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diff --git a/31859-8.txt b/31859-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a1cbc9a --- /dev/null +++ b/31859-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9281 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 61, +No. 377, March 1847, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 61, No. 377, March 1847 + +Author: Various + +Release Date: April 1, 2010 [EBook #31859] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE, MARCH 1847 *** + + + + +Produced by Brendan OConnor, Jonathan Ingram, and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. +(This file was produced from images generously made +available by The Internet Library of Early Journals.) + + + + + + + + + +BLACKWOOD'S EDINBURGH MAGAZINE. + +No. CCCLXXVII. MARCH, 1847. VOL. LXI. + + + + +ON PAUPERISM, AND ITS TREATMENT. + + "If I oft + Must turn elsewhere--to travel near the tribes + And fellowships of men, and see ill sights + Of maddening passions mutually inflamed; + Must hear humanity in fields and groves + Pipe solitary anguish; or must hang + Brooding above the fierce confederate storm + Of sorrow, barricadoed evermore + Within the walls of cities--may these sounds + Have their authentic comment!" + WORDSWORTH. + + +In order to deal effectively with pauperism, it is necessary to know the +causes which lead to the impoverishment of individuals and masses of +individuals, and to be familiar with the condition, manners, customs, +habits, prejudices, feelings, and superstitions of the poor. + +We do not propose to institute an elaborate inquiry into the _causes of +pauperism_, or to make the topic a subject of separate investigation. +Our chief object will be, to collect into classes those of the poor who +are known, from personal observation, to become chargeable to parishes, +which process will afford abundant scope for remark upon the causes +which led to their impoverishment. We may require the company of the +reader with us in the metropolis for a short space, and may satisfy him +that he need not travel ten miles from his own door in search of +valuable facts, and at the same time convince him _that pauperism is not +that simple compact evil_ which many would wish him to believe. We might +also show that, in the metropolis and its suburbs, there exist types of +every class of poor that can be found in the rural and manufacturing +districts of England; just as it might be shown, that its inhabitants +consist of natives of every county in the three kingdoms. Its fixed +population, according to the quarter in which they live, would be found +to resemble the inhabitants of a great town, a cathedral city, or a seat +of manufactures. And that portion of its inhabitants which may be +regarded as migratory, would complete the resemblance, except that the +shadows would be deeper and the outline more jagged. These persons make +London their winter-quarters. At other seasons they are employed by the +farmer and the grazier. It is a fact, that the most onerous part of the +duties of the metropolitan authorities are those which relate to these +migratory classes. Among them are the most lawless and the most +pauperised of the agricultural districts. Others, during the spring, +summer, and autumn months, were engaged, or pretend that they were +engaged (and the statement cannot be tested,) in the cutting of +vegetables, the making of hay, the picking of pease, beans, fruit, and +hops, and in harvest work. Or they travelled over the country, +frequenting fairs, selling, or pretending to sell, knives, combs, and +stay-laces. Or they were knife-grinders, tinkers, musicians, or +mountebanks. As the winter approaches, they flock into the town in +droves. There they obtain a precarious subsistence in ways unknown; some +pick up the crumbs that fall from the rich man's table, others overcrowd +the workhouses. It would lead to many curious and useful results if this +matter were fully investigated. The reader's company is not, however, +required for this purpose; at the same time, the previous remarks may, +in some measure, prepare his mind for the consideration of kindred +topics. It may introduce a train of reflection, and prompt him to +inquire whether the wandering habits of these outcasts have been in any +degree engendered by the strict workhouse system and workhouse test +enforced in their native villages, by the destruction of cottages, and +the breaking up of local associations, and whether these habits have +been fostered by the facilities with which a bed and a mess of porridge +may be obtained at the unions, without inquiry into their business and +object in travelling. + +Let us steer our course along the silent "highway," the Thames, and make +inquiries of the few sailor-looking men who may still be seen loitering +at the several "stairs;" we shall learn that not many years since these +narrow outlets were the marts of a thriving employment, and that there +crowds of independent and privileged watermen plied successfully for +fares. These places are now forsaken, and the men have lost their +occupation. Some still ply; and the cry at a few stairs, of "Boat, your +honour?" may still be heard. Others have been draughted into situations +connected with the boat companies, which support them during the summer +months. A large number swell the crowds of day-labourers, who frequent +the legal quays, the sufferance wharves, and the docks. And the rest, +unfitted by their age or habits to compete with labourers accustomed to +the other fields of occupation, sink lower and lower; sustained for a +time by the helping hands of comrades and old patrons, but at last +obliged to seek a refuge at the parish workhouse. Death also does his +part. At Paul's Wharf stairs, a few inches above high-water mark, a few +shrubs have been planted against the river wall--and above them is a +small board, rudely cut, and on it are inscribed these words,--"To the +memory of old Browny, who departed this life, August, 26, 1846." Let us +stroll to the coach offices. Here again we see a great change--great to +the common eye of the public, who miss a raree show, and a still greater +one to the hundreds and thousands of human beings whose subsistence +depended upon the work done at those places. A few years ago, the reader +may have formed one of a large group of spectators, collected at the +"Peacock" at Islington, to witness the departure of the night mails, on +the high north road. The cracking of whips, the blowing of horns, the +prancing horses, the bustle of passengers and porters, and the +consciousness of the long dreary distance they had to go, exercised an +enduring influence upon the imagination and memory of the youthful +observer. Now, a solitary slow coach may be sometimes seen. In those +days, all the outlets of the metropolis presented similar scenes. Then +call to remembrance the business transacted in those numerous, large, +old-fashioned, square-galleried inn-yards; and reflect upon the hundreds +who have been thrown out of bread. The high-roads and the way-side inns +are now forsaken and silent. These remarks are not made merely to show +that there is an analogy between the several districts and employments +in the metropolis, and those of the country. If this were all, not +another word would be written. But it so happens that the comparison +affords an opportunity, which cannot be passed over, of referring to the +changes which are going on in the world; and forcibly reminds us, that +while some are rising, others are falling, and many are in the mire, +trodden under foot, and forgotten. It is with the miserable beings who +are in the last predicament, that poor-laws have to do. + +The political economist may be right when he announces, that the +introduction of machinery has, on the whole, been beneficial; and that +the change of employment from one locality to another, depends upon the +action of natural laws, of which he is merely the expositor. It may be +the case, too, that he is attending carefully to the particular limits +of his favourite science, when he occupies his mind with the laws +themselves, rather than with their aberrations. But those who treat upon +pauperism as an existing evil, to be dealt with now, should remember +that they have to do not with natural laws, as they are separated and +classified in the works of scientific men, but with the laws in all +their complexity of operation, and with the incidents which arise from +that complexity. + +The coachmen, the guards, the ostlers, the horse-keepers, the +harness-makers, the farriers, the various workers in the trade of +coach-builders, and the crowd of tatterdemalions who performed all sorts +of offices,--where are they? The inquirer must go into the back streets +and alleys of London. He must search the records of benevolent +institutions; and he must hold frequent converse with those who +administer parochial relief. But his sphere must not be confined to the +metropolis. Let the reader unroll his library map of England, and devote +an entire afternoon to the study of it. Trace the high-roads with a +pointer. Pause at every town, and at every stage. Refer to an old book +of roads, and to a more modern conveyance directory. Let memory perform +its office: reflect upon the crowds of persons who gained a subsistence +from the fact that yourselves and many others were obliged to travel +along the high-road on your way from London to York. There were +inn-keepers, and waiters and chambermaids, post-boys and "boots." Then +there were hosts of shop-keepers and tradesmen who were enabled to +support their families decently, because the stream of traffic flowed +through their native towns and villages. Take a stroll to Hounslow. Its +very existence may be traceable to the fact that it is a convenient +stage from London. It was populous and thriving, and yet it is neither a +town, a parish, nor a hamlet. Enter the bar of one of the inns, and take +nothing more aristocratic than a jug of ale and a biscuit. Lounge about +the yard, and enter freely into conversation with the superannuated +post-boys who still haunt the spot. You will soon learn, that it is the +opinion of the public in general, and of the old post-boys in +particular, that the nation is on the brink of ruin; and they will refer +to the decadence of their native spot as an instance. The writer was +travelling, not many months ago, in the counties of Rutland, +Northampton, and Lincoln; and while in conversation with the coachman, +who then held up his head as high, and talked as familiarly of the "old +families," whose mansions we from time to time left behind us, as if the +evil days were not approaching, our attention was arrested by the +approach of a suite of carriages with out-riders, advancing rapidly from +the north. An air of unusual bustle had been observed at the last +way-side inn. A waiter had been seen with a napkin on his arm, not +merely waiting for a customer, but evidently expecting one, and of a +class much higher than the travelling bagmen: and this was a solitary +way-side inn. We soon learnt that the cortège belonged to the Duke of +----. The coachman added, with a veneration which referred much more to +his grace's practice and opinions than to his rank,--"He always travels +in this way,--he is determined to support the good old plans," and then, +with a sigh, continued, "It's of no use--it's very good-natured, but it +does more harm than good; it tempts a lot of people to keep open +establishments they had better close. It's all up." + +It is not necessary to pursue this matter further. Nor is it required +that we should follow these unfortunates who have thus been thrown out +of bread, or speculate upon their fallen fortunes. Nor need we specially +remind the reader, that this is only one of many changes which have come +upon us during the last quarter of a century, and which are now taking +place. Space will not permit a full exposure of the common fallacy, +that men soon change their employments. As a general rule, it is false. +The great extent to which the division of labour is carried, effectually +prevents it. Each trade is divided into a great many branches. Each +branch, in large manufactories, is again divided. A youth selects a +branch, and by being engaged from day to day, in the same manipulation, +he acquires, in the course of years, an extraordinary degree of skill +and facility of execution. He works on, until the period of youth is +beginning to wane; and then his particular division, or branch, or +trade, is superseded. Is it not clear that the very habits he has +acquired, his very skill and facility in the now obsolete handicraft, +must incapacitate him for performing any other kind of labour, much less +competing with those who have acquired the same skill and facility in +those other branches or trades? + +The most important preliminary inquiry connected with an improved and +extended form of out-door relief is, how can the mass of pauperism be +broken up and prepared for operation? We are told that the total number +of persons receiving relief in England and Wales is 1,470,970, of which +1,255,645 receive out-door relief. Without admitting the strict accuracy +of these figures, we may rest satisfied that they truly represent a +dense multitude. It is the duty of the relieving officers to make +themselves acquainted with the circumstances of each of these cases, and +to perform other duties involving severe labour. The number of relieving +officers is about 1310. This mass is broken up and distributed among +these officers, not in uniform numerical proportion, but in a manner +which would allow space and number to be taken into account. The officer +who is located in a thickly populated district, has to do with great +numbers; while the officer who resides in a rural district, has to do +with comparative smallness of numbers, but they are spread over a wide +extent of country. The total mass of pauperism is thus divided and +distributed; but division and distribution do not necessarily involve +classification, and they ought not to be regarded as substitutes for it. + +To the general reader, the idea of the classification of the many +hundreds of thousands of paupers, and the uniform treatment of each +class according to definite rules, may appear chimerical. To him we may +say, Look at the enormous amount of business transacted with precision +in a public office, or by a "City firm" in a single day. All is done +without noise or bustle. There is no jolting of the machinery, or +running out of gear. There is that old house in the City. It has existed +more than a hundred years. And it has always transacted business with a +stately and aristocratic air,--reminding us of Florence and Venice, and +the quaint old cities of Ghent and Bruges. The heads of the house have +often changed. One family passed into oblivion. Another, when nature +gave the signal, bequeathed his interests and powers to his heirs, who +now reign in his stead. But, however rapid, or however complete the +revolutions may have been, no sensible interruption occurred in the +continued flow of business. The principles of management have apparently +been the same through the whole period. Yet, as times changed, as one +market closed and another opened, as new lands were discovered, trading +stations established and grew into towns, as the Aborigines left the +graves of their fathers, and retired before the advance of +_civilisation_, and as India became English in its tastes and desires, +so did the business and resources of the old house expand, and its +machinery of management change. Once in a quarter of a century, a group +of sedate looking gentlemen meet in the mysterious back-parlour; a few +words are spoken, a few strokes of the pen are made, a few formal +directions are given to the heads of departments, a new book is +permitted, an addition to the staff is confirmed, and the power of the +house is rendered equal to the transaction of business in any quarter of +the world, and to any amount. Now, look at this great house of business +from the desk. Study the machinery. A young man, perhaps the eldest son +of a senior clerk, enters the house, and takes his seat at a particular +desk: and there he remains until superannuation or death leaves a +vacancy, when he changes his place, from this desk to that, and so on, +until old age or death creeps upon him in turn. He is chained daily to +the desk's dull wood, and makes entry after entry in the same columns of +the same book. This is his duty. He may be unsteady, irregular, inapt, +or incorrect, and his being so may occasion his brethren some trouble, +and draw down upon himself a rebuke from a higher quarter; but the +machinery goes on steadily notwithstanding. Each clerk, or each desk, +has its apportioned duty, which continued repetition has rendered +habitual and mechanical. In the head's of departments, a greater degree +of intellect may appear necessary. It is hardly the fact, however. For +the head of the department has passed through every grade--he has +laboured for years at each desk, and knows intuitively, as it were, the +possible and probable errors. His discernment or judgment is a +spontaneous exercise of memory, and resembles the chess-playing skill of +one who plays a gambit. Now, what is all this? It is called "official +routine." It appears, then, that an extensive business may be transacted +steadily and successfully, providing always that a few general rules are +laid down, and steadily adhered to, and enforced. _In books these rules +are simplified, classified, and rendered permanent._ A book-keeper may +imagine that thousands of voices are above him and around him, giving +orders and directions, and admonishing to diligence, and accuracy,--all +of which are restrained, subdued, and silenced, and yet all are still +speaking, without audible utterance, from the pages before him. And in +strictness, it would not be a flight of imagination, but a mode of +stating a truth which, from its obviousness, has escaped observation. Of +course, these books may speak incoherently and discursively, just as the +human being will do; and if they do speak, thus the evils which arise +are apt to be perpetuated. The books, then, must have a large share of +attention, and be carefully arranged. Then they must have a keeper, and +his duties must be explicitly stated, and his character and his means of +subsistence made dependent upon his accuracy and vigilance. There is +then the choice of the person who is to perform the business which the +books indicate and record. The requirements vary in different +occupations. In one, strict probity is a grand point; in another, strict +accuracy as to time, or skill in distinguishing fabrics and signatures. +In some cases, firmness, mildness, and activity, under circumstances of +excitement, is required; and these qualities, among others, would appear +to be indispensable in parochial and union officers,--if the fact of +their oversight did not render it doubtful. The last lesson we learn is, +that business should be checked as it proceeds. There are two methods. +The one is a system of checks, and is practicable when the business does +not occupy much space. The other is a system of minute inspection; there +are cases in which both methods may be partially applied, and that of +poor-law administration is one of them. + +The machinery by which pauperism may be efficiently dealt with, may be +thus generally expressed. There would be required:-- + +_First_, A Board of Guardians, elected according to law, and with powers +and duties defined and limited by legal enactment. + +_Second_, A staff of efficient officers. + +_Third_, A scroll of duties. + +_Fourth_, A set of books, drawn up by men of scientific ability, and +submitted to the severest scrutiny of practical men. + +_Fifth_, A system of inspection under the immediate control of the +government. + +_Sixth_, District auditors, whose appointment and duties are regulated +by the law. + +_Seventh_, And in the negative, the absence of any speculative, +interfering, disturbing, and irritating power, which may be continually +adding to, varying and perplexing the duties and the management, in +attempting to carry into practical operation certain crotchets, and in +rectifying resulting blunders. + +Much might be said upon each of these requisitions. But we propose +rather to limit our remarks, and to turn them in that direction which +will afford opportunities for exhibiting the various classes and +varieties of poor, and suggesting modes of treatment. + +The books which are necessary to enable the several boards of guardians +to deal with each individual case, not only as regards the bare fact of +destitution, but also with reference, to its causes and remedies, are +the Diary or Journal, and the Report Book. The Diary is simple, and may +be easily constructed to suit the circumstances of each locality. Every +person who has any business to transact, and values punctuality, +possesses a Diary, which is drawn up in that form which appears most +suitable to his peculiar business or profession. In it is entered the +whole of his regular engagements for the day or year, and also those +which he makes from day to day. Then on each day, he regularly, and +without miss, consults his remembrancer, and learns from thence his +engagements for the time being, and so arranges his proceedings. Such a +book, drawn up in a form adapted to the nature of the business +transacted, and ruled and divided in a manner which a month's experience +would suggest, would be, the DIARY. It would differ from that raised by +the man of ordinary business in the respect that its main divisions +would not be daily, but weekly or fortnightly, according as the board +held its meetings. It would be kept by the relieving officer, and laid +before the Chairman at each Board meeting--it is in fact a "business +sheet." The name of each poor person who appears before the Board, and +with respect to whom orders are made, would appear in this book on each +occasion. And the arrangements of its contents would depend upon the +classification of the poor. + +The Report Book[1] was briefly commented upon in a former article. Its +size should be ample--for it is presumed that each page will record the +results of many visits, and be referred to on each occasion that the +pauper appears before the Board. The lapse of time between the first +entry and the last, may be seven or even ten years. + + +PROPOSED FORM OF THE RELIEVING OFFICER'S REPORT BOOK. + + |Present Relief| + | Names of| Date| |______________|The circumstances + No. I |Dependent| of |Residence|Money. | Bread| + | Family. |Birth| |s. d. | lb. | + |_____|_________|_______|______| + | | | | | + | | | | | + | | | | | + | | | | | + | | | | | + | | | | | + | | | | | + | | | | | + The cause } | + and date of } | + first } | + application. } | + | + The FACTS of } | + the history of } | + the case, } | + abstracted to } | + the date of } | + the last visit } | + | + | + Relations who, } | + according to } | + law, should } | + assist. } | + | + Friends who } | + do assist, or } | + are likely } | + to do so. } | + + + | + |The circumstances as Orders of + |they existed when the Board, + |visited by R. O.,&c. and Remarks + | ___________ + | + |Visited Dec. 16, 1846. + | + | + |Visited, &c. + | + | + |Visited. + +This report is prepared from the actual visit of the relieving officer +at the home of the applicant, and by coincidental inquiry. Upon its +first reading, there would appear the names of the heads of the +family--the names of their children who may be dependent upon them, and +the several dates of birth, the residence, the occupation of the several +members of the family, their actual condition, the admitted cause of the +application for relief, and a statement of such facts as a single visit +may disclose respecting their past history. This would form a basis for +a future report, and would lead the guardians to make comparisons, and +judge whether the case is rising or falling, having reference not only +to weeks, but years. The practical man will perceive, that the chief +point of difference between this form of Report Book and that enforced +by the Commissioners, is, that the latter speaks of the present only, +while the proposed form speaks of the past as well,--an addition of +vital importance, if character is to be considered. It is clear, if the +past and present condition of the applicant be stated, together with the +main facts of his history, the mental act of classification will follow +inevitably, and will require merely the mechanical means of expression. +It may be stated generally with reference to this book: _First_, Every +case must be visited, and reported upon by a statement of facts, not +opinions. _Second_, The report must be made returnable on a given +day--this would be secured by the Chairman's Diary. _Third_, Each +applicant must appear personally before the Board, unless distance or +infirmity prevent. + +With these books in our possession, we may begin to separate the poor +into masses, and collect them into groups. The facts contained in the +Report Book would enable Boards of Guardians to decide in which class +the applicants ought to be placed. But in order to preserve the classes +in their distinctness, a ready and simple mode of grouping them in a +permanent manner must be devised; and as it is desirable that old and +existing materials should be used in preference to new, the "Weekly +Out-Door Relief List," now in daily use, may be made the basis of an +improved form.[2] + +How are we to proceed? Let the reader call to mind a parish or union +with which he is acquainted, and make it the scene of his labours. That +period of the year when the demands upon the attention of the Board of +Guardians, and its officers, are at zero, may be selected for making the +first step in advance. The most convenient season of the year would +probably be a late Easter; for at that time the weekly returns for +in-door and out-door relief are rapidly descending. The winter is losing +its rugged aspect and is rapidly dissolving into spring: and labour is +busy in field and market. And so it continues until the fall of the +year, except when the temperature of the summer may be unusually high, +and then low fever and cholera prevail in low, marshy, crowded, or +undrained districts. Those cases which have received relief for the +longest period may be taken first. The technicalities of the report may +be made up from existing documents. The history of each case may not be +so readily prepared. It being a collection of facts, they may be added +slowly. The space allotted to this important matter is amply sufficient, +unless the officer should unfortunately be afflicted with a plethora of +words. The whole number of ordinary cases may be reported upon, and +their classes apportioned, before the winter sets in. In the month of +November, the _medical list_ would begin to be augmented. And as the +dreary season for the poor advances, the _casual applications_ would +multiply. In two or three years the names of all persons who ordinarily +receive relief, or are casually applicants, would be found in the Report +Book: and the facts having been recorded there, the labours of the +officer would then decrease, and be confined to the investigation of +existing circumstances. + +The reader may have inquired, upon observing the number of classes into +which the recipients of relief are proposed to be arranged, how can +accuracy be ensured--how can they be preserved intact? It is admitted, +that unless the grounds of the distinctions are clearly defined, and the +facts of frequent occurrence, the classes will manifest a tendency to +amalgamation. If the reader will take the trouble to refer to the form +of "Weekly Relief List" below,[3] he will perceive that the fourth, +fifth, and sixth classes, have but one column. This was done, because it +might be deemed that the distinctions which are there noted might escape +the observation of Boards of Guardians. It is not our opinion. We have +great confidence in the yeomanry and gentry of England, of whom Boards +of Guardians are composed; and we believe that much of the bitter +animosity manifested by the local boards against the triumvirate at +Somerset House, owes its existence to the authoritative attempts on the +part of the latter to prevent these boards from recognising in any +practical manner these very distinctions. Independently of this, the +period for which the relief is ordered may be so determined as to allow +of a particular time for each class; this will be made clear as we +proceed. And, lastly, a brief and accurate description of each of the +classes may be printed at the head of each of the pages of the Diary, +Report Book, and Relief List. + +The first class consists of aged and infirm persons who have no natural +relations, but are enabled to eke out a subsistence with the aid of an +out-door allowance from the parish. The poor of this class are +frequently in receipt of other relief. It may be a tribute of memory +from a child she nursed, from a family he served, an occasional donation +from the church they attend, or a weekly trifle from one of those +benevolent societies that assist the aged poor to retain their +accustomed dwelling, or to enjoy the unexpensive luxuries which habit +has made necessary. The circumstances of each of the individuals in +these classes are presumed to be known through the report of the +officer; and as each case, when health and vicinity of residence permit, +appears personally before the board, it may be _carried forward for +revisal that day twelve months_. The whole of the cases belonging to +this class would be so treated. They may be distributed over a given +number of Board days, and during a particular month of the year. In the +month of July all the names of the poor of this class would appear in +the Diary; and the reports of the relieving officer would then be called +for, in the order in which the names are entered. Of course, if any +change of circumstances should occur in the interval, application may be +made to the officer; and as they are paid at their homes in the majority +of instances, the application may then be made. At the end of twelve +months, each case is formally revisited and reported. It would then +appear that some are dead, some are bed-ridden, some are childish, and +require an asylum--second childhood has commenced, and they require the +nurture of children; they are therefore admitted into the Union. A few +others have lost a bounty through the death of a friend, and their +allowance requires augmentation. + +The entrance to this class should be carefully guarded against admission +by accident or undue influence. For instance, a lady not indisposed to +relieve human suffering, receives an indirect application from a +respectable elderly female, for charitable aid. Her charitable list is +full, but she does not like to send her empty away, although she knows +nothing of the person except through the excellent note of introduction. +Temporary relief is given. The lady's husband has an intimate friend, +who is a guardian. And, through this medium, the female becomes an +applicant for parochial relief. Forms are complied with. A sketch of her +circumstances is entered in the Report Book, with such accuracy as the +fact of the report being required at the next board meeting permitted. +Her name appearing at the end of the page of the Diary which now lies +before the chairman, and her turn having come, the guardian blandly +informs the meeting, that a case has come to his knowledge, of whose +fitness to be a recipient of their bounty he is credibly informed there +can be no doubt; and the chairman is only too certain that a case so +brought before them should be liberally responded to. An unusual amount +of relief is given, and the name put on the yearly list. And thus, a +decent person, who had by sometimes working, and by sometimes receiving +those occasional aids to which her long life of probity and prudence had +given her a title, is beguiled into that which it had really been the +great object of her life to avoid. Thousands who have been accustomed to +a life of labour, and especially those females who have lived in decent +servitude, regard the workhouse with horror. Now, to avoid errors of +this kind, and also to ensure that the necessities of the case are +thoroughly known, it ought to be a "standing order" of the board that no +case shall be draughted into the yearly list, without having been +visited and reported upon six several times. + +The second class consists of those aged and infirm persons who possess +relations who are legally liable to be made to contribute towards their +support, or who have friends and relations who, in virtue of those +social ties which bind men together, may be reasonably expected to +assist them. The separation of the individuals of this class from those +of the former one, is not made on the single ground that, according to +law, sons and unmarried daughters, and grandchildren, call be compelled +to support their sires. If the parochial authorities had no stronger +appeal than that which the law of Elizabeth affords, the pauper list +would soon be filled to overflowing. The law is more correct in +principle than efficient in practice. Fortunately, the natural feelings +of humanity effect that spontaneously, which the law with its penalties +cannot compel. It is a matter of daily remark by those who mix much and +observantly among the poor--not the class merely who struggle hard to +preserve a decent appearance, and to drive destitution from their +dwelling's but those who have no qualities which can engage, whose +ordinary habits are those of intemperance, whose manners are rough, and +whose language is coarse and obscure--and to a class still lower, who +are steeped in vice and crime, who seem regardless of God or man, and to +whom society appears to have done its worst; that even in these rude, +uncultivated, and depraved human beings, a strong under-current of +natural feeling wells up and flows perpetually. So strongly are these +feelings sometimes manifested in such characters, that they appear to be +developed with an intensity proportionate to the extent to which the +other feelings have been wrecked, and to the loss of sympathy which +these miserables have sustained from the world. It is too often +forgotten by those who are concerned for the poor, that these +feelings--the love of parents for offspring, and the reverence of +children for parents--are instinctive, and that their activity depends +upon the fact, whether there are children to be loved and parents to be +revered. And this being so, we may be satisfied that they are not +extinct in any case. They may not be expressed in good set terms, or in +the ordinary language of endearment. The conversation of these persons +may sound harsh to unaccustomed ears, and the acts may often coincide +with the words. But the bond of union is seen in acts of mutual defence, +in acts of mutual aggression, and in acts of mutual assistance. The true +ground of separation is, that it would be highly inexpedient, and +prejudicial to public morals, if the duties of these relations were to +be forgotten or superseded. And, therefore, when it appears from the +relieving officer's report that such connexions exist, the cases should +be relieved of course; but it should be intimated that these parties are +expected to assist; and it should be formally declared, that they are +legally and morally bound so to do. In the majority of instances, the +result would be satisfactory. This is not said because a trifle might be +saved to parishes. It would most frequently happen, that all these +parties could do would be to add a luxury very dear to the aged person, +but which the parochial board could hardly grant. A daughter in service +may send an article of apparel, a son-in-law may give a Sunday's dinner, +and a son may make a weekly contribution of grocery. In general, it +being presumed that the several boards of guardians present a fair +average of human nature, no reduction of allowance would ensue. In many +instances the result flowing from this method would be still more +satisfactory. It so happens in the strife for subsistence, that each +striver is so occupied by his own affairs--and even when increased +ability or established probity and diligence, has led, to the receipt of +a higher wage, the mind is either so entirely absorbed by the new duties +and increased responsibilities, or luxuries have so stealthily slipped +from their places and become necessities--that he is apt to forget his +poorer brethren, who, less fortunate than himself, or unblessed with his +own patience and steadiness-- + + "Poor wights! nae rules nor roads observin', + To right or left eternal swervin', + They zig-zag on, + 'Till, curst with age obscure and starvin', + They aften groan." + +The attention of this prosperous relation must be arrested. Here is a +fact. A man at the advanced age of seventy-six years, and his wife still +more aged, applied for relief. He is a mechanic. He had never applied +for relief during the threescore years and ten, and upwards, to which +his life has spun out. Assistance was rendered. The law of settlement +intervened, occasioned much trouble, and prevented the case from being +dealt with permanently. This hinderance afforded an opportunity for the +relations to consult and arrange. One son is at work in a distant +county. Another is a mechanic with a full wage; he has four +children--but he is industrious and temperate. The daughter is married +to a clerk in a lawyer's office, and has already two children. No +magistrate would make an "order of maintenance" upon the sons, and the +daughter being married is not liable. But a consultation is held of +relations and friends. That member of the family upon whom there can be +no legal demand, and whose circumstances are the least flourishing, is +the first to make a proposal. He will take the old lady home: she can +have a chair in the chimney-corner, and mind the children when their +mother is away. The son in the country will give one or two shillings +weekly, according as work is abundant. The son in town will guarantee +the payment for the old man's lodging. The right to a meal is not +thought of--it is a matter of course. The old man had supposed that his +work on earth was done; and he had therefore fallen into despondency. +But the events of the last week have restored him to that elasticity of +mind which had sustained him through many trials. Hope is again in the +ascendant, and pours upon him her genial influence. His helpmate is +provided for; and he has a home secured to himself, and is not in danger +of starvation. He now says, "There is some work left in me yet." He can +no longer be the first in the throng, but he can take his place in the +crowd. He can do all sorts of odd, light, casual jobs; and by the +exercise of that perseverance and care, which enabled him during his +long life to drive want from his homestead, he can provide for the +future. He is no longer an applicant for parochial relief. This class +may be easily distinguished, practically, from the former one, and from +all others, without making any distinction or reference to the mode or +value of the relief. Each case, after it has been visited and reported +upon by the officer six several times, in the same way, and for the same +reasons as class number one, must be carried forward in the chairman's +Diary to that board day in the summer months which has been appropriated +for the class. _This class would undergo revision twice in the year._ +The reports of the officer would especially refer to the circumstances +of relations, and state the assistance which they do or are able to +render. All this would become matter of routine. + +The third class differs from the two former, in respect that the +individuals who compose it are not aged, but are likely to be permanent +burdens on parishes, from malformation of brain, or a disturbance in the +sensuous system. They are idiotic, fatuous, blind, deaf or lame, or +permanently disabled by chronic disease. It has been said that the +workhouse is the best place for such persons; and in some localities it +may be so. But there are places, where benevolent expedients have been +adopted, which have saved these unfortunates from that stagnation of +soul approaching melancholia, to which they would have been otherwise +doomed. They may now hold converse in books. They are taught trades. +They receive assistance which enables them to enter fields of +competition with their more perfectly organised fellows. But this aid is +often-times withheld, or it is insufficient, and so they become +chargeable to parishes. + +The fourth class consists of those widows with families upon whom the +officer, after a series of visits, is enabled to report facts which must +satisfy the guardians that she is industrious, temperate, and of strict +probity. Her thoughts as a wife were confined to two great domestic +questions,--how can my husband's income be economised, without making +his home no home? and how can I qualify my children to fill their +appointed stations in life? During the lifetime of her husband, her +mind was so entirely absorbed by her household and family duties, that +now she feels and acts like one who has just been disturbed from a long +and troubled dream. Death has now turned the channel of her ideas. The +change was one of bitter suffering. And now she must provide bread for +her children by her own "hand-labour,"--without the habitude of labour. +Death acts thus daily; and yet the number of widows so circumstanced, +who apply for parochial relief, bears a very small proportion to the +total number of persons thus bereaved. The fact is curious; and as sound +methods of dealing with pauperism can be discovered only from a minute +and comprehensive knowledge of the anatomy and pathology of the lower +classes of society, the facts must be studied. The widows who compose +this class were, previous to their marriage, either trusted servants in +quiet families, daughters of respectable shop-keepers, or younger +daughters of widows with small annuities: and their husbands were +probably members of religious communities. Suppose the condition of the +widow to have been that of a decent servitude. She performed her duties +with credit; and her name is not forgotten. During the state of +wifehood, intercourse was kept up by the exercise of kindly greetings on +the one side, and respectful inquiries on the other. Her present +circumstances excite sympathy. "Something _must_ be done for poor Ann!" +But she desires to subsist by labour rather than by gifts of charity. +This is thought of by the reflecting patron, who knows full well how +benefits unearned weaken the moral powers. But there are many ways by +which the feeling of charity may be manifested without moral injury. A +son may be in chambers, and who can so well clean and arrange them, as +the nurse of his infancy? She may be intrusted with the care of an +office; or she may be recommended to friends, who have hitherto taken +labour from the labour market, at the lowest market price, and are just +beginning to perceive that the moral qualities manifested in a prudent +carriage, strict honesty, and taciturnity with respect to private +affairs, are valuable, and have yet to learn that they are not common, +and to be obtained must be paid for. The recommendation is well-timed. +And although this friend of the family may miss the moral points of the +matter, and would, if the patroness had not fixed her wages, by the +force of example, tell the widow how little she gave the other "person," +and offer the same. The widow's eyes now sparkle. She has reason to be +grateful, and is not absolutely dependent. She is now in a fair way to +gain an honest livelihood. The parish has not once been thought of. Then +she may be a member of a religious body: which congregation is not a +question of moment. As a member of the Established Church she has many +advantages. Did you, reader, ever hear of a member of the Society of +Friends being an applicant for parochial relief? The question may be +repeated with respect to the Jews; not, however, with the expectation of +an universal negative; but, having regard to the precariousness of their +callings, the answer must be--_No!_ The widow is a Wesleyan methodist. +She is united with a religious body which includes within its pale many +of those who compose the middle--or rather the lower middle--and lower +classes of society. The members of it are closely cemented +together--spiritually and temporally. As a member of a "class meeting," +her hopes and fears, her temptations, and trials, are known; not only to +the members of her own section, but to the minister, and the members of +the congregation. It may be true that the class system engenders +spiritual pride and hypocrisy: that is not in point. We are dealing with +facts. And it is a fact, and one which might be predicated from the +circumstances, that the frequent meeting together of persons in nearly +the same social position, to converse and advise upon practical +religious matters, from which personal interests and temporalities, when +they bear down the spirit, cannot be excluded, does exert an important +influence on the fortunes of the distressed. In the Church of England, a +minister may not mix so freely with his flock. His social position--his +language, is different. But although that sense of common interest and +common danger, which opens the flood-gates of the soul, and allows it to +pour forth an uninterrupted tide of emotion, cannot exist when one order +of mind stammers to another order of wind, yet there are compensating +circumstances. Learning does not necessarily enervate the active powers. +And in these latter we find a common ground of meeting, chords which +vibrate sympathetically. "One touch of nature makes the whole world +kin." Then the clergy are the almoners of the rich. These influences, +with many kindred ones, might be investigated with advantage; but enough +is said to indicate why this class of poor, who at first sight appear so +helpless, are not sustained by the poor-rate. But they are sometimes +applicants, and as such form a class. It happens that, from the number +of her family, her wants are greater than her limited connexions can +relieve; or she may be alone. It must be again repeated, that the duty +of a board of guardians is not only to relieve destitution, but likewise +to check pauperism. This being so, the widow must not be allowed to sink +so low as to drive hope away. Her projects, her means, and her actual +necessities must be ascertained. _Relief in money is the best mode of +relief to this class_; and it should be given liberally. It will not be +given in vain. Of course there are many in this class not gifted with an +active temperament, or a strong, mind. To such the warning from the +chairman, that parochial assistance can only be temporary, must be +frequently given: and sometimes her views and progress may be +scrutinised and commented upon. The relief would be continued from time +to time and in descending amounts, until it vanishes altogether. By this +method of treatment an increase of expenditure may be occasioned for a +time; but the widow will be delivered from her affliction, _and her +children's names permanently erased from the black roll of pauperism_. + +The fifth class includes those widows who have, throughout their lives, +been accustomed to labour. They have not the advantages of the former +class, as regards connexions. They have been "dragged"[4] up. As an +infant, "it was never sung to: no one ever told it a tale of the +nursery. It was dragged up, to live or die, as it happened. It had no +young dreams: it broke at once into the iron realities of life. The +child exists not for the very poor as any object of dalliance; it is +only another mouth to be fed, a pair of little hands to be betimes +inured to labour. It is the rival, till it can be the co-operator, for +food with the parent. It is never his mirth, his diversion, his solace; +it never makes him young again, with recalling his young times. The +children of the very poor have no young times. It makes the very heart +bleed to overhear the casual street-talk between a poor woman and her +little girl, a woman of the better sort of poor, in a condition rather +above the squalid beings which we have been contemplating. It is not of +toys, of nursery-books, of summer holidays, (fitting that age); of the +promised sight, or play; of praised sufficiency at school. It is of +mangling and clear-starching, of the price of coals, or of potatoes. The +questions of the child, that should be the very outpourings of curiosity +in idleness, are marked with forecast and melancholy providence. It has +come to be a woman before it was a child. It has learned to go to +market; it chaffers, it haggles, it envies, it murmurs; it is knowing, +acute, sharpened: it never prattles." Such was the child. The passage +from the single to the married state, which generally changes the course +of woman's life, has to her been nothing more than a brief interval of +pleasure. She soon joins the bands of the busy daughters of care. So the +loss of her husband has been to her but a tragedy. The last act is over; +the curtain has fallen: she is now in the outer world again; she is +oppressed by sadness, vague and undefinable; but the noise and bustle +around her, the tumult of her own thoughts, and her continued labour, +afford that alleviation which the solitary and the unemployed seek for +in vain. Those who would step in and, relieve her of her toil, may be +well-meaning persons; but, they are interfering in matters they do not +understand. They would spend their money more beneficially, and with +greater regard to the principles of Christian charity, if each would +take care that those who do for him any kind of labour, receive an +adequate remuneration. It may be a politico-economic law, that we buy in +the cheapest market, and sell in the dearest; and, by a sophistical +process, the limits of the principle may have been enlarged, so as not +only to include raw materials, but manufactured products, and the labour +which we ourselves employ. But it is forgotten, that a law which +expresses merely what men do, has not the universality or fixity of a +law of matter, but is liable to variation from the action of moral +causes. The law may be partially true, as eliminated from a study of the +present age. It is an age of calculators and economists. In a moral age +it would be false. It is false in the present day, when moral men have +to do directly with their lower and ruder brethren. This is an +individual and personal matter, and each one will find that he has +enough of his own work to do in his own sphere. This widow is an +applicant for parochial relief. Repeated visits, and a succession of +reports, at brief intervals, have enabled the officer to present an +accurate narration of facts, both with reference to her past life and +her present condition. It becomes clear that this widow differs from the +other, in respect that she has greater habitude for labour, and that her +mind is cramped down to the hard matters of the present hour: she goes +to her work in the morning, and she returns home fatigued in the +evening. To-morrow's meal is secured, and the scene of to-morrow's +labour is known. Within the narrow limits of a week is her soul penned +up. It is clear, then, what the duties of the guardians are. If their +wish is to check pauperism, they must attend to that which this widow's +limited capacities prevent her from doing. In her young day, reading and +writing were accomplishments; but the world has jogged on a little since +then, without her knowing it. Reading and writing, as one of the +mechanical arts, have become indispensable to every boy and girl. The +same economic reasons which lead to the inference, that a girl should be +taught to darn her own stockings, or mend her own frock, would also show +that a boy and girl should be taught to read and write. The spread of +education is something very different from the diffusion of knowledge. +So, then, the officer's report would show whether the children are duly +sent to school; their progress might also be tested. At a future period, +it might appear that the girl is strong enough to enter service, and the +boy fit to be apprenticed either to a trade, or to the sea. In either +case, the fitness of the master or mistress is ascertained and reported. +A premium or outfit is given; and the particulars of the case are duly +entered in the appropriate book, according to the existing method, and +the master and child visited from time to time. The widow would thus be +relieved in that particular respect in which she is least qualified to +help herself, and her children are saved. She would soon discover that +the time occupied in waiting for relief could be more profitably +employed, and she soon ceases to apply. + +The sixth class consists also of widows; but they are remarkable for +idleness, intemperance, or improvidence. We know of no means of washing +the Ethiop white. To this class, money-relief is the most objectionable +form of relief. An allowance of bread should be given for brief periods, +and given in instalments. Sometimes it may be necessary to intimate that +work may be required for the value given, and at other times the order +may be made. It will, however, be found that the individuals of this +class are careless about every thing. If they are dealt with leniently, +they take advantage of the supposed imbecility of the guardians: if they +are dealt with too severely, they become familiarised with the interior +of a prison; and the instant the gloomy portal of the county jail loses +its terrors, they place themselves in attitude of defiance. As the +inmates of workhouses, they are dangerous spies, and are regarded with +awe by master and matron; as recipients of out-door relief, they are +insolent and full of threats. Perhaps the best mode of dealing with +these cases may be ascertained, by allowing the attention to become +abstracted from the mother, and concentrated upon the children. The +mother is like a wild beast, whose nature and habits cannot now be +subdued; but her cubs, her little ones, may still be tamed and +humanised. At this point, reference may be made to a document which has +not emanated from the Poor-law Commissioners, or from any parochial +board, but from the magistrates of the county of Middlesex. It appears +that a committee was appointed, in April last, to "inquire into the best +means of checking the growth of juvenile crime, and promoting the +reformation of juvenile offenders." At a meeting of the magistrates of +Middlesex, on the 3d of December, the report of the committee was read, +and "received amidst repeated cheering." The committee recommend that a +bill should be introduced to Parliament, a draught of which is given in +the report. The preamble states, "that the fearful extent of juvenile +depravity and crime, in the metropolitan districts, and in large and +populous towns, requires general and immediate interference on the part +of the legislature; that the great causes of juvenile crime and +depravity appear to be ignorance, destitution, and the absence of proper +parental or friendly care; and that all children above the age of seven +and under the age of fifteen years, suffering from these and similar +causes, require protection, to prevent their getting into bad company, +acquiring idle and dissolute habits, growing up in vice, and becoming an +expense and burden on the county as criminals, and that such protection +should be afforded by the county." There are fourteen clauses: the first +and fifth may be quoted--"1_st_, That an asylum for unprotected and +destitute children be founded in and for the county of Middlesex by +legislative enactment, and placed under the direction and management of +the justices of the peace for the county." "5_th_, That unprotected and +destitute children shall be deemed to include all children above seven, +and under fifteen years of age, under the following circumstances: +--Children driven from their homes by the bad conduct of their parents; +children neglected by their parents; children who are orphans, and +neglected by their friends; children who are bastards; and children who +are orphans, and have no one to protect them, or to provide for them, or +for whom no one does provide; children who, from their own misconduct, +have no protection or provision found them; children who are idle and +dissolute, and whose parents or friends cannot control their bad conduct; +children who are destitute of proper food, clothing, or education, owing +to the poverty of their parents or friends, but whose friends or parents +do not apply for, or receive parish relief; children who are destitute of +employment; and children of the class which become juvenile offenders +generally." + +It is probable that a plan of this description might have a great and +beneficial effect in diminishing juvenile crime; and it is conceivable +that the clauses of the bill may be so framed as to develop all the +good, and avoid the evil. It is to be feared, however, that the bill is +founded on partial views. The children who agree with the descriptions +given in clause number five, are the offspring of those who reside in +poor neighbourhoods, where the inhabitants are already paying high +rates,--high in proportion to the poverty of the locality. If this be +so, then every possible species of opposition, which can be offered +legally or illegally, will be directed against the bill, and against its +being carried into operation. The authorities of these poor and populous +parishes already find it a matter of extreme difficulty to collect the +rates, and are overwhelmed by the number of those poor housekeepers who +apply to be "excused their rates" on the ground of poverty. All the +schemes of the present day have one good point only, or it may be +discovered by minute observation that the original idea was a good one. +The bill is brought forth with a grand display of benevolent feeling; +and it is passed, after suffering further distortion in Parliament. The +law is, after all, found to be inoperative, from the omission or +misapprehension of a plain obvious matter of detail, or because it +originated from partial views, or came directly from the brain of an +unpractical theorist. It is, however, admitted, in the case of the +magistrates' bill, that the _original idea_ is a good one. And if it +should be realised, the children of the class of widows now under +consideration, might in this "County Juvenile Asylum," find a home, and +be saved from destruction. + +The seventh class consists of women who have cohabited with men, and +have families. The individuals composing it generally resemble those of +the two classes last mentioned--_i.e._ they are industrious or idle, +intemperate or sober. Generally, this class requires relief more +urgently than the several classes of widows; because by their past +conduct they are shut out from any participation in many of the +charities. It is needless to say that strict investigation into their +circumstances and proceedings is necessary. + +The eighth and ninth classes consist of single women. The eighth is +composed of women who have had two children, and are prostitutes; the +ninth of those who have only committed the first offence. The inquiries +of the officer, in the ordinary routine, would develop the facts. The +utility of this distinction is, that it would afford boards of guardians +an opportunity of dealing fairly with the latter class: the fact of the +distinction being noted in all the books would attract their attention +to the point. To confound these cases together, and to act with, equal +severity to all, is obviously unjust. In those unions where the +prohibitory order has been issued, all the individuals of both these +classes are relieved only in the house. In the case of their admission, +the cognisance of this distinction, not casually, not specially, because +a guardian may have had his attention drawn to a particular case, but as +a matter of routine, would necessarily lead to a good result. No board +of guardians, when their attention has been regularly and officially +directed to the facts of the case, could compel both classes to herd +together in one common room. + +The medical relief list is composed of poor persons who are suffering +from acute disease, and are, in consequence of their illness and extreme +poverty, receiving relief in money or food. Those who are in the receipt +of other relief by order of the board, and who belonged to one of the +other classes, would be excluded from this list. There are two modes of +regulating the medical out-door relief in kind. One mode is to require +the medical officers to attend the meetings of the boards of guardians. +It is their duty to report upon the state of health of each out-door +sick person at specified times, and to state the kind of nutriment +adapted to each case. The board is thus furnished with a sanatory report +from one officer, and a report upon circumstances from the other. This +is a satisfactory system. The other mode is, for the medical officer to +report to the relieving officer in a prescribed form, that A B is ill +with consumption, and requires ---- food per diem. The relieving officer +has a veto. If, upon visiting the case, he is satisfied that the head of +the family can supply the articles recommended, the relief is withheld. +The case is reported to the next board, who issue the necessary +instructions thereon. The first plan is undoubtedly the preferable one, +in all those parishes or unions where the population is large and the +area small. But in all large rural unions, where the medical officers +are many and their labours great, from bad roads and extent of district, +the plan would be inapplicable. As regards the second method, it would +be found to prevail as a rule, that, in the majority of cases, the +recommendation of the medical officer is regarded by the relieving +officer as tantamount to an order. The exception would be in those +unions where the board is infested by persons who know of no means of +estimating the value of an officer excepting by his supposed power of +reducing expenditure; and in those parishes where the inhabitants are +poor and embarrassed. And it is to be feared that this evil, against +which the press exclaim so loudly, will continue to predominate so long +as the existing unequal charge upon parishes continues. The magnates of +St. George, Hanover Square, can afford to be magnanimous and humane. In +St. Luke, Middlesex, or St. Leonard, Shoreditch, where the rate-payers +are poor, it is a different matter altogether. And yet it is in these +poor neighbourhoods that the poor live; and where they live, there they +must be relieved. + +The administration of the relief given in consequence of poverty and +illness requires great care. The list contains the most meritorious of +the poor: and as the relief given is of the greatest value, it is the +relief most sought after by "cadgers" and impostors. The great abuses +which creep into the administration of out-door relief do not arise from +the relief of the able-bodied, but from affording relief to persons who +allege that they are suffering from bodily ailments without proper +investigation. In ordinarily well managed parishes, impostors, cadgers, +and mendicants have no chance of obtaining relief in money. Therefore +the whole of their practised cunning is brought to bear upon this more +valuable form of relief. Now, from the peculiar habits of this class of +persons, there is often strong ground for the claim. They will starve +three days, and complete the week in revel and debauchery. Those +periods, which they consider days of prosperity, are too often occasions +for emaciating their bodies by drinking gin and eating unnutritious +food. A chilly, foggy, November night is the time when the supposed +widow can parade her children on the highway with the best chance of +exciting the compassion of the passersby; and it is the time, too, when, +if there is any predisposition to disease, the circumstances are most +favourable for its development. It is to this class that the workhouse +may be offered--as an infirmary. It is a fact, however, that those of +this class who suffer from external diseases, and especially those which +may be exposed with impunity, do not desire to enter a workhouse, and +will not remain there until they are completely cured. And then, with +reference to children who are exposed at night in the streets, +notwithstanding the parents may be warned that they are sowing the seeds +of incurable disease in the bodies of these infants, and are offered +relief sufficient to constitute the greater part of their support; yet, +however they may promise, they will continue to sleep in the day-time, +and prowl about as homeless outcasts in distant neighborhoods at night. +It is useless to offer them the workhouse; they will refuse it, and +make, the offer a ground of appeal to the benevolent. As regards the +children, the medical officer declares that his medicines are useless, +and even dangerous. They are taken in the morning, the child is exposed +in the evening, and in a few months it dies--_a natural death_? Here is +lower depth of crime and misery which baffles the benevolent and +wise.