARD: A Chronicle of the War. By JESSIE
+     BENTON FREMONT. Knapsack Edition. Price, 50 cts. Ticknor &
+     Fields, Boston.
+
+We are glad to see this little work of affection and patriotism from the
+hand of a gifted lady (who says: 'For any personal object I should never
+use my name, which has been to me a _double_ charge to keep; but I think
+my father would more than approve, when it is to do justice, and to aid
+the widow and the orphan') already passed into the _sixth_ edition.
+
+'To do justice to brave men and to aid the widow and orphan!' What
+nobler motive could there be for publishing a book, than the prevailing
+one so simply given by Mrs. Fremont in the lines just quoted! Truly the
+most determined hater of the so much read and so much abused 'women's
+books,' must cease to sneer in acknowledging that here indeed was
+inducement sufficient to make the most timid and shrinking of the sex
+face the frowns of the critic, the scoff of the antagonistic politician,
+and the astonishment of the fashionable world that one who had long been
+one of its most brilliant ornaments should condescend to become known as
+an authoress! We heartily congratulate her on the success of her book,
+which, as achieving its object, must be dear to her heart. Very
+charming, too, are the extracts given from General Fremont's letters.
+Domestic love and peace are surely holy!
+
+'To do justice to brave men!' 'Major Zagonyi, with one hundred and fifty
+of the body guard, attacked and drove from Springfield over two thousand
+rebels, with a loss of only fifteen men.' All honor to the brave
+Zagonyi! His Hungarian English is strong, graphic, simple, and, like
+himself, true. With a thorough military education, dauntless courage,
+untiring energy, and a natural, perhaps national, love for horses and
+horsemanship, we doubt not he is one of the best cavalry officers in our
+service. He has long chafed under a forced inaction, and, full of
+unselfish devotion, burns to do and dare in what he believes to be the
+cause of freedom and humanity. May he soon add fresh laurels to his
+glorious Springfield wreath--and may the same gentle chronicler again
+twine them for his brave brow!
+
+
+     SUBSTANCE AND SHADOW; or, Morality and Religion in their
+     Relation to Life: An Essay upon the Physics of Creation. By
+     HENRY JAMES. Ticknor & Fields, Boston.
+
+We advise such of our readers as take interest in metaphysical theology,
+in the vexed questions of the origin of evil, of free will, of God's
+communication with the spirit of man, of the growth of faith in the
+soul, to read this book for themselves. We are not Swedenborgians,
+though we believe Swedenborg to have been a great and good man; we do
+not deem ourselves able to pronounce upon the truths or errors
+elaborated in the pages of Mr. James's book, but we feel convinced that
+its author is as sincere as able, and that he really aims at reaching
+the heart and marrow of his important subjects. His argument with the
+German and Scotch philosophies is profound and skilful. He is a believer
+in revelation, in its unfolding a true philosophy of the Infinite;
+showing how the infinite is contained in the finite, the absolute in the
+relative, not spatially or by continuation, but by exact correspondency,
+as the soul is contained in the body. He always steers clear of the
+shoals of atheism, and of the dim and chaotic abysses of pantheism. He
+is often obscure, but has the power to be concise and luminous. His
+style is vigorous, though we object to the meaning he attaches to two
+words very dear to the human heart: for _religion_ is not _ritualism_,
+nor is _morality_ made of the starched buckram of _selfhood_. Religion
+is love to God--morality, love to our neighbor. We differ from him in
+many of his positions, his standpoint is not ours, but he struggles
+bravely to rescue philosophy from a degrading bondage to sense, and to
+restore her to the service of revelation. No analysis within our present
+limits would avail to combat the errors, to make manifest the truths
+contained in the book, nor do we feel ourselves competent to undertake
+the task.
+
+If the lucid and vigorous writer, author of the article entitled 'Mill
+on Liberty' in our June issue, as well as of some able remarks headed
+'Matter and Spirit' published in the Editor's Table of the July number
+of THE CONTINENTAL, would review this book of Mr. James, he might be
+able to pour a flood of light on many mooted questions, many
+metaphysical queries; for a clear mind is a marvellous solvent.
+
+
+
+
+BOOKS RECEIVED.
