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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/29858-8.txt b/29858-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..86f8bc8 --- /dev/null +++ b/29858-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9013 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackwoods Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 59, +No. 365, March, 1846, 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: Blackwoods Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 59, No. 365, March, 1846 + +Author: Various + +Release Date: August 30, 2009 [EBook #29858] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKWOODS EDINBURGH *** + + + + +Produced by Brendan OConnor, Jonathan Ingram and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Library of Early Journals.) + + + + + + + + + + BLACKWOOD'S + + EDINBURGH MAGAZINE. + + + No. CCCLXV. MARCH, 1846. VOL. LIX. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + THE TWENTY-FOURTH BOOK OF HOMER'S ILIAD. (IN ENGLISH HEXAMETERS,) 259 + + THE STUDENT OF SALAMANCA. PART V., 273 + + MOSES AND SON. A DIDACTIC TALE, 294 + + VICHYANA, 306 + + IT'S ALL FOR THE BEST. CONCLUSION, 319 + + THE ROMAN CAMPAGNA, 337 + + MR BROOKE OF BORNEO, 356 + + THE SMUGGLER'S LEAP. A PASSAGE IN THE PYRENEES, 366 + + MINISTERIAL MEASURES, 373 + + + + + EDINBURGH: + + WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, 45, GEORGE STREET; + AND 37, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON. + _To whom all Communications (post paid) must be addressed._ + + SOLD BY ALL THE BOOKSELLERS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. + + PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE AND HUGHES, EDINBURGH. + + + + + BLACKWOOD'S + + EDINBURGH MAGAZINE. + + + NO. CCCLXV. MARCH, 1846. VOL. LIX. + + + + +THE TWENTY-FOURTH BOOK OF HOMER'S ILIAD, + +ATTEMPTED IN ENGLISH HEXAMETERS. + + +[It may be thought idle or presumptuous to make a new attempt towards +the naturalization among us of any measure based on the ancient +hexameter. Even Mr Southey has not been in general successful in such +efforts; yet no one can deny that here and there--as, for instance, at +the opening of his _Vision of Judgment_, and in his Fragment on +_Mahomet_--he has produced English hexameters of very happy +construction, uniting vigour with harmony. His occasional success marks +a step of decided progress. Dr Whewell also, in some passages of his +_Hermann and Dorothea_, reached a musical effect sufficient to show, +that, if he had bestowed more leisure, he might have rendered the whole +of Goethe's masterpiece in its original measure, at least as agreeably +as the _Faust_ has been presented to us hitherto. Mr Coleridge's +felicity, both in the Elegiac metre and a slight variation of the +Hendecasyllabic, is universally acknowledged. + +The present experiment was made before the writer had seen the German +Homer of Voss; but in revising his MS. he has had that skillful +performance by him, and he has now and then, as he hopes, derived +advantage from its study. Part of the first book of the _Iliad_ is said +to have been accomplished by Wolff in a still superior manner; but the +writer has never had the advantage of comparing it with Voss. Nor was he +acquainted, until he had finished his task, with a small specimen of the +first book in English hexameters, which occurs in the _History of +English Rhythms_, lately published by Mr E. Guest, of Caius College, +Cambridge. + +Like Voss and Mr Guest, he has chosen to adhere to the Homeric names of +the deities, in place of adopting the Latin forms; and in this matter he +has little doubt that every scholar will approve his choice. Mr +Archdeacon Williams has commonly followed the same plan in those very +spirited prose translations that adorn his learned Essay, _Homerus_. + +It is hardly necessary to interpret these names: as, perhaps, no one +will give much attention to the following pages, who does not already +know that ZEUS answers to Jupiter--and that KRONION is a usual Homeric +designation of Zeus, signifying the son of KRONOS = SATURN: that HERA is +Juno; POSEIDON, Neptune: ARES, Mars; ARTEMIS, Diana; APHRODITÉ, Venus; +HERMES, Mercury; and so forth. + +Should this experiment be received with any favour, the writer has in +his portfolio a good deal of Homer, long since translated in the same +manner; and he would not be reluctant to attempt the completion of an +Iliad in English Hexameters, such as he can make them. + N.N.T. + LONDON, _Jan._ 31, 1846.] + + * * * * * + + Now the assembly dissolv'd; and the multitude rose and disperst them, + Each making speed to the ships, for the needful refreshment of nature, + Food and the sweetness of sleep; but alone in his tent was Achilles, + Weeping the friend that he lov'd; nor could Sleep, the subduer of all + things, + Master his grief; but he turn'd him continually hither and thither, + Thinking of all that was gracious and brave in departed Patroclus, + And of the manifold days they two had been toilfully comrades, + Both in the battles of men and the perilous tempests of ocean. + Now on his side, and anon on his back, or with countenance downward, + Prone in his anguish he sank: then suddenly starting, he wander'd, + Desolate, forth by the shore; till he noted the burst of the morning + As on the waters it gleam'd, and the surf-beaten length of the + sand-beach. + Instantly then did he harness his swift-footed horses, and corded + Hector in rear of the car, to be dragg'd at the wheels in dishonour. + Thrice at the speed he encircled the tomb of the son of Menoetius, + Ere he repos'd him again in his tent, and abandon'd the body, + Flung on its face in the dust; but not unobserv'd of Apollo. + He, though the hero was dead, with compassionate tenderness eyed him, + And with the ægis of gold all over protected from blemish, + Not to be mangled or marr'd in the turbulent trailing of anger. + + Thus in the rage of his mood did he outrage illustrious Hector; + But from the mansions of bliss the Immortals beheld him with pity, + And to a stealthy removal incited the slayer of Argus. + This by the rest was approv'd; but neither of Hera, the white-arm'd, + Nor of the Blue-eyed Maid, nor of Earth-disturbing Poseidon. + Steadfast were they in their hatred of Troy, and her king, and her + people, + Even as of old when they swore to avenge the presumption of Paris, + Who at his shieling insulted majestical Hera and Pallas, + Yielding the glory to her that had bribed him with wanton allurements. + But when suspense had endured to the twelfth reappearance of morning, + Thus, in the midst of the Gods, outspake to them Phoebus Apollo: + "Cruel are ye and ungrateful, O Gods! was there sacrifice never + Either of goats or of beeves on your altars devoted by Hector, + Whom thus, dead as he lies, ye will neither admit to be ransom'd, + Nor to be seen of his wife, or his child, or the mother that bore him, + Nor of his father the king, or the people, with woful concernment + Eager to wrap him in fire and accomplish the rites of departure? + But with the sanction of Gods ye uphold the insensate Achilles, + Brutal, perverted in reason, to every remorseful emotion + Harden'd his heart, as the lion that roams in untameable wildness; + Who, giving sway to the pride of his strength and his truculent impulse, + Rushes on sheep in the fold, and engorges his banquet of murder; + So has the Myrmidon kill'd compassion, nor breathes in his bosom + Shame, which is potent for good among mortals, as well as for evil. + Dear was Patroclus to him, but the mourner that buries a brother, + Yea, and the father forlorn, that has stood by the grave of his + offspring, + These, even these, having wept and lamented, are sooth'd into calmness, + For in the spirit of man have the Destinies planted submission. + But because Hector in battle arrested the life of his comrade, + Therefore encircling the tomb, at the speed of his furious horses, + Drags he the corse of the fall'n: Neither seemly the action nor prudent; + He among Us peradventure may rouse a retributing vengeance, + Brave though he be, that insults the insensible clay in his frenzy." + + Hera, the white-arm'd queen, thus answer'd Apollo in anger: + "Thou of the Silvern Bow! among them shall thy word have approval, + Who in equivalent honour have counted Achilles and Hector. + This from a man had his blood, and was nurs'd at the breast of a woman; + He that ye estimate with him, conceiv'd in the womb of a Goddess, + Rear'd by myself, and assign'd by myself for the consort of Peleus, + Whom above all of his kindred the love of Immortals exalted. + And ye were witnesses, Gods! Thou, too, at the feast of the Bridal, + Thou, with the lyre in thy hand, ever-treacherous, friend of the guilty!" + + But the Compeller of Clouds thus answer'd her, interposing: + "Hera! with Gods the debate, nor beseems the upbraiding of anger. + Not in equivalent honour the twain; yet was generous Hector + Dearest at heart to the Gods among Ilion's blood of the death-doom'd: + Dearest to me; for his gifts from his youth were unfailingly tender'd; + Never to altar of mine was his dutiful sacrifice wanting, + Savour, or costly libation; for such is our homage appointed. + Dear was the generous Hector; yet never for that shall be sanction'd + Stealthy removal, or aught that receives not assent from Achilles. + Daily and nightly, be sure, in his sorrow his mother attends him; + Swiftly some messenger hence, and let Thetis be moved to approach me: + So may some temperate word find way to his heart, and Peleides + Bend to the gifts of the king, and surrender the body of Hector." + + Zeus having spoken, up sprang, for his messenger, swift-footed Iris; + And between Samos anon and the rocks of precipitous Imber + Smote on the black sea-wave, and about her the channel resounded: + Then, as the horn-fixt lead drops sheer from the hand of the islesman, + Fatal to ravenous fish, plung'd she to the depth of the ocean: + Where in a cavern'd recess, the abode of the sisterly Sea-nymphs, + Thetis the goddess appear'd, in the midst of them sitting dejected; + For she was ruefully brooding the fate of her glorious offspring, + Doom'd to a Phrygian grave, far off from the land of his fathers. + Near to her standing anon, thus summon'd her wind-footed Iris: + "Thetis, arise! thou art calléd by Zeus whose decrees are eternal." + But she was instantly answer'd by Thetis the silvery-footed:-- + "Why hath the Mightiest calléd for me? Overburthen'd with sorrow, + How shall I stand in the place where the Gods are assembled in splendour? + Yet will I go: never word that He speaketh in vain may be spoken." + + So having spoken, the Goddess in majesty peerless, arising, + Veil'd her in mantle of black; never gloomier vesture was woven; + And she advanced, but, for guidance, the wind-footed Iris preceded. + Then the o'erhanging abyss of the ocean was parted before them, + And having touched on the shore, up darted the twain into Æther; + Where, in the mansion of Zeus Far-seeing, around him were gather'd + All the assembly of Gods, without sorrow, whose life is eternal: + And by the throne was she seated; for Blue-eyed Pallas Athena + Yielded the place; and, the goblet of gold being tender'd by Hera + Softly with comforting words, soon as Thetis had drank and restored it, + Then did the Father of gods and of men thus open his purpose: + "Thou to Olympus hast come, O Goddess! though press'd with affliction; + Bearing, I know it, within thee a sorrow that ever is wakeful. + Listen then, Thetis, and hear me discover the cause of the summons: + Nine days agone there arose a contention among the Immortals, + Touching the body of Hector and Town-destroying Achilles: + Some to a stealthy removal inciting the slayer of Argus, + But in my bosom prevailing concern for the fame of Peleides, + Love and respect, as of old, toward Thee, and regard of hereafter. + Hasten then, Thou, to the camp, and by Thee let thy son be admonished: + Tell that the Gods are in anger, and I above all the Immortals, + For that the corse is detain'd by the ships, and he spurns at a ransom; + If there be awe toward me, let it move the surrender of Hector. + Iris the while will I send to bid generous Priam adventure, + That he may rescue his son, straightway to the ships of Achaia, + Laden with gifts for Achilles, wherewith to appease and content him." + + Nor was the white-footed Thetis unsway'd by the word of Kronion; + But she descended amain, at a leap, from the peaks of Olympus, + And to the tent of her son went straight; and she found him within it + Groaning in heavy unrest--but around him his loving companions + Eager in duty appear'd, as preparing the meal for the midday. + Bulky and woolly the sheep they within the pavilion had slaughter'd. + Then by the side of the chief sat Thetis the mother majestic, + And she caress'd with her hand on his cheek, and address'd him and named + him-- + "How long wilt thou, my child, thus groan, in a pauseless affliction + Eating thy heart, neither mindful of food nor the pillow of slumber? + Well were it surely for thee to be mingled in love with a woman; + Few are, bethink thee, the days thou shalt live in the sight of thy + mother; + Near even now stands Death, and the violent Destiny shades thee. + Listen meantime to my word, for from Zeus is the message I bear thee; + Wrathful, he says, are the Gods, but himself above all the Immortals, + For that in rage thou detainest the dead, nor is ransom accepted. + Haste thee, deliver the corse, and be sooth'd with the gifts of + redemption." + + Ceased then Thetis divine, and Peleides the swift-footed answer'd: + "So let it be: let a ransom be brought, and the body surrender'd, + Since the Olympian minds it in earnest, and sends the commandment." + + Thus at the station of ships had the son and the mother communion. + Iris from Zeus meanwhile had descended to Ilion holy: + "Go," said he, "Iris the swift, and make speed from the seat of Olympus + Down into Ilion, bearing my message to generous Priam. + Forth to the ships let him fare with a ransom to soften Peleides-- + Priam alone; not a man from the gates of the city attending: + Save that for driving the mules be some elderly herald appointed, + Who may have charge of the wain with the treasure, and back to the city + Carefully carry the dead that was slain by the godlike Achilles. + Nor be there death in the thought of the king, nor confusion of terror; + Such is the guard I assign for his guiding, the slayer of Argus, + Who shall conduct him in peace till he reaches the ships of Achaia. + Nor when, advancing alone, he has enter'd the tent of Peleides, + Need there be fear that he kill: he would shield him if menac'd by + others; + For neither reasonless he, nor yet reckless, nor wilfully wicked: + But when a suppliant bends at his knee he will kindly entreat him." + + Swift at the bidding of Zeus arose wind-footed Iris, and nearing + Soon the abode of the king, found misery there and lamenting: + Low on the ground, in the hall, sat the sons of illustrious Priam, + Watering their raiment with tears, and in midst of his sons was the old + man, + Wrapt in his mantle, the visage unseen, but the head and the bosom + Cover'd in dust, wherewith, rolling in anguish, his hands had bestrewn + them; + But in their chambers remote were the daughters of Priam bewailing, + Mindful of them that, so many, so goodly, in youth had been slaughter'd + Under the Argive hands. But the messenger charged by Kronion + Stood by the king and in whispers address'd him, and hearing he trembled: + + "Strengthen thy spirit within thee, Dardantan Priam, and fear not: + For with no message of evil have I to thy dwelling descended, + But with a kindly intent, and I come from the throne of Kronion, + Who, though afar be his seat, with concern and compassion beholds thee. + Thee the Olympian calls to go forth for the ransom of Hector, + Laden with gifts for Peleides, wherewith to appease and content him. + Go thou alone: not a man from the gates of the city attending; + Only for guiding the mules be some elderly herald appointed, + Who may have charge of the wain with its treasure, and back to the city + Carefully carry the dead that was slain by the godlike Achilles." + + Thus having spoken to Priam, the wind-footed Iris departed; + And he commanded his sons straightway to make ready the mule-wain, + Strong-built; sturdy of wheel, and upon it to fasten the coffer. + But he himself from the hall to his odorous chamber descended, + Cedarn, lofty of roof, wherein much treasure was garner'd, + And unto Hecuba calling, outspake to her generous Priam:-- + + "Mourner! but now at my hand hath a messenger stood from Kronion; + Me he commands to go forth to the ships for redeeming of Hector, + Carrying gifts for Peleides, wherewith to appease and content him. + Answer me truly, my spouse, and declare what of this is thy judgment, + For of a surety my heart and my spirit with vehement urgence + Move me to go to the ships and the wide-spread host of Achaians." + + Thus did he say; but the spouse of the old man shriekt, and made answer: + "Wo to me! whither are scatter'd the wits that were famous aforetime, + Not with the Trojans alone, but afar in the lands of the stranger? + Wo to me! thou to adventure, alone, to the ships of Achaia, + Into the sight of the man by whose fierceness thy sons have been + murder'd, + Many, and comely, and brave! Of a surety thy heart is of iron; + For if he holds thee but once, and his eyes have been fasten'd upon thee, + Bloody and faithless is he, hope thou neither pity nor worship. + Him that is taken away let us mourn for him here in our dwelling, + Since we can see him no more; the immoveable Destiny markt him, + And it was wove in his thread, even so, in the hour that I bare him, + To be the portion of dogs, who shall feast on him far from his parents, + Under the eyes of the foe: whose liver if I could but grapple + Fast by the midst to devour, he then should have just retribution + For what he did to my son; for in no misbehaving he slew him, + But for the men of his land and the well-girt women of Troia + Firm stood Hector in field; neither mindful of flight nor avoidance." + + This was her answer from Priam, the old man godlike in presence:-- + "Hold me not back when my will is to go; nor thyself in my dwelling + Be the ill-omening bird:--howbe, thou shalt not persuade me. + Had I been bidden to this by a mortal of earth's generation, + Prophet, or Augur, or Priest might he be, I had deem'd him deceitful; + Not to go forth, but to stay, had the more been the bent of my purpose: + But having heard her myself, looking face unto face on the Goddess, + Go I, nor shall the word be in vain; and, if Destiny will'd me, + Going, to meet with my death at the ships of the brass-coated Argives, + So let it be. I refuse not to die by the hand of Achilles, + Clasping my son in mine arms, the desire of my sorrow accomplish'd." + + So having spoken, he open'd the coffers that shone in his chamber, + Whence he selected, anon, twelve shawls surpassingly splendid; + Delicate wool-cloaks twelve, and the like of embroidered carpets; + Twelve fair mantles of state, and of tunics as many to match them. + Next, having measur'd his gold, did he heap ten plentiful talents; + Twain were the tripods he chose, twice twain the magnificent platters; + Lastly, a goblet of price, which the chieftains of Thracia tender'd + When he on embassy journey'd: a great gift, yet did the old man + Grudge not to pluck from his store even this, for his spirit impell'd him + Eager to ransom his son: But the people who look'd on his treasure + Them did he chase from the gate, and with bitter reproaches pursued + them:-- + "Graceless and worthless, begone! in your homes is there nothing to weep + for, + That ye in mine will harass me--or lacks it, to fill your contentment, + That the Olympian god has assign'd to me this tribulation-- + Loss of a son without peer? But yourselves shall partake my affliction; + Easier far will it be for the pitiless sword of the Argives, + Now he is dead, to make havoc of you. For myself, ere I witness + Ilion storm'd in their wrath, and the fulness of her desolation, + Oh, may the Destiny yield me to enter the dwelling of Hades!" + + Speaking, he smote with his staff, and they fled from the wrath of the + old man; + But, when they all had disperst, he upbraided his sons and rebuked them; + Deiphobus and Alexander, Hippothöus, generous Dius, + Came at the call of the king, with Antiphonus, Helenus, Pammon, + Agathon, noble of port, and Polites, good at the war-shout:-- + These were the nine that he urged and admonish'd with bitter + reproaches:-- + "Hasten ye, profitless children and vile! if ye all had been slaughter'd, + Fair were the tidings to me, were but Hector in place of ye skaithless! + O, evil-destinied me! that had sons upon sons to sustain me, + None to compare in the land, and not one that had worth is remaining! + Mentor the gallant and goodly, and Tröilus prompt with the war-team; + Hector, a god among men--he, too, who in nothing resembled + Death-doom'd man's generation, but imaged the seed of Immortals-- + Battle hath reft me of these:--but the shames of my house are in safety; + Jesters and singers enow, and enow that can dance on the feast-day; + Scourges and pests of the realm; bold spoilers of kids and of lambkins! + Will ye bestir ye at length, and make ready the wain and the coffer, + Piling in all that ye see, and delay me no more from my journey?" + + So did he speak; but the sons, apprehending the wrath of their father, + Speedfully dragg'd to the portal the mule-wain easily-rolling, + New-built, fair to behold; and upon it the coffer was corded. + Next from the pin they unfasten'd the mule-yoke, carv'd of the box-tree, + Shaped with a prominent boss, and with strong rings skilfully fitted. + Then with the bar was unfolded the nine ells' length of the yoke-band; + But when the yoke had been placed on the smooth-wrought pole with + adroitness, + Back at the end of the shaft, and the ring had been turn'd on the holder, + Hither and thither the thongs on the boss made three overlappings, + Whence, drawn singly ahead, they were tight-knit under the collar. + Next they produced at the portal, and high on the vehicle seemly + Piled the uncountable worth of the king's Hectorean head-gifts. + Then did they harness the mules, strong-hoof'd, well-matcht in their + paces, + Sent of the Mysi to Priam, and splendid the gift of the stranger: + Last, to the yoke they conducted the horses which reverend Priam + Tended and cherish'd himself, of his own hand fed at the manger; + But in the high-built court these harness'd the king and the herald, + None putting hand to the yoke but the old men prudent in counsel. + + Hecuba, anxious in soul, had observ'd, and anon she approach'd them, + Goblet of gold in her hand, with the generous juice of the vine-tree, + Careful they might not go forth without worshipful rite of libation. + "Take," said she; "pour unto Zeus, and beseech him in mercy to shield + thee + Home again safe from the host, since thy vehement spirit impels thee + Forth to the ships, and my warning avails not to stay thee from going: + Pour it, and call on the Lord of the Black Cloud, greatest Kronion, + Him who, on Ida enthron'd, surveys wide Troia's dominion. + Pray for his messenger fleet to be issued in air on the right hand, + Dearest of birds in his eyes, without peer in the might of the wingéd: + Trustful in whom thou may'st go to the ships of the Danäid horsemen. + But if the Thunderer God vouchsafe not his messenger freely, + Ne'er can I will thee to go, howsoever intent on the ransom." + + Thus to her answer'd the king, old Priam, the godlike of presence: + "Spouse, not in this shall mine ear be averse to the voice of thy + counsel; + Good is it, lifting our hands, to implore for the grace of the Godhead." + + Priam demanded amain of the handmaiden, chief of the household, + Water to lave on his hands; and the handmaiden drew from the fountain + At the command of the king, and with basin and ewer attended: + Then having sprinkled his hands, and from Hecuba taken the wine-cup, + Standing in midst of the court did he worship, and pour it before them, + Fixing his eyes upon heaven, and thus audibly made supplication: + + "Father, enthron'd upon Ida, in power and in glory supremest! + Grant me, approaching Peleides, to find with him mercy and favour. + Now, let thy messenger fleet issue forth in the sky on the right hand, + Dearest of birds in thine eyes, without peer in the might of the wingéd, + Seeing and trusting in whom I may go to the ships of Achaia." + + So did he make supplication, and Zeus All-Provident heard him, + And on the instant an eagle, of skyborne auguries noblest, + Dark and majestic, the hunter of Æther, was sent from his footstool. + Wide as the doorway framed for the loftiest hall of a rich man + Shows, when the bolts are undrawn and the balancing valves are expanded, + Such unto either extreme was the stretch of his wings as he darted + Clear from the right, oversweeping the city: and gazing upon him, + Comforted inly were they, every bosom with confidence gladden'd. + + Now to his sumptuous car with alacrity Priam ascending, + Forth from the vestibule drove, and the echoing depth of the portal. + First was the fourwheel'd wain with the strong-hoof'd Mysian mule-team, + Guided by careful Idæus, the herald: behind him the horses, + Whom with the scourge overstanding, alone in his chariot the old man + Eagerly urged through the city. But many the friends that attended, + Trooping in sorrowful throng, as if surely to death he were driving. + + These, when advancing apace he went down to the plain from the rampart, + Turn'd them to Ilion again, both the sons and the sorrowing kindred. + But as he enter'd the plain, he escap'd not the eye of Kronion. + He took cognisance then, and with merciful favour beholding, + Forthwith spake to his son, ever loving in ministry, Hermes:-- + "Go!" said he, "Hermes! for ever I know it thy chiefest contentment + Friendly to succour mankind, and thy pity attends supplication; + Go, and be Priam thy charge, till he reaches the ships of Achaia, + Watching and covering so that no eye of an enemy sees him, + None of the Danäids note, till he comes to the tent of Peleides." + + So Zeus; nor disobey'd him the kindly ambassador Hermes. + Under his feet straightway did he fasten the beautiful sandals, + Wingéd, Ambrosian, golden, which carry him, now over ocean, + Now over measureless earth, with the speed of the wind in its blowing. + Also he lifted the wand which, touching the eyelid of mortals, + Soothes into slumber at will, or arouses the soul of the sleeper. + Grasping it, forth did he fly in his vigour, the slayer of Argus, + And to the Hellespont glided apace, and the shore of the Trojan; + Walking whereon he appear'd as a stripling of parentage royal, + Fresh with the beard first-seen, in the comeliest blossom of manhood. + + But having reach'd in their journey the mighty memorial of Ilus, + Now were the elders at pause--while the horses and mules in the river + Under the sepulchre drank, and around them was creeping the twilight: + Then was the herald aware of the Argicide over against them, + Near on the shadowy plain, and he started and whisper'd to Priam: + "Think, Dardanides! think--for a prudent decision is urgent; + Yonder a man is in view, and I deem he is minded to slay us. + Come, let us flee on the horses; or instantly, bending before him, + Supplicate, grasping his knees, if perchance he may pity the agéd." + + So did he speak; but confusion and great fear fell upon Priam, + And every hair was erect on the tremulous limbs in his faintness. + Dumb and bewilder'd he stood; but beneficent Hermes, approaching, + Tenderly took by the hand, and accosted and questioned the old man: + "Whither, O father! and why art thou driving the mules and the horses + Through the ambrosial night, when the rest of mankind are in slumber? + Is there no terror for thee in the pitiless host of Achaia, + Breathing of fury and hate, and so near to thy path in their leaguer? + Say, if but one of them see thee, 'mid night's swift-vanishing blackness, + Urging so costly a freight, how then might thy courage avail thee? + Thou art not youthful in years, and thy only attendant is agéd; + How, if a spearman arise in thy way, may his arm be resisted? + But fear nothing from me, old man; were another assailing, + Thee would I help, for the father I love is recall'd when I view thee." + + Then to him answered Priam, the old man godlike in presence: + "These things are of a truth, dear child, as thy speech has exprest them; + Nevertheless, some God has extended the hand of protection; + He that vouchsafes me to meet in my need a benevolent comrade, + Helpful and gracious as thou, in the blossom of vigorous manhood; + Prudent withal in thy mind--fair offspring of fortunate parents." + + Him again answer'd in turn heaven's kindly ambassador, Hermes: + "True of a surety and wise, old man, are the words thou hast spoken; + But now freely resolve me, and fully discover thy purpose: + Whether the treasures thou bearest, so many, so goodly, are destined + Forth to some distant ally, with whom these may at least be in safety? + Or is it so that ye all are abandoning Ilion the holy-- + Stricken with dread since the bravest and best of thy sons is removéd, + He that was ever in battle the peer of the prime of Achaia?" + + Thus unto Hermes replied old Priam, the godlike of presence: + "Who, then, noblest! art thou, and from whom is thy worshipful lineage, + Who makest mention so fair of the death of unfortunate Hector?" + + But to him spake yet again the ambassador mild of Kronion: + "Dost thou inquire, O king! as to mention of Hector the godlike? + Him have I seen full oft with mine eyes in the glorious battle, + Yea, and when urging the chase he advanced to the ramparted galleys, + Trampling the Argive bands, and with sharp brass strew'd them in + slaughter. + We, from the station observing, in wonderment gazed; for Achilles + Held us apart from the fight in his wrath at the wrong of Atreides. + For in his train am I named, and the same fair galley convey'd me; + Born of the Myrmidon blood, in the house of my father, Polyctor. + Noble and wealthy is he in the land, but like thee he is agéd: + Six were the sons in his hall, but myself was the seventh and the + youngest, + Whom, when the lots had been cast, it behov'd to depart with Peleides. + Now from the ships to the plain have I come, for to-morrow at dawning + Close to the city again the Achaians will plant them in battle: + Ill do they bear within ramparts to sit, and the kings of Achaia + Now can restrain them no longer, so hot their desire for the onslaught." + + Him thus eagerly answer'd old Priam, the godlike in presence: + "Be'st thou indeed of the train of the Peleiades Achilles? + Come then, discover the truth: be there nothing, I pray, of concealment. + Is my son still at the galleys, or has he already been flung forth, + Piecemeal torn, for a feast to the dogs, by the hand of Achilles?" + + This was in turn the reply of the kindly ambassador Hermes: + "Fear it not; neither the dogs, old man, nor the birds have devour'd him: + Still to this hour 'mid the tents, by the black-hull'd ship of Peleides, + He forsakenly lies: but though morning has dawn'd on him twelve times + Since he was reft of his breath, yet the body is free from corruption; + Nor have the worms, for whom war-slain men are a banquet, approach'd him. + Truly Peleides, as oft as the east is revived with the day-beam, + Ruthlessly drags him around by the tomb of his brotherly comrade; + But yet he mars not the dead; and with wonder thine eyes would behold him + How he in freshness lies: from about him the blood has been cleanséd, + Dust has not tarnisht the hue, and all clos'd are the lips of the gashes, + All that he had, and not few were the brass-beat lances that pierc'd him. + Guarded so well is thy son by the grace of the blessed Immortals, + Dead though he be; of a surety in life they had favour'd him dearly." + + So did he speak: but the elder was gladden'd in spirit, and answer'd:-- + "Verily, child, it is good to attend on the blessed Immortals + Duly with reverent gifts; for my son (while, alas! he was living) + Never forgot in his home the Supreme who inherit Olympus: + Wherefore they think of him now, though in death's dark destiny humbled. + But come, take from my hand this magnificent cup: it is giv'n thee + Freely to keep for thyself; and conduct me, the Gods being gracious, + Over the shadowy field, till I reach the abode of Peleides." + + Him thus answer'd amain the beneficent messenger Hermes:-- + "Cease, old man, from the tempting of youth--for thou shalt not persuade + me. + Gift will I none at thy hand without knowledge of noble Achilles. + Great is my terror of him; and in aught to defraud him of treasure, + Far from my breast be the thought, lest hereafter he visit with + vengeance. + But for conducting of thee I am ready with reverent service, + Whether on foot or by sea, were it far as to glorious Argos. + None shall assail thee, be sure, in contempt of thy faithful attendant." + + So did the Merciful speak: and he sprang on the chariot of Priam, + Seizing with strenuous hand both the reins and the scourge as he mounted: + And into horses and mules vivid energy pass'd from his breathing. + But when at last they arrived at the fosse and the towers of the galleys, + They that had watch at the gates were preparing the meal of the evening; + And the Olympian guide survey'd, and upon them was slumber + Pour'd at his will; and the bars were undone and the gates were expanded, + And he conducted within both the king and the ransoming mule-wain. + Swiftly advancing, anon they were near to the tent of Peleides: + Lofty the shelter and large, for the King by the Myrmidons planted; + Hewn of the pines of the mountain; and rough was the thatch of the + roof-tree, + Bulrushes mown on the meadow; and spacious the girth of the bulwark + Spanning with close-set stakes; but the bar of the gate was a pine-beam. + Three of the sons of Achaia were needful to lift it and fasten: + Three to withdraw from its seat the securement huge of the closure: + Such was the toil for the rest--but Achilles lifted it singly. + This the beneficent guide made instantly open for Priam. + And for the treasure of ransom wherewith he would soothe the Peleides; + Then did the Argicide leap from the car to the ground and address'd + him:-- + "Old man, I from Olympus descended, a god everlasting, + Hermes, appointed the guide of thy way by my father Kronion. + Now I return to my place, nor go in to the sight of Achilles, + Since it beseems not Immortal of lineage divine to reveal him + Waiting with manifest love on the frail generation of mankind. + Enter the dwelling alone, and, embracing the knees of Peleides, + Him by his father adjure, and adjure by the grace of his mother, + And by the child of his love, that his mind may be mov'd at thy + pleading." + + Thus having spoken, evanish'd, to lofty Olympus ascending, + Hermes: but Priam delay'd not, and sprang from his car on the sea-beach; + And, while Idæus remain'd to have care of the mules and the horses, + On did the old man pass, and he enter'd, and found the Peleides + Seated apart from his train: two only of Myrmidons trustful, + Hero Automedon only, and Alkimus, sapling of Ares, + Near to him minist'ring stood; he repos'd him but now from the meal-time, + Sated with food and with wine, nor remov'd from him yet was the table. + All unobserv'd of them enter'd the old man stately, and forthwith + Grasp'd with his fingers the knees and was kissing the hands of + Achilles-- + Terrible, murderous hands, by which son upon son had been slaughter'd. + As when a man who has fled from his home with the curse of the + blood-guilt, + Kneels in a far-off land, at the hearth of some opulent stranger, + Begging to shelter his head, there is stupor on them that behold him; + So was Achilles dumb at the sight of majestical Priam-- + He and his followers all, each gazing on other bewilder'd. + But he uplifted his voice in their silence, and made supplication:-- + "Think of thy father at home," (he began,) "O godlike Achilles! + Him, my coëval, like me within age's calamitous threshold! + Haply this day there is trouble upon him, some insolent neighbours + Round him in arms, nor a champion at hand to avert the disaster: + Yet even so there is comfort for him, for he hears of thee living; + Day unto day there is hope for his heart amid worst tribulation, + That yet again he shall see his belovéd from Troia returning. + Misery only is mine; for of all in the land of my fathers, + Bravest and best were the sons I begat, and not one is remaining. + Fifty were mine in the hour that the host of Achaia descended: + Nineteen granted to me out of one womb, royally mother'd, + Stood by my side; but the rest were of handmaids born in my dwelling. + Soon were the limbs of the many unstrung in the fury of Ar[=e]s: + But one peerless was left, sole prop of the realm and the people: + And now at last he too, the protector of Ilion, Hector, + Dies by thy hand. For his sake have I come to the ships of Achaia, + Eager to ransom the body with bountiful gifts of redemption. + Thou have respect for the Gods, and on me, O Peleides! have pity, + Calling thy father to mind; but more piteous is my desolation, + Mine, who alone of mankind have been humbled to this of endurance-- + Pressing my mouth to the hand that is red with the blood of my children." + + Hereon Achilles, awak'd to a yearning remembrance of Peleus, + Rose up, took by the hand, and remov'd from him gently the old man. + Sadness possessing the twain--one, mindful of valorous Hector, + Wept with o'erflowing tears, lowlaid at the feet of Achilles; + He, sometime for his father, anon at the thought of Patroclus, + Wept, and aloft in the dwelling their long lamentation ascended. + But when the bursting of grief had contented the godlike Peleides, + And from his heart and his limbs irresistible yearning departed, + Then from his seat rose he, and with tenderness lifted the old man, + Viewing the hoary head and the hoary beard with compassion: + And he address'd him, and these were the air-wing'd words that he + utter'd:-- + "Ah unhappy! thy spirit in truth has been burden'd with evils. + How could the daring be thine to come forth to the ships of Achaia + Singly, to stand in the eyes of the man by whose weapon thy children, + Many and gallant, have died? full surely thy heart is of iron. + But now seat thee in peace, old man, and let mourning entirely + Pause for a space in our minds, although heavy on both be affliction; + For without profit and vain is the fulness of sad lamentation, + Since it was destined so of the Gods for unfortunate mortals + Ever in trouble to live, but they only partake not of sorrow; + For by the threshold of Zeus two urns have their station of old time, + Whereof the one holds dolings of good, but the other of evil; + And to whom mixt are the doles of the thunder-delighting Kronion, + He sometime is of blessing partaker, of misery sometime; + But if he gives of the ill, he has fixt him the mark of disaster, + And over bountiful earth the devouring Necessity drives him, + Wandering ever forlorn, unregarded of gods and of mortals. + Thus of a truth did the Gods grant glorious gifts unto Peleus, + Even from the hour of his birth, for above compare was he favour'd, + Whether in wealth or in power, in the land of the Myrmidons reigning; + And albeit a mortal, his spouse was a goddess appointed. + Yet even to him of the God was there evil apportion'd--that never + Lineage of sons should be born in his home, to inherit dominion. + One son alone he begat, to untimely calamity foredoom'd; + Nor do I cherish his age, since afar from the land of my fathers + Here in the Troad I sit, to the torment of thee and thy children. + And we have heard, old man, of thine ancient prosperity also, + Lord of whatever is held between Lesbos the seat of the Macar, + Up to the Phrygian bound and the measureless Hellespontos; + Ruling and blest above all, nor in wealth nor in progeny equall'd; + Yet from the hour that the Gods brought this visitation upon thee, + Day unto day is thy city surrounded with battles and bloodshed. + How so, bear what is sent, nor be griev'd in thy soul without ceasing. + Nothing avails it, O king! to lament for the son that has fallen; + Him thou canst raise up no more, but thyself may have new tribulation." + + So having said, he was answer'd by Priam the aged and godlike: + "Seat not me on the chair, O belov'd of Olympus! while Hector + Lies in the tent uninterr'd; but I pray thee deliver him swiftly, + That I may see with mine eyes: and, accepting the gifts of redemption, + Therein have joy to thy heart; and return thou homeward in safety, + Since of thy mercy I live and shall look on the light of the morning." + + Darkly regarding the King, thus answer'd the rapid Achilles: + "Stir me to anger no more, old man; of myself I am minded + To the release of the dead, for a messenger came from Kronion + Hither, the mother that bore me, the child of the Ancient of Ocean. + Thee, too, I know in my mind, nor has aught of thy passage escap'd me; + How that some God was the guide of thy steps to the ships of Achaia. + For never mortal had dared to advance, were he blooming in manhood, + Here to the host by himself; nor could sentinels all be avoided; + Nor by an imbecile push might the bar be dislodg'd at my bulwark. + Therefore excite me no more, old man, when my soul is in sorrow, + Lest to thyself peradventure forbearance continue not alway, + Suppliant all that thou art--but I break the behest of the Godhead." + + So did he speak; but the old man fear'd, and obey'd his commandment. + Forth of the door of his dwelling then leapt like a lion Peleides; + But not alone: of his household were twain that attended his going, + Hero Automedon first, and young Alkimus, he that was honour'd + Chief of the comrades around since the death of belovéd Patroclus. + These from the yoke straightway unharness'd the mules and the horses, + And they conducted within the coëval attendant of Priam, + Bidding him sit in the tent: then swiftly their hands from the mule-wain + Raise the uncountable wealth of the King's Hectorean head-gifts. + But two mantles they leave and a tunic of beautiful texture, + Seemly for wrapping the dead as the ransomer carries him homeward. + Then were the handmaidens call'd, and commanded to wash and anoint him, + Privately lifted aside, lest the son should be seen of the father, + Lest in the grief of his soul he restrain not his anger within him, + Seeing the corse of his son, but enkindle the heart of Achilles, + And he smite him to death, and transgress the command of Kronion. + But when the dead had been wash'd and anointed with oil by the maidens, + And in the tunic array'd and enwrapt in the beautiful mantle, + Then by Peleides himself was he rais'd and compos'd on the hand-bier; + Which when the comrades had lifted and borne to its place in the + mule-wain, + Then groan'd he; and he call'd on the name of his friend, the belovéd:-- + "Be not wroth with me now, O Patroclus, if haply thou hearest, + Though within Hades obscure, that I yield the illustrious Hector + Back to his father dear. Not unworthy the gifts of redemption; + And unto thee will I render thereof whatsoever is seemly." + + So said the noble Peleides, and ent'ring again the pavilion, + Sat on the fair-carv'd chair from whence he had risen aforetime, + Hard by the opposite wall, and accosted the reverend Priam:-- + "Now has thy son, old man, been restor'd to thee as thou requiredst. + He on his bier has been laid, and thyself shall behold and remove him + Soon as the dawning appears: but of food meanwhile be we mindful. + For not unmindful of food in her sorrow was Niobe, fair-hair'd, + Albeit she in her dwelling lamented for twelve of her offspring. + Six were the daughters, and six were the sons in the flower of their + manhood. + These unto death went down by the silvern bow of Apollo, + Wrathful to Niobe--those smote Artemis arrow-delighting; + For that she vaunted her equal in honour to Leto the rosy, + Saying her births were but twain, and herself was abundant in offspring: + Wherefore, twain as they were, they confounded them all in destruction. + Nine days, then, did they lie in their blood as they fell, and approach'd + them + None to inter, for mankind had been turn'd into stones of Kronion; + But they had sepulture due on the tenth from the gods everlasting; + And then, mindful of food, rose Niobe, weary of weeping. + Yet still, far among rocks, in some wilderness lone of the mountains-- + Sipylus holds there, they say, where the nymphs in the desert repose + them. + They that in beauty divine lead dances beside Achelöus;-- + There still, stone though she be, doth she brood on her harm from the + god-heads. + But, O reverend king, let us also of needful refreshment + Think now. Time will hereafter be thine to bewail thy belovéd; + Home into Ilion borne--many tears may of right be his portion!" + + So did he speak; and upspringing anon, swift-footed Achilles + Slaughter'd a white-wool'd sheep, and his followers skinn'd it expertly. + Skilfully then they divided, and skewer'd, and carefully roasting, + Drew from the spits; and Automedon came, bringing bread to the table, + Piled upon baskets fair; but for all of them carv'd the Peleides; + And each, stretching his hand, partook of the food that was offer'd. + But when of meat and of wine from them all the desire was departed, + Then did Dardanian Priam in wonderment gaze on Achilles, + Stately and strong to behold, for in aspect the Gods he resembled; + While on Dardanian Priam gazed also with wonder Achilles, + Seeing the countenance goodly, and hearing the words of the old man. + Till, when contemplating either the other they both were contented, + Him thus first bespake old Priam, the godlike in presence: + "Speedfully now let the couch be prepar'd for me, lov'd of Kronion! + And let us taste once more of the sweetness of slumber, reclining: + For never yet have mine eyes been clos'd for me under my eyelids, + Never since under thy hands was out-breathéd the spirit of Hector; + Groaning since then has been mine, and the brooding of sorrows + unnumber'd, + In the recess of my hall, low-rolling in dust and in ashes. + But now of bread and of meat have I tasted again, and the black wine + Pour'd in my throat once more--whereof, since he was slain, I partook + not." + + So did he speak; and Achilles commanded the comrades and handmaids + Under the porch of the dwelling to place fair couches, and spread them + Duly with cushions on cushions of purple, and delicate carpets, + Also with mantles of wool, to be wrapt over all on the sleepers. + But they speedily past, bearing torches in hand, from the dwelling, + And two couches anon were with diligence order'd and garnish'd. + + Then to the king, in a sport, thus spoke swift-footed Achilles: + "Rest thee without, old guest, lest some vigilant chief of Achaia + Chance to arrive, one of those who frequent me when counsel is needful; + Who, if he see thee belike amid night's fast-vanishing darkness, + Straightway warns in his tent Agamemnon, the Shepherd of peoples, + And the completion of ransom meets yet peradventure with hindrance. + But come, answer me this, and discover the whole of thy purpose,-- + How many days thou design'st for entombing illustrious Hector; + That I may rest from the battle till then, and restrain the Achaians." + + So he; and he was answer'd by Priam, the aged and godlike: + "If 'tis thy will that I bury illustrious Hector in honour, + Deal with me thus, O Peleides, and crown the desire of my spirit. + Well dost thou know how the town is begirt, and the wood at a distance, + Down from the hills to be brought, and the people are humbled in terror. + Nine days' space we would yield in our dwelling to due lamentation, + Bury the dead on the tenth, and thereafter the people be feasted; + On the eleventh let us toil till the funeral mound be completed, + But on the twelfth to the battle once more, if the battle be needful." + + Instantly this was the answer of swift-footed noble Achilles: + "Reverend king, be it also in these things as thou requirest; + I for the space thou hast meted will hold the Achaians from warring." + + Thus said the noble Peleides, and, grasping the wrist of the right hand, + Strengthen'd the mind of the king, that his fear might not linger within + him. + They then sank to repose forthwith in the porch of the dwelling, + Priam the king and the herald coëval and prudent in counsel; + But in the inmost recess of the well-built lordly pavilion + Slept the Peleides, and by him down laid her the rosy Briséis. + + All then of Gods upon high, ever-living, and warrior horsemen, + Slept through the livelong night in the gentle dominion of slumber; + But never slumber approach'd to the eyes of beneficent Hermes, + As in his mind he revolv'd how best to retire from the galleys + Priam the king, unobserv'd of the sentinels sworn for the night-watch. + Over his head, as he slept, stood the Argicide now, and address'd him: + "Old man, bodings of evil disturb not thy spirit, who slumber'st + Here among numberless foes, because noble Peleides has spared thee. + True that thy son has been ransom'd, and costly the worth of the + head-gifts; + Yet would the sons that are left thee have three times more to surrender, + Wert thou but seen by the host, and the warning convey'd to Atreides." + + Thus did he speak, but the king was in terror, and waken'd the herald. + Then, when beneficent Hermes had harness'd the mules and the horses, + Swiftly he drove through the camp, nor did any observe the departure. + So did they pass to the ford of the river of beautiful waters, + Xanthus the gulfy, begotten of thunder-delighting Kronion; + Then from the chariot he rose and ascended to lofty Olympus. + + But now wide over earth spread morning mantled in saffron, + As amid groaning and weeping they drew to the city; the mule-wain + Bearing behind them the dead: Nor did any in Ilion see them, + Either of men, as they came, or the well-girt women of Troia: + Only Cassandra, that imaged in grace Aphrodité the golden, + Had to the Pergamus clomb, and from thence she discover'd her father + Standing afoot on the car, and beside him the summoning herald; + And in the waggon behind them the wrapt corse laid on the death-bier. + Then did she shriek, and her cry to the ends of the city resounded: + + "Come forth, woman and man, and behold the returning of Hector! + Come, if ye e'er in his life, at his home-coming safe from the battle + joyfully troop'd; and with joy might it fill both the town and the + people." + + So did she cry; nor anon was there one soul left in the city, + Woman or man, for at hand and afar was the yearning awaken'd. + Near to the gate was the king when they met him conducting the + death-wain. + First rush'd, rending their hair, to behold him the wife and the mother, + And as they handled the head, all weeping the multitude stood near:-- + And they had all day long till the sun went down into darkness + There on the field by the rampart lamented with tears over Hector, + But that the father arose in the car and entreated the people: + "Yield me to pass, good friends, make way for the mules--and hereafter + All shall have weeping enow when the dead has been borne to the + dwelling." + So did he speak, and they, parting asunder, made way for the mule-wain. + But when they brought him at last to the famous abode of the princes, + He on a fair-carv'd bed was compos'd, and the singers around him + Rang'd, who begin the lament; and they, lifting their sorrowful voices, + Chanted the wail for the dead, and the women bemoan'd at its pausings. + But in the burst of her woe was the beauteous Andromache foremost, + Holding the head in her hands as she mourn'd for the slayer of heroes:-- + + "Husband! in youth hast thou parted from life, and a desolate widow + Here am I left in our home; and the child is a stammering infant + Whom thou and I unhappy begat, nor will he, to my thinking, + Reach to the blossom of youth; ere then, from the roof to the basement + Down shall the city be hurl'd--since her only protector has perish'd, + And without succour are now chaste mother and stammering infant. + Soon shall their destiny be to depart in the ships of the stranger, + I in the midst of them bound; and, my child, thou go with them also, + Doom'd for the far-off shore and the tarnishing toil of the bondman, + Slaving for lord unkind. Or perchance some remorseless Achaian + Hurl from the gripe of his hand, from the battlement down to perdition, + Raging revenge for some brother perchance that was slaughter'd of Hector, + Father, it may be, or son; for not few of the race of Achaia + Seiz'd broad earth with their teeth, when they sank from the handling of + Hector; + For not mild was thy father, O babe, in the blackness of battle-- + Wherefore, now he is gone, through the city the people bewail him. + But the unspeakable anguish of misery bides with thy parents, + Hector! with me above all the distress that has no consolation: + For never, dying, to me didst thou stretch forth hand from the pillow, + Nor didst thou whisper, departing, one secret word to be hoarded + Ever by day and by night in the tears of eternal remembrance." + + Weeping Andromache ceased, and the women bemoan'd at her pausing; + Then in her measureless grief spake Hecuba, next of the mourners: + "Hector! of all that I bore ever dearest by far to my heart-strings! + Dear above all wert thou also in life to the gods everlasting; + Wherefore they care for thee now, though in death's dark destiny humbled! + Others enow of my sons did the terrible runner Achilles + Sell, whomsoever he took, far over the waste of the waters, + Either to Samos or Imber, or rock-bound harbourless Lemnos; + But with the long-headed spear did he rifle the life from thy bosom, + And in the dust did he drag thee, oft times, by the tomb of his comrade, + Him thou hadst slain; though not so out of death could he rescue + Patroclus. + Yet now, ransom'd at last, and restored to the home of thy parents, + Dewy and fresh liest thou, like one that has easily parted, + Under a pangless shaft from the silvern bow of Apollo." + + So did the mother lament, and a measureless moaning received her; + Till, at their pausing anew, spake Helena, third of the mourners:-- + "Hector! dearest to me above all in the house of my husband! + Husband, alas! that I call him; oh! better that death had befallen! + Summer and winter have flown, and the twentieth year is accomplish'd + Since the calamity came, and I fled from the land of my fathers; + Yet never a word of complaint have I heard from thee, never of hardness; + But if another reproach'd, were it brother or sister of Paris, + Yea, or his mother, (for mild evermore as a father was Priam,) + Them didst thou check in their scorn, and the bitterness yielded before + thee, + Touch'd by thy kindness of soul and the words of thy gentle persuasion. + Therefore I weep, both for thee and myself to all misery destined, + For there remains to me now in the war-swept wideness of Troia, + None either courteous or kind--but in all that behold me is horror." + + So did she cease amid tears, and the women bemoan'd at her pausing; + But King Priam arose, and he spake in the gate to the people:-- + "Hasten ye, Trojans, arise, and bring speedily wood to the city: + Nor be there fear in your minds of some ambush of lurking Achaians, + For when I came from the galleys the promise was pledged of Peleides, + Not to disturb us with harm till the twelfth reappearance of morning." + + So did he speak: and the men to their wains put the mules and the oxen, + And they assembled with speed on the field by the gates of the city. + Nine days' space did they labour, and great was the heap from the forest: + But on the tenth resurrection for mortals of luminous morning, + Forth did they carry, with weeping, the corse of the warrior Hector, + Laid him on high on the pyre, and enkindled the branches beneath him. + + Now, with the rose-finger'd dawn once more in the orient shining, + All reassembled again at the pyre of illustrious Hector. + First was the black wine pour'd on the wide-spread heap of the embers, + Quenching wherever had linger'd the strength of the glow: and thereafter, + Brethren and comrades belov'd from the ashes collected the white bones, + Bending with reverent tears, every cheek in the company flowing. + But when they all had been found, and the casket of gold that receiv'd + them, + Carefully folded around amid fair soft veilings of purple, + Deep in the grave they were laid, and the huge stones piled to the + margin. + + Swiftly the earth-mound rose: but on all sides watchers were planted, + Fearful of rush unawares from the well-greaved bands of Achaia. + Last, when the mound was complete, and the men had return'd to the city, + All in the halls of the King were with splendid solemnity feasted. + + Thus was the sepulture order'd of Hector the Tamer of Horses. + + + + +THE STUDENT OF SALAMANCA. + +PART V. + + Va vienon chapelchurris + Con corneta y clarin, + Para entrar en Bilbao + A beber chacolin. + + Mal chacolin tuvieron + Y dia tan fatal, + Que con la borrachera + Se murió el general. + + _Christino Song._ + +"Ten--fifteen--thirty--all plump full-weighted coins of Fernando Septimo +and Carlos Quarto. Truly, Jaime, the trade thou drivest is a pleasant +and profitable one. Little to do, and good pay for it." + +It was a June day, a little past the middle of the month. Just within +the forest that extended nearly up to the western wall of the Dominican +convent, upon a plot of smooth turf, under the shadow of tall bushes and +venerable trees, Jaime, the gipsy, had seated himself, and was engaged +in an occupation which, to judge from the unusually well-pleased +expression of his countenance, was highly congenial to his tastes. The +resting-place he had chosen had the double advantage of coolness and +seclusion. Whilst in the court of the convent, and in the hollow square +in the interior of the building, where the nuns cultivated a few +flowers, and which was sprinkled by the waters of a fountain, the heat +was so great as to drive the sisters to their cells and shady cloisters, +in the forest a delicious freshness prevailed. A light air played +between the moss-clad tree-trunks, and the soft turf, protected by the +foliage from the scorching rays of the sun, felt cool to the foot that +pressed it. Nay, in some places, where the shade was thickest, and where +a current of air flowed up through the long vistas of trees, might still +be seen, although the sun was in the zenith, tiny drops of the morning +dew, spangling the grass-blades. Into those innermost recesses of the +greenwood, however, the esquilador had not thought it necessary to +penetrate: habituated to the African temperature of Southern Spain, he +was satisfied with the moderate degree of shelter obtained in the little +glade he occupied; into which, although the sunbeams did not enter, a +certain degree of heat was reflected from the convent walls, of whose +grey surface he obtained a glimpse through the branches. The sheep-skin +jacket which was his constant wear--its looseness rendering it a more +endurable summer garment than might have been inferred from its warm +material--lay upon the grass beside him, exposing to view a woollen +shirt, composed of broad alternate stripes of red and white; the latter +colour having assumed, from length of wear and lack of washing, a tint +bordering upon the orange. He had untwisted the long red sash which he +wore coiled round his waist, and withdrawn from its folds, at one of its +extremities, forming a sort of purse, a goodly handful of gold coin, the +result of the more or less honest enterprises in which he had recently +been engaged. This he was counting out, and arranging according to its +kind, in glittering piles of four, eight, and sixteen-dollar pieces. A +grim contortion of feature, his nearest approach to a smile, testified +the pleasure he experienced in thus handling and reckoning his treasure; +and, in unusual contradiction to his taciturn habits, he indulged, as he +gloated over his gold, in a muttered and disjointed soliloquy. + +"Hurra for the war!" so ran his monologue; "may it last till Jaime bids +it cease. 'Tis meat and drink to him--ay, and better still." Here he +glanced complacently at his wealth. "Surely 'tis rare fun to see the +foolish Busné cutting each other's throats, and the poor Zincalo reaping +the benefit. I've had fine chances certainly, and have not thrown them +away. Zumalacarregui does not pay badly; then that affair of the +Christino officer was worth a good forty ounces, between him and the +fool Paco; and now Don Baltasar--but he is the worst pay of all. +Promises in plenty; he rattles them off his tongue as glib as the old +nuns do their _paters_; but if he opens his mouth he takes good care to +keep his purse shut. A pitiful two score dollars are all I have had from +him for a month's service--I should have made more by spying for +Zumalacarregui; with more risk, perhaps--though I am not sure of that. +Both the noble colonel and myself would stretch a rope if the general +heard of our doings. And hear of them he will, sooner or later unless +Don Baltasar marries the girl by force, and cuts Paco's throat. Curse +him! why doesn't he pay me the fifty ounces he promised me? If he did +that, I would get out of the way till I heard how the thing turned. I +must have the money next time I see him, or"---- + +What alternative the esquilador was about to propound must remain +unknown; for, at that moment, the sound of his name, uttered near at +hand, and in a cautious tone, caused him to start violently and +interrupt his soliloquy. Hastily sweeping up his money, and thrusting it +into the end of his sash, he seized his jacket, and was about to seek +concealment in the neighbouring bushes. Before doing so, however, he +cast a glance in the direction whence the sound had proceeded, and for +the first time became aware that the spot selected for the telling of +his ill-gotten gains was not so secure from observation as he had +imagined. In the outer wall of the western wing of the convent, and at +some distance from the ground, two windows broke the uniformity of the +stone surface. Hitherto, whenever the gipsy had noticed them, they had +appeared hermetically blocked up by closely-fitting shutters, painted to +match the colour of the wall, of which they almost seemed to form a +part. On taking up his position just within the skirt of the forest, the +possibility of these casements being opened, and his proceedings +observed, had not occurred to him; and it so happened that from one of +them, through an opening in the branches, the retreat he had chosen was +completely commanded. The shutter of this window had now been pushed +open, and the lovely, but pallid and emaciated countenance of Rita, was +seen gazing through the strong bars which traversed the aperture. + +"Jaime!" she repeated; "Jaime, I would speak with you." + +Upon seeing whom it was who thus addressed him, the gipsy's alarm +ceased. He deliberately put on and knotted his sash; and casting his +jacket over his shoulder, turned to leave the spot. + +"Jaime!" cried Rita for the third time, "come hither, I implore you." + +The gipsy shook his head, and was walking slowly away, his face, +however, still turned towards the fair prisoner, when she suddenly +exclaimed-- + +"Behold! For one minute's conversation it is yours." + +And in the shadow cast by the embrasure of the casement, Jaime saw a +sparkle, the cause of which his covetous eye at once detected. Three +bounds, and he stood under the window. Rita passed her arm through the +bars, and a jewelled ring dropped into his extended palm. + +"_Hermoso!_" exclaimed the esquilador, his eyes sparkling almost as +vividly as the stones that excited his admiration. "Beautiful! Diamonds +of the finest water!" + +The shock of her father's death, coupled with previous fatigue and +excitement, had thrown Rita into a delirious fever, which for more than +three weeks confined her to her bed. Within a few hours of her arrival +at the convent, Don Baltasar had been compelled to leave it to resume +his military duties; and he had not again returned, although, twice +during her illness, he sent the gipsy to obtain intelligence of her +health. On learning her convalescence, he dispatched him thither for a +third time, with a letter to Rita, urging her acceptance of his +hand--their union having been, as he assured her, her father's latest +wish. As her nearest surviving relative, he had assumed the office of +her guardian, and allotted to her the convent as a residence; until such +time as other arrangements could be made, or until she should be +willing to give him a nearer right to protect her. Jaime had now been +two days at the convent awaiting a reply to this letter, without which +Don Baltasar had forbidden him to return. This reply, however, Rita, +indignant at the restraint imposed upon her, had as yet, in spite of the +arguments of the abbess, shown no disposition to pen. + +With her forehead pressed against the bars of the window, Rita noted the +delight manifested by the gipsy at the present she had made him. She had +already observed him feasting his eyes with the sight of his money; and +although she knew him to be an agent of Don Baltasar, his evident +avarice gave her hopes, that by promise of large reward she might induce +him to betray his employer and serve her. Producing a second ring, of +greater value than the one she had already bestowed upon him, she showed +it to the wondering esquilador. He held up his hands instinctively to +catch it. + +"You may earn it," said Rita; "and twenty such." + +And whilst with one hand she continued to expose the ring to the greedy +gaze of the gipsy, with the other she held up a letter. + +"For Don Baltasar?" asked the Gitano. + +"No," said she. "For Zumalacarregui." + +Jaime made a step backwards, and again shook his head. Rita feared that +he was about to leave her. + +"Oh!" she exclaimed, "I entreat, I beseech you, assist me in this +strait. Whatever sum your vile employer has promised you, I will give +tenfold. Take my letter, and name your reward." + +"That's what the other said," muttered Jaime; "'name your reward,' but +he is in no hurry to pay it. If I thought her promises better than +his"---- + +And again he looked up at the window, and seemed to hesitate. + +"Listen," cried Rita, who saw him waver; "I am rich--you are poor. I +have farms, estates, vineyards--you shall choose amongst them wherewith +to live happily for the rest of your days. Convey this letter safely, +and exchange your comfortless and disreputable wanderings for a settled +home and opulence." + +Jaime made a gesture of refusal. + +"Your lands and your vineyards, your fields and farms, are no temptation +to the Zincalo, señora. What would they avail him? Your countrymen would +say, 'Out upon the gipsy! See the thief!' and they would defraud him of +his lands, and spit on him if he complained. No, señorita, give me a +roving life, and the wealth that I can carry in my girdle, and defend +with my knife." + +"It shall be as you will," cried Rita, eagerly. "Gold, jewels, whatever +you prefer. This letter will procure my freedom; and, once free, you +shall find me both able and disposed to reward you beyond your wildest +dreams." + +"Yes, if the general does not hang me when he learns my share in the +business." + +"I have not named you to him, nor will I. The letter is unsealed; you +can read before delivering it. Your name shall never be breathed by me, +save as that of my preserver." + +There was an accent of sincerity in Rita's promises that rendered it +impossible to mistrust them. The gipsy, sorely tempted, was evidently +about to yield. He gazed wistfully at the ring, which Rita still held up +to his view; his eyes twinkled with covetousness, and he half extended +his hand. Rita slipped the ring into the fold of the letter, and threw +both down to him. Dexterously catching, and thrusting them into his +breast, he glanced furtively around, to see that he was unobserved. He +stood near the wall, just under the window, and the iron bars preventing +Rita from putting out her head, only the upper half of his figure was +visible to her. At that moment, to her infinite surprise and alarm, she +saw an extraordinary change come over his features. Their expression of +greedy cunning was replaced, with a suddenness that appeared almost +magical, by one of pain and terror; and scarcely had Rita had time to +observe the transformation, when he lay upon the ground, struggling +violently, but in vain, against some unseen power, that drew him +towards the wall. He caught at the grass and weeds, which grew in +profusion on the rarely-trodden path; he writhed, and endeavoured to +turn himself upon his face, but without success. With pale and terrified +visage, but in dogged silence, he strove against an agency invisible to +Rita, and which he was totally unable to resist. His body speedily +vanished from her sight, then his head, and finally his outstretched +arms; the rustling noise, occasioned by his passage through the herbage, +ceased; and Rita, aghast at this extraordinary and mysterious +occurrence, again found herself alone. We will leave her to her +astonishment and conjecture, whilst we follow the gipsy to the place +whither he had been so involuntarily and unceremoniously conveyed, a +description of which will furnish a key to his seemingly unaccountable +disappearance. + +It was a vault of considerable extent, surrounded by casks of various +sizes, most of which would, on being touched, have given, by their +ringing sound, assurance of their emptiness. In bins, at one extremity +of the cellar, were a number of bottles, whose thick mantle of dust and +cobwebs spoke volumes for the ripe and racy nature of their contents. A +large chest of cedar-wood stood in the innermost nook of the cellar, +with raised lid, disclosing a quantity of cigars, worm-eaten and musty +from extreme age. In the massive wall, forming one end of the vault, and +which was in fact the foundation of the outer wall of the convent, was a +large doorway; but the door had been removed, and the aperture filled +with stones and plaster, forming a barrier more solid in appearance than +reality. This barrier had recently been knocked down; its materials lay +scattered on the ground, and through the opening thus made, came the +only light that was allowed to enter the vault. It proceeded from the +cell in which Paco, the muleteer, had for more than a month been +imprisoned. + +Long, very long and wearisome, had that month of captivity appeared to +Paco. Accustomed to a life of constant activity and change, it would +have been difficult to devise for him a severer punishment than inaction +and confinement. The first day he passed in tolerable tranquillity of +mind, occupied by vain endeavours to conjecture the motives of the +violence offered to him, and momentarily anticipating his release; and +although evening came without its taking place, he went to sleep, fully +convinced that the next morning would be the term of his durance. +Conscious of no crime, ignorant of Count Villabuena's death, and of Don +Baltasar's designs, he was totally unable to assign a reason for his +imprisonment. The next morning came, the bolts of his dungeon-door were +withdrawn; he started from his pallet. The door opened, and a man +entered, bringing a supply of fresh water and a meagre gaspacho. This he +laid down; and was leaving the cell without replying to Paco's indignant +and loudly-uttered interrogatories; when the muleteer followed, and +attempted to force his way out. He was met by a stern "Back!" and the +muzzle of a cocked blunderbuss touched his breast. A sturdy convent +servitor barred the passage, and compelled him to retreat into his +prison. + +Paco now gave free course to his impatience. During the whole of that +day he paced his cell with the wild restlessness of a newly-caged +panther; the gaspacho remained untasted, but the water-jug was quickly +drained, for his throat was dry with cursing. The next morning another +visit, another gaspacho and supply of water, and another attempt to +leave the prison, repulsed like the previous one. On the third day, +however, his hopes of a prompt liberation having melted away before the +dogged silence and methodical regularity of his jailers, Paco began to +cast about in his mind for means of liberating himself. First he shook +and examined the door, but he might as well have attempted to shake the +Pyrenees; its thick hard wood and solid fastenings mocked his efforts, +and moreover he had no instruments, not so much as a rusty nail, to aid +him in his attempt. The two side-walls next received his attention; but +they were of great blocks of stone, joined by a cement of nearly equal +hardness, and on which, although he worked till his nails were torn to +shreds, and his fingers ran blood, he could not make the slightest +impression. As to the wall opposite to the door, he did not even examine +it; for it was easy to judge, from the grass and bushes growing against +the window in its top, that it was the outer wall of the convent. On +this, since he could make nothing of the partition-walls, all labour +would of course be thrown away; and even if he could bore through it, he +must find the solid earth on the other side, and be discovered before he +could possibly burrow his way out. As to the window, or rather the +iron-barred opening through which came light and air, for any purposes +of escape it might as well not have been there, for its lower edge was +nearly fourteen feet from the ground; and although Paco, who was a +first-rate leaper, did, in his desperation, and in the early days of his +captivity, make several violent attempts to jump up and catch hold of +the grating, they were all, as may be supposed, entirely without result. + +It was the thirty-fifth day of his imprisonment, an hour after daybreak. +His provisions for the next twenty-four hours had been brought to him, +and, as usual, he had made an unsuccessful effort to induce his sullen +jailer to inform him why he was confined, and when he should be +released. Gloomy and disconsolate, he seated himself on the ground, and +leaned his back against the end wall of his dreary dungeon. The light +from the window above his head fell upon the opposite door, and +illuminated the spot where he had scratched, with the shank of a button, +a line for each day of his imprisonment. The melancholy calendar already +reached one quarter across the door, and Paco was speculating and +wondering how far it might be prolonged, when he thought he felt a +stream of cold wind against his ear. He placed his hand where his ear +had been, and plainly distinguished a current of air issuing from a +small crevice in the wall, which otherwise was smooth and covered with +plaster. Without being much of a natural philosopher, it was evident to +Paco, that if wind came through, there must be a vault on the other side +of the wall, and not the solid earth, as he had hitherto believed; and +it also became probable that the wall was deficient either in thickness +or solidity. After some scratching at the plaster, he succeeded in +uncovering the side of a small stone of irregular shape. A vigorous push +entirely dislodged it, and it fell from him, leaving an opening through +which he could pass his arm. This he did, and found that although on one +side of the aperture the wall was upwards of two feet thick, on the +other it was not more than six or eight inches, and of loose +construction. By a very little labour he knocked out half-a-dozen +stones, and then, weary of thus making an opening piecemeal, he receded +as far as he could, took a short run, and threw himself against the wall +with all his force. After a few repetitions of this vigorous but not +very prudent proceeding, the frail bulwark gave way, and amidst a shower +of dust and mortar, Paco entered the vault into which he had conquered +his passage. + +The vault had apparently served, during some former occupation of the +convent by monks, as the wine-cellar of the holy fathers; and had been +walled up, not improbably, to protect it from the depredations of the +French soldiery during Napoleon's occupation of Spain. As already +mentioned, it was well stocked with casks of all sorts and sizes, most +of them empty and with bottles, for the most part full. Several of the +latter Paco lost no time in decapitating; and a trial of their contents +satisfied him that the proprietors of the cellar, whatever else they +might have been, were decidedly good judges of wine. Cheered and +invigorated by the pleasant liquor of which he had now so long been +deprived, he commenced, as soon as his eyes had got a little accustomed +to the exceedingly dim twilight that reigned in the vault, a thorough +investigation of the place, in hopes of finding either an outlet, or the +means of making one. In the former part of his hopes he was +disappointed; but after a patient search, his pains were rewarded by the +discovery of several pieces of old rope, and of a wooden bar or lever, +which had probably served to raise and shift the wine-casks. The rope +did not seem likely to be of any use, but the lever was an invaluable +acquisition; and by its aid Paco entertained strong hopes of +accomplishing his escape. He at once set to work to knock down the +remainder of the stones blocking up the doorway, and when they were +cleared he began to roll and drag empty casks into his cell. Of a number +of these, and with some labour, he formed a scaffolding, by means of +which he was enabled to reach the window, taking his crowbar with him. +His hand trembled as it grasped the grating, on the possibility of whose +removal every thing depended. Viewed from the floor of his prison, the +bars appeared of a formidable thickness, and he dreaded lest the time +that would elapse till the next visit of his jailer, should be +insufficient for him to overcome the obstacle. To his unspeakable +delight, however, his first effort caused the grating to shake and +rattle. The stone into which the extremities of the bars were riveted +was of no very hard description; the iron was corroded by the rust of +centuries, and Paco at once saw, that what he had looked forward to as a +task of severe difficulty, would be accomplished with the utmost ease. +He set to work with good courage, and after a couple of hours' toil, the +grating was removed, and the passage free. + +Paco's first impulse was to spring through the opening into the bright +sunshine without; but a moment's reflection checked him. He remembered +that he was unarmed and unacquainted with the neighbourhood; and his +appearance outside the convent in broad daylight, might lead to his +instant recapture by some of those, whoever they were, who found an +interest or a gratification in keeping him prisoner. He resolved, +therefore, unwillingly enough it is true, to curb his impatience, and +defer his departure till nightfall. Of a visit from his jailers he felt +no apprehension, for they had never yet shown themselves to him more +than once a-day, and that, invariably, at an early hour of the morning. +Partly, however, to be prepared for instant flight, should he hear his +dungeon door open, and still more for the sake of inhaling the warm and +aromatic breeze, which blew over to him from the neighbouring woods and +fields, he seated himself upon the top of his casks, his head just on a +level with the window, and, cautiously making a small opening in the +matted vegetable screen that grew before it, gazed out upon the face of +nature with a feeling of enjoyment, only to be appreciated by those who, +like him, have passed five weeks in a cold, gloomy, subterranean +dungeon. The little he was able to distinguish of the locality was +highly satisfactory. Within thirty paces of the convent wall was the +commencement of a thick wood, wherein he doubted not that he should find +shelter and security if observed in his flight. He would greatly have +preferred waiting the approach of night in the forest, instead of in his +cell; but with a prudence hardly to be expected from him, and which the +horror he had of a prolongation of his captivity, perhaps alone induced +him to exercise, he would not risk crossing the strip of open land +intervening between him and the wood; judging, not without reason, that +it might be overlooked by the convent windows. + +For some time Paco remained seated upon his pile of casks, feasting his +eyes with the sunshine, to which they had so long been strangers; his +ear on the watch, his fingers mechanically plucking and twisting the +blades of grass that grew in through the window. He was arranging in his +mind what route he should take, and considering where he was most likely +to find Count Villabuena, when he was surprised by the sound of words, +proceeding apparently from a considerable distance above his head, but +some of which nevertheless reached his quick and practised ear. Of these +the one most distinctly spoken was the name of Jaime, and in the voice +that spoke it, Paco was convinced that he recognised that of Count +Villabuena's daughter. A few moments elapsed, something else was said, +what, he was unable to make out, and then, to his no small alarm, his +old acquaintance and recent betrayer, Jaime the esquilador, stood within +arm's length of his window. He instinctively drew back; the gipsy was so +near, that only the growth of weeds before mentioned interposed between +him and the muleteer. But Paco soon saw that his proximity was +unsuspected by Jaime, who had commenced the dialogue with Rita already +recorded. Paco at once comprehended the situation; and emboldened by the +knowledge that he, and even the aperture of the window, was concealed +from sight by the grass and bushes, he again put his head as far forward +as was prudent, and attentively listened. Not a word spoken by the +esquilador escaped him, but he could scarcely hear any thing of what +Rita said; for the distance between her and Jaime being diminished, she +spoke in a very low tone. He made out, however, that she was +endeavouring to bribe the gipsy to take a letter--to whom, he did not +hear--and a scheme occurred to him, the execution of which he only +deferred till he should see the missive in the possession of Jaime, on +whose every gesture and movement he kept a vigilant watch. At the same +instant that the letter was deposited in the gipsy's pocket, Paco thrust +both his hands through the grass, seized the naked ankles of the +esquilador in a vicelike grip, and by a sudden jerk throwing him upon +his back, proceeded to drag him through the aperture, behind which he +himself was stationed. His strength and adroitness, and the suddenness +of the attack, ensured its success; and in spite of the gipsy's +struggles, Paco speedily pulled him completely into the dungeon, upon +the ground of which he cast him down with a force that might well have +broken the bones, but, as it happened, merely took away the senses, of +the terrified esquilador. + +The strange and mysterious manner of the assault, the stunning violence +of his fall, and his position on regaining the consciousness of which he +had for a brief space been deprived, combined to bewilder the gipsy, and +temporarily to quell the courage, or, as it should perhaps rather be +termed, the passive stoicism, usually exhibited by him in circumstances +of danger. He had been dragged into the wine-cellar, and seated with his +back against a cask; his wrists and ankles were bound with ropes, and +beside him knelt a man busily engaged in searching, his pockets. The +light was so faint that at first he could not distinguish the features +of this person; but when at last he recognized those of Paco, he +conjectured to a certain extent the nature of the snare into which he +had fallen, and, as he did so, his usual coolness and confidence in some +degree returned. His first words were an attempt to intimidate the +muleteer. + +"Untie my hands," said he, "or I shout for help. I have only to call +out, to be released immediately." + +"If that were true, you would have done it, and not told me of it," +retorted Paco, with his usual acuteness. "The walls are thick; and the +vault deep, and I believe you might shout a long while before any one +heard you. But I advise you not to try. The first word you speak in a +louder tone than pleases me, I cut your throat like a pig; with your own +knife, too." + +And, by way of confirming this agreeable assurance, he drew the cold +blade across Jaime's throat, with such a fierce determined movement, +that the startled gipsy involuntarily shrunk back. Paco marked the +effect of his menace. + +"You see," said he, sticking the knife in the ground beside him, and +continuing his in investigation of the esquilador's pockets; "you had +better be quiet, and answer my questions civilly. For whom is this +letter?" continued he, holding up Rita's missive, which he had extracted +from the gipsy's jacket. + +But although the esquilador (partly on account of Paco's threats, and +partly because he knew that his cries were unlikely to bring assistance) +made no attempt to call out, he did not, on the other hand, show any +disposition to communicativeness. Instead of replying to the questions +put to him, he maintained a surly, dogged silence. Paco repeated the +interrogatory without obtaining a better result, and then, as if weary +of questioning a man who would not answer, he continued his search +without further waste of words. The two rings and Rita's letter he had +already found; they were succeeded by a number of miscellaneous objects +which he threw carelessly aside; and having rummaged the esquilador's +various pockets, he proceeded to unfasten his sash. The first +demonstration of a design upon this receptacle of his wealth, produced, +on the part of the gipsy, a violent but fruitless effort to liberate his +wrists from the cords that confined them. + +"Oho!" said Paco, "is that the sore place? Faith! there is reason for +your wincing," he added, as the gold contained in the girdle fell +jingling on the floor. "This was not all got by clipping mules." + +"It was received from you, the greater part of it," exclaimed the gipsy, +forced out of his taciturnity by his agony at seeing Paco, after +replacing the money in the sash, deliberately bind it round his own +waist. + +"I worked hard and ran risk for it, and you paid it me willingly. Surely +you will not rob me!" + +Without attending to this expostulation, Paco secured the gold, and then +rising to his feet, again repeated the question he had already twice put +to his prisoner. + +"To whom is this letter?" said he. + +"You may read it yourself," returned Jaime, who, notwithstanding the +intelligible hint to be tractable which he had already received, found +it a hard matter to restrain his sulkiness. "It is addressed, and open." + +Read it, was exactly what Paco would have done, had he been able; but it +so happened that the muleteer was a self-educated man, and that, whilst +teaching himself many things which he had on various occasions found of +much utility, he had given but a moderate share of his attention to the +acquirement of letters. When on the road with his mules, he could +distinguish the large printed capitals painted on the packages entrusted +to his care; he was also able, from long habit, fluently to read the +usual announcement of "_Vinos y licores finos_," inscribed above tavern +doors; and, when required, he could even perpetrate a hieroglyphic +intended for the signature of his name; but these were the extent of his +acquirements. As to deciphering the contents or superscription of the +letter now in his possession, he knew that it would be mere lost labour +to attempt it. He was far too wary, however, to display his ignorance to +the gipsy, and thus to strengthen him in his refusal to say for whom it +was intended. + +"Of course I may read it," he replied "but here it is too dark, and I +have no mind to leave you alone. Answer me, or it will be worse for +you." + +Either suspecting how the case really stood, or through mere sullenness +at the loss of his money, the gipsy remained, with lowering brow and +compressed lips, obstinately silent. For a few moments Paco awaited a +reply, and then walking to a short distance, he picked up something that +lay in a dark corner of the vault, returned to the gipsy, and placing +his hands upon the edge of the tall cask against which the latter was +seated, sprang actively upon the top of it. Soon he again descended, +and, upsetting the cask, gave it a shove with his foot that sent it +rolling into the middle of the cellar. The gipsy, although motionless, +and to all appearance inattentive to what passed, lost not one of the +muleteer's movements. His head stirred not but his sunken beadlike eyes +shifted their glances with extraordinary keenness and rapidity. At the +moment when, surprised by the sudden removal of the cask, he screwed his +head round to see what was going on behind him, a rope was passed +swiftly over his face, and the next instant he felt his neck encircled +by a halter. A number of strong hooks and wooden brackets, used to +support shelves and suspend wine-skins, were firmly fixed in the cellar +wall, at various distances from the ground. Over one of the highest of +these, Paco had cast a rope, one end of which he held, whilst the other, +as already mentioned, was fixed round the neck of the gipsy. Retiring a +couple of paces, the muleteer hauled on the rope; it tightened round the +neck of the unlucky Jaime, and even lifted him a little from the ground. +He strove to rise to his feet from the sitting posture in which he was, +but his bonds prevented him. Stumbling and helpless, he fell over on one +side, and would inevitably have been strangled, had not Paco given him +more line. The fear of death came over him. He trembled violently, and +his face, which was smeared with blood from the scratches he had +received in his passage through the bushes, became of an ash-like +paleness. He cast a piteous look at Paco, who surveyed him with +unrelenting aspect. + +"Not the first time I've had you at a rope's end," said he; "although +the knot wasn't always in the same place. Come, I've no time to lose! +Will you answer, or hang?" + +"What do you want to know?" + +"I have already asked you three times," returned Paco, impatiently, "who +this letter is for, and what about." + +"For Zumalacarregui," replied Jaime; "and now you know as much as I do." + +"Why have I been kept in prison?" demanded Paco. + +"Why did you come with the lady?" replied the esquilador. "Had you +stopped at Segura, no one would have meddled with you." + +"I came because I was ordered. Where is Doña Rita?" + +The gipsy hesitated, and then answered surlily. "I do not know." + +Paco gave the rope a twitch which brought the esquilador's tongue out of +his mouth. + +"Liar!" he exclaimed; "I heard you speaking to her just now. What does +she here?" + +"A prisoner," muttered the half-strangled gipsy. + +"Whose?" + +"Colonel Villabuena's." + +"And the Señor Conde. Where is he?" + +"Dead." + +"Dead!" repeated Paco, letting the rope go, grasping the esquilador by +the collar, and furiously shaking him. "The noble count dead! When did +he die? Or is it a lie of your invention?" + +"He was dead before I fetched the young lady from Segura," said Jaime. +"The story of his being wounded, and wishing to see her, was merely a +stratagem to bring her here." + +Relinquishing his hold, Paco took a step backwards, in grief and great +astonishment. The answers he had forced from Jaime, and his own natural +quickness of apprehension, were sufficient to enlighten him as to the +main outline of what he had hitherto found a mystery. He at once +conjectured Don Baltasar's designs, and the motives of Doña Rita's +imprisonment and his own. That the count was really dead he could not +doubt; for otherwise Baltasar would hardly have ventured upon his +daughter's abduction. Aware that the count's duties and usual +occupations did not lead him into actual collision with the enemy, and +that they could scarcely, except by a casualty, endanger his life, it +occurred to Paco, as highly probable, that he had met his death by +unfair means, at the hands of Don Baltasar and the gipsy. The colonel he +suspected, and Jaime he knew, to be capable of any iniquity. Such were +some of the reflections that passed rapidly through his mind during the +few moments that he stood beside Jaime, mute and motionless, meditating +on what had passed, and on what he should now do. Naturally prompt and +decided, and accustomed to perilous emergencies, he was not long in +making up his mind. Suddenly starting from his immobility, he seized the +end of the halter, and, to the horror of the gipsy, whose eyes were +fixed upon him, began pulling furiously at it, hand over hand, like a +sailor tugging at a hawser. + +"_Misericordia!_" screamed the horror-stricken esquilador, as he found +himself lifted from the ground by the neck. "Mercy! mercy!" + +But mercy there was none for him. His cries were stifled by the pressure +of the rope, and then he made a desperate effort to gain his feet. In +this he succeeded, and stood upright causing the noose for a moment to +slacken. He profited by the temporary relief to attempt another +ineffectual prayer for pity. A gasping, inarticulate noise in his throat +was the sole result; for the muleteer continued his vigorous pulls at +the cord, and in an instant the unhappy gipsy felt himself lifted +completely off the ground. He made one more violent strain to touch the +earth with the point of his foot; but no--all was in vain--higher and +higher he went, till the crown of his head struck against the long iron +hook through the loop of which the halter ran. When this was the case, +Paco caught his end of the rope round another hook at a less height from +the ground, twisted and knotted it securely; then stooping, he picked up +the esquilador's knife, re-entered the dungeon, and ascended the pile of +casks erected below the window. On the top of these he sat himself down +for a moment and listened. There proceeded from the wine-cellar a sort +of noise, as of a scraping and thumping against the wall. It was the +wretched gipsy kicking and struggling in his last agony. + +"He dies hard," muttered Paco, a slight expression of compunction coming +over his features, "and I strung him up without priest or prayer. But, +what then! those gitanos are worse than Jews, they believe neither in +God nor devil. As for his death, he deserves it, the dog, ten times +over. And if he didn't, Doña Rita's fate depends on my escape, and I +could not leave him there to alarm the convent and have me pursued." + +His scruples quieted by these arguments, the muleteer again listened. +All was silent in the vault. Paco cautiously put his head out at the +hole through which he had dragged the gipsy. The coast was clear, the +forest within thirty yards. Winding his body noiselessly through the +aperture, he sprang to his feet, and with the speed of a greyhound +sought the cover of the wood. Upon reaching the shelter of its foremost +trees he paused, and turning round, looked back at the convent, hoping +to see Rita at a window. But she had disappeared, and the shutters were +closed. It would have been folly, under the circumstances, to wait the +chance of her return; and once more turning his back upon the place of +his captivity, the muleteer, exulting in his newly recovered freedom, +plunged, with quick and elastic step, into the innermost recesses of the +forest. + +Rightly conjecturing that Rita, informed of her father's death, and +having no influential friend to whom to address herself for aid, had +written to Zumalacarregui with a view to obtain her release, Paco +determined to convey the letter to its destination as speedily as +possible. To do this it was necessary, first, to ascertain the +whereabout of the Carlist general, and secondly, to avoid falling in +with Colonel Villabuena, a meeting with whom might not only prevent him +from delivering the letter, but also again endanger his liberty, perhaps +his life. Shaping his course through the forest in, as nearly as he +could judge, a westerly direction, he reached the mountains at sunset, +and continued his march along their base--avoiding the more frequented +path by which he had approached the convent--until he reached an outlet +of the valley. Through this he passed; and still keeping straight +forward, without any other immediate object than that of increasing the +distance between himself and his late prison, he found himself, some +time after midnight, clear of the lofty range of mountains, a limb of +the Spanish Pyrenees, in one of whose recesses the convent stood. The +country in front, and on both sides of him, was still mountainous, but +the elevations were less; and Paco, who had a good general knowledge of +the geography of his native province, through most parts of which his +avocations as muleteer had often caused him to travel, conjectured that +he was on the extreme verge of Navarre and about to enter the province +of Guipuzcoa. He had deemed it prudent to avoid all human habitations +whilst still in the vicinity of the convent; but having now left it half +a dozen leagues in his rear, the necessity for such caution no longer +existed, and he began to look about for a convenient place to take a few +hours' repose. At the distance of a mile he perceived the white walls of +houses shimmering in the moonlight, and he bent his steps in that +direction. It was two in the morning and the hamlet was buried in sleep; +the sharp, sudden bark of a watch-dog was the only sound that greeted +the muleteer as he passed under the irregular avenue of trees preceding +its solitary street. Entering a barn, whose door stood invitingly open, +he threw himself upon a pile of newly-made hay, and was instantly +plunged in a sleep far sounder and more refreshing than any he had +enjoyed during the whole period of his captivity. + +It was still early morning when he was roused from his slumbers by the +entrance of the proprietor of the barn, a sturdy, good-humoured peasant, +more surprised, than pleased, to find upon his premises a stranger of +Paco's equivocal appearance. The muleteer's exterior was certainly not +calculated to give a high opinion of his respectability. His uniform +jacket of dark green cloth was soiled and torn; his boina, which had +served him for a nightcap during his imprisonment, was in equally bad +plight; he was uncombed and unwashed, and a beard of nearly six weeks' +growth adorned his face. It was in a tone of some suspicion that the +peasant enquired his business, but Paco had his answer ready. Taken +prisoner by the Christinos, he said, he had escaped from Pampeluna after +a confinement of some duration, and ignorant of the country, had +wandered about for two nights, lying concealed during the day, and +afraid to approach villages lest he should again fall into the hands of +the enemy. The haggard look he had acquired during his imprisonment, his +beard and general appearance, and the circumstance of his being unarmed, +although in uniform, seemed to confirm the truth of his tale; and the +peasant, who, like all of his class at that time and in that province, +was an enthusiastic Carlist, willingly supplied him with the razor and +refreshment of which he stood in pressing need. His appearance somewhat +improved, and his appetite satisfied, Paco in his turn became the +interrogator, and the first answers he received caused him extreme +surprise. The most triumphant success had waited on the Carlist arms +during the period of his captivity. The Christino generals had been on +all hands discomfited by the men at whose discipline and courage, even +more than at their poverty and imperfect resources, they affected to +sneer, and numerous towns and fortified places had fallen into the hands +of Zumalacarregui and his victorious lieutenants. The mere name of the +Carlist chief had become a tower of strength to his followers, and a +terror to his foes; and several ably managed surprises had greatly +increased the panic dread with which the news of his approach now +inspired the Christino troops. On the heights of Descarga a strong +column of the Queen's army had been attacked in the night, and routed +with prodigious loss, by the Carlist general Eraso; in the valley of the +Baztan General Oraa had been beaten by Sagastibelza, leaving ninety +officers and seven hundred men in the hands of the victors; Estella, +Vergara, Tolosa, Villafranca, and numerous other considerable towns, +were held by the soldiers of the Pretender; and, to crown all, Paco +learned, to his astonishment, that Zumalacarregui and his army were then +in front of Bilboa, vigorously besieging that rich and important city. + +Towards Bilboa, then, did Paco bend his steps. The remote position of +the village where he had obtained the above information, caused it to be +but irregularly supplied with intelligence from the army; and it was not +till the evening of his first day's march, that the muleteer heard a +piece of news which redoubled his eagerness to reach the Carlist +headquarters. Zumalacarregui, he was informed, had received, whilst +directing the operations of the siege, a severe and dangerous wound. +Fearing he might die before he reached him, Paco endeavoured to hire or +purchase a horse, but all that could be spared had been taken for the +Carlist army; and he rightly judged that through so mountainous a +country he should make better progress on foot than on any Rosinante +offered to him. He pushed forward, therefore, with all possible haste; +but his feet had grown tender during his imprisonment, and he was but +indifferently satisfied with his rate of marching. On the following day, +however, his anxiety was considerably dissipated by learning that +Zumalacarregui's wound was slight, and that the surgeons had predicted a +rapid cure. He nevertheless continued his journey without abatement of +speed, and on the afternoon of the fourth day arrived on the summit of +the hills that overlook Bilboa. The suburbs were occupied by the +Carlists, whose slender battering train kept up a fire that was +vigorously replied to by the forty or fifty cannon bristling the +fortifications. Entering the faubourg known as the Barrio de Bolueta, he +approached a group of soldiers lounging in front of their quarters, and +enquired where the general was lodged. The men looked at him in some +surprise, and asked which general he meant. + +"The general-in-chief, Zumalacarregui, to be sure," replied Paco +impatiently. + +"Where come you from, amigo?" said one of the soldiers, "not to know +that Zumalacarregui left the lines the day after he was wounded, and is +now getting cured at Cegama?" + +Great was Paco's vexation at finding that the person he had come so far +to seek, had been all the while at a village within a day's march of the +Dominican convent. His annoyance was so legibly written upon his +countenance, that one of the soldiers took upon himself to offer a word +of consolation. + +"Never mind, comrade," said he, "if you want to see Tio Tomas, you can't +do better than remain here. You won't have long to wait. He has only got +a scratch on the leg, and we expect every day to see him ride into the +lines. He's not the man to be laid up long by such a trifle." + +"Is Colonel Villabuena here?" said Paco, somewhat reassured by this last +information. + +"What, Black Baltasar, as they call him? Ay, that he is, and be hanged +to him. It's only two days since he ordered me an extra turn of picket +for forgetting to salute him as he passed my beat. Curse him for a +soldier's plague!" + +Paco left the soldiers and walked on till he came to a small house, +which the juniper bush suspended above the door proclaimed to be a +tavern. Entering the smoky low-roofed room upon the ground-floor, which +just then chanced to be unoccupied, he sat down by the open window and +called for a quartillo of wine. A measure of the vinegar-flavoured +liquid known by the name of chacolin, and drunk for wine in the province +of Biscay, was brought to him, and after washing the dust out of his +throat, he began to think what was best to do in his present dilemma. He +was desirous to get out of Don Baltasar's neighbourhood, and, moreover, +if he did not rejoin his regiment or report himself to the military +authorities, he was liable to be arrested as a deserter. In that case, +he could hardly hope that the strange story he would have to tell of his +imprisonment at the convent would find credit, and, even if it did, +delay would inevitably ensue. He finally made up his mind to remain +where he was for the night, and to start early next morning for Cegama. +A better and more speedy plan would perhaps have been to seek out one of +Zumalacarregui's aides-de-camp, relate to him his recent adventures, +produce Rita's letter in corroboration of his veracity, and request him +to forward it, or provide him with a horse to take it himself. But +although this plan occurred to him, the gain in time appeared +insufficient to compensate for the risk of meeting Don Baltasar whilst +searching for the aide-de-camp, and of being by him thrown into prison +and deprived of the letter. + +The day had been most sultry, and Paco had walked, with but a ten +minutes' halt, from sunrise till afternoon. Overcome by fatigue and +drowsiness, he had no sooner decided on his future proceedings, and +emptied his quartillo, events which were about coincident, than his head +began to nod and droop, and after a few faint struggles against the +sleepy impulse, it fell forward upon the table, and he slept as men +sleep after a twelve hours' march under a Spanish sun in the month of +June. During his slumbers various persons, soldiers and others, passed +in and out of the room; but there was nothing unusual in seeing a +soldier dozing off his wine or fatigue on a tavern table, and no one +disturbed or took especial notice of him. Paco slept on. + +It was evening when he awoke, and rose from his bench with a hearty +stretch of his stiffened limbs. As he did so, he heard the sound of +footsteps in the street. They ceased near the window, and a dialogue +commenced, a portion of which reached his ears. + +"Have you heard the news?" said one of the speakers. + +"No," was the reply, in a voice that made Paco start. "I am now going to +Eraso's quarters to get them. I am told that a courier arrived from +Durango half an hour since, covered with foam, and spurring as on a life +or death errand." + +Whilst this was saying, Paco noiselessly approached the window, which +was large and square, about four feet above the street, and closed only +by a clumsy shutter, at that moment wide open. Crouching down, he +cautiously raised his head so as to obtain a view of the street, without +exposing more than the upper part of his face to the possible +observation of the persons outside. What he saw, confirmed the testimony +of his ears: two officers in staff uniforms stood within twenty paces of +the window, and in the one who had last spoken, Paco recognised Don +Baltasar. His face was towards the tavern, but his eyes were fixed upon +his interlocutor, who replied to his last observation-- + +"On an errand of death, indeed!" said he, in tones which, although +suppressed, were distinctly audible to the muleteer. "Zumalacarregui is +no more." + +In his consternation at the intelligence thus unwittingly conveyed to +him, Paco forgot for a second the caution rendered imperative by his +position. A half-smothered exclamation escaped him, and by an +involuntary start he raised his head completely above the window-sill. +As he did so, he fancied he saw Don Baltasar glance at the window, and +in his turn slightly start; but the sun had already passed the horizon, +the light was waning fast, and Colonel Villabuena took no further +notice, but remained talking with his companion, Paco made sure that he +had either not seen him, or, what was still more probable, not +remembered his face. Nevertheless the muleteer retreated from the window +that no part of him might be seen, and strained his hearing to catch +what passed. + +He missed a sentence or two, and then again heard Colonel Villabuena's +voice. + +"Most disastrous intelligence, indeed!" he said, "and as unexpected as +disastrous. I will proceed to the general's quarters and get the +particulars." + +The officers separated; Don Baltasar walking rapidly away, as Paco, who +now ventured to look out, was able to ascertain. Satisfied that he had +escaped the peril with which for a moment he had thought himself +menaced, he left the window and returned to his bench. But Don Baltasar +had sharper eyes and a better memory than the muleteer gave him credit +for. He had fully recognized Paco, whom he had several times seen in +attendance on the count, and, without troubling himself to reflect how +he could have made his escape, he at once decided what measures to take +to neutralize its evil consequences. Had Paco remained an instant longer +at his post of observation, he would have seen the Colonel stop at a +house near at hand, in which a number of soldiers were billeted, summon +a corporal and three men, and retrace his steps to the tavern. Leaving +two of the soldiers outside the house, with the others he burst into the +room occupied by the muleteer. + +At the moment of their entrance, Paco, who, although he had heard their +footsteps in the passage, did not suspect the new-comers to be other +than some of the usual customers to the tavern, had taken up the heavy +earthen jug in which his wine had been brought, and was decanting from +it into his glass a last mouthful that still remained at the bottom. No +sooner did he behold Don Baltasar, closely followed by two soldiers with +fixed bayonets, than with his usual bold decision, and with his utmost +strength, he dashed the jug full at him. The missile struck the officer +on the chest with such force that he staggered back, and, for a moment, +impeded the advance of his followers. That moment saved Paco's +liberty--probably his life. Springing to the window, he leaped out, and +alighting upon one of the soldiers who had remained outside, knocked him +over. The other man, taken by surprise, made a feeble thrust at the +fugitive. Paco parried it with his arm, grappled the man, gave him a +kick on the shin that knocked his leg from under him, rolled him on the +ground by the side of his companion, and scudded down the street like a +hunted fox, just as Baltasar and his men jumped out of the window. + +"Fire!" shouted the Colonel. + +Two bullets, and then two more, struck the walls of the narrow sloping +street through which the muleteer ran, or buried themselves with a +_thud_ in the earth a short distance in front of him. Paco ran all the +faster, cleared the houses, and turning to his right, scampered down in +the direction of the town. The shouts and firing had spread an alarm in +the Carlist camp, the soldiers were turning out on all sides, and the +outposts on the alert. Paco approached the latter, and saw a sentinel in +a straight line between him and the town. + +"_Quien vive?_" challenged the soldier, when the muleteer was still at a +considerable distance from him. + +"_Carlos Quinto_," replied Paco. + +"Halt!" thundered the sentry, bringing his musket to his shoulder with a +sharp quick rattle. + +This command, although enforced by a menace, Paco was not disposed to +obey. For the one musket before him, there were hundreds behind him, and +he continued his onward course, merely inclining to his left, so as to +present a less easy mark than when bearing straight down upon the +sentry. Another "halt!" immediately followed by the report of the piece, +was echoed by a laugh of derision from Paco. "Stop him! bayonet him!" +shouted a score of voices in his rear. The sentinel rushed forward to +obey the command; but Paco, unarmed and unencumbered, was too quick for +him. Dashing past within a yard of the bayonet's point, he tore along to +the town, amidst a rain of bullets, encouraged by the cheers of the +Christinos, who had assembled in groups to watch the race; and, replying +to their shouts and applause by a yell of "_Viva la Reyna!_" he in +another minute stood safe and sheltered within the exterior +fortifications of Bilboa. + +Three weeks had elapsed since the death of Zumalacarregui, and that +important event, which the partisans of the Spanish pretender had, as +long as possible, kept secret from their opponents, was now universally +known. Already did the operations of the Carlists begin to show symptoms +of the great loss they had sustained in the person of a man who, during +his brief but brilliant command, had nailed victory to his standard. +Even during his last illness, he kept up, from his couch of suffering, a +constant correspondence with General Eraso, his second in command, and +in some degree directed his proceedings; but when he died, the system of +warfare he had uniformly, and with such happy results, followed up, was +exchanged by those who came after him, for another and a less judicious +one. This, added to the immense moral weight of his loss, which filled +the Christinos with the most buoyant anticipations, whilst it was a +grievous discouragement to the Carlists, caused the tide of fortune to +turn against the latter. Dejected and disheartened, they were beaten +from before Bilboa, the town which, but for Zumalacarregui's +over-strained deference to the wishes of Don Carlos, they would never +have attacked. On the other hand, the Christinos were sanguine of +victory, and of a speedy termination to the war. The baton of command, +after passing through the hands of Rodil, Sarsfield, Mina, and other +veterans whose experience had struggled in vain against the skill and +prestige of the Carlist chief, had just been bestowed by the Queen's +government on a young general in whose zeal and abilities great reliance +was placed. On various occasions, since the death of Ferdinand, had this +officer, at the head of his brigade or division, given proof not only of +that intrepidity which, although the soldier's first virtue, should be +the general's least merit, but, as was generally believed, of military +talents of a high order. + +Luis Fernandez de Cordova, the son of a poor but noble family of one of +the southern provinces of Spain, was educated at a military school, +whence he passed with an officer's commission into a regiment of the +royal guard. Endowed with considerable natural ability and tact, he +managed to win the favour of Ferdinand VII., and by that weak and fickle +monarch was speedily raised to the rank of colonel. His then bias, +however, was for diplomacy, for which, indeed, his subsequent life, and +his turn for intrigue, showed him to be well qualified; and at his +repeated instance he was sent to various courts in high diplomatic +capacities. "We are sorry to have to say," remarks a Spanish military +writer who fought in the opposite ranks, "that Cordova in part owed his +elevation to the goodness of the very prince against whom he +subsequently drew his sword." Be that as it may, at the death of +Ferdinand, Cordova, although little more than thirty years of age, was +already a general, and ambassador at Copenhagen. Ever keenly alive to +his own interest, he no sooner learned the outbreak of the civil war, +than he saw in it an opportunity of further advancement; and, without +losing a moment, he posted to Madrid, threw himself at the feet of +Christina, and implored her to give him a command, that he might have an +opportunity of proving with his sword his devotion to her and to the +daughter of his lamented sovereign. A command was given him; his talents +were by no means contemptible; his self-confidence unbounded; intrigue +and interest were not wanting to back such qualities, and at the period +now referred to, Cordova, to the infinite vexation of many a greyhaired +general who had earned his epaulets on the battle-fields of America and +the Peninsula, was appointed commander-in-chief of the army of the +north. + +Upon assuming the supreme command, Cordova marched his army, which had +just compelled the Carlists to raise the siege of Bilboa, in the +direction of the Ebro. Meanwhile the Carlists, foiled in Biscay, were +concentrating their forces in central Navarre. As if to make up for +their recent disappointment, they had resolved upon the attack of a +town, less wealthy and important, it is true, than Bilboa, but which +would still have been a most advantageous acquisition, giving them, so +long as they could hold it, command of the communications between +Pampeluna and the Upper Ebro. Against Puente de la Reyna, a fortified +place upon the Arga, were their operations now directed, and there, upon +the 13th of July, the bulk of the Carlist army arrived. Don Carlos +himself accompanied it, but the command devolved upon Eraso, the +military capabilities of Charles the Fifth being limited to praying, +amidst a circle of friars and shavelings, for the success of those who +were shedding their heart's blood in his service. The neighbouring +peasants were set to work to cut trenches; and preparations were making +to carry on the siege in due form, when, on the 14th, the garrison, in a +vigorous sortie, killed the commandant of the Carlist artillery, and +captured a mortar that had been placed in position. The same day Cordova +and his army started from Lerin, which they had reached upon the 13th, +and arrived at nightfall at Larraga, a town also upon the Arga, and +within a few miles of Pueute de la Reyna. + +The next day was passed by the two considerable armies, which, it was +easy to foresee, would soon come into hostile collision, in various +movements and manoeuvres, which diminished the distance between them, +already not great. The Carlists, already discouraged by the successful +sortie of the 14th, retired from before Puente de la Reyna, and, moving +southwards, occupied the town and bridge of Mendigorria. On the other +hand, two-thirds of the Christino forces crossed the Arga, and quartered +themselves in and near the town of Artajona. The plain on the left bank +of the river was evidently to be the scene of the approaching conflict. +On few occasions during the war, had actions taken place upon such level +ground as this, the superiority of the Christinos in cavalry and +artillery having induced Zumalacarregui rather to seek battle in the +mountains, where those arms were less available. But since the +commencement of 1835, the Carlist horse had improved in numbers and +discipline; several cavalry officers of rank and skill had joined it, +and assisted in its organization; and although deprived of its gallant +leader, Don Carlos O'Donnel, who had fallen victim to his own imprudent +daring in an insignificant skirmish beneath the walls of Pampeluna, +Eraso, and the other Carlist generals, had now sufficient confidence in +its efficiency to risk a battle in a comparatively level country. +Numerically, the Carlists were superior to their opponents, but in +artillery, and especially in cavalry, the Christinos had the advantage. +From various garrison towns, through which he had passed in his +circuitous route from Bilboa to Larraga, the Christino commander had +collected reinforcements, and an imposing number of squadrons, including +several of lancers and dragoons of the royal guard, formed part of the +force now assembled at Larraga and Artajona. + +It was late on the evening of the 15th of July, and on a number of +gently sloping fields, interspersed with vineyards and dotted with +trees, a Christino brigade, including a regiment of cavalry, had +established its bivouac. In such weather as it then was, it became a +luxury to pass a night in the open air, with turf for a mattrass, a +cloak for a pillow, and the branches for bed-curtains, instead of being +cramped and crowded into smoky, vermin-haunted cottages; and the troops +assembled seemed to feel this, and to enjoy the light and balmy breeze +and refreshing coolness which had succeeded to the extreme heat of the +day. Few troops, if any, are so picturesque in a bivouac as Spaniards; +none, certainly, are greater adepts in rendering an out-door encampment +not only endurable but agreeable, and nothing had been neglected by the +Christinos that could contribute to the comfort of their _al-fresco_ +lodging. Large fires had been lighted, composed in great part of +odoriferous shrubs and bushes abounding in the neighbourhood, which +scented the air as they burned; and around these the soldiers were +assembled cooking and eating their rations, smoking, jesting, discussing +some previous fight, or anticipating the result of the one expected for +the morrow, and which according to their sanguine calculations, could +only be favourable to them. Here was a seemingly interminable row of +muskets piled in sheaves, a perfect _chevaux-de-frise_, some hundred +yards of burnished barrels and bayonets glancing in the fire-light. +Further on, the horses of the cavalry were picketed, whilst their +riders, who had finished grooming and feeding them, looked to their arms +and saddlery, and saw that all was ready and as it should be if called +on for sudden service. On one side, at a short distance from the +bivouac, a party of men cut, with their sabres and foraging hatchet, +brushwood to renew the fires; in another direction, a train of carts +laden with straw, driven by unwilling peasants and escorted by a surly +commissary and a few dusty dragoons, made their appearance, the patient +oxen pushing and straining forwards in obedience to the goad that +tormented their flanks, the clumsy wheels, solid circles of wood, +creaking round their ungreased axles. In the distance were the enemy's +watch-fires; nearer were those of the advanced posts; and, at more than +one point of the surrounding country, a cottage or farmhouse, set on +fire by careless or mischievous marauders, fiercely flamed without any +attempt being made to extinguish the conflagration. + +If the sights that met the eye were varied and numerous, the sounds +which fell upon the ear were scarcely less so. The neighing of the +picketed horses, the songs of the soldiery, the bugle-calls and signals +of the outposts, occasionally a few dropping shots exchanged between +patroles, and from time to time some favourite national melody, clanged +forth by a regimental band--all combined to render the scene one of the +most inspiriting and lively that could be imagined. + +Beside a watch-fire whose smoke, curling and wavering upwards, seemed to +cling about the foliage of the large old tree near which it was lighted, +Luis Herrera had spread his cloak, and now reclined, his head supported +on his arm, gazing into the flaming pile. Several officers belonging to +the squadron he commanded were also grouped round the fire, and some of +them, less watchful or more fatigued than their leader, had rolled +themselves in their mantles, turned their feet to the flame, and with +their heads supported on saddles and valises, were already asleep. Two +or three subalterns came and went, as the exigencies of the service +required, inspecting the arrangements of the men, ascertaining that the +horses were properly cared for, giving orders to sergeants, or bringing +reports to the captains of their troops. Herrera as yet felt no +disposition to sleep. The stir and excitement of the scene around him +had not failed of their effect on his martial nature, and he felt +cheered and exhilarated by the prospect of action. It was only in +moments like these, during the fight itself, or the hours immediately +preceding it, that his character seemed to lose the gloomy tinge +imparted to it by the misfortunes which, so early in life, had darkened +his path, and to recover something of the buoyancy natural to his age. + +Whilst busied with anticipations of the next day's battle, Herrera's +attention was suddenly attracted by hearing his name pronounced at a +neighbouring fire, round which a number of his troopers had established +themselves. + +"Captain Herrera?" said a soldier, apparently replying to a question; +"he is not far off--what do you want?" + +"To see him instantly," answered a voice not unfamiliar to the ear of +Luis. "I bring important intelligence." + +"Come this way," was the reply; and then a non-commissioned officer +approached Herrera, and respectfully saluting, informed him that a +_paisano_, or civilian, wished to speak with him. Before Luis could +order the person in question to be conducted to him, a man mounted on a +rough but active mountain horse, rode out of the gloom into the +fire-light, threw himself from his saddle, and stood within three paces +of the Christino officer. By the blaze, Herrera recognized, with some +surprise, one whom he believed to be then in the Carlist ranks. + +"Paco!" he exclaimed; "you here? Whence do you come, and what are your +tidings?" + +The corporal, who had acted as master of the ceremonies to Paco, now +returned to his fire, and Herrera and the muleteer remained alone. The +latter had got rid of all vestiges of uniform, and appeared in the garb +which he had been accustomed to wear, before his devotion to Count +Villabuena, and the feeling of partisanship for Don Carlos, which he +shared with the majority of Navarrese, had led him to enter the ranks. + +"I have much to tell you, Don Luis," said he; "and my news is bad. Count +Villabuena is dead." + +Instead of manifesting astonishment or grief at this intelligence, +Herrera replied calmly, and almost with a smile, "Is that all?" + +"All!" repeated Paco, aghast at such unfeeling indifference; "and +enough, too. I did not think, that because you had taken different +sides, all kindness was at an end between you and the Conde. His +señoria, heaven rest him!"--and here Paco crossed himself--"deserved +better of you, Don Luis. But for him your bones would long ago have been +picked by the crows. It was he who rescued you when you were a prisoner, +and ordered for execution." + +"I know it, Paco," replied Herrera, "and I am grateful for my +deliverance both to you and him. But you are mistaken about his death. I +saw and spoke to the Count not three days ago." + +"To the Count! to Count Villabuena?" exclaimed Paco. "Then that damned +gipsy lied. He told me he was killed, shot by some of your people. How +did you see him? Is he a prisoner?" + +"The Count is alive and in safety, and that must satisfy you for the +moment. But you have doubtless more to tell me. What of Doña Rita? Why +and when did you leave the Carlists, and where was she when you left?" + +"Since the Count is well," returned Paco, "the worst part of my news is +to come. Doña Rita's own handwriting will best answer your question." + +Opening his knife, Paco ripped up a seam of his jacket, and extracted +from the lining a soiled and crumpled paper. It was the letter written +by Rita to Zumalacarregui. By the light of the fire Herrera devoured its +contents. From them he learned all that Rita herself knew of the place +and reasons of her captivity. She detailed the manner in which she had +been decoyed from Segura, described what she conjectured to be the +position of the convent, and implored Zumalacarregui to protect a +defenceless orphan, and rescue her from the prison in which she was +unjustifiably detained. After twice reading the letter, the handwriting +of which recalled a thousand tender recollections, although the +information it contained filled him with alarm and anxiety, Herrera +again addressed Paco. + +"How did you get this letter?" he asked. + +In few words, Paco, who saw, by the stern and hurried manner of his +interrogator, that it was no time to indulge in a lengthened narrative +of his adventures, gave a concise outline of what had occurred, from the +time of his leaving Segura with Rita, up to his desertion from the +Carlists in front of Bilboa. Upon finding himself in safety from Don +Baltasar, and released from the obligations of military service, he +deliberated on the best means to employ for the release of Doña Rita. +Amongst the Christinos the only person who occurred to him as proper to +consult, or likely to aid him, was Herrera, and him he resolved to seek. +After waiting a week at Bilboa, he procured a passage in a small vessel +sailing for Santander, and thence set out for the Ebro, in the +neighbourhood of which he had ascertained that he should find Herrera's +regiment. The money he had found in the gipsy's sash enabled him to +supply all his wants and purchase a horse, and without further delay he +started for the interior. But on reaching Miranda on the Ebro, he +learned that Herrera's squadron had marched into Biscay. Thither he +pursued it. Meanwhile the siege of Bilboa had been raised, and, whilst +he followed one road, Herrera returned towards Navarre by another. Paco +lost much time; but, though often disappointed, the faithful fellow was +never discouraged, nor did he for a moment think of desisting from the +pilgrimage he had voluntarily undertaken for the deliverance of his dead +master's daughter. He pressed onwards, sparing neither himself nor his +newly-acquired steed; but, in spite of his exertions, so rapid and +continuous were the movements of the army, it was not till the evening +now referred to that he at last caught it up. + +Of all this, however, and of whatever merely concerned himself, Paco +made little mention, limiting himself to what it was absolutely +necessary that Herrera should know, clearly to understand Rita's +position. In spite of this brevity, more than one sign of impatience +escaped Luis during the muleteer's narrative. The tale told, he remained +for a minute buried in thought. + +"It is three weeks since you left the convent?" he then inquired of +Paco. + +"Nearly four," was the answer. + +"Do you think Doña Rita is still there?" + +"How can I tell?" replied Paco. "You know as much as I do of Don +Baltasar's intentions. He could hardly find a better corner to hide her +in; for it is in the very heart of the mountains, far from any town, +and, well as I know Navarre, I never saw the place till this time. So I +_should_ think it likely she is still there, unless he has taken her to +France, or forced her to marry him." + +"Never!" cried Herrera, violently; "he would not dare; she would never +consent. Listen, Paco--could you guide me to that convent?" + +"Certainly I could," answered the muleteer, greatly surprised, "as far +as knowing the road goes; but the country swarms with Carlist troops; +and even if we could sneak round Eraso's army, we should be sure to fall +in with some guerilla party." + +"But there must be paths over the mountains," exclaimed Herrera, with +the painful eagerness of a man catching at a last faint hope; "paths +unfrequented, almost unknown, except to fellows like you, who have spent +their lives amongst then. Over those you could--you must, conduct me." + +"I will try it, Don Luis, willingly," replied Paco, moved by Herrera's +evident agony of mind. "I will try it, if you choose; but I would not +give a _peseta_ for our lives. There are hundreds amongst the Carlists +who know every mountain pass and ravine as well as I do. The chances +will be all against us." + +"We could lie concealed in the day," continued Herrera, pursuing the +train of his own thoughts, and scarcely hearing the muleteer's +observations. "A small party of infantry--twenty picked men will be +enough--the convent surprised at nightfall, and before morning, by a +forced march, we reach a Christino garrison. I will try it, by heaven! +at all risks. Paco, wait my return." + +And before the muleteer had time to reply, the impetuous young man +snatched his horse's bridle from his hand, sprang into the saddle, and, +spurring the tired beast into a gallop, rode off in the direction of +Artajona. + +The motive of Herrera's abrupt departure was to prepare for the +execution of a plan so wild and impracticable, that, in his cooler +moments, it would never have suggested itself to him, although, in his +present state of excitement, he fancied it perfectly feasible. He had +determined to proceed at once to the general-in-chief, one of whose +favourite officers he was, to acquaint him with what he had just +learned, and entreat his permission to set out that very night with a +few chosen men on an expedition into the heart of the Carlist country, +the object of it being to rescue Rita from her captivity. For reasons +which will hereafter appear, he had the worst possible opinion of Don +Baltasar, and so shocked and startled was he at hearing that the woman +to whom, in spite of their long separation, he was still devotedly and +passionately attached, was in his power, that for the time he lost all +coolness of judgment and overlooked the numerous obstacles to his +scheme. The rapid pace at which he rode, contributed perhaps to keep up +the whirl and confusion of his ideas, and he arrived at the door of +Cordova's quarters, without the impropriety and positive absurdity of +his application at such a moment having once occurred to him. + +The Christino commander had taken up his quarters in the house of one of +the principal inhabitants of Artajona. At the time of Herrera's arrival, +although it was past ten o'clock, all was bustle and movement in and +about the extensive range of building; the stables crammed with horses, +the general's escort loitering in the vestibule, orderly officers and +aides-de-camp hurrying in all directions, bringing reports and conveying +orders to the different regiments and brigades; peasants, probably +spies, conversing in low earnest tones with officers of rank: here a +party of soldiers drinking, there another group gambling, in a third +place a row of sleepers stretched upon the hard ground, but soundly +slumbering in spite of its hardness and of the surrounding din. Pushing +his way through the crowd, Herrera ascended the stairs, and meeting an +orderly at the top, enquired for the general's apartments. Before the +soldier could reply, a door opened, a young officer came out, and, +perceiving Herrera, hurried towards him. The two officers shook hands. +The aide-de-camp was Mariano Torres, who had recently been appointed to +the general's staff, upon which Herrera would also have been placed had +he not preferred remaining in command of his squadron. + +"What brings you here, Luis?" said Torres. + +"To see the general. I have a favour to ask of him--one which he _must_ +grant. Take me to him, Torres, immediately." + +Struck by the wild and hurried manner of his friend, and by the +discomposure manifest in his features, Mariano took his arm, and walking +with him down the long corridor, which was dimly lighted by lanterns +suspended against the wall, led him into his own room. "The general is +particularly engaged," said he, "and I cannot venture to disturb him; +but in five minutes I will inform him of your arrival. Meanwhile, what +is the matter, Luis? What has happened thus to agitate you?" + +Although chafing at the delay, Herrera could not refuse to reply to this +enquiry; and, in hurried and confused terms, he informed Torres of the +news brought by Paco, and of the plan he had devised for the rescue of +Rita. Thunderstruck at the temerity of the project, Torres undertook, +but at first with small success, to convince Herrera of its +impracticability, and induce him to abandon it, at least for the time. + +"How can you possibly expect," he said, "ever to reach the convent you +have described to me? In front is the Carlist army; on all sides you +will meet bands of armed peasants, and you will throw away your own life +without a chance of accomplishing your object." + +"Don't speak to me of life!" exclaimed Herrera, impetuously interrupting +him; "it is valueless. Spare yourself the trouble of argument; all that +you can urge will be in vain. Come what may, and at any risk, I will +make the attempt. Every hour is a year of torture to me whilst I know +Rita in the power of that villain." + +"And much good it will do her," replied Torres, "to have you killed in +her service. As to accomplishing her rescue, it is out of the question +in the way you propose. You will inevitably be shot or taken prisoner. +If, on the contrary, you have a little patience, and wait a few days, +something may be done. This Don Baltasar, there can scarcely be a doubt, +is with the army in our front, and his prisoner must therefore be free +from his persecutions. Besides, admitting that your project had a shadow +of common sense, how can you suppose, that on the eve of a battle +against superior numbers, the general will spare even a score of men +from the ranks of his army?" + +"He _will_ spare them, for me," cried Herrera. "He has known me since +the beginning of the war: I have fought by his side; and more than once +he has thanked me for my services, and expressed his willingness to +reward them. Let him grant me this request, and I will die for him +to-morrow." + +"You would be likely enough to die if he did grant it," replied Torres; +"but luckily there is no chance of his doing so." + +"We will see that," said Herrera, impatiently. "This is idle talk and +waste of time. You are not my friend, Mariano, thus to detain me. The +five minutes have twice elapsed. Take me at once to the general." + +"I will take you to him, if you insist upon it," answered Torres. "Hear +me but one minute longer. What will be said to-morrow, when we move +forward to meet the enemy, and it is found that Luis Herrera is wanting +at his post; when it is known that he has left the camp in the +night-*time, on his own private business, only a few hours before a +battle, which all agree will be a bloody and perhaps a decisive one? His +advancement, although nobly deserved, has been rapid. There are many who +envy him, and such will not fail to attribute his absence to causes by +which his friends well know he is incapable of being influenced. It will +be pleasant for those friends to hear slanderous tongues busy with his +good name." + +Mariano had at last touched the right chord, and this, his final +argument, strongly impressed Herrera. What no consideration of personal +danger could accomplish, the dread of an imputation upon his honour, +although it might be uttered but by one or two enemies, and disbelieved +by a thousand friends, went far to effect. Moreover, during the quarter +of an hour passed with Torres, his thoughts had become in some degree +collected, and the truth of the aide-de-camp's observations as to the +Quixotism and utter madness of his scheme began to dawn upon him. He +hesitated, and remained silent. Torres saw his advantage, and hastened +to follow it up. + +"Hear me, Luis," said he. "You have ever found me willing to be guided +by your opinion, but at this moment you are not in a state of mind to +judge for yourself. For once then, be guided by me, and return to your +squadron. To-morrow's fight will make a mighty difference. If we gain +the day, and we are sure of it, we shall advance to Pampeluna, and you +will be at a comparatively short distance from the convent where your +mistress is detained. Then, indeed, when the Carlists are scattered and +dispirited after their defeat, the scheme you have in view may be +executed, and then, but only then, are you likely to get permission to +attempt it. I will accompany you if you wish it, and we will get some +guerilla leader, skilled in such hazardous expeditions, to join us with +his band." + +By these and similar arguments, did Torres finally prevail with Herrera +to abandon his project until after the approaching action. Even then, +and even should the victory be complete and in favour of the Christinos, +Mariano was doubtful whether it would be possible to attempt the +dangerous excursion proposed by Herrera; but in the interim his friend +would have time to reflect, and Torres hoped that he might be induced +entirely to give up the plan. He, himself a light-hearted devil-may-care +fellow, taking life as it came, and with a gentle spice of egotism in +his character, was unsusceptible of such an attachment as that of +Herrera for Rita, and, being unsusceptible, he could not understand it. +The soldier's maxim of letting a new love drive out the old one, +whenever a change of garrison or other cause renders it advisable, was +what he practised, and would have wished his friend also to adopt. He +was unable to comprehend Herrera's deeply-rooted and unselfish love, +which had grown up with him from boyhood, had borne up against so many +crosses and discouragements, and which time, although it might prove its +hopelessness, could never entirely obliterate. + +"Time," thought Torres, as he returned to his room, after seeing Herrera +mount his horse and ride away, "is a great healer of Cupid's wounds, +particularly a busy time, like this. A fight one day and a carouse the +next, have cured many an honest fellow of the heartache. Herrera is +pretty sure of one half of the remedy, although it might be difficult to +induce him to try the other. Well, _qui vivra verra_--I have brought him +to his senses for the present, and there'd be small use in bothering +about the future, when, by this time to-morrow, half of us may be food +for ravens." + +And with this philosophical reflection, the insouciant aide-de-camp +threw himself upon his bed, to sleep as soundly as if the next day's sun +had to shine upon a feast instead of a fray. + +Midnight was approaching when Herrera reached the bivouac, which had now +assumed a character of repose very different from the bustle reigning +there when he had left it. The fires were blazing far less brightly, and +some, neglected by the soldiers who lay sleeping around them, had +dwindled into heaps of ashes, over which a puff of the night breeze +would every now and then bring a red glow, driving at the same time a +long train of sparks into the faces of the neighbouring sleepers. There +was no more chattering or singing; the distant shots had ceased, the +musicians had laid aside their instruments, and were sharing the general +repose; the only sounds that broke the stillness were the distant +challenging from the outpost, the tramp of the sentry faintly audible +upon the turf, the rattling of the collar chain of some restless horse, +or the snore of the sleeping soldiery. Restoring his horse to Paco, whom +he found waiting beside the watch-fire, Herrera desired him to remain +there till morning, and then wrapping himself in his cloak, he lay down +upon the grass, to court a slumber, of which anxious and uneasy thoughts +long debarred his eyelids. + + + + +MOSES AND SON. + +A DIDACTIC TALE. + + +CHAPTER I. + +"It's no good your talking, Aby," said a diminutive gentleman, with a +Roman nose and generally antique visage; "you must do the best you can +for yourself, and get your living in a respectable sort of vay. I can't +do no more for you, so help my ----" + +"You're a nice father, aint you?" interrogatively replied the gentleman +addressed--a youth of eighteen, very tall, very thin, very dressy, and +very dirty. "I should like to know why you brought me into the world at +all." + +"To make a man of you, you ungrateful beast," answered the small father; +"and that's vot you'll never be, as true as my name's Moses. You aint +got it in you. You're as big a fool as any Christian in the parish." + +"Thankee, old un," replied he of six feet. "'_Twas nature's fault that +made me like my father_," he added immediately, throwing himself into a +theatrical posture, and pointing irreverently to the individual referred +to. + +"There he goes again!" exclaimed Moses senior, with a heavy sigh. +"That's another of his tricks that'll bring him to the gallows. Mark my +words, Aby--that acting of yours will do your business. I vish the +amytoors had been at the devil before you made their acquaintance!" + +"In course you do, you illiterate old man. What do you know of +literature? Aint all them gentlemen as I plays with chice sperits and +writers? Isn't it a honour to jine 'em in the old English drammy, and to +eat of the wittles and drink of the old ancient poets?" + +"Aby, my dear," proceeded the other sarcastically, "I've only two vurds +to say. You have skulked about this 'ere house for eighteen years of +your precious life, vithout doing a ha'porth of work. It's all very fine +while it lasts; but I am sorry to say it can't last much longer. +To-morrow is Sabbath, make much of it, for it's the last blessed day of +rest you'll see here. Sunday morning I'll trouble you to pack." + +"Do you mean it?" + +"Upon my soul--as true as I'm here." + +"_Hear that, ye gods, and wonder how you made him!_" exclaimed Abraham, +turning up his nose at his parent, and then looking to the ceiling with +emotion--"You unnatural old Lear! you bloodless piece of earth!" + +"Go 'long, go 'long!" said the prosaic Moses, senior; "don't talk +rubbish!" + +"Father!" cried the youth, with an attitude, "when I'm gone, you'll +think of me, and want me back." + +"Vait, my dear, till I send for you." + +"When the woice is silent, you'll be glad to give a ten pun' note for an +echo." + +"No, my boy; I don't like the security." + +"When you have lost sight of these precious featers, you'll be glad to +give all you have got for a picter." + +"Vot a lucky painter he'll be as draws you off!" said the stoic father. + +Abraham Moses gazed upon the author of his being for one minute with +intensest disgust. Then taking a chair in his hand, he first raised it +in the air, and afterwards struck it with vehement indignation to the +ground. That done, he seated himself with a mingled expression of +injured innocence and lofty triumph. + +"You old sinner," said he, "you've done for yourself." + +"Sorry for it," replied the cool old gentleman. + +"I've sounded you, have I? Oh! did I try to strike a chord in that +hollow buzzum, and did I think to make it answer? Now listen, you +disreputable father. I leave your house, not the day after to-morrow, +but this very hour. I shall go to that high sphere which you knows +nothing about, and is only fit for a gent of the present generation. I +don't ask you for nothing. I'm settled and provided for. If you were to +take out your cheque-book and say, 'Aby, fill it up,' I can't answer for +a impulse of nater; but I do think I should scorn the act, and feel as +though I had riz above it. You have told me, all my wretched life, that +I should take my last snooze outside o' Newgate. I always felt very much +obliged to you for the compliment; but you'll recollect that I've told +you as often that I'd live to make you take your hat off to me. The time +is come, sir! I've got an appointment! Such a one! I came to tell you of +it; but I considered it my religious duty to inwestigate your paternal +feelings concerning me aforehand. I have inwestigated 'em. I am sorry to +say it; I have put you into the weighing machine, and found you short." + +"The fool's mad!" + +"Is he? Wait a minute. If your shocking eddication permits, I'll trouble +you to read that there." + +Mr Abraham Moses drew from his pocket a despatch, ornamented with a huge +seal, and some official red tape. The elder gentleman took it into his +hand, and gazed at his worthy son with unutterable surprise, as he read +on the outside--"_Private and confidential, House of Lords, to Abraham +Moses, Esq., &c. &c. &c._" + +"Vy, vot does it all mean, my dear?" enquired the agitated parent. + +"Spare your '_my dears_,' venerable apostate, and open it," said Aby. +"The seal's broke. It's private and confidential, but that means when +you are not one of the family." + +Mr Methusaleh Moses did as he was bid, and read as follows:-- + + "SIR,--The Usher of the Blue Rod vacates his office on Wednesday + next, when you will be required to appear before the woolsack to + take the usual oaths. As soon as you have entered upon your duties, + the customary presentation to her Majesty will take place. Lord + Downy will be prepared to conclude the preliminaries at his hotel + at twelve o'clock to-morrow.--I am, sir, with respect, your + obedient humble servant, + "WARREN DE FITZALBERT. + "Abraham Moses, Esq., + &c. &c. &c." + +As little Mr Moses read the last words with a tremulous utterance, tall +Mr Moses rose to take his departure. "Vot's your hurry, Aby?" said the +former, coaxingly. + +"Come, I like that. What's my hurry? Didn't you want to kick me out just +now?" + +"My dear, give every dog his due. Stick to the truth, my boy, votever +you does. I axed you to stay over the Sabbath--I vish I may die if I +didn't." + +Mr Abraham Moses directed towards his sire one of those decided and +deadly glances which are in so much request at the theatres, and which +undertake to express all the moral sentiments at one and the same +moment. Having paid this tribute to his wounded nature, he advanced to +the door, and said, determinedly-- + +"I shall go!" + +"I'm blessed if you do, Aby!" exclaimed the father, with greater +resolution, and seizing his offspring by the skirts of his coat. "I'm +your father, and I knows my sitivation. You're sich a fellow! You can't +take a vurd in fun. Do you think I meant to turn you out ven I said it? +Can you stop nater, Aby? Isn't nater at vork vithin, and doesn't it tell +me if I knocks you on the nose, I hits myself in the eye? Come, sit down +my boy; tell me all about it, and let's have someting to eat." + +Aby was proof against logical argument, but he could not stand up +against the "someting to eat." He sank into the chair again like an +infant. Mr Methusaleh took quick advantage of his success. Rushing +wildly to a corner cupboard, he produced from it a plate of cold crisp +fried fish, which he placed with all imaginable speed exactly under the +nose of the still vacillating Aby. He vacillated no longer. The spell +was complete. The old gentleman, with a perfect reliance upon the charm, +proceeded to prepare a cup of coffee at his leisure. + +"And now, Aby," said the father, stirring the grounds of his muddy +beverage--"I'm dying to hear vot it all means. How did you manage to get +amongst dese people? You're more clever as your father." A hearty meal +of fish and coffee had considerably greased the external and internal +man of Aby Moses. His views concerning filial obligations became more +satisfactory and humane; his spirit was evidently chastened by +repletion. + +"Father," said he, meaning to be very tender--"You have always been such +a fool about the company as I keep." + +"Well, so I have, my dear; but don't rake up the past." + +"It's owing to that very company, father, that you sees me in my proud +position." + +"No!" + +"It is, though. _Lend me your ears._" + +"Don't be shtoopid, Aby--go on vith your story." + +A slight curl might be seen playing around the dirty lip of Moses junior +at this parental ignorance of the immortal Will: a stern sacrifice of +filial reverence to poetry. + +It passed away, and the youth proceeded. + +"That Warren de Fitzalbert, father, as signed that dockyment, is a +buzzum friend. He see'd me one night when I played Catesby, and, after +the performance, requested the honour of an introduction, which I, in +course, could not refuse. You know how it is--men gets intimate--tells +one another their secrets--opens their hearts--and lives in one +another's societies. I never knew who he was, but I was satisfied he was +a superior gent, from the nateral course of his conversation. Everybody +said it as beautiful to see us, we was so united and unseparated. Well, +you may judge my surprise, when one day another gent, also a friend of +mine, says to me, 'Moses, old boy, do you know who Fitzalbert is?' 'No,' +says I, 'I don't.' 'Well, then,' says he, 'I'll tell you. He's a under +secretary of state.' There was a go! Only think of me being hand and +glove with a secretary of state! What does I do? Why, sir, the very next +time he and I meet, I says to him, 'Fitzalbert, it's very hard a man of +your rank can't do something for his friends.' I knew the right way was +to put the thing to him point-blank. 'So it would be,' says he, 'if it +was, but it isn't.' 'Oh, isn't it?' says I; 'then, if you are the man I +take you to be, you'll do the thing as is handsome by me.' He said +nothing then, but took hold of my hand, and shook it like a brother." + +"Vell, go on, my boy; I tink they are making a fool of you." + +"Are they? That's all you know. Well, a few days after this, Fitzalbert +writes me a letter to call on him directly. I goes, of course. 'Moses,' +says he, as soon as he sees me, 'you are provided for.' 'No!' says I. +'Yes,' says he. 'Lord Downy has overrun the constable; he can't stop in +England no longer; he's going to resign the blue rod; he's willing to +sell it for a song; you shall buy it, and make your fortune.'" + +"But vere's your money, my dear?" + +"Wait a minute. 'What's the salary?' said I. 'A thousand a-year,' says +he. 'You don't mean it?' says I again. 'Upon my soul,' says he. 'And +what will it cost?' says I. 'The first year's salary,' says he; 'and +I'll advance it, because I know you are a gentleman, and will not forget +to pay me back.' 'If I do,' says I, 'I wish I may die.' Now, father, +that there letter, as you sees, is official, and that's why he doesn't +say 'dear Moses;' but if you was to see us together, it would do your +heart good. Not that you ever will, because your unfortinate lowness of +character will compel me, as a gent, to cut your desirable acquaintance +the moment I steps into Lord Downy's Wellingtons. Now, if you have got +no more fish in that 'ere cupboard, I wish you good morning." + +"Shtay, shtay, Aby, you're in such a devil of a hurry!" exclaimed +Methusaleh, holding him by the wrist. "Now, my dear boy, if you're dead +to natur, there's an end of the matter, and I've nothing more to say; +but if you've any real blood left in you, you von't break my heart. Vy +shouldn't your father have the pleasure of advancing the money? If it is +a true bill, Aby, you sha'n't be under no obligation to nobody!" + +"True bill! I like that! Why, I have seen Lord Downy's own +hand-*writing; and, what's more, seen him in the House of Lords, talking +quite as familiarly, as I conwerse with you, with the Lord Chancellor, +and all the rest on 'em. I heard him make a speech--next morning I looks +into the paper--no deceit, sir--there was Lord Downy's name. Now, +to-morrow, when I'm introduced to him, don't you think I shall be able +to diskiver whether he's the same man or not?" + +"Vere's the tousand pound?" inquired Mr Methusaleh. + +"My friend goes with me to-morrow to hand it over. Three hundred is to +be given up at Lord Downy's hotel in Oxford Street, and the balance at +Mr Fitzalbert's chambers in Westminster, an hour afterwards, when I +receive the appointment." + +"My dear Aby, I von't beat about the bush with you. I'm quite sure, my +child, ve should make it answer much better, if you'd let your father +advance the money. Doesn't it go agin the grain to vurk into the hands +of Christians against your own flesh and blood? If this Mr Fitzalbert +advances the money, depend upon it it's to make someting handsome by the +pargain. Let me go vith you to his lordship, and perhaps, if he's very +hard-up, he'll take seven hundred instead of the thousand. Ve'll divide +the three hundred between us. Don't you believe that your friend is +doing all this for love. Vot can he see, my darling, in your pretty +face, to take all this trouble for nothing? I shouldn't be at all +surprised if he's a blackguard, and means to take a cruel advantage of +his lordship's sitivation--give him perhaps only five hundred for his +tousand. Aby, let your ould father do an act of charity, and put two +hundred pounds into this poor gentleman's pockets." + +Before Aby could reply to this benevolent appeal, a stop was put to the +interesting conversation, by a violent knocking at the door, on the part +of no less a gentleman than Warren de Fitzalbert himself. + + +CHAPTER II. + +Whilst the domestic _tête-à-tête_, feebly described in the foregoing +chapter, was in progress, the nobleman, more than once referred to, was +passing miserable moments in his temporary lodgings at the Salisbury +Hotel, in Oxford Street. A more unhappy gentleman than Baron Downy it +would be impossible to find in or out of England. The inheritor of a +cruelly-burdened title, he had spent a life in adding to its +incumbrances, rather than in seeking to disentangle it from the meshes +in which it had been transmitted to him. In the freest country on the +globe, he had never known the bliss of liberty. He had moved about with +a drag-chain upon his spiritual and physical energies, as long as he +could remember his being. At school and at college, necessarily limited +in his allowance, he contracted engagements which followed him for at +least ten years after his entrance into life, and then only quitted him +to leave him bound to others far more tremendous and inextricable. His +most frequent visitors, his most constant friends, his most familiar +acquaintance, were money-lenders. He had borrowed money upon all +possible and unimaginable securities, from the life of his grandmother +down to that last resource of the needy gentleman, the family repeater, +chain, and appendages. His lordship, desperate as his position was, was +a man of breeding, a nobleman in thought and feeling. But the more +incapable of doing wrong, so much the more liable to deceit and fraud. +He had been passed, so to speak, from hand to hand by all the +representatives of the various money-lending classes that thrive in +London on the folly and necessity of the reckless and the needy. All had +now given him up. His name had an odour in the market, where his paper +was a drug. His bills of a hundred found few purchasers at a paltry five +pounds, and were positively rejected by all but wine-merchant-sheriff's +officers, who took them at nothing, and contrived to make a handsome +profit out of them into the bargain. Few had so little reason to be +proud as the man whose name had become a by-word and a joke amongst the +most detestable and degraded of their race; and yet, strange as it may +seem, few had a keener sense of their position, or could be so readily +stung by insult, let it but proceed from a quarter towards which +punishment might be directed with credit or honour. A hundred times Lord +Downy had cursed his fate, which had not made him an able-bodied porter, +or an independent labourer in the fields, rather than that saddest of +all sad contradictions, a nobleman without the means of sustaining +nobility--a man of rank with no dignity--a superior without the shadow +of pre-eminence; but for all the wealth of the kingdom, he would not +have sullied the order to which he belonged, by what he conceived to be +one act of meanness or sordid selfishness; as if there could be any +thing foul or base in any act that seeks, by honourable industry, to +repair the errors of a wayward fortune. + +Upon the day of which we speak, there sat with Lord Downy a rude, +ill-favoured man, brought into juxtaposition with the peer by the +unfortunate relation that connected the latter with so many men of +similar stamp and station. He seemed more at home in the apartment than +the owner, and took some pains to over-act his part of vulgar +independence. He had never been so intimate with a nobleman +before--certainly no nobleman had ever been in his power until now. The +low and abject mind holds its jubilee when it fancies that it reduces +superiority to its own level, and can trample upon it for an hour +without fear of rebuke or opposition. + +"For the love of heaven! Mr Ireton, if for no kindness towards me," said +Lord Downy, "give me one day longer to redeem those sacred pledges. They +are heirlooms--gifts of my poor dear mother. I had no right to place +them in your hands--they belong to my child." + +"Then why did you? I never asked you; I could have turned my money +twenty times over since you have had it. I dare say you think I have +made a fortune out of you." + +"I have always paid you liberally--and given you your terms." + +"I thought so--it's always the way. The more you do for great people the +more you may. I might have taken the bed from under your lordship many a +time, if so I had been so disposed; but of course you have forgotten all +about _that_." + +"About these jewels, Mr Ireton. They are not of great value, and cannot +be worth your selling. I shall receive two hundred and fifty pounds +to-morrow--it shall be made three hundred, and you shall have the whole +sum on account. Surely four-and-twenty hours are not to make you break +your faith with me?" + +"As for breaking faith, Lord Downy, I should like to know what you'd do +if I were in your place and you in mine." + +"I hope"-- + +"Oh, yes! it's easy enough to talk now, when you aint in my position; +but I know very well how you all grind down the poor fellows that are in +your power--how you make them slave on five shillings a-week, to keep +you in luxury, and all the rest of it. Not that I blame you. I know it's +human nature to get what one can out of every body, and I don't complain +to see men try it on." + +"I have nothing more to say, Mr Ireton. You must do with me as you think +proper." + +"I am to wait till to-morrow, you say?" + +"Yes; only until to-morrow. I shall surely be in receipt of money then." + +"Oh, sure of course!" said Mr Ireton. "You gentlemen are always sure +till the time comes, and then you can't make it out how it is you are +disappointed. No sort of experience conquers your spirits; but the more +your hopes are defeated, the more sanguine you get. I'll wait till +to-morrow then"-- + +"A thousand thanks." + +"Wait a bit--on certain terms. You know as well as I do, that I could +put you to no end of expense. I don't wish to do it; but I don't prefer +to be out of pocket by the matter. I must have ten pounds for the +accommodation." + +"Ten!" exclaimed poor Lord Downy. + +"Yes, only ten; and I'll give you twenty if you'll pay me at once;" +added Mr Ireton--knowing very well that his victim could as easily have +paid off the national debt. + +Lord Downy sighed. + +"There's a slip of paper before you. Give me your I O U for the trifle, +and pay principal and interest to-morrow." + +His lordship turned obediently to the table, wrote in silence the +acknowledgment required, and with a hand that trembled from vexation and +anxiety, presented the document to his tormentor. The latter vanished. +He had scarcely departed before Lord Downy rang his bell with violence, +and a servant entered. + +"Are there any letters for me, Mason?" inquired his lordship eagerly. + +"None, my lord," answered Mason with some condescension, and a great +deal of sternness. + +Lord Downy bit his lip, and paced the room uneasily. + +"My lord," said Mason, "I beg your"---- + +"Nothing more, nothing more;" replied the master, interrupting him. +"Should any letters arrive, let them be brought to me immediately." + +"Beg your pardon, my lord," said Mason, taking no notice of the order, +"the place doesn't suit me." + +"How?" + +"Nothing to complain of, my lord--only wish to get into a good family." + +"Sirrah!" + +"It isn't the kind of thing, my lord," continued Mason, growing bolder, +"that I have been used to. I brought a character with me, and I want to +take it away again. I'm talked about already." + +"What does the fellow mean?" + +"I don't wish to hurt your lordship's feelings, and I'd rather not be +more particular. If it gets blown in the higher circles that I have been +here, my character, my lord, is smashed." + +"You may go, sir, when your month has expired." + +"I'd rather go at once, my lord, if it's all the same to you. As for the +salary, my lord, it's quite at your service--quite. I never was a +grasping man; and in your lordship's unfortunate situation,"----Lord +Downy walked to the window, flung it open, and commenced whistling a +tune----"I should know better than to take advantage," proceeded Mr +Mason. "There is a young man, my lord, a friend of mine, just entering +life, without any character at all, who would be happy, I have no doubt, +to undertake"---- + +Lord Downy banged the window, and turned upon the flunky with an +expression of rage that might have put a violent and ever-to-be-lamented +stop to this true history, had not the door of his lordship's apartment +opened, and _boots_ presented himself with the announcement of "MR +WARREN DE FITZALBERT." + + +CHAPTER III. + +Twice has Mr Warren de Fitzalbert closed a chapter for us, and put us +under lasting obligation. Fain would we introduce that very important +personage to the reader's more particular acquaintance; fain describe +the fascinating form, the inimitable grace, that won all hearts, and +captivated, more particularly, every female eye. But, alas! intimacy is +forbidden. A mystery has attached itself to his life, with which we are +bound to invest his person at the present writing. We cannot promise one +syllable from his eloquent lips, or even one glimpse at his dashing +exterior. As for referring you, gentle reader, to the home of Mr de +Fitzalbert, the thing's absurd upon the very face. Home he has none, +unless Peele's coffeehouse; and all the _Bears_ of Holborn, blue, black, +and white, to which his letters are directed, assert the sacred +designation. Let us hasten back to Messrs Moses. Mr Methusaleh had not +been more successful in his attempt to catch a sight of the secretary of +state than other people. When Aby heard the double knock, he darted like +an arrow from his parent's arms, in order to prevent the entrance of his +friend, and to remove him from all possible contact with the astute and +too persuasive Moses, senior. In vain did the latter gentleman rush to +the window, and, by every soft endearment, seek to call back the +retreating forms of Aby and Fitzalbert, now arm-in-arm, making for the +corner of the street, and about to turn it. One was unconscious of the +voice--the other heard it, and defied it. What passed between father and +son, when the latter returned at night, I cannot say; but they were up +betimes the following morning, and much excited, whilst they partook +together of their morning meal. + +"It's no good trying," said the elder gentleman. "I can't eat, Aby, do +vot I vill. I'm so delighted with your earthly prospects, and your +dootiful behaviour, that my appetite's clean gone." + +"Don't distress yourself on that account," said Aby, "I've appetite for +two." + +"You always had, my dear," replied the sire; "and vot a blessing it'll +be to gratify it at your own expense. I never begrudged you, my boy, any +victuals as I had in the house, and the thought of that ere vill be a +great consolation to me on my death-bed." + +"What's o'clock, father?" + +"Nine, my dear." + +"It's getting on. Only think that at twelve o'clock to-day I shall have +entered into another sphere of existence." + +"It's very vunderful," said Methusaleh. + +"It's one of those dispensations, father, that comes like great actors, +once in a thousand years." + +Mr Moses, senior, drew from his pocket a dirty cotton handkerchief, and +applied it to his eyes. + +"Oh, Aby," said he, in a snivelling tone, "if your mother vos but alive +to see it. But, tank God, my dear, she's out of this vicked vorld of +sorrow and trouble. But let's talk of business," he added, in a livelier +tone. "This is a serious affair, my boy. I hope you'll take care of your +place, ven you gets it." + +"Trust me for that, Septuagenarian," replied the son. + +"Votever you does, do it cleverly, and don't be found out. Dere's a mint +of money to be made in more vays than one. If your friends vant cash, +bring 'em to me. I'll allow you handsome." + +"Have you got the three hundred ready, father?" + +"Here it is, Aby," replied Methusaleh, holding up three bank-notes of a +hundred each. "Now you know, my dear, vot ve're to do exactly; ve may, +after all, be done in this 'ere business, although I own it doesn't look +like it. Still ve can't be too cautious in our proceedings. You +remember, my boy, that ven you gives de nobleman his money, you takes +his receipt. The cheque for the balance you'll keep in your pocket till +you get the appintment. I goes vith you, and shtays outside the other +side of the vay. If any thing goes wrong, you have only to come to the +street door, and take off your hat, that vill be quite enough for me; +I'll rush in directly, and do vot's necessary." + +"Father," said Aby, in a tone of reproof, "your notions of gentlemen's +conduct is so disgusting, that I can't help despising you, and giving +the honour of my birth to some other individual. No son of your's could +be elevated in his ideas. I defy him." + +"Never mind, my boy, do as you are bid. You're very clever, I own, but +you have a deal to larn yet." + +In this and similar conversation, time passed until the clock struck +eleven, and warned father and son of the approaching crisis. At +half-past eleven precisely they quitted their common habitation, and +were already on the road. The old gentleman had made no alteration in +his primitive attire. Even on the day which was about to prove so +eventful to the family history, he sallied forth with the same lofty +contempt of conventionalities that had characterised his very long +career. How different the elated and aspiring heir of Moses! No wonder +he spurned with indignation the offer of his seedy parent's arm. No +wonder he walked a few paces before him, and assumed that unconcerned +and vacant air which should assure all passengers of his being quite +alone in the public thoroughfare both in person and in thought. Aby had +been intensely persevering at his morning toilet. The grease of a young +bear had been expended on his woolly head; the jewellery of a Mosaic +firm scattered over his lanky personality. He wore a tightly-fitting +light blue coat with frogs; a yellow satin waistcoat with a stripe of +blue beneath; a massive cravat of real cotton velvet, held down by gilt +studs; military trousers, and shining leather boots; spurs were on the +latter, and a whip was in his hand. Part of the face was very clean; but +by some law of nature the dirt that had retreated from one spot had +affectionately attached itself to another. The cheeks were +unexceptionable for Aby; but beneath the eyes and around the ears, and +below the chin, the happy youth might still indulge his native love of +grime. It is not the custom for historians to describe the inner +clothing of their heroes. We are spared much pain in consequence. + +At three minutes to twelve the worthies found themselves over against +the Salisbury Hotel in Oxford Street. The agitation of the happy youth +was visible; but the more experienced sire was admirably cool. + +"There's the money, Aby," said he, handing over the three hundred +pounds. "Be a man, and do the business cleverly. Don't be done out of +the cash, and keep vide avake. If you've the slightest suspicion, rush +to the door and pull off your hat. I shall look out for the signal. +Don't think of me. I can take care of myself. Dere, listen, the clock's +striking. Now go, my boy, and God bless you!" + +True enough, the clock was sounding. Aby heard the last stroke of +twelve, and then to leap across the road, and to bound into the house, +was the work of an instant. + +Now, although Mr Methusaleh Moses was, as we have said, admirably cool +up to the moment of parting with his money, it by no means follows that +he was equally at his ease after that painful operation had been +performed. Avaricious and greedy, Methusaleh could risk a great deal +upon the chance of great gains, and would have parted with ten times +three hundred pounds to secure the profits which, as it seemed to him, +were likely to result from the important business on hand. He could be +extravagant in promising speculations, although he denied himself +ordinary comforts at his hearth. Strange feelings possessed him, +however, as his son tore from him, and disappeared in the hotel. The +money was out of his pocket, and in an instant might find itself in the +pocket of another without an adequate consideration. Dismal reflection! +Mr Methusaleh looked up to one of the hotel windows to get rid of it. +The boy was inexperienced, and might be in the hands of sharpers, who +would rub their hands and chuckle again at having done the "knowing +Jew." Excruciating thought! Mr Methusaleh visibly perspired as it came +and went. The boy himself was hardly to be trusted. He had been the +plague of Mr Methusaleh's life since the hour of his birth--was full of +tricks, and might have schemes to defraud his natural parent of his +hard-earned cash, like any stranger to his blood or tribe. As this +suspicion crossed the old man's brain, he clenched his fist +unconsciously, and gnashed his teeth, and knit his brow, and felt as +murderers feel when the hot blood is rampant, and gives a tone of +justice to the foulest crime. A quarter of an hour passed in this +distressing emotion. Mr Methusaleh would have sworn it was an hour, if +he had not looked at his watch. Not for one moment had he withdrawn his +eager vision from that banging door, which opened and shut at every +minute, admitting and sending forth many human shapes, but not the one +he longed yet feared to see. The old man's eyes ached with the strain, +and wearying anxiety. One good hour elapsed, and there stood Mr Moses. +He was sure his boy was still in the house. He had watched every face +closely that had entered and issued. Could he have mistaken Aby? +Impossible! I would have given a great deal to read the history of the +old man's mind during that agitated sixty minutes! I believe he could +have called to recollection every form that had passed either into or +out of the hotel, all the time that he had been on duty. How he watched +and scanned some faces! One or two looked sweetly and satisfactorily +ingenuous--the very men to spend money faster than they could get it, +and to need the benevolent aid that Mr Moses was ready to afford them. +Methusaleh's spirits and confidence rose tremendously at such +appearances. One after the other was silently pronounced "the real Lord +Downy." Then came two or three sinister visages--faces half muffled up, +with educated features, small cunning eyes, and perhaps green +spectacles--conspirators every one--villains who had evidently conspired +to reduce Mr Moses's balance at his banker's, and to get fat at his +expense. Down went the spirits faster than they had mounted. The head, +as well as eyes of Mr Moses, now was aching. + +His troubles grew complicated. Have we said that the general appearance +of Mr Moses, senior, was such as not to inspire immediate confidence on +the part of mankind in general, and police-officers in particular? It +should have been mentioned. The extraordinary conduct of the agitated +little gentleman had not failed to call forth the attention and +subsequent remarks of those who have charge of the public peace. First, +he was asked, "What business he had there?" Then he was requested "to +move on." What a request to make at such a moment! _Move on!_ Would that +thoughtless policeman have given Mr Moses three hundred precious +sovereigns to put himself in locomotion? Not he. Then came two or three +mysterious individuals, travellers apparently from the east, with long +beards, heavy bags on their backs, and sonorous voices, who had +evidently letters of introduction to Methusaleh, for they deposited +their burdens before him as they passed, and entered with him into +friendly conversation, or rather sought to do so; for he was proof +against temptation, and, for the first time in his life, not to be +charmed by any eastern talk of "first-rate bargains," and victories +obtained, by guile, over Christian butlers and such like serving-men. +The more the strangers surrounded him, the more he bobbed his head, and +fixed his piercing eye upon the door that wrought him so much agony. + +An hour and a half! Exactly thirty minutes later than the time +prescribed by Aby! Oh, foolish old man, to part with his money! He +turned pale as death with inward grief, and resolved to wait no longer +for the faithless child. Not faithless, old Methusaleh--for, look again! +The old man rubs his eyes, and can't believe them. He has watched so +long in vain for that form, that he believes his disordered vision now +creates it. But he deceives himself. Aby indeed appears. His hands are a +hundred miles away from his hat, and a smile sits on the surface of his +countenance. "Oh, he has done the trick! Brave boy, good child!" A +respectable gentleman is at his side. Methusaleh does not know him, but +the reader recognises that much-to-be-pitied personage, Lord Downy. Oh, +how greedily Methusaleh watches them both! "Capital boy, an +out-and-outer." Mr Moses "vishes he may die" if he isn't. But, suddenly, +the arm and hand of the youth is raised. Old Moses' heart is in his +mouth in no time. He prepares to run to his child's assistance; but the +hand stops midway between the waistcoat and the hat, and--hails a cab. +Lord Downy enters the vehicle; Aby follows, and away it drives. +Methusaleh's cab is off the stand quite as quickly. "Follow dat cab to +h--l, my man!" says he; jumps in, and never loses sight of number +forty-five. + +Number forty-five proceeded leisurely down Regent Street; along Charing +Cross, and Parliament Street, until it arrived at a quiet street in +Westminster, at the corner of which it stopped. Close behind it, pulled +up the vehicle of old Methusaleh. Lord Downy and Aby entered a house +within a few yards of it, and, immediately opposite, the indefatigable +sire once more took up his position. Here, with a calm and happy spirit, +the venerable Moses reflected on the past and future--made plans of +retiring from business, and of living, with his fortunate Aby, in rural +luxury and ease, and congratulated himself on the moral training he had +given his son, and which had no doubt led to his present noble eminence. +During this happy reverie there appeared at the door of the house in +which the Moses family were at present interested, a man of fashionable +exterior--a baronet at the very least. He had a martial air and bushy +whiskers--his movements all the ease of nature added to the grace of +art. The plebeian Moses felt an involuntary respect for the august +presence, and, in the full gladness of his heart, took off his hat in +humble reverence. We promised the reader one glimpse of the incomparable +Warren de Fitzalbert. He has obtained it. That mysterious individual +acknowledges the salutation of the Hebrew, and, smiling on him +graciously, passes on. Methusaleh rubs his hands, and has a foretaste of +his coming dignity. + +Another ten minutes of unmingled joy, and Aby is at the door. His +carefully combed hair is all dishevelled; his limbs are shaking; his +cheeks bloodless; and, oh, worse than all, the fatal hat is wildly +waving in the air! Methusaleh is struck with a thunderbolt; but he is +stunned for an instant only. He dashes across the road, seizes his +lawfully begotten by the throat, and drags him like a log into the +passage. + +"Shpeak, shpeak! you blackguard, you villain!" exclaimed the man. "My +money, my money!" + +"Oh, father!" answered the stripling, "they have robbed us--they have +taken advantage of me. I aint to blame; oh Lor'! oh Lor'!" + +The little man threw his boy from him with the strength of a giant and +the anger of a fiend. The unhappy Aby spun like a top into the corner of +the passage. + +"Show me the man," cried Methusaleh, "as has got my money. Take me to +him, you fool, you ass; let me have my revenge; or I'll be the death of +you." + +Aby crawled away from his father, rose, and then bade his father follow +him. The father did as he was directed. He ascended a few stairs, and +entered a room on the first floor. The only living object he saw there +was Lord Downy. His lordship was very pale, and as agitated as any of +the party; but his agitation did not save him from the assaults of the +defrauded Israelite. The old man had scarcely caught sight of his prey +before he pounced upon him like a panther. + +"What does this mean?" exclaimed his lordship, in amazement. + +"My money!" + +"Who are you?" said Lord Downy. + +"My money!" repeated Moses, furiously. "Give me my money! Three hundred +pounds--bank notes! I have got the numbers; I've stopped the payment. +Give me my money!" + +"Is this your son, sir?" said Lord Downy, pointing to the wretched Aby, +who stood in a corner of the apartment, looking like a member of the +swell mob, very sea-sick. + +"Never mind him!" cried the old man, energetically. "The money is mine, +not his'n. I gave it him to take up a bill. If you have seduced him +here, and robbed him of it, it's transportation. I knows the law. It's +the penal shettlements!" + +"Good heaven, sir! What language do you hold to me?" + +"Never mind my language. It vill be vorse by and by. Dis matter shall be +settled before the magistrate. Come along to Bow Street!" + +And so saying, Mr Moses, who all this time had held his lordship fast by +the collar of his coat, urged him forwards to the door. + +"I tell you, sir," said the nobleman, "whoever you may be, you are +labouring under a mistake. I am not the person that you take me for. I +am a peer of the realm." + +"If you vos the whole House of Commons," continued Methusaleh, without +relaxing his grasp, "vith Sir Robert Peel and the Duke of Vellington +into the pargain, you should go to Bow Street. Innoshent men aint to be +robbed like tieves." + +"Oh, heaven! my position! What will the world say?" + +"That you're a d--d rogue, sir, and shwindled a gentleman out of his +money." + +"Listen to me for one moment," said Lord Downy, earnestly, "and I will +accompany you whithersoever you please. Believe me, you are mistaken. If +you have suffered wrong through me, I am, at least, innocent. +Nevertheless, as far as I am able, justice shall be done you." Mr Moses +set his prisoner at liberty. "There, sir," said he, "I am a man of +peace. Give me the three hundred pounds, and I'll say no more about it." + +"We are evidently playing at cross purposes," said the nobleman. "Suffer +me, Mr ----," His lordship stopped. + +"Oh, you knows my name well enough. It's Mr Moses." + +"Then, Mr Moses," continued Lord Downy, "suffer me to tell my story, and +then favour me with yours." + +"Go on, sir," said Methusaleh. "Mind, vot you says vill go as evidence +agin you. I don't ask you to speak. I don't vant to compromise." + +"I have nothing but truth to utter. Some days ago I saw an advertisement +in the newspaper, offering to advance money to gentlemen on their +personal security. I answered the advertisement, and the following day +received a visit from Mr Fitzalbert, the advertiser. I required a +thousand pounds. He had not the money, he said, at his command; but a +young friend of his, for whom, indeed, he acted as agent, would advance +the sum as soon as all preliminaries were arranged. We did arrange the +preliminaries, as I believe, to Mr Fitzalbert's perfect satisfaction, +and this morning was appointed for a meeting and a settlement." + +"Yes; but didn't you promise to get me situation," interposed Aby from +the corner, in a tremulous tone. + +"Hold your tongue, you fool!" exclaimed Methusaleh. "Read that letter," +he continued, turning to Lord Downy, and presenting him with the note +addressed to Moses, junior, by Warren de Fitzalbert. Lord Downy read it +with unfeigned surprise, and shook his head when he had finished. + +"It is my usual fate" he said, with a sigh. "I have fallen again into +the hands of a sharper. Mr Moses, we have been both deceived. I have +nothing to do with rods, blue or black. I am not able to procure for +your worthy son any appointment whatever. I never engaged to do so. The +letter is a lie from beginning to end, and this Mr Fitzalbert is a +clever rogue and an impostor." + +Mr Moses, senior, turned towards his son one of those expressive looks +which Aby, in his boyhood, had always translated--"a good thrashing, my +fine fellow, at the first convenient opportunity." Aby, utterly beaten +by disappointment, vexation, and fear, roared like a distressed bear. + +"Come, come!" said Lord Downy; "matters may not be as bad as they seem. +The lad has been cruelly dealt by. I will take care to set him right. I +received of your three hundred pounds this morning, Mr Moses, two +hundred and fifty; the remaining fifty were secured by Mr Fitzalbert as +a bonus. That sum is here. I have the most pressing necessity for it; +but I feel it is not for me to retain it for another instant. Take it. I +have five-and-twenty pounds more at the Salisbury hotel, which, God +knows, it is almost ruin to part with, but they are yours also, if you +will return with me. I give you my word I have not, at the present +moment, another sixpence in the world. I have a few little matters, +however, worth ten times the amount, which I beg you will hold in +security, until I discharge the remaining five-and-twenty pounds. I can +do no more." + +"Vell, as you say, we have been both deceived by a great blackguard, and +by that 'ere jackass in the corner. You've shpoken like a gentleman, +vich is alvays gratifying to the feelings. To show you that I am not to +be outdone in generosity, I accept your terms." + +Lord Downy was not moved to tears by this disinterested conduct on the +part of Mr Moses, but he gladly availed himself of any offer which would +save him from exposure. A few minutes saw them driving back to Oxford +Street; Methusaleh and Lord Downy occupying the inside of a cab, whilst +Aby was mounted on the box. The features of the interesting youth were +not visible during the journey, by reason of the tears that he shed, and +the pocket-handkerchief that was held up to receive them. + +A little family plate, to the value of a hundred pounds, was, after much +haggling from Methusaleh, received as a pledge for the small deficiency; +which, by the way, had increased since the return of the party to the +Salisbury Hotel, to thirty-four pounds fifteen shillings and sixpence; +Mr Moses having first left it to Lord Downy's generosity to give him +what he thought proper for his trouble in the business, and finally made +out an account as follows-- + + Commission, L.5 0 0 + Loss of time, 2 0 0 + Do., Aby, 2 0 0 + Hire of cab, 0 15 6 + --------- + L.9 15 6 + +"I hope you thinks," said Methusaleh, packing up the plate, "that I have +taken no advantage. Five hundred pounds voudn't pay me for all as I have +suffered in mind this blessed day, let alone the vear and tear of body." + +Lord Downy made no reply. He was heartsick. He heard upon the stairs, +footsteps which he knew to belong to Mr Ireton. That gentleman, put off +from day to day with difficulty and fearful bribes, was not the man to +melt at the tale which his lordship had to offer instead of cash, or to +put up with longer delay. His lordship threw himself into a chair, and +awaited the arrival of his creditor with as much calmness as he could +assume. The door opened, and Mr Mason entered. He held in his hand a +letter, which had arrived by that morning's post. The writing was known. +Lord Downy trembled from head to foot as he broke the seal, and read the +glad tidings that met his eye. His uncle, the Earl of ----, had received +his appeal, and had undertaken to discharge his debts, and to restore +him to peace and happiness. The Earl of ----, a member of the +government, had obtained for his erring nephew an appointment abroad, +which he gave him, in the full reliance that his promise of amendment +should be sacredly kept. + +"It shall! it shall!" said his lordship, bursting into tears, and +enjoying, for the first time in his life, the bliss of liberty. Need we +say that Mr Ireton, to his great surprise, was fully satisfied, and Mr +Moses in receipt of his thirty-four pounds fifteen shillings and +sixpence, long before he cared to receive the money? These things need +not be reported, nor need we mention how Lord Downy kept faith with his +relative, and, once rid of his disreputable acquaintances, became +himself a reputable and useful man. + +Moses and Son dissolved their connexion upon the afternoon of that day +which had risen so auspiciously for the junior member. When Methusaleh +had completed the packing up of Lord Downy's family plate, he turned +round and requested Aby not to sit there like a wretch, but to give his +father a hand. He was not sitting there either as a wretch or in any +other character. The youth had taken his opportunity to decamp. Leaving +the hotel, he ran as fast as he could to the parental abode, and made +himself master of such loose valuables as might be carried off, and +turned at once into money. With the produce of this stolen property, Aby +extravagantly purchased a passage to New South Wales. Landing at Sydney, +he applied for and obtained a situation at the theatre. His face secured +him all the "sentimental villains;" and his success fully entitles him, +at the present moment, to be regarded as the "acknowledged hero" of +"domestic (Sydney) melodrama." + + + + +VICHYANA. + + +No watering-place so popular in France as Vichy; in England few so +little known! Our readers will therefore, we doubt not, be glad to learn +something of the _sources_ and _re_sources of Vichy; and this we hope to +give them, in a general way, in our present Vichyana. What further we +may have to say hereafter, will be chiefly interesting to our medical +friends, to whom the _waters_ of Vichy are almost as little known as +they are to the public at large. The name of the town seems to admit, +like its waters, of analysis; and certain grave antiquaries dismember it +accordingly into two Druidical words, "Gurch" and "I;" corresponding, +they tell us, to our own words, "Power" and "Water;" which, an' it be +so, we see not how they can derive _Vichy_ from this source. Others, +with more plausibility, hold Vichy to be a corruption of _Vicus_. That +these springs were known to the Romans is indisputable; and, as they are +marked _Aquæ calidæ_ in the Theodosian tables, they were, in all +probability, frequented; and the word _Vicus_, Gallicised into Vichy, +would then be the designation of the hamlet or watering-place raised in +their neighbourhood. Two of the principal springs are close upon the +river; ascertaining, with tolerable precision, not only the position of +this _Vicus_, but also of the ancient bridge, which, in the time of +Julius Cæsar, connected, as it now does, the town with the road on the +opposite bank of the Allier, (Alduer fl.,) leading to Augusta Nemetum, +or Clermont. The road on _this_ side of the bridge was then, as now, the +high one (_via regia_) to Lugdunum, or Lyons. + +Vichy, if modern geology be correct, was not always _thus_ a +watering-place; but seems, for a long period, to have been a _place +under water_. The very stones prate of Neptune's whereabouts in days of +langsyne. No one who has seen what heaps of _rounded_ pebbles are +gleaned from the corn-fields, or become familiar with the copious +remains of _fresh water_ shells and insects, which are kneaded into the +calcareous deposits a little below the surface of the soil, can help +fetching back in thought an older and drearier dynasty. Vulcan here, as +in the Phlegrian and Avernian plains, succeeded with great labour, and +not without reiterated struggles, in wresting the region from his uncle, +and proved himself the better earth-shaker of the two; first, by means +of subterranean fires, he threw up a great many small islands, which, +rising at his bidding, as thick as mushrooms after a thunder-storm, +broke up the continuous expanse of water into lakes; and by continual +perseverance in this plan, he at last rescued the _whole_ plain from his +antagonist, who, marshaling his remaining forces into a narrow file, was +fain to retreat under the high banks of the Allier, and to evacuate a +large tract of country, which had been his own for many centuries. + + +NATURAL HISTORY, &c. + +The natural history of Vichy--that is, so much of it as those who are +not naturalists will care to know--is given in a few sentences. Its +Fauna contains but few kinds of quadrupeds, and no great variety of +birds; amongst reptiles again, while snakes abound as to number, the +variety of species is small. You see but few fish at market or at table; +and a like deficiency of land and fresh water mollusks is observable; +while, in compensation for all these deficiencies, and in consequence, +no doubt, of some of them, insects abound. So great, indeed, is the +superfoetation of these tribes, that the most unwearying collector +will find, all the summer through, abundant employment for his _two_ +nets. If the Fauna, immediately around Vichy, must be conceded to be +small, her Flora, till recently, was much more copious and interesting; +_was_--since an improved agriculture, here as every where, has rooted +out, in its progress, many of the original occupants of the ground, and +colonized it with others--training hollyhocks and formal sunflowers to +supplant pretty Polygalas and soft Eufrasies; and instructing Ceres so +to fill the open country with her standing armies, that Flora, +_outbearded_ in the plain, should retire for shelter to the hills, where +she now holds her court. Spring sets in early at Vichy; sometimes in the +midst of _February_ the surface of the hills is already hoar with almond +blossoms. Early in April, anemones and veronicas dapple the greensward; +and the willows, deceived by the promise of warm weather, which is not +to last, put forth their _blossoms_ prematurely, and a month later put +forth _their leaves_ to weep over them. By the time May has arrived, the +last rude easterly gale, so prevalent here during the winter months, has +swept by, and there is to be no more cold weather; tepid showers vivify +the ground, an exuberant botany begins and continues to make daily +claims both on your notice and on your memory; and so on till the +swallows are gone, till the solitary _tree aster_ has announced October, +and till the pale petals of the autumnal colchicum begin to appear; a +month after Gouts and Rheumatisms, for which they grow, have left Vichy +and are returned to Paris for the winter. We arrived long before this, +in the midst of the butterfly month of July. It was warm enough then for +a more southern summer, and both insect and vegetable life seemed at +their acme. The flowers, even while the scythes were gleaming that were +shortly to unfound their several pretensions in that leveller of all +distinctions, _Hay_, made great muster, as if it had been for some +horticultural show-day. Amongst then we particularly noticed the purple +orchis and the honied daffodil, fly-swarming and bee-beset, and the +stately thistle, burnished with many a _panting goldfinch_, resting +momentarily from his butterfly hunt, and clinging timidly to the slender +stem that bent under him. Close to the river were an immense number of +_yellow_ lilies, who had placed themselves there for the sake, as it +seemed, of trying the effect of _hydropathy_ in improving their +_complexions_. But what was most striking to the eye was the appearance +of the immense white flowers (whitened sepulchres) of the _Datura +strammonium_, growing high out of the shingles of the river; and on this +same Seriphus, outlawed from the more gentle haunts of their innocuous +brethren, congregated his associates, the other prisoners, of whom, both +from his size and bearing, he is here the chief! + + +THE CONTRAST. + +What a change from the plains of Latium!