[5] + +The aged, the infirm, the sufferers from chronic disease, the +permanently disabled, the several classes of widows, the single women +who have one or more children, and those who are chargeable mainly from +temporary illness, have been collected and separated from the dense mass +of pauperism. Who are those that remain? There is much error abroad upon +this question. They are legion, whether they be regarded in connexion +with the causes which have led to their impoverishment, or with +reference to their various modes of obtaining a livelihood. Reference +has already been made to that portion of the population of England who +are in a transition state--_i.e._ those whose ordinary employment has +been superseded by more rapid and cheaper methods, and who have thereby +lost their ordinary means of livelihood, and been drifted down from +stage to stage until they have reached the lowest depth, and have at +last been compelled to ask for a morsel of bread at the workhouse door. +Then it will appear upon inquiry that each separate locality will +present its peculiar species of casual poor, who fall into a state of +destitution from the action of peculiar causes. It frequently happens +that the individuals were never trained to any ordinary species of +labour. At an early period of their lives, they were put in the way to +learn a trade, but from early habits of idleness, from the criminal +neglect of masters or parents, from natural incapacity for the +particular trade, or from an unconquerable dislike to it, they have +never been able to earn "salt to their porridge," as the saying is. They +never received a regular or an average amount of wage. If they are +tailors, they compete with old women in making "slopwork" for the lower +class of salesmen. Or they convert old coat tails into decent cloth +caps, and may be industrious enough to supply a tribe of women with a +Saturday night's stock. As cobblers, they ply the craft of +"translation"--a trade, even in this lower acceptation of the term, +peculiarly liable to abuse. To the unlearned, it may be necessary to +state that translation is the act of converting old boots into new ones, +and is done with thin strips of varnished leather, and plenty of wax and +large nails. There are carpenters, whose ingenuity is confined to the +manufacture of money-boxes, cigar-cases, and children's stools. Smiths, +male and female, forge garden rakes, small pokers, and gridirons, as the +season may suggest. And then their wives and children, or other men's +wives and children, hawk them for sale in populous neighbourhoods on +market evenings. Tin funnels are sold "at the low price of a halfpenny." +Minute and useless candlesticks, wire forks, children's toys, and old +umbrellas, are a few specimens of this miscellaneous merchandise, the +sale of which brings bread to hundreds of families. They live in +foetid alleys, are not cleanly, and are sometimes intemperate; hence +they are peculiarly liable to the attacks of disease. During illness, +there are many things which the sick man craves which a parochial +officer cannot grant, and which a medical man could neither recommend +nor allow. The desire is gratified by the sale of a useful and +indispensable tool; and thus, by degrees, he exits off his own means of +subsistence. Then, like manufacturers of a higher grade, he may mistake +the public wants, and the articles he has made may remain unsaleable on +his hands, or he may fall into the error of over-production like a +Manchester house. Then, in seasons when those commodities which +constitute the common diet of the poor are scarce and dear, the persons +who deal in them who are unable to buy, or uncertain to sell, are thrown +back upon the few shillings which compose their capital. In large cities +and towns, and in the neighbourhood of great markets, there are crowds +of poor persons who gain their livelihood by the purchase and sale of +the articles of daily food, and their combined purchases form a large +item in the business of those markets. The costermongers, or +costardmongers, consist of various grades. That brisk-looking man, who +is riding so proudly in his donkey-cart, with his wife at his elbow, may +be a very mean person in the estimation of the passer-by, but, in his +world, he is a man of importance. He watches the "turns of the market," +and being either in the possession of capital himself, or in a position +to command it, he is able to compete with large dealers. He is a +money-lender; and, if security be left with him--a poor woman's marriage +certificate, or her wedding-ring is sufficient--he will enable her to +buy her "little lot." Through him many are able to procure a stock at a +trifling expenditure, who otherwise would be unable to buy in sufficient +quantities to satisfy the original salesman. This class has its peculiar +casualties, and in consequence become chargeable to parishes. Their +habits may be irregular and intemperate. Or a poor woman may have +expended her last farthing in the purchase of a tempting basket of fish. +Her child falls ill, or she herself is unable, from the same cause, or +from an accidental injury, to stand the necessary number of hours in the +drenching rain; and so her stock is spoiled, and she suffers a greater +calamity in her sphere than the brewer whose consignment of ale has +turned sour on an India voyage. + +In the vicinity of cathedrals and abbeys, in districts where dowagers +and elderly maiden ladies most do congregate, and in + + "Those back-streets to peace so dear," + +there is always to be found a great number of kindly-disposed people, +who have wherewithal to make life flow smoothly, leisure to listen to +tales of wo, and the ability and inclination liberally to relieve. Now +wherever these benevolent persons may be located, there will a troop of +jackals herd, and run them down. Wherever public or private charities +exist, there do these persons thrive. Their organisation, the degree to +which they endure occasional privations and exposure, the recklessness +with which they endanger the health and lives of those connected with +them, is so passing strange, and, if fully expatiated upon, would be a +chapter in the history of man and society, so disgusting, as to be unfit +and morally unsafe to publish. Among the beings who infest these +neighbourhoods, are men and women of keen wit--too keen, in truth--who +have been well educated. Clerks who have been discharged for peculation. +Women who, from the turbulence of their passions, have descended from +the position of governesses, and who possess talent and tact equal to +any emergency. They can write petitions in the highest style of +excellence, as regards composition and penmanship. And they can also +write letters on dirty slips of paper, in such a manner as that the +homely phrase and the supposed ignorance of the petitioner shall be +correctly sustained. They know all the charitable people of the +district. They know the species of distress each person is most likely +to relieve, and the days and hours they are most likely to be seen. They +are in a position to instruct the several members of the fraternity as +to the habits and foibles of the "gentlefolks." One is open-handed, but +apt to exact a large degree of humility, and must be approached with +deference. Another, if applied to at the wrong time, may give liberally +to rid himself of their importunities. Another is rough and noisy; but +if the applicant can endure it--which these people can, but decent +people cannot--a largess is certain. With one, clean linen, a +well-starched front, or a neat cap-border, is a desideratum, because it +is supposed to indicate that the wearers were once in a better sphere. +Another will only relieve those who are clothed in well-patched rags, or +"real misery;" and then the appearance must be that of squalid +destitution. + +It happened the other day that an individual, in the regular exercise of +his duty, was engaged in making inquiries in one of these +neighbourhoods. The cooped-up dwellings were situated in the centre of a +mass of buildings, round which a carriage might roll in five minutes, +and yet nothing would appear to excite suspicions that within the area +of a few hundred yards, so much real distress, and so much deceit, vice, +and crime were in existence. The visitor has left the crowded +thoroughfare, and entered a narrow cutting which leads to the heart of +the mass of houses. In former days the street was the abode of the +wealthy. Many of these aristocratic dwellings are still standing. They +large and high. The rooms were once magnificent. Their great size is +still visible, notwithstanding the partitions which now divide them. The +elaborate, quaint, and, in some instances, beautiful style of ornament +on the ceilings, the massive mouldings, and richly carved +chimney-pieces, satisfy the observer that, in former days, they were the +abodes of wealth and luxury. They are now tottering with age: the other +day, the interior of one of them fell inwards. These houses may be +entered, one after another, without intrusion. To the uninitiated, the +rooms present the appearance of an unoccupied hospital. All the rooms on +the upper floors are entirely filled with beds. If they are entered at +the close of a cold winter evening, the aspect is cold and desolate. If +you pause on the landing, you may hear sounds of voices. The whole of +the occupants of these rooms are congregated at the bottom of the +building. You should not enter, for, at the sight of a stranger, they +would instantly reassume their several characters. If you look through a +chink in the partition, you will see an assemblage of men, women, and +children, in whose aspect and mien--if you can read the biography of a +human being by studying the lines on the countenance--you may read many +a tale and strange eventful history,--illustrating the adage that "truth +is stranger than fiction." If the hour be midnight, and the season +winter, the large hall will be lit up by a blazing fire. Around it are +grouped men and women of all ages. Some are dressed as sailors. In a +corner, some Malays are eating their mess alone. They pay their +threepence, and are not disturbed:--they are supposed, with truth, to be +unacquainted with the rules of English boxing, and to carry knives. +Their white dresses and turbans, their dark but bright and expressive +countenances, their jet-black hair, and strange language, give an air of +romance to the scene. There are widows with children, traveling tinkers, +and knife-grinders. All these are talking, laughing, shouting, singing, +and crying in discordant chorus. There is no lack of good cheer; and it +is but justice to add, that the less fortunate, providing they are "no +sneaks," are allowed a share. At the door, or busily employed among the +guests, is mine host, and his female companion:--"old cadgers" both, but +stalwart, and able to maintain the "respectability" of the house. + +The visitor passes on, and turns down a lane. By day or night, it hath +an ancient and a fish-like smell. Apparently the dwellings are inhabited +by the very poor. In the day time there are no noises, except that of +women bawling to their children, who are sitting in the middle of the +causeway, making dikes of vegetable mud and soap-suds. There are no +sewers;--the commissioners have no power to make them,--and do not ask +for it. There is nothing outwardly to indicate that the inhabitants are +other than honest. If you open the doors, you may perceive that the +staircases are double and barricaded, that rooms communicate with each +other, and that, in the rear, there are facilities for hiding or escape. +If you stroll about this place at night, you may be surprised by the +sight of two policemen patrolling together. You will be an object of +scrutiny and suspicion,--notwithstanding your respectable appearance. +And then, as you appear to have no business in the neighbourhood, you +will be civilly greeted with, "You are entering a dangerous +neighbourhood, sir!" In the newspapers of the following day, you may +read of a gang of housebreakers, or coiners, having been secured in this +spot. And if it be revisited when a group of felons have just left the +wharf, you will find it a scene of drunken lamentation. + +In this lane is a _cul-de-sac_. It is inhabited by persons with respect +to whose actual condition the shrewdest investigator is at fault. The +visitor enters a dwelling, and climbs the narrow staircase. Upon +entering the small room, he is almost stifled by the foetid smells. In +one corner, on a mattress, lies a man, whose gaunt arms, wasted frame, +milky eye-balls, and dry cough, sufficiently indicate the havoc which +disease is doing at the seat of life. A fire has been recently kindled +by the hand of charity. Near it, and seated upon a tub, is a woman, +busily employed in toasting a slice of ham, which is conveyed rapidly +out of sight upon hearing the ascending footsteps. Her dress is gay, but +soiled, and her face is familiar to the pedestrian. Upon the entrance of +the visitor, the Bible is hastily seized, and an attitude of devotion +assumed. The question the visitor asks, is, Are you married? "Oh yes, I +was married at a village near Bury, in Suffolk; I was travelling as a +mountebank at the time." The tale is not well told. After a few +interrogatories, and the utterance of a score of lies, the truth +appears,--he was never in the county of Suffolk in his life. In a few +days he makes a merit of his confession, and marries,--a week before his +death. + +Within a few yards, another scene is presented. This is a case of a man, +his wife, and his large family. The visitor is shown into a miserable +apartment, destitute of furniture; and, upon some loose shavings in a +corner, a child has been left to cry itself to sleep. The case is +relieved as one of great suffering. Relief flows freely. The wife +appears ill; and the medical man is much puzzled by her account of the +symptoms. Apparently she has been intemperate; but, according to the +symptoms, it should be something between rheumatism and tic-doloreux. +By-and-by a quarrel ensues, about the division of the spoil. An +anonymous letter is received, declaring that the party has several +residences,--that the room in which such a scene of destitution was +presented, was not their ordinary place of habitation,--that they are in +the receipt of fixed charities, names being given, and concluding with +the allegation, subsequently verified, that their weekly receipts +exceeded a mechanic's highest wage. The bubble bursts, and the family +migrates. + +It is hardly necessary to remark, that this order of applicants require +strict attention on the part of the parochial officers. It is of +importance to ascertain whether the several applicants really do any +work,--whether they cannot get it, or are likely to be disconcerted at +the offer of it. If they belong to the orders last described, the fact +of visitation from an officer, with a note-book in his hand, would, of +itself, be a disagreeable circumstance, not to be endured unless +necessity compelled. It is frequently a matter of difficulty to collect +the facts; and appearances are very deceitful. Idleness assumes the garb +and language of industry. Idleness can take the part of industry, and +perform it with technical accuracy; and it will be rendered more +interesting than the original. When an industrious man falls into +misfortune, he is more disposed to conceal, than to expose it +ostentatiously. His language is often abrupt and rude: betraying a +conflict with his own feelings of independence and pride. This a +judicious and accustomed eye can discern. But it must not be forgotten +that the relieving officer's inquiries have no legitimate reference to +features, or doubtful signs, but to places and facts. These facts being +added together, as they are collected from time to time, in the +appropriate page in the report book, the board of guardians would have +no difficulty in estimating the real character and circumstances of +these applicants. + +With the further consideration of the casual poor, the subject of +_Out-door employment_ may be usefully connected. We may state at once as +our opinion, that any scheme which proposes to test destitution by +offering the workhouse with its terrors, on the one hand, or which +offers out-door employment _indiscriminately_ to the able-bodied on the +other, is detrimental to the interests of society. It is admitted that +the offer of work to the well-disposed independent labourer may scare +him away; he will consume his savings, sell his furniture, and break his +constitution, rather than accept the relief on the terms offered. And +some may be content with this. They may rejoice at the sight of the +shillings saved. But it will soon be found, that when work has been +offered indiscriminately, and after the lapse of time, that a large and +yearly increasing number of labourers of various classes will accept the +relief and do the work. This fact indicates with accuracy that the moral +feelings of the labouring population are in process of deterioration. +Then how unjust it is! Here is a stout, broad-shouldered, hard-handed, +weather-tanned railway navigator, who would perform the hardest task +with the greatest case and indifference; but it is a very different +matter to the sedentary Liliputian workman of a manufacturing town. We +can understand why the smooth-fingered silk-weavers of Spitalfields +complained of being set to break stones. It is still presumed that the +great object is to diminish pauperism. It is not a question of this day +or this year, or of a parish or union; but of the age and nation. This +being so, we have to ascertain which of two modes is the preferable one: +should labour be offered to all comers, or should the right to make the +performance of labour a condition of receiving relief, be reserved as a +right, and used with caution and discrimination? Let us inquire. Among +the higher classes of society, the gradations of rank are distinctly +marked. Among the middle classes, the gradations and varieties of social +position are more numerous, less distinctly marked, and therefore fenced +round with a world of form and ceremony. And as we descend, and enter +the lower ranks, and approach the lowest, the distinctions and grades +multiply. To the common observer, these distinctions may be unworthy of +regard; but to the parties themselves, they are of importance. The +higher grades among the poor have attained their position by the +exercise of tact and talent, and by hard labour. Not that the accident +of birth, or the position of the parents, are circumstances destitute of +force--the son often follows the employment of the father, and the +eldest son in many trades is permitted to do so, without the sacrifice +of expense and time involved in an apprenticeship. There is a broad line +of demarcation drawn between the skilled and unskilled trades. There are +lines, equally as distinct, drawn between skilled trades, which +correspond with the ancient guilds of cities. And in the present day, +when the several ancient trades are so minutely divided, and subdivided, +there are grades of workmen corresponding. Reference is not made to +those distinctions which are recognised by the masters, but to those +especially which obtain among the men themselves; for it is with their +feelings we have to do. Now, these distinctions do not involve questions +of difference and separation merely, but those also of resemblance and +unity. Each "tradesman"[6] stands by his order; and that not only to +preserve its dignity and privileges inviolate, but to render mutual aid. +Many vanities may be associated with this, and many mummeries may be +enacted, at which many who believe themselves wise may fancy they blush; +but the mechanic is only guarding in an imperfect manner an ancient +institution. It is when we look at labour from this point of view, that +we begin to conceive how it happens that so few regular labourers, in +proportion to the mass, become chargeable to parishes; and this, +notwithstanding the vicissitudes of their several employments. This +inwardly sustaining power, of which the world in general is ignorant, is +worthy of study. The intensity varies as we descend. In a populous +parish, there are many who, from the action of a thousand disturbing +influences, drop from the ranks. Now, is it not obvious, that to offer, +with the eyes of the understanding and judgment firmly closed, to each +able-bodied applicant a degrading employment, must drag him to its +level? In most cases the feeling of repugnance on the part of the head +of the family against applying for relief in person--a rule in all +parishes--is so intense, as to require the fact of his family being in a +state bordering on starvation, to weaken it. If he is required to do +labour for the relief proffered, in a place where he is known, and among +an order of workmen who are pauperised and below him, who would welcome +him with sneers and derision, the chances are that he will not accept +the relief on the terms offered. Is pauperism checked thereby? Wait and +see. It is likely he will not remain in a place where all his cherished +associations have been so rudely broken up. Home he has none. The four +naked walls, the mattress on the floor, the single rug, his sickly and +fretful children--and these regarded with a jaundiced eye, are not the +objects and associations which make up the idea of home. He hears +strange tales from trampers about an abundance of work in other places, +and misguidedly he wanders, with or without his wife and children, in +search of the imaginary spot. He travels from town to town, and subsists +on the pittance which the trades allow, so long as he journeys to the +south. His original feeling of independence has become weakened: its +main prop has been removed. The apprehension of what the denizens of our +little world may say, is frequently a powerful auxiliary to a steady and +moral course of action. This houseless man, by leaving his native +village, or his usual haunts in the crowded city, has deprived himself +of this sustaining power; and he falls, morally and socially. Another, +with less strength of body, is subdued by his privations, and receives +that relief as a sufferer from low fever or incipient consumption, which +was withheld from him while in health. All this is natural, and it is +true in point of fact. The inference is, that no able-bodied applicant +should be set to work, until it formally and clearly appears from a +statement of facts, in the relieving officer's report book, that he is +idle or drunken. In the regular order of business, the man would be +charged with the fault by the chairman, and should be allowed the +benefit of any doubt. The applicant may say, "I worked last for A. B. at +----, and I left with others when the job was finished." Let him have +relief without labour, until the fact is ascertained. And as a page is +opened to each case in the report book, the statement resulting from the +inquiry is recorded, and is either for, or against him. If he pleads for +another chance, give it him. Let the labour be regarded in all cases as +a _dernier resort_. + +What work should be given? This is mainly a local question: a few +general remarks may, however, be made. Under the old system, the +out-door work done by paupers, gradually assimilated with that performed +by independent labourers, and at last became undistinguishable. It +appears to have been a practice, if a man alleged that he was unable to +support his family, to set him to work; and the parishioners were +required to employ the labour. Now, the parishioners already employed as +much labour as they required, and the individuals they preferred, and +the necessity of employing the pauper labour, had the effect of reducing +the wages of the independent labourer: he was either employed less, or +paid less. Thus the labourer, who by his industry, and the exercise of +temperance and frugality, had saved, and was therefore in a position to +weather a long and dreary winter, by the influence of this baneful +system, was reduced to the level of the idle and intemperate. This evil +maybe averted. The old abuses were attributable to the fact, that the +several parishes and hamlets were so small, and so poor, as to, render +it impossible to adopt any system of management. The work given should +be hard work, and preserved as distinct as possible from that performed +by the independent labourer; and, in course of time, a wholesome feeling +of aversion would grow up respecting it, similar to that which was +entertained against the workhouse, before it became the compulsory +residence of the casually unfortunate, as well as of those who had sunk +morally and socially. The work given should be public work; or work +which has a remote reference to a private good, but which no individual +under ordinary circumstances would perform. For example, there is +stone-breaking, and the general preparation of materials for the repair +of the highway; the levelling of hills, and the raising of valleys; the +clearing of main ditches; the draining of mosses; the dredging of +rivers; the reclaiming of lands from the waste, or the sea; the +collecting of certain manures; the raising of embankments to prevent the +overflow of rivers; the cleansing of streets and the performance of +certain kinds of labour for union-houses and other institutions +supported at the public expense; and if the highway trusts should be +consolidated, and placed under competent management, it is likely that +some of the labour required might be performed by paupers. + +The labour done must be tasked and estimated. This is indispensable. To +allow an able-bodied man to lie upon his back, and bask in the mid-day +sun, while he lazily picks up grass and weeds with his outstretched +hands, and throws it in the air, may be considered as employment; but to +call it labour is absurd. Pauper labour is proverbially unproductive, +_i.e._ it costs nearly its value in superintendence. But, if it is +resorted to, it must be watched with care, or its introduction will be +injurious. Now, during the last few years, a class of men have arisen +from the labouring class, who might be found qualified to superintend +this labour. Railway enterprise has developed a certain order of skill +which might be rendered available. It is well known that the several +miles of railway are divided into a number of contracts, which are again +divided, and taken by sub-contractors, and the sub-division proceeds +until yards of work are taken by the men who engage or govern the lower +class of labourers. A similar class of men is to be found on the banks +of rivers, who are known as gangers. Then there are discharged sergeants +and corporals, and even privates, who can produce their discharge with a +favourable report upon character endorsed upon it. We know the severity +of the army, in this particular. A discharge, with that portion of it +cut off on which the endorsement favourable to the soldier's character +should have been, ought not to lead necessarily to the inference that +his character has been bad in a civil point of view. But, if the +endorsement exists, we may rest assured that he has been staid in his +deportment, clean in his person, careful in the performance of his duty, +and regular as regards time. The classes of sergeants and corporals have +the additional advantage of being accustomed to order, as well as to +obey. Discharged soldiers generally require an active employment, or +they sink morally and socially. Men from this class might be selected +with advantage. + +But some may exclaim, what an expense! Possibly! It remains, however, to +be seen whether the weight is not felt because the pressure is unequal. +A guardian of an ancient parish and borough, in an agricultural +district, observed the other day, "This new removal act is a serious +matter to us,--as the cottars in the out-parishes die off, the cottages +are pulled down, and this impoverished borough will have to support the +children, because they reside here." Of course, while the inducement to +such proceedings exists, and the poor are compelled to support the poor, +every attempt at permanent improvement will meet with either active +opposition or passive resistance. Then, again, it is said, that as the +manufacturing system has created a weak and dangerous population, and +one likely to be suddenly impoverished by the vicissitudes of the +system, they should be compelled to relieve it when those adverse +periods arrive. Does the rating of the manufacturer bear any proportion +to his capital, the extent of his business, or his profits? His +poor-rate receipt records an inappreciable item of expenditure. The +pressure of the rate is not upon him, but upon the householders of the +suburbs where the poor reside. It is not just that the manufacturer who +owns a mill, or he who merely owns a warehouse, and employs out-door +work-people--that the dealer in money, the discounter, the various large +agencies, the merchant who transacts his business in a single office and +sends his ship all over the world, and the great carriers, because their +business happens not to be rateable according to the law, should bear no +greater burden than the shop-keepers in a great London thoroughfare. It +is likely that there would be a _temporary_ increase of expenditure; but +then justice would be done to the aged, the infirm, and the sick. In +this respect the expenditure would increase; but as regards the +able-bodied there would be a reduction, and in this way: If a man is +thrown out of work, and his habits being known, he is relieved; he is +thereby sustained, and when work begins to abound he starts fairly. If +he is compelled to sink, the chances are he will never rise. Every +guardian in the kingdom knows, from personal observation, how difficult +it is to dispose of a family which has been forced into the union-house, +and has lost a home. It is confidently expected, if out-door relief, +accompanied by labour, be given only to those able-bodied applicants who +are known, from the facts of their history as officially reported, to be +idle, dissolute, and intemperate;--if the labour required to be done be +public work; if it be apportioned and tasked by judiciously chosen +task-masters, and given to each individual at a low rate of prices, +lower than those of ordinary labour, and paid in food, or even in +lodging when specially applied for and deemed necessary,--then, as +regards the able-bodied applicants, the nearest approach will have been +made to a perfect system. And if the system here sketched, or rather if +the hints which have been dropped from time to time in the progress of +this article, be collected and arranged, it is believed, that inasmuch +as they have reference to the moral principles of our nature, as well as +to the physical condition of the pauper, they will operate beneficially +upon the poor of England. And if it should appear, from the statistics +officially reported by a _minister_ in the regular exercise of his duty +in parliament, that the number of poor receiving relief who belong to +the first three classes have slightly increased, that report should be +considered as highly satisfactory, and not as a disclosure injurious to +national honour. It is not a matter of which Englishmen ought to be +ashamed, or a subject to be bewailed, that the aged, the infirm, and the +sick among the very poor, are not allowed either to perish, or to have +their cherished habits and associations destroyed. Then, as regards the +class of widows, if it should appear that the numbers do not go on +increasing in the ratio of deaths, but continue nearly stationary, the +report would be still satisfactory; because the inference from it would +be, that, as new cases have been added, old ones must have discontinued. +And the report respecting the two great divisions of the +able-bodied--those who are not set to do work, and those who are--would +be pregnant with information. And lastly, that part of the report which +discloses the number of cases which have not been distributed in the +several classes, would be of great value, as indicating the quarter +where the inspectors under the orders of Government might most +advantageously make their inquiries. + +The classes and orders of poor that ordinarily become chargeable to +parishes have been commented upon; and a few of the peculiar traits have +been sketched of that motley group, which cannot be classified in any +other way, than as persons who, from their admitted idleness, ought to +be set to labour; or as persons to whom the exaction of labour in return +for relief would be detrimental,--and not only detrimental to their +personal interests, but to those of society. We have also stirred up and +exposed the dregs of society: an operation neither pleasant nor useful +under ordinary circumstances. But our inquiries have been pathological. +And it is the duty of the physician or surgeon to probe the wound, and +examine minutely the abscess, and then to institute inquiries equally +minute and more general into the habits and constitution of the patient. +Then the physician may have occasion to comment, in the lecture-room, +upon this class of diseases; and he would then show how many +circumstances must be considered and estimated before the true mode of +treatment can be known. And as quacks thrive upon ignorance and +credulity, he might gratify the curious student by an exposition upon +the facility with which imaginary cures might be effected. He might show +that by the employment of quack medicines the diseased part might be +made to assume the appearance of health. The abscess can be closed; but +the corruption, of which the open wound was only the outlet, will still +circulate through the system, deteriorate the blood, and at last +seriously derange the vital organs. The reader will apply these remedies +in the proper quarter. And then, as in the consideration of the first +series of classes we had occasion to dwell mainly upon those +characteristics of the poor which attract regard and sympathy, it became +necessary, in order that the general idea might be in accordance with +the general bearing of the facts, to conduct the reader into strange +scenes, and among classes of human beings, which might otherwise have +been disregarded or unknown. The reader now sees distinctly that which +the clamour and clash of rigourists and universal-benevolence-men might +have led him to overlook, viz.--_that pauperism includes in its legions +the most virtuous, the most vicious, the most industrious, and the most +idle_; and refers to decent, honest poverty as well as to squalid +destitution. We may conclude by averring, that the tendency of an +extended system of out-door relief, administered in the manner, and +according to the principles laid down, would be, to raise one class from +the state of pauperism,--to confront distresses which the complexity of +civilised society, and the extension of the manufacturing systems have +occasioned, boldly, firmly, and humanely,--to distinguish between the +honest industrious poor, and the lazy vagabond--to give one a fair +chance of obtaining employment, and to remove inducements from the other +to prowl about and live upon the public. And if this can be in any +degree attained, it will so far stand out in bold contrast to the +doctrines of _The Edinburgh Review_, and the practice of the Poor-Law +Commissioners, which have reference only to the health of the animal +fibre, and not to the soul which gives it life. + + + + +THE POACHER; + +OR, JUTLAND A HUNDRED AND THIRTY YEARS SINCE. + +From the Danish. + + +I.--THE DEER-RIDER. + +The Danish isles have such a pleasant, friendly, peaceful aspect, that, +when carried by our imagination back to their origin, the idea of any +violent shock of nature never enters into our thoughts. They seem +neither to have been cast up by an earthquake, nor to have been formed +by a flood, but rather to have gradually appeared from amid the +subsiding ocean. Their plains are level and extensive, their hills few, +small, and gently rounded. No steep precipices, no deep hollows remind +one of the throes at Nature's birth; the woods do not hang in savage +grandeur on cloud-capt ridges, but stretch themselves, like living +fences, around the fruitful fields. The brooks do not rush down in +foaming cataracts, through deep and dark clefts, but glide, still and +clear, among sedge and underwood. When, from the delightful Fyen, we +pass over to Jutland, we seem, at first, only to have crossed a river, +and can hardly be convinced that we are on the continent, so closely +resembling and near akin with the islands is the aspect of the +peninsula. But the further we penetrate, the greater is the change in +the appearance of the country. The valleys are deeper, the hills +steeper; the woods appear older and more decayed; many a rush-grown +marsh, many a spot of earth covered with stunted heath, huge stones on +the ridgy lands--every thing, in short, bears testimony to inferior +culture, and scantier population. Narrow roads with deep wheel-ruts, and +a high rising in the middle, indicate less traffic and intercourse among +the inhabitants, whose dwellings towards the west appear more and more +miserable, lower and lower, as if they crouched before the west wind's +violent assault. In proportion as the heaths appear more frequent and +more extensive, the churches and villages are fewer and farther from +each other. In the farm-yards, instead of wood, are to be seen stacks of +turf; and instead of neat gardens, we find only kale-yards. Vast +heath-covered marshes, neglected and turned to no account, tell us in +intelligible language that there is a superabundance of them. + +No boundaries, no rows of willows, mark the division of one man's land +from another's. It appears as if all were still held in common. If, at +length, we approach the hilly range of Jutland, vast flat heaths lie +spread before us, at first literally strewn with barrows of the dead; +but the number of which gradually decreases, so that it may reasonably +be supposed that this tract had never, in former times, been cultivated. +This high ridge of land, it is thought, and not improbably, was the part +of the peninsula that first made its appearance, rising from the ocean +and casting it on either side, where the waves, rolling down, washed up +the hills and hollowed out the valleys. On the east side of this heath, +appear, here, and there, some patches of stunted oaks, which may serve a +compass to travellers, the tops of the trees being all bent towards the +east. On the large heath-covered hills but little verdure is to be +seen,--a solitary grass-plot, or a young asp, of which one asks, with +surprise, how it came here? If a brook or river runs through the heath, +no meadow, no bush indicates its presence: deep down between +hollowed-out hills, it winds its lonely course, and with a speed as if +it were hurrying out of the desert. + +Across such a stream rode, one beautiful autumn-day, a young +well-dressed man, towards a small field of rye, which the distant owner +had manured by scraping off the surface, and burning it to ashes. He and +his people were just in the act of reaping it, when the horseman +approached them, and inquired the road to the manor-house of Ansbjerg. +The farmer, having first requited his question with another,--to wit, +where did the traveller come from?--told him what he knew already, that +he had missed his way; and then calling a boy who was binding the +sheaves, ordered him to set the stranger in the right road. Before, +however, the boy could begin to put this order in execution, a sight +presented itself which, for a moment, drew all the attention both of the +traveller and the harvest people. From the nearest heath-covered hill +there came directly towards them, at full speed, a deer with a man on +his back. The latter, a tall stout figure, clad in brown from head to +foot, sat jammed in between the antlers of the crown-deer, which had +cast them back, as these animals are wont to do when running. This +extraordinary rider had apparently lost his hat in his progress, as his +long dark hair flowed back from his head, like the mane of a horse in +full gallop. His hand was in incessant motion, from his attempt to +plunge a knife it held into the neck of the deer, but which the violent +springs of the animal prevented him from hitting. When the deer-rider +approached near enough to the astonished spectators, which was almost +instantaneously, the farmer, at once recognising him, cried, "Hallo, +Mads! where are you going to?" + +"That you must ask the deer or the devil!" answered Mads; but before the +answer could be completely uttered, he was already so far away, that the +last words scarcely reached the ears of the inquirer. In a few seconds +both man and deer vanished from the sight of the gazers. + +"Who was that?" inquired the stranger, without turning his eyes from the +direction in which the centaur had disappeared. + +"It is a wild fellow called Mads Hansen, or Black Mads: he has a little +hut on the other side of the brook. Times are hard with him: he has many +children, I believe, and so he manages as he can. He comes sometimes on +this side and takes a deer; but to-day it would seem that the deer had +taken him: that is," added he, thoughtfully, "if it really be a deer. +God deliver us from all that is evil! but Mads is certainly a dare-devil +fellow, though I know nothing but what is honourable and good of him. He +shoots a head of deer now and then; but what matters that? there's +enough of them; far too many, indeed. There, you may see yourself how +they have cropped the ears of my rye. But here have we Niels the +game-keeper. Yes; you are tracking Black Mads. To-day he is better +mounted than you are." + +While he was saying this, a hunter appeared in sight, coming towards +them at a quick trot from the side where they had first seen the +deer-rider. "Have you seen Black Mads?" cried he, before he came near +them. + +"We saw one, sure enough, riding on a deer, but can't say whether he was +black or white, or who it was; for he was away in such haste that we +could hardly follow him with our eyes," said the farmer. + +"The fiend fetch him!" cried the huntsman, stopping his horse to let him +take breath; "I saw him yonder in the Haverdal, where he was skulking +about, watching after a deer. I placed myself behind a small rising, +that I might not interrupt him. He fired, and a deer fell. Mads ran up, +leaped across him to give him the death-blow, when the animal, on +feeling the knife, rose suddenly up, squeezed Mads between his +antlers--and hallo! I have got his gun, but would rather get himself." +With these words he put his horse into a trot, and hastened after the +deer-stealer, with one gun before him on his saddle-bow, and another +slung at his back. + +The traveller, who was going in nearly the same direction, now set off +with his guide, as fast as the latter could go at a jog-trot, after +having thrown off his wooden shoes. They had proceeded little more than +a mile, and had reached the summit of a hill, which sloped down towards +a small river, when they got sight of the two riders. The first had +arrived at the end of his fugitive course: the deer had fallen dead in +the rivulet, at a spot where there was much shallow water. Its slayer, +who had been standing across it, and struggling to free himself from its +antlers, which had worked themselves into his clothes, had just +finished his labour and sprung on land, when the huntsman, who at first +had taken a wrong direction, came riding past our traveller with the +rein in one hand and the gun in the other. At a few yards' distance from +the unlucky deer-rider he stopped his horse, and with the comforting +words, "Now, dog! thou shalt die," deliberately took aim at him. "Hold! +hold!" cried the delinquent, "don't be too hasty, Niels! you are not +hunting now; we can talk matters to rights." + +"No more prating," answered the exasperated keeper, "thou shalt perish +in thy misdeeds!" + +"Niels, Niels!" cried Mads, "here are witnesses; you have now got me +safe enough, I cannot go from you; why not take me to the manor-house, +and let the owner do as he likes with me, and you will get good +drink-money into the bargain." + +At this moment the traveller rode up, and cried out to the keeper, "For +heaven's sake, friend, do not commit a crime, but hear what the man has +to say." + +"The man is a great offender," said the keeper, uncocking his gun, and +laying it across the pommel of his saddle, "but as the strange gentleman +intercedes for him, I will give him his life. But thou art mad, Mads! +for now thou wilt come to drive a barrow before thee[7] for the rest of +thy life. If thou hadst let me shoot thee, all would now have been +over." Thereupon he put his horse into a trot, and the traveller, who +was also going to Ansbjerg, kept them company. + +They proceeded a considerable way without uttering a word, except that +the keeper, from time to time, broke silence with an abusive term, or an +oath. At length the deer-stealer began a new conversation, to which +Niels made no answer, but whistled a tune, at the same time taking from +his pocket a tobacco-pouch and pipe. Having filled his pipe, he +endeavoured to strike a light, but the tinder would not catch. + +"Let me help you," said Mads, and without getting or waiting for an +answer, struck fire in his own tinder, blew on it, and handed it to the +keeper; but while the latter was in the act of taking it, he grasped the +stock of the gun which lay across the pommel, dragged it with a powerful +tug out of the strap, and sprang three steps backwards into the heather. +All this was done with a rapidity beyond what could have been expected +from the broad-shouldered, stout and somewhat elderly deer-stealer. + +The poor gamekeeper, pale and trembling, roared with rage at his +adversary, without the power of uttering a syllable. + +"Light thy pipe," said Mads, "the tinder will else be all burned out; +perhaps it is no good exchange thou hast made; this is certainly +better,--"here he patted the gun,--"but thou shalt have it again when +thou givest me my own back." + +Niels instantly took the other from behind him, held it out to the +deer-stealer with one hand, at the same time stretching forth the other +to receive his own piece. + +"Wait a moment," said Mads, "thou shalt first promise me--but it is no +matter, it is not very likely you'd keep it--though should you now and +then hear a pop in the heather, don't be so hasty, but think of to-day +and of Mike Foxtail." Turning then towards the traveller, "Does your +horse stand fire?" said he, "Fire away," exclaimed the latter. Mads held +out the keeper's gun with one hand, like a pistol, and fired it off; +thereupon he took the flint from the cock, and returned the piece to his +adversary, saying, "There, take your pop-gun; at any rate it shall do no +more harm just yet. Farewell, and thanks for to-day." With these words +he slung his own piece over his shoulder, and went towards the spot +where he had left the deer. + +The keeper, whose tongue had hitherto been bound by a power like magic, +now gave vent to his long-repressed indignation, in a volley of oaths +and curses. + +The traveller, whose sympathy had transferred itself from the escaped +deer-stealer to the almost despairing game-keeper, endeavoured to +comfort him as far as lay in his power. "You have in reality lost +nothing," said he, "except the miserable satisfaction of rendering a man +and all his family unhappy." + +"Lost nothing!" exclaimed the huntsman, "you don't understand the +matter. Lost nothing! The rascal has spoiled my good gun." + +"Load it, and put in another flint," said the traveller. + +"Pshaw!" answered Niels, "it will never more shoot hart or hare. It is +bewitched, that I will swear; and if one remedy does not succeed--aha! +there lies one licking the sunshine in the wheel-rut; he shall eat no +young larks to-day." Saying this, he stopped his horse, hastily put a +flint in his gun, loaded it, and dismounted. The stranger, who was +uninitiated in the craft of venery, and equally ignorant of its +terminology and magic, also stopped to see what his companion was about +to perform; while the latter, leading his horse, walked a few steps +forward, and with the barrel of his piece poked about something that lay +in his way, which the stranger now perceived to be an adder. + +"Will you get in?" said the keeper, all the while thrusting with his gun +at the serpent. At length, having got its head into the barrel, he held +his piece up, and shook it until the adder was completely in. He then +fired it off with its extraordinary loading, of which not an atom was +more to be seen, and said, "If that won't do, there is no one but Mads +or Mike Foxtail who can set it to rights." + +The traveller smiled a little incredulously, as well at the witchcraft +as at the singular way of dissolving it; but having already become +acquainted with one of the sorcerers just named, he felt desirous to +know a little about the other, who bore so uncommon and significant a +name. In answer to his inquiry, the keeper, at the same time reloading +his piece, related what follows:--"Mikkel, or Mike Foxtail, as they call +him, because he entices all the foxes to him that are in the country, is +a ten times worse character than even Black Mads. He can make himself +hard.[8] Neither lead nor silver buttons make the slightest impression +on him. I and master found him one day down in the dell yonder, with a +deer he had just shot, and was in the act of flaying. We rode on till +within twenty paces of him before he perceived us. Was Mike afraid, +think you? He just turned round, and looked at us, and went on flaying +the deer. 'Pepper his hide, Niels,' said master, 'I will be answerable.' +I aimed a charge of deer-shot point-blank at his broad back, but he no +more minded it than if I had shot at him with an alder pop-gun. The +fellow only turned his face towards us for a moment, and again went on +flaying. Master himself then shot; that had some effect; it just grazed +the skin of his head: and then only, having first wrapped something +round it, he took up his little rifle that lay on the ground, turned +towards us, and said, 'Now, my turn is come, and if you do not see about +taking yourselves away, I shall try to make a hole in one of you.' Such +for a chap is Mike Foxtail." + + +II.--ANSBJERG. + +The two horsemen having reached Ansbjerg, entered the yard containing +the outhouses, turned--the keeper leading the way--towards the stable, +unsaddled their horses, and went thence through an alley of limes, which +led to the court of the mansion. This consisted of three parts. The +chief building on the left, two stories high, with a garret, gloried in +the name of "tower"--apparently because it seems that no true +manor-house ought to be without such an appurtenance, and people are, +as we all know, very often contented with a name. The central building, +which was tiled, and consisted only of one story, was appropriated to +the numerous domestics, from the steward down to the lowest stable-boy. +The right was the bailiff's dwelling. In a corner between the two stood +the wooden horse, in those days as indispensable in a manor-house as the +emblazoned shields over the principal entrance. + +At the same instant that the gamekeeper opened the wicket leading into +the court-yard of the mansion, a window was opened in the lowest story +of the building occupied by the family, and a half-length figure +appeared to view, which I consider it my duty to describe. The noble +proprietor--for it was he whose portly person nearly filled the entire +width of the large window--was clad in a dark green velvet vest, with a +row of buttons reaching close up to the chin, large cuffs, and large +buttons on the pockets; a coal-black peruke, with a single curl quite +round it, completely concealed his hair. The portion of his dress that +was to be seen consisted, therefore, of two simple pieces, but as his +whole person will hereafter appear in sight, I will, to avoid +repetition, proceed at once to describe the remainder. On the top of the +peruke was a close-fitting green velvet cap with a deep projecting +shade, nearly resembling those black caps which have been worn by +priests even within the memory of man.[9] His lower man was protected by +a pair of long wide boots with spurs; and a pair of black unutterables, +of the kind still worn by a few old peasants, even in our own days, +completed the visible part of his attire. + +"Niels keeper!" cried the master. The party thus addressed, having shown +his companion the door by which he was to enter, stepped, holding his +little gray three-cornered hat in his hand, under the window, where the +honourable and well-born proprietor gave audience to his domestics and +the peasants on the estate, both in wet and dry weather. The keeper on +these occasions had to conform to the same etiquette as all the others, +though a less formal intercourse took place between master and man at +the chase. + +"Who was that?" began the former, giving a side-nod towards the corner +where the stranger had entered. + +"The new writing-lad, gracious sir," was the answer. + +"Is that all! I thought it had been somebody. What have you got there?" +This last inquiry was accompanied by a nod at the gamekeeper's pouch. + +"An old cock and a pair of chickens, gracious sir!" (This "gracious +sir," we shall in future generally omit, begging the reader to suppose +it repeated at the end of every answer.) + +"That's little for two days' hunting. Is there no deer to come?" + +"Not this time," answered Niels sighing. "When poachers use deer to ride +on, not one strays our way." + +This speech naturally called for an explanation; but as the reader is +already in possession of it, we will, while it is being given, turn our +attention to what was passing behind this gracious personage's broad +back. + +Here stood, to wit, the young betrothed pair, Junker Kai and Fröken +Mette.[10] The first, a handsome young man of about twenty-five, +elegantly dressed and in the newest fashion of the time. To show with +what weapons ladies' hearts were in those days attacked and won, I must +attempt to impart some idea of his exterior, beginning with the feet, +that I may go on rising in my description: these, then, were protected +by very broad-toed short boots, the wide legs of which fell down in many +folds about his ankles; under these he wore white silk stockings, which +were drawn up about a hand's-breadth above the knees, and the tops of +which were garnished with a row of the finest lace; next came a pair of +tight black velvet breeches, a small part only of which appeared in +sight, the greater portion being concealed by the spacious flap of a +waistcoat also of black velvet. A crimson coat with a row of large +covered buttons, short sleeves, scarcely reaching to the wrists, but +with cuffs turned back to the elbows, and confined by a hook over the +breast, completed his outward decorations. His hair was combed back +perfectly smooth, and tied in a long stiff queue close up in his neck. I +should merit, and get but few thanks from my fair readers, if I did not +with the same accuracy describe the dress of the honourable young lady, +which may be considered under three principal divisions: firstly, the +sharp-pointed, high-heeled, silver-buckled shoes; secondly, the little +red, gold-laced cap, which came down with a sharp peak over the +forehead, and concealed all the turned up hair; and thirdly, the +long-waisted, sky-blue flowered damask gown, the wide sleeves of which, +hardly reaching to the elbows, left the shoulders and neck bare, +and--what may seem singular--was not laced; but Fröken Mette's face was +so strikingly beautiful, that, in looking at her, her dress might easily +be forgotten. + +These two comely personages stood there, as we have said, behind the old +gentleman, hand in hand, and, as it seemed, engaged in a flirtation. The +Junker from time to time protruded his pointed lips as if for a kiss, +and the lady as often turned her face away, not exactly with +displeasure, but with a roguish smile. The most singular thing was, that +every time she bent her head aside, she peeped out into the court, where +at the moment nothing was to be seen (for the gamekeeper stood too close +under the window to be visible) but the wooden horse and the new +writing-lad, who, the instant he entered the office, had placed himself +at the open window. That this latter, notwithstanding the predicate +"writing-lad," was a remarkably handsome youth, it may seem strange to +say, for, in the first place, he had a large scar above his cheek, and, +in the second, he was clad wholly and solely as a writing-lad. It is +needless to stay my narrative in portraying the mother of Fröken Mette, +the good Fru[11] Kirsten, who was sitting in another window, and, with a +smile of satisfaction, observing the amorous play of the two young +people. The good old lady could with the greater reason rejoice at this +match, as, from the beginning, it was entirely her own work. She had, as +her gracious spouse in his hunting dialect jocosely expressed it, among +a whole herd of Junkers scented out the fattest, and stuck a ticket on +his foot. As the young gentleman was an only son, the heir to Palstrup, +as well as many other lordships, the match was soon settled between the +parents, and then announced to their children. The bridegroom, who was +just returned from Paris when Fru Kirsten, in her husband's phraseology, +took him by the horn, was perfectly well inclined to the match, for +which no thanks were due to him, as Fröken Mette was young, beautiful, +an only child, and heiress to Ansbjerg, the deer, wild-boars, and +pheasants of which were as good as those of Palstrup, while with respect +to heath-fowl and ducks it was vastly superior. As to the bride, she was +so completely under subjection to the will of her parents, that for the +present we may leave it doubtful how far her own inclination was +favourable to the Junker. We know, indeed, that the female heart usually +prefers choosing for itself, and often rejects a suitor for no other +reason than because he was chosen by the parents; though if Junker Kai +had been first in the field we should not have been under any +apprehension on his account. + +When the keeper had recounted all his misfortunes, which he did not +venture to conceal, as both the writing-lad and his guide, and probably +also the deer-stealer himself, would have made it known, the harsh +master, whose anger often bordered on frenzy, broke forth into the most +hearty maledictions on the poacher, from which shower of unpropitious +wishes a few drops fell on poor Niels, who, out of fear of his master, +was obliged to swallow his own equally well-meant oaths. As soon as the +first fury of the storm had subsided and given place to common sense, a +plan was devised for immediate and ample vengeance; the daring culprit +should be seized, and, as he could now be easily convicted of +deer-stealing, should be transferred to the hands of justice, and +thence, after all due formalities, to Bremerholm. The difficulty was to +catch him, for if he got but the slightest hint of his danger, he would, +it was reasonable to imagine, instantly take to flight, and leave his +wife and children in the lurch. The lord of the manor, who had been +severely wounded in so tender a part, was for setting forth without a +moment's delay, as so much of the day was left, that before the +appearance of night they might reach the hut of Black Mads. But the +gracious lady, in whose revenge a surer plan and maturer consideration +were always manifest, represented to her impetuous mate, that the +darkness would also favour the culprit's flight; or, if this were +prevented, a desperate defence; it would therefore be better to march +out a little after midnight, so that the whole armed force might invest +and take the hut at break of day. This proposition was unanimously +approved, and the Junker was invited to share in the peril and glory of +the undertaking. The bailiff (who had just entered to announce the +arrival of the new writing-lad, and to show a letter of recommendation +brought by him from the bailiff at Vestervig) received orders to hold +himself in readiness, together with the gardener, the steward, and the +stable-boys, and also to order a peasant-cart to follow the march. + + +III.--THE NISSE.