+
+
+THE WESTERN LAW MONTHLY. June, 1863. Hon. JOHN CROWELL, WILLIAM
+LAWRENCE, Editors. Cleveland, Ohio: Fairbanks, Benedict & Co. New York:
+John S. Voorhies, law bookseller and publisher, No. 20 Nassau street.
+
+THE MASSACHUSETTS TEACHER: A Journal of School and Home Education. June,
+1863. Boston: Published by the Massachusetts Teachers' Association, No.
+119 Washington street.
+
+VERMONT SCHOOL JOURNAL: Devoted to the Educational Interests of the
+State. HIRAM ORCUTT, Editor and Proprietor, West Brattleboro.
+
+THE ILLINOIS TEACHER: Devoted to Education, Science, and Free Schools.
+Editors: ALEXANDER M. GOW, Rock Island; SAMUEL A. BRIGGS, Chicago.
+Published monthly, Peoria, Illinois, by N. I. Nason.
+
+THE HOME MONTHLY: Devoted to Home Education, Literature, and Religion.
+Edited by Rev. WM. M. THAYER. Boston: Published by D. W. Childs, No. 456
+Washington street, corner of Essex.
+
+THE BRITISH AMERICAN. A Monthly Magazine, devoted to Science,
+Literature, and Art. Toronto. Rollo & Adams, publishers. No. 1, May,
+1863. THE BRITISH AMERICAN contains: North West British America; My
+Cousin Tom; Early Notices of Toronto; The Bank of Credit Foncier;
+Holiday Musings of a Worker; The Emigrants; Flowers and their Moral
+Teaching; Sketches of Indian Life; Given and Taken; The Post Office and
+the Railway; Insect Life in Canada; Reviews, &c.
+
+THE CHRISTIAN EXAMINER. July, 1863. Boston: By the proprietors, at
+Walker, Wise, & Co.'s, 245 Washington street. Contents: Conditions of
+Belief; Mrs. Browning's Essays on the Poets; Rome, Republican and
+Imperial; The Pulpit in the Past; Kinglake and his Critics; The Colenso
+Controversy; Art and Artists of America; Reviews, &c.
+
+THE NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW. July, 1863. Contents: Traits of Jean Paul and
+his Titan; Peerages and Genealogies; The Chronology, Topography, and
+Archaeology of the Life of Christ; Story's Roba di Roma; Liberia College;
+Samuel Kirkland; Leigh Hunt; Acarnania; The American Tract Society;
+May's Constitutional History of England; Critical Notices, &c.
+
+
+
+
+EDITOR'S TABLE.
+
+
+THE SUSPENSE.--Seldom, in the eventful course of human affairs, have
+great nations, with their rich and populous cities, been placed in the
+attitude of danger and of solemn suspense in which the American people
+find themselves at this momentous crisis. Even while we write this
+sentence, a great battle is raging in one of the fairest valleys of
+Pennsylvania, and although the actual struggle is destined to be
+decisive in its bearing, there is no possibility of knowing how the
+strife goes from hour to hour. Issues of immense and incalculable
+importance are involved in the immediate result: the cities of
+Washington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, to say nothing of the existence
+of the nation itself, so gravely imperilled, on the one hand; and
+Richmond, with all the desperate hopes and daring purposes of the
+rebellion, on the other, are the mighty stakes played for in the bloody
+game now going on upon the chessboard in the vicinity of Gettysburg.