-a change as imposing in its +larger and more characteristic features, as it is curious in its +minutest details; and who that has witnessed the return of six summers +calling into life the rank verdure of the Colosseum, can fail to +contrast these jocund revels of the advancing year in this gay region of +France, with the blazing Italian summers, coming forth with no other +herald or attendant than the gloomy green of the "_hated_ cypress," and +the unrelieved glare of the interminable Campagna? Bright, indeed, was +that Italian heaven, and deep beyond all language was its blue; but the +spirit of transitory and changeable creatures is quelled and +overmastered by this permanent and immutable scene! It is like the +contrast between the dappled sky of cheerful morning, when eye and ear +are on the alert to catch any transitory gleam and to welcome each +distant echo, and the awful immovable stillness of noon, when Pan is +sleeping, and will be wroth if he is awakened, when the whole life of +nature is still, and we look down shuddering into its unfathomable +depth! Standing on the heights of Tusculum, or on the sacred pavement of +the Latian Jupiter, every glance we send forth into the objects around +us, returns laden with matter to cherish forebodings and despondencies. +The ruins speak of an immovable past, the teeming growths which mantle +them, the abundant source of future malaria, of a destructive future, +and _activity_, the only spell by which we can evoke the cheerful spirit +of the present--activity within us, or around us, there is _none_. What +wonder if we now feel as though the weight of all those grim ruins had +been heaved from off the mind, and left it buoyant and eager to greet +the present as though we were but the creatures of it! Whatever denizen +of the vegetable or the animal kingdom we were familiar with in Italy +and miss hereabouts, is replaced by some more cheerful race. What a +_variety_ of trees! and how various their _shades_ of green! Though not +equal to thy pines, Pamfili, and to thy fair cypresses, Borghese, whose +feet lie cushioned in crocuses and anemones, yet a fine tree is the +poplar; and yonder, extending for a couple of miles, is an avenue of +their stateliest masts. The leaves of those nearest to us are put into a +tremulous movement by a breeze too feeble for our skins to feel it; and +as the rustling foliage from above gently _purrs_ as instinct with life +from _within_, this peculiar sound comes back to us like a voice we have +heard and forgotten. No "marble wilderness" or olive-darkened upland, no +dilapidated "Osterie," famine within doors and fever without, here press +desolation into the service of the picturesque. Neither here have we +those huge masses of arched brickwork, consolidated with Roman cement, +pierced by wild fig-trees, crowned with pink valerians or acanthus, and +giving issue to companies of those gloomy funeral-paced insects of the +_Melasome_ family, (the Avis, the Pimelia, and the Blaps,) whose dress +is _deep mourning_, and whose favoured haunt is the tomb! But in their +place, a richly endowed, thickly inhabited plain, filled with cottages +and their gardens, farms and their appurtenances, ponds screaming with +dog-defying geese, and barnyards commingling all the mixed noises of +their live stock together. Encampments of ants dressed out in uniforms +quite unlike those worn by the _Formicary_ legions in Italy; gossamer +cradles nursing progenies of _our Cisalpine_ caterpillars, and spiders +with new arrangements of their _eight pairs of eyes_, forming new +arrangements of meshes, and _hunting_ new flies, are here. Here too, +once again, we behold, not without emotion, (for, _small_ as he is, this +creature has conjured up to us former scenes and associations of eight +years ago,) that tiny light-blue butterfly, that hovers over our +ripening corn, and is not known but as a stranger, in the south; also, +that minute diamond beetle[1] who always plays at bo-peep with you from +behind the leaves of his favourite hazel, and the burnished corslet and +metallic elytra of the pungent unsavoury _gold beetle_;[2] while we miss +the _grillus_ that leaps from hedge to hedge; the thirsty dragon-fly, +restless and rustling on his silver wings; the hoarse cicadæ, whose +"time-honoured" noise you _durst_ not find fault with, even if you +would, and which you come insensibly to like; and that huge long-bodied +hornet,[3] that angry and terrible disturber of the peace, borne on +wings, as it were, of the wind, and darting through space like a meteor! + + +MISCELLANEA. + +Though the "Flora" round about Vichy be, as we have said it is, very +rich and various, it attracts no attention. The fat Boeotian cattle +that feed upon it, look upon and _ruminate_ with more complacency over +it than the ordinary visitors of the place. The only flowers the ladies +cultivate an acquaintance with, are those manufactured in Paris; +_artificial_ passion flowers, and false "forget-me-nots," which are +about as true to nature as they that wear them. Of fruits every body is +a judge; and those of a sub-acid kind--the only ones permitted by the +doctors to the patients--are in great request. Foremost amongst them, +after the month of June, are to be reckoned the dainty fresh-dried +fruits from Clermont; of which, again, the prepared pulp of the mealy +wild apricot of the district is the best. This _pâté d'abricot_ is +justly considered by the French one of the best _friandises_ they have, +and is not only sold in every _department_ there, but finds its way to +England also. Eaten, as we ate it, fresh from Clermont twice a-week, it +is soft and pulpy; but soon becoming candied, loses much of its fruity +flavour, and is converted into a sweetmeat. + +We should not, in speaking of Vichy to a friend, ever designate it as a +_comfortable_ resort for a family; which, according to our English +notion of the thing, implies both privacy and detachment. Here you can +have neither. You must consider yourself as so much public property, +must do what others do--_i. e._ live in public, and make the best of it. +No place can be better off for hotels, and few so ill off for +lodgings--the latter are only to be had in small dingy houses opening +upon the street. They are, of course, very noisy; nor are the let-ters +of them at any pains to induce you by the modesty of their demands to +drop a veil over this defect. Defect, quotha! say, rather misery, +plague, torture. Can any word be an over-exaggeration for an incessant +_tintamare_, of which dogs, ducks, and drums are the leading +instruments, enough to try the most patient ears? The hotels begin to +receive candidates for the waters in May; but the season is reputed not +to commence till a month later, and ends with September. During this +period, many thousand visitors, including some of the ministers of the +day; a royal duke; half the Institute; poets, a few; _hommes des +lettres_, many; _agents de change_, most of all; deputies, wits, and +dandies; in fact, all the _élite_, both of Paris and of the provinces, +pay the same sum of seven francs per man, per diem; and, with the +exception of the duke, assemble, not to say fraternize, at the same +table. But though the guests be not formal, the "Mall," where every body +walks, is extremely so. A very broad right-angled [Illustration: m][**] +intersected by broad staring paths, cut across by others into smaller +squares, compels you either to be for ever throwing off at right angles +to your course, or to turn out of the enclosure. When the proclamation +for the opening of the season has been _tamboured_ through the +streets--with the doctors rests the announcement of the day--immediately +orders are issued for clean _shaving_ the grass-plats, lopping off +redundant branches, to recall the growth of trees to sound orthopedic +principles, and to reduce that wilderness of impertinent forms, +wherewith nature has disfigured her own productions, into the figures of +pure geometry! Hither, into this out-of-doors drawing-room, at the +fashionable hour of four P.M., are poured out, from the _embouchures_ of +all the hotels, all the inhabitants of them; all the tailor's gentlemen +of the Boulevard des Italiens, and all the _modisterie_ of the +Tuileries. + + +OUR AMUSEMENTS. + +Pair by pair, as you see them _costumés_ in the fashions of the month; +pinioned arm to arm, but looking different ways; leaning upon polished +reeds as light and as expensive as themselves--behold the chivalry of +the land! The hand of _Barde_ is discernible in their _paletots_. The +spirit of _Staub_ hovers over those _flowery waistcoats_; who but +_Sahoski_ shall claim the curious felicity of _those heels_? and +Hippolyte has come bodily from Paris on purpose to do their hair. "_Un +sot trouve toujours un plus sot qui l'admire_," says Boileau, and here, +in supply exactly equal to the demand, come forth, rustling and +_bustling_ to see them, bevies of long-tongued belles, who ever, as they +walk and meet their acquaintance, are announcing themselves in swift +alternation "_charmées_," with a blank face, and "_toutes desolées_," +with the _best good-will_! Here you learn to value a red riband at its +"juste prix," which is just what it will fetch per ell; specimens of it +in button-holes being as frequent as poppies amidst the corn. +Pretending to hide themselves from remark, which they intend but to +provoke, here public characters do private theatricals _a little à +l'écart_. Actors gesticulate as they rehearse their parts under the +trees. Poets + + "Rave and recite, and madden as they stand;" + +and honourable members read aloud from the _Débats_ that has just +arrived, the speech which they spoke yesterday "_en Deputés_." Our +promenade here lacks but a few more Saxon faces amidst the crowd, and a +greater latitude of extravagance in some of its costumes, to complete +the illusion, and to make you imagine that this public garden, flanked +as it is on one side by a street of hotels, and on the opposite by the +bank of the Allier, is the Tuilleries with its Sunday population sifted. + +Twenty-five francs secures you admission to the "Cercle" or club-house, +a large expensive building, which, like most buildings raised to answer +a variety of ends, leaves the main one of architectural propriety wholly +out of account. But when it is considered how many interests and +caprices the architect had to consult, it may be fairly questioned, +whether, so hampered, Vitruvius could have done it better; for the +_ground floor_ was to be cut up into corridors and bathing cells; while +the ladies requested a ball and anteroom; and the gentlemen two +"billiards" and a reading-room, with detached snuggeries for +smoking--_all_ on the _first floor_. + +Public places, excepting the above-mentioned "Cercle," exist not at +Vichy, and as nobody thinks of paying visits save only to the doctor and +the springs, "_on s'ennui très considerablement à Vichy_." If it be +true, that, in some of the lighter annoyances of life, fellowship is +decidedly preferable to solitude, _ennui_ comes not within the +number--every attempt to divide it with one's neighbours only makes it +worse; as Charles Lamb has described the _concert_ of silence at a +Quakers' meeting, the intensity increases with the number, and every new +accession raises the public stock of distress, which again redounds with +a surplus to each individual, "_chacun en a son part, et tous l'ont tout +entier_."[4] What a chorus of yawns is there; and mutual yawns, you +know, are the dialogue of ennui. No wonder; for the physicians don't +permit their patients to read any books but novels. They seek to array +the "Understanding" against him who wrote so well concerning its laws; +Bacon, as _intellectual food_, they consider difficult of digestion; and +even for their own La Place there is no place at Vichy! Every unlucky +headache contracted here, is placed to the account of _thinking_ in the +bath. If Dr P---- suspects any of his patients of thinking, he asks +them, like Mrs Malaprop, "what business they have to think?" "_Vous êtes +venu ici pour prendre les eaux, et pour vous desennuyer, non pas pour +penser! Que le Diable emporte la Pensée!_" And so he _does_ accordingly! + +How _we_ got through the twenty-four hours of each day, is still a +problem to us; after making due deductions for the time consumed in +eating, drinking, and sleeping. Occasionally we tried to "_beat time_" +by _versifying_ our own and our neighbours' "experiences" of Vichy. But +soon finding the "_quicquid agunt homines_" of those who in fact did +nothing, was beyond our powers of _description_, gave up, as abortive, +the attempt to maintain our "suspended animation" on means so artificial +and precarious. When little is to be told, few words will suffice. If +the word fisherman be derived from _fishing_, and not from _fish_, we +had a great many such fishermen at Vichy; who, though they could neither +scour a worm, nor splice the rod that their clumsiness had broken, nor +dub a fly, nor land a fish of a pound weight, if any such had had the +mind to try them, were vain enough to beset the banks of the Allier at a +very early hour in the morning. As they all fished with "flying lines," +in order to escape the fine imposed on those that are _shotted_, and +seemed to prefer standing in their own light--a rare fault in +Frenchmen--with their backs to the sun; the reader will readily +understand, if he be an angler, what sport they might expect. Against +them and _their lines_, we quote a few _lines_ of _our own_ spinning:-- + + Now full of hopes, they loose the lengthing twine, + Bait harmless hooks, and launch a _leadless_ line! + Their shadows on the stream, the sun behind-- + Egregious anglers! are the fishes blind? + Gull'd by the sportings of the frisking bleak, + That now assemble, now disperse, in freak; + They see not _deeper_, where the quick-eyed trout, + Has chang'd his route, and turned him quick about; + See not those scudding shoals, that mend their pace, + Of frighten'd bream, and silvery darting dace! + Baffled at last, they quit the ungrateful shore, + Curse what they fail to catch--and fish no more! + Yet fish there be, though these unsporting wights + Affect to doubt what Rondolitier[5] writes; + Who tells, "how, moved by soft Cremona's string, + Along these banks he saw the _Allice_ spring; + Whilst active hands, t' anticipate their fall, + Spread wide their nets, and draw an ample haul." + +Our sportsmen do not confine themselves to the gentle art of +angling--they _shoot_ also; and some of them even acquire a sort of +celebrity for the precision of their aim. This class of sportsmen may be +divided into the _in_, and the _out_-door marksmen. _These_, innocuous, +and confining their operations principally to small birds in trees; +those, to the knocking the heads off small plaster figures from a stand. +The following brief notice of _them_ we transcribe from our Vichy +note-book:-- + + Those of bad blood, and mischievously gay, + Haunt "_tirs au pistolets_," and kill--the day! + There, where the rafters tell the frequent crack, + To fire with steady hand, acquire the knack, + From rifle barrels, twenty feet apart, + On gypsum warriors exercise their art, + Till ripe proficients, and with skill elate, + Their aimless mischief turns to deadly hate. + Perverted spirits; reckless, and unblest; + Ye slaves to lust; ye duellists profess'd; + Vainer than woman; more unclean than hogs; + Your life the felon's; and your death the dog's! + Fight on! while honour disavow your brawl, + And outraged courage disapprove the call-- + Till, steep'd in guilt, the devil sees his time, + And sudden death shall close a life of crime. + +In front of some of the hotels you always observe a number of persons +engaged successively in throwing a ring, with which each endeavours to +encircle a knife handle, on a board, stuck all over with blades. If he +succeeds, he may pocket the knife; if not he pays half a franc, and is +free to throw again. It is amusing to observe how many half franc pieces +a Frenchman's vanity will thus permit him to part with, before he gives +over, consigning the ring to its owner, and the blades to his electrical +anathema of "_mille tonnerres!_" A little farther on, just beyond the +enclosure, is another knot of people. What are they about? They are +congregated to see what passengers embark or disembark (their voyage +accomplished) from the gay vessels, the whirligigs or merry-go-rounds +(which is the classical expression, let _purists_ decide _for +themselves_) which, gaily painted as a Dutch humming-top, sail overhead, +and go round with the rapidity of windmills. + + In hopes to cheat their nation's fiend, "Ennui," + _These_ cheat themselves, and _seem_ to go to sea! + Their galley launch'd, its rate of sailing fast, + Th' _Equator_ soon, and soon the _Poles_ they've past, + And here they come to anchorage at last! + _These_, tightly stirrupt on a wooden horse, + Ride at a ring--and spike it, as they course. + Thus with the aid that ships and horses give, + Life passes on; 'tis labour, but they live.-- + And some lead "bouledogues" to the water's edge, + There hunt, _à l'Anglais_, rats amidst the sedge; + And some to "pedicures" present--their corns, + And some at open windows practise--horns! + In noisy trictrac, or in quiet whist, + These pass their time--and, to complete our list, + There are who flirt with milliners or books, + Or else with nature 'mid her meads and brooks. + +But Gauthier's was our lounge, and therefore, in common gratitude, are +we bound particularly to describe it. Had we been Dr Darwin we had done +it better. As it is, the reader must content himself with _Scuola di +Darwin_-- + + In Gauthier's shop, arranged in storied box + Of triple epoch, we survey the rocks, + A learned nomenclature! Behold in time + Strange forms imprison'd, forms of every clime! + The Sauras quaint, daguerrotyped on slate, + Obsolete birds and mammoths out of date; + Colossal bones, that, once before our flood, + Were clothed in flesh, and warm'd with living blood; + And tiny creatures, crumbling into dust, + All mix'd and kneaded in one common crust! + Here tempting shells exhibit mineral stores, + Of crystals bright and scintillating ores! + Of milky _mesotypes_, the various sorts, + The _blister'd silex_ and the _smoke-stain'd quartz_; + Thy _phosphates lead!_ bedeck'd with _needles green_, + Of _Elbas speculum_ the _steely sheen_, + Of _copper ores_, the poison'd "_greens_" and "_blues_," + Dark _Bismuth's cubes_, and Chromium's _changing_ hues. + +Here, too, (emblematical of our own position with respect to Ireland,) +we see _silver alloyed with lead_. In the "repeal of such union," where +the _silver_ has every thing to _gain_ and the _lead_ every thing to +_lose_, it is remarkable at what a _very dull heat_ ('tis scarcely +superior to that by which O'Connell manages to inflame Ireland) the +_baser metal_ melts, and would forsake the other, by its incorporation +with which it derives so large a portion of its intrinsic value, +whatever that may be! + +Here, too, we pass in frequent review a vast series of casts from the +antique; they come from Clermont, and are produced by the dripping of +water, strongly impregnated with the carbonate of lime, on moulds placed +under it with this view. Some of these impressions were coarse and +rusty, owing to the presence of iron in the water; but where the +necessary precautions had been taken to precipitate this, the casts came +out with a highly polished surface, together with a sharpness of outline +and a precision of detail, that left no room for competition to +_Odellis_, else unrivalled Roman casts, which, confronted with these, +look like impressions of impressions derived through a hundred +successive stages; add, too, that these have the _solid_ advantage over +the others of being in marble in place of washed sulphur. + +Thus much concerning _us_ and _our_ pastimes, from which it will have +appeared that the _gentlemen_ at Vichy pass half the day in _nothings_, +the other half _in nothing_. As to the ladies, who lead the same kind of +out doors life with us, and only don't smoke or play billiards, we see +and note as much of their occupations or listlessness as we list. + + In unzoned robes, and loosest dishabille, + They show the world they've nothing to conceal! + But sit abstracted in their own _George Sand_, + And dote on Vice in sentiment so bland! + To necklaced Pug appropriate a chair, + Or sit alone, _knit_, _shepherdise_, and _stare!_ + These seek _for fashion_ in a _mourning dress_, + (_Becoming_ mourning makes affliction less.) + With mincing manner, both of ton and town, + Some lead their _Brigand_ children up and down; + Invite attention to small girls and boys, + Dress'd up like dolls, a silly mother's toys; + Or follow'd by their _Bonne, in Norman cap_, + Affect to take their first-born to their lap-- + To gaze enraptured, think you, on a face, + In which a husband's lineaments they trace? + Smiling, to win the notice of their elf? + No! but to draw the gaze of crowds on _Self_. + +Sunday, which is always in France a _jour de fête_, and a _jour de bal_ +into the bargain, is kept at Vichy, and in its neighbourhood, with great +apparent gaiety and enjoyment by the lower orders, who unite their +several _arrondissements_, and congregate here together. + + Comes Sunday, long'd for by each smart coquette, + Of Randan, Moulins, Ganat, and Cusset. + In Janus hats,[6] with beaks that point both ways, + Then lively rustics dance their gay _Bourrées_;[7] + With painted sabots strike the noisy ground, + While bagpipes squeal, and hurdy-gurdies sound. + Till sinks the sun--then stop--the poor man's fête + Begins not early, and must end not late. + Whilst Paris belle in costliest silk array'd, + Runs up, and walks in stateliest parade; + Each comely damsel insolently kens; + (So silver pheasants strut 'midst modest hens!) + And marvels much what men _can_ find t' admire, + In such coarse hoydens, clad in such attire! + + And now 'tis night; beneath the bright saloon, + All eyes are raised to see the fire balloon, + Till swells the silk 'midst acclamations loud, + And the light lanthorn shoots above the crowd! + Here, 'neath the lines, Hygeia's fount that shade, + Smart booths allure the lounger on parade. + _Bohemia's glass_, and _Nevers' beaded wares_, + _Millecour's fine lace_, and _Moulins' polish'd shears_; + And crates of painted wicker without flaw, + And fine mesh'd products of _Germania's_ straw, + Books of dull trifling, misnamed "reading light," + And foxy maps, and prints in damaged plight, + Whilst up and down to rattling _castanettes_, + The active hawker sells his "_oubliettes!_" + +We have our shows at Vichy, and many an itinerant tent incloses +something worth giving half a franc to see; most of them we had already +seen over and over again. What then? one can't invent new monsters every +year, nor perform new feats; and so we pay our respects to the _walrus_ +woman, and to the "anatomie _vivante_." We look _up_ to the Swiss +giantess, and down upon the French dwarf; we inspect the feats of the +village Milos, and of those equestrians, familiar to "every circus" at +home and abroad, who + + Ride four horses galloping; then stoop, + Vault from their backs, and spring thro' narrow hoop; + Once more alight upon their coursers' backs, + Then follow, scampering round the oft trod tracks. + And that far travell'd pig--_that_ pig of parts, + Whose eye aye glistens on _that_ Queen of hearts; + While wondering visitors the feat regard, + And tell by _looks_ that that's the very card! + +Behold, too, another curiosity in natural history, well deserving of +"notice" and of "note," which we append accordingly-- + + From Auvergne's heights, their mother lately slain, + Six surly wolf cubs by their owner ta'en; + Her own pups drown'd, a foster bitch supplies, + And licks the churlish brood with fond maternal eyes![8] + +Finally, and to wind up-- + + Who dance on ropes, who rouged and roaring stand, + Who cheat the eyes by wondrous sleight of hand, + From whose wide mouth the ready riband falls, + Who swallow swords, or urge the flying balls, + Here with French poodles vie, and harness'd fleas, + Nor strive in vain our easy tastes to please. + Whilst rival pupils of the great Daguerre, + In rival shops, display their rivals fair! + + +OUR FIRST TABLE D'HÒTE DINNER AT VICHY. + +We arrived at Vichy from Roanne just in time to dress for dinner. As +every body dines _en table d'hôte_., we were not wrong in supposing that +this would be a good opportunity for studying the habits, "USAGES DE +SOCIÉTÉ" and what not, of a tolerably large party (fifty was to be the +number) of the better class of French PROPRIÈTAIRES. On entering the +room, we found the guests already assembled; and everybody in full talk +already, before the bell had done ringing, or the tureens been +uncovered. The habit of general sufferance and free communion of tongue +amongst guests at dinner, forms an agreeable episode in the life of him +whom education and English reserve have _inured_, without ever +reconciling, to a different state of things at home. The difference of +the English and French character peeps out amusingly at this critical +time of the day; when, oh! commend _us_ to a Frenchman's vanity, however +grotesque it may sometimes be, rather than to our own reserve, shyness, +formality, or under whatever other name we please to designate, and seek +to hide its unamiable synonym, pride. Vanity, always a free, is not +seldom an agreeable talker; but pride is ever laconic; while the few +words he utters are generally so constrained and dull, that you would +gladly absolve him altogether from so painful an effort as that of +opening his mouth, or forcing it to articulate. Self-love may be a large +ingredient in both pride and vanity; but the difference of comfort, +according as you have to sit down with one or the other at table, is +indeed great. For whilst pride sits stiff, guarded, and ungenial, +_radiating coldness around him_, which requires at least a bottle of +champagne and an arch coquette to disperse; vanity, on the other hand, +being a _female_, (a sort of Mrs Pride,) has her _conquests to make_, +and loves making them; and accordingly must study the ways and means of +pleasing; which makes _her_ an agreeable _voisine_ at table. As she +never doubts either her own powers to persuade, or yours to appreciate +them, her language is at once self-complacent, and full of good-will to +her neighbour; whilst the vanity of a Frenchman thus leads him to seek +popularity, it seems enough to an Englishman that he is one entitled to +justify himself, in his own eyes, for being as disagreeable as he +pleases. + +On the present occasion, not to have joined in a conversation which was +general, at whatever disadvantage we might have to enter into it, would, +we felt, have been to subject ourselves to remark after dinner; so +putting off restraint, and putting on the best face we could, we began +at once to address some remarks to our neighbours. We were not aware at +the moment how far the _Anglomania_, which _began_ to prevail some seven +years ago in Paris, had spread since we left the French capital. There +it began, we remember, with certain members of the medical profession, +who had learned to give calomel in _English_ doses. The public next +lauded Warren's blacking--_Cirage national de Warren_--and then +proceeded to eat raw crumpets as an English article of luncheon. But +things had gone farther since that time than we were prepared to expect. +At the _table d'hôte_ of to-day, we found every body had something civil +to say about English products; frequently for no other reason than that +they were English, it being obvious that they themselves had never seen +the articles, whose excellence they all durst swear for, though not a +man of them knew wherefore. We had not sat five minutes at table (the +stringy _bouilli_ was still going round) when a count, a gentleman used +to good breeding and _feeding_, opened upon us with a compliment which +we knew neither how to disclaim nor to appropriate, in declaring in +presence of the table that he was a decided partisan for English +"Rosbiff;" confirming his perfect sincerity to us, by a "_c'est vrai_," +on perceiving some slight demur to the announcement at _mine host's_ end +of the table. We had scarce time to recover from this unexpected sally +of the count, when a young _notabilité_, a poet of the romantic school +of France, whose face was very pale, who wore a Circassian profusion of +_black_ hair over his shoulders, a satin waistcoat over his breast, and +Byron-tie (_noeud Byron_) round his neck--permitted his muse to say +something flattering to us across the table about Shakspeare. Again we +had not what to say, nor knew how to return thanks for our "immortal +bard;" and this, our shyness, we had the mortification to see was put +down to _English coldness_; for how _could_ we else have seemed so +insensible to a compliment so personal? nor were we relieved from our +embarrassment till a dark-whiskered man, in sporting costume, (who had +brought every thing appertaining thereto to table except his gun, which +was in a corner,) gave out, in a somewhat oracular manner, his opinion, +that there were no sporting dogs _out of_ England; whistling, as he +spoke to Foxe, and to Miss Dashe, to rise and show their noses above the +table! The countess next spoke tenderly of _English soap_, and almost +sighed over the soft whiteness of her hands, which she indulgently +attributed to the constant use of soap prepared by "_Mr Brown de +Vindsor_." This provoked a man of cultivated beard to declare, that he +found it impossible to shave with any razors but _English_ "_ones_;" +concluding with this general remark on French and English manufactures, +that the French _invented_ things, but that the English improved them. +(_Les Français inventent, mais les Anglais perfectionnent._) Even +English medicine found its advocates--here were we sitting in the midst +of Dr Morison's patients! A lady, who had herself derived great +advantage from their use, was desirous of knowing whether our Queen took +them, or Prince Albert! It was also asked of us, whether Dr Morison +(whom they supposed to be the court physician) was _Sir_ Dr Morison, +(Bart.,) or _tout simplement_ doctor! and they spoke favourably of some +other English inventions--as of Rogers' teeth, Rowland's macassar, &c.; +and were continuing to do so, when a fierce-looking demagogue, seeing +how things were going, and what concessions were being made, roused +himself angrily; and, to show us that _he_ at least was no Anglo-maniac, +shot at us a look fierce as any bonassus; while he asked, abruptly, what +we thought in England of one whom he styled the "Demosthenes of +Ireland"--looked at us for an answer. As it would have been unsafe to +have answered _him_ in the downright, offhand manner, in which we like +both to deal and to be dealt by, we professed that we knew but one +Demosthenes, and he not an Irishman, but a Greek; which, by securing us +his contempt, kept us safe from the danger of something worse; but, our +Demosthenic friend excepted, it was a pleasant, unceremonious dinner; +and we acquitted ourselves just sufficiently well not to make any one +feel we were in the way. A lady now asked, in a whisper, whom _we_ look +upon as the first poet, Shakspeare, Dumas, or Lord Byron; and whether +the _two_ English poets were _both_ dead. A reply from a more knowing +friend saved our good breeding at this pinch. As a proof of our having +made our own way amongst the guests at table, we may mention that one +sallow gentleman, who had been surveying us once or twice already, at +length invited us to tell him, across the table, what case is ours, and +who our physician? To be thus obliged to confess our weak organ in +public is not pleasant; but _every_ body here does it, and what every +body does must be right. A gentleman who speaks broken English favours +the table with a conundrum. Another (the young poet) presents us with a +brace of dramas, bearing the auspicious titles of "La Mort de Socrate," +and "Catilina Romantique"--_of which anon_. But, before we rise from our +dessert, here is the conundrum as it was proposed to us:--"What +gentleman always follow what lady?" Do you give it up? _Sur-Prise_ +always follow _Misse-Take!!_ + +So much for our amusements at Vichy; but our Vichyana would be +incomplete, unless we added a few words touching those far-famed sources +for which, and not for its amusements, so many thousands flock hither +every year. The following, then, may be considered as a brief and +desultory selection of such remarks only as are likely to interest the +general reader, from a body of notes of a more professional character, +of which the destination is different:--Few springs have been so +celebrated as those at Vichy, and no mineral waters, perhaps, have +performed so many real "Hohenlohes," or better deserved the reputation +they have earned and maintained, now for so many centuries! Gentle, +indeed, is their surgery; they will penetrate to parts that no _steel_ +may reach, and do good, irrespective of persons, alike to Jew or +Gentile; but then they should be "drunk on the premises"--exported to a +distance (and they are exported every where) they are found to have +lost--their chemical constitution remaining unchanged--a good deal of +their efficacy. Little, however, can Hygeia have to do with chemistry; +for the chemical analysis of _all_ these springs is the same while the +_modus operandi_ of each, in particular, is so distinct, that if gout +ails you, you must go to the "Grande grille;" if dyspepsia, to the +"Hôpital;" or, if yours be a kidney case, to the "Celestius," to be +cured--facts which should long ago have convinced the man of retorts and +crucibles at home (who affirms that 'tis but taking soda after all), +that he speaks _beyond_ his warrant. Did ever lady patroness, desirous +of filling her rooms on a route night, invite to that end so many as +Hygeia invites to come and benefit by these springs? And what though she +reserve the right of patent in their preparation to herself, does she +not generously yield the products of her discovery in the restoration of +health and comfort to thousands, whom neither nostrum nor prescription, +the recipe nor the fiat, could restore? In cases, too, beyond her +control, does she not mitigate many sufferings that may not be removed? +To all that are galled with gall-stones, to those whom the _Chameleon +litmus paper_ of "coming events casts their shadows before;" to Indian +_livers_ condemned, else hopelessly, to the fate of Prometheus, preyed +upon by that vulture _Hepatitis_, in its _gnawing_ and chronic forms; +and to the melancholy hypochondriac, steeped at once both in sadness and +in pains--she calls, and calls loudly, that all these should come and +see what great and good things are in store for them at Vichy. And +finally, difficult though gouty gentlemen be to manage, Hygeia, nothing +daunted on that score, shrinks not from inviting that large army of +_involuntary_ martyrs to repair thither at once. Yes! even gout, that +has so long laughed out at all pharmacopoeias, and tortured us from the +time "when our wine and our oil increased"--Gout, that colchicum would +vainly attempt to baffle, that no nepenthe soothes, no opium can send to +sleep--Gout, that makes as light of the medical practitioner as of his +patient; that murdered _Musgrave_, and seized her very own historian by +the hip[9]--this, our most formidable foe, is to be conquered at Vichy! +Here, in a brief time, the iron gyves of _Podagra_ are struck _off_, and +_Cheiragra's manacles_ are unbound; enabling old friends, who had +hitherto shaken their _heads_ in despondency, once more to shake +_hands_. + +But Vichy, be it understood, neither cures, nor undertakes to cure, +every body; her waters have nothing to do with your head, your heart, or +your lungs; their empire begins and ends below the _diaphragm_; it is +here, and here alone, that her mild control quells dangerous internal +commotions, establishes quiet in irritated organs, and restores health +on the firm basis of _constitutional principles_. The real _doctors_ at +Vichy are the _waters_; and much is it to be regretted that they should +not find that co-operation and assistance in those who administer them, +which Hippocrates declares of such paramount importance in the +management of all disease; for here (alas! for the inconsistency of man) +the two physicians _prescribed_ to us by the government, while they +gravely tell their patients that no good can happen to such as will +think, fret, or excite themselves, while they formally interdict all +_sour_ things at table, (shuddering at a cornichon if they detect one on +the plate of a rebellious water-drinker, and denouncing honest +fruiterers as poisoners,) yet foment sour discord, and keep their +patients in perpetual hot water, alike _in the bath_ and _out of the +bath_; more tender in their regard for _another_ generation, they +recommend all nurses to undergo a slight course of the springs to _keep +their milk_ from turning sour, yet will curdle the _milk of human +kindness_ in our lacteals by instilling therein the sour asperity which +they entertain towards each other, and which, notwithstanding the +efforts of the ladies to keep peace between them, by christening one +their "_beau médecin_," and the other their "_bon médecin_," has arrived +at such a pitch that they refuse to speak French, or issue one "_fiat_" +in common.[10] + +A remarkable fact connected with the natural history of the Vichy waters +is the following:--Whenever the electrical condition of the atmosphere +undergoes a change, in consequence of the coming on of a storm, they +disengage a large quantity of carbonic acid, while a current of +electricity passes off from the surface. At such times baths are borne +with difficulty, the patients complaining of præcordial distress, which +amounts sometimes to a feeling of suffocation; the like unpleasant +sensations being also communicated, though to a less extent, to those +who are drinking the waters.[11] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 1: Polydrusus sericea.] + +[Footnote 2: Carabus auratus.] + +[Footnote 3: Scholia flavicomis.] + +[Footnote 4: Victor Hugo's beautiful line on _maternal affection_.] + +[Footnote 5: Rondolitier was a celebrated ichthyologist and sportsman of +the old school; and those desirous of further information respecting the +capture of fish by "fiddling to them," may be referred to his work on +fishes, _ad locum_.] + +[Footnote 6: These hats are very peculiar; they are highly ornamented +with ribands, and have acquired, from their peculiarity in having a +double front--"chapeaux a deux bonjours."] + +[Footnote 7: For a lively description of this dance _vide_ Madame de +Sevigne's _Letters to her Daughter_. That ecstatic lady, who always +wrote more or less under the influence of St Vitus, was in her time an +_habituée_ at Vichy.] + +[Footnote 8: These wolves were six weeks old, in fine condition, and +clung to the teats of their foster parent with wolf-like pertinacity. As +long as she lay licking their little black bodies and dark chestnut +heads, or permitted them to hide their sulky faces and ugly bare tails +under her body, they lay quiet enough, but when she raised her emaciated +form to stretch her legs, or to take an airing, at first they hung to +her dugs by their teeth; but gradually falling off, barked as she +proceeded, and would snap at your fingers if you went to lay hold of +them. Out of the six, one was gentle and affectionate, would lick your +hand, slept with the owner, and played with his ears in the morning, +without biting; if his own ears were pulled, he took it as a dog would +have done, and seemed to deprecate all unkindness by extreme gentleness +of manner, for which he was finely bullied by his brother wolves +accordingly. The bitch seemed equally attached to all the litter; for +_instinctive_, unlike _rational_ affection, has no favourites. At first +the wolves boarded in the same house with us, which afforded abundant +opportunity for our visiting them, _a l'improvisto_, whenever we +pleased. On one of these occasions we saw two rabbits, lately introduced +into their society, crunching carrots, _demissis auribus_, and quite at +their ease, while two little "wolves" were curiously snuffing about; at +first looking at the rabbits, and then _imitating_ them, by taking up +some of their _prog_, which tasting and not approving, they spat +out--then, as if suspecting the rabbits to have been playing them a +trick, one of them comes up stealthily, and brings his own nose in close +proximity to that of one of the rabbits, who, quite unmoved at this act +of familiarity, continues to munch on. The wolf contemplates him for a +short time in astonishment, and seeing that the carrots actually +disappear down his "oesophagus," returns to the other wolf to tell him +so. His next step is to paw his friend a little, by way of encouraging +him to advance. So encouraged he goes up, and straight lays hold of the +rabbit's ear, and a pretty plaything it would have made had the rabbit +been in the humour! In place of which he _thumps_ the ground with his +hind legs, rises almost perpendicularly, and the next moment is down +like lightning upon the head of the audacious wolf, who on thus +unexpectedly receiving a double "colaphus" retreats, yelping! The other +wolf is more successful; having crept up stealthily to the remaining +rabbit, he seizes him by his furry rump--off bounds he in a fright, +while the other plants himself down like a _sphinx_, erects his ears, +and seems highly pleased at what he has been doing! We used sometimes to +visit the wolves while they slept; on these occasions a slight whistle +was at first sufficient to make them start upon their legs; at last, +like most sounds with which the ear becomes familiar, they heard it +passively. All our attempts to frighten the rabbits by noises _while +they were engaged in munching_, proved unsuccessful.] + +[Footnote 9: Sydenham.] + +[Footnote 10: So notorious and violent has this hydromachia become, that +it has at length called forth a poem, styled the _Vichyade_, of which +the two resident physicians are the Achilles and Hector. The poem, which +is as coarse and personal as the _Bath Guide_, is not so clever, but is +much read here, _non obstant_.] + +[Footnote 11: An ingenious physician assures us, that he has for years +past been in the habit of consulting his patients in place of his +barometer, and has thus been enabled to foretell vicissitudes of weather +before they had manifested themselves, by attending to the accounts they +gave of their sensations in the bath. There are seven springs, whose +united volumes of water, in twenty-four hours, fill a chamber of twenty +feet dimensions, in every direction.] + + + + +IT'S ALL FOR THE BEST. + +PART THE LAST. + + +CHAPTER VI. + +It was a lovely morning, notwithstanding it was November--the rain had +wholly ceased, and the clear and almost cloudless sky showed every +indication of a fine day; so that Frank had an excellent opportunity of +witnessing the view of the sea to which the squire had alluded, and with +which he was very much gratified. But, for all this, our little hero was +looking forward to a far more interesting sight, in the persons of the +fair ladies he had fully made up his mind to meet that morning at +breakfast; though the altered tones of their voices still exceedingly +puzzled him. Wishing, however, to appear to the greatest possible +advantage, he no sooner got back to the house, than, under the pretext +of just seeing Vernon for a minute, he took the opportunity of brushing +up his hair, and all that sort of thing. Having so done, and being by no +means dissatisfied with the result, he again descended the stairs, and, +with a throbbing heart, entered the breakfast room. Here he found the +master of the house, with his amiable little wife, and three young +ladies, already seated around the table--yes, three young +ladies--actually one more in number than he had anticipated; but, alas! +how different from those he had hoped to see. Instead of the lovely +forms he and Vernon had been so forcibly struck with the day before, he +perceived three very indifferent-looking young women--one, a thin little +crooked creature, with sharp contracted features, which put him in mind +of the head of a skinned rabbit--another with an immense flat unmeaning +face; and the third, though better-looking than her two companions, was +a silly little flippant miss in her teens, rejoicing in a crop of +luxuriant curls which swept over her shoulders as she returned Frank's +polite bow--when the squire introduced him to the assembled company--as +much as to say, "I'm not for you, sir, at any price; so, pray don't for +a moment fancy such a thing." The other two spinsters returned his +salutation less rudely; but he set down the whole trio as the most +uninteresting specimens of womankind he had ever met. + +"Come," said the squire addressing himself to Frank, who, surprised as +well as disappointed, was looking a little as if he couldn't help it, +"Come, come Mr Trevelyan, here we are all assembled at last; so make the +best use of your time, and then for waging war against the partridges." + +Frank did make the best use of his time, and a most excellent breakfast, +though he puzzled his brains exceedingly during the whole time he was so +occupied with turning it over in his mind, how it was possible that such +a delightful couple as the founders of the feast, could have produced so +unprepossessing a progeny; whilst Timothy--who, though it was no part of +his duty to wait at table, which was performed by a well-dressed +man-servant out of livery--managed, on some pretext or other, to be +continually coming in and out of the room, and every time contrived to +catch Frank's eye, and, by a knowing grin, to let him know that he both +understood the cause, and was exceedingly amused at his perplexity. + +No sooner had Frank eaten and drank to his heart's content, than he +declared his readiness to attend the squire to the field. Here they fell +in with several coveys of partridges, and the squire, being an excellent +shot, brought down his birds in fine style; added to which he knocked +over a woodcock and several snipes; but it was otherwise with Frank, +whose shooting experience being rather limited, after missing several +easy shots, terminated the day by wounding a cow slightly, and killing a +guinea-hen that flew out of a hedge adjoining a farm-yard the sportsmen +were passing, which, mistaking for some wild gallinaceous animal or +other, he blazed away at, without inquiring as to the particular species +to which it might possibly belong. But so far from being cast down with +his ill success, or the laughter his more effective shots had raised at +his expense, he enjoyed the day amazingly, fully resolved to have +another bout at it on the morrow; and so he and the worthy squire +returned homewards together in the best possible humour with each other; +the latter delighted with Frank, and Frank equally well pleased with the +squire. + +But Frank felt very sheepish about what his friend Vernon Wycherley +would say as to the result of the predictions he had that morning made, +and how he should manage to put a bold front upon the matter, so as to +have the laugh all on his own side; a sort of thing he couldn't arrange +any how; but still he would not pass so near his friend's bedroom, +without looking in to ask him how he was getting on, when, to his great +surprise, he found not only the bed, but even the apartment unoccupied. + +"Ah, well!" said Frank, "I'm rejoiced, poor fellow, he's so much better +than I expected; and _it's all for the best_ that I find the bird flown, +which spares me the vexation of confessing to him the blunder I made in +my calculations this morning, which he must have found out long before +this." + +Having relieved his mind by these observations, he repaired to his own +room, and having shifted his attire, and made the best of himself his +limited wardrobe would admit, was again in the act of descending the +stairs, when he encountered Timothy, who, with a grin that distended his +mouth wellnigh from ear to ear, begged to direct him to the +drawing-room, which was on the same floor with the bed chambers, where, +he informed him, "the gen'lman was a-laying up top o' the sofer, and +a-telkin' away brave with the young ladies--I say," observed Timothy, +winking his eye to give greater expression to his words--"I say--he's a +ben there for hours, bless'ee; for no sooner did mun[12] hear their +sweet voices a-passing long the passage, than ha ups a-ringing away to +the bell, which I takes care to answer; so ha tips me yef-a-crown to +help mun on we us cloaz, which I did ready and wullin'; and then, +guessing what mun 'ud like to be yefter, I ups with my gen'lman +pick-a-back, and puts[13] mun with ma right into drawing-room, an drops +mun flump down all vittey[14] amongst the ladies a-top of the sofer; and +if you wants to see a body look plazed, just step in yer"--added he, +laying his hand on the lock of the door, which they had then +reached--"only just step in yer, and look to mun." + +"Then most heartily do I pity his taste," thought Frank; but he didn't +say so, and passed through the door Timothy had opened for him, who duly +announced him to the party within. But how shall we attempt to describe +Frank's amazement, when he discovered of whom the party consisted? He +had indeed been surprised at meeting persons so totally different from +what he had expected that morning at breakfast, but he was now perfectly +thunderstruck at the sight which burst upon his astonished vision. + +There was Mr Vernon Wycherley reclining at his ease on an elegant sofa, +his head comfortably propped up with pillows, and as far, at any rate, +as face was concerned, appearing not a bit the worse for his late +accident, and making himself quite at home; and there, too, seated near +him, were those lovely creatures who had excited the admiration of our +two young heroes on the preceding day: there they were, both of them, +dressed most becomingly, and looking most bewitchingly lady-like, +employed about some of those little matters of needlework, which afford +no impediment to conversation, chatting away with their new acquaintance +in the most friendly and agreeable manner possible. + + +CHAPTER VII. + +Frank Trevelyan was so much taken aback by a sight so totally +unexpected, that his confident assurance for the moment forsook him, and +with a countenance suffused with blushes, and a perfect consciousness +all the time that he was looking like a fool, he stood stock-still +within a few paces from the door, as if uncertain whether to pluck up +sufficient courage to advance, or to turn tail and make a run of it; his +comfort all this time in nowise enhanced, by detecting the air of +triumphant satisfaction with which Mr Vernon Wycherley was witnessing +and enjoying his confusion. Fortunately, however, for Frank, the ladies +had more compassion, and by their pleasing affability of manner, +speedily relieved him from his embarrassment--so speedily indeed, that +in the course of five minutes he had not only conquered every bashful +feeling, but had acquired so great a degree of easy self-possession, +that Vernon Wycherley actually began to wonder at what he was pleased in +his own mind to style, "the little rascal's cool impudence"----But he +only thought so whilst Frank was devoting his sole attentions to the +darker beauty, with whom the young poet had already chosen to fancy +himself in love; for when, at the expiration of this five minutes, his +friend transferred his civilities to her fair sister, Mr Wycherley +returned to his original opinion, formed upon a close intimacy of +several years, which was, that friend Frank was one of the best-hearted, +good-humoured, and entertaining little fellows that ever existed. + +And now, how shall we attempt to describe these lovely young creatures, +whose charms were, by this time, playing sad havoc with the hearts of Mr +Vernon Wycherley, and his friend Mr Francis Trevelyan. First, then, the +elder sister, Miss Mary.--Her features were regular, with the true +Madonna cast of countenance, beautiful when in a state of repose, but +still more lovely when lighted up by animation. Her cheek, though pale, +indicated no symptom of ill health, and her complexion was remarkably +clear, which was beautifully contrasted with her raven hair, dark eyes, +and long silken eyelashes. Her sister, who was but a year younger, owed +more of her beauty to a certain sweetness of expression it is impossible +to describe, than to perfect regularity of feature. Her eyes were +dark-blue, and her hair of a dark-golden brown; her complexion fair and +clear, and her mouth and lips the most perfect that can be conceived. +Both sisters had excellent teeth, but in other respects their features +were totally dissimilar. They were about the middle height--and their +figures faultless, which, added to a lady-like carriage and engaging +manners, untainted with affectation, rendered them perfectly +fascinating. Such was, at any rate, the opinion each of our two heroes +had formed of _her_ to whom he had been pleased to devote his +thoughts--Frank of the gentle Bessie, and Vernon of the lovely Mary--for +none but the squire before her face, and Timothy behind her back, ever +dared to call her Miss Molly; so that before Squire Potts, or his good +lady, joined the young folks, which they did ere one delightful half +hour had passed away, both our young men were deeply in for it--the poet +resigned to pine away the rest of his days in solitary grief, and to +write sonnets on his sorrows; and Frank resolved to try all he could do +to win the lady over to be of the same mind with himself, and then to do +every thing in his power, with the respective governors on both sides, +to bring things to a happy conclusion as speedily as possible. + +Oh! they were nice people were the Potts's--father, mother, and +daughters; and how delighted Frank was when he sate down to the +dinner-table with them--never were such nice people, thought Frank--and +he wasn't far wide of the mark either. And how disconsolate poor Vernon +felt in being compelled to rough it all alone, for that day at least, +upon water-gruel above stairs! But the ladies, taking compassion upon +his forlorn condition, and sympathizing with him for the dangers he had +past, left the table very early, and favoured him with their company, +leaving the squire below to amuse friend Frank. + +But the squire and Frank were not left long alone together, for the +village doctor dropped in just as the ladies had departed to inquire how +Vernon was getting on, and was easily prevailed upon to help the squire +and his guest out with their wine; and then came the clergyman of the +parish, and his three or four private pupils, who had come to finish +letting off the fireworks, which they had favoured the squire with +partially exhibiting on the previous evening; but which the news of +Vernon's misadventure had prematurely cut short--and so the remainder of +the exhibition was postponed to the following evening--and that time +having then arrived, all the rest of the combustibles went off, one +after another, with very great _eclat_. + +But where are those three uninteresting young damsels all this +time?--What has become of them? some of our readers may be inclined to +ask. For their satisfaction we beg to inform them, that these three +unprepossessing personages were merely acquaintances, who had dropped in +unexpectedly the evening before, and made use of the squire's residence +as a kind of inn or half-way house, on the way to visit some friends +some ten miles further on, to which place they had betaken themselves +soon after breakfast. And by way of clearing up as we go--The Misses +Potts, (for Potts they were called, there's no disguising that fact,) +the Misses Potts, we say, were at the time our two heroes first met them +returning homewards from a long ride; shortly after which, being +overtaken by a heavy shower, they betook themselves to a friend's house +not very far distant, where, owing to the unfavourable appearance of the +weather, they were induced to remain for the night, and Timothy was +accordingly sent home with a message to that effect. + +They were very nice people indeed were the Potts's; and not only did +their two guests think so, but the whole country, far and wide around, +entertained precisely the same opinion. It is not, therefore, surprising +that two young men like Frank and Vernon should be well pleased with +their quarters, or that, having so early gotten into the slough of love, +they should daily continue to sink deeper into the mire. The young +poet's lame leg, though not a very serious affair, was still sufficient +to keep him for several days a close prisoner to the house; but if any +one had asked him--no, we don't go so far as to say that, for if any one +had so asked him he would not have answered truly; but if he had +seriously proposed the question to himself, his heart would have told +him, that notwithstanding all the pain and inconvenience attendant on +his then crippled state, he wouldn't have changed with his friend Frank, +to have been compelled to ramble abroad with the father, instead of +remaining at home to enjoy the society of his daughters. + +As for Frank, he was equally well pleased to let matters be as they +were; he shot with the squire, accompanied him on his walks about his +farm; and occasionally, when the weather permitted, attended the young +ladies in their rides; and then, and then only, did Vernon envy him, or +repine at his own lame and helpless condition. But whatever the opinion +of the latter might have been, never in all his born days did Mr Frank +Trevelyan spend his time so much to his satisfaction. + +Now we must not suppose that Squire Potts had, like an old blockhead, +admitted these two young men into such close terms of intimacy with his +family, upon no further acquaintance than was furnished him by his +having helped the one out of a lead shaft, and the other to a dry +rig-out after the duckings he had encountered in seeking the necessary +aid--quite the contrary; for though the nature of the accident, and the +forlorn condition of our pedestrians, would have insured them both food +and shelter till the patient could have been safely removed elsewhere; +yet the squire would never have admitted any one to the society of the +female part of his family, whose respectability and station in society +he was at all doubtful about. He had therefore, during supper-time on +the night of his arrival, but in polite manner, put several pumping +questions to Frank, who very readily answered them; from which he +discovered that Frank's father, though personally unacquainted with, he +knew by reputation to be a highly respectable person and a county +magistrate; nor was even Frank's name wholly unknown to him, and the +little he had heard was highly in his favour. He, therefore, passed +muster very well; and, during the course of the shooting expedition on +the following morning, the squire had also contrived to elicit from his +young companion, that Vernon Wycherley's father, who had died some years +before, had been both an intimate and valued friend of his own early +years. + +By this means a great portion of the reserve, often attendant upon an +acquaintance recently formed, wore off; so that our two heroes felt +themselves, in the course of a few days, as much at home with their +newly-made friends, as if they had been on terms of intimacy with them +from their childhood. There was, however, one serious drawback to the +poet's felicity. The comedy upon which he had designed to establish his +future fame, was nowhere to be found; and there was every reason to +believe, that it was reposing in the shaft from which its author had +been so providentially rescued, where no one would venture down to seek +it on account of the foul air that was known to prevail near the bottom. + +"Well, never mind," said Vernon, who, when informed of his probable +loss, was reclining very comfortably on the drawing-room sofa, taking +tea with his kind entertainers,--"Well, never mind," he said, "I must be +thankful to Heaven for my own preservation, and, practising a little of +friend Frank's philosophy, try to believe that what has happened _is all +for the best_." + +"And so I've no doubt it is," interposed Frank; "for you must either +have been doomed to disappointment by your failure, or, if you had +succeeded in being the fortunate competitor out of the hundred +candidates who are striving for the prize, you would, as a matter of +course, have incurred the everlasting enmity of the disappointed +ninety-nine, to say nothing of their numerous friends and allies; why, +you would be cut up to minced meat amongst them all; and nine-tenths of +the reviews and newspapers would be ringing their changes of abuse upon +your name, as one of the most blundering blockheads that ever spoilt +paper." + +"Enough, Frank, enough--I give in," interrupted Mr Wycherley; "quite +enough said on the subject, and perhaps you may be right too in this +instance; but I verily believe, that if the direst misfortune were to +happen to one, you would strive to convince him, or at any rate set it +down in our own mind, that it was _all for the best_." + +"And if he did so," said the squire, "he might be less distant from the +truth than you imagine. I myself indeed could mention an instance, where +a man at last happily discovered that a circumstance he had set down in +his own mind as the ruling cause of every subsequent misfortune, +eventually proved the instrument of producing him a greater degree of +happiness than often falls to the lot of the most fortunate of mankind." + +Frank and Vernon both expressed a wish to hear the tale, which the +squire, who was a rare hand at telling a story, proceeded forthwith to +recount; but as, for reasons we forbear mentioning at present, he +glossed over some important parts, and touched but lightly on others +equally material, we purpose, instead of recording the tale in his own +words, to state the facts precisely as they occurred, the subject of +which will form the contents of the two next following chapters. + + +CHAPTER VIII.--THE SQUIRE'S TALE. + +In a town that shall be nameless, but which was situate somewhere or +other in the West of England, there lived some years since--no matter +how many--a young man, called Job Vivian, who practised as a surgeon, +apothecary, and so forth. He was about two or three and twenty years of +age when he first commenced his professional career in this place, and +very shortly afterwards he married the girl of his affections, to whom +he had been sincerely attached from his very boyhood; and as they were +both exceedingly good-looking--in fact, she was beautiful--they of +course made what the world terms an imprudent marriage. But Job himself +thought very differently, and amidst all the cares and vicissitudes that +attended several years of his wedded life, he never passed a day without +breathing a prayer of thankfulness to Heaven for having blessed him with +so excellent a helpmate. But though rich in domestic comforts, all the +rest of Job's affairs, for a long time, went on unprosperously. He +certainly acquired sufficient practice in the course of a few years to +occupy a great portion of his time, by night as well as by day, but then +it was not what is termed a paying practice. In fact, nearly the whole +of his business was either amongst the poorer classes, who couldn't pay, +the dishonest, who wouldn't, or the thoughtless and dilatory, who, if +they did so, took a very long time about it. In spite, therefore, of all +his labour and assiduity, the actual amount he received from his +practice fell short of his yearly expenditure, which obliged him to dip +into his small independent property, consisting of a few houses in an +obscure part of the town; which, as he became every year more heavily +involved, he was erelong compelled to mortgage so deeply, that what +between some of his tenants running away without paying their rent, the +costs of repairs, and money to be paid for interest, a very small +portion of the annual proceeds ever reached Job's pockets; and at last, +to complete the whole, a virulent fever broke out in the very midst of +this precious property, of so obstinate and dangerous a kind, as for +some months to defy the skill of all the medical men of the place, +nearly depopulating the whole neighbourhood, which in consequence became +all but deserted. + +Just at this critical time poor Job Vivian received a notice from his +mortgagee--a rich old timber merchant, who lived and carried on his +business in the same town with him--to pay off his mortgage; which he +being unable to do, or to obtain any body to advance the required amount +on the security of property which had then become so depreciated in +value, the sordid worshipper of mammon, though rolling in wealth, and +not spending one-tenth part of his income, and with neither wife nor +children to provide for, nor a soul on earth he cared a straw for, was +resolved, as he was technically pleased to term it, to sell up the +doctor forthwith; to accomplish which he commenced an action of +ejectment to recover the possession of the premises, though Job had +voluntarily offered to give them up to him, and also an action of +covenant for non-payment of the mortgage money, whilst at the same time +he filed his bill in Chancery to foreclose the mortgage; which combined +forces, legal and equitable, proved so awful a floorer to a sinking man, +that, in order to get clear of them, he was glad at the very outset, not +only to give up all claim to the property, but even to consent to pay +£100 out of his own pocket for the costs said to have been incurred in +thus depriving him of his possessions. + +These costs proved an unceasing millstone about the unfortunate doctor's +neck. In order to pay them, he had been obliged to leave more just +demands undischarged; and thus he became involved in difficulties he +strove in vain to extricate himself from. Yet in spite of all this, Job +and his good little wife were a far happier couple than most of their +richer neighbours. The constant hope that things would soon begin to +take a more prosperous turn, reconciled them to their present +perplexities; there was but one drawback they considered to render their +bliss complete; and Job used to say, that he had never met with an +instance of a man who hadn't a drawback to perfect happiness in some +shape or other and that, take it for all in all, they had, thank God, a +pretty fair allowance of the world's comforts. + +"So we have, my dear Job," said his pretty little wife Jessie, in reply +to a remark of this kind he had been just then making--"and only think +how far happier we are than most of the people around us. Only think of +Mr Belasco, who, with all his money and fine estates, is so unhappy, +that his family are in constant dread of his destroying himself." + +"And poor Sir Charles Deacon," interposed Job, "a man so devotedly fond +of good eating and drinking as he is, and yet to be compelled to live on +less than even workhouse allowance for fear of the gout--and then that +silly Lord Muddeford, who's fretting himself to death because ministers +wouldn't make him an earl--Mrs Bundy, with her two thousand a-year, +making herself miserable because the Grandisons, and my Lord and Lady +Muddeford, and one or two others of the grand folks, every one of whom +she dislikes, won't visit her. Then the squire at Mortland is troubled +with a son that no gentleman will be seen speaking to; and the rich +rector of"----Job nodded his head, but didn't say where--"has a +tipsy-getting wife--and poor Squire Taylor's wife stark mad--Mr Gribbs +also, with his fine unencumbered property, has two idiot children, and +another deaf and dumb, and the other--the only sane child he has, is +little better than a fool. Then the Hoblers are rendered miserable by +the disobedience and misconduct of their worthless children; and the +Dobsons are making themselves wretched because they've no such creatures +to trouble themselves about. The only man of property I can name in the +whole country round who seems free from care, is our fox-hunting squire +at Abbot's Beacon, who really does enter into the life of the sport, has +plenty of money to carry it on with, and has besides one of the nicest +places I think I ever saw." + +"But then," interposed Job's better half, "his wife, every body says, +doesn't care a fig for him." + +"Then a fig for all his happiness," said Job; "I wouldn't change places +with him for ten thousand times ten thousand his wealth and possessions, +and a dukedom thrown into the bargain;" and Job told the truth too, and +kissed his wife by way of confirmation; for he couldn't help it for the +very life of him, Job couldn't. + +"And then only to consider," said Mrs Job Vivian, as she smilingly +adjusted her hair--and very nice hair she had, and kept it very nicely +too, though her goodman had just then tumbled it pretty +considerably--"only think what two lovely children we have; every one +who sees them is struck with their remarkable beauty." This was +perfectly true, by the way, notwithstanding the observation proceeded +from a mother's lips. + +"And so good, too, my dear Jessie," continued Job; "I wonder," he +proudly said, "if any father in the land, besides myself, can truly +boast of children who have had the use of their tongues so long, and who +yet, amidst all their chattering and prattling, have never told a +falsehood--so that, amidst all the cares that Providence has been +pleased to allot us, we never can be thankful enough for the actual +blessings we enjoy." + +"We never can, indeed," said Jessie. And thus, in thankfulness for the +actual comforts they possessed, they forgot all the troubles that +surrounded them, and, happily, were ignorant of how heavily they would +soon begin to press upon them. + +And now, we must state here, that, although generally unfortunate in his +worldly undertakings, a young colt, which the young doctor had himself +reared, seemed to form an exception to the almost general rule, for he +turned out a most splendid horse; and as his owner's patients were +distributed far and wide over a country in which an excellent pack of +hounds was kept; and Job himself, not only fond of the sport, but also a +good rider, who could get with skill and judgment across a country, his +colt, even at four years' old, became the first-rate hunter of the +neighbourhood; so much so, indeed, that a rich country squire one +day--and that at the very close of the hunting season--witnessing his +gallant exploits in the field, was so pleased with the horse, that he +offered Job £150 for him. + +Now, Job thought his limited circumstances would never justify his +riding a horse worth £150; yet he was so much attached to the animal he +had reared, that, greatly as he then wanted money, he felt grieved at +the idea of parting with him, and, at the instant of the offer, he could +not in fact make up his mind to do. Promising, therefore, to give an +answer in the course of a day or two, he returned home, by no means a +happier man in the consciousness of the increased value of his steed; +nor could he muster sufficient courage to tell his wife, who was almost +as fond of the horse as he himself was, of the liberal price that had +been offered for him. But the comfortable way in which Jessie had gotten +every thing ready for him against his return, dispelled a great portion +of his sadness; and her cheerful looks and conversation, added to the +pleasing pranks of his little children, had all but chased away the +remainder, when he received a summons to attend a sick patient, living +at least three miles away, in the country. + +"This really is very provoking," said Job; "and the worst part of the +business is, that I can do no good whatever--the poor creature is too +far gone in consumption for the skill of the whole faculty put together +to save her life; and, bless me, my poor Selim has not only carried me +miles and miles over the road to-day, but, like an inconsiderate +blockhead, I must gallop him after the hounds, across the country. But +there, I suppose, I must go; I ought not to stay away from doing an act +of charity, because I am certain not to be paid, or perhaps even thanked +for my pains. Had it been a rich patient, I should have started readily +enough, and so I will now for my poor one. But as Selim has had +something more than a fair day's work of it, I must even make a walk of +it, and be thankful I've such a good pair of legs to carry me." + +Job had a very good pair of legs, and the consciousness of this gave him +very great satisfaction; and so, having talked himself into a good +humour, and into the mind for his work, and fearing lest pondering too +long over the matter might induce him to change his resolution, he +caught up his hat, and at once prepared to make a start of it; but, in +his haste, he tripped over two or three steps of the stair, and falling +down the remainder, sprained his ankle so badly, as to render his +walking impracticable. Determined, however, not to abandon a duty he had +made up his mind to perform, and having no other horse at his command, +Selim was again saddled, who, even with only an hour's rest and +grooming, looked nearly as fresh as if he had not been out of his stable +for the day. Never was a man more pleased with a horse than Job was with +the noble animal he then bestrode, and deeply did he regret the urgent +necessity which compelled him to part with him. "Had it not been for +that old miserly fellow in there, I might still have kept my poor +Selim," said Job to himself, as he rode by a large mansion at the verge +of the town; "that £100," continued Job, "he obliged me to pay him or +his attorney, for taking away the remnant of my little property, is the +cause of those very embarrassments which compel me to sell this dear +good horse of mine." + +Just as he had so said, an incident occurred which stopped his further +remarks; but, before we mention what this incident was, we must state +what was occurring within this said house at the time Job was in the act +of riding past it. + +The proprietor and occupant of this mansion--one of the best in the +place--was, as our readers may have already suspected, the selfsame old +timber merchant who had dealt so hardly with our friend Job, by taking +advantage of a temporary depreciation in the value of his mortgaged +property to acquire the absolute ownership--well knowing, that, in a +very short time, the premises would fetch at least three times the +amount of what he had advanced upon them; in fact, he sold them for more +than four times that sum in less than six months afterwards: but that is +not the matter we have now to deal with. We must therefore introduce our +readers into one of the front rooms of this mansion, in which its +master, (an elderly person, with the love of money--Satan's sure +mark--deeply stamped upon his ungainly countenance,) was closeted with +his attorney; the latter of whom was in the act of taking the necessary +instructions for making the rich man's will--a kind of job the intended +testator by no means relished, and which no power on earth, save the +intense hatred he bore to the persons upon whom his property would +otherwise devolve, could have forced him to take in hand. + +"'Tis a bitter thing, Mr Grapple," said the monied man, addressing +himself to the attorney, "a bitter thing to give away what one's been +the best part of one's life trying to get together; and not only to +receive nothing in return, but even to have to pay a lawyer for taking +it away." + +"But I'm sure, my good friend, you'll hardly begrudge my two guineas for +this," observed the lawyer--"only think what a capital business I made +in getting you into all Job Vivian's property." + +"Well, but you got a hundred pounds for your trouble, didn't you?" +observed the timber-merchant impatiently. + +"Yes, my dear sir; but none of that came out of your own pocket," +interposed the attorney. + +"And didn't you promise nothing ever should?" rejoined the old man; +"but never mind--business is business--and, when upon business, stick to +the business you're on, that's my rule; so now to proceed--but mind, I +say, them two guineas includes the paper." + +"Oh yes, paper of course!" replied the man of law, "and nothing to pay +for stamps; and this will enable you to dispose of every penny of your +money; and, my dear sir, consider--only for one moment consider your +charities--how they'll make all the folks stare some day or other!" + +"Ay, ay, you're right," said the client, a faint smile for the first +time that day enlivening his iron features. "Folks will stare indeed; +and, besides, 'tis well know'd--indeed the Scripturs says, that charity +do cover a multitude of sins." + +"To be sure they do; and then only think of the name you'll leave behind +to be handed down to posterity. Such munificent bequests nobody +hereabouts ever heard of before." + +"There's a satisfaction in all you say, I confess," observed the +intended donor of all these good gifts; "and who can then say I wasn't +the man to consider the wants of the poor? I always did consider the +poor." So he did, an old scoundrel, and much misery the unhappy +creatures endured in consequence. + +"And then," resumed Mr Grapple, "only consider again the tablets in +which all your pious bequests will be stuck up in letters of gold, just +under the church organ, where they will be read and wondered at, not +only by all the townsfolk for hundreds of years to come, but also by all +the strangers that pass through and come to look at the church." + +"Very satisfactory that--very!" said the intended testator; "but are you +still sure I can't give my land as well as my money in charities?" + +"Only by deed indented, and enrolled within six months after execution, +and to take effect immediately," replied the attorney. + +"By which you mean, I suppose, that I must give it out and out, slap +bang all at once, and pass it right away in the same way as if I sold it +outright?" + +Lawyer Grapple replied in the affirmative; at which information his +client got very red in the face, and exclaimed, with considerable +warmth--"Before I do that, I'd see all the charities in ----" he didn't +say where; and, checking himself suddenly, continued, in a milder +tone--"That is, I could hardly be expected to make so great a sacrifice +as that in my lifetime; so, as I can't dispose of my lands in the way I +wish, I'll tie 'em up from being made away with as long as I can: for +having neither wife, chick, nor child, nor any one living soul as I care +a single farthing about, it's no pleasure to me to leave it to any body; +but howsomever, as relations is in some shape, as the saying is, after a +manner a part of one's own self, I suppose I'd better leave it to one of +they." + +"Your nephew who resides in Mortimer Street, is, I believe, your +heir-at-law?" suggested Mr Grapple. + +"He be blowed!" retorted the timber-merchant, petulantly; "he gave me +the cut t'other day in Lunnun streets, for which I cuts he off with a +shilling. Me make he my heir!--see he doubly hanged first, and wouldn't +do it then." + +The attorney next mentioned another nephew, who had been a major in the +East India Company's service, and was then resident at Southampton. + +"He!" vociferated the uncle, "a proud blockhead; I heerd of his goings +on. He, the son of a hack writer in a lawyer's office! he to be the one, +of all others, to be proposing that all the lawyers and doctors should +be excluded from the public balls! I've a-heerd of his goings on. He +have my property! Why, he'd blush to own who gid it to him. He have it! +No; I'd rather an earthquake swallowed up every acre of it, before a +shovel-full should come to his share." + +"Then your other nephew at Exeter?" observed the attorney. + +"Dead and buried, and so purvided for," said the timber-merchant. + +"I beg your pardon, sir--I had for the moment forgotten that +circumstance; but there's his brother, Mr Montague Potts Beverley, of +Burton Crescent?" + +"Wuss and wuss," interrupted the testy old man. "Me give any thing to an +ungrateful dog like that? Why, I actelly lent he money on nothing but +personal security, to set him up in business; and the devil of a +ha-penny could I ever screw out of him beyond principal and legal +interest at five per cent; and, now he's made his forten, he's ashamed +of the name that made it for him--a mean-spirited, henpecked booby, that +cast his name to the dogs to please a silly wife's vanity. He have my +property! I rather calculate not! And so, having disposed of all they, I +think I'll leave my estates to some of brother Thomas's sons. Now, +Grapple, mind me; this is how I'll have it go. In the first place, +intail it on my nephew Thomas, that's the tailor in Regent Street, who, +they says, is worth some thousands already; so what I intends to give +him, will come in nicely;--failing he and his issue, then intail it on +Bill--you knows Bill--he comes here sometimes--travels for a house in +the button line;--failing he and his issue, then upon Bob the letenant +in the navy; he's at sea now, though I be hanged if I know the name of +the ship he belongs to." + +Mr Grapple observed that this was unimportant, and then asked if he +should insert the names of any other persons. + +"I don't know, really, or very much care whether you does or not," +replied the timber-merchant. "My late brother Charles," he continued, +"left three sons; but what's become of they all, or whether they be dead +or alive, any of them, I can hardly tell, nor does it very much signify; +for they were a set of extravagant, low-lived, drunken fellows, every +one of them, and not very likely to mend either." + +"Then, perhaps you'd rather your heirs at-law should take?" remarked the +attorney. + +"No, I'll be hanged if I should!" answered the vender of deals and +mahogany; "so put in all brother Charles's sons, one after t'other, in +the same manner as they before--let me see, what's their names? Oh, +George first, then Robert, and then Richard, and that's the whole of +they." + +"I believe, sir," said the attorney, "before I can do so, I must beg the +favour of a candle, for it's growing so dark I am unable to see what I +write." + +"Then come nigher to the winder," said the testator, pushing forward the +table in that direction--"Hallo!" he exclaimed, "what can all this yer +row and bustle be about outside?"--and, looking into the street, he +discovered poor Selim lying prostrate in the middle of the road, from +whence some persons were raising up Job himself, who was stunned and +bleeding from the violence of his fall. A young lad had accidentally +driven his hoop between the horse's legs, which threw the unlucky animal +with such violence to the ground as to fracture one of its fore-legs, +and inflict several other dreadful injuries, far beyond all power or +hope of cure. But the man of wealth contemplated the passing scene with +that species of complacent satisfaction, with which men like-minded with +himself are ever found to regard the misfortunes of others, when they +themselves can by no possibility be prejudiced thereby. This selfish old +villain, therefore, instead of evincing any sympathy, was highly amused +at what was going on, and every now and then passed some remark or other +indicative of those feelings, of which the following, amongst others, +afford a pretty fair specimen:-- + +"Well," he said, "pride they say must have a fall, and a fine fall we've +had here to be sure. Well, who'd a-thought it? But what I say is, that +for a man that can't pay his way as he goes--and his twenty shillings in +the pound whenever he's called upon for it--what I mean to say is, if a +fellow like he will ride so fine a horse, why, it serves him parfectly +right if he gets his neck broke. Oh, then, I see your neck ar'n't broke +this time, after all! Getting better, b'aint you?--pity, isn't it? Oh +dear! what can the matter be? I'll be hanged if he isn't a-crying like a +babbey that's broke his pretty toy. Ay, my master, cry your eyes out, +stamp and whop your head--'twont mend matters, I promise ye. Clear case +of total loss, and no insurance to look to, eh! And that's the chap as +had the himpudence but t'other day to call me a hard-hearted old +blackguard, and that before our whole board of guardians, too--just +because I proposed doctoring the paupers by tender, and that the lowest +tender should carry the day--a plan that would hactelly have saved the +parish pounds and pounds; and he--that blubbering fellow +there--hactelly, as I was a-saying, called me a hard-hearted old +blackguard for proposing it. Oh! I see; here comes Timson the butcher, +what next then? Oh! just as I expected--it's a done job with my nag, I +see. Steady, John Donnithorne, and hold down his head. Come, Timson, my +good man--come, bear a hand, and whip the knife into the throat of +un--skilfully done, wasn't it, doctor? Oh dear! can't bear the sight; +too much for the doctor's nerves. Ay--well, that's a good one--that's +right; turn away your head and pipe your eye, my dear, I dare say it +will do ye good. It does me, I know--he! he! he! Hallo! what have we +here--is it a horse or is it a jackass? Well, I'm sure here's a +come-down with a vengeance--a broken-knee'd, spavined jade of a pony, +that's hardly fit for carrion. Oh! it's yours, Master Sweep, I s'pose. +Ay, that's the kind of nag the doctor ought to ride; clap on the saddle, +my boys--that's your sort; just as it should be. No, you can't look that +way, can't ye? Well, then, mount and be off with ye--that's right; off +you goes, and if you gets back again without a shy-off, it's a pity." +And the hard-hearted old sinner laughed to that degree, that the tears +ran down in streams over his deeply-furrowed countenance. + + +CHAPTER IX. + +The two years that followed Job's untoward accident, instead of mending +his fortunes, had only added to his embarrassments--all owing to his +being just a hundred pounds behind the mark, which, as he often said, +the price he could have obtained for poor Selim would have effectually +prevented. His circumstances daily grew worse and worse, and at last +became so desperate, that this patient and amiable couple were almost +driven to their wits' end. Creditors, becoming impatient, at last +resorted to legal remedies to recover their demands, until all his +furniture was taken possession of under judicial process, which, being +insufficient to discharge one half the debts for which judgments had +been signed against him, he had no better prospect before his eyes than +exchanging the bare walls of his present abode for the still more gloomy +confines of a debtor's prison. + +He had striven hard, but in vain, to bear all these trials with +fortitude; and even poor Jessie--she who had hitherto never repined at +the hardness of her lot, and who, to cheer her husband's drooping +spirits, had worn a cheerful smile upon her countenance, whilst a load +of sorrow pressed heavily upon her heart--even she now looked pale and +sad, as with an anxious eye she stood by and watched poor Job, leaning +with his back against the wall in an up-stairs room, now devoid of every +article of furniture. And there he had been for hours, completely +overcome by the accumulation of woes he saw no loophole to escape from; +whilst his two little girls, terrified at the desolate appearance of +every thing around them, and at the unusual agitation of their parents, +were crouched together in a corner, fast grasped together, as if for +mutual protection, in each other's arms. + +Not a morsel of food had that day passed the lips of any member of that +unhappy family, and every moveable belonging to the house had been taken +away at an early hour in the morning; so that nothing but the bare walls +were left for shelter, and hard boards for them to lie upon. Often had +poor Jessie essayed to speak some words of comfort to her husband's ear; +but even these, which had never before failed, were no longer at her +command; for when some cheering thought suggested itself, a choking +sensation in her throat deprived her of the power of uttering it. At +length a loud single rap at the street door caused Job to start, whilst +a hectic flush passed over his pale cheek, and a violent tremor shook +his frame, as the dread thought of a prison occurred to him. + +"Don't be alarmed, my dearest," said his wife, "it's only some people +with something or other to sell; I dare say they'll go away again when +they find that no one answers the door." + +"It's a beggar," said one of the children, who, hearing the sound, had +looked out of the window; "poor man, he looks miserably cold! I wish +we'd something to give him." + +"Beggar, did the child say?" demanded Job, gazing wildly round the room. +"Beggar!" he repeated. "And what are we all but beggars? Are we not +stripped of every thing? Are we not actually starving for want of the +daily bread that I have toiled so hard for, and prayed unceasingly to +heaven to afford us; whilst those who never use their Maker's name +except in terms of blasphemy, have loads of affluence heaped into their +laps. Oh! it's enough to make one doubt"---- + +"Oh, no, no, no! don't, for the love you bear me--don't utter those +awful words!" cried out Jessie, rushing upon her husband, and throwing +her arms around his neck. "As you love me, don't repine at the will of +heaven, however hard our trials may seem now to bear on us. I can endure +all but this. Let us hope still. We have all of us health and strength; +and we have many friends who, if they were only aware of the extent of +our distress, would be sure to relieve us. There's your good friend Mr +Smith, he most probably will return from London to-morrow; and you know, +in his letter, he told you to keep up your spirits, for that there was +yet good-luck in store for you; and I am sure you must have thought so +then, or you never would have returned him the money he so kindly +remitted us. So, don't be cast down in almost your first hour of trial; +we shall be happy yet--I know we shall; let us then still put our trust +in God. Don't answer me, my dear Job--don't answer me; I know how much +you are excited, and that you are not now yourself; for my sake, for our +dear children's sake, try to be tranquil but for to-night; and let us +yet hope that there is some comfort yet in store for us on the morrow." + +"I will strive to, my dearest Jessie," he replied. "I'll not add another +drop of bitterness to your cup of sorrow, because I am unable to relieve +you from it.--But hark! what's this coming, and stopping here too?--what +can be the meaning of this?" + +Just as he uttered these last words the sound of carriage-wheels was +heard rapidly approaching, and a post-chaise drew up in front of the +house. Job trembled violently, and leant upon his wife for support, +whilst a thundering rap was heard at the door; the children both rushed +to the window; and one of them, to the great relief of their parents, +exclaimed, "Oh! my dear papa! Mr Smith's come, and he's looking up here +smiling so good-naturedly; he looks as if he was just come off a +journey, and he's beckoning me to come down and let him in." + +"God be praised!" exclaimed Jessie; "I told you, my dear Job, that +relief was near at hand, and here it comes in the person of your +excellent friend;" and she darted out of the room, and hurried down the +stairs to admit the welcome visitor. Jessie soon returned with Mr Smith, +a handsome gentlemanly-looking man, who ran forward with extended hands +to his disconsolate friend, whom he greeted in so kind a manner, and +with a countenance so merry and happy, that the very look of it seemed +enough to impart some spirit of consolation even to a breaking heart--at +any rate it did to Job's. "My dear fellow!" exclaimed the welcome +visitor, "how on earth did you allow things to come to this pass without +even hinting any thing of the kind to me? I never heard it till the day +I left town. How could you return me the remittance I sent you, which +should have been ten times as much had I known the full extent of your +wants? But enough of this now; we won't waste time in regrets for the +past, and as for the future, leave that to me. I'll soon set things all +straight and smooth again for you. And now, my dear Mrs Vivian," added +he, addressing himself to Jessie, "do you go and do as you promised." + +Jessie smiled assent, and, looking quite happy again, she took her two +daughters by the hand and led them out of the room. + +"But, my dear Smith," said Job, as soon as the two friends were alone, +"you can have no idea how deeply I am involved. I can tax your +generosity no further--even what you have already done for me, I can +never repay." + +"Nor do I intend you ever shall," rejoined the worthy attorney--for +such was Mr Smith--"particularly," he added, "as there's a certain debt +I owe you, which I neither can nor will repay, and that I candidly tell +you." + +"Indeed! what do you mean?" asked Job, looking very puzzled; "I'm rather +dull of apprehension to-day." And verily he was so, for his troubles had +wellnigh driven him mad. + +"My life, Job, that's all," replied the attorney; "_that_ I owe to you, +and can't repay you--and won't either, that's more. Had it not been for +your skill," he added in a graver tone, "and the firmness you displayed +in resolutely opposing the treatment those two blackguards, Dunderhead +and Quackem, wished to adopt in my case, I must have died a most +distressing and painful death, and my poor wife and children would have +been left perfectly destitute." + +The consciousness of the truth of this grateful remark infused a +cheering glow to Job's broken spirit, and even raised a faint smile upon +his care-worn countenance; which his visitor perceiving, went on to say, +"And now, my good doctor, owing you so deep a debt of gratitude as I do, +make your mind easy about the past; what you've had from me is a mere +trifle. Why, my good fellow, I'm not the poor unhappy dog I was when you +told me never to mind when I paid you. I'm now getting on in the world, +and shall fancy by and by that I'm getting rich; and, what's more, I +expect soon to see my friend Job Vivian in circumstances so much more +thriving than my own, that if I didn't know him to be one of the +sincerest fellows in the world, and one whom no prosperity could spoil, +I should begin to fear he might be ashamed to acknowledge his old +acquaintance." + +The good-natured attorney had proved more of a Job's comforter in the +literal sense of the term, than he had intended; in fact he had overdone +it--the picture was too highly coloured to appear natural, and at once +threw back poor Job upon a full view of all his troubles, which Mr Smith +perceiving, mildly resumed, "I'm not surprised, my good fellow, at your +being excited, from the violent shock your feelings must have sustained; +but you may rest assured--mind I speak confidently, and will vouch for +the truth of what I'm going to say--when I tell you that the worst of +your troubles are past, and that, before the week is out, you will be +going on all right again; but really you are so much depressed now, that +I'm afraid to encourage you too much; for I believe you doctors consider +that too sudden a transition from grief to joy often produces dangerous, +and sometimes even fatal, consequences?" + +"It's a death I stand in no dread of dying," said Job with a melancholy +smile. + +"You don't know your danger perhaps," interposed the attorney; "but at +the same time you sha'n't die through my means; so, if I had even a +berth in store for you that I thought might better your condition, I +wouldn't now venture to name it to you." + +"It might be almost dangerous," said Job; "any thing that would procure +the humblest fare, clothing, and shelter, for myself and family, would +confer a degree of happiness far beyond my expectation." + +"Why, if you are so easily satisfied," rejoined the attorney, "I think I +can venture to say, that these, at least, may be obtained for you +forthwith; but come, here's the chaise returned again, which has just +taken your good little wife and children to my house, where they're all +now expecting us. In fact, I haven't yet crossed my own threshold, for I +picked up my old woman as I came along, and she has taken your folks +back with her; so come along, Job, we'll talk matters over after +dinner--come along, my dear fellow--come along, come along." + +Job suffered himself to be led away, hardly knowing what he was about, +or what was going on, until he found himself seated in the post-chaise; +which, almost before he had time to collect his scattered ideas, drew up +at the attorney's door. Here he met his Jessie, her handsome and +expressive countenance again radiant with smiles; for in that short +interval she had heard enough to satisfy her mind that better times were +approaching, and her only remaining anxiety was on poor Job's account, +who seemed so stunned by the heavy blow of misfortune, as to appear more +like one wandering in a dream than a man in his right senses. But a +change of scene, and that the pleasing one of a comfortable family +dinner, with sincere friends, effected a wonderful alteration; and the +ladies withdrawing early, in order that the gentlemen might talk over +their business together, Mr Smith at once entered into the subject, by +telling Job that he thought he could, as he had before hinted, put him +into a way of bettering his condition. + +"I trust you may be able to do so," replied Job; "I'm sure there's no +labour I would shrink from, could I attain so desirable an object." + +"But you mistake me there," interrupted the attorney; "I don't mean to +better your condition by making you work yourself to death--far from it; +your labours shall be but light, and your time pretty much at your +command; but you'll want, perhaps, a little money to begin with." + +"And where, in the world, am I to procure it?" asked Job. + +"You might raise it upon the interest you take in the landed property +under the old timber-merchant's will," observed the attorney. + +"You can hardly be serious, my dear Smith," replied Job; "why, the old +fellow--God forgive him as freely as I do--merely put in my name with a +bequest of a shilling, to bring me better luck, as a poor insult upon my +misfortunes. And as to his mentioning my name in connexion with his +landed property, which I was to take after the failure of issue of at +least half a dozen other people--you yourself told me was only put in to +show his nearest heirs, that rather than his property should descend +upon them, they should go to the person--Heaven help the man!--he was +pleased to call his greatest enemy, and that my chance of ever +succeeding to the property wasn't worth twopence." + +"Whatever his motive was is immaterial now," interposed Mr Smith; "and +since I expressed the opinion you allude to, so many of the previous +takers have died off, that I have no hesitation in saying that your +interest is worth money now, and that, if you wished it, I could insure +you a purchaser." + +"Oh, then, sell it by all means!" exclaimed Job. + +"Not quite so fast, my friend," answered the attorney; "before you think +of selling, would it not be prudent to ascertain the value, which +depends in a great measure on the number of preceding estates that have +determined since the testator's decease." + +"Of course it must," rejoined Job; "but any thing I could obtain from +that quarter I should esteem a gain. I've lost enough from it in all +conscience; in fact, the old man's harsh proceedings towards me were the +foundation of all my subsequent difficulties. The old fellow did, +indeed, boast to the clergyman who visited him in his last illness, that +he had made me ample amends in his will for any injustice he might have +done me in his lifetime, and that his mind was quite easy upon that +score; and I'm sure mine will be, when I find that I actually can gain +something by him." + +"Then listen to me patiently, and I'll tell you just what you'll gain; +but first help yourself, and pass me the wine. You'll gain a larger +amount than you would guess at, if you were to try for a week. Much more +than sufficient to pay every one of your creditors their full twenty +shillings in the pound." + +"Will it indeed?" exclaimed Job; "then may God forgive me as one of the +most ungrateful of sinners, who had almost begun to think that the +Almighty had deserted him." + +"Forgive you, to be sure," said the kind-hearted lawyer; "why, even your +holy namesake, the very pattern of patient resignation, would grumble a +bit now and then, when his troubles pinched him in a particularly sore +place. So take another glass whilst I proceed with our subject: and so +you see, doctor, your debts are paid--that's settled. Hold your tongue, +Job; don't interrupt me, and drink your wine; that's good port, isn't +it? the best thing in the world for your complaint. Well, then, all this +may be done without selling your chance outright; and in case you should +want to do so, lest you should part with it too cheaply, we'll just see +how many of the preceding estates have already determined. First, the +testator himself must be disposed of; he died, as we all know, and +nobody sorry, within six weeks after he had made his will. Then the +tailor in Regent Street, he had scarcely succeeded to the property when +he suddenly dropped down dead in his own shop. His son and heir, and +only child, before he had enjoyed the property six months, wishing to +acquire some fashionable notoriety, purposely got into a quarrel with a +profligate young nobleman well known about town, who killed him in a +duel the next morning. The traveller in the button line, on whom the +property next devolved, was in a bad state of health when he succeeded +to it, and died a bachelor about three months since; and his brother, +the lieutenant, who was also unmarried, had died of a fever on the coast +of Africa some time before; so that you see your chance seems to be +bettered at least one half, in the course of little more than a couple +of twelvemonths." + +"So it has, indeed," said Job; "but who, with the other three remainder +men, as you call them, and their issue in the way, would give any thing +for my poor chance?" + +"But suppose," resumed Mr Smith, "the other three should happen to die, +and leave no issue." + +"That's a species of luck not very likely to fall to my lot," replied +Job. + +"Then I must at once convince you of your error," rejoined Mr Smith; +"and, so to cut short what I've been making a very long story of--the +remaining three of the testator's nephews, upon whom the property was +settled, not one of whom was ever married, got drunk together at a +white-bait dinner at Greenwich, which their elder brother gave to +celebrate his accession to the property, and, returning towards town in +that state in a wherry, they managed between them to upset the boat, and +were all drowned. That I've ascertained--such, in fact, being my sole +business in town; and now, my dear Job, let me congratulate you on being +the proprietor of at least five thousand a-year." + +AND SO HE WAS! + +"And thus you see," said the squire, in whose own words we conclude the +tale--"the being dispossessed of his houses, and the loss of his +valuable horse, to which he attributed all his misfortunes, in the end +proved the source of his greatest gain; and now, throughout the whole +length and breadth of the land, I don't think you'll find two persons +better satisfied with their lot than Job and his little wife Jessie, +notwithstanding the timber-merchant made it a condition, that if Job +Vivian should ever succeed to his property, he should take the +testator's surname of Potts--not a pretty one, I confess--and thus Job +Vivian, surgeon, apothecary, &c., has become metamorphosed into the Job +Vivian Potts, Esquire, who has now the honour to address you. His worthy +friend, Smith--now, alas! no more--who, like my self, was induced to +change his name, was Mr Vernon Wycherley's father. I told you, my dear +sir, before, how valued a friend your late father was of mine, and how +much I stood indebted to him; but this is the first time I have made you +acquainted with any of the particulars, and now I fear I've tired you +with my tedious narration." + +"Indeed you have not!" exclaimed both the young men, whilst Vernon +added, that he only regretted not knowing who the parties were during +the progress of the tale, which, had he done, he should have listened to +it with redoubled interest; for who amongst the thousands of Smiths +dispersed about the land, though he had once a father of the name, could +be expected to recognise him as part hero of a tale he had never heard +him allude to; "but pray tell me," he added, "about the poor girl you +went to see at the time the accident occurred to your horse? Did she +ever recover?" + +"No," replied the squire, "she died within a few days afterwards. In +fact, as I believe I before stated, I knew she was past all hope of +recovery at the time I set off to visit her." + +"And the little broken-knee'd and spavined pony you were compelled to +borrow--do pray tell us how he carried you?" interposed Frank, looking +as demure and innocent as possible. + +"Badly, very badly, indeed!" replied the squire; "for the sorry brute +stumbled at nearly every third step, and at last tumbling down in real +earnest, threw me sprawling headlong into the mud; and then favoured me +with a sight of his heels, with the prospect of a couple of miles before +me to hobble home through the rain." + + +CHAPTER X. + +Frank Trevelyan, one morning on opening his eyes, was surprised to +discover his friend, Mr Vernon Wycherley, (whose lameness was by this +time sufficiently amended to permit him to move about with the aid of a +stick,) sitting half dressed by his bedside--a very cool attire for so +chill a morning, and looking very cold and miserable. + +"Hallo! old fellow, what on earth brought you here at this time of day?" +asked Frank. "The first morning visit, I believe, you've honoured me +with since we took up our quarters in this neighbourhood." + +"I'm very wretched," said the poet in a faltering tone--"very unhappy." + +"Unhappy!" reiterated Frank; "why, what on earth have you to make you +so, unless it be the apprehension that you may jump out of your skin for +joy at your splendid prospects! Unhappy indeed!--the notion's too absurd +to obtain a moment's credit." + +"Can a man suffering under a hopeless attachment for an object too pure +almost to tread the earth--can a man, whose affections are set upon an +unattainable object, be otherwise than unhappy?" asked Vernon in a +solemn tone, no bad imitation of Macready; indeed the speaker, whilst +uttering these sentiments, thought it sounded very like it; for he had +often seen that eminent tragedian, and greatly admired his style of +acting. + +"But how have you ascertained that the object is so unattainable?" +demanded Frank. "Come now--have you ever yet asked the young lady the +question?" + +"Asked her!" repeated Vernon, perfectly amazed that his friend could +have supposed such a thing possible--"How could I presume that so +angelic a creature would love such a fellow as me--or, even supposing +such a thing were possible, what would our good friend the squire say to +my ingratitude for his great kindness; and to my presumption--a mere +younger son without a profession, and scarcely a hundred pounds a-year +to call his own, to think of proposing to one of his daughters, who +would be an honour to the noblest and richest peer of the realm?" + +"Well, well, Vernon--one thing first--and you shall have my answers to +all. First, then, as to the fair lady liking you--that I must say, +judging from your looks, is what no one would have thought a very +probable circumstance; but then your poetical talents must be taken into +calculation." + +"Oh, don't mention them!" said Vernon. "Worse than good-for-nothing. +_She_ esteems such talents very lightly, and I shall even lose the small +solace to my sorrows I had hoped they would have afforded me. Even this +sad consolation is denied me. My Mary is indifferent to poetry--she +holds sonnets upon hopeless love in utter contempt--entertains no higher +opinion of the writers of them--and considers publishing any thing of +the kind as a downright ungentlemanly act; bringing, as she says it +does, a lady's name before the public in the most indelicate and +unwarrantable manner." + +"But is she really serious in these sentiments?" asked Frank. Oh, Frank, +Frank, you're a sad fellow to pump and roast your friend in this way! + +"Serious," repeated Vernon, and looking very so himself, "serious--ah! +indeed she is--and expressed herself with more warmth upon the subject +than I could have supposed a being so mild and amiable was capable of." + +"But how came all this?" asked Frank--"what were you talking about that +could have caused her to make these remarks?" and this he said in a very +grave and quiet tone of voice, trying to entrap his poetic friend into +telling him much more than the latter was inclined to do, who, +therefore, declined entering more fully into the subject. + +"Then, if you won't tell me, I have still the privilege of guessing," +rejoined Frank; "and now I've found you out, Master Vernon; you've been +attempting acrostics after the Petrarch style[15]--a style in which she +didn't approve of being held forth to the admiring notice of the present +and future generations. Vernon blushed to the very tips of his fingers, +and averted his head that his friend might not perceive how very foolish +he was looking, whilst the latter continued--"Very pretty stanzas, I've +no doubt. How nice they would have come out in a neat little 12mo, price +2s. 6d., boards. Let me see--M--O--L, Mol--that's three; L--Y, ly--two +more, makes Molly; and three and two make five. P--O double T--S, +Potts--that's five more, and five and five make ten. But then that's a +couple of letters too many. Petrarch's Lauretta, you know, only made +eight. Yet, after all, if you liked it, you might leave out the Y and +the S at the end of each name, without at all exceeding the usual +poetical license. Let me see, M--O double L, Moll; P--O double T, +Pott--Moll Pott; or you might retain the Y and leave out the last +T--S--or you might"-- + +Vernon could bear no more; and having risen abruptly with the intention +of making a bolt of it, was in the act of hobbling out of the room as +fast as his lameness would allow him, when Frank entreated him to stay +but one minute; promising to spare his jokes, for that he really wished +to speak seriously with him; and, having succeeded in pacifying the +enraged poet, proceeded to ask him what he actually intended doing. + +"To leave this either to-day or to-morrow," replied Vernon in a +tremulous voice, and with a quivering lip. + +"But not without breaking your mind to your lady love?" + +"Why, alas! should I do so--why pain her by confessing to her my unhappy +attachment, which I know it is hopeless to expect her to return." + +"I'll be hanged," said Frank, "if I think you know any thing at all +about the matter." + +"Not know, indeed! How, alas! could any one suppose that an angelic +creature like her could love me?" + +"Not many, I grant; but then, as old Captain Growler used to say--never +be astonished at any thing a woman does in that way-- + + 'Pan may win where Phoebus woos in vain.' + +And so the lovely Miss Moll--I beg your pardon, Mary, I mean--may in +like manner, do so differently from what any one could have suspected, +as to be induced at last to listen to her Vernon's tale of love." + +The lover here alluded to hardly knew whether to treat the matter as a +joke or to get very angry; and so he did neither, whilst Frank went +on--"I'm sure you needn't despair either, as far as looks go. There's +pretty, smiling, little Bessie--in my opinion the prettiest girl of the +two"--Vernon shook his head with mournful impatience--"Well, you think +yours prettiest, and I'll think mine," continued Frank; "that's just as +it should be; and as I was about to say, if the lovely Bessie can smile +upon your humble servant when he talked of love, I don't see why her +sister might not be induced to smile upon his companion if he did the +like." + +"How! what? Why, you surely don't mean to say that you've told Miss +Bessie that you love her?" + +"Yes, I do," replied Frank. "I told her so yesterday afternoon as we +walked home from church, behind the rest of the party, across the +fields. Thought I wouldn't do it then either, as there were so many +people about--never said a word about the matter over two fields--helped +her over the stiles, too, and talked--no, I be hanged if I think we said +a word, either of us--till as I was helping her to jump down the third, +out it bounced, all of a sudden." + +"And what did you say?" asked Wycherley. + +"Catch a weasel asleep, Mr Vernon," was Frank's reply. + +"But the squire, how will you manage with him, do you suppose?" + +"Managed with him already," replied Frank; "settled every thing last +night over a glass of port, after you'd bundled your lazy carcass off to +bed. That is, one glass didn't quite complete the business, for it took +two or three to get my courage up to concert pitch. Then another or two +to discuss the matter--and then a bumper to drink success--and then +another glass"-- + +"Another!" interrupted Vernon; "why, you little drunken rascal, what +pretext could you have for that?" + +"I've a great mind not to tell you for your rude question," resumed +Frank laughing; "but never mind, old fellow, you've borne a great deal +from me before now, and there's probably more in store for you yet; so +without further preamble I'll at once answer your question, by informing +you that the pretext for my last glass was to wet a dry discourse about +the affairs of one Mr Vernon Wycherley. Now, hold your tongue, and don't +interrupt me, or swallow me either, which you appear to be meditating. +And so the squire asked me if I had known him long, and about his +principles, religious and moral; his worldly prospects, and so forth. To +all of which I replied by stating, that, with the exception of being +addicted to flirting a little with the Muses, which old women might +consider as only one step removed from absolute profligacy, he was a +well-disposed young man, and would doubtless grow wiser as he increased +in years; but that his fortune was very limited, and that all his +expectations in that way wouldn't fill a nutshell." + +"Ah, there's the rub!" interposed Vernon; "how can a poor fellow with my +small pittance pretend to aspire to the hand of one with such splendid +expectations? My poverty, as I've long foreseen, must mar my every hope, +even if every other obstacle could be removed." + +"I don't see that exactly," rejoined Frank; "for, when I told the squire +what your circumstances actually were, and that you had managed to live +creditably upon your small income without getting into debt, he said, if +your head wasn't crammed so confoundedly full of poetical nonsense, +which set you always hunting after shadows, instead of grasping +substances, he should be exceedingly rejoiced to have you for a +son-in-law. So, if you could make up your mind to relinquish your love +for writing poetry"-- + +"The poetry be hanged!" interrupted Vernon with considerable vehemence. +"I'll cast it to the dogs--the winds--send it to Halifax, Jericho, any +where. Oh! my dear Frank, what a happy fellow you've made me!" + +"Which just finished the bottle," continued Frank; "and I find that +somehow or other I've got a precious headach this morning. I wonder how +the squire feels to-day. Will you Vernon, that's a good fellow, give me +a glass of water?" + +"There's nothing on earth I wouldn't give you now, my dear Frank, except +my dear Mary; but do you think she will ever consent?" + +"Yes, to be sure she will," answered Frank. "I know she will, and that +she is by no means best pleased at your hanging fire so long. I know +this to be the fact, though I mustn't tell you how, why, or wherefore; +but if you don't propose soon she'll consider you are acting neither +fairly nor honourably to her." + +"I'll do the deed to-day," said Vernon resolutely. + +And so he did. + + * * * * * + +A very few months more had passed away, before our two heroes were on +the same day united to the fair objects of their choice; and the +generous old squire settled a handsome sum upon them both, sufficient to +supply them with all the essential comforts of life. + +"And now, friend Frank," said Vernon Wycherley, "I believe, after all, +you will make a convert of me; for I find that the attachment I had +indulged in, until despair of obtaining the loved object made me fancy +myself the most miserable wretch alive, and that I had incurred the +worst evil that could have befallen me, has made me the happiest of +mankind, and has indeed turned out to be ALL FOR THE BEST; nor can I +think of my blundering fall into the lead shaft in any other light; as, +but for that accident, I should probably never have formed the +acquaintance to which I owe all my good fortune." + +"Then, for the future," said the worthy squire, "let us put all our +trust in Heaven, and rest assured that whatever may be the will of +Providence, IT'S ALL FOR THE BEST." + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 12: _Cornice_--"him."] + +[Footnote 13: "Put"--_Cornice_--to take or carry.] + +[Footnote 14: Cleverly.] + +[Footnote 15: Commencing each line with a letter of the loved one's +name.] + + + + +THE ROMAN CAMPAGNA. + + +There is no district in Europe which is more remarkable, or has more +strongly impressed the minds of men in modern times, than the ROMAN +CAMPAGNA. Independent of the indelible associations with which it is +connected, and the glorious deeds of which it has been the theatre, its +appearance produces an extraordinary impression on the mind of the +beholder. All is silent; the earth seems struck with +sterility--desolation reigns in every direction. A space extending from +Otricoli to Terracina, above sixty miles in length, and on an average +twenty in breadth, between the Apennines and the sea, containing nearly +four thousand square miles, in the finest part of Italy, does not +maintain a single peasant.[16] A few tombs lining the great roads which +issued from the forum of Rome to penetrate to the remotest parts of +their immense empire; the gigantic remains of aqueducts striding across +the plain, which once brought, and some of which still bring, the +pellucid fountains of the Apennines to the Eternal City, alone attest +the former presence of man. Nothing bespeaks his present existence. Not +a field is ploughed, not a blade of corn grows, hardly a house is to be +seen, in this immense and dreary expanse. On entering it, you feel as if +you were suddenly transported from the garden of Europe to the wilds of +Tartary. Shepherds armed with long lances, as on the steppes of the Don, +and mounted on small and hardy horses, alone are occasionally seen +following, or searching in the wilds for the herds of savage buffaloes +and cattle which pasture the district. The few living beings to be met +with at the post-houses, have the squalid melancholy look which attests +permanent wretchedness, and the ravages of an unhealthy atmosphere. + +But though the curse of Providence seems to have fallen on the land, so +far as the human race is concerned, it is otherwise with the power of +physical nature. Vegetation yearly springs up with undiminished vigour. +It is undecayed since the days of Cincinnatus and the Sabine farm. Every +spring the expanse is covered with a carpet of flowers, which enamel the +turf and conceal the earth with a profusion of varied beauty. So rich is +the herbage which springs up with the alternate heats and rains of +summer, that it becomes in most places rank, and the enormous herds +which wander over the expanse are unable to keep it down. In autumn this +rich grass becomes russet-brown, and a melancholy hue clothes the slopes +which environ the Eternal City. The Alban Mount, when seen from a +distance, clothed as it is with forests, vineyards, and villas, +resembles a green island rising out of a sombre waste of waters. In the +Pontine marshes, where the air is so poisonous in the warm months that +it is dangerous, and felt as oppressive even by the passing traveller, +the prolific powers of nature are still more remarkable. Vegetation +there springs up with the rapidity, and flourishes with the luxuriance, +of tropical climates. Tall reeds, in which the buffaloes are hid, in +which a rhinoceros might lie concealed, spring up in the numerous pools +or deep ditches with which the dreary flat surface is sprinkled. Wild +grapes of extraordinary fecundity grow in the woods, and ascend in +luxuriant clusters to the tops of the tallest trees. Nearer the sea, a +band of noble chestnuts and evergreen oaks attests the riches of the +soil, which is capable of producing such magnificent specimens of +vegetable life; and over the whole plain the extraordinary richness of +the herbage, and luxuriance of the aquatic plants, bespeaks a region +which, if subjected to a proper culture and improvement, would, like the +Delta of Egypt, reward eighty and an hundred fold the labours of the +husbandman. + +It was not thus in former times. The Campagna now so desolate, the +Pontine marshes now so lonely, were then covered with inhabitants. Veiæ, +long the rival of Rome, and which was only taken after a siege as +protracted as that of Troy by Camillus at the head of fifty thousand +men, stood only ten miles from the Capitol. The Pontine marshes were +inhabited by thirty nations. The freehold of Cincinnatus, the Sabine +farm, stood in the now desolate plain at the foot of the Alban Mount. So +rich were the harvests, so great the agricultural booty to be gathered +in the plains around Rome, that for two hundred years after the +foundation of the city, it was the great object of their foreign wars to +gain possession of it, and on that account they were generally begun in +autumn. Montesquieu has observed, that it was the long and desperate +wars which the Romans carried on for three centuries with the Sabines, +Latines, Veientes, and other people in their neighbourhood, which by +slow degrees gave them the hardihood and discipline which enabled them +afterwards to subdue the world. The East was an easy conquest, the Gauls +themselves could be repelled, Hannibal in the end overcome, after the +tribes of Latium had been vanquished. But the district in which the +hardy races dwelt, who so long repelled, and maintained a doubtful +conflict with the future masters of the world, is now a desert. It could +not in its whole extent furnish men to fill a Roman cohort. Rome has +emerged from its long decay after the fall of the Western Empire; the +terrors of the Vatican, the shrine of St Peter, have again attracted the +world to the Eternal City; and the most august edifice ever raised by +the hands of man to the purposes of religion, has been reared within its +walls. But the desolate Campagna is still unchanged. + +Novelists and romance-writers have for centuries exhausted their +imaginative and descriptive powers in developing the feelings which this +extraordinary phenomenon, in the midst of the classic land of Italy, +awakens. They have spoken of desolation as the fitting shroud of +departed greatness; of the mournful feelings which arise on approaching +the seat of lost empire; of the shades of the dead alone tenanting the +scene of so much glory. Such reflections arise unbidden in the mind; the +most unlettered traveller is struck with the melancholy impression. An +eloquent Italian has described this striking spectacle:--"A vast +solitude, stretching for miles, as far as the eye can reach. No shelter, +no resting-place, no defence for the wearied traveller; a dead silence, +interrupted only by the sound of the wind which sweeps over the plain, +or the trickling of a natural fountain by the wayside; not a cottage nor +the curling of smoke to be seen; only here and there a cross on a +projecting eminence to mark the spot of a murder; and all this in gentle +slopes, dry and fertile plains, and up to the gates of great city."[17] +The sight of the long lines of ruined aqueducts traversing the deserted +Campagna, of the tombs scattered along the lines of the ancient +_chaussées_ across its dreary expanse, of the dome of St Peter's alone +rising in solitary majesty over its lonely hills, forcibly impress the +mind, and produce an impression which no subsequent events or lapse of +time are able to efface. At this moment the features of the scene, the +impression it produces, are as present to the mind of the writer as when +they were first seen thirty years ago. + +But striking as these impressions are, the Roman Campagna is fraught +with instruction of a more valuable kind. It stands there, not only a +monument of the past, but a beacon for the future. It is fraught with +instruction, not only to the ancient but the modern world. The most +valuable lessons of political wisdom which antiquity has bequeathed to +modern times, are to be gathered amidst its solitary ruins. + +In investigating the causes of this extraordinary desolation of a +district, in ancient times the theatre of such busy industry, and which, +for centuries, maintained so great and flourishing a rural population, +there are several observations to be made on the principle, as logicians +call it, of _exclusion_, in order to clear the ground before the real +cause is arrived at. + +The first of these is, that the causes, whatever they are, which +produced the desolation of the Campagna, had begun to operate, and their +blasting effect was felt, in _ancient_ times, and long before a single +squadron of the barbarians had crossed the Alps. In fact, the Campagna +was a scene of active agricultural industry only so long as Rome was +contending with its redoubtable Italian neighbours--the Latins, the +Etruscans, the Samnites, and the Cisalpine Gauls. From the time that, by +the conquest of Carthage, they obtained the mastery of the shore of the +Mediterranean, _agriculture_ in the neighbourhood of Rome began to +decline. Pasturage was found to be a more profitable employment of +estates; and the vast supplies of grain, required for the support of the +citizens of Rome, were obtained by importation from Lybia and Egypt, +where they could be raised at a less expense. "At, Hercule," says +Tacitus, "olim ex Italia legionibus longinquas in provincias commeatus +portabantur; _nec nunc infecunditate laboratur: sed Africam potius et +Egyptum exercemus, navibusque et casibus vita populi Romani permissa +est_."[18] The expense of cultivating grain in a district where +provisions and wages were high because money was plentiful, speedily led +to the abandonment of tillage in the central parts of Italy, when the +unrestrained importation of grain from Egypt and Lybia, where it could +be raised at less expense in consequence of the extension of the Roman +dominions over those regions, took place. "More lately," says Sismondi, +"the gratuitous distributions of grain made to the Roman people, +rendered the cultivation of grain in Italy still more unprofitable: it +then became absolutely impossible for the little proprietors to maintain +themselves in the neighbourhood of Rome; they became insolvent, and +their patrimonies were sold to the rich. Gradually the abandonment of +agriculture extended from one district to another. The true country of +the Romans--central Italy--_had scarcely achieved the conquest of the +globe, when it found itself without an agricultural population_. In the +provinces peasants were no longer to be found to recruit the legions; as +few corn-fields to nourish them. Vast tracts of pasturage, where a few +slave shepherds conducted herds of thousands of horned cattle, had +supplanted the nations who had brought their greatest triumphs to the +Roman people."[19] These great herds of cattle were then, as now, in the +hands of a few great proprietors. This was loudly complained of, and +signalized as the cancer which would ruin the Roman empire, even so +early as the time of Pliny. "Verumque confitentibus," says he, +"_latifunda perdidêre Italiam; imo ac provincias_."[20] + +All the historians of the decline and fall of the Roman empire, have +concurred in ascribing to these two causes--viz. the decay of +agriculture and ruin of the agricultural population in Italy, and +consequent engrossing of estates in the hands of the rich--the ruin of +its mighty dominion. But it is not generally known how wide-spread had +been the desolation thus produced; how deep and incurable the wounds +inflicted on the vitals of the state--by the simple consequences of its +extension, which enabled the grain growers of the distant provinces of +the empire to supplant the cultivators of its heart by the unrestricted +admission of foreign corn, before the invasion of the northern nations +commenced. In fact, however, the evil was done before they appeared on +the passes of the Alps; it was the weakness thus brought on the central +provinces which rendered them unable to contend with enemies whom they +had often, in former times, repelled and subdued. A few quotations from +historians of authority, will at once establish this important +proposition. + +"_Since the age of Tiberius_," says Gibbon, "the decay of agriculture +had been felt in Italy; and it was a just subject of complaint, that the +laws of the Roman people depended on the accidents of the winds and the +waves. In the division and decline of the empire, _the tributary +harvests of Egypt and Africa_ were withdrawn; the numbers of the +inhabitants continually diminished with the means of subsistence; and +the country was exhausted by the irretrievable losses of war, pestilence +and famine. Pope Gelasius was a subject of Odoacer, and he affirms, with +strong exaggeration, that in Emilia, Tuscany, and the adjacent +provinces, the human species was almost extirpated."[21] Again the same +accurate author observes in another place--"Under the emperors the +agriculture of the Roman provinces was _insensibly ruined_; and the +government was obliged to make a merit of remitting tributes which +_their subjects were utterly unable to pay_. Within sixty years of the +death of Constantine, and on the evidence of an actual survey, an +exemption was granted in favour of three hundred and thirty thousand +English acres of desert and uncultivated land _in the fertile and happy +Campania_, which amounted to an eighth of the whole province. As the +footsteps of the barbarians had not yet been seen in Italy, the cause of +_this amazing desolation, which is recorded in the laws_,[22] can be +ascribed only to the administration of the Roman emperors."[23] + +The two things which, beyond all question, occasioned this extraordinary +decline of domestic agriculture in Italy before the invasion of the +barbarians commenced, were the weight of _direct taxation_, and the +_decreasing value of agricultural produce_, owing to the constant +importation of grain from Egypt and Lybia, where, owing to the cheapness +of labour and the fertility of the soil in those remote provinces, so +burdensome did the first become, that Gibbon tells us that, in the time +of Constantine, in Gaul it amounted to _nine pounds sterling of gold_ on +every freeman.[24] The periodical distribution of grain to the populace +of Rome, all of which, from its greater cheapness, was brought by the +government from Egypt and Africa, utterly extinguished the market for +corn to the Italian farmers, though Rome, at its capture by Alaric, +still contained 1,200,000 inhabitants. "All the efforts of the Christian +emperors," says Michelet, "to arrest the depopulation of the country, +were as nugatory as those of their heathen predecessors had been. +Sometimes alarmed at the depopulation, they tried to mitigate the lot of +the farmer, to shield him against the landlord; upon this the proprietor +exclaimed, _he could no longer pay the taxes_. At other times they +strove to chain the cultivators to the soil; but they became bankrupts +or fled, and the land became deserted. Pertinax granted an immunity of +taxes to such _cultivators from distant provinces_ as would occupy the +deserted lands of Italy. Aurelian did the same. Probus, Maximian, and +Constantine, were obliged to transport men and oxen from Germany to +cultivate Gaul. But all was in vain. _The desert extended daily._ The +people in the fields surrendered themselves in despair, as a beast of +burden lies down beneath his load and refuses to rise."[25] + +Gibbon has told us what it was which occasioned this constant +depopulation of the country, and ruin of agriculture in the Italian +provinces. "The Campagna of Rome," says he, "about the close of the +sixth century, was reduced to a state of _dreary wilderness_, in which +the air was infectious, the land barren, and the waters impure. Yet the +number of citizens still exceeded the measure of subsistence; _their +precarious food was supplied from the harvests of Lybia and Egypt_; and +the frequent recurrence of famine, betrayed the inattention of the +emperor at Constantinople to the wants of a distant province."[26] Nor +was Italy the only province in the heart of the empire which was ruined +by those foreign importations. Greece suffered not less severely under +it. "In the latter stages of the empire," says Michelet, "_Greece was +supported almost entirely by corn raised in the plains of Poland_."[27] + +These passages, to which, did our limits permit, innumerable others to +the same purpose might be added, explain the causes of the decay and +ultimate ruin of agriculture in the central provinces of the Roman +empire, as clearly as if one had arisen from the dead to unfold it. It +was the weight of _direct taxation_, and the want of remunerating prices +to the _grain cultivators_, which occasioned the evil. The first arose +from the experienced impossibility of raising additional taxes on +industry by indirect taxation: the unavoidable consequence of the +contraction of the currency, owing to the habits of hoarding which the +frequent incursions of the barbarians produced; and of the free +importation of African grain, which the extension of the empire over its +northern provinces, and the clamours of the Roman populace for cheap +bread, occasioned. The second arose directly from that importation +itself. The Italian cultivator, oppressed with direct taxes, and tilling +a comparatively churlish soil, found himself utterly unable to compete +with the African cultivators, with whom the process of production was so +much cheaper owing to the superior fertility of the soil under the sun +of Lybia, or the fertilizing floods of the Nile. Thence the increasing +weight of direct taxation, the augmented importation of foreign grain, +the disappearance of free cultivators in the central provinces, the +impossibility of recruiting the legions with freemen, and the ruin of +the empire. + +And that it was something pressing upon the cultivation of _grain_, not +of agriculture generally, which occasioned these disastrous results, is +decisively proved by the fact, that, down to the fall of the empire, the +cultivation of land _in pasturage_ continued to be a _highly profitable_ +employment in Italy. It is recorded by Ammianus Marcellinus, that when +Rome was taken by Alaric, it was inhabited by 1,200,000 persons, who +were maintained almost entirely by the expenditure of 1780 patrician +families holding estates in Italy and Africa, many of whom had above +£160,000 yearly of rent from land. Their estates were almost entirely +managed in pasturage, and conducted by slaves.[28] Here, then, is +decisive evidence, that down to the very close of the empire, the +managing of estates _in pasturage_ was not only profitable, but +eminently so in Italy--though all attempts at raising grain were +hopeless. It is not an unprofitable cultivation which can yield £160,000 +a-year, equivalent to above £300,000 annually of our money, to a single +proprietor, and maintain 1700 of them in such affluence that they +maintained, in ease and luxury, a city not then the capital of the +empire, containing 1,200,000 inhabitants, or considerably more than +Paris at this time. It was not slavery, therefore, which ruined Italian +cultivation; for the whole pasture cultivation which yielded such +immense profits was conducted by slaves. It was the Lybian and Egyptian +harvests, freely imported into the Tiber, which occasioned the ruin of +agriculture in the Latian plains; and, with the consequent destruction +of the race of rural freemen, brought on the ruin of the empire. But +this importation could not injure pasturage; for cattle Africa had none, +and therefore estates in grass still continued to yield great returns. + +The second circumstance worthy of notice in this inquiry is, that the +cause of the present desolation of the Campagna, whatever it is, is +something which is _peculiar to that district_, and has continued to act +with as great force in _modern_ as in ancient times. It is historically +known, indeed, that the sanguinary contests of the rival houses of +Orsini and Colonna, in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, produced +the most dreadful ravages in the Campagna, and extinguished, for the +time at least, any attempts to reclaim or restore to cultivation this +desolate region. But many centuries have elapsed since this desolating +warfare has entirely ceased; and under the shelter of peace and +tranquillity, agricultural industry in other parts of Italy has +flourished to such a degree as to render it the garden of the world: +witness the rich plain of Lombardy, the incomparable terrace cultivation +of the Tuscan hills, the triple harvests of the Terra di Lavoro, near +Naples. The desolation of the Campagna, therefore, must have been owing +to some causes peculiar to the Roman States, or rather to that part of +those states which adjoins the city of Rome; for in other parts of the +ecclesiastical territories, particularly in the vicinity of Ancona, and +the slope of the Apennines towards Bologna, agriculture is in the most +flourishing state. The hills and declivities are there cut out into +terraces, and cultivated with garden husbandry in as perfect style as in +the mountains of Tuscany. The marches of Ancona contain 426,222 +inhabitants, spread over 2111 square miles, which is about 200 to the +square mile; but, considering how large a part of the territory is +barren rock, the proportion on the fertile parts is about 300 to the +square mile, while the average of England is only 260. The soil is +cultivated to the depth of two and three feet.[29] It is in vain, +therefore, to say, that it is the oppression of the Papal government, +the indolence of the cardinals, and the evils of an elective monarchy, +which have been the causes of the ruin of agricultural industry in the +vicinity of Rome. These causes operate just as strongly in the other +parts of the Papal States, where cultivation, instead of being in a +languishing, is in the most flourishing condition. In truth, so far from +having neglected agriculture in this blasted district, the Papal +government, for the last two centuries, has made greater efforts to +encourage it than all the other powers of Italy put together. Every +successive Pope has laboured at the Pontine marshes, but in vain. +Nothing can be more clear, than that the causes which have destroyed +agriculture in the Campagna, are some which were known in the days of +the Roman Republic; gradually came into operation with the extension of +the empire; and have continued in modern times to press upon this +particular district of the Papal States, in a much greater degree than +among other provinces of a similar extent in Italy. + +The last circumstance which forces itself upon the mind, in the outset +of this inquiry, is, that the desolation of the Campagna is owing to +moral or political, not physical causes. Naturalists and physicians have +exhausted all their energies for centuries in investigating the causes +of the _malaria_, which is now felt with such severity in Rome in the +autumnal months, and renders health so precarious there at that period; +and the soil has been analyzed by the most skillful chemists, to see +whether there is any peculiarity in the earth, from its volcanic +character, which either induces sterility in the crops, or proves fatal +to the cultivators. But nothing has been discovered that in the +slightest degree explains the phenomena. There is no doubt that the +Campagna is extremely unhealthy in the autumnal months, and the Pontine +marshes still more so; but that is no more than is the case with every +low plain on the shores of the Mediterranean: it obtains in Lombardy, +Greece, Sicily, Asia Minor, and Spain, as well as in the Agro Romano. If +any one doubt it, let him lie down to sleep in his cloak in any of these +places in a night of September, and see what state he is in in the +morning. Clarke relates, that intermittent fevers are universal in the +Grecian plains in the autumnal months: in Estremadura, in September +1811, on the banks of the Guadiana, nine thousand men fell sick in +Wellington's army in three days. The savannas of America, where "death +bestrides the evening gale," when first ploughed up, produce +intermittent fevers far more deadly than the malaria of the Roman +Campagna. But the energy of man overcomes the difficulty, and, ere a few +years have passed away, health and salubrity prevail in the regions of +former pestilence. It was the same with the Roman Campagna in the early +days of the Republic; it is the same now with the Campagna of Naples, +and the marshy plains around Parma and Lodi, to the full as unhealthy in +a desert state as the environs of Rome. It would be the same with the +Agro Romano, if moral causes did not step in to prevent the efforts and +industry of man, from here, as elsewhere, correcting the insalubrity of +uncultivated nature. + +And for decisive evidence that this desolation of the Campagna is owing +to moral or political, not physical causes, and that, under a different +system of administration, it might be rendered as salubrious and +populous as it was in the early days of the Roman Republic, reference +may be made to the fact, that in many parts of Italy, equally unhealthy +and in this desert state, cultivation has taken place, a dense +population has arisen, and the dangerous qualities of the atmosphere +have disappeared. Within the last twenty years, the district called +Grosseté has been reclaimed, in the most pestilential part of the +Maremma of Tuscany, by an industrious population, which has succeeded in +introducing agriculture and banishing the malaria; and the ruins of the +Roman villas on the banks of the Tiber, near the sea, prove that the +Romans went to seek salubrity and the healthful breezes of the sea, +where now they could meet with nothing but pestilence and death. The +rocky and dry slopes of the Campagna are admirably adapted for raising +olives and vines; while the difference of the soil and exposure in +different places, promises a similar variety in their wines. The Pontine +marshes themselves, and the vast plain which extends from them to the +foot of the cluster of hills called the Alban Mount, are not more +oppressed by water, or lower in point of level, than the plains of Pisa; +and yet there the earth yields magnificent crops of grain and succulent +herbs, while the poplars, by which the fields are intersected, support +to their very summits the most luxuriant vines. The Campagna of Naples +is more volcanic and level than that of Rome; the hills and valleys of +Baiæ are nothing but the cones and craters of extinguished volcanoes; +and if we would see what such a district becomes when left in a desert +state, we have only to go to the Maremma of Pestum, now as desolate and +unhealthy as the Pontine marshes themselves. But in the Campagna of +Naples an industrious population has overcome all these obstacles, and +rendered the land, tenanted only by wild boars and buffaloes in the +fourth century, the garden of Europe, known over all the world, from its +riches, by the name of the Campagna Felice. + +Nay, the Agro Romano itself affords equally decisive proof, that where +circumstances will permit the work of cultivation to be commenced so as +to be carried on at a profit, the malaria and desolation speedily +disappear before the persevering efforts of human industry. In many +parts of the district, the custom of granting perpetual leases at a +fixed rate prevails, the _Emphyteutis_ of the Roman law, the sources of +the prosperity of the cultivators in Upper and Lower Austria, and well +known in Scotland under the name of feus. Sismondi has given the +following account of the effect of the establishment of a permanent +interest in the soil in arresting the effects of the malaria, and +spreading cultivation over the land:--"The Emphyteutic cultivator has a +permanent interest in the soil: he labours, therefore, unceasingly for +the good of his family. He cuts out his slope into terraces, covers it +with trees, fruits, and garden-stuffs: he takes advantage of every +leisure moment, either in himself, his wife, or children, to advance the +common cultivation. Industry and abundance reign around. Whenever you +ascend the volcanic hills of Latium, or visit those ravishing slopes +which so many painters have illustrated, around the lakes of Castel +Gandolfo or Nemi, at L'Aricia, Rocca di Papa, Marino, and Frescati; +whenever you meet with a smiling cultivation, healthy air, and the +marks of general abundance, you may rest assured the cultivator is +proprietor of the fruits of the soil. The bare right of property, or +superiority, as the lawyers term it, belongs to some neighbouring lord; +but the real property, "il miglioramento," belongs to the cultivator. In +this way, in these happy districts, the great estates, the _latifundia_ +of Pliny, have been practically distributed among the peasantry; and, +whenever this is the case, you hear no more of the malaria. Agriculture +has caused to arise in those localities a numerous population, which +multiplies with singular rapidity, and for ages has furnished +cultivators not only for the mountains where it has arisen, but bands of +adventurers, who in every age have filled the ranks of the Italian +armies."[30] + +But while those examples, to which, did our limits permit, many others +might be added, decisively demonstrate that human industry can +effectually overcome the physical difficulties or dangers of the Roman +Campagna; yet it is clear that some great and overwhelming cause is at +work, which prevents agriculture flourishing, by means of tenants or +_métayers_, in the plains of the Campagna. The plains, it is true, are +in the hands of a few great proprietors, but their tenants are extremely +rich, often more so, Sismondi tells us, than their landlords. What is +it, then, which for so long a period has chained the Campagna to +pasturage, and rendered all attempts to restore it to the plough +abortive? The answer is plain: It is the same cause now which binds it +to pasturage, which did so under the Romans from the time of +Tiberius--_it is more profitable to devote the land to grass than to +raise grain._ And it is so, not because the land will not bear grain +crops, for it would do now even better than it did in the days of the +Etruscans and the Sabines; since so many centuries of intervening +pasturage have added so much to its fertility. It is so, because the +weakness of the Papal government, yielding, like the Imperial in ancient +days, to the cry for cheap bread among the Roman populace, has fed the +people, from time immemorial, with foreign grain, instead of that of its +own territory. The evidence on this subject is as clear and more +detailed in modern, than it was in ancient times; and both throw a broad +and steady light on the final results of that system of policy, which +purchases the present support of the inhabitants of cities, by +sacrificing the only lasting and perennial sources of strength derived +from the industry and population of the country. + +During the confusion and disasters consequent on the fall of the Empire, +after the capture of Rome by the Goths, the Campagna remained entirely a +desert; but it continued in the hands of the successors of the great +senatorial families who held it in the last days of the Empire. "The +Agro Romano," says Sismondi, "almost a desert, had been long exposed to +the ravages of the barbarians, who in 846 pillaged the Vatican, which +led Pope Leo IV., in the following year, to enclose that building within +the walls of Rome. For an hundred years almost all the hills which +border the horizon from Rome were crowned with forts; the ancient walls +of the Etruscans were restored, or rebuilt from their ruins; the old +hill strengths, where the Sabines, the Hernici, the Volscians, the +Coriolani, had formerly defended their independence, again offered +asylums to the inhabitants of the plains. But the great estates, the +bequest of ancient Rome, remained undivided. With the first dawn of +history in the middle ages, we see the great house of the Colonna master +of the towns of Palestrina, Genazzano, Zagorole; that of Orsini, of the +territories of the republics of Veiæ and Ceres, and holding the +fortresses of Bracciano, Anguetta, and Ceri. The Monte-Savili, near +Albano, still indicates the possessions of the Savili, which +comprehended the whole ancient kingdom of Turnus; the Frangipani were +masters of Antium, Astura, and the sea-coast; the Gaetani, the +Annibaldeschi of the Castles which overlook the Pontine marshes; while +Latium was in the hands of a smaller number of feudal families than it +had formerly numbered republics within its bounds."[31] + +But while divided among these great proprietors, the Roman Campagna was +still visited, as in the days of the emperor, with the curse of cheap +grain, imported from the other states bordering on the Mediterranean, +and was in consequence exclusively devoted to the purposes of pasturage. +An authentic document proves that this was the case so far down as the +fifteenth century. In the year 1471, Pope Sextus IV. issued a bull, +which was again enforced by Clement VII. in 1523, and which bore these +remarkable words:--"Considering the frequent famines to which Rome has +been exposed in late years, _arising chiefly from the small amount of +lands which have been sown or laid down in tillage_, and that their +owners _prefer allowing them to remain uncultivated, and pastured only +by cattle_, than to cultivate for the use of men, on the ground _that +the latter mode of management is more profitable than the former_."[32] +The decree ordered the cultivation of a large portion of the Campagna in +grain under heavy penalties. + +And that this superior profit of pasturage to tillage has continued to +the present time, and is the real cause of the long-continued and +otherwise inexplicable desolation of this noble region, has been clearly +demonstrated by a series of important and highly interesting official +decrees and investigations, which, within this half century, have taken +place by order of the Papal government. Struck with the continued +desolation of so large and important a portion of their territory, the +popes have both issued innumerable edicts to enforce tillage, and set on +foot the most minute inquiries to ascertain the causes of their failure. +It is only necessary to mention one. Pius VI., in 1783, took a new and +most accurate survey or _cadastre_ of the Agro Romano, and ordained the +proprietors to sow annually 17,000 _rubbi_ (85,000 acres) with +grain.[33] This decree, however, like those which had preceded it, was +not carried into execution. "The proprietors and farmers," says Nicolai, +"equally opposed themselves to its execution; the former declaring that +they must have a higher rent for the land if laid down in tillage, than +the latter professed themselves able to pay."[34] + +To ascertain the cause of this universal and insurmountable resistance +of all concerned to the cultivation of the Campagna, the Papal +government in 1790 issued a commission to inquire into the matter, and +the proprietors prescribe to two memoirs on the subject, which at once +explained the whole difficulty. The one set forth the cost and returns +of 100 rubbi (500 acres) in grain tillage in the Roman Campagna; the +other, the cost and returns of a flock of 2500 sheep in the same +circumstances. The result of the whole was, that while the grain +cultivation would with difficulty, on an expenditure of 8000 crowns +(£2000,) bring in a clear profit _of thirty crowns_ (£7, 10s.) to the +farmer, and nothing at all to the landlord, the other would yield +between them a profit _of 1972 crowns_, (£496.)[35] Well may Sismondi +exclaim:--"These two reports are of the very highest importance. They +explain the constant invincible resistance which the proprietors and +farmers of the Roman Campagna have opposed to the extension of grain +cultivation; they put in a clear light the opposite interest of great +capitalists and the interest of the state; they give in authentic +details, which I have personally verified, and found to be still +entirely applicable and correct, on the causes which have reduced the +noble district of the Roman Campagna to its desolate state, and still +retain it in that condition. Incredible as the statements may appear, +they are amply borne out by everyday experience. In effect, all the +farmers whom I have consulted, affirm, that they invariably lose by +grain cultivation, and that they never resort to it, but to prevent the +land from being overgrown by brushwood or forests, and rendered unfit +for profitable pasturage."[36] + +Extraordinary as these facts are, as to the difference between the +profits of pasturage and tillage in the Agro Romano, it is only by the +most rigid economy, and reducing the shepherds to the lowest amount of +subsistence consistent with the support of life, that the former yields +any profits at all. The wages of the shepherds are only fifty-three +francs (£2) for the winter season, and as much for the summer; the +proprietors, in addition, furnishing them with twenty ounces of bread +a-day, a half-pound of salt meat, a little oil and salt a-week. As to +wine, vinegar, or fermented liquors, they never taste any of them from +one year's end to another. Such as it is, their food is all brought to +them from Rome; for in the whole Campagna there is not an oven, a +kitchen, or a kitchen-garden, to furnish an ounce of vegetables or +fruits. The clothing of these shepherds is as wretched as their fare. It +consists of sheep-skin, with the wool outside; a few rags on their legs +and thighs, complete their vesture. Lodging or houses they have none; +they sleep in the open air, or nestle into some sheltered nook among the +ruined tombs or aqueducts which are to be met with in the wilderness, in +some of the caverns, which are so common in that volcanic region, or +beneath the arches of the ancient catacombs. A few spoons and coarse +jars form their whole furniture; the cost of that belonging to +twenty-nine shepherds, required for the 2500 sheep, is only 159 francs +(£7.) The sum total of the expense of the whole twenty-nine persons, +including wages, food, and every thing, is only 1038 crowns, or £250 +a-year; being about £8, 10s. a-head annually. The produce of the flock +is estimated at 7122 crowns (£1780) annually, and the annual profit 1972 +crowns, or £493.[37] + +The other table given by Nicolai, exhibits, on a similar expenditure of +capital, the profit of tillage; and it is so inconsiderable, as rarely, +and that only in the most favourable situations, to cover the expense of +cultivation. The labourers, who almost all come from the neighbouring +hills, above the level of the malaria, are obliged to be brought from a +distance at high wages for the time of their employment; sometimes in +harvest wages are as high as five francs, or four shillings a-day. The +wages paid to the labourers on a grain farm on which £2000 has been +expended on 500 acres, amount to no less than 4320 crowns, or £1080 +sterling, annually; being above four times the cost of the shepherds for +a similar expenditure of capital, though they wander over ten times the +surface of ground. The labourers never remain in the fields; they set +off to the hills when their grain is sown, and only return in autumn to +cut it down. They do not work above twenty or thirty days in the year; +and therefore, though their wages for that period are so high, they are +in misery all the rest of the season. But though so little is done for +the land, the price received for the produce is so low, that cultivation +in grain brings no profit, and is usually carried on at a loss. The +peasants who conduct it never go to Rome--have often never seen it; they +make no purchases there; and _the most profitable of all trades in a +nation, that between the town and the country, is unknown in the Roman +States_.[38] + +Here, then, the real cause of the desolation of the Campagna stands +revealed in the clearest light, and on the most irrefragable evidence. +It is not cultivated for grain crops, because remunerating prices for +that species of produce cannot be obtained. It is exclusively kept in +pasturage, because it is in that way only that a profit can be obtained +from the land. And that it is this cause, and not any deficiency of +capital or skill on the part of the tenantry, which occasions the +phenomenon, is further rendered apparent by the wealth, enterprize, and +information on agricultural subjects, of the great farmers in whose +lands the land is vested. "The conductors," says Sismondi, "of rural +labour in the Roman States, called _Mercanti di Tenute_ or _di +Campagne_, are men possessed of great capital, and who have received the +very best education. Such, indeed, is their opulence, that it is +probable they will, erelong, acquire the property of the land of which +at present they are tenants. Their number, however, does not exceed +eighty. They are acquainted with the most approved methods of +agriculture in Italy and other countries; they have at their disposal +all the resources of science, art, and immense capital; have availed +themselves of all the boasted advantages of centralization, of a +thorough division of labour, of a most accurate system of accounts, and +checking of inferior functionaries. The system of great farms has been +carried to perfection in their hands. But, with all these advantages, +they cannot in the Agro Romano, _once so populous, still so fertile, +raise grain to a profit_. The labourers cost more than they are worth, +more than their produce is worth; while on a soil not richer, and under +the same climate and government, in the marches of Ancona, agriculture +maintains two hundred souls the square mile, in comfort and +opulence."[39] + +What, then, is the explanation which is to be given of this +extraordinary impossibility of raising grain with a profit in the Roman +Campagna; while in a similar climate, and under greater physical +disadvantages, it is in the neighbouring plains of Pisa, and the +Campagna Felice of Naples, the most profitable of all species of +cultivation, and therefore universally resorted to? The answer is +obvious--It is the cry for cheap bread in Rome, the fatal bequest of the +strength of the Imperial, to the weakness of the Papal government, which +is the cause. It is the necessity under which the ecclesiastical +government felt itself, of yielding every thing to _the clamour for a +constant supply of cheap bread for the people of the town_ which has +done the whole. It is the ceaseless importation of foreign grain into +the Tiber by government, to provide cheap food for the people, which has +reduced the Campagna to a wilderness, and rendered Rome in modern, not +less than Tadmor in ancient times, a city in the desert. + +It has been already noticed, that in the middle of the fifteenth century +Sextus IV. issued a decree, ordaining the proprietors of lands in the +Campana to lay down a third of their estates yearly in tillage. But the +Papal government, not resting on the proprietors of the soil, but +mainly, in so far as temporal power went, on the populace of Rome, was +under the necessity of making at the same time extraordinary efforts to +obtain supplies of foreign grain. A free trade in grain was permitted to +the Tiber, or rather the government purchased foreign grain wherever +they could find it cheapest, as the emperors had from a similar +apprehension done in ancient times, and retailed it at a moderate price +to the people. They became themselves the great corn-merchant. This +system, of course, prevented the cultivation of the Campagna, and +rendered the decree of Sextus IV. nugatory; for no human laws can make +men continue a course of labour at a loss to themselves. Thence the +citizens of Rome came to depend entirely on foreign supplies of grain +for their daily food; and the consumption of the capital had no more +influence on the agriculture of the adjoining provinces, than it had on +that of Hindostan or China. Again, as in the days of Tacitus, the lives +of the Roman people were exposed to the chances of the winds and the +waves. As this proved a fluctuating and precarious source of supply, a +special board, styled the _Casa Annonaria_, was constituted by +government for the regular importation of foreign grain, and retailing +of it at a fixed and low price to the people. This board has been in +operation for nearly two hundred and fifty years; and it is the system +it has pursued which has prevented all attempts to cultivate the +Campagna, by rendering it impossible to do so at a profit. The details +of the proceedings of this board--this "_chamber of commerce_" of Rome, +are so extremely curious and instructive, that we must give them in the +authentic words of Sismondi. + +"Having failed in all their attempts to bring about the cultivation of +the Campagna, the popes of the 17th and 18th centuries endeavoured to +secure abundance in the markets by other means. The motive was +legitimate and praiseworthy; but the means taken failed in producing the +desired effect, because they sacrificed the future to the present, and, +_in the anxiety to secure the subsistence of the people, compromised +those who raised food for them_. Pope Pius VI., who reigned from 1600 to +1621, instituted the _Casa Annonaria_ of the apostolic chamber, which +was charged with the duty of providing subsistence for the inhabitants +of Rome. This board being desirous, above all things, of avoiding +seditions and discontent, established it as a principle, that whatever +the cost of production was, or the price in a particular year, bread +should be sold at certain public bake-houses at a certain price. This +price was fixed at a Roman baiocco, a tenth more than the sous of +France, (1/2 d. English,) for eight ounces of bread. _This price has now +been maintained constantly the same for two hundred years_; and it is +still kept at the same level, with the difference only of a slight +diminution in the weight of the bread sold for the _baiocco_ in years of +scarcity. + +"As a necessary consequence of this regulation, the apostolic chamber +soon found itself under the necessity of taking entire possession of the +commerce of grain. It not only bought up the whole which was to be +obtained in the country, but provided for the public wants _by large +importation_. Regulations for the import and export of grain were made +by it; sometimes, it was said, through the influence of those who +solicited exemptions. Whether this was the case or not is uncertain, and +not very material. What is certain is, that the rule by which the +chamber was invariably regulated, viz. _that of consulting no other +interest but that of the poor consumer_, is as vicious and ruinous as +the one so much approved of now-a-days, of attending only to the +interest of the proprietors and producers. Government, doubtless, should +attend to the vital matter of the subsistence of the people; but it +should do so with a view to the interest of all, not a single section of +society. + +"At what price soever bread was bought by them, the _Casa Annonaria_ +sold it to the bakers at seven Roman crowns (30 f.) the _rubbio_, which +weighs 640 kilograms, (1540 lbs.) That price was not much different from +the average one; and the apostolic chamber sustained no great loss till +1763, by its extensive operations in the purchase and sale of grain. But +at that period the price of wheat began to rise, and it went on +continually advancing to the end of the century. Notwithstanding its +annual losses, however, the apostolic chamber was too much afraid of +public clamour to raise the price of bread. It went on constantly +retailing it at the same price to the people; and the consequence was, +that its losses in 1797, when the pontifical government was overturned, +had accumulated to no less than 17,457,485 francs, or £685,000."[40] + +It might naturally have been imagined, that after so long an experience +of the effects of a forcible reduction of the price of grain below the +level at which it could be raised at a profit by home cultivators, the +ecclesiastical government would have seen what was the root of the evil, +and applied themselves to remedy it, by giving some protection to native +industry. But though the evil of the desolation of the Campagna was felt +in its full extent by government in subsequent times; yet as the first +step in the right course, viz. protecting native industry by stopping +the sales of bread by government at lower prices than it could be raised +at home, was likely to occasion great discontent, it was never +attempted. Such a step, dangerous in the firmest and best established, +was impossible in an elective monarchy of old Popes, feeble cardinals, +and a despicable soldiery. They went on deploring the evil, but never +once ventured to face the remedy. In 1802, Pius VII., a most +public-spirited and active pontiff, issued an edict, in which he +declared, "We are firmly persuaded that if we cannot succeed in applying +a remedy the abandonment and depopulation of the Campagna will go on +increasing, till the country becomes a fearful desert. _Fatal experience +leaves no doubt on that point._ We see around us, above all in the +Campagna, a number of estates entirely depopulated and abandoned to +grass, which, in the memory of man, were rich in agricultural +productions, and crowded with inhabitants, as is clearly established by +the seignorial rights attached to them. Population had been introduced +into these domains by agriculture, which employed a multitude of hands, +being in a flourishing state. But now the obstacles opposed to the +interior commerce of grain, _and the forced prices fixed by government, +have caused agriculture to perish_. Pasturage has come every where to +supplant it; and the great proprietors and farmers living in Rome, have +abandoned all thought of dividing their possessions among cultivators, +and sought only to diminish the cost of the flocks to which they have +devoted their estates. But if that system has proved profitable to them, +it has been fatal to the state, which it has deprived of its true +riches, the produce of agriculture, and of the industry of the rural +population."[41] But it was all in vain. The measures adopted by Pius +VII. to resuscitate agriculture in the Campagna, have proved all +nugatory like those of all his predecessors; the importation of foreign +grain into the Tiber, the forced prices at which it was sold by the +government at Rome, rendered it impossible to prosecute agriculture to a +profit; and the Campagna has become, and still continues, a desert.[42] + +Here, then, the real cause of the long-continued desolation of the Agro +Romano, both in ancient and modern times, becomes perfectly apparent. It +is the cry for cheap bread in Rome which has done the whole. To stifle +this cry in the dreaded populace of the Eternal City, the emperors +imported grain largely from Egypt and Lybia, and distributed it at an +elusory price, or gratuitously, to the people. The unrestricted +importation of foreign grain, in consequence of those provinces becoming +parts of the empire, enabled the cultivators and merchants of Africa to +deluge the Italian harbours with corn at a far cheaper rate than it +could be raised in Italy itself, where labour bore a much higher price, +in consequence of money being more plentiful in the centre than the +extremities of the empire. Thus the market of its towns was lost to the +Italian cultivators, and gained to those of Egypt and Lybia, where a +vertical sun, or the floods of the Nile, almost superseded the expense +of cultivation. Pasturage became the only way in which land could be +managed to advantage in the Italian fields; because live animals and +dairy produce do not admit of being transported from a distance by sea, +with a profit to the importer, and the sunburnt shores of Africa yielded +no herbage for their support. Agriculture disappeared in Italy, and with +it the free and robust arms which conducted it; pasturage succeeded, and +yielded large rentals to the great proprietors, into whose hands, on the +ruin of the little freeholders by foreign importation, the land had +fallen. But pasturage could not nourish a bold peasantry to defend the +state; it could only produce the riches which might attract its enemies. +Hence the constant complaint, that Italy had ceased to be able to +furnish soldiers to the legionary armies; hence the entrusting the +defence of the frontier to mercenary barbarians, and the ruin of the +empire. + +In modern times the same ruinous system has been continued, and hence +the continued desolation of the Campagna, so pregnant with weakness and +evil to the Roman states. The people never forgot the distribution of +grain by government in the time of the emperors; the Papal authorities +never had strength sufficient to withstand the menacing cry for cheap +bread. Anxious to keep the peace in Rome, and depending little on the +barons of the country, the ecclesiastical government saw no resource but +to import grain themselves from any countries where they could get it +cheapest, and sell it at a fixed price to the people. This price, down +to 1763, was just the price at which _it could be imported with a fair +profit_; as is proved by the fact, that down to that period the _Casa +Annonaria_ sustained no loss. But it was lower than the rate at which it +could be raised even in the fertile plains of the Campagna, where labour +was dearer and taxes heavier than in Egypt and the Ukraine, from whence +the grain was imported by government; and consequently cultivation could +not be carried on in the Agro Romano but at a loss. It of course ceased +altogether; and the land, as in ancient times, has been entirely devoted +to pasturage, to the extinction of the rural population, and the +infinite injury of the state. + +And this explains how it has happened, that in other parts of the Papal +states, particularly in the marches on the other side of the Apennines, +between Bologna and Ancona, agriculture is not only noways depressed, +but flourishing; and the same is the case with the slopes of the Alban +Mount, even in the Agro Romano. In the first situation, the necessity of +bending to the cry for cheap bread in the urban population was not felt, +as the marches contained no great towns, and the weight of influence was +in the rural inhabitants. There was no _Casa Annonaria_, or fixed price +of bread there; and therefore agriculture flourished as it did in +Lombardy, the Campagna Felice of Naples, the plain of Pisa, or any other +prosperous part of Italy. In the latter, it was in _garden cultivation_ +that the little proprietors, as in nearly the whole slopes of the +Apennines, were engaged. The enchanting shores of the lakes of Gandolfo +and Nemi, the hills around L'Aricia and Marino, are all laid out in the +cultivation of grapes, olives, fruits, vegetables, and chestnuts. No +competition from without was to be dreaded by them, as at least, until +the introduction of steam, it was impossible to bring such productions +by distant sea voyages, so as to compete with those raised in equally +favourable situations within a few miles of the market at home. In these +places, therefore, the peculiar evil which blasted all attempts at grain +cultivation in the Campagna was not felt; and hence, though in the Roman +states, and subject, in other respects, to precisely the same government +as the Agro Romano, they exhibit not merely a good, but the most +admirable cultivation. + +If any doubt could exist on the subject, it would be removed by two +other facts connected with agriculture on the shores of the +Mediterranean; one in ancient and one in modern times. + +The first of these is that while agriculture declined _in Italy_, as has +been shown from the time of Tiberius, until at length nearly the whole +plains of that peninsula were turned into grass, it, from the same date, +took an extraordinary start in Spain and Lybia. And to such a length had +the improvement of Africa, under the fostering influence of the market +of Rome and Italy gone, that it contained, at the time of its invasion +by the Vandals under Genseric, in the year 430 of the Christian era, +twenty millions of inhabitants, and had come to be regarded with reason +as the garden of the human race. "The long and narrow tract," says +Gibbon, "of the African coast was filled, when the Vandals approached +its shores, with frequent monuments of Roman art and magnificence; and +the respective degrees of improvement might be accurately measured by +the distance from Carthage and the Mediterranean. A simple reflection +will impress every thinking mind with the clearest idea of its fertility +and cultivation. The country was extremely populous; the inhabitants +reserved a liberal supply for their own use; _and the annual +exportation_, PARTICULARLY OF WHEAT, _was so regular and plentiful, that +Africa deserved the name of the common granary of Rome and of +mankind_."[43] Nor had Spain flourished less during the long +tranquillity and protection of the legions. In the year 409 after +Christ, when it was first invaded by the barbarians, its situation is +thus described by the great historian of the _Decline and Fall of the +Roman Empire_. "The situation of Spain, separated on all sides from the +enemies of Rome by the sea, by the mountains, and by intermediate +provinces, had secured the long tranquillity of that remote and +sequestered country; and we may observe, as a sure symptom of _domestic +happiness_, that in a period of 400 years, Spain furnished very few +materials to the history of the Roman empire. The cities of Merida, +Cordova, Seville, and Tarragona, were numbered with the most illustrious +of the Roman world. The various plenty of the animal, _vegetable_, and +mineral kingdoms was improved and manufactured by the skill of an +industrious people, and the peculiar advantages of naval stores +contributed to support an extensive and profitable trade." And he adds, +in a note, many particulars relative to the _fertility_ and trade of +Spain, may be found in Huet's _Commerce des Anciens_, c. 40, p. 228.[44] + +These facts are very remarkable, and worthy of the most profound +attention; for they point in a decisive manner, they afford the +_experimentum crucis_ as to the real cause of the long-continued and +frightful decay of Italian agriculture during the reign of the emperors. +For here, it appears, that during the four hundred years that the +Western Empire endured, while the cultivation of grain in Italy was +constantly declining, and at last wholly ceased, insomuch that the +country relapsed entirely into a state of nature, or was devoted to the +mere raising of grass for sheep and cattle, _agriculture was flourishing +in the highest degree in the remoter provinces of the Empire_; and the +exportation of grain from Africa had become so great and regular, that +it had come to be regarded as the granaries of Rome and of the world! +The government was the same, the slavery was the same, in Africa as in +Italy. Yet in the one country agriculture rose, during four centuries, +to the highest point of elevation; while in the other, during the same +period, it sunk to the lowest depression, until it became wellnigh +extinct, so far as the raising of grain was concerned. How did this come +to pass? It could not have been that the labour of slaves was too costly +to raise grain; for it was raised at a great profit, and to a prodigious +extent, _almost entirely by slaves_, in Egypt and Lybia. What was it, +then, which destroyed agriculture in Italy and Greece, while, under +circumstances precisely similar in all respects _but one_, it was, at +the very same time, rising to the very highest prosperity in Egypt, +Lybia, and Spain? Evidently _that one circumstance_, and that was--that +Italy and Greece were the heart of the empire, the theatre of +long-established civilization, the abode of opulence, the seat of +wealth, the centre to which riches flowed from the extremities of the +empire. Pounds were plentiful there, and, consequently, labour was dear; +in the provinces pence were few, and, therefore, it was cheap. It was +impossible, under a free trade in grain, for the one to compete with the +other. It is for the same reason that agricultural labour is now +sixpence a-day in Poland, tenpence in Ireland, and two shillings in +Great Britain. + +The peculiar conformation of the Roman empire, while it facilitated in +many respects its growth and final settlement under the dominion of the +Capitol, led by a process not less certain, and still more rapid, to its +ruin, when that empire was fully extended. If any one will look at the +map, he will see that the Roman empire spread outwards from the shores +of the Mediterranean. It embraced all the monarchies and republics +which, in the preceding ages of the world, had grown up around that +inland sea. Water, therefore, afforded the regular, certain, and cheap +means of conveying goods and troops from one part of the empire to the +other. Nature had spread out a vast system of internal navigation, +which brought foreign trade in a manner to every man's door. The legions +combated alternately on the plains of Germany, in the Caledonian woods, +on the banks of the Euphrates, and at the foot of Mount Atlas. But much +as this singular and apparently providential circumstance aided the +growth, and for a season increased the strength of the empire, it +secretly but certainly undermined its resources, and in the end proved +its ruin. The free trade in grain which it necessarily brought with it, +when the same dominion stretched over all Spain and Africa, and +long-continued peace had brought their crops to compete with the Italian +in the supply of the Roman, or the Grecian in that of the +Constantinopolitan markets, destroyed the fabric the legions had reared. +Italy could not compete with Lybia, Greece with Poland. Rome was +supplied by the former, Constantinople by the latter. If the +Mediterranean wafted the legions out in the rise of the empire, _it +wafted foreign grain in_ in its later stages, and the last undid all +that the former had done. The race of _agricultural freemen_ in Italy, +the bone and muscle of the legions which had conquered the world, became +extinct; the rabble of towns were unfit for the labours, and averse to +the dangers of war; mercenaries became the only resource. + +The fact in modern times, which illustrates and confirms the same view +of the chief cause of the ruin of the Roman empire, is, that a similar +effect has taken place, and is at this moment in full operation in +Romelia, and all the environs of Constantinople. Every traveller in the +East knows that desolation as complete as that of the Campagna of Rome +pervades the whole environs of Constantinople; that the moment you +emerge from the gates of that noble city, you find yourself in a +wilderness, and that the grass comes up to our horse's girths all the +way to Adrianople. "Romelia," says Slade, "if cultivated, would become +the granary of the East;" _whereas Constantinople depends on Odessa for +daily bread_. The burial-grounds, choked with weeds and underwood, +constantly occurring in every traveller's route, far remote from +habitations, are eloquent testimonials of continued depopulation. The +living, too, are far apart; a town about every fifty miles; _a village +every ten miles_, is deemed close; and horsemen meeting on the highway +regard each other as objects of curiosity.[45] This is the Agro Romano +over again. Nor will it do to say, that it is the oppression of the +Turkish government which occasions this desolation and destruction of +the rural population; for many parts of Turkey are not only well +cultivated but most densely peopled; as, for example, the broad tract of +Mount Hoemus, where agriculture is in as admirable a state as in the +mountains of Tuscany or Switzerland. "No peasantry in the world," says +Slade, "are so well off as those of Bulgaria; the lowest of them has +abundance of every thing--meat, poultry, eggs, milk, rice, cheese, wine, +bread, good clothing, a warm dwelling, and a horse to ride; where is the +tyranny under which the Christian subjects of the Porte are generally +supposed to dwell? Among the Bulgarians certainly. I wish that, in every +country, a traveller could pass from one end to the other, and find a +good supper and warm fire in every cottage, as he can in this part of +European Turkey."[46] Clarke gives the same account of the peasantry of +Parnassus and Olympia; and it is true generally of almost all the +_mountain_ districts of Turkey. How, then, does it happen that the rich +and level plains of Romelia, at the gates of Constantinople, and thence +over a breadth of an hundred and twenty miles to Adrianople, is a +desert? Slade has explained it in a word. "_Constantinople depends on +Odessa for its daily bread._" The cry for cheap bread in Constantinople, +its noble harbour, and ready communication by water with Egypt on the +one hand, and the Ukraine on the other, have done the whole. Romelia, +like the Campagna of Rome, is a desert, because the market of +Constantinople is lost to the Turkish cultivators; because grain can be +brought cheaper from the Nile and the Wolga than raised at home, in +consequence of the cheapness of labour in those remote provinces; and +because the Turkish government, dreading an insurrection in the capital, +have done nothing to protect native industry. + +There are many countries to whom the most unlimited freedom in the +importation of corn can do no injury. There are, in the first place, the +great grain countries, such as Poland and the Ukraine: they have no more +reason to dread the importation of grain than Newcastle that of coals, +or the Scotch Highlands that of moor-game. In the next place, countries +which _are poor_ need never fear the importation of corn from abroad; +for they have no money to pay for it; and, if they had, it would not be +brought in at a profit, because currency being scarce, of course the +price will be low. Lastly, Countries which have vast inland tracts, like +Russia, Austria, France, and America, especially if no extensive system +of water communication exists in their interior, have little reason to +apprehend injury from the most unrestricted commerce in grain; because +the cost of inland carriage on so bulky and heavy an article as corn is +so considerable, that the produce of foreign harvests can never +penetrate far into the interior, or come to supply a large portion of +the population with food. + +The countries which have reason to apprehend injury, and in the end +destruction, to their native agriculture, from the unrestricted +admission of foreign corn, are those which, though they may possess a +territory in many places well adapted for the raising of grain crops, +are yet rich, far advanced in civilization, with a narrow territory, and +their principal towns on the sea-coast. They have every thing to dread +from foreign importation; because both the plenty of currency, which +opulence brings in its train, and the heavy public burdens with which it +is invariably attended, render labour dear at home, by lowering the +value of money, and raising the weight of taxation. If long continued, +an unrestricted foreign importation cannot fail to ruin agriculture, and +destroy domestic strength in such a state. Italy and Greece stood +eminently in such a situation; for all their great towns were upon the +sea-coast, their territory was narrow, and being successively the seats +of empire, and the centres of long-continued opulence, money was more +plentiful, and therefore production dearer than in those remote and +poorer states from which grain might be brought to their great towns by +sea carriage. In the present circumstances of this country, we would do +well to bear in mind the following reflections of Sismondi, "It is not +to no purpose that we have entered into the foregoing details concerning +the state of agriculture in the neighbourhood of Rome; for we are +persuaded that a universal tendency in Europe _menaces us with the same +calamities_, even in those countries which at present seem to adopt an +entirely opposite system; _only the Romans have gone through the career, +while we are only entering upon it_."[47] + +The times are past, indeed, when gratuitous distributions of grain will +be made to an idle population, as under the Roman emperors, or bread be +sold for centuries by government at a fixed and low price, as under +their papal successors. But the same causes which produced these effects +are still in full operation. The cry for cheap bread in a popular state, +is as menacing as it was to the emperors or popes of Rome. The only +difference is, the sacrifice of domestic industry is now more disguised. +The thing is done, but it is done not openly by public deliveries of the +foreign grain at low prices, but indirectly under the specious guise of +free trade. Government does not say, "We will import Polish grain, and +sell it permanently at thirty-six or forty shillings a quarter;" but it +says, "we will open our harbours to the Polish farmers who can do so. We +will admit grain duty free from a country where wages are sixpence +a-day, and rents half-a-crown an acre." They thus force down the price +of grain to the foreign level, augmented only by the cost and profit of +importations, as effectually as ever did the emperors or _Casa +Annonaria_of Rome. + +And what has Rome--the urban population of Rome--for whose supposed +interests, and in obedience to whose menacing cry, the Roman market has +for eighteen centuries been supplied with foreign bread--what have they +gained by this long continuation of government to their wishes? Sismondi +has told us in one word--"In Rome there _is no commerce between the town +and the country_." They would have foreign grain with its consequences, +and _they have had foreign grain with its consequences_. And what have +been these consequences? Why, that the Eternal City, which, even when +taken by the Goths, had 1,200,000 inhabitants within its walls, can now +scarcely number 170,000, and they almost entirely in poverty, and mainly +supported by the influx and expenditure of foreigners. The Campagna, +once so fruitful and so peopled, has become a desert. No inhabitant of +the Roman states buys any thing in Rome. Their glory is departed--it has +gone to other people and other lands. And what would have been the +result if this wretched concession to the blind and unforeseeing popular +clamour had not taken place? Why, that Rome would have been what +Naples--where domestic industry is protected--has become; it would have +numbered 400,000 busy and active citizens within its walls. The Campagna +would have been what the marches of Ancona now are. Between Rome and the +Campagna, a million of happy and industrious human beings would have +existed in the Agro Romano, independent of all the world, mutually +nourishing and supporting each other; instead of an hundred and seventy +thousand indolent and inactive citizens of a town, painfully dependent +on foreign supplies for bread, and on foreign gold for the means of +purchasing it. + +Disastrous as have been the consequences of a free trade in grain to the +Roman States, alike in ancient and modern times, it was introduced by +its rulers in antiquity under the influence of noble and enlightened +principles. The whole civilized world was then one state; the banks of +the Nile and the plains of Lybia acknowledged the sway of the emperors, +as much as the shores of the Tiber or the fields of the Campagna. When +the Roman government, ruling so mighty a dominion, permitted the +harvests of Africa and the Ukraine to supplant those of Italy and +Greece, they did no more than justice to their varied subjects. +Magnanimously overlooking local interests and desires, they extended +their vision over the whole civilized world, and + + "View'd with equal eyes, as lords of all," + +their subjects, whether in Italy, Spain, Egypt, or Lybia. Though the +seat of government was locally on the Tiber, they administered for the +interest of the whole civilized world, alike far and near. If the +Campagna was ruined, the Delta of Egypt flourished! If the plains of +Umbria were desolate, those of Lybia and Spain, equally parts of the +empire, were waving with grain. But can the same be said of England, now +proclaiming a free trade in grain, not merely with her colonies or +distant provinces, but with her rivals or her enemies? Not merely with +Canada and Hindostan, but with Russia and America? With countries +jealous of her power, envious of her fame, covetous of her riches. What +should we have said of the wisdom of the Romans, if they had sacrificed +Italian to African agriculture in the days of Hannibal? If they had put +it into the power of the Carthaginian Senate to have said, "We will not +arm our galleys; we will not levy armies; we will prohibit the +importation of African grain, and starve you into submission?" How is +England to maintain her independence, if the autocrat of Russia, by +issuing his orders from St Petersburg, can at any moment stop the +importation of ten millions of quarters of foreign grain, that is, a +sixth of our whole annual consumption? And are we to render penniless +our home customers, not in order to promote the interest of the distant +parts of our empire, but in order to enrich and vivify our enemies? + +It is said public opinion runs in favour of such a change; that the +manufacturing has become the dominant interest in the state; that wages +must at all hazards be beat down to the continental level; and that, +right or wrong, the thing must be done. Whether this is the case or not, +time, and possibly a general election, will show. Sometimes those who +are the most noisy, are not the most numerous. Certain it is, that in +1841 a vast majority both of the electors and the people were unanimous +in favour of protection. But, be the present opinion of the majority +what it may, that will not alter the nature of things--It will not +render that wise which is unwise. Public opinion in Athens, in the time +of Demosthenes, was nearly unanimous to apply the public funds to the +support of the theatres instead of the army, and they got the battle of +Chæronea, and subjection by Philip, for their reward. Public opinion in +Europe was unanimous in favour of the Crusades, and millions of brave +men left their bones in Asia in consequence. The Senate of Carthage, +yielding to the wishes of the majority of their democratic community, +refused to send succours to Hannibal in Italy; and they brought, in +consequence, the legions of Scipio Africanus round their walls. Public +opinion in France was unanimous in favour of the expedition to Moscow. +"They regarded it," says Segur, "as a mere hunting party of six months;" +but that did not hinder it from bringing the Cossacks to Paris. The old +Romans were unanimous in their cry for cheap bread, and they brought the +Gothic trumpet to their gates from its effects. A vast majority of the +electors of Great Britain in 1831, were in favour of Reform: out of 101, +98 county members were returned in the liberal interest; and now they +have got their reward, in seeing the Reformed Parliament preparing to +abolish all protection to native industry. All the greatest and most +destructive calamities recorded in history have been brought about, not +only with the concurrence, but in obedience to the fierce demand of the +majority. Protection to domestic industry, at home or colonial, is the +unseen but strongly felt bond which unites together the far distant +provinces of the British empire by the firm bond of mutual interest. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 16: The Agro Romano, the Sabina, the Campagna Maritima, and +the Patrimonio di San Pietro, which make up the Campagna of Rome, +contain 3881 square miles, or about 3,000,000 acres.--Sismondi's +_Essais_, ii, 10.] + +[Footnote 17: Barbieri à Sismondi.--Sismondi's _Essais_, li. 11.] + +[Footnote 18: Tacitus, _Annal_. xii. 43. But, by Hercules, formerly +provisions were sent for the legions from Italy into distant provinces; +nor even now is it afflicted by sterility: but we prefer purchasing it +from Africa and Egypt, and the lives of the Roman people have been +committed to ships and the chances of the waves.] + +[Footnote 19: Sismondi, _Essais_, ii. 25.] + +[Footnote 20: To confess the truth, the great estates have ruined Italy; +ay, and the provinces too.--_Plin_. 1. xviii. c. 6.] + +[Footnote 21: Gibbon, vi. c. 36.] + +[Footnote 22: "Quingena viginti millia quadringenti duo jugera quæ +Campania provincia, juxta inspectorum relationem, in desertis et +squalidis locis habere dignoscitur, eisdem provinciabilibus +concessum."--_Cod. Theod._ ix. c. 38, c. 2.] + +[Footnote 23: Gibbon, iii. c. 18.] + +[Footnote 24: _Ibid._ iii. 88. c. 17.] + +[Footnote 25: Michelet, _Histoire de France_, i. 104-108.] + +[Footnote 26: Gibbon, VIII. c. xiv.] + +[Footnote 27: Michelet's _Histoire de France_, i. 277.] + +[Footnote 28: Ammianus Marcellinus, c. xvi; see also Gibbon, vi. 264.] + +[Footnote 29: Sismondi's _Essais_, ii. 57.] + +[Footnote 30: Sismondi's _Essais_, ii. 33.] + +[Footnote 31: Sismondi's _Essais_, ii. 29, 30.] + +[Footnote 32: Nicolai, _dell' Agro Romano_, ii. 30, 31.] + +[Footnote 33: The rubbi is equal to two French hectares, or five English +acres.] + +[Footnote 34: Nicolai, iii 133.] + +[Footnote 35: _Ibid._, c. in. 167. _Et subseq_.] + +[Footnote 36: Sismondi's _Essais_, ii, 46, 47.] + +[Footnote 37: Nicolai, _dell' Agro Romano_, iii. 167, 175.] + +[Footnote 38: Nicolai, iii. 174, 178.] + +[Footnote 39: Sismondi's _Essais_, ii, 56, 57.] + +[Footnote 40: Nicolai, _del' Agro Romano_, iii. 153. Sismondi's +_Essais_, ii. 44.] + +[Footnote 41: Motu proprio de Pius VII.