[12] + +Who does not know--at least by name--the Nisse, the being whose +waggeries almost all bear the stamp of good-humoured frolic? Who has not +heard tell of his little rotund figure and his red Jacobin cap, the +symbol of unrestricted liberty? Who knows not that the house he chooses +as a dwelling, is perfectly safe from fire and other calamities? The +Nisse is a true blessing to the habitation that he honours with his +presence; it is secure against fire, storms, and thieves,--who, then, +would take so greatly amiss the little fellow's gambols? If he now and +then takes out one of the horses and rides him till he is white with +sweat, it is merely for the sake of improving his action; if he milks a +cow before the milk-maid is up, it is solely to get her into the habit +of early rising; if he occasionally sucks an egg, cries "miou" with puss +in the cock-loft, or oversets a utensil, who can be angry with him, or +grudge, him his little dish of Christmas porridge, which no considerate +housewife omits setting for him in a corner of the loft? It is only when +this is neglected that his character assumes a slight dash of +vindictiveness: for then the mistress of the house may be tolerably sure +of having her porridge burnt, or her soup grouty; her beer will turn, or +her milk will not cream, and she must not be surprised if she churn a +whole day without getting butter. + +Such a little domestic goblin had from time out of mind (and still has, +for aught I know to the contrary,) his abode at Ansbjerg; though it +seems probable that this was not his only habitation, as many years +sometimes passed without a trace appearing of his existence. But just at +the period in which the events recorded in our history took place, he +began to resume his old pranks. The gardener from time to time missed +some of his choicest flowers, or several of the largest and ripest +peaches; but, what was most wonderful, these were often found in the +morning in Fröken Mette's chamber, whence it was reasonably concluded +that the lady stood high in the good graces of the beforementioned +Nisse. The grooms, moreover, declared that often during the night there +seemed witchery among the horses, and that in the morning one of them +would be found so jaded, that it would appear to have just come off a +very long and rapid journey. They protested--and who could doubt +it--that they had often been heard springing about the stable, but that +on entering every thing was perfectly quiet. Once indeed they even got a +glimpse of the portentous red cap, and afterwards took great care to +meddle no farther in the concerns of the Nisse,--a very prudent resolve. +Such unquestionable testimony failed not to make a deep impression on +all the inmates of the mansion, particularly the womankind; even the +gracious lord of the manor himself listened to these reports with a +silence big with signification. + +Such was the state of things when the expedition against Black Mads was +undertaken, which formed an epoch in the history of Ansbjerg, and was +used for many years after as an era in the dating of events, as, "that +happened in the year we went in search of Black Mads; that was two or +three years after," &c. &c. In anxious expectation those left behind +waited the whole day for the return of the army of execution. Noon came, +evening, midnight; but still not one of the party appeared. They at home +comforted themselves with the supposition, that the delinquent, after +his capture, might have been conducted to Viborg, in which case the +whole day might easily have been spent, and after so wearying a march, +it was but right that the troops should get an evening's refreshment, +and a night's rest, in the town. On the strength of this extremely +reasonable hypothesis, both mistress and domestics went to bed, one +servant only remaining up. At length, about an hour after midnight, came +Junker Kai and his groom. But before I proceed further, it will be +desirable to explain the cause of his late arrival, and of the continued +absence of the rest of the party. + +The poacher's hut, which he had himself erected in a remarkably simple +style, with walls of green turf, and a covering of heather, which rested +unconfined on crooked oak branches set together like the timbers of a +roof, had, considered as a fortress, an advantageous position. In the +centre of a moor, about eight miles in circuit, arose a little eminence, +which not even the most rapid thaw ever placed under water, and which, +to a horseman at least, was inaccessible, except along a narrow strip of +land, which wound among turf-pits and gushing springs. On this spot +Black Mads had raised his Arcadian abode, where, with a wife and five +children, he lived by hunting. The larger game was eaten fresh, salted, +or smoked; the smaller he sold under the rose, together with the deer +and fox-skins, and with the money thus gained bought bread and other +eatables. Milk the wife and children begged from the neighbouring +peasants. + +Just as the day was beginning to peep forth, the Lord of Ansbjerg +approached the moor at the head of his troop. Niels gamekeeper, who was +well acquainted with the country, now rode forwards, and led the entire +united force in safety to the spot where the hut ought to have stood. +With consternation he looked in every direction: no hut was to be seen; +and yet it was already so light, that, if there, no one could avoid +seeing it. The first thing he had recourse to--his usual refuge in all +times of affliction and perplexity--was a long and energetic +malediction. His gracious lord, who at this moment approached for the +purpose of learning the cause of so cordial an outpouring, gave his +keeper an equally cordial morning salutation, and maintained that he had +mistaken the road and led them all astray. But Niels, who was confident +on the point, assured him, and even called a dozen black angels to +witness, that the hut stood there, but that Mads had most probably +rendered it invisible, no doubt with the assistance of his good friend +with the horse's foot;[13] for it was beyond all doubt that he +understood what the common people call "at hverre syn." His master was +just on the point of coinciding in this opinion as the most rational, +when the Junker, who had ridden further forwards, cried, "Here is fire!" +All now hurried to the spot; and it was soon discovered that the entire +hut lay in ashes, the glowing embers of which here and there still +glimmered. This discovery led Niels to the conclusion, that the +aforesaid long-tailed personage had carried the poacher off, together +with his whole brood; while the Junker, on the other hand, was of +opinion, that Black Mads himself had set fire to the hut, and then fled. +During these debates it had become broad day-light, when a closer +examination of the spot was undertaken, though nothing was found but +ashes, embers, charcoal, and burnt bones, which the huntsmen pronounced +to be those of deer. In accordance with the Junker's hypothesis, it was +resolved to search the neighbouring heath, as the fugitive, with his +family and baggage, could not possibly have reached any considerable +distance. They, therefore, divided themselves into four bodies. The +Junker, with his own and another servant, took an eastern direction, +probably that he might be the nearer to Ansbjerg and his beloved; but +all his endeavours proved fruitless. It was to no purpose that he +hurried to and fro, and exhausted himself, his attendants, and his +horses. Sometimes he fancied that he saw something moving in the +distance, but which, on a nearer view, appeared to be sheep grazing, or +a stack of turf. Once, indeed, he was certain that he perceived people +about the spot on which the German church now stands; but, by degrees, +the nearer they approached, the forms became more and more indistinct, +until they at length wholly disappeared. Amid the preparations for this +unlucky expedition, a supply of provisions--that necessary basis of +heroism--had, as it sometimes happens in greater wars, been entirely +forgotten. A third part of the Junker's division was, therefore, +despatched to supply the omission; but as the man, on the approach of +evening, had not returned, the half-famished Junker resolved on turning +his face homewards. This resolve, however, was more easily adopted than +executed. The horses were as exhausted and faint as their riders. +Matters, therefore, proceeded but slowly; and they were unable to wend +their way out of the heath before darkness came on. The consequence was, +that they lost their road, and did not reach Ansbjerg till after +midnight. + +To avoid retrograding in my narrative, I will just briefly mention, that +the other three divisions met with a share of luck equally slender: not +one of them found what they sought. In vain did they traverse every +turf-moor; in vain descend into every dell, or mount every rising; in +vain did they seek through all the neighbouring villages and farms--no +one had seen or heard of Black Mads. Day was drawing to a close, and a +night's lodging was to be provided. The Lord of Ansbjerg himself landed +on Rydhauge, whence, after two days' successful sport in shooting +heath-fowl, he returned to his home. + +The fatigued Junker had scarcely satisfied the cravings of hunger before +he began seriously to think of doing like justice to those of +drowsiness, and therefore ordered his servant to light him to his +sleeping-room. It happened, however, as the latter was in the act of +opening the door, that he snapt the key in two, so that a part remained +fixed in the lock. To wrench it off required a crow and hammer; and then +the noise caused by this operation would wake the whole house. For to +what end had he hitherto been so quiet, but that he might not disturb +the ladies' repose? and had even been contented with a morsel of cold +meat, which his servant had succeeded in procuring for him. In such +dilemmas, the first suggestion generally proves the best; and on this +occasion the servant was provided with one. + +"The tower-chamber," said he, in a half-suppressed voice, and casting a +look of doubt on his master. At the name of this well-known, though +ill-famed apartment, a slight shudder passed over the Junker, but he +strove to conceal his fear both from the servant and himself, with a +forced smile, and with the question, tittered in a tone of indifference, +whether the bed there was in order for sleeping? + +The answer was in the affirmative, as the gracious lady always had the +bed in this chamber held in readiness, although it had never been used +within the memory of man. As she kept the keys of all the other spare +bed-chambers--a precaution quite needless with the one we speak of, +which contained only a bed, two chairs and a table, and was, moreover, +by its ghostly visiters, considered as sufficiently secured against +depredations--no excuse nor objection could be made. The Junker, +therefore, suffered himself to be conducted to the formidable apartment; +and the servant having assisted him to undress, left a light on the +table, took his departure, and closed the door after him. + +It was a darkish autumnal night. The waning moon was approaching her +last quarter, her curved half disc stood deep in the heavens, and shone +in at the chamber's one high and narrow bow-window; the wind was up; +small clouds drifted in rapid, almost measured time over the moon. Their +shadows glided, as it were, like figures in the magic lantern, along the +white wall, and vanished in the fire-place. The leaden window flames +clattered with each gust, which piped and whistled through the small +loose panes; it thundered in the chimney; the chamber door rattled. +Junker Kai was no coward, his heart was set pretty near the right place; +he dared to meet his man, ride his horse, had it even been a Bucephalus; +in short, he feared no living, or, more correctly speaking, no bodily +creature; but spirits he held in most awful respect. The time and +circumstances, but more particularly the bad reputation of the chamber, +set his blood in quicker motion; and all the old ghost-stories presented +themselves unbidden before his excited imagination. Phantasus and +Morpheus contended for possession of him: the first had the advantage. +He did not venture to shut his eyes, but stared unceasingly on the +opposite wall, where the shapeless shadows seemed gradually to assume +form and meaning. Under such circumstances, it is a comfort to have +one's back free, and all one's foes in front. He therefore sat up, +dashed aside the curtain at the bed's head, and cast a glance backwards. +The bed stood in a corner; at the foot was the window; opposite the side +of the bed was the plain wall, the fire-place, and beyond that the door. +His eyes glided along to the wall behind him, where hung an ancient +portrait of a doughty knight in plate armour, with a face in form and +dimensions resembling a large pumpkin, and shadowed with dark thick +locks. On this his anxious looks were fixed. It appeared and vanished +alternately, as the clouds passed from or covered the face of the moon. +In the first case, the countenance seemed to expand itself into a smile, +in the latter, to shrink into a gloomy seriousness. It might possibly, +thought he, be the spirit of a former possessor of the manor, which now, +after the extinction of his race, had taken possession of this remote +apartment. Like the shadows on the wall, courage and fear chased each +other in the Junker's soul; at length courage having gained the mastery, +he lay down and delivered himself into the power of Morpheus. + +He had hardly slumbered more than half-an-hour, when he was waked by a +noise like that caused by the opening of a rusty lock. He involuntarily +opened his eyes, which fell on the opposite door, where a white figure +appeared and vanished almost at the same instant. The door was then shut +with a soft creaking. A shivering sensation passed over him. He, +nevertheless, continued master of his terror, his cooler reason had not +quite succumbed under the powers of imagination. It was probably the +servant, thought he, who, although undressed, wished to see if the light +were extinguished. Somewhat tranquilised by this supposition, he +withdrew his looks from the door, but now perceived before the window +the dark upper half of a human figure. The outline of the head and +shoulders was perfectly distinguishable. The Junker's courage now +forsook him; but what was to be done? flight was not to be thought of, +for if he would escape by the door, by which the white figure had +disappeared, he might again encounter it; the window was out of the +question, and other outlets he had not noticed. His natural courage rose +again to a pitch that enabled him to cry out, "Who is there?" At this +exclamation, the figure seemed to turn quickly round, but made no +answer; and after some moments sank down slowly under the window, and +nothing more was afterwards to be seen or heard. No be-nighted wanderer +could long more heartily for day-light than our poor Junker: he did not +venture to close his eyes again, fearing, when he opened them, he should +see something appalling. He looked alternately towards the door, the +fire-place, and the window, in painful expectation; he listened with the +most intense anxiety, but heard nothing save the howling of the wind, +the rattling of the windows, and his own breathing. Day at length broke +forth, and as soon as it was sufficiently light to distinguish the +several objects in the chamber, he arose and examined every thing with +the utmost attention. In vain, he found not a trace of his nightly +visiters. Having thus paid dearly for his experience, he hastened to +leave this unquiet lodging, with the sincere resolve of never more +passing a night in the haunted chamber. + +As soon as the family met at breakfast, and the Junker had given an +account of their fruitless expedition, the lady of the house put to him +the very natural question, How he had slept after so much fatigue? + +"Quite well," was the answer. + +The Fröken smiled. "I think you slept in the tower-chamber," said she. + +The Junker acknowledged he had; but, being desirous of concealing his +fright from his intended, he deemed it advisable flatly to deny his +nocturnal acquaintances, while the young lady seemed equally bent on +extorting a confession from him. She assured him that she could see by +his eyes he had not slept, and that he looked uncommonly pale; but he +declared the ill-famed chamber to have acquired its character unjustly, +and added, she might very safely sleep there herself if she only had the +courage. + +"I think," said she, laughing, "that I shall one night make the trial of +it." The subject was now dropt, and the conversation turned to other +matters. + +After the old gentleman's return, a few days passed before any further +mention was made of the tower-chamber; for, in the first place, every +one was fully occupied in devising, setting forth, and passing judgment +on the several ways by which Black Mads might have been captured, as +well as in forming the most plausible conjectures as to his actual +whereabout; and, secondly, much time was consumed in accurately and +circumstantially describing the two days' sport at Rydhauge. This +copious topic being also exhausted,--that is, when the history of each +bird, hit or missed, had been related, satisfactory reasons alleged for +each miss, sagacious comparisons made between dogs and guns, &c. +&c.,--Fröken Mette began to lead the conversation to the subject of the +haunted chamber, by informing her father of the night passed therein by +her intended; at the same time playfully directing his attention to the +seriousness of the latter. In this second examination he had two +inquisitors to answer, of whom the young lady pressed him so +unmercifully by her arch bantering, that he at length found it advisable +to recall his former denial, and confess that he was not particularly +desirous of sleeping there again. + +"Is it becoming a cavalier," said Mette, "to be afraid of a shadow? I am +but a woman, and yet I dare undertake the adventure." + +"I will stake my Sorrel," answered the Junker, "that you will not try +it." + +"I will wager my Dun against it," cried Mette. + +It was believed that she was in jest; but as she obstinately insisted on +adhering to the wager, both her lover and father strove to dissuade her +from so hazardous an enterprise. She was inflexible. The Junker now +considered it his duty to make a full confession. The old man shook his +head; Fröken Mette laughed, and maintained he had dreamed, and, in order +to convince him that he had, she felt herself the more bound to fulfil +her engagement. The father, whose paternal pride was flattered by the +courage of his daughter, now gave his consent; and all that Junker Kai +could obtain was, that a bell-rope should be brought close to the bed, +and that her waiting-maid should lie in the same chamber. Mette, on the +other hand, stipulated, that all persons in the house should continue in +their beds, that it might not afterwards be said they had frightened +away the spectre; and that no one should have a light after eleven +o'clock. Her father and the Junker would take up their quarters for the +night in the so-called gilded chamber, which was separated from the +tower-chamber only by a long passage. In this room hung the bell with +which, in case of need, the young lady was to sound an alarm. The +mother, no less heroic than the daughter, readily gave her consent to +the adventure, the execution of which was fixed for the following night. + + +IV.-THE ELOPEMENT. + +Throughout this momentous night, which was to fix the future lot of the +Isabel, or Dun, and the Sorrel, neither family nor domestics enjoyed +much sleep: all lay in anxious expectation of the extraordinary things +that were likely to come to pass. Mewing of cats, screeching of owls, +barking of dogs, drove the dustman[14] away every time he came sneaking +in. The stable-boys heard the horses pant, snort, and kick; to the +bailiff it seemed as if sacks were being dragged about the granary; the +dairy-maid declared it was precisely like the noise of churning; and the +housekeeper heard, plainly enough, a sort of rummaging in the pantry. +Nor did sleep find its way into the gilded chamber. The lord of the +manor and the Junker lay silent, from time to time casting a look at the +little silver bell that hung between them; but it was mute, and so +continued to be. When the tower-clock struck one, the Junker began to +regard his wager as half-lost; but comforted himself with the +reflection, that a loss to one's wife is merely a transfer from one hand +to the other. In short, the night passed, and--as far as the +tower-chamber was concerned--as quietly as if there had never been ghost +or goblin in the world. With the first discernible peep of day-light, +both the half-undressed gentlemen rose, and hastened, with a morning +greeting, to the bold layer of spirits. They tapped at the door,--no +"Come in." "They must both still be asleep." Papa opened the door--they +entered--the lady's bed was deserted and the bed-clothes cast aside. +"Bravo," cried the Junker, "she has taken flight and the Dun is mine." +The old man did not utter a syllable, but proceeded to the servant's +bed, where no one was to be seen; but, on raising the clothes, she +appeared to view, with a face like crimson, and in a state of profuse +perspiration. To her master's first eager inquiry she returned no +answer, but stared at them both with a bewildered half-frantic look. +Having at length recovered the faculty of speech, she informed them, in +broken and unconnected sentences, that, soon after midnight, she had +seen a terrific spectre come through the wall. In her fright she had +buried herself under the bed-clothes, and had not afterwards ventured to +raise them; of what subsequently took place she knew nothing. This, +however, did not long continue a mystery, for the window was open, and +under it stood a ladder--Fröken Mette had been carried off, but by whom? + +What an uproar was now in the mansion! what outcry, screaming, and +maledictions without object--questions without answer! "After them!" was +the first order, both of father and lover; but in what direction? The +mother, the most sagacious of them all, proposed a general muster of the +whole household, which the father undertook to carry into effect +personally. Having, therefore, summoned each living being by name, he +declared that no one was missing. The whole assembled corps were of the +same opinion, until Fru Kirsten exclaimed, "Where is the writing lad?" +"The writing lad! the writing lad!" now resounded from every mouth. They +looked around--looked at each other--no! no writing lad was there. The +bailiff, with two or three others, went over to the writing-room, and +the master cried to the stable-boys, "Saddle the horses and bring them +to the gate like thunder and lightning!" The bailiff soon returned, with +a rueful countenance, and almost breathless, with the intelligence, that +the missing sheep must actually have decamped, for the bed showed +plainly that no one had slept in it that night; nor were his spurs or +riding-whip to be found. At the same instant, one of the stable-boys +came running with the news, that the Dun was away. All now stood as +petrified, speechless and looking at each other, until Fru Kirsten broke +the silence. "Our Fröken daughter," said she, "cannot have been carried +off by a writing-boy; he only came sneaking here as a spy. If I greatly +err not, the robber is from the west; see, therefore, if you cannot +trace them on the road to Vium, and now away! It is even yet possible to +overtake them, for the Dun cannot have gone any great distance with +two." Her surmise was correct; on the road she mentioned, traces of a +quick-trotting horse were plainly to be seen; and, as a further proof, +not far from the mansion, a bow was found, and, a little further, a +glove, both belonging to Fröken Mette. + +Armed with guns, pistols, and swords, master, Junker, bailiff, and +gamekeeper, with four other well equipped men, hastened away in chase of +the fugitives, while Fru Kirsten exclaimed, "After them! Bring them back +dead or alive!" We will now accompany the lord of Ansbjerg a little way +on his second expedition. As far as Vium, the traces were visible +enough; but here they would have been lost, if a peasant, of whom they +made inquiry, had not informed them, that about two hours before +daybreak he had heard the tramp of a horse leaving the town in a +westward direction. Profiting by this intelligence, they soon recovered +the track, which continued in the same direction by the inn at Hvam. +Here they learned that, about two hours before, the dogs had made a +great disturbance. The speed of the fugitives, therefore, it was now +evident, had began to slacken, as might also be seen by the traces. The +pursuers had reached Sjörup, where a man, standing before the mansion, +had heard a horse pass by, and thought he could discern two persons on +it. Now the track was at an end; here were many roads, all with deep +narrow wheel-ruts; which was the one to follow? The fugitives had +followed none of them, probably from fear that the horse might fall, but +had ridden among the heath. The pursuers now halted to hold a +consultation. Of three high roads, one followed a north-west, one a +south-west direction, the third lay between them. While these, one after +another, were under consideration, the conversation turned on the great +event of the night, and particularly on the suspicious writing-lad. One +of the men remarked, that it occurred to him that he had seen the youth +before, though he could not just then recollect where. Another had seen +a stranger a few days previously speaking with him privately in the +wood, and he thought the stranger addressed him twice by the title of +Cornet. Now a sudden light burst in upon the old gentleman. "Ha!" +exclaimed he, "then let us take the middle road leading to Vestervig. I +dare swear that the writing-lad is no other than the Major's third son, +who is a Cornet in the cuirassiers. I remember that Fru Kirsten once +cautioned me against him, and said that he came prowling after Fröken +Mette. And you," cried he to the bailiff, "yourself saw the handwriting +of the bailiff at Vestervig. Either he has made fools of us all, or the +letter was forged. And all the while he was so still, orderly, and +diligent, so courteous, and so humble, that I could never have imagined +he was of noble race." Then putting his horse into a trot, "He who first +gets sight of the runaways," said he, "shall have three crowns." The +troop had about six miles to ride before they could reach the ford +through the rivulet at Karup; in the meanwhile, therefore, with our +reader's leave, I will hasten forward to our fugitives, who have just +reached the opposite side. The poor Dun, exhausted under her double +burden, and with the first four or five miles' hurried flight, walked +slowly and tottering up the heath-covered bank. The Cornet--for it +really was he--from time to time cast an anxious look backwards, and at +each time gained a kiss from his dear Mette, who sat behind him, holding +him fast round the waist. "Do you yet see nothing?" she asked, in a tone +of anxiety, for she herself did not dare to look round. "Nothing yet," +answered he; "but I fear--the sun is already a little above the +horizon--they must be on the road in pursuit of us. If the mare could +but hold out." "But where is your brother's carriage?" asked she, after +a pause. + +"It ought to have met us by the rivulet at day-break; nor can I imagine +what detains it, for my brother promised to send his young Hungarian +servant with it, whose life I saved five years ago in the war with the +Turks, when I received this sabre cut in the face. That he is not here +is perfectly inexplicable. We have still eight miles before we get out +of the heath." + +While he was thus speaking, they had reached the top of the bank, and +the great west heath lay spread out before them like a vast sea; but no +carriage, no living being was to be seen. The Cornet stopped to let the +mare take breath, at the same time making a half turn, the more easily +to survey that part of the heath that lay behind them. This was also +naked and desolate; nothing was there to be seen save a few scattered +turf stacks, nothing to be heard but the cry of the heathcock, the +rushing of the rivulet, the panting of the mare, and their own sighs. +Awhile they thus remained, until the Fröken broke silence with the +question, "Is there not something moving yonder?" She uttered this in a +suppressed voice, as if she feared it would be heard on the other side +of the waste. + +"There is no time for staying longer," answered he; "I am fearful it is +your father who is coming yonder." With these words, he turned again +towards the west. + +"Oh! my father," exclaimed Mette sighing, and at the same time clasping +her lover still more closely. + +He again looked round. "They seem to draw nearer," said he; "if I urge +on the mare, I fear she will fall." They rode onwards a short distance, +he with an oppressed, she with an anxiously throbbing heart. + +"I must walk," cried he, and dismounted, "that will so far help; do not +look back, dearest girl." + +"Ah heaven! can it be our pursuers?" + +"There are seven or eight of them, as far as I can discern." + +"How far off may they be?" asked Mette again. + +"Scarcely more than two miles," he replied, and notwithstanding his +admonition she again looked back. + +"I see no one," said she. + +"Nor do I at this moment," he answered, "they are most probably down in +a valley: one is just now making his appearance, and now another. Come, +come, poor Bel," cried he, drawing the mare after him, "you are +accustomed at other times to carry an arched neck, and to lift your +feet high enough; now you drag them along the ground, and stretch out +your neck like a fish when it is being hauled out of the water." + +After a pause, the Fröken asked, "Can they see us?" + +"They ride point blank after us," answered the Cornet, "and gain more +and more upon us." + +"Heavens! if they overtake us, I fear my father will kill you, dearest +Holger! but I will shield you with my weak body, for I cannot outlive +you." + +During these painful, interrupted conversations, they had travelled +about two miles from the rivulet, across the western heath. Their +pursuers were already close to the east bank, and might be both +distinguished and counted. The apprehension of the fugitives was rapidly +passing into despair; there seemed not a gleam of hope. The Cornet vied +with the mare in panting, the Fröken wept. At this moment, a tall man +clad in brown, with a gun in one hand, and a low-crowned hat in the +other, started up before them out of the high heather. The fugitives +made a stand. "Who is there? Where are you from?" cried the Cornet, in a +military tone. + +"From there," answered the man, "where the houses stand out of doors, +and the geese go barefoot. And where are you from? and where are you +going? But stop, have not we two seen each other before? Are you not the +person who lately begged for me, when Niels keeper would have laid me +sprawling?" + +"Black Mads!" exclaimed the Cornet. + +"So they call me," answered the poacher; "but how happens it that I meet +you here so early with such a pretty companion? You have also apparently +been out poaching. If I can help you in any way, let me know." "In time +of need," said the Cornet, "the first friend is the best. I am the +Major's son at Vestervig, and have been fetching a bride from Ansbjerg. +Her father and a whole troop of horse are after us. If you can save or +conceal us, I will be grateful while I live; but it must be instantly, +for they are on the other side of the rivulet." + +Holding his hat before his eyes on account of the sun, Mads exclaimed, +"Faith! here we have him sure enough, with all his people. Kinsmen are +hardest towards kinsmen, as the fox said, when the red dogs were after +him. If you will promise never to make known the place to which I take +you, I will try to hit upon some plan." + +The Fröken promised, and the Cornet swore. + +"Hear then, children," continued he, "they are just now riding along the +bank on the opposite side of the rivulet; before they can arrive on this +side, a good time must pass; and they cannot see what we are about. In +the mean while we will set up a hedge for them that they will not so +easily jump over." Saying these words, he laid down his gun, drew forth +his tinder-box and struck fire. He then rubbed two or three handfuls of +dry moss together, placed the tinder-box among it, blew till he caused +it to blaze, then cast it down into the midst of the heather, where, +after crackling and smoking for a few seconds, the fire spread itself in +all directions. While engaged in this occupation, the object of which +was not immediately manifest to the fugitives, Black Mads did not cease +giving vent to his thoughts in the following broken sentences:--"The +wind is with us, the heather's dry; now Niels keeper can soon get a +light for his pipe--it is the second time he has had the benefit of my +tinder-box; the man will, no doubt, curse and swagger about the +heath-fowl, because I roast them without basting; but need knows no law, +and a brave fellow takes care of himself. See now! it's beginning to +smoulder." With these words he rose, and said to the Cornet, "Do now as +you see I do, pull up a head of heather, set fire to it, run ten paces +towards the north, and fire the heath; then pull up another, run, and +again set fire, all towards the north, till you approach that little +heath-hill yonder two or three gunshots distant. I will do the same +towards the south, and then we will run as quickly back. The Fröken can +in the mean time stay here with the horse. It will soon be done: now let +us begin! Light before and dark behind." With this formula the poacher +commenced his operations. The Cornet followed his instructions, and +soon a tract of heath, two miles in breadth, stood in a blaze, and both +incendiaries immediately rejoined the trembling Fröken. + +"We have now earned our breakfast!" cried Mads, "be so good as follow +me, and put up with very humble accommodation--but what can we do with +this?" he gave the mare a slap with his open hand, "Can you find your +way home alone?" + +"O," said the Fröken, "she follows me wherever I go." + +"No, that she certainly must not, for she would betray us: the door of +my house is too narrow for her to enter, and we dare not let her stand +without. You are too good to suffer harm," said he to the mare, while +taking off the saddle and pillion, "but every one is nearest to +himself." + +The Cornet, who saw his design, took his mistress by the hand and led +her some stops aside, as if to place her beyond the range of the +conflagration. The poacher took his piece, cocked it, went up to the +side of the mare, held it behind her ear, and fired. The Fröken turned +round with a shriek of horror, just in time to see her poor Dun, sinking +down among the heather. Tears of pity flowed down the pale cheeks of the +sorrowful girl. + +"The jade is as dead as a herring," cried Mads, by way of comforting +her; "she did not even hear the report." + +He then took off the bridle, laid saddle and pillion on one shoulder, +his gun on the other, and began to move onwards, at the same time +encouraging the lovers to follow as fast as they could, with the +grateful intelligence that his castle lay at no great distance. + +"Only don't look behind you," added he, at the same time quickening his +pace, "but think of Lot's wife." + +The Fröken, though in a riding habit,[15] was unable to go so fast +through the tall heather. She frequently stumbled and entangled herself +in the branches. The Cornet, therefore, without waiting for permission, +took her in his arms, and, notwithstanding her reluctance, bore her +away. + +"Now we are at home," at length cried their conductor, at the same time +flinging saddle and package at the foot of a little heath-grown hill. + +"Where," cried the Cornet, also relieving himself of his burden. He +looked around without discovering any thing bearing the remotest +resemblance to a human habitation. A suspicion darted rapidly into his +mind; but for a moment only. Had the man been a murderous robber, he +could long ago have executed his villanous purpose without any risk of +resistance, as long as he himself had literally both hands full. + +"Here," answered the poacher; at the same time raising a very broad +piece of turf and laying it aside, he said, "Some days since I lived +above ground, there I might not remain; but it is a poor mouse that has +but one hole." While saying this, he lifted and laid aside four or five +stones, each as large as a strong man could carry, and now an opening +was disclosed to view sufficiently wide for a person to creep into it. + +"It looks as if they had been digging out foxes here," said the Cornet. + +"So it should look," answered Mads; "but before we go in, we will just +see around us, not on account of the Ansbjerg folks, who cannot yet have +passed by the fire, but there might possibly be others in the +neighbourhood." They looked on every side: to the south, west, and north, +not a living being was to be seen, and all the eastern quarter was +hidden in clouds of smoke so dense that the beams of the morning sun +were unable to penetrate them. + +"Have the kindness to stoop," said Mads, while he himself crept in on +all fours, "and just follow me. The door is low, but the place will very +well hold us; I will bring your baggage in instantly." + +With some difficulty they followed their conductor, and soon found +themselves in the subterranean dwelling, a spacious apartment, the walls +of which were composed of huge unhewn stones, and the roof of beams +laid close to each other, from which hung a lamp, whose faint light but +imperfectly illumined the objects present. On the one side were two +beds, a larger and a smaller; on the other a bench, a table, two or +three chairs, a chest, and two hanging presses. In the smaller bed lay +three naked children, who, on the entrance of the strangers, dived, like +so many young wild ducks, under the covering. On the side of the large +bed sat Lisbeth, _alias_ Madame Mads, knitting a stocking, which in her +astonishment she let fall with both hands into her lap. At the end of +the table stood a little red-haired man, clad in skin from his chin to +his knees, whom the host introduced to his guest as his good friend +Mikkel Foxtail. "We were once digging here," added he, smiling, and +pointing to Mikkel, "after his half-brother,[16] and so found this nook. +Mike thinks it has been a robber's cave in former times; but it may also +have been some old warrior's burial-place, for there stood there two or +three black pots with bones and ashes in them." At the name of "robber's +cave," a shudder passed over all the Fröken's frame: her lover observing +it, said in French, "Fear not, my dearest, here we are secure; but it +pains me that the first habitation into which I conduct you, should +inspire you with horror and disgust." + +"I will show you all my conveniences and luxuries," continued the +poacher, at the same time opening a door in the background. "There is my +kitchen, where we dare have fire only in the night; here is also my +dining-room," added he, pointing to a salting trough and some legs of +venison that were hung to smoke over the fire-place. "Bread and meat I +have also got, and I bought a drop of mead in Viborg with the last +deer-skin." With these words, he set a stone bottle and a wooden dish, +with the aforesaid provisions on the table. "Eat and drink as much as +you desire, and of whatever the house affords; and when you wish to +depart, you shall have a trustworthy guide." + +The Cornet pressed the hand of the honest Troglodyte, and said, "At the +present moment I have nothing to offer you but my thanks--" + +"I require nothing," said Black Mads, interrupting him; "but promise me +only that you will never betray me or my cave." + +With the most solemn assurances, this promise was given; and the lovers +now partook of a breakfast, to which hunger and joy at their safety +imparted a double relish. + +At the suggestion of their host, they resolved on waiting till evening, +before they again entered on their interrupted journey. In the meantime, +Mikkel offered to go out and reconnoitre; both to watch the pursuers, +and make inquiry after the carriage from Vestervig. The first time he +went no further than the opening of the cavern, from whence he informed +them, that the party had ridden round the burnt space, and, in two +divisions, proceeded westwards. Some hours after, he ventured out a +short distance on the heath, and returned with the intelligence, that +they had now taken a north-west direction, and that the heath would most +probably be quite safe, as they could not suspect that the fugitives +were still on it, and had no doubt been led out of the right track by +false information. A little past noon Mads and Mikkel went out together, +the latter to order a conveyance in one of the villages lying to the +west. After an hour had passed, Mads returned with the intelligence that +he had met with a young fellow who appeared to him somewhat suspicious, +and who from his accent seemed to be a German. He inquired the way to +the inn at Hvam, and whether some travellers had not passed by in the +course of the day. From the description of the young man's person and +dress, the Cornet felt convinced that it was his brother's Hungarian +servant. They therefore both went out, and were so fortunate as to +overtake him about a mile from the cave. We will not detain the reader +with the Hungarian's account relative to the non-appearance of the +carriage, but merely mention, that both he and the coachman had mistaken +for Karup rivulet that which runs some miles to the west, and where the +carriage was then waiting. With equal brevity, we will further remark, +that a little before noon he had been stopped and interrogated by the +pursuers, and that he had not only skilfully extricated himself out of +this examination, but had sent them in a direction which he rightly +judged would not lead them into the track of the fugitives, of whose +fate, however, he was in a state of the most painful uncertainty. + +The next morning, the Cornet and his fair companion arrived safe at +Vestervig, where they became man and wife, and obtained from his elder +brother, the owner of the estate, a small country house at Thye for +their habitation. Junker Kai got at first a galling disappointment, and +secondly, after the lapse of a twelve-month, a still richer Fröken from +the Isle of Fyen. The lord of Ansbjerg and his lady washed their hands +clean of their daughter, and, notwithstanding the humble and penitent +letters of her and her husband, were not to be reconciled. + + +THE HORSE-GARDEN + +Near the west end of Ansbjerg wood there is an open space, consisting of +an extensive green, entirely surrounded by old venerable beeches. +Annually, on the first afternoon of Whitsuntide, the greater part of the +inhabitants of the neighbouring parishes are accustomed to assemble at +this spot. On that day many houses stand empty, and in many are left +only the blind and the bed-ridden; for the halt and crippled, provided +they lack not the sense of seeing, must once a-year enjoy themselves +amid the new fresh verdure, and--like Noah's dove--bring home a bright +green beechen bough to their dusky dwellings. + +What joy! what shoals! The Horse-Garden--so is this trysting-place +named--at this time resembles a bee-hive; incessant bustle, endless +pressing backwards and forwards, in and out: every soul bent only on +sucking in the honey of joyousness, and imbibing the exhilarating summer +air. How they hasten, how they flutter from flower to flower! greet, +meet, separate, familiarly, gaily and hastily! How many a young swain +brings or finds here the lady of his heart! At a considerable distance +from the hive may be heard its ceaseless hum and tumult. + +The nearer you approach, the more varied is the joyous uproar. The +monotonous hum resolves itself into shout, song, and laughter, rattling +of leaves, sound of fiddles and flutes. Swarms pour in and out on every +side of the green wood. The lower orders in their Sunday garments, the +higher classes in elegant summer attire, cavaliers in black, ladies in +white. + +"Is there dancing here?" + +"Oh, yes, here is a forest ball, a dance on the elastic greensward." + +"Do you see that village fiddler by the large beech yonder, towering +high above the surrounding multitude? Do you see how rapidly his bow +dances up and down amid hats adorned with flowers? And there is a +regular country dance, a real Scottish!" + +"Am I in the Deer-park, in Charlottenlund?"[17] you will ask. "See what +a number of carriages, elegant equipages, coachmen in livery, horses +with plated harness, tents with cold meat and confectionery, coffee-pots +on the fire, families reclining on the grass around a basket of +eatables!" + +You are in the Horse-Garden. This is Whitsuntide's evening in Lysgaard +district,--the beauteous Nature's homage-day. Thus is this holiday +celebrated till the sun goes down; but formerly it was only the common +people of two or three neighbouring parishes that assembled here, though +this innocent merry-making is, without doubt, an ancient custom, as old +as the wood itself. + +Ten years after the events related in the foregoing chapters had taken +place, the summer festival was, as usual, held in the Horse-Garden. A +man from whose grandson I in my young days heard the story, gave the +following account of it:-- + +"It was during my first year's service as bailiff at Kjærsholm, I had my +sweetheart at Vium; she was distantly related to the clergyman there. On +the first day of Whitsuntide she agreed to meet me in the Horse-Garden, +where we arrived so early that we found ourselves the only persons in +the place. We wandered for an hour or two in the wood, until the sound +of a violin announced to us that the people were assembled. We went to +the spot as lookers on, sat down and observed the dancers. Shortly +after, I noticed that two gentlemen, with a lady and two children, were +approaching along the path leading from Ansbjerg. Being a stranger in +the neighbourhood, I inquired of my companion who they were. 'Hush,' +answered she, 'it is the family. The tall stout man is the old gentleman +who became a widower about five years since. The young one, with a scar +on his cheek, is his son-in-law, the lady his daughter, and the two +Junkers their children. Ten years ago she eloped by night with the young +gentleman. While the old lady was living, a reconciliation was not to be +thought of; but after her death, the old gentleman allowed himself to be +persuaded, and he received them into his house. At his decease they will +inherit both house and land.' The party continued standing for some +time, amusing themselves with looking at the country folks, and then +gave them something for drink. On a tree that had been levelled by the +wind, sat two elderly men, with a jug of beer between them, and each +with his pipe. On the family approaching them they rose and took the +pipes from their mouths. + +"'Sit still,' I heard the young man say; and turning to the elder, 'you +are now better friends than when you struck a light for Niels' pipe by +Karup rivulet?' + +"'Yes, gracious sir,' answered the person addressed with a smile; 'there +is no animal however small that will not fight for its life. It was a +bad business, yet has turned out well.' The party laughed. + +"'Be careful,' said the old gentleman in going away, 'that you do not +get jammed between the branches of the deer you are riding on there.' At +this they all laughed heartily, and I could, from time to time, hear the +old man's jolly roar, that resounded far in the wood. + +"'What does that allude to?' said I to my companion, 'and who are these +two old men?' + +"'The one,' answered she, 'in the green frock, with the gray hat, is the +gamekeeper. The other, in the brown habit, is Mads the under-ranger, who +lives close by, and whom the young gentleman brought with him. The story +of the deer I will tell you.' + +"While she was relating this and the whole history of the elopement, my +notice was attracted by a pair, who were having a dance to themselves, +while all the others stood watching them. + +"'Who are they?' inquired I; 'they look a little remarkable, +particularly the youth in the long yellow skin ineffables, in that blue +jacket, and that extraordinary cap on his head?' + +"'He is no youth,' answered she, 'but a married man; it is his wife he +is dancing with; he comes from Turkey, and accompanied his young master +home from the wars. He is secretary and gardener, and is both pot and +pan in the house. His wife has been long in the young lady's service, +and, they say, helped her away when she eloped from her parent's +house.'" + +And now my story is ended. Many ages of man lie between then and now. +There has been ringing and singing over several generations since the +persons therein commemorated passed to eternal rest. Both the old and +the young lords of Ansbjerg have long been forgotten in the +neighbourhood, and no one now knows aught to tell of Black Mads. The +manor-house has often changed its proprietors, the lands have been sold +and divided. + +Of the robber's cave alone, an obscure and confused tradition has been +preserved. On the great heath, about two miles west of Karup stream, are +some heath-covered hills, which yet bear, and ever will bear that +sinister name; but no one now thinks that there was once an asylum for +tender and steadfast love, a paradise underground. + + + + +A RIDE TO MAGNESIA. + + +The sun was already below the horizon, when we entered on the plain of +Magnesia. Our poor brutes were sadly jaded; for the latter part of the +journey had been very severe. For some time it had been over a rocky +path, strewn with loose stones; and the last stage is by a pretty +abrupt, and very rough descent. My poor animal had cast a shoe, and the +only relief that could be afforded in his calamity, was to dismount and +lead him. We, too, were somewhat tired; but the glorious sight that +burst upon us, bathed our spirits afresh in the waters of invigoration. +The road had, for some time, kept us dodging among crags and corners, +which allowed no prospect, and where, indeed, we were well employed +picking out our way. But when we emerged, what a sight did we behold! +One of the noble Asiatic plains stretched before us. Far as the eye +could reach, to right and left, the green expanse extended; and +immediately before us, it was only in the far distance that the boundary +of hills was seen. Here and there clumps of trees variegated the turf; +and a fair river wound itself amid all, looking like some huge and +silvery serpent disporting itself in this apt solitude. Think how +beautiful such a scene must have looked at evening, when the tops of the +hills, and a few fleecy clouds were rosy in the sunbeams. Its expression +was Paradisaical, the rather because the empire of Peace was invaded by +no sight nor sound. The air was absolutely still, except for the sound +of our own footsteps: as for our voices, after the first expression of +delight, they were hushed. We seemed to be gazing on some primeval +solitude,--on the spot where Astræa might have last lingered, and whence +the impress of her footstep had not been yet obliterated by the violence +of man. It was a perfect presentation of the still and calm, and touched +the same associations that are made to thrill by Flaxman or Retsch. + +On the verge of this plain, snugly ensconced under the lee of the hills +we had been descending, lies the city of Magnesia. It is of reverend +aspect, and quite worthy of its incomparable situation. It is placed so +closely under the hills, that its details are very gradually unfolded to +one advancing. First appears a minaret, that most graceful of +architectural conceptions; then comes a burying ground, and at last peep +out the domes of the baths and mosques, and particular houses. The place +has quite the air of having come to hide itself in this quiet nook; and +its inhabitants seemed to be of the same mind, for not one of them could +we see. At such an hour, poetic justice demanded that there should have +been, scattered over the ways, groups of peasants returning from their +toil, and citizens refreshing themselves with an evening walk. But here +seemed to be no fields to cultivate. All looked as if it were common +land; and one could but feel what a first-rate exercising ground Oglú +Pascha had for his cavalry. As for the citizens, walking does not come +within their idea of enjoyment; to which exertion is so essentially +opposed, that probably half of them would forego their very pipes, if +smoking were attainable only on condition of filling and lighting for +one's self. + +Now, let me say, that a wayfarer's trouble is not always over when he +has arrived at the city of his destination. I should like to put any one +who thinks it is, outside of one or two places that I know, and tell him +to find his way in. _Le grand capitain_ thanked the garrison of Malta +for having had the kindness not only to capitulate, but to open the +gates for him, as otherwise he did not see how he should ever have got +in. And so, I opine, there be places where a capitulation would be +incomplete without the attendance of one of the indigenous to act as +pilot. I am afraid that I might have taken this journey in vain, and +sighed in exclusion, had I been left to my own devices for the effecting +of an entry. The river surrounds, in great part, the walls; and one +might make pretty well the entire circuit before hitting the right point +of ingress. But one of us was gifted with topographical instinct in +high degree, and at once nosed the course that was to lead us to the +bridge. Our poor brutes seemed to sympathise in the refreshment of our +spirits; and even my unfortunate Rosinante consented to his burden, and +put his best foot foremost. One of his feet, alas! was what maritime +gentlemen would call a regular _worser_--the foot which lacked a shoe, +and which, defenceless, had to sustain such rude battering. The hoof of +this foot was cracked, and I was in much tribulation, both on the poor +horse's account and on my own. But I made the best of the circumstances; +encouraging the animal with all that I could remember and imitate of the +dialect in which man converses with the horse; and comforting myself +with thinking how soon the poor fellow would be stabled and shod. + +The bridge, over which we passed, was very pretty and not very shaky, +nor by any means so broken-backed as are the greater number of Turkish +specimens. At the moment of our passing, it was lined with venerable old +fellows, who had turned out to enjoy their evening pipe. They were +dressed in the most approved and unreformed style, and many of them had +long beards, descending to the girdle. They sat in perfect stillness, no +man speaking to, or seeming to care for his neighbour. Indeed, from +experiences among them, we might almost argue that though man is by +nature gregarious, he is conversational only by acquirement. At any +rate, they show how few words may answer all the purposes of business, +and how little all of us would talk, if wives and domestic matters were +proscribed subjects. As we passed through the midst of them, not a soul +looked at us, not a nudge did one of them give to his neighbour, not a +puff less of smoke was emitted. One might have concluded it to be with +them an every day occurrence to see three Europeans ride in such style +into their town. Yet you might be bold to say, that they had never seen +such an entry before. The mode of travelling is so strictly regulated by +necessity, that, in all probability, of all the few Franks who have +entered this place, none have ever done so in the independent style we +affected. At least if, by chance, some couple may have done so, it has +certainly been where there has existed a knowledge of the people and +language. If our appearance did not at first enlighten them as to our +greenness and ignorance, we soon stood confessed by our attempts at +inquiry. Our first object was, of course, to discover the habitation of +the Seraph, whose name we had written down in our own character; as the +hieroglyphics which stood for direction to the letter would have been no +guide to us. Now, our stock of words did not go the length of any direct +inquiry; for _Katch Sahet_, our old stand-by, was now used up. + +"Seraph,--Seraph,"--we sang out, with as strong an expression of inquiry +as we could throw into our looks and gestures. At this some of them +certainly did look up, but with the least excitement conceivable. One of +the more benevolent vouchsafed to us a few words, but soon stopped with +the most unmistakeable look of pity when he saw that we did not +understand him. Evidently he pitied our ignorance and despised us. No +farther attempt was made to enlighten us; nor were the peaceful seniors +in the least discomposed at the unsuccessful result of the inquiries +that possibly were uttered in the speech of the old man. We had nothing +for it but to go a-head, and trust to the chance of falling in with some +one better skilled in the language of signs. Oh, thought we, had it been +any where near Naples that this escapade had conducted us, we might have +done well. Among those pantomimic people the language of the lips +becomes an unimaginative and lazy expedient, by no means necessary to +the uses of communication. Nature, whose voice is one to all, has given +to them such force of gesture, that it must be a very long and difficult +story that they could not tell or understand without words. But poor old +John Turk is a different animal, and can be dealt with only by dialectic +precision. Never had we seen such an exemplification of their incurious, +impassible diathesis as they now presented to our cost. We turned back a +long and admiring gaze at the group as we passed onwards, for truly it +was a most picturesque position. But we had to revert to the present +necessity of finding some lodging, more perhaps on account of the horses +than of ourselves. For us it would have been no great hardship to pass +the night, should need be, on the dry soft turf, beneath the clear sky, +which shone so purely above us that we absolved the neighbourhood from +all suspicion of marshes, which are the only objection to sleeping in +the open air in this country. All looked dry, and clear, and pure. But +our poor horses, who had been beguiled into an effort by the sight of +the town, began now again to droop, and evidently considered us +chargeable with a breach of promise in thus prolonging their labours. +Whither to go we could not tell. A labyrinth of streets lay before us, +and amongst them it was our object to pick out the way to the Armenian +quarter. Turks keep early hours, and but few people were astir in the +streets when we entered, and after our wanderings had continued but a +short time scarcely a soul was to be seen. Now I am prepared to say, +that no desolation is like the desolation of strangeness in a large +city. St. Jerome in the wilderness, or Stylites on his pillar, were not +more lonely than many a poor recluse in our city of two million +inhabitants. And we ourselves would have been infinitely more at ease +had we been called upon to bivouac beyond the sight of human habitation. + +Up one street and down another we passed, till we were wearied almost +beyond endurance, and really uneasy for our cattle. We met no one; or if +we did, no one that noticed us. The muffled figure of some woman would +pass by, who, when she saw the gaoórs, would draw her veil yet more +closely over her, and hurry, on her way. One or two children stopped to +stare at us; but we knew experimentally that their untutored fanaticism +was more likely to have a shy at our heads, than to attempt to +understand or direct us. We kept a sharp look-out for some Greek or +Armenian house wherein, for lucre's sake, we might be received in the +first instance: reserving to ourselves the introduction to the Seraph as +a _bonne bouche_. But still we wearied on, and saw no hospice. All was, +shut up, and closed. They were evidently not of the social temperament +that distinguished our Smyrna friends,--no doors were open, no family +parties visible, no suppers spread out. Some two hours passed +away--night fairly descended; and then the place might have passed for a +city of the dead. + +The fix was becoming unquestionably awkward, and our mirth, which had +thriven wonderfully on the absurdity of our position, was passing over +to what old ladies call the wrong side of our mouths. Such an incurious, +apathetic set we had never before met. If our expectation had not been +exactly that some bustling Boniface, would have come rushing out to +welcome us to his best parlour, we had at least reckoned on finding some +person who knew the value of money, and the requirements of strangers. +But we were completely nonplused at the actual complexion of affairs, +and I am afraid began to be out of humour with this particular part of +the Sultan's dominions. Still, however, we retained that facetious +satisfaction that every wise man finds at the bottom of a really good +embroglio,--viz., the sense of having concocted an adventure, and the +curiosity of seeing what will come of it. Thus, though appearances were +as if we should have to remain riding about those streets _in +infinitum_, we knew that something or other must turn up; and were only +a little impatient for the denouement. + +At last we stumbled on the benevolent stranger who was to help us out of +our difficulty. A man in Christian costume was seen hastening towards us +with the air of one who had heard that his friends were in trouble, and +needed his assistance. + +"Bona sera, signori." + +How musical did the words sound! + +"Oh man," said we, "_per carità_, tell us what good soul of a Greek will +take us into his house this night." + +"_Padroni miei_, you are too late to get into any house this night. They +are all gone to bed, and their houses are shut up. You must go to the +Khan." + +"Do you know where the Seraph ---- lives?" + +"Surely I know--it is not far from this spot." + +"Then, if you would be very kind, you will take us to his house: for we +have a letter for him, and we hope to put up at his house." + +"_Andiam_,--come along; it is late, but the Seraph will not have gone to +bed, for he is rich, and has much business. Only, my masters, you must +make haste, so that if he cannot receive you, I may have time to lead +you to the Khan before that be also shut." + +This last was a very disagreeable suggestion; but we would not admit in +our own minds the probability of our needing the resources of public +entertainment. We had made up our conclusions that the Seraph was a very +good fellow; and that no good fellow would turn us adrift under the +circumstances, even though the entertainment of us might cost him a +little inconvenience. + +For something like another quarter of an hour we followed our benevolent +guide, who led us into a quarter of comfortable and respectable +appearance. It was not inferior to the Armenian quarter of Smyrna, +except in respect to pictorial effect as a whole. The houses were +particularly good, and built in a more seclusive spirit; the better ones +being almost all detached. Before one of the very best of these our +guide stopped. + +"Here lives the Seraph ----." + +It was a domicile of most promising appearance, surrounded by a garden, +and in every respect snug and unexceptionable. We had so lived in hopes +of finding this house, and so thoroughly made up our minds to stop +therein, that we were nearly riding at once into the enclosure as if we +had been invited and expected. We were discreet enough, though, to +consider that the worthy Armenian might possibly be a little startled at +the unexpected apparition of such a party, so detached K---- as a +deputation, to present our compliments, and accept the invitation which +we doubted not would follow. + +J---- and myself remained without the gate to take care of the steeds, +and to expect the result of our embassy. We exchanged congratulations on +the good fortune of having brought up in such snug quarters, and agreed +that we were all right now. If the Seraph could not receive us himself, +he would be sure to know some family of the place which would, on his +recommendation, receive us. But after some few minutes we began to think +our messenger was a long time away, and I determined to have a peep at +what was going on. I entered the garden, and saw at once that the work +was in no prosperous condition--the letter was not even yet read. The +worthy merchant had evidently been disturbed in the prosecution of +culinary duties, for a vessel of water was before him, and a lettuce in +his hand. He had taken a good look at K----, who was not quite unabashed +at this cold reception, and was now minutely inspecting the letter +before opening it. Like most moneyed men, he was very silent and very +deliberate. At last he got the length of opening the letter, and slowly +read it through. This being achieved, it did not seem to occur to him +that it was necessary to say any thing to us. The scene was much such as +might take place at the reception of some poor relative by a rich London +merchant. + +"Signore Seraph," said K----, "our friend John gave us this letter to +you, because he thought you might like to be of some service to us +during our short visit." + +"What can I do for you?" + +"You can tell us of some house where we can put up for the night." + +"I do not know any such house. There is none such in Magnesia." + +"You cannot mean to say that none will receive the friends of your +countryman, John." + +"Gentlemen, you must go to the Khan. I know of no place but the Khan. In +the Khan you will find excellent accommodation." And having said thus +much, he recommenced scuttling about among his cookery, and fairly +turned the cold shoulder on the whole party of strangers. + +Now this gentleman was a bad specimen of his kind, thus to dishonour the +recommendation of his very respectable friend at Smyrna. Or perhaps +something had gone wrong with him that day on 'Change. Certain it is +that such a reception we had never before experienced. In every place to +which we had come, we had always found some one who, for love or money, +was glad to receive us. In more than one case, it had been for the +former consideration; and indeed in some villages it is the recognised +privilege of the greatest man to receive the wayfarer. It is to them a +rare occasion of playing the entertainer, and, besides, gives them an +opportunity of hearing all sorts of travellers' tales. Besides, it is a +good office, which they themselves may require at any time; and it is, +even on sordid grounds, good policy for them to establish relations of +hospitality throughout the country. One case is in my recollection, +where a large party of us, with I know not how many followers and +horses, were received most cheerfully, though arriving at a late hour, +and in such formidable numbers. The most hospitable attention was paid +to us, and abundant provision of all kinds made; and at our departing +our entertainers would receive no penny of recompense. And other such +can I remember, though none perhaps where the demand was so strong. + +Rejected from the gate of the Seraph, whom we voted a barbarian and a +curmudgeon, our ambition resolved itself into the anxiety to reach the +Khan before they shut up for the night. Our new acquaintance, who had +guided us to this inhospitable threshold, was waiting for us outside, as +though in distrust of our being received. He stuck by us like a good man +and true, till he had conducted us far away to the upper part of the +town, where lies the Khan. + +We saw a large building, with a frontage something like Newgate. On a +rude sort of divan, in the doorway, sat the Khandgi smoking, who gave +not the least sign of noticing our approach. Through the doorway we had +a perspective view of an inner court of considerable extent, in +different parts of which glimmered the cheerful blaze