+
+With the overthrow of Lee's army, and its effectual cut off from escape,
+not only will come the speedy fall of Richmond, but the rebellion itself
+will be virtually at an end; for it will never be able to recover from
+the blow. On the other hand, with the complete discomfiture of our own
+army, we should be temporarily at the mercy of the enemy, as we do not
+seem to have contemplated the contingency of defeat, and have made
+little preparation for it. The victorious Lee would drive our shattered
+forces into Washington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, and would follow
+close upon their heels with his irresistible columns. Dark would be the
+day for our country and for human liberty, and terrible would be the
+struggle made necessary afterward to enable us to recover from so great
+a disaster. Assuredly we would be able to recover; and in this fact lies
+our great superiority over the adversary, who stakes his all upon the
+issue of this desperate and reckless invasion into the heart of the
+loyal States. But, with all our confidence in the justice and ultimate
+triumph of our cause, how great is the patriotic anxiety with which our
+hearts are burdened, and how intensely earnest are the prayers we offer
+to the Most High for the success of our noble army in the pending
+battle! In our excited imaginations, we see only the impenetrable cloud
+of smoke which envelops the bloody field; we hear the loud thunders of
+the murderous artillery, the rattle of musketry, the groans of the
+wounded and dying, and the shouts of infuriated columns as they rush
+into the jaws of death, and are rolled away on the fiery billows of the
+mighty conflict. We feel all the frenzy of the deadly strife as if we
+were in the midst of it; and yet, though we strain our inward vision to
+the utmost, no ray of light comes from the terrible scene to inform us
+how the scale of victory inclines. We only know that thousands of our
+brothers lie on the battle field dead or dying, wounded and suffering,
+and we anticipate the melancholy wail which their wives and children,
+their brothers and friends will utter on the morrow. Shall it be mingled
+with shouts of victory, and softened by the sweet consolation that the
+death and suffering of so many noble victims have been repaid by the
+safety of our country, and the reestablishment of liberty under the
+glorious Constitution of our fathers?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+THE RELIEF.--Time rolls on. In spite of anxieties and torturing
+uncertainties; over broken hearts and ruined hopes; over fields of
+slaughter, where the harvest of death has been garnered in abundance so
+great as to sicken the soul of man; over pillaged cities and countries
+laid waste; over all the works of man, good and bad, time rolls on,
+careless alike of the joys and sorrows, the victories and defeats of
+men and nations. And, with the steady and remorseless march of time,
+events, however bound up with the mightiest interests of mankind,
+necessarily hasten to their consummation. The web of fate is
+unravelled--the tide of battle flows in its irrevocable course, and
+having stranded the hopes of the defeated power, there is no ebb, no
+reflux, by which the disaster may be undone, and the ruined cause
+restored again to prosperity and hope.
+
+Gradually the cloud breaks away from the battle field, and the various
+incidents and accomplished results of the contest become known. The
+silent, faithful wires, stretching away to the intervening cities and
+villages, are burdened with their mysterious messages, to be delivered
+from time to time to the expectant crowds who await them with eager
+impatience. With the dawn of Independence Day, some gleams of light come
+up from the scene of conflict, and some encouraging words are heard from
+high quarters. In their patriotic assemblages, the people are full of
+hope and confidence, though still not without intense anxiety with
+regard to the final result, yet imperfectly made known. Every additional
+message, with which the wires tremble, makes the hopeful impression
+stronger and stronger; and, upon the whole, the 4th of July, 1863, is a
+day of rejoicing to all those who love their country and desire to see
+it restored to its pristine vigor and glory. Scarcely a doubt remains
+that the daring traitors have been defeated and the country saved;
+though it is yet uncertain whether the victory will be complete and the
+army of the enemy scattered and destroyed or captured.
+
+If by possibility Lee should again escape and make his way back to the
+exhausted fields of Eastern Virginia, there may still be some hard work
+for our armies in order to put a final end to the great rebellion. But
+the failure of this last desperate enterprise gives the deathblow to the
+wicked and ambitious power of the usurpers at the head of the pretended
+confederacy. They may obstruct our march and harass our armies, but they
+can no longer hope to place any permanent obstacle in the way of our
+progress toward the restoration of the Union. The tide has turned at
+last. We have seen the darkest day of our mortal struggle, and the hour
+of deliverance is at hand.
+
+
+AGRICULTURE AND WAR.
+
+Agriculture is the foundation of all other industries. It is quite as
+indispensable for the support of armies in the field as it is for that
+of commerce and manufactures in the halcyon days of national repose. If
+those who have gone forth with arms in their hands to do battle for the
+preservation of our free government are performing services of the
+highest importance to the nation, those also who remain at home to till
+the earth are doing work indispensable to the success of our sacred
+cause. If they do not strike the enemy with their hoes and scythes, they
+at least sustain and invigorate those who carry the bayonet and meet the
+shock of actual war.
+
+Under all circumstances the great operations of agriculture must still
+go on. The seasons do not cease their appointed rounds; the sun does not
+fail to dispense his genial stores of light and heat; nor do the
+fertilizing showers of heaven refuse to descend upon the soil, because
+the fierce passions of man have aroused him to discord and battle.