--Nicolai, ii. 163, 185.] + +[Footnote 42: Sismondi's _Essais_, ii. 71.] + +[Footnote 43: Gibbon, chap. 33, Vol. vi. p. 20.] + +[Footnote 44: Gibbon, c. 31, Vol. v. p. 351.] + +[Footnote 45: Slade's _Travels in the East_, ii 15.] + +[Footnote 46: Slade, ii. 97.] + +[Footnote 47: Sismondi's _Essais_, ii. 71.] + + + + +MR BROOKE OF BORNEO. + + +[48]On the 19th of August last, some twenty boats belonging to her +Majesty's ships, _Agincourt_, _Vestal_, _Dædalus_, _Wolverine_, +_Cruiser_, and _Vixen_, and containing about five hundred men, attacked +and destroyed in the _Malladu_, a river of the Eastern Archipelago, the +forts of Seriff Housman, a notorious and daring pirate, whose crimes had +paralysed the commerce of the seas of Borneo, and finally rendered +British interference absolutely necessary for the security of British +life and property. The action was one of the many that the suppression +of piracy in these regions has demanded--was gallantly fought, and full +reported in the journals of the time;--a narrow river, with two forts +mounting eleven or twelve heavy guns, (and defended by from five hundred +to one thousand fighting men,) protected by a strong and well-contrived +boom, was the position of the enemy. The English boats took the bull by +the horns--cut away part of the boom under a heavy fire; advanced and +carried the place in a fight protracted for fifty minutes. The enemy +fought well, and stood manfully to their guns. The mate of the +_Wolverine_ fell mortally wounded whilst working at the boom, axe in +hand; but his death was avenged by a wholesale slaughter of the pirates. +At two minutes to nine, those who had remained on board the _Vixen_ +heard the report of the first heavy gun, and the first column of black +smoke proclaimed that the village was fired. On the evening of the 19th, +a detachment of ten boats, with fresh men and officers, quitted the +_Vixen_, and arrived at the forts shortly after daylight. The work of +destruction was complete. The boom, above spoken of, was ingeniously +fastened with the chain-cable of a vessel of three hundred or four +hundred tons; other chains, for darker purposes, were discovered in the +town; a ship's long-boat; two ship's bells, one ornamented with grapes +and vine leaves, and marked "_Wilhelm Ludwig, Bremen_," and every other +description of ship's furniture. Some piratical boats were burned, +twenty-four brass guns captured; the other guns spiked or otherwise +destroyed. Malladu ceased to exist; the power of Seriff Housman was +extinguished in a day. + +Small wars, as well as great, have their episodes of touching +tenderness. Twenty-four hours after the action, a poor woman, with her +child of two years of age, was discovered in a small canoe; her arm was +shattered at the elbow by a grape-shot, and the poor creature lay dying +for want of water, in an agony of pain, with her child playing around +her, and endeavouring to derive the sustenance which the mother could no +longer give. The unfortunate woman was taken on board the _Vixen_, and +in the evening her arm was amputated. On board the _Vixen_ she met with +one who offered to convey her to the Borneon town of _Sar[=a]wak_, where +she would find protection. To have left her where she was, would have +been to leave her to die. To the stranger's kind offers she had but one +answer to give. "If you please to take me, I shall go. I am a woman, and +not a man; I am a slave, and not a free woman--do as you like." The +woman recovered, was grateful for the kindness shown her, and was +deposited faithfully and well in the town already named, by the stranger +already introduced. + +Let us state at once that the object of this article is to bring to +public notice, as shortly as we may, the history of this stranger, and +to demand for it the reader's warmest sympathy. Full accounts of the +doings of her Majesty's ship Dido will no doubt be reported elsewhere, +with the several engagements which Mr Keppel's book so graphically +describes. Let them receive the attention that they merit. We cannot +afford to meddle with them now. "Metal more attractive" lies in the +adventures of a man who has devoted his fortune and energies to the +cause of humanity, and has purchased with both the amelioration of a +large portion of his suffering fellow-creatures. + +We know not when, since our boyhood, we have met with an adventurer more +ardent and daring, a companion more fascinating and agreeable, than MR +BROOKE, the Rajah or Governor of <sc>Sar[=a]wak</sc>. Essentially British, in as +much as he practises our national virtues when circumstances call them +into action, he reminds us at all times of those Eastern men, famous in +their generation, who delighted us many years ago, and secured our +wonder by their devoted love of enterprise, and the moral ascendency +that waited on their efforts. In truth, Mr Brooke belongs not to the +present generation. His energy, his perseverance, which nothing can +subdue, his courage which no dangers can appal, his simplicity which no +possession of power and authority can taint, his integrity and honest +mind, all belong to a more masculine and primitive age, and constitute a +rare exception for our respect and gratitude in this. We take the +earliest opportunity afforded us to pay our humble tribute to worth that +cannot be questioned, to heroic virtue that cannot be surpassed. + +Whatsoever humanity and civilisation may gain in the extermination of +odious crimes upon the shores of BORNEO, whatsoever advantages England +may hereafter obtain from British settlements in the island, and from a +peaceful trade carried on around it, to Mr Brooke, and to that gentleman +alone, will belong the glory and the honour of such acquisitions. +Inspired by his vigorous nature, but more by the dictates of true +benevolence, unaided and unprotected, save by his own active spirit and +the blessing of Providence, he undertook a mission on behalf of mankind, +with perils before him which the stoutest could not but feel, and +achieved a success which the most sanguine could hardly have +anticipated. + +Mr Brooke was born on the 29th of April 1803, and is therefore now in +his 43d year. He is the second son of the late Thomas Brooke, Esq., who +held an appointment in the civil service of the East India Company. At +an early age he went out to India as a cadet, served with distinction in +the Burmese war, was wounded, and returned to England for the recovery +of his health. In the year 1830, Mr Brooke relinquished the service +altogether, and quitted Calcutta for China, again in search of health. +During his voyage, he saw, for the first time, the islands of the +Asiatic Archipelago; almost unknown, even at that recent period, to +Europeans generally. Such information as was before the world he +obtained, and carefully considered; and the result of his reflections +was a determination to carry to Borneo, an island of some magnitude, and +terribly afflicted in more respects than one, such knowledge and +instruction as might help to elevate its people from the depravity in +which they lived, and the horrors to which they were hourly subjected. +This was in 1830. In the year 1838, he quitted England to fulfil his +purpose. For eight years he had patiently and steadily worked towards +his object, and gathered about him all that was necessary for its +accomplishment. Nothing had been omitted to insure success. A man of +fortune, he had been prodigal of his wealth; free from professional and +other ties, he had given up his time wholly to the cause. One year was +passed in the Mediterranean, that his vessel, _The Royalist_, might be +put to the severest tests. Three years were spent in educating a crew +worthy of an undertaking that promised so little sudden prosperity, that +exacted so much immediate self-denial, threatened so many hardships. The +men were happy and contented, cheerful and willing. The vessel belonged +to the royal yacht squadron, was a fast sailer, armed with six +six-pounders, a number of swivels and small arms, carried four boats, +and provisions for as many months. On the 27th of October 1838, the +adventurous company left the river. A fortunate passage carried them in +safety to Rio Janeiro, and on the 29th of March 1839, they were sailing +from the Cape of Good Hope. A six weeks' passage brought them to Java +Head, and on the 1st of June they reached that "pivot of the liberal +system in the Archipelago," the island of Singapore. It was not until +the 27th of July that Mr Brooke quitted Singapore. Five days afterwards, +the _Royalist_ was anchored off the coast of Borneo! + +At the period of Mr Brooke's arrival, Borneo Proper,[49] once the seat +of piracy, which few vessels could approach with safety, was under the +government of the rajah MUDA HASSIM. Report spoke favourably of this +rajah's character. A vessel had been wrecked on his coast, and the crew, +who had been saved with difficulty, had taken shelter in the jungle. +Muda Hassim, hearing of their fate, caused them to be brought to his +town of Sar[=a]wak, collected as much as could be saved from the wreck, +clothed the sufferers, fed them, and sent then free of expense to +Singapore. Moreover, for reasons known to himself, the rajah was well +disposed towards the English. These important circumstances were borne +in mind by Mr Brooke. The rajah was now at Sar[=a]wak, and the +adventurer determined to enter the river of that name, and to proceed as +far as the town. He was well supplied with presents; gaudy silks of +Surat, scarlet cloth, stamped velvet, gunpowder, confectionery, sweets, +ginger, jams, dates, and syrups for the governor, and a huge box of +China toys for the governor's children. From Mr Brooke's own diary, we +extract the following account of his position and feelings at this +interesting moment of his still doubtful undertaking:-- + + "_August 1st._--I am, then, at length, anchored off the coast of + Borneo! not under very pleasant circumstances, for the night is + pitchy dark, with thunder, lightning, rain, and squalls of wind. + + "_2d._--Squally bad night. This morning, the clouds clearing away, + was delightful, and offered for our view the majestic scenery of + Borneo. At nine got under weigh, and ran in on an east-by-south + course four and a half or five miles towards Tanjong Api. Came to + an anchor about five miles from the land, and dispatched the boat + to take sights ashore, in order to form a base line for + triangulation. The scenery may really be called majestic. The low + and wooded coast about Tanjong Api is backed by a mountain called + Gunong Palo, some 2000 feet in height, which slopes down behind the + point, and terminates in a number of hummocks, showing from a + distance like islands. + + "The coast, unknown, and represented to abound in shoals and reefs, + is the harbour for pirates of every description. Here every man's + hand is raised against his brother man; and here sometimes the + climate wars upon the excitable European, and lays many a white + face and gallant heart low on the distant strand. + + "_3d._--Beating between Points Api and Datu. The bay, as far as we + have seen, is free from danger; the beach is lined by a feathery + row of beautiful casuarinas, and behind is a tangled jungle, + without fine timber; game is plentiful, from the traces we saw on + the sand; hogs in great numbers; troops of monkeys, and the print + of an animal with cleft hoofs, either a large deer, tapir, or cow. + We saw no game save a tribe of monkeys, one of which, a female, I + shot, and another quite young, which we managed to capture alive. + The captive, though the young of the black monkey, is greyish, with + the exception of the extremities, and a stripe of black down his + back and tail. + + "We witnessed, at the same time, an extraordinary and fatal leap + made by one of these monkeys. Alarmed by our approach, he sprang + from the summit of a high tree at the branch of one lower, and at + some distance. He leaped short, and came clattering down sixty or + seventy feet amid the jungle. We were unable to penetrate to the + spot, on account of a deep swamp, to ascertain his fate. + + "A river flows into the sea not far from where we landed--the water + is sweet, and of that clear brown colour so common in Ireland. This + coast is evidently the haunt of native _prahns_, whether piratical + or other. Print of men's feet were numerous and fresh, and traces + of huts, fires, and parts of boots, some of them ornamented after + their rude fashion. A long pull of five miles closed the day. + + "_Sunday, 4th._--Performed divine service myself! manfully + overcoming that horror which I have to the sound of my own voice + before an audience. In the evening landed again more to the + westward. Shore skirted by rocks; timber noble, and the forest + clear of brushwood, enabling us to penetrate with ease as far as + caution permitted. Traces of wild beasts numerous and recent, but + none discovered. Fresh-water streams coloured as yesterday, and the + trail of an alligator from one of them to the sea. This dark + forest, where the trees shoot up straight and tall, and are + succeeded by generation after generation varying in stature, but + struggling upward, strikes the imagination with pictures trite yet + true. It was thus I meditated in my walk. The foot of European, I + said, has never touched where my foot now presses--seldom the + native wanders here. Here, I, indeed, behold nature fresh from the + bosom of creation, unchanged by man, and stamped with the same + impress she originally bore! Here I behold God's design when He + formed this tropical land, and left its culture and improvement to + the agency of man! The Creator's gift as yet neglected by the + creature; and yet the time may be confidently looked for when the + axe shall level the forest, and the plough turn the ground." + +Upon the 5th of August, a boat was sent to the island of Tulang-Talang, +where some Malays were seen; they were civil, and offered their +assistance. On the following morning the _bandar_ (or chief steward) of +the place came off in his canoe, and welcomed the new-comers. He assured +them of a happy reception from the Rajah, and took his leave, after +having been sumptuously entertained with sweetmeats and syrups, and +handsomely provided with three yards of red cloth, some tea, and a +little gunpowder. The great man himself, Muda Hassim, was, visited in +his town of Sar[=a]wak on the morning of the 15th. He received his +visitors in state, seated in his hall of audience, a large shed, erected +on piles. Sar[=a]wak is only the occasional residence of the Rajah, and +at the time of the ship's arrival he was detained there by a rebellion +in the interior. The town was found to be a mere collection of mud-huts, +containing about 1500 persons, and inhabited for the most part by the +Rajah, his family, and their attendants. The remaining population were +poor and squalid. "We sat," says Mr Brooke, "in easy and unreserved +converse, out of hearing of the rest of the circle. He expressed great +kindness to the English nation; and begged me to tell him _really_, +which was the most powerful nation, England or Holland; or, as he +significantly expressed, which is the 'cat and which is the rat?' I +assured him that England was the mouser, though in this country Holland +had most territory. We took our leave after he had intimated his +intention of visiting us to-morrow morning." + +The visit was duly paid, and as duly returned. Tea, cigars, scissors, +knives, and biscuits, were distributed amongst the rajah and his suite, +and the friendliest understanding was maintained. Mr Brooke, however, +had come to Borneo for more serious business. Ceremonies being over, he +dispatched his interpreter, an Englishman, (Mr. Williamson by name,) to +the rajah, intimating his desire to travel to some of the Malay towns, +and especially into the country of the _Dyaks_. The request, it was +fully believed, would be refused; but, to the surprise of the asker, +leave was given, with the accompanying assurance, however, that the +Rajah was powerless amongst many Dyak tribes, and could not answer for +the adventurer's safety. Mr Brooke availed himself of the license, and +undertook to provide in other respects for himself. The _Dyaks_ are the +aborigines of Borneo, and share the country with the Malays and Chinese +who have made their homes in it. "There be land rats, and there be water +rats." There be also land Dyaks and water Dyaks; or, to use the language +of the country, _Dyak Darrat_ and _Dyak Laut_. Those of the sea vary in +their character and prospects, but, for the most part, they are powerful +communities, and desperate pirates, ravaging the coasts in immense +fleets, and robbing and murdering without discrimination. Their +language is similar to the Malay. The name of God amongst them is +Battara (the Avatara of the Hindoos.) They bury their dead, and in the +graves deposit a large portion of the property of the deceased, +consisting of gold ornaments, brass guns, jars, and arms. "Their +marriage ceremony consists in two fowls being killed, and the forehead +and breast of the young couple being touched with the blood; after which +the chief, or an old man, knocks their heads together several times, and +the ceremony is completed with mirth and feasting." The Dyak Darrats +inhabit an inconsiderable portion of the island, and are composed of +numerous tribes, all agreeing in their customs, and speaking the same +dialect. They are regarded as slaves by the Malays, and treated and +disposed of like beasts of burden. "We do not live," said one, "like +men; we are like monkeys; we are hunted from place to place; we have no +houses; and when we light a fire, we fear the smoke will draw our +enemies upon us." The appearance of these Dyaks, we are told, is very +prepossessing. They are of middle height, active, and good-natured in +their expression; the women not so good-looking, but as cheerful +tempered. "The dress of the men consists of a piece of cloth, about +fifteen feet long, passed between the legs, and fastened round the +loins, with the ends hanging before and behind; the head-dress is +composed of bark cloth, dyed bright yellow, and stuck up in front, so as +to resemble a tuft of feathers. The arms and legs are often ornamented +with rings of silver, brass, or shell; and necklaces are worn, made of +human teeth, or those of bears or dogs, or of white beads, in such +numberless strings as to conceal the throat. A sword on one side, a +knife and small betel-basket on the other, completes the ordinary +equipment of the males; but when they travel, they carry a basket slung +from the forehead, on which is a palm mat, to protect the owner and his +property from the weather. The women wear a short and scanty petticoat, +reaching from the loins to the knees, and a pair of black bamboo stays, +which are never removed except the wearer be _enceinte_. They have rings +of brass and red bamboo about the loins, and sometimes ornaments on the +arms; the hair is worn long; the ears of both sexes are pierced, and +ear-rings of brass inserted occasionally; the teeth of the young people +are sometimes filed to a point and discoloured, as they say that 'dogs +have white teeth.' They frequently dye their feet and hands of a bright +red or yellow colour; and the young people, like those of other +countries, affect a degree of finery and foppishness, whilst the elders +invariably lay aside all ornaments as unfit for a wise person, or one +advanced in years." The character given of these Dyaks is highly +favourable. They are pronounced grateful for kindness, industrious, +honest, simple, mild, tractable and hospitable, when well used. The word +of one may be taken before the oath of half a dozen Borneons. Their +ideas are limited enough; they reckon with their fingers and toes, and +few are arithmeticians beyond counting up to twenty. They can repeat the +operation, but they must record each twenty by making a knot in a +string. + +It was to these people that Mr Brooke made more than one excursion +during his first visit to Sar[=a]wak. He met with no disaster, but he +stored up useful information for future conduct. Great morality and the +practice of many virtues distinguished the tribes he encountered, +although degraded as low as oppression and utter ignorance could bring +them. The men, he found, married but one wife, and concubinage was +unknown in their societies; cases of seduction and adultery were very +rare, and the chastity of the Dyak women was proverbial even amongst +their Malay rulers. Miserable as was the lot of these people, Mr Brooke +gathered from their morality and simplicity, hopes of their future +elevation. They have no forms of worship, no idea of future +responsibility; but they are likewise free from prejudice of every kind, +and therefore open, under skilful hands and tender applications, to the +conviction of truth, and to religious impressions. One tribe, the +Sibnowans, particularly struck Mr Brooke by their gentleness and +sweetness of disposition. But, + +"Like the rest of the Dyaks," he informs us, "the Sibnowans _adorn_ +their houses with the heads of their enemies; yet with them this custom +exists in a modified form. Some thirty skulls," he adds, "were hanging +from the roof of one apartment; and I was informed that they had many +more in their possession; all however, the heads of enemies, chiefly of +the tribe of Sazebus. On enquiring, I was told that it is indispensably +necessary a young man should procure a skull before he gets married. On +my urging that the custom would be more honoured in the breach than in +the observance, they replied, that it was established from time +immemorial, and could not be dispensed with. Subsequently, however, +Sejugali allowed that heads were very difficult to obtain now, and a +young man might sometimes get married by giving presents to his +ladye-love's parents; at all times they denied warmly ever obtaining any +heads but those of their enemies; adding, they were bad people, and +deserved to die. + +"I asked a young unmarried man whether he would be obliged to get a head +before he could obtain a wife. He replied, 'Yes.' 'When would he get +one?' 'Soon.' 'Where would he go to get one?' 'To the Sazebus river.' I +mention these particulars in detail, as I think, had their practice +extended to taking the head of any defenceless traveller, or any Malay +surprised in his dwelling or boat, I should have wormed the secret out +of them." + +The Dyaks, generally, are celebrated for the manufacture of iron. Their +forge is the simplest possible, and is formed by two hollow trees, each +about seven feet high, placed upright, side by side, in the ground. From +the lower extremity of these, two pipes of bamboo are conducted through +a clay bank three inches thick, into a charcoal fire; a man is perched +at the top of the trees, and pumps with two pistons, the suckers of +which are made with cocks' feathers, which, being raised and depressed +alternately, blow a regular stream of air into the fire. The soil +cultivated by these people was found to be excellent. In the course of +his wanderings, Mr Brooke lighted upon a Chinese colony, who, as is +customary with our new allies, were making the most of their advantages. +The settlement consisted of thirty men, genuine Chinese, and five women +of the mixed breed of Sambas. They had been but four or five months in +the country, and many acres were already cleared and under cultivation. +The head of the settlement, a Chinese of Canton, spoke of gold mines +which were abundant in the Sar[=a]wak mountains, and of antimony ore and +diamonds; the former, he said, might be had in any quantities. + +Upon his return to Sar[=a]wak, Mr Brooke opened to the rajah the +business which had chiefly conducted him to his shores. He informed his +highness that, being a private gentleman, he had no interest in the +communication he was about to make; and that, being in no way connected +with government, his words came with no authority. At the same time, he +was, anxious for the interests of mankind, and more especially for the +wellbeing of the inhabitants of Borneo, which was the last Malay state +possessing any power, that the resources of a country so favoured by +Providence should be brought into the fullest play. To this end, he +suggested the opening of a trade with individual European merchants. +Sar[=a]wak was rich, and the territory around it produced many articles +well adapted for commercial intercourse--such as bees' wax, birds' +nests, rattans, antimony ore, and sago, which constituted the staple +produce of the country. And, in return for such commodities, merchants +of Singapore would gladly send from Europe such articles as would be +highly serviceable to the people of Borneo--gunpowder, muskets, and +cloths. Both parties would be benefited, and the comfort and happiness +of the Borneons greatly enhanced. There was much discussion on the +proposal, timidity and apprehension characterizing the questions and +answers of the Rajah. + +The important interview at an end, Mr Brooke prepares for a return to +Singapore. "Never," says that gentleman, "was such a blazing as when we +left Sar[=a]wak; twenty-one guns I fired to the Rajah, and he fired +forty-two to me--at least we counted twenty-four, and they went on +firing afterwards, as long as ever we were in sight. The last words the +Rajah, Muda Hassim, said, as I took my leave, were--'Tuan Brooke, do not +forget me.'" + +In August 1840, Mr Brooke arrived in Sar[=a]wak for the second time. He +had passed many months in cruising about the Archipelago, obtaining +valuable information respecting the language, habits, and history of the +race for whom he was concerned, and in collecting specimens of natural +history, which are said to be interesting in the highest degree. The +position of the Rajah had altered during his absence. The civil war or +rebellion which had, in the first instance, forced the governor to +reside in Sar[=a]wak, was not yet quelled. The rebels, indeed, were +within thirty miles of the rajah, and threatening an immediate attack. +Nothing could be more opportune than the return of Mr Brooke at this +critical moment. Muda Hassim begged his ancient friend not to desert him +in his extremity, and appealed to his honour, as a gentleman from +England, whether it would be fair to suffer him to be vanquished by the +traitorous revolt of his people. Mr Brooke felt that it would not, and +resolved to stand by the governor. + +"A grand council of war," writes Mr Brooke in his journal, "was held, at +which were present Macota, Subtu, Abong Mia, and Datu Naraja, two +Chinese leaders, and myself--certainly a most incongruous mixture, and +one rarely to be met with. After much discussion, a move close to the +enemy was determined on for to-morrow; and on the following day to take +up a position near the defences. To judge by the sample of the council, +I should form very unfavourable expectations of their conduct in action. +Macota is lively and active; but, whether from indecision or want of +authority, undecided. The Capitan China is lazy and silent; Subtu +indolent and self-indulgent; Abong Mia and Datu Maraja stupid." + +The army set off, and Mr Brooke availed himself of a friendly hill to +obtain a view of the country, and of the enemy's forts. The fort of +Balidah was the strongest of their defences, and a moment's observation +convinced him that a company of military might put an end to the war in +a few hours. This fort was situated at the water edge, on a slight +eminence on the right bank of a river; a few swivels and a gun or two +were in it, and around it a breast-work of wood, six or seven feet high. +The remaining defences were even more insignificant; and the enemy's +artillery was reported to consist of three six-pounders, and numerous +swivels. The number of fighting men amounted to about five hundred, +about half of whom were armed with muskets, while the rest carried +swords and spears. _Ranjows_ were stuck in every direction. "These +ranjows are made of bamboo, pointed fine, and stuck in the ground; and +there are, besides, holes of about three feet deep filled with these +spikes, and afterwards lightly covered, which are called patobong." The +army of the rajah was scarcely more formidable than that of the enemy. +It consisted of two hundred Chinese, excellent workmen and bad soldiers, +two hundred and fifty Malays, and some two hundred friendly Dyaks; a few +brass guns composed the artillery; and the boats were furnished with +swivels. Mr Brooke suggested an attack of the detached defences--a +proposition that was treated as that of a madman, the Rajah's army +having no notion of fighting except from behind a wall. A council of war +decided that advances should be made from the hill behind the rajah's +fort to Balidah by a chain of posts, the distance being a short mile, in +which space the enemy would probably erect four or five forts; "and +then," says Mr Brooke, "would come a bombardment, noisy, but harmless." + +Insignificant as the account may read, the difficulties of Mr Brooke, as +commander-in-chief, were formidable enough, surrounded as he was by +perils threatening not only from the enemy, but from the rank cowardice +of his supporters, and the envy, spite, hatred, and machinations of his +allies, the Rajah's ministers. The operations are admirably described in +Mr Brooke's journal. Let it suffice to say, that the energy and bravery +of the English leader brought them to a satisfactory issue, and, +finally, the war to a happy close. At his intercession the lives of many +of the offenders were spared, and the rebels suffered to deliver up +their arms, and to return in peace to Sar[=a]wak. + +It is now necessary to state, that at the commencement of the war, Muda +Hassim, unsolicited by Mr Brooke, had undertaken to confer upon the +latter the governorship of Sar[=a]wak, in the event of success crowning +the efforts of his "friend from England." Mr Brooke had not demanded +from the unfortunate Rajah a written agreement to this effect; nor at +the time even desired a recompense, which was likely to bring with it +much more of difficulty and vexation than profit and power. He +respectfully declined an honour which he informed the Rajah it did not +become him to accept whilst his highness was in his hands. The war being +over, and Muda Hassim reinstated, the negotiation recommenced. No sooner +was it discussed, however, than Mr Brooke informed the rajah that Malay +institutions were so faulty, the high being allowed by them so much +license, and the poor so oppressed, that any attempt to govern without a +removal of abuses, was, on his part at least, impossible; and as a +condition of his acceptance, he insisted that the Rajah should use all +his exertions to establish the principle, that one man must not take +from another, and that all men were free to enjoy the produce of their +labour, save and except when they were working for the revenue. This +revenue, too, he submitted, it was necessary to fix at a certain amount +for three years, as well as the salaries of the government officers. The +same rights should be conceded to the Dyak and Malay, and the property +of the former must be protected, their taxes fixed, and labour free. The +rajah acquiesced in the propriety of these measures, and bargained only +for the maintenance of the national faith and customs. Mr Brooke +remained in Sar[=a]wak, but the office which had been offered with so +much eagerness and pressing love, was after all slow in being conferred. +Bad advisers, envious ministers, and weakness in Muda Hassim himself, +all prevented the conclusion of a business upon which Mr Brooke had +never entered of his own accord; but which, having entered upon it, had +rendered him liable for many engagements which his anticipated new +position had made essential. + +"I found myself," writes Mr Brooke, "clipped like Samson, while delay +was heaped upon delay, excuse piled upon excuse. It was provoking beyond +sufferance. I remonstrated firmly but mildly on the waste of my money, +and on the impossibility of any good to the country whilst the rajah +conducted himself as he had done. I might as well have whistled to the +winds, or have talked reason to stones. I had trusted--my eyes gradually +opened--I feared I was betrayed and robbed, and had at length determined +to be observant and watchful." Upon the faith of the Rajah, Mr Brooke +had purchased in Singapore a schooner of ninety tons, called _The +Swift_, which he had laden with a suitable cargo. Upon its arrival at +Sar[=a]wak, the rajah petitioned to have the cargo ashore, assuring Mr +Brooke of a good and quick return: part of such return being immediately +promised in the shape of antimony ore. Three months elapsed, and the +rajah's share in this mercantile transaction had yet to be fulfilled. +Disgusted with his treatment, and hopeless of justice, Mr Brooke +dispatched the _Swift_ to Singapore; and hearing that the crew of a +shipwrecked vessel were detained in Borneo Proper, sent his only +remaining vessel, the _Royalist_, to the city of Borneo, in order to +obtain such information as might lead to the rescue of his countrymen. +"I resolved," the journal informs us, "to remain here, to endeavour, if +I could, to obtain _my own_. Each vessel was to return as quickly as +possible from her place of destination; and I then determined to give +two additional months to the rajah, and to urge him in every way in my +power to do what he was bound to do as an act of common honesty. Should +these means fail, after making the strongest representations, and giving +amplest time, I considered myself free to extort by force what I could +not gain by fair means." + +"I need hardly remark," writes Captain Keppel, "on the singular courage +and disregard of personal safety, and life itself, evinced by my friend +on this occasion. At issue with the rajah on points of great temptation +to him, beset by intrigues, and surrounded by a fierce and lawless +people, Mr Brooke did not hesitate to dispatch his vessels and +protectors,--the one on a mission of pure humanity, and the other in +calm pursuance of the objects he had proposed to himself to accomplish; +and, with three companions, place himself at the mercy of such +circumstances, regardless of the danger, and relying on the overruling +Providence in which he trusted, to bring him safely through all his +difficulties and perils." + +On the 16th of August 1841, the Royalist returned, and three days +afterwards it was followed by the Swift. The former reported that the +prisoners had been heard of in Borneo, but, unfortunately, not released. +The Swift was accompanied by the Diana steamer. The formidable squadron +alarmed the rajah and his ministers. Mr Brooke learned that the +difficulties of the rajah's situation were increased, and his conduct +towards himself, in a manner, excused, by the intrigues and evil doings +of the latter. Macota, of whom mention has been made, was the most +vindictive and unscrupulous amongst them. He had attempted to poison the +interpreter of Mr Brooke, and had been discovered as the abettor of even +more fearful crimes. Mr Brooke, strengthened by his late arrivals, +resolved to bring matters to a crisis, and to test at once the strength +of the respective parties. He landed a party of men fully armed, and +loaded the ship's guns with grape and canister; he then proceeded to +Muda Hassim, protested that he was well disposed towards the rajah, but +assured him, at the same time, that neither he nor himself was safe +against the practices of the artful and desperate Macota. Muda Hassim +was frightened. One of the Dyak tribes took part with Mr Brooke, two +hundred of them, with their chiefs, placing themselves unreservedly at +his disposal, whilst Macota was deserted by all but his immediate +slaves. The Chinese and the rest of the inhabitants looked on. The +upshot may be anticipated. The rajah became suddenly active and eager +for an arrangement. The old agreement was drawn out, sealed, and signed; +guns fired, flags waved, and on the 24th of September 1841 Mr Brooke +became Rajah of Sar[=a]wak. + +The first acts of Mr Brooke, after his accession to power, were +suggested by humanity, and a tender consideration for the savage people +whom he so singularly and unexpectedly had been called upon to govern. +He inquired into the state of the Dyaks, endeavoured to gain their +confidence, and to protect them from the brutal onslaught of the Malays +and of each other, and at once relieved them of the burdens of taxation +which weighed so cruelly upon them. He opened a court for the +administration of justice, at which he presided with the late rajah's +brothers, and maintained strict equity amongst the highest and lowest of +his people. He decreed that murder, robbery, and other heinous crimes, +should, for the future, be punished according to the written law of +Borneo; that all men, irrespectively of race, should be permitted to +trade and labour according to their pleasure, and to enjoy their gains; +that all roads should be open, and that all boats coming to the river +should be free to enter and depart without let or hindrance; that trade +should be free; that the Dyaks should be suffered to live unmolested; +together with other salutary measures for the general welfare. +Difficulty and vexation met the governor at every step; but he +persevered in his schemes of amelioration, and with a success which is +not yet complete, and for years cannot be fairly estimated. + +MUDA HASSIM, the former rajah of Sar[=a]wak, was also presumptive heir +to the throne of Borneo; but, unfortunately for him, under the +displeasure of his nephew, the reigning sultan. The confirmation of Mr +Brooke's appointment, it was absolutely necessary to receive from the +latter; and Mr Brooke accordingly resolved to pay a visit to the prince, +in the first place, to obtain a reconciliation, if possible, with the +offending Muda, and secondly, to consolidate his own infant government. +There was another object, too. The sultan had power to release the +prisoners who had been spared in the wreck already mentioned; and this +power Mr Brooke hoped, by discretion, to prevail upon his majesty to +exercise. The picture of this potentate is thus drawn by Mr Brooke: + + "The sultan is a man past fifty years of age, short and puffy in + person, with a countenance which expresses, very obviously, the + imbecility of his mind. His right hand is garnished with an extra + diminutive thumb--the natural member being crooked and distorted. + His mind, indeed, by his face, seems to be a chaos of + confusion--without acuteness, without dignity, and without good + sense. He can neither read nor write; is guided by the last + speaker; and his advisers, as might be expected, are of the lower + order, and mischievous from their ignorance and greediness. He is + always talking, and generally joking; and the most serious subjects + never meet with five minutes' consecutive attention. The favourable + side of his character is, that he is good-tempered and + good-natured--by no means cruel--and, in a certain way, generous, + though rapacious to as high a degree. His rapacity, indeed, is + carried to such an excess as to astonish a European, and is evinced + in a thousand mean ways. The presents I made him were + unquestionably handsome; but he was not content without begging + from me the share I had reserved for the other Pangerans; and + afterwards, through Mr Williamson, solicited more trifles--such as + sugar, penknives, and the like. I may note one other feature that + marks the man. He requested as the greatest favour--he urged with + the earnestness of a child--that I would send back the schooner + before the month Ramban, (Ramadan of the Turks,) remarking, 'What + shall I do during the fast without soft sugar and dates?'" + +The delivery of the prisoners, and the forgiveness of Muda Hassim, were +quickly obtained; the more personal matter found opposition with the +advisers of the Crown, but was ultimately conceded. On the 1st of August +1842, the letters to Muda Hassim were sealed and signed; and at the same +council the contract, which gave Mr Brooke the government of Sar[=a]wak, +was fully discussed; and by ten o'clock at night was signed, sealed and +witnessed. Mr Brooke returned to his government and people on the +following day. + +On the 1st of January 1843, the following entry appears in the diary so +often quoted:--"Another year passed and gone!--a year with all its +anxieties, its troubles, its dangers, upon which I can look back with +satisfaction--a year in which I have been usefully employed in doing +good to others. Since I last wrote, the Dyaks have been quiet, settled, +and improving; the Chinese advancing towards prosperity; and the +Sar[=a]wak people wonderfully contented and industrious, relieved from +oppression, and fields of labour allowed them. Justice I have executed +with an unflinching hand." + +It was in the month of March 1843, at the conclusion of the Chinese war, +that Captain Keppel was ordered in the Dido to the Malacca Straits and +the island of Borneo. Daring acts of piracy had been committed, and were +still committing, on the Borneon coast; and, becoming engaged in the +suppression of these crimes, he fell in with the English rajah of +Sar[=a]wak, and obtained from him the information which he has recently +given to the world, and enabled us to place succinctly before our +readers. + +The piracy of the Eastern Archipelago is very different to that of the +western world. The former obtains an importance unknown to the latter. +The hordes who conduct it issue from their islands and coasts in fleets, +rove from place to place, intercept the native trade, enslave whole +towns at the entrance of rivers, and attack ill-armed or stranded +European vessels. The native governments, if they are not participators +in the crime, are made its victims, and in many cases, we are told, they +are both--purchasing from one set of pirates, and plundered and enslaved +by another. Captain Keppel has well related more than one engagement in +which he was concerned with the ferocious marauders of these eastern +seas--scenes of blood and horror, justified only by the enormity of the +offence, and the ultimate advantages likely to be obtained from an +extirpation of the deeply-rooted evil. As we have hinted at the +commencement of this article, our present object is not so much to draw +attention to the battle-scenes described by Mr Keppel, and which may be +read with peculiar though painful interest in his book, as to obtain for +Mr Brooke, the peaceful and unselfish disposer of so many blessings +amongst a benighted and neglected people, that admiration and regard +which he has so nobly earned. He has done much, but our government may +enable him to do more. He has shown the capabilities of his distant +home, and called upon his mother-country to improve them to the +uttermost. We hear that her Majesty's government have not been deaf to +his appeal, and that aid will be given for the development of his plans, +equal to his warmest expectations. We trust it may be so. Nothing is +wanting but the assistance which a government alone can afford, to +render Borneo a friendly and valuable ally, and to constitute Mr Brooke +one of the most useful benefactors of modern times; a benefactor in the +best sense of the term--an improver of his species--an intelligent +messenger and expounder of God's purpose to man. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 48: _The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido, for the +Suppression of Piracy, &c. &c_. By Capt. the Hon. HENRY KEPPEL, R.N. +London, 1846.] + +[Footnote 49: _Borneo Proper_ is the northern and north-western part of +the island, and an independent Malay state.] + + + + +THE SMUGGLER'S LEAP. + +A PASSAGE IN THE PYRENEES. + + +"Oh! there's not in this wide world," I exclaimed, quite unintentionally +quoting Tom Moore; "there never has been, nor can ever be again, so +charming a creature. No nymph, or sylph, or winged Ariel, or syren with +song and mirror, was ever so fascinating--no daughter of Eve so pretty +and provoking!" + +This apostrophe, which certainly appears, now that in cooler moments I +recall it, rather rhapsodical, was not uttered _viva voce_, nor even +_sotto voce_, seeing that its object, Miss Dora M'Dermot, was riding +along only three paces in front of me, whilst her brother walked by my +side. It was a mere mental ejaculation, elicited by the surpassing +perfections of the aforesaid Dora, who assuredly was the most charming +girl I had ever beheld. But for the Pyrenean scenery around us, and the +rough ill-conditioned mule, with its clumsy side-saddle of discoloured +leather, on which she was mounted, instead of the Spanish jennet or +well-bred English palfrey that would best have suited so fair an +equestrian, I could, without any great exertion of fancy, have dreamed +myself back to the days of the M'Gregor, and fancied that it was Die +Vernon riding up the mountain side, gaily chatting as she went with the +handsome cavalier who walked by her stirrup, and who might have been +Frank Osbaldistone, only that he was too manly-looking for Scott's +somewhat effeminate hero. How beautifully moulded was the form which her +dark-green habit set off to such advantage; how fairy-like the foot that +pressed the clumsy stirrup; how slender the fingers that grasped the +rein! She had discarded the heavy riding-hat and senseless bonnet, those +graceless inventions of some cunning milliner, and had adopted a +head-dress not unusual in the country in which she then was. This was a +_beret_ or flat cap, woven of snow-white wool, and surmounted by a +crimson tassel spread out over the top. From beneath this elegant +_coiffure_ her dark eyes flashed and sparkled, whilst her luxuriant +chestnut curls fell down over her neck, the alabaster fairness of which +made her white head-dress look almost tawny. Either because the air, +although we were still in the month of September, was fresh on the +mountains, or else because she was pretty and a woman, and therefore not +sorry to show herself to the best advantage, she had twisted round her +waist a very long cashmere scarf, previously passing it over one +shoulder in the manner of a sword-belt, the ends hanging down nearly to +her stirrup; and this gave something peculiarly picturesque, almost +fantastical, to her whole appearance. + +Upon the second day of my arrival at the baths of St Sauveur, in the +Pyrenees, I had fallen in with my old friend and college chum, Jack +M'Dermot, who was taking his sister the round of the French +watering-places. Dora's health had been delicate, the faculty had +recommended the excursion; and Jack, who doated upon his only sister, +had dragged her away from the gaieties of London and brought her off to +the Pyrenees. M'Dermot was an excellent fellow, neither a wit nor a +Solomon; but a good-hearted dog who had been much liked at Trin. Coll., +Dublin, where he had thought very little of his studies, and a good deal +of his horses and dogs. An Irishman, to be sure, occasionally a slight +touch of the brogue was perceptible in his talk; but from this his +sister, who had been brought up in England, was entirely free. Jack had +a snug estate of three thousand a-year; Miss Dora had twenty thousand +pounds from her mother. She had passed two seasons in London; and if she +was not already married, it was because not one of the fifty aspirants +to her hand had found favour in her bright eyes. Lively and +high-spirited, with a slight turn for the satirical, she loved her +independence, and was difficult to please. + +I had been absent from England for nearly two years, on a continental +tour; and although I had heard much of Miss M'Dermot, I had never seen +her till her brother introduced me to her at St Sauveur. I had not known +her an hour, before I found myself in a fair way to add another to the +list of the poor moths who had singed their wings at the perilous light +of her beauty. When M'Dermot, learning that, like themselves, I was on a +desultory sort of ramble, and had not marked out any particular route, +offered me a seat in their carriage, and urged me to accompany them, +instead of prudently flying from the danger, I foolishly exposed myself +to it, and lo! what might have been anticipated came to pass. Before I +had been two days in Dora's society, my doom was sealed; I had ceased to +belong to myself; I was her slave, the slave of her sunny smile and +bright eyes--talisman more potent than any lamp or ring that djinn or +fairy ever obeyed. + +A fortnight had passed, and we were at B----. During that time, the +spell that bound me had been each day gaining strength. As an intimate +friend of her brother, I was already, with Dora, on the footing of an +old acquaintance; she seemed well enough pleased with my society, and +chatted with me willingly and familiarly; but in vain did I watch for +some slight indication, a glance or an intonation, whence to derive +hope. None such were perceptible; nor could the most egregious coxcomb +have fancied that they were. We once or twice fell in with other +acquaintances of her's and her brother's, and with them she had just the +same frank friendly manner, as with me. I had not sufficient vanity, +however, to expect a woman, especially one so much admired as Miss +M'Dermot, to fall in love at first sight with my humble personality, and +I patiently waited, trusting to time and assiduity to advance my cause. + +Things were in this state, when one morning, whilst taking an early walk +to the springs, I ran up against an English friend, by name Walter +Ashley. He was the son of a country gentleman of moderate fortune, at +whose house I had more than once passed a week in the shooting season. +Walter was an excellent fellow, and a perfect model of the class to +which he belonged. By no means unpolished in his manners, he had yet a +sort of plain frankness and _bonhomie_, which was peculiarly agreeable +and prepossessing. He was not a university man, nor had he received an +education of the highest order; spoke no language but his own with any +degree of correctness; neither played the fiddle, painted pictures, nor +wrote poetry. On the other hand, in all manly exercises he was a +proficient; shot, rode, walked, and danced to perfection; and the fresh +originality, and pleasant tone of his conversation, redeemed any +deficiency of reading or accomplishment. In personal appearance he was a +splendid fellow, nearly six feet in his boots, strongly, but, at the +same time, symmetrically built; although his size of limb and width of +shoulder rendered him, at six-and-twenty, rather what is called a fine +man, than a slender or elegant one. He had the true Anglo-Saxon +physiognomy, blue eyes, and light brown hair that waved, rather than +curled, round his broad handsome forehead. And, then, what a mustache +the fellow had! (He was officer in a crack yeomanry corps.) Not one of +the composite order, made up of pomatum and lamp-black, such as may be +seen sauntering down St James's Street on a spring afternoon, with +incipient guardsmen behind them--but worthy of an Italian painter or +Hungarian hussar; full, well-grown, and glossy. Who was the idiot who +first set afloat the notion--now become an established prejudice in +England--that mustaches were unseemly? To nine faces out of ten, they +are a most becoming addition, increasing physiognomical character, +almost giving it where there is none; relieving the monotony of broad +flat cheeks, and abridging the abomination of a long upper-lip. +Uncleanly, say you? Not a bit of it, if judiciously trimmed and trained. +What, Sir! are they not at least as proper looking as those foxy +thickets extending from jawbone to temple, which you yourself, each +morning of your life, take such pains to comb and curl into shape? + +Delighted to meet Ashley, I dragged him off to the hotel, to introduce +him to M'Dermot and his sister. As a friend of mine they gave him a +cordial welcome, and we passed that day and the following ones together. +I soon, however, I must confess, began to repent a little having brought +my handsome friend into the society of Dora. She seemed better pleased +with him than I altogether liked, nor could I wonder at it. Walter +Ashley was exactly the man to please a woman of Dora's character. She +was of rather a romantic turn, and about him there was a dash of the +chivalrous, well calculated to captivate her imagination. Although +perfectly feminine, she was an excellent horsewoman, and an ardent +admirer of feats of address and courage, and she had heard me tell her +brother of Ashley's perfection in such matters. On his part, Ashley, +like every one else who saw her, was evidently greatly struck with her +beauty and fascination of manner. I cannot say that I was jealous; I had +no right to be so, for Dora had never given me encouragement; but I +certainly more than once regretted having introduced a third person into +what--honest Jack M'Dermot counting, of course, for nothing--had +previously been a sort of _tête-à-tête_ society. I began to fear that, +thanks to myself, my occupation was gone, and Ashley had got it. + +It was the fifth day after our meeting with Walter, and we had started +early in the morning upon an excursion to a neighbouring lake, the +scenery around which, we were told, was particularly wild and beautiful. +It was situated on a piece of table-land on the top of a mountain, which +we could see from the hotel window. The distance was barely ten miles, +and the road being rough and precipitous, M'Dermot, Ashley, and myself, +had chosen to walk rather than to risk our necks by riding the +broken-knee'd ponies that were offered to us. A sure-footed mule, and +indifferent side-saddle, had been procured for Miss M'Dermot, and was +attended by a wild-looking Bearnese boy, or gossoon, as her brother +called him, a creature like a grasshopper, all legs and arms, with a +scared countenance, and long lank black hair hanging in irregular shreds +about his face. + +There is no season more agreeable in the Pyrenees than the month of +September. People are very apt to expatiate on the delights of autumn, +its mellow beauty, pensive charms, and suchlike. I confess that in a +general way I like the youth of the year better than its decline, and +prefer the bright green tints of spring, with the summer in prospective, +to the melancholy autumn, its russet hues and falling leaves; its +regrets for fine weather past, and anticipations of bad to come. But if +there be any place where I should be tempted to reverse my judgment, it +would be in Southern France, and especially its western and central +portion. The clear cloudless sky, the moderate heat succeeding to the +sultriness, often overpowering, of the summer months, the magnificent +vineyards and merry vintage time, the noble groves of chestnut, clothing +the lower slopes of the mountains, the bright streams and +flower-spangled meadows of Bearn and Languedoc, render no part of the +year more delightful in those countries than the months of September and +October. + +As before mentioned, Dora rode a little in front, with Ashley beside +her, pointing out the beauties of the wild scenery through which we +passed, and occasionally laying a hand upon her bridle to guide the mule +over some unusually rugged portion of the almost trackless mountain. +M'Dermot and I were walking behind, a little puffed by the steepness of +the ascent; our guide, whose name was Cadet, a name answered to by every +second man one meets in that part of France, strode along beside us, +like a pair of compasses with leathern lungs. Presently the last-named +individual turned to me-- + +"_Ces messieurs veulent-ils voir le Saut de lou Contrabandiste?_" said +he, in the barbarous dialect of the district, half French, half patois, +with a small dash of Spanish. + +"_Le Saut du Contrebandier_, the Smuggler's Leap--What is that?" asked +Dora, who had overheard the question, turning round her graceful head, +and dazzling us--me at least--by a sudden view of her lovely face, now +glowing with exercise and the mountain air. + +The smuggler's leap, so Cadet informed us, was a narrow cleft in the +rock, of vast depth, and extending for a considerable distance across a +flank of the mountain. It owed its name to the following incident:--Some +five years previously, a smuggler, known by the name of Juan le Negre, +or Black Juan, had, for a considerable period, set the custom-house +officers at defiance, and brought great discredit on them by his success +in passing contraband goods from Spain. In vain did they lie in ambush +and set snares for him; they could never come near him, or if they did +it was when he was backed by such a force of the hardy desperadoes +carrying on the same lawless traffic, that the douaniers were either +forced to beat a retreat or got fearfully mauled in the contest that +ensued. One day, however, three of these green-coated guardians of the +French revenue caught a sight of Juan alone and unarmed. They pursued +him, and a rare race he led them, over cliff and crag, across rock and +ravine, until at last they saw with exultation that he made right for +the chasm in question, and there they made sure of securing him. It +seemed as if he had forgotten the position of the cleft, and only +remembered it when he got within a hundred yards or thereabouts, for +then he slackened his pace. The douaniers gained on him, and expected +him to desist from his flight, and surrender. What was their surprise +and consternation when they saw him, on reaching the edge of the chasm, +spring from the ground with lizardlike agility, and by one bold leap +clear the yawning abyss. The douaniers uttered a shout of rage and +disappointment, and two of them ceased running; but the third, a man of +great activity and courage, and who had frequently sworn to earn the +reward set on the head of Juan, dared the perilous jump. He fell short; +his head was dashed against the opposite rock, and his horror-struck +companions, gazing down into the dark depth beneath, saw his body strike +against the crags on its way to the bottom of the abyss. The smuggler +escaped, and the spot where the tragical incident occurred was +thenceforward known as "_Le Saut du Contrebandier_." + +Before our guide had finished his narrative, we were unanimous in our +wish to visit its scene, which we reached by the time he had brought the +tale to a conclusion. It was certainly a most remarkable chasm, whose +existence was only to be accounted for by reference to the volcanic +agency of which abundant traces exist in Southern France. The whole side +of the mountain was cracked and rent asunder, forming a narrow ravine of +vast depth, in the manner of the famous Mexican _barrancas_. In some +places might be traced a sort of correspondence on the opposite sides; a +recess on one side into which a projection on the other would have +nearly fitted, could some Antæus have closed the fissure. This, however, +was only here and there; generally speaking, the rocky brink was worn by +the action of time and water, and the rock composing it sloped slightly +downwards. The chasm was of various width, but was narrowest at the spot +at which we reached it, and really did not appear so very terrible a +leap as Cadet made it out to be. On looking down, a confusion of +bush-covered crags was visible; and now that the sun was high, a narrow +stream was to be seen, flowing, like a line of silver, at the bottom; +the ripple and rush of the water, repeated by the echoes of the ravine, +ascending to our ears with noise like that of a cataract. On large +fragment of rock, a few yards from the brink, was rudely carved a date, +and below it two letters. They were the initials, so our guide informed +us, of the unfortunate douanier who had there met his death. + +We had remained for half a minute or so gazing down into the ravine, +when Ashley, who was on the right of the party, broke silence. + +"Pshaw!" said he, stepping back from the edge, "that's no leap. Why, +I'll jump across it myself." + +"For heaven's sake!" cried Dora. + +"Ashey!" I exclaimed, "don't be a fool!" + +But it was too late. What mad impulse possessed him I cannot say; but +certain I am, from my knowledge of his character, that it was no foolish +bravado or schoolboy desire to show off, that seduced him to so wild a +freak. The fact was, but for the depth below, the leap did not look at +all formidable; not above four or five feet, but in reality it was a +deal wider. It was probably this deceitful appearance, and perhaps the +feeling which Englishmen are apt to entertain, that for feats of +strength and agility no men surpass them, that convinced Walter of the +ease With which he could jump across. Before we could stop him, he took +a short run, and jumped. + +A scream from Dora was echoed by an exclamation of horror from M'Dermot +and myself. Ashley had cleared the chasm and alighted on the opposite +edge, but it was shelving and slippery, and his feet slid from under +him. For one moment it appeared as if he would instantly be dashed to +pieces, but in falling he managed to catch the edge of the rock, which +at that place formed an angle. There he hung by his hands, his whole +body in the air, without a possibility of raising himself; for below the +edge the rock was smooth and receding, and even could he have reached +it, he would have found no foot-hold. One desperate effort he made to +grasp a stunted and leafless sapling that grew in a crevice at not more +than a foot from the edge, but it failed, and nearly caused his instant +destruction. Desisting from further effort, he hung motionless, his +hands convulsively cramped to the ledge of rock, which afforded so +slippery and difficult a hold, that his sustaining himself by it at all +seemed a miracle, and could only be the result of uncommon muscular +power. It was evident that no human strength could possibly maintain him +for more than a minute or two in that position; below was an abyss, a +hundred or more feet deep--to all appearance his last hour was come. + +M'Dermot and I stood aghast and helpless, gazing with open mouths and +strained eyeballs at our unhappy friend. What could we do? Were we to +dare the leap, which one far more active and vigorous than ourselves had +unsuccessfully attempted? It would have been courting destruction, +without a chance of saving Ashley. But Dora put us to shame. One scream, +and only one, she uttered, and then, gathering up her habit, she sprang +unaided from her mule. Her cheek was pale as the whitest marble, but her +presence of mind was unimpaired, and she seemed to gain courage and +decision in the moment of peril. + +"Your cravats, your handkerchiefs!" cried she, unfastening, as she +spoke, her long cashmere scarf. Mechanically M'Dermot and myself obeyed. +With the speed of light and a woman's dexterity, she knotted together +her scarf, a long silk cravat which I gave her, M'Dermot's handkerchief +and mine, and securing--how, I know not--a stone at either extremity of +the rope thus formed, she threw one end of it, with sure aim and steady +hand, across the ravine and round the sapling already referred to. Then +leaning forward till I feared she would fall into the chasm, and sprang +forward to hold her back, she let go of the other end. Ashley's hold was +already growing feeble, his fingers were torn by the rock, the blood +started from under his nails, and he turned his face towards us with a +mute prayer for succour. At that moment the two ends of the shawl fell +against him, and he instinctively grasped them. It was a moment of +fearful suspense. Would the knots so hastily made resist the tension of +his weight? They did so; he raised himself by strength of wrist. The +sapling bent and bowed, but his hand was now close to it. He grasped it; +another powerful effort, the last effort of despair, and he lay +exhausted and almost senseless upon the rocky brink. At the same moment, +with a cry of joy, Dora fell fainting into her brother's arms. + +Of that day's adventures little remains to tell. A walk of a mile +brought Ashley to a place where a bridge, thrown over the ravine, +enabled him to cross it. I omit his thanks to Dora, his apologies for +the alarm he had caused her, and his admiring eulogy of her presence of +mind. Her manner of receiving them, and the look she gave him when, on +rejoining us, he took her hand, and with a natural and grateful courtesy +that prevented the action from appearing theatrical or unusual, pressed +it to his lips, were any thing but gratifying to me, whatever they may +have been to him. She seemed no way displeased at the freedom. I was +most confoundedly, but that Walter did not seem to observe. + +The incident that had occurred, and Dora's request, brought our +excursion to an abrupt termination, and we returned homewards. It +appeared as if this were doomed to be a day of disagreeables. On +reaching the inn, I found a letter which, thanks to my frequent change +of place, and to the dilatoriness of continental post-offices, had been +chasing me from town to town during the previous three weeks. It was +from a lawyer, informing me of the death of a relative, and compelling +me instantly to return to England to arrange some important business +concerning a disputed will. The sum at stake was too considerable for me +to neglect the summons, and with the worst possible grace I prepared to +depart. I made some violent attempts to induce Ashley to accompany me, +talked myself hoarse about fox-hunting and pheasant-shooting, and other +delights of the approaching season; but all in vain. His passion for +field-sports seemed entirely cooled; he sneered at foxes, treated +pheasants with contempt, and professed to be as much in love with the +Pyrenees as I began to fear he was with Dora. There was nothing for it +but to set out alone, which I accordingly did, having previously +obtained from M'Dermot the plan of their route, and the name of the +place where he and his sister thought of wintering. I was determined, so +soon as I had settled my affairs, to return to the continent and propose +for Dora. + +Man proposes and God disposes, says the proverb. In my case, I am +prepared to prove that the former part of the proverb lied abominably. +Instead of a fortnight in London being, as I had too sanguinely hoped, +sufficient for the settlement of the business that took me thither, I +was detained several months, and compelled to make sundry journeys to +the north of England. I wrote several times to M'Dermot, and had one +letter from him, but no more. Jack was a notoriously bad correspondent, +and I scarcely wondered at his silence. + +Summer came--my lawsuit was decided, and sick to death of briefs and +barristers, parchments and attorneys, I once more found myself my own +master. An application to M'Dermot's London banker procured me his +address. He was then in Switzerland, but was expected down the Rhine, +and letters to Wiesbaden would find him. That was enough for me; my +head and heart were still full of Dora M'Dermot; and two days after I +had obtained information, the "Antwerpen" steamer deposited me on +Belgian ground. + +"Mr M'Dermot is stopping here?" I enquired of, or rather affirmed to, +the head waiter at the Four Seasons hotel at Wiesbaden. If the fellow +had told me he was not, I believe I should have knocked him down. + +"He is, sir. You will find him in the Cursaal gardens with madame _sa +soeur_." + +Off I started to the gardens. They were in full bloom and beauty, +crowded with flowers and _fraüleins_ and foreigners of all nations. The +little lake sparkled in the sunshine, and the waterfowl skimmed over it +in all directions. But it's little I cared for such matters. I was +looking for Dora, sweet Dora--Dora M'Dermot. + +At the corner of a walk I met her brother. + +"Jack!" I exclaimed, grasping his hand with the most vehement affection, +"I'm delighted to see you." + +"And I'm glad to see you, my boy," was the rejoinder. "I was wondering +you did not answer my last letter, but I suppose you thought to join us +sooner." + +"Your last letter!" I exclaimed. "I have written three times since I +heard from you." + +"The devil you have!" cried Jack. "Do you mean to say you did not get +the letter I wrote you from Paris a month ago, announcing"---- + +I did not hear another word, for just then, round a corner of the +shrubbery, came Dora herself, more charming than ever, all grace and +smiles and beauty. But I saw neither beauty nor smiles nor grace; all I +saw was, that she was leaning on the arm of that provokingly handsome +dog Walter Ashley. For a moment I stood petrified, and then extending my +hand, + +"Miss M'Dermot!"----I exclaimed. + +She drew back a little, with a smile and a blush. Her companion stepped +forward. + +"My dear fellow," said he, "there is no such person. Allow me to +introduce you to Mrs Ashley." + +If any of my friends wish to be presented to pretty girls with twenty +thousand pounds, they had better apply elsewhere than to me. Since that +day I have forsworn the practice. + + + + +MINISTERIAL MEASURES. + + +Not enviable, in our apprehension, at the present crisis, is the +position of a young man whose political education has been framed upon +Conservative principles, and whose personal experience and recollections +go little further back than the triumph of those principles over others +which he has been early taught to condemn. His range of facts may be +limited, but at the same time it is very significant. He has seen his +party--for a season excluded from power--again re-assume the reigns of +government at the call of a vast majority of the nation. He remembers +that that call was founded upon the general desire that a period of +tranquil stability should succeed to an interval of harassing +vacillation; and that the only general pledge demanded from the +representatives of the people was an adherence to certain principles of +industrial protection, well understood in the main, if not thoroughly +and accurately defined. We shall suppose a young man of this stamp +introduced into the House of Commons, deeply impressed with the full +import and extent of his responsibilities--fortified in his own opinions +by the coinciding votes and arguments of older statesmen, on whose +experience he is fairly entitled to rely--regarding the leader of his +party with feelings of pride and exultation, because he is the champion +of a cause identified with the welfare of the nation--and unsuspicious +of any change in those around him, and above. Such was, we firmly +believe, the position of many members of the present Parliament, shortly +before the opening of this session, when, on a sudden, rumours of some +intended change began to spread themselves abroad. An era of conversion +had commenced. In one and the same night, some portentous dream +descended upon the pillows of the Whig leaders, and whispered that the +hour was come. By miraculous coincidence--co-operation being studiously +disclaimed--Lord John Russell, Lord Morpeth, + + "And other worthy fellows that were _out_," + +gave in their adhesion, nearly on the same day, to the League--thereby, +as we are told, anticipating the unanimous wish of their followers. Then +came, on the part of Ministers, a mysterious resignation--an episodical +and futile attempt to re-construct a Whig government--and the return of +Sir Robert Peel to power. Still there was no explanation. Men were left +to guess, as they best might, at the Eleusinian drama performing behind +the veil of Isis--to speculate for themselves, or announce to others at +random the causes of this huge mystification. "The oracles were dumb." +This only was certain, that Lord Stanley was no longer in the Cabinet. + +Let us pass over the prologue of the Queen's speech, and come at once to +the announcement of his financial measures by the Minister. What need to +follow him through the circumlocutions of that speech--through the +ostentatiously paraded details of the measure that was to give +satisfaction to all or to none? What need to revert to the manner in +which he paced around his subject, pausing ever and anon to exhibit some +alteration in the manufacturing tariff? The catalogue was protracted, +but, like every thing else, it had an end; and the result, in so far as +the agricultural interest is concerned, was the proposed abolition of +all protective duties upon the importation of foreign grain. + +Our opinion upon that important point has been repeatedly expressed. For +many years, and influenced by no other motive than our sincere belief in +the abstract justice of the cause, this Magazine has defended the +protective principle from the assaults which its enemies have made. Our +views were no doubt fortified by their coincidence with those +entertained and professed by statesmen, whose general policy has been +productive of good to the country; but they were based upon higher +considerations than the mere approbation of a party. Therefore, as we +did not adopt these views loosely, we shall not lightly abandon then. On +the contrary, we take leave to state here, in _limine_, that, after +giving our fullest consideration to the argument of those who were +formerly, like us, the opponents, but are now the advisers of the +change, we can see no substantial reason for departing from our +deliberate views, and assenting to the abandonment of a system which +truth and justice have alike compelled us to uphold. + +We can, however, afford to look upon these things philosophically, and +to content ourselves with protesting against the change. Very different +is the situation of those Conservative members of Parliament who are now +told that their eyes must be couched for cataract, in order that they +may become immediate recipients of the new and culminating light. +CONVERSION is no doubt an excellent thing; but, as we have hitherto +understood it, the quality of CONVICTION has been deemed an +indispensable preliminary. Conversion without conviction is hypocrisy, +and a proselyte so obtained is coerced and not won. We are not +insensible to the nature of the ties which bind a partisan to his +leader. Their relative strength or weakness are the tests of the +personal excellence of the latter--of the regard which his talents +inspire--of the veneration which his sagacity commands. Strong indeed +must be the necessity which on any occasion can unloose them; nor can +it, in the ordinary case, arise except from the fault of the leader. For +the leader and the follower, if we consider the matter rightly, are +alike bound to common allegiance: some principle must have been laid +down as terms of their compact, which both are sworn to observe; and the +violation of this principle on either side is a true annulment of the +contract. No mercy is shown to the follower when he deserts or +repudiates the common ground of action;--is the leader, who is presumed +to have the maturer mind, and more prophetic eye, entitled to a larger +indulgence? + +Whilst perusing the late debates, we have repeatedly thought of a +pregnant passage in Schiller. It is that scene in "The Piccolomini," +where Wallenstein, after compromising himself privately with the enemy, +attempts to win over the ardent and enthusiastic Max, the nursling of +his house, to the revolt. It is so apposite to the present situation of +affairs, that we cannot forbear from quoting it. + + +WALLENSTEIN. + + Yes, Max! _I have delay'd to open it to thee, + Even till the hour of acting 'gins to strike_. + Youth's fortunate feeling doth seize easily + The absolute right; yea, and a joy it is + To exercise the single apprehension + Where the sums square in proof;-- + But where it happens, that _of two sure evils + One must be taken_, where the heart not wholly + Brings itself back from out the strife of duties, + _There 'tis a blessing to have no election, + And blank necessity is grace and favour._ + --This is now present: do not look behind thee,-- + It can no more avail thee. Look thou forwards! + _Think not! judge not! prepare thyself to act! + The Court--it hath determined on my ruin, + Therefore will I to be beforehand with them._ + We'll join THE SWEDES--right gallant fellows are they, + And our good friends. + +For "the Swedes" substitute "the League," and there is not one word of +the foregoing passage that might not have been uttered by Sir Robert +Peel. For, most assuredly, until "the hour of acting" struck, was the +important communication delayed; and no higher or more comprehensive +argument was given to the unfortunate follower than this, "that of two +sure evils one must be taken." But is it, therefor, such a blessing "to +have no election," and is "blank necessity," therefore, such a special +"grace and favour?"--say, _is_ it necessity, when a clear, and +consistent, and honourable course remains open? The evil on one side is +clear: it is the loss of self-respect--the breach of pledges--the +forfeiture of confidence--the abandonment of a national cause. On the +other it is doubtful; it rests but on personal feeling, which may be +painful to overcome, but which ought not to stand for a moment in the +way of public duty. + +Far be it from us to say, that amongst those who have cast their lot on +the opposite side, there are not many who have done so from the best and +the purest motives. The public career of some, and the private virtues +of others, would belie us if we dared to assert the contrary. With them +it may be conviction, or it may be an overruling sense of +expediency--and with either motive we do not quarrel--but surely it is +not for them, the new converts, to insinuate taunts of interested +motives and partial construction against those who maintain the deserted +principle. "For whom are you counsel now?" interrupted Sir Robert Peel, +in the midst of the able, nay chivalrous speech of Mr Francis Scott, the +honourable member for Roxburghshire. Admitting that the question was +jocularly put and good-humouredly meant, we yet admire the spirit of the +reply. "I am asked for whom I am the counsel. I am the counsel for my +opinions. I am no delegate in this assembly. I will yield to no man in +sincerity. I am counsel for no man, no party, no sect. I belong to no +party. I followed, and was proud to follow, that party which was led so +gloriously--the party of the constitution, which was led by the Right +Honourable Baronet. I followed under his banner, and was glad to serve +under it. I would have continued to serve under his banner if he had +hoisted and maintained the same flag!" Can it be that the Premier, who +talks so largely about his own wounded feelings, can make no allowance +for the sorrow, or even the indignation of those who are now restrained +by a sense of paramount duty from following him any further? Can he +believe that such a man as Mr Stafford O'Brien would have used such +language as this, had he not been stung by the injustice of the course +pursued towards him and his party:--"We will not envy you your +triumph--we will not participate in your victory. Small in numbers, and, +it may be, uninfluential in debate, we will yet stand forward to protest +against your measures. You will triumph; yes, and you will triumph over +men whose moderation in prosperity, and whose patience under adversity +has commanded admiration--but whose fatal fault was, that they trusted +you. You will triumph over them in strange coalition with men, who, true +to their principles, can neither welcome you as a friend, nor respect +you as an opponent; and of whom I must say, that the best and most +patriotic of them all will the least rejoice in the downfall of the +great constitutional party you have ruined, and will the most deplore +the loss of public confidence in public men!" + +We may ask, are such men, speaking under such absolute conviction of the +truth, to be lightly valued or underrated? Are their opinions, because +consistent, to be treated with contempt, and consistency itself to be +sneered at as the prerogative of obstinacy and dotage? Was there no +truth, then, in the opinions which, on this point of protection, the +Premier has maintained for so many years; or, if not, is their fallacy +so very glaring, that he can expect all the world at once to detect the +error, which until now has been concealed even from his sagacious eye? +Surely there must be something very specious in doctrines to which he +has subscribed for a lifetime, and without which he never would have +been enabled to occupy his present place. We blame him not if, on mature +reflection, he is now convince of his error. It is for him to reconcile +that error with his reputation as a statesman. But we protest against +that blinding and coercing system which of late years has been unhappily +the vogue, and which, if persevered in, appears to us of all things the +most likely to sap the foundations of public confidence, in the +integrity as well as the skill of those who are at the helm of the +government. + +We have given the speech of Wallenstein-let us now subjoin the reply of +Piccolomini. Mark how appropriate it is, with but the change of a single +word-- + + MAX. + + My General; this day thou makest me + Of age to speak in my own right and person. + For till this day I have been spared the trouble + To find out my own road. _Thee have I follow'd + With most implicit, unconditional faith, + Sure of the right path if I follow'd thee._ + To-day, for the first time, dost thou refer + Me to myself, and forcest me to make + Election between thee and my own heart-- + _Is that a good war, which against the Empire + Thou wagest with the Empire's own array?_ + O God of heaven! what a change is this! + Beseems it me to offer such persuasion + To thee, who like the fix'd star of the pole + Wert all I gazed at on life's trackless ocean; + Oh, what a rent thou makest in my heart! + The engrain'd instinct of old reverence, + The holy habit of obediency, + Must I pluck live asunder from thy name? + Oh, do it not!--I pray thee do it not!-- + Thou wilt not-- + Thou canst not end in this! It would reduce + All human creatures to disloyalty + Against the nobleness of their own nature. + 'Twill justify the vulgar misbelief + Which holdeth nothing noble in free-will, + And trusts itself to impotence alone, + Made powerful only in an unknown power! + +These quotations may look strangely in such an article as this; but +there are many within the walls of St Stephens's who must acknowledge +the force of the allusion, and the truth of the sentiments they convey. +The language we intend to use is less that of reproach than sorrow: for +whatever may be the practical result of this measure--however it may +affect the great industrial interest of the country, it is impossible +not to see that, from the mere manner of its proposal, it has +disorganized the great Conservative party, and substituted mistrust and +confusion for the feeling of entire confidence which formerly was +reposed in its leaders. + +The change, however has been proposed, and we shall not shrink from +considering it. The scheme of Sir Robert Peel is reducible to a few +points, which we shall now proceed to review _seriatim_. First--let us +regard it with a view to its _nature_; secondly, as to its _necessity_ +under existing circumstances. + +The Premier states, that this is a great _change_. We admit that fully. +A measure which contains within itself a provision, that at the end of +three years agricultural industry within this country shall be left +without any protection at all, and that, in the interim, the mode of +protection shall not only be altered but reduced, is necessarily a +prodigious _change_. It is one which is calculated to affect agriculture +directly, and home consumption of manufactures indirectly; to reduce the +price of bread in this country--otherwise it is a useless change--by the +introduction of foreign grain, and therefore to lower the profits of one +at least of three classes, the landlord, the tenant, or the labourer, +which classes consume the greater part of our manufactures. So far it is +distinctly adverse to the agricultural interest, for we cannot exactly +understand how a measure can be at once favourable and unfavourable to a +particular party--how the producer of corn can be benefited by the +depreciation of the article which he raises, unless, indeed, the +reduction of the price of the food which he consumes himself be taken +as an equivalent. Very likely this is what is meant. If so, it partakes +of the nature of a principle, and must hold good in other instances. +Apply it to the manufacturer; tell him that, by reducing the cost of his +cottons one-half, he will be amply compensated, because in that event +his shirts will cost him only a half of the present prices, and his wife +and children can be sumptuously clothed for a moiety. His immediate +answer would be this: "By no means. I an manufacturing not for myself +but for others. I deal on a large scale. I supply a thousand customers; +and the profit I derive from that is infinitely greater than the saving +I could effect by the reduced price of the articles which I must consume +at home." The first view is clearly untenable. We may, therefore, +conclude at all events that some direct loss must, under the operation +of the new scheme, fall upon the agricultural classes; and it is of some +moment to know how this loss is to be supplied. For we take the opening +statement of Sir Robert Peel as we find it; and he tells us that _both_ +classes, the agriculturists and the manufacturers, are "to make +sacrifices." Now, in these three words lies the germ of a most +important--nay paramount--consideration, which we would fain have +explained to us before we go any further. For, according to our ideas of +words, a sacrifice means a loss, which, except in the case of deliberate +destruction, implies a corresponding gain to a third party. Let us, +then, try to discover who is to be the gainer. Is it the state--that is, +the British public revenue? No--most distinctly not; for while, on the +one side, the corn duties are abolished, on the other the tariff is +relaxed. Is the sacrifice to be a mutual one--that is, is the +agriculturist to be compensated by cheaper _home_ manufactures, and the +manufacturer to be compensated by cheaper _home-grown bread_? No--the +benefit to either class springs from no such source. _The duties on the +one side are to be abolished, and on the other side relaxed, in order +that the agriculturist may get cheap foreign manufactures, and the +manufacturer cheap foreign grain._ If there is to be a sacrifice upon +both sides, as was most clearly enunciated, it must just amount to this, +that the interchange between the classes at home is to be closed, and +the foreign markets opened as the great sources of supply. + +Having brought the case of the "mutual sacrifices" thus far, is there +one of our readers who does not see a rank absurdity in the attempt to +insinuate that a compensation is given to the labourer? This measure, if +it has meaning at all, is framed with the view of benefiting the +manufacturing interest, of course at the expense of the other. Total +abolition of protective duties in this country must lower the price of +corn, and that is the smallest of the evils we anticipate;--for an evil +it is, if the effect of it be to reduce the labourer's wages--and it +must also tend to throw land out of cultivation. _But what will the +relaxation of the tariff do?_ Will it lower the price of manufactured +goods in this country to the agricultural labourer?--that is, after the +diminished duty is paid, can foreign manufactures be imported here _at a +price which shall compete with the home manufactures_? If so, the home +consumption of our manufactures, which is by far the most important +branch of them, is ruined. "Not so!" we hear the modern economist +exclaim; "the effect of the foreign influx of goods will merely be a +stimulant to the national industry, and a consequent lowering of our +prices." Here we have him between the horns of a plain and palpable +dilemma. If the manufacturer for the home market will be compelled, as +you say he must be, to lower his prices at home, in order to meet the +competition of foreign imported manufactured goods, which are still +liable in a duty, WHAT BECOMES OF YOUR FOREIGN MARKET AFTER YOU HAVE +ANNIHILATED OR EQUALIZED THE HOME ONE? If the foreigner can afford to +pay the freight and the duties, and still to undersell you at home, how +can you possibly contrive to do the same by him? If his goods are +cheaper than yours in this country, when all the costs are included, how +can you compete with him in his market? The thing is a dream--a +delusion--a palpable absurdity. The fact is either this--that not only +the foreign agriculturist but the foreign manufacturer can supply us +with either produce cheaper than we can raise it at home--in which case +we have not a foreign manufacturing market--or that the idea of "mutual +sacrifices" is a mere colour and pretext, and that to all practical +intents and purposes the agriculturist is to be the only sufferer. + +A great change, however, does not necessarily imply a great measure. +This proposal of Sir Robert Peel does not, as far as we can see, embody +any principle; it merely surrenders the interests of one class for the +apparent aggrandizement of another. We use the word "apparent" +advisedly; for, looking to the nature and the extent of home +consumption, we believe that the effects of the measure would ultimately +be felt most severely by the manufacturers themselves. The agriculturist +of Great Britain is placed in a peculiarly bad position. In the first +place, he has to rear his produce in a more variable climate, and a soil +less naturally productive, than many which exist abroad. In the second +place, he has to bear his proportion of the enormous taxation of the +country, for the interest of the national debt, and the expense of the +executive government--now amounting to nearly fifty millions per annum. +It is on these grounds, especially the last, that he requires some +protection against the cheap-grown grain of the Continent, with which he +cannot otherwise compete; and this was most equitably afforded by the +sliding scale, which, in our view, ought to have been adhered to as a +satisfactory settlement of the matter. In a late paper upon this +subject, we rested our vindication of protection upon the highest +possible ground--namely, that it was indispensable for the stability and +independence of the country, that it should depend upon its own +resources for the daily food of its inhabitants. There is a vast degree +of misconception on this point, and the statistics are but little +understood. Some men argue as if this country were incapable, at the +present time, of producing food for its inhabitants, whilst others +assert that it cannot long continue to do so. To the first class we +reply with the pregnant fact, that at this moment there is not more +foreign grain consumed in Great Britain, than the quantity which is +required for production of the malt liquors which we export. To the +second we say--if your hypothesis is correct, the present law is +calculated to operate both as an index and a remedy; but we broadly +dispute your assertions. Agriculture has hitherto kept steady pace with +the increase of the population; new land has been taken into tillage, +and vast quantities remain which are still improveable. The railways, by +making distance a thing of no moment, and by lowering land-carriage, +will, if fair play be given to the enterprise of the agriculturist, +render any apprehension of scarcity at home ridiculous. As to famine, +there is no chance whatever of that occurring, provided the +agriculturists are let alone. But, on the contrary, there is a chance +not of one future famine, but of many, if the protective duties are +removed, and the land at present under tillage permitted to fall back. +You talk of the present distress and low wages of the agricultural +laborer. It is a favourite theme with a certain section of +philanthropists, whose hatred to the aristocracy of this country is only +equalled by their ignorance and consummate assurance. Is that, or can +that be made--supposing that it generally exists--an argument for a +repeal of the corn-laws? If the condition of the labouring man be now +indifferent, what will it become if you deprive him of that employment +from which he now derives his subsistence? Agriculture is subject to the +operation of the laws which govern every branch of industrial labour. It +must either progress or fall back--it cannot by possibility stand still. +It will progress if you give it fair play; if you check it, it will +inevitably decline. What provision do you propose to make for the +multitude of labourers who will thus be thrown out of employment? +They--the poor--are by far more deeply interested in this question than +the rich. Every corn field converted into pasture, will throw some of +these men loose upon society. What do you propose do with them? Have you +poor's-houses--new Bastilles--large enough to contain them? are they to +be desired to leave their homes, desert their families, and seek +employment in the construction of railways--a roving and a houseless +gang? These are very serious considerations, and they require something +more than a theoretical answer. You are not dealing here with a +fractional or insignificant interest, but with one which, numerically +speaking, is the most important of any in the empire. The number of +persons in the United Kingdom immediately supported by agriculture, is +infinitely greater than that dependent in like manner upon manufactures. +It is a class which you do not count by thousands, but by millions; so +that the experiment must be made upon the broadest scale, and the danger +of its failure is commensurate. Rely upon it, this is not a subject with +which legislators may venture to trifle. If the land of this country is +once allowed to recede--as it must do if the power of foreign +competition in grain should prove too much for native industry--the +consequences may be more ruinous than any of us can yet foresee. + +We need hardly say that a period of agricultural depression is of all +things that which the manufacturer has most reason to dread. Exportation +never can be carried to such a height, that the home consumption shall +be a matter of indifference. At present, from eight to nine-tenths of +the manufacturing population are dependent for support upon articles +consumed at home. Any depression, therefore, of agriculture--any measure +which has tendency to throw the other class of labourers out of +employment--must be to them productive of infinite mischief. If the +customer has no means of buying, the dealer cannot get quit of his +goods. This surely is a self-evident proposition; and yet it is now +coolly proposed, that for the benefit of the dealer, the resources of +the principal customer must be so far crippled that even the employment +is rendered precarious. + +The abolition of the protective duties upon corn, is unquestionably the +leading feature of the scheme which the Premier has brought forward. +There are, however, other parts of it with which the agriculturist has +little or nothing to do, but which may appear equally objectionable to +isolated interests. Such is the proposal to allow foreign manufactured +papers to be admitted at a nominal duty, in the teeth of the present +excise regulations, which, of themselves, have been a grievous burden +upon this branch of home industry--the reduction of the duties upon +manufactured silks, linens, shoes, &c.--all of which are now to be +brought into direct competition with our home productions. Brandy, +likewise, is to supersede home-made spirits, whilst the excise is not +removed from the latter. For these and other alterations, it is +difficult to find out any thing like a principle, unless indeed some of +them are to be considered as baits thrown out to foreign states for the +purpose of tempting them to reciprocity. We should, however, have +preferred some distinct negotiation on this subject before the +reductions were actually made; for we have no confidence in the scheme +of tacit subsidies, without a clear understanding or promise of +repayment. Indeed the whole success of this measure, if its effects are +prospectively traced, must ultimately depend upon its reception by the +foreign powers. No doubt, our abandonment of protection upon grain will +be considered by them as a valuable boon; for either their agriculture +will increase in a ratio corresponding to the decline of our own, which +would clearly be their wisest policy, or they will transfer the system +of protective duties to the other side of the seas, and establish a +sliding scale on exports, which may actually prevent us from getting +their grain any cheaper than at present, whilst our public revenue will +thereby be materially diminished. Looking to the commercial jealousy of +our neighbours--to the Zollverein, the various independent tariffs, and +the care and anxiety with which they are shielding their rising +manufactures from our competition--we are inclined to think the last +hypothesis the more probable of the two. The vast success of English +manufacture, and the strenuous efforts which she has latterly made to +command the markets of the world, have not been lost upon the European +or the American sates. They are now far less solicitous about the +improvement of their agriculture, than for the increase of their +manufactures; and some of them--Belgium for example--are already +beginning in certain branches to rival us. This scheme of concession +which is now agitating us will not, as some suppose, resolve itself into +a matter of simple barter, as if Britain with the one hand were +demanding corn, and with the other were proffering the equivalent of a +cotton bale. We are indeed about to demand corn, but the answer of the +foreigner will be this,--"You want grain, for your population is +increasing, your land has gone out of cultivation, and you cannot +support yourselves. Well, we have a superfluity of grain which we can +give you--in fact we have grown it for you--but then it is for us to +select the equivalent. We shall not take those goods which you offer in +exchange. Twelve years ago we set up cotton manufactories. We had not +the same advantages which you possessed in coal and iron, and machinery; +but labour was cheaper with us, and we have prospered. Our manufactures +are now sufficient to supply ourselves--nay, we have begun to export. +Your cotton goods, therefore, are worthless to us, and we must have +something else for our corn." Gold, therefore, the common equivalent, +will be demanded; and the price of corn in this country will, like every +other article, be regulated by the amount and the exigency of the +demand. The regulating power, however, will not then be with us, but +with the parties who furnish the supply. + +But, supposing that no protective duties upon the exportation of grain +shall be levied abroad--which certainly is the view of the free-traders, +and, we presume, also of the Ministry--and, supposing that corn is +imported from abroad at no very great rise of price, then the evil will +come upon us in all its naked deformity. It is very well for certain +politicians to say, that it is an utter absurdity to maintain that cheap +bread can affect the interests of the country; but the men who can argue +thus, have not advanced a step beyond the threshold of social economy. +Let them take the converse of the proposition. If there existed abroad a +manufacturing state which could supply the people of this country with +clothing and every article of manufactured luxury, at a ratio thirty per +cent cheaper than these could be produced in this country, would it be a +measure of wise policy to abandon a system of protective duties? Would +it be wise in the agriculturist to insist upon such an abandonment, in +order that he might wear a cheaper dress, whilst the practical effect of +the measure must be to annihilate the capital now invested in +manufactures, to starve the workman, and of course to narrow within the +lowest limits his capability of purchasing food? In like manner we say, +that it is not wise in the manufacturer to co-operate in this scheme; +for sooner or later the evil effects of it must fall upon his own head. +Cheap bread may be an evil, and a great one. Mr Hudson, no mean +authority in the absence of all official information upon the point, but +a man who has personally dealt in grain, informs us that the probable +price of wheat will be from 35s. to 40s. a quarter. We shall adopt his +calculation, and the more readily because we firmly believe that foreign +grain will at first be imported at some such price, although the spirit +of avarice may combine with the necessity of expending capital in +improvement, to raise it considerably afterwards. But let us assume that +as the probable starting price. No man who knows any thing at all upon +the subject, will venture to say that, at such a price, the agriculture +of the country can be maintained. It _must_ go back. The immediate +consequence is not a prophecy, but a statement of natural effect. Much +land will go out of cultivation. Pauperism will increase in the country +on account of agricultural distress, and the home market for +manufactures will suffer accordingly. + +Is cheap bread a blessing to the labourer, let his labour be what it +may? Let us consider that point a little. And, first, what is meant by +cheap bread? Cheapness is a relative term, and we cannot disconnect it +as a matter of _price_, from the counter element of _wages_. If a +labourer earns but a shilling a-day, and the loaf costs seven-pence, he +will no doubt be materially benefited by a reduction of twopence upon +its price. But if he only earns tenpence, and the loaf is reduced to +fivepence, it is clear to the meanest capacity that he is nothing the +gainer. Nay, he may be a loser. For the grower of the loaf is more +likely, on account of his extra price, to be a purchaser of such +commodities as the other labourer is producing, than if he were ground +down to the lowest possible margin. But, setting that aside, the +consideration comes to be, does price regulate labour, or labour +regulate price? In such a country as this, we apprehend there can be no +doubt that price is the regulating power. At the present moment, +peculiar and extraordinary causes are at work, which, in some degree, +render this question of less momentary consequence. Undoubtedly there is +a stimulus within the country, caused by new improvement, which alters +ordinary calculations, but which cannot be expected to last. We never +yet had so great a demand for labour. But let a period of distress +come--such as we had four years ago--and the political problem revives. +We are undoubtedly an overgrown country. Periods of distress constantly +occur. The slightest check in our machinery, sometimes in parts +apparently trivial, is sufficient to derange the whole of our industrial +system, and to throw the labourer entirely at the mercy of the +capitalist. It is _then_ that the relative value of wages and prices is +developed. The standard which is invariably fixed upon to regulate the +rate of the former, is the price of bread. No class understand this +better than the master-manufacturers, who have the command of capital, +and are not only the council, but the absolute incarnation of the +League. It is in these circumstances that the labouring artisan is +driven to the lowest possible rate of wages, which is calculated simply +upon the price of the quartern loaf. In order to work he must live. That +is a fact which the tyrants of the spinneries do not overlook, but they +take care that the livelihood shall be as scant as possible. The +labourer is desired to work for his daily bread, to which the wages are +made to correspond, and, of course, the cheaper bread is, the greater +are the profits of the master. + +Where the different industrial classes of a nation purchase from each +other, there is a mutual benefit--when either deserts the home market, +and has recourse to a foreign one, the benefit is totally neutralized. +There is no greater fallacy than the proposition, that it is best to buy +in the cheapest and to sell in the dearest market. There is a +preliminary consideration to this--which is your best, your steadiest, +and your most unfailing customer? None knows better than the +manufacturer, that he depends, _ante omnia_, upon the home market. Is +not this the very interest which is now assailed and threatened with +ruin? There is not a man in this country, whatever be his condition, who +would escape without scaith a period of agricultural depression; and how +infinitely more dangerous is the prospect, when the period appears to be +without a limit! The longer we reflect upon this measure, the more are +we convinced of its wantonness, and of the dangerous nature of the +experiment upon every industrial class in this great and prospering +country. + +There is one objection to the Ministerial scheme which, strange to say, +is open to both Protectionist and the Free-trader. The landowner has +reason to object to it both as an active and a passive measure--it +professes to leave him to his own resources, but it does not remove his +restrictions. Surely if the foreigner and the colonists are to be +permitted to compete on equal terms with him in the production of the +great necessary of life, his ingenuity ought to have free scope in other +things, more especially as he labours under the disadvantage of an +inferior soil and climate. Why may he not be allowed, if he pleases, to +attempt the culture of tobacco? The coarser kinds can be grown and +manufactured in many parts of England and Scotland, and if we are to +have free trade, why not carry out the principle to its fullest extent? +Why not allow us to grow hops duty free? Why not relieve us of the +malt-tax and of many other burdens? The answer is one familiar to +us--the revenue would suffer in consequence. No doubt it would, and so +it suffers from every commercial change. But these changes have now +gone so far, that--especially if you abolish this protective duty upon +corn--we are entitled to demand a return from the present cumbrous, +perplexing, and expensive mode of taxation, to the natural cheap and +simple one of poll or property-tax. At present no man knows what he is +paying towards the expense of government. He is reached in every way +indirectly through the articles he consumes. The customs furnish +occupation for one most expensive staff; the excise for another; nowhere +is the machinery of collection attempted to be simplified. Then comes +the assessed-taxes, the income-tax, land-tax--and what not--all +collected by different staffs--the cost of the preventive guard is no +trifle--in fact, there are as many parasites living upon the taxation of +this country as there are insects on a plot of unhealthy rose-trees. If +we are to have free trade, let it be free and unconditional, and rid us +of these swarms of unnecessary vermin. Open the ports by all means, but +open them to every thing. Let the quays be as free for traffic as the +Queen's highway; let us grow what we like, consume what we please, and +tax us in one round sum according to each man's means and substance, and +then at all events there can be no clashing of interests. This is the +true principle of free trade, carried to its utmost extent, and we +recommend it now to the serious consideration of Ministers. + +We have not in these pages ventured to touch upon the interests which +the national churches have in this important measure, because hitherto +we have been dealing with commercial matters exclusively. May we hope +they will be better cared for elsewhere than in our jarring House of +Commons. + +As to the necessity of the measure, more especially at the present time, +we can find no shadow of a reason. We can understand conversions under +very special circumstances. Had it been shown that the agriculturists, +notwithstanding their protection, were remiss in their duties--that they +had neglected improvement--that thereby the people of this country, who +looked to them for their daily supply of bread, were stinted or forced +pay a most exorbitant price, then there might have been some shadow of +an argument for the change at the present moment. We say a shadow, for +in reality there is no argument at all. The sliding-scale was +constructed, we presume, for the purpose of preventing exorbitant +prices, by admitting foreign grain duty free after our averages reached +a certain point, _and that point they have never yet reached_. Was, +then, the probability of such prices never in the mind of the framers, +and was the sliding-scale merely a temporary delusion and not a +settlement? So it would seem. The agriculturists are chargeable with no +neglect. The attempt some three or four months ago to get up a cry of +famine on account of the failure of the crops, has turned out a gross +delusion. Every misrepresentation on this head was met by overwhelming +facts; and the consequence is, that the Premier did not venture, in his +first speech, to found upon a scarcity as a reason for proposing his +measure. Something, indeed, was said about the possibility of a pressure +occurring before the arrival of the next harvest--it was perhaps +necessary to say so; but no man who has studied the agricultural +statistics of last harvest, can give the slightest weight to that +assertion. His second speech has just been put into our hands. Here +certainly he is more explicit. With deep gravity, and a tone of the +greatest deliberation, he tells the House of Commons, that before the +month of May shall arrive, the pressure will be upon us. We read that +announcement, so confidently uttered, with no slight amount of misgiving +as to the opinions we have already chronicled, but the next half column +put us right. There is, after all, no considerable deficiency in the +grain crop. It may be that the country has raised that amount of corn +which is necessary for its ordinary consumption, but the potato crop in +Ireland has failed! This, then--the failure of the potato crop in +Ireland--is the immediate cause, the necessity, of abolishing the +protections to agriculture in Great Britain! Was there ever such logic? +What has the murrain in potatoes to do with the question of foreign +competition, as applied to English, Scottish, nay, Irish corn? We are +old enough to recollect something like a famine in the Highlands, when +the poor were driven to such shifts as humanity shudders to recall; but +we never heard that distress attributed to the fact of English +protection. If millions of the Irish will not work, and will not grow +corn--if they prefer trusting to the potato, and the potato happens to +fail--are _we_ to be punished for that defect, be it one of +carelessness, of improvidence, or of misgovernment? Better that we had +no reason at all than one so obviously flimsy. If we turn to the +petitions which, about the end of autumn, were forwarded from different +towns, praying for that favourite measure of the League, the opening of +the ports, it will be seen that one and all of them were founded on the +assumed fact, that the grain crop was a deficient one. That has proved +to be fallacy, and is of course no longer tenable; but now we are asked +to take, as a supplementary argument, the state of the potatoes in +Ireland, and to apply it not to the opening of the ports for an +exigency, but to the total abolition of the protective duties upon +grain! + +Of the improvidence of the peasantry of Ireland we never entertained a +doubt. To such a scourge as this they have been yearly exposed; but how +their condition is to be benefited by the repeal of the Corn-laws, is a +matter which even Sir Robert Peel has not condescended to explain. For +it is a notorious and incontrovertible fact, that if foreign corn were +at this moment exposed at their doors duty free, they could not purchase +it. We shall give full credit to the government for its intention to +introduce the flour of Indian corn to meet, if possible, the exigency. +It was a wise and a kind thought, objectionable on no principle +whatever; and, had an Order in Council been issued to that effect, we +believe there is not one man in the country who would not have applauded +it. But why was this not done, more especially when the crisis is so +near? If the Irish famine is to begin in May, or even earlier, surely it +was not a very prudent or paternal act to mix up the question with +another, which obviously could not be settled so easily and so soon. It +is rather too much to turn now upon the agriculturists, and say--"You +see, gentlemen, what is the impending condition of Ireland. You have it +in your power to save the people from the consequences of their own +neglect. Adopt our scheme--admit Indian corn free of duty--and you will +rescue thousands from starvation." The appeal, we own, would be +irresistible, _were it made singly_. But if--mixed up as it were and +smothered with maize-flour--the English agriculturist is asked at the +same time to pass another measure which he believes to be suicidal to +his interest, and detrimental to that of the country, he may well be +excused if he pauses before taking so enthusiastic a step. Let us have +this maize by all means; feed the Irish as you best can; do it +liberally; but recollect that there is also a population in this country +to be cared for, and that we cannot in common justice be asked to +surrender a permanent interest, merely because a temporary exigency, +caused by no fault of ours, has arisen elsewhere. + +Apart from this, where was the necessity for the change at the present +moment? We ask that question, not because we are opposed to change when +a proper cause has been established, but because we have been taught--it +would seem somewhat foolishly--to respect consistency, and because we +see ground for suspicion in the authenticity of all these sudden and +unaccountable conversions. This is the first time, so far as we can +recollect, that Ministers, carried into power expressly for their +adherence to certain tangible principles, have repudiated these without +any intelligible cause, or any public emergency which they might seize +as a colourable pretext. The sagacity of some, the high character and +stainless honour of others--for we cannot but look upon the whole +Cabinet as participators in this measure--render the supposition of any +thing like deliberate treachery impossible. It is quite clear from what +has already transpired, that the private opinions of some of them remain +unchanged. They have no love for this measure--they would avoid it if +they could--they cannot look upon its results without serious +apprehension. Some of them, we know, care nothing for power--they would +surrender, not sacrifice it, at any time cheerfully--most of all at a +crisis when its retention might subject them to the reproach of a broken +pledge. Neither do we believe that this is a faint-hearted Cabinet, or +that its members are capable of yielding their opinions to the _brutum +fulmen_ of the League. That body is by no means popular. The great bulk +of the manufacturing artisans are totally indifferent to its +proceedings; for they know well that self-interest, and not +philanthropy, is the motive which has regulated that movement, and that +the immediate effect of cheap bread would be a reduction of the +workman's wages. We cannot, therefore, admit that any pressure from +without has wrought this change of opinion, about which there seems to +be a mystery which may never be properly explained. Perhaps it is best +that it should remain so. Enough are already implicated in this +question, on one side or the other. The facts and the arguments are +before us, and we have but to judge between them. + +Of the probable fate of this measure we shall venture no opinion. The +enormous amount of private business which of late years has been brought +before the Houses of Parliament--the importance and the number of the +internal improvements which depend upon their sanction, and in which +almost every man of moderate means has a stake, are strong probabilities +against any immediate dissolution of Parliament, or an appeal to the +judgment of the country. But there is no policy equal to truth, no line +of conduct at all comparable to consistency. We have not hesitated to +express our extreme regret that this measure should have been so +conceived and ushered in; both because we think these changes of opinion +on the part of public men, when unaccompanied by sufficient outward +motives, and in the teeth of their own recorded words and actions, are +unseemly in themselves, and calculated to unsettle the faith of the +country in the political morality of our statesmen--and because we fear +that a grievous, if not an irreparable division has been thereby caused +amongst the ranks of the Conservative party. Neither have we +hesitated--after giving all due weight to the arguments adduced in its +favour--to condemn that measure, as, in our humble judgment, uncalled +for and attended with the greatest risk of disastrous consequences to +the nation. If this departure from the protective principle should +produce the effect of lessening the tillage of our land, converting +corn-fields into pasture, depriving the labourer of his employment, and +permanently throwing us upon the mercy of foreign nations for our daily +supply of corn, it is impossible to over-estimate the evil. If, on the +contrary, nothing of this should take place--if it should be +demonstrated by experience that the one party has been grasping at a +chimera, and the other battling for the retention of an imaginary +bulwark, then--though we may rejoice that the delusion has been +dispelled--we may well be pardoned some regret that the experiment was +not left to other hands. Our proposition is simply this, that if we +cannot gain cheap bread without resorting to other countries for it, we +ought to continue as we are. Further, we say, that were we to be +supplied with cheap bread on that condition, not only our agricultural +but our manufacturing interest would be deeply and permanently injured; +and that no commercial benefit whatever could recompense us for the +sacrifice of our own independence, and the loss of our native resources. + + +_Edinburgh: Printed by Ballantyne and Hughes, Paul's Work._ + + Transcriber's note: + + In this etext a macron is represented thus [=a]. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackwoods Edinburgh Magazine, Volume +59, No. 365, March, 1846, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKWOODS EDINBURGH *** + +***** This file should be named 29858-8.txt or 29858-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/8/5/29858/ + +Produced by Brendan OConnor, Jonathan Ingram and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Library of Early Journals.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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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: Blackwoods Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 59, No. 365, March, 1846 + +Author: Various + +Release Date: August 30, 2009 [EBook #29858] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKWOODS EDINBURGH *** + + + + +Produced by Brendan OConnor, Jonathan Ingram and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Library of Early Journals.) + + + + + + +</pre> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span></p> + + +<h1>BLACKWOOD'S</h1> +<h1>EDINBURGH MAGAZINE.</h1> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><span class="smcap">No</span>. CCCLXV. <span class="spacer"> </span>MARCH, + 1846.<span class="spacer"> </span> <span class="smcap">Vol</span>. LIX.</h2> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS.</h2> + +<div class='centered'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="2" width="65%" cellspacing="0" summary="CONTENTS"> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Twenty-fourth Book of Homer's Iliad.</span> (<span class="smcap">In English Hexameters</span>,)</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_259'><b>259</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Student of Salamanca. Part V.</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_273'><b>273</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Moses and Son. A Didactic Tale</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_294'><b>294</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Vichyana</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_306'><b>306</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">It's all for the Best. Conclusion</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_319'><b>319</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Roman Campagna</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_337'><b>337</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Mr Brooke of Borneo</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_356'><b>356</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Smuggler's Leap. A Passage in the Pyrenees</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_366'><b>366</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Ministerial Measures</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_373'><b>373</b></a></td></tr> +</table></div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3>EDINBURGH:</h3> +<h3>WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, 45, GEORGE STREET;</h3> +<h3>AND 22, PALL-MALL, LONDON.</h3> +<h4><i>To whom all Communications (post paid) must be addressed</i>.</h4> +<p> </p> +<h4>SOLD BY ALL THE BOOKSELLERS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.</h4> +<h4>PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE AND HUGHES, EDINBURGH.</h4> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h2>BLACKWOOD'S</h2> +<h2>EDINBURGH MAGAZINE.</h2> +<p> <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span></p> +<h2><span class="smcap">No</span>. CCCLXV.<span class="spacer"> </span> MARCH, 1846.<span class="spacer"> </span> <span class="smcap">Vol</span>. LIX.</h2> + +<p> </p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="THE_TWENTY-FOURTH_BOOK_OF_HOMERS_ILIAD" id="THE_TWENTY-FOURTH_BOOK_OF_HOMERS_ILIAD"></a>THE TWENTY-FOURTH BOOK OF HOMER'S ILIAD,</h2> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Attempted in English Hexameters.</span></p> + + +<p>[It may be thought idle or presumptuous to make a new attempt towards +the naturalization among us of any measure based on the ancient +hexameter. Even Mr Southey has not been in general successful in such +efforts; yet no one can deny that here and there—as, for instance, at +the opening of his <i>Vision of Judgment</i>, and in his Fragment on +<i>Mahomet</i>—he has produced English hexameters of very happy +construction, uniting vigour with harmony. His occasional success marks +a step of decided progress. Dr Whewell also, in some passages of his +<i>Hermann and Dorothea</i>, reached a musical effect sufficient to show, +that, if he had bestowed more leisure, he might have rendered the whole +of Goethe's masterpiece in its original measure, at least as agreeably +as the <i>Faust</i> has been presented to us hitherto. Mr Coleridge's +felicity, both in the Elegiac metre and a slight variation of the +Hendecasyllabic, is universally acknowledged.</p> + +<p>The present experiment was made before the writer had seen the German +Homer of Voss; but in revising his MS. he has had that skillful +performance by him, and he has now and then, as he hopes, derived +advantage from its study. Part of the first book of the <i>Iliad</i> is said +to have been accomplished by Wolff in a still superior manner; but the +writer has never had the advantage of comparing it with Voss. Nor was he +acquainted, until he had finished his task, with a small specimen of the +first book in English hexameters, which occurs in the <i>History of +English Rhythms</i>, lately published by Mr E. Guest, of Caius College, +Cambridge.</p> + +<p>Like Voss and Mr Guest, he has chosen to adhere to the Homeric names of +the deities, in place of adopting the Latin forms; and in this matter he +has little doubt that every scholar will approve his choice. Mr +Archdeacon Williams has commonly followed the same plan in those very +spirited prose translations that adorn his learned Essay, <i>Homerus</i>.</p> + +<p>It is hardly necessary to interpret these names: as, perhaps, no one +will give much attention to the following pages, who does not already +know that <span class="smcap">Zeus</span> answers to Jupiter—and that <span class="smcap">Kronion</span> is a usual Homeric +designation of Zeus, signifying the son of <span class="smcap">Kronos</span> = <span class="smcap">Saturn</span>: that <span class="smcap">Hera</span> is +Juno; <span class="smcap">Poseidon</span>, Neptune: <span class="smcap">Ares</span>, Mars; <span class="smcap">Artemis</span>, Diana; <span class="smcap">Aphrodité</span>, Venus; +<span class="smcap">Hermes</span>, Mercury; and so forth.</p> + +<p>Should this experiment be received with any favour, the writer has in +his portfolio a good deal of Homer, long since translated in the same +manner; and he would not be reluctant to attempt the completion of an +Iliad in English Hexameters, such as he can make them.</p> + +<p class="author"> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">N.N.T.</span><br /> +</p> +<p><span style="margin-left: 2em;"><span class="smcap">London</span>, <i>Jan.</i> 31, 1846.]</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span></p> + +<p><br /><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now the assembly dissolv'd; and the multitude rose and disperst them,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Each making speed to the ships, for the needful refreshment of nature,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Food and the sweetness of sleep; but alone in his tent was Achilles,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Weeping the friend that he lov'd; nor could Sleep, the subduer of all things,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Master his grief; but he turn'd him continually hither and thither,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thinking of all that was gracious and brave in departed Patroclus,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And of the manifold days they two had been toilfully comrades,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Both in the battles of men and the perilous tempests of ocean.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now on his side, and anon on his back, or with countenance downward,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Prone in his anguish he sank: then suddenly starting, he wander'd,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Desolate, forth by the shore; till he noted the burst of the morning</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As on the waters it gleam'd, and the surf-beaten length of the sand-beach.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Instantly then did he harness his swift-footed horses, and corded</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hector in rear of the car, to be dragg'd at the wheels in dishonour.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thrice at the speed he encircled the tomb of the son of Menœtius,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ere he repos'd him again in his tent, and abandon'd the body,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Flung on its face in the dust; but not unobserv'd of Apollo.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He, though the hero was dead, with compassionate tenderness eyed him,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And with the ægis of gold all over protected from blemish,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Not to be mangled or marr'd in the turbulent trailing of anger.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thus in the rage of his mood did he outrage illustrious Hector;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But from the mansions of bliss the Immortals beheld him with pity,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And to a stealthy removal incited the slayer of Argus.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">This by the rest was approv'd; but neither of Hera, the white-arm'd,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nor of the Blue-eyed Maid, nor of Earth-disturbing Poseidon.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Steadfast were they in their hatred of Troy, and her king, and her people,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Even as of old when they swore to avenge the presumption of Paris,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Who at his shieling insulted majestical Hera and Pallas,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Yielding the glory to her that had bribed him with wanton allurements.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But when suspense had endured to the twelfth reappearance of morning,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thus, in the midst of the Gods, outspake to them Phœbus Apollo:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Cruel are ye and ungrateful, O Gods! was there sacrifice never</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Either of goats or of beeves on your altars devoted by Hector,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whom thus, dead as he lies, ye will neither admit to be ransom'd,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nor to be seen of his wife, or his child, or the mother that bore him,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nor of his father the king, or the people, with woful concernment</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Eager to wrap him in fire and accomplish the rites of departure?</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But with the sanction of Gods ye uphold the insensate Achilles,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Brutal, perverted in reason, to every remorseful emotion</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Harden'd his heart, as the lion that roams in untameable wildness;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Who, giving sway to the pride of his strength and his truculent impulse,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rushes on sheep in the fold, and engorges his banquet of murder;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So has the Myrmidon kill'd compassion, nor breathes in his bosom</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Shame, which is potent for good among mortals, as well as for evil.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dear was Patroclus to him, but the mourner that buries a brother,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Yea, and the father forlorn, that has stood by the grave of his offspring,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">These, even these, having wept and lamented, are sooth'd into calmness,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For in the spirit of man have the Destinies planted submission.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But because Hector in battle arrested the life of his comrade,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Therefore encircling the tomb, at the speed of his furious horses,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Drags he the corse of the fall'n: Neither seemly the action nor prudent;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He among Us peradventure may rouse a retributing vengeance,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Brave though he be, that insults the insensible clay in his frenzy."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hera, the white-arm'd queen, thus answer'd Apollo in anger:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Thou of the Silvern Bow! among them shall thy word have approval,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Who in equivalent honour have counted Achilles and Hector.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">This from a man had his blood, and was nurs'd at the breast of a woman;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He that ye estimate with him, conceiv'd in the womb of a Goddess,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rear'd by myself, and assign'd by myself for the consort of Peleus,</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whom above all of his kindred the love of Immortals exalted.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And ye were witnesses, Gods! Thou, too, at the feast of the Bridal,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thou, with the lyre in thy hand, ever-treacherous, friend of the guilty!"</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But the Compeller of Clouds thus answer'd her, interposing:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Hera! with Gods the debate, nor beseems the upbraiding of anger.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Not in equivalent honour the twain; yet was generous Hector</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dearest at heart to the Gods among Ilion's blood of the death-doom'd:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dearest to me; for his gifts from his youth were unfailingly tender'd;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Never to altar of mine was his dutiful sacrifice wanting,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Savour, or costly libation; for such is our homage appointed.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dear was the generous Hector; yet never for that shall be sanction'd</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Stealthy removal, or aught that receives not assent from Achilles.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Daily and nightly, be sure, in his sorrow his mother attends him;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Swiftly some messenger hence, and let Thetis be moved to approach me:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So may some temperate word find way to his heart, and Peleides</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bend to the gifts of the king, and surrender the body of Hector."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Zeus having spoken, up sprang, for his messenger, swift-footed Iris;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And between Samos anon and the rocks of precipitous Imber</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Smote on the black sea-wave, and about her the channel resounded:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then, as the horn-fixt lead drops sheer from the hand of the islesman,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fatal to ravenous fish, plung'd she to the depth of the ocean:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Where in a cavern'd recess, the abode of the sisterly Sea-nymphs,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thetis the goddess appear'd, in the midst of them sitting dejected;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For she was ruefully brooding the fate of her glorious offspring,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Doom'd to a Phrygian grave, far off from the land of his fathers.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Near to her standing anon, thus summon'd her wind-footed Iris:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Thetis, arise! thou art calléd by Zeus whose decrees are eternal."</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But she was instantly answer'd by Thetis the silvery-footed:—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Why hath the Mightiest calléd for me? Overburthen'd with sorrow,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">How shall I stand in the place where the Gods are assembled in splendour?</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Yet will I go: never word that He speaketh in vain may be spoken."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So having spoken, the Goddess in majesty peerless, arising,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Veil'd her in mantle of black; never gloomier vesture was woven;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And she advanced, but, for guidance, the wind-footed Iris preceded.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then the o'erhanging abyss of the ocean was parted before them,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And having touched on the shore, up darted the twain into Æther;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Where, in the mansion of Zeus Far-seeing, around him were gather'd</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">All the assembly of Gods, without sorrow, whose life is eternal:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And by the throne was she seated; for Blue-eyed Pallas Athena</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Yielded the place; and, the goblet of gold being tender'd by Hera</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Softly with comforting words, soon as Thetis had drank and restored it,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then did the Father of gods and of men thus open his purpose:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Thou to Olympus hast come, O Goddess! though press'd with affliction;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bearing, I know it, within thee a sorrow that ever is wakeful.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Listen then, Thetis, and hear me discover the cause of the summons:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nine days agone there arose a contention among the Immortals,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Touching the body of Hector and Town-destroying Achilles:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Some to a stealthy removal inciting the slayer of Argus,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But in my bosom prevailing concern for the fame of Peleides,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Love and respect, as of old, toward Thee, and regard of hereafter.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hasten then, Thou, to the camp, and by Thee let thy son be admonished:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Tell that the Gods are in anger, and I above all the Immortals,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For that the corse is detain'd by the ships, and he spurns at a ransom;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">If there be awe toward me, let it move the surrender of Hector.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Iris the while will I send to bid generous Priam adventure,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That he may rescue his son, straightway to the ships of Achaia,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Laden with gifts for Achilles, wherewith to appease and content him."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nor was the white-footed Thetis unsway'd by the word of Kronion;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But she descended amain, at a leap, from the peaks of Olympus,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And to the tent of her son went straight; and she found him within it</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Groaning in heavy unrest—but around him his loving companions</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Eager in duty appear'd, as preparing the meal for the midday.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bulky and woolly the sheep they within the pavilion had slaughter'd.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then by the side of the chief sat Thetis the mother majestic,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And she caress'd with her hand on his cheek, and address'd him and named him—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"How long wilt thou, my child, thus groan, in a pauseless affliction</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Eating thy heart, neither mindful of food nor the pillow of slumber?</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Well were it surely for thee to be mingled in love with a woman;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Few are, bethink thee, the days thou shalt live in the sight of thy mother;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Near even now stands Death, and the violent Destiny shades thee.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Listen meantime to my word, for from Zeus is the message I bear thee;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wrathful, he says, are the Gods, but himself above all the Immortals,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For that in rage thou detainest the dead, nor is ransom accepted.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Haste thee, deliver the corse, and be sooth'd with the gifts of redemption."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ceased then Thetis divine, and Peleides the swift-footed answer'd:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"So let it be: let a ransom be brought, and the body surrender'd,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Since the Olympian minds it in earnest, and sends the commandment."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thus at the station of ships had the son and the mother communion.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Iris from Zeus meanwhile had descended to Ilion holy:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Go," said he, "Iris the swift, and make speed from the seat of Olympus</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Down into Ilion, bearing my message to generous Priam.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Forth to the ships let him fare with a ransom to soften Peleides—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Priam alone; not a man from the gates of the city attending:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Save that for driving the mules be some elderly herald appointed,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Who may have charge of the wain with the treasure, and back to the city</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Carefully carry the dead that was slain by the godlike Achilles.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nor be there death in the thought of the king, nor confusion of terror;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Such is the guard I assign for his guiding, the slayer of Argus,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Who shall conduct him in peace till he reaches the ships of Achaia.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nor when, advancing alone, he has enter'd the tent of Peleides,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Need there be fear that he kill: he would shield him if menac'd by others;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For neither reasonless he, nor yet reckless, nor wilfully wicked:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But when a suppliant bends at his knee he will kindly entreat him."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Swift at the bidding of Zeus arose wind-footed Iris, and nearing</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Soon the abode of the king, found misery there and lamenting:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Low on the ground, in the hall, sat the sons of illustrious Priam,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Watering their raiment with tears, and in midst of his sons was the old man,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wrapt in his mantle, the visage unseen, but the head and the bosom</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Cover'd in dust, wherewith, rolling in anguish, his hands had bestrewn them;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But in their chambers remote were the daughters of Priam bewailing,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mindful of them that, so many, so goodly, in youth had been slaughter'd</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Under the Argive hands. But the messenger charged by Kronion</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Stood by the king and in whispers address'd him, and hearing he trembled:</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Strengthen thy spirit within thee, Dardantan Priam, and fear not:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For with no message of evil have I to thy dwelling descended,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But with a kindly intent, and I come from the throne of Kronion,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Who, though afar be his seat, with concern and compassion beholds thee.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thee the Olympian calls to go forth for the ransom of Hector,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Laden with gifts for Peleides, wherewith to appease and content him.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Go thou alone: not a man from the gates of the city attending;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Only for guiding the mules be some elderly herald appointed,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Who may have charge of the wain with its treasure, and back to the city</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Carefully carry the dead that was slain by the godlike Achilles."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thus having spoken to Priam, the wind-footed Iris departed;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he commanded his sons straightway to make ready the mule-wain,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Strong-built; sturdy of wheel, and upon it to fasten the coffer.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But he himself from the hall to his odorous chamber descended,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Cedarn, lofty of roof, wherein much treasure was garner'd,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And unto Hecuba calling, outspake to her generous Priam:—</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Mourner! but now at my hand hath a messenger stood from Kronion;</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Me he commands to go forth to the ships for redeeming of Hector,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Carrying gifts for Peleides, wherewith to appease and content him.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Answer me truly, my spouse, and declare what of this is thy judgment,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For of a surety my heart and my spirit with vehement urgence</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Move me to go to the ships and the wide-spread host of Achaians."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thus did he say; but the spouse of the old man shriekt, and made answer:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Wo to me! whither are scatter'd the wits that were famous aforetime,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Not with the Trojans alone, but afar in the lands of the stranger?</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wo to me! thou to adventure, alone, to the ships of Achaia,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Into the sight of the man by whose fierceness thy sons have been murder'd,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Many, and comely, and brave! Of a surety thy heart is of iron;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For if he holds thee but once, and his eyes have been fasten'd upon thee,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bloody and faithless is he, hope thou neither pity nor worship.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Him that is taken away let us mourn for him here in our dwelling,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Since we can see him no more; the immoveable Destiny markt him,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And it was wove in his thread, even so, in the hour that I bare him,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To be the portion of dogs, who shall feast on him far from his parents,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Under the eyes of the foe: whose liver if I could but grapple</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fast by the midst to devour, he then should have just retribution</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For what he did to my son; for in no misbehaving he slew him,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But for the men of his land and the well-girt women of Troia</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Firm stood Hector in field; neither mindful of flight nor avoidance."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">This was her answer from Priam, the old man godlike in presence:—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Hold me not back when my will is to go; nor thyself in my dwelling</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Be the ill-omening bird:—howbe, thou shalt not persuade me.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Had I been bidden to this by a mortal of earth's generation,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Prophet, or Augur, or Priest might he be, I had deem'd him deceitful;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Not to go forth, but to stay, had the more been the bent of my purpose:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But having heard her myself, looking face unto face on the Goddess,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Go I, nor shall the word be in vain; and, if Destiny will'd me,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Going, to meet with my death at the ships of the brass-coated Argives,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So let it be. I refuse not to die by the hand of Achilles,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Clasping my son in mine arms, the desire of my sorrow accomplish'd."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So having spoken, he open'd the coffers that shone in his chamber,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whence he selected, anon, twelve shawls surpassingly splendid;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Delicate wool-cloaks twelve, and the like of embroidered carpets;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Twelve fair mantles of state, and of tunics as many to match them.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Next, having measur'd his gold, did he heap ten plentiful talents;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Twain were the tripods he chose, twice twain the magnificent platters;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lastly, a goblet of price, which the chieftains of Thracia tender'd</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When he on embassy journey'd: a great gift, yet did the old man</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Grudge not to pluck from his store even this, for his spirit impell'd him</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Eager to ransom his son: But the people who look'd on his treasure</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Them did he chase from the gate, and with bitter reproaches pursued them:—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Graceless and worthless, begone! in your homes is there nothing to weep for,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That ye in mine will harass me—or lacks it, to fill your contentment,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That the Olympian god has assign'd to me this tribulation—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Loss of a son without peer? But yourselves shall partake my affliction;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Easier far will it be for the pitiless sword of the Argives,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now he is dead, to make havoc of you. For myself, ere I witness</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ilion storm'd in their wrath, and the fulness of her desolation,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Oh, may the Destiny yield me to enter the dwelling of Hades!"</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Speaking, he smote with his staff, and they fled from the wrath of the old man;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But, when they all had disperst, he upbraided his sons and rebuked them;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Deiphobus and Alexander, Hippothöus, generous Dius,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Came at the call of the king, with Antiphonus, Helenus, Pammon,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Agathon, noble of port, and Polites, good at the war-shout:—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">These were the nine that he urged and admonish'd with bitter reproaches:—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Hasten ye, profitless children and vile! if ye all had been slaughter'd,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fair were the tidings to me, were but Hector in place of ye skaithless!</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">O, evil-destinied me! that had sons upon sons to sustain me,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">None to compare in the land, and not one that had worth is remaining!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mentor the gallant and goodly, and Tröilus prompt with the war-team;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hector, a god among men—he, too, who in nothing resembled</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Death-doom'd man's generation, but imaged the seed of Immortals—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Battle hath reft me of these:—but the shames of my house are in safety;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Jesters and singers enow, and enow that can dance on the feast-day;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Scourges and pests of the realm; bold spoilers of kids and of lambkins!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Will ye bestir ye at length, and make ready the wain and the coffer,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Piling in all that ye see, and delay me no more from my journey?"</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So did he speak; but the sons, apprehending the wrath of their father,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Speedfully dragg'd to the portal the mule-wain easily-rolling,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">New-built, fair to behold; and upon it the coffer was corded.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Next from the pin they unfasten'd the mule-yoke, carv'd of the box-tree,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Shaped with a prominent boss, and with strong rings skilfully fitted.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then with the bar was unfolded the nine ells' length of the yoke-band;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But when the yoke had been placed on the smooth-wrought pole with adroitness,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Back at the end of the shaft, and the ring had been turn'd on the holder,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hither and thither the thongs on the boss made three overlappings,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whence, drawn singly ahead, they were tight-knit under the collar.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Next they produced at the portal, and high on the vehicle seemly</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Piled the uncountable worth of the king's Hectorean head-gifts.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then did they harness the mules, strong-hoof'd, well-matcht in their paces,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sent of the Mysi to Priam, and splendid the gift of the stranger:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Last, to the yoke they conducted the horses which reverend Priam</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Tended and cherish'd himself, of his own hand fed at the manger;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But in the high-built court these harness'd the king and the herald,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">None putting hand to the yoke but the old men prudent in counsel.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hecuba, anxious in soul, had observ'd, and anon she approach'd them,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Goblet of gold in her hand, with the generous juice of the vine-tree,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Careful they might not go forth without worshipful rite of libation.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Take," said she; "pour unto Zeus, and beseech him in mercy to shield thee</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Home again safe from the host, since thy vehement spirit impels thee</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Forth to the ships, and my warning avails not to stay thee from going:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pour it, and call on the Lord of the Black Cloud, greatest Kronion,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Him who, on Ida enthron'd, surveys wide Troia's dominion.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pray for his messenger fleet to be issued in air on the right hand,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dearest of birds in his eyes, without peer in the might of the wingéd:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Trustful in whom thou may'st go to the ships of the Danäid horsemen.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But if the Thunderer God vouchsafe not his messenger freely,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ne'er can I will thee to go, howsoever intent on the ransom."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thus to her answer'd the king, old Priam, the godlike of presence:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Spouse, not in this shall mine ear be averse to the voice of thy counsel;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Good is it, lifting our hands, to implore for the grace of the Godhead."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Priam demanded amain of the handmaiden, chief of the household,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Water to lave on his hands; and the handmaiden drew from the fountain</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">At the command of the king, and with basin and ewer attended:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then having sprinkled his hands, and from Hecuba taken the wine-cup,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Standing in midst of the court did he worship, and pour it before them,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fixing his eyes upon heaven, and thus audibly made supplication:</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Father, enthron'd upon Ida, in power and in glory supremest!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Grant me, approaching Peleides, to find with him mercy and favour.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now, let thy messenger fleet issue forth in the sky on the right hand,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dearest of birds in thine eyes, without peer in the might of the wingéd,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Seeing and trusting in whom I may go to the ships of Achaia."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So did he make supplication, and Zeus All-Provident heard him,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And on the instant an eagle, of skyborne auguries noblest,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dark and majestic, the hunter of Æther, was sent from his footstool.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wide as the doorway framed for the loftiest hall of a rich man</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Shows, when the bolts are undrawn and the balancing valves are expanded,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Such unto either extreme was the stretch of his wings as he darted</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Clear from the right, oversweeping the city: and gazing upon him,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Comforted inly were they, every bosom with confidence gladden'd.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now to his sumptuous car with alacrity Priam ascending,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Forth from the vestibule drove, and the echoing depth of the portal.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">First was the fourwheel'd wain with the strong-hoof'd Mysian mule-team,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Guided by careful Idæus, the herald: behind him the horses,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whom with the scourge overstanding, alone in his chariot the old man</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Eagerly urged through the city. But many the friends that attended,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Trooping in sorrowful throng, as if surely to death he were driving.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">These, when advancing apace he went down to the plain from the rampart,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Turn'd them to Ilion again, both the sons and the sorrowing kindred.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But as he enter'd the plain, he escap'd not the eye of Kronion.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He took cognisance then, and with merciful favour beholding,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Forthwith spake to his son, ever loving in ministry, Hermes:—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Go!" said he, "Hermes! for ever I know it thy chiefest contentment</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Friendly to succour mankind, and thy pity attends supplication;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Go, and be Priam thy charge, till he reaches the ships of Achaia,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Watching and covering so that no eye of an enemy sees him,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">None of the Danäids note, till he comes to the tent of Peleides."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So Zeus; nor disobey'd him the kindly ambassador Hermes.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Under his feet straightway did he fasten the beautiful sandals,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wingéd, Ambrosian, golden, which carry him, now over ocean,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now over measureless earth, with the speed of the wind in its blowing.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Also he lifted the wand which, touching the eyelid of mortals,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Soothes into slumber at will, or arouses the soul of the sleeper.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Grasping it, forth did he fly in his vigour, the slayer of Argus,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And to the Hellespont glided apace, and the shore of the Trojan;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Walking whereon he appear'd as a stripling of parentage royal,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fresh with the beard first-seen, in the comeliest blossom of manhood.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But having reach'd in their journey the mighty memorial of Ilus,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now were the elders at pause—while the horses and mules in the river</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Under the sepulchre drank, and around them was creeping the twilight:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then was the herald aware of the Argicide over against them,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Near on the shadowy plain, and he started and whisper'd to Priam:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Think, Dardanides! think—for a prudent decision is urgent;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Yonder a man is in view, and I deem he is minded to slay us.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Come, let us flee on the horses; or instantly, bending before him,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Supplicate, grasping his knees, if perchance he may pity the agéd."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So did he speak; but confusion and great fear fell upon Priam,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And every hair was erect on the tremulous limbs in his faintness.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dumb and bewilder'd he stood; but beneficent Hermes, approaching,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Tenderly took by the hand, and accosted and questioned the old man:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Whither, O father! and why art thou driving the mules and the horses</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Through the ambrosial night, when the rest of mankind are in slumber?</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Is there no terror for thee in the pitiless host of Achaia,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Breathing of fury and hate, and so near to thy path in their leaguer?</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Say, if but one of them see thee, 'mid night's swift-vanishing blackness,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Urging so costly a freight, how then might thy courage avail thee?</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thou art not youthful in years, and thy only attendant is agéd;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">How, if a spearman arise in thy way, may his arm be resisted?</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But fear nothing from me, old man; were another assailing,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thee would I help, for the father I love is recall'd when I view thee."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then to him answered Priam, the old man godlike in presence:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"These things are of a truth, dear child, as thy speech has exprest them;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nevertheless, some God has extended the hand of protection;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He that vouchsafes me to meet in my need a benevolent comrade,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Helpful and gracious as thou, in the blossom of vigorous manhood;</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Prudent withal in thy mind—fair offspring of fortunate parents."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Him again answer'd in turn heaven's kindly ambassador, Hermes:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"True of a surety and wise, old man, are the words thou hast spoken;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But now freely resolve me, and fully discover thy purpose:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whether the treasures thou bearest, so many, so goodly, are destined</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Forth to some distant ally, with whom these may at least be in safety?</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Or is it so that ye all are abandoning Ilion the holy—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Stricken with dread since the bravest and best of thy sons is removéd,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He that was ever in battle the peer of the prime of Achaia?"</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thus unto Hermes replied old Priam, the godlike of presence:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Who, then, noblest! art thou, and from whom is thy worshipful lineage,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Who makest mention so fair of the death of unfortunate Hector?"</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But to him spake yet again the ambassador mild of Kronion:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Dost thou inquire, O king! as to mention of Hector the godlike?</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Him have I seen full oft with mine eyes in the glorious battle,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Yea, and when urging the chase he advanced to the ramparted galleys,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Trampling the Argive bands, and with sharp brass strew'd them in slaughter.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">We, from the station observing, in wonderment gazed; for Achilles</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Held us apart from the fight in his wrath at the wrong of Atreides.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For in his train am I named, and the same fair galley convey'd me;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Born of the Myrmidon blood, in the house of my father, Polyctor.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Noble and wealthy is he in the land, but like thee he is agéd:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Six were the sons in his hall, but myself was the seventh and the youngest,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whom, when the lots had been cast, it behov'd to depart with Peleides.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now from the ships to the plain have I come, for to-morrow at dawning</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Close to the city again the Achaians will plant them in battle:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ill do they bear within ramparts to sit, and the kings of Achaia</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now can restrain them no longer, so hot their desire for the onslaught."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Him thus eagerly answer'd old Priam, the godlike in presence:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Be'st thou indeed of the train of the Peleiades Achilles?</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Come then, discover the truth: be there nothing, I pray, of concealment.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Is my son still at the galleys, or has he already been flung forth,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Piecemeal torn, for a feast to the dogs, by the hand of Achilles?"</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">This was in turn the reply of the kindly ambassador Hermes:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Fear it not; neither the dogs, old man, nor the birds have devour'd him:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Still to this hour 'mid the tents, by the black-hull'd ship of Peleides,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He forsakenly lies: but though morning has dawn'd on him twelve times</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Since he was reft of his breath, yet the body is free from corruption;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nor have the worms, for whom war-slain men are a banquet, approach'd him.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Truly Peleides, as oft as the east is revived with the day-beam,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ruthlessly drags him around by the tomb of his brotherly comrade;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But yet he mars not the dead; and with wonder thine eyes would behold him</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">How he in freshness lies: from about him the blood has been cleanséd,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dust has not tarnisht the hue, and all clos'd are the lips of the gashes,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">All that he had, and not few were the brass-beat lances that pierc'd him.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Guarded so well is thy son by the grace of the blessed Immortals,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dead though he be; of a surety in life they had favour'd him dearly."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So did he speak: but the elder was gladden'd in spirit, and answer'd:—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Verily, child, it is good to attend on the blessed Immortals</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Duly with reverent gifts; for my son (while, alas! he was living)</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Never forgot in his home the Supreme who inherit Olympus:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wherefore they think of him now, though in death's dark destiny humbled.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But come, take from my hand this magnificent cup: it is giv'n thee</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Freely to keep for thyself; and conduct me, the Gods being gracious,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Over the shadowy field, till I reach the abode of Peleides."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Him thus answer'd amain the beneficent messenger Hermes:—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Cease, old man, from the tempting of youth—for thou shalt not persuade me.</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Gift will I none at thy hand without knowledge of noble Achilles.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Great is my terror of him; and in aught to defraud him of treasure,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Far from my breast be the thought, lest hereafter he visit with vengeance.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But for conducting of thee I am ready with reverent service,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whether on foot or by sea, were it far as to glorious Argos.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">None shall assail thee, be sure, in contempt of thy faithful attendant."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So did the Merciful speak: and he sprang on the chariot of Priam,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Seizing with strenuous hand both the reins and the scourge as he mounted:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And into horses and mules vivid energy pass'd from his breathing.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But when at last they arrived at the fosse and the towers of the galleys,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They that had watch at the gates were preparing the meal of the evening;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And the Olympian guide survey'd, and upon them was slumber</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pour'd at his will; and the bars were undone and the gates were expanded,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he conducted within both the king and the ransoming mule-wain.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Swiftly advancing, anon they were near to the tent of Peleides:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lofty the shelter and large, for the King by the Myrmidons planted;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hewn of the pines of the mountain; and rough was the thatch of the roof-tree,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bulrushes mown on the meadow; and spacious the girth of the bulwark</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Spanning with close-set stakes; but the bar of the gate was a pine-beam.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Three of the sons of Achaia were needful to lift it and fasten:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Three to withdraw from its seat the securement huge of the closure:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Such was the toil for the rest—but Achilles lifted it singly.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">This the beneficent guide made instantly open for Priam.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And for the treasure of ransom wherewith he would soothe the Peleides;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then did the Argicide leap from the car to the ground and address'd him:—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Old man, I from Olympus descended, a god everlasting,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hermes, appointed the guide of thy way by my father Kronion.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now I return to my place, nor go in to the sight of Achilles,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Since it beseems not Immortal of lineage divine to reveal him</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Waiting with manifest love on the frail generation of mankind.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Enter the dwelling alone, and, embracing the knees of Peleides,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Him by his father adjure, and adjure by the grace of his mother,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And by the child of his love, that his mind may be mov'd at thy pleading."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thus having spoken, evanish'd, to lofty Olympus ascending,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hermes: but Priam delay'd not, and sprang from his car on the sea-beach;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And, while Idæus remain'd to have care of the mules and the horses,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">On did the old man pass, and he enter'd, and found the Peleides</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Seated apart from his train: two only of Myrmidons trustful,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hero Automedon only, and Alkimus, sapling of Ares,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Near to him minist'ring stood; he repos'd him but now from the meal-time,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sated with food and with wine, nor remov'd from him yet was the table.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">All unobserv'd of them enter'd the old man stately, and forthwith</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Grasp'd with his fingers the knees and was kissing the hands of Achilles—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Terrible, murderous hands, by which son upon son had been slaughter'd.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As when a man who has fled from his home with the curse of the blood-guilt,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Kneels in a far-off land, at the hearth of some opulent stranger,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Begging to shelter his head, there is stupor on them that behold him;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So was Achilles dumb at the sight of majestical Priam—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He and his followers all, each gazing on other bewilder'd.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But he uplifted his voice in their silence, and made supplication:—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Think of thy father at home," (he began,) "O godlike Achilles!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Him, my coëval, like me within age's calamitous threshold!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Haply this day there is trouble upon him, some insolent neighbours</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Round him in arms, nor a champion at hand to avert the disaster:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Yet even so there is comfort for him, for he hears of thee living;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Day unto day there is hope for his heart amid worst tribulation,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That yet again he shall see his belovéd from Troia returning.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Misery only is mine; for of all in the land of my fathers,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bravest and best were the sons I begat, and not one is remaining.</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fifty were mine in the hour that the host of Achaia descended:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nineteen granted to me out of one womb, royally mother'd,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Stood by my side; but the rest were of handmaids born in my dwelling.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Soon were the limbs of the many unstrung in the fury of Arēs:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But one peerless was left, sole prop of the realm and the people:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And now at last he too, the protector of Ilion, Hector,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dies by thy hand. For his sake have I come to the ships of Achaia,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Eager to ransom the body with bountiful gifts of redemption.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thou have respect for the Gods, and on me, O Peleides! have pity,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Calling thy father to mind; but more piteous is my desolation,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mine, who alone of mankind have been humbled to this of endurance—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pressing my mouth to the hand that is red with the blood of my children."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hereon Achilles, awak'd to a yearning remembrance of Peleus,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rose up, took by the hand, and remov'd from him gently the old man.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sadness possessing the twain—one, mindful of valorous Hector,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wept with o'erflowing tears, lowlaid at the feet of Achilles;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He, sometime for his father, anon at the thought of Patroclus,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wept, and aloft in the dwelling their long lamentation ascended.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But when the bursting of grief had contented the godlike Peleides,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And from his heart and his limbs irresistible yearning departed,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then from his seat rose he, and with tenderness lifted the old man,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Viewing the hoary head and the hoary beard with compassion:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he address'd him, and these were the air-wing'd words that he utter'd:—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Ah unhappy! thy spirit in truth has been burden'd with evils.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">How could the daring be thine to come forth to the ships of Achaia</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Singly, to stand in the eyes of the man by whose weapon thy children,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Many and gallant, have died? full surely thy heart is of iron.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But now seat thee in peace, old man, and let mourning entirely</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pause for a space in our minds, although heavy on both be affliction;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For without profit and vain is the fulness of sad lamentation,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Since it was destined so of the Gods for unfortunate mortals</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ever in trouble to live, but they only partake not of sorrow;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For by the threshold of Zeus two urns have their station of old time,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whereof the one holds dolings of good, but the other of evil;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And to whom mixt are the doles of the thunder-delighting Kronion,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He sometime is of blessing partaker, of misery sometime;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But if he gives of the ill, he has fixt him the mark of disaster,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And over bountiful earth the devouring Necessity drives him,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wandering ever forlorn, unregarded of gods and of mortals.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thus of a truth did the Gods grant glorious gifts unto Peleus,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Even from the hour of his birth, for above compare was he favour'd,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whether in wealth or in power, in the land of the Myrmidons reigning;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And albeit a mortal, his spouse was a goddess appointed.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Yet even to him of the God was there evil apportion'd—that never</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lineage of sons should be born in his home, to inherit dominion.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">One son alone he begat, to untimely calamity foredoom'd;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nor do I cherish his age, since afar from the land of my fathers</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Here in the Troad I sit, to the torment of thee and thy children.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And we have heard, old man, of thine ancient prosperity also,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord of whatever is held between Lesbos the seat of the Macar,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Up to the Phrygian bound and the measureless Hellespontos;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ruling and blest above all, nor in wealth nor in progeny equall'd;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Yet from the hour that the Gods brought this visitation upon thee,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Day unto day is thy city surrounded with battles and bloodshed.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">How so, bear what is sent, nor be griev'd in thy soul without ceasing.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nothing avails it, O king! to lament for the son that has fallen;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Him thou canst raise up no more, but thyself may have new tribulation."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So having said, he was answer'd by Priam the aged and godlike:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Seat not me on the chair, O belov'd of Olympus! while Hector</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lies in the tent uninterr'd; but I pray thee deliver him swiftly,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That I may see with mine eyes: and, accepting the gifts of redemption,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Therein have joy to thy heart; and return thou homeward in safety,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Since of thy mercy I live and shall look on the light of the morning."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Darkly regarding the King, thus answer'd the rapid Achilles:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Stir me to anger no more, old man; of myself I am minded</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To the release of the dead, for a messenger came from Kronion</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hither, the mother that bore me, the child of the Ancient of Ocean.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thee, too, I know in my mind, nor has aught of thy passage escap'd me;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">How that some God was the guide of thy steps to the ships of Achaia.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For never mortal had dared to advance, were he blooming in manhood,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Here to the host by himself; nor could sentinels all be avoided;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nor by an imbecile push might the bar be dislodg'd at my bulwark.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Therefore excite me no more, old man, when my soul is in sorrow,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lest to thyself peradventure forbearance continue not alway,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Suppliant all that thou art—but I break the behest of the Godhead."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So did he speak; but the old man fear'd, and obey'd his commandment.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Forth of the door of his dwelling then leapt like a lion Peleides;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But not alone: of his household were twain that attended his going,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hero Automedon first, and young Alkimus, he that was honour'd</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Chief of the comrades around since the death of belovéd Patroclus.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">These from the yoke straightway unharness'd the mules and the horses,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And they conducted within the coëval attendant of Priam,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bidding him sit in the tent: then swiftly their hands from the mule-wain</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Raise the uncountable wealth of the King's Hectorean head-gifts.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But two mantles they leave and a tunic of beautiful texture,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Seemly for wrapping the dead as the ransomer carries him homeward.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then were the handmaidens call'd, and commanded to wash and anoint him,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Privately lifted aside, lest the son should be seen of the father,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lest in the grief of his soul he restrain not his anger within him,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Seeing the corse of his son, but enkindle the heart of Achilles,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he smite him to death, and transgress the command of Kronion.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But when the dead had been wash'd and anointed with oil by the maidens,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And in the tunic array'd and enwrapt in the beautiful mantle,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then by Peleides himself was he rais'd and compos'd on the hand-bier;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Which when the comrades had lifted and borne to its place in the mule-wain,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then groan'd he; and he call'd on the name of his friend, the belovéd:—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Be not wroth with me now, O Patroclus, if haply thou hearest,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Though within Hades obscure, that I yield the illustrious Hector</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Back to his father dear. Not unworthy the gifts of redemption;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And unto thee will I render thereof whatsoever is seemly."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So said the noble Peleides, and ent'ring again the pavilion,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sat on the fair-carv'd chair from whence he had risen aforetime,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hard by the opposite wall, and accosted the reverend Priam:—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Now has thy son, old man, been restor'd to thee as thou requiredst.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He on his bier has been laid, and thyself shall behold and remove him</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Soon as the dawning appears: but of food meanwhile be we mindful.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For not unmindful of food in her sorrow was Niobe, fair-hair'd,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Albeit she in her dwelling lamented for twelve of her offspring.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Six were the daughters, and six were the sons in the flower of their manhood.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">These unto death went down by the silvern bow of Apollo,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wrathful to Niobe—those smote Artemis arrow-delighting;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For that she vaunted her equal in honour to Leto the rosy,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Saying her births were but twain, and herself was abundant in offspring:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wherefore, twain as they were, they confounded them all in destruction.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nine days, then, did they lie in their blood as they fell, and approach'd them</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">None to inter, for mankind had been turn'd into stones of Kronion;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But they had sepulture due on the tenth from the gods everlasting;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And then, mindful of food, rose Niobe, weary of weeping.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Yet still, far among rocks, in some wilderness lone of the mountains—</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sipylus holds there, they say, where the nymphs in the desert repose them.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They that in beauty divine lead dances beside Achelöus;—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">There still, stone though she be, doth she brood on her harm from the god-heads.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But, O reverend king, let us also of needful refreshment</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Think now. Time will hereafter be thine to bewail thy belovéd;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Home into Ilion borne—many tears may of right be his portion!"</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So did he speak; and upspringing anon, swift-footed Achilles</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Slaughter'd a white-wool'd sheep, and his followers skinn'd it expertly.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Skilfully then they divided, and skewer'd, and carefully roasting,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Drew from the spits; and Automedon came, bringing bread to the table,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Piled upon baskets fair; but for all of them carv'd the Peleides;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And each, stretching his hand, partook of the food that was offer'd.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But when of meat and of wine from them all the desire was departed,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then did Dardanian Priam in wonderment gaze on Achilles,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Stately and strong to behold, for in aspect the Gods he resembled;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">While on Dardanian Priam gazed also with wonder Achilles,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Seeing the countenance goodly, and hearing the words of the old man.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Till, when contemplating either the other they both were contented,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Him thus first bespake old Priam, the godlike in presence:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Speedfully now let the couch be prepar'd for me, lov'd of Kronion!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And let us taste once more of the sweetness of slumber, reclining:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For never yet have mine eyes been clos'd for me under my eyelids,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Never since under thy hands was out-breathéd the spirit of Hector;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Groaning since then has been mine, and the brooding of sorrows unnumber'd,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In the recess of my hall, low-rolling in dust and in ashes.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But now of bread and of meat have I tasted again, and the black wine</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pour'd in my throat once more—whereof, since he was slain, I partook not."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So did he speak; and Achilles commanded the comrades and handmaids</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Under the porch of the dwelling to place fair couches, and spread them</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Duly with cushions on cushions of purple, and delicate carpets,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Also with mantles of wool, to be wrapt over all on the sleepers.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But they speedily past, bearing torches in hand, from the dwelling,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And two couches anon were with diligence order'd and garnish'd.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then to the king, in a sport, thus spoke swift-footed Achilles:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Rest thee without, old guest, lest some vigilant chief of Achaia</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Chance to arrive, one of those who frequent me when counsel is needful;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Who, if he see thee belike amid night's fast-vanishing darkness,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Straightway warns in his tent Agamemnon, the Shepherd of peoples,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And the completion of ransom meets yet peradventure with hindrance.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But come, answer me this, and discover the whole of thy purpose,—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">How many days thou design'st for entombing illustrious Hector;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That I may rest from the battle till then, and restrain the Achaians."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So he; and he was answer'd by Priam, the aged and godlike:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"If 'tis thy will that I bury illustrious Hector in honour,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Deal with me thus, O Peleides, and crown the desire of my spirit.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Well dost thou know how the town is begirt, and the wood at a distance,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Down from the hills to be brought, and the people are humbled in terror.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nine days' space we would yield in our dwelling to due lamentation,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bury the dead on the tenth, and thereafter the people be feasted;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">On the eleventh let us toil till the funeral mound be completed,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But on the twelfth to the battle once more, if the battle be needful."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Instantly this was the answer of swift-footed noble Achilles:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Reverend king, be it also in these things as thou requirest;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I for the space thou hast meted will hold the Achaians from warring."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thus said the noble Peleides, and, grasping the wrist of the right hand,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Strengthen'd the mind of the king, that his fear might not linger within him.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They then sank to repose forthwith in the porch of the dwelling,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Priam the king and the herald coëval and prudent in counsel;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But in the inmost recess of the well-built lordly pavilion</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Slept the Peleides, and by him down laid her the rosy Briséis.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">All then of Gods upon high, ever-living, and warrior horsemen,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Slept through the livelong night in the gentle dominion of slumber;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But never slumber approach'd to the eyes of beneficent Hermes,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As in his mind he revolv'd how best to retire from the galleys</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Priam the king, unobserv'd of the sentinels sworn for the night-watch.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Over his head, as he slept, stood the Argicide now, and address'd him:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Old man, bodings of evil disturb not thy spirit, who slumber'st</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Here among numberless foes, because noble Peleides has spared thee.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">True that thy son has been ransom'd, and costly the worth of the head-gifts;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Yet would the sons that are left thee have three times more to surrender,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wert thou but seen by the host, and the warning convey'd to Atreides."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thus did he speak, but the king was in terror, and waken'd the herald.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then, when beneficent Hermes had harness'd the mules and the horses,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Swiftly he drove through the camp, nor did any observe the departure.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So did they pass to the ford of the river of beautiful waters,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Xanthus the gulfy, begotten of thunder-delighting Kronion;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then from the chariot he rose and ascended to lofty Olympus.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But now wide over earth spread morning mantled in saffron,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As amid groaning and weeping they drew to the city; the mule-wain</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bearing behind them the dead: Nor did any in Ilion see them,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Either of men, as they came, or the well-girt women of Troia:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Only Cassandra, that imaged in grace Aphrodité the golden,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Had to the Pergamus clomb, and from thence she discover'd her father</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Standing afoot on the car, and beside him the summoning herald;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And in the waggon behind them the wrapt corse laid on the death-bier.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then did she shriek, and her cry to the ends of the city resounded:</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Come forth, woman and man, and behold the returning of Hector!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Come, if ye e'er in his life, at his home-coming safe from the battle</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">joyfully troop'd; and with joy might it fill both the town and the people."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So did she cry; nor anon was there one soul left in the city,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Woman or man, for at hand and afar was the yearning awaken'd.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Near to the gate was the king when they met him conducting the death-wain.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">First rush'd, rending their hair, to behold him the wife and the mother,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And as they handled the head, all weeping the multitude stood near:—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And they had all day long till the sun went down into darkness</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">There on the field by the rampart lamented with tears over Hector,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But that the father arose in the car and entreated the people:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Yield me to pass, good friends, make way for the mules—and hereafter</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">All shall have weeping enow when the dead has been borne to the dwelling."</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So did he speak, and they, parting asunder, made way for the mule-wain.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But when they brought him at last to the famous abode of the princes,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He on a fair-carv'd bed was compos'd, and the singers around him</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rang'd, who begin the lament; and they, lifting their sorrowful voices,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Chanted the wail for the dead, and the women bemoan'd at its pausings.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But in the burst of her woe was the beauteous Andromache foremost,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Holding the head in her hands as she mourn'd for the slayer of heroes:—</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Husband! in youth hast thou parted from life, and a desolate widow</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Here am I left in our home; and the child is a stammering infant</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whom thou and I unhappy begat, nor will he, to my thinking,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Reach to the blossom of youth; ere then, from the roof to the basement</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Down shall the city be hurl'd—since her only protector has perish'd,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And without succour are now chaste mother and stammering infant.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Soon shall their destiny be to depart in the ships of the stranger,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I in the midst of them bound; and, my child, thou go with them also,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Doom'd for the far-off shore and the tarnishing toil of the bondman,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Slaving for lord unkind. Or perchance some remorseless Achaian</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hurl from the gripe of his hand, from the battlement down to perdition,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Raging revenge for some brother perchance that was slaughter'd of Hector,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Father, it may be, or son; for not few of the race of Achaia</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Seiz'd broad earth with their teeth, when they sank from the handling of Hector;</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">For not mild was thy father, O babe, in the blackness of battle—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wherefore, now he is gone, through the city the people bewail him.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But the unspeakable anguish of misery bides with thy parents,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hector! with me above all the distress that has no consolation:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For never, dying, to me didst thou stretch forth hand from the pillow,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nor didst thou whisper, departing, one secret word to be hoarded</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ever by day and by night in the tears of eternal remembrance."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Weeping Andromache ceased, and the women bemoan'd at her pausing;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then in her measureless grief spake Hecuba, next of the mourners:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Hector! of all that I bore ever dearest by far to my heart-strings!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dear above all wert thou also in life to the gods everlasting;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wherefore they care for thee now, though in death's dark destiny humbled!