of fire and lamp. +Several people were passing to and fro, and altogether the place looked +far more life-like than the dull streets through which we had been +passing. + +Our friend approached and saluted the Khandgi, who returned the +compliment with all grave civility. A colloquy then followed on the +subject of ourselves, during which the Turk read our personal +presentments with some apparent interest. It probably required some +scrutiny to convince him that men travelling thus unattended were not +vagabonds. Perhaps the same idea had something to do with the +shortcomings of our friend the Seraph. In the present case the result +was of a more satisfactory kind, for the Khandgi uttered a courteous +welcome, and motioned to us to dismount. Our friend, to whom we had +previously explained our necessities, told us that, in consideration of +his request, the Khandgi would take the trouble of supplying our wants +in the way of eating, though, as the bazaar was long since closed, we +should have to wait some time for our supper. We were only too glad to +hear that there was any prospect of a refection, and, thanking him +heartily for his good offices, we entered the caravanserai. + +Immediately at the entrance of this hostelry was an uncommonly snug +little apartment, wherein many of the more sociable of the guests were +taking their baccy. Our will was very good to have made a temporary +lodgement here while the more substantial repast was in course of +preparation. But we followed the respectable gentleman to whose care we +had been consigned. Our luggage was not very cumbersome, consisting only +of our saddles and holsters, which we were able to remove at once, as +the two hours' patrolling had quite cooled the horses. Poor things! they +had still to wait for their provender, for though we signified that we +wished them to be fed directly, the authorities gave us to understand +that they must wait. They have a great objection in these parts to feed +any particular horse, or horses, except at the same time with all the +others, believing that those of the animals who have nothing to eat, +hearing the others chumping their corn, are made envious. It is but fair +to them to say, that they are very kind to the brute creation. To their +care we left our quadrupeds awhile, and ascended to what was to be our +chamber. We passed along an extensive gallery with a great many doors, +at one of which our conductor stopped and produced a large key. We were +introduced to a moderately capacious cell, entirely bare of furniture, +but quite clean. Of this room and key we were put into possession, and, +throwing down our traps, made ourselves comfortable. It was exactly like +the cell of a prison; massy stone walls, with one little aperture by way +of window, which, however, was not barred, neither was it glazed; at +which we were not astonished, for glass is hereaway an expensive, or at +least an unusual luxury. The character of the Khan is consistently +observed throughout, as we learnt subsequently more particularly--viz., +that of a place which affords necessities, but no superfluities--nothing +portable. House and home you cannot easily carry about with you, and +these the public institution provides; but all things edible, or +wearable, or convenient, you must provide for yourself. + +Our good friend brought a lamp, which he set upon the floor; and, as the +evening was coolish, and the cell had the air of not having been +tenanted for a long time, we signified to him that a fire would be +agreeable. Having made the exception in our favour, in virtue of which +he had undertaken to supply our various necessities, he set about +fulfilling his contract with a good will, and seemed only anxious to +know what he could do for us. We pointed to the bare floor, and +insinuated an appeal to him, as a man of honour and a gentleman, whether +such a couch did not admit of improvement. It is very probable that he +uttered in his sleeve some objurgation on Frankish luxury, that could +not be contented to sleep as other people did; or, at any rate, to +provide capotes like other people. But he signified to us his +intelligence of our meaning, and his ready acquiescence; and soon +entered a satellite laden with rugs, on which a prince might have +reposed, to say nothing of a weary traveller. + +Behold us, then, stretched on our couches around the fire, soothing our +spirits with that best of smoking inventions, the nargillé. The +providing of these, and of coffee, _without sugar_, came within the +legitimate province of the Khandgi, who keeps a café in the +establishment; every thing else that he may give you, is of pure grace. +Should any body, in these travelling days, be ignorant of the +constitution of a nargillé, let him understand that it is a smoking +device on the same principle as a hookah, but marvellously superior in +effect. The smoke is drawn through water by means of a long, snake-like +tube. Herein lieth its agreement with the Indian vanity; but the +difference is this, that instead of the sickly composition, half +rose-leaves, half guava jelly, that composes the chillum of the hookah, +the nargillé is fed with pure tobacco; of a particular kind, indeed, and +passing by a particular name, but still a veritable specimen of the +genus nicotiana. It is called timbooké, and professes to come only from +Persia. + +We were not left long in undisturbed possession of our apartment. The +key had been made over to us with much formality; but we soon found that +our tenancy was understood to imply no right of seclusion. The news of +our arrival had spread, and sundry of the other inhabitants of the Khan +were smitten with the desire of seeing what sort of animals these were +who travelled in such fashion. Our door opened, and first one man, and +then another, entered in the most unconcerned style. It was highly +amusing to see how coolly they walked in: some saluted us, and some did +not. Some brought their pipes or nargillés, with which they squatted on +the floor, and watched us. As we could not talk to them, they talked to +one another about us; staring, at the same time, with all their eyes, +and pointing unconstrainedly to the individual or object that happened, +for the time being, to engage their curiosity. Many addressed inquiries +to us, and shrugged their shoulders at our ignorance of a language with +which, probably, they had never before met any one unacquainted. These +gentlemen, be it remembered, were not of the sober inhabitants, but +chance occupants of the inn--merchants and vagabonds of all kinds. +Merchants, among them, always are vagabonds; men who travel with their +wares from one place to another, according to the complexion of markets. + +We were at least as much amused at marking them, as they were with us, +and not much more constrained in our personal observations. Many an +equivocal compliment fell harmless on their ears, which, had it been +understood, would have ruffled their smiles. At last an individual +entered, who evidently came on business. He made a short announcement to +us, and waited for a reply. Of course no reply was forthcoming, except +some general invitation to sit down and make himself happy. This he was +by no means disposed to do. He repeated his words with an emphasis that +seemed to imply that he was not to be trifled with, and that it was no +use pretending not to understand him. He exemplified what I suppose to +be a general fallacy of our nature,--for I have often encountered the +same anomaly,--that is to say, he repeated his words slowly and +emphatically, as if one, though ignorant of the language, could not fail +to comprehend his meaning, if expressed clearly and deliberately. We +were brought no whit nearer to a sense of the emergency. + +As in despair he continued to repeat one word, "Aiván, aiván," in a tone +that appealed to our every sympathy as reasonable beings, we felt the +full indecorum of our continued unintelligence, and would gladly have +compounded, by appearing to understand, and allowing the event to work +itself out. But this would not satisfy our friend: there was evidently +something to be done by us. + +"Aiván, aiván!" shouted the assistants, in chorus. + +It was useless. The word was not in our vocabulary. He now began to +gesticulate vehemently, passing his hand several times over his face, +and performing other evolutions. These to me, I confess, conveyed no +meaning; but K----, being of quicker apprehension, somehow extracted +from the pantomime an idea of the fact. + +"Depend upon it, he means something about the horses." + +S---- improved upon this suggestion, turning to account the extra +knowledge that he possessed of the ways of these people. "I have it. He +means where are the halters for our horses. These are never provided in +the Khan stables, and all travellers take them for themselves." + +Here we were at fault: none of us had been provident of this article, +and we wanted words to beg the stable-man to provide, if he could, the +halters, and put them in the bill. In the midst of our perplexity a man +entered, whom we hailed as a friend in need. He was a Greek, +unmistakeable by physiognomy, even had he not been so by dress. How +delightful it was to find a channel of communication re-opened, those +only can judge who, like us, have been deprived of the uses of speech. +Our words became, indeed, epea pteroenta. In a trice he +explained to us the whole matter, which was as we had supposed. He +appeared to be quite proud of the distinction of being the only person +who could communicate with us, and assumed the office of interpreter +with great gusto. Through him we explained that we should like to pay a +visit to the stables, and the groom summoned us at once to follow him. +The company all cleared out as we rose; partly from civility, and partly +because they wanted to see a little more of us. We did not, in the +least, doubt the honesty of these gentry; but, seeing that so little +ceremony existed as to right of entry into our apartment, we did not +know but that some unscrupulous person might take advantage of our +absence to overhaul our effects. We therefore judged it prudent to +remove those of our effects which might most strongly provoke their +cupidity. Our saddles were heavy, and could not easily be pocketed, but +our pistols might have been stowed away under their voluminous dresses, +and carried off without the observation of the Khandgi. These, +therefore, we carried with us, and with such garniture I personally cut +a pretty figure. My weapons were so prodigiously long, that their +but-ends considerably overtopped the boundary of my pockets, and gave me +thoroughly the air of a highwayman. The exhibition amazed us, but did +not appear to strike the natives as extraordinary, who doubtless thought +that such was the ordinary walking attire of our nation. + +The unintelligible groom walked foremost with a lantern, and led us +across the great quadrangle of the Khan, to his particular domain. It +was a right good stable, comfortable and clean, and in which a horse +might rejoice himself. It was full of horses, and asses, and camels--for +which last species of animal a stable is only an occasional luxury. +Generally, the track of these hardy brutes lies where there is no stable +to be found, and they are wont to travel in such numbers as to defy any +ordinary bounds of habitation. Here they seemed to be quiet neighbours, +and not at all offensive to the smaller quadrupeds. Once on the spot, we +managed to get over the difficulty of the halters, and as the time of +feeding was approaching, we led our steeds out to water. The poor +shoeless one was sensibly the worse for his journey, and stuck out his +off fore-leg in a manner that boded ill for the morrow. However, they +all took their corn well, so we bade them good-night, and hoped for the +best. As we were out, we pursued our peregrinations awhile, and +inspected the domestic economy of the establishment. The building +occupied a large square, with the court open in the middle. The stables +and other offices occupied most of the ground floor, though some little +room was left for public apartments. The gallery, on one side of which +we were lodged, extended round the court, and was throughout divided +into separate guest chambers. These were all, like ours, solid, square +cells, affording the accommodation of four walls, and a pan for fire. +Besides this, each room contained a water pitcher, and this was the sum +of furniture. We promenaded for some time up and down the gallery, and +peeped into many open doors, so that we saw several samples. In one or +two of these we saw parties of travellers, on whom we gazed with as +little ceremony as had been used towards ourselves, and with as little +offence. They certainly were worth looking at, for they were wild +fellows, collected from no one knows where, and looked uncommonly +picturesque. At last our host brought in the supper, for which we were +particularly well disposed. We were at no time fastidious, and at that +precise moment of most indulgent mood toward all cooks. But the mess +that appeared almost baffled appetite. Turkish cookery, as practised by +the great, is first-rate in its kind. But if this supper was a fair +sample of their homely fare, I should not be ambitious of again proving +the cookery of a Khan. It was presented in a tub of vile aspect, which +one would have scrupled to admit to the office of a pediluvium, and +which certainly any respectable scullion would have rejected from the +service of washing dishes. Its contents were of the most suspicious +character. In a greasy soup floated fragments of animal substance, +corresponding in texture and form to the parts of no edible creature +within our knowledge. This was garnished with anchovies, and a goodly +loaf of bread, which last article was beyond reproach. Of course we had +no spoons, nor forks; so we tucked up our sleeves, and dived into the +soup. That which had offended the sight proved yet more vile in the +tasting; yet, since it pretty well quenched all desire to eat, it in +some sort, after all, did the duty of a supper. + +All was quiet in the Khan at an early hour, and nothing disturbed our +slumbers. Early the next morning we rose and wandered forth into the +town. It is a happy custom for the traveller, that the Mussulmans are +careful to place a fountain near all places of public resort, for thus +has he always means of performing in some sort his ablutions. What with +the fountain, and a Turkish bath, we contrived to put ourselves into +condition for the emergencies of the day. The first thing was to sally +forth into the bazaar in search of a breakfast. Here we made it out on +kabobs, and a sort of cake like a large crumpet; the cake doing the +office of a plate. Kabobs are things better in a story than in +manducation, being excessively greasy compositions of odd pieces of meat +stuck on skewers, a poor imitation of the sausage. We found the town +rising in our estimation as we viewed it by daylight. The bazaar does +not, of course, afford such a display of rich merchandise as is to be +found in that of Smyrna. There is no show of costly carpets, and silks +from Brousa and Damascus. But the town, _quoad_ town, is decidedly +superior to the Asiatic metropolis. The streets are wider, the +buildings more substantial, the vagabonds not so many. All looks clean +and respectable. Here is no bustle of commerce, no appearance of social +fermentation. All has the quiet and settled air of a place where the +inhabitants have made their fortunes, and retire to enjoy themselves. +Seclusion and blissful ignorance have preserved them from the crotchets +of reformers, and continued to them the benefits of a wholesome +despotism. + +But a sound burst upon our ears which made us start. A gush of music as +from a full military band was borne upon the air: and in good tune and +measure, moreover, did it sound. We knew that we were in a country +accustomed to raise any given number of soldiers at short notice; but +irregulars, wont to be disbanded on the termination of their special +service. But the case turned out to be that Magnesia was a grand cavalry +depot. We followed the sound and came up with the regiment, returning to +their barracks. A noble appearance they presented. The horses were +first-rate, and the men fine strapping fellows, who looked as if they +could do the state some service. We stood at the corner of a street past +which they were marching, and had a good view of them. It was a very +strong regiment, with a full complement of a thousand men. Their uniform +was of the new school, that is to say, after the European model. The +specimens of the regular infantry that are to be seen at Smyrna and +Constantinople, give but an unfavourable idea of the Turkish troops of +the line. It becomes them little to be cross-belted after our fashion, +and they seem to be sulky under the constraint of their accoutrements. +But these horsemen rode by in gallant style, showing, as occasion arose, +excellent horsemanship, and gathering perhaps some vivacity from the +noble animals whose curvetings demanded a vigilant eye, and firm seat. +After all, cavalry seems to be their natural strength, as it has been +ever since the days when they rode wild in the plains of the Selinga. +The natural genius of the people may be sufficiently understood, by a +comparison of the gallant-looking, serviceable dragoons, with the +sluggish fellows who carry the musket. They seem to be no more the stuff +whereof infantry is to be composed, than they are the stuff of which +sailors are to be composed. At this latter transmutation many efforts +have recently been made, and a good deal certainly effected, so far as +regards the mechanical duties of the sailor. All who were in presence +with the Capitan Pasha, lately, on the coast of Syria, were surprised at +the improved state of their powers of nautical evolution. But this is +merely an effort, whose effects cannot last, for the stuff is not in +them of which a sailor is made. Their look and bearing is enough to +condemn them immediately, and, moreover, enough to show that the +training is by no means agreeable to them. Now all these dragoons looked +as if their occupation was exactly to their taste, and as if they were +proud of their horses and themselves. The only absurdity on the parade +(for there was all absurdity, or it would have been contrary to all +Turkish precedent) was, that after the colonel, as gallant-looking a +fellow as one would wish to see, came his pipe-bearer, with the tools of +his craft strapped to his back. This certainly did come at the tail of +the procession with something of the air of an anti-climax. + +We followed closely after them to see the fun, and arrived at the parade +ground before the barracks, just as they had dismounted, and were +walking about their horses to cool. We had some little hesitation about +venturing among them; for they have curious notions on the subject of +the evil eye; and it had happened to one of our friends to get a +particularly good pummeling from some soldiers, merely for looking +attentively at their horses. But these men were very civil, and even +invited our approach. One or two of the officers spoke to us. Presently +came a man who beckoned us to follow him, which we did without the least +idea of whither it was that we were bound. He led us right across the +parade ground, and into the grand entrance of the barracks. Here we were +received by a gentleman, who addressed us in Italian, and informed us +that he was the head physician to the regiment, and the particular +friend of the colonel, who was waiting up stairs to receive us. Up +stairs we went, the doctor preceding us, and volunteering to interpret. +The room was a most delightful retreat from the glaring heat of the day. +The floor was coolly matted, the walls were nearly bare, the sun was +excluded, and nothing hot met the eye. The colonel was sitting on the +divan at the upper end of the room. He rose as we entered, and received +us most politely. I call him _colonel_ to express the fact of his being +at the head of a regiment. But in truth he was a much greater man than +such a title is wont to describe. Not only was his regiment so strong in +numbers, but he was the military governor of the town; his correct +style, in their own language is Miralahi. + +We could see plainly enough that he was a person of some consequence; +but the Italian doctor was determined to leave us, if possible, no +chance of a mistake in this matter. He interlarded his internunciary +discourse, with a continual annotation of asides, which became +monstrously amusing, seeing that they were spoken in full audience of +the individual who was their unsuspecting subject. He impressed on our +serious consideration that the colonel was a very great man indeed; able +to do pretty well what he liked in Magnesia: and we were to take note +that he, the doctor, could do what he liked with the colonel. I do not +know whether he handed over our speeches to the colonel in a more +genuine state, than we were quite sure he did those of the colonel to +us, from the quantity of alloy that we were able to detect. It is +probable that at least he polished our compliments, and somewhat +exaggerated our conditions. At any rate we were a very pleasant party, +and seemed mutually satisfied with our conversation. After a +considerable interval, during which we had partaken of his hospitable +cheer, we arose to depart. But he would not allow us to go, saying, that +English officers visiting that strange place must be his guests. He +would first show us the barracks, and then we must go home with him, and +dine. This proposal delighted us much, and we bowed a willing assent. We +had the curiosity to inquire how he had been made aware of our arrival, +as he evidently must have been, by the token of his having recognized us +on the parade ground, and having sent to us the invitation. He told us +that in the routine of his daily reports, our descriptions had been +presented to him as having arrived at the Khan: so that when he saw us, +he knew who we must be. + +Presently we proceeded to inspect the barracks. Nothing could be nicer +or better kept than they were in all respects. No English barracks could +be cleaner or better ventilated. We saw also some of the officers' +quarters, which spoke well for the taste of the occupiers. The band, we +found, was composed entirely of natives. We had supposed that the master +of the band at least would have been a foreigner; but were assured that +Turkish skill, unassisted, had the training of the musicians, and even +the composition of much of the music. We went into the kitchen, and +tasted the men's dinner, which was ready prepared. It was a most +excellent soup or hodge-podge, that Meg Dods herself might have owned. +Thence we went to the stables, and here all was admirable. One might be +bold to say that no European regiment is better mounted. The colonel's +special stud was a noble collection, in whose exhibition he had +evidently much pride. We wound up our inspection with a visit to the +hospital, which we found the most admirable part of their menage. This +was the doctor's own province, and he minutely exhibited particulars. I +have seen a great many hospitals in my day, and am able to judge that +this was excellent. The building was of no pretence, but substantial +convenience was consulted. It was quite spacious enough for ventilation; +and the beds were all clean and comfortable, and disposed at +sufficiently wide intervals. This establishment is governed in chief by +the Italian doctor; but the second in direction, the surgeon as they +term him, and all the other functionaries, are native Turks. The +dispensary is excellently well kept, and among its duties is the keeping +of a regular sick-register. This details in form the malady and +treatment of each patient: so that satisfactory information concerning +any particular inmate may as readily be obtained here as in any London +hospital; and medical precedents as certainly established. + +This register our friend had the complaisance to submit to our +inspection, and we were astonished at the exactitude of its detail. He +told us that among his duties, is that of making a regular nosological +return to government periodically, and a report of the number of deaths +with their respective causes. Few people would have been prepared to +find the exhibition of so much solicitude for the life and well-being of +the private soldier, on the part of the Turkish government. Such +humanised policy is at least wonderfully in contrast with all that we +hear of the domestic economy of these people but a few years back, and +with what, by all accounts, is the method pursued, even at this day, in +the armies of Mehemet Ali. In a very recent number of a French +periodical are given some details concerning the military usages of that +potentate, that, with every allowance for possible exaggeration, leave +the impression of a terrible reality. Indeed, without precise data, it +is easy to conceive that disease and death must riot among such +subjects, unless checked by vigilant supervision. Their habits are very +dirty, in spite of the ablutions to which they are constrained by their +religion, which affect only their arms and legs. Of the benefits of +clean linen they are in mere ignorance, and their fatalism is the spring +of all kinds of indiscretion. Think of seven or eight hundred such +fellows congregated in a barrack, with more than the probability that +some one of the number may have brought with him, from his dirty home, +the contagion of fever, perhaps of plague; and it will be easy to +conceive how great and constant must be the care that can maintain them +in tolerable health and comfort--a care that must subsist not only in +the hospital, but be extended over all arrangements affecting them. + +The healthy and active appearance of the men was the best presumptive +evidence of the excellence of their régime. Had we even left Magnesia +without positive witness of their barrack economy, we should have felt +sure that these men must be ably officered and well looked after. It is, +with regiments as with ships, a standing truth, that efficiency of +condition is compatible only with efficiency and sympathy on the part of +the officers. The grand secret of our naval discipline is the +recognition of this truth: and no where does it find a more full +exemplification than on board our ships. There every officer (every +_good_ officer) feels for, and with, his men. Nothing, save the positive +requirement of the service, is allowed to interfere with their comfort. +The care of their health is as much the ambition and duty of the captain +as is the care of his ship. Few things in the strange world afloat would +strike a landsman more, than the minute attention habitually paid to men +who are hourly liable to the most perilous risks. At the need of the +service, limb and life are freely ventured; but not a wet jacket is +inflicted, nor a meal prorogued wantonly. Jack, who is burdened with no +care for himself, becomes devoted to his officers who care for him; +ready at their bidding to jump overboard, or to turn to and get the +mainmast out all standing. A well-ordered man-of-war, where this feeling +prevails from the quarter-deck to the forecastle, affords perhaps the +finest exhibition of harmony of purpose of which our nature is capable. +The inspection of a single regiment is insufficient ground whereon to +found general observations; but so far as this one specimen is +concerned, we can speak of the Turks as having made some slight approach +to this most desirable condition. We were surprised to find an Osmanli +in the position of surgeon to the establishment; because the religious +principles of such a one are understood to be invincibly opposed to the +prosecution of the studies that must qualify for such a post. Without +dissection what can they know of anatomy? and unskilled in anatomy, how +can they guide the knife healingly among the intricacies of the human +frame? Yet all the operative surgery in this hospital is the care of the +native surgeon, by whom the most formidable operations are successfully +performed. The best proof that these medicos are up to their work, is +found in the fact, that the sick-list was very small. It was quite +surprising to see how few beds were occupied. Indeed, the men are so +well clothed, well fed, and lodged so airily, that their tenure of +health must be far more secure when on service than when in their own +homes. + +Our inspection had occupied some time, and brought the day well on to +the hour of dinner. The hospitable colonel having right courteously +satisfied all our inquiries, led the way to his domicile. Among the +notable experiences of this day, it was not the least that he himself by +his presence afforded us, enabling us to mark the tone of feeling +subsisting between himself and his men. I will defy any harsh taskmaster +to take me among his men, and prevent my reading in their demeanour the +fact of his ungentleness. Aversion and constrained fear, are motives too +powerful for the possibility of suppression in the presence of their +object. The eye is too faithful an index of the soul to give no spark +when the fire of hatred rages within. But as we passed through the +different buildings, every eye expressed cheerfulness and satisfaction. +They seemed pleased at our curiosity, and gratified with his visit. He +himself seemed delighted to play the part of exhibitor. He walked +through the different compartments, not exactly with the air of an +English dragoon, but still with a good deal of the soldier about him. +Take him all in all, he was one of the two best specimens of Turkish +great men that I have seen. The first place I reserve for my excellent +friend the Pasha of Rhodes. With all his slouching, happy-go-lucky air, +it was astonishing to see how much grace he managed to preserve; and how +the sense of authority was kept up, notwithstanding the simplicity of +his good humour. + +When a man asks you to dinner, unless, indeed, he be a gipsy living +under a hedge, it is usual to suppose that you must enter his house. We +had reckoned on being introduced to the particular establishment of the +Miralahi, and rejoiced in the prospect of so befitting a conclusion +to our morning's researches. But our friend marshalled us onward through +stables and gardens, to the prettiest little kiosk you would wish to +see, snugly ensconced beneath vines and creepers, at one end of his +dwelling. Here-away nature assumes a regularity in her moods of which we +Englishmen know little in our own land. Here it really does rain in the +rainy season, and really is hot in summer. Thus knowing, almost to a +degree, the heat or cold they are at any time to expect, the happy +indigenous are in condition to suit their manner of life to the humour +of the season. This kiosk was the usual summer sitting-room; contrived +to a nicety in all respects so as to woo all cooling influences, and +exclude the sun. The sides were open towards that quarter whence the +breeze was wont to come; and a beautiful fountain threw up its abundant +stream so near to us that we almost received its splashing. We were +raised somewhat above the level of the garden, which lent to our +enjoyment the blended odours of lemon and citron. No carpet was there, +nor woollen substance, nor aught that looked hot. Cool mats covered the +tesselated floor within; and without, the eye was refreshed by gushing +water, and by the deep green of the orange and lemon trees. Truly, one +might be in a worse billet on a hot day! + +But nothing edible appeared, nor any table, nor other appliance whose +presence we are wont to associate with the idea of dinner. One might +almost have supposed the kiosk to be the drawing-room, reserved for the +collecting together of the guests before their proceeding to the +banquet. Our host had picked up another friend in the course of the +morning, so that, with ourselves and the doctor, he had a very +respectable party. + +We had been but a short time sitting in that state of palpable waiting +for dinner, which from St. James' to Otaheité is one and the same +recognised misery, when our host propounded to us, through the doctor, +the following thesis. + +"There are different modes of dining, according to different nations." +The proposition was axiomatic: we looked assent, and waited for what was +to come next. + +"The English have their way, the French theirs, and the Turks theirs. +How will you dine to-day?" + +"Like true Osmanlis," we cried, emphatically and enthusiastically. +"Truly, mine host, we have capital appetites, and, moreover, an old +proverb on our side." + +Now, it is not to be supposed that this worthy gentleman could really +have given us an entertainment in the styles he offered. No doubt it was +but a conventional phrase, and meant no more than the speech of the +Mexican does, who tells you to consider his house and all he possesses +as your own:--still it was civil. A sign was made to one of the +domestics, and significant preparations were forthwith commenced. Each +of us was furnished with a napkin, which we spread out upon our knees. +We further followed lead so far as to tuck up our sleeves: then came a +pause. Presently arrived an attendant, bringing an apparatus much like a +camp-stool, which was planted in the midst of us; and, on the top of +this, was anon deposited a large and bright brass tray. On this, in a +twinkling, appeared a basin filled with a savoury composition of kind +unknown. Into this all hands began to dig. It was uncommonly good +indeed, and disposed one for another taste. But almost before a second +taste could be had, the dish had vanished and was succeeded by another. +And so it was throughout the repast: the first momentary pause in the +attack was the signal for removal of the reigning basin, and the +production of another. There could not have been less than eighteen or +twenty dishes in all; most of them quite capital, and deserving of more +serious attention than the bird-like pecking for which alone space was +allowed. On the whole, it was a style of thing which would hardly suit +men seriously hungry: but it suits these fellows well enough, who, as +they never take more exercise than they can help, may be supposed never +to know what downright hunger is. Among their _plats_ was one of +pancakes, made right artistically, and as though in regard of +Shrovetide. We wound up with a bowl of sherbet, or some variety of that +genus, for the consumption of which we were allowed the use of spoons. +It would be pleasant enough to dine with them, were it not for the +barbarity of eating with one's fingers: an evil which their notions of +hospitality tend still further to aggravate. On occasions when they wish +to do particular honour to a guest, it is their custom to pick tit-bits +out of the dish, perhaps to roll up such morsels in a ball, and pop them +into the stranger's mouth. Sometimes the attentive host will dig his +fingers into the mass, and pile up the nicest pieces on the side of the +dish, ready for your consumption, and this by way of saving you the +trouble of selection. Happy were we that our friendly entertainer was +content with this milder exhibition of benevolence; for it did not +require any great ingenuity to pretend a mistake as to the identity of +morceaux. The malicious doctor seemed bent on making us undergo this +trial, and did his best, with winks and whispers, to rob us of our +ignorance. Very kind was this good Miralahi to us. We sat long, and +talked much with him, and he was urgent in invitations to us to prolong +our stay in the city. The inducement that he held out was certainly +tempting--nothing less than the promise that he would have, on our +especial behoof, a grand review of all his troops. Had we been free to +follow our will, we should most assuredly have accepted his invitation, +as well for the sake of its kindness, as because the chance of such a +review is not to be met with every day. He did give us a military +spectacle in a small way. In the course of conversation he fell upon +some inquiries concerning the cutlass exercise, and requested +illustrations. He then called one of his dragoons, and put him through +the cavalry sword exercise, after their manner: and a particularly +ferocious-looking exercise it was. + +But the time was now come when we must bid farewell to the good colonel; +and we did so with a cordial sense of his hospitality, and a great +increase of respect for him as an officer. He pursued us with his good +offices; sending the doctor to the Khan with us, to assist us in a +settlement there, and giving us good counsel for our progress. He tried +very seriously, at first, to dissuade us from attempting a start so late +in the day, as he conceived it would be impossible for us to reach +Manimen, whither we were bound, that night. It is a fact, that +travelling after dark is not safe in Turkey: indeed, you would hardly be +allowed, after nightfall, to pass a guard-house. But we were determined +to take our chance of doing the distance within the time, as we knew +well that the number of hours allowed by authority were very much beyond +the mark of what we should take. Like a truly hospitable man, when he +found us bent on departing, he set himself to speed our departure. His +friend the doctor was at the trouble of repeating to us several times, +till we had pretty well learned them by rote, some of the most necessary +inquiries for food and provender, in the vernacular. When we had written +these down in the characters, and after the orthography of our +mother-tongue, we felt fully prepared for all contingencies. + +How different was the spirit of our departure from that of our entry! +Not four-and-twenty hours since, we had ridden into the town, unnoticed +and unsheltered: we were now almost pained to say farewell. So short a +time had sufficed to work the difference between desolation and +good-fellowship. And though this instance be but of a feebly marked, an +almost ludicrous difference; you have but to multiply the degrees, and +you arrive at a picture of what is every day happening in the course of +the long journey on which we are all engaged. A man is stricken and +mourning to-day, because he is desolate; to-morrow he is radiant with +joy, because he has found a soul with which he can hold fellowship. The +spirit makes music only as the spheres do, in harmony. When I have +thought of these things, and felt that they tend to the cultivation of +human sympathies, it has seemed to me that I might draw a moral lesson +even from the recollection of my "Ride to Magnesia." + + + + +JAVA.[18] + + +The wealthy owner of a vast estate takes little heed of the peasant +gardens fringing its circumference. Absorbed in the consideration of his +forest glades and fertile corn-fields, his rich pastures and countless +kine, he forgets the existence of the paddocks and cabbage-plots that +nestle in the patronising shadow of his park paling. Occasionally he may +vouchsafe a friendly glance to the trim borders of the one, or the +solitary milch cow grazing in the other: he must be a very Ahab to view +them with a covetous eye; for the most part he thinks not of them. In +the broad domains that call him master, he finds ample employment for +his energies, abundant subject of contemplation. Thus it is with +Englishmen and colonies. Holding, in right and virtue of their +adventurous spirit and peculiar genius for colonisation, immense +territories in every quarter of the globe--territories linked by a chain +of smaller possessions and fortified posts encircling the world--they +slightly concern themselves about the scanty nooks of Asia, America, and +Africa, over which wave the banners of their European rivals and allies. +They visit them little--write about them less. In some cases this +indifference has been compulsory. When the second title of the Sovereign +of Spain and the Indies was something more than an empty sound, and half +America crouched beneath the Spanish yoke, every discouragement was +shown to travellers in those distant regions; lest some French democrat +or English Protestant should disseminate the tenets of Jacobinism and +heresy, and awaken the oppressed multitude to a sense of their wrongs. +Thus was it with Mexico, of whose condition, until she rebelled against +the mother country, scarce any thing was known save what could be +gathered from the lying writings of Spanish monks. Again, remote +position and pestilential climate have daunted curiosity and repelled +research. To the Dutch possessions in the island of Java this especially +applies. Seized by the English in 1811--to prevent their falling into +the hands of the French--upon their restoration to Holland at the peace, +their ex-governor, Sir Stamford Raffles, wrote his voluminous and +erudite "History of Java." Three years later, further accounts were +given of the island in Crawford's "History of the Indian Archipelago." +In 1824, Marchal's book was published at Brussels, but proved a mere +compilation from those above named. And since then, several works upon +the same subject, some possessing merit, have been produced in Holland +and Germany, out of which countries they are little known. At the +present day, a periodical, appropriated to the affairs of the Dutch East +Indies, appears regularly at Amsterdam. But Englishmen take little +interest in Dutch colonies and colonists; and although now and then some +Eastern traveller has devoted to them a casual chapter, for a quarter of +a century nothing worth the naming has been written in our language with +reference to the island of Java. + +Most men have a pet country which, above all others, they desire to +visit. Some long to roam amidst the classic relics of Italian grandeur, +or to explore the immortal sites and renowned battle-fields of Greece; +some set their affections upon Spain, and languish after Andalusia and +the Alhambra; whilst others, to whose imagination the hardy North +appeals more strongly than the soft and enervating South, meditate on +Scandinavia, thirst after the Maelstrom, and dream of Thor and Odin, of +glaciers and elk-hunts. We have a friend for whom the West Indies had a +peculiar and irresistible fascination, to which neither length of voyage +nor dread of Yellow Jack prevented his yielding; we have another--who +has never yet lost sight of Britain's cliffs--whose first period of +absence from his native land is to be devoted to a pleasure trip to +Hindostan. Such fancies and predilections may often be traced to early +reading and association, but not unfrequently they are capricious and +unaccountable, and we shall not investigate why the Eastern Archipelago, +of all the regions he had read and heard of, had the greatest +attractions for Dr. Edward Selberg, a young German physician of much +intelligence but little fortune, strongly imbued with a love of +adventure and the picturesque, and with a desire to increase his stores +of medical and scientific knowledge. The motives of his preference he +himself is puzzled to explain. Many difficulties opposed themselves to +the realisation of his darling project--a visit to the Sunda Islands. +His means were inadequate to the cost of so expensive an expedition; and +although the advantage of science was one of his objects, he had no hope +that his expenses would be defrayed by the government of his own or of +any other country. At last, through friends in Amsterdam, he obtained +the appointment of surgeon to a transport, on board of which, in +September 1837, he sailed from the Helder for the island of Java. +Besides the ship's company, he had for companions of his voyage a +hundred soldiers and two officers. The Dutch East Indies hold out small +temptation either to civil or military adventurers. Few visions of +speedy fortune, fewer still of rank and glory, dazzle the young and +ardent, and lure them from their native land to the fever-breeding +swamps of Batavia. Thus the Dutch government cannot afford to be very +squeamish as to the character and quality of the men it sends thither. +Dr. Selberg's account of his fellow-passengers is evidence of this. +"Amongst the soldiers," he says, "were natives of various countries, +Dutch, Belgians, French, Swiss; nearly half of them consisted of the +refuse of the different German states. Most villanous was the +physiognomy of many of these; the traces of every vice, and the ravages +of the various climates they had lived in, were visible upon their +countenances. They were men who had served in Algiers, Spain, or the +West Indies, who had been driven back to Germany by a craving after +their native land, and who, after a short residence there, weary of +inactivity, or urged by necessity, had enlisted in the Dutch East India +service. The Dutchmen consisted of convicts, whose imprisonment had been +remitted or abridged, on condition of their entering a colonial +regiment. These were the worst of the whole lot; they feared no +punishment, being fully persuaded that death awaited them in the +terrible climate of Java, and it was scarcely possible to check their +insubordination and excesses. Another very small section of the +detachment was composed of adventurers, whom wild dreams of fortune, +never to be realised, had induced to enlist for the sake of a free +passage." + +Idleness would render such motley herds of evil-doers doubly difficult +to restrain, and the Dutch government provides, as far as is possible on +board ship, for their occupation and amusement. On the Betsey and Sara, +the name of Dr. Selberg's transport, guards were regularly mounted; +pipes, tobacco, dominos, nine-pins, and even musical instruments, were +abundantly supplied to the restless and discontented soldiery. But it +was the season of the equinox, and, for some time, sea-sickness caused +such toys to be neglected. Only when they had passed Madeira, the +weather became fine, and Dr. Selberg was able to enjoy his voyage and +make his observations. The latter were at first confined to the +dolphins, sharks, and shoals of flying-fish which surrounded the vessel; +and as to the enjoyment, it was of very short duration. After the first +month, the cool trade-wind left them, and they suffered from intolerable +heat. The soldiers had a comical appearance, standing on sentry with +musket and side-arms, but with a night-cap, shirt, linen shoes, and +trousers for their sole garments. To add to the irksomeness of life at +sea, there was little cordiality amongst the officers, who lived apart +as much as their narrow quarters would allow. One of them, a young +lieutenant, who, in hopes of advancement, had abandoned his country, +family, and mistress, was unable to bear up against the regrets that +assailed him, and shot himself early in the voyage. For fear of quarrels +between soldiers and sailors, the Line was passed without the usual +burlesque ceremonies. At last, on New-Year's-day, the ship dropped her +anchor in Batavia roads, at about a league and a half from shore. The +mud banks at the entrance of the two rivers which there enter the sea, +prohibit the nearer approach of large vessels; and many ships observe a +still greater distance to avoid the malaria blown over to them by the +land-wind. + +The heat of those latitudes rendering rowing too violent an exertion for +European sailors, four Malays were taken on board the Betsey and Sara, +to maintain the communication with shore. It was with a joyful heart +that Dr. Selberg, weary of his protracted voyage, sprang into a boat, +and was landed in the port of Batavia. He found few traces of the +grandeur which once gave to that city the title of the Pearl of the +East. The gem has lost its sparkle; scarce a vestige of former +brilliancy remains. Choked canals, falling houses, lifeless streets, on +all sides meet and offend the eye; only here and there a stately edifice +tells of better days. The most remarkable is the Stadt-Huis, or +town-house, a gigantic building of a simple but appropriate style of +architecture, with handsome wings enclosing a large paved court. +Formerly, this structure included the tribunals, bank, and +foundling-hospital, but the unhealthiness of the city has caused the +removal of those institutions to the elevated suburb of Weltevreden. The +wings are still used as prisons. None of the other public buildings +claim especial notice. Built after the plan of Amsterdam, the close +streets, and the canals that intersect them, have contributed no little +to the insalubrity of Batavia. Only in the day-time does the city show +signs of life; towards evening, all Europeans fly the poisonous +atmosphere that has destroyed so many of their countrymen, and seek the +purer air of the suburbs and adjacent villages. There they have their +dwelling-houses, and pass the night. At nine in the morning, the roads +leading to Batavia are covered with carriages,--as necessary in Java as +boots and shoes are in Europe, walking being out of the question in that +climate,--and life returns to the deserted city. Chinese, Arabs, and +Armenians busy themselves in their shops, where the products of +three-quarters of the globe are displayed; the European merchant, clad +in a loose cotton dress, repairs to his counting-house, the public +offices are thrown open, and the bazaar is crowded with the numerous +races of men whom commerce has here assembled. + +Including the neighbouring villages and country-houses properly +belonging to it, the city of Batavia contains about 3000 European +inhabitants, exclusive of the garrison, 23,000 Javans and Malays, 14,700 +Chinese, 600 Arabs, and 9000 slaves. A grievous falling off from the +time when the population was of 160,000 souls. The Arabs, Chinese, and +Javans, have each their allotted quarter, or camp, as it is termed. That +of the Arabs is in the Rua Malacca--a remnant of the old Portuguese +nomenclature--and consists of a medley of low, Dutch-built houses, and +of light bamboo huts. The Arabs are greatly looked up to by the +aborigines, who attribute to them an especial holiness on account of +their strict observance of the Mahomedan law; and to such an extent is +this reverence carried that vessels known to belong to them are +respected by the pirates of the Archipelago. Remarkable for their quiet, +orderly lives, crime is said to be unknown amongst them. They are under +the orders of a chief upon whom the Dutch government confers the title +of Major, and who is answerable for the good behaviour of his +countrymen. Whilst traversing their quarter, Dr. Selberg observed, in +front of many of the doors, triumphal arches of green boughs, decorated +with coloured paper--an indication that the occupants of those dwellings +had recently returned from a pilgrimage to Mecca, and thence had a +peculiar claim on the respect of all true believers. + +The way to the Chinese district is through a labyrinth of deserted +streets and crumbling houses, abandoned on account of their +unhealthiness. The contrast is striking on emerging from this scene of +solitude and desolation into the bustling Chinese Kampong, where that +active and ingenious people carry on their innumerable trades and +handicrafts. Here mechanics, with the simplest and seemingly most +inadequate tools, give a perfect finish to their manufactures; here are +shops full of toys, clothes, food, of every thing in short that can +minister to the wants and tastes of Chinese, Javans, or Europeans. "On +the roofs of several Chinese houses, I saw jars, some with the mouth, +others with the bottom turned towards the street. They are so placed in +conformity with a singular custom. The jar whose bottom is turned to the +street indicates that there is in the house a daughter not yet grown up. +When the damsel becomes marriageable, the position of the jar is +reversed; and when she marries, it is taken down altogether." + +Both numerically and by reason of their energy and industry the Chinese +form a very important part of the population of Java, and but for the +precautions of the Dutch government they would soon entirely overrun the +island. The number allowed to settle there annually, is limited by law, +and during Dr. Selberg's stay at Surubaya, he saw a large junk, +containing four hundred of them, compelled to put back without landing a +passenger. Thus their numbers are kept stationary, or may even be said +to decrease; for in 1817, Raffles estimated the Chinese in Java at +nearly a hundred thousand, whilst Dr. Selberg, twenty years later, +calculates them at eighty-five thousand. Although in China emigration is +forbidden by law, from the over-populated districts, and when the +harvest fails, thousands of Chinese make their escape, and repair to +various of the East Indian islands. The majority of those in Java have +been born there of Javan women married to Chinese men, who compel their +wives to adopt their national usages. The children of these unions are +called _pernakans_ by the Dutch, and in their turn are married to +Chinese. The result has been a race which cannot be distinguished from +the pure Chinese. New comers from the mainland generally arrive with +little besides the clothes upon their backs, and obtain employment and +support from their more prosperous countrymen until they know the +customs and language sufficiently to make their way unassisted. Proud +and conceited as they are in their own land, in Java they are humble and +submissive, and seek their ends by craft and cunning. Laborious and +clever, they would be of great benefit to their adopted country, but for +their greediness and want of principle. In that oppressive and relaxing +climate, the European workman has no chance with them, and moreover they +accomplish the same results with half the number of tools. On the other +hand, they are sensual and debauched, and desperate gamblers. Their +favourite game is Topho, a bastard Rouge et Noir, at which they swindle +the simple Javans in the most unscrupulous and barefaced manner. + +The unhealthiness of Batavia, arising from stagnant canals, bad +drinking-water, and adjacent swamps, has often been erroneously +considered to extend to the entire island. The whole has been condemned +for the fault of a fraction. Intermittent and remittent fevers, and +dysentery, are the diseases most common, but they are generally confined +to small districts. "Java," says Mr. Currie, surgeon of the 78th +Regiment, which was quartered in Batavia during the whole period of the +British occupation, from 1811 to 1815, "need no longer be held up as the +grave of Europeans, for, except in the immediate neighbourhood of +salt-marshes and forests, as in the city of Batavia, and two or three +other places on the north coast, it may be safely affirmed that no +tropical climate is superior to it in salubrity." The author of a +hastily written and desultory volume of oriental travel,[19] founded, +however, on personal experience, goes much further than this, and +maintains, that "with common prudence, eschewing _in toto_ the vile +habit of drinking gin and water whenever one feels thirsty, living +generously but carefully, avoiding the sun's rays by always using a +close or hooded carriage, and taking common precautions against wet feet +and damp clothing, a man may live, and enjoy life too, in Batavia, as +long as he would in any other part of the world." Mr. Davidson here +refers not to the city of Batavia--which he admits to be a fatal +residence, especially in the rainy season--but to the suburbs where he +resided some years. These, however, only come in the second class, as +regards salubrity, and are much too near the swamps, forests, and slimy +sea-shore, to be a desirable abode, except for those whom business, +compels to live within a drive of the city. Waitz, the Dutch writer, in +his _Levensregeln voor Oost Indie_, divides the European settlements in +Java into three classes; the healthy, or mountain districts, where the +air is dry, and the temperature moderate; the less healthy, which are +warm and damp; and finally, the positively pestiferous, where, besides +tremendous heat and great moisture, the atmosphere is laden with marsh +miasmata. Weltevrede, Ryswyk, and the other villages, or rather, +_faubourgs_, south of Batavia, belong to the second class; Batavia +itself, Bantam, Cheribon, Tubang, and Banjowangie, to the third, or +worst division. And Dr. Selberg informs us, that the only two upas-trees +whose existence he could ascertain, grow at Cheribon and Banjowangie, +which of course was likely to confirm the popular superstition +concerning the baneful influence of that tree. The coincidence, which at +first appears remarkable, is of easy explanation, the upas preferring a +swampy soil. + +With respect to the possible longevity of Europeans in Java, Dr. +Selberg's account materially differs from Mr. Davidson's estimate. The +Dutch _employés_ have to serve sixteen years in the colony to be +entitled to a furlough and free passage home, and twenty years for a +pension. Very few, according to the doctor, live long enough to enjoy +the one or the other. And those who do, buy the privilege at a dear +rate. Their emaciated bodies, enfeebled minds, thin hair, and dim eyes, +show them to be blighted in their prime. True it is that, with few +exceptions, they utterly neglect the primary conditions of health in a +hot country. They enervate themselves by sensual indulgences, and +consume spirits and spices by wholesale. There is an absurd belief +amongst them, that drink keeps off disease and preserves life, a case +of _aut bibendum aut moriendum_; whereas the truth is precisely the +contrary, for in that climate spirits are poison. The fact probably is, +that they drink to dispel ennui, and to banish, at least for a while, +the regret they feel at having exchanged Europe for Java. Dr. Selberg, +states, that every European he spoke to in the colony, longed to leave +it. But the voyage home is costly, and so they linger on until death or +their furlough relieves them. Some lucky ones succeed in making rapid +fortunes, but these are the very few, whose example, however, suffices +to seduce others of their countrymen from their Dutch comforts, to brave +fevers, tigers, mosquitoes, and the other great and little perils of +Java, in pursuit of wealth which they rarely acquire, and which, when +obtained, their impaired health renders it difficult for them to enjoy. +Another class of the colonists consists of men who, having committed +crimes in their own country, have fled from the vengeance of the law. +These are thought little the worse of in Java, where the transition from +one quarter of the globe to the other seems admitted as a species of +moral whitewashing. And indeed, bad characters so abound amongst the +scanty European population, that if the respectable portion kept +themselves aloof, they would probably be found the minority. Many of the +reprobates have realised considerable property. The rich host of the +principal hotel at Surabaya, is a branded galley-slave. Dr. Selberg +often found himself in the society of hard drinkers, and these, when +wine had loosened their tongues, would let out details of their past +lives, which at first greatly shocked his simplicity. "I was once," he +says, "invited to a dinner, which ended, as usual, with a drinking bout. +My neighbour at the table, was a German from the Rhine provinces, who +had been twelve years in Java. He got very drunk, and spoke of his +beloved country, which he should never see again. He was a man of +property, well looked upon in the island, and I asked him what had first +induced him to settle there. He replied very quietly, that it was on +account of a theft he had committed. I started from my chair as if an +adder had bitten me, and begged the master of the house to let me sit +elsewhere than beside that man. He complied with my request, at the same +time remarking, with a smile, that I should hear similar things of many, +but that they were Europeans, and jolly fellows, and their conduct had +been blameless since their residence in Java." In such a state of +society, the best plan was to abstain from inquiries and intimacies. So +the doctor found, and after a while, was able to eat the excellent Javan +dinners, and sip his Medoc and Hochheimer, without asking or caring +whether his fellow-feeders would not have been more in their places in +an Amsterdam Zuchthaus, than in an honest man's company. + +Dr. Selberg was at Batavia during the wet season, when torrents of rain, +of whose abundance and volume Europeans can form no idea, alternate with +a sun-heat that cracks the earth and pumps up pestilence from the low +marshy ground upon which this fever-nest is built. He had abundant +opportunity to investigate the causes and symptoms of the fevers and +other prevalent maladies. His zeal in the cause of science led him into +serious peril, by inducing him to pass a night in the city, at a time +when that unlucky portion of the inhabitants whom poverty or other +causes prevent from leaving it, were dying like flies from the effects +of the noxious exhalations. The quality of the air was so bad as +sensibly to affect the lungs and olfactories, and impede respiration; +and, though exposed to it but a very few hours, he experienced various +unpleasant symptoms, only to be dissipated by recourse to his medicine +chest. Hence some idea may be formed of the terrible effect of that +corrupt atmosphere upon those who continually breathe it. The plague of +mosquitoes, who find their natural element in the marsh-vapour, also +contributes to render Batavia an intolerable sleeping-place. One very +singular phenomenon observed by Dr. Selberg, but for which he does not +attempt to account, is the strong odour of musk constantly perceptible +in the city and its environs. + +As less interesting to the general than to the medical reader, we pass +over the doctor's febrile researches, and accompany him to the town of +Surabaya, to which he proceeded after a few days' stay at Batavia. "It +was four in the afternoon when we came to an anchor: in an instant the +ship was surrounded by a swarm of the small native boats--tambangans, as +they are called; and we were assailed by all manner of noisy greetings +and offers of service. Some of the applicants wished to row us to the +town, others insisted upon selling us fruit and eatables, pine-apples, +shaddocks, arrack, dried fish, boiled crabs, &c. &c., contained in tubs +and jars of very dubious cleanliness. Chinese pressed upon our notice +their various wares;--large straw hats, beautifully plaited; cigars, +parasols, Indian ink, fans, and the like trifles. Here was a Javan proa, +full of boots and shoes, of all colours; yonder, a floating menagerie of +parrots, macaws, apes, and cockatoos, equally variegated, and to be sold +for a song. There were jewellers, and diamond merchants, and dealers in +carved horn and ivory; washer-women petitioning for custom, and +exhibiting certificates of honesty in a dozen different languages, not +one of which they understood; canoes full of young Javan girls,--these +last also for sale. I at once saw that I had come into a neighbourhood +where European civilisation had made considerable progress. Without +exception, I found the morals of the aborigines at the lowest pitch in +the vicinity of the large European establishments. + +"It was a cheerful bustling scene. 'Here, sir, food!' 'Sir, you are +welcome!' 'Gold from Padang!' 'Shoes for a silver florin!' 