+Nature still maintains her serenity in the midst of all the fearful
+agitations of mankind; and she still scatters her blessings with a
+lavish hand, though they may be trampled under foot by the gathering
+hosts of infuriated men. Even, therefore, while the human tempest rages
+around us, we may well pause to contemplate the peaceful beneficence of
+nature, and to rejoice in the thought that all the wickedness and
+violence of man cannot provoke or derange into confusion and disorder
+the great natural elements which minister to his comfort and
+happiness--which cause the seed to germinate, the flower to bloom, and
+the fruit to ripen, regardless of all his passions, and in spite of his
+ingratitude. The unambitious pursuits of the husbandman may have in them
+nothing of the pomp and circumstance of glorious war; but they are at
+least in harmony with the beneficence of God and the permanent interests
+of man; while they are also of the highest importance to the country,
+even in the extremity of her peril.
+
+The harvest, now approaching, everywhere gives promise of a bounteous
+supply of the productions which annually bless our favored land. The
+vast invading army of the enemy, soon to be driven with disaster out of
+the loyal States, will have made no serious impression upon the
+abundance of our overflowing stores. There may be some scarcity of
+labor to secure the maturing crops, but we shall still supply all our
+own wants abundantly, leaving a large surplus for shipment abroad, and
+even for meeting the necessities of our suffering brethren in the South,
+when they shall have utterly failed in their wicked purpose of
+destroying the Government, and when their sharp cry of hunger and
+suffering shall appeal to our relenting hearts for succor.
+
+
+THE EARTH AND THE AIR.
+
+The great bulk of all vegetation is derived from the atmosphere. The air
+is always loaded with watery vapor, and it contains a vast quantity of
+carbonic acid gas, which furnishes the chief material for the woody
+fibre of all plants, for the starch, sugar, gums, oils, and other
+valuable compounds produced by them. Nitrogen, also, is one of the large
+constituents of the air, and is found in it likewise in the form of
+ammonia. It is wonderful to reflect that of all the vegetable
+productions of the earth--its vast forests, the flowery clothing of its
+boundless prairies, the immeasurable productions raised by the industry
+of the whole human race in its countless fields of labor--that of all
+this mighty growth which covers and adorns the face of the whole solid
+globe, more than ninety-five hundredths are derived exclusively from the
+atmosphere. This vast ocean which surrounds the earth, in which we are
+immersed, and which is actually the breath of life to us, indispensable
+to our existence during every moment of our lives, is also the great
+reservoir from which the mighty vegetable world draws almost the whole
+of its substance. While we are inspiring the invisible fluid, and with
+every breath renewing the ruddy currents of the heart and sending them
+glowing with warmth and vitality to all the extremities of the frame,
+every leaf in the mighty forest, and every herb, and flower, and blade
+of grass on the surface of the whole earth, is maintaining a similar
+commerce with the air, drawing from its boundless stores of carbon,
+piling up cell upon cell and adding fibre to fibre, until trunk, and
+branch, and stem, and leaf, with all the gorgeous productions of
+vegetable life, stand forth in their maturity, filling the bosom of the
+conscious atmosphere with wonderful creations of beauty and fruits of
+joy.
+
+But in fact the atmosphere is only an appendage to the solid earth,
+existing in that plastic form which is necessary to the creation both of
+animal and vegetable life. It is her breath, by which, as the minister
+of God, she breathes life into the nostrils of men and animals, and
+imparts vitality and growth to all plants. But in this life-giving
+process, she furnishes also a part, minute though it be, of her own
+proper substance. Consume with fire the trees of the forest, or the
+grass of the prairie, and though the greater part of the burning mass
+will disappear and mingle with the air from which it came, there will
+yet remain the ashes, which cannot be dissipated, but must return again
+to the earth which gave them. These solid constituents of plants are the
+contributions of the soil; and though they seem to be comparatively
+inconsiderable, yet when taken in connection with the large operations
+of agriculture continued through a series of years, they become so great
+as to be of the utmost importance. They perform an interesting part in
+the economy of vegetable life, for they are to the plant what the bones
+are to the animal. In the stalks of wheat and Indian corn, as indeed of
+all the grasses, the flinty surface is constituted largely of silex; as
+the shells of crustacea and the bones of animals are composed mostly of
+lime. Without these earthy substances, nothing that grows from the soil
+can come to perfection. They are equally important to animals and to man
+himself, who receives them from the vegetable world and assimilates them
+in his own marvellous organization--building up his bony frame with the
+lime of the earth; filling his veins with its iron; constructing the
+very seat and citadel of the soul, and flashing its spiritual mandates
+through the nerves, by the help of the phosphorus which he derives from
+the soil through the elaboration of plants and inferior animals.