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Others enow of my sons did the terrible runner Achilles</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sell, whomsoever he took, far over the waste of the waters,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Either to Samos or Imber, or rock-bound harbourless Lemnos;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But with the long-headed spear did he rifle the life from thy bosom,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And in the dust did he drag thee, oft times, by the tomb of his comrade,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Him thou hadst slain; though not so out of death could he rescue Patroclus.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Yet now, ransom'd at last, and restored to the home of thy parents,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dewy and fresh liest thou, like one that has easily parted,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Under a pangless shaft from the silvern bow of Apollo."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So did the mother lament, and a measureless moaning received her;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Till, at their pausing anew, spake Helena, third of the mourners:—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Hector! dearest to me above all in the house of my husband!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Husband, alas! that I call him; oh! better that death had befallen!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Summer and winter have flown, and the twentieth year is accomplish'd</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Since the calamity came, and I fled from the land of my fathers;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Yet never a word of complaint have I heard from thee, never of hardness;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But if another reproach'd, were it brother or sister of Paris,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Yea, or his mother, (for mild evermore as a father was Priam,)</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Them didst thou check in their scorn, and the bitterness yielded before thee,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Touch'd by thy kindness of soul and the words of thy gentle persuasion.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Therefore I weep, both for thee and myself to all misery destined,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For there remains to me now in the war-swept wideness of Troia,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">None either courteous or kind—but in all that behold me is horror."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So did she cease amid tears, and the women bemoan'd at her pausing;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But King Priam arose, and he spake in the gate to the people:—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Hasten ye, Trojans, arise, and bring speedily wood to the city:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nor be there fear in your minds of some ambush of lurking Achaians,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For when I came from the galleys the promise was pledged of Peleides,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Not to disturb us with harm till the twelfth reappearance of morning."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So did he speak: and the men to their wains put the mules and the oxen,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And they assembled with speed on the field by the gates of the city.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nine days' space did they labour, and great was the heap from the forest:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But on the tenth resurrection for mortals of luminous morning,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Forth did they carry, with weeping, the corse of the warrior Hector,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Laid him on high on the pyre, and enkindled the branches beneath him.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now, with the rose-finger'd dawn once more in the orient shining,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">All reassembled again at the pyre of illustrious Hector.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">First was the black wine pour'd on the wide-spread heap of the embers,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Quenching wherever had linger'd the strength of the glow: and thereafter,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Brethren and comrades belov'd from the ashes collected the white bones,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bending with reverent tears, every cheek in the company flowing.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But when they all had been found, and the casket of gold that receiv'd them,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Carefully folded around amid fair soft veilings of purple,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Deep in the grave they were laid, and the huge stones piled to the margin.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Swiftly the earth-mound rose: but on all sides watchers were planted,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fearful of rush unawares from the well-greaved bands of Achaia.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Last, when the mound was complete, and the men had return'd to the city,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">All in the halls of the King were with splendid solemnity feasted.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thus was the sepulture order'd of Hector the Tamer of Horses.</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="THE_STUDENT_OF_SALAMANCA" id="THE_STUDENT_OF_SALAMANCA"></a>THE STUDENT OF SALAMANCA.</h2> + +<h4>PART V.</h4> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Va vienon chapelchurris</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Con corneta y clarin,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Para entrar en Bilbao</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A beber chacolin.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mal chacolin tuvieron</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Y dia tan fatal,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Que con la borrachera</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Se murió el general.</span><br /> + +<span style="margin-left: 8em;"><i>Christino Song.</i></span><br /> +</p> + +<p>"Ten—fifteen—thirty—all plump full-weighted coins of Fernando Septimo +and Carlos Quarto. Truly, Jaime, the trade thou drivest is a pleasant +and profitable one. Little to do, and good pay for it."</p> + +<p>It was a June day, a little past the middle of the month. Just within +the forest that extended nearly up to the western wall of the Dominican +convent, upon a plot of smooth turf, under the shadow of tall bushes and +venerable trees, Jaime, the gipsy, had seated himself, and was engaged +in an occupation which, to judge from the unusually well-pleased +expression of his countenance, was highly congenial to his tastes. The +resting-place he had chosen had the double advantage of coolness and +seclusion. Whilst in the court of the convent, and in the hollow square +in the interior of the building, where the nuns cultivated a few +flowers, and which was sprinkled by the waters of a fountain, the heat +was so great as to drive the sisters to their cells and shady cloisters, +in the forest a delicious freshness prevailed. A light air played +between the moss-clad tree-trunks, and the soft turf, protected by the +foliage from the scorching rays of the sun, felt cool to the foot that +pressed it. Nay, in some places, where the shade was thickest, and where +a current of air flowed up through the long vistas of trees, might still +be seen, although the sun was in the zenith, tiny drops of the morning +dew, spangling the grass-blades. Into those innermost recesses of the +greenwood, however, the esquilador had not thought it necessary to +penetrate: habituated to the African temperature of Southern Spain, he +was satisfied with the moderate degree of shelter obtained in the little +glade he occupied; into which, although the sunbeams did not enter, a +certain degree of heat was reflected from the convent walls, of whose +grey surface he obtained a glimpse through the branches. The sheep-skin +jacket which was his constant wear—its looseness rendering it a more +endurable summer garment than might have been inferred from its warm +material—lay upon the grass beside him, exposing to view a woollen +shirt, composed of broad alternate stripes of red and white; the latter +colour having assumed, from length of wear and lack of washing, a tint +bordering upon the orange. He had untwisted the long red sash which he +wore coiled round his waist, and withdrawn from its folds, at one of its +extremities, forming a sort of purse, a goodly handful of gold coin, the +result of the more or less honest enterprises in which he had recently +been engaged. This he was counting out, and arranging according to its +kind, in glittering piles of four, eight, and sixteen-dollar pieces. A +grim contortion of feature, his nearest approach to a smile, testified +the pleasure he experienced in thus handling and reckoning his treasure; +and, in unusual contradiction to his taciturn habits, he indulged, as he +gloated over his gold, in a muttered and disjointed soliloquy.</p> + +<p>"Hurra for the war!" so ran his monologue; "may it last till Jaime bids +it cease. 'Tis meat and drink to him—ay, and better still." Here he +glanced complacently at his wealth. "Surely 'tis rare fun to see the +foolish Busné cutting each other's throats, and the poor Zincalo reaping +the benefit. I've had fine chances cer<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span>tainly, and have not thrown them +away. Zumalacarregui does not pay badly; then that affair of the +Christino officer was worth a good forty ounces, between him and the +fool Paco; and now Don Baltasar—but he is the worst pay of all. +Promises in plenty; he rattles them off his tongue as glib as the old +nuns do their <i>paters</i>; but if he opens his mouth he takes good care to +keep his purse shut. A pitiful two score dollars are all I have had from +him for a month's service—I should have made more by spying for +Zumalacarregui; with more risk, perhaps—though I am not sure of that. +Both the noble colonel and myself would stretch a rope if the general +heard of our doings. And hear of them he will, sooner or later unless +Don Baltasar marries the girl by force, and cuts Paco's throat. Curse +him! why doesn't he pay me the fifty ounces he promised me? If he did +that, I would get out of the way till I heard how the thing turned. I +must have the money next time I see him, or"——</p> + +<p>What alternative the esquilador was about to propound must remain +unknown; for, at that moment, the sound of his name, uttered near at +hand, and in a cautious tone, caused him to start violently and +interrupt his soliloquy. Hastily sweeping up his money, and thrusting it +into the end of his sash, he seized his jacket, and was about to seek +concealment in the neighbouring bushes. Before doing so, however, he +cast a glance in the direction whence the sound had proceeded, and for +the first time became aware that the spot selected for the telling of +his ill-gotten gains was not so secure from observation as he had +imagined. In the outer wall of the western wing of the convent, and at +some distance from the ground, two windows broke the uniformity of the +stone surface. Hitherto, whenever the gipsy had noticed them, they had +appeared hermetically blocked up by closely-fitting shutters, painted to +match the colour of the wall, of which they almost seemed to form a +part. On taking up his position just within the skirt of the forest, the +possibility of these casements being opened, and his proceedings +observed, had not occurred to him; and it so happened that from one of +them, through an opening in the branches, the retreat he had chosen was +completely commanded. The shutter of this window had now been pushed +open, and the lovely, but pallid and emaciated countenance of Rita, was +seen gazing through the strong bars which traversed the aperture.</p> + +<p>"Jaime!" she repeated; "Jaime, I would speak with you."</p> + +<p>Upon seeing whom it was who thus addressed him, the gipsy's alarm +ceased. He deliberately put on and knotted his sash; and casting his +jacket over his shoulder, turned to leave the spot.</p> + +<p>"Jaime!" cried Rita for the third time, "come hither, I implore you."</p> + +<p>The gipsy shook his head, and was walking slowly away, his face, +however, still turned towards the fair prisoner, when she suddenly +exclaimed—</p> + +<p>"Behold! For one minute's conversation it is yours."</p> + +<p>And in the shadow cast by the embrasure of the casement, Jaime saw a +sparkle, the cause of which his covetous eye at once detected. Three +bounds, and he stood under the window. Rita passed her arm through the +bars, and a jewelled ring dropped into his extended palm.</p> + +<p>"<i>Hermoso!</i>" exclaimed the esquilador, his eyes sparkling almost as +vividly as the stones that excited his admiration. "Beautiful! Diamonds +of the finest water!"</p> + +<p>The shock of her father's death, coupled with previous fatigue and +excitement, had thrown Rita into a delirious fever, which for more than +three weeks confined her to her bed. Within a few hours of her arrival +at the convent, Don Baltasar had been compelled to leave it to resume +his military duties; and he had not again returned, although, twice +during her illness, he sent the gipsy to obtain intelligence of her +health. On learning her convalescence, he dispatched him thither for a +third time, with a letter to Rita, urging her acceptance of his +hand—their union having been, as he assured her, her father's latest +wish. As her nearest surviving relative, he had assumed the office of +her guardian, and allotted to her the convent as a residence; until such +time as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span> other arrangements could be made, or until she should be +willing to give him a nearer right to protect her. Jaime had now been +two days at the convent awaiting a reply to this letter, without which +Don Baltasar had forbidden him to return. This reply, however, Rita, +indignant at the restraint imposed upon her, had as yet, in spite of the +arguments of the abbess, shown no disposition to pen.</p> + +<p>With her forehead pressed against the bars of the window, Rita noted the +delight manifested by the gipsy at the present she had made him. She had +already observed him feasting his eyes with the sight of his money; and +although she knew him to be an agent of Don Baltasar, his evident +avarice gave her hopes, that by promise of large reward she might induce +him to betray his employer and serve her. Producing a second ring, of +greater value than the one she had already bestowed upon him, she showed +it to the wondering esquilador. He held up his hands instinctively to +catch it.</p> + +<p>"You may earn it," said Rita; "and twenty such."</p> + +<p>And whilst with one hand she continued to expose the ring to the greedy +gaze of the gipsy, with the other she held up a letter.</p> + +<p>"For Don Baltasar?" asked the Gitano.</p> + +<p>"No," said she. "For Zumalacarregui."</p> + +<p>Jaime made a step backwards, and again shook his head. Rita feared that +he was about to leave her.</p> + +<p>"Oh!" she exclaimed, "I entreat, I beseech you, assist me in this +strait. Whatever sum your vile employer has promised you, I will give +tenfold. Take my letter, and name your reward."</p> + +<p>"That's what the other said," muttered Jaime; "'name your reward,' but +he is in no hurry to pay it. If I thought her promises better than +his"——</p> + +<p>And again he looked up at the window, and seemed to hesitate.</p> + +<p>"Listen," cried Rita, who saw him waver; "I am rich—you are poor. I +have farms, estates, vineyards—you shall choose amongst them wherewith +to live happily for the rest of your days. Convey this letter safely, +and exchange your comfortless and disreputable wanderings for a settled +home and opulence."</p> + +<p>Jaime made a gesture of refusal.</p> + +<p>"Your lands and your vineyards, your fields and farms, are no temptation +to the Zincalo, señora. What would they avail him? Your countrymen would +say, 'Out upon the gipsy! See the thief!' and they would defraud him of +his lands, and spit on him if he complained. No, señorita, give me a +roving life, and the wealth that I can carry in my girdle, and defend +with my knife."</p> + +<p>"It shall be as you will," cried Rita, eagerly. "Gold, jewels, whatever +you prefer. This letter will procure my freedom; and, once free, you +shall find me both able and disposed to reward you beyond your wildest +dreams."</p> + +<p>"Yes, if the general does not hang me when he learns my share in the +business."</p> + +<p>"I have not named you to him, nor will I. The letter is unsealed; you +can read before delivering it. Your name shall never be breathed by me, +save as that of my preserver."</p> + +<p>There was an accent of sincerity in Rita's promises that rendered it +impossible to mistrust them. The gipsy, sorely tempted, was evidently +about to yield. He gazed wistfully at the ring, which Rita still held up +to his view; his eyes twinkled with covetousness, and he half extended +his hand. Rita slipped the ring into the fold of the letter, and threw +both down to him. Dexterously catching, and thrusting them into his +breast, he glanced furtively around, to see that he was unobserved. He +stood near the wall, just under the window, and the iron bars preventing +Rita from putting out her head, only the upper half of his figure was +visible to her. At that moment, to her infinite surprise and alarm, she +saw an extraordinary change come over his features. Their expression of +greedy cunning was replaced, with a suddenness that appeared almost +magical, by one of pain and terror; and scarcely had Rita had time to +observe the transformation, when he lay upon the ground, struggling +violently, but in vain, against some unseen power, that drew him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> +towards the wall. He caught at the grass and weeds, which grew in +profusion on the rarely-trodden path; he writhed, and endeavoured to +turn himself upon his face, but without success. With pale and terrified +visage, but in dogged silence, he strove against an agency invisible to +Rita, and which he was totally unable to resist. His body speedily +vanished from her sight, then his head, and finally his outstretched +arms; the rustling noise, occasioned by his passage through the herbage, +ceased; and Rita, aghast at this extraordinary and mysterious +occurrence, again found herself alone. We will leave her to her +astonishment and conjecture, whilst we follow the gipsy to the place +whither he had been so involuntarily and unceremoniously conveyed, a +description of which will furnish a key to his seemingly unaccountable +disappearance.</p> + +<p>It was a vault of considerable extent, surrounded by casks of various +sizes, most of which would, on being touched, have given, by their +ringing sound, assurance of their emptiness. In bins, at one extremity +of the cellar, were a number of bottles, whose thick mantle of dust and +cobwebs spoke volumes for the ripe and racy nature of their contents. A +large chest of cedar-wood stood in the innermost nook of the cellar, +with raised lid, disclosing a quantity of cigars, worm-eaten and musty +from extreme age. In the massive wall, forming one end of the vault, and +which was in fact the foundation of the outer wall of the convent, was a +large doorway; but the door had been removed, and the aperture filled +with stones and plaster, forming a barrier more solid in appearance than +reality. This barrier had recently been knocked down; its materials lay +scattered on the ground, and through the opening thus made, came the +only light that was allowed to enter the vault. It proceeded from the +cell in which Paco, the muleteer, had for more than a month been +imprisoned.</p> + +<p>Long, very long and wearisome, had that month of captivity appeared to +Paco. Accustomed to a life of constant activity and change, it would +have been difficult to devise for him a severer punishment than inaction +and confinement. The first day he passed in tolerable tranquillity of +mind, occupied by vain endeavours to conjecture the motives of the +violence offered to him, and momentarily anticipating his release; and +although evening came without its taking place, he went to sleep, fully +convinced that the next morning would be the term of his durance. +Conscious of no crime, ignorant of Count Villabuena's death, and of Don +Baltasar's designs, he was totally unable to assign a reason for his +imprisonment. The next morning came, the bolts of his dungeon-door were +withdrawn; he started from his pallet. The door opened, and a man +entered, bringing a supply of fresh water and a meagre gaspacho. This he +laid down; and was leaving the cell without replying to Paco's indignant +and loudly-uttered interrogatories; when the muleteer followed, and +attempted to force his way out. He was met by a stern "Back!" and the +muzzle of a cocked blunderbuss touched his breast. A sturdy convent +servitor barred the passage, and compelled him to retreat into his +prison.</p> + +<p>Paco now gave free course to his impatience. During the whole of that +day he paced his cell with the wild restlessness of a newly-caged +panther; the gaspacho remained untasted, but the water-jug was quickly +drained, for his throat was dry with cursing. The next morning another +visit, another gaspacho and supply of water, and another attempt to +leave the prison, repulsed like the previous one. On the third day, +however, his hopes of a prompt liberation having melted away before the +dogged silence and methodical regularity of his jailers, Paco began to +cast about in his mind for means of liberating himself. First he shook +and examined the door, but he might as well have attempted to shake the +Pyrenees; its thick hard wood and solid fastenings mocked his efforts, +and moreover he had no instruments, not so much as a rusty nail, to aid +him in his attempt. The two side-walls next received his attention; but +they were of great blocks of stone, joined by a cement of nearly equal +hardness, and on which, although he worked till his nails were torn to +shreds, and his fingers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span> ran blood, he could not make the slightest +impression. As to the wall opposite to the door, he did not even examine +it; for it was easy to judge, from the grass and bushes growing against +the window in its top, that it was the outer wall of the convent. On +this, since he could make nothing of the partition-walls, all labour +would of course be thrown away; and even if he could bore through it, he +must find the solid earth on the other side, and be discovered before he +could possibly burrow his way out. As to the window, or rather the +iron-barred opening through which came light and air, for any purposes +of escape it might as well not have been there, for its lower edge was +nearly fourteen feet from the ground; and although Paco, who was a +first-rate leaper, did, in his desperation, and in the early days of his +captivity, make several violent attempts to jump up and catch hold of +the grating, they were all, as may be supposed, entirely without result.</p> + +<p>It was the thirty-fifth day of his imprisonment, an hour after daybreak. +His provisions for the next twenty-four hours had been brought to him, +and, as usual, he had made an unsuccessful effort to induce his sullen +jailer to inform him why he was confined, and when he should be +released. Gloomy and disconsolate, he seated himself on the ground, and +leaned his back against the end wall of his dreary dungeon. The light +from the window above his head fell upon the opposite door, and +illuminated the spot where he had scratched, with the shank of a button, +a line for each day of his imprisonment. The melancholy calendar already +reached one quarter across the door, and Paco was speculating and +wondering how far it might be prolonged, when he thought he felt a +stream of cold wind against his ear. He placed his hand where his ear +had been, and plainly distinguished a current of air issuing from a +small crevice in the wall, which otherwise was smooth and covered with +plaster. Without being much of a natural philosopher, it was evident to +Paco, that if wind came through, there must be a vault on the other side +of the wall, and not the solid earth, as he had hitherto believed; and +it also became probable that the wall was deficient either in thickness +or solidity. After some scratching at the plaster, he succeeded in +uncovering the side of a small stone of irregular shape. A vigorous push +entirely dislodged it, and it fell from him, leaving an opening through +which he could pass his arm. This he did, and found that although on one +side of the aperture the wall was upwards of two feet thick, on the +other it was not more than six or eight inches, and of loose +construction. By a very little labour he knocked out half-a-dozen +stones, and then, weary of thus making an opening piecemeal, he receded +as far as he could, took a short run, and threw himself against the wall +with all his force. After a few repetitions of this vigorous but not +very prudent proceeding, the frail bulwark gave way, and amidst a shower +of dust and mortar, Paco entered the vault into which he had conquered +his passage.</p> + +<p>The vault had apparently served, during some former occupation of the +convent by monks, as the wine-cellar of the holy fathers; and had been +walled up, not improbably, to protect it from the depredations of the +French soldiery during Napoleon's occupation of Spain. As already +mentioned, it was well stocked with casks of all sorts and sizes, most +of them empty and with bottles, for the most part full. Several of the +latter Paco lost no time in decapitating; and a trial of their contents +satisfied him that the proprietors of the cellar, whatever else they +might have been, were decidedly good judges of wine. Cheered and +invigorated by the pleasant liquor of which he had now so long been +deprived, he commenced, as soon as his eyes had got a little accustomed +to the exceedingly dim twilight that reigned in the vault, a thorough +investigation of the place, in hopes of finding either an outlet, or the +means of making one. In the former part of his hopes he was +disappointed; but after a patient search, his pains were rewarded by the +discovery of several pieces of old rope, and of a wooden bar or lever, +which had probably served to raise and shift the wine-casks. The rope +did not seem likely to be of any use, but the lever was an invaluable<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span> +acquisition; and by its aid Paco entertained strong hopes of +accomplishing his escape. He at once set to work to knock down the +remainder of the stones blocking up the doorway, and when they were +cleared he began to roll and drag empty casks into his cell. Of a number +of these, and with some labour, he formed a scaffolding, by means of +which he was enabled to reach the window, taking his crowbar with him. +His hand trembled as it grasped the grating, on the possibility of whose +removal every thing depended. Viewed from the floor of his prison, the +bars appeared of a formidable thickness, and he dreaded lest the time +that would elapse till the next visit of his jailer, should be +insufficient for him to overcome the obstacle. To his unspeakable +delight, however, his first effort caused the grating to shake and +rattle. The stone into which the extremities of the bars were riveted +was of no very hard description; the iron was corroded by the rust of +centuries, and Paco at once saw, that what he had looked forward to as a +task of severe difficulty, would be accomplished with the utmost ease. +He set to work with good courage, and after a couple of hours' toil, the +grating was removed, and the passage free.</p> + +<p>Paco's first impulse was to spring through the opening into the bright +sunshine without; but a moment's reflection checked him. He remembered +that he was unarmed and unacquainted with the neighbourhood; and his +appearance outside the convent in broad daylight, might lead to his +instant recapture by some of those, whoever they were, who found an +interest or a gratification in keeping him prisoner. He resolved, +therefore, unwillingly enough it is true, to curb his impatience, and +defer his departure till nightfall. Of a visit from his jailers he felt +no apprehension, for they had never yet shown themselves to him more +than once a-day, and that, invariably, at an early hour of the morning. +Partly, however, to be prepared for instant flight, should he hear his +dungeon door open, and still more for the sake of inhaling the warm and +aromatic breeze, which blew over to him from the neighbouring woods and +fields, he seated himself upon the top of his casks, his head just on a +level with the window, and, cautiously making a small opening in the +matted vegetable screen that grew before it, gazed out upon the face of +nature with a feeling of enjoyment, only to be appreciated by those who, +like him, have passed five weeks in a cold, gloomy, subterranean +dungeon. The little he was able to distinguish of the locality was +highly satisfactory. Within thirty paces of the convent wall was the +commencement of a thick wood, wherein he doubted not that he should find +shelter and security if observed in his flight. He would greatly have +preferred waiting the approach of night in the forest, instead of in his +cell; but with a prudence hardly to be expected from him, and which the +horror he had of a prolongation of his captivity, perhaps alone induced +him to exercise, he would not risk crossing the strip of open land +intervening between him and the wood; judging, not without reason, that +it might be overlooked by the convent windows.</p> + +<p>For some time Paco remained seated upon his pile of casks, feasting his +eyes with the sunshine, to which they had so long been strangers; his +ear on the watch, his fingers mechanically plucking and twisting the +blades of grass that grew in through the window. He was arranging in his +mind what route he should take, and considering where he was most likely +to find Count Villabuena, when he was surprised by the sound of words, +proceeding apparently from a considerable distance above his head, but +some of which nevertheless reached his quick and practised ear. Of these +the one most distinctly spoken was the name of Jaime, and in the voice +that spoke it, Paco was convinced that he recognised that of Count +Villabuena's daughter. A few moments elapsed, something else was said, +what, he was unable to make out, and then, to his no small alarm, his +old acquaintance and recent betrayer, Jaime the esquilador, stood within +arm's length of his window. He instinctively drew back; the gipsy was so +near, that only the growth of weeds before mentioned interposed between +him and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span> the muleteer. But Paco soon saw that his proximity was +unsuspected by Jaime, who had commenced the dialogue with Rita already +recorded. Paco at once comprehended the situation; and emboldened by the +knowledge that he, and even the aperture of the window, was concealed +from sight by the grass and bushes, he again put his head as far forward +as was prudent, and attentively listened. Not a word spoken by the +esquilador escaped him, but he could scarcely hear any thing of what +Rita said; for the distance between her and Jaime being diminished, she +spoke in a very low tone. He made out, however, that she was +endeavouring to bribe the gipsy to take a letter—to whom, he did not +hear—and a scheme occurred to him, the execution of which he only +deferred till he should see the missive in the possession of Jaime, on +whose every gesture and movement he kept a vigilant watch. At the same +instant that the letter was deposited in the gipsy's pocket, Paco thrust +both his hands through the grass, seized the naked ankles of the +esquilador in a vicelike grip, and by a sudden jerk throwing him upon +his back, proceeded to drag him through the aperture, behind which he +himself was stationed. His strength and adroitness, and the suddenness +of the attack, ensured its success; and in spite of the gipsy's +struggles, Paco speedily pulled him completely into the dungeon, upon +the ground of which he cast him down with a force that might well have +broken the bones, but, as it happened, merely took away the senses, of +the terrified esquilador.</p> + +<p>The strange and mysterious manner of the assault, the stunning violence +of his fall, and his position on regaining the consciousness of which he +had for a brief space been deprived, combined to bewilder the gipsy, and +temporarily to quell the courage, or, as it should perhaps rather be +termed, the passive stoicism, usually exhibited by him in circumstances +of danger. He had been dragged into the wine-cellar, and seated with his +back against a cask; his wrists and ankles were bound with ropes, and +beside him knelt a man busily engaged in searching, his pockets. The +light was so faint that at first he could not distinguish the features +of this person; but when at last he recognized those of Paco, he +conjectured to a certain extent the nature of the snare into which he +had fallen, and, as he did so, his usual coolness and confidence in some +degree returned. His first words were an attempt to intimidate the +muleteer.</p> + +<p>"Untie my hands," said he, "or I shout for help. I have only to call +out, to be released immediately."</p> + +<p>"If that were true, you would have done it, and not told me of it," +retorted Paco, with his usual acuteness. "The walls are thick; and the +vault deep, and I believe you might shout a long while before any one +heard you. But I advise you not to try. The first word you speak in a +louder tone than pleases me, I cut your throat like a pig; with your own +knife, too."</p> + +<p>And, by way of confirming this agreeable assurance, he drew the cold +blade across Jaime's throat, with such a fierce determined movement, +that the startled gipsy involuntarily shrunk back. Paco marked the +effect of his menace.</p> + +<p>"You see," said he, sticking the knife in the ground beside him, and +continuing his in investigation of the esquilador's pockets; "you had +better be quiet, and answer my questions civilly. For whom is this +letter?" continued he, holding up Rita's missive, which he had extracted +from the gipsy's jacket.</p> + +<p>But although the esquilador (partly on account of Paco's threats, and +partly because he knew that his cries were unlikely to bring assistance) +made no attempt to call out, he did not, on the other hand, show any +disposition to communicativeness. Instead of replying to the questions +put to him, he maintained a surly, dogged silence. Paco repeated the +interrogatory without obtaining a better result, and then, as if weary +of questioning a man who would not answer, he continued his search +without further waste of words. The two rings and Rita's letter he had +already found; they were succeeded by a number of miscellaneous objects +which he threw carelessly aside; and having<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span> rummaged the esquilador's +various pockets, he proceeded to unfasten his sash. The first +demonstration of a design upon this receptacle of his wealth, produced, +on the part of the gipsy, a violent but fruitless effort to liberate his +wrists from the cords that confined them.</p> + +<p>"Oho!" said Paco, "is that the sore place? Faith! there is reason for +your wincing," he added, as the gold contained in the girdle fell +jingling on the floor. "This was not all got by clipping mules."</p> + +<p>"It was received from you, the greater part of it," exclaimed the gipsy, +forced out of his taciturnity by his agony at seeing Paco, after +replacing the money in the sash, deliberately bind it round his own +waist.</p> + +<p>"I worked hard and ran risk for it, and you paid it me willingly. Surely +you will not rob me!"</p> + +<p>Without attending to this expostulation, Paco secured the gold, and then +rising to his feet, again repeated the question he had already twice put +to his prisoner.</p> + +<p>"To whom is this letter?" said he.</p> + +<p>"You may read it yourself," returned Jaime, who, notwithstanding the +intelligible hint to be tractable which he had already received, found +it a hard matter to restrain his sulkiness. "It is addressed, and open."</p> + +<p>Read it, was exactly what Paco would have done, had he been able; but it +so happened that the muleteer was a self-educated man, and that, whilst +teaching himself many things which he had on various occasions found of +much utility, he had given but a moderate share of his attention to the +acquirement of letters. When on the road with his mules, he could +distinguish the large printed capitals painted on the packages entrusted +to his care; he was also able, from long habit, fluently to read the +usual announcement of "<i>Vinos y licores finos</i>," inscribed above tavern +doors; and, when required, he could even perpetrate a hieroglyphic +intended for the signature of his name; but these were the extent of his +acquirements. As to deciphering the contents or superscription of the +letter now in his possession, he knew that it would be mere lost labour +to attempt it. He was far too wary, however, to display his ignorance to +the gipsy, and thus to strengthen him in his refusal to say for whom it +was intended.</p> + +<p>"Of course I may read it," he replied "but here it is too dark, and I +have no mind to leave you alone. Answer me, or it will be worse for +you."</p> + +<p>Either suspecting how the case really stood, or through mere sullenness +at the loss of his money, the gipsy remained, with lowering brow and +compressed lips, obstinately silent. For a few moments Paco awaited a +reply, and then walking to a short distance, he picked up something that +lay in a dark corner of the vault, returned to the gipsy, and placing +his hands upon the edge of the tall cask against which the latter was +seated, sprang actively upon the top of it. Soon he again descended, +and, upsetting the cask, gave it a shove with his foot that sent it +rolling into the middle of the cellar. The gipsy, although motionless, +and to all appearance inattentive to what passed, lost not one of the +muleteer's movements. His head stirred not but his sunken beadlike eyes +shifted their glances with extraordinary keenness and rapidity. At the +moment when, surprised by the sudden removal of the cask, he screwed his +head round to see what was going on behind him, a rope was passed +swiftly over his face, and the next instant he felt his neck encircled +by a halter. A number of strong hooks and wooden brackets, used to +support shelves and suspend wine-skins, were firmly fixed in the cellar +wall, at various distances from the ground. Over one of the highest of +these, Paco had cast a rope, one end of which he held, whilst the other, +as already mentioned, was fixed round the neck of the gipsy. Retiring a +couple of paces, the muleteer hauled on the rope; it tightened round the +neck of the unlucky Jaime, and even lifted him a little from the ground. +He strove to rise to his feet from the sitting posture in which he was, +but his bonds prevented him. Stumbling and helpless, he fell over on one +side, and would inevitably have been strangled, had not Paco given him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span> +more line. The fear of death came over him. He trembled violently, and +his face, which was smeared with blood from the scratches he had +received in his passage through the bushes, became of an ash-like +paleness. He cast a piteous look at Paco, who surveyed him with +unrelenting aspect.</p> + +<p>"Not the first time I've had you at a rope's end," said he; "although +the knot wasn't always in the same place. Come, I've no time to lose! +Will you answer, or hang?"</p> + +<p>"What do you want to know?"</p> + +<p>"I have already asked you three times," returned Paco, impatiently, "who +this letter is for, and what about."</p> + +<p>"For Zumalacarregui," replied Jaime; "and now you know as much as I do."</p> + +<p>"Why have I been kept in prison?" demanded Paco.</p> + +<p>"Why did you come with the lady?" replied the esquilador. "Had you +stopped at Segura, no one would have meddled with you."</p> + +<p>"I came because I was ordered. Where is Doña Rita?"</p> + +<p>The gipsy hesitated, and then answered surlily. "I do not know."</p> + +<p>Paco gave the rope a twitch which brought the esquilador's tongue out of +his mouth.</p> + +<p>"Liar!" he exclaimed; "I heard you speaking to her just now. What does +she here?"</p> + +<p>"A prisoner," muttered the half-strangled gipsy.</p> + +<p>"Whose?"</p> + +<p>"Colonel Villabuena's."</p> + +<p>"And the Señor Conde. Where is he?"</p> + +<p>"Dead."</p> + +<p>"Dead!" repeated Paco, letting the rope go, grasping the esquilador by +the collar, and furiously shaking him. "The noble count dead! When did +he die? Or is it a lie of your invention?"</p> + +<p>"He was dead before I fetched the young lady from Segura," said Jaime. +"The story of his being wounded, and wishing to see her, was merely a +stratagem to bring her here."</p> + +<p>Relinquishing his hold, Paco took a step backwards, in grief and great +astonishment. The answers he had forced from Jaime, and his own natural +quickness of apprehension, were sufficient to enlighten him as to the +main outline of what he had hitherto found a mystery. He at once +conjectured Don Baltasar's designs, and the motives of Doña Rita's +imprisonment and his own. That the count was really dead he could not +doubt; for otherwise Baltasar would hardly have ventured upon his +daughter's abduction. Aware that the count's duties and usual +occupations did not lead him into actual collision with the enemy, and +that they could scarcely, except by a casualty, endanger his life, it +occurred to Paco, as highly probable, that he had met his death by +unfair means, at the hands of Don Baltasar and the gipsy. The colonel he +suspected, and Jaime he knew, to be capable of any iniquity. Such were +some of the reflections that passed rapidly through his mind during the +few moments that he stood beside Jaime, mute and motionless, meditating +on what had passed, and on what he should now do. Naturally prompt and +decided, and accustomed to perilous emergencies, he was not long in +making up his mind. Suddenly starting from his immobility, he seized the +end of the halter, and, to the horror of the gipsy, whose eyes were +fixed upon him, began pulling furiously at it, hand over hand, like a +sailor tugging at a hawser.</p> + +<p>"<i>Misericordia!</i>" screamed the horror-stricken esquilador, as he found +himself lifted from the ground by the neck. "Mercy! mercy!"</p> + +<p>But mercy there was none for him. His cries were stifled by the pressure +of the rope, and then he made a desperate effort to gain his feet. In +this he succeeded, and stood upright causing the noose for a moment to +slacken. He profited by the temporary relief to attempt another +ineffectual prayer for pity. A gasping, inarticulate noise in his throat +was the sole result; for the muleteer continued his vigorous pulls at +the cord, and in an instant the unhappy gipsy felt himself lifted +completely off the ground. He made one more violent strain to touch the +earth with the point of his foot; but no—all was in vain—higher and +higher he went, till the crown of his head struck against the long iron +hook through the loop<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span> of which the halter ran. When this was the case, +Paco caught his end of the rope round another hook at a less height from +the ground, twisted and knotted it securely; then stooping, he picked up +the esquilador's knife, re-entered the dungeon, and ascended the pile of +casks erected below the window. On the top of these he sat himself down +for a moment and listened. There proceeded from the wine-cellar a sort +of noise, as of a scraping and thumping against the wall. It was the +wretched gipsy kicking and struggling in his last agony.</p> + +<p>"He dies hard," muttered Paco, a slight expression of compunction coming +over his features, "and I strung him up without priest or prayer. But, +what then! those gitanos are worse than Jews, they believe neither in +God nor devil. As for his death, he deserves it, the dog, ten times +over. And if he didn't, Doña Rita's fate depends on my escape, and I +could not leave him there to alarm the convent and have me pursued."</p> + +<p>His scruples quieted by these arguments, the muleteer again listened. +All was silent in the vault. Paco cautiously put his head out at the +hole through which he had dragged the gipsy. The coast was clear, the +forest within thirty yards. Winding his body noiselessly through the +aperture, he sprang to his feet, and with the speed of a greyhound +sought the cover of the wood. Upon reaching the shelter of its foremost +trees he paused, and turning round, looked back at the convent, hoping +to see Rita at a window. But she had disappeared, and the shutters were +closed. It would have been folly, under the circumstances, to wait the +chance of her return; and once more turning his back upon the place of +his captivity, the muleteer, exulting in his newly recovered freedom, +plunged, with quick and elastic step, into the innermost recesses of the +forest.</p> + +<p>Rightly conjecturing that Rita, informed of her father's death, and +having no influential friend to whom to address herself for aid, had +written to Zumalacarregui with a view to obtain her release, Paco +determined to convey the letter to its destination as speedily as +possible. To do this it was necessary, first, to ascertain the +whereabout of the Carlist general, and secondly, to avoid falling in +with Colonel Villabuena, a meeting with whom might not only prevent him +from delivering the letter, but also again endanger his liberty, perhaps +his life. Shaping his course through the forest in, as nearly as he +could judge, a westerly direction, he reached the mountains at sunset, +and continued his march along their base—avoiding the more frequented +path by which he had approached the convent—until he reached an outlet +of the valley. Through this he passed; and still keeping straight +forward, without any other immediate object than that of increasing the +distance between himself and his late prison, he found himself, some +time after midnight, clear of the lofty range of mountains, a limb of +the Spanish Pyrenees, in one of whose recesses the convent stood. The +country in front, and on both sides of him, was still mountainous, but +the elevations were less; and Paco, who had a good general knowledge of +the geography of his native province, through most parts of which his +avocations as muleteer had often caused him to travel, conjectured that +he was on the extreme verge of Navarre and about to enter the province +of Guipuzcoa. He had deemed it prudent to avoid all human habitations +whilst still in the vicinity of the convent; but having now left it half +a dozen leagues in his rear, the necessity for such caution no longer +existed, and he began to look about for a convenient place to take a few +hours' repose. At the distance of a mile he perceived the white walls of +houses shimmering in the moonlight, and he bent his steps in that +direction. It was two in the morning and the hamlet was buried in sleep; +the sharp, sudden bark of a watch-dog was the only sound that greeted +the muleteer as he passed under the irregular avenue of trees preceding +its solitary street. Entering a barn, whose door stood invitingly open, +he threw himself upon a pile of newly-made hay, and was instantly +plunged in a sleep far sounder and more refreshing than any he had +enjoyed during the whole period of his captivity.</p> + +<p>It was still early morning when he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span> was roused from his slumbers by the +entrance of the proprietor of the barn, a sturdy, good-humoured peasant, +more surprised, than pleased, to find upon his premises a stranger of +Paco's equivocal appearance. The muleteer's exterior was certainly not +calculated to give a high opinion of his respectability. His uniform +jacket of dark green cloth was soiled and torn; his boina, which had +served him for a nightcap during his imprisonment, was in equally bad +plight; he was uncombed and unwashed, and a beard of nearly six weeks' +growth adorned his face. It was in a tone of some suspicion that the +peasant enquired his business, but Paco had his answer ready. Taken +prisoner by the Christinos, he said, he had escaped from Pampeluna after +a confinement of some duration, and ignorant of the country, had +wandered about for two nights, lying concealed during the day, and +afraid to approach villages lest he should again fall into the hands of +the enemy. The haggard look he had acquired during his imprisonment, his +beard and general appearance, and the circumstance of his being unarmed, +although in uniform, seemed to confirm the truth of his tale; and the +peasant, who, like all of his class at that time and in that province, +was an enthusiastic Carlist, willingly supplied him with the razor and +refreshment of which he stood in pressing need. His appearance somewhat +improved, and his appetite satisfied, Paco in his turn became the +interrogator, and the first answers he received caused him extreme +surprise. The most triumphant success had waited on the Carlist arms +during the period of his captivity. The Christino generals had been on +all hands discomfited by the men at whose discipline and courage, even +more than at their poverty and imperfect resources, they affected to +sneer, and numerous towns and fortified places had fallen into the hands +of Zumalacarregui and his victorious lieutenants. The mere name of the +Carlist chief had become a tower of strength to his followers, and a +terror to his foes; and several ably managed surprises had greatly +increased the panic dread with which the news of his approach now +inspired the Christino troops. On the heights of Descarga a strong +column of the Queen's army had been attacked in the night, and routed +with prodigious loss, by the Carlist general Eraso; in the valley of the +Baztan General Oraa had been beaten by Sagastibelza, leaving ninety +officers and seven hundred men in the hands of the victors; Estella, +Vergara, Tolosa, Villafranca, and numerous other considerable towns, +were held by the soldiers of the Pretender; and, to crown all, Paco +learned, to his astonishment, that Zumalacarregui and his army were then +in front of Bilboa, vigorously besieging that rich and important city.</p> + +<p>Towards Bilboa, then, did Paco bend his steps. The remote position of +the village where he had obtained the above information, caused it to be +but irregularly supplied with intelligence from the army; and it was not +till the evening of his first day's march, that the muleteer heard a +piece of news which redoubled his eagerness to reach the Carlist +headquarters. Zumalacarregui, he was informed, had received, whilst +directing the operations of the siege, a severe and dangerous wound. +Fearing he might die before he reached him, Paco endeavoured to hire or +purchase a horse, but all that could be spared had been taken for the +Carlist army; and he rightly judged that through so mountainous a +country he should make better progress on foot than on any Rosinante +offered to him. He pushed forward, therefore, with all possible haste; +but his feet had grown tender during his imprisonment, and he was but +indifferently satisfied with his rate of marching. On the following day, +however, his anxiety was considerably dissipated by learning that +Zumalacarregui's wound was slight, and that the surgeons had predicted a +rapid cure. He nevertheless continued his journey without abatement of +speed, and on the afternoon of the fourth day arrived on the summit of +the hills that overlook Bilboa. The suburbs were occupied by the +Carlists, whose slender battering train kept up a fire that was +vigorously replied to by the forty or fifty cannon bristling the +fortifications. Entering the faubourg known as the Barrio de Bolueta, he +approached a group of soldiers lounging in front of their quarters,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span> and +enquired where the general was lodged. The men looked at him in some +surprise, and asked which general he meant.</p> + +<p>"The general-in-chief, Zumalacarregui, to be sure," replied Paco +impatiently.</p> + +<p>"Where come you from, amigo?" said one of the soldiers, "not to know +that Zumalacarregui left the lines the day after he was wounded, and is +now getting cured at Cegama?"</p> + +<p>Great was Paco's vexation at finding that the person he had come so far +to seek, had been all the while at a village within a day's march of the +Dominican convent. His annoyance was so legibly written upon his +countenance, that one of the soldiers took upon himself to offer a word +of consolation.</p> + +<p>"Never mind, comrade," said he, "if you want to see Tio Tomas, you can't +do better than remain here. You won't have long to wait. He has only got +a scratch on the leg, and we expect every day to see him ride into the +lines. He's not the man to be laid up long by such a trifle."</p> + +<p>"Is Colonel Villabuena here?" said Paco, somewhat reassured by this last +information.</p> + +<p>"What, Black Baltasar, as they call him? Ay, that he is, and be hanged +to him. It's only two days since he ordered me an extra turn of picket +for forgetting to salute him as he passed my beat. Curse him for a +soldier's plague!"</p> + +<p>Paco left the soldiers and walked on till he came to a small house, +which the juniper bush suspended above the door proclaimed to be a +tavern. Entering the smoky low-roofed room upon the ground-floor, which +just then chanced to be unoccupied, he sat down by the open window and +called for a quartillo of wine. A measure of the vinegar-flavoured +liquid known by the name of chacolin, and drunk for wine in the province +of Biscay, was brought to him, and after washing the dust out of his +throat, he began to think what was best to do in his present dilemma. He +was desirous to get out of Don Baltasar's neighbourhood, and, moreover, +if he did not rejoin his regiment or report himself to the military +authorities, he was liable to be arrested as a deserter. In that case, +he could hardly hope that the strange story he would have to tell of his +imprisonment at the convent would find credit, and, even if it did, +delay would inevitably ensue. He finally made up his mind to remain +where he was for the night, and to start early next morning for Cegama. +A better and more speedy plan would perhaps have been to seek out one of +Zumalacarregui's aides-de-camp, relate to him his recent adventures, +produce Rita's letter in corroboration of his veracity, and request him +to forward it, or provide him with a horse to take it himself. But +although this plan occurred to him, the gain in time appeared +insufficient to compensate for the risk of meeting Don Baltasar whilst +searching for the aide-de-camp, and of being by him thrown into prison +and deprived of the letter.</p> + +<p>The day had been most sultry, and Paco had walked, with but a ten +minutes' halt, from sunrise till afternoon. Overcome by fatigue and +drowsiness, he had no sooner decided on his future proceedings, and +emptied his quartillo, events which were about coincident, than his head +began to nod and droop, and after a few faint struggles against the +sleepy impulse, it fell forward upon the table, and he slept as men +sleep after a twelve hours' march under a Spanish sun in the month of +June. During his slumbers various persons, soldiers and others, passed +in and out of the room; but there was nothing unusual in seeing a +soldier dozing off his wine or fatigue on a tavern table, and no one +disturbed or took especial notice of him. Paco slept on.</p> + +<p>It was evening when he awoke, and rose from his bench with a hearty +stretch of his stiffened limbs. As he did so, he heard the sound of +footsteps in the street. They ceased near the window, and a dialogue +commenced, a portion of which reached his ears.</p> + +<p>"Have you heard the news?" said one of the speakers.</p> + +<p>"No," was the reply, in a voice that made Paco start. "I am now going to +Eraso's quarters to get them. I am told that a courier arrived from +Durango half an hour since, covered with foam, and spurring as on a life +or death errand."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span></p> + +<p>Whilst this was saying, Paco noiselessly approached the window, which +was large and square, about four feet above the street, and closed only +by a clumsy shutter, at that moment wide open. Crouching down, he +cautiously raised his head so as to obtain a view of the street, without +exposing more than the upper part of his face to the possible +observation of the persons outside. What he saw, confirmed the testimony +of his ears: two officers in staff uniforms stood within twenty paces of +the window, and in the one who had last spoken, Paco recognised Don +Baltasar. His face was towards the tavern, but his eyes were fixed upon +his interlocutor, who replied to his last observation—</p> + +<p>"On an errand of death, indeed!" said he, in tones which, although +suppressed, were distinctly audible to the muleteer. "Zumalacarregui is +no more."</p> + +<p>In his consternation at the intelligence thus unwittingly conveyed to +him, Paco forgot for a second the caution rendered imperative by his +position. A half-smothered exclamation escaped him, and by an +involuntary start he raised his head completely above the window-sill. +As he did so, he fancied he saw Don Baltasar glance at the window, and +in his turn slightly start; but the sun had already passed the horizon, +the light was waning fast, and Colonel Villabuena took no further +notice, but remained talking with his companion, Paco made sure that he +had either not seen him, or, what was still more probable, not +remembered his face. Nevertheless the muleteer retreated from the window +that no part of him might be seen, and strained his hearing to catch +what passed.</p> + +<p>He missed a sentence or two, and then again heard Colonel Villabuena's +voice.</p> + +<p>"Most disastrous intelligence, indeed!" he said, "and as unexpected as +disastrous. I will proceed to the general's quarters and get the +particulars."</p> + +<p>The officers separated; Don Baltasar walking rapidly away, as Paco, who +now ventured to look out, was able to ascertain. Satisfied that he had +escaped the peril with which for a moment he had thought himself +menaced, he left the window and returned to his bench. But Don Baltasar +had sharper eyes and a better memory than the muleteer gave him credit +for. He had fully recognized Paco, whom he had several times seen in +attendance on the count, and, without troubling himself to reflect how +he could have made his escape, he at once decided what measures to take +to neutralize its evil consequences. Had Paco remained an instant longer +at his post of observation, he would have seen the Colonel stop at a +house near at hand, in which a number of soldiers were billeted, summon +a corporal and three men, and retrace his steps to the tavern. Leaving +two of the soldiers outside the house, with the others he burst into the +room occupied by the muleteer.</p> + +<p>At the moment of their entrance, Paco, who, although he had heard their +footsteps in the passage, did not suspect the new-comers to be other +than some of the usual customers to the tavern, had taken up the heavy +earthen jug in which his wine had been brought, and was decanting from +it into his glass a last mouthful that still remained at the bottom. No +sooner did he behold Don Baltasar, closely followed by two soldiers with +fixed bayonets, than with his usual bold decision, and with his utmost +strength, he dashed the jug full at him. The missile struck the officer +on the chest with such force that he staggered back, and, for a moment, +impeded the advance of his followers. That moment saved Paco's +liberty—probably his life. Springing to the window, he leaped out, and +alighting upon one of the soldiers who had remained outside, knocked him +over. The other man, taken by surprise, made a feeble thrust at the +fugitive. Paco parried it with his arm, grappled the man, gave him a +kick on the shin that knocked his leg from under him, rolled him on the +ground by the side of his companion, and scudded down the street like a +hunted fox, just as Baltasar and his men jumped out of the window.</p> + +<p>"Fire!" shouted the Colonel.</p> + +<p>Two bullets, and then two more, struck the walls of the narrow sloping +street through which the muleteer<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span> ran, or buried themselves with a +<i>thud</i> in the earth a short distance in front of him. Paco ran all the +faster, cleared the houses, and turning to his right, scampered down in +the direction of the town. The shouts and firing had spread an alarm in +the Carlist camp, the soldiers were turning out on all sides, and the +outposts on the alert. Paco approached the latter, and saw a sentinel in +a straight line between him and the town.</p> + +<p>"<i>Quien vive?</i>" challenged the soldier, when the muleteer was still at a +considerable distance from him.</p> + +<p>"<i>Carlos Quinto</i>," replied Paco.</p> + +<p>"Halt!" thundered the sentry, bringing his musket to his shoulder with a +sharp quick rattle.</p> + +<p>This command, although enforced by a menace, Paco was not disposed to +obey. For the one musket before him, there were hundreds behind him, and +he continued his onward course, merely inclining to his left, so as to +present a less easy mark than when bearing straight down upon the +sentry. Another "halt!" immediately followed by the report of the piece, +was echoed by a laugh of derision from Paco. "Stop him! bayonet him!" +shouted a score of voices in his rear. The sentinel rushed forward to +obey the command; but Paco, unarmed and unencumbered, was too quick for +him. Dashing past within a yard of the bayonet's point, he tore along to +the town, amidst a rain of bullets, encouraged by the cheers of the +Christinos, who had assembled in groups to watch the race; and, replying +to their shouts and applause by a yell of "<i>Viva la Reyna!</i>" he in +another minute stood safe and sheltered within the exterior +fortifications of Bilboa.</p> + +<p>Three weeks had elapsed since the death of Zumalacarregui, and that +important event, which the partisans of the Spanish pretender had, as +long as possible, kept secret from their opponents, was now universally +known. Already did the operations of the Carlists begin to show symptoms +of the great loss they had sustained in the person of a man who, during +his brief but brilliant command, had nailed victory to his standard. +Even during his last illness, he kept up, from his couch of suffering, a +constant correspondence with General Eraso, his second in command, and +in some degree directed his proceedings; but when he died, the system of +warfare he had uniformly, and with such happy results, followed up, was +exchanged by those who came after him, for another and a less judicious +one. This, added to the immense moral weight of his loss, which filled +the Christinos with the most buoyant anticipations, whilst it was a +grievous discouragement to the Carlists, caused the tide of fortune to +turn against the latter. Dejected and disheartened, they were beaten +from before Bilboa, the town which, but for Zumalacarregui's +over-strained deference to the wishes of Don Carlos, they would never +have attacked. On the other hand, the Christinos were sanguine of +victory, and of a speedy termination to the war. The baton of command, +after passing through the hands of Rodil, Sarsfield, Mina, and other +veterans whose experience had struggled in vain against the skill and +prestige of the Carlist chief, had just been bestowed by the Queen's +government on a young general in whose zeal and abilities great reliance +was placed. On various occasions, since the death of Ferdinand, had this +officer, at the head of his brigade or division, given proof not only of +that intrepidity which, although the soldier's first virtue, should be +the general's least merit, but, as was generally believed, of military +talents of a high order.</p> + +<p>Luis Fernandez de Cordova, the son of a poor but noble family of one of +the southern provinces of Spain, was educated at a military school, +whence he passed with an officer's commission into a regiment of the +royal guard. Endowed with considerable natural ability and tact, he +managed to win the favour of Ferdinand VII., and by that weak and fickle +monarch was speedily raised to the rank of colonel. His then bias, +however, was for diplomacy, for which, indeed, his subsequent life, and +his turn for intrigue, showed him to be well qualified; and at his +repeated instance he was sent to various courts in high diplomatic +capacities. "We are sorry to have to say," remarks a Spanish military +writer who fought in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span> opposite ranks, "that Cordova in part owed his +elevation to the goodness of the very prince against whom he +subsequently drew his sword." Be that as it may, at the death of +Ferdinand, Cordova, although little more than thirty years of age, was +already a general, and ambassador at Copenhagen. Ever keenly alive to +his own interest, he no sooner learned the outbreak of the civil war, +than he saw in it an opportunity of further advancement; and, without +losing a moment, he posted to Madrid, threw himself at the feet of +Christina, and implored her to give him a command, that he might have an +opportunity of proving with his sword his devotion to her and to the +daughter of his lamented sovereign. A command was given him; his talents +were by no means contemptible; his self-confidence unbounded; intrigue +and interest were not wanting to back such qualities, and at the period +now referred to, Cordova, to the infinite vexation of many a greyhaired +general who had earned his epaulets on the battle-fields of America and +the Peninsula, was appointed commander-in-chief of the army of the +north.</p> + +<p>Upon assuming the supreme command, Cordova marched his army, which had +just compelled the Carlists to raise the siege of Bilboa, in the +direction of the Ebro. Meanwhile the Carlists, foiled in Biscay, were +concentrating their forces in central Navarre. As if to make up for +their recent disappointment, they had resolved upon the attack of a +town, less wealthy and important, it is true, than Bilboa, but which +would still have been a most advantageous acquisition, giving them, so +long as they could hold it, command of the communications between +Pampeluna and the Upper Ebro. Against Puente de la Reyna, a fortified +place upon the Arga, were their operations now directed, and there, upon +the 13th of July, the bulk of the Carlist army arrived. Don Carlos +himself accompanied it, but the command devolved upon Eraso, the +military capabilities of Charles the Fifth being limited to praying, +amidst a circle of friars and shavelings, for the success of those who +were shedding their heart's blood in his service. The neighbouring +peasants were set to work to cut trenches; and preparations were making +to carry on the siege in due form, when, on the 14th, the garrison, in a +vigorous sortie, killed the commandant of the Carlist artillery, and +captured a mortar that had been placed in position. The same day Cordova +and his army started from Lerin, which they had reached upon the 13th, +and arrived at nightfall at Larraga, a town also upon the Arga, and +within a few miles of Pueute de la Reyna.</p> + +<p>The next day was passed by the two considerable armies, which, it was +easy to foresee, would soon come into hostile collision, in various +movements and manœuvres, which diminished the distance between them, +already not great. The Carlists, already discouraged by the successful +sortie of the 14th, retired from before Puente de la Reyna, and, moving +southwards, occupied the town and bridge of Mendigorria. On the other +hand, two-thirds of the Christino forces crossed the Arga, and quartered +themselves in and near the town of Artajona. The plain on the left bank +of the river was evidently to be the scene of the approaching conflict. +On few occasions during the war, had actions taken place upon such level +ground as this, the superiority of the Christinos in cavalry and +artillery having induced Zumalacarregui rather to seek battle in the +mountains, where those arms were less available. But since the +commencement of 1835, the Carlist horse had improved in numbers and +discipline; several cavalry officers of rank and skill had joined it, +and assisted in its organization; and although deprived of its gallant +leader, Don Carlos O'Donnel, who had fallen victim to his own imprudent +daring in an insignificant skirmish beneath the walls of Pampeluna, +Eraso, and the other Carlist generals, had now sufficient confidence in +its efficiency to risk a battle in a comparatively level country. +Numerically, the Carlists were superior to their opponents, but in +artillery, and especially in cavalry, the Christinos had the advantage. +From various garrison towns, through which he had passed in his +circuitous route from Bilboa to Lar<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span>raga, the Christino commander had +collected reinforcements, and an imposing number of squadrons, including +several of lancers and dragoons of the royal guard, formed part of the +force now assembled at Larraga and Artajona.</p> + +<p>It was late on the evening of the 15th of July, and on a number of +gently sloping fields, interspersed with vineyards and dotted with +trees, a Christino brigade, including a regiment of cavalry, had +established its bivouac. In such weather as it then was, it became a +luxury to pass a night in the open air, with turf for a mattrass, a +cloak for a pillow, and the branches for bed-curtains, instead of being +cramped and crowded into smoky, vermin-haunted cottages; and the troops +assembled seemed to feel this, and to enjoy the light and balmy breeze +and refreshing coolness which had succeeded to the extreme heat of the +day. Few troops, if any, are so picturesque in a bivouac as Spaniards; +none, certainly, are greater adepts in rendering an out-door encampment +not only endurable but agreeable, and nothing had been neglected by the +Christinos that could contribute to the comfort of their <i>al-fresco</i> +lodging. Large fires had been lighted, composed in great part of +odoriferous shrubs and bushes abounding in the neighbourhood, which +scented the air as they burned; and around these the soldiers were +assembled cooking and eating their rations, smoking, jesting, discussing +some previous fight, or anticipating the result of the one expected for +the morrow, and which according to their sanguine calculations, could +only be favourable to them. Here was a seemingly interminable row of +muskets piled in sheaves, a perfect <i>chevaux-de-frise</i>, some hundred +yards of burnished barrels and bayonets glancing in the fire-light. +Further on, the horses of the cavalry were picketed, whilst their +riders, who had finished grooming and feeding them, looked to their arms +and saddlery, and saw that all was ready and as it should be if called +on for sudden service. On one side, at a short distance from the +bivouac, a party of men cut, with their sabres and foraging hatchet, +brushwood to renew the fires; in another direction, a train of carts +laden with straw, driven by unwilling peasants and escorted by a surly +commissary and a few dusty dragoons, made their appearance, the patient +oxen pushing and straining forwards in obedience to the goad that +tormented their flanks, the clumsy wheels, solid circles of wood, +creaking round their ungreased axles. In the distance were the enemy's +watch-fires; nearer were those of the advanced posts; and, at more than +one point of the surrounding country, a cottage or farmhouse, set on +fire by careless or mischievous marauders, fiercely flamed without any +attempt being made to extinguish the conflagration.</p> + +<p>If the sights that met the eye were varied and numerous, the sounds +which fell upon the ear were scarcely less so. The neighing of the +picketed horses, the songs of the soldiery, the bugle-calls and signals +of the outposts, occasionally a few dropping shots exchanged between +patroles, and from time to time some favourite national melody, clanged +forth by a regimental band—all combined to render the scene one of the +most inspiriting and lively that could be imagined.</p> + +<p>Beside a watch-fire whose smoke, curling and wavering upwards, seemed to +cling about the foliage of the large old tree near which it was lighted, +Luis Herrera had spread his cloak, and now reclined, his head supported +on his arm, gazing into the flaming pile. Several officers belonging to +the squadron he commanded were also grouped round the fire, and some of +them, less watchful or more fatigued than their leader, had rolled +themselves in their mantles, turned their feet to the flame, and with +their heads supported on saddles and valises, were already asleep. Two +or three subalterns came and went, as the exigencies of the service +required, inspecting the arrangements of the men, ascertaining that the +horses were properly cared for, giving orders to sergeants, or bringing +reports to the captains of their troops. Herrera as yet felt no +disposition to sleep. The stir and excitement of the scene around him +had not failed of their effect on his martial nature, and he felt +cheered and exhilarated by the prospect of action. It was only in +mo<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span>ments like these, during the fight itself, or the hours immediately +preceding it, that his character seemed to lose the gloomy tinge +imparted to it by the misfortunes which, so early in life, had darkened +his path, and to recover something of the buoyancy natural to his age.</p> + +<p>Whilst busied with anticipations of the next day's battle, Herrera's +attention was suddenly attracted by hearing his name pronounced at a +neighbouring fire, round which a number of his troopers had established +themselves.</p> + +<p>"Captain Herrera?" said a soldier, apparently replying to a question; +"he is not far off—what do you want?"</p> + +<p>"To see him instantly," answered a voice not unfamiliar to the ear of +Luis. "I bring important intelligence."</p> + +<p>"Come this way," was the reply; and then a non-commissioned officer +approached Herrera, and respectfully saluting, informed him that a +<i>paisano</i>, or civilian, wished to speak with him. Before Luis could +order the person in question to be conducted to him, a man mounted on a +rough but active mountain horse, rode out of the gloom into the +fire-light, threw himself from his saddle, and stood within three paces +of the Christino officer. By the blaze, Herrera recognized, with some +surprise, one whom he believed to be then in the Carlist ranks.</p> + +<p>"Paco!" he exclaimed; "you here? Whence do you come, and what are your +tidings?"</p> + +<p>The corporal, who had acted as master of the ceremonies to Paco, now +returned to his fire, and Herrera and the muleteer remained alone. The +latter had got rid of all vestiges of uniform, and appeared in the garb +which he had been accustomed to wear, before his devotion to Count +Villabuena, and the feeling of partisanship for Don Carlos, which he +shared with the majority of Navarrese, had led him to enter the ranks.</p> + +<p>"I have much to tell you, Don Luis," said he; "and my news is bad. Count +Villabuena is dead."</p> + +<p>Instead of manifesting astonishment or grief at this intelligence, +Herrera replied calmly, and almost with a smile, "Is that all?"</p> + +<p>"All!" repeated Paco, aghast at such unfeeling indifference; "and +enough, too. I did not think, that because you had taken different +sides, all kindness was at an end between you and the Conde. His +señoria, heaven rest him!"—and here Paco crossed himself—"deserved +better of you, Don Luis. But for him your bones would long ago have been +picked by the crows. It was he who rescued you when you were a prisoner, +and ordered for execution."</p> + +<p>"I know it, Paco," replied Herrera, "and I am grateful for my +deliverance both to you and him. But you are mistaken about his death. I +saw and spoke to the Count not three days ago."</p> + +<p>"To the Count! to Count Villabuena?" exclaimed Paco. "Then that damned +gipsy lied. He told me he was killed, shot by some of your people. How +did you see him? Is he a prisoner?"</p> + +<p>"The Count is alive and in safety, and that must satisfy you for the +moment. But you have doubtless more to tell me. What of Doña Rita? Why +and when did you leave the Carlists, and where was she when you left?"</p> + +<p>"Since the Count is well," returned Paco, "the worst part of my news is +to come. Doña Rita's own handwriting will best answer your question."</p> + +<p>Opening his knife, Paco ripped up a seam of his jacket, and extracted +from the lining a soiled and crumpled paper. It was the letter written +by Rita to Zumalacarregui. By the light of the fire Herrera devoured its +contents. From them he learned all that Rita herself knew of the place +and reasons of her captivity. She detailed the manner in which she had +been decoyed from Segura, described what she conjectured to be the +position of the convent, and implored Zumalacarregui to protect a +defenceless orphan, and rescue her from the prison in which she was +unjustifiably detained. After twice reading the letter, the handwriting +of which recalled a thousand tender recollections, although the +information it contained filled him with alarm and anxiety, Herrera +again addressed Paco.</p> + +<p>"How did you get this letter?" he asked.</p> + +<p>In few words, Paco, who saw, by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span> the stern and hurried manner of his +interrogator, that it was no time to indulge in a lengthened narrative +of his adventures, gave a concise outline of what had occurred, from the +time of his leaving Segura with Rita, up to his desertion from the +Carlists in front of Bilboa. Upon finding himself in safety from Don +Baltasar, and released from the obligations of military service, he +deliberated on the best means to employ for the release of Doña Rita. +Amongst the Christinos the only person who occurred to him as proper to +consult, or likely to aid him, was Herrera, and him he resolved to seek. +After waiting a week at Bilboa, he procured a passage in a small vessel +sailing for Santander, and thence set out for the Ebro, in the +neighbourhood of which he had ascertained that he should find Herrera's +regiment. The money he had found in the gipsy's sash enabled him to +supply all his wants and purchase a horse, and without further delay he +started for the interior. But on reaching Miranda on the Ebro, he +learned that Herrera's squadron had marched into Biscay. Thither he +pursued it. Meanwhile the siege of Bilboa had been raised, and, whilst +he followed one road, Herrera returned towards Navarre by another. Paco +lost much time; but, though often disappointed, the faithful fellow was +never discouraged, nor did he for a moment think of desisting from the +pilgrimage he had voluntarily undertaken for the deliverance of his dead +master's daughter. He pressed onwards, sparing neither himself nor his +newly-acquired steed; but, in spite of his exertions, so rapid and +continuous were the movements of the army, it was not till the evening +now referred to that he at last caught it up.</p> + +<p>Of all this, however, and of whatever merely concerned himself, Paco +made little mention, limiting himself to what it was absolutely +necessary that Herrera should know, clearly to understand Rita's +position. In spite of this brevity, more than one sign of impatience +escaped Luis during the muleteer's narrative. The tale told, he remained +for a minute buried in thought.</p> + +<p>"It is three weeks since you left the convent?" he then inquired of +Paco.</p> + +<p>"Nearly four," was the answer.</p> + +<p>"Do you think Doña Rita is still there?"</p> + +<p>"How can I tell?" replied Paco. "You know as much as I do of Don +Baltasar's intentions. He could hardly find a better corner to hide her +in; for it is in the very heart of the mountains, far from any town, +and, well as I know Navarre, I never saw the place till this time. So I +<i>should</i> think it likely she is still there, unless he has taken her to +France, or forced her to marry him."</p> + +<p>"Never!" cried Herrera, violently; "he would not dare; she would never +consent. Listen, Paco—could you guide me to that convent?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly I could," answered the muleteer, greatly surprised, "as far +as knowing the road goes; but the country swarms with Carlist troops; +and even if we could sneak round Eraso's army, we should be sure to fall +in with some guerilla party."</p> + +<p>"But there must be paths over the mountains," exclaimed Herrera, with +the painful eagerness of a man catching at a last faint hope; "paths +unfrequented, almost unknown, except to fellows like you, who have spent +their lives amongst then. Over those you could—you must, conduct me."</p> + +<p>"I will try it, Don Luis, willingly," replied Paco, moved by Herrera's +evident agony of mind. "I will try it, if you choose; but I would not +give a <i>peseta</i> for our lives. There are hundreds amongst the Carlists +who know every mountain pass and ravine as well as I do. The chances +will be all against us."</p> + +<p>"We could lie concealed in the day," continued Herrera, pursuing the +train of his own thoughts, and scarcely hearing the muleteer's +observations. "A small party of infantry—twenty picked men will be +enough—the convent surprised at nightfall, and before morning, by a +forced march, we reach a Christino garrison. I will try it, by heaven! +at all risks. Paco, wait my return."</p> + +<p>And before the muleteer had time to reply, the impetuous young man +snatched his horse's bridle from his hand, sprang into the saddle, and,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span> +spurring the tired beast into a gallop, rode off in the direction of +Artajona.</p> + +<p>The motive of Herrera's abrupt departure was to prepare for the +execution of a plan so wild and impracticable, that, in his cooler +moments, it would never have suggested itself to him, although, in his +present state of excitement, he fancied it perfectly feasible. He had +determined to proceed at once to the general-in-chief, one of whose +favourite officers he was, to acquaint him with what he had just +learned, and entreat his permission to set out that very night with a +few chosen men on an expedition into the heart of the Carlist country, +the object of it being to rescue Rita from her captivity. For reasons +which will hereafter appear, he had the worst possible opinion of Don +Baltasar, and so shocked and startled was he at hearing that the woman +to whom, in spite of their long separation, he was still devotedly and +passionately attached, was in his power, that for the time he lost all +coolness of judgment and overlooked the numerous obstacles to his +scheme. The rapid pace at which he rode, contributed perhaps to keep up +the whirl and confusion of his ideas, and he arrived at the door of +Cordova's quarters, without the impropriety and positive absurdity of +his application at such a moment having once occurred to him.</p> + +<p>The Christino commander had taken up his quarters in the house of one of +the principal inhabitants of Artajona. At the time of Herrera's arrival, +although it was past ten o'clock, all was bustle and movement in and +about the extensive range of building; the stables crammed with horses, +the general's escort loitering in the vestibule, orderly officers and +aides-de-camp hurrying in all directions, bringing reports and conveying +orders to the different regiments and brigades; peasants, probably +spies, conversing in low earnest tones with officers of rank: here a +party of soldiers drinking, there another group gambling, in a third +place a row of sleepers stretched upon the hard ground, but soundly +slumbering in spite of its hardness and of the surrounding din. Pushing +his way through the crowd, Herrera ascended the stairs, and meeting an +orderly at the top, enquired for the general's apartments. Before the +soldier could reply, a door opened, a young officer came out, and, +perceiving Herrera, hurried towards him. The two officers shook hands. +The aide-de-camp was Mariano Torres, who had recently been appointed to +the general's staff, upon which Herrera would also have been placed had +he not preferred remaining in command of his squadron.</p> + +<p>"What brings you here, Luis?" said Torres.</p> + +<p>"To see the general. I have a favour to ask of him—one which he <i>must</i> +grant. Take me to him, Torres, immediately."</p> + +<p>Struck by the wild and hurried manner of his friend, and by the +discomposure manifest in his features, Mariano took his arm, and walking +with him down the long corridor, which was dimly lighted by lanterns +suspended against the wall, led him into his own room. "The general is +particularly engaged," said he, "and I cannot venture to disturb him; +but in five minutes I will inform him of your arrival. Meanwhile, what +is the matter, Luis? What has happened thus to agitate you?"</p> + +<p>Although chafing at the delay, Herrera could not refuse to reply to this +enquiry; and, in hurried and confused terms, he informed Torres of the +news brought by Paco, and of the plan he had devised for the rescue of +Rita. Thunderstruck at the temerity of the project, Torres undertook, +but at first with small success, to convince Herrera of its +impracticability, and induce him to abandon it, at least for the time.</p> + +<p>"How can you possibly expect," he said, "ever to reach the convent you +have described to me? In front is the Carlist army; on all sides you +will meet bands of armed peasants, and you will throw away your own life +without a chance of accomplishing your object."</p> + +<p>"Don't speak to me of life!" exclaimed Herrera, impetuously interrupting +him; "it is valueless. Spare yourself the trouble of argument; all that +you can urge will be in vain. Come what may, and at any risk, I will +make the attempt.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span> Every hour is a year of torture to me whilst I know +Rita in the power of that villain."</p> + +<p>"And much good it will do her," replied Torres, "to have you killed in +her service. As to accomplishing her rescue, it is out of the question +in the way you propose. You will inevitably be shot or taken prisoner. +If, on the contrary, you have a little patience, and wait a few days, +something may be done. This Don Baltasar, there can scarcely be a doubt, +is with the army in our front, and his prisoner must therefore be free +from his persecutions. Besides, admitting that your project had a shadow +of common sense, how can you suppose, that on the eve of a battle +against superior numbers, the general will spare even a score of men +from the ranks of his army?"</p> + +<p>"He <i>will</i> spare them, for me," cried Herrera. "He has known me since +the beginning of the war: I have fought by his side; and more than once +he has thanked me for my services, and expressed his willingness to +reward them. Let him grant me this request, and I will die for him +to-morrow."</p> + +<p>"You would be likely enough to die if he did grant it," replied Torres; +"but luckily there is no chance of his doing so."</p> + +<p>"We will see that," said Herrera, impatiently. "This is idle talk and +waste of time. You are not my friend, Mariano, thus to detain me. The +five minutes have twice elapsed. Take me at once to the general."</p> + +<p>"I will take you to him, if you insist upon it," answered Torres. "Hear +me but one minute longer. What will be said to-morrow, when we move +forward to meet the enemy, and it is found that Luis Herrera is wanting +at his post; when it is known that he has left the camp in the +night-*time, on his own private business, only a few hours before a +battle, which all agree will be a bloody and perhaps a decisive one? His +advancement, although nobly deserved, has been rapid. There are many who +envy him, and such will not fail to attribute his absence to causes by +which his friends well know he is incapable of being influenced. It will +be pleasant for those friends to hear slanderous tongues busy with his +good name."</p> + +<p>Mariano had at last touched the right chord, and this, his final +argument, strongly impressed Herrera. What no consideration of personal +danger could accomplish, the dread of an imputation upon his honour, +although it might be uttered but by one or two enemies, and disbelieved +by a thousand friends, went far to effect. Moreover, during the quarter +of an hour passed with Torres, his thoughts had become in some degree +collected, and the truth of the aide-de-camp's observations as to the +Quixotism and utter madness of his scheme began to dawn upon him. He +hesitated, and remained silent. Torres saw his advantage, and hastened +to follow it up.</p> + +<p>"Hear me, Luis," said he. "You have ever found me willing to be guided +by your opinion, but at this moment you are not in a state of mind to +judge for yourself. For once then, be guided by me, and return to your +squadron. To-morrow's fight will make a mighty difference. If we gain +the day, and we are sure of it, we shall advance to Pampeluna, and you +will be at a comparatively short distance from the convent where your +mistress is detained. Then, indeed, when the Carlists are scattered and +dispirited after their defeat, the scheme you have in view may be +executed, and then, but only then, are you likely to get permission to +attempt it. I will accompany you if you wish it, and we will get some +guerilla leader, skilled in such hazardous expeditions, to join us with +his band."</p> + +<p>By these and similar arguments, did Torres finally prevail with Herrera +to abandon his project until after the approaching action. Even then, +and even should the victory be complete and in favour of the Christinos, +Mariano was doubtful whether it would be possible to attempt the +dangerous excursion proposed by Herrera; but in the interim his friend +would have time to reflect, and Torres hoped that he might be induced +entirely to give up the plan. He, himself a light-hearted devil-may-care +fellow, taking life as it came, and with a gentle spice of egotism in +his character, was unsusceptible of such an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span> attachment as that of +Herrera for Rita, and, being unsusceptible, he could not understand it. +The soldier's maxim of letting a new love drive out the old one, +whenever a change of garrison or other cause renders it advisable, was +what he practised, and would have wished his friend also to adopt. He +was unable to comprehend Herrera's deeply-rooted and unselfish love, +which had grown up with him from boyhood, had borne up against so many +crosses and discouragements, and which time, although it might prove its +hopelessness, could never entirely obliterate.</p> + +<p>"Time," thought Torres, as he returned to his room, after seeing Herrera +mount his horse and ride away, "is a great healer of Cupid's wounds, +particularly a busy time, like this. A fight one day and a carouse the +next, have cured many an honest fellow of the heartache. Herrera is +pretty sure of one half of the remedy, although it might be difficult to +induce him to try the other. Well, <i>qui vivra verra</i>—I have brought him +to his senses for the present, and there'd be small use in bothering +about the future, when, by this time to-morrow, half of us may be food +for ravens."</p> + +<p>And with this philosophical reflection, the insouciant aide-de-camp +threw himself upon his bed, to sleep as soundly as if the next day's sun +had to shine upon a feast instead of a fray.</p> + +<p>Midnight was approaching when Herrera reached the bivouac, which had now +assumed a character of repose very different from the bustle reigning +there when he had left it. The fires were blazing far less brightly, and +some, neglected by the soldiers who lay sleeping around them, had +dwindled into heaps of ashes, over which a puff of the night breeze +would every now and then bring a red glow, driving at the same time a +long train of sparks into the faces of the neighbouring sleepers. There +was no more chattering or singing; the distant shots had ceased, the +musicians had laid aside their instruments, and were sharing the general +repose; the only sounds that broke the stillness were the distant +challenging from the outpost, the tramp of the sentry faintly audible +upon the turf, the rattling of the collar chain of some restless horse, +or the snore of the sleeping soldiery. Restoring his horse to Paco, whom +he found waiting beside the watch-fire, Herrera desired him to remain +there till morning, and then wrapping himself in his cloak, he lay down +upon the grass, to court a slumber, of which anxious and uneasy thoughts +long debarred his eyelids.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="MOSES_AND_SON" id="MOSES_AND_SON"></a>MOSES AND SON.</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">A Didactic Tale.</span></h3> + + +<h4><span class="smcap">Chapter I.</span></h4> + +<p>"It's no good your talking, Aby," said a diminutive gentleman, with a +Roman nose and generally antique visage; "you must do the best you can +for yourself, and get your living in a respectable sort of vay. I can't +do no more for you, so help my ——"</p> + +<p>"You're a nice father, aint you?" interrogatively replied the gentleman +addressed—a youth of eighteen, very tall, very thin, very dressy, and +very dirty. "I should like to know why you brought me into the world at +all."</p> + +<p>"To make a man of you, you ungrateful beast," answered the small father; +"and that's vot you'll never be, as true as my name's Moses. You aint +got it in you. You're as big a fool as any Christian in the parish."</p> + +<p>"Thankee, old un," replied he of six feet. "'<i>Twas nature's fault that +made me like my father</i>," he added immediately, throwing himself into a +theatrical posture, and pointing irreverently to the individual referred +to.</p> + +<p>"There he goes again!" exclaimed Moses senior, with a heavy sigh. +"That's another of his tricks that'll bring him to the gallows. Mark my +words, Aby—that acting of yours will do your business. I vish the +amytoors had been at the devil before you made their acquaintance!"</p> + +<p>"In course you do, you illiterate old man. What do you know of +literature? Aint all them gentlemen as I plays with chice sperits and +writers? Isn't it a honour to jine 'em in the old English drammy, and to +eat of the wittles and drink of the old ancient poets?"</p> + +<p>"Aby, my dear," proceeded the other sarcastically, "I've only two vurds +to say. You have skulked about this 'ere house for eighteen years of +your precious life, vithout doing a ha'porth of work. It's all very fine +while it lasts; but I am sorry to say it can't last much longer. +To-morrow is Sabbath, make much of it, for it's the last blessed day of +rest you'll see here. Sunday morning I'll trouble you to pack."</p> + +<p>"Do you mean it?"</p> + +<p>"Upon my soul—as true as I'm here."</p> + +<p>"<i>Hear that, ye gods, and wonder how you made him!</i>" exclaimed Abraham, +turning up his nose at his parent, and then looking to the ceiling with +emotion—"You unnatural old Lear! you bloodless piece of earth!"</p> + +<p>"Go 'long, go 'long!" said the prosaic Moses, senior; "don't talk +rubbish!"</p> + +<p>"Father!" cried the youth, with an attitude, "when I'm gone, you'll +think of me, and want me back."</p> + +<p>"Vait, my dear, till I send for you."</p> + +<p>"When the woice is silent, you'll be glad to give a ten pun' note for an +echo."</p> + +<p>"No, my boy; I don't like the security."</p> + +<p>"When you have lost sight of these precious featers, you'll be glad to +give all you have got for a picter."</p> + +<p>"Vot a lucky painter he'll be as draws you off!" said the stoic father.</p> + +<p>Abraham Moses gazed upon the author of his being for one minute with +intensest disgust. Then taking a chair in his hand, he first raised it +in the air, and afterwards struck it with vehement indignation to the +ground. That done, he seated himself with a mingled expression of +injured innocence and lofty triumph.</p> + +<p>"You old sinner," said he, "you've done for yourself."</p> + +<p>"Sorry for it," replied the cool old gentleman.</p> + +<p>"I've sounded you, have I? Oh! did I try to strike a chord in that +hollow buzzum, and did I think to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span> make it answer? Now listen, you +disreputable father. I leave your house, not the day after to-morrow, +but this very hour. I shall go to that high sphere which you knows +nothing about, and is only fit for a gent of the present generation. I +don't ask you for nothing. I'm settled and provided for. If you were to +take out your cheque-book and say, 'Aby, fill it up,' I can't answer for +a impulse of nater; but I do think I should scorn the act, and feel as +though I had riz above it. You have told me, all my wretched life, that +I should take my last snooze outside o' Newgate. I always felt very much +obliged to you for the compliment; but you'll recollect that I've told +you as often that I'd live to make you take your hat off to me. The time +is come, sir! I've got an appointment! Such a one! I came to tell you of +it; but I considered it my religious duty to inwestigate your paternal +feelings concerning me aforehand. I have inwestigated 'em. I am sorry to +say it; I have put you into the weighing machine, and found you short."</p> + +<p>"The fool's mad!"</p> + +<p>"Is he? Wait a minute. If your shocking eddication permits, I'll trouble +you to read that there."</p> + +<p>Mr Abraham Moses drew from his pocket a despatch, ornamented with a huge +seal, and some official red tape. The elder gentleman took it into his +hand, and gazed at his worthy son with unutterable surprise, as he read +on the outside—"<i>Private and confidential, House of Lords, to Abraham +Moses, Esq., &c. &c. &c.</i>"</p> + +<p>"Vy, vot does it all mean, my dear?" enquired the agitated parent.</p> + +<p>"Spare your '<i>my dears</i>,' venerable apostate, and open it," said Aby. +"The seal's broke. It's private and confidential, but that means when +you are not one of the family."</p> + +<p>Mr Methusaleh Moses did as he was bid, and read as follows:—</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"<span class="smcap">Sir</span>,—The Usher of the Blue Rod vacates his office on Wednesday +next, when you will be required to appear before the woolsack to +take the usual oaths. As soon as you have entered upon your duties, +the customary presentation to her Majesty will take place. Lord +Downy will be prepared to conclude the preliminaries at his hotel +at twelve o'clock to-morrow.—I am, sir, with respect, your +obedient humble servant,</p> + +<p class="center"> +"<span class="smcap">Warren de Fitzalbert</span>.</p> +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Abraham Moses, Esq.,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">&c. &c. &c."</span><br /> +</p></div> + +<p>As little Mr Moses read the last words with a tremulous utterance, tall +Mr Moses rose to take his departure. "Vot's your hurry, Aby?" said the +former, coaxingly.</p> + +<p>"Come, I like that. What's my hurry? Didn't you want to kick me out just +now?"</p> + +<p>"My dear, give every dog his due. Stick to the truth, my boy, votever +you does. I axed you to stay over the Sabbath—I vish I may die if I +didn't."</p> + +<p>Mr Abraham Moses directed towards his sire one of those decided and +deadly glances which are in so much request at the theatres, and which +undertake to express all the moral sentiments at one and the same +moment. Having paid this tribute to his wounded nature, he advanced to +the door, and said, determinedly—</p> + +<p>"I shall go!"</p> + +<p>"I'm blessed if you do, Aby!" exclaimed the father, with greater +resolution, and seizing his offspring by the skirts of his coat. "I'm +your father, and I knows my sitivation. You're sich a fellow! You can't +take a vurd in fun. Do you think I meant to turn you out ven I said it? +Can you stop nater, Aby? Isn't nater at vork vithin, and doesn't it tell +me if I knocks you on the nose, I hits myself in the eye? Come, sit down +my boy; tell me all about it, and let's have someting to eat."</p> + +<p>Aby was proof against logical argument, but he could not stand up +against the "someting to eat." He sank into the chair again like an +infant. Mr Methusaleh took quick advantage of his success. Rushing +wildly to a corner cupboard, he produced from it a plate of cold crisp +fried fish, which he placed with all imaginable speed exactly under the +nose of the still vacillating Aby. He vacillated no longer. The spell +was complete. The old gentleman, with a perfect reliance upon the charm, +proceeded to prepare a cup of coffee at his leisure.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span></p> + +<p>"And now, Aby," said the father, stirring the grounds of his muddy +beverage—"I'm dying to hear vot it all means. How did you manage to get +amongst dese people? You're more clever as your father." A hearty meal +of fish and coffee had considerably greased the external and internal +man of Aby Moses. His views concerning filial obligations became more +satisfactory and humane; his spirit was evidently chastened by +repletion.</p> + +<p>"Father," said he, meaning to be very tender—"You have always been such +a fool about the company as I keep."</p> + +<p>"Well, so I have, my dear; but don't rake up the past."</p> + +<p>"It's owing to that very company, father, that you sees me in my proud +position."</p> + +<p>"No!"</p> + +<p>"It is, though. <i>Lend me your ears.</i>"</p> + +<p>"Don't be shtoopid, Aby—go on vith your story."</p> + +<p>A slight curl might be seen playing around the dirty lip of Moses junior +at this parental ignorance of the immortal Will: a stern sacrifice of +filial reverence to poetry.</p> + +<p>It passed away, and the youth proceeded.</p> + +<p>"That Warren de Fitzalbert, father, as signed that dockyment, is a +buzzum friend. He see'd me one night when I played Catesby, and, after +the performance, requested the honour of an introduction, which I, in +course, could not refuse. You know how it is—men gets intimate—tells +one another their secrets—opens their hearts—and lives in one +another's societies. I never knew who he was, but I was satisfied he was +a superior gent, from the nateral course of his conversation. Everybody +said it as beautiful to see us, we was so united and unseparated. Well, +you may judge my surprise, when one day another gent, also a friend of +mine, says to me, 'Moses, old boy, do you know who Fitzalbert is?' 'No,' +says I, 'I don't.' 'Well, then,' says he, 'I'll tell you. He's a under +secretary of state.' There was a go! Only think of me being hand and +glove with a secretary of state! What does I do? Why, sir, the very next +time he and I meet, I says to him, 'Fitzalbert, it's very hard a man of +your rank can't do something for his friends.' I knew the right way was +to put the thing to him point-blank. 'So it would be,' says he, 'if it +was, but it isn't.' 'Oh, isn't it?' says I; 'then, if you are the man I +take you to be, you'll do the thing as is handsome by me.' He said +nothing then, but took hold of my hand, and shook it like a brother."</p> + +<p>"Vell, go on, my boy; I tink they are making a fool of you."</p> + +<p>"Are they? That's all you know. Well, a few days after this, Fitzalbert +writes me a letter to call on him directly. I goes, of course. 'Moses,' +says he, as soon as he sees me, 'you are provided for.' 'No!' says I. +'Yes,' says he. 'Lord Downy has overrun the constable; he can't stop in +England no longer; he's going to resign the blue rod; he's willing to +sell it for a song; you shall buy it, and make your fortune.'"</p> + +<p>"But vere's your money, my dear?"</p> + +<p>"Wait a minute. 'What's the salary?' said I. 'A thousand a-year,' says +he. 'You don't mean it?' says I again. 'Upon my soul,' says he. 'And +what will it cost?' says I. 'The first year's salary,' says he; 'and +I'll advance it, because I know you are a gentleman, and will not forget +to pay me back.' 'If I do,' says I, 'I wish I may die.' Now, father, +that there letter, as you sees, is official, and that's why he doesn't +say 'dear Moses;' but if you was to see us together, it would do your +heart good. Not that you ever will, because your unfortinate lowness of +character will compel me, as a gent, to cut your desirable acquaintance +the moment I steps into Lord Downy's Wellingtons. Now, if you have got +no more fish in that 'ere cupboard, I wish you good morning."</p> + +<p>"Shtay, shtay, Aby, you're in such a devil of a hurry!" exclaimed +Methusaleh, holding him by the wrist. "Now, my dear boy, if you're dead +to natur, there's an end of the matter, and I've nothing more to say; +but if you've any real blood left in you, you von't break my heart. Vy +shouldn't your father have the pleasure of advancing the money? If it is +a true bill, Aby, you sha'n't be under no obligation to nobody!"</p> + +<p>"True bill! I like that! Why, I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span> have seen Lord Downy's own +hand-*writing; and, what's more, seen him in the House of Lords, talking +quite as familiarly, as I conwerse with you, with the Lord Chancellor, +and all the rest on 'em. I heard him make a speech—next morning I looks +into the paper—no deceit, sir—there was Lord Downy's name. Now, +to-morrow, when I'm introduced to him, don't you think I shall be able +to diskiver whether he's the same man or not?"</p> + +<p>"Vere's the tousand pound?" inquired Mr Methusaleh.</p> + +<p>"My friend goes with me to-morrow to hand it over. Three hundred is to +be given up at Lord Downy's hotel in Oxford Street, and the balance at +Mr Fitzalbert's chambers in Westminster, an hour afterwards, when I +receive the appointment."</p> + +<p>"My dear Aby, I von't beat about the bush with you. I'm quite sure, my +child, ve should make it answer much better, if you'd let your father +advance the money. Doesn't it go agin the grain to vurk into the hands +of Christians against your own flesh and blood? If this Mr Fitzalbert +advances the money, depend upon it it's to make someting handsome by the +pargain. Let me go vith you to his lordship, and perhaps, if he's very +hard-up, he'll take seven hundred instead of the thousand. Ve'll divide +the three hundred between us. Don't you believe that your friend is +doing all this for love. Vot can he see, my darling, in your pretty +face, to take all this trouble for nothing? I shouldn't be at all +surprised if he's a blackguard, and means to take a cruel advantage of +his lordship's sitivation—give him perhaps only five hundred for his +tousand. Aby, let your ould father do an act of charity, and put two +hundred pounds into this poor gentleman's pockets."</p> + +<p>Before Aby could reply to this benevolent appeal, a stop was put to the +interesting conversation, by a violent knocking at the door, on the part +of no less a gentleman than Warren de Fitzalbert himself.</p> + + +<h4><span class="smcap">Chapter II.</span></h4> + +<p>Whilst the domestic <i>tête-à-tête</i>, feebly described in the foregoing +chapter, was in progress, the nobleman, more than once referred to, was +passing miserable moments in his temporary lodgings at the Salisbury +Hotel, in Oxford Street. A more unhappy gentleman than Baron Downy it +would be impossible to find in or out of England. The inheritor of a +cruelly-burdened title, he had spent a life in adding to its +incumbrances, rather than in seeking to disentangle it from the meshes +in which it had been transmitted to him. In the freest country on the +globe, he had never known the bliss of liberty. He had moved about with +a drag-chain upon his spiritual and physical energies, as long as he +could remember his being. At school and at college, necessarily limited +in his allowance, he contracted engagements which followed him for at +least ten years after his entrance into life, and then only quitted him +to leave him bound to others far more tremendous and inextricable. His +most frequent visitors, his most constant friends, his most familiar +acquaintance, were money-lenders. He had borrowed money upon all +possible and unimaginable securities, from the life of his grandmother +down to that last resource of the needy gentleman, the family repeater, +chain, and appendages. His lordship, desperate as his position was, was +a man of breeding, a nobleman in thought and feeling. But the more +incapable of doing wrong, so much the more liable to deceit and fraud. +He had been passed, so to speak, from hand to hand by all the +representatives of the various money-lending classes that thrive in +London on the folly and necessity of the reckless and the needy. All had +now given him up. His name had an odour in the market, where his paper +was a drug. His bills of a hundred found few purchasers at a paltry five +pounds, and were positively rejected by all but wine-merchant-sheriff's +officers, who took them at nothing, and contrived to make a handsome +profit out of them into the bargain. Few had so little reason to be +proud as the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span> man whose name had become a by-word and a joke amongst the +most detestable and degraded of their race; and yet, strange as it may +seem, few had a keener sense of their position, or could be so readily +stung by insult, let it but proceed from a quarter towards which +punishment might be directed with credit or honour. A hundred times Lord +Downy had cursed his fate, which had not made him an able-bodied porter, +or an independent labourer in the fields, rather than that saddest of +all sad contradictions, a nobleman without the means of sustaining +nobility—a man of rank with no dignity—a superior without the shadow +of pre-eminence; but for all the wealth of the kingdom, he would not +have sullied the order to which he belonged, by what he conceived to be +one act of meanness or sordid selfishness; as if there could be any +thing foul or base in any act that seeks, by honourable industry, to +repair the errors of a wayward fortune.</p> + +<p>Upon the day of which we speak, there sat with Lord Downy a rude, +ill-favoured man, brought into juxtaposition with the peer by the +unfortunate relation that connected the latter with so many men of +similar stamp and station. He seemed more at home in the apartment than +the owner, and took some pains to over-act his part of vulgar +independence. He had never been so intimate with a nobleman +before—certainly no nobleman had ever been in his power until now. The +low and abject mind holds its jubilee when it fancies that it reduces +superiority to its own level, and can trample upon it for an hour +without fear of rebuke or opposition.</p> + +<p>"For the love of heaven! Mr Ireton, if for no kindness towards me," said +Lord Downy, "give me one day longer to redeem those sacred pledges. They +are heirlooms—gifts of my poor dear mother. I had no right to place +them in your hands—they belong to my child."</p> + +<p>"Then why did you? I never asked you; I could have turned my money +twenty times over since you have had it. I dare say you think I have +made a fortune out of you."</p> + +<p>"I have always paid you liberally—and given you your terms."</p> + +<p>"I thought so—it's always the way. The more you do for great people the +more you may. I might have taken the bed from under your lordship many a +time, if so I had been so disposed; but of course you have forgotten all +about <i>that</i>."</p> + +<p>"About these jewels, Mr Ireton. They are not of great value, and cannot +be worth your selling. I shall receive two hundred and fifty pounds +to-morrow—it shall be made three hundred, and you shall have the whole +sum on account. Surely four-and-twenty hours are not to make you break +your faith with me?"</p> + +<p>"As for breaking faith, Lord Downy, I should like to know what you'd do +if I were in your place and you in mine."</p> + +<p>"I hope"—</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes! it's easy enough to talk now, when you aint in my position; +but I know very well how you all grind down the poor fellows that are in +your power—how you make them slave on five shillings a-week, to keep +you in luxury, and all the rest of it. Not that I blame you. I know it's +human nature to get what one can out of every body, and I don't complain +to see men try it on."</p> + +<p>"I have nothing more to say, Mr Ireton. You must do with me as you think +proper."</p> + +<p>"I am to wait till to-morrow, you say?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; only until to-morrow. I shall surely be in receipt of money then."</p> + +<p>"Oh, sure of course!" said Mr Ireton. "You gentlemen are always sure +till the time comes, and then you can't make it out how it is you are +disappointed. No sort of experience conquers your spirits; but the more +your hopes are defeated, the more sanguine you get. I'll wait till +to-morrow then"—</p> + +<p>"A thousand thanks."</p> + +<p>"Wait a bit—on certain terms. You know as well as I do, that I could +put you to no end of expense. I don't wish to do it; but I don't prefer +to be out of pocket by the matter. I must have ten pounds for the +accommodation."</p> + +<p>"Ten!" exclaimed poor Lord Downy.</p> + +<p>"Yes, only ten; and I'll give you twenty if you'll pay me at once;"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span> +added Mr Ireton—knowing very well that his victim could as easily have +paid off the national debt.</p> + +<p>Lord Downy sighed.</p> + +<p>"There's a slip of paper before you. Give me your I O U for the trifle, +and pay principal and interest to-morrow."</p> + +<p>His lordship turned obediently to the table, wrote in silence the +acknowledgment required, and with a hand that trembled from vexation and +anxiety, presented the document to his tormentor. The latter vanished. +He had scarcely departed before Lord Downy rang his bell with violence, +and a servant entered.</p> + +<p>"Are there any letters for me, Mason?" inquired his lordship eagerly.</p> + +<p>"None, my lord," answered Mason with some condescension, and a great +deal of sternness.</p> + +<p>Lord Downy bit his lip, and paced the room uneasily.</p> + +<p>"My lord," said Mason, "I beg your"——</p> + +<p>"Nothing more, nothing more;" replied the master, interrupting him. +"Should any letters arrive, let them be brought to me immediately."</p> + +<p>"Beg your pardon, my lord," said Mason, taking no notice of the order, +"the place doesn't suit me."</p> + +<p>"How?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing to complain of, my lord—only wish to get into a good family."</p> + +<p>"Sirrah!"</p> + +<p>"It isn't the kind of thing, my lord," continued Mason, growing bolder, +"that I have been used to. I brought a character with me, and I want to +take it away again. I'm talked about already."</p> + +<p>"What does the fellow mean?"</p> + +<p>"I don't wish to hurt your lordship's feelings, and I'd rather not be +more particular. If it gets blown in the higher circles that I have been +here, my character, my lord, is smashed."</p> + +<p>"You may go, sir, when your month has expired."</p> + +<p>"I'd rather go at once, my lord, if it's all the same to you. As for the +salary, my lord, it's quite at your service—quite. I never was a +grasping man; and in your lordship's unfortunate situation,"——Lord +Downy walked to the window, flung it open, and commenced whistling a +tune——"I should know better than to take advantage," proceeded Mr +Mason. "There is a young man, my lord, a friend of mine, just entering +life, without any character at all, who would be happy, I have no doubt, +to undertake"——</p> + +<p>Lord Downy banged the window, and turned upon the flunky with an +expression of rage that might have put a violent and ever-to-be-lamented +stop to this true history, had not the door of his lordship's apartment +opened, and <i>boots</i> presented himself with the announcement of "<span class="smcap">Mr +Warren de Fitzalbert</span>."</p> + + +<h4><span class="smcap">Chapter III.</span></h4> + +<p>Twice has Mr Warren de Fitzalbert closed a chapter for us, and put us +under lasting obligation. Fain would we introduce that very important +personage to the reader's more particular acquaintance; fain describe +the fascinating form, the inimitable grace, that won all hearts, and +captivated, more particularly, every female eye. But, alas! intimacy is +forbidden. A mystery has attached itself to his life, with which we are +bound to invest his person at the present writing. We cannot promise one +syllable from his eloquent lips, or even one glimpse at his dashing +exterior. As for referring you, gentle reader, to the home of Mr de +Fitzalbert, the thing's absurd upon the very face. Home he has none, +unless Peele's coffeehouse; and all the <i>Bears</i> of Holborn, blue, black, +and white, to which his letters are directed, assert the sacred +designation. Let us hasten back to Messrs Moses. Mr Methusaleh had not +been more successful in his attempt to catch a sight of the secretary of +state than other people. When Aby heard the double knock, he darted like +an arrow from his parent's arms, in order to prevent the entrance of his +friend, and to remove him from all possible contact with the astute and +too per<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span>suasive Moses, senior. In vain did the latter gentleman rush to +the window, and, by every soft endearment, seek to call back the +retreating forms of Aby and Fitzalbert, now arm-in-arm, making for the +corner of the street, and about to turn it. One was unconscious of the +voice—the other heard it, and defied it. What passed between father and +son, when the latter returned at night, I cannot say; but they were up +betimes the following morning, and much excited, whilst they partook +together of their morning meal.</p> + +<p>"It's no good trying," said the elder gentleman. "I can't eat, Aby, do +vot I vill. I'm so delighted with your earthly prospects, and your +dootiful behaviour, that my appetite's clean gone."</p> + +<p>"Don't distress yourself on that account," said Aby, "I've appetite for +two."</p> + +<p>"You always had, my dear," replied the sire; "and vot a blessing it'll +be to gratify it at your own expense. I never begrudged you, my boy, any +victuals as I had in the house, and the thought of that ere vill be a +great consolation to me on my death-bed."</p> + +<p>"What's o'clock, father?"</p> + +<p>"Nine, my dear."</p> + +<p>"It's getting on. Only think that at twelve o'clock to-day I shall have +entered into another sphere of existence."</p> + +<p>"It's very vunderful," said Methusaleh.</p> + +<p>"It's one of those dispensations, father, that comes like great actors, +once in a thousand years."</p> + +<p>Mr Moses, senior, drew from his pocket a dirty cotton handkerchief, and +applied it to his eyes.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Aby," said he, in a snivelling tone, "if your mother vos but alive +to see it. But, tank God, my dear, she's out of this vicked vorld of +sorrow and trouble. But let's talk of business," he added, in a livelier +tone. "This is a serious affair, my boy. I hope you'll take care of your +place, ven you gets it."</p> + +<p>"Trust me for that, Septuagenarian," replied the son.</p> + +<p>"Votever you does, do it cleverly, and don't be found out. Dere's a mint +of money to be made in more vays than one. If your friends vant cash, +bring 'em to me. I'll allow you handsome."</p> + +<p>"Have you got the three hundred ready, father?"</p> + +<p>"Here it is, Aby," replied Methusaleh, holding up three bank-notes of a +hundred each. "Now you know, my dear, vot ve're to do exactly; ve may, +after all, be done in this 'ere business, although I own it doesn't look +like it. Still ve can't be too cautious in our proceedings. You +remember, my boy, that ven you gives de nobleman his money, you takes +his receipt. The cheque for the balance you'll keep in your pocket till +you get the appintment. I goes vith you, and shtays outside the other +side of the vay. If any thing goes wrong, you have only to come to the +street door, and take off your hat, that vill be quite enough for me; +I'll rush in directly, and do vot's necessary."</p> + +<p>"Father," said Aby, in a tone of reproof, "your notions of gentlemen's +conduct is so disgusting, that I can't help despising you, and giving +the honour of my birth to some other individual. No son of your's could +be elevated in his ideas. I defy him."</p> + +<p>"Never mind, my boy, do as you are bid. You're very clever, I own, but +you have a deal to larn yet."</p> + +<p>In this and similar conversation, time passed until the clock struck +eleven, and warned father and son of the approaching crisis. At +half-past eleven precisely they quitted their common habitation, and +were already on the road. The old gentleman had made no alteration in +his primitive attire. Even on the day which was about to prove so +eventful to the family history, he sallied forth with the same lofty +contempt of conventionalities that had characterised his very long +career. How different the elated and aspiring heir of Moses! No wonder +he spurned with indignation the offer of his seedy parent's arm. No +wonder he walked a few paces before him, and assumed that unconcerned +and vacant air which should assure all passengers of his being quite +alone in the public thoroughfare both in person and in thought. Aby had +been intensely persevering at his morning toilet. The grease of a young +bear had been expended on his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span> woolly head; the jewellery of a Mosaic +firm scattered over his lanky personality. He wore a tightly-fitting +light blue coat with frogs; a yellow satin waistcoat with a stripe of +blue beneath; a massive cravat of real cotton velvet, held down by gilt +studs; military trousers, and shining leather boots; spurs were on the +latter, and a whip was in his hand. Part of the face was very clean; but +by some law of nature the dirt that had retreated from one spot had +affectionately attached itself to another. The cheeks were +unexceptionable for Aby; but beneath the eyes and around the ears, and +below the chin, the happy youth might still indulge his native love of +grime. It is not the custom for historians to describe the inner +clothing of their heroes. We are spared much pain in consequence.</p> + +<p>At three minutes to twelve the worthies found themselves over against +the Salisbury Hotel in Oxford Street. The agitation of the happy youth +was visible; but the more experienced sire was admirably cool.</p> + +<p>"There's the money, Aby," said he, handing over the three hundred +pounds. "Be a man, and do the business cleverly. Don't be done out of +the cash, and keep vide avake. If you've the slightest suspicion, rush +to the door and pull off your hat. I shall look out for the signal. +Don't think of me. I can take care of myself. Dere, listen, the clock's +striking. Now go, my boy, and God bless you!"</p> + +<p>True enough, the clock was sounding. Aby heard the last stroke of +twelve, and then to leap across the road, and to bound into the house, +was the work of an instant.</p> + +<p>Now, although Mr Methusaleh Moses was, as we have said, admirably cool +up to the moment of parting with his money, it by no means follows that +he was equally at his ease after that painful operation had been +performed. Avaricious and greedy, Methusaleh could risk a great deal +upon the chance of great gains, and would have parted with ten times +three hundred pounds to secure the profits which, as it seemed to him, +were likely to result from the important business on hand. He could be +extravagant in promising speculations, although he denied himself +ordinary comforts at his hearth. Strange feelings possessed him, +however, as his son tore from him, and disappeared in the hotel. The +money was out of his pocket, and in an instant might find itself in the +pocket of another without an adequate consideration. Dismal reflection! +Mr Methusaleh looked up to one of the hotel windows to get rid of it. +The boy was inexperienced, and might be in the hands of sharpers, who +would rub their hands and chuckle again at having done the "knowing +Jew." Excruciating thought! Mr Methusaleh visibly perspired as it came +and went. The boy himself was hardly to be trusted. He had been the +plague of Mr Methusaleh's life since the hour of his birth—was full of +tricks, and might have schemes to defraud his natural parent of his +hard-earned cash, like any stranger to his blood or tribe. As this +suspicion crossed the old man's brain, he clenched his fist +unconsciously, and gnashed his teeth, and knit his brow, and felt as +murderers feel when the hot blood is rampant, and gives a tone of +justice to the foulest crime. A quarter of an hour passed in this +distressing emotion. Mr Methusaleh would have sworn it was an hour, if +he had not looked at his watch. Not for one moment had he withdrawn his +eager vision from that banging door, which opened and shut at every +minute, admitting and sending forth many human shapes, but not the one +he longed yet feared to see. The old man's eyes ached with the strain, +and wearying anxiety. One good hour elapsed, and there stood Mr Moses. +He was sure his boy was still in the house. He had watched every face +closely that had entered and issued. Could he have mistaken Aby? +Impossible! I would have given a great deal to read the history of the +old man's mind during that agitated sixty minutes! I believe he could +have called to recollection every form that had passed either into or +out of the hotel, all the time that he had been on duty. How he watched +and scanned some faces! One or two looked sweetly and satisfactorily +ingenuous—the very men to spend money faster than they could get it, +and to need the benevolent aid that Mr Moses was ready to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span> afford them. +Methusaleh's spirits and confidence rose tremendously at such +appearances. One after the other was silently pronounced "the real Lord +Downy." Then came two or three sinister visages—faces half muffled up, +with educated features, small cunning eyes, and perhaps green +spectacles—conspirators every one—villains who had evidently conspired +to reduce Mr Moses's balance at his banker's, and to get fat at his +expense. Down went the spirits faster than they had mounted. The head, +as well as eyes of Mr Moses, now was aching.</p> + +<p>His troubles grew complicated. Have we said that the general appearance +of Mr Moses, senior, was such as not to inspire immediate confidence on +the part of mankind in general, and police-officers in particular? It +should have been mentioned. The extraordinary conduct of the agitated +little gentleman had not failed to call forth the attention and +subsequent remarks of those who have charge of the public peace. First, +he was asked, "What business he had there?" Then he was requested "to +move on." What a request to make at such a moment! <i>Move on!</i> Would that +thoughtless policeman have given Mr Moses three hundred precious +sovereigns to put himself in locomotion? Not he. Then came two or three +mysterious individuals, travellers apparently from the east, with long +beards, heavy bags on their backs, and sonorous voices, who had +evidently letters of introduction to Methusaleh, for they deposited +their burdens before him as they passed, and entered with him into +friendly conversation, or rather sought to do so; for he was proof +against temptation, and, for the first time in his life, not to be +charmed by any eastern talk of "first-rate bargains," and victories +obtained, by guile, over Christian butlers and such like serving-men. +The more the strangers surrounded him, the more he bobbed his head, and +fixed his piercing eye upon the door that wrought him so much agony.</p> + +<p>An hour and a half! Exactly thirty minutes later than the time +prescribed by Aby! Oh, foolish old man, to part with his money! He +turned pale as death with inward grief, and resolved to wait no longer +for the faithless child. Not faithless, old Methusaleh—for, look again! +The old man rubs his eyes, and can't believe them. He has watched so +long in vain for that form, that he believes his disordered vision now +creates it. But he deceives himself. Aby indeed appears. His hands are a +hundred miles away from his hat, and a smile sits on the surface of his +countenance. "Oh, he has done the trick! Brave boy, good child!" A +respectable gentleman is at his side. Methusaleh does not know him, but +the reader recognises that much-to-be-pitied personage, Lord Downy. Oh, +how greedily Methusaleh watches them both! "Capital boy, an +out-and-outer." Mr Moses "vishes he may die" if he isn't. But, suddenly, +the arm and hand of the youth is raised. Old Moses' heart is in his +mouth in no time. He prepares to run to his child's assistance; but the +hand stops midway between the waistcoat and the hat, and—hails a cab. +Lord Downy enters the vehicle; Aby follows, and away it drives. +Methusaleh's cab is off the stand quite as quickly. "Follow dat cab to +h—l, my man!" says he; jumps in, and never loses sight of number +forty-five.</p> + +<p>Number forty-five proceeded leisurely down Regent Street; along Charing +Cross, and Parliament Street, until it arrived at a quiet street in +Westminster, at the corner of which it stopped. Close behind it, pulled +up the vehicle of old Methusaleh. Lord Downy and Aby entered a house +within a few yards of it, and, immediately opposite, the indefatigable +sire once more took up his position. Here, with a calm and happy spirit, +the venerable Moses reflected on the past and future—made plans of +retiring from business, and of living, with his fortunate Aby, in rural +luxury and ease, and congratulated himself on the moral training he had +given his son, and which had no doubt led to his present noble eminence. +During this happy reverie there appeared at the door of the house in +which the Moses family<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span> were at present interested, a man of fashionable +exterior—a baronet at the very least. He had a martial air and bushy +whiskers—his movements all the ease of nature added to the grace of +art. The plebeian Moses felt an involuntary respect for the august +presence, and, in the full gladness of his heart, took off his hat in +humble reverence. We promised the reader one glimpse of the incomparable +Warren de Fitzalbert. He has obtained it. That mysterious individual +acknowledges the salutation of the Hebrew, and, smiling on him +graciously, passes on. Methusaleh rubs his hands, and has a foretaste of +his coming dignity.</p> + +<p>Another ten minutes of unmingled joy, and Aby is at the door. His +carefully combed hair is all dishevelled; his limbs are shaking; his +cheeks bloodless; and, oh, worse than all, the fatal hat is wildly +waving in the air! Methusaleh is struck with a thunderbolt; but he is +stunned for an instant only. He dashes across the road, seizes his +lawfully begotten by the throat, and drags him like a log into the +passage.</p> + +<p>"Shpeak, shpeak! you blackguard, you villain!" exclaimed the man. "My +money, my money!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, father!" answered the stripling, "they have robbed us—they have +taken advantage of me. I aint to blame; oh Lor'! oh Lor'!"</p> + +<p>The little man threw his boy from him with the strength of a giant and +the anger of a fiend. The unhappy Aby spun like a top into the corner of +the passage.</p> + +<p>"Show me the man," cried Methusaleh, "as has got my money. Take me to +him, you fool, you ass; let me have my revenge; or I'll be the death of +you."</p> + +<p>Aby crawled away from his father, rose, and then bade his father follow +him. The father did as he was directed. He ascended a few stairs, and +entered a room on the first floor. The only living object he saw there +was Lord Downy. His lordship was very pale, and as agitated as any of +the party; but his agitation did not save him from the assaults of the +defrauded Israelite. The old man had scarcely caught sight of his prey +before he pounced upon him like a panther.</p> + +<p>"What does this mean?" exclaimed his lordship, in amazement.</p> + +<p>"My money!"</p> + +<p>"Who are you?" said Lord Downy.</p> + +<p>"My money!" repeated Moses, furiously. "Give me my money! Three hundred +pounds—bank notes! I have got the numbers; I've stopped the payment. +Give me my money!"</p> + +<p>"Is this your son, sir?" said Lord Downy, pointing to the wretched Aby, +who stood in a corner of the apartment, looking like a member of the +swell mob, very sea-sick.</p> + +<p>"Never mind him!" cried the old man, energetically. "The money is mine, +not his'n. I gave it him to take up a bill. If you have seduced him +here, and robbed him of it, it's transportation. I knows the law. It's +the penal shettlements!"</p> + +<p>"Good heaven, sir! What language do you hold to me?"</p> + +<p>"Never mind my language. It vill be vorse by and by. Dis matter shall be +settled before the magistrate. Come along to Bow Street!"</p> + +<p>And so saying, Mr Moses, who all this time had held his lordship fast by +the collar of his coat, urged him forwards to the door.</p> + +<p>"I tell you, sir," said the nobleman, "whoever you may be, you are +labouring under a mistake. I am not the person that you take me for. I +am a peer of the realm."</p> + +<p>"If you vos the whole House of Commons," continued Methusaleh, without +relaxing his grasp, "vith Sir Robert Peel and the Duke of Vellington +into the pargain, you should go to Bow Street. Innoshent men aint to be +robbed like tieves."</p> + +<p>"Oh, heaven! my position! What will the world say?"</p> + +<p>"That you're a d—d rogue, sir, and shwindled a gentleman out of his +money."</p> + +<p>"Listen to me for one moment," said Lord Downy, earnestly, "and I will +accompany you whithersoever you please. Believe me, you are mistaken. If +you have suffered wrong through me, I am, at least, innocent. +Nevertheless, as far as I am able, justice shall be done you."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span> Mr Moses +set his prisoner at liberty. "There, sir," said he, "I am a man of +peace. Give me the three hundred pounds, and I'll say no more about it."</p> + +<p>"We are evidently playing at cross purposes," said the nobleman. "Suffer +me, Mr ——," His lordship stopped.</p> + +<p>"Oh, you knows my name well enough. It's Mr Moses."</p> + +<p>"Then, Mr Moses," continued Lord Downy, "suffer me to tell my story, and +then favour me with yours."</p> + +<p>"Go on, sir," said Methusaleh. "Mind, vot you says vill go as evidence +agin you. I don't ask you to speak. I don't vant to compromise."</p> + +<p>"I have nothing but truth to utter. Some days ago I saw an advertisement +in the newspaper, offering to advance money to gentlemen on their +personal security. I answered the advertisement, and the following day +received a visit from Mr Fitzalbert, the advertiser. I required a +thousand pounds. He had not the money, he said, at his command; but a +young friend of his, for whom, indeed, he acted as agent, would advance +the sum as soon as all preliminaries were arranged. We did arrange the +preliminaries, as I believe, to Mr Fitzalbert's perfect satisfaction, +and this morning was appointed for a meeting and a settlement."</p> + +<p>"Yes; but didn't you promise to get me situation," interposed Aby from +the corner, in a tremulous tone.</p> + +<p>"Hold your tongue, you fool!" exclaimed Methusaleh. "Read that letter," +he continued, turning to Lord Downy, and presenting him with the note +addressed to Moses, junior, by Warren de Fitzalbert. Lord Downy read it +with unfeigned surprise, and shook his head when he had finished.</p> + +<p>"It is my usual fate" he said, with a sigh. "I have fallen again into +the hands of a sharper. Mr Moses, we have been both deceived. I have +nothing to do with rods, blue or black. I am not able to procure for +your worthy son any appointment whatever. I never engaged to do so. The +letter is a lie from beginning to end, and this Mr Fitzalbert is a +clever rogue and an impostor."</p> + +<p>Mr Moses, senior, turned towards his son one of those expressive looks +which Aby, in his boyhood, had always translated—"a good thrashing, my +fine fellow, at the first convenient opportunity." Aby, utterly beaten +by disappointment, vexation, and fear, roared like a distressed bear.</p> + +<p>"Come, come!" said Lord Downy; "matters may not be as bad as they seem. +The lad has been cruelly dealt by. I will take care to set him right. I +received of your three hundred pounds this morning, Mr Moses, two +hundred and fifty; the remaining fifty were secured by Mr Fitzalbert as +a bonus. That sum is here. I have the most pressing necessity for it; +but I feel it is not for me to retain it for another instant. Take it. I +have five-and-twenty pounds more at the Salisbury hotel, which, God +knows, it is almost ruin to part with, but they are yours also, if you +will return with me. I give you my word I have not, at the present +moment, another sixpence in the world. I have a few little matters, +however, worth ten times the amount, which I beg you will hold in +security, until I discharge the remaining five-and-twenty pounds. I can +do no more."</p> + +<p>"Vell, as you say, we have been both deceived by a great blackguard, and +by that 'ere jackass in the corner. You've shpoken like a gentleman, +vich is alvays gratifying to the feelings. To show you that I am not to +be outdone in generosity, I accept your terms."</p> + +<p>Lord Downy was not moved to tears by this disinterested conduct on the +part of Mr Moses, but he gladly availed himself of any offer which would +save him from exposure. A few minutes saw them driving back to Oxford +Street; Methusaleh and Lord Downy occupying the inside of a cab, whilst +Aby was mounted on the box. The features of the interesting youth were +not visible during the journey, by reason of the tears that he shed, and +the pocket-handkerchief that was held up to receive them.</p> + +<p>A little family plate, to the value of a hundred pounds, was, after much +haggling from Methusaleh, received as a pledge for the small deficiency; +which, by the way, had increased since the return of the party to the +Salisbury Hotel, to thirty-four pounds fifteen shillings and sixpence; +Mr<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span> Moses having first left it to Lord Downy's generosity to give him +what he thought proper for his trouble in the business, and finally made +out an account as follows—</p> + + + +<div class='centered'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="2" width="40%" cellspacing="0" summary="and finally made +out an account as follows"> +<tr><td align='left' style="width: 55%;">Commission,</td><td align='right' style="width: 15%;">L.5</td><td align='right' style="width: 15%;">0</td><td align='right' style="width: 15%;">0</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Loss of time,</td><td align='right'>2</td><td align='right'>0</td><td align='right'>0</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Do., Aby,</td><td align='right'>2</td><td align='right'>0</td><td align='right'>0</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Hire of cab,</td><td align='right'>0</td><td align='right'>15</td><td align='right'>6</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='right' colspan="3" >————————</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='right' >L.9</td><td align='right'>15</td><td align='right'>6</td></tr> +</table></div> + + +<p>"I hope you thinks," said Methusaleh, packing up the plate, "that I have +taken no advantage. Five hundred pounds voudn't pay me for all as I have +suffered in mind this blessed day, let alone the vear and tear of body."</p> + +<p>Lord Downy made no reply. He was heartsick. He heard upon the stairs, +footsteps which he knew to belong to Mr Ireton. That gentleman, put off +from day to day with difficulty and fearful bribes, was not the man to +melt at the tale which his lordship had to offer instead of cash, or to +put up with longer delay. His lordship threw himself into a chair, and +awaited the arrival of his creditor with as much calmness as he could +assume. The door opened, and Mr Mason entered. He held in his hand a +letter, which had arrived by that morning's post. The writing was known. +Lord Downy trembled from head to foot as he broke the seal, and read the +glad tidings that met his eye. His uncle, the Earl of ——, had received +his appeal, and had undertaken to discharge his debts, and to restore +him to peace and happiness. The Earl of ——, a member of the +government, had obtained for his erring nephew an appointment abroad, +which he gave him, in the full reliance that his promise of amendment +should be sacredly kept.</p> + +<p>"It shall! it shall!" said his lordship, bursting into tears, and +enjoying, for the first time in his life, the bliss of liberty. Need we +say that Mr Ireton, to his great surprise, was fully satisfied, and Mr +Moses in receipt of his thirty-four pounds fifteen shillings and +sixpence, long before he cared to receive the money? These things need +not be reported, nor need we mention how Lord Downy kept faith with his +relative, and, once rid of his disreputable acquaintances, became +himself a reputable and useful man.</p> + +<p>Moses and Son dissolved their connexion upon the afternoon of that day +which had risen so auspiciously for the junior member. When Methusaleh +had completed the packing up of Lord Downy's family plate, he turned +round and requested Aby not to sit there like a wretch, but to give his +father a hand. He was not sitting there either as a wretch or in any +other character. The youth had taken his opportunity to decamp. Leaving +the hotel, he ran as fast as he could to the parental abode, and made +himself master of such loose valuables as might be carried off, and +turned at once into money. With the produce of this stolen property, Aby +extravagantly purchased a passage to New South Wales. Landing at Sydney, +he applied for and obtained a situation at the theatre. His face secured +him all the "sentimental villains;" and his success fully entitles him, +at the present moment, to be regarded as the "acknowledged hero" of +"domestic (Sydney) melodrama."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="VICHYANA" id="VICHYANA"></a>VICHYANA.</h2> + + +<p>No watering-place so popular in France as Vichy; in England few so +little known! Our readers will therefore, we doubt not, be glad to learn +something of the <i>sources</i> and <i>re</i>sources of Vichy; and this we hope to +give them, in a general way, in our present Vichyana. What further we +may have to say hereafter, will be chiefly interesting to our medical +friends, to whom the <i>waters</i> of Vichy are almost as little known as +they are to the public at large. The name of the town seems to admit, +like its waters, of analysis; and certain grave antiquaries dismember it +accordingly into two Druidical words, "Gurch" and "I;" corresponding, +they tell us, to our own words, "Power" and "Water;" which, an' it be +so, we see not how they can derive <i>Vichy</i> from this source. Others, +with more plausibility, hold Vichy to be a corruption of <i>Vicus</i>. That +these springs were known to the Romans is indisputable; and, as they are +marked <i>Aquæ calidæ</i> in the Theodosian tables, they were, in all +probability, frequented; and the word <i>Vicus</i>, Gallicised into Vichy, +would then be the designation of the hamlet or watering-place raised in +their neighbourhood. Two of the principal springs are close upon the +river; ascertaining, with tolerable precision, not only the position of +this <i>Vicus</i>, but also of the ancient bridge, which, in the time of +Julius Cæsar, connected, as it now does, the town with the road on the +opposite bank of the Allier, (Alduer fl.,) leading to Augusta Nemetum, +or Clermont. The road on <i>this</i> side of the bridge was then, as now, the +high one (<i>via regia</i>) to Lugdunum, or Lyons.</p> + +<p>Vichy, if modern geology be correct, was not always <i>thus</i> a +watering-place; but seems, for a long period, to have been a <i>place +under water</i>. The very stones prate of Neptune's whereabouts in days of +langsyne. No one who has seen what heaps of <i>rounded</i> pebbles are +gleaned from the corn-fields, or become familiar with the copious +remains of <i>fresh water</i> shells and insects, which are kneaded into the +calcareous deposits a little below the surface of the soil, can help +fetching back in thought an older and drearier dynasty. Vulcan here, as +in the Phlegrian and Avernian plains, succeeded with great labour, and +not without reiterated struggles, in wresting the region from his uncle, +and proved himself the better earth-shaker of the two; first, by means +of subterranean fires, he threw up a great many small islands, which, +rising at his bidding, as thick as mushrooms after a thunder-storm, +broke up the continuous expanse of water into lakes; and by continual +perseverance in this plan, he at last rescued the <i>whole</i> plain from his +antagonist, who, marshaling his remaining forces into a narrow file, was +fain to retreat under the high banks of the Allier, and to evacuate a +large tract of country, which had been his own for many centuries.</p> + + +<h4><span class="smcap">Natural History</span>, &c.</h4> + +<p>The natural history of Vichy—that is, so much of it as those who are +not naturalists will care to know—is given in a few sentences. Its +Fauna contains but few kinds of quadrupeds, and no great variety of +birds; amongst reptiles again, while snakes abound as to number, the +variety of species is small. You see but few fish at market or at table; +and a like deficiency of land and fresh water mollusks is observable; +while, in compensation for all these deficiencies, and in consequence, +no doubt, of some of them, insects abound. So great, indeed, is the +superfœtation of these tribes, that the most unwearying collector +will find, all the summer through, abundant employment for his <i>two</i> +nets. If the Fauna, immediately<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span> around Vichy, must be conceded to be +small, her Flora, till recently, was much more copious and interesting; +<i>was</i>—since an improved agriculture, here as every where, has rooted +out, in its progress, many of the original occupants of the ground, and +colonized it with others—training hollyhocks and formal sunflowers to +supplant pretty Polygalas and soft Eufrasies; and instructing Ceres so +to fill the open country with her standing armies, that Flora, +<i>outbearded</i> in the plain, should retire for shelter to the hills, where +she now holds her court. Spring sets in early at Vichy; sometimes in the +midst of <i>February</i> the surface of the hills is already hoar with almond +blossoms. Early in April, anemones and veronicas dapple the greensward; +and the willows, deceived by the promise of warm weather, which is not +to last, put forth their <i>blossoms</i> prematurely, and a month later put +forth <i>their leaves</i> to weep over them. By the time May has arrived, the +last rude easterly gale, so prevalent here during the winter months, has +swept by, and there is to be no more cold weather; tepid showers vivify +the ground, an exuberant botany begins and continues to make daily +claims both on your notice and on your memory; and so on till the +swallows are gone, till the solitary <i>tree aster</i> has announced October, +and till the pale petals of the autumnal colchicum begin to appear; a +month after Gouts and Rheumatisms, for which they grow, have left Vichy +and are returned to Paris for the winter. We arrived long before this, +in the midst of the butterfly month of July. It was warm enough then for +a more southern summer, and both insect and vegetable life seemed at +their acme. The flowers, even while the scythes were gleaming that were +shortly to unfound their several pretensions in that leveller of all +distinctions, <i>Hay</i>, made great muster, as if it had been for some +horticultural show-day. Amongst then we particularly noticed the purple +orchis and the honied daffodil, fly-swarming and bee-beset, and the +stately thistle, burnished with many a <i>panting goldfinch</i>, resting +momentarily from his butterfly hunt, and clinging timidly to the slender +stem that bent under him. Close to the river were an immense number of +<i>yellow</i> lilies, who had placed themselves there for the sake, as it +seemed, of trying the effect of <i>hydropathy</i> in improving their +<i>complexions</i>. But what was most striking to the eye was the appearance +of the immense white flowers (whitened sepulchres) of the <i>Datura +strammonium</i>, growing high out of the shingles of the river; and on this +same Seriphus, outlawed from the more gentle haunts of their innocuous +brethren, congregated his associates, the other prisoners, of whom, both +from his size and bearing, he is here the chief!</p> + + +<h4><span class="smcap">The Contrast</span>.</h4> + +<p>What a change from the plains of Latium!-a change as imposing in its +larger and more characteristic features, as it is curious in its +minutest details; and who that has witnessed the return of six summers +calling into life the rank verdure of the Colosseum, can fail to +contrast these jocund revels of the advancing year in this gay region of +France, with the blazing Italian summers, coming forth with no other +herald or attendant than the gloomy green of the "<i>hated</i> cypress," and +the unrelieved glare of the interminable Campagna? Bright, indeed, was +that Italian heaven, and deep beyond all language was its blue; but the +spirit of transitory and changeable creatures is quelled and +overmastered by this permanent and immutable scene! It is like the +contrast between the dappled sky of cheerful morning, when eye and ear +are on the alert to catch any transitory gleam and to welcome each +distant echo, and the awful immovable stillness of noon, when Pan is +sleeping, and will be wroth if he is awakened, when the whole life of +nature is still, and we look down shuddering into its unfathomable +depth! Standing on the heights of Tusculum, or on the sacred pavement of +the Latian Jupiter, every glance we send forth into the objects around +us, returns laden with matter to cherish forebodings and despondencies. +The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span> ruins speak of an immovable past, the teeming growths which mantle +them, the abundant source of future malaria, of a destructive future, +and <i>activity</i>, the only spell by which we can evoke the cheerful spirit +of the present—activity within us, or around us, there is <i>none</i>. What +wonder if we now feel as though the weight of all those grim ruins had +been heaved from off the mind, and left it buoyant and eager to greet +the present as though we were but the creatures of it! Whatever denizen +of the vegetable or the animal kingdom we were familiar with in Italy +and miss hereabouts, is replaced by some more cheerful race. What a +<i>variety</i> of trees! and how various their <i>shades</i> of green! Though not +equal to thy pines, Pamfili, and to thy fair cypresses, Borghese, whose +feet lie cushioned in crocuses and anemones, yet a fine tree is the +poplar; and yonder, extending for a couple of miles, is an avenue of +their stateliest masts. The leaves of those nearest to us are put into a +tremulous movement by a breeze too feeble for our skins to feel it; and +as the rustling foliage from above gently <i>purrs</i> as instinct with life +from <i>within</i>, this peculiar sound comes back to us like a voice we have +heard and forgotten. No "marble wilderness" or olive-darkened upland, no +dilapidated "Osterie," famine within doors and fever without, here press +desolation into the service of the picturesque. Neither here have we +those huge masses of arched brickwork, consolidated with Roman cement, +pierced by wild fig-trees, crowned with pink valerians or acanthus, and +giving issue to companies of those gloomy funeral-paced insects of the +<i>Melasome</i> family, (the Avis, the Pimelia, and the Blaps,) whose dress +is <i>deep mourning</i>, and whose favoured haunt is the tomb! But in their +place, a richly endowed, thickly inhabited plain, filled with cottages +and their gardens, farms and their appurtenances, ponds screaming with +dog-defying geese, and barnyards commingling all the mixed noises of +their live stock together. Encampments of ants dressed out in uniforms +quite unlike those worn by the <i>Formicary</i> legions in Italy; gossamer +cradles nursing progenies of <i>our Cisalpine</i> caterpillars, and spiders +with new arrangements of their <i>eight pairs of eyes</i>, forming new +arrangements of meshes, and <i>hunting</i> new flies, are here. Here too, +once again, we behold, not without emotion, (for, <i>small</i> as he is, this +creature has conjured up to us former scenes and associations of eight +years ago,) that tiny light-blue butterfly, that hovers over our +ripening corn, and is not known but as a stranger, in the south; also, +that minute diamond beetle<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> who always plays at bo-peep with you from +behind the leaves of his favourite hazel, and the burnished corslet and +metallic elytra of the pungent unsavoury <i>gold beetle</i>;<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> while we miss +the <i>grillus</i> that leaps from hedge to hedge; the thirsty dragon-fly, +restless and rustling on his silver wings; the hoarse cicadæ, whose +"time-honoured" noise you <i>durst</i> not find fault with, even if you +would, and which you come insensibly to like; and that huge long-bodied +hornet,<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> that angry and terrible disturber of the peace, borne on +wings, as it were, of the wind, and darting through space like a meteor!</p> + + +<h4><span class="smcap">Miscellanea</span>.</h4> + +<p>Though the "Flora" round about Vichy be, as we have said it is, very +rich and various, it attracts no attention. The fat Bœotian cattle +that feed upon it, look upon and <i>ruminate</i> with more complacency over +it than the ordinary visitors of the place. The only flowers the ladies +cultivate an acquaintance with, are those manufactured in Paris; +<i>artificial</i> passion flowers, and false "forget-me-nots," which are +about as true to nature as they that wear them. Of fruits every body is +a judge; and those of a sub-acid kind—the only ones permitted by the +doctors to the patients<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span>—are in great request. Foremost amongst them, +after the month of June, are to be reckoned the dainty fresh-dried +fruits from Clermont; of which, again, the prepared pulp of the mealy +wild apricot of the district is the best. This <i>pâté d'abricot</i> is +justly considered by the French one of the best <i>friandises</i> they have, +and is not only sold in every <i>department</i> there, but finds its way to +England also. Eaten, as we ate it, fresh from Clermont twice a-week, it +is soft and pulpy; but soon becoming candied, loses much of its fruity +flavour, and is converted into a sweetmeat.</p> + +<p>We should not, in speaking of Vichy to a friend, ever designate it as a +<i>comfortable</i> resort for a family; which, according to our English +notion of the thing, implies both privacy and detachment. Here you can +have neither. You must consider yourself as so much public property, +must do what others do—<i>i. e.</i> live in public, and make the best of it. +No place can be better off for hotels, and few so ill off for +lodgings—the latter are only to be had in small dingy houses opening +upon the street. They are, of course, very noisy; nor are the let-ters +of them at any pains to induce you by the modesty of their demands to +drop a veil over this defect. Defect, quotha! say, rather misery, +plague, torture. Can any word be an over-exaggeration for an incessant +<i>tintamare</i>, of which dogs, ducks, and drums are the leading +instruments, enough to try the most patient ears? The hotels begin to +receive candidates for the waters in May; but the season is reputed not +to commence till a month later, and ends with September. During this +period, many thousand visitors, including some of the ministers of the +day; a royal duke; half the Institute; poets, a few; <i>hommes des +lettres</i>, many; <i>agents de change</i>, most of all; deputies, wits, and +dandies; in fact, all the <i>élite</i>, both of Paris and of the provinces, +pay the same sum of seven francs per man, per diem; and, with the +exception of the duke, assemble, not to say fraternize, at the same +table. But though the guests be not formal, the "Mall," where every body +walks, is extremely so. A very broad right-angled <img src="images/052.jpg" width="61" height="25" alt="" title="A very broad right-angled" /> +intersected by broad staring paths, cut across by others into smaller +squares, compels you either to be for ever throwing off at right angles +to your course, or to turn out of the enclosure. When the proclamation +for the opening of the season has been <i>tamboured</i> through the +streets—with the doctors rests the announcement of the day—immediately +orders are issued for clean <i>shaving</i> the grass-plats, lopping off +redundant branches, to recall the growth of trees to sound orthopedic +principles, and to reduce that wilderness of impertinent forms, +wherewith nature has disfigured her own productions, into the figures of +pure geometry! Hither, into this out-of-doors drawing-room, at the +fashionable hour of four P.M., are poured out, from the <i>embouchures</i> of +all the hotels, all the inhabitants of them; all the tailor's gentlemen +of the Boulevard des Italiens, and all the <i>modisterie</i> of the +Tuileries.</p> + + +<h4><span class="smcap">Our Amusements</span>.</h4> + +<p>Pair by pair, as you see them <i>costumés</i> in the fashions of the month; +pinioned arm to arm, but looking different ways; leaning upon polished +reeds as light and as expensive as themselves—behold the chivalry of +the land! The hand of <i>Barde</i> is discernible in their <i>paletots</i>. The +spirit of <i>Staub</i> hovers over those <i>flowery waistcoats</i>; who but +<i>Sahoski</i> shall claim the curious felicity of <i>those heels</i>? and +Hippolyte has come bodily from Paris on purpose to do their hair. "<i>Un +sot trouve toujours un plus sot qui l'admire</i>," says Boileau, and here, +in supply exactly equal to the demand, come forth, rustling and +<i>bustling</i> to see them, bevies of long-tongued belles, who ever, as they +walk and meet their acquaintance, are announcing themselves in swift +alternation "<i>charmées</i>," with a blank face, and "<i>toutes desolées</i>," +with the <i>best good-will</i>! Here you learn to value a red riband at its +"juste prix," which is just what it will fetch per ell; specimens of it +in button-holes being as frequent as poppies amidst the corn. +Pretending<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span> to hide themselves from remark, which they intend but to +provoke, here public characters do private theatricals <i>a little à +l'écart</i>. Actors gesticulate as they rehearse their parts under the +trees. Poets</p> + +<p class="center"> +"Rave and recite, and madden as they stand;" +</p> + +<p>and honourable members read aloud from the <i>Débats</i> that has just +arrived, the speech which they spoke yesterday "<i>en Deputés</i>." Our +promenade here lacks but a few more Saxon faces amidst the crowd, and a +greater latitude of extravagance in some of its costumes, to complete +the illusion, and to make you imagine that this public garden, flanked +as it is on one side by a street of hotels, and on the opposite by the +bank of the Allier, is the Tuilleries with its Sunday population sifted.</p> + +<p>Twenty-five francs secures you admission to the "Cercle" or club-house, +a large expensive building, which, like most buildings raised to answer +a variety of ends, leaves the main one of architectural propriety wholly +out of account. But when it is considered how many interests and +caprices the architect had to consult, it may be fairly questioned, +whether, so hampered, Vitruvius could have done it better; for the +<i>ground floor</i> was to be cut up into corridors and bathing cells; while +the ladies requested a ball and anteroom; and the gentlemen two +"billiards" and a reading-room, with detached snuggeries for +smoking—<i>all</i> on the <i>first floor</i>.</p> + +<p>Public places, excepting the above-mentioned "Cercle," exist not at +Vichy, and as nobody thinks of paying visits save only to the doctor and +the springs, "<i>on s'ennui très considerablement à Vichy</i>." If it be +true, that, in some of the lighter annoyances of life, fellowship is +decidedly preferable to solitude, <i>ennui</i> comes not within the +number—every attempt to divide it with one's neighbours only makes it +worse; as Charles Lamb has described the <i>concert</i> of silence at a +Quakers' meeting, the intensity increases with the number, and every new +accession raises the public stock of distress, which again redounds with +a surplus to each individual, "<i>chacun en a son part, et tous l'ont tout +entier</i>."<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> What a chorus of yawns is there; and mutual yawns, you +know, are the dialogue of ennui. No wonder; for the physicians don't +permit their patients to read any books but novels. They seek to array +the "Understanding" against him who wrote so well concerning its laws; +Bacon, as <i>intellectual food</i>, they consider difficult of digestion; and +even for their own La Place there is no place at Vichy! Every unlucky +headache contracted here, is placed to the account of <i>thinking</i> in the +bath. If Dr P—— suspects any of his patients of thinking, he asks +them, like Mrs Malaprop, "what business they have to think?" "<i>Vous êtes +venu ici pour prendre les eaux, et pour vous desennuyer, non pas pour +penser! Que le Diable emporte la Pensée!</i>" And so he <i>does</i> accordingly!</p> + +<p>How <i>we</i> got through the twenty-four hours of each day, is still a +problem to us; after making due deductions for the time consumed in +eating, drinking, and sleeping. Occasionally we tried to "<i>beat time</i>" +by <i>versifying</i> our own and our neighbours' "experiences" of Vichy. But +soon finding the "<i>quicquid agunt homines</i>" of those who in fact did +nothing, was beyond our powers of <i>description</i>, gave up, as abortive, +the attempt to maintain our "suspended animation" on means so artificial +and precarious. When little is to be told, few words will suffice. If +the word fisherman be derived from <i>fishing</i>, and not from <i>fish</i>, we +had a great many such fishermen at Vichy; who, though they could neither +scour a worm, nor splice the rod that their clumsiness had broken, nor +dub a fly, nor land a fish of a pound weight, if any such had had the +mind to try them, were vain enough to beset the banks of the Allier at a +very early hour in the morning. As they all fished with "flying lines," +in order to escape the fine imposed on those that are <i>shot<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span>ted</i>, and +seemed to prefer standing in their own light—a rare fault in +Frenchmen—with their backs to the sun; the reader will readily +understand, if he be an angler, what sport they might expect. Against +them and <i>their lines</i>, we quote a few <i>lines</i> of <i>our own</i> spinning:—</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now full of hopes, they loose the lengthing twine,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bait harmless hooks, and launch a <i>leadless</i> line!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Their shadows on the stream, the sun behind—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Egregious anglers! are the fishes blind?</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Gull'd by the sportings of the frisking bleak,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That now assemble, now disperse, in freak;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They see not <i>deeper</i>, where the quick-eyed trout,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Has chang'd his route, and turned him quick about;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">See not those scudding shoals, that mend their pace,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of frighten'd bream, and silvery darting dace!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Baffled at last, they quit the ungrateful shore,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Curse what they fail to catch—and fish no more!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Yet fish there be, though these unsporting wights</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Affect to doubt what Rondolitier<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> writes;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Who tells, "how, moved by soft Cremona's string,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Along these banks he saw the <i>Allice</i> spring;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whilst active hands, t' anticipate their fall,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Spread wide their nets, and draw an ample haul."</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>Our sportsmen do not confine themselves to the gentle art of +angling—they <i>shoot</i> also; and some of them even acquire a sort of +celebrity for the precision of their aim. This class of sportsmen may be +divided into the <i>in</i>, and the <i>out</i>-door marksmen. <i>These</i>, innocuous, +and confining their operations principally to small birds in trees; +those, to the knocking the heads off small plaster figures from a stand. +The following brief notice of <i>them</i> we transcribe from our Vichy +note-book:—</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Those of bad blood, and mischievously gay,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Haunt "<i>tirs au pistolets</i>," and kill—the day!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">There, where the rafters tell the frequent crack,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To fire with steady hand, acquire the knack,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">From rifle barrels, twenty feet apart,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">On gypsum warriors exercise their art,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Till ripe proficients, and with skill elate,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Their aimless mischief turns to deadly hate.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Perverted spirits; reckless, and unblest;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ye slaves to lust; ye duellists profess'd;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Vainer than woman; more unclean than hogs;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Your life the felon's; and your death the dog's!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fight on! while honour disavow your brawl,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And outraged courage disapprove the call—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Till, steep'd in guilt, the devil sees his time,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And sudden death shall close a life of crime.</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>In front of some of the hotels you always observe a number of persons +engaged successively in throwing a ring, with which each endeavours to +encircle a knife handle, on a board, stuck all over with blades. If he +succeeds, he may pocket the knife; if not he pays half a franc, and is +free to throw again. It is amusing to observe how many half franc pieces +a Frenchman's vanity will thus permit him to part with, before he gives<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span> +over, consigning the ring to its owner, and the blades to his electrical +anathema of "<i>mille tonnerres!</i>" A little farther on, just beyond the +enclosure, is another knot of people. What are they about? They are +congregated to see what passengers embark or disembark (their voyage +accomplished) from the gay vessels, the whirligigs or merry-go-rounds +(which is the classical expression, let <i>purists</i> decide <i>for +themselves</i>) which, gaily painted as a Dutch humming-top, sail overhead, +and go round with the rapidity of windmills.</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In hopes to cheat their nation's fiend, "Ennui,"</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>These</i> cheat themselves, and <i>seem</i> to go to sea!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Their galley launch'd, its rate of sailing fast,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Th' <i>Equator</i> soon, and soon the <i>Poles</i> they've past,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And here they come to anchorage at last!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>These</i>, tightly stirrupt on a wooden horse,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ride at a ring—and spike it, as they course.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thus with the aid that ships and horses give,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Life passes on; 'tis labour, but they live.—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And some lead "bouledogues" to the water's edge,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">There hunt, <i>à l'Anglais</i>, rats amidst the sedge;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And some to "pedicures" present—their corns,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And some at open windows practise—horns!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In noisy trictrac, or in quiet whist,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">These pass their time—and, to complete our list,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">There are who flirt with milliners or books,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Or else with nature 'mid her meads and brooks.</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>But Gauthier's was our lounge, and therefore, in common gratitude, are +we bound particularly to describe it. Had we been Dr Darwin we had done +it better. As it is, the reader must content himself with <i>Scuola di +Darwin</i>—</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In Gauthier's shop, arranged in storied box</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of triple epoch, we survey the rocks,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A learned nomenclature! Behold in time</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Strange forms imprison'd, forms of every clime!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The Sauras quaint, daguerrotyped on slate,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Obsolete birds and mammoths out of date;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Colossal bones, that, once before our flood,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Were clothed in flesh, and warm'd with living blood;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And tiny creatures, crumbling into dust,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">All mix'd and kneaded in one common crust!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Here tempting shells exhibit mineral stores,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of crystals bright and scintillating ores!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of milky <i>mesotypes</i>, the various sorts,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The <i>blister'd silex</i> and the <i>smoke-stain'd quartz</i>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thy <i>phosphates lead!</i> bedeck'd with <i>needles green</i>,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of <i>Elbas speculum</i> the <i>steely sheen</i>,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of <i>copper ores</i>, the poison'd "<i>greens</i>" and "<i>blues</i>,"</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dark <i>Bismuth's cubes</i>, and Chromium's <i>changing</i> hues.</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>Here, too, (emblematical of our own position with respect to Ireland,) +we see <i>silver alloyed with lead</i>. In the "repeal of such union," where +the <i>silver</i> has every thing to <i>gain</i> and the <i>lead</i> every thing to +<i>lose</i>, it is remarkable at what a <i>very dull heat</i> ('tis scarcely +superior to that by which O'Connell manages to inflame Ireland) the +<i>baser metal</i> melts, and would forsake the other, by its incorporation +with which it derives so large a portion of its intrinsic value, +whatever that may be!</p> + +<p>Here, too, we pass in frequent review a vast series of casts from the +antique; they come from Clermont, and are produced by the dripping of +water, strongly impregnated with the carbonate of lime, on moulds placed +under it with this view. Some of these impressions were coarse and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span> +rusty, owing to the presence of iron in the water; but where the +necessary precautions had been taken to precipitate this, the casts came +out with a highly polished surface, together with a sharpness of outline +and a precision of detail, that left no room for competition to +<i>Odellis</i>, else unrivalled Roman casts, which, confronted with these, +look like impressions of impressions derived through a hundred +successive stages; add, too, that these have the <i>solid</i> advantage over +the others of being in marble in place of washed sulphur.</p> + +<p>Thus much concerning <i>us</i> and <i>our</i> pastimes, from which it will have +appeared that the <i>gentlemen</i> at Vichy pass half the day in <i>nothings</i>, +the other half <i>in nothing</i>. As to the ladies, who lead the same kind of +out doors life with us, and only don't smoke or play billiards, we see +and note as much of their occupations or listlessness as we list.</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In unzoned robes, and loosest dishabille,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They show the world they've nothing to conceal!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But sit abstracted in their own <i>George Sand</i>,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And dote on Vice in sentiment so bland!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To necklaced Pug appropriate a chair,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Or sit alone, <i>knit</i>, <i>shepherdise</i>, and <i>stare!</i></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">These seek <i>for fashion</i> in a <i>mourning dress</i>,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">(<i>Becoming</i> mourning makes affliction less.)</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With mincing manner, both of ton and town,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Some lead their <i>Brigand</i> children up and down;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Invite attention to small girls and boys,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dress'd up like dolls, a silly mother's toys;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Or follow'd by their <i>Bonne, in Norman cap</i>,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Affect to take their first-born to their lap—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To gaze enraptured, think you, on a face,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In which a husband's lineaments they trace?</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Smiling, to win the notice of their elf?</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">No! but to draw the gaze of crowds on <i>Self</i>.</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>Sunday, which is always in France a <i>jour de fête</i>, and a <i>jour de bal</i> +into the bargain, is kept at Vichy, and in its neighbourhood, with great +apparent gaiety and enjoyment by the lower orders, who unite their +several <i>arrondissements</i>, and congregate here together.</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Comes Sunday, long'd for by each smart coquette,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of Randan, Moulins, Ganat, and Cusset.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In Janus hats,<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> with beaks that point both ways,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then lively rustics dance their gay <i>Bourrées</i>;<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With painted sabots strike the noisy ground,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">While bagpipes squeal, and hurdy-gurdies sound.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Till sinks the sun—then stop—the poor man's fête</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Begins not early, and must end not late.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whilst Paris belle in costliest silk array'd,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Runs up, and walks in stateliest parade;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Each comely damsel insolently kens;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">(So silver pheasants strut 'midst modest hens!)</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And marvels much what men <i>can</i> find t' admire,</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">In such coarse hoydens, clad in such attire!</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And now 'tis night; beneath the bright saloon,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">All eyes are raised to see the fire balloon,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Till swells the silk 'midst acclamations loud,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And the light lanthorn shoots above the crowd!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Here, 'neath the lines, Hygeia's fount that shade,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Smart booths allure the lounger on parade.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Bohemia's glass</i>, and <i>Nevers' beaded wares</i>,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Millecour's fine lace</i>, and <i>Moulins' polish'd shears</i>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And crates of painted wicker without flaw,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And fine mesh'd products of <i>Germania's</i> straw,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Books of dull trifling, misnamed "reading light,"</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And foxy maps, and prints in damaged plight,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whilst up and down to rattling <i>castanettes</i>,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The active hawker sells his "<i>oubliettes!</i>"</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>We have our shows at Vichy, and many an itinerant tent incloses +something worth giving half a franc to see; most of them we had already +seen over and over again. What then? one can't invent new monsters every +year, nor perform new feats; and so we pay our respects to the <i>walrus</i> +woman, and to the "anatomie <i>vivante</i>." We look <i>up</i> to the Swiss +giantess, and down upon the French dwarf; we inspect the feats of the +village Milos, and of those equestrians, familiar to "every circus" at +home and abroad, who</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ride four horses galloping; then stoop,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Vault from their backs, and spring thro' narrow hoop;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Once more alight upon their coursers' backs,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then follow, scampering round the oft trod tracks.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And that far travell'd pig—<i>that</i> pig of parts,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whose eye aye glistens on <i>that</i> Queen of hearts;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">While wondering visitors the feat regard,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And tell by <i>looks</i> that that's the very card!</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>Behold, too, another curiosity in natural history, well deserving of +"notice" and of "note," which we append accordingly—</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">From Auvergne's heights, their mother lately slain,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Six surly wolf cubs by their owner ta'en;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Her own pups drown'd, a foster bitch supplies,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And licks the churlish brood with fond maternal eyes!<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span></p> + +<p>Finally, and to wind up—</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Who dance on ropes, who rouged and roaring stand,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Who cheat the eyes by wondrous sleight of hand,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">From whose wide mouth the ready riband falls,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Who swallow swords, or urge the flying balls,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Here with French poodles vie, and harness'd fleas,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nor strive in vain our easy tastes to please.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whilst rival pupils of the great Daguerre,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In rival shops, display their rivals fair!</span><br /> +</p> + + +<h4><span class="smcap">Our first Table d'Hòte Dinner at Vichy</span>.</h4> + +<p>We arrived at Vichy from Roanne just in time to dress for dinner. As +every body dines <i>en table d'hôte</i>., we were not wrong in supposing that +this would be a good opportunity for studying the habits, "<span class="smcap">usages de +société</span>" and what not, of a tolerably large party (fifty was to be the +number) of the better class of French <span class="smcap">propriètaires</span>. On entering the +room, we found the guests already assembled; and everybody in full talk +already, before the bell had done ringing, or the tureens been +uncovered. The habit of general sufferance and free communion of tongue +amongst guests at dinner, forms an agreeable episode in the life of him +whom education and English reserve have <i>inured</i>, without ever +reconciling, to a different state of things at home. The difference of +the English and French character peeps out amusingly at this critical +time of the day; when, oh! commend <i>us</i> to a Frenchman's vanity, however +grotesque it may sometimes be, rather than to our own reserve, shyness, +formality, or under whatever other name we please to designate, and seek +to hide its unamiable synonym, pride. Vanity, always a free, is not +seldom an agreeable talker; but pride is ever laconic; while the few +words he utters are generally so constrained and dull, that you would +gladly absolve him altogether from so painful an effort as that of +opening his mouth, or forcing it to articulate. Self-love may be a large +ingredient in both pride and vanity; but the difference of comfort, +according as you have to sit down with one or the other at table, is +indeed great. For whilst pride sits stiff, guarded, and ungenial, +<i>radiating coldness around him</i>, which requires at least a bottle of +champagne and an arch coquette to disperse; vanity, on the other hand, +being a <i>female</i>, (a sort of Mrs Pride,) has her <i>conquests to make</i>, +and loves making them; and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span> accordingly must study the ways and means of +pleasing; which makes <i>her</i> an agreeable <i>voisine</i> at table. As she +never doubts either her own powers to persuade, or yours to appreciate +them, her language is at once self-complacent, and full of good-will to +her neighbour; whilst the vanity of a Frenchman thus leads him to seek +popularity, it seems enough to an Englishman that he is one entitled to +justify himself, in his own eyes, for being as disagreeable as he +pleases.</p> + +<p>On the present occasion, not to have joined in a conversation which was +general, at whatever disadvantage we might have to enter into it, would, +we felt, have been to subject ourselves to remark after dinner; so +putting off restraint, and putting on the best face we could, we began +at once to address some remarks to our neighbours. We were not aware at +the moment how far the <i>Anglomania</i>, which <i>began</i> to prevail some seven +years ago in Paris, had spread since we left the French capital. There +it began, we remember, with certain members of the medical profession, +who had learned to give calomel in <i>English</i> doses. The public next +lauded Warren's blacking—<i>Cirage national de Warren</i>—and then +proceeded to eat raw crumpets as an English article of luncheon. But +things had gone farther since that time than we were prepared to expect. +At the <i>table d'hôte</i> of to-day, we found every body had something civil +to say about English products; frequently for no other reason than that +they were English, it being obvious that they themselves had never seen +the articles, whose excellence they all durst swear for, though not a +man of them knew wherefore. We had not sat five minutes at table (the +stringy <i>bouilli</i> was still going round) when a count, a gentleman used +to good breeding and <i>feeding</i>, opened upon us with a compliment which +we knew neither how to disclaim nor to appropriate, in declaring in +presence of the table that he was a decided partisan for English +"Rosbiff;" confirming his perfect sincerity to us, by a "<i>c'est vrai</i>," +on perceiving some slight demur to the announcement at <i>mine host's</i> end +of the table. We had scarce time to recover from this unexpected sally +of the count, when a young <i>notabilité</i>, a poet of the romantic school +of France, whose face was very pale, who wore a Circassian profusion of +<i>black</i> hair over his shoulders, a satin waistcoat over his breast, and +Byron-tie (<i>nœud Byron</i>) round his neck—permitted his muse to say +something flattering to us across the table about Shakspeare. Again we +had not what to say, nor knew how to return thanks for our "immortal +bard;" and this, our shyness, we had the mortification to see was put +down to <i>English coldness</i>; for how <i>could</i> we else have seemed so +insensible to a compliment so personal? nor were we relieved from our +embarrassment till a dark-whiskered man, in sporting costume, (who had +brought every thing appertaining thereto to table except his gun, which +was in a corner,) gave out, in a somewhat oracular manner, his opinion, +that there were no sporting dogs <i>out of</i> England; whistling, as he +spoke to Foxe, and to Miss Dashe, to rise and show their noses above the +table! The countess next spoke tenderly of <i>English soap</i>, and almost +sighed over the soft whiteness of her hands, which she indulgently +attributed to the constant use of soap prepared by "<i>Mr Brown de +Vindsor</i>." This provoked a man of cultivated beard to declare, that he +found it impossible to shave with any razors but <i>English</i> "<i>ones</i>;" +concluding with this general remark on French and English manufactures, +that the French <i>invented</i> things, but that the English improved them. +(<i>Les Français inventent, mais les Anglais perfectionnent.</i>) Even +English medicine found its advocates—here were we sitting in the midst +of Dr Morison's patients! A lady, who had herself derived great +advantage from their use, was desirous of knowing whether our Queen took +them, or Prince Albert! It was also asked of us, whether Dr Morison +(whom they supposed to be the court physician) was <i>Sir</i> Dr Morison, +(Bart.,) or <i>tout simplement</i> doctor! and they spoke favourably of some +other English inventions—as of Rogers' teeth, Rowland's macassar, &c.; +and were continuing to do so, when a fierce-looking demagogue, seeing +how things were going, and what concessions were being made, roused<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span> +himself angrily; and, to show us that <i>he</i> at least was no Anglo-maniac, +shot at us a look fierce as any bonassus; while he asked, abruptly, what +we thought in England of one whom he styled the "Demosthenes of +Ireland"—looked at us for an answer. As it would have been unsafe to +have answered <i>him</i> in the downright, offhand manner, in which we like +both to deal and to be dealt by, we professed that we knew but one +Demosthenes, and he not an Irishman, but a Greek; which, by securing us +his contempt, kept us safe from the danger of something worse; but, our +Demosthenic friend excepted, it was a pleasant, unceremonious dinner; +and we acquitted ourselves just sufficiently well not to make any one +feel we were in the way. A lady now asked, in a whisper, whom <i>we</i> look +upon as the first poet, Shakspeare, Dumas, or Lord Byron; and whether +the <i>two</i> English poets were <i>both</i> dead. A reply from a more knowing +friend saved our good breeding at this pinch. As a proof of our having +made our own way amongst the guests at table, we may mention that one +sallow gentleman, who had been surveying us once or twice already, at +length invited us to tell him, across the table, what case is ours, and +who our physician? To be thus obliged to confess our weak organ in +public is not pleasant; but <i>every</i> body here does it, and what every +body does must be right. A gentleman who speaks broken English favours +the table with a conundrum. Another (the young poet) presents us with a +brace of dramas, bearing the auspicious titles of "La Mort de Socrate," +and "Catilina Romantique"—<i>of which anon</i>. But, before we rise from our +dessert, here is the conundrum as it was proposed to us:—"What +gentleman always follow what lady?" Do you give it up? <i>Sur-Prise</i> +always follow <i>Misse-Take!!</i></p> + +<p>So much for our amusements at Vichy; but our Vichyana would be +incomplete, unless we added a few words touching those far-famed sources +for which, and not for its amusements, so many thousands flock hither +every year. The following, then, may be considered as a brief and +desultory selection of such remarks only as are likely to interest the +general reader, from a body of notes of a more professional character, +of which the destination is different:—Few springs have been so +celebrated as those at Vichy, and no mineral waters, perhaps, have +performed so many real "Hohenlohes," or better deserved the reputation +they have earned and maintained, now for so many centuries! Gentle, +indeed, is their surgery; they will penetrate to parts that no <i>steel</i> +may reach, and do good, irrespective of persons, alike to Jew or +Gentile; but then they should be "drunk on the premises"—exported to a +distance (and they are exported every where) they are found to have +lost—their chemical constitution remaining unchanged—a good deal of +their efficacy. Little, however, can Hygeia have to do with chemistry; +for the chemical analysis of <i>all</i> these springs is the same while the +<i>modus operandi</i> of each, in particular, is so distinct, that if gout +ails you, you must go to the "Grande grille;" if dyspepsia, to the +"Hôpital;" or, if yours be a kidney case, to the "Celestius," to be +cured—facts which should long ago have convinced the man of retorts and +crucibles at home (who affirms that 'tis but taking soda after all), +that he speaks <i>beyond</i> his warrant. Did ever lady patroness, desirous +of filling her rooms on a route night, invite to that end so many as +Hygeia invites to come and benefit by these springs? And what though she +reserve the right of patent in their preparation to herself, does she +not generously yield the products of her discovery in the restoration of +health and comfort to thousands, whom neither nostrum nor prescription, +the recipe nor the fiat, could restore? In cases, too, beyond her +control, does she not mitigate many sufferings that may not be removed? +To all that are galled with gall-stones, to those whom the <i>Chameleon +litmus paper</i> of "coming events casts their shadows before;" to Indian +<i>livers</i> condemned, else hopelessly, to the fate of Prometheus, preyed +upon by that vulture <i>Hepatitis</i>, in its <i>gnawing</i> and chronic forms; +and to the melancholy hypochondriac, steeped at once both in sadness and +in pains—she calls, and calls<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span> loudly, that all these should come and +see what great and good things are in store for them at Vichy. And +finally, difficult though gouty gentlemen be to manage, Hygeia, nothing +daunted on that score, shrinks not from inviting that large army of +<i>involuntary</i> martyrs to repair thither at once. Yes! even gout, that +has so long laughed out at all pharmacopoeias, and tortured us from the +time "when our wine and our oil increased"—Gout, that colchicum would +vainly attempt to baffle, that no nepenthe soothes, no opium can send to +sleep—Gout, that makes as light of the medical practitioner as of his +patient; that murdered <i>Musgrave</i>, and seized her very own historian by +the hip<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a>—this, our most formidable foe, is to be conquered at Vichy! +Here, in a brief time, the iron gyves of <i>Podagra</i> are struck <i>off</i>, and +<i>Cheiragra's manacles</i> are unbound; enabling old friends, who had +hitherto shaken their <i>heads</i> in despondency, once more to shake +<i>hands</i>.</p> + +<p>But Vichy, be it understood, neither cures, nor undertakes to cure, +every body; her waters have nothing to do with your head, your heart, or +your lungs; their empire begins and ends below the <i>diaphragm</i>; it is +here, and here alone, that her mild control quells dangerous internal +commotions, establishes quiet in irritated organs, and restores health +on the firm basis of <i>constitutional principles</i>. The real <i>doctors</i> at +Vichy are the <i>waters</i>; and much is it to be regretted that they should +not find that co-operation and assistance in those who administer them, +which Hippocrates declares of such paramount importance in the +management of all disease; for here (alas! for the inconsistency of man) +the two physicians <i>prescribed</i> to us by the government, while they +gravely tell their patients that no good can happen to such as will +think, fret, or excite themselves, while they formally interdict all +<i>sour</i> things at table, (shuddering at a cornichon if they detect one on +the plate of a rebellious water-drinker, and denouncing honest +fruiterers as poisoners,) yet foment sour discord, and keep their +patients in perpetual hot water, alike <i>in the bath</i> and <i>out of the +bath</i>; more tender in their regard for <i>another</i> generation, they +recommend all nurses to undergo a slight course of the springs to <i>keep +their milk</i> from turning sour, yet will curdle the <i>milk of human +kindness</i> in our lacteals by instilling therein the sour asperity which +they entertain towards each other, and which, notwithstanding the +efforts of the ladies to keep peace between them, by christening one +their "<i>beau médecin</i>," and the other their "<i>bon médecin</i>," has arrived +at such a pitch that they refuse to speak French, or issue one "<i>fiat</i>" +in common.<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a></p> + +<p>A remarkable fact connected with the natural history of the Vichy waters +is the following:—Whenever the electrical condition of the atmosphere +undergoes a change, in consequence of the coming on of a storm, they +disengage a large quantity of carbonic acid, while a current of +electricity passes off from the surface. At such times baths are borne +with difficulty, the patients complaining of præcordial distress, which +amounts sometimes to a feeling of suffocation; the like unpleasant +sensations being also communicated, though to a less extent, to those +who are drinking the waters.<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span></p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="ITS_ALL_FOR_THE_BEST" id="ITS_ALL_FOR_THE_BEST"></a>IT'S ALL FOR THE BEST.</h2> + +<h3>PART THE LAST.</h3> + + +<h4><span class="smcap">Chapter VI.</span></h4> + +<p>It was a lovely morning, notwithstanding it was November—the rain had +wholly ceased, and the clear and almost cloudless sky showed every +indication of a fine day; so that Frank had an excellent opportunity of +witnessing the view of the sea to which the squire had alluded, and with +which he was very much gratified. But, for all this, our little hero was +looking forward to a far more interesting sight, in the persons of the +fair ladies he had fully made up his mind to meet that morning at +breakfast; though the altered tones of their voices still exceedingly +puzzled him. Wishing, however, to appear to the greatest possible +advantage, he no sooner got back to the house, than, under the pretext +of just seeing Vernon for a minute, he took the opportunity of brushing +up his hair, and all that sort of thing. Having so done, and being by no +means dissatisfied with the result, he again descended the stairs, and, +with a throbbing heart, entered the breakfast room. Here he found the +master of the house, with his amiable little wife, and three young +ladies, already seated around the table—yes, three young +ladies—actually one more in number than he had anticipated; but, alas! +how different from those he had hoped to see. Instead of the lovely +forms he and Vernon had been so forcibly struck with the day before, he +perceived three very indifferent-looking young women—one, a thin little +crooked creature, with sharp contracted features, which put him in mind +of the head of a skinned rabbit—another with an immense flat unmeaning +face; and the third, though better-looking than her two companions, was +a silly little flippant miss in her teens, rejoicing in a crop of +luxuriant curls which swept over her shoulders as she returned Frank's +polite bow—when the squire introduced him to the assembled company—as +much as to say, "I'm not for you, sir, at any price; so, pray don't for +a moment fancy such a thing." The other two spinsters returned his +salutation less rudely; but he set down the whole trio as the most +uninteresting specimens of womankind he had ever met.