'Capital +arrack!' and fifty other cries, mingled with the screams and chatter of +the birds; whilst a great orang-outang from Borneo, and a number of +monkeys, in different boats, insulted one another by the most diabolical +grimaces. Many of the canoes were mere hollow trees, enclosed, to +prevent their capsizing, in a frame-work of large bamboo stems, two of +these being fixed transversely to bow and stern of the boat, and having +their extremities connected by others running parallel to it. The +lightness and buoyancy of the bamboos obviate all risk of the boats +swamping. I have seen them out in a rough sea, tossed upon the waves, +and showing nearly the whole of their keel, but I never knew one to +upset." + +The town of Surabaya, or Sorabaya, (Crocodile Resort,) is situated +towards the eastern extremity of the north coast of Java, opposite the +island of Madura, and at five hundred English miles from Batavia. It +stands in a large plain near the mouth of the Kalimas, or Gold River; +and, at the present day, is the most flourishing of the Dutch +establishments in Java. The climate is damp and hot, the thermometer +often standing at eighty-five in the night; but it is less unhealthy +than that of Batavia. The river is not drained and frittered away by +canals; the town is well planned and open; and the handsome houses are +interspersed with beautiful gardens. As at Batavia, however, the harbour +is more or less impeded by mud-banks, which prevent the entrance of +large ships. Favoured and encouraged by the Dutch governor, General +Daendels, and by his successor, Baron Van der Capellen, the place grew +rapidly in size and prosperity. It possesses a mint, an arsenal, docks +for ship-building, anchor-founderies, and other similar establishments. +Notwithstanding these advantages, the European population amounts, in +the town and entire province, which latter is of considerable extent, to +no more than six hundred and fifty persons, exclusive of the troops. The +whole population, of all nations and colours, reaches a quarter of a +million. The mode of living is far gayer and more agreeable than at +Batavia, which, whatever it may have been in former days, is now a mere +place of business, a collection of offices, shops, and warehouses. At +Surabaya life is more secure and its enjoyment greater. Every evening, +during the fine season, the large square in the Chinese +quarter--composed of massive comfortable buildings, contrasting +favourably with the fragile huts of the Javans--is converted into a kind +of fair, where the whole city assembles. "The place is illumined with a +thousand torches, which increase, to a stranger's eyes, the curious +exotic character of the scene. Javans, Chinese, Europeans, Liplaps, (the +Batavian term for the children of Europeans and Javan women,) and +various other races, crowd thither to gaze at the shows and +performances. There jugglers and rope-dancers display their dexterity, +far surpassing that of their European brethren; Chinese comedies are +acted, and Chinese orchestras jar upon the ear of the newly arrived +foreigner; the Rongengs (dancing girls) go through their series of +voluptuous attitudes; gongs are beaten, trumpets blown; Chinese gamblers +lie upon the ground and rob the Javans at the much-loved games of tzo +and topho." The people of Java are very musical, after their fashion, +and have all manner of queer instruments, many of a barbarous +description, some borrowed from the Chinese. They are much addicted to +dramatic exhibitions and puppet shows, and claim to be the original +inventors of the _ombres chinoises_, figures moved behind a transparent +curtain. Crawford, in his "History of the Indian Archipelago," gives +them the credit of this triumph of inventive genius, which has found its +way from the far Fast to the streets of London, and to Monsieur +Seraphin's saloon in the Palais Royal. + +Javan diversions are not all of the same human and gentle character as +those just cited. Although mild and peaceable in disposition, the Javans +are passionately fond of fights between animals. Whilst beholding these +encounters, their usual calm gravity and mysterious reserve disappear, +and are replaced by the noisy, vehement eagerness of an excited boy. +Cock-fights are in great vogue, and in many an old Javan poem the +exploits of the crested combatants are related in a strain of laughable +magniloquence. But other and more serious contests frequently take +place. Before speaking of them, we turn to Dr. Selberg's spirited +account of a tiger-hunt, which occurred during his stay at Surabaya. +Tigers of various species abound in Java. The commonest are the royal +tiler and the leopard, of which latter animal the black tiger is a +bastard variety. Cubs of both kinds are frequently found in the same +lair; and when the black tiger is very young, leopard-like spots are +discernible on its skin. As it grows older, they disappear, and the hair +becomes of a uniform black. In the interior of Java much mischief is +done by these cowardly but bloodthirsty and cunning beasts. In the +neighbourhood of the large European settlements, accidents are less +frequent, the tiger shunning populous districts, and retreating into the +forest on the approach of man. When one makes its appearance, the +authorities generally order a battue. Very few, however, are killed, +though a price is set upon their heads, and they continue to destroy +about three hundred Javans per annum, on a moderate average. This is, in +great measure, the fault of the natives themselves, who, instead of +doing their utmost to exterminate the breed, entertain a sort of +superstitious respect for their devourers, and carry it so far as to +place food in the places to which they are known to resort, thinking +thereby to propitiate the foe, and keep his claws off their wives and +children. They themselves, when compelled to oppose the tiger, or when +led against him by their European allies, show vast coolness and +courage, the more remarkable, as, in ordinary circumstances of danger, +they are by no means a brave people. Raffles quotes several anecdotes of +their fearlessness before wild beasts, and Dr. Selberg furnishes one of +a similar kind. "A Javan criminal was condemned by the sultan to fight a +large royal tiger, whose ferocity was raised to the highest point by +want of food, and artificial irritation. The only weapon allowed to the +human combatant was a kreese with the point broken off. After wrapping a +cloth round his left fist and arm, the man entered the arena with an air +of undaunted calmness, and fixed a steady menacing gaze upon the brute. +The tiger sprang furiously upon his intended victim, who with +extraordinary boldness and rapidity thrust his left fist into the gaping +jaws, and at the same moment, with his keen though pointless dagger, +ripped up the beast to the very heart. In less than a minute, the tiger +lay dead at his conqueror's feet. The criminal was not only forgiven but +ennobled by his sovereign." + +A tiger having attacked and torn a Javan woman, a hunt was ordered, and +Dr. Selberg was invited to share in it. He got on horseback before +daybreak, but the sun was up and hot when he reached the place of +rendezvous, where he found a strong muster of Europeans and Javans. "In +front of us was a small wood, choked and tangled with bushes: this was +the tiger's lair. At about twenty paces from the trees, we Europeans +posted ourselves, with our rifles, twelve paces from each other, and in +the form of a semicircle. Behind us was a close chain of several hundred +Javans, armed with long lances, kreeses, and short swords. If the tiger +broke through our ranks, they were to kill him after their fashion. The +natives--those, at least, who have not served as soldiers--being +unskilled in the use of fire-arms, are not trusted with them, for fear +of accidents. From the opposite side of the wood a crowd of musicians +now advanced, beating drums, triangles, and gongs, and making an +infernal din, intended to scare the tiger from his lurking place, and +drive him towards us. We were all on the alert, guns cocked, eyes +riveted on the wood. The instruments came nearer and nearer, and I +expected each moment to see the monster spring forth. There were no +signs of him, however, and presently the beaters stood before us. +Heartily disappointed at this fruitless chase and unexpected result, I +was about to join the hunter stationed to my left, when the one on my +other hand called a Javan, and bade him thrust his lance into a bush on +my right front, between our line and the little wood. Impossible, +thought I, that the beast should be there: and I turned to speak to my +friend. I had uttered but a word or two, when a rustle and rush made me +look round. The Javan stood before the bush, clutching a tiger by the +throat with both hands. The brute was already pierced with bullets, +lances, and daggers: a broad stream of blood flowed over the face of the +Javan, who continued firmly to grasp his enemy, until we released the +lifeless carcase from his hands. His wound was not so serious as we had +at first feared: a bit of the scalp was torn off, and the nose slightly +injured. He stood silent, and apparently stupefied, and revived only +when an official informed him that he should receive the reward of ten +dollars, set upon the head of every tiger." + +Although these field-days occasionally take place, the Javans have +another and easier way of tiger catching, by means of a magnified +rat-trap, baited with a goat, and of which the door closes as the tiger +rushes in. The captive is then killed with bamboo spears, or, more +frequently, transferred to a strong wooden cage, and taken to a town, +where he contributes to the amusement of his conquerors by fighting the +buffalo. The Java buffalo is of the largest species, is covered with +short thick hair, and has sharp horns, more than two feet long, growing +in a nearly horizontal direction. His colour is of a dirty blue-black, +and altogether he is a very ugly customer, as the unfortunate tiger +usually finds. For these duellos between the forest grandee and the lord +of the plain, a regular arena is erected, surrounded by strong +palisades, behind which stand Javans armed with lances. After the +buffalo has been brought into the ring, a native, generally a chief, +approaches the tiger's cage with a dancing step, accompanied by music, +opens it, and retires in the same manner, keeping his eyes fixed upon +the tiger. The tiger, who well knows his formidable opponent, comes +unwillingly forth, and creeps round the arena, avoiding his foe, and +watching an opportunity to spring upon his head or neck. Presently the +buffalo, who is lost always the assailant, rushes, with a tremendous +bellow, at his sneaking antagonist. The tiger seizes a favourable +moment, and fixes his long claws in the buffalo's neck; but the furious +bull dashes him against the palisades, and, yelling fearfully, he +relinquishes his hold. He now shirks the combat more than ever; but the +buffalo follows him up till he pierces him with his horns, or crushes +him to death against the barrier. Sometimes friend Tiger proves dunghill +from the very first, and then the Javans goad him with pointed sticks, +scald him with boiling water, singe him with blazing straw, and resort +to other humane devices to spur his courage. If the buffalo fights shy, +which does not often happen, he is subjected to similar persecutions. +But the poor tiger has no chance allowed him; for if he does, through +pluck and luck, prove the better beast, the Javans, who evidently have +not the slightest notion of fair play, or any sympathy with bravery, +subject him to an unpleasant operation called the _rampoh_. They make a +ring round him, and torment him till he hazards a desperate spring, and +finds his death upon their lance points. + +It is a remarkable fact, that the Java tigers seldom or never attack +Europeans. They consume the natives by dozens; but Dr. Selberg could get +no account of an onslaught on a Dutchman or any other white man. The +Javans are well aware of this, and assert, that if a number of +Europeans, amongst whom there is only one native, are exposed to the +attack of a tiger, the native is invariably the victim. This assertion +is confirmed by many examples. Dr. Selberg conjectures various reasons +for this eccentricity or epicurism, whichever it may be termed, on the +part of the tiger, and amongst other hypotheses, suggests that the +animal may be partial to the hogoo of the Javans, who anoint their +yellow carcases with cocoa-nut oil. The Javans themselves explain it +differently, and maintain that the souls of Europeans pass, after death, +into the bodies of tigers--a bitter satire upon those whose mission it +was to civilise and improve, and who, but too often, have preferred to +persecute and deprave. Such a superstition demonstrates more than whole +volumes of history, after what manner the first acquaintance was made +between this artless, peaceful people, and their European conquerors. +The early administration of the Dutch in Java was marked by many acts of +cruelty. "Their leading traits," says Raffles, "were a haughty +assumption of superiority, for the purpose of over-awing the credulous +simplicity of the natives, and a most extraordinary timidity, which led +them to suspect treachery and danger in quarters where they were least +to be apprehended." Thus we find them, in the sixteenth century, +murdering the Prince of Madura, his wives, children, and followers, +merely because, when he came to visit them on board their ships, with +friendly intentions and by previous agreement, his numerous retinue +inspired them with alarm. The massacre of the Chinese in the streets of +Batavia, in the year 1731, when nine thousand were slain in cold blood +in the course of one morning, is another crime on record against the +Dutch. Step by step, their path marked with blood, the people who had at +first thankfully received permission to establish a single factory, +obtained possession of the whole island. On its southern side there are +still two nominally independent princes, in reality vassals of the +Dutch, and existing but at their good pleasure. The present character of +the Dutch administration is mild; the slaves, especially, now few and +decreasing in number, are humanely treated, and in fact are better off +than the lower orders of the free Javans, being employed as household +servants, whilst the natives drag out a painful and laborious existence +in the rice and coffee-fields. But, however good the intentions of the +Dutch government, however meritorious the endeavours of certain +governors-general, especially of the excellent Van der Capellen, to +civilise and improve the Javans, little progress has as yet been made +towards that desirable end. In the interior of the island, where +Europeans are scarce, the character of the natives is far better than on +the coast, where they have contracted all the vices of which the example +is so plentifully afforded them by their conquerors. Dwelling in +wretched huts, the cost of whose materials and erection varied, in the +time of Raffles, from five to ten shillings, they till, for a wretched +pittance, the soil that their forefathers possessed. Brutalised, +however, as they are, living from hand to mouth, and suffering from the +diseases incident to poverty and the climate, and from others introduced +from Europe, they appear tolerably contented. In the midst of their +misfortunes, they have one great solace, one consoling and engrossing +vice; they live to gamble. For a game of chance, they abandon every +thing, forget their duties and families, spend their own money and that +of other people, and even set their liberty on a cast of the die. It is +a national malady, extending from the prince to the boor, and including +the Liplaps or half-breeds, who generally unite the vices of their +European fathers and Indian mothers. The beast-fights are popular, +chiefly because they afford such glorious opportunity for betting. +Besides cocks and quails, tigers and buffaloes, other animals, the least +pugnacious possible, are stimulated to a contest. Locusts are made to +enter the lists, and are tickled on the head with a straw until they +reach the fighting pitch. Wild pigs are caught in snares and opposed to +goats, who generally punish them severely, the Javan pigs being small, +and possessing little strength and courage. Then there are races between +paper kites, whose strings are coated with lime and pounded glass, so +that, on coming in contact, they cut each other, and the falling kite +proclaims its owner's bet lost. And by day and night, Dr. Selberg, +informs us, on the high roads, and near the villages, groups are to be +seen stretched upon the earth, playing games of chance. Nor are these by +any means the lowest of the people. The doctor cites several instances +of the extraordinary addiction both of men and women to this vice. He +had ordered a quantity of cigars of a Javan, who undertook to make and +deliver a hundred daily, for which he was to be paid a florin. For two +days the man kept to his contract, and then did not show his face for a +week. On inquiry, it appeared that, although wretchedly poor, and having +a large family to support, he had been unable to resist the dice-box, +and had gone to gamble away his brace of florins. To get rid even of +this small sum might take him some time, thanks to the infinite +subdivisions of Javan coinage, which descend to a Pichi, or small bit of +tin with a hole through it, whereof 5,600 make a dollar. When Dr. +Selberg left Java, a Dutch pilot steered the ship as far as Passaruang. +The man appeared very melancholy, and, on being asked the of his +sadness, said that, during his previous trip, his wife had gambled all +his savings. He had forgotten the key in his money-box, and, on going +home, the last doit had disappeared. Dr. Selberg asked him if he could +not cure his better-half of so dangerous a propensity. "She is a Liplap, +sir," replied the man, with a shrug, meaning that correction was +useless, and a good lock the only remedy. The merchants who ship specie +and other valuable merchandise on vessels manned by Javans, supply the +crew with money to gamble, as the only means to rouse them from their +habitual indolent lethargy, and ensure their vigilance. + +Whilst rowing up the Kalimas, Dr. Selberg was greatly dazzled by the +bright eyes and other perfections of a young half-breed lady, as she +took her airing in a _tambangan_, richly dressed in European style, and +attended by two female slaves. A few days afterwards, when driving out +to visit his friend Dr. F., the German chief of the Surabaya hospital, +he again caught sight of this brown beauty, reclining in an elegant +carriage-and-four, beneath the shadow of large Chinese parasols, held by +servants in rich liveries. Our adventurous Esculapius forthwith galloped +after her. Unfortunately, his team took it into their heads to stop +short in full career--no uncommon trick with the stubborn little Javan +horses--and before they could be prevailed upon to proceed, all trace of +the incognita was lost. Subsequently the doctor was introduced to her +husband, a German of good family, who had left his country on account of +an unfortunate duel, and who, after a short residence in Java, where he +held a government situation, had been glad to pay his debts and supply +his expensive habits by a marriage with a wealthy half-caste heiress. +The history of the lady is illustrative of a curious state of society. +She was the daughter of a Javan slave and a Dutch gentleman, the +administrator of one of the richest provinces of the island. As is there +the case with almost all half-breed children, and even with many of pure +European blood, she grew up under the care of her mother--that is to +say, under no care at all--in the society of Javans of the very lowest +class, her father's domestics. The Dutchman died when she was about ten +years old, having previously acknowledged her as his daughter, and left +her the whole of his property. The child, who, till then, had been +allowed to run about wild and almost naked, was now taken in hand by her +guardians, and converted, by means of European clothes, into an +exceedingly fine lady. Education she of course had none, but remained in +her original state of barbarous ignorance. Four years afterwards she +became acquainted with the German gentleman above-mentioned, and soon +afterwards they were married. Dr. Selberg gives a characteristic account +of his first visit at their house. "I went with Dr. F. to call upon Mr. +Von N., but that gentleman was out. 'Let us wait his return,' said my +friend, 'and in the meantime we will see what his lady is about, and you +can pay your respects to her. N. likes his wife to be treated with all +the ceremony used to a lady of condition in our own country.' We passed +through several apartments, filled with European and Asiatic furniture +and luxuries, and paused at the entrance of a large open room. With a +slight but significant gesture, F. pointed to a group which there +offered itself to our view. On a costly carpet lay several of Mr. Von +N.'s black servants, both male and female, and in the midst of them was +Mevrouw Von N., only to be distinguished from her companions by the +richer materials of her dress. A silken _sarong_ (a kind of plaid +petticoat,) and a _kabaya_ of the same material composed her costume; a +pair of Chinese slippers, of red velvet, embroidered with gold, lay near +her naked feet. She rattled a dice-box, and the servants anxiously +awaited the throw, watching with intense eagerness each movement of +their mistress. Down came the dice, and with an inarticulate cry the +winners threw themselves on the stakes. So preoccupied were the whole +party, that for some moments we were unobserved. At last an exclamation +of surprise warned the lady of our unwelcome presence. The slaves ran +away helter-skelter. Mevrouw Von N. snatched up her slippers, and with a +confused bow to Dr. F., disappeared. I was confounded at this strange +scene. My companion laughed, led me into another room, and desired me to +say nothing of what I had seen to N., who presently came in, and +received us with the unaffected frankness and hospitality universal in +Java." The _Vrouw_ was now summoned, and, after a while, made her +appearance in full European fig. Conversation with her was difficult, +for she could not speak Dutch, and through a feeling of shame at her +ignorance, would not speak Malay. Neglected by her husband, and placed +by her birth in an uncertain position between Javan and European women, +the poor girl had neither the education of the latter, nor the domestic +qualities inherent in the former. Subsequently Dr. Selberg passed some +time in Von N.'s house, and his account of what there occurred is not +very creditable to the tone and morals of Javan society. Driving out one +morning with his host, the latter quietly asked him if he was not +carrying on an intrigue with his wife. "You may speak candidly," said +he, with great unconcern, and to the infinite horror of the innocent +doctor. It appeared that Von N. had allowed his lady to discover a +conjugal dereliction on his part, and he suspected her of using +reprisals. "She is a Liplap," he said, "and though you are only an +_orang bar_ (a new comer,) you know what that means." Shocked by this +cynical proceeding on the part of his entertainer, Dr. Selberg left the +house the next day, after presenting Von N. with a double-barrelled gun +in payment of his hospitality. Throughout Java, and even where hotels +exist, private houses are invariably open to the stranger, and his +reception is most cordial. But on his departure, it is incumbent on him, +according to the custom of the island, to make his host a present, +sufficiently valuable to show that he has not accepted hospitality from +niggardly motives. + +The credulity and superstition of the Javans exceed belief. Dreams, +omens, lucky and unlucky days, astrology, amulets, witchcraft, are with +them matters of faith and reverence. They believe each bush and rock, +even the air itself, to be inhabited by _Dhewo_ or spirits. Not +satisfied with the numerous varieties of supernatural beings with which +their own traditions supply them, they have borrowed others from the +Indians, Persians, and Arabs. The Dhewos are good spirits, and great +respect is shown to them. They regulate the growth of trees, ripen the +fruit, murmur in the running streams, and abide in the still shades of +the forest. But their favourite dwelling is the Warinzie tree (_ficus +Indica_,) which droops its long branches to the earth to form then a +palace. The Javans mingle their superstitions with the commonest events +of every-day life. Thieves, for instance, will throw a little earth, +taken from a new-made grave, into the house they intend to rob, +persuaded that the inmates will thereby be plunged into a deep sleep. +When they have done this, and especially if they have managed to place +the earth under the bed, they set to work with full conviction of +impunity. Bamboo boxes of soil are frequently found in the possession of +captured thieves, who usually confess the purpose to which they were to +be applied. During the English occupation, it was casually discovered +that a buffalo's skull was constantly carried backwards and forwards +from one end of the island to the other. The Javans had got a notion +that a frightful curse had been pronounced upon the man who should allow +it to remain stationary. After the skull had travelled many hundred +miles, it was brought to Samarang, and there the English resident had it +thrown into the sea. The Javans looked on quietly, and held the curse to +be neutralised by the white men's intervention. Dr. Selberg gives +various other examples, observed by himself, of the ridiculous +superstitions of these simple islanders. A very remarkable one is given +in the works of Raffles and Crawford. In 1814, it was found out that a +road had been made up to the lofty summit of the mountain of Sumbing. +The road was twenty feet broad, and about sixty English miles in length, +and a condition of its construction being that it should cross no +water-course, it straggled in countless zig-zags up the mountain side. +This gigantic work, the result of the labours of a whole province, and +of a people habitually and constitutionally averse to violent exertion, +was finished before the government became aware of its commencement. Its +origin was most absurd and trifling. An old woman gave out that she had +dreamed a dream, and that a deity was about to alight upon the mountain +top. A curse was to fall upon all who did not work at a road for his +descent into the plain. Such boundless credulity as this, is of course +easily turned to account by mischievous persons, and has often been +worked upon to incite the Javans to revolt. The history of the island, +even in modern times, abounds in insurrections, got up, for the most +part, by men of little talent, but possessing sufficient cunning to turn +the imbecility of their countrymen to their own advantage. + +The weakness of the Javans' intellects is only to be equalled by their +strange want of memory. A few weeks after the occurrence of an event in +which they themselves bore a share, they have totally forgotten both its +time and circumstances. None of them have any idea of their own age. Dr. +Selberg had a servant, apparently about sixteen years old. He frequently +asked him how old he was, and never got the same answer twice. Marsden +remarked this same peculiarity in the Sumatra Malays, and Humboldt in +the Chaymas Indians. The latter people, however, do not know how to +count beyond five or six, which is not the case with the Javans. Their +want of memory renders their historical records of questionable value, +producing an awful confusion of dates, in addition to the childish tales +and extraordinary misrepresentations which they mingle with narratives +of real events. + +Although, is already observed, the corruption and immorality of the +natives in and near European establishments is as great as their virtue +and simplicity in the interior, it cannot be said that crime abounds in +any part of Java. Within the present century prayers were read for the +Governor-general's safety when he went on a journey, and thanksgivings +offered up on his return; now the whole island may be travelled over +almost as safely as any part of Europe. The Javans are neither +quarrelsome nor covetous, and even when they turn robbers they seldom +kill or ill-treat those they plunder. On the other hand they are +terribly sensitive of any injury to their honour, and all insult is apt +to produce the terrible _Amók_, _freely_ rendered in English as "running +a muck." It is a Malay word, signifying to attack some one furiously and +desperately with intent to murder him. It is also used to express the +rush of a wild beast on his prey, or the charge of a body of troops, +especially with the bayonet. This outbreak of revengeful fury is +frequent with Malays, and by no means uncommon amongst Javans. In the +latter, whose usual character is so gentle, these sudden and frantic +outbursts strike the beholder with astonishment, the greater that there +is no previous indication of the coming storm. A Javan has received an +outrage, perhaps a blow, but he preserves his usual calm, grave +demeanour, until on a sudden, and with a terrible shriek, he draws his +kreese, and attacks not only those who have offended him, but +unoffending bystanders, and often the persons he best loves. It is a +temporary insanity, which usually lasts till he sinks from exhaustion, +or is himself struck down. The paroxysm over, remorse assails him, and +he bewails the sad results of his _matta glab_ or blinded eye, by which +term the Javans frequently designate the _amók_. Apprehension of danger +often brings on this species of delirium. "Two Javans," says Dr. +Selberg, "married men, and intimate friends, went one day to Tjandjur, +to sell bamboo baskets. One got rid of all his stock, went to a Chinese +shop, bought a handkerchief and umbrella for his wife, and set out on +his return home with his companion, who had been unfortunate, and had +sold nothing. The lucky seller was in high spirits, childishly delighted +at his success, and with the presents he took to his wife; his friend +walked by his side, grave and silent. Suddenly the former also became +mute; he fancied his comrade envied and intended to stab him. Drawing +his kreese, he fell upon the unoffending man, and laid him dead upon the +ground. Sudden repentance succeeded the groundless suspicion and cruel +deed, and some Javans, who soon afterwards came up, found him raving +over the body of his friend, and imploring to be delivered to justice." +Seldom, however, does an _amók_ make only one victim. The Javan women +are not subject to these fury-fits, but are not on that account the less +dangerous. Of an extremely jealous disposition, they have quiet and +subtle means of revenging themselves upon their rivals. They are skilled +in the preparation of poisons--of one especially, which kills slowly, +occasioning symptoms similar to those of consumption. When a Javan +perceives these, she resigns herself to her fate, knowing well what is +the matter with her, and rejecting antidotes as useless. And European +physicians have as yet done little against the effects of this poison, +whose ingredients they cannot discover with sufficient accuracy to +counteract them. A medical man told Dr. Selberg that copper dust and +human hair were amongst them, combined with other substances entirely +unknown to him. The dose is usually administered in rice, the chief food +of the Javans. Arsenic, another poison in common use, is sold in all the +bazaars. This poisoning practice is not unusual amongst Liplap women +married to Europeans, and who, although nominally Christians, possess, +for the most part, all the vices and superstitious of their Mahometan +sisters. The latter can hardly be said to have any religion, for they +know little of the faith of Mahomed beyond a few of its outward forms. +It has been remarked, that since Java has been more mildly governed, and +that the natives have been better treated by the Dutch, _amóks_ have +been far less frequent. By kindness, it is evident that much may be done +with the Javans, whose gratitude and fidelity to those who show it them +are admitted by all Europeans who have lived any time in the island. +Another excellent quality is their love of truth. The tribunals have +little trouble in ascertaining a criminal's guilt. He at once confesses +it, and seeks no other extenuation than is to be found in the usual plea +of moral and momentary blindness. + +Passaruang was the last Javan town visited by Dr. Selberg. He had +promised himself much pleasure in exploring the province of the same +name, and in examining the various objects of interest it contains. He +intended to ascend the volcano of Pelian Bromo, whose fiery crater, seen +from a distance at sea, had excited his lively curiosity; he wished to +visit the ruins of old temples, vestiges of Javan civilisation a +thousand years ago, and to gaze at the cataracts which dash, from a +height of three hundred feet, down the rocky sides of Mount Arjuna. But +he was doomed to disappointment. Up to this time his health had been +excellent; neither heat nor malaria had succeeded in converting his +wholesome German complexion into the bilious tint that stains the cheeks +of most Europeans in Java. The climate, however, would not forego its +customary tribute, and, on his passage from Surabaya to Passaruang, he +fell seriously ill. After suffering for a week on board ship, he felt +somewhat better, and went on shore, but experienced a relapse, and was +carried senseless into the house of a rich Javan. He was gradually +getting acquainted with the comforts of the country he had so lunch +desired to visit. Already he had been nearly choked by the marsh vapour +at Batavia, half devoured by mosquitoes, and all but drowned in a +squall. In the island of Madura, whilst traversing a swamp, on the +shoulders of a native, his bearer had attempted to rob him of his watch, +and, on his resenting this liberty, he and his boat's crew were +attacked, and narrowly escaped massacre. And now came disease, +aggravated by the minor nuisances incidental to that land of vermin and +venom. Confined to bed by sudden and violent fever, he received every +kindness and attention from his friendly host, who, on leaving him at +night, placed an open cocoa nut by his bed-side, a simple but delightful +fever-draught. Awaking with a parched tongue and burning thirst, he +sought the nut, but it was empty. The next night the same thing +occurred, and he could not imagine who stole his milk. He ordered two +nuts and a light to be left near him: towards midnight a slight noise +attracted his attention, and he saw two small beasts steadily and +cautiously approach, stare at him with their protruding eyes, and then +dip their ugly snouts into his cocoa nuts. These free-and-easy vermin +were _geckos_, a species of lizard, about a foot long, of a pale +grayish-green colour, spotted with red, having a large mouth full of +sharp teeth, a long tall, marked with white rings, and sharp claws upon +their feet. Between these claws, by which they cling to whatever they +touch, is a venomous secretion that distills into the wounds they make. +Dr. Selberg was well acquainted with these comely creatures, and had +even bottled a couple, which now grace the shelves of a German museum; +but, in his then feeble and half delirious state, their presence +intimidated him; and, fancying that if he disturbed their repast, they +might transfer their attentions to himself, he allowed them to swill at +leisure, until an accidental noise scared them away. Their visit was, +perhaps, a good omen, for, on the following day, the doctor found +himself sufficiently recovered to return on board his transport. After +some buffeting by storms, and a passing ramble in St. Helena, he reached +Europe, his cravings after Eastern travel tolerably assuaged, to give +his countrymen the benefit of his notes and observations upon the fair +but feverish shores of the Indian Archipelago. + + + + +THE CAVE OF THE REGICIDES; + +AND HOW THREE OF THEM FARED IN NEW ENGLAND. + + +"Oliver Newman" is a poem which I opened with trembling; for the last +new poem that ever shall be read from such an one as Southey, is not a +thing that can be looked upon lightly. Then it came to us from his +grave, "like the gleaming grapes when the vintage is done;" and the last +fruit of such a teeming mind must be relished, though far from being the +best; as we are glad to eat apples out of season, which, in the time of +them, we should hardly have gathered. But this is not to the purpose. I +was surprised to find the new poem built on a history which novelists +and story-tellers have been nibbling at these twenty years, and which +seems to be a peculiarly relishable bit of _news_ on an old subject, if +we may judge by the way in which literary epicures have snatched it up +piecemeal. In the first place, Sir Walter Scott, who read every thing, +got hold of a "North American publication,"[20] from which he learned; +with surprise, that Whalley the regicide, "who was never heard of after +the Restoration," fled to Massachusetts, and there lived concealed, and +died, and was laid in an obscure grave, which had lately been +ascertained. Giving Mr. Cooper due credit for a prior use of the story, +he made it over, in his own inimitable way, and puts it into the mouth +of Major Bridgenorth, relating his adventures in America. Southey seems +next to have got wind of it, reviewing "Holmes' American Annals,"[21] in +the _Quarterly_, when he confesses he first thought of King Philip's war +as the subject for an epic--a thought which afterwards became a flame, +and determined him to make Goffe (another regicide) the hero of his +poem. A few details of the story got out of romance and gossip into +genuine history, in a volume of "Murray's Family Library;"[22] and the +great "Elucidator" of Oliver Cromwell's mystifications condenses them +again into a single sentence, observing, with his usual buffoonery, that +"two of Oliver's _cousinry_ fled to New England, lived in caves there, +and had a sore time of it." And now comes the poem from Southey, full of +allusions to the same story, and, after all, giving only part of it; for +I do not see that any one has yet mentioned the fact, that _three_ +regicides lived and died in America after the Restoration, and that +their sepulchres are there to this day. + +In truth, the new poem led me to think there might be some value in a +certain MS. of my own,--mere notes of a traveller, indeed, but results +of a tour which I made in New England in the summer of 18--, during +which, besides visiting one of the haunts of the fugitives, I took the +pains to investigate all that is extant of their story. I found there a +queer little account of them, badly written, and worse arranged; the +work of one Dr. Stiles, who seems to have been something of a pious +Jacobin, and whose reverence for the murderers of King Charles amounts +almost to idolatry. He was president of Yale College, at Newhaven, and +thoroughly possessed of all the hate and cant about Malignants, which +the first settlers of New England brought over with them as an heir-loom +for their sons. A member of his college told me, that Stiles used to +tell the undergraduates that silly story about the king's being hanged +by mistake for Oliver, after the Restoration; and that he only left it +off when a dry fellow laughed out at the narration, and on being asked +what there was to laugh at, replied, "hanging a man that had lost his +neck." After reading the doctor's book on the Regicides, I cannot doubt +the anecdote, for he carries his love of Oliver into rapture; talks of +"entertaining angels" in the persons of Goffe and Whalley, and applies +to them the beautiful language in which St. Paul commemorates the +saints--"they wandered about, being destitute, afflicted, tormented; +they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the +earth--_of whom the world was not worthy_." The book itself is the most +confused mass of repetition and contradiction I ever saw, and yet proved +to me vastly entertaining. In connexion with it, I got hold of several +others that helped to "elucidate" it; and thus, with much verbal +information, I believe I came to a pretty clear view of the case. I can +only give what I have gathered, in the off-hand way of a tourist, but +perhaps I may serve some one with facts, which they will arrange much +better, in performing the more serious task of a historian. + +After spending several weeks in the vicinity of New York, I left that +city in a steamer for a visit to the "Eastern States;" our passage lying +through the East River and Long Island Sound, and requiring about five +hours sail to complete the trip to Newhaven. I found the excursion by no +means an agreeable one. The Sound itself is wide, and our way lay at +equal distances between its shores, which, being quite low, are not +easily descried by a passenger. Then there came up a squall, which +occasioned a great swell in the sea, and sickness was the consequence +among not a few of the company on board. Altogether, the steamer being +greatly inferior to those on the Hudson, and crowded with a very +uninteresting set of passengers, I was glad to retreat from the cabin, +going forward, and looking out impatiently for the end of our voyage. + +Here it was that I first caught sight of two bold headlands, looming up, +a little retired from the shore, and giving a dignity to the coast at +this particular spot, by which it is not generally distinguished. We +soon entered the bay of Newhaven, and the town itself began to appear, +embosomed very snugly between the two mountains, and deriving no little +beauty from their prominent share in its surrounding scenery. I judged +them not more than four or five hundred feet high, but they are marked +with elegant peaks, and present a bold perpendicular front of trap-rock, +which, with the bay and harbour in the foreground, and a fine outline of +hills sloping away towards the horizon, conveys a most agreeable +impression to the approaching stranger of the region he is about to +visit. A person who stood looking out very near me, gave me the +information that the twin mountains were called, from their geographical +relations to the meridian of Newhaven, East and West Rocks, and added +the remark, for which I was hardly prepared, that West Rock was +celebrated as having afforded a refuge to the regicides Goffe and +Whalley. + +My fellow-passenger, observing my interest in this statement, went on to +tell me, in substance, as follows. A cleft in its rugged rocks was once +actually inhabited by those scape-goats, and still goes by the name of +"The Regicides' Cave." Newhaven, moreover, contains the graves of these +men, and regards them with such remarkable veneration, that even the +railroad speed of progress and improvement has been checked to keep them +inviolate;--a tribute which, in America, must be regarded as very +marked, since no ordinary obstacle ever is allowed to interfere with +their perpetual "go-ahead." It seems the ancient grave-yard, where the +regicides repose, was found very desirable for a public square; and as a +mimic Père-la-Chaise had just been created in the outskirts of the town, +away went coffins and bones, grave-stones and sepulchral effigies, and +monumental urns, to plant the new city of the dead, and make way for +living dogs, as better than defunct lions. Such a resurrection the +towns-folk gave to their respectable grandfathers and grandmothers; but +not to the relics of the regicides. At these shrines of murder and +rebellion, the spade and the mattock stood still; and their once +restless tenants, after shifting between so many disturbances while +living, were suffered to sleep on, in a kind of sepulchral limbo, +between the marble in Westminster Abbey, to which they once aspired, and +the ditch at Tyburn, which they so narrowly escaped. + +I was cautioned by my communicative friend not to speak too freely of +'the Regicides.' I must call them "the Judges," he said; for, in +Newhaven, where Puritanism perpetuates some of its principles, and all +of its prejudices, it appears that such is the prevailing euphuism which +is employed, as more in harmony with their notions of Charles as a +sinful Malignant, and of the Rebellion as a glorious foretaste of the +kingdom of the saints. "The Judges' Cave" is therefore the expression by +which they speak of that den of thieves on West Rock; and they always +use an equally guarded phrase when they mention those graves in the +square,--graves, be it remembered, that enclose the ashes of men, who +should have been left to the tender mercies of the public executioner, +had they only received in retribution what they meted out to their +betters. + +Newhaven, in addition to these treasures, boasts another Puritan relic, +of a different kind. The early settlers founded here a Calvinistic +college, which has become a very popular sectarian university, and my +visit at this time was partly occasioned by the recurrence of the annual +commemoration of its foundation. I suspect the person who leaned over +the bulwarks of the steamer, and gave me the facts--which I have related +in a very different vein from that in which I received them--was a +dissenting minister going up to be at his college at this important +anniversary. There was _a tone in his voice_, as was said of Prince +Albert's, when he visited the _savans_ at Southampton, which +sufficiently indicated his sympathies.[23] The regicides were evidently +the calendared saints of his religion, and their adventures his _Acta +Sanctorum_. He was nevertheless very civil and entertaining, and I was +glad, on arriving at the quay, to find no worse companion forced upon me +in the carriage which I had engaged (as I supposed for myself alone) to +take me into the city. There was so great a rush for cabs and coaches, +however, that there was no going single; and I accordingly found myself +again in close communication with my narrative fellow-traveller, who +soon made room for two others; grave personages with rigid features and +polemical address, which convinced me that I was in presence of the dons +and doctors of a Puritan university. + +"Go-ahead!" sung out somebody, as soon as our luggage was strapped +behind; and away we drove, in full chase, with drays and cabs, towards +the central parts of the city. The newer streets are built, I observed, +with snug little cottages, and intersect at right angles. The suburban +Gothic, so justly reprobated by the critics of Maga, is not quite as +unusual as it ought to be; but a succession of neat little +shrubbery-plots around the doors, and a trim air about things in +general, suits very well the environs of such a miniature city as +Newhaven. I never saw such a place for shade-trees. They are planted +every where; little slender twigs, boxed carefully from wheels and +schoolboys, and struggling apparently against the curse, "bastard slips +shall not thrive;" and venerable overarching trees, in long avenues, so +remarkable and so numerous that the town is familiarly called, by its +poets, the "City of Elms." + +The Funereal Square, of which I had already learned the history, was +soon reached, and we were set down at a hotel in its neighbourhood. Its +"rugged elms" are not the only trace of the fact, that the rude +forefathers of the city once reposed in their shadow; for, in the middle +of the square, a church of tolerable Gothic still remains; in amiable +proximity to which appear two meeting-houses, of a style of architecture +truly original, and exhibiting as natural a development of Puritanism, +as the cathedrals display of Catholic religion. Behind one of these +meeting-houses protrudes, in profile, the classic pediment of a brick +and plaster temple, of which the divinity is the Connecticut Themis, and +in which the Solons of the commonwealth biennially enact legislative +games in her honour. Still farther in the back-ground are seen spire and +cupola, peering over a thickset grove, in the friendly shade of whose +academic foliage a long line of barrack-looking buildings were pointed +out to me as the colleges. + +These shabby homes of the Muses were my only token that I had entered a +university town. The streets, it is true, were alive with bearded and +mustached youth, who gave some evidences of being yet _in statu +pupillari_; but they wore hats, and flaunted not a rag of surplice or +gown. In the old and truly respectable college at New York, such things +are not altogether discarded; but, at Newhaven, where they are devoutly +eschewed as savouring too much of Popery, not a member of its faculties, +nor master, doctor, or scholar, appears with the time-honoured decency +which, to my antiquated notion, is quite inseparable from the true +regimen of a university. The only distinction which I remarked between +Town and Gown, is one in lack of which Town makes the more respectable +appearance of the twain; for the college badges seem to be nothing more +than odd-looking medals of gold, which are set in unmeaning display on +the man's shirt ruffles, or dangle with tawdry effect from their watch +ribbons. I have no doubt that the smart shopmen who flourish canes and +smoke cigars in the same walks with the collegians, very much envy them +these poor decorations; but in my opinion, they have far less of the +Titmouse in their appearance without them, and would sooner be taken for +their betters by lacking them. My first impressions were, on the whole, +far from favourable, therefore; as from such things in the young men, I +was forced to judge of their _alma mater_. And I must own, moreover, +that my subsequent acquaintance with the university did little to +diminish the disappointment which I unwillingly felt in this visit to +one of the most popular seats of learning in America. I certainly came +prepared to be pleased; for I had met in New York several persons of +refined education, who had taken their degrees at this place; but, to +dismiss this digression from my main purpose, I must say that the +Commencement was any thing but a creditable affair. After carefully +observing all that I could unobtrusively hear and see, I cannot speak +flatteringly of the performances, whether the matter or the manner be +considered. I can scarcely account for it that so many educated men as +took part in the exercises should make no better exhibition of +themselves. One oration delivered by a bachelor of arts, was vociferated +with insolence so consummate, that I marvelled how the solemn-looking +divines, whom it occasionally seemed to hit, were able to endure it. In +all that I heard, with very few exceptions, there was a deficiency of +good English style, of elevated sentiment, and even of sound morality. +Many of the professors and fellows of the University are confessedly men +of cultivated minds, and even of distinguished learning: yet this great +celebration was no better than I say. I can account for it only by the +sectarian influences which imbue every thing in Newhaven, and by the +want of a thoroughly academic atmosphere, which sectarianism never can +create. It was really farcical to see the good old president confer +degrees with an attempt at ceremony, which seemed to have no rubric but +extemporary convenience, and no purpose but the despatch of business. +All this may seem to have nothing to do with my subject; yet I felt +myself that the regicides had a good deal to do with it. In this +college, one sees the best that Puritanism could produce; and I thought +what Oxford and Cambridge might have become under the invading reforms +of the usurpation, had the Protectorate been less impotent to reproduce +itself, and carry out its natural results on those venerable +foundations. + +On the day following that of the Commencement, I took a drive to West +Rock. I was so happy as to have the company of a very intelligent person +from the Southern States, and of a young lady, his relative, who was +very ambitious to make the excursion. It was a pleasant drive of about +three miles to the foot of the mountain, where we alighted, the driver +leaving the horses in charge of themselves, and undertaking the office +of guide. It was somewhat tedious climbing for our fair friend; but up +we went, over rough stones, creeping vines and brushwood, that showed no +signs of being very frequently disturbed; our guide keeping the bright +buttons of his coat-skirts before us, and in some other respects +reminding me of Mephistopheles on the Hartz. It certainly was very +accommodating in Nature, to provide the lofty chambers of the regicides +with such a staircase; for in their day it must have defied any ordinary +search, and when found must have presented as many barriers of brier and +thicket, as grew up around the Sleeping Beauty in the fairy tale. + +As we reached what seemed to be the top of the rock, we came suddenly +into an open place, but so surrounded by trees and shrubs, as +effectually to shut in the view. Here was the cave; and very different +it was from what we had expected to find it! We had prepared ourselves +to explore a small Antiparos, and were quite chagrined to find our +grotto diminished to a mere den or covert, between two immense stones of +a truly Stonehengian appearance and juxtaposition. I doubted for a +moment whether their singular situation, on the top of this mountain, +were matter for the geologist or the antiquary; and would like to refer +the question to the learned Dean of Westminster, who hammers stones as +eloquently as some of his predecessors have hammered pulpits. The stones +are well-nigh equal in height, of about twenty feet perpendicular, one +of them nearly conical, and the other almost a true parallelopiped. +Betwixt them another large stone appears to have fallen, till it became +wedged; and the very small aperture between this stone and the ground +beneath, is all that justifies the name of a cave, though there are +several fissures about the stones, in which possibly beasts might be +sheltered, but hardly human beings. To render the cave itself large +enough for the pair that once inhabited it, the earth must have been dug +from under the stone, so as to make a covered pit; and even then, it was +hardly so good a place as is said to have been made for "a refuge to the +conies," being much fitter for wild-cats or tigers. I could scarcely +persuade myself, that English law could ever have driven a man three +thousand miles over the sea, and then into such a burrow as this! But so +it was; and it was retribution and justice too. + +Bad as it was, it looked more agreeable Goffe and Whalley, than a +cross-beam and two halters, or even than apartments in the Tower of +London. They had it fitted up with a bed, and other "creature-comforts" +of a truly Crusoe-like description. The mouth of the cave was screened +by a thick growth of bushes, and the place was in several other respects +well suited to their purposes. The parallelopiped, of which I have +spoken, was easily climbed, being furnished with something like stairs, +and its top commands a fine view of the town, the bay, and the country +for miles around. It served them, therefore, as a watch-tower, and must +have been very useful as a means of protection, and as an observatory +for amusement. I mounted the stone myself, and tried to fancy how +different was the scene two hundred years ago. There the exile would sit +hour after hour, not as one may sit there now, to see sails and steamers +entering and leaving the harbour, and post-coaches and railroad cars +passing and re-passing continually; but to gaze in astonishment and +fear, if one lone ship might be descried coming up the bay, or if a +solitary horseman was to be seen or heard pursuing his journey in the +valley below. + +While the fugitives lived in this den, they were regularly supplied with +daily bread and other necessaries of life, by a woodman, who lived at +the foot of the rock. A child came up the mountain daily with a supply +of provisions, which he left on a certain stone, and returned without +seeing any body, or asking any questions of Echo. In this way he always +brought a full basket and took back an empty one, without the least +suspicion that he was becoming an accessory in high treason, and, as it +is said, without ever knowing to whom, or for what, he was ministering. +As a Brahmin sets rice before an idol, so the little one fed the stone, +or left the basket to "the unseen spirit of the wood;" and well it was +that the little Red-riding-hood escaped the usual fate of all lonely +little foresters, for it seems there were mouths and maws in the +mountain which cheesecakes would not have satisfied. The dwellers in the +rock had a terrible fright one night from the visit of some +indescribable beast--a panther, or something worse--that blazed its +horrid eyes into their dark hole, and growled so frightfully, that if +all the bailiffs of London had surrounded their den, they would have +been less alarmed. It seemed some motherly tigress in search of her +cubs, and when she discovered the intruders, she set up such an +ululation of maternal grief as made every aisle of the forest ring +again, and so scared the inmates of her den, that, as soon as they +dared, they took to their heels down the mountain, ready to hear any hue +and cry on their track, rather than hers. This story was told us by our +guide, who gave it as the reason for their final desertion of the place. + +On the stone which I climbed, I found engraven a great number of names +and initials, with dates of different years. Apparently they had been +left there by visiters from the university. In more than one place, some +ardent youth, in his first love with democracy, had taken pains to renew +the inscription, which tradition says Goffe and Whalley placed over +their retreat. "Opposition to tyrants is obedience to God." I suppose +there will always be fresh men to do Old Mortality's office for this +inscription, for the maxim is one which has long been popular in America +among patriotic declaimers. How long it will continue generally popular, +may indeed be doubted, since the abolitionists have lately adopted it, +and in their mouths it becomes an incendiary watchword, which the +supporters of slavery have no little reason to dread. I myself saw this +motto on an anti-slavery placard set up in the streets of New York. + +I inferred from this inscription, and the names on the rock, that the +spot is visited by some with very different feelings from those which it +excited in me and my companions. Our valuable conductor, it is true, +spoke of "the Judges" with as much reverence as so sturdy a republican +would be likely to show to any dignity whatever; and really the honest +fellow seemed to give us credit for more tenderness than we felt, and +tried to express himself in such a manner, when telling of the misery of +the exiles, as not to wound our sensibilities. But I fear his +consideration was all lost; for, sad as it is to think of any fellow-man +reduced to such extremity as to take up a lodging like this, we could +only think how many of the noble and the lovely, and how many of the +true and loyal poor, had been brought by Goffe and Whalley to greater +miseries than theirs. I could not force myself, therefore, to the +melting mood; it was enough that I thought of January 30, 1648, and said +to myself, "Doubtless there is a God that judgeth in the earth." The +lady recalled some facts from Lord Clarendon's History, and said that +her interest in the spot was far from having anything to do with +sympathy for the regicides. Her patronising protector expressed his +surprise, and jokingly assured me that she regarded it as a Mecca, or he +would not have given himself the trouble of waiting on her to a place he +so little respected. She owned that she was hardly consistent with +herself in feeling any interest at all in the memorial of regicides; but +I reminded her that Lord Capel kissed the axe which completed the work +of rebellion, and deprived his royal master of life;[24] and we agreed +that even the intelligent instruments of that martyrdom acquired a sort +of reliquary value from the blood with which they were crimsoned. + +The troglodytes, then, were but two; but there was a third fugitive +regicide who came to Newhaven, and now lies there in his grave. This was +none other than John Dixwell, whose name, with those of Goffe and +Whalley, may be found on that infamous death-warrant, which some have +not scrupled to call the Major Charta. Dixwell's is set among the +oi polloi, who, in the day of reckoning, were judged hardly worth a +hanging; but Whalley's occupies the bad eminence of being fourth on the +list, and next to the hard-fisted autograph of Oliver himself; while +William Goffe's is signed just before the signature of Pride, whose +miserable penmanship that day, it will be remembered, cost his poor +body an airing on the gibbet, in the year 1660. Scott, by the way, gives +Whalley the _prænomen_ Richard; but there it is on the parchment, too +legible for his soul's good--Edward Whalley. Shall I recur to the rest of +their history in England before I come to my American narrative? Perhaps +in these days of "elucidations," when it is said that every thing about +two hundred years since is, for the first time, undergoing a calm but +earnest review, I may be indulged in recapitulating what, if every body +knows, they know only in a great confusion with other events, which impair +the individual interest. + +Of Dixwell, comparatively little is known, save that his first act of +patriotism seems to have consisted in leaving his country. Enough that +he served in the parliamentary army; sat as judge, and stood up as +regicide in that High Court of Treason in Westminster Hall; was one of +Oliver's colonels during the Protectorate; became sheriff of Kent, and +no doubt hanged many a rogue that had a better right to live than +himself; and finally sat in parliament for the same county in 1656.[25] +His experiences after the Restoration are not known, till he emerged in +America almost ten years after the last-mentioned date. + +Whalley was among the more notorious of the rebels. He was cousin to +Oliver, and one of the few for whom Oliver sometimes exhibited a savage +sort of affection. He proved himself a good soldier in a bad cause, at +Naseby; and a furious one at Banbury. When the rogues fell out among +themselves, he was the officer that met Cornet Joyce as he was convoying +the king's majesty from Holmby,[26] and offered to relieve the royal +prisoner of his protector; an offer which Charles with great dignity +refused, preferring to let them have all the responsibility in the +matter, and not caring a straw which of the two villains should be his +jailor. At Hampton Court, however, fortune decided in favour of Whalley, +and put the king, for a time, into his power; till like fortune put it +into the king's power to get rid of his brutality by flight, an accident +for which our hero got a hint of displeasure from parliament. Just at +this point Cromwell addressed a letter to his "dear cousin Whalley,"[27] +begging him _not to let_ any thing happen to his majesty; in which his +sincerity was doubtless as genuine as that of certain patriots in the +Pickwick history, who, out of regard to certain voters coming down to +the election, with money in their hands and tears in their eyes, +besought the senior Weller _not to upset_ the whole cargo of them into +the canal at Islington. After getting out of this scrape, and doing the +damning deed that got him into a worse one, he fleshed his sword against +the king's Scottish kinsmen, at Dunbar, where he lost a horse under him, +and received a cut in his wrist,[28] though not severe enough to prevent +his writing a saucy letter to the governor of Edinburgh castle. He was +the man that took away the mace, when Cromwell broke up his Barebones' +parliament. Then he rode through Lincoln, and five other counties, +dealing with recusant Anabaptists,[29] as one of the "Major Generals;" +demurred a little, at first, at the king-manufacturing conference, but +finally came into the project; and, from a sense of duty, so far +overcame his republican scruples as to allow himself to take a seat in +the House of Lords, as one of the Oliverian peerage.[30] If titles were +to be had with estates, like the Lordship of Linne, he was surely +entitled to his peerage, for he was growing fat on the Duke of +Newcastle's patrimony, with part of the jointure of poor Henrietta +Maria, when, God be praised, the day of reckoning arrived; and my Lord +Whalley, surmising that, should any one come to the rope, he was likely +to swing if he remained in England, made off beyond seas. + +Goffe, too, was of the Cromwellian cousinry, having married a daughter +of Whalley.[31] He was a soldier, but could do a little exposition +besides, when there was any call for such an exercise; as, for instance, +at that celebrated groaning and wrestling which was performed at +Windsor, and ended in resolving on the murder of the king,[32] after +extraordinary supplication and holding forth. When father Whalley +removed the mace, son-in-law Goffe led in the musqueteers, and bolted +out the Anabaptists, against whom he rode circuit through Sussex and +Berks, growing rich, and indulging dreams of disjointing the nose of +Richard, and thrusting himself into the old shoes of the Protector, as +soon as they should be empty.[33] He, too, sacrificed his feelings so +far as to become a lord; and, perhaps, thinking that royal shoes would +fit him as well as republican ones, he at last consented to making +Oliver a king.