+
+
+WE'RE NOT TIRED OF FIGHTING YET!
+
+    Oh, we're not tired of fighting yet!
+    We're not the boys to frighten yet!
+      While drums are drumming we'll be coming,
+      With the ball and bayonet!
+    For we can hit while they can pound,
+    And so let's have another round!
+    Secesh is bound to lick the ground,
+      And we'll be in their pantry yet!
+
+    Oh, we're not tired of tramping yet--
+    Of soldier life or camping yet;
+      And rough or level, man or devil,
+      We are game for stamping yet.
+    We've lived through weather wet and dry,
+    Through hail and fire, without a cry;
+    We wouldn't freeze, and couldn't fry,
+      And haven't got through our ramping yet!
+
+    We haven't broke up the party yet;
+    We're rough, and tough, and hearty yet;
+      Who talks of going pays what's owing,
+      And there's a bill will smart ye yet!
+    So bang the doors, and lock 'em tight!
+    Secesh, you've got to make it right!
+    We'll have a little dance to-night;
+      You can't begin to travel yet!
+
+    Oh, we're not tired of fighting yet,
+    Nor ripe for disuniting yet!
+      Before they do it, or get through it,
+      There'll be some savage biting yet!
+    Then hip, hurrah for Uncle Sam!
+    And down with all secesh and sham!
+    From Davis to Vallandigham,
+      They all shall rue their treason yet!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+We cannot close the present number of THE CONTINENTAL without a few
+words of fervid congratulation to our readers and countrymen. We may
+greet each other now with glad hearts and uplifted brows. What a
+glorious "Fourth" was ours, with our Eagle scattering the heavy
+war-clouds which hung around us, soaring to gaze once more undazzled at
+the sun of liberty; our stars again shining down clear upon us from
+their heaven of light! Joy sparkles in every eye, and high, strong words
+flash from every tongue. Grant victorious--Vicksburg ours--the army of
+the Potomac covered with glory--Meade everywhere triumphant, and in full
+pursuit of our flying and disheartened foe! Heroes and soldiers, your
+country blesses and thanks you!
+
+Let us now resolve that with every day our Union shall grow closer. Let
+faction die; political intrigue cease to rear its serpent head; let
+doubt become trust; suspicion, faith! Countrymen, let us also learn to
+pity the unhappy race whom this war must free. You cannot now prevent
+it; its first tocsin of liberty pealed with the first gun fired at Fort
+Sumter. After long ages of barbaric night, of slavery, of misery, these
+beings cut in ebony begin to robe themselves as men; on the battle field
+they have at last put on the virile toga dyed in blood, not now drawn by
+the lash from the back of the wretched chattel, but from the heart of
+the man face to face with his oppressor on the field of righteous
+battle. Rude and uncultured, they hold up to you hands hard with labor,
+still bleeding from the scarcely fallen manacles, and implore aid and
+manly mercy. Let it be granted without stint, and let not the freedom
+God has given, become a curse to them! You cannot roll back the stately
+steppings of destiny--and let this great and magnanimous people show its
+magnanimity now!
+
+And, oh, ye glorious dead, now resting in eternal peace, whom the drum
+and fife will rouse no more to superhuman effort in our behalf, sweet be
+your sleep in the heart of the country you died to save, and ever green
+the laurel above your grassy graves! We will not forget you, wrapped in
+your gory shrouds for the land ye loved! Never shall our national hymns
+again greet our ears without awakening tender thoughts of you! Hot, sad
+tears will mourn your loss in the homes your smiles shall light no
+more--but your names shall be an heirloom of glory to your mothers,
+wives, and children, and your country will weep with them! We greet you,
+holy graves! As the onward path of humanity passes over your new-made
+mounds, her children will veil their heads and honor the martyrs who lie
+below. And when the coming centuries shall have covered you with moss
+and flowers, they will never forget to throw the laurel as they pass,
+acknowledging that these tombs have made progress and happiness
+possible! Brothers, the Union shall be sacred which you died to save! In
+the more intense and glowing patriotism engendered by your sacrifice, we
+swear it on your blessed sepulchres, and this shall be your deathless
+epitaph!