</p> + +<p>"Come," said the squire addressing himself to Frank, who, surprised as +well as disappointed, was looking a little as if he couldn't help it, +"Come, come Mr Trevelyan, here we are all assembled at last; so make the +best use of your time, and then for waging war against the partridges."</p> + +<p>Frank did make the best use of his time, and a most excellent breakfast, +though he puzzled his brains exceedingly during the whole time he was so +occupied with turning it over in his mind, how it was possible that such +a delightful couple as the founders of the feast, could have produced so +unprepossessing a progeny; whilst Timothy—who, though it was no part of +his duty to wait at table, which was performed by a well-dressed +man-servant out of livery—managed, on some pretext or other, to be +continually coming in and out of the room, and every time contrived to +catch Frank's eye, and, by a knowing grin, to let him know that he both +understood the cause, and was exceedingly amused at his perplexity.</p> + +<p>No sooner had Frank eaten and drank to his heart's content, than he +declared his readiness to attend the squire to the field. Here they fell +in with several coveys of partridges, and the squire, being an excellent +shot, brought down his birds in fine style; added to which he knocked +over a woodcock and several snipes; but it was otherwise with Frank, +whose shooting experience being rather limited, after missing several +easy shots, terminated the day by wounding a cow slightly, and killing a +guinea-hen that flew out of a hedge adjoining a farm-yard the sportsmen +were passing, which, mistaking for some wild gallinaceous animal or +other, he blazed away at, without inquiring as to the particular species +to which it might possibly belong. But so far from being<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span> cast down with +his ill success, or the laughter his more effective shots had raised at +his expense, he enjoyed the day amazingly, fully resolved to have +another bout at it on the morrow; and so he and the worthy squire +returned homewards together in the best possible humour with each other; +the latter delighted with Frank, and Frank equally well pleased with the +squire.</p> + +<p>But Frank felt very sheepish about what his friend Vernon Wycherley +would say as to the result of the predictions he had that morning made, +and how he should manage to put a bold front upon the matter, so as to +have the laugh all on his own side; a sort of thing he couldn't arrange +any how; but still he would not pass so near his friend's bedroom, +without looking in to ask him how he was getting on, when, to his great +surprise, he found not only the bed, but even the apartment unoccupied.</p> + +<p>"Ah, well!" said Frank, "I'm rejoiced, poor fellow, he's so much better +than I expected; and <i>it's all for the best</i> that I find the bird flown, +which spares me the vexation of confessing to him the blunder I made in +my calculations this morning, which he must have found out long before +this."</p> + +<p>Having relieved his mind by these observations, he repaired to his own +room, and having shifted his attire, and made the best of himself his +limited wardrobe would admit, was again in the act of descending the +stairs, when he encountered Timothy, who, with a grin that distended his +mouth wellnigh from ear to ear, begged to direct him to the +drawing-room, which was on the same floor with the bed chambers, where, +he informed him, "the gen'lman was a-laying up top o' the sofer, and +a-telkin' away brave with the young ladies—I say," observed Timothy, +winking his eye to give greater expression to his words—"I say—he's a +ben there for hours, bless'ee; for no sooner did mun<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> hear their +sweet voices a-passing long the passage, than ha ups a-ringing away to +the bell, which I takes care to answer; so ha tips me yef-a-crown to +help mun on we us cloaz, which I did ready and wullin'; and then, +guessing what mun 'ud like to be yefter, I ups with my gen'lman +pick-a-back, and puts<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> mun with ma right into drawing-room, an drops +mun flump down all vittey<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> amongst the ladies a-top of the sofer; and +if you wants to see a body look plazed, just step in yer"—added he, +laying his hand on the lock of the door, which they had then +reached—"only just step in yer, and look to mun."</p> + +<p>"Then most heartily do I pity his taste," thought Frank; but he didn't +say so, and passed through the door Timothy had opened for him, who duly +announced him to the party within. But how shall we attempt to describe +Frank's amazement, when he discovered of whom the party consisted? He +had indeed been surprised at meeting persons so totally different from +what he had expected that morning at breakfast, but he was now perfectly +thunderstruck at the sight which burst upon his astonished vision.</p> + +<p>There was Mr Vernon Wycherley reclining at his ease on an elegant sofa, +his head comfortably propped up with pillows, and as far, at any rate, +as face was concerned, appearing not a bit the worse for his late +accident, and making himself quite at home; and there, too, seated near +him, were those lovely creatures who had excited the admiration of our +two young heroes on the preceding day: there they were, both of them, +dressed most becomingly, and looking most bewitchingly lady-like, +employed about some of those little matters of needlework, which afford +no impediment to conversation, chatting away with their new acquaintance +in the most friendly and agreeable manner possible.</p> + + +<h4><span class="smcap">Chapter VII.</span></h4> + +<p>Frank Trevelyan was so much taken aback by a sight so totally +unexpected, that his confident assurance for the moment forsook him, and +with a countenance suffused with blushes, and a perfect consciousness +all the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span> time that he was looking like a fool, he stood stock-still +within a few paces from the door, as if uncertain whether to pluck up +sufficient courage to advance, or to turn tail and make a run of it; his +comfort all this time in nowise enhanced, by detecting the air of +triumphant satisfaction with which Mr Vernon Wycherley was witnessing +and enjoying his confusion. Fortunately, however, for Frank, the ladies +had more compassion, and by their pleasing affability of manner, +speedily relieved him from his embarrassment—so speedily indeed, that +in the course of five minutes he had not only conquered every bashful +feeling, but had acquired so great a degree of easy self-possession, +that Vernon Wycherley actually began to wonder at what he was pleased in +his own mind to style, "the little rascal's cool impudence"——But he +only thought so whilst Frank was devoting his sole attentions to the +darker beauty, with whom the young poet had already chosen to fancy +himself in love; for when, at the expiration of this five minutes, his +friend transferred his civilities to her fair sister, Mr Wycherley +returned to his original opinion, formed upon a close intimacy of +several years, which was, that friend Frank was one of the best-hearted, +good-humoured, and entertaining little fellows that ever existed.</p> + +<p>And now, how shall we attempt to describe these lovely young creatures, +whose charms were, by this time, playing sad havoc with the hearts of Mr +Vernon Wycherley, and his friend Mr Francis Trevelyan. First, then, the +elder sister, Miss Mary.—Her features were regular, with the true +Madonna cast of countenance, beautiful when in a state of repose, but +still more lovely when lighted up by animation. Her cheek, though pale, +indicated no symptom of ill health, and her complexion was remarkably +clear, which was beautifully contrasted with her raven hair, dark eyes, +and long silken eyelashes. Her sister, who was but a year younger, owed +more of her beauty to a certain sweetness of expression it is impossible +to describe, than to perfect regularity of feature. Her eyes were +dark-blue, and her hair of a dark-golden brown; her complexion fair and +clear, and her mouth and lips the most perfect that can be conceived. +Both sisters had excellent teeth, but in other respects their features +were totally dissimilar. They were about the middle height—and their +figures faultless, which, added to a lady-like carriage and engaging +manners, untainted with affectation, rendered them perfectly +fascinating. Such was, at any rate, the opinion each of our two heroes +had formed of <i>her</i> to whom he had been pleased to devote his +thoughts—Frank of the gentle Bessie, and Vernon of the lovely Mary—for +none but the squire before her face, and Timothy behind her back, ever +dared to call her Miss Molly; so that before Squire Potts, or his good +lady, joined the young folks, which they did ere one delightful half +hour had passed away, both our young men were deeply in for it—the poet +resigned to pine away the rest of his days in solitary grief, and to +write sonnets on his sorrows; and Frank resolved to try all he could do +to win the lady over to be of the same mind with himself, and then to do +every thing in his power, with the respective governors on both sides, +to bring things to a happy conclusion as speedily as possible.</p> + +<p>Oh! they were nice people were the Potts's—father, mother, and +daughters; and how delighted Frank was when he sate down to the +dinner-table with them—never were such nice people, thought Frank—and +he wasn't far wide of the mark either. And how disconsolate poor Vernon +felt in being compelled to rough it all alone, for that day at least, +upon water-gruel above stairs! But the ladies, taking compassion upon +his forlorn condition, and sympathizing with him for the dangers he had +past, left the table very early, and favoured him with their company, +leaving the squire below to amuse friend Frank.</p> + +<p>But the squire and Frank were not left long alone together, for the +village doctor dropped in just as the ladies had departed to inquire how +Vernon was getting on, and was easily prevailed upon to help the squire +and his guest out with their wine; and then came the clergyman of the +parish, and his three or four private pupils, who had come to finish +letting off the fire<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span>works, which they had favoured the squire with +partially exhibiting on the previous evening; but which the news of +Vernon's misadventure had prematurely cut short—and so the remainder of +the exhibition was postponed to the following evening—and that time +having then arrived, all the rest of the combustibles went off, one +after another, with very great <i>eclat</i>.</p> + +<p>But where are those three uninteresting young damsels all this +time?—What has become of them? some of our readers may be inclined to +ask. For their satisfaction we beg to inform them, that these three +unprepossessing personages were merely acquaintances, who had dropped in +unexpectedly the evening before, and made use of the squire's residence +as a kind of inn or half-way house, on the way to visit some friends +some ten miles further on, to which place they had betaken themselves +soon after breakfast. And by way of clearing up as we go—The Misses +Potts, (for Potts they were called, there's no disguising that fact,) +the Misses Potts, we say, were at the time our two heroes first met them +returning homewards from a long ride; shortly after which, being +overtaken by a heavy shower, they betook themselves to a friend's house +not very far distant, where, owing to the unfavourable appearance of the +weather, they were induced to remain for the night, and Timothy was +accordingly sent home with a message to that effect.</p> + +<p>They were very nice people indeed were the Potts's; and not only did +their two guests think so, but the whole country, far and wide around, +entertained precisely the same opinion. It is not, therefore, surprising +that two young men like Frank and Vernon should be well pleased with +their quarters, or that, having so early gotten into the slough of love, +they should daily continue to sink deeper into the mire. The young +poet's lame leg, though not a very serious affair, was still sufficient +to keep him for several days a close prisoner to the house; but if any +one had asked him—no, we don't go so far as to say that, for if any one +had so asked him he would not have answered truly; but if he had +seriously proposed the question to himself, his heart would have told +him, that notwithstanding all the pain and inconvenience attendant on +his then crippled state, he wouldn't have changed with his friend Frank, +to have been compelled to ramble abroad with the father, instead of +remaining at home to enjoy the society of his daughters.</p> + +<p>As for Frank, he was equally well pleased to let matters be as they +were; he shot with the squire, accompanied him on his walks about his +farm; and occasionally, when the weather permitted, attended the young +ladies in their rides; and then, and then only, did Vernon envy him, or +repine at his own lame and helpless condition. But whatever the opinion +of the latter might have been, never in all his born days did Mr Frank +Trevelyan spend his time so much to his satisfaction.</p> + +<p>Now we must not suppose that Squire Potts had, like an old blockhead, +admitted these two young men into such close terms of intimacy with his +family, upon no further acquaintance than was furnished him by his +having helped the one out of a lead shaft, and the other to a dry +rig-out after the duckings he had encountered in seeking the necessary +aid—quite the contrary; for though the nature of the accident, and the +forlorn condition of our pedestrians, would have insured them both food +and shelter till the patient could have been safely removed elsewhere; +yet the squire would never have admitted any one to the society of the +female part of his family, whose respectability and station in society +he was at all doubtful about. He had therefore, during supper-time on +the night of his arrival, but in polite manner, put several pumping +questions to Frank, who very readily answered them; from which he +discovered that Frank's father, though personally unacquainted with, he +knew by reputation to be a highly respectable person and a county +magistrate; nor was even Frank's name wholly unknown to him, and the +little he had heard was highly in his favour. He, therefore, passed +muster very well; and, during the course of the shooting expedition on +the following morning, the squire had also contrived to elicit from his +young companion, that Vernon Wycherley's father, who had died some years +before, had been both an intimate and valued friend of his own early +years.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span></p> + +<p>By this means a great portion of the reserve, often attendant upon an +acquaintance recently formed, wore off; so that our two heroes felt +themselves, in the course of a few days, as much at home with their +newly-made friends, as if they had been on terms of intimacy with them +from their childhood. There was, however, one serious drawback to the +poet's felicity. The comedy upon which he had designed to establish his +future fame, was nowhere to be found; and there was every reason to +believe, that it was reposing in the shaft from which its author had +been so providentially rescued, where no one would venture down to seek +it on account of the foul air that was known to prevail near the bottom.</p> + +<p>"Well, never mind," said Vernon, who, when informed of his probable +loss, was reclining very comfortably on the drawing-room sofa, taking +tea with his kind entertainers,—"Well, never mind," he said, "I must be +thankful to Heaven for my own preservation, and, practising a little of +friend Frank's philosophy, try to believe that what has happened <i>is all +for the best</i>."</p> + +<p>"And so I've no doubt it is," interposed Frank; "for you must either +have been doomed to disappointment by your failure, or, if you had +succeeded in being the fortunate competitor out of the hundred +candidates who are striving for the prize, you would, as a matter of +course, have incurred the everlasting enmity of the disappointed +ninety-nine, to say nothing of their numerous friends and allies; why, +you would be cut up to minced meat amongst them all; and nine-tenths of +the reviews and newspapers would be ringing their changes of abuse upon +your name, as one of the most blundering blockheads that ever spoilt +paper."</p> + +<p>"Enough, Frank, enough—I give in," interrupted Mr Wycherley; "quite +enough said on the subject, and perhaps you may be right too in this +instance; but I verily believe, that if the direst misfortune were to +happen to one, you would strive to convince him, or at any rate set it +down in our own mind, that it was <i>all for the best</i>."</p> + +<p>"And if he did so," said the squire, "he might be less distant from the +truth than you imagine. I myself indeed could mention an instance, where +a man at last happily discovered that a circumstance he had set down in +his own mind as the ruling cause of every subsequent misfortune, +eventually proved the instrument of producing him a greater degree of +happiness than often falls to the lot of the most fortunate of mankind."</p> + +<p>Frank and Vernon both expressed a wish to hear the tale, which the +squire, who was a rare hand at telling a story, proceeded forthwith to +recount; but as, for reasons we forbear mentioning at present, he +glossed over some important parts, and touched but lightly on others +equally material, we purpose, instead of recording the tale in his own +words, to state the facts precisely as they occurred, the subject of +which will form the contents of the two next following chapters.</p> + + +<h4><span class="smcap">Chapter VIII.—The Squire's Tale.</span></h4> + +<p>In a town that shall be nameless, but which was situate somewhere or +other in the West of England, there lived some years since—no matter +how many—a young man, called Job Vivian, who practised as a surgeon, +apothecary, and so forth. He was about two or three and twenty years of +age when he first commenced his professional career in this place, and +very shortly afterwards he married the girl of his affections, to whom +he had been sincerely attached from his very boyhood; and as they were +both exceedingly good-looking—in fact, she was beautiful—they of +course made what the world terms an imprudent marriage. But Job himself +thought very differently, and amidst all the cares and vicissitudes that +attended several years of his wedded life, he never passed a day without +breathing a prayer of thankfulness to Heaven for having blessed him with +so excellent a helpmate. But though rich in domestic comforts, all the +rest of Job's affairs, for a long time, went on unprosperously. He +certainly acquired<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span> sufficient practice in the course of a few years to +occupy a great portion of his time, by night as well as by day, but then +it was not what is termed a paying practice. In fact, nearly the whole +of his business was either amongst the poorer classes, who couldn't pay, +the dishonest, who wouldn't, or the thoughtless and dilatory, who, if +they did so, took a very long time about it. In spite, therefore, of all +his labour and assiduity, the actual amount he received from his +practice fell short of his yearly expenditure, which obliged him to dip +into his small independent property, consisting of a few houses in an +obscure part of the town; which, as he became every year more heavily +involved, he was erelong compelled to mortgage so deeply, that what +between some of his tenants running away without paying their rent, the +costs of repairs, and money to be paid for interest, a very small +portion of the annual proceeds ever reached Job's pockets; and at last, +to complete the whole, a virulent fever broke out in the very midst of +this precious property, of so obstinate and dangerous a kind, as for +some months to defy the skill of all the medical men of the place, +nearly depopulating the whole neighbourhood, which in consequence became +all but deserted.</p> + +<p>Just at this critical time poor Job Vivian received a notice from his +mortgagee—a rich old timber merchant, who lived and carried on his +business in the same town with him—to pay off his mortgage; which he +being unable to do, or to obtain any body to advance the required amount +on the security of property which had then become so depreciated in +value, the sordid worshipper of mammon, though rolling in wealth, and +not spending one-tenth part of his income, and with neither wife nor +children to provide for, nor a soul on earth he cared a straw for, was +resolved, as he was technically pleased to term it, to sell up the +doctor forthwith; to accomplish which he commenced an action of +ejectment to recover the possession of the premises, though Job had +voluntarily offered to give them up to him, and also an action of +covenant for non-payment of the mortgage money, whilst at the same time +he filed his bill in Chancery to foreclose the mortgage; which combined +forces, legal and equitable, proved so awful a floorer to a sinking man, +that, in order to get clear of them, he was glad at the very outset, not +only to give up all claim to the property, but even to consent to pay +£100 out of his own pocket for the costs said to have been incurred in +thus depriving him of his possessions.</p> + +<p>These costs proved an unceasing millstone about the unfortunate doctor's +neck. In order to pay them, he had been obliged to leave more just +demands undischarged; and thus he became involved in difficulties he +strove in vain to extricate himself from. Yet in spite of all this, Job +and his good little wife were a far happier couple than most of their +richer neighbours. The constant hope that things would soon begin to +take a more prosperous turn, reconciled them to their present +perplexities; there was but one drawback they considered to render their +bliss complete; and Job used to say, that he had never met with an +instance of a man who hadn't a drawback to perfect happiness in some +shape or other and that, take it for all in all, they had, thank God, a +pretty fair allowance of the world's comforts.</p> + +<p>"So we have, my dear Job," said his pretty little wife Jessie, in reply +to a remark of this kind he had been just then making—"and only think +how far happier we are than most of the people around us. Only think of +Mr Belasco, who, with all his money and fine estates, is so unhappy, +that his family are in constant dread of his destroying himself."</p> + +<p>"And poor Sir Charles Deacon," interposed Job, "a man so devotedly fond +of good eating and drinking as he is, and yet to be compelled to live on +less than even workhouse allowance for fear of the gout—and then that +silly Lord Muddeford, who's fretting himself to death because ministers +wouldn't make him an earl—Mrs Bundy, with her two thousand a-year, +making herself miserable because the Grandisons, and my Lord and Lady +Muddeford, and one or two others of the grand folks, every one of whom +she dislikes, won't visit her. Then the squire at Mortland is troubled +with a son that no gentleman will be seen speaking to; and the rich<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span> +rector of"——Job nodded his head, but didn't say where—"has a +tipsy-getting wife—and poor Squire Taylor's wife stark mad—Mr Gribbs +also, with his fine unencumbered property, has two idiot children, and +another deaf and dumb, and the other—the only sane child he has, is +little better than a fool. Then the Hoblers are rendered miserable by +the disobedience and misconduct of their worthless children; and the +Dobsons are making themselves wretched because they've no such creatures +to trouble themselves about. The only man of property I can name in the +whole country round who seems free from care, is our fox-hunting squire +at Abbot's Beacon, who really does enter into the life of the sport, has +plenty of money to carry it on with, and has besides one of the nicest +places I think I ever saw."</p> + +<p>"But then," interposed Job's better half, "his wife, every body says, +doesn't care a fig for him."</p> + +<p>"Then a fig for all his happiness," said Job; "I wouldn't change places +with him for ten thousand times ten thousand his wealth and possessions, +and a dukedom thrown into the bargain;" and Job told the truth too, and +kissed his wife by way of confirmation; for he couldn't help it for the +very life of him, Job couldn't.</p> + +<p>"And then only to consider," said Mrs Job Vivian, as she smilingly +adjusted her hair—and very nice hair she had, and kept it very nicely +too, though her goodman had just then tumbled it pretty +considerably—"only think what two lovely children we have; every one +who sees them is struck with their remarkable beauty." This was +perfectly true, by the way, notwithstanding the observation proceeded +from a mother's lips.</p> + +<p>"And so good, too, my dear Jessie," continued Job; "I wonder," he +proudly said, "if any father in the land, besides myself, can truly +boast of children who have had the use of their tongues so long, and who +yet, amidst all their chattering and prattling, have never told a +falsehood—so that, amidst all the cares that Providence has been +pleased to allot us, we never can be thankful enough for the actual +blessings we enjoy."</p> + +<p>"We never can, indeed," said Jessie. And thus, in thankfulness for the +actual comforts they possessed, they forgot all the troubles that +surrounded them, and, happily, were ignorant of how heavily they would +soon begin to press upon them.</p> + +<p>And now, we must state here, that, although generally unfortunate in his +worldly undertakings, a young colt, which the young doctor had himself +reared, seemed to form an exception to the almost general rule, for he +turned out a most splendid horse; and as his owner's patients were +distributed far and wide over a country in which an excellent pack of +hounds was kept; and Job himself, not only fond of the sport, but also a +good rider, who could get with skill and judgment across a country, his +colt, even at four years' old, became the first-rate hunter of the +neighbourhood; so much so, indeed, that a rich country squire one +day—and that at the very close of the hunting season—witnessing his +gallant exploits in the field, was so pleased with the horse, that he +offered Job £150 for him.</p> + +<p>Now, Job thought his limited circumstances would never justify his +riding a horse worth £150; yet he was so much attached to the animal he +had reared, that, greatly as he then wanted money, he felt grieved at +the idea of parting with him, and, at the instant of the offer, he could +not in fact make up his mind to do. Promising, therefore, to give an +answer in the course of a day or two, he returned home, by no means a +happier man in the consciousness of the increased value of his steed; +nor could he muster sufficient courage to tell his wife, who was almost +as fond of the horse as he himself was, of the liberal price that had +been offered for him. But the comfortable way in which Jessie had gotten +every thing ready for him against his return, dispelled a great portion +of his sadness; and her cheerful looks and conversation, added to the +pleasing pranks of his little children, had all but chased away the +remainder, when he received a summons to attend a sick patient, living +at least three miles away, in the country.</p> + +<p>"This really is very provoking," said Job; "and the worst part of the +business is, that I can do no good<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span> whatever—the poor creature is too +far gone in consumption for the skill of the whole faculty put together +to save her life; and, bless me, my poor Selim has not only carried me +miles and miles over the road to-day, but, like an inconsiderate +blockhead, I must gallop him after the hounds, across the country. But +there, I suppose, I must go; I ought not to stay away from doing an act +of charity, because I am certain not to be paid, or perhaps even thanked +for my pains. Had it been a rich patient, I should have started readily +enough, and so I will now for my poor one. But as Selim has had +something more than a fair day's work of it, I must even make a walk of +it, and be thankful I've such a good pair of legs to carry me."</p> + +<p>Job had a very good pair of legs, and the consciousness of this gave him +very great satisfaction; and so, having talked himself into a good +humour, and into the mind for his work, and fearing lest pondering too +long over the matter might induce him to change his resolution, he +caught up his hat, and at once prepared to make a start of it; but, in +his haste, he tripped over two or three steps of the stair, and falling +down the remainder, sprained his ankle so badly, as to render his +walking impracticable. Determined, however, not to abandon a duty he had +made up his mind to perform, and having no other horse at his command, +Selim was again saddled, who, even with only an hour's rest and +grooming, looked nearly as fresh as if he had not been out of his stable +for the day. Never was a man more pleased with a horse than Job was with +the noble animal he then bestrode, and deeply did he regret the urgent +necessity which compelled him to part with him. "Had it not been for +that old miserly fellow in there, I might still have kept my poor +Selim," said Job to himself, as he rode by a large mansion at the verge +of the town; "that £100," continued Job, "he obliged me to pay him or +his attorney, for taking away the remnant of my little property, is the +cause of those very embarrassments which compel me to sell this dear +good horse of mine."</p> + +<p>Just as he had so said, an incident occurred which stopped his further +remarks; but, before we mention what this incident was, we must state +what was occurring within this said house at the time Job was in the act +of riding past it.</p> + +<p>The proprietor and occupant of this mansion—one of the best in the +place—was, as our readers may have already suspected, the selfsame old +timber merchant who had dealt so hardly with our friend Job, by taking +advantage of a temporary depreciation in the value of his mortgaged +property to acquire the absolute ownership—well knowing, that, in a +very short time, the premises would fetch at least three times the +amount of what he had advanced upon them; in fact, he sold them for more +than four times that sum in less than six months afterwards: but that is +not the matter we have now to deal with. We must therefore introduce our +readers into one of the front rooms of this mansion, in which its +master, (an elderly person, with the love of money—Satan's sure +mark—deeply stamped upon his ungainly countenance,) was closeted with +his attorney; the latter of whom was in the act of taking the necessary +instructions for making the rich man's will—a kind of job the intended +testator by no means relished, and which no power on earth, save the +intense hatred he bore to the persons upon whom his property would +otherwise devolve, could have forced him to take in hand.</p> + +<p>"'Tis a bitter thing, Mr Grapple," said the monied man, addressing +himself to the attorney, "a bitter thing to give away what one's been +the best part of one's life trying to get together; and not only to +receive nothing in return, but even to have to pay a lawyer for taking +it away."</p> + +<p>"But I'm sure, my good friend, you'll hardly begrudge my two guineas for +this," observed the lawyer—"only think what a capital business I made +in getting you into all Job Vivian's property."</p> + +<p>"Well, but you got a hundred pounds for your trouble, didn't you?" +observed the timber-merchant impatiently.</p> + +<p>"Yes, my dear sir; but none of that came out of your own pocket," +interposed the attorney.</p> + +<p>"And didn't you promise nothing ever should?" rejoined the old<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span> man; +"but never mind—business is business—and, when upon business, stick to +the business you're on, that's my rule; so now to proceed—but mind, I +say, them two guineas includes the paper."</p> + +<p>"Oh yes, paper of course!" replied the man of law, "and nothing to pay +for stamps; and this will enable you to dispose of every penny of your +money; and, my dear sir, consider—only for one moment consider your +charities—how they'll make all the folks stare some day or other!"</p> + +<p>"Ay, ay, you're right," said the client, a faint smile for the first +time that day enlivening his iron features. "Folks will stare indeed; +and, besides, 'tis well know'd—indeed the Scripturs says, that charity +do cover a multitude of sins."</p> + +<p>"To be sure they do; and then only think of the name you'll leave behind +to be handed down to posterity. Such munificent bequests nobody +hereabouts ever heard of before."</p> + +<p>"There's a satisfaction in all you say, I confess," observed the +intended donor of all these good gifts; "and who can then say I wasn't +the man to consider the wants of the poor? I always did consider the +poor." So he did, an old scoundrel, and much misery the unhappy +creatures endured in consequence.</p> + +<p>"And then," resumed Mr Grapple, "only consider again the tablets in +which all your pious bequests will be stuck up in letters of gold, just +under the church organ, where they will be read and wondered at, not +only by all the townsfolk for hundreds of years to come, but also by all +the strangers that pass through and come to look at the church."</p> + +<p>"Very satisfactory that—very!" said the intended testator; "but are you +still sure I can't give my land as well as my money in charities?"</p> + +<p>"Only by deed indented, and enrolled within six months after execution, +and to take effect immediately," replied the attorney.</p> + +<p>"By which you mean, I suppose, that I must give it out and out, slap +bang all at once, and pass it right away in the same way as if I sold it +outright?"</p> + +<p>Lawyer Grapple replied in the affirmative; at which information his +client got very red in the face, and exclaimed, with considerable +warmth—"Before I do that, I'd see all the charities in ——" he didn't +say where; and, checking himself suddenly, continued, in a milder +tone—"That is, I could hardly be expected to make so great a sacrifice +as that in my lifetime; so, as I can't dispose of my lands in the way I +wish, I'll tie 'em up from being made away with as long as I can: for +having neither wife, chick, nor child, nor any one living soul as I care +a single farthing about, it's no pleasure to me to leave it to any body; +but howsomever, as relations is in some shape, as the saying is, after a +manner a part of one's own self, I suppose I'd better leave it to one of +they."</p> + +<p>"Your nephew who resides in Mortimer Street, is, I believe, your +heir-at-law?" suggested Mr Grapple.</p> + +<p>"He be blowed!" retorted the timber-merchant, petulantly; "he gave me +the cut t'other day in Lunnun streets, for which I cuts he off with a +shilling. Me make he my heir!—see he doubly hanged first, and wouldn't +do it then."</p> + +<p>The attorney next mentioned another nephew, who had been a major in the +East India Company's service, and was then resident at Southampton.</p> + +<p>"He!" vociferated the uncle, "a proud blockhead; I heerd of his goings +on. He, the son of a hack writer in a lawyer's office! he to be the one, +of all others, to be proposing that all the lawyers and doctors should +be excluded from the public balls! I've a-heerd of his goings on. He +have my property! Why, he'd blush to own who gid it to him. He have it! +No; I'd rather an earthquake swallowed up every acre of it, before a +shovel-full should come to his share."</p> + +<p>"Then your other nephew at Exeter?" observed the attorney.</p> + +<p>"Dead and buried, and so purvided for," said the timber-merchant.</p> + +<p>"I beg your pardon, sir—I had for the moment forgotten that +circumstance; but there's his brother, Mr Montague Potts Beverley, of +Burton Crescent?"</p> + +<p>"Wuss and wuss," interrupted the testy old man. "Me give any thing to an +ungrateful dog like that? Why, I actelly lent he money on nothing but +personal security, to set him up<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</a></span> in business; and the devil of a +ha-penny could I ever screw out of him beyond principal and legal +interest at five per cent; and, now he's made his forten, he's ashamed +of the name that made it for him—a mean-spirited, henpecked booby, that +cast his name to the dogs to please a silly wife's vanity. He have my +property! I rather calculate not! And so, having disposed of all they, I +think I'll leave my estates to some of brother Thomas's sons. Now, +Grapple, mind me; this is how I'll have it go. In the first place, +intail it on my nephew Thomas, that's the tailor in Regent Street, who, +they says, is worth some thousands already; so what I intends to give +him, will come in nicely;—failing he and his issue, then intail it on +Bill—you knows Bill—he comes here sometimes—travels for a house in +the button line;—failing he and his issue, then upon Bob the letenant +in the navy; he's at sea now, though I be hanged if I know the name of +the ship he belongs to."</p> + +<p>Mr Grapple observed that this was unimportant, and then asked if he +should insert the names of any other persons.</p> + +<p>"I don't know, really, or very much care whether you does or not," +replied the timber-merchant. "My late brother Charles," he continued, +"left three sons; but what's become of they all, or whether they be dead +or alive, any of them, I can hardly tell, nor does it very much signify; +for they were a set of extravagant, low-lived, drunken fellows, every +one of them, and not very likely to mend either."</p> + +<p>"Then, perhaps you'd rather your heirs at-law should take?" remarked the +attorney.</p> + +<p>"No, I'll be hanged if I should!" answered the vender of deals and +mahogany; "so put in all brother Charles's sons, one after t'other, in +the same manner as they before—let me see, what's their names? Oh, +George first, then Robert, and then Richard, and that's the whole of +they."</p> + +<p>"I believe, sir," said the attorney, "before I can do so, I must beg the +favour of a candle, for it's growing so dark I am unable to see what I +write."</p> + +<p>"Then come nigher to the winder," said the testator, pushing forward the +table in that direction—"Hallo!" he exclaimed, "what can all this yer +row and bustle be about outside?"—and, looking into the street, he +discovered poor Selim lying prostrate in the middle of the road, from +whence some persons were raising up Job himself, who was stunned and +bleeding from the violence of his fall. A young lad had accidentally +driven his hoop between the horse's legs, which threw the unlucky animal +with such violence to the ground as to fracture one of its fore-legs, +and inflict several other dreadful injuries, far beyond all power or +hope of cure. But the man of wealth contemplated the passing scene with +that species of complacent satisfaction, with which men like-minded with +himself are ever found to regard the misfortunes of others, when they +themselves can by no possibility be prejudiced thereby. This selfish old +villain, therefore, instead of evincing any sympathy, was highly amused +at what was going on, and every now and then passed some remark or other +indicative of those feelings, of which the following, amongst others, +afford a pretty fair specimen:—</p> + +<p>"Well," he said, "pride they say must have a fall, and a fine fall we've +had here to be sure. Well, who'd a-thought it? But what I say is, that +for a man that can't pay his way as he goes—and his twenty shillings in +the pound whenever he's called upon for it—what I mean to say is, if a +fellow like he will ride so fine a horse, why, it serves him parfectly +right if he gets his neck broke. Oh, then, I see your neck ar'n't broke +this time, after all! Getting better, b'aint you?—pity, isn't it? Oh +dear! what can the matter be? I'll be hanged if he isn't a-crying like a +babbey that's broke his pretty toy. Ay, my master, cry your eyes out, +stamp and whop your head—'twont mend matters, I promise ye. Clear case +of total loss, and no insurance to look to, eh! And that's the chap as +had the himpudence but t'other day to call me a hard-hearted old +blackguard, and that before our whole board of guardians, too—just +because I proposed doctoring the paupers by tender, and that the lowest +tender should carry the day—a plan that would hactelly have saved<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span> the +parish pounds and pounds; and he—that blubbering fellow +there—hactelly, as I was a-saying, called me a hard-hearted old +blackguard for proposing it. Oh! I see; here comes Timson the butcher, +what next then? Oh! just as I expected—it's a done job with my nag, I +see. Steady, John Donnithorne, and hold down his head. Come, Timson, my +good man—come, bear a hand, and whip the knife into the throat of +un—skilfully done, wasn't it, doctor? Oh dear! can't bear the sight; +too much for the doctor's nerves. Ay—well, that's a good one—that's +right; turn away your head and pipe your eye, my dear, I dare say it +will do ye good. It does me, I know—he! he! he! Hallo! what have we +here—is it a horse or is it a jackass? Well, I'm sure here's a +come-down with a vengeance—a broken-knee'd, spavined jade of a pony, +that's hardly fit for carrion. Oh! it's yours, Master Sweep, I s'pose. +Ay, that's the kind of nag the doctor ought to ride; clap on the saddle, +my boys—that's your sort; just as it should be. No, you can't look that +way, can't ye? Well, then, mount and be off with ye—that's right; off +you goes, and if you gets back again without a shy-off, it's a pity." +And the hard-hearted old sinner laughed to that degree, that the tears +ran down in streams over his deeply-furrowed countenance.</p> + + +<h4><span class="smcap">Chapter IX.</span></h4> + +<p>The two years that followed Job's untoward accident, instead of mending +his fortunes, had only added to his embarrassments—all owing to his +being just a hundred pounds behind the mark, which, as he often said, +the price he could have obtained for poor Selim would have effectually +prevented. His circumstances daily grew worse and worse, and at last +became so desperate, that this patient and amiable couple were almost +driven to their wits' end. Creditors, becoming impatient, at last +resorted to legal remedies to recover their demands, until all his +furniture was taken possession of under judicial process, which, being +insufficient to discharge one half the debts for which judgments had +been signed against him, he had no better prospect before his eyes than +exchanging the bare walls of his present abode for the still more gloomy +confines of a debtor's prison.</p> + +<p>He had striven hard, but in vain, to bear all these trials with +fortitude; and even poor Jessie—she who had hitherto never repined at +the hardness of her lot, and who, to cheer her husband's drooping +spirits, had worn a cheerful smile upon her countenance, whilst a load +of sorrow pressed heavily upon her heart—even she now looked pale and +sad, as with an anxious eye she stood by and watched poor Job, leaning +with his back against the wall in an up-stairs room, now devoid of every +article of furniture. And there he had been for hours, completely +overcome by the accumulation of woes he saw no loophole to escape from; +whilst his two little girls, terrified at the desolate appearance of +every thing around them, and at the unusual agitation of their parents, +were crouched together in a corner, fast grasped together, as if for +mutual protection, in each other's arms.</p> + +<p>Not a morsel of food had that day passed the lips of any member of that +unhappy family, and every moveable belonging to the house had been taken +away at an early hour in the morning; so that nothing but the bare walls +were left for shelter, and hard boards for them to lie upon. Often had +poor Jessie essayed to speak some words of comfort to her husband's ear; +but even these, which had never before failed, were no longer at her +command; for when some cheering thought suggested itself, a choking +sensation in her throat deprived her of the power of uttering it. At +length a loud single rap at the street door caused Job to start, whilst +a hectic flush passed over his pale cheek, and a violent tremor shook +his frame, as the dread thought of a prison occurred to him.</p> + +<p>"Don't be alarmed, my dearest," said his wife, "it's only some people +with something or other to sell; I dare say they'll go away again when +they find that no one answers the door."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</a></span></p> + +<p>"It's a beggar," said one of the children, who, hearing the sound, had +looked out of the window; "poor man, he looks miserably cold! I wish +we'd something to give him."</p> + +<p>"Beggar, did the child say?" demanded Job, gazing wildly round the room. +"Beggar!" he repeated. "And what are we all but beggars? Are we not +stripped of every thing? Are we not actually starving for want of the +daily bread that I have toiled so hard for, and prayed unceasingly to +heaven to afford us; whilst those who never use their Maker's name +except in terms of blasphemy, have loads of affluence heaped into their +laps. Oh! it's enough to make one doubt"——</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, no, no! don't, for the love you bear me—don't utter those +awful words!" cried out Jessie, rushing upon her husband, and throwing +her arms around his neck. "As you love me, don't repine at the will of +heaven, however hard our trials may seem now to bear on us. I can endure +all but this. Let us hope still. We have all of us health and strength; +and we have many friends who, if they were only aware of the extent of +our distress, would be sure to relieve us. There's your good friend Mr +Smith, he most probably will return from London to-morrow; and you know, +in his letter, he told you to keep up your spirits, for that there was +yet good-luck in store for you; and I am sure you must have thought so +then, or you never would have returned him the money he so kindly +remitted us. So, don't be cast down in almost your first hour of trial; +we shall be happy yet—I know we shall; let us then still put our trust +in God. Don't answer me, my dear Job—don't answer me; I know how much +you are excited, and that you are not now yourself; for my sake, for our +dear children's sake, try to be tranquil but for to-night; and let us +yet hope that there is some comfort yet in store for us on the morrow."</p> + +<p>"I will strive to, my dearest Jessie," he replied. "I'll not add another +drop of bitterness to your cup of sorrow, because I am unable to relieve +you from it.—But hark! what's this coming, and stopping here too?—what +can be the meaning of this?"</p> + +<p>Just as he uttered these last words the sound of carriage-wheels was +heard rapidly approaching, and a post-chaise drew up in front of the +house. Job trembled violently, and leant upon his wife for support, +whilst a thundering rap was heard at the door; the children both rushed +to the window; and one of them, to the great relief of their parents, +exclaimed, "Oh! my dear papa! Mr Smith's come, and he's looking up here +smiling so good-naturedly; he looks as if he was just come off a +journey, and he's beckoning me to come down and let him in."</p> + +<p>"God be praised!" exclaimed Jessie; "I told you, my dear Job, that +relief was near at hand, and here it comes in the person of your +excellent friend;" and she darted out of the room, and hurried down the +stairs to admit the welcome visitor. Jessie soon returned with Mr Smith, +a handsome gentlemanly-looking man, who ran forward with extended hands +to his disconsolate friend, whom he greeted in so kind a manner, and +with a countenance so merry and happy, that the very look of it seemed +enough to impart some spirit of consolation even to a breaking heart—at +any rate it did to Job's. "My dear fellow!" exclaimed the welcome +visitor, "how on earth did you allow things to come to this pass without +even hinting any thing of the kind to me? I never heard it till the day +I left town. How could you return me the remittance I sent you, which +should have been ten times as much had I known the full extent of your +wants? But enough of this now; we won't waste time in regrets for the +past, and as for the future, leave that to me. I'll soon set things all +straight and smooth again for you. And now, my dear Mrs Vivian," added +he, addressing himself to Jessie, "do you go and do as you promised."</p> + +<p>Jessie smiled assent, and, looking quite happy again, she took her two +daughters by the hand and led them out of the room.</p> + +<p>"But, my dear Smith," said Job, as soon as the two friends were alone, +"you can have no idea how deeply I am involved. I can tax your +generosity no further—even what you have already done for me, I can +never repay."</p> + +<p>"Nor do I intend you ever shall," rejoined the worthy attorney—for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</a></span> +such was Mr Smith—"particularly," he added, "as there's a certain debt +I owe you, which I neither can nor will repay, and that I candidly tell +you."</p> + +<p>"Indeed! what do you mean?" asked Job, looking very puzzled; "I'm rather +dull of apprehension to-day." And verily he was so, for his troubles had +wellnigh driven him mad.</p> + +<p>"My life, Job, that's all," replied the attorney; "<i>that</i> I owe to you, +and can't repay you—and won't either, that's more. Had it not been for +your skill," he added in a graver tone, "and the firmness you displayed +in resolutely opposing the treatment those two blackguards, Dunderhead +and Quackem, wished to adopt in my case, I must have died a most +distressing and painful death, and my poor wife and children would have +been left perfectly destitute."</p> + +<p>The consciousness of the truth of this grateful remark infused a +cheering glow to Job's broken spirit, and even raised a faint smile upon +his care-worn countenance; which his visitor perceiving, went on to say, +"And now, my good doctor, owing you so deep a debt of gratitude as I do, +make your mind easy about the past; what you've had from me is a mere +trifle. Why, my good fellow, I'm not the poor unhappy dog I was when you +told me never to mind when I paid you. I'm now getting on in the world, +and shall fancy by and by that I'm getting rich; and, what's more, I +expect soon to see my friend Job Vivian in circumstances so much more +thriving than my own, that if I didn't know him to be one of the +sincerest fellows in the world, and one whom no prosperity could spoil, +I should begin to fear he might be ashamed to acknowledge his old +acquaintance."</p> + +<p>The good-natured attorney had proved more of a Job's comforter in the +literal sense of the term, than he had intended; in fact he had overdone +it—the picture was too highly coloured to appear natural, and at once +threw back poor Job upon a full view of all his troubles, which Mr Smith +perceiving, mildly resumed, "I'm not surprised, my good fellow, at your +being excited, from the violent shock your feelings must have sustained; +but you may rest assured—mind I speak confidently, and will vouch for +the truth of what I'm going to say—when I tell you that the worst of +your troubles are past, and that, before the week is out, you will be +going on all right again; but really you are so much depressed now, that +I'm afraid to encourage you too much; for I believe you doctors consider +that too sudden a transition from grief to joy often produces dangerous, +and sometimes even fatal, consequences?"</p> + +<p>"It's a death I stand in no dread of dying," said Job with a melancholy +smile.</p> + +<p>"You don't know your danger perhaps," interposed the attorney; "but at +the same time you sha'n't die through my means; so, if I had even a +berth in store for you that I thought might better your condition, I +wouldn't now venture to name it to you."</p> + +<p>"It might be almost dangerous," said Job; "any thing that would procure +the humblest fare, clothing, and shelter, for myself and family, would +confer a degree of happiness far beyond my expectation."</p> + +<p>"Why, if you are so easily satisfied," rejoined the attorney, "I think I +can venture to say, that these, at least, may be obtained for you +forthwith; but come, here's the chaise returned again, which has just +taken your good little wife and children to my house, where they're all +now expecting us. In fact, I haven't yet crossed my own threshold, for I +picked up my old woman as I came along, and she has taken your folks +back with her; so come along, Job, we'll talk matters over after +dinner—come along, my dear fellow—come along, come along."</p> + +<p>Job suffered himself to be led away, hardly knowing what he was about, +or what was going on, until he found himself seated in the post-chaise; +which, almost before he had time to collect his scattered ideas, drew up +at the attorney's door. Here he met his Jessie, her handsome and +expressive countenance again radiant with smiles; for in that short +interval she had heard enough to satisfy her mind that better times were +approaching, and her only remaining anxiety was on poor Job's account, +who seemed so stunned by the heavy blow of misfortune, as to appear more +like one wandering in a dream than a man in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span> his right senses. But a +change of scene, and that the pleasing one of a comfortable family +dinner, with sincere friends, effected a wonderful alteration; and the +ladies withdrawing early, in order that the gentlemen might talk over +their business together, Mr Smith at once entered into the subject, by +telling Job that he thought he could, as he had before hinted, put him +into a way of bettering his condition.</p> + +<p>"I trust you may be able to do so," replied Job; "I'm sure there's no +labour I would shrink from, could I attain so desirable an object."</p> + +<p>"But you mistake me there," interrupted the attorney; "I don't mean to +better your condition by making you work yourself to death—far from it; +your labours shall be but light, and your time pretty much at your +command; but you'll want, perhaps, a little money to begin with."</p> + +<p>"And where, in the world, am I to procure it?" asked Job.</p> + +<p>"You might raise it upon the interest you take in the landed property +under the old timber-merchant's will," observed the attorney.</p> + +<p>"You can hardly be serious, my dear Smith," replied Job; "why, the old +fellow—God forgive him as freely as I do—merely put in my name with a +bequest of a shilling, to bring me better luck, as a poor insult upon my +misfortunes. And as to his mentioning my name in connexion with his +landed property, which I was to take after the failure of issue of at +least half a dozen other people—you yourself told me was only put in to +show his nearest heirs, that rather than his property should descend +upon them, they should go to the person—Heaven help the man!—he was +pleased to call his greatest enemy, and that my chance of ever +succeeding to the property wasn't worth twopence."</p> + +<p>"Whatever his motive was is immaterial now," interposed Mr Smith; "and +since I expressed the opinion you allude to, so many of the previous +takers have died off, that I have no hesitation in saying that your +interest is worth money now, and that, if you wished it, I could insure +you a purchaser."</p> + +<p>"Oh, then, sell it by all means!" exclaimed Job.</p> + +<p>"Not quite so fast, my friend," answered the attorney; "before you think +of selling, would it not be prudent to ascertain the value, which +depends in a great measure on the number of preceding estates that have +determined since the testator's decease."</p> + +<p>"Of course it must," rejoined Job; "but any thing I could obtain from +that quarter I should esteem a gain. I've lost enough from it in all +conscience; in fact, the old man's harsh proceedings towards me were the +foundation of all my subsequent difficulties. The old fellow did, +indeed, boast to the clergyman who visited him in his last illness, that +he had made me ample amends in his will for any injustice he might have +done me in his lifetime, and that his mind was quite easy upon that +score; and I'm sure mine will be, when I find that I actually can gain +something by him."</p> + +<p>"Then listen to me patiently, and I'll tell you just what you'll gain; +but first help yourself, and pass me the wine. You'll gain a larger +amount than you would guess at, if you were to try for a week. Much more +than sufficient to pay every one of your creditors their full twenty +shillings in the pound."</p> + +<p>"Will it indeed?" exclaimed Job; "then may God forgive me as one of the +most ungrateful of sinners, who had almost begun to think that the +Almighty had deserted him."</p> + +<p>"Forgive you, to be sure," said the kind-hearted lawyer; "why, even your +holy namesake, the very pattern of patient resignation, would grumble a +bit now and then, when his troubles pinched him in a particularly sore +place. So take another glass whilst I proceed with our subject: and so +you see, doctor, your debts are paid—that's settled. Hold your tongue, +Job; don't interrupt me, and drink your wine; that's good port, isn't +it? the best thing in the world for your complaint. Well, then, all this +may be done without selling your chance outright; and in case you should +want to do so, lest you should part with it too cheaply, we'll just see +how many of the preceding estates have already determined. First, the +testator himself must be disposed of; he died, as we all know, and +nobody sorry, within six weeks after he had made his will. Then the +tailor in Re<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</a></span>gent Street, he had scarcely succeeded to the property when +he suddenly dropped down dead in his own shop. His son and heir, and +only child, before he had enjoyed the property six months, wishing to +acquire some fashionable notoriety, purposely got into a quarrel with a +profligate young nobleman well known about town, who killed him in a +duel the next morning. The traveller in the button line, on whom the +property next devolved, was in a bad state of health when he succeeded +to it, and died a bachelor about three months since; and his brother, +the lieutenant, who was also unmarried, had died of a fever on the coast +of Africa some time before; so that you see your chance seems to be +bettered at least one half, in the course of little more than a couple +of twelvemonths."</p> + +<p>"So it has, indeed," said Job; "but who, with the other three remainder +men, as you call them, and their issue in the way, would give any thing +for my poor chance?"</p> + +<p>"But suppose," resumed Mr Smith, "the other three should happen to die, +and leave no issue."</p> + +<p>"That's a species of luck not very likely to fall to my lot," replied +Job.</p> + +<p>"Then I must at once convince you of your error," rejoined Mr Smith; +"and, so to cut short what I've been making a very long story of—the +remaining three of the testator's nephews, upon whom the property was +settled, not one of whom was ever married, got drunk together at a +white-bait dinner at Greenwich, which their elder brother gave to +celebrate his accession to the property, and, returning towards town in +that state in a wherry, they managed between them to upset the boat, and +were all drowned. That I've ascertained—such, in fact, being my sole +business in town; and now, my dear Job, let me congratulate you on being +the proprietor of at least five thousand a-year."</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">And so he was</span>!</p> + +<p>"And thus you see," said the squire, in whose own words we conclude the +tale—"the being dispossessed of his houses, and the loss of his +valuable horse, to which he attributed all his misfortunes, in the end +proved the source of his greatest gain; and now, throughout the whole +length and breadth of the land, I don't think you'll find two persons +better satisfied with their lot than Job and his little wife Jessie, +notwithstanding the timber-merchant made it a condition, that if Job +Vivian should ever succeed to his property, he should take the +testator's surname of Potts—not a pretty one, I confess—and thus Job +Vivian, surgeon, apothecary, &c., has become metamorphosed into the Job +Vivian Potts, Esquire, who has now the honour to address you. His worthy +friend, Smith—now, alas! no more—who, like my self, was induced to +change his name, was Mr Vernon Wycherley's father. I told you, my dear +sir, before, how valued a friend your late father was of mine, and how +much I stood indebted to him; but this is the first time I have made you +acquainted with any of the particulars, and now I fear I've tired you +with my tedious narration."</p> + +<p>"Indeed you have not!" exclaimed both the young men, whilst Vernon +added, that he only regretted not knowing who the parties were during +the progress of the tale, which, had he done, he should have listened to +it with redoubled interest; for who amongst the thousands of Smiths +dispersed about the land, though he had once a father of the name, could +be expected to recognise him as part hero of a tale he had never heard +him allude to; "but pray tell me," he added, "about the poor girl you +went to see at the time the accident occurred to your horse? Did she +ever recover?"</p> + +<p>"No," replied the squire, "she died within a few days afterwards. In +fact, as I believe I before stated, I knew she was past all hope of +recovery at the time I set off to visit her."</p> + +<p>"And the little broken-knee'd and spavined pony you were compelled to +borrow—do pray tell us how he carried you?" interposed Frank, looking +as demure and innocent as possible.</p> + +<p>"Badly, very badly, indeed!" replied the squire; "for the sorry brute +stumbled at nearly every third step, and at last tumbling down in real +earnest, threw me sprawling headlong into the mud; and then favoured me +with a sight of his heels, with the prospect of a couple of miles before +me to hobble home through the rain."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</a></span></p> + + +<h4><span class="smcap">Chapter X.</span></h4> + +<p>Frank Trevelyan, one morning on opening his eyes, was surprised to +discover his friend, Mr Vernon Wycherley, (whose lameness was by this +time sufficiently amended to permit him to move about with the aid of a +stick,) sitting half dressed by his bedside—a very cool attire for so +chill a morning, and looking very cold and miserable.</p> + +<p>"Hallo! old fellow, what on earth brought you here at this time of day?" +asked Frank. "The first morning visit, I believe, you've honoured me +with since we took up our quarters in this neighbourhood."</p> + +<p>"I'm very wretched," said the poet in a faltering tone—"very unhappy."</p> + +<p>"Unhappy!" reiterated Frank; "why, what on earth have you to make you +so, unless it be the apprehension that you may jump out of your skin for +joy at your splendid prospects! Unhappy indeed!—the notion's too absurd +to obtain a moment's credit."</p> + +<p>"Can a man suffering under a hopeless attachment for an object too pure +almost to tread the earth—can a man, whose affections are set upon an +unattainable object, be otherwise than unhappy?" asked Vernon in a +solemn tone, no bad imitation of Macready; indeed the speaker, whilst +uttering these sentiments, thought it sounded very like it; for he had +often seen that eminent tragedian, and greatly admired his style of +acting.</p> + +<p>"But how have you ascertained that the object is so unattainable?" +demanded Frank. "Come now—have you ever yet asked the young lady the +question?"</p> + +<p>"Asked her!" repeated Vernon, perfectly amazed that his friend could +have supposed such a thing possible—"How could I presume that so +angelic a creature would love such a fellow as me—or, even supposing +such a thing were possible, what would our good friend the squire say to +my ingratitude for his great kindness; and to my presumption—a mere +younger son without a profession, and scarcely a hundred pounds a-year +to call his own, to think of proposing to one of his daughters, who +would be an honour to the noblest and richest peer of the realm?"</p> + +<p>"Well, well, Vernon—one thing first—and you shall have my answers to +all. First, then, as to the fair lady liking you—that I must say, +judging from your looks, is what no one would have thought a very +probable circumstance; but then your poetical talents must be taken into +calculation."</p> + +<p>"Oh, don't mention them!" said Vernon. "Worse than good-for-nothing. +<i>She</i> esteems such talents very lightly, and I shall even lose the small +solace to my sorrows I had hoped they would have afforded me. Even this +sad consolation is denied me. My Mary is indifferent to poetry—she +holds sonnets upon hopeless love in utter contempt—entertains no higher +opinion of the writers of them—and considers publishing any thing of +the kind as a downright ungentlemanly act; bringing, as she says it +does, a lady's name before the public in the most indelicate and +unwarrantable manner."</p> + +<p>"But is she really serious in these sentiments?" asked Frank. Oh, Frank, +Frank, you're a sad fellow to pump and roast your friend in this way!</p> + +<p>"Serious," repeated Vernon, and looking very so himself, "serious—ah! +indeed she is—and expressed herself with more warmth upon the subject +than I could have supposed a being so mild and amiable was capable of."</p> + +<p>"But how came all this?" asked Frank—"what were you talking about that +could have caused her to make these remarks?" and this he said in a very +grave and quiet tone of voice, trying to entrap his poetic friend into +telling him much more than the latter was inclined to do, who, +therefore, declined entering more fully into the subject.</p> + +<p>"Then, if you won't tell me, I have still the privilege of guessing," +rejoined Frank; "and now I've found you out, Master Vernon; you've been +attempting acrostics after the Petrarch<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</a></span> style<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a>—a style in which she +didn't approve of being held forth to the admiring notice of the present +and future generations. Vernon blushed to the very tips of his fingers, +and averted his head that his friend might not perceive how very foolish +he was looking, whilst the latter continued—"Very pretty stanzas, I've +no doubt. How nice they would have come out in a neat little 12mo, price +2s. 6d., boards. Let me see—M—O—L, Mol—that's three; L—Y, ly—two +more, makes Molly; and three and two make five. P—O double T—S, +Potts—that's five more, and five and five make ten. But then that's a +couple of letters too many. Petrarch's Lauretta, you know, only made +eight. Yet, after all, if you liked it, you might leave out the Y and +the S at the end of each name, without at all exceeding the usual +poetical license. Let me see, M—O double L, Moll; P—O double T, +Pott—Moll Pott; or you might retain the Y and leave out the last +T—S—or you might"—</p> + +<p>Vernon could bear no more; and having risen abruptly with the intention +of making a bolt of it, was in the act of hobbling out of the room as +fast as his lameness would allow him, when Frank entreated him to stay +but one minute; promising to spare his jokes, for that he really wished +to speak seriously with him; and, having succeeded in pacifying the +enraged poet, proceeded to ask him what he actually intended doing.</p> + +<p>"To leave this either to-day or to-morrow," replied Vernon in a +tremulous voice, and with a quivering lip.</p> + +<p>"But not without breaking your mind to your lady love?"</p> + +<p>"Why, alas! should I do so—why pain her by confessing to her my unhappy +attachment, which I know it is hopeless to expect her to return."</p> + +<p>"I'll be hanged," said Frank, "if I think you know any thing at all +about the matter."</p> + +<p>"Not know, indeed! How, alas! could any one suppose that an angelic +creature like her could love me?"</p> + +<p>"Not many, I grant; but then, as old Captain Growler used to say—never +be astonished at any thing a woman does in that way—</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">'Pan may win where Phœbus woos in vain.'</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>And so the lovely Miss Moll—I beg your pardon, Mary, I mean—may in +like manner, do so differently from what any one could have suspected, +as to be induced at last to listen to her Vernon's tale of love."</p> + +<p>The lover here alluded to hardly knew whether to treat the matter as a +joke or to get very angry; and so he did neither, whilst Frank went +on—"I'm sure you needn't despair either, as far as looks go. There's +pretty, smiling, little Bessie—in my opinion the prettiest girl of the +two"—Vernon shook his head with mournful impatience—"Well, you think +yours prettiest, and I'll think mine," continued Frank; "that's just as +it should be; and as I was about to say, if the lovely Bessie can smile +upon your humble servant when he talked of love, I don't see why her +sister might not be induced to smile upon his companion if he did the +like."</p> + +<p>"How! what? Why, you surely don't mean to say that you've told Miss +Bessie that you love her?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I do," replied Frank. "I told her so yesterday afternoon as we +walked home from church, behind the rest of the party, across the +fields. Thought I wouldn't do it then either, as there were so many +people about—never said a word about the matter over two fields—helped +her over the stiles, too, and talked—no, I be hanged if I think we said +a word, either of us—till as I was helping her to jump down the third, +out it bounced, all of a sudden."</p> + +<p>"And what did you say?" asked Wycherley.</p> + +<p>"Catch a weasel asleep, Mr Vernon," was Frank's reply.</p> + +<p>"But the squire, how will you manage with him, do you suppose?"</p> + +<p>"Managed with him already," replied Frank; "settled every thing last +night over a glass of port, after you'd bundled your lazy carcass off to +bed. That is, one glass didn't quite complete the business, for it took +two or three to get my courage up to concert pitch. Then another or two +to discuss the matter—and then a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[Pg 336]</a></span> bumper to drink success—and then +another glass"—</p> + +<p>"Another!" interrupted Vernon; "why, you little drunken rascal, what +pretext could you have for that?"</p> + +<p>"I've a great mind not to tell you for your rude question," resumed +Frank laughing; "but never mind, old fellow, you've borne a great deal +from me before now, and there's probably more in store for you yet; so +without further preamble I'll at once answer your question, by informing +you that the pretext for my last glass was to wet a dry discourse about +the affairs of one Mr Vernon Wycherley. Now, hold your tongue, and don't +interrupt me, or swallow me either, which you appear to be meditating. +And so the squire asked me if I had known him long, and about his +principles, religious and moral; his worldly prospects, and so forth. To +all of which I replied by stating, that, with the exception of being +addicted to flirting a little with the Muses, which old women might +consider as only one step removed from absolute profligacy, he was a +well-disposed young man, and would doubtless grow wiser as he increased +in years; but that his fortune was very limited, and that all his +expectations in that way wouldn't fill a nutshell."</p> + +<p>"Ah, there's the rub!" interposed Vernon; "how can a poor fellow with my +small pittance pretend to aspire to the hand of one with such splendid +expectations? My poverty, as I've long foreseen, must mar my every hope, +even if every other obstacle could be removed."</p> + +<p>"I don't see that exactly," rejoined Frank; "for, when I told the squire +what your circumstances actually were, and that you had managed to live +creditably upon your small income without getting into debt, he said, if +your head wasn't crammed so confoundedly full of poetical nonsense, +which set you always hunting after shadows, instead of grasping +substances, he should be exceedingly rejoiced to have you for a +son-in-law. So, if you could make up your mind to relinquish your love +for writing poetry"—</p> + +<p>"The poetry be hanged!" interrupted Vernon with considerable vehemence. +"I'll cast it to the dogs—the winds—send it to Halifax, Jericho, any +where. Oh! my dear Frank, what a happy fellow you've made me!"</p> + +<p>"Which just finished the bottle," continued Frank; "and I find that +somehow or other I've got a precious headach this morning. I wonder how +the squire feels to-day. Will you Vernon, that's a good fellow, give me +a glass of water?"</p> + +<p>"There's nothing on earth I wouldn't give you now, my dear Frank, except +my dear Mary; but do you think she will ever consent?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, to be sure she will," answered Frank. "I know she will, and that +she is by no means best pleased at your hanging fire so long. I know +this to be the fact, though I mustn't tell you how, why, or wherefore; +but if you don't propose soon she'll consider you are acting neither +fairly nor honourably to her."</p> + +<p>"I'll do the deed to-day," said Vernon resolutely.</p> + +<p>And so he did.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>A very few months more had passed away, before our two heroes were on +the same day united to the fair objects of their choice; and the +generous old squire settled a handsome sum upon them both, sufficient to +supply them with all the essential comforts of life.</p> + +<p>"And now, friend Frank," said Vernon Wycherley, "I believe, after all, +you will make a convert of me; for I find that the attachment I had +indulged in, until despair of obtaining the loved object made me fancy +myself the most miserable wretch alive, and that I had incurred the +worst evil that could have befallen me, has made me the happiest of +mankind, and has indeed turned out to be <span class="smcap">ALL FOR THE BEST</span>; nor can I +think of my blundering fall into the lead shaft in any other light; as, +but for that accident, I should probably never have formed the +acquaintance to which I owe all my good fortune."</p> + +<p>"Then, for the future," said the worthy squire, "let us put all our +trust in Heaven, and rest assured that whatever may be the will of +Providence, <span class="smcap">IT'S ALL FOR THE BEST</span>."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</a></span></p> + + + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="THE_ROMAN_CAMPAGNA" id="THE_ROMAN_CAMPAGNA"></a>THE ROMAN CAMPAGNA.</h2> + + +<p>There is no district in Europe which is more remarkable, or has more +strongly impressed the minds of men in modern times, than the <span class="smcap">Roman +Campagna</span>. Independent of the indelible associations with which it is +connected, and the glorious deeds of which it has been the theatre, its +appearance produces an extraordinary impression on the mind of the +beholder. All is silent; the earth seems struck with +sterility—desolation reigns in every direction. A space extending from +Otricoli to Terracina, above sixty miles in length, and on an average +twenty in breadth, between the Apennines and the sea, containing nearly +four thousand square miles, in the finest part of Italy, does not +maintain a single peasant.<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> A few tombs lining the great roads which +issued from the forum of Rome to penetrate to the remotest parts of +their immense empire; the gigantic remains of aqueducts striding across +the plain, which once brought, and some of which still bring, the +pellucid fountains of the Apennines to the Eternal City, alone attest +the former presence of man. Nothing bespeaks his present existence. Not +a field is ploughed, not a blade of corn grows, hardly a house is to be +seen, in this immense and dreary expanse. On entering it, you feel as if +you were suddenly transported from the garden of Europe to the wilds of +Tartary. Shepherds armed with long lances, as on the steppes of the Don, +and mounted on small and hardy horses, alone are occasionally seen +following, or searching in the wilds for the herds of savage buffaloes +and cattle which pasture the district. The few living beings to be met +with at the post-houses, have the squalid melancholy look which attests +permanent wretchedness, and the ravages of an unhealthy atmosphere.</p> + +<p>But though the curse of Providence seems to have fallen on the land, so +far as the human race is concerned, it is otherwise with the power of +physical nature. Vegetation yearly springs up with undiminished vigour. +It is undecayed since the days of Cincinnatus and the Sabine farm. Every +spring the expanse is covered with a carpet of flowers, which enamel the +turf and conceal the earth with a profusion of varied beauty. So rich is +the herbage which springs up with the alternate heats and rains of +summer, that it becomes in most places rank, and the enormous herds +which wander over the expanse are unable to keep it down. In autumn this +rich grass becomes russet-brown, and a melancholy hue clothes the slopes +which environ the Eternal City. The Alban Mount, when seen from a +distance, clothed as it is with forests, vineyards, and villas, +resembles a green island rising out of a sombre waste of waters. In the +Pontine marshes, where the air is so poisonous in the warm months that +it is dangerous, and felt as oppressive even by the passing traveller, +the prolific powers of nature are still more remarkable. Vegetation +there springs up with the rapidity, and flourishes with the luxuriance, +of tropical climates. Tall reeds, in which the buffaloes are hid, in +which a rhinoceros might lie concealed, spring up in the numerous pools +or deep ditches with which the dreary flat surface is sprinkled. Wild +grapes of extraordinary fecundity grow in the woods, and ascend in +luxuriant clusters to the tops of the tallest trees. Nearer the sea, a +band of noble chestnuts and evergreen oaks attests the riches of the +soil, which is capable of producing such magnificent specimens of +vegetable life; and over the whole plain the extraordinary richness of +the herbage, and luxuriance of the aquatic plants, bespeaks a region +which, if subjected to a proper culture and improvement, would, like the +Delta of Egypt, reward eighty and an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[Pg 338]</a></span> hundred fold the labours of the +husbandman.</p> + +<p>It was not thus in former times. The Campagna now so desolate, the +Pontine marshes now so lonely, were then covered with inhabitants. Veiæ, +long the rival of Rome, and which was only taken after a siege as +protracted as that of Troy by Camillus at the head of fifty thousand +men, stood only ten miles from the Capitol. The Pontine marshes were +inhabited by thirty nations. The freehold of Cincinnatus, the Sabine +farm, stood in the now desolate plain at the foot of the Alban Mount. So +rich were the harvests, so great the agricultural booty to be gathered +in the plains around Rome, that for two hundred years after the +foundation of the city, it was the great object of their foreign wars to +gain possession of it, and on that account they were generally begun in +autumn. Montesquieu has observed, that it was the long and desperate +wars which the Romans carried on for three centuries with the Sabines, +Latines, Veientes, and other people in their neighbourhood, which by +slow degrees gave them the hardihood and discipline which enabled them +afterwards to subdue the world. The East was an easy conquest, the Gauls +themselves could be repelled, Hannibal in the end overcome, after the +tribes of Latium had been vanquished. But the district in which the +hardy races dwelt, who so long repelled, and maintained a doubtful +conflict with the future masters of the world, is now a desert. It could +not in its whole extent furnish men to fill a Roman cohort. Rome has +emerged from its long decay after the fall of the Western Empire; the +terrors of the Vatican, the shrine of St Peter, have again attracted the +world to the Eternal City; and the most august edifice ever raised by +the hands of man to the purposes of religion, has been reared within its +walls. But the desolate Campagna is still unchanged.</p> + +<p>Novelists and romance-writers have for centuries exhausted their +imaginative and descriptive powers in developing the feelings which this +extraordinary phenomenon, in the midst of the classic land of Italy, +awakens. They have spoken of desolation as the fitting shroud of +departed greatness; of the mournful feelings which arise on approaching +the seat of lost empire; of the shades of the dead alone tenanting the +scene of so much glory. Such reflections arise unbidden in the mind; the +most unlettered traveller is struck with the melancholy impression. An +eloquent Italian has described this striking spectacle:—"A vast +solitude, stretching for miles, as far as the eye can reach. No shelter, +no resting-place, no defence for the wearied traveller; a dead silence, +interrupted only by the sound of the wind which sweeps over the plain, +or the trickling of a natural fountain by the wayside; not a cottage nor +the curling of smoke to be seen; only here and there a cross on a +projecting eminence to mark the spot of a murder; and all this in gentle +slopes, dry and fertile plains, and up to the gates of great city."<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> +The sight of the long lines of ruined aqueducts traversing the deserted +Campagna, of the tombs scattered along the lines of the ancient +<i>chaussées</i> across its dreary expanse, of the dome of St Peter's alone +rising in solitary majesty over its lonely hills, forcibly impress the +mind, and produce an impression which no subsequent events or lapse of +time are able to efface. At this moment the features of the scene, the +impression it produces, are as present to the mind of the writer as when +they were first seen thirty years ago.</p> + +<p>But striking as these impressions are, the Roman Campagna is fraught +with instruction of a more valuable kind. It stands there, not only a +monument of the past, but a beacon for the future. It is fraught with +instruction, not only to the ancient but the modern world. The most +valuable lessons of political wisdom which antiquity has bequeathed to +modern times, are to be gathered amidst its solitary ruins.</p> + +<p>In investigating the causes of this extraordinary desolation of a +district, in ancient times the theatre of such busy industry, and which, +for centuries, maintained so great and flourish<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[Pg 339]</a></span>ing a rural population, +there are several observations to be made on the principle, as logicians +call it, of <i>exclusion</i>, in order to clear the ground before the real +cause is arrived at.</p> + +<p>The first of these is, that the causes, whatever they are, which +produced the desolation of the Campagna, had begun to operate, and their +blasting effect was felt, in <i>ancient</i> times, and long before a single +squadron of the barbarians had crossed the Alps. In fact, the Campagna +was a scene of active agricultural industry only so long as Rome was +contending with its redoubtable Italian neighbours—the Latins, the +Etruscans, the Samnites, and the Cisalpine Gauls. From the time that, by +the conquest of Carthage, they obtained the mastery of the shore of the +Mediterranean, <i>agriculture</i> in the neighbourhood of Rome began to +decline. Pasturage was found to be a more profitable employment of +estates; and the vast supplies of grain, required for the support of the +citizens of Rome, were obtained by importation from Lybia and Egypt, +where they could be raised at a less expense. "At, Hercule," says +Tacitus, "olim ex Italia legionibus longinquas in provincias commeatus +portabantur; <i>nec nunc infecunditate laboratur: sed Africam potius et +Egyptum exercemus, navibusque et casibus vita populi Romani permissa +est</i>."<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> The expense of cultivating grain in a district where +provisions and wages were high because money was plentiful, speedily led +to the abandonment of tillage in the central parts of Italy, when the +unrestrained importation of grain from Egypt and Lybia, where it could +be raised at less expense in consequence of the extension of the Roman +dominions over those regions, took place. "More lately," says Sismondi, +"the gratuitous distributions of grain made to the Roman people, +rendered the cultivation of grain in Italy still more unprofitable: it +then became absolutely impossible for the little proprietors to maintain +themselves in the neighbourhood of Rome; they became insolvent, and +their patrimonies were sold to the rich. Gradually the abandonment of +agriculture extended from one district to another. The true country of +the Romans—central Italy—<i>had scarcely achieved the conquest of the +globe, when it found itself without an agricultural population</i>. In the +provinces peasants were no longer to be found to recruit the legions; as +few corn-fields to nourish them. Vast tracts of pasturage, where a few +slave shepherds conducted herds of thousands of horned cattle, had +supplanted the nations who had brought their greatest triumphs to the +Roman people."<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> These great herds of cattle were then, as now, in the +hands of a few great proprietors. This was loudly complained of, and +signalized as the cancer which would ruin the Roman empire, even so +early as the time of Pliny. "Verumque confitentibus," says he, +"<i>latifunda perdidêre Italiam; imo ac provincias</i>."<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a></p> + +<p>All the historians of the decline and fall of the Roman empire, have +concurred in ascribing to these two causes—viz. the decay of +agriculture and ruin of the agricultural population in Italy, and +consequent engrossing of estates in the hands of the rich—the ruin of +its mighty dominion. But it is not generally known how wide-spread had +been the desolation thus produced; how deep and incurable the wounds +inflicted on the vitals of the state—by the simple consequences of its +extension, which enabled the grain growers of the distant provinces of +the empire to supplant the cultivators of its heart by the unrestricted +admission of foreign corn, before the invasion of the northern nations +commenced. In fact, however, the evil was done before they appeared on +the passes of the Alps; it was the weakness thus<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[Pg 340]</a></span> brought on the central +provinces which rendered them unable to contend with enemies whom they +had often, in former times, repelled and subdued. A few quotations from +historians of authority, will at once establish this important +proposition.</p> + +<p>"<i>Since the age of Tiberius</i>," says Gibbon, "the decay of agriculture +had been felt in Italy; and it was a just subject of complaint, that the +laws of the Roman people depended on the accidents of the winds and the +waves. In the division and decline of the empire, <i>the tributary +harvests of Egypt and Africa</i> were withdrawn; the numbers of the +inhabitants continually diminished with the means of subsistence; and +the country was exhausted by the irretrievable losses of war, pestilence +and famine. Pope Gelasius was a subject of Odoacer, and he affirms, with +strong exaggeration, that in Emilia, Tuscany, and the adjacent +provinces, the human species was almost extirpated."<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> Again the same +accurate author observes in another place—"Under the emperors the +agriculture of the Roman provinces was <i>insensibly ruined</i>; and the +government was obliged to make a merit of remitting tributes which +<i>their subjects were utterly unable to pay</i>. Within sixty years of the +death of Constantine, and on the evidence of an actual survey, an +exemption was granted in favour of three hundred and thirty thousand +English acres of desert and uncultivated land <i>in the fertile and happy +Campania</i>, which amounted to an eighth of the whole province. As the +footsteps of the barbarians had not yet been seen in Italy, the cause of +<i>this amazing desolation, which is recorded in the laws</i>,<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a> can be +ascribed only to the administration of the Roman emperors."<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a></p> + +<p>The two things which, beyond all question, occasioned this extraordinary +decline of domestic agriculture in Italy before the invasion of the +barbarians commenced, were the weight of <i>direct taxation</i>, and the +<i>decreasing value of agricultural produce</i>, owing to the constant +importation of grain from Egypt and Lybia, where, owing to the cheapness +of labour and the fertility of the soil in those remote provinces, so +burdensome did the first become, that Gibbon tells us that, in the time +of Constantine, in Gaul it amounted to <i>nine pounds sterling of gold</i> on +every freeman.<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> The periodical distribution of grain to the populace +of Rome, all of which, from its greater cheapness, was brought by the +government from Egypt and Africa, utterly extinguished the market for +corn to the Italian farmers, though Rome, at its capture by Alaric, +still contained 1,200,000 inhabitants. "All the efforts of the Christian +emperors," says Michelet, "to arrest the depopulation of the country, +were as nugatory as those of their heathen predecessors had been. +Sometimes alarmed at the depopulation, they tried to mitigate the lot of +the farmer, to shield him against the landlord; upon this the proprietor +exclaimed, <i>he could no longer pay the taxes</i>. At other times they +strove to chain the cultivators to the soil; but they became bankrupts +or fled, and the land became deserted. Pertinax granted an immunity of +taxes to such <i>cultivators from distant provinces</i> as would occupy the +deserted lands of Italy. Aurelian did the same. Probus, Maximian, and +Constantine, were obliged to transport men and oxen from Germany to +cultivate Gaul. But all was in vain. <i>The desert extended daily.</i> The +people in the fields surrendered themselves in despair, as a beast of +burden lies down beneath his load and refuses to rise."<a name="FNanchor_25_25" id="FNanchor_25_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a></p> + +<p>Gibbon has told us what it was which occasioned this constant +depopulation of the country, and ruin of agriculture in the Italian +provinces. "The Campagna of Rome," says he, "about the close of the +sixth century, was reduced to a state of <i>dreary wilderness</i>, in which +the air was infectious, the land barren, and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[Pg 341]</a></span> waters impure. Yet the +number of citizens still exceeded the measure of subsistence; <i>their +precarious food was supplied from the harvests of Lybia and Egypt</i>; and +the frequent recurrence of famine, betrayed the inattention of the +emperor at Constantinople to the wants of a distant province."<a name="FNanchor_26_26" id="FNanchor_26_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a> Nor +was Italy the only province in the heart of the empire which was ruined +by those foreign importations. Greece suffered not less severely under +it. "In the latter stages of the empire," says Michelet, "<i>Greece was +supported almost entirely by corn raised in the plains of Poland</i>."<a name="FNanchor_27_27" id="FNanchor_27_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a></p> + +<p>These passages, to which, did our limits permit, innumerable others to +the same purpose might be added, explain the causes of the decay and +ultimate ruin of agriculture in the central provinces of the Roman +empire, as clearly as if one had arisen from the dead to unfold it. It +was the weight of <i>direct taxation</i>, and the want of remunerating prices +to the <i>grain cultivators</i>, which occasioned the evil. The first arose +from the experienced impossibility of raising additional taxes on +industry by indirect taxation: the unavoidable consequence of the +contraction of the currency, owing to the habits of hoarding which the +frequent incursions of the barbarians produced; and of the free +importation of African grain, which the extension of the empire over its +northern provinces, and the clamours of the Roman populace for cheap +bread, occasioned. The second arose directly from that importation +itself. The Italian cultivator, oppressed with direct taxes, and tilling +a comparatively churlish soil, found himself utterly unable to compete +with the African cultivators, with whom the process of production was so +much cheaper owing to the superior fertility of the soil under the sun +of Lybia, or the fertilizing floods of the Nile. Thence the increasing +weight of direct taxation, the augmented importation of foreign grain, +the disappearance of free cultivators in the central provinces, the +impossibility of recruiting the legions with freemen, and the ruin of +the empire.</p> + +<p>And that it was something pressing upon the cultivation of <i>grain</i>, not +of agriculture generally, which occasioned these disastrous results, is +decisively proved by the fact, that, down to the fall of the empire, the +cultivation of land <i>in pasturage</i> continued to be a <i>highly profitable</i> +employment in Italy. It is recorded by Ammianus Marcellinus, that when +Rome was taken by Alaric, it was inhabited by 1,200,000 persons, who +were maintained almost entirely by the expenditure of 1780 patrician +families holding estates in Italy and Africa, many of whom had above +£160,000 yearly of rent from land. Their estates were almost entirely +managed in pasturage, and conducted by slaves.<a name="FNanchor_28_28" id="FNanchor_28_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a> Here, then, is +decisive evidence, that down to the very close of the empire, the +managing of estates <i>in pasturage</i> was not only profitable, but +eminently so in Italy—though all attempts at raising grain were +hopeless. It is not an unprofitable cultivation which can yield £160,000 +a-year, equivalent to above £300,000 annually of our money, to a single +proprietor, and maintain 1700 of them in such affluence that they +maintained, in ease and luxury, a city not then the capital of the +empire, containing 1,200,000 inhabitants, or considerably more than +Paris at this time. It was not slavery, therefore, which ruined Italian +cultivation; for the whole pasture cultivation which yielded such +immense profits was conducted by slaves. It was the Lybian and Egyptian +harvests, freely imported into the Tiber, which occasioned the ruin of +agriculture in the Latian plains; and, with the consequent destruction +of the race of rural freemen, brought on the ruin of the empire. But +this importation could not injure pasturage; for cattle Africa had none, +and therefore estates in grass still continued to yield great returns.</p> + +<p>The second circumstance worthy of notice in this inquiry is, that the +cause of the present desolation of the Campagna, whatever it is, is +something which is <i>peculiar to that district</i>, and has continued to act +with as great force in <i>modern</i> as in ancient times.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[Pg 342]</a></span> It is historically +known, indeed, that the sanguinary contests of the rival houses of +Orsini and Colonna, in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, produced +the most dreadful ravages in the Campagna, and extinguished, for the +time at least, any attempts to reclaim or restore to cultivation this +desolate region. But many centuries have elapsed since this desolating +warfare has entirely ceased; and under the shelter of peace and +tranquillity, agricultural industry in other parts of Italy has +flourished to such a degree as to render it the garden of the world: +witness the rich plain of Lombardy, the incomparable terrace cultivation +of the Tuscan hills, the triple harvests of the Terra di Lavoro, near +Naples. The desolation of the Campagna, therefore, must have been owing +to some causes peculiar to the Roman States, or rather to that part of +those states which adjoins the city of Rome; for in other parts of the +ecclesiastical territories, particularly in the vicinity of Ancona, and +the slope of the Apennines towards Bologna, agriculture is in the most +flourishing state. The hills and declivities are there cut out into +terraces, and cultivated with garden husbandry in as perfect style as in +the mountains of Tuscany. The marches of Ancona contain 426,222 +inhabitants, spread over 2111 square miles, which is about 200 to the +square mile; but, considering how large a part of the territory is +barren rock, the proportion on the fertile parts is about 300 to the +square mile, while the average of England is only 260. The soil is +cultivated to the depth of two and three feet.<a name="FNanchor_29_29" id="FNanchor_29_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a> It is in vain, +therefore, to say, that it is the oppression of the Papal government, +the indolence of the cardinals, and the evils of an elective monarchy, +which have been the causes of the ruin of agricultural industry in the +vicinity of Rome. These causes operate just as strongly in the other +parts of the Papal States, where cultivation, instead of being in a +languishing, is in the most flourishing condition. In truth, so far from +having neglected agriculture in this blasted district, the Papal +government, for the last two centuries, has made greater efforts to +encourage it than all the other powers of Italy put together. Every +successive Pope has laboured at the Pontine marshes, but in vain. +Nothing can be more clear, than that the causes which have destroyed +agriculture in the Campagna, are some which were known in the days of +the Roman Republic; gradually came into operation with the extension of +the empire; and have continued in modern times to press upon this +particular district of the Papal States, in a much greater degree than +among other provinces of a similar extent in Italy.</p> + +<p>The last circumstance which forces itself upon the mind, in the outset +of this inquiry, is, that the desolation of the Campagna is owing to +moral or political, not physical causes. Naturalists and physicians have +exhausted all their energies for centuries in investigating the causes +of the <i>malaria</i>, which is now felt with such severity in Rome in the +autumnal months, and renders health so precarious there at that period; +and the soil has been analyzed by the most skillful chemists, to see +whether there is any peculiarity in the earth, from its volcanic +character, which either induces sterility in the crops, or proves fatal +to the cultivators. But nothing has been discovered that in the +slightest degree explains the phenomena. There is no doubt that the +Campagna is extremely unhealthy in the autumnal months, and the Pontine +marshes still more so; but that is no more than is the case with every +low plain on the shores of the Mediterranean: it obtains in Lombardy, +Greece, Sicily, Asia Minor, and Spain, as well as in the Agro Romano. If +any one doubt it, let him lie down to sleep in his cloak in any of these +places in a night of September, and see what state he is in in the +morning. Clarke relates, that intermittent fevers are universal in the +Grecian plains in the autumnal months: in Estremadura, in September +1811, on the banks of the Guadiana, nine thousand men fell sick in +Wellington's army in three days. The savannas of Ame<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[Pg 343]</a></span>rica, where "death +bestrides the evening gale," when first ploughed up, produce +intermittent fevers far more deadly than the malaria of the Roman +Campagna. But the energy of man overcomes the difficulty, and, ere a few +years have passed away, health and salubrity prevail in the regions of +former pestilence. It was the same with the Roman Campagna in the early +days of the Republic; it is the same now with the Campagna of Naples, +and the marshy plains around Parma and Lodi, to the full as unhealthy in +a desert state as the environs of Rome. It would be the same with the +Agro Romano, if moral causes did not step in to prevent the efforts and +industry of man, from here, as elsewhere, correcting the insalubrity of +uncultivated nature.</p> + +<p>And for decisive evidence that this desolation of the Campagna is owing +to moral or political, not physical causes, and that, under a different +system of administration, it might be rendered as salubrious and +populous as it was in the early days of the Roman Republic, reference +may be made to the fact, that in many parts of Italy, equally unhealthy +and in this desert state, cultivation has taken place, a dense +population has arisen, and the dangerous qualities of the atmosphere +have disappeared. Within the last twenty years, the district called +Grosseté has been reclaimed, in the most pestilential part of the +Maremma of Tuscany, by an industrious population, which has succeeded in +introducing agriculture and banishing the malaria; and the ruins of the +Roman villas on the banks of the Tiber, near the sea, prove that the +Romans went to seek salubrity and the healthful breezes of the sea, +where now they could meet with nothing but pestilence and death. The +rocky and dry slopes of the Campagna are admirably adapted for raising +olives and vines; while the difference of the soil and exposure in +different places, promises a similar variety in their wines. The Pontine +marshes themselves, and the vast plain which extends from them to the +foot of the cluster of hills called the Alban Mount, are not more +oppressed by water, or lower in point of level, than the plains of Pisa; +and yet there the earth yields magnificent crops of grain and succulent +herbs, while the poplars, by which the fields are intersected, support +to their very summits the most luxuriant vines. The Campagna of Naples +is more volcanic and level than that of Rome; the hills and valleys of +Baiæ are nothing but the cones and craters of extinguished volcanoes; +and if we would see what such a district becomes when left in a desert +state, we have only to go to the Maremma of Pestum, now as desolate and +unhealthy as the Pontine marshes themselves. But in the Campagna of +Naples an industrious population has overcome all these obstacles, and +rendered the land, tenanted only by wild boars and buffaloes in the +fourth century, the garden of Europe, known over all the world, from its +riches, by the name of the Campagna Felice.</p> + +<p>Nay, the Agro Romano itself affords equally decisive proof, that where +circumstances will permit the work of cultivation to be commenced so as +to be carried on at a profit, the malaria and desolation speedily +disappear before the persevering efforts of human industry. In many +parts of the district, the custom of granting perpetual leases at a +fixed rate prevails, the <i>Emphyteutis</i> of the Roman law, the sources of +the prosperity of the cultivators in Upper and Lower Austria, and well +known in Scotland under the name of feus. Sismondi has given the +following account of the effect of the establishment of a permanent +interest in the soil in arresting the effects of the malaria, and +spreading cultivation over the land:—"The Emphyteutic cultivator has a +permanent interest in the soil: he labours, therefore, unceasingly for +the good of his family. He cuts out his slope into terraces, covers it +with trees, fruits, and garden-stuffs: he takes advantage of every +leisure moment, either in himself, his wife, or children, to advance the +common cultivation. Industry and abundance reign around. Whenever you +ascend the volcanic hills of Latium, or visit those ravishing slopes +which so many painters have illustrated, around the lakes of Castel +Gandolfo or Nemi, at L'Aricia, Rocca di Papa, Marino, and Frescati; +when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[Pg 344]</a></span>ever you meet with a smiling cultivation, healthy air, and the +marks of general abundance, you may rest assured the cultivator is +proprietor of the fruits of the soil. The bare right of property, or +superiority, as the lawyers term it, belongs to some neighbouring lord; +but the real property, "il miglioramento," belongs to the cultivator. In +this way, in these happy districts, the great estates, the <i>latifundia</i> +of Pliny, have been practically distributed among the peasantry; and, +whenever this is the case, you hear no more of the malaria. Agriculture +has caused to arise in those localities a numerous population, which +multiplies with singular rapidity, and for ages has furnished +cultivators not only for the mountains where it has arisen, but bands of +adventurers, who in every age have filled the ranks of the Italian +armies."<a name="FNanchor_30_30" id="FNanchor_30_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a></p> + +<p>But while those examples, to which, did our limits permit, many others +might be added, decisively demonstrate that human industry can +effectually overcome the physical difficulties or dangers of the Roman +Campagna; yet it is clear that some great and overwhelming cause is at +work, which prevents agriculture flourishing, by means of tenants or +<i>métayers</i>, in the plains of the Campagna. The plains, it is true, are +in the hands of a few great proprietors, but their tenants are extremely +rich, often more so, Sismondi tells us, than their landlords. What is +it, then, which for so long a period has chained the Campagna to +pasturage, and rendered all attempts to restore it to the plough +abortive? The answer is plain: It is the same cause now which binds it +to pasturage, which did so under the Romans from the time of +Tiberius—<i>it is more profitable to devote the land to grass than to +raise grain.</i> And it is so, not because the land will not bear grain +crops, for it would do now even better than it did in the days of the +Etruscans and the Sabines; since so many centuries of intervening +pasturage have added so much to its fertility. It is so, because the +weakness of the Papal government, yielding, like the Imperial in ancient +days, to the cry for cheap bread among the Roman populace, has fed the +people, from time immemorial, with foreign grain, instead of that of its +own territory. The evidence on this subject is as clear and more +detailed in modern, than it was in ancient times; and both throw a broad +and steady light on the final results of that system of policy, which +purchases the present support of the inhabitants of cities, by +sacrificing the only lasting and perennial sources of strength derived +from the industry and population of the country.</p> + +<p>During the confusion and disasters consequent on the fall of the Empire, +after the capture of Rome by the Goths, the Campagna remained entirely a +desert; but it continued in the hands of the successors of the great +senatorial families who held it in the last days of the Empire. "The +Agro Romano," says Sismondi, "almost a desert, had been long exposed to +the ravages of the barbarians, who in 846 pillaged the Vatican, which +led Pope Leo IV., in the following year, to enclose that building within +the walls of Rome. For an hundred years almost all the hills which +border the horizon from Rome were crowned with forts; the ancient walls +of the Etruscans were restored, or rebuilt from their ruins; the old +hill strengths, where the Sabines, the Hernici, the Volscians, the +Coriolani, had formerly defended their independence, again offered +asylums to the inhabitants of the plains. But the great estates, the +bequest of ancient Rome, remained undivided. With the first dawn of +history in the middle ages, we see the great house of the Colonna master +of the towns of Palestrina, Genazzano, Zagorole; that of Orsini, of the +territories of the republics of Veiæ and Ceres, and holding the +fortresses of Bracciano, Anguetta, and Ceri. The Monte-Savili, near +Albano, still indicates the possessions of the Savili, which +comprehended the whole ancient kingdom of Turnus; the Frangipani were +masters of Antium,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[Pg 345]</a></span> Astura, and the sea-coast; the Gaetani, the +Annibaldeschi of the Castles which overlook the Pontine marshes; while +Latium was in the hands of a smaller number of feudal families than it +had formerly numbered republics within its bounds."<a name="FNanchor_31_31" id="FNanchor_31_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a></p> + +<p>But while divided among these great proprietors, the Roman Campagna was +still visited, as in the days of the emperor, with the curse of cheap +grain, imported from the other states bordering on the Mediterranean, +and was in consequence exclusively devoted to the purposes of pasturage. +An authentic document proves that this was the case so far down as the +fifteenth century. In the year 1471, Pope Sextus IV. issued a bull, +which was again enforced by Clement VII. in 1523, and which bore these +remarkable words:—"Considering the frequent famines to which Rome has +been exposed in late years, <i>arising chiefly from the small amount of +lands which have been sown or laid down in tillage</i>, and that their +owners <i>prefer allowing them to remain uncultivated, and pastured only +by cattle</i>, than to cultivate for the use of men, on the ground <i>that +the latter mode of management is more profitable than the former</i>."<a name="FNanchor_32_32" id="FNanchor_32_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a> +The decree ordered the cultivation of a large portion of the Campagna in +grain under heavy penalties.</p> + +<p>And that this superior profit of pasturage to tillage has continued to +the present time, and is the real cause of the long-continued and +otherwise inexplicable desolation of this noble region, has been clearly +demonstrated by a series of important and highly interesting official +decrees and investigations, which, within this half century, have taken +place by order of the Papal government. Struck with the continued +desolation of so large and important a portion of their territory, the +popes have both issued innumerable edicts to enforce tillage, and set on +foot the most minute inquiries to ascertain the causes of their failure. +It is only necessary to mention one. Pius VI., in 1783, took a new and +most accurate survey or <i>cadastre</i> of the Agro Romano, and ordained the +proprietors to sow annually 17,000 <i>rubbi</i> (85,000 acres) with +grain.<a name="FNanchor_33_33" id="FNanchor_33_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a> This decree, however, like those which had preceded it, was +not carried into execution. "The proprietors and farmers," says Nicolai, +"equally opposed themselves to its execution; the former declaring that +they must have a higher rent for the land if laid down in tillage, than +the latter professed themselves able to pay."<a name="FNanchor_34_34" id="FNanchor_34_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a></p> + +<p>To ascertain the cause of this universal and insurmountable resistance +of all concerned to the cultivation of the Campagna, the Papal +government in 1790 issued a commission to inquire into the matter, and +the proprietors prescribe to two memoirs on the subject, which at once +explained the whole difficulty. The one set forth the cost and returns +of 100 rubbi (500 acres) in grain tillage in the Roman Campagna; the +other, the cost and returns of a flock of 2500 sheep in the same +circumstances. The result of the whole was, that while the grain +cultivation would with difficulty, on an expenditure of 8000 crowns +(£2000,) bring in a clear profit <i>of thirty crowns</i> (£7, 10s.) to the +farmer, and nothing at all to the landlord, the other would yield +between them a profit <i>of 1972 crowns</i>, (£496.)<a name="FNanchor_35_35" id="FNanchor_35_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a> Well may Sismondi +exclaim:—"These two reports are of the very highest importance. They +explain the constant invincible resistance which the proprietors and +farmers of the Roman Campagna have opposed to the extension of grain +cultivation; they put in a clear light the opposite interest of great +capitalists and the interest of the state; they give in authentic +details, which I have personally verified, and found to be still +entirely applicable and correct, on the causes which have reduced the +noble district of the Roman Campagna to its desolate state, and still +retain it in that condition. Incredible as the statements may appear, +they are amply borne out by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[Pg 346]</a></span> everyday experience. In effect, all the +farmers whom I have consulted, affirm, that they invariably lose by +grain cultivation, and that they never resort to it, but to prevent the +land from being overgrown by brushwood or forests, and rendered unfit +for profitable pasturage."<a name="FNanchor_36_36" id="FNanchor_36_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a></p> + +<p>Extraordinary as these facts are, as to the difference between the +profits of pasturage and tillage in the Agro Romano, it is only by the +most rigid economy, and reducing the shepherds to the lowest amount of +subsistence consistent with the support of life, that the former yields +any profits at all. The wages of the shepherds are only fifty-three +francs (£2) for the winter season, and as much for the summer; the +proprietors, in addition, furnishing them with twenty ounces of bread +a-day, a half-pound of salt meat, a little oil and salt a-week. As to +wine, vinegar, or fermented liquors, they never taste any of them from +one year's end to another. Such as it is, their food is all brought to +them from Rome; for in the whole Campagna there is not an oven, a +kitchen, or a kitchen-garden, to furnish an ounce of vegetables or +fruits. The clothing of these shepherds is as wretched as their fare. It +consists of sheep-skin, with the wool outside; a few rags on their legs +and thighs, complete their vesture. Lodging or houses they have none; +they sleep in the open air, or nestle into some sheltered nook among the +ruined tombs or aqueducts which are to be met with in the wilderness, in +some of the caverns, which are so common in that volcanic region, or +beneath the arches of the ancient catacombs. A few spoons and coarse +jars form their whole furniture; the cost of that belonging to +twenty-nine shepherds, required for the 2500 sheep, is only 159 francs +(£7.) The sum total of the expense of the whole twenty-nine persons, +including wages, food, and every thing, is only 1038 crowns, or £250 +a-year; being about £8, 10s. a-head annually. The produce of the flock +is estimated at 7122 crowns (£1780) annually, and the annual profit 1972 +crowns, or £493.<a name="FNanchor_37_37" id="FNanchor_37_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a></p> + +<p>The other table given by Nicolai, exhibits, on a similar expenditure of +capital, the profit of tillage; and it is so inconsiderable, as rarely, +and that only in the most favourable situations, to cover the expense of +cultivation. The labourers, who almost all come from the neighbouring +hills, above the level of the malaria, are obliged to be brought from a +distance at high wages for the time of their employment; sometimes in +harvest wages are as high as five francs, or four shillings a-day. The +wages paid to the labourers on a grain farm on which £2000 has been +expended on 500 acres, amount to no less than 4320 crowns, or £1080 +sterling, annually; being above four times the cost of the shepherds for +a similar expenditure of capital, though they wander over ten times the +surface of ground. The labourers never remain in the fields; they set +off to the hills when their grain is sown, and only return in autumn to +cut it down. They do not work above twenty or thirty days in the year; +and therefore, though their wages for that period are so high, they are +in misery all the rest of the season. But though so little is done for +the land, the price received for the produce is so low, that cultivation +in grain brings no profit, and is usually carried on at a loss. The +peasants who conduct it never go to Rome—have often never seen it; they +make no purchases there; and <i>the most profitable of all trades in a +nation, that between the town and the country, is unknown in the Roman +States</i>.<a name="FNanchor_38_38" id="FNanchor_38_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a></p> + +<p>Here, then, the real cause of the desolation of the Campagna stands +revealed in the clearest light, and on the most irrefragable evidence. +It is not cultivated for grain crops, because remunerating prices for +that species of produce cannot be obtained. It is exclusively kept in +pasturage, because it is in that way only that a profit can be obtained +from the land. And that it is this cause, and not any deficiency of +capital or skill on the part of the tenantry, which occasions the +phenomenon, is further rendered apparent by the wealth,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[Pg 347]</a></span> enterprize, and +information on agricultural subjects, of the great farmers in whose +lands the land is vested. "The conductors," says Sismondi, "of rural +labour in the Roman States, called <i>Mercanti di Tenute</i> or <i>di +Campagne</i>, are men possessed of great capital, and who have received the +very best education. Such, indeed, is their opulence, that it is +probable they will, erelong, acquire the property of the land of which +at present they are tenants. Their number, however, does not exceed +eighty. They are acquainted with the most approved methods of +agriculture in Italy and other countries; they have at their disposal +all the resources of science, art, and immense capital; have availed +themselves of all the boasted advantages of centralization, of a +thorough division of labour, of a most accurate system of accounts, and +checking of inferior functionaries. The system of great farms has been +carried to perfection in their hands. But, with all these advantages, +they cannot in the Agro Romano, <i>once so populous, still so fertile, +raise grain to a profit</i>. The labourers cost more than they are worth, +more than their produce is worth; while on a soil not richer, and under +the same climate and government, in the marches of Ancona, agriculture +maintains two hundred souls the square mile, in comfort and +opulence."<a name="FNanchor_39_39" id="FNanchor_39_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a></p> + +<p>What, then, is the explanation which is to be given of this +extraordinary impossibility of raising grain with a profit in the Roman +Campagna; while in a similar climate, and under greater physical +disadvantages, it is in the neighbouring plains of Pisa, and the +Campagna Felice of Naples, the most profitable of all species of +cultivation, and therefore universally resorted to? The answer is +obvious—It is the cry for cheap bread in Rome, the fatal bequest of the +strength of the Imperial, to the weakness of the Papal government, which +is the cause. It is the necessity under which the ecclesiastical +government felt itself, of yielding every thing to <i>the clamour for a +constant supply of cheap bread for the people of the town</i> which has +done the whole. It is the ceaseless importation of foreign grain into +the Tiber by government, to provide cheap food for the people, which has +reduced the Campagna to a wilderness, and rendered Rome in modern, not +less than Tadmor in ancient times, a city in the desert.</p> + +<p>It has been already noticed, that in the middle of the fifteenth century +Sextus IV. issued a decree, ordaining the proprietors of lands in the +Campana to lay down a third of their estates yearly in tillage. But the +Papal government, not resting on the proprietors of the soil, but +mainly, in so far as temporal power went, on the populace of Rome, was +under the necessity of making at the same time extraordinary efforts to +obtain supplies of foreign grain. A free trade in grain was permitted to +the Tiber, or rather the government purchased foreign grain wherever +they could find it cheapest, as the emperors had from a similar +apprehension done in ancient times, and retailed it at a moderate price +to the people. They became themselves the great corn-merchant. This +system, of course, prevented the cultivation of the Campagna, and +rendered the decree of Sextus IV. nugatory; for no human laws can make +men continue a course of labour at a loss to themselves. Thence the +citizens of Rome came to depend entirely on foreign supplies of grain +for their daily food; and the consumption of the capital had no more +influence on the agriculture of the adjoining provinces, than it had on +that of Hindostan or China. Again, as in the days of Tacitus, the lives +of the Roman people were exposed to the chances of the winds and the +waves. As this proved a fluctuating and precarious source of supply, a +special board, styled the <i>Casa Annonaria</i>, was constituted by +government for the regular importation of foreign grain, and retailing +of it at a fixed and low price to the people. This board has been in +operation for nearly two hundred and fifty years; and it is the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[Pg 348]</a></span> system +it has pursued which has prevented all attempts to cultivate the +Campagna, by rendering it impossible to do so at a profit. The details +of the proceedings of this board—this "<i>chamber of commerce</i>" of Rome, +are so extremely curious and instructive, that we must give them in the +authentic words of Sismondi.</p> + +<p>"Having failed in all their attempts to bring about the cultivation of +the Campagna, the popes of the 17th and 18th centuries endeavoured to +secure abundance in the markets by other means. The motive was +legitimate and praiseworthy; but the means taken failed in producing the +desired effect, because they sacrificed the future to the present, and, +<i>in the anxiety to secure the subsistence of the people, compromised +those who raised food for them</i>. Pope Pius VI., who reigned from 1600 to +1621, instituted the <i>Casa Annonaria</i> of the apostolic chamber, which +was charged with the duty of providing subsistence for the inhabitants +of Rome. This board being desirous, above all things, of avoiding +seditions and discontent, established it as a principle, that whatever +the cost of production was, or the price in a particular year, bread +should be sold at certain public bake-houses at a certain price. This +price was fixed at a Roman baiocco, a tenth more than the sous of +France, (1/2 d. English,) for eight ounces of bread. <i>This price has now +been maintained constantly the same for two hundred years</i>; and it is +still kept at the same level, with the difference only of a slight +diminution in the weight of the bread sold for the <i>baiocco</i> in years of +scarcity.</p> + +<p>"As a necessary consequence of this regulation, the apostolic chamber +soon found itself under the necessity of taking entire possession of the +commerce of grain. It not only bought up the whole which was to be +obtained in the country, but provided for the public wants <i>by large +importation</i>. Regulations for the import and export of grain were made +by it; sometimes, it was said, through the influence of those who +solicited exemptions. Whether this was the case or not is uncertain, and +not very material. What is certain is, that the rule by which the +chamber was invariably regulated, viz. <i>that of consulting no other +interest but that of the poor consumer</i>, is as vicious and ruinous as +the one so much approved of now-a-days, of attending only to the +interest of the proprietors and producers. Government, doubtless, should +attend to the vital matter of the subsistence of the people; but it +should do so with a view to the interest of all, not a single section of +society.</p> + +<p>"At what price soever bread was bought by them, the <i>Casa Annonaria</i> +sold it to the bakers at seven Roman crowns (30 f.) the <i>rubbio</i>, which +weighs 640 kilograms, (1540 lbs.) That price was not much different from +the average one; and the apostolic chamber sustained no great loss till +1763, by its extensive operations in the purchase and sale of grain. But +at that period the price of wheat began to rise, and it went on +continually advancing to the end of the century. Notwithstanding its +annual losses, however, the apostolic chamber was too much afraid of +public clamour to raise the price of bread. It went on constantly +retailing it at the same price to the people; and the consequence was, +that its losses in 1797, when the pontifical government was overturned, +had accumulated to no less than 17,457,485 francs, or £685,000."<a name="FNanchor_40_40" id="FNanchor_40_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_40_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a></p> + +<p>It might naturally have been imagined, that after so long an experience +of the effects of a forcible reduction of the price of grain below the +level at which it could be raised at a profit by home cultivators, the +ecclesiastical government would have seen what was the root of the evil, +and applied themselves to remedy it, by giving some protection to native +industry. But though the evil of the desolation of the Campagna was felt +in its full extent by government in subsequent times; yet as the first +step in the right course, viz. protecting native industry by stopping +the sales of bread by government at lower prices than it could be raised +at home, was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[Pg 349]</a></span> likely to occasion great discontent, it was never +attempted. Such a step, dangerous in the firmest and best established, +was impossible in an elective monarchy of old Popes, feeble cardinals, +and a despicable soldiery. They went on deploring the evil, but never +once ventured to face the remedy. In 1802, Pius VII., a most +public-spirited and active pontiff, issued an edict, in which he +declared, "We are firmly persuaded that if we cannot succeed in applying +a remedy the abandonment and depopulation of the Campagna will go on +increasing, till the country becomes a fearful desert. <i>Fatal experience +leaves no doubt on that point.</i> We see around us, above all in the +Campagna, a number of estates entirely depopulated and abandoned to +grass, which, in the memory of man, were rich in agricultural +productions, and crowded with inhabitants, as is clearly established by +the seignorial rights attached to them. Population had been introduced +into these domains by agriculture, which employed a multitude of hands, +being in a flourishing state. But now the obstacles opposed to the +interior commerce of grain, <i>and the forced prices fixed by government, +have caused agriculture to perish</i>. Pasturage has come every where to +supplant it; and the great proprietors and farmers living in Rome, have +abandoned all thought of dividing their possessions among cultivators, +and sought only to diminish the cost of the flocks to which they have +devoted their estates. But if that system has proved profitable to them, +it has been fatal to the state, which it has deprived of its true +riches, the produce of agriculture, and of the industry of the rural +population."<a name="FNanchor_41_41" id="FNanchor_41_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_41_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a> But it was all in vain. The measures adopted by Pius +VII. to resuscitate agriculture in the Campagna, have proved all +nugatory like those of all his predecessors; the importation of foreign +grain into the Tiber, the forced prices at which it was sold by the +government at Rome, rendered it impossible to prosecute agriculture to a +profit; and the Campagna has become, and still continues, a desert.<a name="FNanchor_42_42" id="FNanchor_42_42"></a><a href="#Footnote_42_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a></p> + +<p>Here, then, the real cause of the long-continued desolation of the Agro +Romano, both in ancient and modern times, becomes perfectly apparent. It +is the cry for cheap bread in Rome which has done the whole. To stifle +this cry in the dreaded populace of the Eternal City, the emperors +imported grain largely from Egypt and Lybia, and distributed it at an +elusory price, or gratuitously, to the people. The unrestricted +importation of foreign grain, in consequence of those provinces becoming +parts of the empire, enabled the cultivators and merchants of Africa to +deluge the Italian harbours with corn at a far cheaper rate than it +could be raised in Italy itself, where labour bore a much higher price, +in consequence of money being more plentiful in the centre than the +extremities of the empire. Thus the market of its towns was lost to the +Italian cultivators, and gained to those of Egypt and Lybia, where a +vertical sun, or the floods of the Nile, almost superseded the expense +of cultivation. Pasturage became the only way in which land could be +managed to advantage in the Italian fields; because live animals and +dairy produce do not admit of being transported from a distance by sea, +with a profit to the importer, and the sunburnt shores of Africa yielded +no herbage for their support. Agriculture disappeared in Italy, and with +it the free and robust arms which conducted it; pasturage succeeded, and +yielded large rentals to the great proprietors, into whose hands, on the +ruin of the little freeholders by foreign importation, the land had +fallen. But pasturage could not nourish a bold peasantry to defend the +state; it could only produce the riches which might attract its enemies. +Hence the constant complaint, that Italy had ceased to be able to +furnish soldiers to the legionary armies; hence the entrusting the +defence of the frontier to mercenary barbarians, and the ruin of the +empire.</p> + +<p>In modern times the same ruinous system has been continued, and hence +the continued desolation of the Cam<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[Pg 350]</a></span>pagna, so pregnant with weakness and +evil to the Roman states. The people never forgot the distribution of +grain by government in the time of the emperors; the Papal authorities +never had strength sufficient to withstand the menacing cry for cheap +bread. Anxious to keep the peace in Rome, and depending little on the +barons of the country, the ecclesiastical government saw no resource but +to import grain themselves from any countries where they could get it +cheapest, and sell it at a fixed price to the people. This price, down +to 1763, was just the price at which <i>it could be imported with a fair +profit</i>; as is proved by the fact, that down to that period the <i>Casa +Annonaria</i> sustained no loss. But it was lower than the rate at which it +could be raised even in the fertile plains of the Campagna, where labour +was dearer and taxes heavier than in Egypt and the Ukraine, from whence +the grain was imported by government; and consequently cultivation could +not be carried on in the Agro Romano but at a loss. It of course ceased +altogether; and the land, as in ancient times, has been entirely devoted +to pasturage, to the extinction of the rural population, and the +infinite injury of the state.</p> + +<p>And this explains how it has happened, that in other parts of the Papal +states, particularly in the marches on the other side of the Apennines, +between Bologna and Ancona, agriculture is not only noways depressed, +but flourishing; and the same is the case with the slopes of the Alban +Mount, even in the Agro Romano. In the first situation, the necessity of +bending to the cry for cheap bread in the urban population was not felt, +as the marches contained no great towns, and the weight of influence was +in the rural inhabitants. There was no <i>Casa Annonaria</i>, or fixed price +of bread there; and therefore agriculture flourished as it did in +Lombardy, the Campagna Felice of Naples, the plain of Pisa, or any other +prosperous part of Italy. In the latter, it was in <i>garden cultivation</i> +that the little proprietors, as in nearly the whole slopes of the +Apennines, were engaged. The enchanting shores of the lakes of Gandolfo +and Nemi, the hills around L'Aricia and Marino, are all laid out in the +cultivation of grapes, olives, fruits, vegetables, and chestnuts. No +competition from without was to be dreaded by them, as at least, until +the introduction of steam, it was impossible to bring such productions +by distant sea voyages, so as to compete with those raised in equally +favourable situations within a few miles of the market at home. In these +places, therefore, the peculiar evil which blasted all attempts at grain +cultivation in the Campagna was not felt; and hence, though in the Roman +states, and subject, in other respects, to precisely the same government +as the Agro Romano, they exhibit not merely a good, but the most +admirable cultivation.</p> + +<p>If any doubt could exist on the subject, it would be removed by two +other facts connected with agriculture on the shores of the +Mediterranean; one in ancient and one in modern times.</p> + +<p>The first of these is that while agriculture declined <i>in Italy</i>, as has +been shown from the time of Tiberius, until at length nearly the whole +plains of that peninsula were turned into grass, it, from the same date, +took an extraordinary start in Spain and Lybia. And to such a length had +the improvement of Africa, under the fostering influence of the market +of Rome and Italy gone, that it contained, at the time of its invasion +by the Vandals under Genseric, in the year 430 of the Christian era, +twenty millions of inhabitants, and had come to be regarded with reason +as the garden of the human race. "The long and narrow tract," says +Gibbon, "of the African coast was filled, when the Vandals approached +its shores, with frequent monuments of Roman art and magnificence; and +the respective degrees of improvement might be accurately measured by +the distance from Carthage and the Mediterranean. A simple reflection +will impress every thinking mind with the clearest idea of its fertility +and cultivation. The country was extremely populous; the inhabitants +reserved a liberal supply for their own use; <i>and the annual +exportation</i>, <span class="smcap">PARTICULARLY OF WHEAT</span>, <i>was so regular and plentiful, that +Africa<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[Pg 351]</a></span> deserved the name of the common granary of Rome and of +mankind</i>."<a name="FNanchor_43_43" id="FNanchor_43_43"></a><a href="#Footnote_43_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a> Nor had Spain flourished less during the long +tranquillity and protection of the legions. In the year 409 after +Christ, when it was first invaded by the barbarians, its situation is +thus described by the great historian of the <i>Decline and Fall of the +Roman Empire</i>. "The situation of Spain, separated on all sides from the +enemies of Rome by the sea, by the mountains, and by intermediate +provinces, had secured the long tranquillity of that remote and +sequestered country; and we may observe, as a sure symptom of <i>domestic +happiness</i>, that in a period of 400 years, Spain furnished very few +materials to the history of the Roman empire. The cities of Merida, +Cordova, Seville, and Tarragona, were numbered with the most illustrious +of the Roman world. The various plenty of the animal, <i>vegetable</i>, and +mineral kingdoms was improved and manufactured by the skill of an +industrious people, and the peculiar advantages of naval stores +contributed to support an extensive and profitable trade." And he adds, +in a note, many particulars relative to the <i>fertility</i> and trade of +Spain, may be found in Huet's <i>Commerce des Anciens</i>, c. 40, p. 228.<a name="FNanchor_44_44" id="FNanchor_44_44"></a><a href="#Footnote_44_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a></p> + +<p>These facts are very remarkable, and worthy of the most profound +attention; for they point in a decisive manner, they afford the +<i>experimentum crucis</i> as to the real cause of the long-continued and +frightful decay of Italian agriculture during the reign of the emperors. +For here, it appears, that during the four hundred years that the +Western Empire endured, while the cultivation of grain in Italy was +constantly declining, and at last wholly ceased, insomuch that the +country relapsed entirely into a state of nature, or was devoted to the +mere raising of grass for sheep and cattle, <i>agriculture was flourishing +in the highest degree in the remoter provinces of the Empire</i>; and the +exportation of grain from Africa had become so great and regular, that +it had come to be regarded as the granaries of Rome and of the world! +The government was the same, the slavery was the same, in Africa as in +Italy. Yet in the one country agriculture rose, during four centuries, +to the highest point of elevation; while in the other, during the same +period, it sunk to the lowest depression, until it became wellnigh +extinct, so far as the raising of grain was concerned. How did this come +to pass? It could not have been that the labour of slaves was too costly +to raise grain; for it was raised at a great profit, and to a prodigious +extent, <i>almost entirely by slaves</i>, in Egypt and Lybia. What was it, +then, which destroyed agriculture in Italy and Greece, while, under +circumstances precisely similar in all respects <i>but one</i>, it was, at +the very same time, rising to the very highest prosperity in Egypt, +Lybia, and Spain? Evidently <i>that one circumstance</i>, and that was—that +Italy and Greece were the heart of the empire, the theatre of +long-established civilization, the abode of opulence, the seat of +wealth, the centre to which riches flowed from the extremities of the +empire. Pounds were plentiful there, and, consequently, labour was dear; +in the provinces pence were few, and, therefore, it was cheap. It was +impossible, under a free trade in grain, for the one to compete with the +other. It is for the same reason that agricultural labour is now +sixpence a-day in Poland, tenpence in Ireland, and two shillings in +Great Britain.</p> + +<p>The peculiar conformation of the Roman empire, while it facilitated in +many respects its growth and final settlement under the dominion of the +Capitol, led by a process not less certain, and still more rapid, to its +ruin, when that empire was fully extended. If any one will look at the +map, he will see that the Roman empire spread outwards from the shores +of the Mediterranean. It embraced all the monarchies and republics +which, in the preceding ages of the world, had grown up around that +inland sea. Water, therefore, afforded the regular, certain, and cheap +means of conveying goods and troops from one part of the empire to the +other. Nature had spread out a vast system of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[Pg 352]</a></span> internal navigation, +which brought foreign trade in a manner to every man's door. The legions +combated alternately on the plains of Germany, in the Caledonian woods, +on the banks of the Euphrates, and at the foot of Mount Atlas. But much +as this singular and apparently providential circumstance aided the +growth, and for a season increased the strength of the empire, it +secretly but certainly undermined its resources, and in the end proved +its ruin. The free trade in grain which it necessarily brought with it, +when the same dominion stretched over all Spain and Africa, and +long-continued peace had brought their crops to compete with the Italian +in the supply of the Roman, or the Grecian in that of the +Constantinopolitan markets, destroyed the fabric the legions had reared. +Italy could not compete with Lybia, Greece with Poland. Rome was +supplied by the former, Constantinople by the latter. If the +Mediterranean wafted the legions out in the rise of the empire, <i>it +wafted foreign grain in</i> in its later stages, and the last undid all +that the former had done. The race of <i>agricultural freemen</i> in Italy, +the bone and muscle of the legions which had conquered the world, became +extinct; the rabble of towns were unfit for the labours, and averse to +the dangers of war; mercenaries became the only resource.</p> + +<p>The fact in modern times, which illustrates and confirms the same view +of the chief cause of the ruin of the Roman empire, is, that a similar +effect has taken place, and is at this moment in full operation in +Romelia, and all the environs of Constantinople. Every traveller in the +East knows that desolation as complete as that of the Campagna of Rome +pervades the whole environs of Constantinople; that the moment you +emerge from the gates of that noble city, you find yourself in a +wilderness, and that the grass comes up to our horse's girths all the +way to Adrianople. "Romelia," says Slade, "if cultivated, would become +the granary of the East;" <i>whereas Constantinople depends on Odessa for +daily bread</i>. The burial-grounds, choked with weeds and underwood, +constantly occurring in every traveller's route, far remote from +habitations, are eloquent testimonials of continued depopulation. The +living, too, are far apart; a town about every fifty miles; <i>a village +every ten miles</i>, is deemed close; and horsemen meeting on the highway +regard each other as objects of curiosity.<a name="FNanchor_45_45" id="FNanchor_45_45"></a><a href="#Footnote_45_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a> This is the Agro Romano +over again. Nor will it do to say, that it is the oppression of the +Turkish government which occasions this desolation and destruction of +the rural population; for many parts of Turkey are not only well +cultivated but most densely peopled; as, for example, the broad tract of +Mount Hœmus, where agriculture is in as admirable a state as in the +mountains of Tuscany or Switzerland. "No peasantry in the world," says +Slade, "are so well off as those of Bulgaria; the lowest of them has +abundance of every thing—meat, poultry, eggs, milk, rice, cheese, wine, +bread, good clothing, a warm dwelling, and a horse to ride; where is the +tyranny under which the Christian subjects of the Porte are generally +supposed to dwell? Among the Bulgarians certainly. I wish that, in every +country, a traveller could pass from one end to the other, and find a +good supper and warm fire in every cottage, as he can in this part of +European Turkey."<a name="FNanchor_46_46" id="FNanchor_46_46"></a><a href="#Footnote_46_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a> Clarke gives the same account of the peasantry of +Parnassus and Olympia; and it is true generally of almost all the +<i>mountain</i> districts of Turkey. How, then, does it happen that the rich +and level plains of Romelia, at the gates of Constantinople, and thence +over a breadth of an hundred and twenty miles to Adrianople, is a +desert? Slade has explained it in a word. "<i>Constantinople depends on +Odessa for its daily bread.</i>" The cry for cheap bread in Constantinople, +its noble harbour, and ready communication by water with Egypt on the +one hand, and the Ukraine on the other, have done the whole. Romelia, +like the Campagna of Rome, is a desert, because the market of +Constantinople is lost to the Turkish cultivators; because grain can be +brought<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[Pg 353]</a></span> cheaper from the Nile and the Wolga than raised at home, in +consequence of the cheapness of labour in those remote provinces; and +because the Turkish government, dreading an insurrection in the capital, +have done nothing to protect native industry.</p> + +<p>There are many countries to whom the most unlimited freedom in the +importation of corn can do no injury. There are, in the first place, the +great grain countries, such as Poland and the Ukraine: they have no more +reason to dread the importation of grain than Newcastle that of coals, +or the Scotch Highlands that of moor-game. In the next place, countries +which <i>are poor</i> need never fear the importation of corn from abroad; +for they have no money to pay for it; and, if they had, it would not be +brought in at a profit, because currency being scarce, of course the +price will be low. Lastly, Countries which have vast inland tracts, like +Russia, Austria, France, and America, especially if no extensive system +of water communication exists in their interior, have little reason to +apprehend injury from the most unrestricted commerce in grain; because +the cost of inland carriage on so bulky and heavy an article as corn is +so considerable, that the produce of foreign harvests can never +penetrate far into the interior, or come to supply a large portion of +the population with food.</p> + +<p>The countries which have reason to apprehend injury, and in the end +destruction, to their native agriculture, from the unrestricted +admission of foreign corn, are those which, though they may possess a +territory in many places well adapted for the raising of grain crops, +are yet rich, far advanced in civilization, with a narrow territory, and +their principal towns on the sea-coast. They have every thing to dread +from foreign importation; because both the plenty of currency, which +opulence brings in its train, and the heavy public burdens with which it +is invariably attended, render labour dear at home, by lowering the +value of money, and raising the weight of taxation. If long continued, +an unrestricted foreign importation cannot fail to ruin agriculture, and +destroy domestic strength in such a state. Italy and Greece stood +eminently in such a situation; for all their great towns were upon the +sea-coast, their territory was narrow, and being successively the seats +of empire, and the centres of long-continued opulence, money was more +plentiful, and therefore production dearer than in those remote and +poorer states from which grain might be brought to their great towns by +sea carriage. In the present circumstances of this country, we would do +well to bear in mind the following reflections of Sismondi, "It is not +to no purpose that we have entered into the foregoing details concerning +the state of agriculture in the neighbourhood of Rome; for we are +persuaded that a universal tendency in Europe <i>menaces us with the same +calamities</i>, even in those countries which at present seem to adopt an +entirely opposite system; <i>only the Romans have gone through the career, +while we are only entering upon it</i>."<a name="FNanchor_47_47" id="FNanchor_47_47"></a><a href="#Footnote_47_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a></p> + +<p>The times are past, indeed, when gratuitous distributions of grain will +be made to an idle population, as under the Roman emperors, or bread be +sold for centuries by government at a fixed and low price, as under +their papal successors. But the same causes which produced these effects +are still in full operation. The cry for cheap bread in a popular state, +is as menacing as it was to the emperors or popes of Rome. The only +difference is, the sacrifice of domestic industry is now more disguised. +The thing is done, but it is done not openly by public deliveries of the +foreign grain at low prices, but indirectly under the specious guise of +free trade. Government does not say, "We will import Polish grain, and +sell it permanently at thirty-six or forty shillings a quarter;" but it +says, "we will open our harbours to the Polish farmers who can do so. We +will admit grain duty free from a country where wages are sixpence +a-day, and rents half-a-crown an acre." They thus force down the price +of grain to the foreign level, augmented only by the cost and pro<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[Pg 354]</a></span>fit of +importations, as effectually as ever did the emperors or <i>Casa +Annonaria</i>of Rome.</p> + +<p>And what has Rome—the urban population of Rome—for whose supposed +interests, and in obedience to whose menacing cry, the Roman market has +for eighteen centuries been supplied with foreign bread—what have they +gained by this long continuation of government to their wishes? Sismondi +has told us in one word—"In Rome there <i>is no commerce between the town +and the country</i>." They would have foreign grain with its consequences, +and <i>they have had foreign grain with its consequences</i>. And what have +been these consequences? Why, that the Eternal City, which, even when +taken by the Goths, had 1,200,000 inhabitants within its walls, can now +scarcely number 170,000, and they almost entirely in poverty, and mainly +supported by the influx and expenditure of foreigners. The Campagna, +once so fruitful and so peopled, has become a desert. No inhabitant of +the Roman states buys any thing in Rome. Their glory is departed—it has +gone to other people and other lands. And what would have been the +result if this wretched concession to the blind and unforeseeing popular +clamour had not taken place? Why, that Rome would have been what +Naples—where domestic industry is protected—has become; it would have +numbered 400,000 busy and active citizens within its walls. The Campagna +would have been what the marches of Ancona now are. Between Rome and the +Campagna, a million of happy and industrious human beings would have +existed in the Agro Romano, independent of all the world, mutually +nourishing and supporting each other; instead of an hundred and seventy +thousand indolent and inactive citizens of a town, painfully dependent +on foreign supplies for bread, and on foreign gold for the means of +purchasing it.</p> + +<p>Disastrous as have been the consequences of a free trade in grain to the +Roman States, alike in ancient and modern times, it was introduced by +its rulers in antiquity under the influence of noble and enlightened +principles. The whole civilized world was then one state; the banks of +the Nile and the plains of Lybia acknowledged the sway of the emperors, +as much as the shores of the Tiber or the fields of the Campagna. When +the Roman government, ruling so mighty a dominion, permitted the +harvests of Africa and the Ukraine to supplant those of Italy and +Greece, they did no more than justice to their varied subjects. +Magnanimously overlooking local interests and desires, they extended +their vision over the whole civilized world, and</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"View'd with equal eyes, as lords of all,"</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>their subjects, whether in Italy, Spain, Egypt, or Lybia. Though the +seat of government was locally on the Tiber, they administered for the +interest of the whole civilized world, alike far and near. If the +Campagna was ruined, the Delta of Egypt flourished! If the plains of +Umbria were desolate, those of Lybia and Spain, equally parts of the +empire, were waving with grain. But can the same be said of England, now +proclaiming a free trade in grain, not merely with her colonies or +distant provinces, but with her rivals or her enemies? Not merely with +Canada and Hindostan, but with Russia and America? With countries +jealous of her power, envious of her fame, covetous of her riches. What +should we have said of the wisdom of the Romans, if they had sacrificed +Italian to African agriculture in the days of Hannibal? If they had put +it into the power of the Carthaginian Senate to have said, "We will not +arm our galleys; we will not levy armies; we will prohibit the +importation of African grain, and starve you into submission?" How is +England to maintain her independence, if the autocrat of Russia, by +issuing his orders from St Petersburg, can at any moment stop the +importation of ten millions of quarters of foreign grain, that is, a +sixth of our whole annual consumption? And are we to render penniless +our home customers, not in order to promote the interest of the distant +parts of our empire, but in order to enrich and vivify our enemies?</p> + +<p>It is said public opinion runs in favour of such a change; that the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[Pg 355]</a></span> +manufacturing has become the dominant interest in the state; that wages +must at all hazards be beat down to the continental level; and that, +right or wrong, the thing must be done. Whether this is the case or not, +time, and possibly a general election, will show. Sometimes those who +are the most noisy, are not the most numerous. Certain it is, that in +1841 a vast majority both of the electors and the people were unanimous +in favour of protection. But, be the present opinion of the majority +what it may, that will not alter the nature of things—It will not +render that wise which is unwise. Public opinion in Athens, in the time +of Demosthenes, was nearly unanimous to apply the public funds to the +support of the theatres instead of the army, and they got the battle of +Chæronea, and subjection by Philip, for their reward. Public opinion in +Europe was unanimous in favour of the Crusades, and millions of brave +men left their bones in Asia in consequence. The Senate of Carthage, +yielding to the wishes of the majority of their democratic community, +refused to send succours to Hannibal in Italy; and they brought, in +consequence, the legions of Scipio Africanus round their walls. Public +opinion in France was unanimous in favour of the expedition to Moscow. +"They regarded it," says Segur, "as a mere hunting party of six months;" +but that did not hinder it from bringing the Cossacks to Paris. The old +Romans were unanimous in their cry for cheap bread, and they brought the +Gothic trumpet to their gates from its effects. A vast majority of the +electors of Great Britain in 1831, were in favour of Reform: out of 101, +98 county members were returned in the liberal interest; and now they +have got their reward, in seeing the Reformed Parliament preparing to +abolish all protection to native industry. All the greatest and most +destructive calamities recorded in history have been brought about, not +only with the concurrence, but in obedience to the fierce demand of the +majority. Protection to domestic industry, at home or colonial, is the +unseen but strongly felt bond which unites together the far distant +provinces of the British empire by the firm bond of mutual interest.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[Pg 356]</a></span></p> + + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="MR_BROOKE_OF_BORNEO" id="MR_BROOKE_OF_BORNEO"></a>MR BROOKE OF BORNEO.</h2> + + +<p><a name="FNanchor_48_48" id="FNanchor_48_48"></a><a href="#Footnote_48_48" class="fnanchor">[48]</a>On the 19th of August last, some twenty boats belonging to her +Majesty's ships, <i>Agincourt</i>, <i>Vestal</i>, <i>Dædalus</i>, <i>Wolverine</i>, +<i>Cruiser</i>, and <i>Vixen</i>, and containing about five hundred men, attacked +and destroyed in the <i>Malladu</i>, a river of the Eastern Archipelago, the +forts of Seriff Housman, a notorious and daring pirate, whose crimes had +paralysed the commerce of the seas of Borneo, and finally rendered +British interference absolutely necessary for the security of British +life and property. The action was one of the many that the suppression +of piracy in these regions has demanded—was gallantly fought, and full +reported in the journals of the time;—a narrow river, with two forts +mounting eleven or twelve heavy guns, (and defended by from five hundred +to one thousand fighting men,) protected by a strong and well-contrived +boom, was the position of the enemy. The English boats took the bull by +the horns—cut away part of the boom under a heavy fire; advanced and +carried the place in a fight protracted for fifty minutes. The enemy +fought well, and stood manfully to their guns. The mate of the +<i>Wolverine</i> fell mortally wounded whilst working at the boom, axe in +hand; but his death was avenged by a wholesale slaughter of the pirates. +At two minutes to nine, those who had remained on board the <i>Vixen</i> +heard the report of the first heavy gun, and the first column of black +smoke proclaimed that the village was fired. On the evening of the 19th, +a detachment of ten boats, with fresh men and officers, quitted the +<i>Vixen</i>, and arrived at the forts shortly after daylight. The work of +destruction was complete. The boom, above spoken of, was ingeniously +fastened with the chain-cable of a vessel of three hundred or four +hundred tons; other chains, for darker purposes, were discovered in the +town; a ship's long-boat; two ship's bells, one ornamented with grapes +and vine leaves, and marked "<i>Wilhelm Ludwig, Bremen</i>," and every other +description of ship's furniture. Some piratical boats were burned, +twenty-four brass guns captured; the other guns spiked or otherwise +destroyed. Malladu ceased to exist; the power of Seriff Housman was +extinguished in a day.</p> + +<p>Small wars, as well as great, have their episodes of touching +tenderness. Twenty-four hours after the action, a poor woman, with her +child of two years of age, was discovered in a small canoe; her arm was +shattered at the elbow by a grape-shot, and the poor creature lay dying +for want of water, in an agony of pain, with her child playing around +her, and endeavouring to derive the sustenance which the mother could no +longer give. The unfortunate woman was taken on board the <i>Vixen</i>, and +in the evening her arm was amputated. On board the <i>Vixen</i> she met with +one who offered to convey her to the Borneon town of <i>Sarāwak</i>, where +she would find protection. To have left her where she was, would have +been to leave her to die. To the stranger's kind offers she had but one +answer to give. "If you please to take me, I shall go. I am a woman, and +not a man; I am a slave, and not a free woman—do as you like." The +woman recovered, was grateful for the kindness shown her, and was +deposited faithfully and well in the town already named, by the stranger +already introduced.</p> + +<p>Let us state at once that the object of this article is to bring to +public notice, as shortly as we may, the history of this stranger, and +to demand for it the reader's warmest sympathy. Full accounts of the +doings of her Majesty's ship Dido will no doubt be reported elsewhere, +with the several engagements which Mr Keppel's book so graphically +describes. Let them receive the attention that they merit. We cannot<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[Pg 357]</a></span> +afford to meddle with them now. "Metal more attractive" lies in the +adventures of a man who has devoted his fortune and energies to the +cause of humanity, and has purchased with both the amelioration of a +large portion of his suffering fellow-creatures.</p> + +<p>We know not when, since our boyhood, we have met with an adventurer more +ardent and daring, a companion more fascinating and agreeable, than <span class="smcap">Mr +Brooke</span>, the Rajah or Governor of <span class="smcap">Sarāwak</span>. Essentially British, in as +much as he practises our national virtues when circumstances call them +into action, he reminds us at all times of those Eastern men, famous in +their generation, who delighted us many years ago, and secured our +wonder by their devoted love of enterprise, and the moral ascendency +that waited on their efforts. In truth, Mr Brooke belongs not to the +present generation. His energy, his perseverance, which nothing can +subdue, his courage which no dangers can appal, his simplicity which no +possession of power and authority can taint, his integrity and honest +mind, all belong to a more masculine and primitive age, and constitute a +rare exception for our respect and gratitude in this. We take the +earliest opportunity afforded us to pay our humble tribute to worth that +cannot be questioned, to heroic virtue that cannot be surpassed.</p> + +<p>Whatsoever humanity and civilisation may gain in the extermination of +odious crimes upon the shores of <span class="smcap">Borneo</span>, whatsoever advantages England +may hereafter obtain from British settlements in the island, and from a +peaceful trade carried on around it, to Mr Brooke, and to that gentleman +alone, will belong the glory and the honour of such acquisitions. +Inspired by his vigorous nature, but more by the dictates of true +benevolence, unaided and unprotected, save by his own active spirit and +the blessing of Providence, he undertook a mission on behalf of mankind, +with perils before him which the stoutest could not but feel, and +achieved a success which the most sanguine could hardly have +anticipated.</p> + +<p>Mr Brooke was born on the 29th of April 1803, and is therefore now in +his 43d year. He is the second son of the late Thomas Brooke, Esq., who +held an appointment in the civil service of the East India Company. At +an early age he went out to India as a cadet, served with distinction in +the Burmese war, was wounded, and returned to England for the recovery +of his health. In the year 1830, Mr Brooke relinquished the service +altogether, and quitted Calcutta for China, again in search of health. +During his voyage, he saw, for the first time, the islands of the +Asiatic Archipelago; almost unknown, even at that recent period, to +Europeans generally. Such information as was before the world he +obtained, and carefully considered; and the result of his reflections +was a determination to carry to Borneo, an island of some magnitude, and +terribly afflicted in more respects than one, such knowledge and +instruction as might help to elevate its people from the depravity in +which they lived, and the horrors to which they were hourly subjected. +This was in 1830. In the year 1838, he quitted England to fulfil his +purpose. For eight years he had patiently and steadily worked towards +his object, and gathered about him all that was necessary for its +accomplishment. Nothing had been omitted to insure success. A man of +fortune, he had been prodigal of his wealth; free from professional and +other ties, he had given up his time wholly to the cause. One year was +passed in the Mediterranean, that his vessel, <i>The Royalist</i>, might be +put to the severest tests. Three years were spent in educating a crew +worthy of an undertaking that promised so little sudden prosperity, that +exacted so much immediate self-denial, threatened so many hardships. The +men were happy and contented, cheerful and willing. The vessel belonged +to the royal yacht squadron, was a fast sailer, armed with six +six-pounders, a number of swivels and small arms, carried four boats, +and provisions for as many months. On the 27th of October 1838, the +adventurous company left the river. A fortunate passage carried them in +safety to Rio Janeiro, and on the 29th of March 1839, they were sailing +from the Cape of Good Hope. A six weeks' passage brought them to Java +Head, and on the 1st of June they reached that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[Pg 358]</a></span> "pivot of the liberal +system in the Archipelago," the island of Singapore. It was not until +the 27th of July that Mr Brooke quitted Singapore. Five days afterwards, +the <i>Royalist</i> was anchored off the coast of Borneo!</p> + +<p>At the period of Mr Brooke's arrival, Borneo Proper,<a name="FNanchor_49_49" id="FNanchor_49_49"></a><a href="#Footnote_49_49" class="fnanchor">[49]</a> once the seat +of piracy, which few vessels could approach with safety, was under the +government of the rajah <span class="smcap">Muda Hassim</span>. Report spoke favourably of this +rajah's character. A vessel had been wrecked on his coast, and the crew, +who had been saved with difficulty, had taken shelter in the jungle. +Muda Hassim, hearing of their fate, caused them to be brought to his +town of Sarāwak, collected as much as could be saved from the wreck, +clothed the sufferers, fed them, and sent then free of expense to +Singapore. Moreover, for reasons known to himself, the rajah was well +disposed towards the English. These important circumstances were borne +in mind by Mr Brooke. The rajah was now at Sarāwak, and the +adventurer determined to enter the river of that name, and to proceed as +far as the town. He was well supplied with presents; gaudy silks of +Surat, scarlet cloth, stamped velvet, gunpowder, confectionery, sweets, +ginger, jams, dates, and syrups for the governor, and a huge box of +China toys for the governor's children. From Mr Brooke's own diary, we +extract the following account of his position and feelings at this +interesting moment of his still doubtful undertaking:—</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"<i>August 1st.</i>—I am, then, at length, anchored off the coast of +Borneo! not under very pleasant circumstances, for the night is +pitchy dark, with thunder, lightning, rain, and squalls of wind.</p> + +<p>"<i>2d.</i>—Squally bad night. This morning, the clouds clearing away, +was delightful, and offered for our view the majestic scenery of +Borneo. At nine got under weigh, and ran in on an east-by-south +course four and a half or five miles towards Tanjong Api. Came to +an anchor about five miles from the land, and dispatched the boat +to take sights ashore, in order to form a base line for +triangulation. The scenery may really be called majestic. The low +and wooded coast about Tanjong Api is backed by a mountain called +Gunong Palo, some 2000 feet in height, which slopes down behind the +point, and terminates in a number of hummocks, showing from a +distance like islands.</p> + +<p>"The coast, unknown, and represented to abound in shoals and reefs, +is the harbour for pirates of every description. Here every man's +hand is raised against his brother man; and here sometimes the +climate wars upon the excitable European, and lays many a white +face and gallant heart low on the distant strand.</p> + +<p>"<i>3d.</i>—Beating between Points Api and Datu. The bay, as far as we +have seen, is free from danger; the beach is lined by a feathery +row of beautiful casuarinas, and behind is a tangled jungle, +without fine timber; game is plentiful, from the traces we saw on +the sand; hogs in great numbers; troops of monkeys, and the print +of an animal with cleft hoofs, either a large deer, tapir, or cow. +We saw no game save a tribe of monkeys, one of which, a female, I +shot, and another quite young, which we managed to capture alive. +The captive, though the young of the black monkey, is greyish, with +the exception of the extremities, and a stripe of black down his +back and tail.</p> + +<p>"We witnessed, at the same time, an extraordinary and fatal leap +made by one of these monkeys. Alarmed by our approach, he sprang +from the summit of a high tree at the branch of one lower, and at +some distance. He leaped short, and came clattering down sixty or +seventy feet amid the jungle. We were unable to penetrate to the +spot, on account of a deep swamp, to ascertain his fate.</p> + +<p>"A river flows into the sea not far from where we landed—the water +is sweet, and of that clear brown colour so common in Ireland. This +coast is evidently the haunt of native <i>prahns</i>, whether piratical +or other. Print of men's feet were numerous and fresh,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[Pg 359]</a></span> and traces +of huts, fires, and parts of boots, some of them ornamented after +their rude fashion. A long pull of five miles closed the day.</p> + +<p>"<i>Sunday, 4th.</i>—Performed divine service myself! manfully +overcoming that horror which I have to the sound of my own voice +before an audience. In the evening landed again more to the +westward. Shore skirted by rocks; timber noble, and the forest +clear of brushwood, enabling us to penetrate with ease as far as +caution permitted. Traces of wild beasts numerous and recent, but +none discovered. Fresh-water streams coloured as yesterday, and the +trail of an alligator from one of them to the sea. This dark +forest, where the trees shoot up straight and tall, and are +succeeded by generation after generation varying in stature, but +struggling upward, strikes the imagination with pictures trite yet +true. It was thus I meditated in my walk. The foot of European, I +said, has never touched where my foot now presses—seldom the +native wanders here. Here, I, indeed, behold nature fresh from the +bosom of creation, unchanged by man, and stamped with the same +impress she originally bore! Here I behold God's design when He +formed this tropical land, and left its culture and improvement to +the agency of man! The Creator's gift as yet neglected by the +creature; and yet the time may be confidently looked for when the +axe shall level the forest, and the plough turn the ground."</p></div> + +<p>Upon the 5th of August, a boat was sent to the island of Tulang-Talang, +where some Malays were seen; they were civil, and offered their +assistance. On the following morning the <i>bandar</i> (or chief steward) of +the place came off in his canoe, and welcomed the new-comers. He assured +them of a happy reception from the Rajah, and took his leave, after +having been sumptuously entertained with sweetmeats and syrups, and +handsomely provided with three yards of red cloth, some tea, and a +little gunpowder. The great man himself, Muda Hassim, was, visited in +his town of Sarāwak on the morning of the 15th. He received his +visitors in state, seated in his hall of audience, a large shed, erected +on piles. Sarāwak is only the occasional residence of the Rajah, and +at the time of the ship's arrival he was detained there by a rebellion +in the interior. The town was found to be a mere collection of mud-huts, +containing about 1500 persons, and inhabited for the most part by the +Rajah, his family, and their attendants. The remaining population were +poor and squalid. "We sat," says Mr Brooke, "in easy and unreserved +converse, out of hearing of the rest of the circle. He expressed great +kindness to the English nation; and begged me to tell him <i>really</i>, +which was the most powerful nation, England or Holland; or, as he +significantly expressed, which is the 'cat and which is the rat?' I +assured him that England was the mouser, though in this country Holland +had most territory. We took our leave after he had intimated his +intention of visiting us to-morrow morning."</p> + +<p>The visit was duly paid, and as duly returned. Tea, cigars, scissors, +knives, and biscuits, were distributed amongst the rajah and his suite, +and the friendliest understanding was maintained. Mr Brooke, however, +had come to Borneo for more serious business. Ceremonies being over, he +dispatched his interpreter, an Englishman, (Mr. Williamson by name,) to +the rajah, intimating his desire to travel to some of the Malay towns, +and especially into the country of the <i>Dyaks</i>. The request, it was +fully believed, would be refused; but, to the surprise of the asker, +leave was given, with the accompanying assurance, however, that the +Rajah was powerless amongst many Dyak tribes, and could not answer for +the adventurer's safety. Mr Brooke availed himself of the license, and +undertook to provide in other respects for himself. The <i>Dyaks</i> are the +aborigines of Borneo, and share the country with the Malays and Chinese +who have made their homes in it. "There be land rats, and there be water +rats." There be also land Dyaks and water Dyaks; or, to use the language +of the country, <i>Dyak Darrat</i> and <i>Dyak Laut</i>. Those of the sea vary in +their character and prospects, but, for the most part, they are powerful +communities, and desperate pirates, ravaging the coasts in immense +fleets,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[Pg 360]</a></span> and robbing and murdering without discrimination. Their +language is similar to the Malay. The name of God amongst them is +Battara (the Avatara of the Hindoos.) They bury their dead, and in the +graves deposit a large portion of the property of the deceased, +consisting of gold ornaments, brass guns, jars, and arms. "Their +marriage ceremony consists in two fowls being killed, and the forehead +and breast of the young couple being touched with the blood; after which +the chief, or an old man, knocks their heads together several times, and +the ceremony is completed with mirth and feasting." The Dyak Darrats +inhabit an inconsiderable portion of the island, and are composed of +numerous tribes, all agreeing in their customs, and speaking the same +dialect. They are regarded as slaves by the Malays, and treated and +disposed of like beasts of burden. "We do not live," said one, "like +men; we are like monkeys; we are hunted from place to place; we have no +houses; and when we light a fire, we fear the smoke will draw our +enemies upon us." The appearance of these Dyaks, we are told, is very +prepossessing. They are of middle height, active, and good-natured in +their expression; the women not so good-looking, but as cheerful +tempered. "The dress of the men consists of a piece of cloth, about +fifteen feet long, passed between the legs, and fastened round the +loins, with the ends hanging before and behind; the head-dress is +composed of bark cloth, dyed bright yellow, and stuck up in front, so as +to resemble a tuft of feathers. The arms and legs are often ornamented +with rings of silver, brass, or shell; and necklaces are worn, made of +human teeth, or those of bears or dogs, or of white beads, in such +numberless strings as to conceal the throat. A sword on one side, a +knife and small betel-basket on the other, completes the ordinary +equipment of the males; but when they travel, they carry a basket slung +from the forehead, on which is a palm mat, to protect the owner and his +property from the weather. The women wear a short and scanty petticoat, +reaching from the loins to the knees, and a pair of black bamboo stays, +which are never removed except the wearer be <i>enceinte</i>. They have rings +of brass and red bamboo about the loins, and sometimes ornaments on the +arms; the hair is worn long; the ears of both sexes are pierced, and +ear-rings of brass inserted occasionally; the teeth of the young people +are sometimes filed to a point and discoloured, as they say that 'dogs +have white teeth.' They frequently dye their feet and hands of a bright +red or yellow colour; and the young people, like those of other +countries, affect a degree of finery and foppishness, whilst the elders +invariably lay aside all ornaments as unfit for a wise person, or one +advanced in years." The character given of these Dyaks is highly +favourable. They are pronounced grateful for kindness, industrious, +honest, simple, mild, tractable and hospitable, when well used. The word +of one may be taken before the oath of half a dozen Borneons. Their +ideas are limited enough; they reckon with their fingers and toes, and +few are arithmeticians beyond counting up to twenty. They can repeat the +operation, but they must record each twenty by making a knot in a +string.</p> + +<p>It was to these people that Mr Brooke made more than one excursion +during his first visit to Sarāwak. He met with no disaster, but he +stored up useful information for future conduct. Great morality and the +practice of many virtues distinguished the tribes he encountered, +although degraded as low as oppression and utter ignorance could bring +them. The men, he found, married but one wife, and concubinage was +unknown in their societies; cases of seduction and adultery were very +rare, and the chastity of the Dyak women was proverbial even amongst +their Malay rulers. Miserable as was the lot of these people, Mr Brooke +gathered from their morality and simplicity, hopes of their future +elevation. They have no forms of worship, no idea of future +responsibility; but they are likewise free from prejudice of every kind, +and therefore open, under skilful hands and tender applications, to the +conviction of truth, and to religious impressions. One tribe, the +Sibnowans,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[Pg 361]</a></span> particularly struck Mr Brooke by their gentleness and +sweetness of disposition. But,</p> + +<p>"Like the rest of the Dyaks," he informs us, "the Sibnowans <i>adorn</i> +their houses with the heads of their enemies; yet with them this custom +exists in a modified form. Some thirty skulls," he adds, "were hanging +from the roof of one apartment; and I was informed that they had many +more in their possession; all however, the heads of enemies, chiefly of +the tribe of Sazebus. On enquiring, I was told that it is indispensably +necessary a young man should procure a skull before he gets married. On +my urging that the custom would be more honoured in the breach than in +the observance, they replied, that it was established from time +immemorial, and could not be dispensed with. Subsequently, however, +Sejugali allowed that heads were very difficult to obtain now, and a +young man might sometimes get married by giving presents to his +ladye-love's parents; at all times they denied warmly ever obtaining any +heads but those of their enemies; adding, they were bad people, and +deserved to die.</p> + +<p>"I asked a young unmarried man whether he would be obliged to get a head +before he could obtain a wife. He replied, 'Yes.' 'When would he get +one?' 'Soon.' 'Where would he go to get one?' 'To the Sazebus river.' I +mention these particulars in detail, as I think, had their practice +extended to taking the head of any defenceless traveller, or any Malay +surprised in his dwelling or boat, I should have wormed the secret out +of them."</p> + +<p>The Dyaks, generally, are celebrated for the manufacture of iron. Their +forge is the simplest possible, and is formed by two hollow trees, each +about seven feet high, placed upright, side by side, in the ground. From +the lower extremity of these, two pipes of bamboo are conducted through +a clay bank three inches thick, into a charcoal fire; a man is perched +at the top of the trees, and pumps with two pistons, the suckers of +which are made with cocks' feathers, which, being raised and depressed +alternately, blow a regular stream of air into the fire. The soil +cultivated by these people was found to be excellent. In the course of +his wanderings, Mr Brooke lighted upon a Chinese colony, who, as is +customary with our new allies, were making the most of their advantages. +The settlement consisted of thirty men, genuine Chinese, and five women +of the mixed breed of Sambas. They had been but four or five months in +the country, and many acres were already cleared and under cultivation. +The head of the settlement, a Chinese of Canton, spoke of gold mines +which were abundant in the Sarāwak mountains, and of antimony ore and +diamonds; the former, he said, might be had in any quantities.</p> + +<p>Upon his return to Sarāwak, Mr Brooke opened to the rajah the +business which had chiefly conducted him to his shores. He informed his +highness that, being a private gentleman, he had no interest in the +communication he was about to make; and that, being in no way connected +with government, his words came with no authority. At the same time, he +was, anxious for the interests of mankind, and more especially for the +wellbeing of the inhabitants of Borneo, which was the last Malay state +possessing any power, that the resources of a country so favoured by +Providence should be brought into the fullest play. To this end, he +suggested the opening of a trade with individual European merchants. +Sarāwak was rich, and the territory around it produced many articles +well adapted for commercial intercourse—such as bees' wax, birds' +nests, rattans, antimony ore, and sago, which constituted the staple +produce of the country. And, in return for such commodities, merchants +of Singapore would gladly send from Europe such articles as would be +highly serviceable to the people of Borneo—gunpowder, muskets, and +cloths. Both parties would be benefited, and the comfort and happiness +of the Borneons greatly enhanced. There was much discussion on the +proposal, timidity and apprehension characterizing the questions and +answers of the Rajah.</p> + +<p>The important interview at an end, Mr Brooke prepares for a return to +Singapore. "Never," says that gentleman, "was such a blazing as when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[Pg 362]</a></span> we +left Sarāwak; twenty-one guns I fired to the Rajah, and he fired +forty-two to me—at least we counted twenty-four, and they went on +firing afterwards, as long as ever we were in sight. The last words the +Rajah, Muda Hassim, said, as I took my leave, were—'Tuan Brooke, do not +forget me.'"</p> + +<p>In August 1840, Mr Brooke arrived in Sarāwak for the second time. He +had passed many months in cruising about the Archipelago, obtaining +valuable information respecting the language, habits, and history of the +race for whom he was concerned, and in collecting specimens of natural +history, which are said to be interesting in the highest degree. The +position of the Rajah had altered during his absence. The civil war or +rebellion which had, in the first instance, forced the governor to +reside in Sarāwak, was not yet quelled. The rebels, indeed, were +within thirty miles of the rajah, and threatening an immediate attack. +Nothing could be more opportune than the return of Mr Brooke at this +critical moment. Muda Hassim begged his ancient friend not to desert him +in his extremity, and appealed to his honour, as a gentleman from +England, whether it would be fair to suffer him to be vanquished by the +traitorous revolt of his people. Mr Brooke felt that it would not, and +resolved to stand by the governor.</p> + +<p>"A grand council of war," writes Mr Brooke in his journal, "was held, at +which were present Macota, Subtu, Abong Mia, and Datu Naraja, two +Chinese leaders, and myself—certainly a most incongruous mixture, and +one rarely to be met with. After much discussion, a move close to the +enemy was determined on for to-morrow; and on the following day to take +up a position near the defences. To judge by the sample of the council, +I should form very unfavourable expectations of their conduct in action. +Macota is lively and active; but, whether from indecision or want of +authority, undecided. The Capitan China is lazy and silent; Subtu +indolent and self-indulgent; Abong Mia and Datu Maraja stupid."</p> + +<p>The army set off, and Mr Brooke availed himself of a friendly hill to +obtain a view of the country, and of the enemy's forts. The fort of +Balidah was the strongest of their defences, and a moment's observation +convinced him that a company of military might put an end to the war in +a few hours. This fort was situated at the water edge, on a slight +eminence on the right bank of a river; a few swivels and a gun or two +were in it, and around it a breast-work of wood, six or seven feet high. +The remaining defences were even more insignificant; and the enemy's +artillery was reported to consist of three six-pounders, and numerous +swivels. The number of fighting men amounted to about five hundred, +about half of whom were armed with muskets, while the rest carried +swords and spears. <i>Ranjows</i> were stuck in every direction. "These +ranjows are made of bamboo, pointed fine, and stuck in the ground; and +there are, besides, holes of about three feet deep filled with these +spikes, and afterwards lightly covered, which are called patobong." The +army of the rajah was scarcely more formidable than that of the enemy. +It consisted of two hundred Chinese, excellent workmen and bad soldiers, +two hundred and fifty Malays, and some two hundred friendly Dyaks; a few +brass guns composed the artillery; and the boats were furnished with +swivels. Mr Brooke suggested an attack of the detached defences—a +proposition that was treated as that of a madman, the Rajah's army +having no notion of fighting except from behind a wall. A council of war +decided that advances should be made from the hill behind the rajah's +fort to Balidah by a chain of posts, the distance being a short mile, in +which space the enemy would probably erect four or five forts; "and +then," says Mr Brooke, "would come a bombardment, noisy, but harmless."</p> + +<p>Insignificant as the account may read, the difficulties of Mr Brooke, as +commander-in-chief, were formidable enough, surrounded as he was by +perils threatening not only from the enemy, but from the rank cowardice +of his supporters, and the envy, spite, hatred, and machinations of his +allies, the Rajah's ministers. The operations are admirably described in +Mr Brooke's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[Pg 363]</a></span> journal. Let it suffice to say, that the energy and bravery +of the English leader brought them to a satisfactory issue, and, +finally, the war to a happy close. At his intercession the lives of many +of the offenders were spared, and the rebels suffered to deliver up +their arms, and to return in peace to Sarāwak.</p> + +<p>It is now necessary to state, that at the commencement of the war, Muda +Hassim, unsolicited by Mr Brooke, had undertaken to confer upon the +latter the governorship of Sarāwak, in the event of success crowning +the efforts of his "friend from England." Mr Brooke had not demanded +from the unfortunate Rajah a written agreement to this effect; nor at +the time even desired a recompense, which was likely to bring with it +much more of difficulty and vexation than profit and power. He +respectfully declined an honour which he informed the Rajah it did not +become him to accept whilst his highness was in his hands. The war being +over, and Muda Hassim reinstated, the negotiation recommenced. No sooner +was it discussed, however, than Mr Brooke informed the rajah that Malay +institutions were so faulty, the high being allowed by them so much +license, and the poor so oppressed, that any attempt to govern without a +removal of abuses, was, on his part at least, impossible; and as a +condition of his acceptance, he insisted that the Rajah should use all +his exertions to establish the principle, that one man must not take +from another, and that all men were free to enjoy the produce of their +labour, save and except when they were working for the revenue. This +revenue, too, he submitted, it was necessary to fix at a certain amount +for three years, as well as the salaries of the government officers. The +same rights should be conceded to the Dyak and Malay, and the property +of the former must be protected, their taxes fixed, and labour free. The +rajah acquiesced in the propriety of these measures, and bargained only +for the maintenance of the national faith and customs. Mr Brooke +remained in Sarāwak, but the office which had been offered with so +much eagerness and pressing love, was after all slow in being conferred. +Bad advisers, envious ministers, and weakness in Muda Hassim himself, +all prevented the conclusion of a business upon which Mr Brooke had +never entered of his own accord; but which, having entered upon it, had +rendered him liable for many engagements which his anticipated new +position had made essential.</p> + +<p>"I found myself," writes Mr Brooke, "clipped like Samson, while delay +was heaped upon delay, excuse piled upon excuse. It was provoking beyond +sufferance. I remonstrated firmly but mildly on the waste of my money, +and on the impossibility of any good to the country whilst the rajah +conducted himself as he had done. I might as well have whistled to the +winds, or have talked reason to stones. I had trusted—my eyes gradually +opened—I feared I was betrayed and robbed, and had at length determined +to be observant and watchful." Upon the faith of the Rajah, Mr Brooke +had purchased in Singapore a schooner of ninety tons, called <i>The +Swift</i>, which he had laden with a suitable cargo. Upon its arrival at +Sarāwak, the rajah petitioned to have the cargo ashore, assuring Mr +Brooke of a good and quick return: part of such return being immediately +promised in the shape of antimony ore. Three months elapsed, and the +rajah's share in this mercantile transaction had yet to be fulfilled. +Disgusted with his treatment, and hopeless of justice, Mr Brooke +dispatched the <i>Swift</i> to Singapore; and hearing that the crew of a +shipwrecked vessel were detained in Borneo Proper, sent his only +remaining vessel, the <i>Royalist</i>, to the city of Borneo, in order to +obtain such information as might lead to the rescue of his countrymen. +"I resolved," the journal informs us, "to remain here, to endeavour, if +I could, to obtain <i>my own</i>. Each vessel was to return as quickly as +possible from her place of destination; and I then determined to give +two additional months to the rajah, and to urge him in every way in my +power to do what he was bound to do as an act of common honesty. Should +these means fail, after making the strongest representations, and giving +amplest time, I considered myself free to extort by force what I could +not gain by fair means."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[Pg 364]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I need hardly remark," writes Captain Keppel, "on the singular courage +and disregard of personal safety, and life itself, evinced by my friend +on this occasion. At issue with the rajah on points of great temptation +to him, beset by intrigues, and surrounded by a fierce and lawless +people, Mr Brooke did not hesitate to dispatch his vessels and +protectors,—the one on a mission of pure humanity, and the other in +calm pursuance of the objects he had proposed to himself to accomplish; +and, with three companions, place himself at the mercy of such +circumstances, regardless of the danger, and relying on the overruling +Providence in which he trusted, to bring him safely through all his +difficulties and perils."</p> + +<p>On the 16th of August 1841, the Royalist returned, and three days +afterwards it was followed by the Swift. The former reported that the +prisoners had been heard of in Borneo, but, unfortunately, not released. +The Swift was accompanied by the Diana steamer. The formidable squadron +alarmed the rajah and his ministers. Mr Brooke learned that the +difficulties of the rajah's situation were increased, and his conduct +towards himself, in a manner, excused, by the intrigues and evil doings +of the latter. Macota, of whom mention has been made, was the most +vindictive and unscrupulous amongst them. He had attempted to poison the +interpreter of Mr Brooke, and had been discovered as the abettor of even +more fearful crimes. Mr Brooke, strengthened by his late arrivals, +resolved to bring matters to a crisis, and to test at once the strength +of the respective parties. He landed a party of men fully armed, and +loaded the ship's guns with grape and canister; he then proceeded to +Muda Hassim, protested that he was well disposed towards the rajah, but +assured him, at the same time, that neither he nor himself was safe +against the practices of the artful and desperate Macota. Muda Hassim +was frightened. One of the Dyak tribes took part with Mr Brooke, two +hundred of them, with their chiefs, placing themselves unreservedly at +his disposal, whilst Macota was deserted by all but his immediate +slaves. The Chinese and the rest of the inhabitants looked on. The +upshot may be anticipated. The rajah became suddenly active and eager +for an arrangement. The old agreement was drawn out, sealed, and signed; +guns fired, flags waved, and on the 24th of September 1841 Mr Brooke +became Rajah of Sarāwak.</p> + +<p>The first acts of Mr Brooke, after his accession to power, were +suggested by humanity, and a tender consideration for the savage people +whom he so singularly and unexpectedly had been called upon to govern. +He inquired into the state of the Dyaks, endeavoured to gain their +confidence, and to protect them from the brutal onslaught of the Malays +and of each other, and at once relieved them of the burdens of taxation +which weighed so cruelly upon them. He opened a court for the +administration of justice, at which he presided with the late rajah's +brothers, and maintained strict equity amongst the highest and lowest of +his people. He decreed that murder, robbery, and other heinous crimes, +should, for the future, be punished according to the written law of +Borneo; that all men, irrespectively of race, should be permitted to +trade and labour according to their pleasure, and to enjoy their gains; +that all roads should be open, and that all boats coming to the river +should be free to enter and depart without let or hindrance; that trade +should be free; that the Dyaks should be suffered to live unmolested; +together with other salutary measures for the general welfare. +Difficulty and vexation met the governor at every step; but he +persevered in his schemes of amelioration, and with a success which is +not yet complete, and for years cannot be fairly estimated.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Muda Hassim</span>, the former rajah of Sarāwak, was also presumptive heir +to the throne of Borneo; but, unfortunately for him, under the +displeasure of his nephew, the reigning sultan. The confirmation of Mr +Brooke's appointment, it was absolutely necessary to receive from the +latter; and Mr Brooke accordingly resolved to pay a visit to the prince, +in the first place, to obtain a reconciliation, if possible, with the +offending Muda, and secondly, to consolidate his own infant government. +There was another object,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[Pg 365]</a></span> too. The sultan had power to release the +prisoners who had been spared in the wreck already mentioned; and this +power Mr Brooke hoped, by discretion, to prevail upon his majesty to +exercise. The picture of this potentate is thus drawn by Mr Brooke:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"The sultan is a man past fifty years of age, short and puffy in +person, with a countenance which expresses, very obviously, the +imbecility of his mind. His right hand is garnished with an extra +diminutive thumb—the natural member being crooked and distorted. +His mind, indeed, by his face, seems to be a chaos of +confusion—without acuteness, without dignity, and without good +sense. He can neither read nor write; is guided by the last +speaker; and his advisers, as might be expected, are of the lower +order, and mischievous from their ignorance and greediness. He is +always talking, and generally joking; and the most serious subjects +never meet with five minutes' consecutive attention. The favourable +side of his character is, that he is good-tempered and +good-natured—by no means cruel—and, in a certain way, generous, +though rapacious to as high a degree. His rapacity, indeed, is +carried to such an excess as to astonish a European, and is evinced +in a thousand mean ways. The presents I made him were +unquestionably handsome; but he was not content without begging +from me the share I had reserved for the other Pangerans; and +afterwards, through Mr Williamson, solicited more trifles—such as +sugar, penknives, and the like. I may note one other feature that +marks the man. He requested as the greatest favour—he urged with +the earnestness of a child—that I would send back the schooner +before the month Ramban, (Ramadan of the Turks,) remarking, 'What +shall I do during the fast without soft sugar and dates?'"</p></div> + +<p>The delivery of the prisoners, and the forgiveness of Muda Hassim, were +quickly obtained; the more personal matter found opposition with the +advisers of the Crown, but was ultimately conceded. On the 1st of August +1842, the letters to Muda Hassim were sealed and signed; and at the same +council the contract, which gave Mr Brooke the government of Sarāwak, +was fully discussed; and by ten o'clock at night was signed, sealed and +witnessed. Mr Brooke returned to his government and people on the +following day.</p> + +<p>On the 1st of January 1843, the following entry appears in the diary so +often quoted:—"Another year passed and gone!—a year with all its +anxieties, its troubles, its dangers, upon which I can look back with +satisfaction—a year in which I have been usefully employed in doing +good to others. Since I last wrote, the Dyaks have been quiet, settled, +and improving; the Chinese advancing towards prosperity; and the +Sarāwak people wonderfully contented and industrious, relieved from +oppression, and fields of labour allowed them. Justice I have executed +with an unflinching hand."</p> + +<p>It was in the month of March 1843, at the conclusion of the Chinese war, +that Captain Keppel was ordered in the Dido to the Malacca Straits and +the island of Borneo. Daring acts of piracy had been committed, and were +still committing, on the Borneon coast; and, becoming engaged in the +suppression of these crimes, he fell in with the English rajah of +Sarāwak, and obtained from him the information which he has recently +given to the world, and enabled us to place succinctly before our +readers.</p> + +<p>The piracy of the Eastern Archipelago is very different to that of the +western world. The former obtains an importance unknown to the latter. +The hordes who conduct it issue from their islands and coasts in fleets, +rove from place to place, intercept the native trade, enslave whole +towns at the entrance of rivers, and attack ill-armed or stranded +European vessels. The native governments, if they are not participators +in the crime, are made its victims, and in many cases, we are told, they +are both—purchasing from one set of pirates, and plundered and enslaved +by another. Captain Keppel has well related more than one engagement in +which he was concerned with the ferocious marauders of these eastern +seas—scenes of blood and horror, justified only by the enormity of the +offence, and the ulti<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[Pg 366]</a></span>mate advantages likely to be obtained from an +extirpation of the deeply-rooted evil. As we have hinted at the +commencement of this article, our present object is not so much to draw +attention to the battle-scenes described by Mr Keppel, and which may be +read with peculiar though painful interest in his book, as to obtain for +Mr Brooke, the peaceful and unselfish disposer of so many blessings +amongst a benighted and neglected people, that admiration and regard +which he has so nobly earned. He has done much, but our government may +enable him to do more. He has shown the capabilities of his distant +home, and called upon his mother-country to improve them to the +uttermost. We hear that her Majesty's government have not been deaf to +his appeal, and that aid will be given for the development of his plans, +equal to his warmest expectations. We trust it may be so. Nothing is +wanting but the assistance which a government alone can afford, to +render Borneo a friendly and valuable ally, and to constitute Mr Brooke +one of the most useful benefactors of modern times; a benefactor in the +best sense of the term—an improver of his species—an intelligent +messenger and expounder of God's purpose to man.</p> + + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="THE_SMUGGLERS_LEAP" id="THE_SMUGGLERS_LEAP"></a>THE SMUGGLER'S LEAP.</h2> + +<h4><span class="smcap">A Passage in the Pyrenees</span>.