[34] Nor were his honours wholly of a civil character, for +he was made an M.A. at Oxford, and so secured himself a notice in +Anthony Wood's biographies, where his story concludes with a set of +mistakes, so relishably served up, that I must give it in the very words +of the _Fasti_, as follows:--"In 1660, a little before the restoration +of King Charles II., he betook himself to his heels to save his neck, +without any regard had to his majesty's proclamation; wandered about +fearing every one that he met should slay him; and was living at +Lausanna in 1664, with Edmund Ludlow, Edward Whalley, and other +regicides, when John l'Isle, another of that number, was there, by +certain generous royalists, despatched. He afterwards lived several +years in vagabondship; but when he died, or where his carcase was +lodged, is as yet unknown to me."[35] + +On Christmas day, 1657, good John Evelyn went to London, in spite of +many severe penalties incurred thereby, to receive the holy sacrament +from a priest of the Church of England.[36] Mr. Gunning, afterwards +Bishop of Ely, was the officiating clergyman, and preached a sermon +appropriate to the festival. As he was proceeding with the Eucharist, +the place where they were worshipping was beset by Oliver's ruffians, +who, pointing their muskets at the communicants, through the doors and +windows, threatened to shoot them as they knelt before the altar. Evelyn +surmises that they were not authorised to go so far as that, and +consequently they did not put their threat into execution; but both +priest and people were taken prisoners, and brought under guard before +the magistrates to answer for the serious misdemeanour of which they had +been guilty. Before whom should the gentle friend of Jeremy Taylor find +himself standing as a culprit, but these worshipful Justices, Whalley +and Goffe! It was, doubtless, by their orders that the solemnities of +the day had been profaned. + +Evelyn seems to have got off with only a severe catechizing; but many of +his fellow-worshippers were imprisoned, and otherwise severely punished. +The examination was probably conducted by the theologically exercised +Goffe, for the specimen preserved by Evelyn is worthy of his genius in +every way. The amiable confessor was asked how he dared to keep "the +superstitious time of the Nativity;" and was admonished that in praying +for kings, he had been praying for Charles Stuart, and even for the king +of Spain, who was a Papist! Moreover, he was told that the Prayer-book +was nothing but the Mass in English, and more to the like effect; "and +so," says Evelyn, "they dismissed me, pitying much my ignorance." + +This anecdote, accidentally preserved by Evelyn, shows what kind of +characters they were. They seem to have been as sincere as any of their +fanatical comrades, though it is always hard to say of the Puritan +leaders which were the cunning hypocrites, and which the deluded +zealots. Whatever they may have been, their time was short, so far as +England is concerned with them; and in three years after this event, +they suddenly disappeared. So perfectly did they bury themselves from +the world, that from the year 1660, till the romance of Scott[37] again +brought the name of Whalley before the world, it may be doubted whether +any thing was known in England of lives, which in another hemisphere +were protracted almost into another generation. Nobody dreamed there +was yet an American chapter in the history of the regicides. + +Yet, considering the known disposition of the colonies, and their +inaccessible fastnesses, it is remarkable that only three of the +fugitives found their way across the Atlantic. Another, indeed, there +was, a mysterious person, of whom it is only known, that though +concerned in the regicide, he was not probably one of "the judges." He +lived in Rhode Island till he was more than a hundred years old, +begetting sons and daughters, to whom he bequeathed the surname of +Whale. Whoever he was, he seems to have been a sincere penitent, whose +conscience would not let him rest. He slept on a deal board instead of a +bed, and practised many austerities, accusing himself as a man of blood, +and deprecating the justice of God. The particulars of his guilt he +never disclosed; and as his name was probably an assumed one, it is +difficult to surmise what share he had in the murder of his king. There +was in Hacker's regiment one Whalley, a lieutenant; and Stiles, the +American writer, thinks this Whale may have been the same man. But then, +what did this Whalley perpetrate to account for such horrible remorse? +Considering Hacker's active part in the bloodiest scene of the great +tragedy, and the conflicting testimony in Hulet's trial,[38] as to the +man that struck the blow; and coupling this with the fact, that an +effort was made to procure one of several lieutenants to do the +work,[39] I confess I once thought there was some reason to suspect that +this fellow's accusing conscience was terribly earned, and that he at +least had been one of the masks that figured on the scaffold. This +surmise, though shaken by nothing that came out on the state trials, I +have since discharged, in deference to the opinion of Miss +Strickland,[40] who is satisfied that the greybeard was Hulet, and the +actual regicide, Gregory Brandon. + +The American history of the regicides begins with the 27th of July +following the Restoration, when Whalley and Goffe landed at Boston, +bringing the first news that the king had been proclaimed, of which it +seems they had tidings before they were clear of the Channel. Proscribed +as they were, they were heroes among the colonists, and even Endicott, +the governor, ventured to give them a welcome. The inhabitants of Boston +and its environs paid them many attentions, and they appeared at large +with no attempt at concealing their names and character. The Bostonians +were not all Republicans, however; and several zealously affected +Royalists having been noticed among their visiters, they suddenly +conceived the air of Cambridge more salubrious than that of Boston, and +took up their abode in that village, now a mere suburb of the city. +There they freely mingled with other men, and were admitted as +communicants in the Calvinistic meetings of the place; and sometimes, it +appears, they even ventured, like the celebrated party at the Peak, "to +exhibit their gifts in extemporaneous prayer and exposition." On +visiting the city, they once received some insult, for which the +assailant was bound over to keep the peace; though, if he had but known +it, he was so far from having done any wrong in the eye of law, that he +was entitled to a hundred pounds reward, for bringing before a +magistrate either of the worthies who appeared against him. The +authorities, however, had received no official notice of the +Restoration, and chose to go on as if still living under the golden sway +of the second Protector. + +A story is told of one of the regicides, while living at Cambridge, +which deserves preservation, as it not only illustrates the open manner +in which thy went to and fro, but also shows how well exercised were the +soldiers of Cromwell in military accomplishments. A fencing-master had +appeared at Boston, challenging any man in the colonies to play at +swords with him; and this bravado he repeated for several days, from a +stage of Thespian simplicity, erected in a public part of the town. One +day, as the mountebank was proclaiming his defiance, to the terror and +admiration of a crowd of bystanders, a country-bred fellow, as it +seemed, made his appearance in the assembly, accepting the challenge, +and pressing to the encounter with no other weaponry than a cheese done +up in a napkin for a shield, and a broom-stick, well charged with puddle +water, which he flourished with Quixotic effect as a sword. The shouts +of the rabble, and the confusion of the challenger, may well be +imagined; but the countryman, throwing himself into position, lustily +defied the man of foils to come on. A sharp command to be gone with his +nonsense, was all the notice which the other would vouchsafe; but the +rustic insisted on having satisfaction, and so stubbornly did he persist +in brandishing his broomstick, and opposing his cheese, that the +gladiator, in a towering fury, at last drove at him desperately enough. +The thrust was very coolly received in the soft and savoury shield of +the countryman, who instantly repaid it by a dexterous daub with his +broom, soaking the beard and whiskers of the swordsman with its odorous +contents. A second and more furious pass at the rustic was parried with +masterly skill and activity, and rewarded by another salute from the +broomstick, which ludicrously besmeared the sword-player's eyes; the +crowd setting up a roar of merriment at his crest-fallen appearance. A +third lunge was again spent upon the cheese, amid shouts of laughter; +while the broomsman calmly mopped nose, eyes, and beard, of his +antagonist's puffing and blowing physiognomy. Entirely transported with +rage and chagrin, the champion now dropped his rapier, and came at his +ridiculous adversary with the broadsword. "Hold, hold, my good fellow," +cried Broomstick, "so far all's fair play! but if that's the game, have +a care, for I shall certainly take your life." At this, the confounded +gladiator stood aghast, and staring at the absurd apparition before him, +cried out, amid the jeers of the mob, "Who is it? there were but two in +England that could match me! It must be Goffe, Whalley, or the Devil!" +And so it proved, for it was Goffe. + +In November, came out the Act of Indemnity, by which it appeared that +Goffe and Whalley were not included in the amnesty which covered a +multitude of sins. It was nevertheless far in February before the +governor had entered upon even a formal inquiry of his council, as to +what he should do with the fugitives; a formality which, empty as it +was, must have occasioned their abrupt departure from Massachusetts. At +Newhaven, a concentrated Puritanism seems to have offered them a much +safer asylum;[41] and as a brother-in-law of Whalley's had lately held a +kind of pastoral dignity in that place, it is not improbable that they +received pledges of protection, should they choose it for their city of +refuge. One now goes from Boston to Newhaven, by railroad and steamer, +in less than a day; but in those times it was very good travelling which +brought them to their Alsatia in less than a fortnight. There they were +received as saints and confessors; and Davenport, the strait-laced +pastor of the colony, seems to have taken them under his especial +patronage. He seems to have been a kind of provincial Hugh Peters, +though he was not without his virtues: and there was far more fear of +him before the eyes of the local authorities, than there was of King +Charles and his Council. His Majesty was in fact completely browbeaten +and discomfited, when his warrant was afterwards brought into collision +with the will of this doughty little Pope: and to him the regicides owed +it, that they finally died in America. + +The government at home seems really to have been in earnest in the +matter, and a royal command was not long in reaching Endicott, requiring +him to do all his power for the arrest of the runaways. He seems to have +been scared into something like obedience, and two zealous young +royalists offering their services as pursuers, he was obliged to +despatch them to Newhaven. So vigorously did these young men prosecute +their errand, that but for the bustling fanaticism of Davenport, they +would certainly have redeemed the honour of the colonies, and given +their lordships at Westminster Hall the trouble of two more state +trials. For its own sake, no one, indeed, can be sorry that such was not +the result. But when one thinks how many curious details of history +would have transpired on the trials of such prominent rebels, it seems a +pity that they could not have been made serviceable in this way, and +then set, with Prynne, to do penance among the old parchments in the +Tower. + +The governor of the Newhaven colony, one Leete, lived a few miles out of +the town, but not far enough off to be out of the control of Davenport, +whose spiritual drill had got him in good order for the expected +encounter. That painstaking pastor had, moreover, felt it his duty to +give no uncertain blast of preparation on his Sabbath-day trumpet, and +had sounded forth his deep concern for the souls committed to his care, +should they, by any temptation of the devil, be led to think it +scriptural to obey the king and magistrate, instead of him, their +conscience-keeper and dogmatist. With a skill in the application of holy +writ, peculiar to the Hugh Peters' school of divinity, he had +laboriously pounded his cushion, in some thirty or forty illustrations +of the following text from the prophet Isaiah: "Hide the outcasts, +bewray not him that wandereth. Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab! +be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler."[42] After this +exposition, there was of course no dispute as to duty. The Pope is a +deceiver, and Catholic Councils are lies; but when was a Puritan +preacher ever doubted, by his followers, to be an oracle from heaven? + +It was in vain that the loyal pursuers came to Newhaven, after the +little general had thus got his forces prepared for the contest. +Wellington, with the forest of Soignies behind him, at Waterloo, was not +half so confident of wearing out Napoleon, as Davenport was of beating +back King Charles the Second, in his presumptuous attempt to govern his +Puritan colonies. Accordingly, when the pursuers waited on Governor +Leete, they found his conscience peculiarly tender to the fact, that +they were not provided with the original of his Majesty's command, which +he felt it his duty to see, before he could move in the business. He +finally yielded so far, however, as to direct a warrant to certain +catchpoles, requiring them to take the runaways, accompanying it, as it +would seem, with assurances of affectionate condolence, should they +happen to let the criminals, when captured, effect a violent escape. A +preconcerted farce was enacted, to satisfy the forms of law, the +bailiffs seizing the regicides, a mile or two from town, as they were +making for East Rock; and they very sturdily defending themselves, till +the officers had received bruises enough, to excuse their return without +them. But after this pleasant little exercise, the regicides had an +escape of a more really fortunate character, and quite in the style of +King Charles Second's Boscobel adventures. For while cooling themselves +under a bridge, they discovered the young Bostonians galloping that way, +and had only time to lie close, when a smart quadrupedal hexameter was +thundered over their heads, as they lay peering up through the chinks of +the bridge at their furious pursuers. No doubt the classic ear of Goffe, +the Oxford Master of Arts, was singularly refreshed with the delightful +prosody, which the retiring horse-hoofs still drummed on the dusty +plain; but they seem to have been so seriously alarmed by their escape, +that if they ever smiled again, they certainly had little cause for +their good-humour; for that very day they took to the woods, and entered +upon a long and wretched life of perpetual apprehension, from which +death, in any shape, would have been, to better men, a comfortable +relief. They immediately directed their course towards West Rock, where, +with an old hatchet which they found in the forest, they built +themselves a booth in a spot which is still called, from the +circumstance, "Hatchet-Harbour." Here they became acquainted with one +Sperry, the woodman who finally fitted up the cave, and introduced them +to their life in the rock. + +It seems that on stormy days, and sometimes for mere change of air, the +poor Troglodytes would come down the mountain, and stay a while with the +woodman at his house. They had lived about a month in their cave, when +such an excursion to the woodman's had nearly cost them their liberty. +The pursuers, meantime, had accomplished a wild-goose chase to New York, +and had returned, after more perils and troubles than the regicides were +worth. Somehow or other, they got scent of their game this time, and +actually came upon them at Sperry's before they had any notice of their +approach. Fortune favouring them, however, they escaped by a back-door, +and got up to their nest, without giving a glimpse of themselves to the +pursuers, or even leaving any trace of their visit to favour a suspicion +that they had recently been in Sperry's protection. But Leete, who had +received at last the original warrant, and thus was relieved of his +scruples, seems to have been so alarmed about this time, that he sent +word to the fugitives that they must hold themselves ready to surrender, +if it should prove requisite for his own safety and that of the town. To +the credit of the poor men, on receiving this notice, they came out of +their cave like brave fellows, and went over to their cowardly +protector, offering to give themselves up immediately. + +Here the redoubtable Davenport again interfered, and though all the +colony began to be of another opinion, he fairly drubbed the prudent +Leete into a postponement of the time of surrender; and Goffe and +Whalley were accordingly respited for a week, during which they lived in +painful suspense, in the cellar of a neighbouring warehouse, supplied +with food from the governor's table, but never admitted to his presence. +Meantime, the bustling pastor preached and exhorted, and stirred up all +the important settlers to take his part against the timorous counsels of +the governor, and finally succeeded in preventing the surrender +altogether; and the fugitives went back to their cave, never again to +show themselves openly before men, though their days were prolonged +through half another lifetime. + +It seems incredible that there was any real call for such singular +caution, under the loose reign of Charles the Second: yet it is +remarkable how timid they had become, and how long they supported their +patient mousing in the dark. Nothing seems to have inspired them with +confidence after this. The pursuers returned to Boston, and made an +indignant report of the contempt with which his Majesty's authority had +been treated at Newhaven; all which had no other effect than to give +colour to a formal declaration of the united colonies of New England, +that an ineffectual though thorough search had been made. On this the +hue-and-cry was suffered to stop; but the regicides still kept close, +and shunned the light of day. Who would have believed that the lusty +Goffe and Whalley, whose fierce files of musqueteers seemed once their +very shadow, could have subsided into such decorous subjects, as to live +for three lustres in the heart of a village, so quietly, that, save +their feeder, not a soul ever saw or heard of them. Yet so it proved; +for so much do circumstances make the difference between the anchorite +and the revolutionist, and so possible is it for the same character to +be very noisy and very still. + +After two months more in the cave, they probably found it time to go +into winter quarters, and accordingly shifted to a village a little +westward of Newhaven, where one Tompkins received them into his cellar. +There they managed to survive two years, during which their only +recreation seems to have been, the sorry one of hearing a maid abuse +them, as she sung an old royalist ballad over their heads. Even this was +some relief to the monotony of their life in the cellar, and they would +often get their attendant to set it agoing. The girl, delighted to find +her voice in request, and little dreaming what an audience she had in +the pit, would accordingly strike up with great effect, and fugue away +on the names of Goffe and Whalley, and their fellow Roundheads, another +Wildrake. Perhaps the worthies in the cellar consoled themselves with +recalling the palmy days, when the same song, trolled out on the night +air from some royalist pothouse, had been their excuse for displaying +their vigilant police, and putting under arrest any number of drunken +malignants. + +If they had any additional consolation, it seems to have been derived +from an enthusiastic interpretation of Holy Writ, in which, after the +manner of their religion, they saw their own peculiar history very +minutely foreshadowed. They had heard of the sad end of Hugh Peters, and +his confederates, which they were persuaded was the slaying of the two +witnesses, predicted in the Apocalypse;[43] and they now looked in sure +and certain hope for the year 1666, which they presumed would be marked +by some great revolution, probably on account of its containing "the +number of the Beast."[44] But after two years in this cellar, there +arrived in Boston certain royal commissioners, in fear of whom they +again retreated to their cave, and stayed there two months, till the +wild beast drove them away. About the same time, an Indian getting sight +of their tracks, and finding their cave, with a bed in it, made such an +ado about his discovery, that they were obliged to abandon Newhaven for +ever. It is probable that Davenport now counselled their removal, and +provided their retreat; for one Russell, the pastor of Hadley, a +backwood settlement in Massachusetts, engaged to receive and lodge them; +and thither they went by star-light marches, a distance of an hundred +miles, through forests, where, if "there is a pleasure in the pathless +woods," they probably found it the only one in their journey. Rogues as +they were, who can help pitying them, thus skulking along by night +through an American wilderness, in terror of a king, three thousand +miles away, who all the while was revelling with his harlots, and +showing as little regard for the memory of his father as any regicide +could desire. + +At Hadley, pastor Russell received them into his kitchen, and then into +a closet, from which, by a trap-door, they were let down into the +cellar--there to live long years, and there to die, and there--one of +them--to be buried, for a time. While dwelling in this cellar, poor +Goffe kept a record of his daily life; and it is much to be regretted +that this curious journal perished, at Boston, in the succeeding +century, during the riots about the Stamp Act, in which several houses +were burned. Scraps of it still exist, however, in copies; and enough is +known of it, to prove that the exiles were kept in constant information +of the progress of events in England; that Goffe corresponded with his +wife, addressing her as his mother, and signing himself Walter +Goldsmith; and that pastor Russell was supplied with remittances for +their support. One leaf of the diary which, fortunately, was copied, is +a mournful catalogue of the regicides, and their accomplices, all +classed according to their fate, with some touching evidences of the +melancholy humour in which the records had been set down. It is a table +of sixty-nine as great rogues, or as deluded fanatics, as have left +their names on the page of English history; but there they stand on +Goffe's list, a doleful registry indeed, + + "Some slain in war, + Some haunted by the ghosts they had deposed;" + +but all noted by the wanderer as his friends, "faithful and just to +him." Twenty-six are marked as certainly dead; others, as condemned and +in the Tower; some as fugitives, and some, as quietly surviving their +ruin and disgrace. How dark must have been the past and the future +alike, to men whose histories were told in such chronicles; but thus +timorously from their "loop-hole of retreat," did they look out on the +Great Babel; and saw their cherished year of the Beast go by, and still +no change; and then consoled themselves with hoping there was some +slight error in the vulgar computation; and so hoped on against hope, +and kept in secret their awful memories, and perchance with occasional +misgivings of judgment to come, pondered them in their hearts. + +At Hadley they had one remarkable visiter, from whom they probably +learned much gloomy gossip about things at home. In 1665, John Dixwell +joined them, having made his escape to the colonies with astonishing +secrecy. He seems to have been a venturous fellow, who was far from +willing to spend his days in a cellar, and accordingly he soon left them +to their own company, and went, nobody knows where; but it is certain +that in 1672 he appeared in Newhaven as Mr. James Davids, took a wife, +and settled down with every sign of a determination to die in his bed. +The first Mrs. Davids dying without issue, we find him, a few years +after, married again, begetting children, and supporting the reputation +of a grave citizen, who kept rather shy of his neighbours, and was fond +of long prosy talks with his minister--the successor of Davenport, who +seems to have rested from his labours. I wonder if those talks were so +prosy! The good wife of the house, no doubt, supposed Mr. Davids and her +husband engaged in edifying conclave upon the five points of Calvinism: +but who does not envy that drowsy New England pastor the stories he +heard of the great events of the Rebellion, from the lips of one who had +himself been an actor therein! How often he filled his pipe, and puffed +his pleasure, or laid it down at a more earnest moment, to hear the +stirring anecdotes of Oliver; how he looked; how he spoke and commanded! +What unwritten histories the pastor must have learned of Strafford,--of +Laud,--of Pym pouncing on his quarry,--of how the narrator felt, when he +sat as a regicide judge,--and of that right royal face which he had +confronted without relenting, with all its combined expressions, of +resignation and resolution, of kingly dignity and Christian submission. + +Time went on, and the Hadley regicides wasted away in their cellar, +while Dixwell thus flourished like a bay-tree in green old age. A letter +from Goffe, to his "mother Goldsmith," written in August, 1674, of which +a copy is preserved, shows that years had been doing their work on the +once bold and stalwart Whalley. "Your old friend Mr. R.," he says, using +the feigned initial, "is yet living, but continues in that weak +condition. He is scarce capable of any rational discourse (his +understanding, memory, and speech, doth so much fail him,) and seems not +to take much notice of any thing ... and it's a great mercy to him, that +he hath a friend that takes pleasure in being helpful to him ... for +though my help be but poor and weak, yet that ancient servant of Christ +could not well subsist without it. The Lord help us to profit by all, +and to wait with patience upon him, till we shall see what end he will +make with us." + +Boys grew to be men, and little girls marriageable women, while they +thus dwelt in the cellar; and the people of Hadley passed in and out of +their pastor's door, and doubled and trebled in number around his house, +and not a soul dreamed that such inhabitants lived amongst them. This +remarkable privacy accounts for the historical fact, given as a story in +"Peveril of the Peak."[45] It occurred during the war of King Philip, in +1675, the year following the date of Goffe's letter, and when Whalley +must have been far gone in his decline, so that he could not have been +the hero, as is so dramatically asserted by Bridgenorth to Julian +Peveril. It was a fast day among the settlers, who were imploring God +for deliverance from an expected attack of the savages; and they were +all assembled in their rude little meeting-house, around which sentinels +were kept on patrol. The house of the pastor was only a few rods +distant; and probably, through the miserable panes that let in all the +sun-light of their cellar, Goffe watched the invasion of the Indians, +and all the horrors of the fight, till the fires of Dunbar began to burn +again in his old veins, and, overcoming his usual caution, sent him +forth to his last achievement in this world, and perhaps his best. On a +sudden, as the settlers were giving up all for lost, and about to submit +to a general massacre, a strange apparition was seen among them +exhorting them to rally in the name of God. An old man, with long white +locks, and of unusual attire, led the last assault with the most daring +bravery. Not doubting that it was an angel of God, they followed up his +blows, and in a short time repulsed the savages; but their deliverer was +gone. No clue or trace could be found of his coming or going. He was to +them as Melchisedek, "without beginning of life, or end of days;" and +their confirmed superstition that the Lord had sent his angel in answer +to their prayers, though quite in accordance with their enthusiasm, was +doubtless not a little encouraged by the wily pastor himself, as an +innocent means of preventing troublesome inquiries. In many parts of New +England it was long regarded as a miracle, and the final disclosure of +the secret has spoiled the mystery of a genuine old wives' tale. + +About three years after this, Whalley gave his soul to God, and was +temporarily buried in the cellar, where he had lived a death-in-life of +fourteen years. Russell was now in a great fright, and with good reason, +for a new crown officer was at work in New England, with a zealous +determination to bring all offenders to justice, and if not the +offenders themselves, then somebody instead of them. Edward Randolph, +who has left a judge Jeffreys' reputation in America to this day, was a +Jehu for the government, and his feelings towards the regicides are well +touched off by Southey, in the words put into his mouth in "Oliver +Newman:"-- + + "Fifteen years, + They have hid among them the two regicides, + Shifting from den to cover, as we found + Where the scent lay. But, earth them as they will, + I shall unkennel them, and from their holes + Drag them to light and justice." + +Alarmed by the energetic measures of such a man, Goffe, who was now +released from his personal attentions to his friend, appears to have +departed from Hadley for a time; while Russell gave currency to a +report, that when last seen, he was on his way towards Virginia. It was +soon added, that he had been actually recognised in New York, in a +farmer's attire, selling cabbages; but he probably went no further than +Newhaven, where he would naturally visit Dixwell, and so returned to +Hadley, whence his last letter bears date, 1679, and where he +undoubtedly died the following year. + +How the two bodies ever got to Newhaven has long been the puzzle. It +seems that Russell buried Goffe at first in a grave, dug partly on his +own premises, and partly on those adjoining, intending by this stratagem +to justify himself, should he ever be forced to deny that the bones were +in his garden. But, in the years 1680 and 1684, Randolph's fury being at +its height, he probably dug up the remains of both the regicides, and +sent them to Newhaven, where they were interred secretly by Dixwell and +the common gravedigger of the place. Some suppose, indeed, that they +were not removed till the sad results of the Duke of Monmouth's +rebellion had put the colonists in terror of the inexorable Jeffreys. +The fate of Lady Alicia Lisle,--herself the widow of a regicide,--who +had suffered for concealing two of the Duke's followers, may very +naturally have alarmed the prudent Russell, and led him to remove all +traces of his share in harbouring Goffe and Whalley. His friendship for +two "unjust judges" seems to have led him to dread the acquaintance of a +third. As for Dixwell, he lived on in Newhaven, maintaining the +character of Mr. James Davids with great respectability, and so quietly, +that Randolph seems never to have suspected that a third regicide was +hiding in America. He had one narrow escape, nevertheless, from another +zealous partisan of the crown, quite as lynx-eyed, and even more +notorious in American history. In 1686, Sir Edmund Andross paid a visit +to Newhaven, and was present at the public worship of the inhabitants, +when James Davids did not fail to be in his usual place, nor by his +dignity of person and demeanour to attract the special notice of Sir +Edmund, who probably began to think he had got scent of Goffe himself. +After the solemnities were over, he made very particular inquiries as to +the remarkable-looking worshipper, but suffered himself to be diverted +from more searching measures, by the natural and unstudied description +which he received of Mr. Davids and his interesting family. It was well +that they could answer so unaffectedly, for Andross was ready to pick a +quarrel with them, conceiving himself to have received a great affront +at the religious exercise which he had honoured with his presence. It +seems the clerk had felt it his duty to select a psalm not incapable of +a double application, and which accordingly had hit Sir Edmund in a +tender part, by singing "to the praise and glory of God" the somewhat +insinuating stave-- + + "Why dost thou, tyrant, boast abroad, + Thy wicked works to praise." + +After this, though for forty years the righteous blood of a murdered +king had been crying against him, Dixwell's hoar hairs were suffered to +come to the grave in a peace he had denied to others, in 1688. Meantime, +that king had lain in his cerements at Windsor, "taken away from the +evil to come," and undisturbed alike by the malice that pursued his +name, and the far more grievous contempt that fell on his martyr-memory +from the conduct of his two sons, false as they were to his honour, +recreant to his pure example, and apostate to the holy faith for which +he died. Such sons had at last accomplished for the house of Stuart that +ruin which other enemies had, in vain, endeavoured; and two weeks after +James Davids was laid in his grave, came news which was almost enough to +wake him from the dead. "The glorious Revolution," as it is called, was +a "crowning mercy" to the colonies; and the friends of the late regicide +now boldly produced his will, and submitted it to Probate. It devised to +his heirs a considerable estate in England, and described his own style +and title as "John Dixwell, _alias_ James Davids, of the Priory of +Folkestone, in the county of Kent, Esquire." + +After my visit to West Rock, I went in the early twilight to the graves +of the three regicides. I found them in the rear of one of the +meeting-houses, in the square, very near together, and scarcely +noticeable in the grass. They are each marked by rough blocks of stone, +having one face a little smoothed, and rudely lettered. Dixwell's +tomb-stone is far better than the others, and bears the fullest and most +legible inscription. It is possibly a little more than two feet high, of +a red sand-stone, quite thick and heavy, and reads thus:--"I. D. Esq., +deceased March y{e} 18th, in y{e} 82{d} year of his age, 1688-9." To +make any thing of Whalley's memorial, I was obliged to stoop down to it, +and examine it very closely. I copied it, head and foot, into my +tablets, nor did I notice, at the time, any peculiarity, but took down +the inscription, as I supposed correctly, "1658, E. W." While I was busy +about this, there came along one of the students, escorting a young +lady, who bending down to the headstone of Goffe's grave, examined it a +few minutes attentively, and then started up, and went away with her +happy protector, exclaiming, "I must leave it to Old Mortality, for I +can see nothing at all." I found it as she had said, and left it without +any better satisfaction; but, during the evening, happening to mention +these facts, I was shown a drawing of both Goffe's and Whalley's +memorials; by help of which, on repeating my visit early next morning, I +observed the very curious marks which give them additional interest. +Looking more carefully at Whalley's headstone, one observes a 7 strongly +blended with the 5, in the date which I had copied; so that it may be +read as I had taken it, or it may be read 1678, the true date of +Whalley's demise. This same cipher is repeated on the footstone, and is +evidently intentional. Nor is the grave of Goffe less curious. The stone +is at first read, "M. G. 80;" but, looking closer, you discover a +superfluous line cut under the M, to hint that it must not be taken for +what it seems. It is in fact a W reversed, and the whole means, "W. G. +1680;" the true initials, and date of death of William Goffe. If Dixwell +was not himself the engraver of these rude devices, he doubtless +contrived them; and they have well accomplished their purpose, of +avoiding detection in their own day, and attracting notice in ours. + +There was something that touched me, in spite of myself, in thus +standing by these rude graves, and surveying the last relicts of men +born far away in happy English homes, who once made a figure among the +great men, and were numbered with the lawful senators of a free and +prosperous state! I own that, for a moment, I checked my impulses of +pity, and thought whether it would not be virtuous to imitate the Jews +in Palestine, who, to this day, throw a pebble at Absalom's pillar, as +they pass it in the King's Dale, to show their horror of the rebel's +unnatural crime. But I finally concluded that it was better to be a +Christian in my hate, as well as in my love, and to take no worse +revenge than to recite, over the ashes of the regicides, that sweet +prayer for the 30th of January, which magnifies God, for the grace given +to the royal martyr, "by which he was enabled, in a constant meek +suffering of all barbarous indignities, to resist unto blood, and then, +according to the Saviour's pattern, to pray for his murderers." + +Two hundred years have gone, well-nigh, and those mean graves continue +in their dishonour, while the monarchy which their occupants once +supposed they had destroyed, is as unshaken as ever. Nor must it be +unnoticed, that the church which they thought to pluck up, root and +branch, has borne a healthful daughter, that chaunts her venerable +service in another hemisphere, and so near these very graves that the +bones of Goffe and Whalley must fairly shake at Christmas, when the +organ swells, hard-by, with the voices of thronging worshippers, who +still keep "the superstitious time of the Nativity," even in the +Puritans' own land and city. What a conclusion to so much crime and +bloodshed! Such a sepulture--thought I,--instead of a green little +barrow, in some quiet churchyard of England, "fast by their fathers' +graves!" Had these poor men been contented with peace and loyalty, such +graves they might have found, under the eaves of the same parish church +that registered their christening; the very bells tolling for their +funeral, that pealed when they took their brides. How much better the +"village Hampden," than the wide-world's Whalley; and how enviable the +uncouth rhyme, and the yeoman's honest name, on the stone that loving +hands have set, compared with these coward initials, and memorials that +skulk in the grass! + + Sta, viator, _judicem_ calcas! + +A judge, before whose unblenching face the sacred majesty of England +once stood upon deliverance, and awaited the stern issues of life and +death; an _unjust judge_, who, for daring to sit in judgment, must yet +come forth from this obscure grave, and give answer unto Him who is +judge of quick and dead. + + + + +LATEST FROM THE PENINSULA.[46] + + +We have lately been surfeited with the affairs of that portion of Europe +south of the Pyrenees, and did intend not again to refer, at least for +some time, to any thing connected with it. We are sick of Spanish +revolutions, disgusted with causeless _pronunciamentos_, and corrupt +intrigues, weary of Madame Muñoz and "the innocent Isabel," of palace +plots and mock elections, base ministers and imbecile Infantas. We care +not the value of a flake of _bacallao_, if Das Antas the Bearded, +Schwalbach the German, Saldanha the Duke, or any other leader of +Lusitania's hosts, wins a fight or takes to his heels. Profoundly +indifferent is it to us whether her corpulent majesty of Portugal, +(eighteen stone by the scale, so she is certified,) holds on at the +Necessidades, or is necessitated to cut and run on board a British +frigate. Portugal we leave to the care of Colonel Wylde, homoeopathic +physician-in-ordinary to all trans-Pyrennean insurrections and civil +wars; and Spain we consign to the tender mercies of Camarillas, propped +by bayonets and inspired by the genial influences of the Tuileries. We +have been pestered with these two countries, and with their annual +revolutions, reminding us of a whirlwind in a wash-tub, until, in +impatience of their restless, turbulent population, we have come to +dislike their very names. Nevertheless, here are a brace of books about +the Peninsula, concerning which we have a word to say, although we shall +not avail ourselves of the opportunity they offer to discuss Portuguese +rebellions and Spanish politics. + +Writers on Spain, long resident in the country, acquire a _borracha_ +twang, a smack of the pig-skin, a propensity to quaint and proverb-like +phrases, characteristic of the land they write about. The peculiarity is +perceptible in the books before us; in both of them the racy Castilian +flavour reeks through the pages. And first--to begin with the most +worthy--as regards Mr. Ford's "Gatherings." There be cooks so cunning in +their craft, that out of the mangled remains of yesterday's feast, they +concoct a second banquet, less in volume, but more savoury, than its +predecessor. This to do, needs both skill and judgment. Spice must be +added, sauces devised, heavy and cumbrous portions rejected, great +ingenuity exercised, fitly to furnish forth to-day's delicate collation +from the fragments of yesterday's baked meats. Mr. Ford has shown +himself an adept in the art of literary _rechauffage_. His masterly and +learned "Handbook of Spain," having been found by some, who love to run +and read, too small in type, too grave in substance, he has skimmed its +cream, thrown in many well-flavoured and agreeable condiments, and +presented the result in one compact and delightful volume. He has at +once lightened and condensed his work. Mr. Hughes, the Lisbon pilgrim, +has gone quite upon another tack. He makes no pretensions to brevity or +close-packing, but starts with a renunciation of method, and an avowed +determination to be loquacious. Dashing off in fine desultory style, +with a fluent pen, and a flux of words, he proclaims that his sole +ambition is to amuse, and with that view he proposes to be discursive +and parlous. Amusing he certainly is; his irrepressible tendency to +exaggeration is exceedingly diverting, whilst the excellent terms he is +upon with himself, frequently compel a smile. His prolixity we can +overlook, but we have difficulty in pardoning the questionable taste of +certain portions of his book. In commenting on its defects, however, +allowances must be made for the bad health of the writer. Doubtless he +intends that they should be, for he repeatedly informs us that he is +troubled with a pulmonary complaint of many years' standing, to which he +anticipates a fatal termination. "I strive," he says, "to escape, by +observation of the outer world, and of mankind, from the natural +tendency to brood over misfortune, and seek to discover in occupation +that cheerfulness which would be inevitably lost in an unemployed +existence, and in dwelling on the phases of my illness." What can we say +after such an appeal to our feelings? how criticise with severity a book +written under these circumstances? If we hint incredulity as to the +gravity of the author's malady, we shall be classed with those unfeeling +persons, "whose levity and heartlessness not only refuse to sympathise, +but often even doubt if my sickness be real." Truly, when we learn that +between the months of September and December last, the sick man +travelled fifteen hundred miles--the latter portion of the distance +through districts where he was compelled to rough it--exposed to +frequent vicissitudes of temperature, and to the unhealthy climate of +Madrid--sudden death to consumptive patients--eating, according to his +own record, with the appetite of a muleteer, "rushing into ventas, and +roaring lustily for dinner," (vide vol. i. p. 206.)--holding furious +discussions in coffee-houses, and winding them up, after utterly +extinguishing his opponents, with Propagandist harangues eight pages +long, (ibid. p. 334,)--and, finally, writing--in the intervals of his +journey, we presume,--the two bulky and closely printed volumes now upon +our table, we must say that many persons in perfect health would rejoice +to vie with so sturdy an invalid. We do hope, therefore, and incline to +believe, that the yellow flag thus despondingly hung out is a false +signal; that Mr. Hughes, if not to be ranked altogether under the head +of imaginary valetudinarians, is at any rate in a far less desperate +state than he imagines; and that he will live long, long enough to amend +his style, refine his tone, and write a book as commendable in all +respects as this one often is for its fun and originality. + +It is very unfavourable to the "Overland Journey," that its coincidence +of publication and similarity of subject with the "Gatherings from +Spain," render a comparison between them scarcely avoidable. A +comparison with so elegant and scholarly a book as Mr. Ford's, very few +works on the Peninsula that have come under our notice could +advantageously sustain. But, after dismissing all idea of establishing a +contrast, we still find much to quarrel with in Mr. Hughes's recent +production. It is careless, often flippant, sometimes even coarse, and +as we read, we regret that a shrewd observer and intelligent man should +thus run into caricature, and neglect the proprieties expected from all +who present themselves in print before the public. Against these he +offends at the very outset. Scarcely has he put foot in France, when he +begins his comments on the fair sex, in which, whilst aiming at +acuteness and wit, he displays very little delicacy. Neither are his +inferences the most charitable. The young ladies at Havre, who, to +preserve their drapery from mud and dust, display, according to the +universal French custom, some inches of their very handsome legs, are +assumed to do so at mamma's instigation, and to ensnare husbands. "She +is not more than seventeen, and appears to have no consciousness--her +face all seeming simplicity and serenity, as are those of most French +unmarried misses, (after marriage it is a little t'other.) How +ridiculous to suppose that she is not conscious of _her exquisite +shapes_!" Mr. Hughes has a shocking opinion of the maidens of Gaul, +whose conduct towards him seems to have been somewhat indecorous. "Very +young girls abroad appear to have attained to consciousness, and often +laugh out if you only give them a casual glance." We know not whether +there is any thing especially mirth-provoking in the glances of our +lively invalid, but this is the first time we have heard tell of such +very unbecoming behaviour on the part of respectable young French women. +The next insinuation we stumble upon is of a different nature, although +it would scarcely be more relished by its objects. Mr. Hughes is at +Paris, indulging in a _flânerie_ on the Boulevards, and taking notes of +the latest fashions. "The dresses are now worn extravagantly high, stuck +up into the throat, and suggesting a suspicion that there may be +_something blotchy underneath_." To say nothing of the suggestive and +unsavoury nature of this remark, we are quite puzzled to know what would +satisfy so captious a critic. One lady shows her ankle, and is set down +as an immodest schemer; another covers her neck, and is suspected of a +cutaneous affection. On a par with such an inference, is the gross +account of an alabaster group in a shop window, and the wit of the +conjecture whether Dr. Toothache, who attends to the "teeth, gums, +tongue, throat, &c., has any cure for a long tongue, or if he _patches +the gums with gum elastic_!" Such stuff as this would hardly pass muster +in familiar conversation, or in a gossipping letter to an intimate +friend; but in a printed book, intended, doubtless, for the perusal of +thousands, it is sadly out of place. It is a relief to revert from it to +the strong good sense and graceful raillery of Mr. Ford's pages. + +Sure, where all is good, to fall in a pleasant place, we open the +"Gatherings" at random. Upon what have we stumbled? Railroads. +Interesting to Threadneedle Street. True that the mania days are past, +when an English capitalist caught at any new line puffed by a plausible +prospectus, however impossible the gradients and desolate the district. +Nevertheless, and in case of relapse, a word or two about the +practicability of Spanish railroads will not be out of place. Mr. Ford +is a man who knows Spain thoroughly: that none can doubt. Neither can +there be any question of his veracity and impartiality. Whatever +interest he might have to cry up such projects, he can have none to cry +them down. We, therefore, recommend all persons who have not already +made up their minds as to the bubble nature of Peninsular railway +schemes, to send forthwith to Mr. Murray for a copy of the "Gatherings," +and to read thrice, with profound attention, the last six pages of +Chapter Five. They may also glance at pages 8 and 13, and learn, what +the majority of them are probably ignorant of, that the Peninsula is an +agglomeration of mountains, divided by Spanish geographers into seven +distinct chains, all more or less connected with each other, and having +innumerable branches and off-shoots. Notwithstanding this very +discouraging configuration of the land, "there is," says Mr. Ford, "just +now much talk of railroads, and splendid official and other documents +are issued, by which 'the whole country is to be intersected (on paper) +with a net-work of rapid and bowling-green communications,' which are to +create a 'perfect homogeneity amongst Spaniards.'" The absurdity of this +last notion is only appreciable by those who know the vast differences +that exist, in character, interests, feelings, and even race, between +the different provinces of Spain. Time, tranquillity, and a secure and +paternal government, may eventually produce the blending deemed so +desirable, and railways would of course largely contribute to the same +end, could they be made. But to say nothing of the mountains, there are +a few other impediments nearly as formidable. Spain is an immense +country, thinly peopled, whose inhabitants travel little, and whose +commerce is unimportant. And, moreover, projectors of Peninsular rails +have reckoned without a certain two-legged animal, indigenous to the +soil, and known as the MULETEER. To this gentleman is at present +committed the whole inland carrying trade of Spain. What will he say +when he finds his occupation gone? how will he get his chick peas and +sausage when he has been run off the road by steam? Mr. Ford opines that +he, as well as the smuggler, who also will be seriously damaged by the +introduction of locomotives, will turn robber or patriot,--the two most +troublesome classes in all Spain. As to prevailing on him to act as +guard to a railway carriage, to trim lamps, ticket portmanteaus, or +stand with outstretched arm by the road-side, the idea will only be +entertained by persons who know nothing either of Spain or Spanish +muleteers. By the side of the line he doubtless would often be found; +but not as a telegraph to warn of danger. In his new capacity of +brigand, his look-out would be for the purses of the passengers. He +could hardly stop an express train in the old Finchley style of +presenting himself and his pistol at the carriage window, but a few +stones and tree-trunks would answer the purpose as well. "A handful of +opponents," says Mr. Ford, "in any cistus-grown waste, may at any time, +in five minutes, break up the road, stop the train, stick the stoker, +and burn the engines in their own fire, particularly smashing the +luggage-train." To English ears this may sound like absurd exaggeration. +We have difficulty in imagining a gang of stage-coachmen, even though +they have been puffed off their boxes by the mighty blast of steam, +combining, under the orders of Captain Brown or Jones, the gentleman +driver of some Cambridge, Rockingham, or Brighton bang-up, to build +barricades across railways and pick off engineers from behind a quickset +hedge. Here there would be no impunity for such malefactors; their +campaign against innovation would speedily conduct them to Newgate and +the hulks. Not so in the Peninsula, where roads are few, police +defective, and where, at the present time, smugglers and other notorious +law-breakers strut upon the crown of the causeway, appear boldly in +towns, and hold themselves in every respect for as honest men as their +neighbours. But it is not to be supposed that popular opposition, +probable, almost certain, as it is, to be met with in such a half +African, semi-civilized country, would be held worth a moment's +consideration by the dashing schemers who propose to cover the Peninsula +with iron arteries. The audacity of those persons is only to be equalled +by their consummate geographical ignorance, several instances of which +are shown up with much humour and irony by the author of the +"Gatherings." Some of the most notoriously absurd of the schemes set +afloat, have had their origin with Englishmen, of whom, since the close +of the civil war, and especially within the last year or two, a vast +number have betaken themselves to Spain, to follow up ventures more or +less hopeful or hopeless. Owing to a long peace, to a rapid growth of +population, and to the daily-increasing difficulty of fortune-making, +the class ADVENTURER has of late years, both in this country and the +sister kingdom, greatly augmented its numbers. This is evident from the +throng of unemployed and aspiring gentlemen ever ready to engage in any +undertaking, however desperate and doubtful of success. Let a +clandestine expedition be contemplated to some hole-and-corner state or +antipodean republic, and up start a host of mettlesome cavaliers, from +all ranks and classes, including Irish lords and English baronets and +squires of low degree, having all fought in three or four services, more +or less piratical or illegitimate, all bearded like the pard, and +be-ribboned like maypoles, and all eager once more to rush to the fray, +and signalise themselves under a foreign banner. These are specimens of +the adventurer bellicose, the Mike Lambournes and Dugald Dalgettys of +the nineteenth century. Of a more calculating and ambitious class is the +adventurer speculative, who possesses a Dousterswivel aptitude for +discovering mines, devising railways, projecting canals, and the like +undertakings. Spain has of late been favoured with the attentions of +many of these gentlemen, flying at every thing, from a common sewer to a +coal mine, an omnibus company to a hundred leagues of railway. With +geniuses of this stamp have originated some of the impracticable +projects so eagerly caught at by English capitalists, whose unemployed +cash had mounted, as Mr. Ford expresses it, from their pockets to their +heads. We know not who was the projector of that most magnificent scheme +to connect Madrid with the Atlantic, in defiance of such trifling +impediments as the Guadarama range and the Asturian Alps, but we learn +from the "Gatherings" that he was "to receive £40,000 for the cession of +his plan to the company, and actually did receive £25,000, which, +considering the difficulties, natural and otherwise, must be considered +an inadequate remuneration." Unfortunately, when he sold his plan, he +did not show the buyers how to surmount the difficulties; and indeed he +would have been puzzled to do so, since they subsequently proved +insurmountable. But the whole of the facts relating to Spanish railroads +lie in a nutshell, and may be set forth in ten lines. Neither by the +nature of its surface, nor by amount of population and importance of +trade, is Spain adapted to receive this greatest invention of the +present century. As to a regular system of railways, diverging from +Madrid to the frontiers and principal seaport towns, on the plan laid +down for France, it is not to be thought of, and can never be +accomplished. And with respect to those lines which _might_ be made +along the valleys, and by following the course of rivers, the country is +not yet ripe for them. Spain has not yet been able to get canals; her +highroads, worthy of the name, are few and far between, leading only +from the capital to coast or frontier, whilst cross roads and +communications between towns are for the most part mere _caminos de +herradura_, horse-shoe or bridle roads of a wretched description. A few +short lines of cheap construction over level tracts, and favoured by +peculiar circumstances, such as a populous district, the proximity of +large towns, or of a country unusually rich in natural productions, are +the only railways that can as yet be undertaken in Spain without +certainty of heavy loss. The line between Madrid and Aranjuez is the +only one, Mr. Ford thinks, at all likely to be at present carried out. + +We have been greatly delighted with the pictures scattered through Mr. +Ford's book, pictures that owe nothing to pencil or graver, half pages +of letter-press placing before our eyes, with the brilliant minuteness +of a richly-coloured and highly-finished painting, men, things, and +scenes characteristic of Spain. Amongst these, the sketch of the +muleteer, that errant descendant of the old Morisco carriers, is full of +life; and we defy the brush of the most cunning artist to bring the man, +in all his peculiarities, more vividly before us than is done by Mr. +Ford's vigorous and graceful pen and ink touches. We see the long line +of tall mules, with dusty flanks and well-poised burdens, winding their +way over some rugged sierra, or across a weary _despoblado_, their gay +worsted head-gear nodding in the sunbeams, the tinkle of their +innumerable bells mingling with the mournful song of their conductor, to +which, when the latter, weary of striding beside his beasts, mounts +aloft upon the bales for a temporary rest, is added the monotonous thrum +of a guitar. The song is as unceasing as the bells, unless when +interrupted by a pull at the wine _bota_, or by the narration of some +wild story of bandit cruelty or contrabandist daring. "The Spanish +muleteer is a fine fellow; he is intelligent, active, and enduring; he +braves hunger and thirst, heat and cold, mud and dust; he works as hard +as his cattle, never robs or is robbed; and whilst his betters in this +land put off every thing till to-morrow, except bankruptcy, _he_ is +punctual and honest." Mr. Ford's book will hardly find much favour in +the country of which it treats. It tells too many home truths. We have +heard his "Hand-book" found fault with by Spaniards, although it was +evident they were puzzled where to attack him, and equally so that their +hyper-critical censure of certain trifling inaccuracies, real or +imaginary, was merely a mode of venting their vexation at the +shrewdness, wit, and delicious impertinence with which he shows up the +national vices and foibles. He dives into the most secret recesses of +the Spanish character, and whilst admitting its good points, probes its +weakness with an unsparing hand. No people in the world entertain such +an arrogant overstrained good opinion of themselves and their country as +Spaniards. To hear them refer to Spain, one would imagine it to be the +first kingdom in the world, combining the advantages of all the most +civilized and flourishing countries in Europe. We here speak of the +masses; of course there is an enlightened and clear-sighted minority, +that sees and deplores its fallen condition. But the popular notion is +the other way. "Who says Spain, says every thing;" so runs the proverb. +And yet whilst they mouth about España, and exalt it, not in the way of +an empty boast, which the utterer believeth not, but in full conviction +of the good foundation of their vaunts, above all the kingdoms of the +earth, they are, in fact, the least homogeneous nation in +existence,--the least patriotic, in the comprehensive sense of the word. +Nowhere are distinctions of provinces so strongly marked, in no country +are so many antipathies to be found between inhabitants of different +districts. "Like the German, they may sing and spout about Fatherland: +in both cases the theory is splendid, but in practice each Spaniard +thinks his own province or town the best in the Peninsula, and himself +the finest fellow in it." The _patriotisme du clocher_, with which +French provincials have been reproached, but which, in France, the +system of centralisation has done so much to eradicate, the prejudice +which narrows a man's sympathies to his own country or department, is +extra-ordinarily conspicuous in Spaniards. It is traceable to various +causes; to the former divisions of the country, when it consisted of +several kingdoms, independent and jealous of each other; to want of +convenient communications and to the stay-at-home habits of the people; +and also to the unimportance of the capital, which title has been so +frequently transferred from city to city. When one Spaniard talks of +another as his countryman, he does not refer to their being both +Spaniards, but means that both are from the same province. "The much +used phrase, 'Españolismo,'" says Mr. Ford, who is very hard upon the +poor Dons on this head, "expresses rather a dislike of foreign +dictation, and the self-estimation of Spaniards, 'Españoles sobre +todos,' than any real patriotic love of country, however highly they +rate its excellencies and superiority to every other one under heaven." + +So much for a go off. We find this in the first chapter, and few of the +subsequent ones conclude without some similar rap on the knuckles for +the countrymen of Don Quixote; raps always dexterously applied, and in +most instances well deserved. On Spanish securities, (to use a +misnomer,) whether loan, land, or rail, and on the _unremitting_ +punctuality of Spanish finance ministers, Mr. Ford is particularly +severe, and not without good cause. The _Hispanica fides_ of the present +day may well rival the _Punica fides_ of the ancients. It has become as +proverbial. Painful is it to behold a people, possessing so many noble +qualities, held up to the scorn of surrounding nations for repeated acts +of dishonesty, which, under a good government, and with a proper +administration of their immense resources, they would never have been +tempted to perpetrate. Under the present plan, however, with their +absurd tariff, the parent of the admirably organised system of smuggling +that supplies the whole country with foreign commodities, and reduces +the customs revenue to a tithe of what it might be made, we see no +possible exit for Spain from the labyrinth of financial embarrassment in +which dishonesty and corruption have plunged her. She resembles a +reckless spendthrift, who, having exhausted his credit and ruined his +character amongst honest money-lenders, has been compelled to resort to +Jews and usurers, and who now, when the days of his hot youth and +uncalculating dissipation are past, and he wishes to redeem his +character and compound with his creditors, lacks resolution to +economise, and judgment to avail himself of, the resources of his +encumbered but fertile estates. The debts of Spain are stated by Mr. +Ford at about two hundred and eighty millions sterling, this estimate +being based on reports laid before parliament in 1844 by Mr. Macgregor. +The statement, however, whose possible exaggeration, owing to the +difficulty of getting at correct information, is admitted in the +"Gatherings," is fiercely contradicted by an anonymous correspondent, +whose letter Mr. Ford prints at the end of his volume. Some of the +assertions of this "Friend of Truth" (so he signs himself) are so +astonishing, as utterly to disprove his right to the title. According to +him, the whole Spanish debt is less than a fourth of the sum above set +down, the country is very rich, quite able to meet her trifling +engagements, and Spanish stock is a fortune to whomsoever is lucky +enough to possess it! After this, it was supererogatory on the part of +the unknown letter-writer to inform us that he is a large holder of the +valuable bonds he so highly esteems, and whose rise to their _proper_ +price, about 60 or 70, he confidently predicts. Crumbs of comfort these, +for the creditors of insolvent Spain. Nevertheless, Mr. Ford persists +in his incredulity as to the sunny prospects of Peninsular bond-holders; +and whilst hoping that the bright visions of his anonymous friend may be +fully and promptly realised, declares his extreme distaste for any thing +in the shape of Spanish stock, whether active, passive, or deferred. +"Beware," he says, in his pithy and convincing style, "of Spanish stock, +for, in spite of official records, _documentos_, and arithmetical mazes, +which, intricate as an Arabesque pattern, look well on paper without +being intelligible; in spite of ingenious conversions, fundings of +interest, &c. &c. the thimblerig is always the same. And this is the +question:--Since national credit depends on national good faith, and +surplus income, how can a country pay interest on debts, whose revenues +have long been, and now are, miserably insufficient for the ordinary +expenses of government? You cannot get blood from a stone; _ex nihilo +nihil fit_." After which warning, coming from such a quarter, sane +persons on the look-out for an investment will, we imagine, as soon +think of making it in Glenmutchkin railway shares, as in the dishonoured +paper of all-promising, non-performing Spain. + +The popular notion prevalent in England, and still more so in France, +that Spain is an unsafe country to travel in, is energetically combated +by Mr. Ford. It, of course, would be highly impolitic in the author of a +hand-book to admit that, in the country he described, the chances were +about equal whether a man got to his journey's end with a whole throat +or a cut one. But this consideration, we are sure, has had no weight +with Mr. Ford, both of whose books are equally adapted to amuse by an +English fireside or to be useful on a Spanish highway. His contempt for +the exaggerated statements and causeless terrors of tourists leads him, +however, rather into the opposite extreme. Believe him, and there is +scarcely a robber in the Peninsula, although he admits that thieves +abound, chiefly to be found in confessional boxes, lawyers' chambers, +and government offices. The _naiveté_ of the following is amusing:--He +speaks of travellers who, by scraping together and recording every idle +tale, gleaned from the gossip of muleteers and chatter of coffee-houses, +"keep up the notion entertained in many counties of England, that the +whole Peninsula is peopled with banditti. If such were the case society +could not exist." The assertion is undeniable. Equally so is it that in +a country where civil war so lately raged, and where, until a very +recent date, revolutions were still rife, where a large portion of the +population lives by the lawless and demoralising profession of +smuggling, where the police is bad, where roads are long and solitary +and mountains many, highwaymen must abound and travelling be unsafe. +That it is so, may be ascertained by a glance at any file of Spanish +newspapers. And the peculiar state of Spain, its liability to the petty +insurrections and desperate attempts of exiled parties and pretenders, +encourages the growth of robber bands, who cloak their villanous calling +with a political banner. These insurgents, Carlists, Progresista, or +whatsoever they may style themselves, act upon the broad principle that +those who are not with them are against them, and consequently are just +as dangerous and disagreeable to meet as mere vulgar marauders of the +"stand and deliver" sort, who fight upon their own account, without +pretending to defend the cause either of King or Kaiser, liberty or +absolutism. At the same time to believe, as many do, that of travellers +in Spain the unrobbed are the exceptions or even the minority, is a +gross absurdity, and the delusion arises from the romancing vein in +which scribbling tourists are apt to indulge. It is certain that nearly +all travellers, especially French ones, who take a run of a month or two +in the Peninsula, and subsequently print the eventful history of their +ramble, think it indispensable to introduce at least one robber +adventure, as having occurred to themselves or come within their +immediate cognisance. And if they cannot manage to get actually robbed, +positively put down with their noses in the mud, whilst their carpet +bags are rummaged, and their Chub-locks smashed by gloomy ruffians with +triple-charged blunderbusses, and knives like scythe-blades, they at +least get up a narrow escape. They encounter a troop of thorough-bred +bandits, unmistakable purse-takers, fellows with slouched hats, +truculent mustaches and rifle at saddle-bow, who lower at them from +beneath bushy brows, and are on the point of commencing hostilities, +when the well-timed appearance of a picket of dragoons, or perhaps the +bold countenance of the travellers themselves, makes them change their +purpose and ride surlily by. Mr. Ford shows how utterly groundless these +alarms usually are. Most Spaniards, when they mount their horses for a +journey, discard long-tailed coats and Paris hats, and revert in great +measure to the national costume as it is still to be found in country +places. A broad-brimmed, pointed hat, with velvet band and +trimmings--the genuine melodramatic castor--protects head and face from +the sun; a jacket, frequently of sheepskin, overalls, often of a +half-military cut and colour, and a red sash round the waist, compose +the habitual attire of Spanish wayfarers. Such a dress is not usual out +of Spain, and to French and English imaginations does not suggest the +idea of domestic habits and regular tax-paying. And when the cavaliers +thus accoutred possess olive or chocolate complexions, with dark +flashing eyes and a considerable amount of beard, and are elevated upon +demi-pique saddles, whose holsters may or may not contain "pistols as +long as my arm," whilst some of their number have perhaps fowling-pieces +slung on their shoulder, it is scarcely surprising if the English +Cockney or Parisian _badaud_ mistakes them for the banditti whom he has +dreamed about ever since he crossed the Bidassoa or landed at Cadiz. And +upon encounters of this kind, and incidents of very little more gravity, +repeated, distorted, and hugely exaggerated, are founded five-sixths of +the robber stories to which poor Spain is indebted for its popular +reputation of a country of cut-throats and highwaymen. + +Amongst the measures adopted for the extirpation of banditti, was the +establishment of the _guardias civiles_, a species of gendarmerie, +dressed upon the French model, and who, from their stations in towns, +patrol the roads and wander about the country in the same prying and +important style observable amongst their brethren of the cocked hat +north of the Pyrenees. Spaniards have a sneaking regard for bold +robbers, whom they look upon as half-brothers of the contrabandist--that +popular hero of the Peninsula: they have also an innate dislike of +policemen, and a still stronger one for every thing French. They have +bestowed upon the Frenchified _guardias_ the appellations of +_polizones_,--a word borrowed from their neighbours,--and of _hijos de +Luis Felipe_, sons of Louis Philippe. "Spaniards," saith Richard Ford, +"are full of dry humour;" he might have added, and of sharp wit. Nothing +escapes them: they are ever ready with a sarcasm on public men and +passing events, and when offended, especially when their pride is hurt, +they become savage in their satire. When it was attempted to force Count +Trapani upon Spain as a husband for the Queen, the indignation of the +people burst out in innumerable jokes and current allusions, any thing +but flattering to the Neapolitan prince. Every thing filthy and +disgusting received his name. In the Madrid coffee-houses, when a dirty +table was to be wiped, the cry was invariably for a _Trapani_, instead +of a _trapo_, the Spanish word for a dishclout or rag used for the most +unclean purposes. Since then, the Duke of Montpensier has come in for +his share of insulting jests. The Madrileños got all unfounded notion +that he was short-sighted, and made the most of it. Mr. Hughes was at a +bull-fight where one of the bulls showed the white feather, and ran from +the _picador_. "The crowd instantly exclaimed, '_Fuera el toro +Monpenseer! Fuera Monpenseer!