+
+    M. W. C.
+
+
+
+
+THE
+
+_Continental Monthly._
+
+
+The readers of the CONTINENTAL are aware of the important position it
+has assumed, of the influence which it exerts, and of the brilliant
+array of political and literary talent of the highest order which
+supports it. No publication of the kind has, in this country, so
+successfully combined the energy and freedom of the daily newspaper with
+the higher literary tone of the first-class monthly; and it is very
+certain that no magazine has given wider range to its contributors, or
+preserved itself so completely from the narrow influences of party or of
+faction. In times like the present, such a journal is either a power in
+the land or it is nothing. That the CONTINENTAL is not the latter is
+abundantly evidenced _by what it has done_--by the reflection of its
+counsels in many important public events, and in the character and power
+of those who are its staunchest supporters.
+
+Though but little more than a year has elapsed since the CONTINENTAL was
+first established, it has during that time acquired a strength and a
+political significance elevating it to a position far above that
+previously occupied by any publication of the kind in America. In proof
+of which assertion we call attention to the following facts:
+
+1. Of its POLITICAL articles republished in pamphlet form, a single one
+has had, thus far, a circulation of _one hundred and six thousand_
+copies.
+
+2. From its LITERARY department, a single serial novel, "Among the
+Pines," has, within a very few months, sold nearly _thirty-five
+thousand_ copies. Two other series of its literary articles have also
+been republished in book form, while the first portion of a third is
+already in press.
+
+No more conclusive facts need be alleged to prove the excellence of the
+contributions to the CONTINENTAL, or their _extraordinary popularity_;
+and its conductors are determined that it shall not fall behind.
+Preserving all "the boldness, vigor, and ability" which a thousand
+journals have attributed to it, it will greatly enlarge its circle of
+action, and discuss, fearlessly and frankly, every principle involved in
+the great questions of the day. The first minds of the country,
+embracing the men most familiar with its diplomacy and most
+distinguished for ability, are among its contributors; and it is no mere
+"flattering promise of a prospectus" to say that this "magazine for the
+times" will employ the first intellect in America, under auspices which
+no publication ever enjoyed before in this country.
+
+While the CONTINENTAL will express decided opinions on the great
+questions of the day, it will not be a mere political journal: much the
+larger portion of its columns will be enlivened, as heretofore, by
+tales, poetry, and humor. In a word, the CONTINENTAL will be found,
+under its new staff of Editors, occupying a position and presenting
+attractions never before found in a magazine.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                           TERMS TO CLUBS.
+
+    Two copies for one year,                 Five dollars.
+    Three copies for one year,               Six dollars.
+    Six copies for one year,                 Eleven dollars.
+    Eleven copies for one year,              Twenty dollars.
+    Twenty copies for one year,              Thirty-six dollars.
+
+PAID IN ADVANCE.
+
+_Postage, Thirty six cents a year_, TO BE PAID BY THE SUBSCRIBER.
+
+SINGLE COPIES.
+
+Three dollars a year, IN ADVANCE. _Postage paid by the Publisher._
+
+    JOHN F. TROW, 50 Greene St., N. Y.,
+    PUBLISHER FOR THE PROPRIETORS.
+
+--> As an inducement to new subscribers, the Publisher offers
+the following liberal premiums:
+
+--> Any person remitting $3, in advance, will receive the
+magazine from July, 1862, to January, 1864, thus securing the whole of
+Mr. KIMBALL'S and Mr. KIRKE'S new serials, which are alone worth the
+price of subscription. Or, if preferred, a subscriber can take the
+magazine for 1863 and a copy of "Among the Pines," or of "Undercurrents
+of Wall Street," by R. B. KIMBALL, bound in cloth, or of "Sunshine in
+Thought," by CHARLES GODFREY LELAND (retail price, $1 25.) The book to
+be sent postage paid.
+
+--> Any person remitting $4 50, will receive the magazine from
+its commencement, January, 1862, to January, 1864, thus securing Mr.