</h4> + + +<p>"Oh! there's not in this wide world," I exclaimed, quite unintentionally +quoting Tom Moore; "there never has been, nor can ever be again, so +charming a creature. No nymph, or sylph, or winged Ariel, or syren with +song and mirror, was ever so fascinating—no daughter of Eve so pretty +and provoking!"</p> + +<p>This apostrophe, which certainly appears, now that in cooler moments I +recall it, rather rhapsodical, was not uttered <i>viva voce</i>, nor even +<i>sotto voce</i>, seeing that its object, Miss Dora M'Dermot, was riding +along only three paces in front of me, whilst her brother walked by my +side. It was a mere mental ejaculation, elicited by the surpassing +perfections of the aforesaid Dora, who assuredly was the most charming +girl I had ever beheld. But for the Pyrenean scenery around us, and the +rough ill-conditioned mule, with its clumsy side-saddle of discoloured +leather, on which she was mounted, instead of the Spanish jennet or +well-bred English palfrey that would best have suited so fair an +equestrian, I could, without any great exertion of fancy, have dreamed +myself back to the days of the M'Gregor, and fancied that it was Die +Vernon riding up the mountain side, gaily chatting as she went with the +handsome cavalier who walked by her stirrup, and who might have been +Frank Osbaldistone, only that he was too manly-looking for Scott's +somewhat effeminate hero. How beautifully moulded was the form which her +dark-green habit set off to such advantage; how fairy-like the foot that +pressed the clumsy stirrup; how slender the fingers that grasped the +rein! She had discarded the heavy riding-hat and senseless bonnet, those +graceless inventions of some cunning milliner, and had adopted a +head-dress not unusual in the country in which she then was. This was a +<i>beret</i> or flat cap, woven of snow-white wool, and surmounted by a +crimson tassel spread out over the top. From beneath this elegant +<i>coiffure</i> her dark eyes flashed and sparkled, whilst her luxuriant +chestnut curls fell down over her neck, the alabaster fairness of which +made her white head-dress look almost tawny. Either because the air, +although we were still in the month of September, was fresh on the +mountains, or else because she was pretty and a woman, and therefore not +sorry to show herself to the best advantage, she had twisted round her +waist a very long cashmere scarf, previously pass<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[Pg 367]</a></span>ing it over one +shoulder in the manner of a sword-belt, the ends hanging down nearly to +her stirrup; and this gave something peculiarly picturesque, almost +fantastical, to her whole appearance.</p> + +<p>Upon the second day of my arrival at the baths of St Sauveur, in the +Pyrenees, I had fallen in with my old friend and college chum, Jack +M'Dermot, who was taking his sister the round of the French +watering-places. Dora's health had been delicate, the faculty had +recommended the excursion; and Jack, who doated upon his only sister, +had dragged her away from the gaieties of London and brought her off to +the Pyrenees. M'Dermot was an excellent fellow, neither a wit nor a +Solomon; but a good-hearted dog who had been much liked at Trin. Coll., +Dublin, where he had thought very little of his studies, and a good deal +of his horses and dogs. An Irishman, to be sure, occasionally a slight +touch of the brogue was perceptible in his talk; but from this his +sister, who had been brought up in England, was entirely free. Jack had +a snug estate of three thousand a-year; Miss Dora had twenty thousand +pounds from her mother. She had passed two seasons in London; and if she +was not already married, it was because not one of the fifty aspirants +to her hand had found favour in her bright eyes. Lively and +high-spirited, with a slight turn for the satirical, she loved her +independence, and was difficult to please.</p> + +<p>I had been absent from England for nearly two years, on a continental +tour; and although I had heard much of Miss M'Dermot, I had never seen +her till her brother introduced me to her at St Sauveur. I had not known +her an hour, before I found myself in a fair way to add another to the +list of the poor moths who had singed their wings at the perilous light +of her beauty. When M'Dermot, learning that, like themselves, I was on a +desultory sort of ramble, and had not marked out any particular route, +offered me a seat in their carriage, and urged me to accompany them, +instead of prudently flying from the danger, I foolishly exposed myself +to it, and lo! what might have been anticipated came to pass. Before I +had been two days in Dora's society, my doom was sealed; I had ceased to +belong to myself; I was her slave, the slave of her sunny smile and +bright eyes—talisman more potent than any lamp or ring that djinn or +fairy ever obeyed.</p> + +<p>A fortnight had passed, and we were at B——. During that time, the +spell that bound me had been each day gaining strength. As an intimate +friend of her brother, I was already, with Dora, on the footing of an +old acquaintance; she seemed well enough pleased with my society, and +chatted with me willingly and familiarly; but in vain did I watch for +some slight indication, a glance or an intonation, whence to derive +hope. None such were perceptible; nor could the most egregious coxcomb +have fancied that they were. We once or twice fell in with other +acquaintances of her's and her brother's, and with them she had just the +same frank friendly manner, as with me. I had not sufficient vanity, +however, to expect a woman, especially one so much admired as Miss +M'Dermot, to fall in love at first sight with my humble personality, and +I patiently waited, trusting to time and assiduity to advance my cause.</p> + +<p>Things were in this state, when one morning, whilst taking an early walk +to the springs, I ran up against an English friend, by name Walter +Ashley. He was the son of a country gentleman of moderate fortune, at +whose house I had more than once passed a week in the shooting season. +Walter was an excellent fellow, and a perfect model of the class to +which he belonged. By no means unpolished in his manners, he had yet a +sort of plain frankness and <i>bonhomie</i>, which was peculiarly agreeable +and prepossessing. He was not a university man, nor had he received an +education of the highest order; spoke no language but his own with any +degree of correctness; neither played the fiddle, painted pictures, nor +wrote poetry. On the other hand, in all manly exercises he was a +proficient; shot, rode, walked, and danced to perfection; and the fresh +originality, and pleasant tone of his con<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[Pg 368]</a></span>versation, redeemed any +deficiency of reading or accomplishment. In personal appearance he was a +splendid fellow, nearly six feet in his boots, strongly, but, at the +same time, symmetrically built; although his size of limb and width of +shoulder rendered him, at six-and-twenty, rather what is called a fine +man, than a slender or elegant one. He had the true Anglo-Saxon +physiognomy, blue eyes, and light brown hair that waved, rather than +curled, round his broad handsome forehead. And, then, what a mustache +the fellow had! (He was officer in a crack yeomanry corps.) Not one of +the composite order, made up of pomatum and lamp-black, such as may be +seen sauntering down St James's Street on a spring afternoon, with +incipient guardsmen behind them—but worthy of an Italian painter or +Hungarian hussar; full, well-grown, and glossy. Who was the idiot who +first set afloat the notion—now become an established prejudice in +England—that mustaches were unseemly? To nine faces out of ten, they +are a most becoming addition, increasing physiognomical character, +almost giving it where there is none; relieving the monotony of broad +flat cheeks, and abridging the abomination of a long upper-lip. +Uncleanly, say you? Not a bit of it, if judiciously trimmed and trained. +What, Sir! are they not at least as proper looking as those foxy +thickets extending from jawbone to temple, which you yourself, each +morning of your life, take such pains to comb and curl into shape?</p> + +<p>Delighted to meet Ashley, I dragged him off to the hotel, to introduce +him to M'Dermot and his sister. As a friend of mine they gave him a +cordial welcome, and we passed that day and the following ones together. +I soon, however, I must confess, began to repent a little having brought +my handsome friend into the society of Dora. She seemed better pleased +with him than I altogether liked, nor could I wonder at it. Walter +Ashley was exactly the man to please a woman of Dora's character. She +was of rather a romantic turn, and about him there was a dash of the +chivalrous, well calculated to captivate her imagination. Although +perfectly feminine, she was an excellent horsewoman, and an ardent +admirer of feats of address and courage, and she had heard me tell her +brother of Ashley's perfection in such matters. On his part, Ashley, +like every one else who saw her, was evidently greatly struck with her +beauty and fascination of manner. I cannot say that I was jealous; I had +no right to be so, for Dora had never given me encouragement; but I +certainly more than once regretted having introduced a third person into +what—honest Jack M'Dermot counting, of course, for nothing—had +previously been a sort of <i>tête-à-tête</i> society. I began to fear that, +thanks to myself, my occupation was gone, and Ashley had got it.</p> + +<p>It was the fifth day after our meeting with Walter, and we had started +early in the morning upon an excursion to a neighbouring lake, the +scenery around which, we were told, was particularly wild and beautiful. +It was situated on a piece of table-land on the top of a mountain, which +we could see from the hotel window. The distance was barely ten miles, +and the road being rough and precipitous, M'Dermot, Ashley, and myself, +had chosen to walk rather than to risk our necks by riding the +broken-knee'd ponies that were offered to us. A sure-footed mule, and +indifferent side-saddle, had been procured for Miss M'Dermot, and was +attended by a wild-looking Bearnese boy, or gossoon, as her brother +called him, a creature like a grasshopper, all legs and arms, with a +scared countenance, and long lank black hair hanging in irregular shreds +about his face.</p> + +<p>There is no season more agreeable in the Pyrenees than the month of +September. People are very apt to expatiate on the delights of autumn, +its mellow beauty, pensive charms, and suchlike. I confess that in a +general way I like the youth of the year better than its decline, and +prefer the bright green tints of spring, with the summer in prospective, +to the melancholy autumn, its russet hues and falling leaves; its +regrets for fine weather past, and anticipations of bad to come. But if +there be any place<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[Pg 369]</a></span> where I should be tempted to reverse my judgment, it +would be in Southern France, and especially its western and central +portion. The clear cloudless sky, the moderate heat succeeding to the +sultriness, often overpowering, of the summer months, the magnificent +vineyards and merry vintage time, the noble groves of chestnut, clothing +the lower slopes of the mountains, the bright streams and +flower-spangled meadows of Bearn and Languedoc, render no part of the +year more delightful in those countries than the months of September and +October.</p> + +<p>As before mentioned, Dora rode a little in front, with Ashley beside +her, pointing out the beauties of the wild scenery through which we +passed, and occasionally laying a hand upon her bridle to guide the mule +over some unusually rugged portion of the almost trackless mountain. +M'Dermot and I were walking behind, a little puffed by the steepness of +the ascent; our guide, whose name was Cadet, a name answered to by every +second man one meets in that part of France, strode along beside us, +like a pair of compasses with leathern lungs. Presently the last-named +individual turned to me—</p> + +<p>"<i>Ces messieurs veulent-ils voir le Saut de lou Contrabandiste?</i>" said +he, in the barbarous dialect of the district, half French, half patois, +with a small dash of Spanish.</p> + +<p>"<i>Le Saut du Contrebandier</i>, the Smuggler's Leap—What is that?" asked +Dora, who had overheard the question, turning round her graceful head, +and dazzling us—me at least—by a sudden view of her lovely face, now +glowing with exercise and the mountain air.</p> + +<p>The smuggler's leap, so Cadet informed us, was a narrow cleft in the +rock, of vast depth, and extending for a considerable distance across a +flank of the mountain. It owed its name to the following incident:—Some +five years previously, a smuggler, known by the name of Juan le Negre, +or Black Juan, had, for a considerable period, set the custom-house +officers at defiance, and brought great discredit on them by his success +in passing contraband goods from Spain. In vain did they lie in ambush +and set snares for him; they could never come near him, or if they did +it was when he was backed by such a force of the hardy desperadoes +carrying on the same lawless traffic, that the douaniers were either +forced to beat a retreat or got fearfully mauled in the contest that +ensued. One day, however, three of these green-coated guardians of the +French revenue caught a sight of Juan alone and unarmed. They pursued +him, and a rare race he led them, over cliff and crag, across rock and +ravine, until at last they saw with exultation that he made right for +the chasm in question, and there they made sure of securing him. It +seemed as if he had forgotten the position of the cleft, and only +remembered it when he got within a hundred yards or thereabouts, for +then he slackened his pace. The douaniers gained on him, and expected +him to desist from his flight, and surrender. What was their surprise +and consternation when they saw him, on reaching the edge of the chasm, +spring from the ground with lizardlike agility, and by one bold leap +clear the yawning abyss. The douaniers uttered a shout of rage and +disappointment, and two of them ceased running; but the third, a man of +great activity and courage, and who had frequently sworn to earn the +reward set on the head of Juan, dared the perilous jump. He fell short; +his head was dashed against the opposite rock, and his horror-struck +companions, gazing down into the dark depth beneath, saw his body strike +against the crags on its way to the bottom of the abyss. The smuggler +escaped, and the spot where the tragical incident occurred was +thenceforward known as "<i>Le Saut du Contrebandier</i>."</p> + +<p>Before our guide had finished his narrative, we were unanimous in our +wish to visit its scene, which we reached by the time he had brought the +tale to a conclusion. It was certainly a most remarkable chasm, whose +existence was only to be accounted for by reference to the volcanic +agency of which abundant traces exist in Southern France. The whole side +of the mountain was cracked and rent asunder, forming a narrow ravine of +vast depth, in the manner of the famous<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[Pg 370]</a></span> Mexican <i>barrancas</i>. In some +places might be traced a sort of correspondence on the opposite sides; a +recess on one side into which a projection on the other would have +nearly fitted, could some Antæus have closed the fissure. This, however, +was only here and there; generally speaking, the rocky brink was worn by +the action of time and water, and the rock composing it sloped slightly +downwards. The chasm was of various width, but was narrowest at the spot +at which we reached it, and really did not appear so very terrible a +leap as Cadet made it out to be. On looking down, a confusion of +bush-covered crags was visible; and now that the sun was high, a narrow +stream was to be seen, flowing, like a line of silver, at the bottom; +the ripple and rush of the water, repeated by the echoes of the ravine, +ascending to our ears with noise like that of a cataract. On large +fragment of rock, a few yards from the brink, was rudely carved a date, +and below it two letters. They were the initials, so our guide informed +us, of the unfortunate douanier who had there met his death.</p> + +<p>We had remained for half a minute or so gazing down into the ravine, +when Ashley, who was on the right of the party, broke silence.</p> + +<p>"Pshaw!" said he, stepping back from the edge, "that's no leap. Why, +I'll jump across it myself."</p> + +<p>"For heaven's sake!" cried Dora.</p> + +<p>"Ashey!" I exclaimed, "don't be a fool!"</p> + +<p>But it was too late. What mad impulse possessed him I cannot say; but +certain I am, from my knowledge of his character, that it was no foolish +bravado or schoolboy desire to show off, that seduced him to so wild a +freak. The fact was, but for the depth below, the leap did not look at +all formidable; not above four or five feet, but in reality it was a +deal wider. It was probably this deceitful appearance, and perhaps the +feeling which Englishmen are apt to entertain, that for feats of +strength and agility no men surpass them, that convinced Walter of the +ease With which he could jump across. Before we could stop him, he took +a short run, and jumped.</p> + +<p>A scream from Dora was echoed by an exclamation of horror from M'Dermot +and myself. Ashley had cleared the chasm and alighted on the opposite +edge, but it was shelving and slippery, and his feet slid from under +him. For one moment it appeared as if he would instantly be dashed to +pieces, but in falling he managed to catch the edge of the rock, which +at that place formed an angle. There he hung by his hands, his whole +body in the air, without a possibility of raising himself; for below the +edge the rock was smooth and receding, and even could he have reached +it, he would have found no foot-hold. One desperate effort he made to +grasp a stunted and leafless sapling that grew in a crevice at not more +than a foot from the edge, but it failed, and nearly caused his instant +destruction. Desisting from further effort, he hung motionless, his +hands convulsively cramped to the ledge of rock, which afforded so +slippery and difficult a hold, that his sustaining himself by it at all +seemed a miracle, and could only be the result of uncommon muscular +power. It was evident that no human strength could possibly maintain him +for more than a minute or two in that position; below was an abyss, a +hundred or more feet deep—to all appearance his last hour was come.</p> + +<p>M'Dermot and I stood aghast and helpless, gazing with open mouths and +strained eyeballs at our unhappy friend. What could we do? Were we to +dare the leap, which one far more active and vigorous than ourselves had +unsuccessfully attempted? It would have been courting destruction, +without a chance of saving Ashley. But Dora put us to shame. One scream, +and only one, she uttered, and then, gathering up her habit, she sprang +unaided from her mule. Her cheek was pale as the whitest marble, but her +presence of mind was unimpaired, and she seemed to gain courage and +decision in the moment of peril.</p> + +<p>"Your cravats, your handkerchiefs!" cried she, unfastening, as she +spoke, her long cashmere scarf. Mechanically M'Dermot and myself obeyed. +With the speed of light and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[Pg 371]</a></span> a woman's dexterity, she knotted together +her scarf, a long silk cravat which I gave her, M'Dermot's handkerchief +and mine, and securing—how, I know not—a stone at either extremity of +the rope thus formed, she threw one end of it, with sure aim and steady +hand, across the ravine and round the sapling already referred to. Then +leaning forward till I feared she would fall into the chasm, and sprang +forward to hold her back, she let go of the other end. Ashley's hold was +already growing feeble, his fingers were torn by the rock, the blood +started from under his nails, and he turned his face towards us with a +mute prayer for succour. At that moment the two ends of the shawl fell +against him, and he instinctively grasped them. It was a moment of +fearful suspense. Would the knots so hastily made resist the tension of +his weight? They did so; he raised himself by strength of wrist. The +sapling bent and bowed, but his hand was now close to it. He grasped it; +another powerful effort, the last effort of despair, and he lay +exhausted and almost senseless upon the rocky brink. At the same moment, +with a cry of joy, Dora fell fainting into her brother's arms.</p> + +<p>Of that day's adventures little remains to tell. A walk of a mile +brought Ashley to a place where a bridge, thrown over the ravine, +enabled him to cross it. I omit his thanks to Dora, his apologies for +the alarm he had caused her, and his admiring eulogy of her presence of +mind. Her manner of receiving them, and the look she gave him when, on +rejoining us, he took her hand, and with a natural and grateful courtesy +that prevented the action from appearing theatrical or unusual, pressed +it to his lips, were any thing but gratifying to me, whatever they may +have been to him. She seemed no way displeased at the freedom. I was +most confoundedly, but that Walter did not seem to observe.</p> + +<p>The incident that had occurred, and Dora's request, brought our +excursion to an abrupt termination, and we returned homewards. It +appeared as if this were doomed to be a day of disagreeables. On +reaching the inn, I found a letter which, thanks to my frequent change +of place, and to the dilatoriness of continental post-offices, had been +chasing me from town to town during the previous three weeks. It was +from a lawyer, informing me of the death of a relative, and compelling +me instantly to return to England to arrange some important business +concerning a disputed will. The sum at stake was too considerable for me +to neglect the summons, and with the worst possible grace I prepared to +depart. I made some violent attempts to induce Ashley to accompany me, +talked myself hoarse about fox-hunting and pheasant-shooting, and other +delights of the approaching season; but all in vain. His passion for +field-sports seemed entirely cooled; he sneered at foxes, treated +pheasants with contempt, and professed to be as much in love with the +Pyrenees as I began to fear he was with Dora. There was nothing for it +but to set out alone, which I accordingly did, having previously +obtained from M'Dermot the plan of their route, and the name of the +place where he and his sister thought of wintering. I was determined, so +soon as I had settled my affairs, to return to the continent and propose +for Dora.</p> + +<p>Man proposes and God disposes, says the proverb. In my case, I am +prepared to prove that the former part of the proverb lied abominably. +Instead of a fortnight in London being, as I had too sanguinely hoped, +sufficient for the settlement of the business that took me thither, I +was detained several months, and compelled to make sundry journeys to +the north of England. I wrote several times to M'Dermot, and had one +letter from him, but no more. Jack was a notoriously bad correspondent, +and I scarcely wondered at his silence.</p> + +<p>Summer came—my lawsuit was decided, and sick to death of briefs and +barristers, parchments and attorneys, I once more found myself my own +master. An application to M'Dermot's London banker procured me his +address. He was then in Switzerland, but was expected down the Rhine, +and letters to Wiesbaden<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_372" id="Page_372">[Pg 372]</a></span> would find him. That was enough for me; my +head and heart were still full of Dora M'Dermot; and two days after I +had obtained information, the "Antwerpen" steamer deposited me on +Belgian ground.</p> + +<p>"Mr M'Dermot is stopping here?" I enquired of, or rather affirmed to, +the head waiter at the Four Seasons hotel at Wiesbaden. If the fellow +had told me he was not, I believe I should have knocked him down.</p> + +<p>"He is, sir. You will find him in the Cursaal gardens with madame <i>sa +sœur</i>."</p> + +<p>Off I started to the gardens. They were in full bloom and beauty, +crowded with flowers and <i>fraüleins</i> and foreigners of all nations. The +little lake sparkled in the sunshine, and the waterfowl skimmed over it +in all directions. But it's little I cared for such matters. I was +looking for Dora, sweet Dora—Dora M'Dermot.</p> + +<p>At the corner of a walk I met her brother.</p> + +<p>"Jack!" I exclaimed, grasping his hand with the most vehement affection, +"I'm delighted to see you."</p> + +<p>"And I'm glad to see you, my boy," was the rejoinder. "I was wondering +you did not answer my last letter, but I suppose you thought to join us +sooner."</p> + +<p>"Your last letter!" I exclaimed. "I have written three times since I +heard from you."</p> + +<p>"The devil you have!" cried Jack. "Do you mean to say you did not get +the letter I wrote you from Paris a month ago, announcing"——</p> + +<p>I did not hear another word, for just then, round a corner of the +shrubbery, came Dora herself, more charming than ever, all grace and +smiles and beauty. But I saw neither beauty nor smiles nor grace; all I +saw was, that she was leaning on the arm of that provokingly handsome +dog Walter Ashley. For a moment I stood petrified, and then extending my +hand,</p> + +<p>"Miss M'Dermot!"——I exclaimed.</p> + +<p>She drew back a little, with a smile and a blush. Her companion stepped +forward.</p> + +<p>"My dear fellow," said he, "there is no such person. Allow me to +introduce you to Mrs Ashley."</p> + +<p>If any of my friends wish to be presented to pretty girls with twenty +thousand pounds, they had better apply elsewhere than to me. Since that +day I have forsworn the practice.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[Pg 373]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="MINISTERIAL_MEASURES" id="MINISTERIAL_MEASURES"></a>MINISTERIAL MEASURES.</h2> + + +<p>Not enviable, in our apprehension, at the present crisis, is the +position of a young man whose political education has been framed upon +Conservative principles, and whose personal experience and recollections +go little further back than the triumph of those principles over others +which he has been early taught to condemn. His range of facts may be +limited, but at the same time it is very significant. He has seen his +party—for a season excluded from power—again re-assume the reigns of +government at the call of a vast majority of the nation. He remembers +that that call was founded upon the general desire that a period of +tranquil stability should succeed to an interval of harassing +vacillation; and that the only general pledge demanded from the +representatives of the people was an adherence to certain principles of +industrial protection, well understood in the main, if not thoroughly +and accurately defined. We shall suppose a young man of this stamp +introduced into the House of Commons, deeply impressed with the full +import and extent of his responsibilities—fortified in his own opinions +by the coinciding votes and arguments of older statesmen, on whose +experience he is fairly entitled to rely—regarding the leader of his +party with feelings of pride and exultation, because he is the champion +of a cause identified with the welfare of the nation—and unsuspicious +of any change in those around him, and above. Such was, we firmly +believe, the position of many members of the present Parliament, shortly +before the opening of this session, when, on a sudden, rumours of some +intended change began to spread themselves abroad. An era of conversion +had commenced. In one and the same night, some portentous dream +descended upon the pillows of the Whig leaders, and whispered that the +hour was come. By miraculous coincidence—co-operation being studiously +disclaimed—Lord John Russell, Lord Morpeth,</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"And other worthy fellows that were <i>out</i>,"</p></div> + +<p>gave in their adhesion, nearly on the same day, to the League—thereby, +as we are told, anticipating the unanimous wish of their followers. Then +came, on the part of Ministers, a mysterious resignation—an episodical +and futile attempt to re-construct a Whig government—and the return of +Sir Robert Peel to power. Still there was no explanation. Men were left +to guess, as they best might, at the Eleusinian drama performing behind +the veil of Isis—to speculate for themselves, or announce to others at +random the causes of this huge mystification. "The oracles were dumb." +This only was certain, that Lord Stanley was no longer in the Cabinet.</p> + +<p>Let us pass over the prologue of the Queen's speech, and come at once to +the announcement of his financial measures by the Minister. What need to +follow him through the circumlocutions of that speech—through the +ostentatiously paraded details of the measure that was to give +satisfaction to all or to none? What need to revert to the manner in +which he paced around his subject, pausing ever and anon to exhibit some +alteration in the manufacturing tariff? The catalogue was protracted, +but, like every thing else, it had an end; and the result, in so far as +the agricultural interest is concerned, was the proposed abolition of +all protective duties upon the importation of foreign grain.</p> + +<p>Our opinion upon that important point has been repeatedly expressed. For +many years, and influenced by no other motive than our sincere belief in +the abstract justice of the cause, this Magazine has defended the +protective principle from the assaults which its enemies have made. Our +views were no doubt fortified by their coincidence with those +entertained and professed by statesmen, whose general policy has been +productive of good to the country; but they were based upon higher +considerations than the mere approbation of a party. Therefore, as we +did not adopt these views loosely, we shall not lightly abandon then. On +the contrary, we take leave to state here, in <i>limine</i>, that, after +giving our fullest consider<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374">[Pg 374]</a></span>ation to the argument of those who were +formerly, like us, the opponents, but are now the advisers of the +change, we can see no substantial reason for departing from our +deliberate views, and assenting to the abandonment of a system which +truth and justice have alike compelled us to uphold.</p> + +<p>We can, however, afford to look upon these things philosophically, and +to content ourselves with protesting against the change. Very different +is the situation of those Conservative members of Parliament who are now +told that their eyes must be couched for cataract, in order that they +may become immediate recipients of the new and culminating light. +<span class="smcap">Conversion</span> is no doubt an excellent thing; but, as we have hitherto +understood it, the quality of <span class="smcap">CONVICTION</span> has been deemed an +indispensable preliminary. Conversion without conviction is hypocrisy, +and a proselyte so obtained is coerced and not won. We are not +insensible to the nature of the ties which bind a partisan to his +leader. Their relative strength or weakness are the tests of the +personal excellence of the latter—of the regard which his talents +inspire—of the veneration which his sagacity commands. Strong indeed +must be the necessity which on any occasion can unloose them; nor can +it, in the ordinary case, arise except from the fault of the leader. For +the leader and the follower, if we consider the matter rightly, are +alike bound to common allegiance: some principle must have been laid +down as terms of their compact, which both are sworn to observe; and the +violation of this principle on either side is a true annulment of the +contract. No mercy is shown to the follower when he deserts or +repudiates the common ground of action;—is the leader, who is presumed +to have the maturer mind, and more prophetic eye, entitled to a larger +indulgence?</p> + +<p>Whilst perusing the late debates, we have repeatedly thought of a +pregnant passage in Schiller. It is that scene in "The Piccolomini," +where Wallenstein, after compromising himself privately with the enemy, +attempts to win over the ardent and enthusiastic Max, the nursling of +his house, to the revolt. It is so apposite to the present situation of +affairs, that we cannot forbear from quoting it.</p> + + +<h4><span class="smcap">Wallenstein</span>.</h4> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Yes, Max! <i>I have delay'd to open it to thee,</i></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Even till the hour of acting 'gins to strike</i>.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Youth's fortunate feeling doth seize easily</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The absolute right; yea, and a joy it is</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To exercise the single apprehension</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Where the sums square in proof;—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But where it happens, that <i>of two sure evils</i></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>One must be taken</i>, where the heart not wholly</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Brings itself back from out the strife of duties,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>There 'tis a blessing to have no election,</i></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>And blank necessity is grace and favour.</i></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—This is now present: do not look behind thee,—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">It can no more avail thee. Look thou forwards!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Think not! judge not! prepare thyself to act!</i></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>The Court—it hath determined on my ruin,</i></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Therefore will I to be beforehand with them.</i></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">We'll join <span class="smcap">the Swedes</span>—right gallant fellows are they,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And our good friends.</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>For "the Swedes" substitute "the League," and there is not one word of +the foregoing passage that might not have been uttered by Sir Robert +Peel. For, most assuredly, until "the hour of acting" struck, was the +important communication delayed; and no higher or more comprehensive +argument was given to the unfortunate follower than this, "that of two +sure evils one must be taken." But is it, therefor, such a blessing "to +have no election," and is "blank necessity," therefore, such a special<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">[Pg 375]</a></span> +"grace and favour?"—say, <i>is</i> it necessity, when a clear, and +consistent, and honourable course remains open? The evil on one side is +clear: it is the loss of self-respect—the breach of pledges—the +forfeiture of confidence—the abandonment of a national cause. On the +other it is doubtful; it rests but on personal feeling, which may be +painful to overcome, but which ought not to stand for a moment in the +way of public duty.</p> + +<p>Far be it from us to say, that amongst those who have cast their lot on +the opposite side, there are not many who have done so from the best and +the purest motives. The public career of some, and the private virtues +of others, would belie us if we dared to assert the contrary. With them +it may be conviction, or it may be an overruling sense of +expediency—and with either motive we do not quarrel—but surely it is +not for them, the new converts, to insinuate taunts of interested +motives and partial construction against those who maintain the deserted +principle. "For whom are you counsel now?" interrupted Sir Robert Peel, +in the midst of the able, nay chivalrous speech of Mr Francis Scott, the +honourable member for Roxburghshire. Admitting that the question was +jocularly put and good-humouredly meant, we yet admire the spirit of the +reply. "I am asked for whom I am the counsel. I am the counsel for my +opinions. I am no delegate in this assembly. I will yield to no man in +sincerity. I am counsel for no man, no party, no sect. I belong to no +party. I followed, and was proud to follow, that party which was led so +gloriously—the party of the constitution, which was led by the Right +Honourable Baronet. I followed under his banner, and was glad to serve +under it. I would have continued to serve under his banner if he had +hoisted and maintained the same flag!" Can it be that the Premier, who +talks so largely about his own wounded feelings, can make no allowance +for the sorrow, or even the indignation of those who are now restrained +by a sense of paramount duty from following him any further? Can he +believe that such a man as Mr Stafford O'Brien would have used such +language as this, had he not been stung by the injustice of the course +pursued towards him and his party:—"We will not envy you your +triumph—we will not participate in your victory. Small in numbers, and, +it may be, uninfluential in debate, we will yet stand forward to protest +against your measures. You will triumph; yes, and you will triumph over +men whose moderation in prosperity, and whose patience under adversity +has commanded admiration—but whose fatal fault was, that they trusted +you. You will triumph over them in strange coalition with men, who, true +to their principles, can neither welcome you as a friend, nor respect +you as an opponent; and of whom I must say, that the best and most +patriotic of them all will the least rejoice in the downfall of the +great constitutional party you have ruined, and will the most deplore +the loss of public confidence in public men!"</p> + +<p>We may ask, are such men, speaking under such absolute conviction of the +truth, to be lightly valued or underrated? Are their opinions, because +consistent, to be treated with contempt, and consistency itself to be +sneered at as the prerogative of obstinacy and dotage? Was there no +truth, then, in the opinions which, on this point of protection, the +Premier has maintained for so many years; or, if not, is their fallacy +so very glaring, that he can expect all the world at once to detect the +error, which until now has been concealed even from his sagacious eye? +Surely there must be something very specious in doctrines to which he +has subscribed for a lifetime, and without which he never would have +been enabled to occupy his present place. We blame him not if, on mature +reflection, he is now convince of his error. It is for him to reconcile +that error with his reputation as a statesman. But we protest against +that blinding and coercing system which of late years has been unhappily +the vogue, and which, if persevered in, appears to us of all things the +most likely to sap the foundations of public confidence, in the +integrity as well as the skill of those who are at the helm of the +government.</p> + +<p>We have given the speech of Wal<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376">[Pg 376]</a></span>lenstein-let us now subjoin the reply of +Piccolomini. Mark how appropriate it is, with but the change of a single +word—</p> + +<h4> +<span class="smcap">Max.</span></h4> +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">My General; this day thou makest me</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of age to speak in my own right and person.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For till this day I have been spared the trouble</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To find out my own road. <i>Thee have I follow'd</i></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>With most implicit, unconditional faith,</i></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Sure of the right path if I follow'd thee.</i></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To-day, for the first time, dost thou refer</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Me to myself, and forcest me to make</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Election between thee and my own heart—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Is that a good war, which against the Empire</i></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Thou wagest with the Empire's own array?</i></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O God of heaven! what a change is this!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Beseems it me to offer such persuasion</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To thee, who like the fix'd star of the pole</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wert all I gazed at on life's trackless ocean;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Oh, what a rent thou makest in my heart!</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The engrain'd instinct of old reverence,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The holy habit of obediency,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Must I pluck live asunder from thy name?</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Oh, do it not!—I pray thee do it not!—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thou wilt not—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thou canst not end in this! It would reduce</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">All human creatures to disloyalty</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Against the nobleness of their own nature.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">'Twill justify the vulgar misbelief</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Which holdeth nothing noble in free-will,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And trusts itself to impotence alone,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Made powerful only in an unknown power!</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>These quotations may look strangely in such an article as this; but +there are many within the walls of St Stephens's who must acknowledge +the force of the allusion, and the truth of the sentiments they convey. +The language we intend to use is less that of reproach than sorrow: for +whatever may be the practical result of this measure—however it may +affect the great industrial interest of the country, it is impossible +not to see that, from the mere manner of its proposal, it has +disorganized the great Conservative party, and substituted mistrust and +confusion for the feeling of entire confidence which formerly was +reposed in its leaders.</p> + +<p>The change, however has been proposed, and we shall not shrink from +considering it. The scheme of Sir Robert Peel is reducible to a few +points, which we shall now proceed to review <i>seriatim</i>. First—let us +regard it with a view to its <i>nature</i>; secondly, as to its <i>necessity</i> +under existing circumstances.</p> + +<p>The Premier states, that this is a great <i>change</i>. We admit that fully. +A measure which contains within itself a provision, that at the end of +three years agricultural industry within this country shall be left +without any protection at all, and that, in the interim, the mode of +protection shall not only be altered but reduced, is necessarily a +prodigious <i>change</i>. It is one which is calculated to affect agriculture +directly, and home consumption of manufactures indirectly; to reduce the +price of bread in this country—otherwise it is a useless change—by the +introduction of foreign grain, and therefore to lower the profits of one +at least of three classes, the landlord, the tenant, or the labourer, +which classes consume the greater part of our manufactures. So far it is +distinctly adverse to the agricultural interest, for we cannot exactly +understand how a measure can be at once favourable and unfavourable to a +particular party—how the producer of corn can be benefited by the +depreciation of the article which he raises, unless, indeed, the +reduction of the price of the food<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">[Pg 377]</a></span> which he consumes himself be taken +as an equivalent. Very likely this is what is meant. If so, it partakes +of the nature of a principle, and must hold good in other instances. +Apply it to the manufacturer; tell him that, by reducing the cost of his +cottons one-half, he will be amply compensated, because in that event +his shirts will cost him only a half of the present prices, and his wife +and children can be sumptuously clothed for a moiety. His immediate +answer would be this: "By no means. I an manufacturing not for myself +but for others. I deal on a large scale. I supply a thousand customers; +and the profit I derive from that is infinitely greater than the saving +I could effect by the reduced price of the articles which I must consume +at home." The first view is clearly untenable. We may, therefore, +conclude at all events that some direct loss must, under the operation +of the new scheme, fall upon the agricultural classes; and it is of some +moment to know how this loss is to be supplied. For we take the opening +statement of Sir Robert Peel as we find it; and he tells us that <i>both</i> +classes, the agriculturists and the manufacturers, are "to make +sacrifices." Now, in these three words lies the germ of a most +important—nay paramount—consideration, which we would fain have +explained to us before we go any further. For, according to our ideas of +words, a sacrifice means a loss, which, except in the case of deliberate +destruction, implies a corresponding gain to a third party. Let us, +then, try to discover who is to be the gainer. Is it the state—that is, +the British public revenue? No—most distinctly not; for while, on the +one side, the corn duties are abolished, on the other the tariff is +relaxed. Is the sacrifice to be a mutual one—that is, is the +agriculturist to be compensated by cheaper <i>home</i> manufactures, and the +manufacturer to be compensated by cheaper <i>home-grown bread</i>? No—the +benefit to either class springs from no such source. <i>The duties on the +one side are to be abolished, and on the other side relaxed, in order +that the agriculturist may get cheap foreign manufactures, and the +manufacturer cheap foreign grain.</i> If there is to be a sacrifice upon +both sides, as was most clearly enunciated, it must just amount to this, +that the interchange between the classes at home is to be closed, and +the foreign markets opened as the great sources of supply.</p> + +<p>Having brought the case of the "mutual sacrifices" thus far, is there +one of our readers who does not see a rank absurdity in the attempt to +insinuate that a compensation is given to the labourer? This measure, if +it has meaning at all, is framed with the view of benefiting the +manufacturing interest, of course at the expense of the other. Total +abolition of protective duties in this country must lower the price of +corn, and that is the smallest of the evils we anticipate;—for an evil +it is, if the effect of it be to reduce the labourer's wages—and it +must also tend to throw land out of cultivation. <i>But what will the +relaxation of the tariff do?</i> Will it lower the price of manufactured +goods in this country to the agricultural labourer?—that is, after the +diminished duty is paid, can foreign manufactures be imported here <i>at a +price which shall compete with the home manufactures</i>? If so, the home +consumption of our manufactures, which is by far the most important +branch of them, is ruined. "Not so!" we hear the modern economist +exclaim; "the effect of the foreign influx of goods will merely be a +stimulant to the national industry, and a consequent lowering of our +prices." Here we have him between the horns of a plain and palpable +dilemma. If the manufacturer for the home market will be compelled, as +you say he must be, to lower his prices at home, in order to meet the +competition of foreign imported manufactured goods, which are still +liable in a duty, <span class="smcap">WHAT BECOMES OF YOUR FOREIGN MARKET AFTER YOU HAVE +ANNIHILATED OR EQUALIZED THE HOME ONE</span>? If the foreigner can afford to +pay the freight and the duties, and still to undersell you at home, how +can you possibly contrive to do the same by him? If his goods are +cheaper than yours in this country, when all the costs are included, how +can you compete with him in his market? The thing is a dream—a +delusion—a palpable absurdity. The fact is either this—that not only +the foreign agriculturist but the foreign manufacturer<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_378" id="Page_378">[Pg 378]</a></span> can supply us +with either produce cheaper than we can raise it at home—in which case +we have not a foreign manufacturing market—or that the idea of "mutual +sacrifices" is a mere colour and pretext, and that to all practical +intents and purposes the agriculturist is to be the only sufferer.</p> + +<p>A great change, however, does not necessarily imply a great measure. +This proposal of Sir Robert Peel does not, as far as we can see, embody +any principle; it merely surrenders the interests of one class for the +apparent aggrandizement of another. We use the word "apparent" +advisedly; for, looking to the nature and the extent of home +consumption, we believe that the effects of the measure would ultimately +be felt most severely by the manufacturers themselves. The agriculturist +of Great Britain is placed in a peculiarly bad position. In the first +place, he has to rear his produce in a more variable climate, and a soil +less naturally productive, than many which exist abroad. In the second +place, he has to bear his proportion of the enormous taxation of the +country, for the interest of the national debt, and the expense of the +executive government—now amounting to nearly fifty millions per annum. +It is on these grounds, especially the last, that he requires some +protection against the cheap-grown grain of the Continent, with which he +cannot otherwise compete; and this was most equitably afforded by the +sliding scale, which, in our view, ought to have been adhered to as a +satisfactory settlement of the matter. In a late paper upon this +subject, we rested our vindication of protection upon the highest +possible ground—namely, that it was indispensable for the stability and +independence of the country, that it should depend upon its own +resources for the daily food of its inhabitants. There is a vast degree +of misconception on this point, and the statistics are but little +understood. Some men argue as if this country were incapable, at the +present time, of producing food for its inhabitants, whilst others +assert that it cannot long continue to do so. To the first class we +reply with the pregnant fact, that at this moment there is not more +foreign grain consumed in Great Britain, than the quantity which is +required for production of the malt liquors which we export. To the +second we say—if your hypothesis is correct, the present law is +calculated to operate both as an index and a remedy; but we broadly +dispute your assertions. Agriculture has hitherto kept steady pace with +the increase of the population; new land has been taken into tillage, +and vast quantities remain which are still improveable. The railways, by +making distance a thing of no moment, and by lowering land-carriage, +will, if fair play be given to the enterprise of the agriculturist, +render any apprehension of scarcity at home ridiculous. As to famine, +there is no chance whatever of that occurring, provided the +agriculturists are let alone. But, on the contrary, there is a chance +not of one future famine, but of many, if the protective duties are +removed, and the land at present under tillage permitted to fall back. +You talk of the present distress and low wages of the agricultural +laborer. It is a favourite theme with a certain section of +philanthropists, whose hatred to the aristocracy of this country is only +equalled by their ignorance and consummate assurance. Is that, or can +that be made—supposing that it generally exists—an argument for a +repeal of the corn-laws? If the condition of the labouring man be now +indifferent, what will it become if you deprive him of that employment +from which he now derives his subsistence? Agriculture is subject to the +operation of the laws which govern every branch of industrial labour. It +must either progress or fall back—it cannot by possibility stand still. +It will progress if you give it fair play; if you check it, it will +inevitably decline. What provision do you propose to make for the +multitude of labourers who will thus be thrown out of employment? +They—the poor—are by far more deeply interested in this question than +the rich. Every corn field converted into pasture, will throw some of +these men loose upon society. What do you propose do with them? Have you +poor's-houses—new Bastilles—large enough to contain them? are they to +be desired to leave their homes, desert their families, and seek +employ<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_379" id="Page_379">[Pg 379]</a></span>ment in the construction of railways—a roving and a houseless +gang? These are very serious considerations, and they require something +more than a theoretical answer. You are not dealing here with a +fractional or insignificant interest, but with one which, numerically +speaking, is the most important of any in the empire. The number of +persons in the United Kingdom immediately supported by agriculture, is +infinitely greater than that dependent in like manner upon manufactures. +It is a class which you do not count by thousands, but by millions; so +that the experiment must be made upon the broadest scale, and the danger +of its failure is commensurate. Rely upon it, this is not a subject with +which legislators may venture to trifle. If the land of this country is +once allowed to recede—as it must do if the power of foreign +competition in grain should prove too much for native industry—the +consequences may be more ruinous than any of us can yet foresee.</p> + +<p>We need hardly say that a period of agricultural depression is of all +things that which the manufacturer has most reason to dread. Exportation +never can be carried to such a height, that the home consumption shall +be a matter of indifference. At present, from eight to nine-tenths of +the manufacturing population are dependent for support upon articles +consumed at home. Any depression, therefore, of agriculture—any measure +which has tendency to throw the other class of labourers out of +employment—must be to them productive of infinite mischief. If the +customer has no means of buying, the dealer cannot get quit of his +goods. This surely is a self-evident proposition; and yet it is now +coolly proposed, that for the benefit of the dealer, the resources of +the principal customer must be so far crippled that even the employment +is rendered precarious.</p> + +<p>The abolition of the protective duties upon corn, is unquestionably the +leading feature of the scheme which the Premier has brought forward. +There are, however, other parts of it with which the agriculturist has +little or nothing to do, but which may appear equally objectionable to +isolated interests. Such is the proposal to allow foreign manufactured +papers to be admitted at a nominal duty, in the teeth of the present +excise regulations, which, of themselves, have been a grievous burden +upon this branch of home industry—the reduction of the duties upon +manufactured silks, linens, shoes, &c.—all of which are now to be +brought into direct competition with our home productions. Brandy, +likewise, is to supersede home-made spirits, whilst the excise is not +removed from the latter. For these and other alterations, it is +difficult to find out any thing like a principle, unless indeed some of +them are to be considered as baits thrown out to foreign states for the +purpose of tempting them to reciprocity. We should, however, have +preferred some distinct negotiation on this subject before the +reductions were actually made; for we have no confidence in the scheme +of tacit subsidies, without a clear understanding or promise of +repayment. Indeed the whole success of this measure, if its effects are +prospectively traced, must ultimately depend upon its reception by the +foreign powers. No doubt, our abandonment of protection upon grain will +be considered by them as a valuable boon; for either their agriculture +will increase in a ratio corresponding to the decline of our own, which +would clearly be their wisest policy, or they will transfer the system +of protective duties to the other side of the seas, and establish a +sliding scale on exports, which may actually prevent us from getting +their grain any cheaper than at present, whilst our public revenue will +thereby be materially diminished. Looking to the commercial jealousy of +our neighbours—to the Zollverein, the various independent tariffs, and +the care and anxiety with which they are shielding their rising +manufactures from our competition—we are inclined to think the last +hypothesis the more probable of the two. The vast success of English +manufacture, and the strenuous efforts which she has latterly made to +command the markets of the world, have not been lost upon the European +or the American sates. They are now far less solicitous about the +improvement of their agriculture, than for the increase<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_380" id="Page_380">[Pg 380]</a></span> of their +manufactures; and some of them—Belgium for example—are already +beginning in certain branches to rival us. This scheme of concession +which is now agitating us will not, as some suppose, resolve itself into +a matter of simple barter, as if Britain with the one hand were +demanding corn, and with the other were proffering the equivalent of a +cotton bale. We are indeed about to demand corn, but the answer of the +foreigner will be this,—"You want grain, for your population is +increasing, your land has gone out of cultivation, and you cannot +support yourselves. Well, we have a superfluity of grain which we can +give you—in fact we have grown it for you—but then it is for us to +select the equivalent. We shall not take those goods which you offer in +exchange. Twelve years ago we set up cotton manufactories. We had not +the same advantages which you possessed in coal and iron, and machinery; +but labour was cheaper with us, and we have prospered. Our manufactures +are now sufficient to supply ourselves—nay, we have begun to export. +Your cotton goods, therefore, are worthless to us, and we must have +something else for our corn." Gold, therefore, the common equivalent, +will be demanded; and the price of corn in this country will, like every +other article, be regulated by the amount and the exigency of the +demand. The regulating power, however, will not then be with us, but +with the parties who furnish the supply.</p> + +<p>But, supposing that no protective duties upon the exportation of grain +shall be levied abroad—which certainly is the view of the free-traders, +and, we presume, also of the Ministry—and, supposing that corn is +imported from abroad at no very great rise of price, then the evil will +come upon us in all its naked deformity. It is very well for certain +politicians to say, that it is an utter absurdity to maintain that cheap +bread can affect the interests of the country; but the men who can argue +thus, have not advanced a step beyond the threshold of social economy. +Let them take the converse of the proposition. If there existed abroad a +manufacturing state which could supply the people of this country with +clothing and every article of manufactured luxury, at a ratio thirty per +cent cheaper than these could be produced in this country, would it be a +measure of wise policy to abandon a system of protective duties? Would +it be wise in the agriculturist to insist upon such an abandonment, in +order that he might wear a cheaper dress, whilst the practical effect of +the measure must be to annihilate the capital now invested in +manufactures, to starve the workman, and of course to narrow within the +lowest limits his capability of purchasing food? In like manner we say, +that it is not wise in the manufacturer to co-operate in this scheme; +for sooner or later the evil effects of it must fall upon his own head. +Cheap bread may be an evil, and a great one. Mr Hudson, no mean +authority in the absence of all official information upon the point, but +a man who has personally dealt in grain, informs us that the probable +price of wheat will be from 35s. to 40s. a quarter. We shall adopt his +calculation, and the more readily because we firmly believe that foreign +grain will at first be imported at some such price, although the spirit +of avarice may combine with the necessity of expending capital in +improvement, to raise it considerably afterwards. But let us assume that +as the probable starting price. No man who knows any thing at all upon +the subject, will venture to say that, at such a price, the agriculture +of the country can be maintained. It <i>must</i> go back. The immediate +consequence is not a prophecy, but a statement of natural effect. Much +land will go out of cultivation. Pauperism will increase in the country +on account of agricultural distress, and the home market for +manufactures will suffer accordingly.</p> + +<p>Is cheap bread a blessing to the labourer, let his labour be what it +may? Let us consider that point a little. And, first, what is meant by +cheap bread? Cheapness is a relative term, and we cannot disconnect it +as a matter of <i>price</i>, from the counter element of <i>wages</i>. If a +labourer earns but a shilling a-day, and the loaf costs seven-pence, he +will no doubt be materially benefited by a reduction of twopence<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_381" id="Page_381">[Pg 381]</a></span> upon +its price. But if he only earns tenpence, and the loaf is reduced to +fivepence, it is clear to the meanest capacity that he is nothing the +gainer. Nay, he may be a loser. For the grower of the loaf is more +likely, on account of his extra price, to be a purchaser of such +commodities as the other labourer is producing, than if he were ground +down to the lowest possible margin. But, setting that aside, the +consideration comes to be, does price regulate labour, or labour +regulate price? In such a country as this, we apprehend there can be no +doubt that price is the regulating power. At the present moment, +peculiar and extraordinary causes are at work, which, in some degree, +render this question of less momentary consequence. Undoubtedly there is +a stimulus within the country, caused by new improvement, which alters +ordinary calculations, but which cannot be expected to last. We never +yet had so great a demand for labour. But let a period of distress +come—such as we had four years ago—and the political problem revives. +We are undoubtedly an overgrown country. Periods of distress constantly +occur. The slightest check in our machinery, sometimes in parts +apparently trivial, is sufficient to derange the whole of our industrial +system, and to throw the labourer entirely at the mercy of the +capitalist. It is <i>then</i> that the relative value of wages and prices is +developed. The standard which is invariably fixed upon to regulate the +rate of the former, is the price of bread. No class understand this +better than the master-manufacturers, who have the command of capital, +and are not only the council, but the absolute incarnation of the +League. It is in these circumstances that the labouring artisan is +driven to the lowest possible rate of wages, which is calculated simply +upon the price of the quartern loaf. In order to work he must live. That +is a fact which the tyrants of the spinneries do not overlook, but they +take care that the livelihood shall be as scant as possible. The +labourer is desired to work for his daily bread, to which the wages are +made to correspond, and, of course, the cheaper bread is, the greater +are the profits of the master.</p> + +<p>Where the different industrial classes of a nation purchase from each +other, there is a mutual benefit—when either deserts the home market, +and has recourse to a foreign one, the benefit is totally neutralized. +There is no greater fallacy than the proposition, that it is best to buy +in the cheapest and to sell in the dearest market. There is a +preliminary consideration to this—which is your best, your steadiest, +and your most unfailing customer? None knows better than the +manufacturer, that he depends, <i>ante omnia</i>, upon the home market. Is +not this the very interest which is now assailed and threatened with +ruin? There is not a man in this country, whatever be his condition, who +would escape without scaith a period of agricultural depression; and how +infinitely more dangerous is the prospect, when the period appears to be +without a limit! The longer we reflect upon this measure, the more are +we convinced of its wantonness, and of the dangerous nature of the +experiment upon every industrial class in this great and prospering +country.</p> + +<p>There is one objection to the Ministerial scheme which, strange to say, +is open to both Protectionist and the Free-trader. The landowner has +reason to object to it both as an active and a passive measure—it +professes to leave him to his own resources, but it does not remove his +restrictions. Surely if the foreigner and the colonists are to be +permitted to compete on equal terms with him in the production of the +great necessary of life, his ingenuity ought to have free scope in other +things, more especially as he labours under the disadvantage of an +inferior soil and climate. Why may he not be allowed, if he pleases, to +attempt the culture of tobacco? The coarser kinds can be grown and +manufactured in many parts of England and Scotland, and if we are to +have free trade, why not carry out the principle to its fullest extent? +Why not allow us to grow hops duty free? Why not relieve us of the +malt-tax and of many other burdens? The answer is one familiar to +us—the revenue would suffer in consequence. No doubt it would, and so +it suffers from every commercial change. But these<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_382" id="Page_382">[Pg 382]</a></span> changes have now +gone so far, that—especially if you abolish this protective duty upon +corn—we are entitled to demand a return from the present cumbrous, +perplexing, and expensive mode of taxation, to the natural cheap and +simple one of poll or property-tax. At present no man knows what he is +paying towards the expense of government. He is reached in every way +indirectly through the articles he consumes. The customs furnish +occupation for one most expensive staff; the excise for another; nowhere +is the machinery of collection attempted to be simplified. Then comes +the assessed-taxes, the income-tax, land-tax—and what not—all +collected by different staffs—the cost of the preventive guard is no +trifle—in fact, there are as many parasites living upon the taxation of +this country as there are insects on a plot of unhealthy rose-trees. If +we are to have free trade, let it be free and unconditional, and rid us +of these swarms of unnecessary vermin. Open the ports by all means, but +open them to every thing. Let the quays be as free for traffic as the +Queen's highway; let us grow what we like, consume what we please, and +tax us in one round sum according to each man's means and substance, and +then at all events there can be no clashing of interests. This is the +true principle of free trade, carried to its utmost extent, and we +recommend it now to the serious consideration of Ministers.</p> + +<p>We have not in these pages ventured to touch upon the interests which +the national churches have in this important measure, because hitherto +we have been dealing with commercial matters exclusively. May we hope +they will be better cared for elsewhere than in our jarring House of +Commons.</p> + +<p>As to the necessity of the measure, more especially at the present time, +we can find no shadow of a reason. We can understand conversions under +very special circumstances. Had it been shown that the agriculturists, +notwithstanding their protection, were remiss in their duties—that they +had neglected improvement—that thereby the people of this country, who +looked to them for their daily supply of bread, were stinted or forced +pay a most exorbitant price, then there might have been some shadow of +an argument for the change at the present moment. We say a shadow, for +in reality there is no argument at all. The sliding-scale was +constructed, we presume, for the purpose of preventing exorbitant +prices, by admitting foreign grain duty free after our averages reached +a certain point, <i>and that point they have never yet reached</i>. Was, +then, the probability of such prices never in the mind of the framers, +and was the sliding-scale merely a temporary delusion and not a +settlement? So it would seem. The agriculturists are chargeable with no +neglect. The attempt some three or four months ago to get up a cry of +famine on account of the failure of the crops, has turned out a gross +delusion. Every misrepresentation on this head was met by overwhelming +facts; and the consequence is, that the Premier did not venture, in his +first speech, to found upon a scarcity as a reason for proposing his +measure. Something, indeed, was said about the possibility of a pressure +occurring before the arrival of the next harvest—it was perhaps +necessary to say so; but no man who has studied the agricultural +statistics of last harvest, can give the slightest weight to that +assertion. His second speech has just been put into our hands. Here +certainly he is more explicit. With deep gravity, and a tone of the +greatest deliberation, he tells the House of Commons, that before the +month of May shall arrive, the pressure will be upon us. We read that +announcement, so confidently uttered, with no slight amount of misgiving +as to the opinions we have already chronicled, but the next half column +put us right. There is, after all, no considerable deficiency in the +grain crop. It may be that the country has raised that amount of corn +which is necessary for its ordinary consumption, but the potato crop in +Ireland has failed! This, then—the failure of the potato crop in +Ireland—is the immediate cause, the necessity, of abolishing the +protections to agriculture in Great Britain! Was there ever such logic? +What has the murrain in potatoes to do with the question of foreign +competition, as applied to English, Scottish, nay, Irish corn? We are +old enough to recollect something like a famine in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_383" id="Page_383">[Pg 383]</a></span> the Highlands, when +the poor were driven to such shifts as humanity shudders to recall; but +we never heard that distress attributed to the fact of English +protection. If millions of the Irish will not work, and will not grow +corn—if they prefer trusting to the potato, and the potato happens to +fail—are <i>we</i> to be punished for that defect, be it one of +carelessness, of improvidence, or of misgovernment? Better that we had +no reason at all than one so obviously flimsy. If we turn to the +petitions which, about the end of autumn, were forwarded from different +towns, praying for that favourite measure of the League, the opening of +the ports, it will be seen that one and all of them were founded on the +assumed fact, that the grain crop was a deficient one. That has proved +to be fallacy, and is of course no longer tenable; but now we are asked +to take, as a supplementary argument, the state of the potatoes in +Ireland, and to apply it not to the opening of the ports for an +exigency, but to the total abolition of the protective duties upon +grain!</p> + +<p>Of the improvidence of the peasantry of Ireland we never entertained a +doubt. To such a scourge as this they have been yearly exposed; but how +their condition is to be benefited by the repeal of the Corn-laws, is a +matter which even Sir Robert Peel has not condescended to explain. For +it is a notorious and incontrovertible fact, that if foreign corn were +at this moment exposed at their doors duty free, they could not purchase +it. We shall give full credit to the government for its intention to +introduce the flour of Indian corn to meet, if possible, the exigency. +It was a wise and a kind thought, objectionable on no principle +whatever; and, had an Order in Council been issued to that effect, we +believe there is not one man in the country who would not have applauded +it. But why was this not done, more especially when the crisis is so +near? If the Irish famine is to begin in May, or even earlier, surely it +was not a very prudent or paternal act to mix up the question with +another, which obviously could not be settled so easily and so soon. It +is rather too much to turn now upon the agriculturists, and say—"You +see, gentlemen, what is the impending condition of Ireland. You have it +in your power to save the people from the consequences of their own +neglect. Adopt our scheme—admit Indian corn free of duty—and you will +rescue thousands from starvation." The appeal, we own, would be +irresistible, <i>were it made singly</i>. But if—mixed up as it were and +smothered with maize-flour—the English agriculturist is asked at the +same time to pass another measure which he believes to be suicidal to +his interest, and detrimental to that of the country, he may well be +excused if he pauses before taking so enthusiastic a step. Let us have +this maize by all means; feed the Irish as you best can; do it +liberally; but recollect that there is also a population in this country +to be cared for, and that we cannot in common justice be asked to +surrender a permanent interest, merely because a temporary exigency, +caused by no fault of ours, has arisen elsewhere.</p> + +<p>Apart from this, where was the necessity for the change at the present +moment? We ask that question, not because we are opposed to change when +a proper cause has been established, but because we have been taught—it +would seem somewhat foolishly—to respect consistency, and because we +see ground for suspicion in the authenticity of all these sudden and +unaccountable conversions. This is the first time, so far as we can +recollect, that Ministers, carried into power expressly for their +adherence to certain tangible principles, have repudiated these without +any intelligible cause, or any public emergency which they might seize +as a colourable pretext. The sagacity of some, the high character and +stainless honour of others—for we cannot but look upon the whole +Cabinet as participators in this measure—render the supposition of any +thing like deliberate treachery impossible. It is quite clear from what +has already transpired, that the private opinions of some of them remain +unchanged. They have no love for this measure—they would avoid it if +they could—they cannot look upon its results without serious +apprehension. Some of them, we know, care nothing for power—they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_384" id="Page_384">[Pg 384]</a></span> would +surrender, not sacrifice it, at any time cheerfully—most of all at a +crisis when its retention might subject them to the reproach of a broken +pledge. Neither do we believe that this is a faint-hearted Cabinet, or +that its members are capable of yielding their opinions to the <i>brutum +fulmen</i> of the League. That body is by no means popular. The great bulk +of the manufacturing artisans are totally indifferent to its +proceedings; for they know well that self-interest, and not +philanthropy, is the motive which has regulated that movement, and that +the immediate effect of cheap bread would be a reduction of the +workman's wages. We cannot, therefore, admit that any pressure from +without has wrought this change of opinion, about which there seems to +be a mystery which may never be properly explained. Perhaps it is best +that it should remain so. Enough are already implicated in this +question, on one side or the other. The facts and the arguments are +before us, and we have but to judge between them.</p> + +<p>Of the probable fate of this measure we shall venture no opinion. The +enormous amount of private business which of late years has been brought +before the Houses of Parliament—the importance and the number of the +internal improvements which depend upon their sanction, and in which +almost every man of moderate means has a stake, are strong probabilities +against any immediate dissolution of Parliament, or an appeal to the +judgment of the country. But there is no policy equal to truth, no line +of conduct at all comparable to consistency. We have not hesitated to +express our extreme regret that this measure should have been so +conceived and ushered in; both because we think these changes of opinion +on the part of public men, when unaccompanied by sufficient outward +motives, and in the teeth of their own recorded words and actions, are +unseemly in themselves, and calculated to unsettle the faith of the +country in the political morality of our statesmen—and because we fear +that a grievous, if not an irreparable division has been thereby caused +amongst the ranks of the Conservative party. Neither have we +hesitated—after giving all due weight to the arguments adduced in its +favour—to condemn that measure, as, in our humble judgment, uncalled +for and attended with the greatest risk of disastrous consequences to +the nation. If this departure from the protective principle should +produce the effect of lessening the tillage of our land, converting +corn-fields into pasture, depriving the labourer of his employment, and +permanently throwing us upon the mercy of foreign nations for our daily +supply of corn, it is impossible to over-estimate the evil. If, on the +contrary, nothing of this should take place—if it should be +demonstrated by experience that the one party has been grasping at a +chimera, and the other battling for the retention of an imaginary +bulwark, then—though we may rejoice that the delusion has been +dispelled—we may well be pardoned some regret that the experiment was +not left to other hands. Our proposition is simply this, that if we +cannot gain cheap bread without resorting to other countries for it, we +ought to continue as we are. Further, we say, that were we to be +supplied with cheap bread on that condition, not only our agricultural +but our manufacturing interest would be deeply and permanently injured; +and that no commercial benefit whatever could recompense us for the +sacrifice of our own independence, and the loss of our native resources.</p> + + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Polydrusus sericea.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Carabus auratus.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Scholia flavicomis.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Victor Hugo's beautiful line on <i>maternal affection</i>.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Rondolitier was a celebrated ichthyologist and sportsman of +the old school; and those desirous of further information respecting the +capture of fish by "fiddling to them," may be referred to his work on +fishes, <i>ad locum</i>.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> These hats are very peculiar; they are highly ornamented +with ribands, and have acquired, from their peculiarity in having a +double front—"chapeaux a deux bonjours."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> For a lively description of this dance <i>vide</i> Madame de +Sevigne's <i>Letters to her Daughter</i>. That ecstatic lady, who always +wrote more or less under the influence of St Vitus, was in her time an +<i>habituée</i> at Vichy.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> These wolves were six weeks old, in fine condition, and +clung to the teats of their foster parent with wolf-like pertinacity. As +long as she lay licking their little black bodies and dark chestnut +heads, or permitted them to hide their sulky faces and ugly bare tails +under her body, they lay quiet enough, but when she raised her emaciated +form to stretch her legs, or to take an airing, at first they hung to +her dugs by their teeth; but gradually falling off, barked as she +proceeded, and would snap at your fingers if you went to lay hold of +them. Out of the six, one was gentle and affectionate, would lick your +hand, slept with the owner, and played with his ears in the morning, +without biting; if his own ears were pulled, he took it as a dog would +have done, and seemed to deprecate all unkindness by extreme gentleness +of manner, for which he was finely bullied by his brother wolves +accordingly. The bitch seemed equally attached to all the litter; for +<i>instinctive</i>, unlike <i>rational</i> affection, has no favourites. At first +the wolves boarded in the same house with us, which afforded abundant +opportunity for our visiting them, <i>a l'improvisto</i>, whenever we +pleased. On one of these occasions we saw two rabbits, lately introduced +into their society, crunching carrots, <i>demissis auribus</i>, and quite at +their ease, while two little "wolves" were curiously snuffing about; at +first looking at the rabbits, and then <i>imitating</i> them, by taking up +some of their <i>prog</i>, which tasting and not approving, they spat +out—then, as if suspecting the rabbits to have been playing them a +trick, one of them comes up stealthily, and brings his own nose in close +proximity to that of one of the rabbits, who, quite unmoved at this act +of familiarity, continues to munch on. The wolf contemplates him for a +short time in astonishment, and seeing that the carrots actually +disappear down his "œsophagus," returns to the other wolf to tell him +so. His next step is to paw his friend a little, by way of encouraging +him to advance. So encouraged he goes up, and straight lays hold of the +rabbit's ear, and a pretty plaything it would have made had the rabbit +been in the humour! In place of which he <i>thumps</i> the ground with his +hind legs, rises almost perpendicularly, and the next moment is down +like lightning upon the head of the audacious wolf, who on thus +unexpectedly receiving a double "colaphus" retreats, yelping! The other +wolf is more successful; having crept up stealthily to the remaining +rabbit, he seizes him by his furry rump—off bounds he in a fright, +while the other plants himself down like a <i>sphinx</i>, erects his ears, +and seems highly pleased at what he has been doing! We used sometimes to +visit the wolves while they slept; on these occasions a slight whistle +was at first sufficient to make them start upon their legs; at last, +like most sounds with which the ear becomes familiar, they heard it +passively. All our attempts to frighten the rabbits by noises <i>while +they were engaged in munching</i>, proved unsuccessful.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Sydenham.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> So notorious and violent has this hydromachia become, that +it has at length called forth a poem, styled the <i>Vichyade</i>, of which +the two resident physicians are the Achilles and Hector. The poem, which +is as coarse and personal as the <i>Bath Guide</i>, is not so clever, but is +much read here, <i>non obstant</i>.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> An ingenious physician assures us, that he has for years +past been in the habit of consulting his patients in place of his +barometer, and has thus been enabled to foretell vicissitudes of weather +before they had manifested themselves, by attending to the accounts they +gave of their sensations in the bath. There are seven springs, whose +united volumes of water, in twenty-four hours, fill a chamber of twenty +feet dimensions, in every direction.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> <i>Cornice</i>—"him."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> "Put"—<i>Cornice</i>—to take or carry.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> Cleverly.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> Commencing each line with a letter of the loved one's +name.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> The Agro Romano, the Sabina, the Campagna Maritima, and +the Patrimonio di San Pietro, which make up the Campagna of Rome, +contain 3881 square miles, or about 3,000,000 acres.—Sismondi's +<i>Essais</i>, ii, 10.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> Barbieri à Sismondi.—Sismondi's <i>Essais</i>, li. 11.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> Tacitus, <i>Annal</i>. xii. 43. But, by Hercules, formerly +provisions were sent for the legions from Italy into distant provinces; +nor even now is it afflicted by sterility: but we prefer purchasing it +from Africa and Egypt, and the lives of the Roman people have been +committed to ships and the chances of the waves.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> Sismondi, <i>Essais</i>, ii. 25.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> To confess the truth, the great estates have ruined Italy; +ay, and the provinces too.—<i>Plin</i>. 1. xviii. c. 6.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> Gibbon, vi. c. 36.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> "Quingena viginti millia quadringenti duo jugera quæ +Campania provincia, juxta inspectorum relationem, in desertis et +squalidis locis habere dignoscitur, eisdem provinciabilibus +concessum."—<i>Cod. Theod.</i> ix. c. 38, c. 2.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> Gibbon, iii. c. 18.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i> iii. 88. c. 17.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_25_25" id="Footnote_25_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> Michelet, <i>Histoire de France</i>, i. 104-108.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_26_26" id="Footnote_26_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> Gibbon, VIII. c. xiv.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_27_27" id="Footnote_27_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> Michelet's <i>Histoire de France</i>, i. 277.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_28_28" id="Footnote_28_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> Ammianus Marcellinus, c. xvi; see also Gibbon, vi. 264.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_29_29" id="Footnote_29_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> Sismondi's <i>Essais</i>, ii. 57.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_30_30" id="Footnote_30_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> Sismondi's <i>Essais</i>, ii. 33.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_31_31" id="Footnote_31_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> Sismondi's <i>Essais</i>, ii. 29, 30.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_32_32" id="Footnote_32_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> Nicolai, <i>dell' Agro Romano</i>, ii. 30, 31.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_33_33" id="Footnote_33_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> The rubbi is equal to two French hectares, or five English +acres.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_34_34" id="Footnote_34_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> Nicolai, iii 133.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_35_35" id="Footnote_35_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_35"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i>, c. in. 167. <i>Et subseq</i>.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_36_36" id="Footnote_36_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_36"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> Sismondi's <i>Essais</i>, ii, 46, 47.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_37_37" id="Footnote_37_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_37"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> Nicolai, <i>dell' Agro Romano</i>, iii. 167, 175.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_38_38" id="Footnote_38_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_38"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> Nicolai, iii. 174, 178.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_39_39" id="Footnote_39_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_39"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> Sismondi's <i>Essais</i>, ii, 56, 57.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_40_40" id="Footnote_40_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_40_40"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> Nicolai, <i>del' Agro Romano</i>, iii. 153. Sismondi's +<i>Essais</i>, ii. 44.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_41_41" id="Footnote_41_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_41_41"><span class="label">[41]</span></a> Motu proprio de Pius VII.—Nicolai, ii. 163, 185.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_42_42" id="Footnote_42_42"></a><a href="#FNanchor_42_42"><span class="label">[42]</span></a> Sismondi's <i>Essais</i>, ii. 71.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_43_43" id="Footnote_43_43"></a><a href="#FNanchor_43_43"><span class="label">[43]</span></a> Gibbon, chap. 33, Vol. vi. p. 20.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_44_44" id="Footnote_44_44"></a><a href="#FNanchor_44_44"><span class="label">[44]</span></a> Gibbon, c. 31, Vol. v. p. 351.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_45_45" id="Footnote_45_45"></a><a href="#FNanchor_45_45"><span class="label">[45]</span></a> Slade's <i>Travels in the East</i>, ii 15.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_46_46" id="Footnote_46_46"></a><a href="#FNanchor_46_46"><span class="label">[46]</span></a> Slade, ii. 97.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_47_47" id="Footnote_47_47"></a><a href="#FNanchor_47_47"><span class="label">[47]</span></a> Sismondi's <i>Essais</i>, ii. 71.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_48_48" id="Footnote_48_48"></a><a href="#FNanchor_48_48"><span class="label">[48]</span></a> <i>The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido, for the +Suppression of Piracy, &c. &c.</i>. By Capt. the Hon. <span class="smcap">Henry Keppel</span>, R.N. +London, 1846.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_49_49" id="Footnote_49_49"></a><a href="#FNanchor_49_49"><span class="label">[49]</span></a> <i>Borneo Proper</i> is the northern and north-western part of +the island, and an independent Malay state.</p></div> +</div> + + + + +<p class="center"><i>Edinburgh: Printed by Ballantyne and Hughes, Paul's Work.</i></p> + + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackwoods Edinburgh Magazine, Volume +59, No. 365, March, 1846, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKWOODS EDINBURGH *** + +***** This file should be named 29858-h.htm or 29858-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/8/5/29858/ + +Produced by Brendan OConnor, Jonathan Ingram and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Library of Early Journals.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + + +</pre> + +</body> +</html> diff --git a/29858-h/images/052.jpg b/29858-h/images/052.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..90fb495 --- /dev/null +++ b/29858-h/images/052.jpg diff --git a/29858.txt b/29858.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7051c78 --- /dev/null +++ b/29858.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9013 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackwoods Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 59, +No. 365, March, 1846, 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: Blackwoods Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 59, No. 365, March, 1846 + +Author: Various + +Release Date: August 30, 2009 [EBook #29858] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKWOODS EDINBURGH *** + + + + +Produced by Brendan OConnor, Jonathan Ingram and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Library of Early Journals.) + + + + + + + + + + BLACKWOOD'S + + EDINBURGH MAGAZINE. + + + No. CCCLXV. MARCH, 1846. VOL. LIX. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + THE TWENTY-FOURTH BOOK OF HOMER'S ILIAD. (IN ENGLISH HEXAMETERS,) 259 + + THE STUDENT OF SALAMANCA. PART V., 273 + + MOSES AND SON. A DIDACTIC TALE, 294 + + VICHYANA, 306 + + IT'S ALL FOR THE BEST. CONCLUSION, 319 + + THE ROMAN CAMPAGNA, 337 + + MR BROOKE OF BORNEO, 356 + + THE SMUGGLER'S LEAP. A PASSAGE IN THE PYRENEES, 366 + + MINISTERIAL MEASURES, 373 + + + + + EDINBURGH: + + WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, 45, GEORGE STREET; + AND 37, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON. + _To whom all Communications (post paid) must be addressed._ + + SOLD BY ALL THE BOOKSELLERS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. + + PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE AND HUGHES, EDINBURGH. + + + + + BLACKWOOD'S + + EDINBURGH MAGAZINE. + + + NO. CCCLXV. MARCH, 1846. VOL. LIX. + + + + +THE TWENTY-FOURTH BOOK OF HOMER'S ILIAD, + +ATTEMPTED IN ENGLISH HEXAMETERS. + + +[It may be thought idle or presumptuous to make a new attempt towards +the naturalization among us of any measure based on the ancient +hexameter. Even Mr Southey has not been in general successful in such +efforts; yet no one can deny that here and there--as, for instance, at +the opening of his _Vision of Judgment_, and in his Fragment on +_Mahomet_--he has produced English hexameters of very happy +construction, uniting vigour with harmony. His occasional success marks +a step of decided progress. Dr Whewell also, in some passages of his +_Hermann and Dorothea_, reached a musical effect sufficient to show, +that, if he had bestowed more leisure, he might have rendered the whole +of Goethe's masterpiece in its original measure, at least as agreeably +as the _Faust_ has been presented to us hitherto. Mr Coleridge's +felicity, both in the Elegiac metre and a slight variation of the +Hendecasyllabic, is universally acknowledged. + +The present experiment was made before the writer had seen the German +Homer of Voss; but in revising his MS. he has had that skillful +performance by him, and he has now and then, as he hopes, derived +advantage from its study. Part of the first book of the _Iliad_ is said +to have been accomplished by Wolff in a still superior manner; but the +writer has never had the advantage of comparing it with Voss. Nor was he +acquainted, until he had finished his task, with a small specimen of the +first book in English hexameters, which occurs in the _History of +English Rhythms_, lately published by Mr E. Guest, of Caius College, +Cambridge. + +Like Voss and Mr Guest, he has chosen to adhere to the Homeric names of +the deities, in place of adopting the Latin forms; and in this matter he +has little doubt that every scholar will approve his choice. Mr +Archdeacon Williams has commonly followed the same plan in those very +spirited prose translations that adorn his learned Essay, _Homerus_. + +It is hardly necessary to interpret these names: as, perhaps, no one +will give much attention to the following pages, who does not already +know that ZEUS answers to Jupiter--and that KRONION is a usual Homeric +designation of Zeus, signifying the son of KRONOS = SATURN: that HERA is +Juno; POSEIDON, Neptune: ARES, Mars; ARTEMIS, Diana; APHRODITE, Venus; +HERMES, Mercury; and so forth. + +Should this experiment be received with any favour, the writer has in +his portfolio a good deal of Homer, long since translated in the same +manner; and he would not be reluctant to attempt the completion of an +Iliad in English Hexameters, such as he can make them. + N.N.T. + LONDON, _Jan._ 31, 1846.] + + * * * * * + + Now the assembly dissolv'd; and the multitude rose and disperst them, + Each making speed to the ships, for the needful refreshment of nature, + Food and the sweetness of sleep; but alone in his tent was Achilles, + Weeping the friend that he lov'd; nor could Sleep, the subduer of all + things, + Master his grief; but he turn'd him continually hither and thither, + Thinking of all that was gracious and brave in departed Patroclus, + And of the manifold days they two had been toilfully comrades, + Both in the battles of men and the perilous tempests of ocean. + Now on his side, and anon on his back, or with countenance downward, + Prone in his anguish he sank: then suddenly starting, he wander'd, + Desolate, forth by the shore; till he noted the burst of the morning + As on the waters it gleam'd, and the surf-beaten length of the + sand-beach. + Instantly then did he harness his swift-footed horses, and corded + Hector in rear of the car, to be dragg'd at the wheels in dishonour. + Thrice at the speed he encircled the tomb of the son of Menoetius, + Ere he repos'd him again in his tent, and abandon'd the body, + Flung on its face in the dust; but not unobserv'd of Apollo. + He, though the hero was dead, with compassionate tenderness eyed him, + And with the aegis of gold all over protected from blemish, + Not to be mangled or marr'd in the turbulent trailing of anger. + + Thus in the rage of his mood did he outrage illustrious Hector; + But from the mansions of bliss the Immortals beheld him with pity, + And to a stealthy removal incited the slayer of Argus. + This by the rest was approv'd; but neither of Hera, the white-arm'd, + Nor of the Blue-eyed Maid, nor of Earth-disturbing Poseidon. + Steadfast were they in their hatred of Troy, and her king, and her + people, + Even as of old when they swore to avenge the presumption of Paris, + Who at his shieling insulted majestical Hera and Pallas, + Yielding the glory to her that had bribed him with wanton allurements. + But when suspense had endured to the twelfth reappearance of morning, + Thus, in the midst of the Gods, outspake to them Phoebus Apollo: + "Cruel are ye and ungrateful, O Gods! was there sacrifice never + Either of goats or of beeves on your altars devoted by Hector, + Whom thus, dead as he lies, ye will neither admit to be ransom'd, + Nor to be seen of his wife, or his child, or the mother that bore him, + Nor of his father the king, or the people, with woful concernment + Eager to wrap him in fire and accomplish the rites of departure? + But with the sanction of Gods ye uphold the insensate Achilles, + Brutal, perverted in reason, to every remorseful emotion + Harden'd his heart, as the lion that roams in untameable wildness; + Who, giving sway to the pride of his strength and his truculent impulse, + Rushes on sheep in the fold, and engorges his banquet of murder; + So has the Myrmidon kill'd compassion, nor breathes in his bosom + Shame, which is potent for good among mortals, as well as for evil. + Dear was Patroclus to him, but the mourner that buries a brother, + Yea, and the father forlorn, that has stood by the grave of his + offspring, + These, even these, having wept and lamented, are sooth'd into calmness, + For in the spirit of man have the Destinies planted submission. + But because Hector in battle arrested the life of his comrade, + Therefore encircling the tomb, at the speed of his furious horses, + Drags he the corse of the fall'n: Neither seemly the action nor prudent; + He among Us peradventure may rouse a retributing vengeance, + Brave though he be, that insults the insensible clay in his frenzy." + + Hera, the white-arm'd queen, thus answer'd Apollo in anger: + "Thou of the Silvern Bow! among them shall thy word have approval, + Who in equivalent honour have counted Achilles and Hector. + This from a man had his blood, and was nurs'd at the breast of a woman; + He that ye estimate with him, conceiv'd in the womb of a Goddess, + Rear'd by myself, and assign'd by myself for the consort of Peleus, + Whom above all of his kindred the love of Immortals exalted. + And ye were witnesses, Gods! Thou, too, at the feast of the Bridal, + Thou, with the lyre in thy hand, ever-treacherous, friend of the guilty!" + + But the Compeller of Clouds thus answer'd her, interposing: + "Hera! with Gods the debate, nor beseems the upbraiding of anger. + Not in equivalent honour the twain; yet was generous Hector + Dearest at heart to the Gods among Ilion's blood of the death-doom'd: + Dearest to me; for his gifts from his youth were unfailingly tender'd; + Never to altar of mine was his dutiful sacrifice wanting, + Savour, or costly libation; for such is our homage appointed. + Dear was the generous Hector; yet never for that shall be sanction'd + Stealthy removal, or aught that receives not assent from Achilles. + Daily and nightly, be sure, in his sorrow his mother attends him; + Swiftly some messenger hence, and let Thetis be moved to approach me: + So may some temperate word find way to his heart, and Peleides + Bend to the gifts of the king, and surrender the body of Hector." + + Zeus having spoken, up sprang, for his messenger, swift-footed Iris; + And between Samos anon and the rocks of precipitous Imber + Smote on the black sea-wave, and about her the channel resounded: + Then, as the horn-fixt lead drops sheer from the hand of the islesman, + Fatal to ravenous fish, plung'd she to the depth of the ocean: + Where in a cavern'd recess, the abode of the sisterly Sea-nymphs, + Thetis the goddess appear'd, in the midst of them sitting dejected; + For she was ruefully brooding the fate of her glorious offspring, + Doom'd to a Phrygian grave, far off from the land of his fathers. + Near to her standing anon, thus summon'd her wind-footed Iris: + "Thetis, arise! thou art called by Zeus whose decrees are eternal." + But she was instantly answer'd by Thetis the silvery-footed:-- + "Why hath the Mightiest called for me? Overburthen'd with sorrow, + How shall I stand in the place where the Gods are assembled in splendour? + Yet will I go: never word that He speaketh in vain may be spoken." + + So having spoken, the Goddess in majesty peerless, arising, + Veil'd her in mantle of black; never gloomier vesture was woven; + And she advanced, but, for guidance, the wind-footed Iris preceded. + Then the o'erhanging abyss of the ocean was parted before them, + And having touched on the shore, up darted the twain into AEther; + Where, in the mansion of Zeus Far-seeing, around him were gather'd + All the assembly of Gods, without sorrow, whose life is eternal: + And by the throne was she seated; for Blue-eyed Pallas Athena + Yielded the place; and, the goblet of gold being tender'd by Hera + Softly with comforting words, soon as Thetis had drank and restored it, + Then did the Father of gods and of men thus open his purpose: + "Thou to Olympus hast come, O Goddess! though press'd with affliction; + Bearing, I know it, within thee a sorrow that ever is wakeful. + Listen then, Thetis, and hear me discover the cause of the summons: + Nine days agone there arose a contention among the Immortals, + Touching the body of Hector and Town-destroying Achilles: + Some to a stealthy removal inciting the slayer of Argus, + But in my bosom prevailing concern for the fame of Peleides, + Love and respect, as of old, toward Thee, and regard of hereafter. + Hasten then, Thou, to the camp, and by Thee let thy son be admonished: + Tell that the Gods are in anger, and I above all the Immortals, + For that the corse is detain'd by the ships, and he spurns at a ransom; + If there be awe toward me, let it move the surrender of Hector. + Iris the while will I send to bid generous Priam adventure, + That he may rescue his son, straightway to the ships of Achaia, + Laden with gifts for Achilles, wherewith to appease and content him." + + Nor was the white-footed Thetis unsway'd by the word of Kronion; + But she descended amain, at a leap, from the peaks of Olympus, + And to the tent of her son went straight; and she found him within it + Groaning in heavy unrest--but around him his loving companions + Eager in duty appear'd, as preparing the meal for the midday. + Bulky and woolly the sheep they within the pavilion had slaughter'd. + Then by the side of the chief sat Thetis the mother majestic, + And she caress'd with her hand on his cheek, and address'd him and named + him-- + "How long wilt thou, my child, thus groan, in a pauseless affliction + Eating thy heart, neither mindful of food nor the pillow of slumber? + Well were it surely for thee to be mingled in love with a woman; + Few are, bethink thee, the days thou shalt live in the sight of thy + mother; + Near even now stands Death, and the violent Destiny shades thee. + Listen meantime to my word, for from Zeus is the message I bear thee; + Wrathful, he says, are the Gods, but himself above all the Immortals, + For that in rage thou detainest the dead, nor is ransom accepted. + Haste thee, deliver the corse, and be sooth'd with the gifts of + redemption." + + Ceased then Thetis divine, and Peleides the swift-footed answer'd: + "So let it be: let a ransom be brought, and the body surrender'd, + Since the Olympian minds it in earnest, and sends the commandment." + + Thus at the station of ships had the son and the mother communion. + Iris from Zeus meanwhile had descended to Ilion holy: + "Go," said he, "Iris the swift, and make speed from the seat of Olympus + Down into Ilion, bearing my message to generous Priam. + Forth to the ships let him fare with a ransom to soften Peleides-- + Priam alone; not a man from the gates of the city attending: + Save that for driving the mules be some elderly herald appointed, + Who may have charge of the wain with the treasure, and back to the city + Carefully carry the dead that was slain by the godlike Achilles. + Nor be there death in the thought of the king, nor confusion of terror; + Such is the guard I assign for his guiding, the slayer of Argus, + Who shall conduct him in peace till he reaches the ships of Achaia. + Nor when, advancing alone, he has enter'd the tent of Peleides, + Need there be fear that he kill: he would shield him if menac'd by + others; + For neither reasonless he, nor yet reckless, nor wilfully wicked: + But when a suppliant bends at his knee he will kindly entreat him." + + Swift at the bidding of Zeus arose wind-footed Iris, and nearing + Soon the abode of the king, found misery there and lamenting: + Low on the ground, in the hall, sat the sons of illustrious Priam, + Watering their raiment with tears, and in midst of his sons was the old + man, + Wrapt in his mantle, the visage unseen, but the head and the bosom + Cover'd in dust, wherewith, rolling in anguish, his hands had bestrewn + them; + But in their chambers remote were the daughters of Priam bewailing, + Mindful of them that, so many, so goodly, in youth had been slaughter'd + Under the Argive hands. But the messenger charged by Kronion + Stood by the king and in whispers address'd him, and hearing he trembled: + + "Strengthen thy spirit within thee, Dardantan Priam, and fear not: + For with no message of evil have I to thy dwelling descended, + But with a kindly intent, and I come from the throne of Kronion, + Who, though afar be his seat, with concern and compassion beholds thee. + Thee the Olympian calls to go forth for the ransom of Hector, + Laden with gifts for Peleides, wherewith to appease and content him. + Go thou alone: not a man from the gates of the city attending; + Only for guiding the mules be some elderly herald appointed, + Who may have charge of the wain with its treasure, and back to the city + Carefully carry the dead that was slain by the godlike Achilles." + + Thus having spoken to Priam, the wind-footed Iris departed; + And he commanded his sons straightway to make ready the mule-wain, + Strong-built; sturdy of wheel, and upon it to fasten the coffer. + But he himself from the hall to his odorous chamber descended, + Cedarn, lofty of roof, wherein much treasure was garner'd, + And unto Hecuba calling, outspake to her generous Priam:-- + + "Mourner! but now at my hand hath a messenger stood from Kronion; + Me he commands to go forth to the ships for redeeming of Hector, + Carrying gifts for Peleides, wherewith to appease and content him. + Answer me truly, my spouse, and declare what of this is thy judgment, + For of a surety my heart and my spirit with vehement urgence + Move me to go to the ships and the wide-spread host of Achaians." + + Thus did he say; but the spouse of the old man shriekt, and made answer: + "Wo to me! whither are scatter'd the wits that were famous aforetime, + Not with the Trojans alone, but afar in the lands of the stranger? + Wo to me! thou to adventure, alone, to the ships of Achaia, + Into the sight of the man by whose fierceness thy sons have been + murder'd, + Many, and comely, and brave! Of a surety thy heart is of iron; + For if he holds thee but once, and his eyes have been fasten'd upon thee, + Bloody and faithless is he, hope thou neither pity nor worship. + Him that is taken away let us mourn for him here in our dwelling, + Since we can see him no more; the immoveable Destiny markt him, + And it was wove in his thread, even so, in the hour that I bare him, + To be the portion of dogs, who shall feast on him far from his parents, + Under the eyes of the foe: whose liver if I could but grapple + Fast by the midst to devour, he then should have just retribution + For what he did to my son; for in no misbehaving he slew him, + But for the men of his land and the well-girt women of Troia + Firm stood Hector in field; neither mindful of flight nor avoidance." + + This was her answer from Priam, the old man godlike in presence:-- + "Hold me not back when my will is to go; nor thyself in my dwelling + Be the ill-omening bird:--howbe, thou shalt not persuade me. + Had I been bidden to this by a mortal of earth's generation, + Prophet, or Augur, or Priest might he be, I had deem'd him deceitful; + Not to go forth, but to stay, had the more been the bent of my purpose: + But having heard her myself, looking face unto face on the Goddess, + Go I, nor shall the word be in vain; and, if Destiny will'd me, + Going, to meet with my death at the ships of the brass-coated Argives, + So let it be. I refuse not to die by the hand of Achilles, + Clasping my son in mine arms, the desire of my sorrow accomplish'd." + + So having spoken, he open'd the coffers that shone in his chamber, + Whence he selected, anon, twelve shawls surpassingly splendid; + Delicate wool-cloaks twelve, and the like of embroidered carpets; + Twelve fair mantles of state, and of tunics as many to match them. + Next, having measur'd his gold, did he heap ten plentiful talents; + Twain were the tripods he chose, twice twain the magnificent platters; + Lastly, a goblet of price, which the chieftains of Thracia tender'd + When he on embassy journey'd: a great gift, yet did the old man + Grudge not to pluck from his store even this, for his spirit impell'd him + Eager to ransom his son: But the people who look'd on his treasure + Them did he chase from the gate, and with bitter reproaches pursued + them:-- + "Graceless and worthless, begone! in your homes is there nothing to weep + for, + That ye in mine will harass me--or lacks it, to fill your contentment, + That the Olympian god has assign'd to me this tribulation-- + Loss of a son without peer? But yourselves shall partake my affliction; + Easier far will it be for the pitiless sword of the Argives, + Now he is dead, to make havoc of you. For myself, ere I witness + Ilion storm'd in their wrath, and the fulness of her desolation, + Oh, may the Destiny yield me to enter the dwelling of Hades!" + + Speaking, he smote with his staff, and they fled from the wrath of the + old man; + But, when they all had disperst, he upbraided his sons and rebuked them; + Deiphobus and Alexander, Hippothoeus, generous Dius, + Came at the call of the king, with Antiphonus, Helenus, Pammon, + Agathon, noble of port, and Polites, good at the war-shout:-- + These were the nine that he urged and admonish'd with bitter + reproaches:-- + "Hasten ye, profitless children and vile! if ye all had been slaughter'd, + Fair were the tidings to me, were but Hector in place of ye skaithless! + O, evil-destinied me! that had sons upon sons to sustain me, + None to compare in the land, and not one that had worth is remaining! + Mentor the gallant and goodly, and Troeilus prompt with the war-team; + Hector, a god among men--he, too, who in nothing resembled + Death-doom'd man's generation, but imaged the seed of Immortals-- + Battle hath reft me of these:--but the shames of my house are in safety; + Jesters and singers enow, and enow that can dance on the feast-day; + Scourges and pests of the realm; bold spoilers of kids and of lambkins! + Will ye bestir ye at length, and make ready the wain and the coffer, + Piling in all that ye see, and delay me no more from my journey?" + + So did he speak; but the sons, apprehending the wrath of their father, + Speedfully dragg'd to the portal the mule-wain easily-rolling, + New-built, fair to behold; and upon it the coffer was corded. + Next from the pin they unfasten'd the mule-yoke, carv'd of the box-tree, + Shaped with a prominent boss, and with strong rings skilfully fitted. + Then with the bar was unfolded the nine ells' length of the yoke-band; + But when the yoke had been placed on the smooth-wrought pole with + adroitness, + Back at the end of the shaft, and the ring had been turn'd on the holder, + Hither and thither the thongs on the boss made three overlappings, + Whence, drawn singly ahead, they were tight-knit under the collar. + Next they produced at the portal, and high on the vehicle seemly + Piled the uncountable worth of the king's Hectorean head-gifts. + Then did they harness the mules, strong-hoof'd, well-matcht in their + paces, + Sent of the Mysi to Priam, and splendid the gift of the stranger: + Last, to the yoke they conducted the horses which reverend Priam + Tended and cherish'd himself, of his own hand fed at the manger; + But in the high-built court these harness'd the king and the herald, + None putting hand to the yoke but the old men prudent in counsel. + + Hecuba, anxious in soul, had observ'd, and anon she approach'd them, + Goblet of gold in her hand, with the generous juice of the vine-tree, + Careful they might not go forth without worshipful rite of libation. + "Take," said she; "pour unto Zeus, and beseech him in mercy to shield + thee + Home again safe from the host, since thy vehement spirit impels thee + Forth to the ships, and my warning avails not to stay thee from going: + Pour it, and call on the Lord of the Black Cloud, greatest Kronion, + Him who, on Ida enthron'd, surveys wide Troia's dominion. + Pray for his messenger fleet to be issued in air on the right hand, + Dearest of birds in his eyes, without peer in the might of the winged: + Trustful in whom thou may'st go to the ships of the Danaeid horsemen. + But if the Thunderer God vouchsafe not his messenger freely, + Ne'er can I will thee to go, howsoever intent on the ransom." + + Thus to her answer'd the king, old Priam, the godlike of presence: + "Spouse, not in this shall mine ear be averse to the voice of thy + counsel; + Good is it, lifting our hands, to implore for the grace of the Godhead." + + Priam demanded amain of the handmaiden, chief of the household, + Water to lave on his hands; and the handmaiden drew from the fountain + At the command of the king, and with basin and ewer attended: + Then having sprinkled his hands, and from Hecuba taken the wine-cup, + Standing in midst of the court did he worship, and pour it before them, + Fixing his eyes upon heaven, and thus audibly made supplication: + + "Father, enthron'd upon Ida, in power and in glory supremest! + Grant me, approaching Peleides, to find with him mercy and favour. + Now, let thy messenger fleet issue forth in the sky on the right hand, + Dearest of birds in thine eyes, without peer in the might of the winged, + Seeing and trusting in whom I may go to the ships of Achaia." + + So did he make supplication, and Zeus All-Provident heard him, + And on the instant an eagle, of skyborne auguries noblest, + Dark and majestic, the hunter of AEther, was sent from his footstool. + Wide as the doorway framed for the loftiest hall of a rich man + Shows, when the bolts are undrawn and the balancing valves are expanded, + Such unto either extreme was the stretch of his wings as he darted + Clear from the right, oversweeping the city: and gazing upon him, + Comforted inly were they, every bosom with confidence gladden'd. + + Now to his sumptuous car with alacrity Priam ascending, + Forth from the vestibule drove, and the echoing depth of the portal. + First was the fourwheel'd wain with the strong-hoof'd Mysian mule-team, + Guided by careful Idaeus, the herald: behind him the horses, + Whom with the scourge overstanding, alone in his chariot the old man + Eagerly urged through the city. But many the friends that attended, + Trooping in sorrowful throng, as if surely to death he were driving. + + These, when advancing apace he went down to the plain from the rampart, + Turn'd them to Ilion again, both the sons and the sorrowing kindred. + But as he enter'd the plain, he escap'd not the eye of Kronion. + He took cognisance then, and with merciful favour beholding, + Forthwith spake to his son, ever loving in ministry, Hermes:-- + "Go!" said he, "Hermes! for ever I know it thy chiefest contentment + Friendly to succour mankind, and thy pity attends supplication; + Go, and be Priam thy charge, till he reaches the ships of Achaia, + Watching and covering so that no eye of an enemy sees him, + None of the Danaeids note, till he comes to the tent of Peleides." + + So Zeus; nor disobey'd him the kindly ambassador Hermes. + Under his feet straightway did he fasten the beautiful sandals, + Winged, Ambrosian, golden, which carry him, now over ocean, + Now over measureless earth, with the speed of the wind in its blowing. + Also he lifted the wand which, touching the eyelid of mortals, + Soothes into slumber at will, or arouses the soul of the sleeper. + Grasping it, forth did he fly in his vigour, the slayer of Argus, + And to the Hellespont glided apace, and the shore of the Trojan; + Walking whereon he appear'd as a stripling of parentage royal, + Fresh with the beard first-seen, in the comeliest blossom of manhood. + + But having reach'd in their journey the mighty memorial of Ilus, + Now were the elders at pause--while the horses and mules in the river + Under the sepulchre drank, and around them was creeping the twilight: + Then was the herald aware of the Argicide over against them, + Near on the shadowy plain, and he started and whisper'd to Priam: + "Think, Dardanides! think--for a prudent decision is urgent; + Yonder a man is in view, and I deem he is minded to slay us. + Come, let us flee on the horses; or instantly, bending before him, + Supplicate, grasping his knees, if perchance he may pity the aged." + + So did he speak; but confusion and great fear fell upon Priam, + And every hair was erect on the tremulous limbs in his faintness. + Dumb and bewilder'd he stood; but beneficent Hermes, approaching, + Tenderly took by the hand, and accosted and questioned the old man: + "Whither, O father! and why art thou driving the mules and the horses + Through the ambrosial night, when the rest of mankind are in slumber? + Is there no terror for thee in the pitiless host of Achaia, + Breathing of fury and hate, and so near to thy path in their leaguer? + Say, if but one of them see thee, 'mid night's swift-vanishing blackness, + Urging so costly a freight, how then might thy courage avail thee? + Thou art not youthful in years, and thy only attendant is aged; + How, if a spearman arise in thy way, may his arm be resisted? + But fear nothing from me, old man; were another assailing, + Thee would I help, for the father I love is recall'd when I view thee." + + Then to him answered Priam, the old man godlike in presence: + "These things are of a truth, dear child, as thy speech has exprest them; + Nevertheless, some God has extended the hand of protection; + He that vouchsafes me to meet in my need a benevolent comrade, + Helpful and gracious as thou, in the blossom of vigorous manhood; + Prudent withal in thy mind--fair offspring of fortunate parents." + + Him again answer'd in turn heaven's kindly ambassador, Hermes: + "True of a surety and wise, old man, are the words thou hast spoken; + But now freely resolve me, and fully discover thy purpose: + Whether the treasures thou bearest, so many, so goodly, are destined + Forth to some distant ally, with whom these may at least be in safety? + Or is it so that ye all are abandoning Ilion the holy-- + Stricken with dread since the bravest and best of thy sons is removed, + He that was ever in battle the peer of the prime of Achaia?" + + Thus unto Hermes replied old Priam, the godlike of presence: + "Who, then, noblest! art thou, and from whom is thy worshipful lineage, + Who makest mention so fair of the death of unfortunate Hector?" + + But to him spake yet again the ambassador mild of Kronion: + "Dost thou inquire, O king! as to mention of Hector the godlike? + Him have I seen full oft with mine eyes in the glorious battle, + Yea, and when urging the chase he advanced to the ramparted galleys, + Trampling the Argive bands, and with sharp brass strew'd them in + slaughter. + We, from the station observing, in wonderment gazed; for Achilles + Held us apart from the fight in his wrath at the wrong of Atreides. + For in his train am I named, and the same fair galley convey'd me; + Born of the Myrmidon blood, in the house of my father, Polyctor. + Noble and wealthy is he in the land, but like thee he is aged: + Six were the sons in his hall, but myself was the seventh and the + youngest, + Whom, when the lots had been cast, it behov'd to depart with Peleides. + Now from the ships to the plain have I come, for to-morrow at dawning + Close to the city again the Achaians will plant them in battle: + Ill do they bear within ramparts to sit, and the kings of Achaia + Now can restrain them no longer, so hot their desire for the onslaught." + + Him thus eagerly answer'd old Priam, the godlike in presence: + "Be'st thou indeed of the train of the Peleiades Achilles? + Come then, discover the truth: be there nothing, I pray, of concealment. + Is my son still at the galleys, or has he already been flung forth, + Piecemeal torn, for a feast to the dogs, by the hand of Achilles?" + + This was in turn the reply of the kindly ambassador Hermes: + "Fear it not; neither the dogs, old man, nor the birds have devour'd him: + Still to this hour 'mid the tents, by the black-hull'd ship of Peleides, + He forsakenly lies: but though morning has dawn'd on him twelve times + Since he was reft of his breath, yet the body is free from corruption; + Nor have the worms, for whom war-slain men are a banquet, approach'd him. + Truly Peleides, as oft as the east is revived with the day-beam, + Ruthlessly drags him around by the tomb of his brotherly comrade; + But yet he mars not the dead; and with wonder thine eyes would behold him + How he in freshness lies: from about him the blood has been cleansed, + Dust has not tarnisht the hue, and all clos'd are the lips of the gashes, + All that he had, and not few were the brass-beat lances that pierc'd him. + Guarded so well is thy son by the grace of the blessed Immortals, + Dead though he be; of a surety in life they had favour'd him dearly." + + So did he speak: but the elder was gladden'd in spirit, and answer'd:-- + "Verily, child, it is good to attend on the blessed Immortals + Duly with reverent gifts; for my son (while, alas! he was living) + Never forgot in his home the Supreme who inherit Olympus: + Wherefore they think of him now, though in death's dark destiny humbled. + But come, take from my hand this magnificent cup: it is giv'n thee + Freely to keep for thyself; and conduct me, the Gods being gracious, + Over the shadowy field, till I reach the abode of Peleides." + + Him thus answer'd amain the beneficent messenger Hermes:-- + "Cease, old man, from the tempting of youth--for thou shalt not persuade + me. + Gift will I none at thy hand without knowledge of noble Achilles. + Great is my terror of him; and in aught to defraud him of treasure, + Far from my breast be the thought, lest hereafter he visit with + vengeance. + But for conducting of thee I am ready with reverent service, + Whether on foot or by sea, were it far as to glorious Argos. + None shall assail thee, be sure, in contempt of thy faithful attendant." + + So did the Merciful speak: and he sprang on the chariot of Priam, + Seizing with strenuous hand both the reins and the scourge as he mounted: + And into horses and mules vivid energy pass'd from his breathing. + But when at last they arrived at the fosse and the towers of the galleys, + They that had watch at the gates were preparing the meal of the evening; + And the Olympian guide survey'd, and upon them was slumber + Pour'd at his will; and the bars were undone and the gates were expanded, + And he conducted within both the king and the ransoming mule-wain. + Swiftly advancing, anon they were near to the tent of Peleides: + Lofty the shelter and large, for the King by the Myrmidons planted; + Hewn of the pines of the mountain; and rough was the thatch of the + roof-tree, + Bulrushes mown on the meadow; and spacious the girth of the bulwark + Spanning with close-set stakes; but the bar of the gate was a pine-beam. + Three of the sons of Achaia were needful to lift it and fasten: + Three to withdraw from its seat the securement huge of the closure: + Such was the toil for the rest--but Achilles lifted it singly. + This the beneficent guide made instantly open for Priam. + And for the treasure of ransom wherewith he would soothe the Peleides; + Then did the Argicide leap from the car to the ground and address'd + him:-- + "Old man, I from Olympus descended, a god everlasting, + Hermes, appointed the guide of thy way by my father Kronion. + Now I return to my place, nor go in to the sight of Achilles, + Since it beseems not Immortal of lineage divine to reveal him + Waiting with manifest love on the frail generation of mankind. + Enter the dwelling alone, and, embracing the knees of Peleides, + Him by his father adjure, and adjure by the grace of his mother, + And by the child of his love, that his mind may be mov'd at thy + pleading." + + Thus having spoken, evanish'd, to lofty Olympus ascending, + Hermes: but Priam delay'd not, and sprang from his car on the sea-beach; + And, while Idaeus remain'd to have care of the mules and the horses, + On did the old man pass, and he enter'd, and found the Peleides + Seated apart from his train: two only of Myrmidons trustful, + Hero Automedon only, and Alkimus, sapling of Ares, + Near to him minist'ring stood; he repos'd him but now from the meal-time, + Sated with food and with wine, nor remov'd from him yet was the table. + All unobserv'd of them enter'd the old man stately, and forthwith + Grasp'd with his fingers the knees and was kissing the hands of + Achilles-- + Terrible, murderous hands, by which son upon son had been slaughter'd. + As when a man who has fled from his home with the curse of the + blood-guilt, + Kneels in a far-off land, at the hearth of some opulent stranger, + Begging to shelter his head, there is stupor on them that behold him; + So was Achilles dumb at the sight of majestical Priam-- + He and his followers all, each gazing on other bewilder'd. + But he uplifted his voice in their silence, and made supplication:-- + "Think of thy father at home," (he began,) "O godlike Achilles! + Him, my coeval, like me within age's calamitous threshold! + Haply this day there is trouble upon him, some insolent neighbours + Round him in arms, nor a champion at hand to avert the disaster: + Yet even so there is comfort for him, for he hears of thee living; + Day unto day there is hope for his heart amid worst tribulation, + That yet again he shall see his beloved from Troia returning. + Misery only is mine; for of all in the land of my fathers, + Bravest and best were the sons I begat, and not one is remaining. + Fifty were mine in the hour that the host of Achaia descended: + Nineteen granted to me out of one womb, royally mother'd, + Stood by my side; but the rest were of handmaids born in my dwelling. + Soon were the limbs of the many unstrung in the fury of Ar[=e]s: + But one peerless was left, sole prop of the realm and the people: + And now at last he too, the protector of Ilion, Hector, + Dies by thy hand. For his sake have I come to the ships of Achaia, + Eager to ransom the body with bountiful gifts of redemption. + Thou have respect for the Gods, and on me, O Peleides! have pity, + Calling thy father to mind; but more piteous is my desolation, + Mine, who alone of mankind have been humbled to this of endurance-- + Pressing my mouth to the hand that is red with the blood of my children." + + Hereon Achilles, awak'd to a yearning remembrance of Peleus, + Rose up, took by the hand, and remov'd from him gently the old man. + Sadness possessing the twain--one, mindful of valorous Hector, + Wept with o'erflowing tears, lowlaid at the feet of Achilles; + He, sometime for his father, anon at the thought of Patroclus, + Wept, and aloft in the dwelling their long lamentation ascended. + But when the bursting of grief had contented the godlike Peleides, + And from his heart and his limbs irresistible yearning departed, + Then from his seat rose he, and with tenderness lifted the old man, + Viewing the hoary head and the hoary beard with compassion: + And he address'd him, and these were the air-wing'd words that he + utter'd:-- + "Ah unhappy! thy spirit in truth has been burden'd with evils. + How could the daring be thine to come forth to the ships of Achaia + Singly, to stand in the eyes of the man by whose weapon thy children, + Many and gallant, have died? full surely thy heart is of iron. + But now seat thee in peace, old man, and let mourning entirely + Pause for a space in our minds, although heavy on both be affliction; + For without profit and vain is the fulness of sad lamentation, + Since it was destined so of the Gods for unfortunate mortals + Ever in trouble to live, but they only partake not of sorrow; + For by the threshold of Zeus two urns have their station of old time, + Whereof the one holds dolings of good, but the other of evil; + And to whom mixt are the doles of the thunder-delighting Kronion, + He sometime is of blessing partaker, of misery sometime; + But if he gives of the ill, he has fixt him the mark of disaster, + And over bountiful earth the devouring Necessity drives him, + Wandering ever forlorn, unregarded of gods and of mortals. + Thus of a truth did the Gods grant glorious gifts unto Peleus, + Even from the hour of his birth, for above compare was he favour'd, + Whether in wealth or in power, in the land of the Myrmidons reigning; + And albeit a mortal, his spouse was a goddess appointed. + Yet even to him of the God was there evil apportion'd--that never + Lineage of sons should be born in his home, to inherit dominion. + One son alone he begat, to untimely calamity foredoom'd; + Nor do I cherish his age, since afar from the land of my fathers + Here in the Troad I sit, to the torment of thee and thy children. + And we have heard, old man, of thine ancient prosperity also, + Lord of whatever is held between Lesbos the seat of the Macar, + Up to the Phrygian bound and the measureless Hellespontos; + Ruling and blest above all, nor in wealth nor in progeny equall'd; + Yet from the hour that the Gods brought this visitation upon thee, + Day unto day is thy city surrounded with battles and bloodshed. + How so, bear what is sent, nor be griev'd in thy soul without ceasing. + Nothing avails it, O king! to lament for the son that has fallen; + Him thou canst raise up no more, but thyself may have new tribulation." + + So having said, he was answer'd by Priam the aged and godlike: + "Seat not me on the chair, O belov'd of Olympus! while Hector + Lies in the tent uninterr'd; but I pray thee deliver him swiftly, + That I may see with mine eyes: and, accepting the gifts of redemption, + Therein have joy to thy heart; and return thou homeward in safety, + Since of thy mercy I live and shall look on the light of the morning." + + Darkly regarding the King, thus answer'd the rapid Achilles: + "Stir me to anger no more, old man; of myself I am minded + To the release of the dead, for a messenger came from Kronion + Hither, the mother that bore me, the child of the Ancient of Ocean. + Thee, too, I know in my mind, nor has aught of thy passage escap'd me; + How that some God was the guide of thy steps to the ships of Achaia. + For never mortal had dared to advance, were he blooming in manhood, + Here to the host by himself; nor could sentinels all be avoided; + Nor by an imbecile push might the bar be dislodg'd at my bulwark. + Therefore excite me no more, old man, when my soul is in sorrow, + Lest to thyself peradventure forbearance continue not alway, + Suppliant all that thou art--but I break the behest of the Godhead." + + So did he speak; but the old man fear'd, and obey'd his commandment. + Forth of the door of his dwelling then leapt like a lion Peleides; + But not alone: of his household were twain that attended his going, + Hero Automedon first, and young Alkimus, he that was honour'd + Chief of the comrades around since the death of beloved Patroclus. + These from the yoke straightway unharness'd the mules and the horses, + And they conducted within the coeval attendant of Priam, + Bidding him sit in the tent: then swiftly their hands from the mule-wain + Raise the uncountable wealth of the King's Hectorean head-gifts. + But two mantles they leave and a tunic of beautiful texture, + Seemly for wrapping the dead as the ransomer carries him homeward. + Then were the handmaidens call'd, and commanded to wash and anoint him, + Privately lifted aside, lest the son should be seen of the father, + Lest in the grief of his soul he restrain not his anger within him, + Seeing the corse of his son, but enkindle the heart of Achilles, + And he smite him to death, and transgress the command of Kronion. + But when the dead had been wash'd and anointed with oil by the maidens, + And in the tunic array'd and enwrapt in the beautiful mantle, + Then by Peleides himself was he rais'd and compos'd on the hand-bier; + Which when the comrades had lifted and borne to its place in the + mule-wain, + Then groan'd he; and he call'd on the name of his friend, the beloved:-- + "Be not wroth with me now, O Patroclus, if haply thou hearest, + Though within Hades obscure, that I yield the illustrious Hector + Back to his father dear. Not unworthy the gifts of redemption; + And unto thee will I render thereof whatsoever is seemly." + + So said the noble Peleides, and ent'ring again the pavilion, + Sat on the fair-carv'd chair from whence he had risen aforetime, + Hard by the opposite wall, and accosted the reverend Priam:-- + "Now has thy son, old man, been restor'd to thee as thou requiredst. + He on his bier has been laid, and thyself shall behold and remove him + Soon as the dawning appears: but of food meanwhile be we mindful. + For not unmindful of food in her sorrow was Niobe, fair-hair'd, + Albeit she in her dwelling lamented for twelve of her offspring. + Six were the daughters, and six were the sons in the flower of their + manhood. + These unto death went down by the silvern bow of Apollo, + Wrathful to Niobe--those smote Artemis arrow-delighting; + For that she vaunted her equal in honour to Leto the rosy, + Saying her births were but twain, and herself was abundant in offspring: + Wherefore, twain as they were, they confounded them all in destruction. + Nine days, then, did they lie in their blood as they fell, and approach'd + them + None to inter, for mankind had been turn'd into stones of Kronion; + But they had sepulture due on the tenth from the gods everlasting; + And then, mindful of food, rose Niobe, weary of weeping. + Yet still, far among rocks, in some wilderness lone of the mountains-- + Sipylus holds there, they say, where the nymphs in the desert repose + them. + They that in beauty divine lead dances beside Acheloeus;-- + There still, stone though she be, doth she brood on her harm from the + god-heads. + But, O reverend king, let us also of needful refreshment + Think now. Time will hereafter be thine to bewail thy beloved; + Home into Ilion borne--many tears may of right be his portion!" + + So did he speak; and upspringing anon, swift-footed Achilles + Slaughter'd a white-wool'd sheep, and his followers skinn'd it expertly. + Skilfully then they divided, and skewer'd, and carefully roasting, + Drew from the spits; and Automedon came, bringing bread to the table, + Piled upon baskets fair; but for all of them carv'd the Peleides; + And each, stretching his hand, partook of the food that was offer'd. + But when of meat and of wine from them all the desire was departed, + Then did Dardanian Priam in wonderment gaze on Achilles, + Stately and strong to behold, for in aspect the Gods he resembled; + While on Dardanian Priam gazed also with wonder Achilles, + Seeing the countenance goodly, and hearing the words of the old man. + Till, when contemplating either the other they both were contented, + Him thus first bespake old Priam, the godlike in presence: + "Speedfully now let the couch be prepar'd for me, lov'd of Kronion! + And let us taste once more of the sweetness of slumber, reclining: + For never yet have mine eyes been clos'd for me under my eyelids, + Never since under thy hands was out-breathed the spirit of Hector; + Groaning since then has been mine, and the brooding of sorrows + unnumber'd, + In the recess of my hall, low-rolling in dust and in ashes. + But now of bread and of meat have I tasted again, and the black wine + Pour'd in my throat once more--whereof, since he was slain, I partook + not." + + So did he speak; and Achilles commanded the comrades and handmaids + Under the porch of the dwelling to place fair couches, and spread them + Duly with cushions on cushions of purple, and delicate carpets, + Also with mantles of wool, to be wrapt over all on the sleepers. + But they speedily past, bearing torches in hand, from the dwelling, + And two couches anon were with diligence order'd and garnish'd. + + Then to the king, in a sport, thus spoke swift-footed Achilles: + "Rest thee without, old guest, lest some vigilant chief of Achaia + Chance to arrive, one of those who frequent me when counsel is needful; + Who, if he see thee belike amid night's fast-vanishing darkness, + Straightway warns in his tent Agamemnon, the Shepherd of peoples, + And the completion of ransom meets yet peradventure with hindrance. + But come, answer me this, and discover the whole of thy purpose,-- + How many days thou design'st for entombing illustrious Hector; + That I may rest from the battle till then, and restrain the Achaians." + + So he; and he was answer'd by Priam, the aged and godlike: + "If 'tis thy will that I bury illustrious Hector in honour, + Deal with me thus, O Peleides, and crown the desire of my spirit. + Well dost thou know how the town is begirt, and the wood at a distance, + Down from the hills to be brought, and the people are humbled in terror. + Nine days' space we would yield in our dwelling to due lamentation, + Bury the dead on the tenth, and thereafter the people be feasted; + On the eleventh let us toil till the funeral mound be completed, + But on the twelfth to the battle once more, if the battle be needful." + + Instantly this was the answer of swift-footed noble Achilles: + "Reverend king, be it also in these things as thou requirest; + I for the space thou hast meted will hold the Achaians from warring." + + Thus said the noble Peleides, and, grasping the wrist of the right hand, + Strengthen'd the mind of the king, that his fear might not linger within + him. + They then sank to repose forthwith in the porch of the dwelling, + Priam the king and the herald coeval and prudent in counsel; + But in the inmost recess of the well-built lordly pavilion + Slept the Peleides, and by him down laid her the rosy Briseis. + + All then of Gods upon high, ever-living, and warrior horsemen, + Slept through the livelong night in the gentle dominion of slumber; + But never slumber approach'd to the eyes of beneficent Hermes, + As in his mind he revolv'd how best to retire from the galleys + Priam the king, unobserv'd of the sentinels sworn for the night-watch. + Over his head, as he slept, stood the Argicide now, and address'd him: + "Old man, bodings of evil disturb not thy spirit, who slumber'st + Here among numberless foes, because noble Peleides has spared thee. + True that thy son has been ransom'd, and costly the worth of the + head-gifts; + Yet would the sons that are left thee have three times more to surrender, + Wert thou but seen by the host, and the warning convey'd to Atreides." + + Thus did he speak, but the king was in terror, and waken'd the herald. + Then, when beneficent Hermes had harness'd the mules and the horses, + Swiftly he drove through the camp, nor did any observe the departure. + So did they pass to the ford of the river of beautiful waters, + Xanthus the gulfy, begotten of thunder-delighting Kronion; + Then from the chariot he rose and ascended to lofty Olympus. + + But now wide over earth spread morning mantled in saffron, + As amid groaning and weeping they drew to the city; the mule-wain + Bearing behind them the dead: Nor did any in Ilion see them, + Either of men, as they came, or the well-girt women of Troia: + Only Cassandra, that imaged in grace Aphrodite the golden, + Had to the Pergamus clomb, and from thence she discover'd her father + Standing afoot on the car, and beside him the summoning herald; + And in the waggon behind them the wrapt corse laid on the death-bier. + Then did she shriek, and her cry to the ends of the city resounded: + + "Come forth, woman and man, and behold the returning of Hector! + Come, if ye e'er in his life, at his home-coming safe from the battle + joyfully troop'd; and with joy might it fill both the town and the + people." + + So did she cry; nor anon was there one soul left in the city, + Woman or man, for at hand and afar was the yearning awaken'd. + Near to the gate was the king when they met him conducting the + death-wain. + First rush'd, rending their hair, to behold him the wife and the mother, + And as they handled the head, all weeping the multitude stood near:-- + And they had all day long till the sun went down into darkness + There on the field by the rampart lamented with tears over Hector, + But that the father arose in the car and entreated the people: + "Yield me to pass, good friends, make way for the mules--and hereafter + All shall have weeping enow when the dead has been borne to the + dwelling." + So did he speak, and they, parting asunder, made way for the mule-wain. + But when they brought him at last to the famous abode of the princes, + He on a fair-carv'd bed was compos'd, and the singers around him + Rang'd, who begin the lament; and they, lifting their sorrowful voices, + Chanted the wail for the dead, and the women bemoan'd at its pausings. + But in the burst of her woe was the beauteous Andromache foremost, + Holding the head in her hands as she mourn'd for the slayer of heroes:-- + + "Husband! in youth hast thou parted from life, and a desolate widow + Here am I left in our home; and the child is a stammering infant + Whom thou and I unhappy begat, nor will he, to my thinking, + Reach to the blossom of youth; ere then, from the roof to the basement + Down shall the city be hurl'd--since her only protector has perish'd, + And without succour are now chaste mother and stammering infant. + Soon shall their destiny be to depart in the ships of the stranger, + I in the midst of them bound; and, my child, thou go with them also, + Doom'd for the far-off shore and the tarnishing toil of the bondman, + Slaving for lord unkind. Or perchance some remorseless Achaian + Hurl from the gripe of his hand, from the battlement down to perdition, + Raging revenge for some brother perchance that was slaughter'd of Hector, + Father, it may be, or son; for not few of the race of Achaia + Seiz'd broad earth with their teeth, when they sank from the handling of + Hector; + For not mild was thy father, O babe, in the blackness of battle-- + Wherefore, now he is gone, through the city the people bewail him. + But the unspeakable anguish of misery bides with thy parents, + Hector! with me above all the distress that has no consolation: + For never, dying, to me didst thou stretch forth hand from the pillow, + Nor didst thou whisper, departing, one secret word to be hoarded + Ever by day and by night in the tears of eternal remembrance." + + Weeping Andromache ceased, and the women bemoan'd at her pausing; + Then in her measureless grief spake Hecuba, next of the mourners: + "Hector! of all that I bore ever dearest by far to my heart-strings! + Dear above all wert thou also in life to the gods everlasting; + Wherefore they care for thee now, though in death's dark destiny humbled! + Others enow of my sons did the terrible runner Achilles + Sell, whomsoever he took, far over the waste of the waters, + Either to Samos or Imber, or rock-bound harbourless Lemnos; + But with the long-headed spear did he rifle the life from thy bosom, + And in the dust did he drag thee, oft times, by the tomb of his comrade, + Him thou hadst slain; though not so out of death could he rescue + Patroclus. + Yet now, ransom'd at last, and restored to the home of thy parents, + Dewy and fresh liest thou, like one that has easily parted, + Under a pangless shaft from the silvern bow of Apollo." + + So did the mother lament, and a measureless moaning received her; + Till, at their pausing anew, spake Helena, third of the mourners:-- + "Hector! dearest to me above all in the house of my husband! + Husband, alas! that I call him; oh! better that death had befallen! + Summer and winter have flown, and the twentieth year is accomplish'd + Since the calamity came, and I fled from the land of my fathers; + Yet never a word of complaint have I heard from thee, never of hardness; + But if another reproach'd, were it brother or sister of Paris, + Yea, or his mother, (for mild evermore as a father was Priam,) + Them didst thou check in their scorn, and the bitterness yielded before + thee, + Touch'd by thy kindness of soul and the words of thy gentle persuasion. + Therefore I weep, both for thee and myself to all misery destined, + For there remains to me now in the war-swept wideness of Troia, + None either courteous or kind--but in all that behold me is horror." + + So did she cease amid tears, and the women bemoan'd at her pausing; + But King Priam arose, and he spake in the gate to the people:-- + "Hasten ye, Trojans, arise, and bring speedily wood to the city: + Nor be there fear in your minds of some ambush of lurking Achaians, + For when I came from the galleys the promise was pledged of Peleides, + Not to disturb us with harm till the twelfth reappearance of morning." + + So did he speak: and the men to their wains put the mules and the oxen, + And they assembled with speed on the field by the gates of the city. + Nine days' space did they labour, and great was the heap from the forest: + But on the tenth resurrection for mortals of luminous morning, + Forth did they carry, with weeping, the corse of the warrior Hector, + Laid him on high on the pyre, and enkindled the branches beneath him. + + Now, with the rose-finger'd dawn once more in the orient shining, + All reassembled again at the pyre of illustrious Hector. + First was the black wine pour'd on the wide-spread heap of the embers, + Quenching wherever had linger'd the strength of the glow: and thereafter, + Brethren and comrades belov'd from the ashes collected the white bones, + Bending with reverent tears, every cheek in the company flowing. + But when they all had been found, and the casket of gold that receiv'd + them, + Carefully folded around amid fair soft veilings of purple, + Deep in the grave they were laid, and the huge stones piled to the + margin. + + Swiftly the earth-mound rose: but on all sides watchers were planted, + Fearful of rush unawares from the well-greaved bands of Achaia. + Last, when the mound was complete, and the men had return'd to the city, + All in the halls of the King were with splendid solemnity feasted. + + Thus was the sepulture order'd of Hector the Tamer of Horses. + + + + +THE STUDENT OF SALAMANCA. + +PART V. + + Va vienon chapelchurris + Con corneta y clarin, + Para entrar en Bilbao + A beber chacolin. + + Mal chacolin tuvieron + Y dia tan fatal, + Que con la borrachera + Se murio el general. + + _Christino Song._ + +"Ten--fifteen--thirty--all plump full-weighted coins of Fernando Septimo +and Carlos Quarto. Truly, Jaime, the trade thou drivest is a pleasant +and profitable one. Little to do, and good pay for it." + +It was a June day, a little past the middle of the month. Just within +the forest that extended nearly up to the western wall of the Dominican +convent, upon a plot of smooth turf, under the shadow of tall bushes and +venerable trees, Jaime, the gipsy, had seated himself, and was engaged +in an occupation which, to judge from the unusually well-pleased +expression of his countenance, was highly congenial to his tastes. The +resting-place he had chosen had the double advantage of coolness and +seclusion. Whilst in the court of the convent, and in the hollow square +in the interior of the building, where the nuns cultivated a few +flowers, and which was sprinkled by the waters of a fountain, the heat +was so great as to drive the sisters to their cells and shady cloisters, +in the forest a delicious freshness prevailed. A light air played +between the moss-clad tree-trunks, and the soft turf, protected by the +foliage from the scorching rays of the sun, felt cool to the foot that +pressed it. Nay, in some places, where the shade was thickest, and where +a current of air flowed up through the long vistas of trees, might still +be seen, although the sun was in the zenith, tiny drops of the morning +dew, spangling the grass-blades. Into those innermost recesses of the +greenwood, however, the esquilador had not thought it necessary to +penetrate: habituated to the African temperature of Southern Spain, he +was satisfied with the moderate degree of shelter obtained in the little +glade he occupied; into which, although the sunbeams did not enter, a +certain degree of heat was reflected from the convent walls, of whose +grey surface he obtained a glimpse through the branches. The sheep-skin +jacket which was his constant wear--its looseness rendering it a more +endurable summer garment than might have been inferred from its warm +material--lay upon the grass beside him, exposing to view a woollen +shirt, composed of broad alternate stripes of red and white; the latter +colour having assumed, from length of wear and lack of washing, a tint +bordering upon the orange. He had untwisted the long red sash which he +wore coiled round his waist, and withdrawn from its folds, at one of its +extremities, forming a sort of purse, a goodly handful of gold coin, the +result of the more or less honest enterprises in which he had recently +been engaged. This he was counting out, and arranging according to its +kind, in glittering piles of four, eight, and sixteen-dollar pieces. A +grim contortion of feature, his nearest approach to a smile, testified +the pleasure he experienced in thus handling and reckoning his treasure; +and, in unusual contradiction to his taciturn habits, he indulged, as he +gloated over his gold, in a muttered and disjointed soliloquy. + +"Hurra for the war!" so ran his monologue; "may it last till Jaime bids +it cease. 'Tis meat and drink to him--ay, and better still." Here he +glanced complacently at his wealth. "Surely 'tis rare fun to see the +foolish Busne cutting each other's throats, and the poor Zincalo reaping +the benefit. I've had fine chances certainly, and have not thrown them +away. Zumalacarregui does not pay badly; then that affair of the +Christino officer was worth a good forty ounces, between him and the +fool Paco; and now Don Baltasar--but he is the worst pay of all. +Promises in plenty; he rattles them off his tongue as glib as the old +nuns do their _paters_; but if he opens his mouth he takes good care to +keep his purse shut. A pitiful two score dollars are all I have had from +him for a month's service--I should have made more by spying for +Zumalacarregui; with more risk, perhaps--though I am not sure of that. +Both the noble colonel and myself would stretch a rope if the general +heard of our doings. And hear of them he will, sooner or later unless +Don Baltasar marries the girl by force, and cuts Paco's throat. Curse +him! why doesn't he pay me the fifty ounces he promised me? If he did +that, I would get out of the way till I heard how the thing turned. I +must have the money next time I see him, or"---- + +What alternative the esquilador was about to propound must remain +unknown; for, at that moment, the sound of his name, uttered near at +hand, and in a cautious tone, caused him to start violently and +interrupt his soliloquy. Hastily sweeping up his money, and thrusting it +into the end of his sash, he seized his jacket, and was about to seek +concealment in the neighbouring bushes. Before doing so, however, he +cast a glance in the direction whence the sound had proceeded, and for +the first time became aware that the spot selected for the telling of +his ill-gotten gains was not so secure from observation as he had +imagined. In the outer wall of the western wing of the convent, and at +some distance from the ground, two windows broke the uniformity of the +stone surface. Hitherto, whenever the gipsy had noticed them, they had +appeared hermetically blocked up by closely-fitting shutters, painted to +match the colour of the wall, of which they almost seemed to form a +part. On taking up his position just within the skirt of the forest, the +possibility of these casements being opened, and his proceedings +observed, had not occurred to him; and it so happened that from one of +them, through an opening in the branches, the retreat he had chosen was +completely commanded. The shutter of this window had now been pushed +open, and the lovely, but pallid and emaciated countenance of Rita, was +seen gazing through the strong bars which traversed the aperture. + +"Jaime!" she repeated; "Jaime, I would speak with you." + +Upon seeing whom it was who thus addressed him, the gipsy's alarm +ceased. He deliberately put on and knotted his sash; and casting his +jacket over his shoulder, turned to leave the spot. + +"Jaime!" cried Rita for the third time, "come hither, I implore you." + +The gipsy shook his head, and was walking slowly away, his face, +however, still turned towards the fair prisoner, when she suddenly +exclaimed-- + +"Behold! For one minute's conversation it is yours." + +And in the shadow cast by the embrasure of the casement, Jaime saw a +sparkle, the cause of which his covetous eye at once detected. Three +bounds, and he stood under the window. Rita passed her arm through the +bars, and a jewelled ring dropped into his extended palm. + +"_Hermoso!_" exclaimed the esquilador, his eyes sparkling almost as +vividly as the stones that excited his admiration. "Beautiful! Diamonds +of the finest water!" + +The shock of her father's death, coupled with previous fatigue and +excitement, had thrown Rita into a delirious fever, which for more than +three weeks confined her to her bed. Within a few hours of her arrival +at the convent, Don Baltasar had been compelled to leave it to resume +his military duties; and he had not again returned, although, twice +during her illness, he sent the gipsy to obtain intelligence of her +health. On learning her convalescence, he dispatched him thither for a +third time, with a letter to Rita, urging her acceptance of his +hand--their union having been, as he assured her, her father's latest +wish. As her nearest surviving relative, he had assumed the office of +her guardian, and allotted to her the convent as a residence; until such +time as other arrangements could be made, or until she should be +willing to give him a nearer right to protect her. Jaime had now been +two days at the convent awaiting a reply to this letter, without which +Don Baltasar had forbidden him to return. This reply, however, Rita, +indignant at the restraint imposed upon her, had as yet, in spite of the +arguments of the abbess, shown no disposition to pen. + +With her forehead pressed against the bars of the window, Rita noted the +delight manifested by the gipsy at the present she had made him. She had +already observed him feasting his eyes with the sight of his money; and +although she knew him to be an agent of Don Baltasar, his evident +avarice gave her hopes, that by promise of large reward she might induce +him to betray his employer and serve her. Producing a second ring, of +greater value than the one she had already bestowed upon him, she showed +it to the wondering esquilador. He held up his hands instinctively to +catch it. + +"You may earn it," said Rita; "and twenty such." + +And whilst with one hand she continued to expose the ring to the greedy +gaze of the gipsy, with the other she held up a letter. + +"For Don Baltasar?" asked the Gitano. + +"No," said she. "For Zumalacarregui." + +Jaime made a step backwards, and again shook his head. Rita feared that +he was about to leave her. + +"Oh!" she exclaimed, "I entreat, I beseech you, assist me in this +strait. Whatever sum your vile employer has promised you, I will give +tenfold. Take my letter, and name your reward." + +"That's what the other said," muttered Jaime; "'name your reward,' but +he is in no hurry to pay it. If I thought her promises better than +his"---- + +And again he looked up at the window, and seemed to hesitate. + +"Listen," cried Rita, who saw him waver; "I am rich--you are poor. I +have farms, estates, vineyards--you shall choose amongst them wherewith +to live happily for the rest of your days. Convey this letter safely, +and exchange your comfortless and disreputable wanderings for a settled +home and opulence." + +Jaime made a gesture of refusal. + +"Your lands and your vineyards, your fields and farms, are no temptation +to the Zincalo, senora. What would they avail him? Your countrymen would +say, 'Out upon the gipsy! See the thief!' and they would defraud him of +his lands, and spit on him if he complained. No, senorita, give me a +roving life, and the wealth that I can carry in my girdle, and defend +with my knife." + +"It shall be as you will," cried Rita, eagerly. "Gold, jewels, whatever +you prefer. This letter will procure my freedom; and, once free, you +shall find me both able and disposed to reward you beyond your wildest +dreams." + +"Yes, if the general does not hang me when he learns my share in the +business." + +"I have not named you to him, nor will I. The letter is unsealed; you +can read before delivering it. Your name shall never be breathed by me, +save as that of my preserver." + +There was an accent of sincerity in Rita's promises that rendered it +impossible to mistrust them. The gipsy, sorely tempted, was evidently +about to yield. He gazed wistfully at the ring, which Rita still held up +to his view; his eyes twinkled with covetousness, and he half extended +his hand. Rita slipped the ring into the fold of the letter, and threw +both down to him. Dexterously catching, and thrusting them into his +breast, he glanced furtively around, to see that he was unobserved. He +stood near the wall, just under the window, and the iron bars preventing +Rita from putting out her head, only the upper half of his figure was +visible to her. At that moment, to her infinite surprise and alarm, she +saw an extraordinary change come over his features. Their expression of +greedy cunning was replaced, with a suddenness that appeared almost +magical, by one of pain and terror; and scarcely had Rita had time to +observe the transformation, when he lay upon the ground, struggling +violently, but in vain, against some unseen power, that drew him +towards the wall. He caught at the grass and weeds, which grew in +profusion on the rarely-trodden path; he writhed, and endeavoured to +turn himself upon his face, but without success. With pale and terrified +visage, but in dogged silence, he strove against an agency invisible to +Rita, and which he was totally unable to resist. His body speedily +vanished from her sight, then his head, and finally his outstretched +arms; the rustling noise, occasioned by his passage through the herbage, +ceased; and Rita, aghast at this extraordinary and mysterious +occurrence, again found herself alone. We will leave her to her +astonishment and conjecture, whilst we follow the gipsy to the place +whither he had been so involuntarily and unceremoniously conveyed, a +description of which will furnish a key to his seemingly unaccountable +disappearance. + +It was a vault of considerable extent, surrounded by casks of various +sizes, most of which would, on being touched, have given, by their +ringing sound, assurance of their emptiness. In bins, at one extremity +of the cellar, were a number of bottles, whose thick mantle of dust and +cobwebs spoke volumes for the ripe and racy nature of their contents. A +large chest of cedar-wood stood in the innermost nook of the cellar, +with raised lid, disclosing a quantity of cigars, worm-eaten and musty +from extreme age. In the massive wall, forming one end of the vault, and +which was in fact the foundation of the outer wall of the convent, was a +large doorway; but the door had been removed, and the aperture filled +with stones and plaster, forming a barrier more solid in appearance than +reality. This barrier had recently been knocked down; its materials lay +scattered on the ground, and through the opening thus made, came the +only light that was allowed to enter the vault. It proceeded from the +cell in which Paco, the muleteer, had for more than a month been +imprisoned. + +Long, very long and wearisome, had that month of captivity appeared to +Paco. Accustomed to a life of constant activity and change, it would +have been difficult to devise for him a severer punishment than inaction +and confinement. The first day he passed in tolerable tranquillity of +mind, occupied by vain endeavours to conjecture the motives of the +violence offered to him, and momentarily anticipating his release; and +although evening came without its taking place, he went to sleep, fully +convinced that the next morning would be the term of his durance. +Conscious of no crime, ignorant of Count Villabuena's death, and of Don +Baltasar's designs, he was totally unable to assign a reason for his +imprisonment. The next morning came, the bolts of his dungeon-door were +withdrawn; he started from his pallet. The door opened, and a man +entered, bringing a supply of fresh water and a meagre gaspacho. This he +laid down; and was leaving the cell without replying to Paco's indignant +and loudly-uttered interrogatories; when the muleteer followed, and +attempted to force his way out. He was met by a stern "Back!" and the +muzzle of a cocked blunderbuss touched his breast. A sturdy convent +servitor barred the passage, and compelled him to retreat into his +prison. + +Paco now gave free course to his impatience. During the whole of that +day he paced his cell with the wild restlessness of a newly-caged +panther; the gaspacho remained untasted, but the water-jug was quickly +drained, for his throat was dry with cursing. The next morning another +visit, another gaspacho and supply of water, and another attempt to +leave the prison, repulsed like the previous one. On the third day, +however, his hopes of a prompt liberation having melted away before the +dogged silence and methodical regularity of his jailers, Paco began to +cast about in his mind for means of liberating himself. First he shook +and examined the door, but he might as well have attempted to shake the +Pyrenees; its thick hard wood and solid fastenings mocked his efforts, +and moreover he had no instruments, not so much as a rusty nail, to aid +him in his attempt. The two side-walls next received his attention; but +they were of great blocks of stone, joined by a cement of nearly equal +hardness, and on which, although he worked till his nails were torn to +shreds, and his fingers ran blood, he could not make the slightest +impression. As to the wall opposite to the door, he did not even examine +it; for it was easy to judge, from the grass and bushes growing against +the window in its top, that it was the outer wall of the convent. On +this, since he could make nothing of the partition-walls, all labour +would of course be thrown away; and even if he could bore through it, he +must find the solid earth on the other side, and be discovered before he +could possibly burrow his way out. As to the window, or rather the +iron-barred opening through which came light and air, for any purposes +of escape it might as well not have been there, for its lower edge was +nearly fourteen feet from the ground; and although Paco, who was a +first-rate leaper, did, in his desperation, and in the early days of his +captivity, make several violent attempts to jump up and catch hold of +the grating, they were all, as may be supposed, entirely without result. + +It was the thirty-fifth day of his imprisonment, an hour after daybreak. +His provisions for the next twenty-four hours had been brought to him, +and, as usual, he had made an unsuccessful effort to induce his sullen +jailer to inform him why he was confined, and when he should be +released. Gloomy and disconsolate, he seated himself on the ground, and +leaned his back against the end wall of his dreary dungeon. The light +from the window above his head fell upon the opposite door, and +illuminated the spot where he had scratched, with the shank of a button, +a line for each day of his imprisonment. The melancholy calendar already +reached one quarter across the door, and Paco was speculating and +wondering how far it might be prolonged, when he thought he felt a +stream of cold wind against his ear. He placed his hand where his ear +had been, and plainly distinguished a current of air issuing from a +small crevice in the wall, which otherwise was smooth and covered with +plaster. Without being much of a natural philosopher, it was evident to +Paco, that if wind came through, there must be a vault on the other side +of the wall, and not the solid earth, as he had hitherto believed; and +it also became probable that the wall was deficient either in thickness +or solidity. After some scratching at the plaster, he succeeded in +uncovering the side of a small stone of irregular shape. A vigorous push +entirely dislodged it, and it fell from him, leaving an opening through +which he could pass his arm. This he did, and found that although on one +side of the aperture the wall was upwards of two feet thick, on the +other it was not more than six or eight inches, and of loose +construction. By a very little labour he knocked out half-a-dozen +stones, and then, weary of thus making an opening piecemeal, he receded +as far as he could, took a short run, and threw himself against the wall +with all his force. After a few repetitions of this vigorous but not +very prudent proceeding, the frail bulwark gave way, and amidst a shower +of dust and mortar, Paco entered the vault into which he had conquered +his passage. + +The vault had apparently served, during some former occupation of the +convent by monks, as the wine-cellar of the holy fathers; and had been +walled up, not improbably, to protect it from the depredations of the +French soldiery during Napoleon's occupation of Spain. As already +mentioned, it was well stocked with casks of all sorts and sizes, most +of them empty and with bottles, for the most part full. Several of the +latter Paco lost no time in decapitating; and a trial of their contents +satisfied him that the proprietors of the cellar, whatever else they +might have been, were decidedly good judges of wine. Cheered and +invigorated by the pleasant liquor of which he had now so long been +deprived, he commenced, as soon as his eyes had got a little accustomed +to the exceedingly dim twilight that reigned in the vault, a thorough +investigation of the place, in hopes of finding either an outlet, or the +means of making one. In the former part of his hopes he was +disappointed; but after a patient search, his pains were rewarded by the +discovery of several pieces of old rope, and of a wooden bar or lever, +which had probably served to raise and shift the wine-casks. The rope +did not seem likely to be of any use, but the lever was an invaluable +acquisition; and by its aid Paco entertained strong hopes of +accomplishing his escape. He at once set to work to knock down the +remainder of the stones blocking up the doorway, and when they were +cleared he began to roll and drag empty casks into his cell. Of a number +of these, and with some labour, he formed a scaffolding, by means of +which he was enabled to reach the window, taking his crowbar with him. +His hand trembled as it grasped the grating, on the possibility of whose +removal every thing depended. Viewed from the floor of his prison, the +bars appeared of a formidable thickness, and he dreaded lest the time +that would elapse till the next visit of his jailer, should be +insufficient for him to overcome the obstacle. To his unspeakable +delight, however, his first effort caused the grating to shake and +rattle. The stone into which the extremities of the bars were riveted +was of no very hard description; the iron was corroded by the rust of +centuries, and Paco at once saw, that what he had looked forward to as a +task of severe difficulty, would be accomplished with the utmost ease. +He set to work with good courage, and after a couple of hours' toil, the +grating was removed, and the passage free. + +Paco's first impulse was to spring through the opening into the bright +sunshine without; but a moment's reflection checked him. He remembered +that he was unarmed and unacquainted with the neighbourhood; and his +appearance outside the convent in broad daylight, might lead to his +instant recapture by some of those, whoever they were, who found an +interest or a gratification in keeping him prisoner. He resolved, +therefore, unwillingly enough it is true, to curb his impatience, and +defer his departure till nightfall. Of a visit from his jailers he felt +no apprehension, for they had never yet shown themselves to him more +than once a-day, and that, invariably, at an early hour of the morning. +Partly, however, to be prepared for instant flight, should he hear his +dungeon door open, and still more for the sake of inhaling the warm and +aromatic breeze, which blew over to him from the neighbouring woods and +fields, he seated himself upon the top of his casks, his head just on a +level with the window, and, cautiously making a small opening in the +matted vegetable screen that grew before it, gazed out upon the face of +nature with a feeling of enjoyment, only to be appreciated by those who, +like him, have passed five weeks in a cold, gloomy, subterranean +dungeon. The little he was able to distinguish of the locality was +highly satisfactory. Within thirty paces of the convent wall was the +commencement of a thick wood, wherein he doubted not that he should find +shelter and security if observed in his flight. He would greatly have +preferred waiting the approach of night in the forest, instead of in his +cell; but with a prudence hardly to be expected from him, and which the +horror he had of a prolongation of his captivity, perhaps alone induced +him to exercise, he would not risk crossing the strip of open land +intervening between him and the wood; judging, not without reason, that +it might be overlooked by the convent windows. + +For some time Paco remained seated upon his pile of casks, feasting his +eyes with the sunshine, to which they had so long been strangers; his +ear on the watch, his fingers mechanically plucking and twisting the +blades of grass that grew in through the window. He was arranging in his +mind what route he should take, and considering where he was most likely +to find Count Villabuena, when he was surprised by the sound of words, +proceeding apparently from a considerable distance above his head, but +some of which nevertheless reached his quick and practised ear. Of these +the one most distinctly spoken was the name of Jaime, and in the voice +that spoke it, Paco was convinced that he recognised that of Count +Villabuena's daughter. A few moments elapsed, something else was said, +what, he was unable to make out, and then, to his no small alarm, his +old acquaintance and recent betrayer, Jaime the esquilador, stood within +arm's length of his window. He instinctively drew back; the gipsy was so +near, that only the growth of weeds before mentioned interposed between +him and the muleteer. But Paco soon saw that his proximity was +unsuspected by Jaime, who had commenced the dialogue with Rita already +recorded. Paco at once comprehended the situation; and emboldened by the +knowledge that he, and even the aperture of the window, was concealed +from sight by the grass and bushes, he again put his head as far forward +as was prudent, and attentively listened. Not a word spoken by the +esquilador escaped him, but he could scarcely hear any thing of what +Rita said; for the distance between her and Jaime being diminished, she +spoke in a very low tone. He made out, however, that she was +endeavouring to bribe the gipsy to take a letter--to whom, he did not +hear--and a scheme occurred to him, the execution of which he only +deferred till he should see the missive in the possession of Jaime, on +whose every gesture and movement he kept a vigilant watch. At the same +instant that the letter was deposited in the gipsy's pocket, Paco thrust +both his hands through the grass, seized the naked ankles of the +esquilador in a vicelike grip, and by a sudden jerk throwing him upon +his back, proceeded to drag him through the aperture, behind which he +himself was stationed. His strength and adroitness, and the suddenness +of the attack, ensured its success; and in spite of the gipsy's +struggles, Paco speedily pulled him completely into the dungeon, upon +the ground of which he cast him down with a force that might well have +broken the bones, but, as it happened, merely took away the senses, of +the terrified esquilador. + +The strange and mysterious manner of the assault, the stunning violence +of his fall, and his position on regaining the consciousness of which he +had for a brief space been deprived, combined to bewilder the gipsy, and +temporarily to quell the courage, or, as it should perhaps rather be +termed, the passive stoicism, usually exhibited by him in circumstances +of danger. He had been dragged into the wine-cellar, and seated with his +back against a cask; his wrists and ankles were bound with ropes, and +beside him knelt a man busily engaged in searching, his pockets. The +light was so faint that at first he could not distinguish the features +of this person; but when at last he recognized those of Paco, he +conjectured to a certain extent the nature of the snare into which he +had fallen, and, as he did so, his usual coolness and confidence in some +degree returned. His first words were an attempt to intimidate the +muleteer. + +"Untie my hands," said he, "or I shout for help. I have only to call +out, to be released immediately." + +"If that were true, you would have done it, and not told me of it," +retorted Paco, with his usual acuteness. "The walls are thick; and the +vault deep, and I believe you might shout a long while before any one +heard you. But I advise you not to try. The first word you speak in a +louder tone than pleases me, I cut your throat like a pig; with your own +knife, too." + +And, by way of confirming this agreeable assurance, he drew the cold +blade across Jaime's throat, with such a fierce determined movement, +that the startled gipsy involuntarily shrunk back. Paco marked the +effect of his menace. + +"You see," said he, sticking the knife in the ground beside him, and +continuing his in investigation of the esquilador's pockets; "you had +better be quiet, and answer my questions civilly. For whom is this +letter?" continued he, holding up Rita's missive, which he had extracted +from the gipsy's jacket. + +But although the esquilador (partly on account of Paco's threats, and +partly because he knew that his cries were unlikely to bring assistance) +made no attempt to call out, he did not, on the other hand, show any +disposition to communicativeness. Instead of replying to the questions +put to him, he maintained a surly, dogged silence. Paco repeated the +interrogatory without obtaining a better result, and then, as if weary +of questioning a man who would not answer, he continued his search +without further waste of words. The two rings and Rita's letter he had +already found; they were succeeded by a number of miscellaneous objects +which he threw carelessly aside; and having rummaged the esquilador's +various pockets, he proceeded to unfasten his sash. The first +demonstration of a design upon this receptacle of his wealth, produced, +on the part of the gipsy, a violent but fruitless effort to liberate his +wrists from the cords that confined them. + +"Oho!" said Paco, "is that the sore place? Faith! there is reason for +your wincing," he added, as the gold contained in the girdle fell +jingling on the floor. "This was not all got by clipping mules." + +"It was received from you, the greater part of it," exclaimed the gipsy, +forced out of his taciturnity by his agony at seeing Paco, after +replacing the money in the sash, deliberately bind it round his own +waist. + +"I worked hard and ran risk for it, and you paid it me willingly. Surely +you will not rob me!" + +Without attending to this expostulation, Paco secured the gold, and then +rising to his feet, again repeated the question he had already twice put +to his prisoner. + +"To whom is this letter?" said he. + +"You may read it yourself," returned Jaime, who, notwithstanding the +intelligible hint to be tractable which he had already received, found +it a hard matter to restrain his sulkiness. "It is addressed, and open." + +Read it, was exactly what Paco would have done, had he been able; but it +so happened that the muleteer was a self-educated man, and that, whilst +teaching himself many things which he had on various occasions found of +much utility, he had given but a moderate share of his attention to the +acquirement of letters. When on the road with his mules, he could +distinguish the large printed capitals painted on the packages entrusted +to his care; he was also able, from long habit, fluently to read the +usual announcement of "_Vinos y licores finos_," inscribed above tavern +doors; and, when required, he could even perpetrate a hieroglyphic +intended for the signature of his name; but these were the extent of his +acquirements. As to deciphering the contents or superscription of the +letter now in his possession, he knew that it would be mere lost labour +to attempt it. He was far too wary, however, to display his ignorance to +the gipsy, and thus to strengthen him in his refusal to say for whom it +was intended. + +"Of course I may read it," he replied "but here it is too dark, and I +have no mind to leave you alone. Answer me, or it will be worse for +you." + +Either suspecting how the case really stood, or through mere sullenness +at the loss of his money, the gipsy remained, with lowering brow and +compressed lips, obstinately silent. For a few moments Paco awaited a +reply, and then walking to a short distance, he picked up something that +lay in a dark corner of the vault, returned to the gipsy, and placing +his hands upon the edge of the tall cask against which the latter was +seated, sprang actively upon the top of it. Soon he again descended, +and, upsetting the cask, gave it a shove with his foot that sent it +rolling into the middle of the cellar. The gipsy, although motionless, +and to all appearance inattentive to what passed, lost not one of the +muleteer's movements. His head stirred not but his sunken beadlike eyes +shifted their glances with extraordinary keenness and rapidity. At the +moment when, surprised by the sudden removal of the cask, he screwed his +head round to see what was going on behind him, a rope was passed +swiftly over his face, and the next instant he felt his neck encircled +by a halter. A number of strong hooks and wooden brackets, used to +support shelves and suspend wine-skins, were firmly fixed in the cellar +wall, at various distances from the ground. Over one of the highest of +these, Paco had cast a rope, one end of which he held, whilst the other, +as already mentioned, was fixed round the neck of the gipsy. Retiring a +couple of paces, the muleteer hauled on the rope; it tightened round the +neck of the unlucky Jaime, and even lifted him a little from the ground. +He strove to rise to his feet from the sitting posture in which he was, +but his bonds prevented him. Stumbling and helpless, he fell over on one +side, and would inevitably have been strangled, had not Paco given him +more line. The fear of death came over him. He trembled violently, and +his face, which was smeared with blood from the scratches he had +received in his passage through the bushes, became of an ash-like +paleness. He cast a piteous look at Paco, who surveyed him with +unrelenting aspect. + +"Not the first time I've had you at a rope's end," said he; "although +the knot wasn't always in the same place. Come, I've no time to lose! +Will you answer, or hang?" + +"What do you want to know?" + +"I have already asked you three times," returned Paco, impatiently, "who +this letter is for, and what about." + +"For Zumalacarregui," replied Jaime; "and now you know as much as I do." + +"Why have I been kept in prison?" demanded Paco. + +"Why did you come with the lady?" replied the esquilador. "Had you +stopped at Segura, no one would have meddled with you." + +"I came because I was ordered. Where is Dona Rita?" + +The gipsy hesitated, and then answered surlily. "I do not know." + +Paco gave the rope a twitch which brought the esquilador's tongue out of +his mouth. + +"Liar!" he exclaimed; "I heard you speaking to her just now. What does +she here?" + +"A prisoner," muttered the half-strangled gipsy. + +"Whose?" + +"Colonel Villabuena's." + +"And the Senor Conde. Where is he?" + +"Dead." + +"Dead!" repeated Paco, letting the rope go, grasping the esquilador by +the collar, and furiously shaking him. "The noble count dead! When did +he die? Or is it a lie of your invention?" + +"He was dead before I fetched the young lady from Segura," said Jaime. +"The story of his being wounded, and wishing to see her, was merely a +stratagem to bring her here." + +Relinquishing his hold, Paco took a step backwards, in grief and great +astonishment. The answers he had forced from Jaime, and his own natural +quickness of apprehension, were sufficient to enlighten him as to the +main outline of what he had hitherto found a mystery. He at once +conjectured Don Baltasar's designs, and the motives of Dona Rita's +imprisonment and his own. That the count was really dead he could not +doubt; for otherwise Baltasar would hardly have ventured upon his +daughter's abduction. Aware that the count's duties and usual +occupations did not lead him into actual collision with the enemy, and +that they could scarcely, except by a casualty, endanger his life, it +occurred to Paco, as highly probable, that he had met his death by +unfair means, at the hands of Don Baltasar and the gipsy. The colonel he +suspected, and Jaime he knew, to be capable of any iniquity. Such were +some of the reflections that passed rapidly through his mind during the +few moments that he stood beside Jaime, mute and motionless, meditating +on what had passed, and on what he should now do. Naturally prompt and +decided, and accustomed to perilous emergencies, he was not long in +making up his mind. Suddenly starting from his immobility, he seized the +end of the halter, and, to the horror of the gipsy, whose eyes were +fixed upon him, began pulling furiously at it, hand over hand, like a +sailor tugging at a hawser. + +"_Misericordia!_" screamed the horror-stricken esquilador, as he found +himself lifted from the ground by the neck. "Mercy! mercy!" + +But mercy there was none for him. His cries were stifled by the pressure +of the rope, and then he made a desperate effort to gain his feet. In +this he succeeded, and stood upright causing the noose for a moment to +slacken. He profited by the temporary relief to attempt another +ineffectual prayer for pity. A gasping, inarticulate noise in his throat +was the sole result; for the muleteer continued his vigorous pulls at +the cord, and in an instant the unhappy gipsy felt himself lifted +completely off the ground. He made one more violent strain to touch the +earth with the point of his foot; but no--all was in vain--higher and +higher he went, till the crown of his head struck against the long iron +hook through the loop of which the halter ran. When this was the case, +Paco caught his end of the rope round another hook at a less height from +the ground, twisted and knotted it securely; then stooping, he picked up +the esquilador's knife, re-entered the dungeon, and ascended the pile of +casks erected below the window. On the top of these he sat himself down +for a moment and listened. There proceeded from the wine-cellar a sort +of noise, as of a scraping and thumping against the wall. It was the +wretched gipsy kicking and struggling in his last agony. + +"He dies hard," muttered Paco, a slight expression of compunction coming +over his features, "and I strung him up without priest or prayer. But, +what then! those gitanos are worse than Jews, they believe neither in +God nor devil. As for his death, he deserves it, the dog, ten times +over. And if he didn't, Dona Rita's fate depends on my escape, and I +could not leave him there to alarm the convent and have me pursued." + +His scruples quieted by these arguments, the muleteer again listened. +All was silent in the vault. Paco cautiously put his head out at the +hole through which he had dragged the gipsy. The coast was clear, the +forest within thirty yards. Winding his body noiselessly through the +aperture, he sprang to his feet, and with the speed of a greyhound +sought the cover of the wood. Upon reaching the shelter of its foremost +trees he paused, and turning round, looked back at the convent, hoping +to see Rita at a window. But she had disappeared, and the shutters were +closed. It would have been folly, under the circumstances, to wait the +chance of her return; and once more turning his back upon the place of +his captivity, the muleteer, exulting in his newly recovered freedom, +plunged, with quick and elastic step, into the innermost recesses of the +forest. + +Rightly conjecturing that Rita, informed of her father's death, and +having no influential friend to whom to address herself for aid, had +written to Zumalacarregui with a view to obtain her release, Paco +determined to convey the letter to its destination as speedily as +possible. To do this it was necessary, first, to ascertain the +whereabout of the Carlist general, and secondly, to avoid falling in +with Colonel Villabuena, a meeting with whom might not only prevent him +from delivering the letter, but also again endanger his liberty, perhaps +his life. Shaping his course through the forest in, as nearly as he +could judge, a westerly direction, he reached the mountains at sunset, +and continued his march along their base--avoiding the more frequented +path by which he had approached the convent--until he reached an outlet +of the valley. Through this he passed; and still keeping straight +forward, without any other immediate object than that of increasing the +distance between himself and his late prison, he found himself, some +time after midnight, clear of the lofty range of mountains, a limb of +the Spanish Pyrenees, in one of whose recesses the convent stood. The +country in front, and on both sides of him, was still mountainous, but +the elevations were less; and Paco, who had a good general knowledge of +the geography of his native province, through most parts of which his +avocations as muleteer had often caused him to travel, conjectured that +he was on the extreme verge of Navarre and about to enter the province +of Guipuzcoa. He had deemed it prudent to avoid all human habitations +whilst still in the vicinity of the convent; but having now left it half +a dozen leagues in his rear, the necessity for such caution no longer +existed, and he began to look about for a convenient place to take a few +hours' repose. At the distance of a mile he perceived the white walls of +houses shimmering in the moonlight, and he bent his steps in that +direction. It was two in the morning and the hamlet was buried in sleep; +the sharp, sudden bark of a watch-dog was the only sound that greeted +the muleteer as he passed under the irregular avenue of trees preceding +its solitary street. Entering a barn, whose door stood invitingly open, +he threw himself upon a pile of newly-made hay, and was instantly +plunged in a sleep far sounder and more refreshing than any he had +enjoyed during the whole period of his captivity. + +It was still early morning when he was roused from his slumbers by the +entrance of the proprietor of the barn, a sturdy, good-humoured peasant, +more surprised, than pleased, to find upon his premises a stranger of +Paco's equivocal appearance. The muleteer's exterior was certainly not +calculated to give a high opinion of his respectability. His uniform +jacket of dark green cloth was soiled and torn; his boina, which had +served him for a nightcap during his imprisonment, was in equally bad +plight; he was uncombed and unwashed, and a beard of nearly six weeks' +growth adorned his face. It was in a tone of some suspicion that the +peasant enquired his business, but Paco had his answer ready. Taken +prisoner by the Christinos, he said, he had escaped from Pampeluna after +a confinement of some duration, and ignorant of the country, had +wandered about for two nights, lying concealed during the day, and +afraid to approach villages lest he should again fall into the hands of +the enemy. The haggard look he had acquired during his imprisonment, his +beard and general appearance, and the circumstance of his being unarmed, +although in uniform, seemed to confirm the truth of his tale; and the +peasant, who, like all of his class at that time and in that province, +was an enthusiastic Carlist, willingly supplied him with the razor and +refreshment of which he stood in pressing need. His appearance somewhat +improved, and his appetite satisfied, Paco in his turn became the +interrogator, and the first answers he received caused him extreme +surprise. The most triumphant success had waited on the Carlist arms +during the period of his captivity. The Christino generals had been on +all hands discomfited by the men at whose discipline and courage, even +more than at their poverty and imperfect resources, they affected to +sneer, and numerous towns and fortified places had fallen into the hands +of Zumalacarregui and his victorious lieutenants. The mere name of the +Carlist chief had become a tower of strength to his followers, and a +terror to his foes; and several ably managed surprises had greatly +increased the panic dread with which the news of his approach now +inspired the Christino troops. On the heights of Descarga a strong +column of the Queen's army had been attacked in the night, and routed +with prodigious loss, by the Carlist general Eraso; in the valley of the +Baztan General Oraa had been beaten by Sagastibelza, leaving ninety +officers and seven hundred men in the hands of the victors; Estella, +Vergara, Tolosa, Villafranca, and numerous other considerable towns, +were held by the soldiers of the Pretender; and, to crown all, Paco +learned, to his astonishment, that Zumalacarregui and his army were then +in front of Bilboa, vigorously besieging that rich and important city. + +Towards Bilboa, then, did Paco bend his steps. The remote position of +the village where he had obtained the above information, caused it to be +but irregularly supplied with intelligence from the army; and it was not +till the evening of his first day's march, that the muleteer heard a +piece of news which redoubled his eagerness to reach the Carlist +headquarters. Zumalacarregui, he was informed, had received, whilst +directing the operations of the siege, a severe and dangerous wound. +Fearing he might die before he reached him, Paco endeavoured to hire or +purchase a horse, but all that could be spared had been taken for the +Carlist army; and he rightly judged that through so mountainous a +country he should make better progress on foot than on any Rosinante +offered to him. He pushed forward, therefore, with all possible haste; +but his feet had grown tender during his imprisonment, and he was but +indifferently satisfied with his rate of marching. On the following day, +however, his anxiety was considerably dissipated by learning that +Zumalacarregui's wound was slight, and that the surgeons had predicted a +rapid cure. He nevertheless continued his journey without abatement of +speed, and on the afternoon of the fourth day arrived on the summit of +the hills that overlook Bilboa. The suburbs were occupied by the +Carlists, whose slender battering train kept up a fire that was +vigorously replied to by the forty or fifty cannon bristling the +fortifications. Entering the faubourg known as the Barrio de Bolueta, he +approached a group of soldiers lounging in front of their quarters, and +enquired where the general was lodged. The men looked at him in some +surprise, and asked which general he meant. + +"The general-in-chief, Zumalacarregui, to be sure," replied Paco +impatiently. + +"Where come you from, amigo?" said one of the soldiers, "not to know +that Zumalacarregui left the lines the day after he was wounded, and is +now getting cured at Cegama?" + +Great was Paco's vexation at finding that the person he had come so far +to seek, had been all the while at a village within a day's march of the +Dominican convent. His annoyance was so legibly written upon his +countenance, that one of the soldiers took upon himself to offer a word +of consolation. + +"Never mind, comrade," said he, "if you want to see Tio Tomas, you can't +do better than remain here. You won't have long to wait. He has only got +a scratch on the leg, and we expect every day to see him ride into the +lines. He's not the man to be laid up long by such a trifle." + +"Is Colonel Villabuena here?" said Paco, somewhat reassured by this last +information. + +"What, Black Baltasar, as they call him? Ay, that he is, and be hanged +to him. It's only two days since he ordered me an extra turn of picket +for forgetting to salute him as he passed my beat. Curse him for a +soldier's plague!" + +Paco left the soldiers and walked on till he came to a small house, +which the juniper bush suspended above the door proclaimed to be a +tavern. Entering the smoky low-roofed room upon the ground-floor, which +just then chanced to be unoccupied, he sat down by the open window and +called for a quartillo of wine. A measure of the vinegar-flavoured +liquid known by the name of chacolin, and drunk for wine in the province +of Biscay, was brought to him, and after washing the dust out of his +throat, he began to think what was best to do in his present dilemma. He +was desirous to get out of Don Baltasar's neighbourhood, and, moreover, +if he did not rejoin his regiment or report himself to the military +authorities, he was liable to be arrested as a deserter. In that case, +he could hardly hope that the strange story he would have to tell of his +imprisonment at the convent would find credit, and, even if it did, +delay would inevitably ensue. He finally made up his mind to remain +where he was for the night, and to start early next morning for Cegama. +A better and more speedy plan would perhaps have been to seek out one of +Zumalacarregui's aides-de-camp, relate to him his recent adventures, +produce Rita's letter in corroboration of his veracity, and request him +to forward it, or provide him with a horse to take it himself. But +although this plan occurred to him, the gain in time appeared +insufficient to compensate for the risk of meeting Don Baltasar whilst +searching for the aide-de-camp, and of being by him thrown into prison +and deprived of the letter. + +The day had been most sultry, and Paco had walked, with but a ten +minutes' halt, from sunrise till afternoon. Overcome by fatigue and +drowsiness, he had no sooner decided on his future proceedings, and +emptied his quartillo, events which were about coincident, than his head +began to nod and droop, and after a few faint struggles against the +sleepy impulse, it fell forward upon the table, and he slept as men +sleep after a twelve hours' march under a Spanish sun in the month of +June. During his slumbers various persons, soldiers and others, passed +in and out of the room; but there was nothing unusual in seeing a +soldier dozing off his wine or fatigue on a tavern table, and no one +disturbed or took especial notice of him. Paco slept on. + +It was evening when he awoke, and rose from his bench with a hearty +stretch of his stiffened limbs. As he did so, he heard the sound of +footsteps in the street. They ceased near the window, and a dialogue +commenced, a portion of which reached his ears. + +"Have you heard the news?" said one of the speakers. + +"No," was the reply, in a voice that made Paco start. "I am now going to +Eraso's quarters to get them. I am told that a courier arrived from +Durango half an hour since, covered with foam, and spurring as on a life +or death errand." + +Whilst this was saying, Paco noiselessly approached the window, which +was large and square, about four feet above the street, and closed only +by a clumsy shutter, at that moment wide open. Crouching down, he +cautiously raised his head so as to obtain a view of the street, without +exposing more than the upper part of his face to the possible +observation of the persons outside. What he saw, confirmed the testimony +of his ears: two officers in staff uniforms stood within twenty paces of +the window, and in the one who had last spoken, Paco recognised Don +Baltasar. His face was towards the tavern, but his eyes were fixed upon +his interlocutor, who replied to his last observation-- + +"On an errand of death, indeed!" said he, in tones which, although +suppressed, were distinctly audible to the muleteer. "Zumalacarregui is +no more." + +In his consternation at the intelligence thus unwittingly conveyed to +him, Paco forgot for a second the caution rendered imperative by his +position. A half-smothered exclamation escaped him, and by an +involuntary start he raised his head completely above the window-sill. +As he did so, he fancied he saw Don Baltasar glance at the window, and +in his turn slightly start; but the sun had already passed the horizon, +the light was waning fast, and Colonel Villabuena took no further +notice, but remained talking with his companion, Paco made sure that he +had either not seen him, or, what was still more probable, not +remembered his face. Nevertheless the muleteer retreated from the window +that no part of him might be seen, and strained his hearing to catch +what passed. + +He missed a sentence or two, and then again heard Colonel Villabuena's +voice. + +"Most disastrous intelligence, indeed!" he said, "and as unexpected as +disastrous. I will proceed to the general's quarters and get the +particulars." + +The officers separated; Don Baltasar walking rapidly away, as Paco, who +now ventured to look out, was able to ascertain. Satisfied that he had +escaped the peril with which for a moment he had thought himself +menaced, he left the window and returned to his bench. But Don Baltasar +had sharper eyes and a better memory than the muleteer gave him credit +for. He had fully recognized Paco, whom he had several times seen in +attendance on the count, and, without troubling himself to reflect how +he could have made his escape, he at once decided what measures to take +to neutralize its evil consequences. Had Paco remained an instant longer +at his post of observation, he would have seen the Colonel stop at a +house near at hand, in which a number of soldiers were billeted, summon +a corporal and three men, and retrace his steps to the tavern. Leaving +two of the soldiers outside the house, with the others he burst into the +room occupied by the muleteer. + +At the moment of their entrance, Paco, who, although he had heard their +footsteps in the passage, did not suspect the new-comers to be other +than some of the usual customers to the tavern, had taken up the heavy +earthen jug in which his wine had been brought, and was decanting from +it into his glass a last mouthful that still remained at the bottom. No +sooner did he behold Don Baltasar, closely followed by two soldiers with +fixed bayonets, than with his usual bold decision, and with his utmost +strength, he dashed the jug full at him. The missile struck the officer +on the chest with such force that he staggered back, and, for a moment, +impeded the advance of his followers. That moment saved Paco's +liberty--probably his life. Springing to the window, he leaped out, and +alighting upon one of the soldiers who had remained outside, knocked him +over. The other man, taken by surprise, made a feeble thrust at the +fugitive. Paco parried it with his arm, grappled the man, gave him a +kick on the shin that knocked his leg from under him, rolled him on the +ground by the side of his companion, and scudded down the street like a +hunted fox, just as Baltasar and his men jumped out of the window. + +"Fire!" shouted the Colonel. + +Two bullets, and then two more, struck the walls of the narrow sloping +street through which the muleteer ran, or buried themselves with a +_thud_ in the earth a short distance in front of him. Paco ran all the +faster, cleared the houses, and turning to his right, scampered down in +the direction of the town. The shouts and firing had spread an alarm in +the Carlist camp, the soldiers were turning out on all sides, and the +outposts on the alert. Paco approached the latter, and saw a sentinel in +a straight line between him and the town. + +"_Quien vive?