_ Turn him out!' They used to call every +lame dog and donkey a _Trapani_; and now every blind animal is sure to +be christened a _Monpenseer_." + +If the danger to which peaceable travellers are exposed, in Spain, from +the knives of robbers, be considerably less than is generally believed, +great peril is often incurred at the hands of men who wield cutting +weapons professedly for the good of their species. The ignorance and +inefficiency of Spanish surgeons and physicians is notorious, and +admitted even by their countrymen, who, it has already been shown, are +not prone to expose the nakedness of the land. "The base, bloody, and +brutal _Sangrados_ of Spain," says Mr. Ford, "have long been the butts +of foreign and domestic novelists, who spoke many a true word in their +jests." The eagerness with which Spaniards have recourse to French and +English medical men whom chance throws in their way, proves how low they +estimate the skill and science of their professional countrymen. Many a +naval surgeon whose ship has been stationed on the Spanish coast, could +tell strange tales of the fatal ignorance he has had opportunity to +observe amongst the native faculty. It will be remembered how +Zumalacarregui, whose wound would have offered little difficulty to an +English village practitioner, was hurried out of the world by the +butchering manoeuvres of his conclave of Spanish quacks and _medicos_, +terms too often synonymous. And it may be remarked, that in Spain, where +there has been so much fighting during the last fifteen years, amputated +persons are more rarely met with than in countries that have enjoyed +comparative peace during the same period. The natural inference is, that +the unlucky soldier whose leg or arm has been shattered by the enemy's +fire, usually dies under the hands of unskilful operators. "All +Spaniards," Mr. Ford remarks, "are very dangerous with the knife, and +more particularly if surgeons. At no period were Spaniards careful even +of their own lives, and much less of those of others, being a people of +untender bowels." If the Peninsula surgeon is reckless and destructive +with his steel, the physician, on the other hand, is usually +overcautious with his drugs. Almond-milk and vegetable decoctions, +impotent to cure or aggravate disease, are prominent remedies in the +Spanish pharmacopoeia; minerals are looked upon with awe, and the +timid _tisane_ practice of the French school is exaggerated to +absurdity. Upon the principle of keeping edged tools out of the hands of +children, it is perhaps just as well that Spanish doctors do not venture +to meddle with the strong drugs commonly used in England. Left to +nature, with whose operation asses'-milk and herb-broth can in few cases +interfere, the invalid has at least a chance of cure. + +Unassailed by either variety of Spanish bloodletters, the doctor or the +bandit, Mr. Hughes pursued, in high spirits and great good humour, his +long and leisurely journey from Irun to Lisbon, _via_ Madrid. We left +him at Paris, strolling in the passages, dining with his friends of the +_Charivari_, frequenting the _foyer de l'opera_, leading, in short, +rather a gay life for a man in such delicate health; we take him up +again upon his own favourite battle-ground of the Peninsula, where we +like him far better than in the French metropolis. At Burgos he is in +great feather, winning hearts by the dozen, frightening the garrison by +sketching the fortress, waging a victorious warfare of words at the +_table-d'hôte_, and playing pranks which will doubtless cause him to be +long remembered in the ancient capital of Castile. There the maid of the +inn, a certain black-eyed Francisca, fell desperately in love with him, +and so far forgot maidenly reserve as to confess her flame. "She had +large and expressive eyes," says the fortunate man, "and had tried their +power on me repeatedly, and the like, I am bound to say, (in narrating +this truthful history,) did sundry Burgalese dames and damsels of more +pretensions and loftier state." These were far from being the sole +triumphs achieved at Burgos by this lover of truth, and loved-one of the +ladies. He managed to excite the suspicions of the whole population, +especially of the police, who set spies to dog him. He was taken for a +political agent, a propagandist, and at last for a diplomatist of the +first water, and secretary of legation at Madrid. The origin of these +suspicions was traceable to his disregard of a ridiculous and barbarous +prejudice, a relic of orientalism worthy of the Sandwich islanders, +still in force amongst Spaniards. "Nothing throughout the length and +breadth of the land"--we quote from Mr. Ford--"creates greater suspicion +or jealousy than a stranger's making drawings, or writing down notes in +a book; whoever is observed 'taking plans,' or 'mapping the +country,'--for such are the expressions of the simplest pencil +sketches,--is thought to be an engineer, a spy, or, at all events, to be +about no good." Mr. Hughes was caught taking notes; forthwith Burgos was +up in arms, whilst he, on discovering the sensation made by his +sketch-book, and by his free expression of political opinions, did his +utmost to increase the mysterious interest attached to him. He galloped +about the castle, book and pencil in hand, making imaginary sketches of +bastions and ravelins; he talked liberalism by the bushel, and raved +against the Montpensior alliance. The results of the triumphant logic +with which he electrified a brigadier-general, a colonel, and the whole +company at his hotel, are recorded by him in a note. It will be seen +that they were not unimportant. "I have the satisfaction to state that +the words which I said that day bore good fruit subsequently, for the +Ayuntamiento of Burgos declined to vote any taxation for extraordinary +expenses to commemorate the Duke of Montpensier's marriage." A dangerous +man is the overland traveller to Lisbon, and we are no way surprised +that, at Madrid, Señor Chico, chief of police, vouchsafed him his +special attention, and even called upon him to inquire whether he did +not intend to get up a commotion on the entrance of the Infanta's +bridegroom. Mr. Bulwer also, aware that a book was in embryo, and +anxious for a patronising word in its pages, paid his court to the +author by civilities, "all of which I carefully abstained from +accepting, except one formal dinner, to which I first declined going; +but, on receiving a renewal of the invitation, could not well refrain +from appearing.... I have had six years' experience of foreign +diplomatists, and know that the dinner was pressed on me a second time +for the very purpose of committing me to a particular line of +observation." After this, let any one tell us that Mr. Hughes has not +fulfilled his promise of being amusing. Unfettered by obligations, he +runs full tilt at poor Mr. Bulwer, the fatal error of whose career is, +he says, an excessive opinion of himself. This fault must be especially +odious to the author of the "Journey to Lisbon." The British ambassador +at Madrid, we are told, by his vanity and lack of energy, left full +scope for the active and tortuous intrigues of M. Bresson, who fairly +juggled and outmanoeuvred him. "The marriages were arranged in his +absence. He was not consulted on the question, nor was its decision +submitted to him; and when the news, on the following day, reached the +British legation, after having become previously known to the +metropolis, our minister was at Carabanchal! (one of his +country-houses.) Then, indeed, he became very active, and displayed much +_ex post facto_ energy, writing a series of diplomatic notes and +protests, in one of which he went the length of saying, 'Had he known +this result, he would have voted for Don Carlos instead of Queen +Isabel,'--for even the ambassador cannot lose sight of the +individual,--'when he (Mr. Bulwer) was member of Parliament!'" Did Mr. +Hughes _see_ this note or protest? Unless he did, we decline believing +that a man of Mr. Bulwer's talents and reputation would expose himself +to certain ridicule by so childish and undiplomatic a declaration. Such +loose and improbable statements need confirmation. + +Very graphic and interesting is Mr. Hughes' narrative of his journey +from Madrid to Portugal, especially that of the three days from Elvas to +Aldea Gallega, which were passed in a jolting springless cart, drawn by +mules, and driven by Senhor Manoel Alberto, a Portuguese carrier and +cavalheiro, poor in pocket, but proud as a grandee. Manoel was a good +study, an excellent specimen of his class and country, and as such his +employer exhibits him. At Arroyolos Mr. Hughes ordered a stewed fowl for +dinner, and made his charioteer sit down and partake. "I soon had +occasion to repent my politeness, for Manoel, without hesitation, +plunged his fork into the dish, and drank out of my glass; and great was +his surprise when I called for another tumbler, and, extricating as much +of the fowl as I chose to consume, left him in undisturbed possession of +the remainder." His next meal Mr. Hughes thought proper to eat alone, +but sent out half his chicken to the muleteer. "He refused to touch it, +saying that he had ordered a chicken for himself! This was a falsehood, +for he supped, as I afterwards ascertained, on a miserable _sopa_, but +his pride would not permit him to touch what was given in a way that +indicated inferiority." In his rambles through Alemtejo, a province +little visited and not often described by Englishmen, Mr. Hughes exposes +some of the blunders of Friend Borrow, of Bible and gipsy celebrity, +whose singularly attractive style has procured for his writings a +popularity of which their mistatements and inaccuracies render them +scarcely worthy. He refers especially to the absurd notion of the +English _caloro_, that the Portuguese will probably some day adopt the +Spanish language; a most preposterous idea, when we remember the +shyness, not to say the antipathy, existing between the two nations, and +the immense opinion each entertains of itself and all belonging to it. +He regrets "that one who has so stirring a style should take refuge in +bounce and exaggeration from the honourable task of candid and searching +observation, and prefer the fame of a Fernão Mendez Pinto to that of an +honest and truthful writer." With respect to exaggeration, Mr. Borrow +might, if so disposed, retaliate on his censor, who, whilst wandering in +the olive groves of Venda do Duque, encounters "black ants as large +almost as _figs_, unmolested in the vivid sun-beam." Before such +monsters as these, the terrible _termes fatalis_ of the Indies, which +undermines houses and breakfasts upon quarto volumes, must hide its +diminished head. A misprint can scarcely be supposed, unless indeed an +_f_ has been substituted for a _p_, which would not mend the matter. +Apropos of Mr. Borrow: it appears that the ill success of his tract and +Testament crusade did not entirely check missionary zeal for the +spiritual amelioration of the Peninsula. His followers, however, met +with small encouragement. One of their clever ideas was to bottle +tracts, throw them into the sea, and allow them to be washed ashore! +This ingenious plan, adopted before Cadiz, did not answer, "first," says +Mr. Hughes, who, we must do him the justice to say, is a stanch foe to +humbug, "because the bottling gave a ludicrous colour to the +transaction; and, secondly, for the conclusive reason, that Cadiz, being +surrounded by fortified sea walls, mounted with frowning guns and +sentries, the bottles never reached the inhabitants." + +Whilst touching on Portuguese literature, Mr. Hughes refers to what he +considers the depreciating spirit of English critics. "There is a +ludicrous difference," he says, "in the criticism of London and Lisbon. +Every thing is condemned in the former place, and every thing hailed +with rapture in the latter. There are faults on both sides." We have +been informed that previous literary efforts of the author of the +"Overland Journey" met, at the hands of certain reviewers, with rougher +handling than they deserved. His present book is certainly not so +cautiously written as to guarantee it against censure. The good that is +in it, which is considerable, is defaced by triviality and bad taste. We +shall not again dilate on faults to which we have already adverted, but +merely advise Mr. Hughes, when next he sits down to record his rambles, +to eschew flimsy and unpalatable gossip, and, bearing in mind Lord +Bacon's admonition to travellers, to be "rather advised in his discourse +than forward to tell stories." + + + + +TO THE STETHOSCOPE + + "Tuba mirum spargens sonum." + _Dies Iræ._ + +[The Stethoscope, as most, probably, of our readers are aware, is a +short, straight, wooden tube, shaped like a small post-horn. By means of +it, the medical man can listen to the sounds which accompany the +movements of the lungs and heart; and as certain murmurs accompany the +healthy action of these organs, and certain others mark their diseased +condition, an experienced physician can readily discover not only the +extent, but also the nature of the distemper which afflicts his patient, +and foretell more or less accurately the fate of the latter. + +The Stethoscope has long ceased to excite merely professional interest. +There are few families to whom it has not proved an object of horror and +the saddest remembrance, as connected with the loss of dear relatives, +though it is but a revealer, not a producer of physical suffering. + +As an instrument on which the hopes and fears, and one may also say the +destinies of mankind, so largely hang, it appears to present a fit +subject for poetic treatment. How far the present attempt to carry out +this idea is successful, the reader must determine.] + + + STETHOSCOPE! thou simple tube, + Clarion of the yawning tomb, + Unto me thou seem'st to be + A very trump of doom. + + Wielding thee, the grave physician + By the trembling patient stands, + Like some deftly skilled musician; + Strange! the trumpet in his hands. + Whilst the sufferer's eyeball glistens + Full of hope and full of fear, + Quietly he bends and listens + With his quick, accustomed ear-- + Waiteth until thou shalt tell + Tidings of the war within: + In the battle and the strife, + Is it death, or is it life, + That the fought-for prize shall win? + + Then thou whisperest in his ear + Words which only he can hear-- + Words of wo and words of cheer. + Jubilatés thou hast sounded, + Wild exulting songs of gladness; + Misererés have abounded + Of unutterable sadness. + Sometimes may thy tones impart, + Comfort to the sad at heart; + Oftener when thy lips have spoken, + Eyes have wept, and hearts have broken. + + Calm and grave physician, thou + Art like a crownéd KING; + Though there is not round thy brow + A bauble golden ring, + As a Czar of many lands, + Life and Death are in thy hands. + Sceptre-like, that Stethoscope + Seemeth in thy hands to wave: + As it points, thy subject goeth + Downwards to the silent grave; + Or thy kingly power to save + Lifts him from a bed of pain, + Breaks his weary bondage-chain, + And bids him be a man again. + + Like a PRIEST beside the altar + Bleeding victims sacrificing, + Thou dost stand, and dost not falter + Whatsoe'er their agonising: + Death lifts up his dooming finger, + And the Flamen may not linger! + + PROPHET art thou, wise physician, + Down the future calmly gazing, + Heeding not the strange amazing + Features of the ghastly vision. + Float around thee shadowy crowds, + Living shapes in coming shrouds;-- + Brides with babes, in dark graves sleeping + That still sleep which knows no waking; + Eyes all bright, grown dim with weeping; + Hearts all joy, with anguish breaking; + Stalwart men to dust degraded; + Maiden charms by worms invades; + Cradle songs as funeral hymns; + Mould'ring bones for living limbs; + Stately looks, and angel faces, + Loving smiles, and winning graces, + Turned to skulls with dead grimaces. + All the future, like a scroll, + Opening out, that it may show, + Like the ancient Prophet's roll, + Mourning, lamentation, anguish, + Grief, and every form of wo. + + On a couch with kind gifts laden, + Flowers around her, books beside her, + Knowing not what shall betide her, + Languishes a gentle maiden. + Cold and glassy is her bright eye, + Hectic red her hollow cheek, + Tangled the neglected ringlets, + Wan the body, thin and weak; + Like thick cords, the swelling blue veins + Shine through the transparent skin; + Day by day some fiercer new pains + Vex without, or war within: + Yet she counts it but a passing, + Transient, accidental thing; + Were the summer only here, + It would healing bring! + And with many a fond deceit + Tries she thus her fears to cheat: + "When the cowslip's early bloom + Quite hath lost its rich perfume; + When the violet's fragrant breath + Tasted have the lips of death; + When the snowdrop long hath died, + And the primrose at its side + In its grave is sleeping; + When the lilies all are over, + And amongst the scented clover + Merry lambs are leaping; + When the swallow's voice is ringing + Through the echoing azure dome, + Saying, 'From my far-off home + I have come, my wild way winging + O'er the waves, that I might tell, + As of old, I love ye well. + Hark! I sound my silver bell; + All the happy birds are singing + From each throat + A merry note, + Welcome to my coming bringing.' + When that happy time shall be, + From all pain and anguish free, + I shall join you, full of life and full of glee." + + Then, thou fearful Stethoscope! + Thou dost seem thy lips to ope, + Saying, "Bid farewell to hope: + I foretell thee days of gloom, + I pronounce thy note of doom-- + Make thee ready for the tomb! + Cease thy weeping, tears avail not, + Pray to God thy courage fail not. + He who knoweth no repenting, + Sympathy or sad relenting, + Will not heed thy sore lamenting-- + Death, who soon will be thy guide + To his couch, will hold thee fast; + As a lover at thy side + Will be with thee to the last, + Longing for thy latest gasp, + When within his iron grasp + As his bride he will thee clasp." + + Shifts the scene. The Earth is sleeping, + With her weary eyelids closed, + Hushed by darkness into slumber; + Whilst in burning ranks disposed, + High above, in countless number, + All the heavens, in radiance steeping, + Watch and ward + And loving guard + O'er her rest the stars are keeping. + + Often has the turret-chime + Of the hasty flight of time + Warning utterance given; + And the stars are growing dim + On the gray horizon's rim, + In the dawning light of heaven. + But there sits, the Bear out-tiring, + As if no repose requiring, + One pale youth, all unattending + To the hour; with bright eye bending + O'er the loved and honoured pages, + Where are writ the words of sages, + And the heroic deeds and thoughts of far distant ages. + + Closed the book, + With gladsome look + Still he sits and visions weaveth. + Fancy with her wiles deceiveth; + Days to come with glory gildeth; + And though all is bleak and bare, + With perversest labour buildeth + Wondrous castles in the air. + He who shall possess each palace, + Fortune has for him no malice, + Only countless joys in store: + Over rim, + And mantling brim, + His full cup of life shall pour. + Whilst he dreams, + The future seems + Like the present spread before him: + Nought to fear him, + All to cheer him, + Coming greatness gathers o'er him; + And into the ear of Night + Thus he tells his visions bright:-- + + "I shall be a glorious Poet! + All the wond'ring world shall know it, + Listening to melodious hymning; + I shall write immortal songs. + + "I shall be a Painter limning + Pictures that shall never fade; + Round the scenes I have portrayed + Shall be gathered gazing throngs: + Mine shall be a Titian's palette! + + "I shall wield a Phidias' mallet! + Stone shall grow to life before me, + Looks of love shall hover o'er me, + Beauty shall in heart adore me + That I make her charms immortal. + Now my foot is on the portal + Of the house of Fame: + Soon her trumpet shall proclaim + Even this now unhonoured name, + And the doings of this hand + Shall be known in every land. + + "Music! my bewitching pen + Shall enchant the souls of men. + Aria, fugue, and strange sonata, + Opera, and gay cantata, + Through my brain, + In linkéd train, + Hark! I hear them winding go, + Now with half-hushed whisper stealing, + Now in full-voiced accent pealing, + Ringing loud, and murmuring low. + Scarcely can I now refrain, + Whilst these blessed notes remain, + From pouring forth one undying angel-strain. + + "Eloquence! my lips shall speak + As no living lips have spoken-- + Advocate the poor and weak, + Plead the cause of the heart-broken; + Listening senates shall be still, + I shall wield them at my will, + And this little tongue, the earth + With its burning words shall fill. + + "Ye stars which bloom like flowers on high, + Ye flowers which are the stars of earth, + Ye rocks that deep in darkness lie, + Ye seas that with a loving eye + Gaze upwards on the azure sky, + Ye waves that leap with mirth; + Ye elements in constant strife, + Ye creatures full of bounding life: + I shall unfold the hidden laws, + And each unthought-of wondrous cause, + That waked ye into birth. + A high-priest I, by Nature taught + Her mysteries to reveal: + The secrets that she long hath sought + In darkness to conceal + Shall have their mantle rent away, + And stand uncovered to the light of day. + O Newton! thou and I shall be + Twin brothers then! + Together link'd, our names shall sound + Upon the lips of men." + + Like the sullen heavy boom + Of a signal gun at sea, + When athwart the gathering gloom, + Awful rocks are seen to loom + Frowning on the lee; + Like the muffled kettle-drum, + With the measured tread, + And the wailing trumpet's hum, + Telling that a soldier's dead; + Like the deep cathedral bell + Tolling forth its doleful knell, + Saying, "Now the strife is o'er, + Death hath won a victim more"-- + So, thou doleful Stethoscope! + Thou dost seem to say, + "Hope thou on against all hope, + Dream thy life away: + Little is there now to spend; + And that little's near an end. + Saddest sign of thy condition + is thy bounding wild ambition; + Only dying eyes can gaze on so bright a vision. + Ere the spring again is here, + Low shall be thy head, + Vainly shall thy mother dear, + Strive her breaking heart to cheer, + Vainly strive to hide the tear + Oft in silence shed. + Pangs and pains are drawing near, + To plant with thorns thy bed: + Lo! they come, a ghastly troop, + Like fierce vultures from afar; + Where the bleeding quarry is, + There the eagles gathered are! + Ague chill, and fever burning, + Soon away, but swift returning, + In unceasing alternation; + Cold and clammy perspiration, + Heart with sickening palpitation, + Panting, heaving respiration; + Aching brow, and wasted limb, + Troubled brain, and vision dim, + Hollow cough like dooming knell + Saying, 'Bid the world farewell!' + Parchéd lips, and quenchless thirst, + Every thing as if accurst; + Nothing to the senses grateful; + All things to the eye grown hateful; + Flowers without the least perfume; + Gone from every thing its bloom; + Music but an idle jangling; + Sweetest tongues but weary wrangling; + Books, which were most dearly cherished, + Come to be, each one, disrelished; + Clearest plans grown all confusion; + Kindest friends but an intrusion: + Weary day, and weary night-- + Weary night, and weary day; + Would God it were the morning light! + Would God the light were pass'd away! + And when all is dark and dreary, + And thou art all worn and weary, + When thy heart is sad and cheerless, + And thine eyes are seldom tearless, + When thy very soul is weak, + Satan shall his victim seek. + Day by day he will be by thee, + Night by night will hover nigh thee, + With accursed wiles will try thee, + Soul and spirit seek to buy thee. + Faithfully he'll keep his tryst, + Tell thee that there is no Christ, + No long-suffering gracious Father, + But an angry tyrant rather; + No benignant Holy Spirit, + Nor a heaven to inherit, + Only darkness, desolation, + Hopelessness of thy salvation, + And at best annihilation. + + "God with his great power defend thee! + Christ with his great love attend thee! + May the blessed Spirit lend thee + Strength to bear, and all needful succour send thee!" + Close we here. My eyes behold, + As upon a sculpture old, + Life all warm and Death all cold + Struggling which alone shall hold-- + Sign of wo, or sign of hope!-- + To his lips the Stethoscope. + + But the strife at length is past, + They have made a truce at last, + And the settling die is cast. + Life shall sometimes sound a blast, + But it shall be but "Tantivy," + Like a hurrying war reveillie, + Or the hasty notes that levy + Eager horse, and man, and hound, + On an autumn morn, + When the sheaves are off the ground, + And the echoing bugle-horn + Sends them racing o'er the scanty stubble corn. + But when I a-hunting go, + I, King Death, + I that funeral trump shall blow + With no bated breath. + Long drawn out, and deep and slow + Shall the wailing music go; + Winding horn shall presage meet + Be of coming winding-sheet, + And all living men shall know + That beyond the gates of gloom, + In my mansions of the tomb, + I for every one keep room, + And shall hold and house them all, till the very + Day of Doom. + + V. V. + + + + +EPIGRAMS. + + + Bait, hook, and hair, are used by angler fine; + Emma's bright hair alone were bait, hook, line. + + * * * * * + +Faraday was the first to elicit the electric spark from the magnet; he +found that it is visible at the instants of breaking and of renewing the +contact of the conducting wires; and _only then_. + + Around the magnet, Faraday + Is sure that Volta's lightnings play; + But _how_ to draw them from the wire? + He took a lesson from the heart: + 'Tis when we meet, 'tis when we part, + Breaks forth the electric fire. + + M. + + + + +LETTERS ON THE TRUTHS CONTAINED IN POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. + +1.--THE DIVINING ROD. + + +_February_, 1847. + +DEAR ARCHY,--As a resource against the long ennui of the solitary +evenings of commencing winter, I determined to betake me to the +neglected lore of the marvellous, the mystical, the supernatural. I +remembered the deep awe with which I had listened many a year ago to +tales of seers, and ghosts, and vampires, and all the dark brood of +night; and I thought it would be infinitely agreeable to thrill again +with mysterious terrors, to start in my chair at the closing of a +distant door, to raise my eyes with uneasy apprehension towards the +mirror opposite, and to feel my skin creep with the sensible "afflatus" +of an invisible presence. I entered, accordingly, upon what I thought a +very promising course of appalling reading; but, alack and well-a-day! a +change has come over me since the good old times, when Fancy, with Fear +and Superstition behind her, would creep on tiptoe to catch a shuddering +glimpse of Cobbold Fay, or Incubus. Vain were all my efforts to revive +the pleasant horrors of earlier years. It was as if I had planned going +to the play to enjoy again the full gusto of scenic illusion, and +through some unaccountable absence of mind, was attending a morning +rehearsal only; when, instead of what I had expected, great coats, hats, +umbrellas, and ordinary men and women, masks, tinsel, trap-doors, +pulleys, and a world of intricate machinery, lit by a partial gleam of +sunshine, had met my view. The spell I had anticipated was not there. +But yet the daylight scene was worth a few minutes' study. My +imagination was not to be gratified; but still it might be entertaining +to see how the tricks are done, the effects produced, the illusion +realised. I found myself insensibly growing philosophical; what amused +me became matter of speculation--speculation turned into serious +inquiry--the object of which shaped itself into "the amount of truth +contained in popular superstitions." For what has been believed for ages +must have something real at bottom. There can be no prevalent delusion +without a corresponding truth. If the dragons, that flew on scaly wings +and expectorated flames, were fabulous, there existed nevertheless very +respectable reptiles, which it was a credit to a hero or even a saint to +destroy. If the Egyptian worship of cats and onions was a mistake, there +existed nevertheless an object of worship. + +Among the immortal productions of the Scottish Shakspeare,--you smile, +but _that_ phrase contains the true belief, not a popular delusion; for +the spirit of the poet lived not in the form of his productions, but in +his creative power and vivid intuition of nature; and the form even is +often nearer you than you think: See the works of imaginative prose +writers, _passim_. + +Well, among the novels of Scott, I was going to say, none perhaps more +grows upon our preference than the Antiquary. In no one has the great +Author more gently and more indulgently, never with happier humour, +displayed the mixed web of strength and infirmity of human character, +(never, besides, with more facile power evoked pathos and terror, or +disported himself in the sublimity and beauty of nature.) Yet gentle as +is his mood, he misses not the opportunity, albeit in general he betrays +an honest leaning towards old superstitions, mercilessly to crush one of +the humblest. Do you remember the Priory of St. Ruth, and the pleasant +summer party made to visit it, and the preparation for the subsequent +rogueries of Dousterswivel, in the tale of Martin Waldeck, and the +discovery of a spring of water by means of the divining rod? + +I am disposed, do you know, to rebel against the judgment of the +novelist on this occasion,--to take the part of the charlatan against +the author of his being, and to question, whether his performance last +alluded to might not have been something more and better than a trick. +Yet I know not if it is prudent to brave public opinion, which has +stamped this pretension as imposture. But, courage! I will not flinch. I +will be desperate, with Sir Arthur, defy the sneeze of the great +Pheulphan, and trust to unearth a real treasure in this discredited +ground. + +Therefore leave off appealing to the shade of Oldbuck, and listen to a +plain narrative, and you shall hear how much truth there is in the +reputed popular delusion of the divining rod. + +I see my tone of confidence has already half-staggered your disbelief; +but pray do not, like many other incredulous gentry, run off at once +into the opposite extreme. Don't let your imagination suddenly instal +you perpetual chairman of the universal fresh-water company, or of the +general gold-mine-discovery-proprietary-association. What I have to fell +you falls very far short of so splendid a mark. + +But perhaps you know nothing at all about the divining rod. Then I will +enlighten your primitive ignorance. + +You are to understand, that, in mining districts, a superstition +prevails among the people, that some are gifted with an occult power of +detecting the proximity of veins of metal, and of underground springs of +water. In Cornwall, they hold that about one in forty possesses this +faculty. The mode, of exercising it is very simple. They cut a hazel +twig that forks naturally into two equal branches; and having stripped +the leaves off, they cut the stump of the twig, to the length of three +or four inches, and each branch to the length of a foot or something +less: for the end of a branch is meant to be held in each hand, in such +a manner that the stump of the twig may project straight forwards. The +position is this: the elbows are bent, the forearms, and hands advanced, +the knuckles turned downwards, the ends of the branches come out between +the thumbs and roots of the forefingers, the hands are supinated, the +inner side of each is turned towards its fellow, as they are held a few +inches apart. The mystic operator, thus armed, walks over the ground he +intends exploring, with the full expectation, that, when he passes over +a vein of metal, or underground spring of water, the hazel fork will +move spontaneously in his hands, the point or stump rising or falling as +the case may be. This hazel fork is the DIVINING ROD. The hazel has the +honour of being preferred, because it divides into nearly equal branches +at angles the nearest equal. + +Then, assuming that there is something in this provincial superstition, +four questions present themselves to us for examination. + +Does the divining fork really move of itself in the hands of the +operator, and not through motion communicated to it by the intentional +or unintentional action of the muscles of his hands or arms? + +What relation has the person of the operator to the motion observed in +the divining rod? + +What is the nature of the influence to which the person of the operator +serves as a conductor? + +Finally, what is the thing divined? the proximity of veins of metal or +of running water? what or what not? + +Then, let me at once premise, that upon the last point I have no +information to offer. The uses to which the divining fork may be turned, +are yet to be learned. But I think I shall be able to satisfy you, that +the hazel fork in some hands, and in certain localities, held as I have +described, actually moves spontaneously, and that the intervention of +the human body is necessary to its motion; and that it serves as a +conductor to an influence, which is either electricity, or something +either combined with electricity, or very much resembling that principle +in some of its habitudes. + +I should observe, that I was no wiser than you are upon this subject, +till the summer of 1843, and held the tales told of the divining rod to +be nonsense, the offspring of mere self-delusion, or of direct +imposture. And I think the likeliest way of removing _your_ disbelief, +will be to tell you the steps by which my own conversion took place. + +In the summer of 1843, I lived some months under the same roof with a +Scottish gentleman, well informed, of a serious turn of mind, endowed +with the national allowance of caution, shrewdness, and intelligence. I +saw a good deal of him; and one day by accident the subject of the +divining rod was mentioned. He told me that at one time his curiosity +having been raised upon the subject, he had taken pains to learn what +there was in it. And for that purpose he had obtained an introduction to +Mrs. R., sister of Sir G. R., then residing at Southampton, whom he +learned to be one of those in whose hands the divining rod was said to +move. He visited the lady, who was polite enough to show him what the +performance amounted to, and to answer all his questions, and to allow +him to try some simple experiment to test the reality of the phenomenon +and its nature. + +Mrs. R. told my friend, that being at Cheltenham in 1806, she saw for +the first time the divining rod used by the late Mrs. Colonel Beaumont, +who possessed the power of imparting motion to it in a very remarkable +degree. Mrs. R. tried the experiments herself at the time, but without +any success. She was, as it happened, very far from well. Afterwards, in +the year 1815, being asked by a friend how the divining rod was held, +and how it is to be used, on showing it she observed that the hazel fork +moved in her hands. Since then, whenever she had repeated the +experiment, the power has always manifested itself, though with varying +degrees of energy. + +Mrs. R. then took my friend to a part of the shrubbery, where she knew, +from former trials, the divining rod would move in her hands. It did so, +to my friend's extreme astonishment; and even continued to do so, when, +availing himself of Mrs. R.'s permission, my friend grasped her hands +with such firmness, as to preclude the possibility of any muscular +action of her wrist or fingers influencing the result. + +On another day my friend took with him pieces of copper and iron wire +about a foot and a half long, bent something into the form of the letter +V, with length enough in the horizontal limbs of the figure to form a +sufficient _handle_ for either branch of these new-fashioned divining +forks. He found that these instruments moved quite as freely in Mrs. +R.'s hands as the hazel fork had done. Then he coated the two handles of +one of them with sealing-wax, leaving, however, the extreme ends free +and uncovered. When Mrs. R. used the rod so prepared, grasping it by the +parts alone which were coated with sealing-wax, and walked over the same +piece of ground as before, the wires exhibited no movement whatever. As +often, however, as, with no greater change than touching the free ends +of the wire with her thumbs, Mrs. R. established again a direct contact +with the instrument, it again moved. The motion again ceased, as often +as that direct contact was interrupted. + +This simple narrative, made to me by the late Mr. George Fairholm, +carried conviction to my mind of the reality of the phenomenon. I asked +my friend why he had not pursued the subject further. He said he had +often thought of doing so; and had, he believed, been mainly prevented +by meeting with a work of the Count de Tristan, entitled, "Recherches +sur quelques Effluves Terrestres," published at Paris in 1826, in which +facts similar to those which he had himself verified were narrated, and +a vast body of additional curious experiments detailed. + +At my friend's instance, I sent to Paris for the book, which I have, +however, only recently read through. I recommend it to your perusal, if +the subject should happen to interest your wayward curiosity. Any thing +like an elaborate analysis of it is out of the question in a letter of +this sort; but I shall borrow from it a few leading facts and +observations, which, at all events, will surprise you. I am afraid, +after all, I should have treated the Count as a visionary, and not have +yielded to his statements the credence they deserve, but for the good +British evidence I had already heard in favour of their trustworthiness; +and still I suspect that I should have imagined many of the details +fanciful had I perused them at an earlier period than the present; for, +it is but lately that I have read Von Reichenbach's experiments on the +action of crystals, and of what not, upon sensitive human bodies; a +series of phenomena utterly unlike those explored by the Count de +Tristan, but which have, nevertheless, the most curious analogy and +interesting points of contact with them, confirmatory of the truth of +both. + +But permit me to introduce you to the Count: he shall tell you his own +tale in his own way; but as he does not speak English, at least in his +book, I must serve as dragoman. + +"The history of my researches is simply this:--Some twenty years ago, a +gentleman who, from his position in society, could have no object to +gain by deception, showed to me, for my amusement, the movements of the +divining rod. He attributed the motion to the influence of a current of +water, which I thought no unlikely supposition. But my attention was +rather engaged with the action produced by the influence, let that be +what it might. My informant assured me he had met with many others, +through whom similar effects were manifested. When I was returned home, +and had opportunities of making trials under favourable circumstances, I +found that I possessed the same endowment myself. Since then I have +induced many to make the experiment; and I have found a fourth, or at +all events a fifth of the number, capable of setting the divining rod in +motion at the very first attempt. Since that time, during these twenty +years, I have often tried my hand, but for amusement only, and +desultorily, and without any idea of making the thing an object of +scientific investigation. But at length, in the year 1822, being in the +country, and removed from my ordinary pursuits, the subject again came +across me, and I then determined to ascertain the cause of these +phenomena. Accordingly, I commenced a long series of experiments, from +1500 to 1800 in number, which occupied me nearly fifteen months. The +results of above 1200 were noted down at the time of their performance." + +The scene of the Count's operations was in the valley of the Loire, five +leagues from Vendôme, in the park of the Chateau de Ranac. The surface +of ground which gave the desired results, was from 70 to 80 feet in +breadth. But there was another spot equally efficient near the Count's +ordinary residence at Emerillon, near Clery, four leagues southwest of +Orleans, ten leagues south of the Loire, at the commencement of the +plains of Sologne. The surface was from north to south, and was about of +the same breadth with the other. These _exciting tracts_ form, in +general, bands or zones of undetermined, and often very great length. +Their breadth is very variable. Some are only three or four feet across, +while others are one hundred paces. These tracts are sometimes sinuous +and sometimes ramify. To the most susceptible they are broader than to +those who are less so. + +The Count thus describes what happens when a competent person, armed +with a hazel fork, walks over these _exciting_ districts. + +When two or three steps have been made upon the exciting tract of +ground, the fork (which I have already said is to be held horizontally +with its central angle forward,) begins gently to ascend; it gradually +attains a vertical position--sometimes it passes beyond that, and +lowering itself with its point towards the chest of the operator, it +becomes again horizontal. If the motion continue, the rod, descending, +becomes vertical with the angle downwards. Finally, the rod may again +ascend and reassume its first horizontal position, having thus completed +a revolution. When the action is very lively, the rod immediately +commences a second revolution; and so it goes on as long as the operator +walks over the exciting surface of ground. + +It is to be understood that the operator does not grasp the handles of +the fork so tightly but that they may turn in his hands. If, indeed, he +tries to prevent this, and the fork is only of hazel twig, the rotatory +force is so strong as to twist it at the handles and crack the bark, and +finally, fracture the wood itself. + +I can imagine you at this statement endeavouring to hit the proper +intonation of the monosyllable "Hugh," frequently resorted to by Uncas, +the son of Chingachkook, as well as by his parent, on similar occasions; +though I remember to have read of none so trying in their experience. I +anticipate the remarks you would subsequently make, which the graver +Indian would have politely repressed:--"By my patience, this bangs +Banagher, and exhausts credulity. The assertion of these dry +impossibilities is too choking to listen to. The fork cannot go down in +this crude and unprotected state. It is as inconvenient a morsel as the +'Amen' inopportunely suggested to the conscience-stricken Macbeth. +Cannot you contrive some intellectual cookery to make the process of +deglutition easier? Suppose you mix the raw facts with some flowery +hypothesis, throw in a handful of familiar ideas to give a congenial +flavour, and stir into the mess some leaven of stale opinion to make it +rise; so, do try your hand at a philosophical soufflé." + +_Do manus._ + +Then you are to imagine that a current of electricity, or of something +like it, may use your legs as conductors, as you walk over the soil from +which it emanates, the circuit which it seeks being completed through +your arms and the divining rod. + +Nothing, then, would be more likely, upon analogy,--the extreme part of +the current traversing a _curved_ and movable conductor,--than that the +latter should be attracted or repelled, or both alternately, by or from +the soil below, or by your person, or both. + +And see, what would render such an explanation plausible? Why, the +cessation of the rotatory motion of the divining fork, on the operator +simultaneously holding in his hands a _straight_ rod of the same +substance,--that is, conjointly with the other,--offering a shorter road +to the journeying fluid, and so superseding the movable one. Well, the +Count de Tristan did this, and the result was conformable to the +hypothesis. When he walked over the exciting soil, with two rods held in +his two hands, the one a hazel fork, the other a straight hazel twig, no +motion whatever manifested itself in the former. + +I flatter myself, that if you now continue to disbelieve, the fault is +not mine: the fault must lie in your organisation. You must have a very +small bump of credulity, and a very large bump of incredulity. You must +be, actively and passively, incapable of receiving new ideas. How on +earth did you get your old ones?--They must come by entail. But you are +still a disbeliever? + +Bless me! how am I to proceed? I catch at the slenderest straw of +analogical suggestion. I have heard that the best cure, when you have +burned your finger, is to hold it to the fire. Let me try a +corresponding proceeding with you. My first statement has sadly +irritated and blistered your belief; oblige me by trying the soothing +application of the following fact:-- + +Although, in general, the divining rod behaves with great gravity and +consistency, and looks contemplatively upward, when it comes upon +grounds that move it, and then twirls respectably round, as you might +twirl your thumbs in a tranquil continuity of rotation, yet there are +some--a small proportion only--in whose hands it gibs at starting, and +with whom it delights to go in the opposite direction. I say "delights" +considerately; for it has a voice in the matter. So that a divining rod +that has been used for some little time to go the wrong way, requires +further time before it will go round right again. + +The Count de Tristan found out the key to this anomaly. + +He had discovered that a thick cover of silk upon the handles of the +divining fork, like Mr. Fairholm's coating of sealing wax, entirely +arrested its motion. Then he tried thinner covers, and found they only +lowered, as it were, and lessened it. The thin layer of silk was only an +imperfect impediment to the transmission of the influence. Then he tried +the effect of covering one handle only of the divining rod with a thin +layer of silk stuff. He so covered the right handle, and then the enigma +above proposed was explained. The divining fork, which hitherto had gone +the usual way with him, commencing by ascending, now, when set in +motion, descended, and continued to perform an inverse rotation. + +I think this is the place for mentioning, that when the Count walked +over the exciting soil, rod in hand, but trailing likewise, from each +hand, a branch of the same plant, (which therefore touched the ground +with one end, and with the other touched, in his hand, the magic fork,) +the latter had lost its virtue. There is no motion when the ends of the +divining rod are in direct communication with the soil. The intervention +of the human body is necessary for our result. + +Then we are at liberty to suppose that the two sides of our frame have +some fine difference of quality; that there is in general a sort of +preponderance upon the right side; that in general, in reference to the +divining rod, there is a superior vigour of transmission in the right +side; that _this difference_, whatever it may be, of kind or degree, +determines a current, causes motion, in the unknown fluid, which, in a +simple arched conductor, with its ends upon the soil, remains in +equilibrium. To explain the result of the last experiment I have cited +of the Count de Tristan, no difference in quality in the two sides of +the body need be assumed. Difference in conducting power alone will do. +Then it might be said, that by covering the right handle of the divining +rod, he checked the current rushing through the right side of the frame, +and so gave predominance to the left current. One cannot help +conjecturally anticipating, by the way, that with left-handed diviners, +the divining rod will be found habitually to move the wrong way. + +But it will not do _now_, to let this indication of a curious +physiological element pass slurred over and unheeded,--this evidence so +singularly furnished by the Count de Tristan's experiments, of a +positive difference between the right and left halves of the frame, as +if our bodies were the subjects of a transverse polarity. I expect it is +too late to pass over now any such facts, the very genuineness of which +derives confirmation, from their pointing to a conclusion so new to, and +unexpected by their observer, yet recently made certain through an +entirely different order of phenomena, observed by one clearly not +cognisant of the Count de Tristan's researches. + +I allude to the investigations of the Baron Freyherr von Reichenbach, +published in Wohler and Liebig's "Annals of Chemistry," and already +translated for the benefit of the English reader, and familiar to the +reading public. + +I take it for granted, Archy, that you have read the book I refer to, +and that I have only to bring to your recollection two or three of the +facts mentioned in it, bearing upon the present point. + +Then you remember that Von Reichenbach has shown, that the two ends of a +large crystal, moved along and near the surface of a limb, in certain +sensitive subjects, produced decided but different sensations, one that +of a draught of cool air, the other of a draught of warm air. That the +proximity of the northward pole of a magnet again produces the former, +of the southward pole the latter; of the negative wire of a voltaic +pile, the former, of the positive wire, the latter; finally, that _the +two hands_ are equally and similarly efficient, the right acting like +the negative influence, the left like the positive, of those above +specified. Von Reichenbach came to the conclusion, from these and other +experiments, that the two lateral halves of the human body have opposite +relations to the influence, the existence of which he has proved, while +he has in part developed its laws. And he throws out the very idea of a +transverse polarity reigning in the animal frame. Do you remember, in +confirmation of it, one of the most curious experiments which he leads +Fräulein Maix to execute; valueless it might be thought if it stood +alone, but joined with parallel effects produced on others, its weight +is irresistible. Miss M. holds a bar magnet by its two ends. In any case +it is sensibly inconvenient to her to do so. But when she holds the +southward or positive pole of the magnet in her right hand, the +northward or negative pole in her left, the thing is bearable. When, on +the contrary, she reverses the position of the magnet, she immediately +experiences the most distressing uneasiness, and the feeling as of an +inward struggle in her arms, chest, and head. This ceases instantly on +letting go the magnet. + +I will not inflict upon you more of Von Reichenbach, though sorely +tempted, so much is there in common between his Od and the influence +investigated by the Count de Tristan. If you know the researches of the +former already, why _verbum sat_; if not, I had better not attempt +further to explain to you the _ignotum per ignotum_. + +And in truth, with reference to the divining rod, I have already given +my letter extension and detail enough for the purpose I contemplated, +and I will add no more. I had no intention of writing you a scientific +analysis of all that I believe to be really ascertained upon this +curious subject. My wish was only to satisfy you that there is something +in it. I have told you where you may find the principal collection of +facts elating to it, should you wish further to study them; most likely +you will not. The subject is yet in its first infancy. And what interest +attaches to a new-born babe, except in the eyes of its parents and its +nurse? I do not in the present instance affect even the latter relation. +I am contented with exercising the office of registrar of the births of +this and of two or three other as yet puling truths, the feeble voices +of which have hitherto attracted no attention, amidst the din and roar +of the bustling world. Hoping that I have not quite exhausted your +patience, I remain, Dear Archy, yours faithfully. + +MAC DAVUS. + + + + +HORÆ CATULLIANE. + +LETTER TO EUSEBIUS. + + +MY DEAR EUSEBIUS,--I have lately spent a few weeks with our old friend +Gratian, at his delightful retreat in Devonshire, which he has planted, +fenced, and cultivated, and made as much a part of himself in its every +fit and aspect as his own easy coat. You see him in every thing, in the +house and out of it. Cheerful, happy, kind, and best of men! Not an +animal in his stall, or his homestead, but partakes of his temper. His +horses neigh to you, his cows walk up to you, his pigs run to you, +rather disappointed, for you have not his stick to rub their backs with. +Rise in the early morning, when the dew is sparkling on the lawn, and +his spaniel greets you, runs round and round you with a bark of joyous +welcome; and even his cat will, as no other cat will, show you round the +gravel walks. And thrice happy are all when their expected master +appears, somewhat limping in his gait, (and how few, under his continual +pain, would preserve his cheerfulness as he does!) Every creature looks +up into his face as better than sunshine, and he forgets none. He has a +good word for all, and often more than that in his pockets. The alms +beggar, the Robin, is remembered and housed. There is his little +freehold of wood raised some feet from the ground opposite the breakfast +room window--an entrance both ways--there is he free to come and go, and +always find a meal laid for him. Happy bird, he pays neither window-tax +nor servant's tax, and yet who enjoys more daylight, or is better +served? + +Our good old friend still goes on improving this and improving that--has +his little farm and his garden all in the highest perfection. Nor is the +_least_ care bestowed on the greenhouse, and the little aviary +adjoining; for here are objects of feminine pleasure, and he loves not +himself so well as he does the mistress of all, the mother and the +partner. O the terrestrial paradise, in which to wait old age, and still +enjoy, and breathe to the last the sunshiny breath of heaven, and feel +that all is blessed and blessing; for there is peace, and that is the +true name for goodness within! You shall have, my dear Eusebius, no +farther description. A drop-scene, however, is not amiss to any little +conversational drama. You may shift it, if you like, occasionally to the +small snug library--just such a one as you would have for such a +retreat. Our excellent friend took less part in our talk than we could +have wished; for it began generally at night, and his infirmity sent +him to bed early. But in spite of a little remnant of influenza, I and +the Curate often kept it up to a late hour, which you, Eusibius, will +construe into an _early_ one. Never mind; though, perhaps, it was +whispered to his discredit that the Curate kept bad hours. Those, +however, who _knew_ the fact did not keep better, and so he thought all +safe. How sweet and consoling is sometimes ignorance! + +Now, the Curate--let me introduce you,--"My dear Eusebius, the Curate, a +class man some year or two from Oxford--a true man, in a word, worthy of +this introduction to you, Eusebius." "Mr. Curate, my friend Eusebius; +see, don't trust to his gravity of years; it is quite deceptive, and the +only deceit he has about him. He is Truth in sunshine and a fresh +healthy breeze. So now you know each other." I wish, Eusebius, this were +not a passage out of an imaginary conversation. Wait but for the +swallow, and you shall shake hands; and you, I know, will laugh merrily +within ten minutes after; and a laugh from you is as good as a ticket +upon your breast, "All is natural here;" and for the rest, let come what +will, that is uppermost. There will be no restraint. I cannot forbear, +Eusebius, writing to you now, early in this new year, paying you this +compliment, that your real conversations resemble in much "Landor's +Imaginary," which you tell me you so greatly admire. Full, indeed, are +they, these last two volumes, his works, of beautiful thoughts set off +with exquisitely appropriate eloquence. You are in a garden, and if you +do not always recognise the fruit as legitimate, you are quite as well +pleased to find it like Aladdin's, and would willingly store all, as he +did, in the bosom of your memory. Precious stones, bigger than plums and +peaches, are good for sore eyes, and something more, though they have +not the flavour of apricots. + +We--that is, the Trio--had been reading one evening; or rather, our +friend Gratian read to me and the Curate, the "Conversation with the +Abbé Delille and W. L." We loitered, too, in the reading, as we do when +the country is of a pleasant aspect, to look about us and admire--and we +interspersed our own little talk by the way. Our friend could not +consent that Catullus should walk with, and even, as it should seem, +take the lead of his favourite Horace. "Catullus and Horace," says +Landor, "will be read as long as Homer and Virgil, and more often, and +by more readers." + +"If," said the Curate, "Catullus were not nearly banished from our +public schools and our universities." + +"As he deserves," replied Gratian; "for although there is in him great +elegance, yet is there much that should not be read; and his most +beautiful and most powerful little poem, his 'Atys,' is in its very +subject unfit for schoolboys." + +CURATE.