+KIMBALL'S "Was He Successful?" and Mr. KIRKE'S "Among the Pines," and
+"Merchant's Story," and nearly 3,000 octavo pages of the best literature
+in the world. Premium subscribers to pay their own postage.
+
+[Illustration: THE FINEST FARMING LANDS WHEAT CORN COTTON FRUITS &
+VEGETABLES]
+
+EQUAL TO ANY IN THE WORLD!!!
+
+MAY BE PROCURED
+
+At FROM $8 to $12 PER ACRE,
+
+Near Markets, Schools, Railroads, Churches, and all the blessings of
+Civilization.
+
+1,200,000 Acres, in Farms of 40, 80, 120, 160 Acres and upwards, in
+ILLINOIS, the Garden State of America.
+
+The Illinois Central Railroad Company offer, ON LONG CREDIT, the
+beautiful and fertile PRAIRIE LANDS lying along the whole line of their
+Railroad, 700 MILES IN LENGTH, upon the most Favorable Terms for
+enabling Farmers, Manufacturers, Mechanics and Workingmen to make for
+themselves and their families a competency, and a HOME they can call
+THEIR OWN, as will appear from the following statements:
+
+
+ILLINOIS.
+
+Is about equal in extent to England, with a population of 1,722,666, and
+a soil capable of supporting 20,000,000. No State in the Valley of the
+Mississippi offers so great an inducement to the settler as the State of
+Illinois. There is no part of the world where all the conditions of
+climate and soil so admirably combine to produce those two great
+staples, CORN and WHEAT.
+
+
+CLIMATE.
+
+Nowhere can the industrious farmer secure such immediate results from
+his labor as on these deep, rich, loamy soils, cultivated with so much
+ease. The climate from the extreme southern part of the State to the
+Terre Haute, Alton and St. Louis Railroad, a distance of nearly 200
+miles, is well adapted to Winter.
+
+WHEAT, CORN, COTTON, TOBACCO.
+
+Peaches, Pears, Tomatoes, and every variety of fruit and vegetables is
+grown in great abundance, from which Chicago and other Northern markets
+are furnished from four to six weeks earlier than their immediate
+vicinity. Between the Terre Haute, Alton & St. Louis Railway and the
+Kankakee and Illinois Rivers, (a distance of 115 miles on the Branch,
+and 136 miles on the Main Trunk,) lies the great Corn and Stock raising
+portion of the State.
+
+THE ORDINARY YIELD
+
+of Corn is from 50 to 80 bushels per acre. Cattle, Horses, Mules, Sheep
+and Hogs are raised here at a small cost, and yield large profits. It is
+believed that no section of country presents greater inducements for
+Dairy Farming than the Prairies of Illinois, a branch of farming to
+which but little attention has been paid, and which must yield sure
+profitable results. Between the Kankakee and Illinois Rivers, and
+Chicago and Dunleith, (a distance of 56 miles on the Branch and 147
+miles by the Main Trunk,) Timothy Hay, Spring Wheat, Corn, &c., are
+produced in great abundance.
+
+AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.
+
+The Agricultural products of Illinois are greater than those of any
+other State. The Wheat crop of 1861 was estimated at 85,000,000 bushels,
+while the Corn crop yields not less than 140,000,000 bushels besides the
+crop of Oats, Barley, Rye, Buckwheat, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes,
+Pumpkins, Squashes, Flax, Hemp, Peas, Clover, Cabbage, Beets, Tobacco,
+Sorgheim, Grapes, Peaches, Apples, &c., which go to swell the vast
+aggregate of production in this fertile region. Over Four Million tons
+of produce were sent out the State of Illinois during the past year.
+
+STOCK RAISING.
+
+In Central and Southern Illinois uncommon advantages are presented for
+the extension of Stock raising. All kinds of Cattle, Horses, Mules,
+Sheep, Hogs, &c., of the best breeds, yield handsome profits; large
+fortunes have already been made, and the field is open for others to
+enter with the fairest prospects of like results. DAIRY FARMING also
+presents its inducements to many.
+
+CULTIVATION OF COTTON.