_" challenged the soldier, when the muleteer was still at a +considerable distance from him. + +"_Carlos Quinto_," replied Paco. + +"Halt!" thundered the sentry, bringing his musket to his shoulder with a +sharp quick rattle. + +This command, although enforced by a menace, Paco was not disposed to +obey. For the one musket before him, there were hundreds behind him, and +he continued his onward course, merely inclining to his left, so as to +present a less easy mark than when bearing straight down upon the +sentry. Another "halt!" immediately followed by the report of the piece, +was echoed by a laugh of derision from Paco. "Stop him! bayonet him!" +shouted a score of voices in his rear. The sentinel rushed forward to +obey the command; but Paco, unarmed and unencumbered, was too quick for +him. Dashing past within a yard of the bayonet's point, he tore along to +the town, amidst a rain of bullets, encouraged by the cheers of the +Christinos, who had assembled in groups to watch the race; and, replying +to their shouts and applause by a yell of "_Viva la Reyna!_" he in +another minute stood safe and sheltered within the exterior +fortifications of Bilboa. + +Three weeks had elapsed since the death of Zumalacarregui, and that +important event, which the partisans of the Spanish pretender had, as +long as possible, kept secret from their opponents, was now universally +known. Already did the operations of the Carlists begin to show symptoms +of the great loss they had sustained in the person of a man who, during +his brief but brilliant command, had nailed victory to his standard. +Even during his last illness, he kept up, from his couch of suffering, a +constant correspondence with General Eraso, his second in command, and +in some degree directed his proceedings; but when he died, the system of +warfare he had uniformly, and with such happy results, followed up, was +exchanged by those who came after him, for another and a less judicious +one. This, added to the immense moral weight of his loss, which filled +the Christinos with the most buoyant anticipations, whilst it was a +grievous discouragement to the Carlists, caused the tide of fortune to +turn against the latter. Dejected and disheartened, they were beaten +from before Bilboa, the town which, but for Zumalacarregui's +over-strained deference to the wishes of Don Carlos, they would never +have attacked. On the other hand, the Christinos were sanguine of +victory, and of a speedy termination to the war. The baton of command, +after passing through the hands of Rodil, Sarsfield, Mina, and other +veterans whose experience had struggled in vain against the skill and +prestige of the Carlist chief, had just been bestowed by the Queen's +government on a young general in whose zeal and abilities great reliance +was placed. On various occasions, since the death of Ferdinand, had this +officer, at the head of his brigade or division, given proof not only of +that intrepidity which, although the soldier's first virtue, should be +the general's least merit, but, as was generally believed, of military +talents of a high order. + +Luis Fernandez de Cordova, the son of a poor but noble family of one of +the southern provinces of Spain, was educated at a military school, +whence he passed with an officer's commission into a regiment of the +royal guard. Endowed with considerable natural ability and tact, he +managed to win the favour of Ferdinand VII., and by that weak and fickle +monarch was speedily raised to the rank of colonel. His then bias, +however, was for diplomacy, for which, indeed, his subsequent life, and +his turn for intrigue, showed him to be well qualified; and at his +repeated instance he was sent to various courts in high diplomatic +capacities. "We are sorry to have to say," remarks a Spanish military +writer who fought in the opposite ranks, "that Cordova in part owed his +elevation to the goodness of the very prince against whom he +subsequently drew his sword." Be that as it may, at the death of +Ferdinand, Cordova, although little more than thirty years of age, was +already a general, and ambassador at Copenhagen. Ever keenly alive to +his own interest, he no sooner learned the outbreak of the civil war, +than he saw in it an opportunity of further advancement; and, without +losing a moment, he posted to Madrid, threw himself at the feet of +Christina, and implored her to give him a command, that he might have an +opportunity of proving with his sword his devotion to her and to the +daughter of his lamented sovereign. A command was given him; his talents +were by no means contemptible; his self-confidence unbounded; intrigue +and interest were not wanting to back such qualities, and at the period +now referred to, Cordova, to the infinite vexation of many a greyhaired +general who had earned his epaulets on the battle-fields of America and +the Peninsula, was appointed commander-in-chief of the army of the +north. + +Upon assuming the supreme command, Cordova marched his army, which had +just compelled the Carlists to raise the siege of Bilboa, in the +direction of the Ebro. Meanwhile the Carlists, foiled in Biscay, were +concentrating their forces in central Navarre. As if to make up for +their recent disappointment, they had resolved upon the attack of a +town, less wealthy and important, it is true, than Bilboa, but which +would still have been a most advantageous acquisition, giving them, so +long as they could hold it, command of the communications between +Pampeluna and the Upper Ebro. Against Puente de la Reyna, a fortified +place upon the Arga, were their operations now directed, and there, upon +the 13th of July, the bulk of the Carlist army arrived. Don Carlos +himself accompanied it, but the command devolved upon Eraso, the +military capabilities of Charles the Fifth being limited to praying, +amidst a circle of friars and shavelings, for the success of those who +were shedding their heart's blood in his service. The neighbouring +peasants were set to work to cut trenches; and preparations were making +to carry on the siege in due form, when, on the 14th, the garrison, in a +vigorous sortie, killed the commandant of the Carlist artillery, and +captured a mortar that had been placed in position. The same day Cordova +and his army started from Lerin, which they had reached upon the 13th, +and arrived at nightfall at Larraga, a town also upon the Arga, and +within a few miles of Pueute de la Reyna. + +The next day was passed by the two considerable armies, which, it was +easy to foresee, would soon come into hostile collision, in various +movements and manoeuvres, which diminished the distance between them, +already not great. The Carlists, already discouraged by the successful +sortie of the 14th, retired from before Puente de la Reyna, and, moving +southwards, occupied the town and bridge of Mendigorria. On the other +hand, two-thirds of the Christino forces crossed the Arga, and quartered +themselves in and near the town of Artajona. The plain on the left bank +of the river was evidently to be the scene of the approaching conflict. +On few occasions during the war, had actions taken place upon such level +ground as this, the superiority of the Christinos in cavalry and +artillery having induced Zumalacarregui rather to seek battle in the +mountains, where those arms were less available. But since the +commencement of 1835, the Carlist horse had improved in numbers and +discipline; several cavalry officers of rank and skill had joined it, +and assisted in its organization; and although deprived of its gallant +leader, Don Carlos O'Donnel, who had fallen victim to his own imprudent +daring in an insignificant skirmish beneath the walls of Pampeluna, +Eraso, and the other Carlist generals, had now sufficient confidence in +its efficiency to risk a battle in a comparatively level country. +Numerically, the Carlists were superior to their opponents, but in +artillery, and especially in cavalry, the Christinos had the advantage. +From various garrison towns, through which he had passed in his +circuitous route from Bilboa to Larraga, the Christino commander had +collected reinforcements, and an imposing number of squadrons, including +several of lancers and dragoons of the royal guard, formed part of the +force now assembled at Larraga and Artajona. + +It was late on the evening of the 15th of July, and on a number of +gently sloping fields, interspersed with vineyards and dotted with +trees, a Christino brigade, including a regiment of cavalry, had +established its bivouac. In such weather as it then was, it became a +luxury to pass a night in the open air, with turf for a mattrass, a +cloak for a pillow, and the branches for bed-curtains, instead of being +cramped and crowded into smoky, vermin-haunted cottages; and the troops +assembled seemed to feel this, and to enjoy the light and balmy breeze +and refreshing coolness which had succeeded to the extreme heat of the +day. Few troops, if any, are so picturesque in a bivouac as Spaniards; +none, certainly, are greater adepts in rendering an out-door encampment +not only endurable but agreeable, and nothing had been neglected by the +Christinos that could contribute to the comfort of their _al-fresco_ +lodging. Large fires had been lighted, composed in great part of +odoriferous shrubs and bushes abounding in the neighbourhood, which +scented the air as they burned; and around these the soldiers were +assembled cooking and eating their rations, smoking, jesting, discussing +some previous fight, or anticipating the result of the one expected for +the morrow, and which according to their sanguine calculations, could +only be favourable to them. Here was a seemingly interminable row of +muskets piled in sheaves, a perfect _chevaux-de-frise_, some hundred +yards of burnished barrels and bayonets glancing in the fire-light. +Further on, the horses of the cavalry were picketed, whilst their +riders, who had finished grooming and feeding them, looked to their arms +and saddlery, and saw that all was ready and as it should be if called +on for sudden service. On one side, at a short distance from the +bivouac, a party of men cut, with their sabres and foraging hatchet, +brushwood to renew the fires; in another direction, a train of carts +laden with straw, driven by unwilling peasants and escorted by a surly +commissary and a few dusty dragoons, made their appearance, the patient +oxen pushing and straining forwards in obedience to the goad that +tormented their flanks, the clumsy wheels, solid circles of wood, +creaking round their ungreased axles. In the distance were the enemy's +watch-fires; nearer were those of the advanced posts; and, at more than +one point of the surrounding country, a cottage or farmhouse, set on +fire by careless or mischievous marauders, fiercely flamed without any +attempt being made to extinguish the conflagration. + +If the sights that met the eye were varied and numerous, the sounds +which fell upon the ear were scarcely less so. The neighing of the +picketed horses, the songs of the soldiery, the bugle-calls and signals +of the outposts, occasionally a few dropping shots exchanged between +patroles, and from time to time some favourite national melody, clanged +forth by a regimental band--all combined to render the scene one of the +most inspiriting and lively that could be imagined. + +Beside a watch-fire whose smoke, curling and wavering upwards, seemed to +cling about the foliage of the large old tree near which it was lighted, +Luis Herrera had spread his cloak, and now reclined, his head supported +on his arm, gazing into the flaming pile. Several officers belonging to +the squadron he commanded were also grouped round the fire, and some of +them, less watchful or more fatigued than their leader, had rolled +themselves in their mantles, turned their feet to the flame, and with +their heads supported on saddles and valises, were already asleep. Two +or three subalterns came and went, as the exigencies of the service +required, inspecting the arrangements of the men, ascertaining that the +horses were properly cared for, giving orders to sergeants, or bringing +reports to the captains of their troops. Herrera as yet felt no +disposition to sleep. The stir and excitement of the scene around him +had not failed of their effect on his martial nature, and he felt +cheered and exhilarated by the prospect of action. It was only in +moments like these, during the fight itself, or the hours immediately +preceding it, that his character seemed to lose the gloomy tinge +imparted to it by the misfortunes which, so early in life, had darkened +his path, and to recover something of the buoyancy natural to his age. + +Whilst busied with anticipations of the next day's battle, Herrera's +attention was suddenly attracted by hearing his name pronounced at a +neighbouring fire, round which a number of his troopers had established +themselves. + +"Captain Herrera?" said a soldier, apparently replying to a question; +"he is not far off--what do you want?" + +"To see him instantly," answered a voice not unfamiliar to the ear of +Luis. "I bring important intelligence." + +"Come this way," was the reply; and then a non-commissioned officer +approached Herrera, and respectfully saluting, informed him that a +_paisano_, or civilian, wished to speak with him. Before Luis could +order the person in question to be conducted to him, a man mounted on a +rough but active mountain horse, rode out of the gloom into the +fire-light, threw himself from his saddle, and stood within three paces +of the Christino officer. By the blaze, Herrera recognized, with some +surprise, one whom he believed to be then in the Carlist ranks. + +"Paco!" he exclaimed; "you here? Whence do you come, and what are your +tidings?" + +The corporal, who had acted as master of the ceremonies to Paco, now +returned to his fire, and Herrera and the muleteer remained alone. The +latter had got rid of all vestiges of uniform, and appeared in the garb +which he had been accustomed to wear, before his devotion to Count +Villabuena, and the feeling of partisanship for Don Carlos, which he +shared with the majority of Navarrese, had led him to enter the ranks. + +"I have much to tell you, Don Luis," said he; "and my news is bad. Count +Villabuena is dead." + +Instead of manifesting astonishment or grief at this intelligence, +Herrera replied calmly, and almost with a smile, "Is that all?" + +"All!" repeated Paco, aghast at such unfeeling indifference; "and +enough, too. I did not think, that because you had taken different +sides, all kindness was at an end between you and the Conde. His +senoria, heaven rest him!"--and here Paco crossed himself--"deserved +better of you, Don Luis. But for him your bones would long ago have been +picked by the crows. It was he who rescued you when you were a prisoner, +and ordered for execution." + +"I know it, Paco," replied Herrera, "and I am grateful for my +deliverance both to you and him. But you are mistaken about his death. I +saw and spoke to the Count not three days ago." + +"To the Count! to Count Villabuena?" exclaimed Paco. "Then that damned +gipsy lied. He told me he was killed, shot by some of your people. How +did you see him? Is he a prisoner?" + +"The Count is alive and in safety, and that must satisfy you for the +moment. But you have doubtless more to tell me. What of Dona Rita? Why +and when did you leave the Carlists, and where was she when you left?" + +"Since the Count is well," returned Paco, "the worst part of my news is +to come. Dona Rita's own handwriting will best answer your question." + +Opening his knife, Paco ripped up a seam of his jacket, and extracted +from the lining a soiled and crumpled paper. It was the letter written +by Rita to Zumalacarregui. By the light of the fire Herrera devoured its +contents. From them he learned all that Rita herself knew of the place +and reasons of her captivity. She detailed the manner in which she had +been decoyed from Segura, described what she conjectured to be the +position of the convent, and implored Zumalacarregui to protect a +defenceless orphan, and rescue her from the prison in which she was +unjustifiably detained. After twice reading the letter, the handwriting +of which recalled a thousand tender recollections, although the +information it contained filled him with alarm and anxiety, Herrera +again addressed Paco. + +"How did you get this letter?" he asked. + +In few words, Paco, who saw, by the stern and hurried manner of his +interrogator, that it was no time to indulge in a lengthened narrative +of his adventures, gave a concise outline of what had occurred, from the +time of his leaving Segura with Rita, up to his desertion from the +Carlists in front of Bilboa. Upon finding himself in safety from Don +Baltasar, and released from the obligations of military service, he +deliberated on the best means to employ for the release of Dona Rita. +Amongst the Christinos the only person who occurred to him as proper to +consult, or likely to aid him, was Herrera, and him he resolved to seek. +After waiting a week at Bilboa, he procured a passage in a small vessel +sailing for Santander, and thence set out for the Ebro, in the +neighbourhood of which he had ascertained that he should find Herrera's +regiment. The money he had found in the gipsy's sash enabled him to +supply all his wants and purchase a horse, and without further delay he +started for the interior. But on reaching Miranda on the Ebro, he +learned that Herrera's squadron had marched into Biscay. Thither he +pursued it. Meanwhile the siege of Bilboa had been raised, and, whilst +he followed one road, Herrera returned towards Navarre by another. Paco +lost much time; but, though often disappointed, the faithful fellow was +never discouraged, nor did he for a moment think of desisting from the +pilgrimage he had voluntarily undertaken for the deliverance of his dead +master's daughter. He pressed onwards, sparing neither himself nor his +newly-acquired steed; but, in spite of his exertions, so rapid and +continuous were the movements of the army, it was not till the evening +now referred to that he at last caught it up. + +Of all this, however, and of whatever merely concerned himself, Paco +made little mention, limiting himself to what it was absolutely +necessary that Herrera should know, clearly to understand Rita's +position. In spite of this brevity, more than one sign of impatience +escaped Luis during the muleteer's narrative. The tale told, he remained +for a minute buried in thought. + +"It is three weeks since you left the convent?" he then inquired of +Paco. + +"Nearly four," was the answer. + +"Do you think Dona Rita is still there?" + +"How can I tell?" replied Paco. "You know as much as I do of Don +Baltasar's intentions. He could hardly find a better corner to hide her +in; for it is in the very heart of the mountains, far from any town, +and, well as I know Navarre, I never saw the place till this time. So I +_should_ think it likely she is still there, unless he has taken her to +France, or forced her to marry him." + +"Never!" cried Herrera, violently; "he would not dare; she would never +consent. Listen, Paco--could you guide me to that convent?" + +"Certainly I could," answered the muleteer, greatly surprised, "as far +as knowing the road goes; but the country swarms with Carlist troops; +and even if we could sneak round Eraso's army, we should be sure to fall +in with some guerilla party." + +"But there must be paths over the mountains," exclaimed Herrera, with +the painful eagerness of a man catching at a last faint hope; "paths +unfrequented, almost unknown, except to fellows like you, who have spent +their lives amongst then. Over those you could--you must, conduct me." + +"I will try it, Don Luis, willingly," replied Paco, moved by Herrera's +evident agony of mind. "I will try it, if you choose; but I would not +give a _peseta_ for our lives. There are hundreds amongst the Carlists +who know every mountain pass and ravine as well as I do. The chances +will be all against us." + +"We could lie concealed in the day," continued Herrera, pursuing the +train of his own thoughts, and scarcely hearing the muleteer's +observations. "A small party of infantry--twenty picked men will be +enough--the convent surprised at nightfall, and before morning, by a +forced march, we reach a Christino garrison. I will try it, by heaven! +at all risks. Paco, wait my return." + +And before the muleteer had time to reply, the impetuous young man +snatched his horse's bridle from his hand, sprang into the saddle, and, +spurring the tired beast into a gallop, rode off in the direction of +Artajona. + +The motive of Herrera's abrupt departure was to prepare for the +execution of a plan so wild and impracticable, that, in his cooler +moments, it would never have suggested itself to him, although, in his +present state of excitement, he fancied it perfectly feasible. He had +determined to proceed at once to the general-in-chief, one of whose +favourite officers he was, to acquaint him with what he had just +learned, and entreat his permission to set out that very night with a +few chosen men on an expedition into the heart of the Carlist country, +the object of it being to rescue Rita from her captivity. For reasons +which will hereafter appear, he had the worst possible opinion of Don +Baltasar, and so shocked and startled was he at hearing that the woman +to whom, in spite of their long separation, he was still devotedly and +passionately attached, was in his power, that for the time he lost all +coolness of judgment and overlooked the numerous obstacles to his +scheme. The rapid pace at which he rode, contributed perhaps to keep up +the whirl and confusion of his ideas, and he arrived at the door of +Cordova's quarters, without the impropriety and positive absurdity of +his application at such a moment having once occurred to him. + +The Christino commander had taken up his quarters in the house of one of +the principal inhabitants of Artajona. At the time of Herrera's arrival, +although it was past ten o'clock, all was bustle and movement in and +about the extensive range of building; the stables crammed with horses, +the general's escort loitering in the vestibule, orderly officers and +aides-de-camp hurrying in all directions, bringing reports and conveying +orders to the different regiments and brigades; peasants, probably +spies, conversing in low earnest tones with officers of rank: here a +party of soldiers drinking, there another group gambling, in a third +place a row of sleepers stretched upon the hard ground, but soundly +slumbering in spite of its hardness and of the surrounding din. Pushing +his way through the crowd, Herrera ascended the stairs, and meeting an +orderly at the top, enquired for the general's apartments. Before the +soldier could reply, a door opened, a young officer came out, and, +perceiving Herrera, hurried towards him. The two officers shook hands. +The aide-de-camp was Mariano Torres, who had recently been appointed to +the general's staff, upon which Herrera would also have been placed had +he not preferred remaining in command of his squadron. + +"What brings you here, Luis?" said Torres. + +"To see the general. I have a favour to ask of him--one which he _must_ +grant. Take me to him, Torres, immediately." + +Struck by the wild and hurried manner of his friend, and by the +discomposure manifest in his features, Mariano took his arm, and walking +with him down the long corridor, which was dimly lighted by lanterns +suspended against the wall, led him into his own room. "The general is +particularly engaged," said he, "and I cannot venture to disturb him; +but in five minutes I will inform him of your arrival. Meanwhile, what +is the matter, Luis? What has happened thus to agitate you?" + +Although chafing at the delay, Herrera could not refuse to reply to this +enquiry; and, in hurried and confused terms, he informed Torres of the +news brought by Paco, and of the plan he had devised for the rescue of +Rita. Thunderstruck at the temerity of the project, Torres undertook, +but at first with small success, to convince Herrera of its +impracticability, and induce him to abandon it, at least for the time. + +"How can you possibly expect," he said, "ever to reach the convent you +have described to me? In front is the Carlist army; on all sides you +will meet bands of armed peasants, and you will throw away your own life +without a chance of accomplishing your object." + +"Don't speak to me of life!" exclaimed Herrera, impetuously interrupting +him; "it is valueless. Spare yourself the trouble of argument; all that +you can urge will be in vain. Come what may, and at any risk, I will +make the attempt. Every hour is a year of torture to me whilst I know +Rita in the power of that villain." + +"And much good it will do her," replied Torres, "to have you killed in +her service. As to accomplishing her rescue, it is out of the question +in the way you propose. You will inevitably be shot or taken prisoner. +If, on the contrary, you have a little patience, and wait a few days, +something may be done. This Don Baltasar, there can scarcely be a doubt, +is with the army in our front, and his prisoner must therefore be free +from his persecutions. Besides, admitting that your project had a shadow +of common sense, how can you suppose, that on the eve of a battle +against superior numbers, the general will spare even a score of men +from the ranks of his army?" + +"He _will_ spare them, for me," cried Herrera. "He has known me since +the beginning of the war: I have fought by his side; and more than once +he has thanked me for my services, and expressed his willingness to +reward them. Let him grant me this request, and I will die for him +to-morrow." + +"You would be likely enough to die if he did grant it," replied Torres; +"but luckily there is no chance of his doing so." + +"We will see that," said Herrera, impatiently. "This is idle talk and +waste of time. You are not my friend, Mariano, thus to detain me. The +five minutes have twice elapsed. Take me at once to the general." + +"I will take you to him, if you insist upon it," answered Torres. "Hear +me but one minute longer. What will be said to-morrow, when we move +forward to meet the enemy, and it is found that Luis Herrera is wanting +at his post; when it is known that he has left the camp in the +night-*time, on his own private business, only a few hours before a +battle, which all agree will be a bloody and perhaps a decisive one? His +advancement, although nobly deserved, has been rapid. There are many who +envy him, and such will not fail to attribute his absence to causes by +which his friends well know he is incapable of being influenced. It will +be pleasant for those friends to hear slanderous tongues busy with his +good name." + +Mariano had at last touched the right chord, and this, his final +argument, strongly impressed Herrera. What no consideration of personal +danger could accomplish, the dread of an imputation upon his honour, +although it might be uttered but by one or two enemies, and disbelieved +by a thousand friends, went far to effect. Moreover, during the quarter +of an hour passed with Torres, his thoughts had become in some degree +collected, and the truth of the aide-de-camp's observations as to the +Quixotism and utter madness of his scheme began to dawn upon him. He +hesitated, and remained silent. Torres saw his advantage, and hastened +to follow it up. + +"Hear me, Luis," said he. "You have ever found me willing to be guided +by your opinion, but at this moment you are not in a state of mind to +judge for yourself. For once then, be guided by me, and return to your +squadron. To-morrow's fight will make a mighty difference. If we gain +the day, and we are sure of it, we shall advance to Pampeluna, and you +will be at a comparatively short distance from the convent where your +mistress is detained. Then, indeed, when the Carlists are scattered and +dispirited after their defeat, the scheme you have in view may be +executed, and then, but only then, are you likely to get permission to +attempt it. I will accompany you if you wish it, and we will get some +guerilla leader, skilled in such hazardous expeditions, to join us with +his band." + +By these and similar arguments, did Torres finally prevail with Herrera +to abandon his project until after the approaching action. Even then, +and even should the victory be complete and in favour of the Christinos, +Mariano was doubtful whether it would be possible to attempt the +dangerous excursion proposed by Herrera; but in the interim his friend +would have time to reflect, and Torres hoped that he might be induced +entirely to give up the plan. He, himself a light-hearted devil-may-care +fellow, taking life as it came, and with a gentle spice of egotism in +his character, was unsusceptible of such an attachment as that of +Herrera for Rita, and, being unsusceptible, he could not understand it. +The soldier's maxim of letting a new love drive out the old one, +whenever a change of garrison or other cause renders it advisable, was +what he practised, and would have wished his friend also to adopt. He +was unable to comprehend Herrera's deeply-rooted and unselfish love, +which had grown up with him from boyhood, had borne up against so many +crosses and discouragements, and which time, although it might prove its +hopelessness, could never entirely obliterate. + +"Time," thought Torres, as he returned to his room, after seeing Herrera +mount his horse and ride away, "is a great healer of Cupid's wounds, +particularly a busy time, like this. A fight one day and a carouse the +next, have cured many an honest fellow of the heartache. Herrera is +pretty sure of one half of the remedy, although it might be difficult to +induce him to try the other. Well, _qui vivra verra_--I have brought him +to his senses for the present, and there'd be small use in bothering +about the future, when, by this time to-morrow, half of us may be food +for ravens." + +And with this philosophical reflection, the insouciant aide-de-camp +threw himself upon his bed, to sleep as soundly as if the next day's sun +had to shine upon a feast instead of a fray. + +Midnight was approaching when Herrera reached the bivouac, which had now +assumed a character of repose very different from the bustle reigning +there when he had left it. The fires were blazing far less brightly, and +some, neglected by the soldiers who lay sleeping around them, had +dwindled into heaps of ashes, over which a puff of the night breeze +would every now and then bring a red glow, driving at the same time a +long train of sparks into the faces of the neighbouring sleepers. There +was no more chattering or singing; the distant shots had ceased, the +musicians had laid aside their instruments, and were sharing the general +repose; the only sounds that broke the stillness were the distant +challenging from the outpost, the tramp of the sentry faintly audible +upon the turf, the rattling of the collar chain of some restless horse, +or the snore of the sleeping soldiery. Restoring his horse to Paco, whom +he found waiting beside the watch-fire, Herrera desired him to remain +there till morning, and then wrapping himself in his cloak, he lay down +upon the grass, to court a slumber, of which anxious and uneasy thoughts +long debarred his eyelids. + + + + +MOSES AND SON. + +A DIDACTIC TALE. + + +CHAPTER I. + +"It's no good your talking, Aby," said a diminutive gentleman, with a +Roman nose and generally antique visage; "you must do the best you can +for yourself, and get your living in a respectable sort of vay. I can't +do no more for you, so help my ----" + +"You're a nice father, aint you?" interrogatively replied the gentleman +addressed--a youth of eighteen, very tall, very thin, very dressy, and +very dirty. "I should like to know why you brought me into the world at +all." + +"To make a man of you, you ungrateful beast," answered the small father; +"and that's vot you'll never be, as true as my name's Moses. You aint +got it in you. You're as big a fool as any Christian in the parish." + +"Thankee, old un," replied he of six feet. "'_Twas nature's fault that +made me like my father_," he added immediately, throwing himself into a +theatrical posture, and pointing irreverently to the individual referred +to. + +"There he goes again!" exclaimed Moses senior, with a heavy sigh. +"That's another of his tricks that'll bring him to the gallows. Mark my +words, Aby--that acting of yours will do your business. I vish the +amytoors had been at the devil before you made their acquaintance!" + +"In course you do, you illiterate old man. What do you know of +literature? Aint all them gentlemen as I plays with chice sperits and +writers? Isn't it a honour to jine 'em in the old English drammy, and to +eat of the wittles and drink of the old ancient poets?" + +"Aby, my dear," proceeded the other sarcastically, "I've only two vurds +to say. You have skulked about this 'ere house for eighteen years of +your precious life, vithout doing a ha'porth of work. It's all very fine +while it lasts; but I am sorry to say it can't last much longer. +To-morrow is Sabbath, make much of it, for it's the last blessed day of +rest you'll see here. Sunday morning I'll trouble you to pack." + +"Do you mean it?" + +"Upon my soul--as true as I'm here." + +"_Hear that, ye gods, and wonder how you made him!_" exclaimed Abraham, +turning up his nose at his parent, and then looking to the ceiling with +emotion--"You unnatural old Lear! you bloodless piece of earth!" + +"Go 'long, go 'long!" said the prosaic Moses, senior; "don't talk +rubbish!" + +"Father!" cried the youth, with an attitude, "when I'm gone, you'll +think of me, and want me back." + +"Vait, my dear, till I send for you." + +"When the woice is silent, you'll be glad to give a ten pun' note for an +echo." + +"No, my boy; I don't like the security." + +"When you have lost sight of these precious featers, you'll be glad to +give all you have got for a picter." + +"Vot a lucky painter he'll be as draws you off!" said the stoic father. + +Abraham Moses gazed upon the author of his being for one minute with +intensest disgust. Then taking a chair in his hand, he first raised it +in the air, and afterwards struck it with vehement indignation to the +ground. That done, he seated himself with a mingled expression of +injured innocence and lofty triumph. + +"You old sinner," said he, "you've done for yourself." + +"Sorry for it," replied the cool old gentleman. + +"I've sounded you, have I? Oh! did I try to strike a chord in that +hollow buzzum, and did I think to make it answer? Now listen, you +disreputable father. I leave your house, not the day after to-morrow, +but this very hour. I shall go to that high sphere which you knows +nothing about, and is only fit for a gent of the present generation. I +don't ask you for nothing. I'm settled and provided for. If you were to +take out your cheque-book and say, 'Aby, fill it up,' I can't answer for +a impulse of nater; but I do think I should scorn the act, and feel as +though I had riz above it. You have told me, all my wretched life, that +I should take my last snooze outside o' Newgate. I always felt very much +obliged to you for the compliment; but you'll recollect that I've told +you as often that I'd live to make you take your hat off to me. The time +is come, sir! I've got an appointment! Such a one! I came to tell you of +it; but I considered it my religious duty to inwestigate your paternal +feelings concerning me aforehand. I have inwestigated 'em. I am sorry to +say it; I have put you into the weighing machine, and found you short." + +"The fool's mad!" + +"Is he? Wait a minute. If your shocking eddication permits, I'll trouble +you to read that there." + +Mr Abraham Moses drew from his pocket a despatch, ornamented with a huge +seal, and some official red tape. The elder gentleman took it into his +hand, and gazed at his worthy son with unutterable surprise, as he read +on the outside--"_Private and confidential, House of Lords, to Abraham +Moses, Esq., &c. &c. &c._" + +"Vy, vot does it all mean, my dear?" enquired the agitated parent. + +"Spare your '_my dears_,' venerable apostate, and open it," said Aby. +"The seal's broke. It's private and confidential, but that means when +you are not one of the family." + +Mr Methusaleh Moses did as he was bid, and read as follows:-- + + "SIR,--The Usher of the Blue Rod vacates his office on Wednesday + next, when you will be required to appear before the woolsack to + take the usual oaths. As soon as you have entered upon your duties, + the customary presentation to her Majesty will take place. Lord + Downy will be prepared to conclude the preliminaries at his hotel + at twelve o'clock to-morrow.--I am, sir, with respect, your + obedient humble servant, + "WARREN DE FITZALBERT. + "Abraham Moses, Esq., + &c. &c. &c." + +As little Mr Moses read the last words with a tremulous utterance, tall +Mr Moses rose to take his departure. "Vot's your hurry, Aby?" said the +former, coaxingly. + +"Come, I like that. What's my hurry? Didn't you want to kick me out just +now?" + +"My dear, give every dog his due. Stick to the truth, my boy, votever +you does. I axed you to stay over the Sabbath--I vish I may die if I +didn't." + +Mr Abraham Moses directed towards his sire one of those decided and +deadly glances which are in so much request at the theatres, and which +undertake to express all the moral sentiments at one and the same +moment. Having paid this tribute to his wounded nature, he advanced to +the door, and said, determinedly-- + +"I shall go!" + +"I'm blessed if you do, Aby!" exclaimed the father, with greater +resolution, and seizing his offspring by the skirts of his coat. "I'm +your father, and I knows my sitivation. You're sich a fellow! You can't +take a vurd in fun. Do you think I meant to turn you out ven I said it? +Can you stop nater, Aby? Isn't nater at vork vithin, and doesn't it tell +me if I knocks you on the nose, I hits myself in the eye? Come, sit down +my boy; tell me all about it, and let's have someting to eat." + +Aby was proof against logical argument, but he could not stand up +against the "someting to eat." He sank into the chair again like an +infant. Mr Methusaleh took quick advantage of his success. Rushing +wildly to a corner cupboard, he produced from it a plate of cold crisp +fried fish, which he placed with all imaginable speed exactly under the +nose of the still vacillating Aby. He vacillated no longer. The spell +was complete. The old gentleman, with a perfect reliance upon the charm, +proceeded to prepare a cup of coffee at his leisure. + +"And now, Aby," said the father, stirring the grounds of his muddy +beverage--"I'm dying to hear vot it all means. How did you manage to get +amongst dese people? You're more clever as your father." A hearty meal +of fish and coffee had considerably greased the external and internal +man of Aby Moses. His views concerning filial obligations became more +satisfactory and humane; his spirit was evidently chastened by +repletion. + +"Father," said he, meaning to be very tender--"You have always been such +a fool about the company as I keep." + +"Well, so I have, my dear; but don't rake up the past." + +"It's owing to that very company, father, that you sees me in my proud +position." + +"No!" + +"It is, though. _Lend me your ears._" + +"Don't be shtoopid, Aby--go on vith your story." + +A slight curl might be seen playing around the dirty lip of Moses junior +at this parental ignorance of the immortal Will: a stern sacrifice of +filial reverence to poetry. + +It passed away, and the youth proceeded. + +"That Warren de Fitzalbert, father, as signed that dockyment, is a +buzzum friend. He see'd me one night when I played Catesby, and, after +the performance, requested the honour of an introduction, which I, in +course, could not refuse. You know how it is--men gets intimate--tells +one another their secrets--opens their hearts--and lives in one +another's societies. I never knew who he was, but I was satisfied he was +a superior gent, from the nateral course of his conversation. Everybody +said it as beautiful to see us, we was so united and unseparated. Well, +you may judge my surprise, when one day another gent, also a friend of +mine, says to me, 'Moses, old boy, do you know who Fitzalbert is?' 'No,' +says I, 'I don't.' 'Well, then,' says he, 'I'll tell you. He's a under +secretary of state.' There was a go! Only think of me being hand and +glove with a secretary of state! What does I do? Why, sir, the very next +time he and I meet, I says to him, 'Fitzalbert, it's very hard a man of +your rank can't do something for his friends.' I knew the right way was +to put the thing to him point-blank. 'So it would be,' says he, 'if it +was, but it isn't.' 'Oh, isn't it?' says I; 'then, if you are the man I +take you to be, you'll do the thing as is handsome by me.' He said +nothing then, but took hold of my hand, and shook it like a brother." + +"Vell, go on, my boy; I tink they are making a fool of you." + +"Are they? That's all you know. Well, a few days after this, Fitzalbert +writes me a letter to call on him directly. I goes, of course. 'Moses,' +says he, as soon as he sees me, 'you are provided for.' 'No!' says I. +'Yes,' says he. 'Lord Downy has overrun the constable; he can't stop in +England no longer; he's going to resign the blue rod; he's willing to +sell it for a song; you shall buy it, and make your fortune.'" + +"But vere's your money, my dear?" + +"Wait a minute. 'What's the salary?' said I. 'A thousand a-year,' says +he. 'You don't mean it?' says I again. 'Upon my soul,' says he. 'And +what will it cost?' says I. 'The first year's salary,' says he; 'and +I'll advance it, because I know you are a gentleman, and will not forget +to pay me back.' 'If I do,' says I, 'I wish I may die.' Now, father, +that there letter, as you sees, is official, and that's why he doesn't +say 'dear Moses;' but if you was to see us together, it would do your +heart good. Not that you ever will, because your unfortinate lowness of +character will compel me, as a gent, to cut your desirable acquaintance +the moment I steps into Lord Downy's Wellingtons. Now, if you have got +no more fish in that 'ere cupboard, I wish you good morning." + +"Shtay, shtay, Aby, you're in such a devil of a hurry!" exclaimed +Methusaleh, holding him by the wrist. "Now, my dear boy, if you're dead +to natur, there's an end of the matter, and I've nothing more to say; +but if you've any real blood left in you, you von't break my heart. Vy +shouldn't your father have the pleasure of advancing the money? If it is +a true bill, Aby, you sha'n't be under no obligation to nobody!" + +"True bill! I like that! Why, I have seen Lord Downy's own +hand-*writing; and, what's more, seen him in the House of Lords, talking +quite as familiarly, as I conwerse with you, with the Lord Chancellor, +and all the rest on 'em. I heard him make a speech--next morning I looks +into the paper--no deceit, sir--there was Lord Downy's name. Now, +to-morrow, when I'm introduced to him, don't you think I shall be able +to diskiver whether he's the same man or not?" + +"Vere's the tousand pound?" inquired Mr Methusaleh. + +"My friend goes with me to-morrow to hand it over. Three hundred is to +be given up at Lord Downy's hotel in Oxford Street, and the balance at +Mr Fitzalbert's chambers in Westminster, an hour afterwards, when I +receive the appointment." + +"My dear Aby, I von't beat about the bush with you. I'm quite sure, my +child, ve should make it answer much better, if you'd let your father +advance the money. Doesn't it go agin the grain to vurk into the hands +of Christians against your own flesh and blood? If this Mr Fitzalbert +advances the money, depend upon it it's to make someting handsome by the +pargain. Let me go vith you to his lordship, and perhaps, if he's very +hard-up, he'll take seven hundred instead of the thousand. Ve'll divide +the three hundred between us. Don't you believe that your friend is +doing all this for love. Vot can he see, my darling, in your pretty +face, to take all this trouble for nothing? I shouldn't be at all +surprised if he's a blackguard, and means to take a cruel advantage of +his lordship's sitivation--give him perhaps only five hundred for his +tousand. Aby, let your ould father do an act of charity, and put two +hundred pounds into this poor gentleman's pockets." + +Before Aby could reply to this benevolent appeal, a stop was put to the +interesting conversation, by a violent knocking at the door, on the part +of no less a gentleman than Warren de Fitzalbert himself. + + +CHAPTER II. + +Whilst the domestic _tete-a-tete_, feebly described in the foregoing +chapter, was in progress, the nobleman, more than once referred to, was +passing miserable moments in his temporary lodgings at the Salisbury +Hotel, in Oxford Street. A more unhappy gentleman than Baron Downy it +would be impossible to find in or out of England. The inheritor of a +cruelly-burdened title, he had spent a life in adding to its +incumbrances, rather than in seeking to disentangle it from the meshes +in which it had been transmitted to him. In the freest country on the +globe, he had never known the bliss of liberty. He had moved about with +a drag-chain upon his spiritual and physical energies, as long as he +could remember his being. At school and at college, necessarily limited +in his allowance, he contracted engagements which followed him for at +least ten years after his entrance into life, and then only quitted him +to leave him bound to others far more tremendous and inextricable. His +most frequent visitors, his most constant friends, his most familiar +acquaintance, were money-lenders. He had borrowed money upon all +possible and unimaginable securities, from the life of his grandmother +down to that last resource of the needy gentleman, the family repeater, +chain, and appendages. His lordship, desperate as his position was, was +a man of breeding, a nobleman in thought and feeling. But the more +incapable of doing wrong, so much the more liable to deceit and fraud. +He had been passed, so to speak, from hand to hand by all the +representatives of the various money-lending classes that thrive in +London on the folly and necessity of the reckless and the needy. All had +now given him up. His name had an odour in the market, where his paper +was a drug. His bills of a hundred found few purchasers at a paltry five +pounds, and were positively rejected by all but wine-merchant-sheriff's +officers, who took them at nothing, and contrived to make a handsome +profit out of them into the bargain. Few had so little reason to be +proud as the man whose name had become a by-word and a joke amongst the +most detestable and degraded of their race; and yet, strange as it may +seem, few had a keener sense of their position, or could be so readily +stung by insult, let it but proceed from a quarter towards which +punishment might be directed with credit or honour. A hundred times Lord +Downy had cursed his fate, which had not made him an able-bodied porter, +or an independent labourer in the fields, rather than that saddest of +all sad contradictions, a nobleman without the means of sustaining +nobility--a man of rank with no dignity--a superior without the shadow +of pre-eminence; but for all the wealth of the kingdom, he would not +have sullied the order to which he belonged, by what he conceived to be +one act of meanness or sordid selfishness; as if there could be any +thing foul or base in any act that seeks, by honourable industry, to +repair the errors of a wayward fortune. + +Upon the day of which we speak, there sat with Lord Downy a rude, +ill-favoured man, brought into juxtaposition with the peer by the +unfortunate relation that connected the latter with so many men of +similar stamp and station. He seemed more at home in the apartment than +the owner, and took some pains to over-act his part of vulgar +independence. He had never been so intimate with a nobleman +before--certainly no nobleman had ever been in his power until now. The +low and abject mind holds its jubilee when it fancies that it reduces +superiority to its own level, and can trample upon it for an hour +without fear of rebuke or opposition. + +"For the love of heaven! Mr Ireton, if for no kindness towards me," said +Lord Downy, "give me one day longer to redeem those sacred pledges. They +are heirlooms--gifts of my poor dear mother. I had no right to place +them in your hands--they belong to my child." + +"Then why did you? I never asked you; I could have turned my money +twenty times over since you have had it. I dare say you think I have +made a fortune out of you." + +"I have always paid you liberally--and given you your terms." + +"I thought so--it's always the way. The more you do for great people the +more you may. I might have taken the bed from under your lordship many a +time, if so I had been so disposed; but of course you have forgotten all +about _that_." + +"About these jewels, Mr Ireton. They are not of great value, and cannot +be worth your selling. I shall receive two hundred and fifty pounds +to-morrow--it shall be made three hundred, and you shall have the whole +sum on account. Surely four-and-twenty hours are not to make you break +your faith with me?" + +"As for breaking faith, Lord Downy, I should like to know what you'd do +if I were in your place and you in mine." + +"I hope"-- + +"Oh, yes! it's easy enough to talk now, when you aint in my position; +but I know very well how you all grind down the poor fellows that are in +your power--how you make them slave on five shillings a-week, to keep +you in luxury, and all the rest of it. Not that I blame you. I know it's +human nature to get what one can out of every body, and I don't complain +to see men try it on." + +"I have nothing more to say, Mr Ireton. You must do with me as you think +proper." + +"I am to wait till to-morrow, you say?" + +"Yes; only until to-morrow. I shall surely be in receipt of money then." + +"Oh, sure of course!" said Mr Ireton. "You gentlemen are always sure +till the time comes, and then you can't make it out how it is you are +disappointed. No sort of experience conquers your spirits; but the more +your hopes are defeated, the more sanguine you get. I'll wait till +to-morrow then"-- + +"A thousand thanks." + +"Wait a bit--on certain terms. You know as well as I do, that I could +put you to no end of expense. I don't wish to do it; but I don't prefer +to be out of pocket by the matter. I must have ten pounds for the +accommodation." + +"Ten!" exclaimed poor Lord Downy. + +"Yes, only ten; and I'll give you twenty if you'll pay me at once;" +added Mr Ireton--knowing very well that his victim could as easily have +paid off the national debt. + +Lord Downy sighed. + +"There's a slip of paper before you. Give me your I O U for the trifle, +and pay principal and interest to-morrow." + +His lordship turned obediently to the table, wrote in silence the +acknowledgment required, and with a hand that trembled from vexation and +anxiety, presented the document to his tormentor. The latter vanished. +He had scarcely departed before Lord Downy rang his bell with violence, +and a servant entered. + +"Are there any letters for me, Mason?" inquired his lordship eagerly. + +"None, my lord," answered Mason with some condescension, and a great +deal of sternness. + +Lord Downy bit his lip, and paced the room uneasily. + +"My lord," said Mason, "I beg your"---- + +"Nothing more, nothing more;" replied the master, interrupting him. +"Should any letters arrive, let them be brought to me immediately." + +"Beg your pardon, my lord," said Mason, taking no notice of the order, +"the place doesn't suit me." + +"How?" + +"Nothing to complain of, my lord--only wish to get into a good family." + +"Sirrah!" + +"It isn't the kind of thing, my lord," continued Mason, growing bolder, +"that I have been used to. I brought a character with me, and I want to +take it away again. I'm talked about already." + +"What does the fellow mean?" + +"I don't wish to hurt your lordship's feelings, and I'd rather not be +more particular. If it gets blown in the higher circles that I have been +here, my character, my lord, is smashed." + +"You may go, sir, when your month has expired." + +"I'd rather go at once, my lord, if it's all the same to you. As for the +salary, my lord, it's quite at your service--quite. I never was a +grasping man; and in your lordship's unfortunate situation,"----Lord +Downy walked to the window, flung it open, and commenced whistling a +tune----"I should know better than to take advantage," proceeded Mr +Mason. "There is a young man, my lord, a friend of mine, just entering +life, without any character at all, who would be happy, I have no doubt, +to undertake"---- + +Lord Downy banged the window, and turned upon the flunky with an +expression of rage that might have put a violent and ever-to-be-lamented +stop to this true history, had not the door of his lordship's apartment +opened, and _boots_ presented himself with the announcement of "MR +WARREN DE FITZALBERT." + + +CHAPTER III. + +Twice has Mr Warren de Fitzalbert closed a chapter for us, and put us +under lasting obligation. Fain would we introduce that very important +personage to the reader's more particular acquaintance; fain describe +the fascinating form, the inimitable grace, that won all hearts, and +captivated, more particularly, every female eye. But, alas! intimacy is +forbidden. A mystery has attached itself to his life, with which we are +bound to invest his person at the present writing. We cannot promise one +syllable from his eloquent lips, or even one glimpse at his dashing +exterior. As for referring you, gentle reader, to the home of Mr de +Fitzalbert, the thing's absurd upon the very face. Home he has none, +unless Peele's coffeehouse; and all the _Bears_ of Holborn, blue, black, +and white, to which his letters are directed, assert the sacred +designation. Let us hasten back to Messrs Moses. Mr Methusaleh had not +been more successful in his attempt to catch a sight of the secretary of +state than other people. When Aby heard the double knock, he darted like +an arrow from his parent's arms, in order to prevent the entrance of his +friend, and to remove him from all possible contact with the astute and +too persuasive Moses, senior. In vain did the latter gentleman rush to +the window, and, by every soft endearment, seek to call back the +retreating forms of Aby and Fitzalbert, now arm-in-arm, making for the +corner of the street, and about to turn it. One was unconscious of the +voice--the other heard it, and defied it. What passed between father and +son, when the latter returned at night, I cannot say; but they were up +betimes the following morning, and much excited, whilst they partook +together of their morning meal. + +"It's no good trying," said the elder gentleman. "I can't eat, Aby, do +vot I vill. I'm so delighted with your earthly prospects, and your +dootiful behaviour, that my appetite's clean gone." + +"Don't distress yourself on that account," said Aby, "I've appetite for +two." + +"You always had, my dear," replied the sire; "and vot a blessing it'll +be to gratify it at your own expense. I never begrudged you, my boy, any +victuals as I had in the house, and the thought of that ere vill be a +great consolation to me on my death-bed." + +"What's o'clock, father?" + +"Nine, my dear." + +"It's getting on. Only think that at twelve o'clock to-day I shall have +entered into another sphere of existence." + +"It's very vunderful," said Methusaleh. + +"It's one of those dispensations, father, that comes like great actors, +once in a thousand years." + +Mr Moses, senior, drew from his pocket a dirty cotton handkerchief, and +applied it to his eyes. + +"Oh, Aby," said he, in a snivelling tone, "if your mother vos but alive +to see it. But, tank God, my dear, she's out of this vicked vorld of +sorrow and trouble. But let's talk of business," he added, in a livelier +tone. "This is a serious affair, my boy. I hope you'll take care of your +place, ven you gets it." + +"Trust me for that, Septuagenarian," replied the son. + +"Votever you does, do it cleverly, and don't be found out. Dere's a mint +of money to be made in more vays than one. If your friends vant cash, +bring 'em to me. I'll allow you handsome." + +"Have you got the three hundred ready, father?" + +"Here it is, Aby," replied Methusaleh, holding up three bank-notes of a +hundred each. "Now you know, my dear, vot ve're to do exactly; ve may, +after all, be done in this 'ere business, although I own it doesn't look +like it. Still ve can't be too cautious in our proceedings. You +remember, my boy, that ven you gives de nobleman his money, you takes +his receipt. The cheque for the balance you'll keep in your pocket till +you get the appintment. I goes vith you, and shtays outside the other +side of the vay. If any thing goes wrong, you have only to come to the +street door, and take off your hat, that vill be quite enough for me; +I'll rush in directly, and do vot's necessary." + +"Father," said Aby, in a tone of reproof, "your notions of gentlemen's +conduct is so disgusting, that I can't help despising you, and giving +the honour of my birth to some other individual. No son of your's could +be elevated in his ideas. I defy him." + +"Never mind, my boy, do as you are bid. You're very clever, I own, but +you have a deal to larn yet." + +In this and similar conversation, time passed until the clock struck +eleven, and warned father and son of the approaching crisis. At +half-past eleven precisely they quitted their common habitation, and +were already on the road. The old gentleman had made no alteration in +his primitive attire. Even on the day which was about to prove so +eventful to the family history, he sallied forth with the same lofty +contempt of conventionalities that had characterised his very long +career. How different the elated and aspiring heir of Moses! No wonder +he spurned with indignation the offer of his seedy parent's arm. No +wonder he walked a few paces before him, and assumed that unconcerned +and vacant air which should assure all passengers of his being quite +alone in the public thoroughfare both in person and in thought. Aby had +been intensely persevering at his morning toilet. The grease of a young +bear had been expended on his woolly head; the jewellery of a Mosaic +firm scattered over his lanky personality. He wore a tightly-fitting +light blue coat with frogs; a yellow satin waistcoat with a stripe of +blue beneath; a massive cravat of real cotton velvet, held down by gilt +studs; military trousers, and shining leather boots; spurs were on the +latter, and a whip was in his hand. Part of the face was very clean; but +by some law of nature the dirt that had retreated from one spot had +affectionately attached itself to another. The cheeks were +unexceptionable for Aby; but beneath the eyes and around the ears, and +below the chin, the happy youth might still indulge his native love of +grime. It is not the custom for historians to describe the inner +clothing of their heroes. We are spared much pain in consequence. + +At three minutes to twelve the worthies found themselves over against +the Salisbury Hotel in Oxford Street. The agitation of the happy youth +was visible; but the more experienced sire was admirably cool. + +"There's the money, Aby," said he, handing over the three hundred +pounds. "Be a man, and do the business cleverly. Don't be done out of +the cash, and keep vide avake. If you've the slightest suspicion, rush +to the door and pull off your hat. I shall look out for the signal. +Don't think of me. I can take care of myself. Dere, listen, the clock's +striking. Now go, my boy, and God bless you!" + +True enough, the clock was sounding. Aby heard the last stroke of +twelve, and then to leap across the road, and to bound into the house, +was the work of an instant. + +Now, although Mr Methusaleh Moses was, as we have said, admirably cool +up to the moment of parting with his money, it by no means follows that +he was equally at his ease after that painful operation had been +performed. Avaricious and greedy, Methusaleh could risk a great deal +upon the chance of great gains, and would have parted with ten times +three hundred pounds to secure the profits which, as it seemed to him, +were likely to result from the important business on hand. He could be +extravagant in promising speculations, although he denied himself +ordinary comforts at his hearth. Strange feelings possessed him, +however, as his son tore from him, and disappeared in the hotel. The +money was out of his pocket, and in an instant might find itself in the +pocket of another without an adequate consideration. Dismal reflection! +Mr Methusaleh looked up to one of the hotel windows to get rid of it. +The boy was inexperienced, and might be in the hands of sharpers, who +would rub their hands and chuckle again at having done the "knowing +Jew." Excruciating thought! Mr Methusaleh visibly perspired as it came +and went. The boy himself was hardly to be trusted. He had been the +plague of Mr Methusaleh's life since the hour of his birth--was full of +tricks, and might have schemes to defraud his natural parent of his +hard-earned cash, like any stranger to his blood or tribe. As this +suspicion crossed the old man's brain, he clenched his fist +unconsciously, and gnashed his teeth, and knit his brow, and felt as +murderers feel when the hot blood is rampant, and gives a tone of +justice to the foulest crime. A quarter of an hour passed in this +distressing emotion. Mr Methusaleh would have sworn it was an hour, if +he had not looked at his watch. Not for one moment had he withdrawn his +eager vision from that banging door, which opened and shut at every +minute, admitting and sending forth many human shapes, but not the one +he longed yet feared to see. The old man's eyes ached with the strain, +and wearying anxiety. One good hour elapsed, and there stood Mr Moses. +He was sure his boy was still in the house. He had watched every face +closely that had entered and issued. Could he have mistaken Aby? +Impossible! I would have given a great deal to read the history of the +old man's mind during that agitated sixty minutes! I believe he could +have called to recollection every form that had passed either into or +out of the hotel, all the time that he had been on duty. How he watched +and scanned some faces! One or two looked sweetly and satisfactorily +ingenuous--the very men to spend money faster than they could get it, +and to need the benevolent aid that Mr Moses was ready to afford them. +Methusaleh's spirits and confidence rose tremendously at such +appearances. One after the other was silently pronounced "the real Lord +Downy." Then came two or three sinister visages--faces half muffled up, +with educated features, small cunning eyes, and perhaps green +spectacles--conspirators every one--villains who had evidently conspired +to reduce Mr Moses's balance at his banker's, and to get fat at his +expense. Down went the spirits faster than they had mounted. The head, +as well as eyes of Mr Moses, now was aching. + +His troubles grew complicated. Have we said that the general appearance +of Mr Moses, senior, was such as not to inspire immediate confidence on +the part of mankind in general, and police-officers in particular? It +should have been mentioned. The extraordinary conduct of the agitated +little gentleman had not failed to call forth the attention and +subsequent remarks of those who have charge of the public peace. First, +he was asked, "What business he had there?" Then he was requested "to +move on." What a request to make at such a moment! _Move on!_ Would that +thoughtless policeman have given Mr Moses three hundred precious +sovereigns to put himself in locomotion? Not he. Then came two or three +mysterious individuals, travellers apparently from the east, with long +beards, heavy bags on their backs, and sonorous voices, who had +evidently letters of introduction to Methusaleh, for they deposited +their burdens before him as they passed, and entered with him into +friendly conversation, or rather sought to do so; for he was proof +against temptation, and, for the first time in his life, not to be +charmed by any eastern talk of "first-rate bargains," and victories +obtained, by guile, over Christian butlers and such like serving-men. +The more the strangers surrounded him, the more he bobbed his head, and +fixed his piercing eye upon the door that wrought him so much agony. + +An hour and a half! Exactly thirty minutes later than the time +prescribed by Aby! Oh, foolish old man, to part with his money! He +turned pale as death with inward grief, and resolved to wait no longer +for the faithless child. Not faithless, old Methusaleh--for, look again! +The old man rubs his eyes, and can't believe them. He has watched so +long in vain for that form, that he believes his disordered vision now +creates it. But he deceives himself. Aby indeed appears. His hands are a +hundred miles away from his hat, and a smile sits on the surface of his +countenance. "Oh, he has done the trick! Brave boy, good child!" A +respectable gentleman is at his side. Methusaleh does not know him, but +the reader recognises that much-to-be-pitied personage, Lord Downy. Oh, +how greedily Methusaleh watches them both! "Capital boy, an +out-and-outer." Mr Moses "vishes he may die" if he isn't. But, suddenly, +the arm and hand of the youth is raised. Old Moses' heart is in his +mouth in no time. He prepares to run to his child's assistance; but the +hand stops midway between the waistcoat and the hat, and--hails a cab. +Lord Downy enters the vehicle; Aby follows, and away it drives. +Methusaleh's cab is off the stand quite as quickly. "Follow dat cab to +h--l, my man!" says he; jumps in, and never loses sight of number +forty-five. + +Number forty-five proceeded leisurely down Regent Street; along Charing +Cross, and Parliament Street, until it arrived at a quiet street in +Westminster, at the corner of which it stopped. Close behind it, pulled +up the vehicle of old Methusaleh. Lord Downy and Aby entered a house +within a few yards of it, and, immediately opposite, the indefatigable +sire once more took up his position. Here, with a calm and happy spirit, +the venerable Moses reflected on the past and future--made plans of +retiring from business, and of living, with his fortunate Aby, in rural +luxury and ease, and congratulated himself on the moral training he had +given his son, and which had no doubt led to his present noble eminence. +During this happy reverie there appeared at the door of the house in +which the Moses family were at present interested, a man of fashionable +exterior--a baronet at the very least. He had a martial air and bushy +whiskers--his movements all the ease of nature added to the grace of +art. The plebeian Moses felt an involuntary respect for the august +presence, and, in the full gladness of his heart, took off his hat in +humble reverence. We promised the reader one glimpse of the incomparable +Warren de Fitzalbert. He has obtained it. That mysterious individual +acknowledges the salutation of the Hebrew, and, smiling on him +graciously, passes on. Methusaleh rubs his hands, and has a foretaste of +his coming dignity. + +Another ten minutes of unmingled joy, and Aby is at the door. His +carefully combed hair is all dishevelled; his limbs are shaking; his +cheeks bloodless; and, oh, worse than all, the fatal hat is wildly +waving in the air! Methusaleh is struck with a thunderbolt; but he is +stunned for an instant only. He dashes across the road, seizes his +lawfully begotten by the throat, and drags him like a log into the +passage. + +"Shpeak, shpeak! you blackguard, you villain!" exclaimed the man. "My +money, my money!" + +"Oh, father!" answered the stripling, "they have robbed us--they have +taken advantage of me. I aint to blame; oh Lor'! oh Lor'!" + +The little man threw his boy from him with the strength of a giant and +the anger of a fiend. The unhappy Aby spun like a top into the corner of +the passage. + +"Show me the man," cried Methusaleh, "as has got my money. Take me to +him, you fool, you ass; let me have my revenge; or I'll be the death of +you." + +Aby crawled away from his father, rose, and then bade his father follow +him. The father did as he was directed. He ascended a few stairs, and +entered a room on the first floor. The only living object he saw there +was Lord Downy. His lordship was very pale, and as agitated as any of +the party; but his agitation did not save him from the assaults of the +defrauded Israelite. The old man had scarcely caught sight of his prey +before he pounced upon him like a panther. + +"What does this mean?" exclaimed his lordship, in amazement. + +"My money!" + +"Who are you?" said Lord Downy. + +"My money!" repeated Moses, furiously. "Give me my money! Three hundred +pounds--bank notes! I have got the numbers; I've stopped the payment. +Give me my money!" + +"Is this your son, sir?" said Lord Downy, pointing to the wretched Aby, +who stood in a corner of the apartment, looking like a member of the +swell mob, very sea-sick. + +"Never mind him!" cried the old man, energetically. "The money is mine, +not his'n. I gave it him to take up a bill. If you have seduced him +here, and robbed him of it, it's transportation. I knows the law. It's +the penal shettlements!" + +"Good heaven, sir! What language do you hold to me?" + +"Never mind my language. It vill be vorse by and by. Dis matter shall be +settled before the magistrate. Come along to Bow Street!" + +And so saying, Mr Moses, who all this time had held his lordship fast by +the collar of his coat, urged him forwards to the door. + +"I tell you, sir," said the nobleman, "whoever you may be, you are +labouring under a mistake. I am not the person that you take me for. I +am a peer of the realm." + +"If you vos the whole House of Commons," continued Methusaleh, without +relaxing his grasp, "vith Sir Robert Peel and the Duke of Vellington +into the pargain, you should go to Bow Street. Innoshent men aint to be +robbed like tieves." + +"Oh, heaven! my position! What will the world say?" + +"That you're a d--d rogue, sir, and shwindled a gentleman out of his +money." + +"Listen to me for one moment," said Lord Downy, earnestly, "and I will +accompany you whithersoever you please. Believe me, you are mistaken. If +you have suffered wrong through me, I am, at least, innocent. +Nevertheless, as far as I am able, justice shall be done you." Mr Moses +set his prisoner at liberty. "There, sir," said he, "I am a man of +peace. Give me the three hundred pounds, and I'll say no more about it." + +"We are evidently playing at cross purposes," said the nobleman. "Suffer +me, Mr ----," His lordship stopped. + +"Oh, you knows my name well enough. It's Mr Moses." + +"Then, Mr Moses," continued Lord Downy, "suffer me to tell my story, and +then favour me with yours." + +"Go on, sir," said Methusaleh. "Mind, vot you says vill go as evidence +agin you. I don't ask you to speak. I don't vant to compromise." + +"I have nothing but truth to utter. Some days ago I saw an advertisement +in the newspaper, offering to advance money to gentlemen on their +personal security. I answered the advertisement, and the following day +received a visit from Mr Fitzalbert, the advertiser. I required a +thousand pounds. He had not the money, he said, at his command; but a +young friend of his, for whom, indeed, he acted as agent, would advance +the sum as soon as all preliminaries were arranged. We did arrange the +preliminaries, as I believe, to Mr Fitzalbert's perfect satisfaction, +and this morning was appointed for a meeting and a settlement." + +"Yes; but didn't you promise to get me situation," interposed Aby from +the corner, in a tremulous tone. + +"Hold your tongue, you fool!" exclaimed Methusaleh. "Read that letter," +he continued, turning to Lord Downy, and presenting him with the note +addressed to Moses, junior, by Warren de Fitzalbert. Lord Downy read it +with unfeigned surprise, and shook his head when he had finished. + +"It is my usual fate" he said, with a sigh. "I have fallen again into +the hands of a sharper. Mr Moses, we have been both deceived. I have +nothing to do with rods, blue or black. I am not able to procure for +your worthy son any appointment whatever. I never engaged to do so. The +letter is a lie from beginning to end, and this Mr Fitzalbert is a +clever rogue and an impostor." + +Mr Moses, senior, turned towards his son one of those expressive looks +which Aby, in his boyhood, had always translated--"a good thrashing, my +fine fellow, at the first convenient opportunity." Aby, utterly beaten +by disappointment, vexation, and fear, roared like a distressed bear. + +"Come, come!" said Lord Downy; "matters may not be as bad as they seem. +The lad has been cruelly dealt by. I will take care to set him right. I +received of your three hundred pounds this morning, Mr Moses, two +hundred and fifty; the remaining fifty were secured by Mr Fitzalbert as +a bonus. That sum is here. I have the most pressing necessity for it; +but I feel it is not for me to retain it for another instant. Take it. I +have five-and-twenty pounds more at the Salisbury hotel, which, God +knows, it is almost ruin to part with, but they are yours also, if you +will return with me. I give you my word I have not, at the present +moment, another sixpence in the world. I have a few little matters, +however, worth ten times the amount, which I beg you will hold in +security, until I discharge the remaining five-and-twenty pounds. I can +do no more." + +"Vell, as you say, we have been both deceived by a great blackguard, and +by that 'ere jackass in the corner. You've shpoken like a gentleman, +vich is alvays gratifying to the feelings. To show you that I am not to +be outdone in generosity, I accept your terms." + +Lord Downy was not moved to tears by this disinterested conduct on the +part of Mr Moses, but he gladly availed himself of any offer which would +save him from exposure. A few minutes saw them driving back to Oxford +Street; Methusaleh and Lord Downy occupying the inside of a cab, whilst +Aby was mounted on the box. The features of the interesting youth were +not visible during the journey, by reason of the tears that he shed, and +the pocket-handkerchief that was held up to receive them. + +A little family plate, to the value of a hundred pounds, was, after much +haggling from Methusaleh, received as a pledge for the small deficiency; +which, by the way, had increased since the return of the party to the +Salisbury Hotel, to thirty-four pounds fifteen shillings and sixpence; +Mr Moses having first left it to Lord Downy's generosity to give him +what he thought proper for his trouble in the business, and finally made +out an account as follows-- + + Commission, L.5 0 0 + Loss of time, 2 0 0 + Do., Aby, 2 0 0 + Hire of cab, 0 15 6 + --------- + L.9 15 6 + +"I hope you thinks," said Methusaleh, packing up the plate, "that I have +taken no advantage. Five hundred pounds voudn't pay me for all as I have +suffered in mind this blessed day, let alone the vear and tear of body." + +Lord Downy made no reply. He was heartsick. He heard upon the stairs, +footsteps which he knew to belong to Mr Ireton. That gentleman, put off +from day to day with difficulty and fearful bribes, was not the man to +melt at the tale which his lordship had to offer instead of cash, or to +put up with longer delay. His lordship threw himself into a chair, and +awaited the arrival of his creditor with as much calmness as he could +assume. The door opened, and Mr Mason entered. He held in his hand a +letter, which had arrived by that morning's post. The writing was known. +Lord Downy trembled from head to foot as he broke the seal, and read the +glad tidings that met his eye. His uncle, the Earl of ----, had received +his appeal, and had undertaken to discharge his debts, and to restore +him to peace and happiness. The Earl of ----, a member of the +government, had obtained for his erring nephew an appointment abroad, +which he gave him, in the full reliance that his promise of amendment +should be sacredly kept. + +"It shall! it shall!" said his lordship, bursting into tears, and +enjoying, for the first time in his life, the bliss of liberty. Need we +say that Mr Ireton, to his great surprise, was fully satisfied, and Mr +Moses in receipt of his thirty-four pounds fifteen shillings and +sixpence, long before he cared to receive the money? These things need +not be reported, nor need we mention how Lord Downy kept faith with his +relative, and, once rid of his disreputable acquaintances, became +himself a reputable and useful man. + +Moses and Son dissolved their connexion upon the afternoon of that day +which had risen so auspiciously for the junior member. When Methusaleh +had completed the packing up of Lord Downy's family plate, he turned +round and requested Aby not to sit there like a wretch, but to give his +father a hand. He was not sitting there either as a wretch or in any +other character. The youth had taken his opportunity to decamp. Leaving +the hotel, he ran as fast as he could to the parental abode, and made +himself master of such loose valuables as might be carried off, and +turned at once into money. With the produce of this stolen property, Aby +extravagantly purchased a passage to New South Wales. Landing at Sydney, +he applied for and obtained a situation at the theatre. His face secured +him all the "sentimental villains;" and his success fully entitles him, +at the present moment, to be regarded as the "acknowledged hero" of +"domestic (Sydney) melodrama." + + + + +VICHYANA. + + +No watering-place so popular in France as Vichy; in England few so +little known! Our readers will therefore, we doubt not, be glad to learn +something of the _sources_ and _re_sources of Vichy; and this we hope to +give them, in a general way, in our present Vichyana. What further we +may have to say hereafter, will be chiefly interesting to our medical +friends, to whom the _waters_ of Vichy are almost as little known as +they are to the public at large. The name of the town seems to admit, +like its waters, of analysis; and certain grave antiquaries dismember it +accordingly into two Druidical words, "Gurch" and "I;" corresponding, +they tell us, to our own words, "Power" and "Water;" which, an' it be +so, we see not how they can derive _Vichy_ from this source. Others, +with more plausibility, hold Vichy to be a corruption of _Vicus_. That +these springs were known to the Romans is indisputable; and, as they are +marked _Aquae calidae_ in the Theodosian tables, they were, in all +probability, frequented; and the word _Vicus_, Gallicised into Vichy, +would then be the designation of the hamlet or watering-place raised in +their neighbourhood. Two of the principal springs are close upon the +river; ascertaining, with tolerable precision, not only the position of +this _Vicus_, but also of the ancient bridge, which, in the time of +Julius Caesar, connected, as it now does, the town with the road on the +opposite bank of the Allier, (Alduer fl.,) leading to Augusta Nemetum, +or Clermont. The road on _this_ side of the bridge was then, as now, the +high one (_via regia_) to Lugdunum, or Lyons. + +Vichy, if modern geology be correct, was not always _thus_ a +watering-place; but seems, for a long period, to have been a _place +under water_. The very stones prate of Neptune's whereabouts in days of +langsyne. No one who has seen what heaps of _rounded_ pebbles are +gleaned from the corn-fields, or become familiar with the copious +remains of _fresh water_ shells and insects, which are kneaded into the +calcareous deposits a little below the surface of the soil, can help +fetching back in thought an older and drearier dynasty. Vulcan here, as +in the Phlegrian and Avernian plains, succeeded with great labour, and +not without reiterated struggles, in wresting the region from his uncle, +and proved himself the better earth-shaker of the two; first, by means +of subterranean fires, he threw up a great many small islands, which, +rising at his bidding, as thick as mushrooms after a thunder-storm, +broke up the continuous expanse of water into lakes; and by continual +perseverance in this plan, he at last rescued the _whole_ plain from his +antagonist, who, marshaling his remaining forces into a narrow file, was +fain to retreat under the high banks of the Allier, and to evacuate a +large tract of country, which had been his own for many centuries. + + +NATURAL HISTORY, &c. + +The natural history of Vichy--that is, so much of it as those who are +not naturalists will care to know--is given in a few sentences. Its +Fauna contains but few kinds of quadrupeds, and no great variety of +birds; amongst reptiles again, while snakes abound as to number, the +variety of species is small. You see but few fish at market or at table; +and a like deficiency of land and fresh water mollusks is observable; +while, in compensation for all these deficiencies, and in consequence, +no doubt, of some of them, insects abound. So great, indeed, is the +superfoetation of these tribes, that the most unwearying collector +will find, all the summer through, abundant employment for his _two_ +nets. If the Fauna, immediately around Vichy, must be conceded to be +small, her Flora, till recently, was much more copious and interesting; +_was_--since an improved agriculture, here as every where, has rooted +out, in its progress, many of the original occupants of the ground, and +colonized it with others--training hollyhocks and formal sunflowers to +supplant pretty Polygalas and soft Eufrasies; and instructing Ceres so +to fill the open country with her standing armies, that Flora, +_outbearded_ in the plain, should retire for shelter to the hills, where +she now holds her court. Spring sets in early at Vichy; sometimes in the +midst of _February_ the surface of the hills is already hoar with almond +blossoms. Early in April, anemones and veronicas dapple the greensward; +and the willows, deceived by the promise of warm weather, which is not +to last, put forth their _blossoms_ prematurely, and a month later put +forth _their leaves_ to weep over them. By the time May has arrived, the +last rude easterly gale, so prevalent here during the winter months, has +swept by, and there is to be no more cold weather; tepid showers vivify +the ground, an exuberant botany begins and continues to make daily +claims both on your notice and on your memory; and so on till the +swallows are gone, till the solitary _tree aster_ has announced October, +and till the pale petals of the autumnal colchicum begin to appear; a +month after Gouts and Rheumatisms, for which they grow, have left Vichy +and are returned to Paris for the winter. We arrived long before this, +in the midst of the butterfly month of July. It was warm enough then for +a more southern summer, and both insect and vegetable life seemed at +their acme. The flowers, even while the scythes were gleaming that were +shortly to unfound their several pretensions in that leveller of all +distinctions, _Hay_, made great muster, as if it had been for some +horticultural show-day. Amongst then we particularly noticed the purple +orchis and the honied daffodil, fly-swarming and bee-beset, and the +stately thistle, burnished with many a _panting goldfinch_, resting +momentarily from his butterfly hunt, and clinging timidly to the slender +stem that bent under him. Close to the river were an immense number of +_yellow_ lilies, who had placed themselves there for the sake, as it +seemed, of trying the effect of _hydropathy_ in improving their +_complexions_. But what was most striking to the eye was the appearance +of the immense white flowers (whitened sepulchres) of the _Datura +strammonium_, growing high out of the shingles of the river; and on this +same Seriphus, outlawed from the more gentle haunts of their innocuous +brethren, congregated his associates, the other prisoners, of whom, both +from his size and bearing, he is here the chief! + + +THE CONTRAST. + +What a change from the plains of Latium!-a change as imposing in its +larger and more characteristic features, as it is curious in its +minutest details; and who that has witnessed the return of six summers +calling into life the rank verdure of the Colosseum, can fail to +contrast these jocund revels of the advancing year in this gay region of +France, with the blazing Italian summers, coming forth with no other +herald or attendant than the gloomy green of the "_hated_ cypress," and +the unrelieved glare of the interminable Campagna? Bright, indeed, was +that Italian heaven, and deep beyond all language was its blue; but the +spirit of transitory and changeable creatures is quelled and +overmastered by this permanent and immutable scene! It is like the +contrast between the dappled sky of cheerful morning, when eye and ear +are on the alert to catch any transitory gleam and to welcome each +distant echo, and the awful immovable stillness of noon, when Pan is +sleeping, and will be wroth if he is awakened, when the whole life of +nature is still, and we look down shuddering into its unfathomable +depth! Standing on the heights of Tusculum, or on the sacred pavement of +the Latian Jupiter, every glance we send forth into the objects around +us, returns laden with matter to cherish forebodings and despondencies. +The ruins speak of an immovable past, the teeming growths which mantle +them, the abundant source of future malaria, of a destructive future, +and _activity_, the only spell by which we can evoke the cheerful spirit +of the present--activity within us, or around us, there is _none_. What +wonder if we now feel as though the weight of all those grim ruins had +been heaved from off the mind, and left it buoyant and eager to greet +the present as though we were but the creatures of it! Whatever denizen +of the vegetable or the animal kingdom we were familiar with in Italy +and miss hereabouts, is replaced by some more cheerful race. What a +_variety_ of trees! and how various their _shades_ of green! Though not +equal to thy pines, Pamfili, and to thy fair cypresses, Borghese, whose +feet lie cushioned in crocuses and anemones, yet a fine tree is the +poplar; and yonder, extending for a couple of miles, is an avenue of +their stateliest masts. The leaves of those nearest to us are put into a +tremulous movement by a breeze too feeble for our skins to feel it; and +as the rustling foliage from above gently _purrs_ as instinct with life +from _within_, this peculiar sound comes back to us like a voice we have +heard and forgotten. No "marble wilderness" or olive-darkened upland, no +dilapidated "Osterie," famine within doors and fever without, here press +desolation into the service of the picturesque. Neither here have we +those huge masses of arched brickwork, consolidated with Roman cement, +pierced by wild fig-trees, crowned with pink valerians or acanthus, and +giving issue to companies of those gloomy funeral-paced insects of the +_Melasome_ family, (the Avis, the Pimelia, and the Blaps,) whose dress +is _deep mourning_, and whose favoured haunt is the tomb! But in their +place, a richly endowed, thickly inhabited plain, filled with cottages +and their gardens, farms and their appurtenances, ponds screaming with +dog-defying geese, and barnyards commingling all the mixed noises of +their live stock together. Encampments of ants dressed out in uniforms +quite unlike those worn by the _Formicary_ legions in Italy; gossamer +cradles nursing progenies of _our Cisalpine_ caterpillars, and spiders +with new arrangements of their _eight pairs of eyes_, forming new +arrangements of meshes, and _hunting_ new flies, are here. Here too, +once again, we behold, not without emotion, (for, _small_ as he is, this +creature has conjured up to us former scenes and associations of eight +years ago,) that tiny light-blue butterfly, that hovers over our +ripening corn, and is not known but as a stranger, in the south; also, +that minute diamond beetle[1] who always plays at bo-peep with you from +behind the leaves of his favourite hazel, and the burnished corslet and +metallic elytra of the pungent unsavoury _gold beetle_;[2] while we miss +the _grillus_ that leaps from hedge to hedge; the thirsty dragon-fly, +restless and rustling on his silver wings; the hoarse cicadae, whose +"time-honoured" noise you _durst_ not find fault with, even if you +would, and which you come insensibly to like; and that huge long-bodied +hornet,[3] that angry and terrible disturber of the peace, borne on +wings, as it were, of the wind, and darting through space like a meteor! + + +MISCELLANEA. + +Though the "Flora" round about Vichy be, as we have said it is, very +rich and various, it attracts no attention. The fat Boeotian cattle +that feed upon it, look upon and _ruminate_ with more complacency over +it than the ordinary visitors of the place. The only flowers the ladies +cultivate an acquaintance with, are those manufactured in Paris; +_artificial_ passion flowers, and false "forget-me-nots," which are +about as true to nature as they that wear them. Of fruits every body is +a judge; and those of a sub-acid kind--the only ones permitted by the +doctors to the patients--are in great request. Foremost amongst them, +after the month of June, are to be reckoned the dainty fresh-dried +fruits from Clermont; of which, again, the prepared pulp of the mealy +wild apricot of the district is the best. This _pate d'abricot_ is +justly considered by the French one of the best _friandises_ they have, +and is not only sold in every _department_ there, but finds its way to +England also. Eaten, as we ate it, fresh from Clermont twice a-week, it +is soft and pulpy; but soon becoming candied, loses much of its fruity +flavour, and is converted into a sweetmeat. + +We should not, in speaking of Vichy to a friend, ever designate it as a +_comfortable_ resort for a family; which, according to our English +notion of the thing, implies both privacy and detachment. Here you can +have neither. You must consider yourself as so much public property, +must do what others do--_i. e._ live in public, and make the best of it. +No place can be better off for hotels, and few so ill off for +lodgings--the latter are only to be had in small dingy houses opening +upon the street. They are, of course, very noisy; nor are the let-ters +of them at any pains to induce you by the modesty of their demands to +drop a veil over this defect. Defect, quotha! say, rather misery, +plague, torture. Can any word be an over-exaggeration for an incessant +_tintamare_, of which dogs, ducks, and drums are the leading +instruments, enough to try the most patient ears? The hotels begin to +receive candidates for the waters in May; but the season is reputed not +to commence till a month later, and ends with September. During this +period, many thousand visitors, including some of the ministers of the +day; a royal duke; half the Institute; poets, a few; _hommes des +lettres_, many; _agents de change_, most of all; deputies, wits, and +dandies; in fact, all the _elite_, both of Paris and of the provinces, +pay the same sum of seven francs per man, per diem; and, with the +exception of the duke, assemble, not to say fraternize, at the same +table. But though the guests be not formal, the "Mall," where every body +walks, is extremely so. A very broad right-angled [Illustration: m][**] +intersected by broad staring paths, cut across by others into smaller +squares, compels you either to be for ever throwing off at right angles +to your course, or to turn out of the enclosure. When the proclamation +for the opening of the season has been _tamboured_ through the +streets--with the doctors rests the announcement of the day--immediately +orders are issued for clean _shaving_ the grass-plats, lopping off +redundant branches, to recall the growth of trees to sound orthopedic +principles, and to reduce that wilderness of impertinent forms, +wherewith nature has disfigured her own productions, into the figures of +pure geometry! Hither, into this out-of-doors drawing-room, at the +fashionable hour of four P.M., are poured out, from the _embouchures_ of +all the hotels, all the inhabitants of them; all the tailor's gentlemen +of the Boulevard des Italiens, and all the _modisterie_ of the +Tuileries. + + +OUR AMUSEMENTS. + +Pair by pair, as you see them _costumes_ in the fashions of the month; +pinioned arm to arm, but looking different ways; leaning upon polished +reeds as light and as expensive as themselves--behold the chivalry of +the land! The hand of _Barde_ is discernible in their _paletots_. The +spirit of _Staub_ hovers over those _flowery waistcoats_; who but +_Sahoski_ shall claim the curious felicity of _those heels_? and +Hippolyte has come bodily from Paris on purpose to do their hair. "_Un +sot trouve toujours un plus sot qui l'admire_," says Boileau, and here, +in supply exactly equal to the demand, come forth, rustling and +_bustling_ to see them, bevies of long-tongued belles, who ever, as they +walk and meet their acquaintance, are announcing themselves in swift +alternation "_charmees_," with a blank face, and "_toutes desolees_," +with the _best good-will_! Here you learn to value a red riband at its +"juste prix," which is just what it will fetch per ell; specimens of it +in button-holes being as frequent as poppies amidst the corn. +Pretending to hide themselves from remark, which they intend but to +provoke, here public characters do private theatricals _a little a +l'ecart_. Actors gesticulate as they rehearse their parts under the +trees. Poets + + "Rave and recite, and madden as they stand;" + +and honourable members read aloud from the _Debats_ that has just +arrived, the speech which they spoke yesterday "_en Deputes_." Our +promenade here lacks but a few more Saxon faces amidst the crowd, and a +greater latitude of extravagance in some of its costumes, to complete +the illusion, and to make you imagine that this public garden, flanked +as it is on one side by a street of hotels, and on the opposite by the +bank of the Allier, is the Tuilleries with its Sunday population sifted. + +Twenty-five francs secures you admission to the "Cercle" or club-house, +a large expensive building, which, like most buildings raised to answer +a variety of ends, leaves the main one of architectural propriety wholly +out of account. But when it is considered how many interests and +caprices the architect had to consult, it may be fairly questioned, +whether, so hampered, Vitruvius could have done it better; for the +_ground floor_ was to be cut up into corridors and bathing cells; while +the ladies requested a ball and anteroom; and the gentlemen two +"billiards" and a reading-room, with detached snuggeries for +smoking--_all_ on the _first floor_. + +Public places, excepting the above-mentioned "Cercle," exist not at +Vichy, and as nobody thinks of paying visits save only to the doctor and +the springs, "_on s'ennui tres considerablement a Vichy_." If it be +true, that, in some of the lighter annoyances of life, fellowship is +decidedly preferable to solitude, _ennui_ comes not within the +number--every attempt to divide it with one's neighbours only makes it +worse; as Charles Lamb has described the _concert_ of silence at a +Quakers' meeting, the intensity increases with the number, and every new +accession raises the public stock of distress, which again redounds with +a surplus to each individual, "_chacun en a son part, et tous l'ont tout +entier_."[4] What a chorus of yawns is there; and mutual yawns, you +know, are the dialogue of ennui. No wonder; for the physicians don't +permit their patients to read any books but novels. They seek to array +the "Understanding" against him who wrote so well concerning its laws; +Bacon, as _intellectual food_, they consider difficult of digestion; and +even for their own La Place there is no place at Vichy! Every unlucky +headache contracted here, is placed to the account of _thinking_ in the +bath. If Dr P---- suspects any of his patients of thinking, he asks +them, like Mrs Malaprop, "what business they have to think?" "_Vous etes +venu ici pour prendre les eaux, et pour vous desennuyer, non pas pour +penser! Que le Diable emporte la Pensee!_" And so he _does_ accordingly! + +How _we_ got through the twenty-four hours of each day, is still a +problem to us; after making due deductions for the time consumed in +eating, drinking, and sleeping. Occasionally we tried to "_beat time_" +by _versifying_ our own and our neighbours' "experiences" of Vichy. But +soon finding the "_quicquid agunt homines_" of those who in fact did +nothing, was beyond our powers of _description_, gave up, as abortive, +the attempt to maintain our "suspended animation" on means so artificial +and precarious. When little is to be told, few words will suffice. If +the word fisherman be derived from _fishing_, and not from _fish_, we +had a great many such fishermen at Vichy; who, though they could neither +scour a worm, nor splice the rod that their clumsiness had broken, nor +dub a fly, nor land a fish of a pound weight, if any such had had the +mind to try them, were vain enough to beset the banks of the Allier at a +very early hour in the morning. As they all fished with "flying lines," +in order to escape the fine imposed on those that are _shotted_, and +seemed to prefer standing in their own light--a rare fault in +Frenchmen--with their backs to the sun; the reader will readily +understand, if he be an angler, what sport they might expect. Against +them and _their lines_, we quote a few _lines_ of _our own_ spinning:-- + + Now full of hopes, they loose the lengthing twine, + Bait harmless hooks, and launch a _leadless_ line! + Their shadows on the stream, the sun behind-- + Egregious anglers! are the fishes blind? + Gull'd by the sportings of the frisking bleak, + That now assemble, now disperse, in freak; + They see not _deeper_, where the quick-eyed trout, + Has chang'd his route, and turned him quick about; + See not those scudding shoals, that mend their pace, + Of frighten'd bream, and silvery darting dace! + Baffled at last, they quit the ungrateful shore, + Curse what they fail to catch--and fish no more! + Yet fish there be, though these unsporting wights + Affect to doubt what Rondolitier[5] writes; + Who tells, "how, moved by soft Cremona's string, + Along these banks he saw the _Allice_ spring; + Whilst active hands, t' anticipate their fall, + Spread wide their nets, and draw an ample haul." + +Our sportsmen do not confine themselves to the gentle art of +angling--they _shoot_ also; and some of them even acquire a sort of +celebrity for the precision of their aim. This class of sportsmen may be +divided into the _in_, and the _out_-door marksmen. _These_, innocuous, +and confining their operations principally to small birds in trees; +those, to the knocking the heads off small plaster figures from a stand. +The following brief notice of _them_ we transcribe from our Vichy +note-book:-- + + Those of bad blood, and mischievously gay, + Haunt "_tirs au pistolets_," and kill--the day! + There, where the rafters tell the frequent crack, + To fire with steady hand, acquire the knack, + From rifle barrels, twenty feet apart, + On gypsum warriors exercise their art, + Till ripe proficients, and with skill elate, + Their aimless mischief turns to deadly hate. + Perverted spirits; reckless, and unblest; + Ye slaves to lust; ye duellists profess'd; + Vainer than woman; more unclean than hogs; + Your life the felon's; and your death the dog's! + Fight on! while honour disavow your brawl, + And outraged courage disapprove the call-- + Till, steep'd in guilt, the devil sees his time, + And sudden death shall close a life of crime. + +In front of some of the hotels you always observe a number of persons +engaged successively in throwing a ring, with which each endeavours to +encircle a knife handle, on a board, stuck all over with blades. If he +succeeds, he may pocket the knife; if not he pays half a franc, and is +free to throw again. It is amusing to observe how many half franc pieces +a Frenchman's vanity will thus permit him to part with, before he gives +over, consigning the ring to its owner, and the blades to his electrical +anathema of "_mille tonnerres!_" A little farther on, just beyond the +enclosure, is another knot of people. What are they about? They are +congregated to see what passengers embark or disembark (their voyage +accomplished) from the gay vessels, the whirligigs or merry-go-rounds +(which is the classical expression, let _purists_ decide _for +themselves_) which, gaily painted as a Dutch humming-top, sail overhead, +and go round with the rapidity of windmills. + + In hopes to cheat their nation's fiend, "Ennui," + _These_ cheat themselves, and _seem_ to go to sea! + Their galley launch'd, its rate of sailing fast, + Th' _Equator_ soon, and soon the _Poles_ they've past, + And here they come to anchorage at last! + _These_, tightly stirrupt on a wooden horse, + Ride at a ring--and spike it, as they course. + Thus with the aid that ships and horses give, + Life passes on; 'tis labour, but they live.-- + And some lead "bouledogues" to the water's edge, + There hunt, _a l'Anglais_, rats amidst the sedge; + And some to "pedicures" present--their corns, + And some at open windows practise--horns! + In noisy trictrac, or in quiet whist, + These pass their time--and, to complete our list, + There are who flirt with milliners or books, + Or else with nature 'mid her meads and brooks. + +But Gauthier's was our lounge, and therefore, in common gratitude, are +we bound particularly to describe it. Had we been Dr Darwin we had done +it better. As it is, the reader must content himself with _Scuola di +Darwin_-- + + In Gauthier's shop, arranged in storied box + Of triple epoch, we survey the rocks, + A learned nomenclature! Behold in time + Strange forms imprison'd, forms of every clime! + The Sauras quaint, daguerrotyped on slate, + Obsolete birds and mammoths out of date; + Colossal bones, that, once before our flood, + Were clothed in flesh, and warm'd with living blood; + And tiny creatures, crumbling into dust, + All mix'd and kneaded in one common crust! + Here tempting shells exhibit mineral stores, + Of crystals bright and scintillating ores! + Of milky _mesotypes_, the various sorts, + The _blister'd silex_ and the _smoke-stain'd quartz_; + Thy _phosphates lead!_ bedeck'd with _needles green_, + Of _Elbas speculum_ the _steely sheen_, + Of _copper ores_, the poison'd "_greens_" and "_blues_," + Dark _Bismuth's cubes_, and Chromium's _changing_ hues. + +Here, too, (emblematical of our own position with respect to Ireland,) +we see _silver alloyed with lead_. In the "repeal of such union," where +the _silver_ has every thing to _gain_ and the _lead_ every thing to +_lose_, it is remarkable at what a _very dull heat_ ('tis scarcely +superior to that by which O'Connell manages to inflame Ireland) the +_baser metal_ melts, and would forsake the other, by its incorporation +with which it derives so large a portion of its intrinsic value, +whatever that may be! + +Here, too, we pass in frequent review a vast series of casts from the +antique; they come from Clermont, and are produced by the dripping of +water, strongly impregnated with the carbonate of lime, on moulds placed +under it with this view. Some of these impressions were coarse and +rusty, owing to the presence of iron in the water; but where the +necessary precautions had been taken to precipitate this, the casts came +out with a highly polished surface, together with a sharpness of outline +and a precision of detail, that left no room for competition to +_Odellis_, else unrivalled Roman casts, which, confronted with these, +look like impressions of impressions derived through a hundred +successive stages; add, too, that these have the _solid_ advantage over +the others of being in marble in place of washed sulphur. + +Thus much concerning _us_ and _our_ pastimes, from which it will have +appeared that the _gentlemen_ at Vichy pass half the day in _nothings_, +the other half _in nothing_. As to the ladies, who lead the same kind of +out doors life with us, and only don't smoke or play billiards, we see +and note as much of their occupations or listlessness as we list. + + In unzoned robes, and loosest dishabille, + They show the world they've nothing to conceal! + But sit abstracted in their own _George Sand_, + And dote on Vice in sentiment so bland! + To necklaced Pug appropriate a chair, + Or sit alone, _knit_, _shepherdise_, and _stare!_ + These seek _for fashion_ in a _mourning dress_, + (_Becoming_ mourning makes affliction less.) + With mincing manner, both of ton and town, + Some lead their _Brigand_ children up and down; + Invite attention to small girls and boys, + Dress'd up like dolls, a silly mother's toys; + Or follow'd by their _Bonne, in Norman cap_, + Affect to take their first-born to their lap-- + To gaze enraptured, think you, on a face, + In which a husband's lineaments they trace? + Smiling, to win the notice of their elf? + No! but to draw the gaze of crowds on _Self_. + +Sunday, which is always in France a _jour de fete_, and a _jour de bal_ +into the bargain, is kept at Vichy, and in its neighbourhood, with great +apparent gaiety and enjoyment by the lower orders, who unite their +several _arrondissements_, and congregate here together. + + Comes Sunday, long'd for by each smart coquette, + Of Randan, Moulins, Ganat, and Cusset. + In Janus hats,[6] with beaks that point both ways, + Then lively rustics dance their gay _Bourrees_;[7] + With painted sabots strike the noisy ground, + While bagpipes squeal, and hurdy-gurdies sound. + Till sinks the sun--then stop--the poor man's fete + Begins not early, and must end not late. + Whilst Paris belle in costliest silk array'd, + Runs up, and walks in stateliest parade; + Each comely damsel insolently kens; + (So silver pheasants strut 'midst modest hens!) + And marvels much what men _can_ find t' admire, + In such coarse hoydens, clad in such attire! + + And now 'tis night; beneath the bright saloon, + All eyes are raised to see the fire balloon, + Till swells the silk 'midst acclamations loud, + And the light lanthorn shoots above the crowd! + Here, 'neath the lines, Hygeia's fount that shade, + Smart booths allure the lounger on parade. + _Bohemia's glass_, and _Nevers' beaded wares_, + _Millecour's fine lace_, and _Moulins' polish'd shears_; + And crates of painted wicker without flaw, + And fine mesh'd products of _Germania's_ straw, + Books of dull trifling, misnamed "reading light," + And foxy maps, and prints in damaged plight, + Whilst up and down to rattling _castanettes_, + The active hawker sells his "_oubliettes!_" + +We have our shows at Vichy, and many an itinerant tent incloses +something worth giving half a franc to see; most of them we had already +seen over and over again. What then? one can't invent new monsters every +year, nor perform new feats; and so we pay our respects to the _walrus_ +woman, and to the "anatomie _vivante_." We look _up_ to the Swiss +giantess, and down upon the French dwarf; we inspect the feats of the +village Milos, and of those equestrians, familiar to "every circus" at +home and abroad, who + + Ride four horses galloping; then stoop, + Vault from their backs, and spring thro' narrow hoop; + Once more alight upon their coursers' backs, + Then follow, scampering round the oft trod tracks. + And that far travell'd pig--_that_ pig of parts, + Whose eye aye glistens on _that_ Queen of hearts; + While wondering visitors the feat regard, + And tell by _looks_ that that's the very card! + +Behold, too, another curiosity in natural history, well deserving of +"notice" and of "note," which we append accordingly-- + + From Auvergne's heights, their mother lately slain, + Six surly wolf cubs by their owner ta'en; + Her own pups drown'd, a foster bitch supplies, + And licks the churlish brood with fond maternal eyes![8] + +Finally, and to wind up-- + + Who dance on ropes, who rouged and roaring stand, + Who cheat the eyes by wondrous sleight of hand, + From whose wide mouth the ready riband falls, + Who swallow swords, or urge the flying balls, + Here with French poodles vie, and harness'd fleas, + Nor strive in vain our easy tastes to please. + Whilst rival pupils of the great Daguerre, + In rival shops, display their rivals fair! + + +OUR FIRST TABLE D'HOTE DINNER AT VICHY. + +We arrived at Vichy from Roanne just in time to dress for dinner. As +every body dines _en table d'hote_., we were not wrong in supposing that +this would be a good opportunity for studying the habits, "USAGES DE +SOCIETE" and what not, of a tolerably large party (fifty was to be the +number) of the better class of French PROPRIETAIRES. On entering the +room, we found the guests already assembled; and everybody in full talk +already, before the bell had done ringing, or the tureens been +uncovered. The habit of general sufferance and free communion of tongue +amongst guests at dinner, forms an agreeable episode in the life of him +whom education and English reserve have _inured_, without ever +reconciling, to a different state of things at home. The difference of +the English and French character peeps out amusingly at this critical +time of the day; when, oh! commend _us_ to a Frenchman's vanity, however +grotesque it may sometimes be, rather than to our own reserve, shyness, +formality, or under whatever other name we please to designate, and seek +to hide its unamiable synonym, pride. Vanity, always a free, is not +seldom an agreeable talker; but pride is ever laconic; while the few +words he utters are generally so constrained and dull, that you would +gladly absolve him altogether from so painful an effort as that of +opening his mouth, or forcing it to articulate. Self-love may be a large +ingredient in both pride and vanity; but the difference of comfort, +according as you have to sit down with one or the other at table, is +indeed great. For whilst pride sits stiff, guarded, and ungenial, +_radiating coldness around him_, which requires at least a bottle of +champagne and an arch coquette to disperse; vanity, on the other hand, +being a _female_, (a sort of Mrs Pride,) has her _conquests to make_, +and loves making them; and accordingly must study the ways and means of +pleasing; which makes _her_ an agreeable _voisine_ at table. As she +never doubts either her own powers to persuade, or yours to appreciate +them, her language is at once self-complacent, and full of good-will to +her neighbour; whilst the vanity of a Frenchman thus leads him to seek +popularity, it seems enough to an Englishman that he is one entitled to +justify himself, in his own eyes, for being as disagreeable as he +pleases. + +On the present occasion, not to have joined in a conversation which was +general, at whatever disadvantage we might have to enter into it, would, +we felt, have been to subject ourselves to remark after dinner; so +putting off restraint, and putting on the best face we could, we began +at once to address some remarks to our neighbours. We were not aware at +the moment how far the _Anglomania_, which _began_ to prevail some seven +years ago in Paris, had spread since we left the French capital. There +it began, we remember, with certain members of the medical profession, +who had learned to give calomel in _English_ doses. The public next +lauded Warren's blacking--_Cirage national de Warren_--and then +proceeded to eat raw crumpets as an English article of luncheon. But +things had gone farther since that time than we were prepared to expect. +At the _table d'hote_ of to-day, we found every body had something civil +to say about English products; frequently for no other reason than that +they were English, it being obvious that they themselves had never seen +the articles, whose excellence they all durst swear for, though not a +man of them knew wherefore. We had not sat five minutes at table (the +stringy _bouilli_ was still going round) when a count, a gentleman used +to good breeding and _feeding_, opened upon us with a compliment which +we knew neither how to disclaim nor to appropriate, in declaring in +presence of the table that he was a decided partisan for English +"Rosbiff;" confirming his perfect sincerity to us, by a "_c'est vrai_," +on perceiving some slight demur to the announcement at _mine host's_ end +of the table. We had scarce time to recover from this unexpected sally +of the count, when a young _notabilite_, a poet of the romantic school +of France, whose face was very pale, who wore a Circassian profusion of +_black_ hair over his shoulders, a satin waistcoat over his breast, and +Byron-tie (_noeud Byron_) round his neck--permitted his muse to say +something flattering to us across the table about Shakspeare. Again we +had not what to say, nor knew how to return thanks for our "immortal +bard;" and this, our shyness, we had the mortification to see was put +down to _English coldness_; for how _could_ we else have seemed so +insensible to a compliment so personal? nor were we relieved from our +embarrassment till a dark-whiskered man, in sporting costume, (who had +brought every thing appertaining thereto to table except his gun, which +was in a corner,) gave out, in a somewhat oracular manner, his opinion, +that there were no sporting dogs _out of_ England; whistling, as he +spoke to Foxe, and to Miss Dashe, to rise and show their noses above the +table! The countess next spoke tenderly of _English soap_, and almost +sighed over the soft whiteness of her hands, which she indulgently +attributed to the constant use of soap prepared by "_Mr Brown de +Vindsor_." This provoked a man of cultivated beard to declare, that he +found it impossible to shave with any razors but _English_ "_ones_;" +concluding with this general remark on French and English manufactures, +that the French _invented_ things, but that the English improved them. +(_Les Francais inventent, mais les Anglais perfectionnent._) Even +English medicine found its advocates--here were we sitting in the midst +of Dr Morison's patients! A lady, who had herself derived great +advantage from their use, was desirous of knowing whether our Queen took +them, or Prince Albert! It was also asked of us, whether Dr Morison +(whom they supposed to be the court physician) was _Sir_ Dr Morison, +(Bart.,) or _tout simplement_ doctor! and they spoke favourably of some +other English inventions--as of Rogers' teeth, Rowland's macassar, &c.; +and were continuing to do so, when a fierce-looking demagogue, seeing +how things were going, and what concessions were being made, roused +himself angrily; and, to show us that _he_ at least was no Anglo-maniac, +shot at us a look fierce as any bonassus; while he asked, abruptly, what +we thought in England of one whom he styled the "Demosthenes of +Ireland"--looked at us for an answer. As it would have been unsafe to +have answered _him_ in the downright, offhand manner, in which we like +both to deal and to be dealt by, we professed that we knew but one +Demosthenes, and he not an Irishman, but a Greek; which, by securing us +his contempt, kept us safe from the danger of something worse; but, our +Demosthenic friend excepted, it was a pleasant, unceremonious dinner; +and we acquitted ourselves just sufficiently well not to make any one +feel we were in the way. A lady now asked, in a whisper, whom _we_ look +upon as the first poet, Shakspeare, Dumas, or Lord Byron; and whether +the _two_ English poets were _both_ dead. A reply from a more knowing +friend saved our good breeding at this pinch. As a proof of our having +made our own way amongst the guests at table, we may mention that one +sallow gentleman, who had been surveying us once or twice already, at +length invited us to tell him, across the table, what case is ours, and +who our physician? To be thus obliged to confess our weak organ in +public is not pleasant; but _every_ body here does it, and what every +body does must be right. A gentleman who speaks broken English favours +the table with a conundrum. Another (the young poet) presents us with a +brace of dramas, bearing the auspicious titles of "La Mort de Socrate," +and "Catilina Romantique"--_of which anon_. But, before we rise from our +dessert, here is the conundrum as it was proposed to us:--"What +gentleman always follow what lady?" Do you give it up? _Sur-Prise_ +always follow _Misse-Take!!_ + +So much for our amusements at Vichy; but our Vichyana would be +incomplete, unless we added a few words touching those far-famed sources +for which, and not for its amusements, so many thousands flock hither +every year. The following, then, may be considered as a brief and +desultory selection of such remarks only as are likely to interest the +general reader, from a body of notes of a more professional character, +of which the destination is different:--Few springs have been so +celebrated as those at Vichy, and no mineral waters, perhaps, have +performed so many real "Hohenlohes," or better deserved the reputation +they have earned and maintained, now for so many centuries! Gentle, +indeed, is their surgery; they will penetrate to parts that no _steel_ +may reach, and do good, irrespective of persons, alike to Jew or +Gentile; but then they should be "drunk on the premises"--exported to a +distance (and they are exported every where) they are found to have +lost--their chemical constitution remaining unchanged--a good deal of +their efficacy. Little, however, can Hygeia have to do with chemistry; +for the chemical analysis of _all_ these springs is the same while the +_modus operandi_ of each, in particular, is so distinct, that if gout +ails you, you must go to the "Grande grille;" if dyspepsia, to the +"Hopital;" or, if yours be a kidney case, to the "Celestius," to be +cured--facts which should long ago have convinced the man of retorts and +crucibles at home (who affirms that 'tis but taking soda after all), +that he speaks _beyond_ his warrant. Did ever lady patroness, desirous +of filling her rooms on a route night, invite to that end so many as +Hygeia invites to come and benefit by these springs? And what though she +reserve the right of patent in their preparation to herself, does she +not generously yield the products of her discovery in the restoration of +health and comfort to thousands, whom neither nostrum nor prescription, +the recipe nor the fiat, could restore? In cases, too, beyond her +control, does she not mitigate many sufferings that may not be removed? +To all that are galled with gall-stones, to those whom the _Chameleon +litmus paper_ of "coming events casts their shadows before;" to Indian +_livers_ condemned, else hopelessly, to the fate of Prometheus, preyed +upon by that vulture _Hepatitis_, in its _gnawing_ and chronic forms; +and to the melancholy hypochondriac, steeped at once both in sadness and +in pains--she calls, and calls loudly, that all these should come and +see what great and good things are in store for them at Vichy. And +finally, difficult though gouty gentlemen be to manage, Hygeia, nothing +daunted on that score, shrinks not from inviting that large army of +_involuntary_ martyrs to repair thither at once. Yes! even gout, that +has so long laughed out at all pharmacopoeias, and tortured us from the +time "when our wine and our oil increased"--Gout, that colchicum would +vainly attempt to baffle, that no nepenthe soothes, no opium can send to +sleep--Gout, that makes as light of the medical practitioner as of his +patient; that murdered _Musgrave_, and seized her very own historian by +the hip[9]--this, our most formidable foe, is to be conquered at Vichy! +Here, in a brief time, the iron gyves of _Podagra_ are struck _off_, and +_Cheiragra's manacles_ are unbound; enabling old friends, who had +hitherto shaken their _heads_ in despondency, once more to shake +_hands_. + +But Vichy, be it understood, neither cures, nor undertakes to cure, +every body; her waters have nothing to do with your head, your heart, or +your lungs; their empire begins and ends below the _diaphragm_; it is +here, and here alone, that her mild control quells dangerous internal +commotions, establishes quiet in irritated organs, and restores health +on the firm basis of _constitutional principles_. The real _doctors_ at +Vichy are the _waters_; and much is it to be regretted that they should +not find that co-operation and assistance in those who administer them, +which Hippocrates declares of such paramount importance in the +management of all disease; for here (alas! for the inconsistency of man) +the two physicians _prescribed_ to us by the government, while they +gravely tell their patients that no good can happen to such as will +think, fret, or excite themselves, while they formally interdict all +_sour_ things at table, (shuddering at a cornichon if they detect one on +the plate of a rebellious water-drinker, and denouncing honest +fruiterers as poisoners,) yet foment sour discord, and keep their +patients in perpetual hot water, alike _in the bath_ and _out of the +bath_; more tender in their regard for _another_ generation, they +recommend all nurses to undergo a slight course of the springs to _keep +their milk_ from turning sour, yet will curdle the _milk of human +kindness_ in our lacteals by instilling therein the sour asperity which +they entertain towards each other, and which, notwithstanding the +efforts of the ladies to keep peace between them, by christening one +their "_beau medecin_," and the other their "_bon medecin_," has arrived +at such a pitch that they refuse to speak French, or issue one "_fiat_" +in common.[10] + +A remarkable fact connected with the natural history of the Vichy waters +is the following:--Whenever the electrical condition of the atmosphere +undergoes a change, in consequence of the coming on of a storm, they +disengage a large quantity of carbonic acid, while a current of +electricity passes off from the surface. At such times baths are borne +with difficulty, the patients complaining of praecordial distress, which +amounts sometimes to a feeling of suffocation; the like unpleasant +sensations being also communicated, though to a less extent, to those +who are drinking the waters.[11] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 1: Polydrusus sericea.] + +[Footnote 2: Carabus auratus.] + +[Footnote 3: Scholia flavicomis.] + +[Footnote 4: Victor Hugo's beautiful line on _maternal affection_.] + +[Footnote 5: Rondolitier was a celebrated ichthyologist and sportsman of +the old school; and those desirous of further information respecting the +capture of fish by "fiddling to them," may be referred to his work on +fishes, _ad locum_.] + +[Footnote 6: These hats are very peculiar; they are highly ornamented +with ribands, and have acquired, from their peculiarity in having a +double front--"chapeaux a deux bonjours."] + +[Footnote 7: For a lively description of this dance _vide_ Madame de +Sevigne's _Letters to her Daughter_. That ecstatic lady, who always +wrote more or less under the influence of St Vitus, was in her time an +_habituee_ at Vichy.] + +[Footnote 8: These wolves were six weeks old, in fine condition, and +clung to the teats of their foster parent with wolf-like pertinacity. As +long as she lay licking their little black bodies and dark chestnut +heads, or permitted them to hide their sulky faces and ugly bare tails +under her body, they lay quiet enough, but when she raised her emaciated +form to stretch her legs, or to take an airing, at first they hung to +her dugs by their teeth; but gradually falling off, barked as she +proceeded, and would snap at your fingers if you went to lay hold of +them. Out of the six, one was gentle and affectionate, would lick your +hand, slept with the owner, and played with his ears in the morning, +without biting; if his own ears were pulled, he took it as a dog would +have done, and seemed to deprecate all unkindness by extreme gentleness +of manner, for which he was finely bullied by his brother wolves +accordingly. The bitch seemed equally attached to all the litter; for +_instinctive_, unlike _rational_ affection, has no favourites. At first +the wolves boarded in the same house with us, which afforded abundant +opportunity for our visiting them, _a l'improvisto_, whenever we +pleased. On one of these occasions we saw two rabbits, lately introduced +into their society, crunching carrots, _demissis auribus_, and quite at +their ease, while two little "wolves" were curiously snuffing about; at +first looking at the rabbits, and then _imitating_ them, by taking up +some of their _prog_, which tasting and not approving, they spat +out--then, as if suspecting the rabbits to have been playing them a +trick, one of them comes up stealthily, and brings his own nose in close +proximity to that of one of the rabbits, who, quite unmoved at this act +of familiarity, continues to munch on. The wolf contemplates him for a +short time in astonishment, and seeing that the carrots actually +disappear down his "oesophagus," returns to the other wolf to tell him +so. His next step is to paw his friend a little, by way of encouraging +him to advance. So encouraged he goes up, and straight lays hold of the +rabbit's ear, and a pretty plaything it would have made had the rabbit +been in the humour! In place of which he _thumps_ the ground with his +hind legs, rises almost perpendicularly, and the next moment is down +like lightning upon the head of the audacious wolf, who on thus +unexpectedly receiving a double "colaphus" retreats, yelping! The other +wolf is more successful; having crept up stealthily to the remaining +rabbit, he seizes him by his furry rump--off bounds he in a fright, +while the other plants himself down like a _sphinx_, erects his ears, +and seems highly pleased at what he has been doing! We used sometimes to +visit the wolves while they slept; on these occasions a slight whistle +was at first sufficient to make them start upon their legs; at last, +like most sounds with which the ear becomes familiar, they heard it +passively. All our attempts to frighten the rabbits by noises _while +they were engaged in munching_, proved unsuccessful.] + +[Footnote 9: Sydenham.] + +[Footnote 10: So notorious and violent has this hydromachia become, that +it has at length called forth a poem, styled the _Vichyade_, of which +the two resident physicians are the Achilles and Hector. The poem, which +is as coarse and personal as the _Bath Guide_, is not so clever, but is +much read here, _non obstant_.] + +[Footnote 11: An ingenious physician assures us, that he has for years +past been in the habit of consulting his patients in place of his +barometer, and has thus been enabled to foretell vicissitudes of weather +before they had manifested themselves, by attending to the accounts they +gave of their sensations in the bath. There are seven springs, whose +united volumes of water, in twenty-four hours, fill a chamber of twenty +feet dimensions, in every direction.] + + + + +IT'S ALL FOR THE BEST. + +PART THE LAST. + + +CHAPTER VI. + +It was a lovely morning, notwithstanding it was November--the rain had +wholly ceased, and the clear and almost cloudless sky showed every +indication of a fine day; so that Frank had an excellent opportunity of +witnessing the view of the sea to which the squire had alluded, and with +which he was very much gratified. But, for all this, our little hero was +looking forward to a far more interesting sight, in the persons of the +fair ladies he had fully made up his mind to meet that morning at +breakfast; though the altered tones of their voices still exceedingly +puzzled him. Wishing, however, to appear to the greatest possible +advantage, he no sooner got back to the house, than, under the pretext +of just seeing Vernon for a minute, he took the opportunity of brushing +up his hair, and all that sort of thing. Having so done, and being by no +means dissatisfied with the result, he again descended the stairs, and, +with a throbbing heart, entered the breakfast room. Here he found the +master of the house, with his amiable little wife, and three young +ladies, already seated around the table--yes, three young +ladies--actually one more in number than he had anticipated; but, alas! +how different from those he had hoped to see. Instead of the lovely +forms he and Vernon had been so forcibly struck with the day before, he +perceived three very indifferent-looking young women--one, a thin little +crooked creature, with sharp contracted features, which put him in mind +of the head of a skinned rabbit--another with an immense flat unmeaning +face; and the third, though better-looking than her two companions, was +a silly little flippant miss in her teens, rejoicing in a crop of +luxuriant curls which swept over her shoulders as she returned Frank's +polite bow--when the squire introduced him to the assembled company--as +much as to say, "I'm not for you, sir, at any price; so, pray don't for +a moment fancy such a thing." The other two spinsters returned his +salutation less rudely; but he set down the whole trio as the most +uninteresting specimens of womankind he had ever met. + +"Come," said the squire addressing himself to Frank, who, surprised as +well as disappointed, was looking a little as if he couldn't help it, +"Come, come Mr Trevelyan, here we are all assembled at last; so make the +best use of your time, and then for waging war against the partridges." + +Frank did make the best use of his time, and a most excellent breakfast, +though he puzzled his brains exceedingly during the whole time he was so +occupied with turning it over in his mind, how it was possible that such +a delightful couple as the founders of the feast, could have produced so +unprepossessing a progeny; whilst Timothy--who, though it was no part of +his duty to wait at table, which was performed by a well-dressed +man-servant out of livery--managed, on some pretext or other, to be +continually coming in and out of the room, and every time contrived to +catch Frank's eye, and, by a knowing grin, to let him know that he both +understood the cause, and was exceedingly amused at his perplexity. + +No sooner had Frank eaten and drank to his heart's content, than he +declared his readiness to attend the squire to the field. Here they fell +in with several coveys of partridges, and the squire, being an excellent +shot, brought down his birds in fine style; added to which he knocked +over a woodcock and several snipes; but it was otherwise with Frank, +whose shooting experience being rather limited, after missing several +easy shots, terminated the day by wounding a cow slightly, and killing a +guinea-hen that flew out of a hedge adjoining a farm-yard the sportsmen +were passing, which, mistaking for some wild gallinaceous animal or +other, he blazed away at, without inquiring as to the particular species +to which it might possibly belong. But so far from being cast down with +his ill success, or the laughter his more effective shots had raised at +his expense, he enjoyed the day amazingly, fully resolved to have +another bout at it on the morrow; and so he and the worthy squire +returned homewards together in the best possible humour with each other; +the latter delighted with Frank, and Frank equally well pleased with the +squire. + +But Frank felt very sheepish about what his friend Vernon Wycherley +would say as to the result of the predictions he had that morning made, +and how he should manage to put a bold front upon the matter, so as to +have the laugh all on his own side; a sort of thing he couldn't arrange +any how; but still he would not pass so near his friend's bedroom, +without looking in to ask him how he was getting on, when, to his great +surprise, he found not only the bed, but even the apartment unoccupied. + +"Ah, well!" said Frank, "I'm rejoiced, poor fellow, he's so much better +than I expected; and _it's all for the best_ that I find the bird flown, +which spares me the vexation of confessing to him the blunder I made in +my calculations this morning, which he must have found out long before +this." + +Having relieved his mind by these observations, he repaired to his own +room, and having shifted his attire, and made the best of himself his +limited wardrobe would admit, was again in the act of descending the +stairs, when he encountered Timothy, who, with a grin that distended his +mouth wellnigh from ear to ear, begged to direct him to the +drawing-room, which was on the same floor with the bed chambers, where, +he informed him, "the gen'lman was a-laying up top o' the sofer, and +a-telkin' away brave with the young ladies--I say," observed Timothy, +winking his eye to give greater expression to his words--"I say--he's a +ben there for hours, bless'ee; for no sooner did mun[12] hear their +sweet voices a-passing long the passage, than ha ups a-ringing away to +the bell, which I takes care to answer; so ha tips me yef-a-crown to +help mun on we us cloaz, which I did ready and wullin'; and then, +guessing what mun 'ud like to be yefter, I ups with my gen'lman +pick-a-back, and puts[13] mun with ma right into drawing-room, an drops +mun flump down all vittey[14] amongst the ladies a-top of the sofer; and +if you wants to see a body look plazed, just step in yer"--added he, +laying his hand on the lock of the door, which they had then +reached--"only just step in yer, and look to mun." + +"Then most heartily do I pity his taste," thought Frank; but he didn't +say so, and passed through the door Timothy had opened for him, who duly +announced him to the party within. But how shall we attempt to describe +Frank's amazement, when he discovered of whom the party consisted? He +had indeed been surprised at meeting persons so totally different from +what he had expected that morning at breakfast, but he was now perfectly +thunderstruck at the sight which burst upon his astonished vision. + +There was Mr Vernon Wycherley reclining at his ease on an elegant sofa, +his head comfortably propped up with pillows, and as far, at any rate, +as face was concerned, appearing not a bit the worse for his late +accident, and making himself quite at home; and there, too, seated near +him, were those lovely creatures who had excited the admiration of our +two young heroes on the preceding day: there they were, both of them, +dressed most becomingly, and looking most bewitchingly lady-like, +employed about some of those little matters of needlework, which afford +no impediment to conversation, chatting away with their new acquaintance +in the most friendly and agreeable manner possible. + + +CHAPTER VII. + +Frank Trevelyan was so much taken aback by a sight so totally +unexpected, that his confident assurance for the moment forsook him, and +with a countenance suffused with blushes, and a perfect consciousness +all the time that he was looking like a fool, he stood stock-still +within a few paces from the door, as if uncertain whether to pluck up +sufficient courage to advance, or to turn tail and make a run of it; his +comfort all this time in nowise enhanced, by detecting the air of +triumphant satisfaction with which Mr Vernon Wycherley was witnessing +and enjoying his confusion. Fortunately, however, for Frank, the ladies +had more compassion, and by their pleasing affability of manner, +speedily relieved him from his embarrassment--so speedily indeed, that +in the course of five minutes he had not only conquered every bashful +feeling, but had acquired so great a degree of easy self-possession, +that Vernon Wycherley actually began to wonder at what he was pleased in +his own mind to style, "the little rascal's cool impudence"----But he +only thought so whilst Frank was devoting his sole attentions to the +darker beauty, with whom the young poet had already chosen to fancy +himself in love; for when, at the expiration of this five minutes, his +friend transferred his civilities to her fair sister, Mr Wycherley +returned to his original opinion, formed upon a close intimacy of +several years, which was, that friend Frank was one of the best-hearted, +good-humoured, and entertaining little fellows that ever existed. + +And now, how shall we attempt to describe these lovely young creatures, +whose charms were, by this time, playing sad havoc with the hearts of Mr +Vernon Wycherley, and his friend Mr Francis Trevelyan. First, then, the +elder sister, Miss Mary.--Her features were regular, with the true +Madonna cast of countenance, beautiful when in a state of repose, but +still more lovely when lighted up by animation. Her cheek, though pale, +indicated no symptom of ill health, and her complexion was remarkably +clear, which was beautifully contrasted with her raven hair, dark eyes, +and long silken eyelashes. Her sister, who was but a year younger, owed +more of her beauty to a certain sweetness of expression it is impossible +to describe, than to perfect regularity of feature. Her eyes were +dark-blue, and her hair of a dark-golden brown; her complexion fair and +clear, and her mouth and lips the most perfect that can be conceived. +Both sisters had excellent teeth, but in other respects their features +were totally dissimilar. They were about the middle height--and their +figures faultless, which, added to a lady-like carriage and engaging +manners, untainted with affectation, rendered them perfectly +fascinating. Such was, at any rate, the opinion each of our two heroes +had formed of _her_ to whom he had been pleased to devote his +thoughts--Frank of the gentle Bessie, and Vernon of the lovely Mary--for +none but the squire before her face, and Timothy behind her back, ever +dared to call her Miss Molly; so that before Squire Potts, or his good +lady, joined the young folks, which they did ere one delightful half +hour had passed away, both our young men were deeply in for it--the poet +resigned to pine away the rest of his days in solitary grief, and to +write sonnets on his sorrows; and Frank resolved to try all he could do +to win the lady over to be of the same mind with himself, and then to do +every thing in his power, with the respective governors on both sides, +to bring things to a happy conclusion as speedily as possible. + +Oh! they were nice people were the Potts's--father, mother, and +daughters; and how delighted Frank was when he sate down to the +dinner-table with them--never were such nice people, thought Frank--and +he wasn't far wide of the mark either. And how disconsolate poor Vernon +felt in being compelled to rough it all alone, for that day at least, +upon water-gruel above stairs! But the ladies, taking compassion upon +his forlorn condition, and sympathizing with him for the dangers he had +past, left the table very early, and favoured him with their company, +leaving the squire below to amuse friend Frank. + +But the squire and Frank were not left long alone together, for the +village doctor dropped in just as the ladies had departed to inquire how +Vernon was getting on, and was easily prevailed upon to help the squire +and his guest out with their wine; and then came the clergyman of the +parish, and his three or four private pupils, who had come to finish +letting off the fireworks, which they had favoured the squire with +partially exhibiting on the previous evening; but which the news of +Vernon's misadventure had prematurely cut short--and so the remainder of +the exhibition was postponed to the following evening--and that time +having then arrived, all the rest of the combustibles went off, one +after another, with very great _eclat_. + +But where are those three uninteresting young damsels all this +time?--What has become of them? some of our readers may be inclined to +ask. For their satisfaction we beg to inform them, that these three +unprepossessing personages were merely acquaintances, who had dropped in +unexpectedly the evening before, and made use of the squire's residence +as a kind of inn or half-way house, on the way to visit some friends +some ten miles further on, to which place they had betaken themselves +soon after breakfast. And by way of clearing up as we go--The Misses +Potts, (for Potts they were called, there's no disguising that fact,) +the Misses Potts, we say, were at the time our two heroes first met them +returning homewards from a long ride; shortly after which, being +overtaken by a heavy shower, they betook themselves to a friend's house +not very far distant, where, owing to the unfavourable appearance of the +weather, they were induced to remain for the night, and Timothy was +accordingly sent home with a message to that effect. + +They were very nice people indeed were the Potts's; and not only did +their two guests think so, but the whole country, far and wide around, +entertained precisely the same opinion. It is not, therefore, surprising +that two young men like Frank and Vernon should be well pleased with +their quarters, or that, having so early gotten into the slough of love, +they should daily continue to sink deeper into the mire. The young +poet's lame leg, though not a very serious affair, was still sufficient +to keep him for several days a close prisoner to the house; but if any +one had asked him--no, we don't go so far as to say that, for if any one +had so asked him he would not have answered truly; but if he had +seriously proposed the question to himself, his heart would have told +him, that notwithstanding all the pain and inconvenience attendant on +his then crippled state, he wouldn't have changed with his friend Frank, +to have been compelled to ramble abroad with the father, instead of +remaining at home to enjoy the society of his daughters. + +As for Frank, he was equally well pleased to let matters be as they +were; he shot with the squire, accompanied him on his walks about his +farm; and occasionally, when the weather permitted, attended the young +ladies in their rides; and then, and then only, did Vernon envy him, or +repine at his own lame and helpless condition. But whatever the opinion +of the latter might have been, never in all his born days did Mr Frank +Trevelyan spend his time so much to his satisfaction. + +Now we must not suppose that Squire Potts had, like an old blockhead, +admitted these two young men into such close terms of intimacy with his +family, upon no further acquaintance than was furnished him by his +having helped the one out of a lead shaft, and the other to a dry +rig-out after the duckings he had encountered in seeking the necessary +aid--quite the contrary; for though the nature of the accident, and the +forlorn condition of our pedestrians, would have insured them both food +and shelter till the patient could have been safely removed elsewhere; +yet the squire would never have admitted any one to the society of the +female part of his family, whose respectability and station in society +he was at all doubtful about. He had therefore, during supper-time on +the night of his arrival, but in polite manner, put several pumping +questions to Frank, who very readily answered them; from which he +discovered that Frank's father, though personally unacquainted with, he +knew by reputation to be a highly respectable person and a county +magistrate; nor was even Frank's name wholly unknown to him, and the +little he had heard was highly in his favour. He, therefore, passed +muster very well; and, during the course of the shooting expedition on +the following morning, the squire had also contrived to elicit from his +young companion, that Vernon Wycherley's father, who had died some years +before, had been both an intimate and valued friend of his own early +years. + +By this means a great portion of the reserve, often attendant upon an +acquaintance recently formed, wore off; so that our two heroes felt +themselves, in the course of a few days, as much at home with their +newly-made friends, as if they had been on terms of intimacy with them +from their childhood. There was, however, one serious drawback to the +poet's felicity. The comedy upon which he had designed to establish his +future fame, was nowhere to be found; and there was every reason to +believe, that it was reposing in the shaft from which its author had +been so providentially rescued, where no one would venture down to seek +it on account of the foul air that was known to prevail near the bottom. + +"Well, never mind," said Vernon, who, when informed of his probable +loss, was reclining very comfortably on the drawing-room sofa, taking +tea with his kind entertainers,--"Well, never mind," he said, "I must be +thankful to Heaven for my own preservation, and, practising a little of +friend Frank's philosophy, try to believe that what has happened _is all +for the best_." + +"And so I've no doubt it is," interposed Frank; "for you must either +have been doomed to disappointment by your failure, or, if you had +succeeded in being the fortunate competitor out of the hundred +candidates who are striving for the prize, you would, as a matter of +course, have incurred the everlasting enmity of the disappointed +ninety-nine, to say nothing of their numerous friends and allies; why, +you would be cut up to minced meat amongst them all; and nine-tenths of +the reviews and newspapers would be ringing their changes of abuse upon +your name, as one of the most blundering blockheads that ever spoilt +paper." + +"Enough, Frank, enough--I give in," interrupted Mr Wycherley; "quite +enough said on the subject, and perhaps you may be right too in this +instance; but I verily believe, that if the direst misfortune were to +happen to one, you would strive to convince him, or at any rate set it +down in our own mind, that it was _all for the best_." + +"And if he did so," said the squire, "he might be less distant from the +truth than you imagine. I myself indeed could mention an instance, where +a man at last happily discovered that a circumstance he had set down in +his own mind as the ruling cause of every subsequent misfortune, +eventually proved the instrument of producing him a greater degree of +happiness than often falls to the lot of the most fortunate of mankind." + +Frank and Vernon both expressed a wish to hear the tale, which the +squire, who was a rare hand at telling a story, proceeded forthwith to +recount; but as, for reasons we forbear mentioning at present, he +glossed over some important parts, and touched but lightly on others +equally material, we purpose, instead of recording the tale in his own +words, to state the facts precisely as they occurred, the subject of +which will form the contents of the two next following chapters. + + +CHAPTER VIII.--THE SQUIRE'S TALE. + +In a town that shall be nameless, but which was situate somewhere or +other in the West of England, there lived some years since--no matter +how many--a young man, called Job Vivian, who practised as a surgeon, +apothecary, and so forth. He was about two or three and twenty years of +age when he first commenced his professional career in this place, and +very shortly afterwards he married the girl of his affections, to whom +he had been sincerely attached from his very boyhood; and as they were +both exceedingly good-looking--in fact, she was beautiful--they of +course made what the world terms an imprudent marriage. But Job himself +thought very differently, and amidst all the cares and vicissitudes that +attended several years of his wedded life, he never passed a day without +breathing a prayer of thankfulness to Heaven for having blessed him with +so excellent a helpmate. But though rich in domestic comforts, all the +rest of Job's affairs, for a long time, went on unprosperously. He +certainly acquired sufficient practice in the course of a few years to +occupy a great portion of his time, by night as well as by day, but then +it was not what is termed a paying practice. In fact, nearly the whole +of his business was either amongst the poorer classes, who couldn't pay, +the dishonest, who wouldn't, or the thoughtless and dilatory, who, if +they did so, took a very long time about it. In spite, therefore, of all +his labour and assiduity, the actual amount he received from his +practice fell short of his yearly expenditure, which obliged him to dip +into his small independent property, consisting of a few houses in an +obscure part of the town; which, as he became every year more heavily +involved, he was erelong compelled to mortgage so deeply, that what +between some of his tenants running away without paying their rent, the +costs of repairs, and money to be paid for interest, a very small +portion of the annual proceeds ever reached Job's pockets; and at last, +to complete the whole, a virulent fever broke out in the very midst of +this precious property, of so obstinate and dangerous a kind, as for +some months to defy the skill of all the medical men of the place, +nearly depopulating the whole neighbourhood, which in consequence became +all but deserted. + +Just at this critical time poor Job Vivian received a notice from his +mortgagee--a rich old timber merchant, who lived and carried on his +business in the same town with him--to pay off his mortgage; which he +being unable to do, or to obtain any body to advance the required amount +on the security of property which had then become so depreciated in +value, the sordid worshipper of mammon, though rolling in wealth, and +not spending one-tenth part of his income, and with neither wife nor +children to provide for, nor a soul on earth he cared a straw for, was +resolved, as he was technically pleased to term it, to sell up the +doctor forthwith; to accomplish which he commenced an action of +ejectment to recover the possession of the premises, though Job had +voluntarily offered to give them up to him, and also an action of +covenant for non-payment of the mortgage money, whilst at the same time +he filed his bill in Chancery to foreclose the mortgage; which combined +forces, legal and equitable, proved so awful a floorer to a sinking man, +that, in order to get clear of them, he was glad at the very outset, not +only to give up all claim to the property, but even to consent to pay +L100 out of his own pocket for the costs said to have been incurred in +thus depriving him of his possessions. + +These costs proved an unceasing millstone about the unfortunate doctor's +neck. In order to pay them, he had been obliged to leave more just +demands undischarged; and thus he became involved in difficulties he +strove in vain to extricate himself from. Yet in spite of all this, Job +and his good little wife were a far happier couple than most of their +richer neighbours. The constant hope that things would soon begin to +take a more prosperous turn, reconciled them to their present +perplexities; there was but one drawback they considered to render their +bliss complete; and Job used to say, that he had never met with an +instance of a man who hadn't a drawback to perfect happiness in some +shape or other and that, take it for all in all, they had, thank God, a +pretty fair allowance of the world's comforts. + +"So we have, my dear Job," said his pretty little wife Jessie, in reply +to a remark of this kind he had been just then making--"and only think +how far happier we are than most of the people around us. Only think of +Mr Belasco, who, with all his money and fine estates, is so unhappy, +that his family are in constant dread of his destroying himself." + +"And poor Sir Charles Deacon," interposed Job, "a man so devotedly fond +of good eating and drinking as he is, and yet to be compelled to live on +less than even workhouse allowance for fear of the gout--and then that +silly Lord Muddeford, who's fretting himself to death because ministers +wouldn't make him an earl--Mrs Bundy, with her two thousand a-year, +making herself miserable because the Grandisons, and my Lord and Lady +Muddeford, and one or two others of the grand folks, every one of whom +she dislikes, won't visit her. Then the squire at Mortland is troubled +with a son that no gentleman will be seen speaking to; and the rich +rector of"----Job nodded his head, but didn't say where--"has a +tipsy-getting wife--and poor Squire Taylor's wife stark mad--Mr Gribbs +also, with his fine unencumbered property, has two idiot children, and +another deaf and dumb, and the other--the only sane child he has, is +little better than a fool. Then the Hoblers are rendered miserable by +the disobedience and misconduct of their worthless children; and the +Dobsons are making themselves wretched because they've no such creatures +to trouble themselves about. The only man of property I can name in the +whole country round who seems free from care, is our fox-hunting squire +at Abbot's Beacon, who really does enter into the life of the sport, has +plenty of money to carry it on with, and has besides one of the nicest +places I think I ever saw." + +"But then," interposed Job's better half, "his wife, every body says, +doesn't care a fig for him." + +"Then a fig for all his happiness," said Job; "I wouldn't change places +with him for ten thousand times ten thousand his wealth and possessions, +and a dukedom thrown into the bargain;" and Job told the truth too, and +kissed his wife by way of confirmation; for he couldn't help it for the +very life of him, Job couldn't. + +"And then only to consider," said Mrs Job Vivian, as she smilingly +adjusted her hair--and very nice hair she had, and kept it very nicely +too, though her goodman had just then tumbled it pretty +considerably--"only think what two lovely children we have; every one +who sees them is struck with their remarkable beauty." This was +perfectly true, by the way, notwithstanding the observation proceeded +from a mother's lips. + +"And so good, too, my dear Jessie," continued Job; "I wonder," he +proudly said, "if any father in the land, besides myself, can truly +boast of children who have had the use of their tongues so long, and who +yet, amidst all their chattering and prattling, have never told a +falsehood--so that, amidst all the cares that Providence has been +pleased to allot us, we never can be thankful enough for the actual +blessings we enjoy." + +"We never can, indeed," said Jessie. And thus, in thankfulness for the +actual comforts they possessed, they forgot all the troubles that +surrounded them, and, happily, were ignorant of how heavily they would +soon begin to press upon them. + +And now, we must state here, that, although generally unfortunate in his +worldly undertakings, a young colt, which the young doctor had himself +reared, seemed to form an exception to the almost general rule, for he +turned out a most splendid horse; and as his owner's patients were +distributed far and wide over a country in which an excellent pack of +hounds was kept; and Job himself, not only fond of the sport, but also a +good rider, who could get with skill and judgment across a country, his +colt, even at four years' old, became the first-rate hunter of the +neighbourhood; so much so, indeed, that a rich country squire one +day--and that at the very close of the hunting season--witnessing his +gallant exploits in the field, was so pleased with the horse, that he +offered Job L150 for him. + +Now, Job thought his limited circumstances would never justify his +riding a horse worth L150; yet he was so much attached to the animal he +had reared, that, greatly as he then wanted money, he felt grieved at +the idea of parting with him, and, at the instant of the offer, he could +not in fact make up his mind to do. Promising, therefore, to give an +answer in the course of a day or two, he returned home, by no means a +happier man in the consciousness of the increased value of his steed; +nor could he muster sufficient courage to tell his wife, who was almost +as fond of the horse as he himself was, of the liberal price that had +been offered for him. But the comfortable way in which Jessie had gotten +every thing ready for him against his return, dispelled a great portion +of his sadness; and her cheerful looks and conversation, added to the +pleasing pranks of his little children, had all but chased away the +remainder, when he received a summons to attend a sick patient, living +at least three miles away, in the country. + +"This really is very provoking," said Job; "and the worst part of the +business is, that I can do no good whatever--the poor creature is too +far gone in consumption for the skill of the whole faculty put together +to save her life; and, bless me, my poor Selim has not only carried me +miles and miles over the road to-day, but, like an inconsiderate +blockhead, I must gallop him after the hounds, across the country. But +there, I suppose, I must go; I ought not to stay away from doing an act +of charity, because I am certain not to be paid, or perhaps even thanked +for my pains. Had it been a rich patient, I should have started readily +enough, and so I will now for my poor one. But as Selim has had +something more than a fair day's work of it, I must even make a walk of +it, and be thankful I've such a good pair of legs to carry me." + +Job had a very good pair of legs, and the consciousness of this gave him +very great satisfaction; and so, having talked himself into a good +humour, and into the mind for his work, and fearing lest pondering too +long over the matter might induce him to change his resolution, he +caught up his hat, and at once prepared to make a start of it; but, in +his haste, he tripped over two or three steps of the stair, and falling +down the remainder, sprained his ankle so badly, as to render his +walking impracticable. Determined, however, not to abandon a duty he had +made up his mind to perform, and having no other horse at his command, +Selim was again saddled, who, even with only an hour's rest and +grooming, looked nearly as fresh as if he had not been out of his stable +for the day. Never was a man more pleased with a horse than Job was with +the noble animal he then bestrode, and deeply did he regret the urgent +necessity which compelled him to part with him. "Had it not been for +that old miserly fellow in there, I might still have kept my poor +Selim," said Job to himself, as he rode by a large mansion at the verge +of the town; "that L100," continued Job, "he obliged me to pay him or +his attorney, for taking away the remnant of my little property, is the +cause of those very embarrassments which compel me to sell this dear +good horse of mine." + +Just as he had so said, an incident occurred which stopped his further +remarks; but, before we mention what this incident was, we must state +what was occurring within this said house at the time Job was in the act +of riding past it. + +The proprietor and occupant of this mansion--one of the best in the +place--was, as our readers may have already suspected, the selfsame old +timber merchant who had dealt so hardly with our friend Job, by taking +advantage of a temporary depreciation in the value of his mortgaged +property to acquire the absolute ownership--well knowing, that, in a +very short time, the premises would fetch at least three times the +amount of what he had advanced upon them; in fact, he sold them for more +than four times that sum in less than six months afterwards: but that is +not the matter we have now to deal with. We must therefore introduce our +readers into one of the front rooms of this mansion, in which its +master, (an elderly person, with the love of money--Satan's sure +mark--deeply stamped upon his ungainly countenance,) was closeted with +his attorney; the latter of whom was in the act of taking the necessary +instructions for making the rich man's will--a kind of job the intended +testator by no means relished, and which no power on earth, save the +intense hatred he bore to the persons upon whom his property would +otherwise devolve, could have forced him to take in hand. + +"'Tis a bitter thing, Mr Grapple," said the monied man, addressing +himself to the attorney, "a bitter thing to give away what one's been +the best part of one's life trying to get together; and not only to +receive nothing in return, but even to have to pay a lawyer for taking +it away." + +"But I'm sure, my good friend, you'll hardly begrudge my two guineas for +this," observed the lawyer--"only think what a capital business I made +in getting you into all Job Vivian's property." + +"Well, but you got a hundred pounds for your trouble, didn't you?" +observed the timber-merchant impatiently. + +"Yes, my dear sir; but none of that came out of your own pocket," +interposed the attorney. + +"And didn't you promise nothing ever should?" rejoined the old man; +"but never mind--business is business--and, when upon business, stick to +the business you're on, that's my rule; so now to proceed--but mind, I +say, them two guineas includes the paper." + +"Oh yes, paper of course!" replied the man of law, "and nothing to pay +for stamps; and this will enable you to dispose of every penny of your +money; and, my dear sir, consider--only for one moment consider your +charities--how they'll make all the folks stare some day or other!" + +"Ay, ay, you're right," said the client, a faint smile for the first +time that day enlivening his iron features. "Folks will stare indeed; +and, besides, 'tis well know'd--indeed the Scripturs says, that charity +do cover a multitude of sins." + +"To be sure they do; and then only think of the name you'll leave behind +to be handed down to posterity. Such munificent bequests nobody +hereabouts ever heard of before." + +"There's a satisfaction in all you say, I confess," observed the +intended donor of all these good gifts; "and who can then say I wasn't +the man to consider the wants of the poor? I always did consider the +poor." So he did, an old scoundrel, and much misery the unhappy +creatures endured in consequence. + +"And then," resumed Mr Grapple, "only consider again the tablets in +which all your pious bequests will be stuck up in letters of gold, just +under the church organ, where they will be read and wondered at, not +only by all the townsfolk for hundreds of years to come, but also by all +the strangers that pass through and come to look at the church." + +"Very satisfactory that--very!" said the intended testator; "but are you +still sure I can't give my land as well as my money in charities?" + +"Only by deed indented, and enrolled within six months after execution, +and to take effect immediately," replied the attorney. + +"By which you mean, I suppose, that I must give it out and out, slap +bang all at once, and pass it right away in the same way as if I sold it +outright?" + +Lawyer Grapple replied in the affirmative; at which information his +client got very red in the face, and exclaimed, with considerable +warmth--"Before I do that, I'd see all the charities in ----" he didn't +say where; and, checking himself suddenly, continued, in a milder +tone--"That is, I could hardly be expected to make so great a sacrifice +as that in my lifetime; so, as I can't dispose of my lands in the way I +wish, I'll tie 'em up from being made away with as long as I can: for +having neither wife, chick, nor child, nor any one living soul as I care +a single farthing about, it's no pleasure to me to leave it to any body; +but howsomever, as relations is in some shape, as the saying is, after a +manner a part of one's own self, I suppose I'd better leave it to one of +they." + +"Your nephew who resides in Mortimer Street, is, I believe, your +heir-at-law?" suggested Mr Grapple. + +"He be blowed!" retorted the timber-merchant, petulantly; "he gave me +the cut t'other day in Lunnun streets, for which I cuts he off with a +shilling. Me make he my heir!--see he doubly hanged first, and wouldn't +do it then." + +The attorney next mentioned another nephew, who had been a major in the +East India Company's service, and was then resident at Southampton. + +"He!" vociferated the uncle, "a proud blockhead; I heerd of his goings +on. He, the son of a hack writer in a lawyer's office! he to be the one, +of all others, to be proposing that all the lawyers and doctors should +be excluded from the public balls! I've a-heerd of his goings on. He +have my property! Why, he'd blush to own who gid it to him. He have it! +No; I'd rather an earthquake swallowed up every acre of it, before a +shovel-full should come to his share." + +"Then your other nephew at Exeter?" observed the attorney. + +"Dead and buried, and so purvided for," said the timber-merchant. + +"I beg your pardon, sir--I had for the moment forgotten that +circumstance; but there's his brother, Mr Montague Potts Beverley, of +Burton Crescent?" + +"Wuss and wuss," interrupted the testy old man. "Me give any thing to an +ungrateful dog like that? Why, I actelly lent he money on nothing but +personal security, to set him up in business; and the devil of a +ha-penny could I ever screw out of him beyond principal and legal +interest at five per cent; and, now he's made his forten, he's ashamed +of the name that made it for him--a mean-spirited, henpecked booby, that +cast his name to the dogs to please a silly wife's vanity. He have my +property! I rather calculate not! And so, having disposed of all they, I +think I'll leave my estates to some of brother Thomas's sons. Now, +Grapple, mind me; this is how I'll have it go. In the first place, +intail it on my nephew Thomas, that's the tailor in Regent Street, who, +they says, is worth some thousands already; so what I intends to give +him, will come in nicely;--failing he and his issue, then intail it on +Bill--you knows Bill--he comes here sometimes--travels for a house in +the button line;--failing he and his issue, then upon Bob the letenant +in the navy; he's at sea now, though I be hanged if I know the name of +the ship he belongs to." + +Mr Grapple observed that this was unimportant, and then asked if he +should insert the names of any other persons. + +"I don't know, really, or very much care whether you does or not," +replied the timber-merchant. "My late brother Charles," he continued, +"left three sons; but what's become of they all, or whether they be dead +or alive, any of them, I can hardly tell, nor does it very much signify; +for they were a set of extravagant, low-lived, drunken fellows, every +one of them, and not very likely to mend either." + +"Then, perhaps you'd rather your heirs at-law should take?" remarked the +attorney. + +"No, I'll be hanged if I should!" answered the vender of deals and +mahogany; "so put in all brother Charles's sons, one after t'other, in +the same manner as they before--let me see, what's their names? Oh, +George first, then Robert, and then Richard, and that's the whole of +they." + +"I believe, sir," said the attorney, "before I can do so, I must beg the +favour of a candle, for it's growing so dark I am unable to see what I +write." + +"Then come nigher to the winder," said the testator, pushing forward the +table in that direction--"Hallo!" he exclaimed, "what can all this yer +row and bustle be about outside?"--and, looking into the street, he +discovered poor Selim lying prostrate in the middle of the road, from +whence some persons were raising up Job himself, who was stunned and +bleeding from the violence of his fall. A young lad had accidentally +driven his hoop between the horse's legs, which threw the unlucky animal +with such violence to the ground as to fracture one of its fore-legs, +and inflict several other dreadful injuries, far beyond all power or +hope of cure. But the man of wealth contemplated the passing scene with +that species of complacent satisfaction, with which men like-minded with +himself are ever found to regard the misfortunes of others, when they +themselves can by no possibility be prejudiced thereby. This selfish old +villain, therefore, instead of evincing any sympathy, was highly amused +at what was going on, and every now and then passed some remark or other +indicative of those feelings, of which the following, amongst others, +afford a pretty fair specimen:-- + +"Well," he said, "pride they say must have a fall, and a fine fall we've +had here to be sure. Well, who'd a-thought it? But what I say is, that +for a man that can't pay his way as he goes--and his twenty shillings in +the pound whenever he's called upon for it--what I mean to say is, if a +fellow like he will ride so fine a horse, why, it serves him parfectly +right if he gets his neck broke. Oh, then, I see your neck ar'n't broke +this time, after all! Getting better, b'aint you?--pity, isn't it? Oh +dear! what can the matter be? I'll be hanged if he isn't a-crying like a +babbey that's broke his pretty toy. Ay, my master, cry your eyes out, +stamp and whop your head--'twont mend matters, I promise ye. Clear case +of total loss, and no insurance to look to, eh! And that's the chap as +had the himpudence but t'other day to call me a hard-hearted old +blackguard, and that before our whole board of guardians, too--just +because I proposed doctoring the paupers by tender, and that the lowest +tender should carry the day--a plan that would hactelly have saved the +parish pounds and pounds; and he--that blubbering fellow +there--hactelly, as I was a-saying, called me a hard-hearted old +blackguard for proposing it. Oh! I see; here comes Timson the butcher, +what next then? Oh! just as I expected--it's a done job with my nag, I +see. Steady, John Donnithorne, and hold down his head. Come, Timson, my +good man--come, bear a hand, and whip the knife into the throat of +un--skilfully done, wasn't it, doctor? Oh dear! can't bear the sight; +too much for the doctor's nerves. Ay--well, that's a good one--that's +right; turn away your head and pipe your eye, my dear, I dare say it +will do ye good. It does me, I know--he! he! he! Hallo! what have we +here--is it a horse or is it a jackass? Well, I'm sure here's a +come-down with a vengeance--a broken-knee'd, spavined jade of a pony, +that's hardly fit for carrion. Oh! it's yours, Master Sweep, I s'pose. +Ay, that's the kind of nag the doctor ought to ride; clap on the saddle, +my boys--that's your sort; just as it should be. No, you can't look that +way, can't ye? Well, then, mount and be off with ye--that's right; off +you goes, and if you gets back again without a shy-off, it's a pity." +And the hard-hearted old sinner laughed to that degree, that the tears +ran down in streams over his deeply-furrowed countenance. + + +CHAPTER IX. + +The two years that followed Job's untoward accident, instead of mending +his fortunes, had only added to his embarrassments--all owing to his +being just a hundred pounds behind the mark, which, as he often said, +the price he could have obtained for poor Selim would have effectually +prevented. His circumstances daily grew worse and worse, and at last +became so desperate, that this patient and amiable couple were almost +driven to their wits' end. Creditors, becoming impatient, at last +resorted to legal remedies to recover their demands, until all his +furniture was taken possession of under judicial process, which, being +insufficient to discharge one half the debts for which judgments had +been signed against him, he had no better prospect before his eyes than +exchanging the bare walls of his present abode for the still more gloomy +confines of a debtor's prison. + +He had striven hard, but in vain, to bear all these trials with +fortitude; and even poor Jessie--she who had hitherto never repined at +the hardness of her lot, and who, to cheer her husband's drooping +spirits, had worn a cheerful smile upon her countenance, whilst a load +of sorrow pressed heavily upon her heart--even she now looked pale and +sad, as with an anxious eye she stood by and watched poor Job, leaning +with his back against the wall in an up-stairs room, now devoid of every +article of furniture. And there he had been for hours, completely +overcome by the accumulation of woes he saw no loophole to escape from; +whilst his two little girls, terrified at the desolate appearance of +every thing around them, and at the unusual agitation of their parents, +were crouched together in a corner, fast grasped together, as if for +mutual protection, in each other's arms. + +Not a morsel of food had that day passed the lips of any member of that +unhappy family, and every moveable belonging to the house had been taken +away at an early hour in the morning; so that nothing but the bare walls +were left for shelter, and hard boards for them to lie upon. Often had +poor Jessie essayed to speak some words of comfort to her husband's ear; +but even these, which had never before failed, were no longer at her +command; for when some cheering thought suggested itself, a choking +sensation in her throat deprived her of the power of uttering it. At +length a loud single rap at the street door caused Job to start, whilst +a hectic flush passed over his pale cheek, and a violent tremor shook +his frame, as the dread thought of a prison occurred to him. + +"Don't be alarmed, my dearest," said his wife, "it's only some people +with something or other to sell; I dare say they'll go away again when +they find that no one answers the door." + +"It's a beggar," said one of the children, who, hearing the sound, had +looked out of the window; "poor man, he looks miserably cold! I wish +we'd something to give him." + +"Beggar, did the child say?" demanded Job, gazing wildly round the room. +"Beggar!" he repeated. "And what are we all but beggars? Are we not +stripped of every thing? Are we not actually starving for want of the +daily bread that I have toiled so hard for, and prayed unceasingly to +heaven to afford us; whilst those who never use their Maker's name +except in terms of blasphemy, have loads of affluence heaped into their +laps. Oh! it's enough to make one doubt"---- + +"Oh, no, no, no! don't, for the love you bear me--don't utter those +awful words!" cried out Jessie, rushing upon her husband, and throwing +her arms around his neck. "As you love me, don't repine at the will of +heaven, however hard our trials may seem now to bear on us. I can endure +all but this. Let us hope still. We have all of us health and strength; +and we have many friends who, if they were only aware of the extent of +our distress, would be sure to relieve us. There's your good friend Mr +Smith, he most probably will return from London to-morrow; and you know, +in his letter, he told you to keep up your spirits, for that there was +yet good-luck in store for you; and I am sure you must have thought so +then, or you never would have returned him the money he so kindly +remitted us. So, don't be cast down in almost your first hour of trial; +we shall be happy yet--I know we shall; let us then still put our trust +in God. Don't answer me, my dear Job--don't answer me; I know how much +you are excited, and that you are not now yourself; for my sake, for our +dear children's sake, try to be tranquil but for to-night; and let us +yet hope that there is some comfort yet in store for us on the morrow." + +"I will strive to, my dearest Jessie," he replied. "I'll not add another +drop of bitterness to your cup of sorrow, because I am unable to relieve +you from it.--But hark! what's this coming, and stopping here too?--what +can be the meaning of this?" + +Just as he uttered these last words the sound of carriage-wheels was +heard rapidly approaching, and a post-chaise drew up in front of the +house. Job trembled violently, and leant upon his wife for support, +whilst a thundering rap was heard at the door; the children both rushed +to the window; and one of them, to the great relief of their parents, +exclaimed, "Oh! my dear papa! Mr Smith's come, and he's looking up here +smiling so good-naturedly; he looks as if he was just come off a +journey, and he's beckoning me to come down and let him in." + +"God be praised!" exclaimed Jessie; "I told you, my dear Job, that +relief was near at hand, and here it comes in the person of your +excellent friend;" and she darted out of the room, and hurried down the +stairs to admit the welcome visitor. Jessie soon returned with Mr Smith, +a handsome gentlemanly-looking man, who ran forward with extended hands +to his disconsolate friend, whom he greeted in so kind a manner, and +with a countenance so merry and happy, that the very look of it seemed +enough to impart some spirit of consolation even to a breaking heart--at +any rate it did to Job's. "My dear fellow!" exclaimed the welcome +visitor, "how on earth did you allow things to come to this pass without +even hinting any thing of the kind to me? I never heard it till the day +I left town. How could you return me the remittance I sent you, which +should have been ten times as much had I known the full extent of your +wants? But enough of this now; we won't waste time in regrets for the +past, and as for the future, leave that to me. I'll soon set things all +straight and smooth again for you. And now, my dear Mrs Vivian," added +he, addressing himself to Jessie, "do you go and do as you promised." + +Jessie smiled assent, and, looking quite happy again, she took her two +daughters by the hand and led them out of the room. + +"But, my dear Smith," said Job, as soon as the two friends were alone, +"you can have no idea how deeply I am involved. I can tax your +generosity no further--even what you have already done for me, I can +never repay." + +"Nor do I intend you ever shall," rejoined the worthy attorney--for +such was Mr Smith--"particularly," he added, "as there's a certain debt +I owe you, which I neither can nor will repay, and that I candidly tell +you." + +"Indeed! what do you mean?" asked Job, looking very puzzled; "I'm rather +dull of apprehension to-day." And verily he was so, for his troubles had +wellnigh driven him mad. + +"My life, Job, that's all," replied the attorney; "_that_ I owe to you, +and can't repay you--and won't either, that's more. Had it not been for +your skill," he added in a graver tone, "and the firmness you displayed +in resolutely opposing the treatment those two blackguards, Dunderhead +and Quackem, wished to adopt in my case, I must have died a most +distressing and painful death, and my poor wife and children would have +been left perfectly destitute." + +The consciousness of the truth of this grateful remark infused a +cheering glow to Job's broken spirit, and even raised a faint smile upon +his care-worn countenance; which his visitor perceiving, went on to say, +"And now, my good doctor, owing you so deep a debt of gratitude as I do, +make your mind easy about the past; what you've had from me is a mere +trifle. Why, my good fellow, I'm not the poor unhappy dog I was when you +told me never to mind when I paid you. I'm now getting on in the world, +and shall fancy by and by that I'm getting rich; and, what's more, I +expect soon to see my friend Job Vivian in circumstances so much more +thriving than my own, that if I didn't know him to be one of the +sincerest fellows in the world, and one whom no prosperity could spoil, +I should begin to fear he might be ashamed to acknowledge his old +acquaintance." + +The good-natured attorney had proved more of a Job's comforter in the +literal sense of the term, than he had intended; in fact he had overdone +it--the picture was too highly coloured to appear natural, and at once +threw back poor Job upon a full view of all his troubles, which Mr Smith +perceiving, mildly resumed, "I'm not surprised, my good fellow, at your +being excited, from the violent shock your feelings must have sustained; +but you may rest assured--mind I speak confidently, and will vouch for +the truth of what I'm going to say--when I tell you that the worst of +your troubles are past, and that, before the week is out, you will be +going on all right again; but really you are so much depressed now, that +I'm afraid to encourage you too much; for I believe you doctors consider +that too sudden a transition from grief to joy often produces dangerous, +and sometimes even fatal, consequences?" + +"It's a death I stand in no dread of dying," said Job with a melancholy +smile. + +"You don't know your danger perhaps," interposed the attorney; "but at +the same time you sha'n't die through my means; so, if I had even a +berth in store for you that I thought might better your condition, I +wouldn't now venture to name it to you." + +"It might be almost dangerous," said Job; "any thing that would procure +the humblest fare, clothing, and shelter, for myself and family, would +confer a degree of happiness far beyond my expectation." + +"Why, if you are so easily satisfied," rejoined the attorney, "I think I +can venture to say, that these, at least, may be obtained for you +forthwith; but come, here's the chaise returned again, which has just +taken your good little wife and children to my house, where they're all +now expecting us. In fact, I haven't yet crossed my own threshold, for I +picked up my old woman as I came along, and she has taken your folks +back with her; so come along, Job, we'll talk matters over after +dinner--come along, my dear fellow--come along, come along." + +Job suffered himself to be led away, hardly knowing what he was about, +or what was going on, until he found himself seated in the post-chaise; +which, almost before he had time to collect his scattered ideas, drew up +at the attorney's door. Here he met his Jessie, her handsome and +expressive countenance again radiant with smiles; for in that short +interval she had heard enough to satisfy her mind that better times were +approaching, and her only remaining anxiety was on poor Job's account, +who seemed so stunned by the heavy blow of misfortune, as to appear more +like one wandering in a dream than a man in his right senses. But a +change of scene, and that the pleasing one of a comfortable family +dinner, with sincere friends, effected a wonderful alteration; and the +ladies withdrawing early, in order that the gentlemen might talk over +their business together, Mr Smith at once entered into the subject, by +telling Job that he thought he could, as he had before hinted, put him +into a way of bettering his condition. + +"I trust you may be able to do so," replied Job; "I'm sure there's no +labour I would shrink from, could I attain so desirable an object." + +"But you mistake me there," interrupted the attorney; "I don't mean to +better your condition by making you work yourself to death--far from it; +your labours shall be but light, and your time pretty much at your +command; but you'll want, perhaps, a little money to begin with." + +"And where, in the world, am I to procure it?" asked Job. + +"You might raise it upon the interest you take in the landed property +under the old timber-merchant's will," observed the attorney. + +"You can hardly be serious, my dear Smith," replied Job; "why, the old +fellow--God forgive him as freely as I do--merely put in my name with a +bequest of a shilling, to bring me better luck, as a poor insult upon my +misfortunes. And as to his mentioning my name in connexion with his +landed property, which I was to take after the failure of issue of at +least half a dozen other people--you yourself told me was only put in to +show his nearest heirs, that rather than his property should descend +upon them, they should go to the person--Heaven help the man!--he was +pleased to call his greatest enemy, and that my chance of ever +succeeding to the property wasn't worth twopence." + +"Whatever his motive was is immaterial now," interposed Mr Smith; "and +since I expressed the opinion you allude to, so many of the previous +takers have died off, that I have no hesitation in saying that your +interest is worth money now, and that, if you wished it, I could insure +you a purchaser." + +"Oh, then, sell it by all means!" exclaimed Job. + +"Not quite so fast, my friend," answered the attorney; "before you think +of selling, would it not be prudent to ascertain the value, which +depends in a great measure on the number of preceding estates that have +determined since the testator's decease." + +"Of course it must," rejoined Job; "but any thing I could obtain from +that quarter I should esteem a gain. I've lost enough from it in all +conscience; in fact, the old man's harsh proceedings towards me were the +foundation of all my subsequent difficulties. The old fellow did, +indeed, boast to the clergyman who visited him in his last illness, that +he had made me ample amends in his will for any injustice he might have +done me in his lifetime, and that his mind was quite easy upon that +score; and I'm sure mine will be, when I find that I actually can gain +something by him." + +"Then listen to me patiently, and I'll tell you just what you'll gain; +but first help yourself, and pass me the wine. You'll gain a larger +amount than you would guess at, if you were to try for a week. Much more +than sufficient to pay every one of your creditors their full twenty +shillings in the pound." + +"Will it indeed?" exclaimed Job; "then may God forgive me as one of the +most ungrateful of sinners, who had almost begun to think that the +Almighty had deserted him." + +"Forgive you, to be sure," said the kind-hearted lawyer; "why, even your +holy namesake, the very pattern of patient resignation, would grumble a +bit now and then, when his troubles pinched him in a particularly sore +place. So take another glass whilst I proceed with our subject: and so +you see, doctor, your debts are paid--that's settled. Hold your tongue, +Job; don't interrupt me, and drink your wine; that's good port, isn't +it? the best thing in the world for your complaint. Well, then, all this +may be done without selling your chance outright; and in case you should +want to do so, lest you should part with it too cheaply, we'll just see +how many of the preceding estates have already determined. First, the +testator himself must be disposed of; he died, as we all know, and +nobody sorry, within six weeks after he had made his will. Then the +tailor in Regent Street, he had scarcely succeeded to the property when +he suddenly dropped down dead in his own shop. His son and heir, and +only child, before he had enjoyed the property six months, wishing to +acquire some fashionable notoriety, purposely got into a quarrel with a +profligate young nobleman well known about town, who killed him in a +duel the next morning. The traveller in the button line, on whom the +property next devolved, was in a bad state of health when he succeeded +to it, and died a bachelor about three months since; and his brother, +the lieutenant, who was also unmarried, had died of a fever on the coast +of Africa some time before; so that you see your chance seems to be +bettered at least one half, in the course of little more than a couple +of twelvemonths." + +"So it has, indeed," said Job; "but who, with the other three remainder +men, as you call them, and their issue in the way, would give any thing +for my poor chance?" + +"But suppose," resumed Mr Smith, "the other three should happen to die, +and leave no issue." + +"That's a species of luck not very likely to fall to my lot," replied +Job. + +"Then I must at once convince you of your error," rejoined Mr Smith; +"and, so to cut short what I've been making a very long story of--the +remaining three of the testator's nephews, upon whom the property was +settled, not one of whom was ever married, got drunk together at a +white-bait dinner at Greenwich, which their elder brother gave to +celebrate his accession to the property, and, returning towards town in +that state in a wherry, they managed between them to upset the boat, and +were all drowned. That I've ascertained--such, in fact, being my sole +business in town; and now, my dear Job, let me congratulate you on being +the proprietor of at least five thousand a-year." + +AND SO HE WAS! + +"And thus you see," said the squire, in whose own words we conclude the +tale--"the being dispossessed of his houses, and the loss of his +valuable horse, to which he attributed all his misfortunes, in the end +proved the source of his greatest gain; and now, throughout the whole +length and breadth of the land, I don't think you'll find two persons +better satisfied with their lot than Job and his little wife Jessie, +notwithstanding the timber-merchant made it a condition, that if Job +Vivian should ever succeed to his property, he should take the +testator's surname of Potts--not a pretty one, I confess--and thus Job +Vivian, surgeon, apothecary, &c., has become metamorphosed into the Job +Vivian Potts, Esquire, who has now the honour to address you. His worthy +friend, Smith--now, alas! no more--who, like my self, was induced to +change his name, was Mr Vernon Wycherley's father. I told you, my dear +sir, before, how valued a friend your late father was of mine, and how +much I stood indebted to him; but this is the first time I have made you +acquainted with any of the particulars, and now I fear I've tired you +with my tedious narration." + +"Indeed you have not!" exclaimed both the young men, whilst Vernon +added, that he only regretted not knowing who the parties were during +the progress of the tale, which, had he done, he should have listened to +it with redoubled interest; for who amongst the thousands of Smiths +dispersed about the land, though he had once a father of the name, could +be expected to recognise him as part hero of a tale he had never heard +him allude to; "but pray tell me," he added, "about the poor girl you +went to see at the time the accident occurred to your horse? Did she +ever recover?" + +"No," replied the squire, "she died within a few days afterwards. In +fact, as I believe I before stated, I knew she was past all hope of +recovery at the time I set off to visit her." + +"And the little broken-knee'd and spavined pony you were compelled to +borrow--do pray tell us how he carried you?" interposed Frank, looking +as demure and innocent as possible. + +"Badly, very badly, indeed!" replied the squire; "for the sorry brute +stumbled at nearly every third step, and at last tumbling down in real +earnest, threw me sprawling headlong into the mud; and then favoured me +with a sight of his heels, with the prospect of a couple of miles before +me to hobble home through the rain." + + +CHAPTER X. + +Frank Trevelyan, one morning on opening his eyes, was surprised to +discover his friend, Mr Vernon Wycherley, (whose lameness was by this +time sufficiently amended to permit him to move about with the aid of a +stick,) sitting half dressed by his bedside--a very cool attire for so +chill a morning, and looking very cold and miserable. + +"Hallo! old fellow, what on earth brought you here at this time of day?" +asked Frank. "The first morning visit, I believe, you've honoured me +with since we took up our quarters in this neighbourhood." + +"I'm very wretched," said the poet in a faltering tone--"very unhappy." + +"Unhappy!" reiterated Frank; "why, what on earth have you to make you +so, unless it be the apprehension that you may jump out of your skin for +joy at your splendid prospects! Unhappy indeed!--the notion's too absurd +to obtain a moment's credit." + +"Can a man suffering under a hopeless attachment for an object too pure +almost to tread the earth--can a man, whose affections are set upon an +unattainable object, be otherwise than unhappy?" asked Vernon in a +solemn tone, no bad imitation of Macready; indeed the speaker, whilst +uttering these sentiments, thought it sounded very like it; for he had +often seen that eminent tragedian, and greatly admired his style of +acting. + +"But how have you ascertained that the object is so unattainable?" +demanded Frank. "Come now--have you ever yet asked the young lady the +question?" + +"Asked her!" repeated Vernon, perfectly amazed that his friend could +have supposed such a thing possible--"How could I presume that so +angelic a creature would love such a fellow as me--or, even supposing +such a thing were possible, what would our good friend the squire say to +my ingratitude for his great kindness; and to my presumption--a mere +younger son without a profession, and scarcely a hundred pounds a-year +to call his own, to think of proposing to one of his daughters, who +would be an honour to the noblest and richest peer of the realm?" + +"Well, well, Vernon--one thing first--and you shall have my answers to +all. First, then, as to the fair lady liking you--that I must say, +judging from your looks, is what no one would have thought a very +probable circumstance; but then your poetical talents must be taken into +calculation." + +"Oh, don't mention them!" said Vernon. "Worse than good-for-nothing. +_She_ esteems such talents very lightly, and I shall even lose the small +solace to my sorrows I had hoped they would have afforded me. Even this +sad consolation is denied me. My Mary is indifferent to poetry--she +holds sonnets upon hopeless love in utter contempt--entertains no higher +opinion of the writers of them--and considers publishing any thing of +the kind as a downright ungentlemanly act; bringing, as she says it +does, a lady's name before the public in the most indelicate and +unwarrantable manner." + +"But is she really serious in these sentiments?" asked Frank. Oh, Frank, +Frank, you're a sad fellow to pump and roast your friend in this way! + +"Serious," repeated Vernon, and looking very so himself, "serious--ah! +indeed she is--and expressed herself with more warmth upon the subject +than I could have supposed a being so mild and amiable was capable of." + +"But how came all this?" asked Frank--"what were you talking about that +could have caused her to make these remarks?" and this he said in a very +grave and quiet tone of voice, trying to entrap his poetic friend into +telling him much more than the latter was inclined to do, who, +therefore, declined entering more fully into the subject. + +"Then, if you won't tell me, I have still the privilege of guessing," +rejoined Frank; "and now I've found you out, Master Vernon; you've been +attempting acrostics after the Petrarch style[15]--a style in which she +didn't approve of being held forth to the admiring notice of the present +and future generations. Vernon blushed to the very tips of his fingers, +and averted his head that his friend might not perceive how very foolish +he was looking, whilst the latter continued--"Very pretty stanzas, I've +no doubt. How nice they would have come out in a neat little 12mo, price +2s. 6d., boards. Let me see--M--O--L, Mol--that's three; L--Y, ly--two +more, makes Molly; and three and two make five. P--O double T--S, +Potts--that's five more, and five and five make ten. But then that's a +couple of letters too many. Petrarch's Lauretta, you know, only made +eight. Yet, after all, if you liked it, you might leave out the Y and +the S at the end of each name, without at all exceeding the usual +poetical license. Let me see, M--O double L, Moll; P--O double T, +Pott--Moll Pott; or you might retain the Y and leave out the last +T--S--or you might"-- + +Vernon could bear no more; and having risen abruptly with the intention +of making a bolt of it, was in the act of hobbling out of the room as +fast as his lameness would allow him, when Frank entreated him to stay +but one minute; promising to spare his jokes, for that he really wished +to speak seriously with him; and, having succeeded in pacifying the +enraged poet, proceeded to ask him what he actually intended doing. + +"To leave this either to-day or to-morrow," replied Vernon in a +tremulous voice, and with a quivering lip. + +"But not without breaking your mind to your lady love?" + +"Why, alas! should I do so--why pain her by confessing to her my unhappy +attachment, which I know it is hopeless to expect her to return." + +"I'll be hanged," said Frank, "if I think you know any thing at all +about the matter." + +"Not know, indeed! How, alas! could any one suppose that an angelic +creature like her could love me?" + +"Not many, I grant; but then, as old Captain Growler used to say--never +be astonished at any thing a woman does in that way-- + + 'Pan may win where Phoebus woos in vain.' + +And so the lovely Miss Moll--I beg your pardon, Mary, I mean--may in +like manner, do so differently from what any one could have suspected, +as to be induced at last to listen to her Vernon's tale of love." + +The lover here alluded to hardly knew whether to treat the matter as a +joke or to get very angry; and so he did neither, whilst Frank went +on--"I'm sure you needn't despair either, as far as looks go. There's +pretty, smiling, little Bessie--in my opinion the prettiest girl of the +two"--Vernon shook his head with mournful impatience--"Well, you think +yours prettiest, and I'll think mine," continued Frank; "that's just as +it should be; and as I was about to say, if the lovely Bessie can smile +upon your humble servant when he talked of love, I don't see why her +sister might not be induced to smile upon his companion if he did the +like." + +"How! what? Why, you surely don't mean to say that you've told Miss +Bessie that you love her?" + +"Yes, I do," replied Frank. "I told her so yesterday afternoon as we +walked home from church, behind the rest of the party, across the +fields. Thought I wouldn't do it then either, as there were so many +people about--never said a word about the matter over two fields--helped +her over the stiles, too, and talked--no, I be hanged if I think we said +a word, either of us--till as I was helping her to jump down the third, +out it bounced, all of a sudden." + +"And what did you say?" asked Wycherley. + +"Catch a weasel asleep, Mr Vernon," was Frank's reply. + +"But the squire, how will you manage with him, do you suppose?" + +"Managed with him already," replied Frank; "settled every thing last +night over a glass of port, after you'd bundled your lazy carcass off to +bed. That is, one glass didn't quite complete the business, for it took +two or three to get my courage up to concert pitch. Then another or two +to discuss the matter--and then a bumper to drink success--and then +another glass"-- + +"Another!" interrupted Vernon; "why, you little drunken rascal, what +pretext could you have for that?" + +"I've a great mind not to tell you for your rude question," resumed +Frank laughing; "but never mind, old fellow, you've borne a great deal +from me before now, and there's probably more in store for you yet; so +without further preamble I'll at once answer your question, by informing +you that the pretext for my last glass was to wet a dry discourse about +the affairs of one Mr Vernon Wycherley. Now, hold your tongue, and don't +interrupt me, or swallow me either, which you appear to be meditating. +And so the squire asked me if I had known him long, and about his +principles, religious and moral; his worldly prospects, and so forth. To +all of which I replied by stating, that, with the exception of being +addicted to flirting a little with the Muses, which old women might +consider as only one step removed from absolute profligacy, he was a +well-disposed young man, and would doubtless grow wiser as he increased +in years; but that his fortune was very limited, and that all his +expectations in that way wouldn't fill a nutshell." + +"Ah, there's the rub!" interposed Vernon; "how can a poor fellow with my +small pittance pretend to aspire to the hand of one with such splendid +expectations? My poverty, as I've long foreseen, must mar my every hope, +even if every other obstacle could be removed." + +"I don't see that exactly," rejoined Frank; "for, when I told the squire +what your circumstances actually were, and that you had managed to live +creditably upon your small income without getting into debt, he said, if +your head wasn't crammed so confoundedly full of poetical nonsense, +which set you always hunting after shadows, instead of grasping +substances, he should be exceedingly rejoiced to have you for a +son-in-law. So, if you could make up your mind to relinquish your love +for writing poetry"-- + +"The poetry be hanged!" interrupted Vernon with considerable vehemence. +"I'll cast it to the dogs--the winds--send it to Halifax, Jericho, any +where. Oh! my dear Frank, what a happy fellow you've made me!" + +"Which just finished the bottle," continued Frank; "and I find that +somehow or other I've got a precious headach this morning. I wonder how +the squire feels to-day. Will you Vernon, that's a good fellow, give me +a glass of water?" + +"There's nothing on earth I wouldn't give you now, my dear Frank, except +my dear Mary; but do you think she will ever consent?" + +"Yes, to be sure she will," answered Frank. "I know she will, and that +she is by no means best pleased at your hanging fire so long. I know +this to be the fact, though I mustn't tell you how, why, or wherefore; +but if you don't propose soon she'll consider you are acting neither +fairly nor honourably to her." + +"I'll do the deed to-day," said Vernon resolutely. + +And so he did. + + * * * * * + +A very few months more had passed away, before our two heroes were on +the same day united to the fair objects of their choice; and the +generous old squire settled a handsome sum upon them both, sufficient to +supply them with all the essential comforts of life. + +"And now, friend Frank," said Vernon Wycherley, "I believe, after all, +you will make a convert of me; for I find that the attachment I had +indulged in, until despair of obtaining the loved object made me fancy +myself the most miserable wretch alive, and that I had incurred the +worst evil that could have befallen me, has made me the happiest of +mankind, and has indeed turned out to be ALL FOR THE BEST; nor can I +think of my blundering fall into the lead shaft in any other light; as, +but for that accident, I should probably never have formed the +acquaintance to which I owe all my good fortune." + +"Then, for the future," said the worthy squire, "let us put all our +trust in Heaven, and rest assured that whatever may be the will of +Providence, IT'S ALL FOR THE BEST." + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 12: _Cornice_--"him."] + +[Footnote 13: "Put"--_Cornice_--to take or carry.] + +[Footnote 14: Cleverly.] + +[Footnote 15: Commencing each line with a letter of the loved one's +name.] + + + + +THE ROMAN CAMPAGNA. + + +There is no district in Europe which is more remarkable, or has more +strongly impressed the minds of men in modern times, than the ROMAN +CAMPAGNA. Independent of the indelible associations with which it is +connected, and the glorious deeds of which it has been the theatre, its +appearance produces an extraordinary impression on the mind of the +beholder. All is silent; the earth seems struck with +sterility--desolation reigns in every direction. A space extending from +Otricoli to Terracina, above sixty miles in length, and on an average +twenty in breadth, between the Apennines and the sea, containing nearly +four thousand square miles, in the finest part of Italy, does not +maintain a single peasant.