--Yes, if in the presence of a master; that makes the only +difficulty. The poem itself is essentially chaste, and of a grand tragic +action, and grave character--is in fact a serious poem, and as such any +youth may read it _to himself_, scarcely to another. The very subject +touches on that mystical, though natural sanctity that every uncorrupted +man is conscious of in the temple of his own person. To _impart_ a +thought of it is a deterioration. But a master must not hear it; and +even for a very inferior reason. He cannot be a critical instructor. + +GRATIAN.--You are right: that was a deep observation of Juvenal; it gave +the caution, + + "Maxima debetur pueris _reverentia_." + +I have often thought that good masters have ever shown very great tact +in reading the Classics, where there is so much, even in the purest, +that it is best not to understand. + +AQUILIUS. (I choose to give myself that name)--Or rather to pass lightly +over, for you cannot help seeing it; put your foot across it, and not +lengthways; as you would over a rut in a bad bit of road, which may +nevertheless lead to a most delightful place at the end. I cannot but +think the "Atys" to be a borrowed poem. It is quite Greek--unlike any +thing Roman. What Roman ever expressed downright mad violent action? How +much there is in it that reminds you of the story of Pentheus of +Euripides. Both deny a deity, and both are punished by their own hands. +But the resemblance is less in the characters than in the vivid pictures +and rapidity of action; and the landscape glows like one fresh from +Titian's pencil. Our friend Landor, here, I see, calls the author +"graceful." He says of Virgil that he is not so "graceful as Catullus." + +CURATE.--Grace, as separate from beauty, I suppose, means something +lighter. It admits a feeling not quite in earnest, not so serious but it +may be sported with. + +GRATIAN.--It is a play, however, at which only genius is expert. It is +many years since I read Catullus,--I confess I thought him rather a +careless fellow, and that his Lesbia was but a doll to dress out in the +tawdry ribbons of his verse. + +AQUILIUS.--Whatever his Lesbia was, his verses are chaste; and if I find +a Lesbia that is not as his verse, I think it a duty of charity to +conclude there were two of the name; and we know that one Lesbia was a +feigned name for Clodia. + +GRATIAN.--That is not very complimentary to the constancy of Catullus. + +CURATE.--I am afraid we are speaking of a virtue that was not Roman. I +have been reading Catullus very recently, and was so much pleased with +his gracefulness, that I thought it no bad practice to translate one or +two of his small pieces: as I translated I became more and more aware of +the clear elegance of his diction. + +AQUILIUS.--I have always been an admirer of Catullus; and as I think a +little employment will dissipate the remaining imaginary symptoms of +influenza, when our friend and host is indulging his pigs by rubbing +their backs with the end of his stick, and extending his walk to admire +his mangel-worzel, or talking to his horses, his dogs, or his cat, and +learning their opinions upon things in general, (for he is persuaded +they have opinions, and says he knows many of them, and intends one day +to catalogue them;) or while he is beyond his own gates, (and whoever +catches a sight of his limp and supporting stick, is sure to hasten pace +or to slacken it, loving his familiar talk,) looking out for an object +of human sociality, I will steal into his library--take down his +Catullus, and try my hand, good master Curate, against you. We will be, +or at least believe ourselves to be, + + "Et cantare pares et decantare parati." + +GRATIAN.--Ay, do; and as the shepherds were rewarded by their umpires of +old, will I reward one or both with this stick. Shall I describe its +worth and dignity after the manner of Homer, that it may be worthy of +you, if you are "baculo digni;" but whatever Aquilius may say in its +disparagement, it is not a bit the worse for its familiarity with my +pig's back. It is a good pig, and shall make bacon for the winner, which +is the best lard he will get for his poetry. But I feel a warning hint, +and must to bed--it is no longer with me the + + "Cynthius aurem + Vellit et admonuit." + +The warning comes rather stronger upon bone and muscle. Heaven preserve +you both from the pains of rheumatism in your old age. I suppose a +troubled conscience, which they say never rests, is but the one turn +more of the screw: so good night. + +Our friend gone, we took down Catullus, and read with great pleasure +many of his short pieces, agreeing with Landor as to the gracefulness of +the poet, and resolved, if it be trifling, to trifle away some portion +of our time in translating him, and with this resolve we parted for the +night. + +We did not, Eusebius, meet again for some days, the Curate being fully +employed in his rounds of parochial visiting by day, and in preparation +by night for his weekly duty. You must imagine you now see us after tea +retired to the snug library. Gratian, some years the elder, resting, (if +that word may be allowed to his pain,--if not to his pain, however, it +shall be due to his patience) resting, I say, his whole person in his +easy chair, and tapping pretty smartly with his stick the thigh from his +hip to his leg, and then settling himself into the importance of a +judge; but do not imagine you see us like two culprits about to be +condemned for feloniously breaking into the house of one Catullus, and +stealing therefrom sundry articles of plate, which we had melted down in +our own crucibles, and which were no longer, therefore, to be recognised +as his, but by evidence against us. All translators show a bold front; +for if they come short of the meed of originality, they shift off from +them the modesty of responsibility, and unblushingly ascribe all faults +to their author. We were therefore easy enough, and ready to make as +free with our Rhadamanthus as with our Catullus. Not to be too +long--thus commenced our talk. + +AQUILIUS.--The first piece Catullus offers is his dedication--it is to +an author to whom I owe a grudge, and perhaps we all of us do. He has +caused us some tears, and more visible marks, and I confess something +like an aversion to his concise style. It is to Cornelius Nepos. How +much more like a modern dedication, than one of Dryden's day, both as to +length and matter. + +AD CORNELIUM NEPOTEM. + + This little-book--and somewhat light-- + 'Tis polished well, and smoothly bright, + To whom shall I now dedicate? + To you, Cornelius, wont to rate + My trifling wares at highest worth. + E'en then, when boldly you stepped forth, + First of Italians to compose, + In three short books of nervous prose, + All age's annals--work of nice + Research, and studiously concise. + Such as it is receive--and look + With usual favour on my book; + And grant, O queen of wits and sages, + Motherless Virgin, these my pages + May pass from this to future ages. + +CURATE.--Queen of wits and sages,--"O Patrima Virgo"--is that +translating? + +GRATIAN.--That's right--have at him! + +AQUILIUS.--To be sure it is. What English reader would know else that +Minerva was meant by "Motherless Virgin?" he would have to go back to +the story of Jupiter beating her out of his own brains. So as he is not +familiar with the creed, as one of it, I let him into the secret of it +at once; and thus out comes the book from the "Minerva Press," "labe to +bublion." + +GRATIAN.--(Reads, "O Patrima Virgo," &c.) Well, well--let it pass. The +dedication won't pay along reckoning. We must not look too nicely into +the mouth of the book--let it speak for itself. Now, Mr. Curate, what +have you? + +CURATE.--I didn't trouble myself with such a dedication, but passed on +to "Ad Passerem Lesbiæ." + +GRATIAN.--More attractive metal. + +CURATE.--Not at all attractive; for there is considerable difficulty, +and as I suppose a corrupted text, before we reach six lines. Here I let +the bird loose. + + Sparrow, minion of my dear, + Little animated toy, + Whom the fair delights to bear + In her bosom lapt in joy. + + Whom she teases and displeases, + With her white forefinger's end, + Thus inviting savage biting + From her tiny feather'd friend. + + Image burning of my yearning, + When at fondness she would play; + Thus she takes her aught that makes her + Pensive moments glide away. + + 'Tis a balm for her soft sorrow, + Tranquillising beauty's breast; + Would I might her plaything borrow, + So to lull my cares to rest. + + I would prize it, as the maiden + Prized the golden apple thrown, + Which displacing her in racing, + Loosed at last her virgin zone. + +AQUILIUS.--Here lies the difficulty: + + "Quum desiderio meo nitenti + Carum nescio quid lubet jocari, + (Ut solatiolum sui doloris + Credunt, quum gravis acquiescet ardor.") + +Another edition has it: + + "Credo ut gravis acquiescat ardor." + +GRATIAN.--Leave it to OEdipus--make sense of it, and we must not be +too nice. + +AQUILIUS.--Well, then, it possibly means, that she passes off the pain +of the bite with a little coquetry and action, as we move about a limb +pretty briskly when it tingles. + +GRATIAN.--O, the cunning--argumentum ad hominem. + +AQUILIUS.--Thus I venture-- + +AD PASSEREM LESBIÆ. + + Little sparrow, gentle sparrow, + Whom my Lesbia loveth so; + Her sweet playmate, whom she petteth, + And she letteth + To her bosom come and go. + + Loving there to hold thee ever, + Her forefinger to thy bill, + Oft she pulleth and provoketh; + And she mocketh, + Till you bite her harder still. + + Then new beauty glistening o'er her, + Pain'd and blushing doth she feign, + Some sweet play of love's excesses, + And caresses + More to soothe or hide her pain. + + Would thou wert my pretty birdie, + Plaything--playmate unto me, + Knowing when her loss doth grieve me, + To relieve me, + For she seeks relief from thee. + + Birdie, thou shouldst be such treasure + As the golden apple thrown, + Was to Atalanta, spying + Which in flying, + Cost the loosening of her zone. + +CURATE.--That may be a possible translation of the difficulty, if the +text be somewhat amended; but who ever heard of a hurt from the peck of +a sparrow? + +GRATIAN.--I'll take you into our aviary to-morrow, and you shall try on +your own rough-work finger the peck of a bullfinch; and I think you may +grant that Lesbia's finger was a little softer. Who would trust the +tenderness of a Curate's forefinger, case-hardened as it is with his +weekly steel-pen work, and deadened by the nature of it, against all +Lesbias and their sparrows. Lesbia's forefinger was the very pattern of +a forefinger, soft to touch as to feel--that did no work. I dare to say +Shakspeare was thinking of such a one, when he said, + + "The hand of little employment hath the daintier sense." + +There's something playfully pretty, and lightly tender in this little +piece; but I don't see by what link of thought poor Atalanta is brought +in, and thus stripped to the skin, as she was out-stripped in the race. +Admitting the text emendable, may not there be supposed such a connexion +as this,--that he wishes the bird would be his plaything, that he might +lay it as an offering at her feet,--that she might take it, as did +Atalanta the golden apple, and become herself the winner's reward? Why +should not I come in with an ad libitum movement? We, limping +rheumaticists, have ever a spiteful desire to trip up the swift-footed. +Now, then, for an old man's limp against Atalanta's speed. + + Birdie, be my plaything, go-- + At her flying feet be thrown;-- + Like the golden apple, woo her, + Atalanta's wise pursuer + Cast and won her for his own;-- + Pretty birdie aid me so. + +Galatea won her lover by the apple. "Malo me Galatea petit." + +CURATE.--A well thrown apple that golden pippin, grown doubtless from a +pip dropt on Mount Ida, and hence the name. We shall not run against +you, I perceive. + +GRATIAN.--Don't talk of golden pippins, or I shall mount my hobby, and +go through the genealogy of my whole orchard, and good-bye to Catullus. + +CURATE.--If you give way to your imagination, you may invent a thousand +meanings to the passage; but taking it as I find it, I would attach only +this meaning to it,--that Catullus would say, "Lesbia's favourite +sparrow" would be as attractive to me as was the golden apple which was +thrown in her way when she was racing, to Atalanta. She was to be +married to the first youth who could outrun her, so that literally she +was very much run after. + +GRATIAN.--Run after, indeed! Her pursuer, Hippomanes, hadn't my +rheumatism (tapping his knee and leg with his stick) or she would have +had the apple, and not him. You young men of modern days do not throw +your golden apples, but look to pick up what you can. These old tales, +or old fables, cast a shade of shame upon our unromantic days. There was +a king's daughter offered like a "handy-cap," as if the worthy of +mankind were a racing stud. + +AQUILIUS.--But the lady was not so easily won after all; for there were +three golden apples to be picked up: and a bold man was he that threw +them, for if he lost, there was neither love nor mercy for him. The +condition was worse than Sinbad's. It is a strange story this of +Atalanta and her lover, turned into lions by Cybele. The passage in +Catullus being corrupt, there is probably an omission, for, as it is, +the transition is very abrupt. + +GRATIAN.--I see the golden apples running about in all directions, and +am half asleep, and should be quite so but for this rheumatic hint that +it is time to retire: so good-night. + +Now you will conclude, Eusebius, that I and the Curate made a night and +morning of it. On the present occasion, at least, it was not the case; +we very soon parted. + +The following morning, which for the season was freshly sunny, found us +on a seat under a verandah near the breakfast room, and close to the +aviary, from which we had a moment before come; and the Curate was then +wringing his finger after the bites and pecks the bullfinch had given +him, which Gratian told him, jocularly, was having a comment on the text +at his finger's end, and immediately asked for Catullus. The book was +opened--and the Curate put his finger upon the "Death of Lesbia's +Sparrow,"--which he read as he had thus rendered it:-- + +DE PASSERE MORTUO LESBIÆ. + + Ye Graces, and ye Cupids, mourn, + And all that's graceful, woman born, + My sweet one's sparrow dead! + Smitten by death's fatal arrow + Lies my darling's darling sparrow! + As the eyes in her sweet head + She did love him, and he knew her + As my fair one knows her mother; + He was sweet as honey to her, + In her lap for ever sitting, + Hither thither round her flitting, + To his mistress and no other + He address'd his twittering tale. + Now adown death's darksome vale + He is gone to seek a bourn + Whence they tell us none return. + Plague upon you, dark and narrow + Shades of Orcus, without pity + Swallowing every thing that's pretty-- + As ye took the pretty sparrow. + Wo's the day that you lie dead! + Little wretch, 'tis all your doing + That my fair one's eyes are red, + Swoln and red with tearful rueing. + +AQUILIUS.--It would be childish to blame the poor bird for the crime of +dying, as if he had died out of spite; when, if the truth could be told, +perhaps the cat killed him. (At this moment, Gratian's favourite cat +rubbed herself against his legs, first her face and head, and then her +back, and looked up to him, as if begging him to plead for her race; and +he did so, and spoke kindly to her, and said, pussey would not kill any +bird though he should trust her in the aviary; and she, as if she knew +what he said, walked off to it, and rubbed her face against the wires, +and returned to us again.) Well, I continued, I don't see why the bird +should be called wretch fer that; and _factum male_ means to express +misfortune, not fault. So let the _malefactum_ be the Curate's, and +treat him accordingly. + +GRATIAN.--Come, let us see your bird. Perhaps it may be necessary to +kill two with one stone. But I forget--_the_ bird is dead already. + +AQUILIUS.-- + +DE PASSERE MORTUO LESBIÆ. + + Ye Cupids, every Queen of Love, + Whate'er hath heart or beauty, shed + Your floods of tears, now hang the head-- + My darling's sparrow, pet, and dove, + Is dead: that bird she prized above + Her own sweet eyes, is dead, is dead. + + That little bird, that honey bird, + As fair child knows her mother, knew + His own own mistress; and he, too, + From her sweet bosom never stirred, + As prompt at every look and word, + He to that nest of softness flew. + + But archly pert and debonnair, + Still further in he fondly nestled, + For her alone piped, chirped, and whistled. + But he has reached that dismal where, + Whose dreary path none ever dare + Retrace, with whom death once hath wrestled. + + O Orcus' unrequiting shade, + Devouring all the good, the dear, + Couldst thou not spare one birdling here? + Alas, poor thing! for thou hast made + Her eyes, how loved, with grief o'erweighed, + Grow red, and gush with many a tear. + +CURATE.--Is that translating? Look at the first line of the original-- + + Lugete, o Veneres, Cupidinesque. + +You have acted the undertaker to the sorrow, dressed it out, and +protracted it, and set it afloat upon a river of wo, with Queens of Love +as chief-mourners, hanging out their weepers. + +AQUILIUS.--Yes, for the Zephyrs to blow. They are light, airy, graceful. +They did not come from the first room of the mourning institution, where +the soft-slippered man in black gently, and bowing low as he shows his +grief-items, whispers, "Much in vogue for deep affliction." The Queens +of Love pass on to "the mitigated wo department," and I hope you will +confess they have _put on_ their sorrow with grace and taste. + +GRATIAN.--That's good--"the mitigated wo department." But there's a +department in these establishments farther on still. There is a little +glass door, generally left half open, where there is a most delicate +show of "orange blossoms." But my good worthy Curate, I don't blame our +friend for this little enlargement, because, if it is not in the _words_ +of the original, it is every bit of it in the tune and melody of the +verses. See how it swells out in full flow in "venustiorum,"--stays but +a moment, and is off again without stop to "puellæ,"--and that again is +repeated ere grief can be said to take any rest. I shall acquit the +translator as I would the landscape painter, who, seeing how flowing a +line of easy and graceful beauty pervades all nature, and is indeed her +great characteristic, rather aims to realise that, than laboriously to +dot in every leaf and flower. Characteristic expression is every thing. +I am not quite satisfied that either of you have hit the + + Flendo turgiduli rubent ocelli. + +CURATE.--If we have not, you remember that Juvenal has, and hit those +eyes rather hard, considering whose they are. He, however, only meant +the hit for Catullus: + + nec tibi, cujus + Turbavit nitidos extinctus passer ocellos. + +GRATIAN.--_Turbavit_ is "mitigated wo" again: + + Unlike the Lesbias of our modern years, + Who for a sparrow's death dissolve in tears. + +AQUILIUS.--Satire is like a flail, an ugly weapon in a crowd, and hits +more than it aims at. I won't allow the blow to be a true hit on +Catullus. But let us pass on; there is a vessel waiting for us, though +we should be loth to trust to her sheathing, no longer sea-worthy. Our +poet now addresses his yacht. Are there many of the "Club" who would +write better verses on theirs? + +DE PHASELO, QUO IN PATRIAM REVECTUS EST. + + This bark that now, my friends, you see, + Asserts she once was far more swift + Than other craft, whate'er the tree + Might ply the oar or sailyard shift, + She passed them all on every sea. + + She asked the Cyclad Isles to say-- + Can they deny--rough Adria's shore, + Proud Rhodes, and every land that lay + Where savage Thracia's tempests roar-- + She asked her native Pontic bay-- + + Where first her leafy crown was stirred + By winds that swept Cytorian rocks. + (Through rustling leaves her voice was heard.) + And you, Cytorus, crowned with box, + And you, Amastris, hear the word. + + For all, she says, was known to you, + And still is known. For on your top + She first took root and proudly grew, + Till severed trunk and branches drop, + And keel and oars thy waves embue. + + How oft she bore, when winds were light, + Her master over sea and strait, + Stemmed currents strong, and tacked to right + Or left, and bravely held the weight + Of breeze that strained her canvass tight. + + Nor was there need for her to make + Or costly vows, or incense burn; + Or sea-shore gods her guides to take + On her last voyage, last return, + From sea-ward to this limpid lake. + + Now all is o'er--grown old, in rest + She waits decay--with homage due, + And grateful thought, and prayer addressed, + She dedicates herself to you, + Twin stars, twin gods, twin brothers blest. + +GRATIAN.--Ah! well done, poor old timber-toe--laid up at last--no +"mutile lignum," that's clear enough. I hope she had a soft berth, and +lay evenly in it. It is quite uncomfortable to see a poor thing, though +it be little more than decayed ribs, with hard rock piercing them here +and there, and the creature labouring still to keep the life in and +weather out of her unsupported sides and bottom, and looking piteously +to be moved off those jutting points that pin her down in pain, as boys +serve a cock-chafer. He is a hard man that does not animate inanimate +things. He is out of nature's kin. All sailors love their ships, and +they are glorious. Catullus is more to my humour here than in his +love-lines on Lesbia. She could get another lover, and if truth be told, +and that by Catullus himself, did; but his poor boat! If captured and +taken to the slave-market, she would not find a bidder. Well, well, it +is pleasanter to see her laid up high and dry, with now and then her +master's and owner's affectionate eye upon her, than to look at the +broom at her mast head. Catullus knew the wood she came from, and how it +grew--it had vitality, and he never can believe it quite gone. + +AQUILIUS.--There is a poem by Turner on this subject. + +GRATIAN.--By Turner?--what Turner?--You don't mean, "The Fallacies of +Hope" Turner? + +AQUILIUS.--The same--but I should be sorry indeed, to see a vessel built +after the measure of his verses. She would require too nice an +adjustment of ballast. I doubt if she would bear a rough sea. The poem I +speak of was written with his palette's pen. It was the towing in the +old Temeraire to be broken up. There she was, on the waters, as her own +element, a Leviathan still, a history of "battle and of breeze"--behind +her the night coming in, sun setting, and in glory too. Her days are +over, and she is towed in to her last anchorage. The feeling of the +picture was touching, and there was a dignity and greatness in it of +mighty charm. + +GRATIAN.--I remember it well, and it is well remembered now: but here is +the Curate with his paper in his hand: let us hear what he has to say. + +CURATE.--I have the worse chance with you, for you have poeticised the +subject so much more largely than Catullus himself, that you will listen +with less pleasure to my translation; but you shall have it. + +DEDICATIO PHASELI. + + Strangers, the bark you see, doth say + Of ships the fleetest far was she. + +AQUILIUS.--Stay for a moment: "the fleetest," then she was one of a +_fleet_, and sailed perhaps under convoy, and ought not to have +outsailed the _fleet_--say quickest. + +GRATIAN.--No interruption, or by this baculus! Go on, Mr. Curate. + +CURATE.--If you please, I'll heave anchor again. + + Strangers, this bark you see doth say, + Of ships the fleetest far was she: + And that she passed and flew away + From every hull that ploughed the sea, + That fought against, or used the gale + With hand-like oar or wing-like sail. + + She cites, as witness to her word, + The frowning Adriatic strand; + The Cyclades which rocks engird, + And noted Rhodus' distant land; + Propontis and unkindly Thrace, + And Savage Pontus' billowy race. + + That which is now a shallop here, + Was once a tract of tressed wood, + Its foliage was Cytorus' gear, + Upon the topmost ridge it stood, + And when the morning breeze awoke + Its whistling leaves the silence broke. + + Pontic Amastris, says the bark, + Box-overgrown Cytorus, you + Know me by each familiar mark, + And testify the tale is true. + She says you saw her earliest birth + Upon your nursing mountain-earth, + + She dipped her blades, a maiden launch, + First in your waves, and bent her course + Thence, ever to her master staunch, + Through seas that plied their utmost force. + If right or left the breeze did strike, + Or gentle Jove did strain alike, + + Each sheet before the wind. She came + From that remotest ocean-spot + To this clear inlet, still the same, + And yet audaciously forgot + The bribes which, under doubtful skies, + Are vowed to sea-side deities. + + Her deeds are done, her tale is told, + For those were feats of bygone strength; + In secret peace she now grows old, + And dedicates herself at length, + Twin-brother Castor, at thy shrine, + And Castor's brother twin, at thine. + +GRATIAN.--Hand me the book. I thought so--that "audaciously forgot" is +your audacious interpolation. She does not forget her vows, for she +never made any. You bring her back, good Master Curate, not a little in +the sulks, like a runaway wife, that had forgotten her vows, and +remembered all her audacity. We see her reluctantly taken in +tow--looking like a profligate, weary, and voyage worn, buffeted and +beaten by more storms than she likes to tell of. You must alter +audaciously. + +AQUILIUS.--And I object to bribes; it is a satire upon the underwriters. + +CURATE.--The underwriters? + +AQUILIUS.--Yes, the "Littoralibus Diis;" what were they but an insurance +company, with their chief temple, some Roman "Lloyd's," and offices in +every sea-port? + +CURATE.--Or perhaps the "Littoralibus Diis," referred to a +"coast-guard." + +GRATIAN.--Worse and worse, for that would imply that they took bribes, +and that she was an old smuggler. Keep to the original, and if you will +modernize Catullus, you must merely say, she was so safe a boat that the +owner did not think it worth while to insure. + +CURATE.--The learned themselves dispute as to the identity of the "Dii +Littorales." In the notes, I find they are said to be Glaucus, Nereus, +Melicerta, Neptune, Thetis, and others; but in the notes to Statius, you +will find Gevartius bids the aforesaid learned tell that to the marines. +He knows better. I remember his words,--"Sed male illi marinos et +littorales deos confundunt. Littorales enim potissimum Dii Cælestes +erant, Pallas, Apollo, Hercules, &c., unde illi potius apud Catullum +sunt intelligendi." + +GRATIAN.--She might have been doubly insured; for besides Glaucus, +Neptune, Thetis, and Co., there was the company registered by Gevartius. + +CURATE.--I have looked again at the passage, and think I have not quite +given the meaning of "novissimo." I doubt if it does mean remote--it +more likely means the last voyage--so let me substitute this:-- + + She came, + 'Twas her last voyage, from far sea, + To this clear inlet-home, the same + Good bark and true, and proudly free + From vows which under doubtful skies, + Are made to sea-side Deities. + +GRATIAN.--_Probatum est._--We have, however, run the vessel down. Let me +see what comes next. Oh, "To Lesbia." This is the old well-known +deliciously elegant little piece that I remember we were wont to try our +luck with in our youth; and many a translation of it may yet be found +among half-forgotten trifles. We are, some of us, it is true, a little +out of this cherry-season of kissing--there is a time for all things, +and so there was a time for that. It is pleasant still to trifle with +the subject: even the wise Socrates played with it in one of his +dialogues, and so may we, innocently enough. Though there be some +greybeards, (no, I am wrong, they are not greybeards, but grave-airs, +and they, more shame to them, with scarcely a beard at all,) that would +open the book here, and shut it again in haste, and look as if they had +just come out of the cave of Trophonius. That is not a healthy and +honest purity. + +AQUILIUS.--But these do not object to a little professional kissing. + +GRATIAN.--More shame to them--that is the worst of all, but pass on; +here is nothing but a little harmless play. Yet I don't see why the +young poet, (you know he died at thirty,) should mock his elders in +"rumoresque senum severiorum," these "sayings of severe old men." Why +should old men be severe? O' my conscience, I believe they are far less +severe than the young. Had I been present when the poet indited this to +his Lesbia, I might just have ventured to hint to him thus:--"My dear +friend, you have had enough, perhaps too much of kissing; my advice is, +that you keep it to yourself, and tell it to no one; and don't despise +the words of us old men, and mine are words of advice, that if not +married already, after all this kissing, you take her, your Lesbia, to +wife, as soon as you conveniently can." + +This was pronounced with an amusingly affected gravity. I and the Curate +assumed the submissive. We were, as I told you, Eusebius, sitting under +the verandah, and very near the breakfast room; the window of which +(down to the ground) was open. While our good old friend and host was +thus Socratically lecturing, I saw a ribbon catch the air, and float out +towards us a little from the window--then appeared half a bonnet, +inclined on one side, and downwards, as of one endeavouring to catch +sounds more clearly. Seeing that it continued in this position, as soon +as my friend had uttered the last words, I walked hastily towards the +room, and saw the no very prepossessing countenance of a lady, whose +privilege it is to be called young. She blushed, or rather reddened, and +boldly came forward, and addressed our friend,--that she had come to see +some of the family on a little business for the "visiting and other +societies," and seeing us so enjoying ourselves out of doors, she could +not but come forward to pay her respects, adding, with a look at the +Curate, whom she evidently thought to be under reproof, that she hoped +she had not arrived mal-apropos. Our friend introduced her thus,--Ah, my +dear Miss Lydia Prate-apace, is that you?--glad to see you. But +(retaining his assumed gravity,) you are not safe here: there has been +too much kissing, and too much talk about it, for one of your known +rectitude to hear. Dear me, said she, you don't say so: then I shall bid +good-day; and with an inquisitive look at me, and an awful one at the +Curate, she very nimbly tripped off. You will be sure to hear of that +again, said I to the Curate. He laughed incredulous, in his innocency. +Not unlikely, upon my word, said Gratian; for I see them there trotting +down the church-path, Lydia Prate-apace, and her friend Clarissa +Gadabout; so look to yourself, Mr. Curate. But we have had enough for +the present. I must just take a look at my mangel, and my orchard, which +you must know is my piggery. Good-bye for the present. In the evening we +meet again in the library, and let Catullus be of our company. It was +time to change our quarters; for the little spaniel, knowing the hour +his master would visit his stock, and intending as usual to accompany +him, just then ran in to us, and jumping about and barking, gave us no +rest for further discussion. + +You must now, my dear Eusebius, behold us in the library as before--G. +reads,-- + + "Vivamus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus, + Rumoresque senum severiorum." + +Ah, that's where we were; I remember we did not like the senum +severiorum. + +CURATE.--We!! + +G.--Yes, we; for the veriest youth that shoots an arrow at old age, is +but shooting at himself some ten or a dozen paces off. I remember, when +a boy, being pleased with a translation of this by Langhorne; but I only +remember two stanzas, and cannot but think he left out the "soles +occidere et redire possunt;" if so, he did wrong; and I opine that he +vulgarised and removed all grace from it by the word "pleasure." Life +and love, Catullus means to say, are commensurate; but "pleasure" is a +wilful and wanton intrusion. If I remember, his lines are,-- + + "Lesbia, live to love and _pleasure_, + Careless what the grave may say; + When each moment is a treasure, + Why should lovers lose a day? + + Give me then a thousand kisses-- + Twice ten thousand more bestow; + Till the sum of endless blisses, + Neither we nor envy know." + +Catullus himself might as well have omitted the "malus invidere." Why +should he trouble his head about the matter--envied or not? but now, Mr. +Curate, let us hear your version. + +CURATE.--AD LESBIAM. + + Love we, live we, Lesbia, proving + Love in living, life in loving, + For all the saws of sages caring + Not one single penny's paring. + Suns can rise again from setting, + But our short light, + Once sunk in night, + Sleeps a slumber all forgetting: + Give me then a thousand kisses, + Still a hundred little blisses-- + Yet a thousand--yet five score, + Yet a thousand, hundred more. + Then, when we have made too many + Thousands, we'll confound them all, + So as not to know of any + Number, either great or small; + Or lest some caitiff grudge our blisses + When he knows the tale of kisses---- + +GRATIAN.--Tale is an ambiguous word, "Kiss and tell" is not fair +play--Tale, talley, number. I hope it will be so understood at first +reading.--It reminds me of the critical controversy respecting a passage +in "L'Allegro,"-- + + "And every shepherd tells his tale + Under the hawthorn in the dale." + +The unsusceptible critic maintained that the shepherd did but count, or +take the _tale_ of his sheep. Why not avoid the ambiguity thus--a hasty +emendation. + + "Knowing our amount of kisses." + +AQUILIUS.--In the other sense, it will go sadly against him, if Miss +Prate-apace should be a listener--she would like to have all the telling +to herself. + +GRATIAN.--Doubtless, and matter to tell of too--but, as I suppose that +paper in your hand is your translation of this common-property bit of +Latin, read it. + +AQUILIUS.--Here it is. + +AD LESBIAM. + + We'll live and love while yet 'tis ours, + To live and love, my Lesbia, dearest, + And when old greybeard saws thou hearest, + (Since joy is but the present hour's,) + We'll laugh them down as none the clearest. + + For suns will set again to rise, + But our brief day once closed--we slumber + Long nights, long days--too long to number;-- + Perpetual sleep shall close our eyes, + And one dark night shall both encumber. + + A thousand kisses then bestow; + Ten thousand more,--ten thousand blisses,-- + And when we've counted million kisses-- + Begin again,--for, Lesbia, know, + We way have made mistakes and misses. + + Then let our lips the full amount + Commingle so, in one delusion, + Blending beginning with conclusion, + Nor we, nor envy's self can count + How many in the sweet confusion. + +CURATE.--I protest against this as a translation. There is addition. +Catullus says nothing of "mistakes and misses." + +AQUILIUS.--I maintain it is implied in "conturbabimus illa:" it shows +they had given up all idea of counting correctly. + +GRATIAN.--I think it may pass; but you have a word twice,--"day closed," +and "_close_ our eyes." Why not have it thus:-- + +"But our brief day once o'er," or once pass'd,--yet it is not so good, +as "closed." I see in the note on "conturbabimus," great stress is laid +on the mischievous spell that envy was supposed to convey, like the +"evil eye." This does not make much for Catullus--for a good kiss in +real earnest, not your kiss poetical, might bid defiance to every +_charm_ but its own. + +CURATE.--There is something of the same superstition in the piece but +one following, "malâ fascinare lingua" alludes evidently to the euphêmia +of the Greeks,--the superstition of the evil eye and evil tongue. The very +word _invidere_ seems to have been adopted in its wider sense, from the +particular superstition of the evil eye. The Neapolitans of the present +day inherit, in full possession, both superstitions. + +GRATIAN.--Nor are either quite out of England; and I can hardly think +that a legacy left us by the Romans. There is something akin to the +feeling in the dislike old country gossips show to having their +likenesses taken. I have known a sketcher pelted for putting in a +passing figure. And I have seen a servant girl, in the house of a +friend, who, having never, until she came into his service, seen a +portrait, could not be prevailed upon, for a long while, to go alone +into a room where there were some family portraits. What comes next +after all these kisses? + +AQUILIUS.--More kisses. + +GRATIAN.--Then you force a bad pun from me, and put my aching bones into +an _omni-bus_, and it is as much as I can do to bear the shaking. Give +your account of them, Aquilius. + +AQUILIUS.--AD LESBIAM. + + How many kisses will suffice, + You ask me, Lesbia,--ask a lover! + Go bid him count the sands;--discover, + Even to a very grain precise, + How many lie in heaps, or hover, + When gusty winds the sand hills stir + About the benzoin-bearing plain, + Between Jove's Cyrenean fane, + And Battus' sacred sepulchre. + + How many stars, in stillest night, + On loving thefts look down approving,-- + So many kisses should requite + Catullus, ah too madly loving.-- + Ye curious eyes, be closed in slumber, + That would be spies upon our wooing, + That there be none to note the number, + Nor tongue to babble of our doing. + +GRATIAN.--Read that last again--for "my eyes," I confess, were not as +"curious" as they should have been, and were just closing as you came to +the wooing. + +AQUILIUS.-- + + That there be none to note the number, + Nor tongue to babble of our doing. + +GRATIAN.--Well, rubbing his eyes, I am quite awake now; let us have your +version, Master Curate. + +CURATE.--AD LESBIAM. + + Dost bid me, my Lesbia, + A number define, + To fill me, and glut me + With kisses of thine? + + When equal thy kisses + The atoms of sand, + By spicy Cyrene + On Lybia's strand, + + The sand grains extending + From Ammon's hot shrine, + To the tomb of old Battus, + That land-mark divine. + + Or count me the star-lights + That see from above, + In still night, the thievings + Of mortals in love. + + Thus canst thou, my Lesbia, + A number assign, + To glut thy mad lover + With kisses of thine. + + A number the prying + To reckon may spare; + And gossips, unlucky, + Give up in despair. + +GRATIAN.--(After a pause, his eyes half closed,) + + "Give up in despair." + +Very mu--si--cal--sooth--ing. + +AQUILIUS.--See, you have set our host asleep; and, judging from his last +words, his dream will not be unpleasant. We must not come to a sudden +silence, or it will waken him. The murmur of the brook that invites +sleep, is pledged to its continuance. The winds and the pattering rain, +says the Roman elegiast, assist the sleeper. + + Aut gelidas hibernus aquas eum fuderit auster + Securum somnos imbre juvante sequi. + +We must not, however, proceed with our translations. Take up Landor's +Pentameron, and begin where you left off, when we first entered upon +this discussion of Catullus. He seemed to give the preference to +Catullus over Horace. Here is the page,--read on. + +The Curate at once took the volume and read aloud.--The following +passage arrested our attention:-- + +"In return for my suggestion, pray tell me what is the meaning of + + Obliquo laborat + Lympha fugax trepidare rivo. + +"PETRARCHA.--The moment I learn it you shall have it. Laborat trepidare! +lympha rivo! fugax, too! Fugacity is not the action for hard work or +_labour_. + +"BOCCACCIO.--Since you cannot help me out, I must give up the +conjecture, it seems, while it has cost me only half a century. Perhaps +it may be _curiosa felicitas_." + +AQUILIUS--Stay there:--that criticism is new to me. I never even fancied +there was a difficulty in the passage. Let us consider it a moment. + +CURATE.--Does he then think Horace not very choice in his words? for he +seems to be severe upon the "_curiosa felicitas_." Surely the diction of +the Latin poets is all in all--For their ideas seem hard +stereotyped,--uninterchangeable, the very reverse of the Greek, in whom +you always find some unexpected turn, some new thought, thrown out +beautifully in the rapidity of their conception--excepting in +Sophocles--who, attending more to his diction, deals perhaps a little +too much in common-place. + +The object of the Latin poets should seem to have been to introduce +gracefully, into their own language, what the Greeks had left them; and +the nature of this labour quenched the fire of originality, if they had +any.--It is hard, however, to deny them the fruits of this labour; and +who was more happy in it than Horace? + +AQUILIUS.--Surely, and the familiar love that all bear to Horace, +confirms your opinion--the general opinion. Now, I cannot but think +Horace happy in his choice of words, in this very passage of + + obliquo laborat, + Lympha fugax trepidare rivo. + +Let me suggest a meaning, which to me is obvious enough, and I am +surprised it should have escaped so acute and so profound a critic. +Horace supposes his friend enjoying the landscape in _remoto gramine_, +and there describes it accurately; and it is a favourite scene with him, +which he often paints in words, with the introduction of the same +imagery. Suppose, then, the scene to be in _remoto gramine_ at Tiber, +our modern Tivoli; where, as I presume, the water was always, as now, +though not in exactly the same way, turned off from the Anio into _cut +channels_; and such I take to be the meaning generally of rivers, a +_channel_, not a river. And the Lympha here is appropriate; not the +_body_ of the stream, but a portion of its water. In this case, +"obliquo" may express a new direction, and some obstacle in the _turn_ +the river takes, where the water would for a moment seem to _labour_, +"laborare fugax," expressing its desire to escape. May not, therefore, +the first evident meaning be allowed to "trepidare," to tremble, or +_undulate_, showing the motion a rivulet assumes, just after it has +turned the angle of its obstruction. "Obliquo," may, too, mean the +slope, such as would be in a garden at Tivoli, on the verge of the +precipice. Possibly Horace generally uses "rivus" in this sense, "Puræ +rivus aquæ."--Then, again, describing the character of Tibur or Tivoli, +he does not say the Anio; but "aquæ," as in the other instance "Lympha." + + "Sed quæ Tibur aquæ fertile præfluunt," + +--"fertile," being the effect of the _irrigation_, the purpose for which +the aquæ are turned from the river; and this agrees well with the word +_præfluunt_, as applied to irrigated gardens. Pliny thus uses the +adjective præfluus: "Hortos esse habendos _irriguos præfluo amne_." But +there is one passage in Horace where this meaning is so distinctly given +to rivers, and which is so characteristic of the very scene of Tibur, +that to me it is conclusive. + + "et uda + _Mobilibus_ pomarea rivis." + +Evidently channels, _moveable_ and diverse at pleasure, for +_irrigation_. + +Nor would Horace use Lympha for a river, or be amenable to a charge of +such tautology as this:-- + + "Labuntur _altis interim ripis aquæ_, + Quæruntur in sylvis aves, + _Fontesque Lymphis_ obstrepunt manantibus, + Somnos quod inortet leves." + +CURATE.--I fancy I now see the garden, where somewhat artificial +planting had put together the "Pinus ingens albaque Populus," to +consociate, and form the shady arbour, where the wine and unguents are +to be brought, and through which the _rivus_ passes angularly, and +doubtless with a view to the garden-beauty. It is a sketch from nature +of some particular and favourite spot. + + Quo Pinus ingens albaque Populus + Umbram _hospitalem_ consociare amant + Ramis, et obliquo laborat + Lympha fugax trepidare rivo. + +AQUILIUS.--Truly, in many places Horace delights to paint this one +individual spot. We have in all, the wood, the waters from their higher +banks, making falls such as to induce sleep, the garden with its shade, +and its fountain, _near the house_, this continual "aquæ fons." Such as +was his "Fons Bandusiæ," not _fons_ a mere spring, but sanctified by +architectural art, as well as feeling. + + "Fies nobilium tu quoque fontium, + Me dicente cavis impositam illicem + Saxis, unde loquaces + _Lymphæ_ desiliunt tuæ." + +But listen to what he desired to possess, and did possess. + + "Hoc erat in votis, modus agri non ita magnus, + Hortus ubi, et tecto vicinus jugis aquæ fons, + Et paulum sylvæ super his foret." + +Is he describing his Sabine villa?--I have a sketch on its site--and +there is now, whatever there may have been in his days, a high bank, +over which the water still falls, (I believe from the Digentia) which by +conduits supplied the house, and cattle returned from their labour, and +the flocks. There is a small cascade filling a marble basin (the +fountain) and thence flowing off through the garden. Perhaps he had in +these descriptions one or two scenes in his mind's eye much alike. A +poet's geography shifts its scenery _ad libitum_. But see what his +Sabine farm was. + +CURATE.--I remember it. + + "Scribetur tibi forma loquaciter, et situs agri." + +But does he not in that passage make _rivus_ a river?-- + + "Fons etiam rivo dare nomen idoneus, ut nec + Frigidior Thracam, nec purior ambiat Hebrus." + +AQUILIUS.--The river was the Digentia, the cold Digentia. + + "Me quoties reficit gelidus Digentia rivus." + +It _may_ be here a river, but not _certainly_. Do you suppose he went +down in sight of the whole neighbourhood to bathe in the little river? +for _little_ river it is, and cold enough, too; for I have bathed in it, +and can testify of its coldness. Would you take him, 1 say, down from +his house to the river itself, when he had it conveyed to his own home +by a _rivus_, or channel, and by a _fons_ such as has been described, +from which, without doubt, he was supplied with water enough for his hot +and his cold baths? The gelidus Digentia rivus, I well know, and, as I +said, bathed in it. A countryman seeing me, cried out, "Fa morir!" The +Italians now (at least inland) never bathe; they have a perfect +hydrophobia. Few even wash themselves. I asked a boy, whom we took about +with us to carry our sketching materials, when he had last washed his +face. He confessed he had _never_ washed it, and that nobody did. + +CURATE.--We know Horace delighted in Tibur,--his "Tibur argeo, positum +colono." In the passage criticised in the Pentameron, I shall always see +Tivoli, with its wood, its rocks, and cascatelle. He had the scene +before him when he wrote,-- + + "ego laudo ruris amæni + _Rivos_; et museo circumlita saxa, nemusque." + +Tibur still; its rocks, woods, and rivus again; and perhaps the "nemus" +was "Tiburni lucus." + +AQUILIUS.--Perhaps a line in this epistle from the lover of country to +the lover of town, may throw some light on "obliquo" and "trepidare," if +indeed he has _the_ scene in his eye. + + "Purior in vicis aqua tendit rumpere plumbum, + Quam que _per pronum_ trepidat cum murmure _rivum_." + +Great indeed is the difference, whether the water passes through a +leaden pipe, or by the rivers, a mere direction by a channel open to the +sky, and whose bed is the rock. + +But there is a passage which still more clearly, I think, marks the +distinction between the rivus and the river. The poet invites Mæcenas to +the country, and tells him,-- + + "Jam pastor umbras cum grege languido + _Rivumque_ fessus querit, et horridi + Dumeta Silvani, caretque + _Ripa_ vagis taciturna ventis." + +Now, if the shepherd had driven his flock to the river, all bleating and +languid with heat, the bank of the river would scarcely have been +_taciturn_; doubtless the shepherd sought the "fontem," into which the +water was _conveyed_, and under shade, a place not exposed to the sun, +or the wind, as was the ripa, the river's bank. And besides, in this +passage, the rivos and the ripa are certainly spoken of as two separate +places. + +Here our friend and host began to mutter a little. He was evidently +going over his model-farm, while we were at the Sabine. He now talked +quicker--"John," (so he always called his hind, his factotum,) "plant +'em a little farther apart, d'ye see, and trench up well." "That's the +way." "Now, John, d'ye know how--to clap an old head on young +shoulders--why dig a trench the width of the spade, from the stem of an +apple-tree, and fill up with good vegetable mould. First pollard your +tree, John." "That's it, John." This and more was said, with a few +sleepy interruptions; he soon awoke, and said with an amusing +indifference,--"Well, any more news of Catullus?" + +AQUILIUS.--We left Catullus asleep some time ago, and thinking it +probable that you and he might wake at the same time, we determined to +wait for you both, and, in the meanwhile, we have been discussing a +passage in Horace, of which, (for we will not now renew the +discussion,) I will one day hear your opinion. A very favourite author, +however, of yours, doubts the _felicity_ of Horace in the choice of +words. + +CURATE.--And in the structure of his sentences, and says, "How simple in +comparison are Catullus and Lucretius." + +GRATIAN.--Indeed! now I think that is but finding one fault, for the +choice of words and construction of sentences go pretty much together. +An ill-constructed sentence can hardly have a good choice of words, for +it is most probably unmusical, and that fault would make the choice a +jumble. If the words were nonsense in Milton, the music of them would +make you believe he could have used no other. They are breathed out so +naturally; take the first line of Paradise Lost--it is in this manner +perfect. Good words are, to good thoughts, what the stars are to the +night, sunshine to the brook, flowers to the field, and foliage to the +woods; clothing what is otherwise bare, giving glory to the dark, and to +the great and spacious; investing the rugged with grace, and adding the +vigour and motion of life to the inanimate, the motionless, and the +solid. I must defend my friend Horace against all comers. + + "--rura, quæ Liris quietâ + Mordet aquâ, taciturnus amnis." + +Is there a bad choice of words there? How insidiously the silent river +_indents_ the banks with its quiet water, and how true to nature! It is +not your turbulent river that eats into the land, (it may overflow it,) +but that ever heavy weight of the taciturn rivers, running not in a +rocky bed, but through a deep soft soil. + +CURATE.--You are lucky in your quotation, for we were discussing some +such matter. Horace is particularly happy in his river scenes. Did not +he know the value of his own words--he thus speaks of them: + + "Verba loquor socianda chordis." + +AQUILIUS.--Yes, but he speaks of them as immortal. "Ne credas +interitura." But if the "socianda chordis," means they are to be set to +music, I deny that music is + + "Married to immortal verse," + +or there has long ago been a divorce. I am told, the more manifest the +nonsense, the better the song. + +GRATIAN.--Then I leave you to sing it, and reserve your sense and +sense-verses for to-morrow. But it cannot be till the evening, for I +must attend an agricultural meeting in the morning, some distance off. +Would you believe it, I have to defend my own statement. A stupid fellow +said publicly, that he would not believe that the produce of my Belgian +carrots, which you saw, was 360 lbs. per land-yard, which is at the rate +of 25 tons, 14 cwt. 1 qr. 4 lbs. per acre. There are people who will +doubt every thing. You see they doubt what I say of my carrots, and what +Horace says of his own words.--So, good-night. + +This "good night," Eusebius, was not the abrupt leave-taking which it +may here appear. For our friend's habit was to close the day not +unthankful. We regularly retired to the dining-room, where the servants +and family were assembled, and prayers were read. So that this +"good-night" of our excellent host were but his last worldly and social +words. And if devotion, and most kind feelings towards all +creatures--man and beast--can ensure pleasant and healthful sleep, his +pillow is a charm against comfortless dreams and rheumatic pains. + +There we leave him--and if, Eusebius, you are amused with this our chat, +you may look again for Noctes Catullianæ. + +POSTSCRIPT.--This should have gone to you, my dear Eusebius, two days +ago, but by some accident it was left out of the post-bag. By the +neglect, however, I am enabled to tell you that our friend the Curate is +in trouble: the very trouble, too, which I foresaw. He came to us this +morning with a very long face, and told us that yesterday, on going as +usual to his parochial Sunday school, he was surprised that nearly all +the bigger girls were absent; that the mistress of the school did not +receive him with her usual respect; that the three maiden ladies, Lydia +Prateapace, Clarissa Gadabout, and Barbara Brazenstare, were at the +farther end of the room, affectedly busy with the children; that seeing +him, they slightly acknowledged his presence, as Goldsmith well +expresses it, by a "mutilated curtsey." He approached them, and +expressed his surprise at the absence of the elder children. Prateapace +looked first down, then away from him, and said it was no business of +hers to question their parents. Miss Gadabout added, that every body +knew the reason. And Brazenstare looked him boldly in the face, and +said, she supposed nobody knew so well as himself. Prateapace put in her +word, that now he was come, there was no need of their presence, as +there were not too many to teach. Upon which Gadabout cried, "Then let +us be off: it is quite time we should." And as they were moving off, +Brazenstare turned round and asked him, mutteringly, if he intended to +kiss the schoolmistress. Upon this, he went to some of the parents to +inquire respecting the absence of their daughters, and little +satisfaction could he get. They didn't like to say--but people did +say--indeed it was all about the township--that they were quite as well +at home, for that they might learn more than the book taught--for that +his honour had been reproved by good Mr. G. for too great familiarity. + +So ends the matter, or rather such is the position of affairs at +present--the Curate has come to consult what is to be done. I tell him, +that if he knows what he is about, it will proceed with some violence, +then an opposition, and end with offerings of bouquets, and perhaps the +presentation of a piece of plate. Gratian tells him he hopes nothing so +bad as that will come to pass--the Curate almost fears it will, and is +vexed at his present awkward position. + +You, Eusebius, already see enough mischief in it to delight you; you +are, I know, laughing immoderately, and determine to write the +inscription for the plate in perspective. Adieu, ever yours. AQUILIUS. + + +_Printed by William Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh._ + + + + +Footnotes: + +[1] See No. CCCLXXIII, page 555. + +[2] See next page. + +[3] FORM 25 (_a._) + + WEEKLY OUT-DOOR RELIEF LIST, for the quarter ending + + + Ordinary. Medical. Casual. + + + + + + + Classes Able-bodied. + Unclassified. + + ------ ---------- ------ + U p p + n l E l + e o m o + m y - y + 8 - e e + 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 & d d. + 6 8 + --- --- ------ ---- ---- ------ ------ --- ------ ----- + M|F M|F M|F|Ch F|Ch F|Ch F|F|Ch M|F|Ch M|F M|F|Ch M|F|Ch + -+- -+- -+-+-- -+-- -+-- -+-+-- -+-+-- -+- -+-+-- -+-+-- + | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | + | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | + | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | + | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | + + + + 18 , District. Relieving Officer. + + + + Ordinary Medical. Casual. + + F R a + o e n + I i N i r l d 1st 2d to + f n o n i Week. 13th + . w e d Week. + n P t h f a ----------- ----------- + o a r o h A a t | + N p w t r e f e b t o e | + a a i i s s r | + m u f W r s i C Q t P d o I I | + e p e h e h d l u r e e f n I n | I + e e s , e a a a r r n | n + o r i n i n s r c i e o M M | + f , f d w t s t t o d r o K o | K + b i h . e . d , d n i n | i + t a a o n e r e e n e | n + h n n r g r l r y d y | d + e d y n e y . . . . | . + ----- ---- ----- ----- ------ ----- ----- -----+----- + | s. d. s. d. s. d.|s. d. + ----- ---- ----- ----- ------ ----- ----- -----+----- + | | + | | + | | + | ----- ----- -----+----- + | + TOTALS. | + +It is possible that a union maybe found in which the number of poor are +so few, as to allow of the four orders of poor--the Ordinary, the +Medical, the Casual, and the Unclassified--to be contained in one book; +but in general it would be necessary to separate them and to appropriate +a book to each order; and there are parishes so large, and in which +certain classes of poor abound, as to require separate books for those +particular cases. + +[4] Elia + +[5] If the reader will refer again to the form of "Relief List," he will +perceive that there are three general divisions, named severally, +ordinary, medical, and casual. These terms were preserved, because they +are well known in actual practice, rather than because they express a +really broad distinction. The ordinary relief list is supposed to +contain all those recipients of relief who are likely to continue +chargeable for a long period. But the distinction attempted to be drawn +between those who may require relief for a long and those who require it +for a short period only, depends upon circumstances too vague and +variable to be of any practical utility. These objections are not +applicable to the generic term "medical." + +[6] A tradesman is not a shopkeeper, but a mechanic who is skilled in +his particular branch of industry. + +[7] In other words, that he will be condemned to slavery, and employed +on the public works in wheeling a barrow. + +[8] The belief in _hard men_, _i.e._ of men whose skins were impervious +to a musket or pistol ball, was extremely prevalent during the sixteenth +and seventeenth centuries. They could be killed only by a silver bullet. +Fitzgerald, the notorious duellist and murderer, in the middle of the +last century, was said to have been a hard man.--See _Thoms' Anecdotes +and Traditions_, printed for the Camden Society, p. 111. + +[9] It must be borne in mind that the priests here alluded to are +Danish. + +[10] Junker (_pronounced_ Yunker,) the title given to a son of noble +family. Fröken (_dimin. of_ Frue, _madam_, _lady_; Ger. Fräulein) is the +corresponding title of a young lady of rank. + +[11] _Madam_, applied strictly to ladies of rank only. + +[12] The Nisse of the Scandinavian nations is, in many respects, the +counterpart of the Scottish Brownie, while, in others, he occasionally +resembles the Devonian and Cornish Pixie and Portune. He is described as +clad in gray, with a pointed red cap. Having once taken up his abode +with a family, it is not easy to dislodge him, as is evident from the +following anecdote:--A man, whose patience was exhausted by the +mischievous pranks of a Nisse that dwelt in his house, resolved on +changing his habitation, and leaving his troublesome guest to himself. +Having packed his last cart-load of chattels, he chanced to go to the +back of his cart, to see whether all was safe, when, to his dismay, the +Nisse popped his head out of a tub, and with a loud laugh, said, "See, +we flit to-day," (_See, idag flytte vi._)--_Thiele, Danske Folkesagn_, +i. p. 134, and _Athenæum_, No. 991. + +There are also ship Nisses, whose functions consist in shadowing out, as +it were, by night all the work that is to be performed the following +day,--to weigh or cast anchor, to hoist or lower the sails, to furl or +reef them--all which operations are forerunners of a storm. For the duty +even of a swabber, he does not consider himself too high, but washes the +deck most delicately clean. Some well-informed persons maintain that +this _spiritus navalis_, or nautical goblin, proves himself of kindred +race with the house or land Nisse by his roguish pranks. Sometimes he +turns the vane, sometimes extinguishes the light in the binnacle, +plagues the ship's dog, and if there chance to be a passenger on board +who cannot bear the sea, the rogue will appear before him with +heart-rending grimaces retching in the bucket. If the ship is doomed to +perish, he jumps overboard in the night, and either enters another +vessel or swims to land. + +[13] According to the Germanic nations, the devil has a horse's, not a +cloven foot. + +[14] In the original, "Ole Luköje," _i.e._, _Olave Shut-eye_, a +personage as well known by name to the children of Denmark, as the +dustman is to those of England. + +[15] She was no doubt habited _en Amazone_, as was the fashion in +Denmark about the date to which our story refers. At a much later +period, Matilda (sister of our George III.) Queen of Christian VII. rode +in a garb nearly resembling a man's. + +[16] Viz. a fox, in allusion to Mikkel's surname of Foxtail. + +[17] Two places of public resort and great beauty in the neighbourhood +of Copenhagen. On St. John's (Hans') eve, the former place is thronged +with the inhabitants of the capital and vicinity, for the purpose of +drinking the waters of a well held in great esteem. + +[18] _Reise nach Java, und Ausflüge nach den Inseln Madura und St. +Helena._ Von Dr. EDUARD SELBERG. Oldenburg and Amsterdam: 1846. + +[19] _Trade and Travel in the Far East._ London: 1846. + +[20] Notes to "Peveril of the Peak." + +[21] Notes to "Oliver Newman." + +[22] Trial of Charles I. and the Regicides, which I see referred to in +"Oliver Newman," but I have not the book myself. + +[23] London _Times_ of that date. + +[24] State Trials, ii. 389. + +[25] Somers' Tracts, vi. 339. + +[26] Carlyle and Clarendon. + +[27] Carlyle. + +[28] Carlyle. + +[29] Clarendon, iii. 590. + +[30] Percy's Reliques, 121. + +[31] Fasti Oxon. ii. 79. + +[32] Letters and Speeches, &c. by Carlyle. + +[33] Fasti Oxon. ii. 79. + +[34] Carlyle. + +[35] Fasti Oxon, ii. p. 79. Anno 1649. + +[36] Evelyn's Memoirs, i. 308. + +[37] Notes to Peveril of the Peak. + +[38] Sir Thomas Herbert's Two Last Years, p. 189. + +[39] State Trials, ii. 886. + +[40] Lives of the Queens, vol. viii. + +[41] Holmes' American Annals. + +[42] Isaiah xvi. 3. + +[43] Rev. xi. 8. + +[44] Rev. xiii. 18. + +[45] Holmes' American Annals, _in Ann_. Also, Notes to "Oliver Newman." + +[46] _Gatherings from Spain_, by Richard Ford. London, 1846. + + _An Overland Journey to Lisbon, &c._, by T. M. Hughes. London, 1847. + + + + +Transcriber's Notes: + +Passages in italics are indicated by _underscore_. + +Superscripted letters are shown in {brackets}. + +The original text includes Greek characters. For this text version these +letters have been replaced with transliterations. + +Due to their width, tables have been split in half. + +The first page of this issue is 261. + +The following misprints have been corrected: + "deterimental" corrected to "detrimental" (page 285) + "architectue" corrected to "architecture" (page 335) + "appearrance" corrected to "appearance" (page 336 + "assocation" corrected to "association" (page 369) + "banches" corrected to "branches" (page 369) + "Fraülein" corrected to "Fräulein" (page 373) + "triflle" corrected to "trifle" (page 376) + +Other than the corrections listed above, printer's inconsistencies in +spelling and hyphenation usage have been retained. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume +61, No. 377, March 1847, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE, MARCH 1847 *** + +***** This file should be named 31859-8.txt or 31859-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/1/8/5/31859/ + +Produced by Brendan OConnor, Jonathan Ingram, and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. +(This file was produced from images generously made +available by The Internet Library of Early Journals.) + + +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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