+
+_The experiments in Cotton culture are of very great promise. Commencing
+in latitude 39 deg. 30 min. (see Mattoon on the Branch, and Assumption
+on the Main Line), the Company owns thousands of acres well adapted to
+the perfection of this fibre. A settler having a family of young
+children, can turn their youthful labor to a most profitable account in
+the growth and perfection of this plant._
+
+THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD
+
+Traverses the whole length of the State, from the banks of the
+Mississippi and Lake Michigan to the Ohio. As its name imports, the
+Railroad runs through the centre of the State, and on either side of the
+road along its whole length lie the lands offered for sale.
+
+CITIES, TOWNS, MARKETS, DEPOTS.
+
+There are Ninety-eight Depots on the Company's Railway, giving about one
+every seven miles. Cities, Towns and Villages are situated at convenient
+distances throughout the whole route, where every desirable commodity
+may be found as readily as in the oldest cities of the Union, and where
+buyers are to be met for all kinds of farm produce.
+
+EDUCATION.
+
+Mechanics and working-men will find the free school system encouraged by
+the State, and endowed with a large revenue for the support of the
+schools. Children can live in sight of the school, the college, the
+church, and grow up with the prosperity of the leading State in the
+Great Western Empire.
+
+    PRICES AND TERMS OF PAYMENT--ON LONG CREDIT.
+
+    80 acres at $10 per acre, with interest at 6 per ct. annually on
+    the following terms:
+
+        Cash payment                 $48 00
+        Payment in one year           48 00
+           "  in two years            48 00
+           "  in three years          48 00
+           "  in four years          236 00
+           "  in five years          224 00
+           "  in six years           212 00
+           "  in seven years         200 00
+
+    40 acres, at $10 00 per acre;
+      Cash payment                   $24 00
+      Payment in one year             24 00
+         "  in two years              24 00
+         "  in three years            24 00
+         "  in four years            118 00
+         "  in five years            112 00
+         "  in six years             106 00
+         "  in seven years           100 00
+
+
+
+
+    Number 21.                                          25 Cents.
+
+THE
+
+CONTINENTAL
+
+MONTHLY.
+
+DEVOTED TO
+
+_Literature and National Policy_.
+
+SEPTEMBER, 1863.
+
+NEW YORK:
+
+JOHN F. TROW 50 GREENE STREET
+
+(FOR THE PROPRIETORS).
+
+HENRY DEXTER AND SINCLAIR TOUSEY.
+
+WASHINGTON, D. C.: FRANCK TAYLOR.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.--No. XXI.
+
+
+Southern Hate of New England. By Miss Virginia Sherwood,               241
+
+Waiting for News. By Mrs. Mary E. Nealy,                               255
+
+Early History of Printing and the Newspaper Press in
+Boston and New York. By W. L. Stone,                                   256
+
+Reconnoissance near Fort Morgan, and Expedition in
+Lake Portchartrain and Pearl River, by the Mortar
+Flotilla of Captain D. D. Porter, U. S. N. By F. H.
+Gerdes, Asst. U. S. Coast Survey,                                      269
+
+Diary of Frances Krasinska,                                            274
+
+The Isle of Springs. By Rev. Mr. Starbuck,                             284
+
+The Grave,                                                             292
+
+Reason, Rhyme, and Rhythm. By Mrs. Martha W. Cook,                     293
+
+Remembrance. By G. F. G.                                               296
+
+The Great Riot. By Edward B. Freeland,                                 302
+
+The Deserted House,                                                    312
+
+Spring Mountain,                                                       314
+
+Japanese Foreign Relations,                                            333
+
+Was He Successful. By Richard B. Kimball,                              346
+
+Jefferson Davis and Repudiation,                                       352
+
+Editor's Table,                                                        355
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+CHARLES GODFREY LELAND and EDMUND KIRKE have withdrawn from the
+editorial management of this Magazine.
+
+All communications, whether concerning MSS. or on business, should be
+addressed to
+
+    JOHN F. TROW, Publisher,
+
+    50 GREENE STREET, NEW YORK.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+ENTERED, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1863, by JOHN F.
+TROW, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States
+for the Southern District of New York.
+
+JOHN F. TROW, PRINTER.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Continental Monthly, Vol. 4, No.
+2, August, 1863, by Various
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CONTINENTAL MONTHLY, AUGUST 1863 ***
+
+***** This file should be named 29767.txt or 29767.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
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