[16] A few tombs lining the great roads which +issued from the forum of Rome to penetrate to the remotest parts of +their immense empire; the gigantic remains of aqueducts striding across +the plain, which once brought, and some of which still bring, the +pellucid fountains of the Apennines to the Eternal City, alone attest +the former presence of man. Nothing bespeaks his present existence. Not +a field is ploughed, not a blade of corn grows, hardly a house is to be +seen, in this immense and dreary expanse. On entering it, you feel as if +you were suddenly transported from the garden of Europe to the wilds of +Tartary. Shepherds armed with long lances, as on the steppes of the Don, +and mounted on small and hardy horses, alone are occasionally seen +following, or searching in the wilds for the herds of savage buffaloes +and cattle which pasture the district. The few living beings to be met +with at the post-houses, have the squalid melancholy look which attests +permanent wretchedness, and the ravages of an unhealthy atmosphere. + +But though the curse of Providence seems to have fallen on the land, so +far as the human race is concerned, it is otherwise with the power of +physical nature. Vegetation yearly springs up with undiminished vigour. +It is undecayed since the days of Cincinnatus and the Sabine farm. Every +spring the expanse is covered with a carpet of flowers, which enamel the +turf and conceal the earth with a profusion of varied beauty. So rich is +the herbage which springs up with the alternate heats and rains of +summer, that it becomes in most places rank, and the enormous herds +which wander over the expanse are unable to keep it down. In autumn this +rich grass becomes russet-brown, and a melancholy hue clothes the slopes +which environ the Eternal City. The Alban Mount, when seen from a +distance, clothed as it is with forests, vineyards, and villas, +resembles a green island rising out of a sombre waste of waters. In the +Pontine marshes, where the air is so poisonous in the warm months that +it is dangerous, and felt as oppressive even by the passing traveller, +the prolific powers of nature are still more remarkable. Vegetation +there springs up with the rapidity, and flourishes with the luxuriance, +of tropical climates. Tall reeds, in which the buffaloes are hid, in +which a rhinoceros might lie concealed, spring up in the numerous pools +or deep ditches with which the dreary flat surface is sprinkled. Wild +grapes of extraordinary fecundity grow in the woods, and ascend in +luxuriant clusters to the tops of the tallest trees. Nearer the sea, a +band of noble chestnuts and evergreen oaks attests the riches of the +soil, which is capable of producing such magnificent specimens of +vegetable life; and over the whole plain the extraordinary richness of +the herbage, and luxuriance of the aquatic plants, bespeaks a region +which, if subjected to a proper culture and improvement, would, like the +Delta of Egypt, reward eighty and an hundred fold the labours of the +husbandman. + +It was not thus in former times. The Campagna now so desolate, the +Pontine marshes now so lonely, were then covered with inhabitants. Veiae, +long the rival of Rome, and which was only taken after a siege as +protracted as that of Troy by Camillus at the head of fifty thousand +men, stood only ten miles from the Capitol. The Pontine marshes were +inhabited by thirty nations. The freehold of Cincinnatus, the Sabine +farm, stood in the now desolate plain at the foot of the Alban Mount. So +rich were the harvests, so great the agricultural booty to be gathered +in the plains around Rome, that for two hundred years after the +foundation of the city, it was the great object of their foreign wars to +gain possession of it, and on that account they were generally begun in +autumn. Montesquieu has observed, that it was the long and desperate +wars which the Romans carried on for three centuries with the Sabines, +Latines, Veientes, and other people in their neighbourhood, which by +slow degrees gave them the hardihood and discipline which enabled them +afterwards to subdue the world. The East was an easy conquest, the Gauls +themselves could be repelled, Hannibal in the end overcome, after the +tribes of Latium had been vanquished. But the district in which the +hardy races dwelt, who so long repelled, and maintained a doubtful +conflict with the future masters of the world, is now a desert. It could +not in its whole extent furnish men to fill a Roman cohort. Rome has +emerged from its long decay after the fall of the Western Empire; the +terrors of the Vatican, the shrine of St Peter, have again attracted the +world to the Eternal City; and the most august edifice ever raised by +the hands of man to the purposes of religion, has been reared within its +walls. But the desolate Campagna is still unchanged. + +Novelists and romance-writers have for centuries exhausted their +imaginative and descriptive powers in developing the feelings which this +extraordinary phenomenon, in the midst of the classic land of Italy, +awakens. They have spoken of desolation as the fitting shroud of +departed greatness; of the mournful feelings which arise on approaching +the seat of lost empire; of the shades of the dead alone tenanting the +scene of so much glory. Such reflections arise unbidden in the mind; the +most unlettered traveller is struck with the melancholy impression. An +eloquent Italian has described this striking spectacle:--"A vast +solitude, stretching for miles, as far as the eye can reach. No shelter, +no resting-place, no defence for the wearied traveller; a dead silence, +interrupted only by the sound of the wind which sweeps over the plain, +or the trickling of a natural fountain by the wayside; not a cottage nor +the curling of smoke to be seen; only here and there a cross on a +projecting eminence to mark the spot of a murder; and all this in gentle +slopes, dry and fertile plains, and up to the gates of great city."[17] +The sight of the long lines of ruined aqueducts traversing the deserted +Campagna, of the tombs scattered along the lines of the ancient +_chaussees_ across its dreary expanse, of the dome of St Peter's alone +rising in solitary majesty over its lonely hills, forcibly impress the +mind, and produce an impression which no subsequent events or lapse of +time are able to efface. At this moment the features of the scene, the +impression it produces, are as present to the mind of the writer as when +they were first seen thirty years ago. + +But striking as these impressions are, the Roman Campagna is fraught +with instruction of a more valuable kind. It stands there, not only a +monument of the past, but a beacon for the future. It is fraught with +instruction, not only to the ancient but the modern world. The most +valuable lessons of political wisdom which antiquity has bequeathed to +modern times, are to be gathered amidst its solitary ruins. + +In investigating the causes of this extraordinary desolation of a +district, in ancient times the theatre of such busy industry, and which, +for centuries, maintained so great and flourishing a rural population, +there are several observations to be made on the principle, as logicians +call it, of _exclusion_, in order to clear the ground before the real +cause is arrived at. + +The first of these is, that the causes, whatever they are, which +produced the desolation of the Campagna, had begun to operate, and their +blasting effect was felt, in _ancient_ times, and long before a single +squadron of the barbarians had crossed the Alps. In fact, the Campagna +was a scene of active agricultural industry only so long as Rome was +contending with its redoubtable Italian neighbours--the Latins, the +Etruscans, the Samnites, and the Cisalpine Gauls. From the time that, by +the conquest of Carthage, they obtained the mastery of the shore of the +Mediterranean, _agriculture_ in the neighbourhood of Rome began to +decline. Pasturage was found to be a more profitable employment of +estates; and the vast supplies of grain, required for the support of the +citizens of Rome, were obtained by importation from Lybia and Egypt, +where they could be raised at a less expense. "At, Hercule," says +Tacitus, "olim ex Italia legionibus longinquas in provincias commeatus +portabantur; _nec nunc infecunditate laboratur: sed Africam potius et +Egyptum exercemus, navibusque et casibus vita populi Romani permissa +est_."[18] The expense of cultivating grain in a district where +provisions and wages were high because money was plentiful, speedily led +to the abandonment of tillage in the central parts of Italy, when the +unrestrained importation of grain from Egypt and Lybia, where it could +be raised at less expense in consequence of the extension of the Roman +dominions over those regions, took place. "More lately," says Sismondi, +"the gratuitous distributions of grain made to the Roman people, +rendered the cultivation of grain in Italy still more unprofitable: it +then became absolutely impossible for the little proprietors to maintain +themselves in the neighbourhood of Rome; they became insolvent, and +their patrimonies were sold to the rich. Gradually the abandonment of +agriculture extended from one district to another. The true country of +the Romans--central Italy--_had scarcely achieved the conquest of the +globe, when it found itself without an agricultural population_. In the +provinces peasants were no longer to be found to recruit the legions; as +few corn-fields to nourish them. Vast tracts of pasturage, where a few +slave shepherds conducted herds of thousands of horned cattle, had +supplanted the nations who had brought their greatest triumphs to the +Roman people."[19] These great herds of cattle were then, as now, in the +hands of a few great proprietors. This was loudly complained of, and +signalized as the cancer which would ruin the Roman empire, even so +early as the time of Pliny. "Verumque confitentibus," says he, +"_latifunda perdidere Italiam; imo ac provincias_."[20] + +All the historians of the decline and fall of the Roman empire, have +concurred in ascribing to these two causes--viz. the decay of +agriculture and ruin of the agricultural population in Italy, and +consequent engrossing of estates in the hands of the rich--the ruin of +its mighty dominion. But it is not generally known how wide-spread had +been the desolation thus produced; how deep and incurable the wounds +inflicted on the vitals of the state--by the simple consequences of its +extension, which enabled the grain growers of the distant provinces of +the empire to supplant the cultivators of its heart by the unrestricted +admission of foreign corn, before the invasion of the northern nations +commenced. In fact, however, the evil was done before they appeared on +the passes of the Alps; it was the weakness thus brought on the central +provinces which rendered them unable to contend with enemies whom they +had often, in former times, repelled and subdued. A few quotations from +historians of authority, will at once establish this important +proposition. + +"_Since the age of Tiberius_," says Gibbon, "the decay of agriculture +had been felt in Italy; and it was a just subject of complaint, that the +laws of the Roman people depended on the accidents of the winds and the +waves. In the division and decline of the empire, _the tributary +harvests of Egypt and Africa_ were withdrawn; the numbers of the +inhabitants continually diminished with the means of subsistence; and +the country was exhausted by the irretrievable losses of war, pestilence +and famine. Pope Gelasius was a subject of Odoacer, and he affirms, with +strong exaggeration, that in Emilia, Tuscany, and the adjacent +provinces, the human species was almost extirpated."[21] Again the same +accurate author observes in another place--"Under the emperors the +agriculture of the Roman provinces was _insensibly ruined_; and the +government was obliged to make a merit of remitting tributes which +_their subjects were utterly unable to pay_. Within sixty years of the +death of Constantine, and on the evidence of an actual survey, an +exemption was granted in favour of three hundred and thirty thousand +English acres of desert and uncultivated land _in the fertile and happy +Campania_, which amounted to an eighth of the whole province. As the +footsteps of the barbarians had not yet been seen in Italy, the cause of +_this amazing desolation, which is recorded in the laws_,[22] can be +ascribed only to the administration of the Roman emperors."[23] + +The two things which, beyond all question, occasioned this extraordinary +decline of domestic agriculture in Italy before the invasion of the +barbarians commenced, were the weight of _direct taxation_, and the +_decreasing value of agricultural produce_, owing to the constant +importation of grain from Egypt and Lybia, where, owing to the cheapness +of labour and the fertility of the soil in those remote provinces, so +burdensome did the first become, that Gibbon tells us that, in the time +of Constantine, in Gaul it amounted to _nine pounds sterling of gold_ on +every freeman.[24] The periodical distribution of grain to the populace +of Rome, all of which, from its greater cheapness, was brought by the +government from Egypt and Africa, utterly extinguished the market for +corn to the Italian farmers, though Rome, at its capture by Alaric, +still contained 1,200,000 inhabitants. "All the efforts of the Christian +emperors," says Michelet, "to arrest the depopulation of the country, +were as nugatory as those of their heathen predecessors had been. +Sometimes alarmed at the depopulation, they tried to mitigate the lot of +the farmer, to shield him against the landlord; upon this the proprietor +exclaimed, _he could no longer pay the taxes_. At other times they +strove to chain the cultivators to the soil; but they became bankrupts +or fled, and the land became deserted. Pertinax granted an immunity of +taxes to such _cultivators from distant provinces_ as would occupy the +deserted lands of Italy. Aurelian did the same. Probus, Maximian, and +Constantine, were obliged to transport men and oxen from Germany to +cultivate Gaul. But all was in vain. _The desert extended daily._ The +people in the fields surrendered themselves in despair, as a beast of +burden lies down beneath his load and refuses to rise."[25] + +Gibbon has told us what it was which occasioned this constant +depopulation of the country, and ruin of agriculture in the Italian +provinces. "The Campagna of Rome," says he, "about the close of the +sixth century, was reduced to a state of _dreary wilderness_, in which +the air was infectious, the land barren, and the waters impure. Yet the +number of citizens still exceeded the measure of subsistence; _their +precarious food was supplied from the harvests of Lybia and Egypt_; and +the frequent recurrence of famine, betrayed the inattention of the +emperor at Constantinople to the wants of a distant province."[26] Nor +was Italy the only province in the heart of the empire which was ruined +by those foreign importations. Greece suffered not less severely under +it. "In the latter stages of the empire," says Michelet, "_Greece was +supported almost entirely by corn raised in the plains of Poland_."[27] + +These passages, to which, did our limits permit, innumerable others to +the same purpose might be added, explain the causes of the decay and +ultimate ruin of agriculture in the central provinces of the Roman +empire, as clearly as if one had arisen from the dead to unfold it. It +was the weight of _direct taxation_, and the want of remunerating prices +to the _grain cultivators_, which occasioned the evil. The first arose +from the experienced impossibility of raising additional taxes on +industry by indirect taxation: the unavoidable consequence of the +contraction of the currency, owing to the habits of hoarding which the +frequent incursions of the barbarians produced; and of the free +importation of African grain, which the extension of the empire over its +northern provinces, and the clamours of the Roman populace for cheap +bread, occasioned. The second arose directly from that importation +itself. The Italian cultivator, oppressed with direct taxes, and tilling +a comparatively churlish soil, found himself utterly unable to compete +with the African cultivators, with whom the process of production was so +much cheaper owing to the superior fertility of the soil under the sun +of Lybia, or the fertilizing floods of the Nile. Thence the increasing +weight of direct taxation, the augmented importation of foreign grain, +the disappearance of free cultivators in the central provinces, the +impossibility of recruiting the legions with freemen, and the ruin of +the empire. + +And that it was something pressing upon the cultivation of _grain_, not +of agriculture generally, which occasioned these disastrous results, is +decisively proved by the fact, that, down to the fall of the empire, the +cultivation of land _in pasturage_ continued to be a _highly profitable_ +employment in Italy. It is recorded by Ammianus Marcellinus, that when +Rome was taken by Alaric, it was inhabited by 1,200,000 persons, who +were maintained almost entirely by the expenditure of 1780 patrician +families holding estates in Italy and Africa, many of whom had above +L160,000 yearly of rent from land. Their estates were almost entirely +managed in pasturage, and conducted by slaves.[28] Here, then, is +decisive evidence, that down to the very close of the empire, the +managing of estates _in pasturage_ was not only profitable, but +eminently so in Italy--though all attempts at raising grain were +hopeless. It is not an unprofitable cultivation which can yield L160,000 +a-year, equivalent to above L300,000 annually of our money, to a single +proprietor, and maintain 1700 of them in such affluence that they +maintained, in ease and luxury, a city not then the capital of the +empire, containing 1,200,000 inhabitants, or considerably more than +Paris at this time. It was not slavery, therefore, which ruined Italian +cultivation; for the whole pasture cultivation which yielded such +immense profits was conducted by slaves. It was the Lybian and Egyptian +harvests, freely imported into the Tiber, which occasioned the ruin of +agriculture in the Latian plains; and, with the consequent destruction +of the race of rural freemen, brought on the ruin of the empire. But +this importation could not injure pasturage; for cattle Africa had none, +and therefore estates in grass still continued to yield great returns. + +The second circumstance worthy of notice in this inquiry is, that the +cause of the present desolation of the Campagna, whatever it is, is +something which is _peculiar to that district_, and has continued to act +with as great force in _modern_ as in ancient times. It is historically +known, indeed, that the sanguinary contests of the rival houses of +Orsini and Colonna, in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, produced +the most dreadful ravages in the Campagna, and extinguished, for the +time at least, any attempts to reclaim or restore to cultivation this +desolate region. But many centuries have elapsed since this desolating +warfare has entirely ceased; and under the shelter of peace and +tranquillity, agricultural industry in other parts of Italy has +flourished to such a degree as to render it the garden of the world: +witness the rich plain of Lombardy, the incomparable terrace cultivation +of the Tuscan hills, the triple harvests of the Terra di Lavoro, near +Naples. The desolation of the Campagna, therefore, must have been owing +to some causes peculiar to the Roman States, or rather to that part of +those states which adjoins the city of Rome; for in other parts of the +ecclesiastical territories, particularly in the vicinity of Ancona, and +the slope of the Apennines towards Bologna, agriculture is in the most +flourishing state. The hills and declivities are there cut out into +terraces, and cultivated with garden husbandry in as perfect style as in +the mountains of Tuscany. The marches of Ancona contain 426,222 +inhabitants, spread over 2111 square miles, which is about 200 to the +square mile; but, considering how large a part of the territory is +barren rock, the proportion on the fertile parts is about 300 to the +square mile, while the average of England is only 260. The soil is +cultivated to the depth of two and three feet.[29] It is in vain, +therefore, to say, that it is the oppression of the Papal government, +the indolence of the cardinals, and the evils of an elective monarchy, +which have been the causes of the ruin of agricultural industry in the +vicinity of Rome. These causes operate just as strongly in the other +parts of the Papal States, where cultivation, instead of being in a +languishing, is in the most flourishing condition. In truth, so far from +having neglected agriculture in this blasted district, the Papal +government, for the last two centuries, has made greater efforts to +encourage it than all the other powers of Italy put together. Every +successive Pope has laboured at the Pontine marshes, but in vain. +Nothing can be more clear, than that the causes which have destroyed +agriculture in the Campagna, are some which were known in the days of +the Roman Republic; gradually came into operation with the extension of +the empire; and have continued in modern times to press upon this +particular district of the Papal States, in a much greater degree than +among other provinces of a similar extent in Italy. + +The last circumstance which forces itself upon the mind, in the outset +of this inquiry, is, that the desolation of the Campagna is owing to +moral or political, not physical causes. Naturalists and physicians have +exhausted all their energies for centuries in investigating the causes +of the _malaria_, which is now felt with such severity in Rome in the +autumnal months, and renders health so precarious there at that period; +and the soil has been analyzed by the most skillful chemists, to see +whether there is any peculiarity in the earth, from its volcanic +character, which either induces sterility in the crops, or proves fatal +to the cultivators. But nothing has been discovered that in the +slightest degree explains the phenomena. There is no doubt that the +Campagna is extremely unhealthy in the autumnal months, and the Pontine +marshes still more so; but that is no more than is the case with every +low plain on the shores of the Mediterranean: it obtains in Lombardy, +Greece, Sicily, Asia Minor, and Spain, as well as in the Agro Romano. If +any one doubt it, let him lie down to sleep in his cloak in any of these +places in a night of September, and see what state he is in in the +morning. Clarke relates, that intermittent fevers are universal in the +Grecian plains in the autumnal months: in Estremadura, in September +1811, on the banks of the Guadiana, nine thousand men fell sick in +Wellington's army in three days. The savannas of America, where "death +bestrides the evening gale," when first ploughed up, produce +intermittent fevers far more deadly than the malaria of the Roman +Campagna. But the energy of man overcomes the difficulty, and, ere a few +years have passed away, health and salubrity prevail in the regions of +former pestilence. It was the same with the Roman Campagna in the early +days of the Republic; it is the same now with the Campagna of Naples, +and the marshy plains around Parma and Lodi, to the full as unhealthy in +a desert state as the environs of Rome. It would be the same with the +Agro Romano, if moral causes did not step in to prevent the efforts and +industry of man, from here, as elsewhere, correcting the insalubrity of +uncultivated nature. + +And for decisive evidence that this desolation of the Campagna is owing +to moral or political, not physical causes, and that, under a different +system of administration, it might be rendered as salubrious and +populous as it was in the early days of the Roman Republic, reference +may be made to the fact, that in many parts of Italy, equally unhealthy +and in this desert state, cultivation has taken place, a dense +population has arisen, and the dangerous qualities of the atmosphere +have disappeared. Within the last twenty years, the district called +Grossete has been reclaimed, in the most pestilential part of the +Maremma of Tuscany, by an industrious population, which has succeeded in +introducing agriculture and banishing the malaria; and the ruins of the +Roman villas on the banks of the Tiber, near the sea, prove that the +Romans went to seek salubrity and the healthful breezes of the sea, +where now they could meet with nothing but pestilence and death. The +rocky and dry slopes of the Campagna are admirably adapted for raising +olives and vines; while the difference of the soil and exposure in +different places, promises a similar variety in their wines. The Pontine +marshes themselves, and the vast plain which extends from them to the +foot of the cluster of hills called the Alban Mount, are not more +oppressed by water, or lower in point of level, than the plains of Pisa; +and yet there the earth yields magnificent crops of grain and succulent +herbs, while the poplars, by which the fields are intersected, support +to their very summits the most luxuriant vines. The Campagna of Naples +is more volcanic and level than that of Rome; the hills and valleys of +Baiae are nothing but the cones and craters of extinguished volcanoes; +and if we would see what such a district becomes when left in a desert +state, we have only to go to the Maremma of Pestum, now as desolate and +unhealthy as the Pontine marshes themselves. But in the Campagna of +Naples an industrious population has overcome all these obstacles, and +rendered the land, tenanted only by wild boars and buffaloes in the +fourth century, the garden of Europe, known over all the world, from its +riches, by the name of the Campagna Felice. + +Nay, the Agro Romano itself affords equally decisive proof, that where +circumstances will permit the work of cultivation to be commenced so as +to be carried on at a profit, the malaria and desolation speedily +disappear before the persevering efforts of human industry. In many +parts of the district, the custom of granting perpetual leases at a +fixed rate prevails, the _Emphyteutis_ of the Roman law, the sources of +the prosperity of the cultivators in Upper and Lower Austria, and well +known in Scotland under the name of feus. Sismondi has given the +following account of the effect of the establishment of a permanent +interest in the soil in arresting the effects of the malaria, and +spreading cultivation over the land:--"The Emphyteutic cultivator has a +permanent interest in the soil: he labours, therefore, unceasingly for +the good of his family. He cuts out his slope into terraces, covers it +with trees, fruits, and garden-stuffs: he takes advantage of every +leisure moment, either in himself, his wife, or children, to advance the +common cultivation. Industry and abundance reign around. Whenever you +ascend the volcanic hills of Latium, or visit those ravishing slopes +which so many painters have illustrated, around the lakes of Castel +Gandolfo or Nemi, at L'Aricia, Rocca di Papa, Marino, and Frescati; +whenever you meet with a smiling cultivation, healthy air, and the +marks of general abundance, you may rest assured the cultivator is +proprietor of the fruits of the soil. The bare right of property, or +superiority, as the lawyers term it, belongs to some neighbouring lord; +but the real property, "il miglioramento," belongs to the cultivator. In +this way, in these happy districts, the great estates, the _latifundia_ +of Pliny, have been practically distributed among the peasantry; and, +whenever this is the case, you hear no more of the malaria. Agriculture +has caused to arise in those localities a numerous population, which +multiplies with singular rapidity, and for ages has furnished +cultivators not only for the mountains where it has arisen, but bands of +adventurers, who in every age have filled the ranks of the Italian +armies."[30] + +But while those examples, to which, did our limits permit, many others +might be added, decisively demonstrate that human industry can +effectually overcome the physical difficulties or dangers of the Roman +Campagna; yet it is clear that some great and overwhelming cause is at +work, which prevents agriculture flourishing, by means of tenants or +_metayers_, in the plains of the Campagna. The plains, it is true, are +in the hands of a few great proprietors, but their tenants are extremely +rich, often more so, Sismondi tells us, than their landlords. What is +it, then, which for so long a period has chained the Campagna to +pasturage, and rendered all attempts to restore it to the plough +abortive? The answer is plain: It is the same cause now which binds it +to pasturage, which did so under the Romans from the time of +Tiberius--_it is more profitable to devote the land to grass than to +raise grain._ And it is so, not because the land will not bear grain +crops, for it would do now even better than it did in the days of the +Etruscans and the Sabines; since so many centuries of intervening +pasturage have added so much to its fertility. It is so, because the +weakness of the Papal government, yielding, like the Imperial in ancient +days, to the cry for cheap bread among the Roman populace, has fed the +people, from time immemorial, with foreign grain, instead of that of its +own territory. The evidence on this subject is as clear and more +detailed in modern, than it was in ancient times; and both throw a broad +and steady light on the final results of that system of policy, which +purchases the present support of the inhabitants of cities, by +sacrificing the only lasting and perennial sources of strength derived +from the industry and population of the country. + +During the confusion and disasters consequent on the fall of the Empire, +after the capture of Rome by the Goths, the Campagna remained entirely a +desert; but it continued in the hands of the successors of the great +senatorial families who held it in the last days of the Empire. "The +Agro Romano," says Sismondi, "almost a desert, had been long exposed to +the ravages of the barbarians, who in 846 pillaged the Vatican, which +led Pope Leo IV., in the following year, to enclose that building within +the walls of Rome. For an hundred years almost all the hills which +border the horizon from Rome were crowned with forts; the ancient walls +of the Etruscans were restored, or rebuilt from their ruins; the old +hill strengths, where the Sabines, the Hernici, the Volscians, the +Coriolani, had formerly defended their independence, again offered +asylums to the inhabitants of the plains. But the great estates, the +bequest of ancient Rome, remained undivided. With the first dawn of +history in the middle ages, we see the great house of the Colonna master +of the towns of Palestrina, Genazzano, Zagorole; that of Orsini, of the +territories of the republics of Veiae and Ceres, and holding the +fortresses of Bracciano, Anguetta, and Ceri. The Monte-Savili, near +Albano, still indicates the possessions of the Savili, which +comprehended the whole ancient kingdom of Turnus; the Frangipani were +masters of Antium, Astura, and the sea-coast; the Gaetani, the +Annibaldeschi of the Castles which overlook the Pontine marshes; while +Latium was in the hands of a smaller number of feudal families than it +had formerly numbered republics within its bounds."[31] + +But while divided among these great proprietors, the Roman Campagna was +still visited, as in the days of the emperor, with the curse of cheap +grain, imported from the other states bordering on the Mediterranean, +and was in consequence exclusively devoted to the purposes of pasturage. +An authentic document proves that this was the case so far down as the +fifteenth century. In the year 1471, Pope Sextus IV. issued a bull, +which was again enforced by Clement VII. in 1523, and which bore these +remarkable words:--"Considering the frequent famines to which Rome has +been exposed in late years, _arising chiefly from the small amount of +lands which have been sown or laid down in tillage_, and that their +owners _prefer allowing them to remain uncultivated, and pastured only +by cattle_, than to cultivate for the use of men, on the ground _that +the latter mode of management is more profitable than the former_."[32] +The decree ordered the cultivation of a large portion of the Campagna in +grain under heavy penalties. + +And that this superior profit of pasturage to tillage has continued to +the present time, and is the real cause of the long-continued and +otherwise inexplicable desolation of this noble region, has been clearly +demonstrated by a series of important and highly interesting official +decrees and investigations, which, within this half century, have taken +place by order of the Papal government. Struck with the continued +desolation of so large and important a portion of their territory, the +popes have both issued innumerable edicts to enforce tillage, and set on +foot the most minute inquiries to ascertain the causes of their failure. +It is only necessary to mention one. Pius VI., in 1783, took a new and +most accurate survey or _cadastre_ of the Agro Romano, and ordained the +proprietors to sow annually 17,000 _rubbi_ (85,000 acres) with +grain.[33] This decree, however, like those which had preceded it, was +not carried into execution. "The proprietors and farmers," says Nicolai, +"equally opposed themselves to its execution; the former declaring that +they must have a higher rent for the land if laid down in tillage, than +the latter professed themselves able to pay."[34] + +To ascertain the cause of this universal and insurmountable resistance +of all concerned to the cultivation of the Campagna, the Papal +government in 1790 issued a commission to inquire into the matter, and +the proprietors prescribe to two memoirs on the subject, which at once +explained the whole difficulty. The one set forth the cost and returns +of 100 rubbi (500 acres) in grain tillage in the Roman Campagna; the +other, the cost and returns of a flock of 2500 sheep in the same +circumstances. The result of the whole was, that while the grain +cultivation would with difficulty, on an expenditure of 8000 crowns +(L2000,) bring in a clear profit _of thirty crowns_ (L7, 10s.) to the +farmer, and nothing at all to the landlord, the other would yield +between them a profit _of 1972 crowns_, (L496.)[35] Well may Sismondi +exclaim:--"These two reports are of the very highest importance. They +explain the constant invincible resistance which the proprietors and +farmers of the Roman Campagna have opposed to the extension of grain +cultivation; they put in a clear light the opposite interest of great +capitalists and the interest of the state; they give in authentic +details, which I have personally verified, and found to be still +entirely applicable and correct, on the causes which have reduced the +noble district of the Roman Campagna to its desolate state, and still +retain it in that condition. Incredible as the statements may appear, +they are amply borne out by everyday experience. In effect, all the +farmers whom I have consulted, affirm, that they invariably lose by +grain cultivation, and that they never resort to it, but to prevent the +land from being overgrown by brushwood or forests, and rendered unfit +for profitable pasturage."[36] + +Extraordinary as these facts are, as to the difference between the +profits of pasturage and tillage in the Agro Romano, it is only by the +most rigid economy, and reducing the shepherds to the lowest amount of +subsistence consistent with the support of life, that the former yields +any profits at all. The wages of the shepherds are only fifty-three +francs (L2) for the winter season, and as much for the summer; the +proprietors, in addition, furnishing them with twenty ounces of bread +a-day, a half-pound of salt meat, a little oil and salt a-week. As to +wine, vinegar, or fermented liquors, they never taste any of them from +one year's end to another. Such as it is, their food is all brought to +them from Rome; for in the whole Campagna there is not an oven, a +kitchen, or a kitchen-garden, to furnish an ounce of vegetables or +fruits. The clothing of these shepherds is as wretched as their fare. It +consists of sheep-skin, with the wool outside; a few rags on their legs +and thighs, complete their vesture. Lodging or houses they have none; +they sleep in the open air, or nestle into some sheltered nook among the +ruined tombs or aqueducts which are to be met with in the wilderness, in +some of the caverns, which are so common in that volcanic region, or +beneath the arches of the ancient catacombs. A few spoons and coarse +jars form their whole furniture; the cost of that belonging to +twenty-nine shepherds, required for the 2500 sheep, is only 159 francs +(L7.) The sum total of the expense of the whole twenty-nine persons, +including wages, food, and every thing, is only 1038 crowns, or L250 +a-year; being about L8, 10s. a-head annually. The produce of the flock +is estimated at 7122 crowns (L1780) annually, and the annual profit 1972 +crowns, or L493.[37] + +The other table given by Nicolai, exhibits, on a similar expenditure of +capital, the profit of tillage; and it is so inconsiderable, as rarely, +and that only in the most favourable situations, to cover the expense of +cultivation. The labourers, who almost all come from the neighbouring +hills, above the level of the malaria, are obliged to be brought from a +distance at high wages for the time of their employment; sometimes in +harvest wages are as high as five francs, or four shillings a-day. The +wages paid to the labourers on a grain farm on which L2000 has been +expended on 500 acres, amount to no less than 4320 crowns, or L1080 +sterling, annually; being above four times the cost of the shepherds for +a similar expenditure of capital, though they wander over ten times the +surface of ground. The labourers never remain in the fields; they set +off to the hills when their grain is sown, and only return in autumn to +cut it down. They do not work above twenty or thirty days in the year; +and therefore, though their wages for that period are so high, they are +in misery all the rest of the season. But though so little is done for +the land, the price received for the produce is so low, that cultivation +in grain brings no profit, and is usually carried on at a loss. The +peasants who conduct it never go to Rome--have often never seen it; they +make no purchases there; and _the most profitable of all trades in a +nation, that between the town and the country, is unknown in the Roman +States_.[38] + +Here, then, the real cause of the desolation of the Campagna stands +revealed in the clearest light, and on the most irrefragable evidence. +It is not cultivated for grain crops, because remunerating prices for +that species of produce cannot be obtained. It is exclusively kept in +pasturage, because it is in that way only that a profit can be obtained +from the land. And that it is this cause, and not any deficiency of +capital or skill on the part of the tenantry, which occasions the +phenomenon, is further rendered apparent by the wealth, enterprize, and +information on agricultural subjects, of the great farmers in whose +lands the land is vested. "The conductors," says Sismondi, "of rural +labour in the Roman States, called _Mercanti di Tenute_ or _di +Campagne_, are men possessed of great capital, and who have received the +very best education. Such, indeed, is their opulence, that it is +probable they will, erelong, acquire the property of the land of which +at present they are tenants. Their number, however, does not exceed +eighty. They are acquainted with the most approved methods of +agriculture in Italy and other countries; they have at their disposal +all the resources of science, art, and immense capital; have availed +themselves of all the boasted advantages of centralization, of a +thorough division of labour, of a most accurate system of accounts, and +checking of inferior functionaries. The system of great farms has been +carried to perfection in their hands. But, with all these advantages, +they cannot in the Agro Romano, _once so populous, still so fertile, +raise grain to a profit_. The labourers cost more than they are worth, +more than their produce is worth; while on a soil not richer, and under +the same climate and government, in the marches of Ancona, agriculture +maintains two hundred souls the square mile, in comfort and +opulence."[39] + +What, then, is the explanation which is to be given of this +extraordinary impossibility of raising grain with a profit in the Roman +Campagna; while in a similar climate, and under greater physical +disadvantages, it is in the neighbouring plains of Pisa, and the +Campagna Felice of Naples, the most profitable of all species of +cultivation, and therefore universally resorted to? The answer is +obvious--It is the cry for cheap bread in Rome, the fatal bequest of the +strength of the Imperial, to the weakness of the Papal government, which +is the cause. It is the necessity under which the ecclesiastical +government felt itself, of yielding every thing to _the clamour for a +constant supply of cheap bread for the people of the town_ which has +done the whole. It is the ceaseless importation of foreign grain into +the Tiber by government, to provide cheap food for the people, which has +reduced the Campagna to a wilderness, and rendered Rome in modern, not +less than Tadmor in ancient times, a city in the desert. + +It has been already noticed, that in the middle of the fifteenth century +Sextus IV. issued a decree, ordaining the proprietors of lands in the +Campana to lay down a third of their estates yearly in tillage. But the +Papal government, not resting on the proprietors of the soil, but +mainly, in so far as temporal power went, on the populace of Rome, was +under the necessity of making at the same time extraordinary efforts to +obtain supplies of foreign grain. A free trade in grain was permitted to +the Tiber, or rather the government purchased foreign grain wherever +they could find it cheapest, as the emperors had from a similar +apprehension done in ancient times, and retailed it at a moderate price +to the people. They became themselves the great corn-merchant. This +system, of course, prevented the cultivation of the Campagna, and +rendered the decree of Sextus IV. nugatory; for no human laws can make +men continue a course of labour at a loss to themselves. Thence the +citizens of Rome came to depend entirely on foreign supplies of grain +for their daily food; and the consumption of the capital had no more +influence on the agriculture of the adjoining provinces, than it had on +that of Hindostan or China. Again, as in the days of Tacitus, the lives +of the Roman people were exposed to the chances of the winds and the +waves. As this proved a fluctuating and precarious source of supply, a +special board, styled the _Casa Annonaria_, was constituted by +government for the regular importation of foreign grain, and retailing +of it at a fixed and low price to the people. This board has been in +operation for nearly two hundred and fifty years; and it is the system +it has pursued which has prevented all attempts to cultivate the +Campagna, by rendering it impossible to do so at a profit. The details +of the proceedings of this board--this "_chamber of commerce_" of Rome, +are so extremely curious and instructive, that we must give them in the +authentic words of Sismondi. + +"Having failed in all their attempts to bring about the cultivation of +the Campagna, the popes of the 17th and 18th centuries endeavoured to +secure abundance in the markets by other means. The motive was +legitimate and praiseworthy; but the means taken failed in producing the +desired effect, because they sacrificed the future to the present, and, +_in the anxiety to secure the subsistence of the people, compromised +those who raised food for them_. Pope Pius VI., who reigned from 1600 to +1621, instituted the _Casa Annonaria_ of the apostolic chamber, which +was charged with the duty of providing subsistence for the inhabitants +of Rome. This board being desirous, above all things, of avoiding +seditions and discontent, established it as a principle, that whatever +the cost of production was, or the price in a particular year, bread +should be sold at certain public bake-houses at a certain price. This +price was fixed at a Roman baiocco, a tenth more than the sous of +France, (1/2 d. English,) for eight ounces of bread. _This price has now +been maintained constantly the same for two hundred years_; and it is +still kept at the same level, with the difference only of a slight +diminution in the weight of the bread sold for the _baiocco_ in years of +scarcity. + +"As a necessary consequence of this regulation, the apostolic chamber +soon found itself under the necessity of taking entire possession of the +commerce of grain. It not only bought up the whole which was to be +obtained in the country, but provided for the public wants _by large +importation_. Regulations for the import and export of grain were made +by it; sometimes, it was said, through the influence of those who +solicited exemptions. Whether this was the case or not is uncertain, and +not very material. What is certain is, that the rule by which the +chamber was invariably regulated, viz. _that of consulting no other +interest but that of the poor consumer_, is as vicious and ruinous as +the one so much approved of now-a-days, of attending only to the +interest of the proprietors and producers. Government, doubtless, should +attend to the vital matter of the subsistence of the people; but it +should do so with a view to the interest of all, not a single section of +society. + +"At what price soever bread was bought by them, the _Casa Annonaria_ +sold it to the bakers at seven Roman crowns (30 f.) the _rubbio_, which +weighs 640 kilograms, (1540 lbs.) That price was not much different from +the average one; and the apostolic chamber sustained no great loss till +1763, by its extensive operations in the purchase and sale of grain. But +at that period the price of wheat began to rise, and it went on +continually advancing to the end of the century. Notwithstanding its +annual losses, however, the apostolic chamber was too much afraid of +public clamour to raise the price of bread. It went on constantly +retailing it at the same price to the people; and the consequence was, +that its losses in 1797, when the pontifical government was overturned, +had accumulated to no less than 17,457,485 francs, or L685,000."[40] + +It might naturally have been imagined, that after so long an experience +of the effects of a forcible reduction of the price of grain below the +level at which it could be raised at a profit by home cultivators, the +ecclesiastical government would have seen what was the root of the evil, +and applied themselves to remedy it, by giving some protection to native +industry. But though the evil of the desolation of the Campagna was felt +in its full extent by government in subsequent times; yet as the first +step in the right course, viz. protecting native industry by stopping +the sales of bread by government at lower prices than it could be raised +at home, was likely to occasion great discontent, it was never +attempted. Such a step, dangerous in the firmest and best established, +was impossible in an elective monarchy of old Popes, feeble cardinals, +and a despicable soldiery. They went on deploring the evil, but never +once ventured to face the remedy. In 1802, Pius VII., a most +public-spirited and active pontiff, issued an edict, in which he +declared, "We are firmly persuaded that if we cannot succeed in applying +a remedy the abandonment and depopulation of the Campagna will go on +increasing, till the country becomes a fearful desert. _Fatal experience +leaves no doubt on that point._ We see around us, above all in the +Campagna, a number of estates entirely depopulated and abandoned to +grass, which, in the memory of man, were rich in agricultural +productions, and crowded with inhabitants, as is clearly established by +the seignorial rights attached to them. Population had been introduced +into these domains by agriculture, which employed a multitude of hands, +being in a flourishing state. But now the obstacles opposed to the +interior commerce of grain, _and the forced prices fixed by government, +have caused agriculture to perish_. Pasturage has come every where to +supplant it; and the great proprietors and farmers living in Rome, have +abandoned all thought of dividing their possessions among cultivators, +and sought only to diminish the cost of the flocks to which they have +devoted their estates. But if that system has proved profitable to them, +it has been fatal to the state, which it has deprived of its true +riches, the produce of agriculture, and of the industry of the rural +population."[41] But it was all in vain. The measures adopted by Pius +VII. to resuscitate agriculture in the Campagna, have proved all +nugatory like those of all his predecessors; the importation of foreign +grain into the Tiber, the forced prices at which it was sold by the +government at Rome, rendered it impossible to prosecute agriculture to a +profit; and the Campagna has become, and still continues, a desert.[42] + +Here, then, the real cause of the long-continued desolation of the Agro +Romano, both in ancient and modern times, becomes perfectly apparent. It +is the cry for cheap bread in Rome which has done the whole. To stifle +this cry in the dreaded populace of the Eternal City, the emperors +imported grain largely from Egypt and Lybia, and distributed it at an +elusory price, or gratuitously, to the people. The unrestricted +importation of foreign grain, in consequence of those provinces becoming +parts of the empire, enabled the cultivators and merchants of Africa to +deluge the Italian harbours with corn at a far cheaper rate than it +could be raised in Italy itself, where labour bore a much higher price, +in consequence of money being more plentiful in the centre than the +extremities of the empire. Thus the market of its towns was lost to the +Italian cultivators, and gained to those of Egypt and Lybia, where a +vertical sun, or the floods of the Nile, almost superseded the expense +of cultivation. Pasturage became the only way in which land could be +managed to advantage in the Italian fields; because live animals and +dairy produce do not admit of being transported from a distance by sea, +with a profit to the importer, and the sunburnt shores of Africa yielded +no herbage for their support. Agriculture disappeared in Italy, and with +it the free and robust arms which conducted it; pasturage succeeded, and +yielded large rentals to the great proprietors, into whose hands, on the +ruin of the little freeholders by foreign importation, the land had +fallen. But pasturage could not nourish a bold peasantry to defend the +state; it could only produce the riches which might attract its enemies. +Hence the constant complaint, that Italy had ceased to be able to +furnish soldiers to the legionary armies; hence the entrusting the +defence of the frontier to mercenary barbarians, and the ruin of the +empire. + +In modern times the same ruinous system has been continued, and hence +the continued desolation of the Campagna, so pregnant with weakness and +evil to the Roman states. The people never forgot the distribution of +grain by government in the time of the emperors; the Papal authorities +never had strength sufficient to withstand the menacing cry for cheap +bread. Anxious to keep the peace in Rome, and depending little on the +barons of the country, the ecclesiastical government saw no resource but +to import grain themselves from any countries where they could get it +cheapest, and sell it at a fixed price to the people. This price, down +to 1763, was just the price at which _it could be imported with a fair +profit_; as is proved by the fact, that down to that period the _Casa +Annonaria_ sustained no loss. But it was lower than the rate at which it +could be raised even in the fertile plains of the Campagna, where labour +was dearer and taxes heavier than in Egypt and the Ukraine, from whence +the grain was imported by government; and consequently cultivation could +not be carried on in the Agro Romano but at a loss. It of course ceased +altogether; and the land, as in ancient times, has been entirely devoted +to pasturage, to the extinction of the rural population, and the +infinite injury of the state. + +And this explains how it has happened, that in other parts of the Papal +states, particularly in the marches on the other side of the Apennines, +between Bologna and Ancona, agriculture is not only noways depressed, +but flourishing; and the same is the case with the slopes of the Alban +Mount, even in the Agro Romano. In the first situation, the necessity of +bending to the cry for cheap bread in the urban population was not felt, +as the marches contained no great towns, and the weight of influence was +in the rural inhabitants. There was no _Casa Annonaria_, or fixed price +of bread there; and therefore agriculture flourished as it did in +Lombardy, the Campagna Felice of Naples, the plain of Pisa, or any other +prosperous part of Italy. In the latter, it was in _garden cultivation_ +that the little proprietors, as in nearly the whole slopes of the +Apennines, were engaged. The enchanting shores of the lakes of Gandolfo +and Nemi, the hills around L'Aricia and Marino, are all laid out in the +cultivation of grapes, olives, fruits, vegetables, and chestnuts. No +competition from without was to be dreaded by them, as at least, until +the introduction of steam, it was impossible to bring such productions +by distant sea voyages, so as to compete with those raised in equally +favourable situations within a few miles of the market at home. In these +places, therefore, the peculiar evil which blasted all attempts at grain +cultivation in the Campagna was not felt; and hence, though in the Roman +states, and subject, in other respects, to precisely the same government +as the Agro Romano, they exhibit not merely a good, but the most +admirable cultivation. + +If any doubt could exist on the subject, it would be removed by two +other facts connected with agriculture on the shores of the +Mediterranean; one in ancient and one in modern times. + +The first of these is that while agriculture declined _in Italy_, as has +been shown from the time of Tiberius, until at length nearly the whole +plains of that peninsula were turned into grass, it, from the same date, +took an extraordinary start in Spain and Lybia. And to such a length had +the improvement of Africa, under the fostering influence of the market +of Rome and Italy gone, that it contained, at the time of its invasion +by the Vandals under Genseric, in the year 430 of the Christian era, +twenty millions of inhabitants, and had come to be regarded with reason +as the garden of the human race. "The long and narrow tract," says +Gibbon, "of the African coast was filled, when the Vandals approached +its shores, with frequent monuments of Roman art and magnificence; and +the respective degrees of improvement might be accurately measured by +the distance from Carthage and the Mediterranean. A simple reflection +will impress every thinking mind with the clearest idea of its fertility +and cultivation. The country was extremely populous; the inhabitants +reserved a liberal supply for their own use; _and the annual +exportation_, PARTICULARLY OF WHEAT, _was so regular and plentiful, that +Africa deserved the name of the common granary of Rome and of +mankind_."[43] Nor had Spain flourished less during the long +tranquillity and protection of the legions. In the year 409 after +Christ, when it was first invaded by the barbarians, its situation is +thus described by the great historian of the _Decline and Fall of the +Roman Empire_. "The situation of Spain, separated on all sides from the +enemies of Rome by the sea, by the mountains, and by intermediate +provinces, had secured the long tranquillity of that remote and +sequestered country; and we may observe, as a sure symptom of _domestic +happiness_, that in a period of 400 years, Spain furnished very few +materials to the history of the Roman empire. The cities of Merida, +Cordova, Seville, and Tarragona, were numbered with the most illustrious +of the Roman world. The various plenty of the animal, _vegetable_, and +mineral kingdoms was improved and manufactured by the skill of an +industrious people, and the peculiar advantages of naval stores +contributed to support an extensive and profitable trade." And he adds, +in a note, many particulars relative to the _fertility_ and trade of +Spain, may be found in Huet's _Commerce des Anciens_, c. 40, p. 228.[44] + +These facts are very remarkable, and worthy of the most profound +attention; for they point in a decisive manner, they afford the +_experimentum crucis_ as to the real cause of the long-continued and +frightful decay of Italian agriculture during the reign of the emperors. +For here, it appears, that during the four hundred years that the +Western Empire endured, while the cultivation of grain in Italy was +constantly declining, and at last wholly ceased, insomuch that the +country relapsed entirely into a state of nature, or was devoted to the +mere raising of grass for sheep and cattle, _agriculture was flourishing +in the highest degree in the remoter provinces of the Empire_; and the +exportation of grain from Africa had become so great and regular, that +it had come to be regarded as the granaries of Rome and of the world! +The government was the same, the slavery was the same, in Africa as in +Italy. Yet in the one country agriculture rose, during four centuries, +to the highest point of elevation; while in the other, during the same +period, it sunk to the lowest depression, until it became wellnigh +extinct, so far as the raising of grain was concerned. How did this come +to pass? It could not have been that the labour of slaves was too costly +to raise grain; for it was raised at a great profit, and to a prodigious +extent, _almost entirely by slaves_, in Egypt and Lybia. What was it, +then, which destroyed agriculture in Italy and Greece, while, under +circumstances precisely similar in all respects _but one_, it was, at +the very same time, rising to the very highest prosperity in Egypt, +Lybia, and Spain? Evidently _that one circumstance_, and that was--that +Italy and Greece were the heart of the empire, the theatre of +long-established civilization, the abode of opulence, the seat of +wealth, the centre to which riches flowed from the extremities of the +empire. Pounds were plentiful there, and, consequently, labour was dear; +in the provinces pence were few, and, therefore, it was cheap. It was +impossible, under a free trade in grain, for the one to compete with the +other. It is for the same reason that agricultural labour is now +sixpence a-day in Poland, tenpence in Ireland, and two shillings in +Great Britain. + +The peculiar conformation of the Roman empire, while it facilitated in +many respects its growth and final settlement under the dominion of the +Capitol, led by a process not less certain, and still more rapid, to its +ruin, when that empire was fully extended. If any one will look at the +map, he will see that the Roman empire spread outwards from the shores +of the Mediterranean. It embraced all the monarchies and republics +which, in the preceding ages of the world, had grown up around that +inland sea. Water, therefore, afforded the regular, certain, and cheap +means of conveying goods and troops from one part of the empire to the +other. Nature had spread out a vast system of internal navigation, +which brought foreign trade in a manner to every man's door. The legions +combated alternately on the plains of Germany, in the Caledonian woods, +on the banks of the Euphrates, and at the foot of Mount Atlas. But much +as this singular and apparently providential circumstance aided the +growth, and for a season increased the strength of the empire, it +secretly but certainly undermined its resources, and in the end proved +its ruin. The free trade in grain which it necessarily brought with it, +when the same dominion stretched over all Spain and Africa, and +long-continued peace had brought their crops to compete with the Italian +in the supply of the Roman, or the Grecian in that of the +Constantinopolitan markets, destroyed the fabric the legions had reared. +Italy could not compete with Lybia, Greece with Poland. Rome was +supplied by the former, Constantinople by the latter. If the +Mediterranean wafted the legions out in the rise of the empire, _it +wafted foreign grain in_ in its later stages, and the last undid all +that the former had done. The race of _agricultural freemen_ in Italy, +the bone and muscle of the legions which had conquered the world, became +extinct; the rabble of towns were unfit for the labours, and averse to +the dangers of war; mercenaries became the only resource. + +The fact in modern times, which illustrates and confirms the same view +of the chief cause of the ruin of the Roman empire, is, that a similar +effect has taken place, and is at this moment in full operation in +Romelia, and all the environs of Constantinople. Every traveller in the +East knows that desolation as complete as that of the Campagna of Rome +pervades the whole environs of Constantinople; that the moment you +emerge from the gates of that noble city, you find yourself in a +wilderness, and that the grass comes up to our horse's girths all the +way to Adrianople. "Romelia," says Slade, "if cultivated, would become +the granary of the East;" _whereas Constantinople depends on Odessa for +daily bread_. The burial-grounds, choked with weeds and underwood, +constantly occurring in every traveller's route, far remote from +habitations, are eloquent testimonials of continued depopulation. The +living, too, are far apart; a town about every fifty miles; _a village +every ten miles_, is deemed close; and horsemen meeting on the highway +regard each other as objects of curiosity.[45] This is the Agro Romano +over again. Nor will it do to say, that it is the oppression of the +Turkish government which occasions this desolation and destruction of +the rural population; for many parts of Turkey are not only well +cultivated but most densely peopled; as, for example, the broad tract of +Mount Hoemus, where agriculture is in as admirable a state as in the +mountains of Tuscany or Switzerland. "No peasantry in the world," says +Slade, "are so well off as those of Bulgaria; the lowest of them has +abundance of every thing--meat, poultry, eggs, milk, rice, cheese, wine, +bread, good clothing, a warm dwelling, and a horse to ride; where is the +tyranny under which the Christian subjects of the Porte are generally +supposed to dwell? Among the Bulgarians certainly. I wish that, in every +country, a traveller could pass from one end to the other, and find a +good supper and warm fire in every cottage, as he can in this part of +European Turkey."[46] Clarke gives the same account of the peasantry of +Parnassus and Olympia; and it is true generally of almost all the +_mountain_ districts of Turkey. How, then, does it happen that the rich +and level plains of Romelia, at the gates of Constantinople, and thence +over a breadth of an hundred and twenty miles to Adrianople, is a +desert? Slade has explained it in a word. "_Constantinople depends on +Odessa for its daily bread._" The cry for cheap bread in Constantinople, +its noble harbour, and ready communication by water with Egypt on the +one hand, and the Ukraine on the other, have done the whole. Romelia, +like the Campagna of Rome, is a desert, because the market of +Constantinople is lost to the Turkish cultivators; because grain can be +brought cheaper from the Nile and the Wolga than raised at home, in +consequence of the cheapness of labour in those remote provinces; and +because the Turkish government, dreading an insurrection in the capital, +have done nothing to protect native industry. + +There are many countries to whom the most unlimited freedom in the +importation of corn can do no injury. There are, in the first place, the +great grain countries, such as Poland and the Ukraine: they have no more +reason to dread the importation of grain than Newcastle that of coals, +or the Scotch Highlands that of moor-game. In the next place, countries +which _are poor_ need never fear the importation of corn from abroad; +for they have no money to pay for it; and, if they had, it would not be +brought in at a profit, because currency being scarce, of course the +price will be low. Lastly, Countries which have vast inland tracts, like +Russia, Austria, France, and America, especially if no extensive system +of water communication exists in their interior, have little reason to +apprehend injury from the most unrestricted commerce in grain; because +the cost of inland carriage on so bulky and heavy an article as corn is +so considerable, that the produce of foreign harvests can never +penetrate far into the interior, or come to supply a large portion of +the population with food. + +The countries which have reason to apprehend injury, and in the end +destruction, to their native agriculture, from the unrestricted +admission of foreign corn, are those which, though they may possess a +territory in many places well adapted for the raising of grain crops, +are yet rich, far advanced in civilization, with a narrow territory, and +their principal towns on the sea-coast. They have every thing to dread +from foreign importation; because both the plenty of currency, which +opulence brings in its train, and the heavy public burdens with which it +is invariably attended, render labour dear at home, by lowering the +value of money, and raising the weight of taxation. If long continued, +an unrestricted foreign importation cannot fail to ruin agriculture, and +destroy domestic strength in such a state. Italy and Greece stood +eminently in such a situation; for all their great towns were upon the +sea-coast, their territory was narrow, and being successively the seats +of empire, and the centres of long-continued opulence, money was more +plentiful, and therefore production dearer than in those remote and +poorer states from which grain might be brought to their great towns by +sea carriage. In the present circumstances of this country, we would do +well to bear in mind the following reflections of Sismondi, "It is not +to no purpose that we have entered into the foregoing details concerning +the state of agriculture in the neighbourhood of Rome; for we are +persuaded that a universal tendency in Europe _menaces us with the same +calamities_, even in those countries which at present seem to adopt an +entirely opposite system; _only the Romans have gone through the career, +while we are only entering upon it_."[47] + +The times are past, indeed, when gratuitous distributions of grain will +be made to an idle population, as under the Roman emperors, or bread be +sold for centuries by government at a fixed and low price, as under +their papal successors. But the same causes which produced these effects +are still in full operation. The cry for cheap bread in a popular state, +is as menacing as it was to the emperors or popes of Rome. The only +difference is, the sacrifice of domestic industry is now more disguised. +The thing is done, but it is done not openly by public deliveries of the +foreign grain at low prices, but indirectly under the specious guise of +free trade. Government does not say, "We will import Polish grain, and +sell it permanently at thirty-six or forty shillings a quarter;" but it +says, "we will open our harbours to the Polish farmers who can do so. We +will admit grain duty free from a country where wages are sixpence +a-day, and rents half-a-crown an acre." They thus force down the price +of grain to the foreign level, augmented only by the cost and profit of +importations, as effectually as ever did the emperors or _Casa +Annonaria_of Rome. + +And what has Rome--the urban population of Rome--for whose supposed +interests, and in obedience to whose menacing cry, the Roman market has +for eighteen centuries been supplied with foreign bread--what have they +gained by this long continuation of government to their wishes? Sismondi +has told us in one word--"In Rome there _is no commerce between the town +and the country_." They would have foreign grain with its consequences, +and _they have had foreign grain with its consequences_. And what have +been these consequences? Why, that the Eternal City, which, even when +taken by the Goths, had 1,200,000 inhabitants within its walls, can now +scarcely number 170,000, and they almost entirely in poverty, and mainly +supported by the influx and expenditure of foreigners. The Campagna, +once so fruitful and so peopled, has become a desert. No inhabitant of +the Roman states buys any thing in Rome. Their glory is departed--it has +gone to other people and other lands. And what would have been the +result if this wretched concession to the blind and unforeseeing popular +clamour had not taken place? Why, that Rome would have been what +Naples--where domestic industry is protected--has become; it would have +numbered 400,000 busy and active citizens within its walls. The Campagna +would have been what the marches of Ancona now are. Between Rome and the +Campagna, a million of happy and industrious human beings would have +existed in the Agro Romano, independent of all the world, mutually +nourishing and supporting each other; instead of an hundred and seventy +thousand indolent and inactive citizens of a town, painfully dependent +on foreign supplies for bread, and on foreign gold for the means of +purchasing it. + +Disastrous as have been the consequences of a free trade in grain to the +Roman States, alike in ancient and modern times, it was introduced by +its rulers in antiquity under the influence of noble and enlightened +principles. The whole civilized world was then one state; the banks of +the Nile and the plains of Lybia acknowledged the sway of the emperors, +as much as the shores of the Tiber or the fields of the Campagna. When +the Roman government, ruling so mighty a dominion, permitted the +harvests of Africa and the Ukraine to supplant those of Italy and +Greece, they did no more than justice to their varied subjects. +Magnanimously overlooking local interests and desires, they extended +their vision over the whole civilized world, and + + "View'd with equal eyes, as lords of all," + +their subjects, whether in Italy, Spain, Egypt, or Lybia. Though the +seat of government was locally on the Tiber, they administered for the +interest of the whole civilized world, alike far and near. If the +Campagna was ruined, the Delta of Egypt flourished! If the plains of +Umbria were desolate, those of Lybia and Spain, equally parts of the +empire, were waving with grain. But can the same be said of England, now +proclaiming a free trade in grain, not merely with her colonies or +distant provinces, but with her rivals or her enemies? Not merely with +Canada and Hindostan, but with Russia and America? With countries +jealous of her power, envious of her fame, covetous of her riches. What +should we have said of the wisdom of the Romans, if they had sacrificed +Italian to African agriculture in the days of Hannibal? If they had put +it into the power of the Carthaginian Senate to have said, "We will not +arm our galleys; we will not levy armies; we will prohibit the +importation of African grain, and starve you into submission?" How is +England to maintain her independence, if the autocrat of Russia, by +issuing his orders from St Petersburg, can at any moment stop the +importation of ten millions of quarters of foreign grain, that is, a +sixth of our whole annual consumption? And are we to render penniless +our home customers, not in order to promote the interest of the distant +parts of our empire, but in order to enrich and vivify our enemies? + +It is said public opinion runs in favour of such a change; that the +manufacturing has become the dominant interest in the state; that wages +must at all hazards be beat down to the continental level; and that, +right or wrong, the thing must be done. Whether this is the case or not, +time, and possibly a general election, will show. Sometimes those who +are the most noisy, are not the most numerous. Certain it is, that in +1841 a vast majority both of the electors and the people were unanimous +in favour of protection. But, be the present opinion of the majority +what it may, that will not alter the nature of things--It will not +render that wise which is unwise. Public opinion in Athens, in the time +of Demosthenes, was nearly unanimous to apply the public funds to the +support of the theatres instead of the army, and they got the battle of +Chaeronea, and subjection by Philip, for their reward. Public opinion in +Europe was unanimous in favour of the Crusades, and millions of brave +men left their bones in Asia in consequence. The Senate of Carthage, +yielding to the wishes of the majority of their democratic community, +refused to send succours to Hannibal in Italy; and they brought, in +consequence, the legions of Scipio Africanus round their walls. Public +opinion in France was unanimous in favour of the expedition to Moscow. +"They regarded it," says Segur, "as a mere hunting party of six months;" +but that did not hinder it from bringing the Cossacks to Paris. The old +Romans were unanimous in their cry for cheap bread, and they brought the +Gothic trumpet to their gates from its effects. A vast majority of the +electors of Great Britain in 1831, were in favour of Reform: out of 101, +98 county members were returned in the liberal interest; and now they +have got their reward, in seeing the Reformed Parliament preparing to +abolish all protection to native industry. All the greatest and most +destructive calamities recorded in history have been brought about, not +only with the concurrence, but in obedience to the fierce demand of the +majority. Protection to domestic industry, at home or colonial, is the +unseen but strongly felt bond which unites together the far distant +provinces of the British empire by the firm bond of mutual interest. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 16: The Agro Romano, the Sabina, the Campagna Maritima, and +the Patrimonio di San Pietro, which make up the Campagna of Rome, +contain 3881 square miles, or about 3,000,000 acres.--Sismondi's +_Essais_, ii, 10.] + +[Footnote 17: Barbieri a Sismondi.--Sismondi's _Essais_, li. 11.] + +[Footnote 18: Tacitus, _Annal_. xii. 43. But, by Hercules, formerly +provisions were sent for the legions from Italy into distant provinces; +nor even now is it afflicted by sterility: but we prefer purchasing it +from Africa and Egypt, and the lives of the Roman people have been +committed to ships and the chances of the waves.] + +[Footnote 19: Sismondi, _Essais_, ii. 25.] + +[Footnote 20: To confess the truth, the great estates have ruined Italy; +ay, and the provinces too.--_Plin_. 1. xviii. c. 6.] + +[Footnote 21: Gibbon, vi. c. 36.] + +[Footnote 22: "Quingena viginti millia quadringenti duo jugera quae +Campania provincia, juxta inspectorum relationem, in desertis et +squalidis locis habere dignoscitur, eisdem provinciabilibus +concessum."--_Cod. Theod._ ix. c. 38, c. 2.] + +[Footnote 23: Gibbon, iii. c. 18.] + +[Footnote 24: _Ibid._ iii. 88. c. 17.] + +[Footnote 25: Michelet, _Histoire de France_, i. 104-108.] + +[Footnote 26: Gibbon, VIII. c. xiv.] + +[Footnote 27: Michelet's _Histoire de France_, i. 277.] + +[Footnote 28: Ammianus Marcellinus, c. xvi; see also Gibbon, vi. 264.] + +[Footnote 29: Sismondi's _Essais_, ii. 57.] + +[Footnote 30: Sismondi's _Essais_, ii. 33.] + +[Footnote 31: Sismondi's _Essais_, ii. 29, 30.] + +[Footnote 32: Nicolai, _dell' Agro Romano_, ii. 30, 31.] + +[Footnote 33: The rubbi is equal to two French hectares, or five English +acres.] + +[Footnote 34: Nicolai, iii 133.] + +[Footnote 35: _Ibid._, c. in. 167. _Et subseq_.] + +[Footnote 36: Sismondi's _Essais_, ii, 46, 47.] + +[Footnote 37: Nicolai, _dell' Agro Romano_, iii. 167, 175.] + +[Footnote 38: Nicolai, iii. 174, 178.] + +[Footnote 39: Sismondi's _Essais_, ii, 56, 57.] + +[Footnote 40: Nicolai, _del' Agro Romano_, iii. 153. Sismondi's +_Essais_, ii. 44.] + +[Footnote 41: Motu proprio de Pius VII.--Nicolai, ii. 163, 185.] + +[Footnote 42: Sismondi's _Essais_, ii. 71.] + +[Footnote 43: Gibbon, chap. 33, Vol. vi. p. 20.] + +[Footnote 44: Gibbon, c. 31, Vol. v. p. 351.] + +[Footnote 45: Slade's _Travels in the East_, ii 15.] + +[Footnote 46: Slade, ii. 97.] + +[Footnote 47: Sismondi's _Essais_, ii. 71.] + + + + +MR BROOKE OF BORNEO. + + +[48]On the 19th of August last, some twenty boats belonging to her +Majesty's ships, _Agincourt_, _Vestal_, _Daedalus_, _Wolverine_, +_Cruiser_, and _Vixen_, and containing about five hundred men, attacked +and destroyed in the _Malladu_, a river of the Eastern Archipelago, the +forts of Seriff Housman, a notorious and daring pirate, whose crimes had +paralysed the commerce of the seas of Borneo, and finally rendered +British interference absolutely necessary for the security of British +life and property. The action was one of the many that the suppression +of piracy in these regions has demanded--was gallantly fought, and full +reported in the journals of the time;--a narrow river, with two forts +mounting eleven or twelve heavy guns, (and defended by from five hundred +to one thousand fighting men,) protected by a strong and well-contrived +boom, was the position of the enemy. The English boats took the bull by +the horns--cut away part of the boom under a heavy fire; advanced and +carried the place in a fight protracted for fifty minutes. The enemy +fought well, and stood manfully to their guns. The mate of the +_Wolverine_ fell mortally wounded whilst working at the boom, axe in +hand; but his death was avenged by a wholesale slaughter of the pirates. +At two minutes to nine, those who had remained on board the _Vixen_ +heard the report of the first heavy gun, and the first column of black +smoke proclaimed that the village was fired. On the evening of the 19th, +a detachment of ten boats, with fresh men and officers, quitted the +_Vixen_, and arrived at the forts shortly after daylight. The work of +destruction was complete. The boom, above spoken of, was ingeniously +fastened with the chain-cable of a vessel of three hundred or four +hundred tons; other chains, for darker purposes, were discovered in the +town; a ship's long-boat; two ship's bells, one ornamented with grapes +and vine leaves, and marked "_Wilhelm Ludwig, Bremen_," and every other +description of ship's furniture. Some piratical boats were burned, +twenty-four brass guns captured; the other guns spiked or otherwise +destroyed. Malladu ceased to exist; the power of Seriff Housman was +extinguished in a day. + +Small wars, as well as great, have their episodes of touching +tenderness. Twenty-four hours after the action, a poor woman, with her +child of two years of age, was discovered in a small canoe; her arm was +shattered at the elbow by a grape-shot, and the poor creature lay dying +for want of water, in an agony of pain, with her child playing around +her, and endeavouring to derive the sustenance which the mother could no +longer give. The unfortunate woman was taken on board the _Vixen_, and +in the evening her arm was amputated. On board the _Vixen_ she met with +one who offered to convey her to the Borneon town of _Sar[=a]wak_, where +she would find protection. To have left her where she was, would have +been to leave her to die. To the stranger's kind offers she had but one +answer to give. "If you please to take me, I shall go. I am a woman, and +not a man; I am a slave, and not a free woman--do as you like." The +woman recovered, was grateful for the kindness shown her, and was +deposited faithfully and well in the town already named, by the stranger +already introduced. + +Let us state at once that the object of this article is to bring to +public notice, as shortly as we may, the history of this stranger, and +to demand for it the reader's warmest sympathy. Full accounts of the +doings of her Majesty's ship Dido will no doubt be reported elsewhere, +with the several engagements which Mr Keppel's book so graphically +describes. Let them receive the attention that they merit. We cannot +afford to meddle with them now. "Metal more attractive" lies in the +adventures of a man who has devoted his fortune and energies to the +cause of humanity, and has purchased with both the amelioration of a +large portion of his suffering fellow-creatures. + +We know not when, since our boyhood, we have met with an adventurer more +ardent and daring, a companion more fascinating and agreeable, than MR +BROOKE, the Rajah or Governor of <sc>Sar[=a]wak</sc>. Essentially British, in as +much as he practises our national virtues when circumstances call them +into action, he reminds us at all times of those Eastern men, famous in +their generation, who delighted us many years ago, and secured our +wonder by their devoted love of enterprise, and the moral ascendency +that waited on their efforts. In truth, Mr Brooke belongs not to the +present generation. His energy, his perseverance, which nothing can +subdue, his courage which no dangers can appal, his simplicity which no +possession of power and authority can taint, his integrity and honest +mind, all belong to a more masculine and primitive age, and constitute a +rare exception for our respect and gratitude in this. We take the +earliest opportunity afforded us to pay our humble tribute to worth that +cannot be questioned, to heroic virtue that cannot be surpassed. + +Whatsoever humanity and civilisation may gain in the extermination of +odious crimes upon the shores of BORNEO, whatsoever advantages England +may hereafter obtain from British settlements in the island, and from a +peaceful trade carried on around it, to Mr Brooke, and to that gentleman +alone, will belong the glory and the honour of such acquisitions. +Inspired by his vigorous nature, but more by the dictates of true +benevolence, unaided and unprotected, save by his own active spirit and +the blessing of Providence, he undertook a mission on behalf of mankind, +with perils before him which the stoutest could not but feel, and +achieved a success which the most sanguine could hardly have +anticipated. + +Mr Brooke was born on the 29th of April 1803, and is therefore now in +his 43d year. He is the second son of the late Thomas Brooke, Esq., who +held an appointment in the civil service of the East India Company. At +an early age he went out to India as a cadet, served with distinction in +the Burmese war, was wounded, and returned to England for the recovery +of his health. In the year 1830, Mr Brooke relinquished the service +altogether, and quitted Calcutta for China, again in search of health. +During his voyage, he saw, for the first time, the islands of the +Asiatic Archipelago; almost unknown, even at that recent period, to +Europeans generally. Such information as was before the world he +obtained, and carefully considered; and the result of his reflections +was a determination to carry to Borneo, an island of some magnitude, and +terribly afflicted in more respects than one, such knowledge and +instruction as might help to elevate its people from the depravity in +which they lived, and the horrors to which they were hourly subjected. +This was in 1830. In the year 1838, he quitted England to fulfil his +purpose. For eight years he had patiently and steadily worked towards +his object, and gathered about him all that was necessary for its +accomplishment. Nothing had been omitted to insure success. A man of +fortune, he had been prodigal of his wealth; free from professional and +other ties, he had given up his time wholly to the cause. One year was +passed in the Mediterranean, that his vessel, _The Royalist_, might be +put to the severest tests. Three years were spent in educating a crew +worthy of an undertaking that promised so little sudden prosperity, that +exacted so much immediate self-denial, threatened so many hardships. The +men were happy and contented, cheerful and willing. The vessel belonged +to the royal yacht squadron, was a fast sailer, armed with six +six-pounders, a number of swivels and small arms, carried four boats, +and provisions for as many months. On the 27th of October 1838, the +adventurous company left the river. A fortunate passage carried them in +safety to Rio Janeiro, and on the 29th of March 1839, they were sailing +from the Cape of Good Hope. A six weeks' passage brought them to Java +Head, and on the 1st of June they reached that "pivot of the liberal +system in the Archipelago," the island of Singapore. It was not until +the 27th of July that Mr Brooke quitted Singapore. Five days afterwards, +the _Royalist_ was anchored off the coast of Borneo! + +At the period of Mr Brooke's arrival, Borneo Proper,[49] once the seat +of piracy, which few vessels could approach with safety, was under the +government of the rajah MUDA HASSIM. Report spoke favourably of this +rajah's character. A vessel had been wrecked on his coast, and the crew, +who had been saved with difficulty, had taken shelter in the jungle. +Muda Hassim, hearing of their fate, caused them to be brought to his +town of Sar[=a]wak, collected as much as could be saved from the wreck, +clothed the sufferers, fed them, and sent then free of expense to +Singapore. Moreover, for reasons known to himself, the rajah was well +disposed towards the English. These important circumstances were borne +in mind by Mr Brooke. The rajah was now at Sar[=a]wak, and the +adventurer determined to enter the river of that name, and to proceed as +far as the town. He was well supplied with presents; gaudy silks of +Surat, scarlet cloth, stamped velvet, gunpowder, confectionery, sweets, +ginger, jams, dates, and syrups for the governor, and a huge box of +China toys for the governor's children. From Mr Brooke's own diary, we +extract the following account of his position and feelings at this +interesting moment of his still doubtful undertaking:-- + + "_August 1st._--I am, then, at length, anchored off the coast of + Borneo! not under very pleasant circumstances, for the night is + pitchy dark, with thunder, lightning, rain, and squalls of wind. + + "_2d._--Squally bad night. This morning, the clouds clearing away, + was delightful, and offered for our view the majestic scenery of + Borneo. At nine got under weigh, and ran in on an east-by-south + course four and a half or five miles towards Tanjong Api. Came to + an anchor about five miles from the land, and dispatched the boat + to take sights ashore, in order to form a base line for + triangulation. The scenery may really be called majestic. The low + and wooded coast about Tanjong Api is backed by a mountain called + Gunong Palo, some 2000 feet in height, which slopes down behind the + point, and terminates in a number of hummocks, showing from a + distance like islands. + + "The coast, unknown, and represented to abound in shoals and reefs, + is the harbour for pirates of every description. Here every man's + hand is raised against his brother man; and here sometimes the + climate wars upon the excitable European, and lays many a white + face and gallant heart low on the distant strand. + + "_3d._--Beating between Points Api and Datu. The bay, as far as we + have seen, is free from danger; the beach is lined by a feathery + row of beautiful casuarinas, and behind is a tangled jungle, + without fine timber; game is plentiful, from the traces we saw on + the sand; hogs in great numbers; troops of monkeys, and the print + of an animal with cleft hoofs, either a large deer, tapir, or cow. + We saw no game save a tribe of monkeys, one of which, a female, I + shot, and another quite young, which we managed to capture alive. + The captive, though the young of the black monkey, is greyish, with + the exception of the extremities, and a stripe of black down his + back and tail. + + "We witnessed, at the same time, an extraordinary and fatal leap + made by one of these monkeys. Alarmed by our approach, he sprang + from the summit of a high tree at the branch of one lower, and at + some distance. He leaped short, and came clattering down sixty or + seventy feet amid the jungle. We were unable to penetrate to the + spot, on account of a deep swamp, to ascertain his fate. + + "A river flows into the sea not far from where we landed--the water + is sweet, and of that clear brown colour so common in Ireland. This + coast is evidently the haunt of native _prahns_, whether piratical + or other. Print of men's feet were numerous and fresh, and traces + of huts, fires, and parts of boots, some of them ornamented after + their rude fashion. A long pull of five miles closed the day. + + "_Sunday, 4th._--Performed divine service myself! manfully + overcoming that horror which I have to the sound of my own voice + before an audience. In the evening landed again more to the + westward. Shore skirted by rocks; timber noble, and the forest + clear of brushwood, enabling us to penetrate with ease as far as + caution permitted. Traces of wild beasts numerous and recent, but + none discovered. Fresh-water streams coloured as yesterday, and the + trail of an alligator from one of them to the sea. This dark + forest, where the trees shoot up straight and tall, and are + succeeded by generation after generation varying in stature, but + struggling upward, strikes the imagination with pictures trite yet + true. It was thus I meditated in my walk. The foot of European, I + said, has never touched where my foot now presses--seldom the + native wanders here. Here, I, indeed, behold nature fresh from the + bosom of creation, unchanged by man, and stamped with the same + impress she originally bore! Here I behold God's design when He + formed this tropical land, and left its culture and improvement to + the agency of man! The Creator's gift as yet neglected by the + creature; and yet the time may be confidently looked for when the + axe shall level the forest, and the plough turn the ground." + +Upon the 5th of August, a boat was sent to the island of Tulang-Talang, +where some Malays were seen; they were civil, and offered their +assistance. On the following morning the _bandar_ (or chief steward) of +the place came off in his canoe, and welcomed the new-comers. He assured +them of a happy reception from the Rajah, and took his leave, after +having been sumptuously entertained with sweetmeats and syrups, and +handsomely provided with three yards of red cloth, some tea, and a +little gunpowder. The great man himself, Muda Hassim, was, visited in +his town of Sar[=a]wak on the morning of the 15th. He received his +visitors in state, seated in his hall of audience, a large shed, erected +on piles. Sar[=a]wak is only the occasional residence of the Rajah, and +at the time of the ship's arrival he was detained there by a rebellion +in the interior. The town was found to be a mere collection of mud-huts, +containing about 1500 persons, and inhabited for the most part by the +Rajah, his family, and their attendants. The remaining population were +poor and squalid. "We sat," says Mr Brooke, "in easy and unreserved +converse, out of hearing of the rest of the circle. He expressed great +kindness to the English nation; and begged me to tell him _really_, +which was the most powerful nation, England or Holland; or, as he +significantly expressed, which is the 'cat and which is the rat?' I +assured him that England was the mouser, though in this country Holland +had most territory. We took our leave after he had intimated his +intention of visiting us to-morrow morning." + +The visit was duly paid, and as duly returned. Tea, cigars, scissors, +knives, and biscuits, were distributed amongst the rajah and his suite, +and the friendliest understanding was maintained. Mr Brooke, however, +had come to Borneo for more serious business. Ceremonies being over, he +dispatched his interpreter, an Englishman, (Mr. Williamson by name,) to +the rajah, intimating his desire to travel to some of the Malay towns, +and especially into the country of the _Dyaks_. The request, it was +fully believed, would be refused; but, to the surprise of the asker, +leave was given, with the accompanying assurance, however, that the +Rajah was powerless amongst many Dyak tribes, and could not answer for +the adventurer's safety. Mr Brooke availed himself of the license, and +undertook to provide in other respects for himself. The _Dyaks_ are the +aborigines of Borneo, and share the country with the Malays and Chinese +who have made their homes in it. "There be land rats, and there be water +rats." There be also land Dyaks and water Dyaks; or, to use the language +of the country, _Dyak Darrat_ and _Dyak Laut_. Those of the sea vary in +their character and prospects, but, for the most part, they are powerful +communities, and desperate pirates, ravaging the coasts in immense +fleets, and robbing and murdering without discrimination. Their +language is similar to the Malay. The name of God amongst them is +Battara (the Avatara of the Hindoos.) They bury their dead, and in the +graves deposit a large portion of the property of the deceased, +consisting of gold ornaments, brass guns, jars, and arms. "Their +marriage ceremony consists in two fowls being killed, and the forehead +and breast of the young couple being touched with the blood; after which +the chief, or an old man, knocks their heads together several times, and +the ceremony is completed with mirth and feasting." The Dyak Darrats +inhabit an inconsiderable portion of the island, and are composed of +numerous tribes, all agreeing in their customs, and speaking the same +dialect. They are regarded as slaves by the Malays, and treated and +disposed of like beasts of burden. "We do not live," said one, "like +men; we are like monkeys; we are hunted from place to place; we have no +houses; and when we light a fire, we fear the smoke will draw our +enemies upon us." The appearance of these Dyaks, we are told, is very +prepossessing. They are of middle height, active, and good-natured in +their expression; the women not so good-looking, but as cheerful +tempered. "The dress of the men consists of a piece of cloth, about +fifteen feet long, passed between the legs, and fastened round the +loins, with the ends hanging before and behind; the head-dress is +composed of bark cloth, dyed bright yellow, and stuck up in front, so as +to resemble a tuft of feathers. The arms and legs are often ornamented +with rings of silver, brass, or shell; and necklaces are worn, made of +human teeth, or those of bears or dogs, or of white beads, in such +numberless strings as to conceal the throat. A sword on one side, a +knife and small betel-basket on the other, completes the ordinary +equipment of the males; but when they travel, they carry a basket slung +from the forehead, on which is a palm mat, to protect the owner and his +property from the weather. The women wear a short and scanty petticoat, +reaching from the loins to the knees, and a pair of black bamboo stays, +which are never removed except the wearer be _enceinte_. They have rings +of brass and red bamboo about the loins, and sometimes ornaments on the +arms; the hair is worn long; the ears of both sexes are pierced, and +ear-rings of brass inserted occasionally; the teeth of the young people +are sometimes filed to a point and discoloured, as they say that 'dogs +have white teeth.' They frequently dye their feet and hands of a bright +red or yellow colour; and the young people, like those of other +countries, affect a degree of finery and foppishness, whilst the elders +invariably lay aside all ornaments as unfit for a wise person, or one +advanced in years." The character given of these Dyaks is highly +favourable. They are pronounced grateful for kindness, industrious, +honest, simple, mild, tractable and hospitable, when well used. The word +of one may be taken before the oath of half a dozen Borneons. Their +ideas are limited enough; they reckon with their fingers and toes, and +few are arithmeticians beyond counting up to twenty. They can repeat the +operation, but they must record each twenty by making a knot in a +string. + +It was to these people that Mr Brooke made more than one excursion +during his first visit to Sar[=a]wak. He met with no disaster, but he +stored up useful information for future conduct. Great morality and the +practice of many virtues distinguished the tribes he encountered, +although degraded as low as oppression and utter ignorance could bring +them. The men, he found, married but one wife, and concubinage was +unknown in their societies; cases of seduction and adultery were very +rare, and the chastity of the Dyak women was proverbial even amongst +their Malay rulers. Miserable as was the lot of these people, Mr Brooke +gathered from their morality and simplicity, hopes of their future +elevation. They have no forms of worship, no idea of future +responsibility; but they are likewise free from prejudice of every kind, +and therefore open, under skilful hands and tender applications, to the +conviction of truth, and to religious impressions. One tribe, the +Sibnowans, particularly struck Mr Brooke by their gentleness and +sweetness of disposition. But, + +"Like the rest of the Dyaks," he informs us, "the Sibnowans _adorn_ +their houses with the heads of their enemies; yet with them this custom +exists in a modified form. Some thirty skulls," he adds, "were hanging +from the roof of one apartment; and I was informed that they had many +more in their possession; all however, the heads of enemies, chiefly of +the tribe of Sazebus. On enquiring, I was told that it is indispensably +necessary a young man should procure a skull before he gets married. On +my urging that the custom would be more honoured in the breach than in +the observance, they replied, that it was established from time +immemorial, and could not be dispensed with. Subsequently, however, +Sejugali allowed that heads were very difficult to obtain now, and a +young man might sometimes get married by giving presents to his +ladye-love's parents; at all times they denied warmly ever obtaining any +heads but those of their enemies; adding, they were bad people, and +deserved to die. + +"I asked a young unmarried man whether he would be obliged to get a head +before he could obtain a wife. He replied, 'Yes.' 'When would he get +one?' 'Soon.' 'Where would he go to get one?' 'To the Sazebus river.' I +mention these particulars in detail, as I think, had their practice +extended to taking the head of any defenceless traveller, or any Malay +surprised in his dwelling or boat, I should have wormed the secret out +of them." + +The Dyaks, generally, are celebrated for the manufacture of iron. Their +forge is the simplest possible, and is formed by two hollow trees, each +about seven feet high, placed upright, side by side, in the ground. From +the lower extremity of these, two pipes of bamboo are conducted through +a clay bank three inches thick, into a charcoal fire; a man is perched +at the top of the trees, and pumps with two pistons, the suckers of +which are made with cocks' feathers, which, being raised and depressed +alternately, blow a regular stream of air into the fire. The soil +cultivated by these people was found to be excellent. In the course of +his wanderings, Mr Brooke lighted upon a Chinese colony, who, as is +customary with our new allies, were making the most of their advantages. +The settlement consisted of thirty men, genuine Chinese, and five women +of the mixed breed of Sambas. They had been but four or five months in +the country, and many acres were already cleared and under cultivation. +The head of the settlement, a Chinese of Canton, spoke of gold mines +which were abundant in the Sar[=a]wak mountains, and of antimony ore and +diamonds; the former, he said, might be had in any quantities. + +Upon his return to Sar[=a]wak, Mr Brooke opened to the rajah the +business which had chiefly conducted him to his shores. He informed his +highness that, being a private gentleman, he had no interest in the +communication he was about to make; and that, being in no way connected +with government, his words came with no authority. At the same time, he +was, anxious for the interests of mankind, and more especially for the +wellbeing of the inhabitants of Borneo, which was the last Malay state +possessing any power, that the resources of a country so favoured by +Providence should be brought into the fullest play. To this end, he +suggested the opening of a trade with individual European merchants. +Sar[=a]wak was rich, and the territory around it produced many articles +well adapted for commercial intercourse--such as bees' wax, birds' +nests, rattans, antimony ore, and sago, which constituted the staple +produce of the country. And, in return for such commodities, merchants +of Singapore would gladly send from Europe such articles as would be +highly serviceable to the people of Borneo--gunpowder, muskets, and +cloths. Both parties would be benefited, and the comfort and happiness +of the Borneons greatly enhanced. There was much discussion on the +proposal, timidity and apprehension characterizing the questions and +answers of the Rajah. + +The important interview at an end, Mr Brooke prepares for a return to +Singapore. "Never," says that gentleman, "was such a blazing as when we +left Sar[=a]wak; twenty-one guns I fired to the Rajah, and he fired +forty-two to me--at least we counted twenty-four, and they went on +firing afterwards, as long as ever we were in sight. The last words the +Rajah, Muda Hassim, said, as I took my leave, were--'Tuan Brooke, do not +forget me.'" + +In August 1840, Mr Brooke arrived in Sar[=a]wak for the second time. He +had passed many months in cruising about the Archipelago, obtaining +valuable information respecting the language, habits, and history of the +race for whom he was concerned, and in collecting specimens of natural +history, which are said to be interesting in the highest degree. The +position of the Rajah had altered during his absence. The civil war or +rebellion which had, in the first instance, forced the governor to +reside in Sar[=a]wak, was not yet quelled. The rebels, indeed, were +within thirty miles of the rajah, and threatening an immediate attack. +Nothing could be more opportune than the return of Mr Brooke at this +critical moment. Muda Hassim begged his ancient friend not to desert him +in his extremity, and appealed to his honour, as a gentleman from +England, whether it would be fair to suffer him to be vanquished by the +traitorous revolt of his people. Mr Brooke felt that it would not, and +resolved to stand by the governor. + +"A grand council of war," writes Mr Brooke in his journal, "was held, at +which were present Macota, Subtu, Abong Mia, and Datu Naraja, two +Chinese leaders, and myself--certainly a most incongruous mixture, and +one rarely to be met with. After much discussion, a move close to the +enemy was determined on for to-morrow; and on the following day to take +up a position near the defences. To judge by the sample of the council, +I should form very unfavourable expectations of their conduct in action. +Macota is lively and active; but, whether from indecision or want of +authority, undecided. The Capitan China is lazy and silent; Subtu +indolent and self-indulgent; Abong Mia and Datu Maraja stupid." + +The army set off, and Mr Brooke availed himself of a friendly hill to +obtain a view of the country, and of the enemy's forts. The fort of +Balidah was the strongest of their defences, and a moment's observation +convinced him that a company of military might put an end to the war in +a few hours. This fort was situated at the water edge, on a slight +eminence on the right bank of a river; a few swivels and a gun or two +were in it, and around it a breast-work of wood, six or seven feet high. +The remaining defences were even more insignificant; and the enemy's +artillery was reported to consist of three six-pounders, and numerous +swivels. The number of fighting men amounted to about five hundred, +about half of whom were armed with muskets, while the rest carried +swords and spears. _Ranjows_ were stuck in every direction. "These +ranjows are made of bamboo, pointed fine, and stuck in the ground; and +there are, besides, holes of about three feet deep filled with these +spikes, and afterwards lightly covered, which are called patobong." The +army of the rajah was scarcely more formidable than that of the enemy. +It consisted of two hundred Chinese, excellent workmen and bad soldiers, +two hundred and fifty Malays, and some two hundred friendly Dyaks; a few +brass guns composed the artillery; and the boats were furnished with +swivels. Mr Brooke suggested an attack of the detached defences--a +proposition that was treated as that of a madman, the Rajah's army +having no notion of fighting except from behind a wall. A council of war +decided that advances should be made from the hill behind the rajah's +fort to Balidah by a chain of posts, the distance being a short mile, in +which space the enemy would probably erect four or five forts; "and +then," says Mr Brooke, "would come a bombardment, noisy, but harmless." + +Insignificant as the account may read, the difficulties of Mr Brooke, as +commander-in-chief, were formidable enough, surrounded as he was by +perils threatening not only from the enemy, but from the rank cowardice +of his supporters, and the envy, spite, hatred, and machinations of his +allies, the Rajah's ministers. The operations are admirably described in +Mr Brooke's journal. Let it suffice to say, that the energy and bravery +of the English leader brought them to a satisfactory issue, and, +finally, the war to a happy close. At his intercession the lives of many +of the offenders were spared, and the rebels suffered to deliver up +their arms, and to return in peace to Sar[=a]wak. + +It is now necessary to state, that at the commencement of the war, Muda +Hassim, unsolicited by Mr Brooke, had undertaken to confer upon the +latter the governorship of Sar[=a]wak, in the event of success crowning +the efforts of his "friend from England." Mr Brooke had not demanded +from the unfortunate Rajah a written agreement to this effect; nor at +the time even desired a recompense, which was likely to bring with it +much more of difficulty and vexation than profit and power. He +respectfully declined an honour which he informed the Rajah it did not +become him to accept whilst his highness was in his hands. The war being +over, and Muda Hassim reinstated, the negotiation recommenced. No sooner +was it discussed, however, than Mr Brooke informed the rajah that Malay +institutions were so faulty, the high being allowed by them so much +license, and the poor so oppressed, that any attempt to govern without a +removal of abuses, was, on his part at least, impossible; and as a +condition of his acceptance, he insisted that the Rajah should use all +his exertions to establish the principle, that one man must not take +from another, and that all men were free to enjoy the produce of their +labour, save and except when they were working for the revenue. This +revenue, too, he submitted, it was necessary to fix at a certain amount +for three years, as well as the salaries of the government officers. The +same rights should be conceded to the Dyak and Malay, and the property +of the former must be protected, their taxes fixed, and labour free. The +rajah acquiesced in the propriety of these measures, and bargained only +for the maintenance of the national faith and customs. Mr Brooke +remained in Sar[=a]wak, but the office which had been offered with so +much eagerness and pressing love, was after all slow in being conferred. +Bad advisers, envious ministers, and weakness in Muda Hassim himself, +all prevented the conclusion of a business upon which Mr Brooke had +never entered of his own accord; but which, having entered upon it, had +rendered him liable for many engagements which his anticipated new +position had made essential. + +"I found myself," writes Mr Brooke, "clipped like Samson, while delay +was heaped upon delay, excuse piled upon excuse. It was provoking beyond +sufferance. I remonstrated firmly but mildly on the waste of my money, +and on the impossibility of any good to the country whilst the rajah +conducted himself as he had done. I might as well have whistled to the +winds, or have talked reason to stones. I had trusted--my eyes gradually +opened--I feared I was betrayed and robbed, and had at length determined +to be observant and watchful." Upon the faith of the Rajah, Mr Brooke +had purchased in Singapore a schooner of ninety tons, called _The +Swift_, which he had laden with a suitable cargo. Upon its arrival at +Sar[=a]wak, the rajah petitioned to have the cargo ashore, assuring Mr +Brooke of a good and quick return: part of such return being immediately +promised in the shape of antimony ore. Three months elapsed, and the +rajah's share in this mercantile transaction had yet to be fulfilled. +Disgusted with his treatment, and hopeless of justice, Mr Brooke +dispatched the _Swift_ to Singapore; and hearing that the crew of a +shipwrecked vessel were detained in Borneo Proper, sent his only +remaining vessel, the _Royalist_, to the city of Borneo, in order to +obtain such information as might lead to the rescue of his countrymen. +"I resolved," the journal informs us, "to remain here, to endeavour, if +I could, to obtain _my own_. Each vessel was to return as quickly as +possible from her place of destination; and I then determined to give +two additional months to the rajah, and to urge him in every way in my +power to do what he was bound to do as an act of common honesty. Should +these means fail, after making the strongest representations, and giving +amplest time, I considered myself free to extort by force what I could +not gain by fair means." + +"I need hardly remark," writes Captain Keppel, "on the singular courage +and disregard of personal safety, and life itself, evinced by my friend +on this occasion. At issue with the rajah on points of great temptation +to him, beset by intrigues, and surrounded by a fierce and lawless +people, Mr Brooke did not hesitate to dispatch his vessels and +protectors,--the one on a mission of pure humanity, and the other in +calm pursuance of the objects he had proposed to himself to accomplish; +and, with three companions, place himself at the mercy of such +circumstances, regardless of the danger, and relying on the overruling +Providence in which he trusted, to bring him safely through all his +difficulties and perils." + +On the 16th of August 1841, the Royalist returned, and three days +afterwards it was followed by the Swift. The former reported that the +prisoners had been heard of in Borneo, but, unfortunately, not released. +The Swift was accompanied by the Diana steamer. The formidable squadron +alarmed the rajah and his ministers. Mr Brooke learned that the +difficulties of the rajah's situation were increased, and his conduct +towards himself, in a manner, excused, by the intrigues and evil doings +of the latter. Macota, of whom mention has been made, was the most +vindictive and unscrupulous amongst them. He had attempted to poison the +interpreter of Mr Brooke, and had been discovered as the abettor of even +more fearful crimes. Mr Brooke, strengthened by his late arrivals, +resolved to bring matters to a crisis, and to test at once the strength +of the respective parties. He landed a party of men fully armed, and +loaded the ship's guns with grape and canister; he then proceeded to +Muda Hassim, protested that he was well disposed towards the rajah, but +assured him, at the same time, that neither he nor himself was safe +against the practices of the artful and desperate Macota. Muda Hassim +was frightened. One of the Dyak tribes took part with Mr Brooke, two +hundred of them, with their chiefs, placing themselves unreservedly at +his disposal, whilst Macota was deserted by all but his immediate +slaves. The Chinese and the rest of the inhabitants looked on. The +upshot may be anticipated. The rajah became suddenly active and eager +for an arrangement. The old agreement was drawn out, sealed, and signed; +guns fired, flags waved, and on the 24th of September 1841 Mr Brooke +became Rajah of Sar[=a]wak. + +The first acts of Mr Brooke, after his accession to power, were +suggested by humanity, and a tender consideration for the savage people +whom he so singularly and unexpectedly had been called upon to govern. +He inquired into the state of the Dyaks, endeavoured to gain their +confidence, and to protect them from the brutal onslaught of the Malays +and of each other, and at once relieved them of the burdens of taxation +which weighed so cruelly upon them. He opened a court for the +administration of justice, at which he presided with the late rajah's +brothers, and maintained strict equity amongst the highest and lowest of +his people. He decreed that murder, robbery, and other heinous crimes, +should, for the future, be punished according to the written law of +Borneo; that all men, irrespectively of race, should be permitted to +trade and labour according to their pleasure, and to enjoy their gains; +that all roads should be open, and that all boats coming to the river +should be free to enter and depart without let or hindrance; that trade +should be free; that the Dyaks should be suffered to live unmolested; +together with other salutary measures for the general welfare. +Difficulty and vexation met the governor at every step; but he +persevered in his schemes of amelioration, and with a success which is +not yet complete, and for years cannot be fairly estimated. + +MUDA HASSIM, the former rajah of Sar[=a]wak, was also presumptive heir +to the throne of Borneo; but, unfortunately for him, under the +displeasure of his nephew, the reigning sultan. The confirmation of Mr +Brooke's appointment, it was absolutely necessary to receive from the +latter; and Mr Brooke accordingly resolved to pay a visit to the prince, +in the first place, to obtain a reconciliation, if possible, with the +offending Muda, and secondly, to consolidate his own infant government. +There was another object, too. The sultan had power to release the +prisoners who had been spared in the wreck already mentioned; and this +power Mr Brooke hoped, by discretion, to prevail upon his majesty to +exercise. The picture of this potentate is thus drawn by Mr Brooke: + + "The sultan is a man past fifty years of age, short and puffy in + person, with a countenance which expresses, very obviously, the + imbecility of his mind. His right hand is garnished with an extra + diminutive thumb--the natural member being crooked and distorted. + His mind, indeed, by his face, seems to be a chaos of + confusion--without acuteness, without dignity, and without good + sense. He can neither read nor write; is guided by the last + speaker; and his advisers, as might be expected, are of the lower + order, and mischievous from their ignorance and greediness. He is + always talking, and generally joking; and the most serious subjects + never meet with five minutes' consecutive attention. The favourable + side of his character is, that he is good-tempered and + good-natured--by no means cruel--and, in a certain way, generous, + though rapacious to as high a degree. His rapacity, indeed, is + carried to such an excess as to astonish a European, and is evinced + in a thousand mean ways. The presents I made him were + unquestionably handsome; but he was not content without begging + from me the share I had reserved for the other Pangerans; and + afterwards, through Mr Williamson, solicited more trifles--such as + sugar, penknives, and the like. I may note one other feature that + marks the man. He requested as the greatest favour--he urged with + the earnestness of a child--that I would send back the schooner + before the month Ramban, (Ramadan of the Turks,) remarking, 'What + shall I do during the fast without soft sugar and dates?'" + +The delivery of the prisoners, and the forgiveness of Muda Hassim, were +quickly obtained; the more personal matter found opposition with the +advisers of the Crown, but was ultimately conceded. On the 1st of August +1842, the letters to Muda Hassim were sealed and signed; and at the same +council the contract, which gave Mr Brooke the government of Sar[=a]wak, +was fully discussed; and by ten o'clock at night was signed, sealed and +witnessed. Mr Brooke returned to his government and people on the +following day. + +On the 1st of January 1843, the following entry appears in the diary so +often quoted:--"Another year passed and gone!--a year with all its +anxieties, its troubles, its dangers, upon which I can look back with +satisfaction--a year in which I have been usefully employed in doing +good to others. Since I last wrote, the Dyaks have been quiet, settled, +and improving; the Chinese advancing towards prosperity; and the +Sar[=a]wak people wonderfully contented and industrious, relieved from +oppression, and fields of labour allowed them. Justice I have executed +with an unflinching hand." + +It was in the month of March 1843, at the conclusion of the Chinese war, +that Captain Keppel was ordered in the Dido to the Malacca Straits and +the island of Borneo. Daring acts of piracy had been committed, and were +still committing, on the Borneon coast; and, becoming engaged in the +suppression of these crimes, he fell in with the English rajah of +Sar[=a]wak, and obtained from him the information which he has recently +given to the world, and enabled us to place succinctly before our +readers. + +The piracy of the Eastern Archipelago is very different to that of the +western world. The former obtains an importance unknown to the latter. +The hordes who conduct it issue from their islands and coasts in fleets, +rove from place to place, intercept the native trade, enslave whole +towns at the entrance of rivers, and attack ill-armed or stranded +European vessels. The native governments, if they are not participators +in the crime, are made its victims, and in many cases, we are told, they +are both--purchasing from one set of pirates, and plundered and enslaved +by another. Captain Keppel has well related more than one engagement in +which he was concerned with the ferocious marauders of these eastern +seas--scenes of blood and horror, justified only by the enormity of the +offence, and the ultimate advantages likely to be obtained from an +extirpation of the deeply-rooted evil. As we have hinted at the +commencement of this article, our present object is not so much to draw +attention to the battle-scenes described by Mr Keppel, and which may be +read with peculiar though painful interest in his book, as to obtain for +Mr Brooke, the peaceful and unselfish disposer of so many blessings +amongst a benighted and neglected people, that admiration and regard +which he has so nobly earned. He has done much, but our government may +enable him to do more. He has shown the capabilities of his distant +home, and called upon his mother-country to improve them to the +uttermost. We hear that her Majesty's government have not been deaf to +his appeal, and that aid will be given for the development of his plans, +equal to his warmest expectations. We trust it may be so. Nothing is +wanting but the assistance which a government alone can afford, to +render Borneo a friendly and valuable ally, and to constitute Mr Brooke +one of the most useful benefactors of modern times; a benefactor in the +best sense of the term--an improver of his species--an intelligent +messenger and expounder of God's purpose to man. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 48: _The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido, for the +Suppression of Piracy, &c. &c_. By Capt. the Hon. HENRY KEPPEL, R.N. +London, 1846.] + +[Footnote 49: _Borneo Proper_ is the northern and north-western part of +the island, and an independent Malay state.] + + + + +THE SMUGGLER'S LEAP. + +A PASSAGE IN THE PYRENEES. + + +"Oh! there's not in this wide world," I exclaimed, quite unintentionally +quoting Tom Moore; "there never has been, nor can ever be again, so +charming a creature. No nymph, or sylph, or winged Ariel, or syren with +song and mirror, was ever so fascinating--no daughter of Eve so pretty +and provoking!" + +This apostrophe, which certainly appears, now that in cooler moments I +recall it, rather rhapsodical, was not uttered _viva voce_, nor even +_sotto voce_, seeing that its object, Miss Dora M'Dermot, was riding +along only three paces in front of me, whilst her brother walked by my +side. It was a mere mental ejaculation, elicited by the surpassing +perfections of the aforesaid Dora, who assuredly was the most charming +girl I had ever beheld. But for the Pyrenean scenery around us, and the +rough ill-conditioned mule, with its clumsy side-saddle of discoloured +leather, on which she was mounted, instead of the Spanish jennet or +well-bred English palfrey that would best have suited so fair an +equestrian, I could, without any great exertion of fancy, have dreamed +myself back to the days of the M'Gregor, and fancied that it was Die +Vernon riding up the mountain side, gaily chatting as she went with the +handsome cavalier who walked by her stirrup, and who might have been +Frank Osbaldistone, only that he was too manly-looking for Scott's +somewhat effeminate hero. How beautifully moulded was the form which her +dark-green habit set off to such advantage; how fairy-like the foot that +pressed the clumsy stirrup; how slender the fingers that grasped the +rein! She had discarded the heavy riding-hat and senseless bonnet, those +graceless inventions of some cunning milliner, and had adopted a +head-dress not unusual in the country in which she then was. This was a +_beret_ or flat cap, woven of snow-white wool, and surmounted by a +crimson tassel spread out over the top. From beneath this elegant +_coiffure_ her dark eyes flashed and sparkled, whilst her luxuriant +chestnut curls fell down over her neck, the alabaster fairness of which +made her white head-dress look almost tawny. Either because the air, +although we were still in the month of September, was fresh on the +mountains, or else because she was pretty and a woman, and therefore not +sorry to show herself to the best advantage, she had twisted round her +waist a very long cashmere scarf, previously passing it over one +shoulder in the manner of a sword-belt, the ends hanging down nearly to +her stirrup; and this gave something peculiarly picturesque, almost +fantastical, to her whole appearance. + +Upon the second day of my arrival at the baths of St Sauveur, in the +Pyrenees, I had fallen in with my old friend and college chum, Jack +M'Dermot, who was taking his sister the round of the French +watering-places. Dora's health had been delicate, the faculty had +recommended the excursion; and Jack, who doated upon his only sister, +had dragged her away from the gaieties of London and brought her off to +the Pyrenees. M'Dermot was an excellent fellow, neither a wit nor a +Solomon; but a good-hearted dog who had been much liked at Trin. Coll., +Dublin, where he had thought very little of his studies, and a good deal +of his horses and dogs. An Irishman, to be sure, occasionally a slight +touch of the brogue was perceptible in his talk; but from this his +sister, who had been brought up in England, was entirely free. Jack had +a snug estate of three thousand a-year; Miss Dora had twenty thousand +pounds from her mother. She had passed two seasons in London; and if she +was not already married, it was because not one of the fifty aspirants +to her hand had found favour in her bright eyes. Lively and +high-spirited, with a slight turn for the satirical, she loved her +independence, and was difficult to please. + +I had been absent from England for nearly two years, on a continental +tour; and although I had heard much of Miss M'Dermot, I had never seen +her till her brother introduced me to her at St Sauveur. I had not known +her an hour, before I found myself in a fair way to add another to the +list of the poor moths who had singed their wings at the perilous light +of her beauty. When M'Dermot, learning that, like themselves, I was on a +desultory sort of ramble, and had not marked out any particular route, +offered me a seat in their carriage, and urged me to accompany them, +instead of prudently flying from the danger, I foolishly exposed myself +to it, and lo! what might have been anticipated came to pass. Before I +had been two days in Dora's society, my doom was sealed; I had ceased to +belong to myself; I was her slave, the slave of her sunny smile and +bright eyes--talisman more potent than any lamp or ring that djinn or +fairy ever obeyed. + +A fortnight had passed, and we were at B----. During that time, the +spell that bound me had been each day gaining strength. As an intimate +friend of her brother, I was already, with Dora, on the footing of an +old acquaintance; she seemed well enough pleased with my society, and +chatted with me willingly and familiarly; but in vain did I watch for +some slight indication, a glance or an intonation, whence to derive +hope. None such were perceptible; nor could the most egregious coxcomb +have fancied that they were. We once or twice fell in with other +acquaintances of her's and her brother's, and with them she had just the +same frank friendly manner, as with me. I had not sufficient vanity, +however, to expect a woman, especially one so much admired as Miss +M'Dermot, to fall in love at first sight with my humble personality, and +I patiently waited, trusting to time and assiduity to advance my cause. + +Things were in this state, when one morning, whilst taking an early walk +to the springs, I ran up against an English friend, by name Walter +Ashley. He was the son of a country gentleman of moderate fortune, at +whose house I had more than once passed a week in the shooting season. +Walter was an excellent fellow, and a perfect model of the class to +which he belonged. By no means unpolished in his manners, he had yet a +sort of plain frankness and _bonhomie_, which was peculiarly agreeable +and prepossessing. He was not a university man, nor had he received an +education of the highest order; spoke no language but his own with any +degree of correctness; neither played the fiddle, painted pictures, nor +wrote poetry. On the other hand, in all manly exercises he was a +proficient; shot, rode, walked, and danced to perfection; and the fresh +originality, and pleasant tone of his conversation, redeemed any +deficiency of reading or accomplishment. In personal appearance he was a +splendid fellow, nearly six feet in his boots, strongly, but, at the +same time, symmetrically built; although his size of limb and width of +shoulder rendered him, at six-and-twenty, rather what is called a fine +man, than a slender or elegant one. He had the true Anglo-Saxon +physiognomy, blue eyes, and light brown hair that waved, rather than +curled, round his broad handsome forehead. And, then, what a mustache +the fellow had! (He was officer in a crack yeomanry corps.) Not one of +the composite order, made up of pomatum and lamp-black, such as may be +seen sauntering down St James's Street on a spring afternoon, with +incipient guardsmen behind them--but worthy of an Italian painter or +Hungarian hussar; full, well-grown, and glossy. Who was the idiot who +first set afloat the notion--now become an established prejudice in +England--that mustaches were unseemly? To nine faces out of ten, they +are a most becoming addition, increasing physiognomical character, +almost giving it where there is none; relieving the monotony of broad +flat cheeks, and abridging the abomination of a long upper-lip. +Uncleanly, say you? Not a bit of it, if judiciously trimmed and trained. +What, Sir! are they not at least as proper looking as those foxy +thickets extending from jawbone to temple, which you yourself, each +morning of your life, take such pains to comb and curl into shape? + +Delighted to meet Ashley, I dragged him off to the hotel, to introduce +him to M'Dermot and his sister. As a friend of mine they gave him a +cordial welcome, and we passed that day and the following ones together. +I soon, however, I must confess, began to repent a little having brought +my handsome friend into the society of Dora. She seemed better pleased +with him than I altogether liked, nor could I wonder at it. Walter +Ashley was exactly the man to please a woman of Dora's character. She +was of rather a romantic turn, and about him there was a dash of the +chivalrous, well calculated to captivate her imagination. Although +perfectly feminine, she was an excellent horsewoman, and an ardent +admirer of feats of address and courage, and she had heard me tell her +brother of Ashley's perfection in such matters. On his part, Ashley, +like every one else who saw her, was evidently greatly struck with her +beauty and fascination of manner. I cannot say that I was jealous; I had +no right to be so, for Dora had never given me encouragement; but I +certainly more than once regretted having introduced a third person into +what--honest Jack M'Dermot counting, of course, for nothing--had +previously been a sort of _tete-a-tete_ society. I began to fear that, +thanks to myself, my occupation was gone, and Ashley had got it. + +It was the fifth day after our meeting with Walter, and we had started +early in the morning upon an excursion to a neighbouring lake, the +scenery around which, we were told, was particularly wild and beautiful. +It was situated on a piece of table-land on the top of a mountain, which +we could see from the hotel window. The distance was barely ten miles, +and the road being rough and precipitous, M'Dermot, Ashley, and myself, +had chosen to walk rather than to risk our necks by riding the +broken-knee'd ponies that were offered to us. A sure-footed mule, and +indifferent side-saddle, had been procured for Miss M'Dermot, and was +attended by a wild-looking Bearnese boy, or gossoon, as her brother +called him, a creature like a grasshopper, all legs and arms, with a +scared countenance, and long lank black hair hanging in irregular shreds +about his face. + +There is no season more agreeable in the Pyrenees than the month of +September. People are very apt to expatiate on the delights of autumn, +its mellow beauty, pensive charms, and suchlike. I confess that in a +general way I like the youth of the year better than its decline, and +prefer the bright green tints of spring, with the summer in prospective, +to the melancholy autumn, its russet hues and falling leaves; its +regrets for fine weather past, and anticipations of bad to come. But if +there be any place where I should be tempted to reverse my judgment, it +would be in Southern France, and especially its western and central +portion. The clear cloudless sky, the moderate heat succeeding to the +sultriness, often overpowering, of the summer months, the magnificent +vineyards and merry vintage time, the noble groves of chestnut, clothing +the lower slopes of the mountains, the bright streams and +flower-spangled meadows of Bearn and Languedoc, render no part of the +year more delightful in those countries than the months of September and +October. + +As before mentioned, Dora rode a little in front, with Ashley beside +her, pointing out the beauties of the wild scenery through which we +passed, and occasionally laying a hand upon her bridle to guide the mule +over some unusually rugged portion of the almost trackless mountain. +M'Dermot and I were walking behind, a little puffed by the steepness of +the ascent; our guide, whose name was Cadet, a name answered to by every +second man one meets in that part of France, strode along beside us, +like a pair of compasses with leathern lungs. Presently the last-named +individual turned to me-- + +"_Ces messieurs veulent-ils voir le Saut de lou Contrabandiste?_" said +he, in the barbarous dialect of the district, half French, half patois, +with a small dash of Spanish. + +"_Le Saut du Contrebandier_, the Smuggler's Leap--What is that?" asked +Dora, who had overheard the question, turning round her graceful head, +and dazzling us--me at least--by a sudden view of her lovely face, now +glowing with exercise and the mountain air. + +The smuggler's leap, so Cadet informed us, was a narrow cleft in the +rock, of vast depth, and extending for a considerable distance across a +flank of the mountain. It owed its name to the following incident:--Some +five years previously, a smuggler, known by the name of Juan le Negre, +or Black Juan, had, for a considerable period, set the custom-house +officers at defiance, and brought great discredit on them by his success +in passing contraband goods from Spain. In vain did they lie in ambush +and set snares for him; they could never come near him, or if they did +it was when he was backed by such a force of the hardy desperadoes +carrying on the same lawless traffic, that the douaniers were either +forced to beat a retreat or got fearfully mauled in the contest that +ensued. One day, however, three of these green-coated guardians of the +French revenue caught a sight of Juan alone and unarmed. They pursued +him, and a rare race he led them, over cliff and crag, across rock and +ravine, until at last they saw with exultation that he made right for +the chasm in question, and there they made sure of securing him. It +seemed as if he had forgotten the position of the cleft, and only +remembered it when he got within a hundred yards or thereabouts, for +then he slackened his pace. The douaniers gained on him, and expected +him to desist from his flight, and surrender. What was their surprise +and consternation when they saw him, on reaching the edge of the chasm, +spring from the ground with lizardlike agility, and by one bold leap +clear the yawning abyss. The douaniers uttered a shout of rage and +disappointment, and two of them ceased running; but the third, a man of +great activity and courage, and who had frequently sworn to earn the +reward set on the head of Juan, dared the perilous jump. He fell short; +his head was dashed against the opposite rock, and his horror-struck +companions, gazing down into the dark depth beneath, saw his body strike +against the crags on its way to the bottom of the abyss. The smuggler +escaped, and the spot where the tragical incident occurred was +thenceforward known as "_Le Saut du Contrebandier_." + +Before our guide had finished his narrative, we were unanimous in our +wish to visit its scene, which we reached by the time he had brought the +tale to a conclusion. It was certainly a most remarkable chasm, whose +existence was only to be accounted for by reference to the volcanic +agency of which abundant traces exist in Southern France. The whole side +of the mountain was cracked and rent asunder, forming a narrow ravine of +vast depth, in the manner of the famous Mexican _barrancas_. In some +places might be traced a sort of correspondence on the opposite sides; a +recess on one side into which a projection on the other would have +nearly fitted, could some Antaeus have closed the fissure. This, however, +was only here and there; generally speaking, the rocky brink was worn by +the action of time and water, and the rock composing it sloped slightly +downwards. The chasm was of various width, but was narrowest at the spot +at which we reached it, and really did not appear so very terrible a +leap as Cadet made it out to be. On looking down, a confusion of +bush-covered crags was visible; and now that the sun was high, a narrow +stream was to be seen, flowing, like a line of silver, at the bottom; +the ripple and rush of the water, repeated by the echoes of the ravine, +ascending to our ears with noise like that of a cataract. On large +fragment of rock, a few yards from the brink, was rudely carved a date, +and below it two letters. They were the initials, so our guide informed +us, of the unfortunate douanier who had there met his death. + +We had remained for half a minute or so gazing down into the ravine, +when Ashley, who was on the right of the party, broke silence. + +"Pshaw!" said he, stepping back from the edge, "that's no leap. Why, +I'll jump across it myself." + +"For heaven's sake!" cried Dora. + +"Ashey!" I exclaimed, "don't be a fool!" + +But it was too late. What mad impulse possessed him I cannot say; but +certain I am, from my knowledge of his character, that it was no foolish +bravado or schoolboy desire to show off, that seduced him to so wild a +freak. The fact was, but for the depth below, the leap did not look at +all formidable; not above four or five feet, but in reality it was a +deal wider. It was probably this deceitful appearance, and perhaps the +feeling which Englishmen are apt to entertain, that for feats of +strength and agility no men surpass them, that convinced Walter of the +ease With which he could jump across. Before we could stop him, he took +a short run, and jumped. + +A scream from Dora was echoed by an exclamation of horror from M'Dermot +and myself. Ashley had cleared the chasm and alighted on the opposite +edge, but it was shelving and slippery, and his feet slid from under +him. For one moment it appeared as if he would instantly be dashed to +pieces, but in falling he managed to catch the edge of the rock, which +at that place formed an angle. There he hung by his hands, his whole +body in the air, without a possibility of raising himself; for below the +edge the rock was smooth and receding, and even could he have reached +it, he would have found no foot-hold. One desperate effort he made to +grasp a stunted and leafless sapling that grew in a crevice at not more +than a foot from the edge, but it failed, and nearly caused his instant +destruction. Desisting from further effort, he hung motionless, his +hands convulsively cramped to the ledge of rock, which afforded so +slippery and difficult a hold, that his sustaining himself by it at all +seemed a miracle, and could only be the result of uncommon muscular +power. It was evident that no human strength could possibly maintain him +for more than a minute or two in that position; below was an abyss, a +hundred or more feet deep--to all appearance his last hour was come. + +M'Dermot and I stood aghast and helpless, gazing with open mouths and +strained eyeballs at our unhappy friend. What could we do? Were we to +dare the leap, which one far more active and vigorous than ourselves had +unsuccessfully attempted? It would have been courting destruction, +without a chance of saving Ashley. But Dora put us to shame. One scream, +and only one, she uttered, and then, gathering up her habit, she sprang +unaided from her mule. Her cheek was pale as the whitest marble, but her +presence of mind was unimpaired, and she seemed to gain courage and +decision in the moment of peril. + +"Your cravats, your handkerchiefs!" cried she, unfastening, as she +spoke, her long cashmere scarf. Mechanically M'Dermot and myself obeyed. +With the speed of light and a woman's dexterity, she knotted together +her scarf, a long silk cravat which I gave her, M'Dermot's handkerchief +and mine, and securing--how, I know not--a stone at either extremity of +the rope thus formed, she threw one end of it, with sure aim and steady +hand, across the ravine and round the sapling already referred to. Then +leaning forward till I feared she would fall into the chasm, and sprang +forward to hold her back, she let go of the other end. Ashley's hold was +already growing feeble, his fingers were torn by the rock, the blood +started from under his nails, and he turned his face towards us with a +mute prayer for succour. At that moment the two ends of the shawl fell +against him, and he instinctively grasped them. It was a moment of +fearful suspense. Would the knots so hastily made resist the tension of +his weight? They did so; he raised himself by strength of wrist. The +sapling bent and bowed, but his hand was now close to it. He grasped it; +another powerful effort, the last effort of despair, and he lay +exhausted and almost senseless upon the rocky brink. At the same moment, +with a cry of joy, Dora fell fainting into her brother's arms. + +Of that day's adventures little remains to tell. A walk of a mile +brought Ashley to a place where a bridge, thrown over the ravine, +enabled him to cross it. I omit his thanks to Dora, his apologies for +the alarm he had caused her, and his admiring eulogy of her presence of +mind. Her manner of receiving them, and the look she gave him when, on +rejoining us, he took her hand, and with a natural and grateful courtesy +that prevented the action from appearing theatrical or unusual, pressed +it to his lips, were any thing but gratifying to me, whatever they may +have been to him. She seemed no way displeased at the freedom. I was +most confoundedly, but that Walter did not seem to observe. + +The incident that had occurred, and Dora's request, brought our +excursion to an abrupt termination, and we returned homewards. It +appeared as if this were doomed to be a day of disagreeables. On +reaching the inn, I found a letter which, thanks to my frequent change +of place, and to the dilatoriness of continental post-offices, had been +chasing me from town to town during the previous three weeks. It was +from a lawyer, informing me of the death of a relative, and compelling +me instantly to return to England to arrange some important business +concerning a disputed will. The sum at stake was too considerable for me +to neglect the summons, and with the worst possible grace I prepared to +depart. I made some violent attempts to induce Ashley to accompany me, +talked myself hoarse about fox-hunting and pheasant-shooting, and other +delights of the approaching season; but all in vain. His passion for +field-sports seemed entirely cooled; he sneered at foxes, treated +pheasants with contempt, and professed to be as much in love with the +Pyrenees as I began to fear he was with Dora. There was nothing for it +but to set out alone, which I accordingly did, having previously +obtained from M'Dermot the plan of their route, and the name of the +place where he and his sister thought of wintering. I was determined, so +soon as I had settled my affairs, to return to the continent and propose +for Dora. + +Man proposes and God disposes, says the proverb. In my case, I am +prepared to prove that the former part of the proverb lied abominably. +Instead of a fortnight in London being, as I had too sanguinely hoped, +sufficient for the settlement of the business that took me thither, I +was detained several months, and compelled to make sundry journeys to +the north of England. I wrote several times to M'Dermot, and had one +letter from him, but no more. Jack was a notoriously bad correspondent, +and I scarcely wondered at his silence. + +Summer came--my lawsuit was decided, and sick to death of briefs and +barristers, parchments and attorneys, I once more found myself my own +master. An application to M'Dermot's London banker procured me his +address. He was then in Switzerland, but was expected down the Rhine, +and letters to Wiesbaden would find him. That was enough for me; my +head and heart were still full of Dora M'Dermot; and two days after I +had obtained information, the "Antwerpen" steamer deposited me on +Belgian ground. + +"Mr M'Dermot is stopping here?" I enquired of, or rather affirmed to, +the head waiter at the Four Seasons hotel at Wiesbaden. If the fellow +had told me he was not, I believe I should have knocked him down. + +"He is, sir. You will find him in the Cursaal gardens with madame _sa +soeur_." + +Off I started to the gardens. They were in full bloom and beauty, +crowded with flowers and _fraueleins_ and foreigners of all nations. The +little lake sparkled in the sunshine, and the waterfowl skimmed over it +in all directions. But it's little I cared for such matters. I was +looking for Dora, sweet Dora--Dora M'Dermot. + +At the corner of a walk I met her brother. + +"Jack!" I exclaimed, grasping his hand with the most vehement affection, +"I'm delighted to see you." + +"And I'm glad to see you, my boy," was the rejoinder. "I was wondering +you did not answer my last letter, but I suppose you thought to join us +sooner." + +"Your last letter!" I exclaimed. "I have written three times since I +heard from you." + +"The devil you have!" cried Jack. "Do you mean to say you did not get +the letter I wrote you from Paris a month ago, announcing"---- + +I did not hear another word, for just then, round a corner of the +shrubbery, came Dora herself, more charming than ever, all grace and +smiles and beauty. But I saw neither beauty nor smiles nor grace; all I +saw was, that she was leaning on the arm of that provokingly handsome +dog Walter Ashley. For a moment I stood petrified, and then extending my +hand, + +"Miss M'Dermot!"----I exclaimed. + +She drew back a little, with a smile and a blush. Her companion stepped +forward. + +"My dear fellow," said he, "there is no such person. Allow me to +introduce you to Mrs Ashley." + +If any of my friends wish to be presented to pretty girls with twenty +thousand pounds, they had better apply elsewhere than to me. Since that +day I have forsworn the practice. + + + + +MINISTERIAL MEASURES. + + +Not enviable, in our apprehension, at the present crisis, is the +position of a young man whose political education has been framed upon +Conservative principles, and whose personal experience and recollections +go little further back than the triumph of those principles over others +which he has been early taught to condemn. His range of facts may be +limited, but at the same time it is very significant. He has seen his +party--for a season excluded from power--again re-assume the reigns of +government at the call of a vast majority of the nation. He remembers +that that call was founded upon the general desire that a period of +tranquil stability should succeed to an interval of harassing +vacillation; and that the only general pledge demanded from the +representatives of the people was an adherence to certain principles of +industrial protection, well understood in the main, if not thoroughly +and accurately defined. We shall suppose a young man of this stamp +introduced into the House of Commons, deeply impressed with the full +import and extent of his responsibilities--fortified in his own opinions +by the coinciding votes and arguments of older statesmen, on whose +experience he is fairly entitled to rely--regarding the leader of his +party with feelings of pride and exultation, because he is the champion +of a cause identified with the welfare of the nation--and unsuspicious +of any change in those around him, and above. Such was, we firmly +believe, the position of many members of the present Parliament, shortly +before the opening of this session, when, on a sudden, rumours of some +intended change began to spread themselves abroad. An era of conversion +had commenced. In one and the same night, some portentous dream +descended upon the pillows of the Whig leaders, and whispered that the +hour was come. By miraculous coincidence--co-operation being studiously +disclaimed--Lord John Russell, Lord Morpeth, + + "And other worthy fellows that were _out_," + +gave in their adhesion, nearly on the same day, to the League--thereby, +as we are told, anticipating the unanimous wish of their followers. Then +came, on the part of Ministers, a mysterious resignation--an episodical +and futile attempt to re-construct a Whig government--and the return of +Sir Robert Peel to power. Still there was no explanation. Men were left +to guess, as they best might, at the Eleusinian drama performing behind +the veil of Isis--to speculate for themselves, or announce to others at +random the causes of this huge mystification. "The oracles were dumb." +This only was certain, that Lord Stanley was no longer in the Cabinet. + +Let us pass over the prologue of the Queen's speech, and come at once to +the announcement of his financial measures by the Minister. What need to +follow him through the circumlocutions of that speech--through the +ostentatiously paraded details of the measure that was to give +satisfaction to all or to none? What need to revert to the manner in +which he paced around his subject, pausing ever and anon to exhibit some +alteration in the manufacturing tariff? The catalogue was protracted, +but, like every thing else, it had an end; and the result, in so far as +the agricultural interest is concerned, was the proposed abolition of +all protective duties upon the importation of foreign grain. + +Our opinion upon that important point has been repeatedly expressed. For +many years, and influenced by no other motive than our sincere belief in +the abstract justice of the cause, this Magazine has defended the +protective principle from the assaults which its enemies have made. Our +views were no doubt fortified by their coincidence with those +entertained and professed by statesmen, whose general policy has been +productive of good to the country; but they were based upon higher +considerations than the mere approbation of a party. Therefore, as we +did not adopt these views loosely, we shall not lightly abandon then. On +the contrary, we take leave to state here, in _limine_, that, after +giving our fullest consideration to the argument of those who were +formerly, like us, the opponents, but are now the advisers of the +change, we can see no substantial reason for departing from our +deliberate views, and assenting to the abandonment of a system which +truth and justice have alike compelled us to uphold. + +We can, however, afford to look upon these things philosophically, and +to content ourselves with protesting against the change. Very different +is the situation of those Conservative members of Parliament who are now +told that their eyes must be couched for cataract, in order that they +may become immediate recipients of the new and culminating light. +CONVERSION is no doubt an excellent thing; but, as we have hitherto +understood it, the quality of CONVICTION has been deemed an +indispensable preliminary. Conversion without conviction is hypocrisy, +and a proselyte so obtained is coerced and not won. We are not +insensible to the nature of the ties which bind a partisan to his +leader. Their relative strength or weakness are the tests of the +personal excellence of the latter--of the regard which his talents +inspire--of the veneration which his sagacity commands. Strong indeed +must be the necessity which on any occasion can unloose them; nor can +it, in the ordinary case, arise except from the fault of the leader. For +the leader and the follower, if we consider the matter rightly, are +alike bound to common allegiance: some principle must have been laid +down as terms of their compact, which both are sworn to observe; and the +violation of this principle on either side is a true annulment of the +contract. No mercy is shown to the follower when he deserts or +repudiates the common ground of action;--is the leader, who is presumed +to have the maturer mind, and more prophetic eye, entitled to a larger +indulgence? + +Whilst perusing the late debates, we have repeatedly thought of a +pregnant passage in Schiller. It is that scene in "The Piccolomini," +where Wallenstein, after compromising himself privately with the enemy, +attempts to win over the ardent and enthusiastic Max, the nursling of +his house, to the revolt. It is so apposite to the present situation of +affairs, that we cannot forbear from quoting it. + + +WALLENSTEIN. + + Yes, Max! _I have delay'd to open it to thee, + Even till the hour of acting 'gins to strike_. + Youth's fortunate feeling doth seize easily + The absolute right; yea, and a joy it is + To exercise the single apprehension + Where the sums square in proof;-- + But where it happens, that _of two sure evils + One must be taken_, where the heart not wholly + Brings itself back from out the strife of duties, + _There 'tis a blessing to have no election, + And blank necessity is grace and favour._ + --This is now present: do not look behind thee,-- + It can no more avail thee. Look thou forwards! + _Think not! judge not! prepare thyself to act! + The Court--it hath determined on my ruin, + Therefore will I to be beforehand with them._ + We'll join THE SWEDES--right gallant fellows are they, + And our good friends. + +For "the Swedes" substitute "the League," and there is not one word of +the foregoing passage that might not have been uttered by Sir Robert +Peel. For, most assuredly, until "the hour of acting" struck, was the +important communication delayed; and no higher or more comprehensive +argument was given to the unfortunate follower than this, "that of two +sure evils one must be taken." But is it, therefor, such a blessing "to +have no election," and is "blank necessity," therefore, such a special +"grace and favour?"--say, _is_ it necessity, when a clear, and +consistent, and honourable course remains open? The evil on one side is +clear: it is the loss of self-respect--the breach of pledges--the +forfeiture of confidence--the abandonment of a national cause. On the +other it is doubtful; it rests but on personal feeling, which may be +painful to overcome, but which ought not to stand for a moment in the +way of public duty. + +Far be it from us to say, that amongst those who have cast their lot on +the opposite side, there are not many who have done so from the best and +the purest motives. The public career of some, and the private virtues +of others, would belie us if we dared to assert the contrary. With them +it may be conviction, or it may be an overruling sense of +expediency--and with either motive we do not quarrel--but surely it is +not for them, the new converts, to insinuate taunts of interested +motives and partial construction against those who maintain the deserted +principle. "For whom are you counsel now?" interrupted Sir Robert Peel, +in the midst of the able, nay chivalrous speech of Mr Francis Scott, the +honourable member for Roxburghshire. Admitting that the question was +jocularly put and good-humouredly meant, we yet admire the spirit of the +reply. "I am asked for whom I am the counsel. I am the counsel for my +opinions. I am no delegate in this assembly. I will yield to no man in +sincerity. I am counsel for no man, no party, no sect. I belong to no +party. I followed, and was proud to follow, that party which was led so +gloriously--the party of the constitution, which was led by the Right +Honourable Baronet. I followed under his banner, and was glad to serve +under it. I would have continued to serve under his banner if he had +hoisted and maintained the same flag!" Can it be that the Premier, who +talks so largely about his own wounded feelings, can make no allowance +for the sorrow, or even the indignation of those who are now restrained +by a sense of paramount duty from following him any further? Can he +believe that such a man as Mr Stafford O'Brien would have used such +language as this, had he not been stung by the injustice of the course +pursued towards him and his party:--"We will not envy you your +triumph--we will not participate in your victory. Small in numbers, and, +it may be, uninfluential in debate, we will yet stand forward to protest +against your measures. You will triumph; yes, and you will triumph over +men whose moderation in prosperity, and whose patience under adversity +has commanded admiration--but whose fatal fault was, that they trusted +you. You will triumph over them in strange coalition with men, who, true +to their principles, can neither welcome you as a friend, nor respect +you as an opponent; and of whom I must say, that the best and most +patriotic of them all will the least rejoice in the downfall of the +great constitutional party you have ruined, and will the most deplore +the loss of public confidence in public men!" + +We may ask, are such men, speaking under such absolute conviction of the +truth, to be lightly valued or underrated? Are their opinions, because +consistent, to be treated with contempt, and consistency itself to be +sneered at as the prerogative of obstinacy and dotage? Was there no +truth, then, in the opinions which, on this point of protection, the +Premier has maintained for so many years; or, if not, is their fallacy +so very glaring, that he can expect all the world at once to detect the +error, which until now has been concealed even from his sagacious eye? +Surely there must be something very specious in doctrines to which he +has subscribed for a lifetime, and without which he never would have +been enabled to occupy his present place. We blame him not if, on mature +reflection, he is now convince of his error. It is for him to reconcile +that error with his reputation as a statesman. But we protest against +that blinding and coercing system which of late years has been unhappily +the vogue, and which, if persevered in, appears to us of all things the +most likely to sap the foundations of public confidence, in the +integrity as well as the skill of those who are at the helm of the +government. + +We have given the speech of Wallenstein-let us now subjoin the reply of +Piccolomini. Mark how appropriate it is, with but the change of a single +word-- + + MAX. + + My General; this day thou makest me + Of age to speak in my own right and person. + For till this day I have been spared the trouble + To find out my own road. _Thee have I follow'd + With most implicit, unconditional faith, + Sure of the right path if I follow'd thee._ + To-day, for the first time, dost thou refer + Me to myself, and forcest me to make + Election between thee and my own heart-- + _Is that a good war, which against the Empire + Thou wagest with the Empire's own array?_ + O God of heaven! what a change is this! + Beseems it me to offer such persuasion + To thee, who like the fix'd star of the pole + Wert all I gazed at on life's trackless ocean; + Oh, what a rent thou makest in my heart! + The engrain'd instinct of old reverence, + The holy habit of obediency, + Must I pluck live asunder from thy name? + Oh, do it not!--I pray thee do it not!-- + Thou wilt not-- + Thou canst not end in this! It would reduce + All human creatures to disloyalty + Against the nobleness of their own nature. + 'Twill justify the vulgar misbelief + Which holdeth nothing noble in free-will, + And trusts itself to impotence alone, + Made powerful only in an unknown power! + +These quotations may look strangely in such an article as this; but +there are many within the walls of St Stephens's who must acknowledge +the force of the allusion, and the truth of the sentiments they convey. +The language we intend to use is less that of reproach than sorrow: for +whatever may be the practical result of this measure--however it may +affect the great industrial interest of the country, it is impossible +not to see that, from the mere manner of its proposal, it has +disorganized the great Conservative party, and substituted mistrust and +confusion for the feeling of entire confidence which formerly was +reposed in its leaders. + +The change, however has been proposed, and we shall not shrink from +considering it. The scheme of Sir Robert Peel is reducible to a few +points, which we shall now proceed to review _seriatim_. First--let us +regard it with a view to its _nature_; secondly, as to its _necessity_ +under existing circumstances. + +The Premier states, that this is a great _change_. We admit that fully. +A measure which contains within itself a provision, that at the end of +three years agricultural industry within this country shall be left +without any protection at all, and that, in the interim, the mode of +protection shall not only be altered but reduced, is necessarily a +prodigious _change_. It is one which is calculated to affect agriculture +directly, and home consumption of manufactures indirectly; to reduce the +price of bread in this country--otherwise it is a useless change--by the +introduction of foreign grain, and therefore to lower the profits of one +at least of three classes, the landlord, the tenant, or the labourer, +which classes consume the greater part of our manufactures. So far it is +distinctly adverse to the agricultural interest, for we cannot exactly +understand how a measure can be at once favourable and unfavourable to a +particular party--how the producer of corn can be benefited by the +depreciation of the article which he raises, unless, indeed, the +reduction of the price of the food which he consumes himself be taken +as an equivalent. Very likely this is what is meant. If so, it partakes +of the nature of a principle, and must hold good in other instances. +Apply it to the manufacturer; tell him that, by reducing the cost of his +cottons one-half, he will be amply compensated, because in that event +his shirts will cost him only a half of the present prices, and his wife +and children can be sumptuously clothed for a moiety. His immediate +answer would be this: "By no means. I an manufacturing not for myself +but for others. I deal on a large scale. I supply a thousand customers; +and the profit I derive from that is infinitely greater than the saving +I could effect by the reduced price of the articles which I must consume +at home." The first view is clearly untenable. We may, therefore, +conclude at all events that some direct loss must, under the operation +of the new scheme, fall upon the agricultural classes; and it is of some +moment to know how this loss is to be supplied. For we take the opening +statement of Sir Robert Peel as we find it; and he tells us that _both_ +classes, the agriculturists and the manufacturers, are "to make +sacrifices." Now, in these three words lies the germ of a most +important--nay paramount--consideration, which we would fain have +explained to us before we go any further. For, according to our ideas of +words, a sacrifice means a loss, which, except in the case of deliberate +destruction, implies a corresponding gain to a third party. Let us, +then, try to discover who is to be the gainer. Is it the state--that is, +the British public revenue? No--most distinctly not; for while, on the +one side, the corn duties are abolished, on the other the tariff is +relaxed. Is the sacrifice to be a mutual one--that is, is the +agriculturist to be compensated by cheaper _home_ manufactures, and the +manufacturer to be compensated by cheaper _home-grown bread_? No--the +benefit to either class springs from no such source. _The duties on the +one side are to be abolished, and on the other side relaxed, in order +that the agriculturist may get cheap foreign manufactures, and the +manufacturer cheap foreign grain._ If there is to be a sacrifice upon +both sides, as was most clearly enunciated, it must just amount to this, +that the interchange between the classes at home is to be closed, and +the foreign markets opened as the great sources of supply. + +Having brought the case of the "mutual sacrifices" thus far, is there +one of our readers who does not see a rank absurdity in the attempt to +insinuate that a compensation is given to the labourer? This measure, if +it has meaning at all, is framed with the view of benefiting the +manufacturing interest, of course at the expense of the other. Total +abolition of protective duties in this country must lower the price of +corn, and that is the smallest of the evils we anticipate;--for an evil +it is, if the effect of it be to reduce the labourer's wages--and it +must also tend to throw land out of cultivation. _But what will the +relaxation of the tariff do?_ Will it lower the price of manufactured +goods in this country to the agricultural labourer?--that is, after the +diminished duty is paid, can foreign manufactures be imported here _at a +price which shall compete with the home manufactures_? If so, the home +consumption of our manufactures, which is by far the most important +branch of them, is ruined. "Not so!" we hear the modern economist +exclaim; "the effect of the foreign influx of goods will merely be a +stimulant to the national industry, and a consequent lowering of our +prices." Here we have him between the horns of a plain and palpable +dilemma. If the manufacturer for the home market will be compelled, as +you say he must be, to lower his prices at home, in order to meet the +competition of foreign imported manufactured goods, which are still +liable in a duty, WHAT BECOMES OF YOUR FOREIGN MARKET AFTER YOU HAVE +ANNIHILATED OR EQUALIZED THE HOME ONE? If the foreigner can afford to +pay the freight and the duties, and still to undersell you at home, how +can you possibly contrive to do the same by him? If his goods are +cheaper than yours in this country, when all the costs are included, how +can you compete with him in his market? The thing is a dream--a +delusion--a palpable absurdity. The fact is either this--that not only +the foreign agriculturist but the foreign manufacturer can supply us +with either produce cheaper than we can raise it at home--in which case +we have not a foreign manufacturing market--or that the idea of "mutual +sacrifices" is a mere colour and pretext, and that to all practical +intents and purposes the agriculturist is to be the only sufferer. + +A great change, however, does not necessarily imply a great measure. +This proposal of Sir Robert Peel does not, as far as we can see, embody +any principle; it merely surrenders the interests of one class for the +apparent aggrandizement of another. We use the word "apparent" +advisedly; for, looking to the nature and the extent of home +consumption, we believe that the effects of the measure would ultimately +be felt most severely by the manufacturers themselves. The agriculturist +of Great Britain is placed in a peculiarly bad position. In the first +place, he has to rear his produce in a more variable climate, and a soil +less naturally productive, than many which exist abroad. In the second +place, he has to bear his proportion of the enormous taxation of the +country, for the interest of the national debt, and the expense of the +executive government--now amounting to nearly fifty millions per annum. +It is on these grounds, especially the last, that he requires some +protection against the cheap-grown grain of the Continent, with which he +cannot otherwise compete; and this was most equitably afforded by the +sliding scale, which, in our view, ought to have been adhered to as a +satisfactory settlement of the matter. In a late paper upon this +subject, we rested our vindication of protection upon the highest +possible ground--namely, that it was indispensable for the stability and +independence of the country, that it should depend upon its own +resources for the daily food of its inhabitants. There is a vast degree +of misconception on this point, and the statistics are but little +understood. Some men argue as if this country were incapable, at the +present time, of producing food for its inhabitants, whilst others +assert that it cannot long continue to do so. To the first class we +reply with the pregnant fact, that at this moment there is not more +foreign grain consumed in Great Britain, than the quantity which is +required for production of the malt liquors which we export. To the +second we say--if your hypothesis is correct, the present law is +calculated to operate both as an index and a remedy; but we broadly +dispute your assertions. Agriculture has hitherto kept steady pace with +the increase of the population; new land has been taken into tillage, +and vast quantities remain which are still improveable. The railways, by +making distance a thing of no moment, and by lowering land-carriage, +will, if fair play be given to the enterprise of the agriculturist, +render any apprehension of scarcity at home ridiculous. As to famine, +there is no chance whatever of that occurring, provided the +agriculturists are let alone. But, on the contrary, there is a chance +not of one future famine, but of many, if the protective duties are +removed, and the land at present under tillage permitted to fall back. +You talk of the present distress and low wages of the agricultural +laborer. It is a favourite theme with a certain section of +philanthropists, whose hatred to the aristocracy of this country is only +equalled by their ignorance and consummate assurance. Is that, or can +that be made--supposing that it generally exists--an argument for a +repeal of the corn-laws? If the condition of the labouring man be now +indifferent, what will it become if you deprive him of that employment +from which he now derives his subsistence? Agriculture is subject to the +operation of the laws which govern every branch of industrial labour. It +must either progress or fall back--it cannot by possibility stand still. +It will progress if you give it fair play; if you check it, it will +inevitably decline. What provision do you propose to make for the +multitude of labourers who will thus be thrown out of employment? +They--the poor--are by far more deeply interested in this question than +the rich. Every corn field converted into pasture, will throw some of +these men loose upon society. What do you propose do with them? Have you +poor's-houses--new Bastilles--large enough to contain them? are they to +be desired to leave their homes, desert their families, and seek +employment in the construction of railways--a roving and a houseless +gang? These are very serious considerations, and they require something +more than a theoretical answer. You are not dealing here with a +fractional or insignificant interest, but with one which, numerically +speaking, is the most important of any in the empire. The number of +persons in the United Kingdom immediately supported by agriculture, is +infinitely greater than that dependent in like manner upon manufactures. +It is a class which you do not count by thousands, but by millions; so +that the experiment must be made upon the broadest scale, and the danger +of its failure is commensurate. Rely upon it, this is not a subject with +which legislators may venture to trifle. If the land of this country is +once allowed to recede--as it must do if the power of foreign +competition in grain should prove too much for native industry--the +consequences may be more ruinous than any of us can yet foresee. + +We need hardly say that a period of agricultural depression is of all +things that which the manufacturer has most reason to dread. Exportation +never can be carried to such a height, that the home consumption shall +be a matter of indifference. At present, from eight to nine-tenths of +the manufacturing population are dependent for support upon articles +consumed at home. Any depression, therefore, of agriculture--any measure +which has tendency to throw the other class of labourers out of +employment--must be to them productive of infinite mischief. If the +customer has no means of buying, the dealer cannot get quit of his +goods. This surely is a self-evident proposition; and yet it is now +coolly proposed, that for the benefit of the dealer, the resources of +the principal customer must be so far crippled that even the employment +is rendered precarious. + +The abolition of the protective duties upon corn, is unquestionably the +leading feature of the scheme which the Premier has brought forward. +There are, however, other parts of it with which the agriculturist has +little or nothing to do, but which may appear equally objectionable to +isolated interests. Such is the proposal to allow foreign manufactured +papers to be admitted at a nominal duty, in the teeth of the present +excise regulations, which, of themselves, have been a grievous burden +upon this branch of home industry--the reduction of the duties upon +manufactured silks, linens, shoes, &c.--all of which are now to be +brought into direct competition with our home productions. Brandy, +likewise, is to supersede home-made spirits, whilst the excise is not +removed from the latter. For these and other alterations, it is +difficult to find out any thing like a principle, unless indeed some of +them are to be considered as baits thrown out to foreign states for the +purpose of tempting them to reciprocity. We should, however, have +preferred some distinct negotiation on this subject before the +reductions were actually made; for we have no confidence in the scheme +of tacit subsidies, without a clear understanding or promise of +repayment. Indeed the whole success of this measure, if its effects are +prospectively traced, must ultimately depend upon its reception by the +foreign powers. No doubt, our abandonment of protection upon grain will +be considered by them as a valuable boon; for either their agriculture +will increase in a ratio corresponding to the decline of our own, which +would clearly be their wisest policy, or they will transfer the system +of protective duties to the other side of the seas, and establish a +sliding scale on exports, which may actually prevent us from getting +their grain any cheaper than at present, whilst our public revenue will +thereby be materially diminished. Looking to the commercial jealousy of +our neighbours--to the Zollverein, the various independent tariffs, and +the care and anxiety with which they are shielding their rising +manufactures from our competition--we are inclined to think the last +hypothesis the more probable of the two. The vast success of English +manufacture, and the strenuous efforts which she has latterly made to +command the markets of the world, have not been lost upon the European +or the American sates. They are now far less solicitous about the +improvement of their agriculture, than for the increase of their +manufactures; and some of them--Belgium for example--are already +beginning in certain branches to rival us. This scheme of concession +which is now agitating us will not, as some suppose, resolve itself into +a matter of simple barter, as if Britain with the one hand were +demanding corn, and with the other were proffering the equivalent of a +cotton bale. We are indeed about to demand corn, but the answer of the +foreigner will be this,--"You want grain, for your population is +increasing, your land has gone out of cultivation, and you cannot +support yourselves. Well, we have a superfluity of grain which we can +give you--in fact we have grown it for you--but then it is for us to +select the equivalent. We shall not take those goods which you offer in +exchange. Twelve years ago we set up cotton manufactories. We had not +the same advantages which you possessed in coal and iron, and machinery; +but labour was cheaper with us, and we have prospered. Our manufactures +are now sufficient to supply ourselves--nay, we have begun to export. +Your cotton goods, therefore, are worthless to us, and we must have +something else for our corn." Gold, therefore, the common equivalent, +will be demanded; and the price of corn in this country will, like every +other article, be regulated by the amount and the exigency of the +demand. The regulating power, however, will not then be with us, but +with the parties who furnish the supply. + +But, supposing that no protective duties upon the exportation of grain +shall be levied abroad--which certainly is the view of the free-traders, +and, we presume, also of the Ministry--and, supposing that corn is +imported from abroad at no very great rise of price, then the evil will +come upon us in all its naked deformity. It is very well for certain +politicians to say, that it is an utter absurdity to maintain that cheap +bread can affect the interests of the country; but the men who can argue +thus, have not advanced a step beyond the threshold of social economy. +Let them take the converse of the proposition. If there existed abroad a +manufacturing state which could supply the people of this country with +clothing and every article of manufactured luxury, at a ratio thirty per +cent cheaper than these could be produced in this country, would it be a +measure of wise policy to abandon a system of protective duties? Would +it be wise in the agriculturist to insist upon such an abandonment, in +order that he might wear a cheaper dress, whilst the practical effect of +the measure must be to annihilate the capital now invested in +manufactures, to starve the workman, and of course to narrow within the +lowest limits his capability of purchasing food? In like manner we say, +that it is not wise in the manufacturer to co-operate in this scheme; +for sooner or later the evil effects of it must fall upon his own head. +Cheap bread may be an evil, and a great one. Mr Hudson, no mean +authority in the absence of all official information upon the point, but +a man who has personally dealt in grain, informs us that the probable +price of wheat will be from 35s. to 40s. a quarter. We shall adopt his +calculation, and the more readily because we firmly believe that foreign +grain will at first be imported at some such price, although the spirit +of avarice may combine with the necessity of expending capital in +improvement, to raise it considerably afterwards. But let us assume that +as the probable starting price. No man who knows any thing at all upon +the subject, will venture to say that, at such a price, the agriculture +of the country can be maintained. It _must_ go back. The immediate +consequence is not a prophecy, but a statement of natural effect. Much +land will go out of cultivation. Pauperism will increase in the country +on account of agricultural distress, and the home market for +manufactures will suffer accordingly. + +Is cheap bread a blessing to the labourer, let his labour be what it +may? Let us consider that point a little. And, first, what is meant by +cheap bread? Cheapness is a relative term, and we cannot disconnect it +as a matter of _price_, from the counter element of _wages_. If a +labourer earns but a shilling a-day, and the loaf costs seven-pence, he +will no doubt be materially benefited by a reduction of twopence upon +its price. But if he only earns tenpence, and the loaf is reduced to +fivepence, it is clear to the meanest capacity that he is nothing the +gainer. Nay, he may be a loser. For the grower of the loaf is more +likely, on account of his extra price, to be a purchaser of such +commodities as the other labourer is producing, than if he were ground +down to the lowest possible margin. But, setting that aside, the +consideration comes to be, does price regulate labour, or labour +regulate price? In such a country as this, we apprehend there can be no +doubt that price is the regulating power. At the present moment, +peculiar and extraordinary causes are at work, which, in some degree, +render this question of less momentary consequence. Undoubtedly there is +a stimulus within the country, caused by new improvement, which alters +ordinary calculations, but which cannot be expected to last. We never +yet had so great a demand for labour. But let a period of distress +come--such as we had four years ago--and the political problem revives. +We are undoubtedly an overgrown country. Periods of distress constantly +occur. The slightest check in our machinery, sometimes in parts +apparently trivial, is sufficient to derange the whole of our industrial +system, and to throw the labourer entirely at the mercy of the +capitalist. It is _then_ that the relative value of wages and prices is +developed. The standard which is invariably fixed upon to regulate the +rate of the former, is the price of bread. No class understand this +better than the master-manufacturers, who have the command of capital, +and are not only the council, but the absolute incarnation of the +League. It is in these circumstances that the labouring artisan is +driven to the lowest possible rate of wages, which is calculated simply +upon the price of the quartern loaf. In order to work he must live. That +is a fact which the tyrants of the spinneries do not overlook, but they +take care that the livelihood shall be as scant as possible. The +labourer is desired to work for his daily bread, to which the wages are +made to correspond, and, of course, the cheaper bread is, the greater +are the profits of the master. + +Where the different industrial classes of a nation purchase from each +other, there is a mutual benefit--when either deserts the home market, +and has recourse to a foreign one, the benefit is totally neutralized. +There is no greater fallacy than the proposition, that it is best to buy +in the cheapest and to sell in the dearest market. There is a +preliminary consideration to this--which is your best, your steadiest, +and your most unfailing customer? None knows better than the +manufacturer, that he depends, _ante omnia_, upon the home market. Is +not this the very interest which is now assailed and threatened with +ruin? There is not a man in this country, whatever be his condition, who +would escape without scaith a period of agricultural depression; and how +infinitely more dangerous is the prospect, when the period appears to be +without a limit! The longer we reflect upon this measure, the more are +we convinced of its wantonness, and of the dangerous nature of the +experiment upon every industrial class in this great and prospering +country. + +There is one objection to the Ministerial scheme which, strange to say, +is open to both Protectionist and the Free-trader. The landowner has +reason to object to it both as an active and a passive measure--it +professes to leave him to his own resources, but it does not remove his +restrictions. Surely if the foreigner and the colonists are to be +permitted to compete on equal terms with him in the production of the +great necessary of life, his ingenuity ought to have free scope in other +things, more especially as he labours under the disadvantage of an +inferior soil and climate. Why may he not be allowed, if he pleases, to +attempt the culture of tobacco? The coarser kinds can be grown and +manufactured in many parts of England and Scotland, and if we are to +have free trade, why not carry out the principle to its fullest extent? +Why not allow us to grow hops duty free? Why not relieve us of the +malt-tax and of many other burdens? The answer is one familiar to +us--the revenue would suffer in consequence. No doubt it would, and so +it suffers from every commercial change. But these changes have now +gone so far, that--especially if you abolish this protective duty upon +corn--we are entitled to demand a return from the present cumbrous, +perplexing, and expensive mode of taxation, to the natural cheap and +simple one of poll or property-tax. At present no man knows what he is +paying towards the expense of government. He is reached in every way +indirectly through the articles he consumes. The customs furnish +occupation for one most expensive staff; the excise for another; nowhere +is the machinery of collection attempted to be simplified. Then comes +the assessed-taxes, the income-tax, land-tax--and what not--all +collected by different staffs--the cost of the preventive guard is no +trifle--in fact, there are as many parasites living upon the taxation of +this country as there are insects on a plot of unhealthy rose-trees. If +we are to have free trade, let it be free and unconditional, and rid us +of these swarms of unnecessary vermin. Open the ports by all means, but +open them to every thing. Let the quays be as free for traffic as the +Queen's highway; let us grow what we like, consume what we please, and +tax us in one round sum according to each man's means and substance, and +then at all events there can be no clashing of interests. This is the +true principle of free trade, carried to its utmost extent, and we +recommend it now to the serious consideration of Ministers. + +We have not in these pages ventured to touch upon the interests which +the national churches have in this important measure, because hitherto +we have been dealing with commercial matters exclusively. May we hope +they will be better cared for elsewhere than in our jarring House of +Commons. + +As to the necessity of the measure, more especially at the present time, +we can find no shadow of a reason. We can understand conversions under +very special circumstances. Had it been shown that the agriculturists, +notwithstanding their protection, were remiss in their duties--that they +had neglected improvement--that thereby the people of this country, who +looked to them for their daily supply of bread, were stinted or forced +pay a most exorbitant price, then there might have been some shadow of +an argument for the change at the present moment. We say a shadow, for +in reality there is no argument at all. The sliding-scale was +constructed, we presume, for the purpose of preventing exorbitant +prices, by admitting foreign grain duty free after our averages reached +a certain point, _and that point they have never yet reached_. Was, +then, the probability of such prices never in the mind of the framers, +and was the sliding-scale merely a temporary delusion and not a +settlement? So it would seem. The agriculturists are chargeable with no +neglect. The attempt some three or four months ago to get up a cry of +famine on account of the failure of the crops, has turned out a gross +delusion. Every misrepresentation on this head was met by overwhelming +facts; and the consequence is, that the Premier did not venture, in his +first speech, to found upon a scarcity as a reason for proposing his +measure. Something, indeed, was said about the possibility of a pressure +occurring before the arrival of the next harvest--it was perhaps +necessary to say so; but no man who has studied the agricultural +statistics of last harvest, can give the slightest weight to that +assertion. His second speech has just been put into our hands. Here +certainly he is more explicit. With deep gravity, and a tone of the +greatest deliberation, he tells the House of Commons, that before the +month of May shall arrive, the pressure will be upon us. We read that +announcement, so confidently uttered, with no slight amount of misgiving +as to the opinions we have already chronicled, but the next half column +put us right. There is, after all, no considerable deficiency in the +grain crop. It may be that the country has raised that amount of corn +which is necessary for its ordinary consumption, but the potato crop in +Ireland has failed! This, then--the failure of the potato crop in +Ireland--is the immediate cause, the necessity, of abolishing the +protections to agriculture in Great Britain! Was there ever such logic? +What has the murrain in potatoes to do with the question of foreign +competition, as applied to English, Scottish, nay, Irish corn? We are +old enough to recollect something like a famine in the Highlands, when +the poor were driven to such shifts as humanity shudders to recall; but +we never heard that distress attributed to the fact of English +protection. If millions of the Irish will not work, and will not grow +corn--if they prefer trusting to the potato, and the potato happens to +fail--are _we_ to be punished for that defect, be it one of +carelessness, of improvidence, or of misgovernment? Better that we had +no reason at all than one so obviously flimsy. If we turn to the +petitions which, about the end of autumn, were forwarded from different +towns, praying for that favourite measure of the League, the opening of +the ports, it will be seen that one and all of them were founded on the +assumed fact, that the grain crop was a deficient one. That has proved +to be fallacy, and is of course no longer tenable; but now we are asked +to take, as a supplementary argument, the state of the potatoes in +Ireland, and to apply it not to the opening of the ports for an +exigency, but to the total abolition of the protective duties upon +grain! + +Of the improvidence of the peasantry of Ireland we never entertained a +doubt. To such a scourge as this they have been yearly exposed; but how +their condition is to be benefited by the repeal of the Corn-laws, is a +matter which even Sir Robert Peel has not condescended to explain. For +it is a notorious and incontrovertible fact, that if foreign corn were +at this moment exposed at their doors duty free, they could not purchase +it. We shall give full credit to the government for its intention to +introduce the flour of Indian corn to meet, if possible, the exigency. +It was a wise and a kind thought, objectionable on no principle +whatever; and, had an Order in Council been issued to that effect, we +believe there is not one man in the country who would not have applauded +it. But why was this not done, more especially when the crisis is so +near? If the Irish famine is to begin in May, or even earlier, surely it +was not a very prudent or paternal act to mix up the question with +another, which obviously could not be settled so easily and so soon. It +is rather too much to turn now upon the agriculturists, and say--"You +see, gentlemen, what is the impending condition of Ireland. You have it +in your power to save the people from the consequences of their own +neglect. Adopt our scheme--admit Indian corn free of duty--and you will +rescue thousands from starvation." The appeal, we own, would be +irresistible, _were it made singly_. But if--mixed up as it were and +smothered with maize-flour--the English agriculturist is asked at the +same time to pass another measure which he believes to be suicidal to +his interest, and detrimental to that of the country, he may well be +excused if he pauses before taking so enthusiastic a step. Let us have +this maize by all means; feed the Irish as you best can; do it +liberally; but recollect that there is also a population in this country +to be cared for, and that we cannot in common justice be asked to +surrender a permanent interest, merely because a temporary exigency, +caused by no fault of ours, has arisen elsewhere. + +Apart from this, where was the necessity for the change at the present +moment? We ask that question, not because we are opposed to change when +a proper cause has been established, but because we have been taught--it +would seem somewhat foolishly--to respect consistency, and because we +see ground for suspicion in the authenticity of all these sudden and +unaccountable conversions. This is the first time, so far as we can +recollect, that Ministers, carried into power expressly for their +adherence to certain tangible principles, have repudiated these without +any intelligible cause, or any public emergency which they might seize +as a colourable pretext. The sagacity of some, the high character and +stainless honour of others--for we cannot but look upon the whole +Cabinet as participators in this measure--render the supposition of any +thing like deliberate treachery impossible. It is quite clear from what +has already transpired, that the private opinions of some of them remain +unchanged. They have no love for this measure--they would avoid it if +they could--they cannot look upon its results without serious +apprehension. Some of them, we know, care nothing for power--they would +surrender, not sacrifice it, at any time cheerfully--most of all at a +crisis when its retention might subject them to the reproach of a broken +pledge. Neither do we believe that this is a faint-hearted Cabinet, or +that its members are capable of yielding their opinions to the _brutum +fulmen_ of the League. That body is by no means popular. The great bulk +of the manufacturing artisans are totally indifferent to its +proceedings; for they know well that self-interest, and not +philanthropy, is the motive which has regulated that movement, and that +the immediate effect of cheap bread would be a reduction of the +workman's wages. We cannot, therefore, admit that any pressure from +without has wrought this change of opinion, about which there seems to +be a mystery which may never be properly explained. Perhaps it is best +that it should remain so. Enough are already implicated in this +question, on one side or the other. The facts and the arguments are +before us, and we have but to judge between them. + +Of the probable fate of this measure we shall venture no opinion. The +enormous amount of private business which of late years has been brought +before the Houses of Parliament--the importance and the number of the +internal improvements which depend upon their sanction, and in which +almost every man of moderate means has a stake, are strong probabilities +against any immediate dissolution of Parliament, or an appeal to the +judgment of the country. But there is no policy equal to truth, no line +of conduct at all comparable to consistency. We have not hesitated to +express our extreme regret that this measure should have been so +conceived and ushered in; both because we think these changes of opinion +on the part of public men, when unaccompanied by sufficient outward +motives, and in the teeth of their own recorded words and actions, are +unseemly in themselves, and calculated to unsettle the faith of the +country in the political morality of our statesmen--and because we fear +that a grievous, if not an irreparable division has been thereby caused +amongst the ranks of the Conservative party. Neither have we +hesitated--after giving all due weight to the arguments adduced in its +favour--to condemn that measure, as, in our humble judgment, uncalled +for and attended with the greatest risk of disastrous consequences to +the nation. If this departure from the protective principle should +produce the effect of lessening the tillage of our land, converting +corn-fields into pasture, depriving the labourer of his employment, and +permanently throwing us upon the mercy of foreign nations for our daily +supply of corn, it is impossible to over-estimate the evil. If, on the +contrary, nothing of this should take place--if it should be +demonstrated by experience that the one party has been grasping at a +chimera, and the other battling for the retention of an imaginary +bulwark, then--though we may rejoice that the delusion has been +dispelled--we may well be pardoned some regret that the experiment was +not left to other hands. Our proposition is simply this, that if we +cannot gain cheap bread without resorting to other countries for it, we +ought to continue as we are. Further, we say, that were we to be +supplied with cheap bread on that condition, not only our agricultural +but our manufacturing interest would be deeply and permanently injured; +and that no commercial benefit whatever could recompense us for the +sacrifice of our own independence, and the loss of our native resources. + + +_Edinburgh: Printed by Ballantyne and Hughes, Paul's Work._ + + Transcriber's note: + + In this etext a macron is represented thus [=a]. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackwoods Edinburgh Magazine, Volume +59, No. 365, March, 1846, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKWOODS EDINBURGH *** + +***** This file should be named 29858.txt or 29858.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/8/5/29858/ + +Produced by Brendan OConnor, Jonathan Ingram and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Library of Early Journals.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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